Molecular Detection of HGV RNA in Chronic Hepatitis Patients from Afzalipoor General Hospital in Kerman, Iran

Background and Aims: Viral hepatitis is a global health problem with a high mortality rate. Recently, a new Flavi-like virus, provisionally named hepatitis G virus (HGV), has been described. HGV does not induce an immune response that is consistently detectable by using recombinant proteins from prokaryotic expression, therefore studies have been conducted by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based system. HGV is a blood born virus that is parenterally transmitted, however incidence of severe hepatitis with HGV is rare, and most infections are subclinical or mild. Methods: A total of 180 blood specimens from chronic hepatitis patients (80 were HBV and HCV positive and 100 were Non B-Non C hepatitis patients) were collected, plasma was separated and stored at -80° C. The specimens were examined by the method of RT-PCR. Results: There were 36 male and 14 female patients, majorities (95%) were living in the city of Kerman, and average age was 35 years old. The rate of infection with hepatitis viruses were as follows: chronic liver disease, including 21 (52.5%) with chronic hepatitis B infection, 17 with chronic hepatitis C infection (42.5%) co-infected with HGV, respectively (p = 0.03). Of the 180 patients, 40 were HGV RNA positive (17.7%). Conclusion: HGV co-infection is highly prevalent among Kerman blood donors who are infected with HBV or HCV. The results also reveal that population negative for HCV and HBV are a low risk group for HGV infection

Zinc- and Copper-Doped Mesoporous Borate Bioactive Glasses: Promising Additives for Potential Use in Skin Wound Healing Applications

In this study, zinc (Zn)- and copper (Cu)-doped 13-93B3 borate mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) were successfully synthesized using nitrate precursors in the presence of Pluronic P123. We benefited from computational approaches for predicting and confirming the experimental findings. The changes in the dynamic surface tension (SFT) of simulated body fluid (SBF) were investigated using the Du Noüy ring method to shed light on the mineralization process of hydroxyapatite (HAp) on the glass surface. The obtained MBGs were in a glassy state before incubation in SBF. The formation of an apatite-like layer on the SBF-incubated borate glasses was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The incorporation of Zn and Cu into the basic composition of 13-93B3 glass led to changes in the glass transition temperature (Tg) (773 to 556 °C), particle size (373 to 64 nm), zeta potential (−12 to −26 mV), and specific surface area (SBET) (54 to 123 m2/g). Based on the K-means algorithm and chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) tree, we found that the SFT of SBF is an important factor for the prediction and confirmation of the HAp mineralization process on the glasses. Furthermore, we proposed a simple calculation, based on SFT variation, to quantify the bioactivity of MBGs. The doped and dopant-free borate MBGs could enhance the proliferation of mouse fibroblast L929 cells at a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. These glasses also induced very low hemolysis (<5%), confirming good compatibility with red blood cells. The results of the antibacterial test revealed that all the samples could significantly decrease the viability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In summary, we showed that Cu-/Zn-doped borate MBGs can be fabricated using a cost-effective method and also show promise for wound healing/skin tissue engineering applications, as especially supported by the cell test with fibroblasts, good compatibility with blood, and antibacterial properties

Fabrication and characterization of cobalt- and copper-doped mesoporous borate bioactive glasses for potential applications in tissue engineering

Developing novel compositions of bioactive glasses (BGs) is key for accelerating tissue repair and regeneration. In this work, we developed a series of cobalt (Co)- and copper (Cu)-doped mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) based on borate 13-93B3 composition using nitrate precursors. We took benefit from data science algorithms to predict and assess the physico-chemical and biological properties of the samples. The results showed that the presence of the dopants (Co and Cu) in the MBGs could change the glass transition temperature (Tg) (from 773 to 539 °C), the zeta potential (from -12 to -43 mV), and surface area (from 54 to 194 m2/g). However, the presence of 2.5 mol% of dopants in the composition led to just a slight decrease in their bioactivity. In vitro biocompatibility assays confirmed that all the glass samples were biocompatible. Furthermore, the doped MBGs exhibited potent antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, these glasses could induce the mobility of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and enhance new blood vessel formation in ovo. According to the obtained data, it can be stated that this type of doped borate MBGs held great promise in tissue engineering applications

Efficient inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus replication using novel modified microRNA-30a targeting 3'-untranslated region transcripts

RNA interference (RNAi)-based gene therapy is currently considered to be a combinatorial anti-human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) therapy. Although arti­ficial polycistronic microRNAs (miRs) can reduce HIV-1 escape mutant variants, this approach may increase the risk of side effects. The present study aimed to optimize the efficiency of anti-HIV RNAi gene therapy in order to reduce the cell toxicity induced by multi-short hairpin RNA expression. An artificial miR-30a-3'-untranslated region (miR-3'-UTR) obtained from a single RNA polymerase II was used to simultaneously target all viral transcripts. The results of the present study demonstrated that HIV-1 replication was signifi­cantly inhibited in the cells with the miR-3'-UTR construct, suggesting that miR-3'-UTR may serve as a promising tool for RNAi-based gene therapy in the treatment of HIV-1. © 2016, Spandidos Publications. All Rights Reserved

Peptone production from marine and culture wastes by commercial enzymes for bacterial culture media

Thirty to 40% of total fish catch is converted to waste. Using different methods of hydrolysis of the protein can be recovered of fish waste and increase the amount of protein efficiency. In this study, the four enzymes Alcalase, protamex, pepsin and trypsin were used for hydrolysis of four fish species including common carp (Cyprinus carpio), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and the Big head (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis). The effects of pH, temperature and hydrolysis time on the rate of hydrolysis were studied on soluble proteins and degree of hydrolysis (phase I). In the second step, proximate factors of peptone been evaluated and eventually replace commercial peptone media MRS (Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus delberuki, Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus thermophilus) and TSB (Listeria monocytogenes, two species of Bacillus and Pseudomonas, Streptococcus faecium) and the optical density of bacteria at different times were compared with control samples. Results showed that the highest degree of hydrolysis and soluble proteins were referred to alcalase and protamex, pepsin and trypsin respectively. The highest value of hydrolysis, in all treatments, was attributed to grass carp and silver carp, common carp and big head respectively. The best pH and temperature for alcalase, protamex, pepsin and trypsin 8.5and 55, 7.5 and 55, 3.5, 37, 7 and 37 respectively. Best time to achieve the highest degree of hydrolysis and soluble protein was 90 minutes. Qualitative analysis showed that the highest and lowest amounts of protein and fat in the treatment of alcalase (about 70 % protein and less than 0.5 % fat) and protamex, pepsin and trypsin was then. The results of bacteria culture showed that the highest percentage growth of lactic acid bacteria was referred to Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus casei had the lowest rate of growth. In other bacteria, Pseudomonas and Bacillus species were the highest percentage of growth and Listeria monocytogenes and Streptococcus faecium respectively. In all treatments, alcalase had the best results and the peptone prepared from fish waste grass carp had the best condition for growth of used bacteria. It seems that the initial substrate , the parameters used such as temperature, pH, and enzyme hydrolysis time , have a significant effect on the quality of peptone and protein content in the final product is determined value of protein for culture of bacteria

Short communication. Impact of the amino acid proline on the cold hardiness of honey bee, Apis mellifera L.

Like many insects, honey bee can increase its cold tolerance through freeze avoidance, using antifreeze proteins (AFPs) to lower its supercooling point (SCP). Proline is the most dominant amino acid in honey bee hemolymph, which can be obtained by the insect through feeding. In the current study the antifreeze activity of this amino acid was evaluated on worker honey bees, immediately before the start of cold season. The experiment was established on four treatments including three different concentrations of proline (1%, 3% and 4.35%) diluted in 1:1 water sucrose syrup, and the syrup without proline (control). Newly emerged worker honey bees were fed on the mentioned diets for 2 weeks, under cage condition, and then 20 bees from each treatment (cage) were selected randomly for determination of cold hardiness inside a cooling bath. Using a CHY data logger, equipped with a K100 sensor attached to the bee’s gaster, the SCP, the amount of released heat and the rate of this release as measures of insect cold hardiness were recorded. Proline significantly reduced honey bees’ SCP. The lowest point, -7.67±0.2646°C, was observed in the concentration of 1% proline. The amount of released heat and the rate of this release were not significantly different across the treatments

Short communication. Impact of the amino acid proline on the cold hardiness of honey bee, Apis mellifera L.

Like many insects, honey bee can increase its cold tolerance through freeze avoidance, using antifreeze proteins (AFPs) to lower its supercooling point (SCP). Proline is the most dominant amino acid in honey bee hemolymph, which can be obtained by the insect through feeding. In the current study the antifreeze activity of this amino acid was evaluated on worker honey bees, immediately before the start of cold season. The experiment was established on four treatments including three different concentrations of proline (1%, 3% and 4.35%) diluted in 1:1 water sucrose syrup, and the syrup without proline (control). Newly emerged worker honey bees were fed on the mentioned diets for 2 weeks, under cage condition, and then 20 bees from each treatment (cage) were selected randomly for determination of cold hardiness inside a cooling bath. Using a CHY data logger, equipped with a K100 sensor attached to the bee�s gaster, the SCP, the amount of released heat and the rate of this release as measures of insect cold hardiness were recorded. Proline significantly reduced honey bees� SCP. The lowest point, -7.67±0.2646°C, was observed in the concentration of 1% proline. The amount of released heat and the rate of this release were not significantly different across the treatments