N�89 and C�274 Truncated Enzymes of Chondroitinase ABC I Regain More Imperturbable Microenvironments Around Structural Components in Comparison to their Wild Type

Immune response stimulation and inactivation of chondroitinase ABC I in physiological condition have been limited its use in various clinical conditions as a bacterial enzyme drug. In the present study, we have investigated some structural and functional features of N�89, C�274 and N�89C�274; three designed truncated cABC I, in order to clarify the unclear role of two terminal parts of cABC I i.e., the 1�89 and 747�1021 amino acids sequences of the full length enzyme through truncation. As a result, the numbers of potential epitopes, the susceptibility to trypsin digestion, ANS fluorescence spectra, and fluorescence quenching using KI and acrylamide were diminished for N�89 and C�274 in comparison to the wild type. Secondary and tertiary structure investigation for N�89 and C�274 revealed that the intrinsic fluorescence was increased and Far-UV CD spectra were changed accordingly. Relative to the wild type enzyme, 0.164, 0.195 remaining activity and lack of activity was shown with the zymographic assay for N�89, C�274 and N�89C�274 variants, respectively. The diminished enzyme activity and structural changes suggested a reorientation of microenvironments interactions including cation�� interactions around structural elements toward lowering regional mobility. Constructing applicable truncated cABC I with improved features could be regarded as a strategy to regain new possible functional advantages over the full length enzyme. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Evaluation of aluminium, manganese, copper and selenium effects on human islets amyloid polypeptide hormone aggregation

Islet amyloid formation causes destruction of insulin-producing β-cells of the pancreas. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood and urine glucose. In this research, the fluorimetric assay was used to examine the effects of aluminium and some nutritionally essential trace elements including, manganese, copper and selenium on amyloid formation of human peptide of amylin under near-physiological circumstances. Results obtained from in vitro study showed that after 120 h incubation by shaker incubator in37°C, copper and selenium at 8 μM inhibited amylin 8 μM from amyloid fibril formation by 22.1 and 11.3, respectively (p<0.05) while the similar values of either aluminium and manganese promoted the formation of β-pleated sheet structure by 19.3 and 13.2 respectively (p<0.05). If islet amyloid is cytotoxic to β-cells then copper and selenium may be able to protect these cells against degeneration in diabetic patients especially in type 2 diabetes mellitus. © 2011 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Cardioprotective effects of cerebrolysin on the lesion severity and inflammatory factors in a rat model of isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury

Background: Myocardial injury (MI) is an important heart condition and a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The current study was designed to investigate the cardioprotective effects of cerebrolysin (CLY) on the lesion severity and inflammatory factors in male rats using isoproterenol (ISO)-induced MI model. Methods: MI in rats was induced by injecting ISO (100 mg/kg) subcutaneously (sc) on the first 2 days. Then, CLY (5 ml/kg) was injected intraperitoneally (ip) post-treatment for 7 days. On the 3rd day, creatine phosphokinase (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels in serum and, on the 10th day, the TNF-α and IL6 levels in serum and heart tissue were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Finally, the heart of each rat was dissected out and stained for histopathological examination. Results: On the 3rd day, the serum CK-MB and cTnI levels in the ISO and CLY + ISO groups were significantly increased compared with that in the control and CLY + Sal groups. One week after the induction of MI, ISO administration showed a significant increase in the serum level of TNF-α in the ISO group compared with that in the control and CLY + Sal groups. Also, our findings showed only a moderate reduction in inflammatory cell infiltration and extent of edema following CLY treatment in the CLY + ISO group. Also, CLY induced vascular proliferation in the heart tissue. Conclusions: We conclude that the severity of pathological changes induced by ISO in MI (e.g. inflammation and edema) can be limited by CLY treatment. © 2019 Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Science

Glycemic index of Iranian rice

The glycemic index (GI) is an important parameter of food quality which compares the hyperglycemic effect of a tested meal with pure glucose. For most foods in the Middle East, the glycemic index has not been defined yet. The aim of this study is to determine the GI of Iranian rice and to evaluate the type of cooking method on GI value. To determine the GI, measured portions of food containing 50 g of carbohydrates were eaten by 10 healthy volunteers (5 men and 5 women) after an overnight fast. Capillary blood samples were taken at 0 (fasting), 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after the meal. Blood glucose curves were constructed from blood glucose values. The GI was calculated by dividing the incremental area under the curve for the tested food (fluffy rice and steamed rice) by that for the standard food (same amount of glucose) and multiplying by 100. In each volunteer, each food was tested thrice so that 3 GIs were obtained and the average was calculated. The GI for tested food was calculated as the mean from the respective average GIs of the 10 volunteers. The GI values of fluffy rice and steam rice were 55.38±17.16 and 66.25±18.49 respectively. Statistically significant difference was not observed. These results indicate that Iranian rice should be classified as medium GI food. © 2011 Academic Journals

Antihyperglycemic and antioxidant activity of Viscum album extract

The antihyperglycemic and antioxidant effects of water extract of local Viscum album in alloxanizedrats were investigated. This study performed during 2009 in Babol University of medical sciences (Mazandaran Province, Iran). V. album leaves growing on oaks collected and extracted with hot water. The 90 animals that were used in this investigation were male Wistar rats. 60 rats were gavaged with 500 and 1000 mg/kg/day of V. album extract. One hour after final feeding, freshly prepared alloxan injected subcutaneously. Then blood glucose level was measured according to glucose oxidase method. The antioxidant activity of serum was determined by FRAP assay and serum insulin level was measured with ELISA. The administration of V. album extract (500 and 1000 mg/kg/day) significantly reduced the increase in serum glucose concentration in alloxan-hyperglycemic rats. Both the extracts from V. album enhance the serum insulin level as compared to control rats. Serum antioxidant activity in low dose of extract was significantly higher at 48 and 72 h after alloxan injection. Serum antioxidant activity in the high dose was significantly higher at 24, 48 and 72 h. This study demonstrated that V. album extract reduced the blood glucose and increases the antioxidant power of alloxanized-rats. Much more work is clearly needed before phytotherapy for diabetes can be advanced to the clinic. © 2011 Academic Journals

Evaluation of 11-hydroxy-8-THC-dimethylheptyl effects on cytokines profile and locomotor tests in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

One of the components that activate cannabinoids (CB) receptors is 11-hydroxy-�8-THC-dimethylheptyl(HU-210). The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of HU-210 treatment tocytokines profile and locomotor tests in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) modelin the mice. A total of 48 male C57BL/6 mice were placed in 8 therapeutic groups. Mice were immunizedwith myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) 35-55. When EAE was observe� HU-210 wassubcutaneously administered in 3 groups with different doses: 3,10,30 mg/kg. Control groups weretreated to vehicle or HU-210. Drug or vehicle was given once on the following days: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13,15, 17. During the study clinical scores of disease and balance beam test were analyzed. After 17 daysof treatment, the animals sacrificed and, TNFα, IL-12, IL-4 level in serum was measured using enzymelinkedimmunosorbent assay (ELISA). Our results showed that HU-210-treated mice had significantlyless clinical score of EAE than non-treated EAE induced mice (p<0.05). Data revealed that dose 30mg/kg HU-210 in EAE induced mice significantly decreased serum TNFα, IL-12 (p<0.05). Also, Serum IL-4 levels increased significantly in mice receiving 3, 10, 30 mg/kg dose of HU-210 (p<0.05). Present studyrevealed the beneficial effects of HU-210 in the model of EAE, and suggests its potential use as a drugfor the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). © 2011 Academic Journals

Effects of daily consumption of probiotic yoghurt on inflammatory factors in pregnant women: A randomized controlled trial

Previous studies have shown that inflammatory factors increases in pregnancy and is associated with several complications of pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess effects of daily consumption of probiotic yoghurt on inflammatory factors in pregnant women. In a randomized clinical trial, seventy primigravid (the first pregnancy) and singleton pregnant women aged 18-30 years were assigned to two groups. Subjects consumed daily 200 g probiotic yoghurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus La5 and Bifidobacterium animalisBB12 (1O7CFUg-1for each) or 200 g conventional yoghurt for 9 weeks. Fasting blood samples were collected at baseline (28 weeks of gestation) and after intervention (37 weeks of gestation). Inflammatory factors, hs-CRP and TNF-α, were measured by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Independent t-test was used to compare the two groups after intervention and paired-sample t-test compared variables before and after treatment. The results showed that the probiotic yogurt brought about a decrease in the serum hs-CRP level, from 10.44±1.56 to 7.44±1.03 μg mL-1(p = 0.041). There was no significant change in the conventional yogurt group in the serum hs-CRP level (12.55±1.57 to 14.5±1.62 μg mL-1, p = 0.202). The probiotic yogurt had no effect on TNF-α (from 73.75±6.59 to 77.91±5.61 pg mL1, p = 0.633). Serum TNF-α did not change in the conventional yogurt group (p = 0.134). In conclusion probiotic yogurt significantly decreased hs-CRP in pregnant women but had no effect on TNF-α. © 2011 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Evaluating the effect of HU-210 on cytokines profile and the clinical signs in the experimental model of multiple sclerosis

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the CNS. Recent studies have described the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of cannabinoids. One of the synthetic components that activate cannabinoid receptors is HU-210. This study aimed to examine the effect of HU-210 on cytokines profile and the clinical signs of the disease in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 48 male C57BL/6 mice were immunized with 250 µg of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide (MOG35-55). Different doses of HU-210 (3¸10¸30 mg/kg, i.p.) were administered for 17 days (every other day) in the 3 groups of mice, respectively. The clinical status of mice during the study was evaluated using the clinical score tests. The animals were sacrificed at the 17th day of treatment and then the serum TNFα, IL-12 and IL-4 levels were measured using the ELISA method. Results: Results showed that the HU-210-treated mice, especially with a dose of 30 mg/kg, had significantly less clinical score of EAE than the non-treated EAE-induced mice. The administration of HU-210 (30 mg/kg) in the EAE-induced mice significantly decreased the serum TNFα and IL-12 levels. Moreover, the serum IL-4 level was increased significantly in the mice treated with three doses of HU-210 (3, 10, 30 mg/kg) compared to those treated with phosphate. Conclusion: HU-210, which triggers the stages of an immunological cascade, has a beneficial effect in the EAE. This drug can be used for the acute phase of MS