Extraction of Nucleolus Candidate Zone in White Blood Cells of Peripheral Blood Smear Images Using Curvelet Transform

The main part of each white blood cell (WBC) is its nucleus which contains chromosomes. Although white blood cells (WBCs) with giant nuclei are the main symptom of leukemia, they are not sufficient to prove this disease and other symptoms must be investigated. For example another important symptom of leukemia is the existence of nucleolus in nucleus. The nucleus contains chromatin and a structure called the nucleolus. Chromatin is DNA in its active form while nucleolus is composed of protein and RNA, which are usually inactive. In this paper, to diagnose this symptom and in order to discriminate between nucleoli and chromatins, we employ curvelet transform, which is a multiresolution transform for detecting 2D singularities in images. For this reason, at first nuclei are extracted by means of K-means method, then curvelet transform is applied on extracted nuclei and the coefficients are modified, and finally reconstructed image is used to extract the candidate locations of chromatins and nucleoli. This method is applied on 100 microscopic images and succeeds with specificity of 80.2% and sensitivity of 84.3% to detect the nucleolus candidate zone. After nucleolus candidate zone detection, new features that can be used to classify atypical and blast cells such as gradient of saturation channel are extracted

Evaluation of central and peripheral effects of doxepin on acetic acid-induced colitis in rat and the involved mechanisms

Anti-colitis effect of antidepressants has been demonstrated recently. Doxepin, a tricyclic antidepressant drug (TCA), with potent H1, H2, alpha1 adrenergic and muscarinic receptor blocking effects could be a good candidate for investigation for its anti-colitis activity. Moreover high prevalence of depression in patients who suffer from IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), defends this idea that adjuvant therapy with an antidepressant drug which has anti-inflammatory effect, may exert favorable effects in the control of the disease. In this study colitis was induced by acetic acid instillation into rat’s colon. Doxepin was injected by intraperitoneal (10, 20, 40 mg/kg, twice daily, i.p.) or intracerebroventricular (50 and 100 microgram/rat, i.c.v.) routes to separate the mechanisms are absolutely exerted centrally or mediated both centrally and peripherally prior to induction of colitis. Dexamethasone (2 mg/kg/day, i.p.) was used as reference drug. All the treatments continued for three successive days. The effec- tiveness of drug was evaluated by determination of cytokines (TNFα, IL6 and IL1β) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity as well as macroscopic scores and histopathological parameters. Doxepin after i.p. administration was effective to reduce colitis severity through reduction in the macroscopic and microscopic colonic parameters, MPO activity and cytokines levels. Intracerebroventricular administration of the drug in contrast, did not show any sig- nificant protective effect suggesting no important central mechanisms for anti-colitis activity of doxepin. Doxepin as an ancient antidepressive drug has anti-colitis and anti-inflammatory properties which are mainly exerted pe- ripherally so it could be introduced as a good candidate for depressed people who suffered from IBD disorders

The role of central mechanisms in the anti-inflammatory effect of amitriptyline on carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to further investigate the effect of amitriptyline, a classical tricyclic antidepressant, on carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats. METHODS: First, amitriptyline was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) at doses of 20, 40 and 80 mg kg-1, 30 min before subplantar injection of carrageenan. Second, amitriptyline was given intracerebroventriculary or intrathecally at doses of 25, 50 and 100 &#956;g/rat, 30 min prior to carrageenan challenge. Third, the effect of adrenergic receptor antagonists such as propranolol (10 mg kg-1, i.p.), prazosin (4 mg kg-1, i.p.) and yohimbine (10 mg kg-1, i.p.) and an opioid receptor antagonist (naloxone, 4 mg kg-1, i.p.) on the anti-inflammatory effect of amitriptyline (40 mg kg-1, i.p.) was investigated. RESULTS: Our data confirm that intraperitoneally administered amitriptyline exhibits a marked anti-inflammatory effect on carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats 4 h postcarrageenan challenge (P < 0.001). Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of amitriptyline also reduced the development of paw edema at 4 h postcarrageenan (P < 0.001), but intrathecal (i.t.) application of amitriptyline failed to alter the degree of paw swelling. Furthermore, the applied antagonists did not modify the anti-inflammatory effect of amitriptyline. CONCLUSION: These results support the view that amitriptyline has a considerable anti-inflammatory effect on carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats and suggest that at least a part of this property could be mediated through supraspinal sites. Moreover, it seems unlikely that the investigated adrenergic and opioid receptors have a significant role in this effect of amitriptyline

Dextrose Hydration May Promote Cisplatin-induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats: Gender-related Difference

BACKGROUNDS: Cisplatin (CP) as an anticancer drug may affect the plasma glucose level while diabetic subjects are protected against CP-induced nephrotoxicity. In the current study, the role of dextrose hydration during CP therapy on CP-induced nephrotoxicity was evaluated.METHODS: Sixty-nine male and female rats were divided into 12 groups. The rats were hydrated with 15 mL/kg vehicle or different doses of 2%, 10% and 20% dextrose before and after 7.5 mg/kg CP administration. One week later, the biochemical and kidney function markers, and histology finding were determined.RESULTS: All the animals co-treated with CP and 20% dextrose, were dead during one week of the experiment. Administration of CP alone increased kidney tissue damage score (KTDS) and kidney weight (KW). It also elevated the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and BUN-creatineine ratio (BUN/Cr) levels in the serum. In addition, CP decreased body weight and creatinine (Cr) clearance (ClCr) significantly in both male and female rats (p<0.05). However, 2% and 10% dextrose did not alter the mentioned parameters in male, but 10% dextrose supplement increased the serum levels of BUN, Cr and BUN/Cr ratio, KW and KTDS significantly in female rats (p<0.05).CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that not only do not support the nephro-protective role of dextrose hydration during CP therapy, the dextrose hydration can act as risk factor to promote CP-induced nephrotoxicity in female rats. Prohibition of high carbohydrate (glucose) diet during CP therapy is recommended.KEYWORDS: cisplatin, nephrotoxicity, dextrose, rat, gende

From genes polymorphisms to mucosal expression of cytokines: evaluating IL-23/IL-17 axis in adult patients with gastritis

Background and Objective: Chronic inflammation is the typical sign of gastritis that may shift into gastric cancer. IL17A and IL-17F as a novel inflammatory cytokines subset of CD4+Th play the main role in inflammation. A key cytokine receptor in the inflammatory IL-17/IL-23 axis, the interleukin 23 receptor (IL23R), may be related to gastritis. We evaluated the correspondence between IL-17A G197A, IL-17F A7488G and IL23R+2199 A/C polymorphisms with TGF-β1, IL-6, IL-17, IL-21 and IL-23 mucosal mRNAs expression in uninfected H. Pylori (HP) chronic gastritis patients. Materials and Methods: Total RNA and genomic DNA were separated from gastric biopsies of 44 patients with gastritis. Subsequently, mucosal mRNAs expression of TGF-β1, IL-6, IL-17, IL-21 and IL-23 were assessed by real-time PCR. To polymorphisms determination of IL-17A G197A, IL-17F A7488G and IL-23R +2199A/C the PCR-RFLP was used in gastric biopsies. Results: Results point that IL-17A G197A, IL-17F A7488G and IL23R +2199A/C polymorphisms did not influence the mucosal expression of TGF-β1, IL-6, IL-17 and IL-21 (p> 0.05). In an opposite result, we don’t find a correspondence between IL-17A G197A, IL-17F A7488G polymorphisms and mucosal expression of IL-23 (p> 0.05). In a contrary, we found a correlation between IL23R +2199A/C polymorphism and mucosal expression of IL-23 in patients with chronic gastritis (p< 0.05). Conclusion: These findings propose that IL23R +2199A/C polymorphism may change the mucosal expression of IL-23 pattern in patients with gastritis disease in the absence of HP, but to support the conclusion, more research may be required

Cisplatin Alters Sodium Excretion and Renal Clearance in Rats: Gender and Drug Dose Related

Background: Nephrotoxicity is one of the side effects of cisplatin (CP) therapy which is gender related. CP disturbs renal function through glomerular filtration rate and electrolytes transport disturbances. This study was designed to compare some markers related to renal function in two protocols of CP treatment in rats. Materials and Methods: Male and female rats were subjected to receive single (treat 1; 7.5 mg/kg) and continues doses (treat 2; 3 mg/kg/day for 5 days) of CP, and the measurements were compared with control animals. Results: The serum level of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr), and Cr-clearance, kidney tissue damage score, kidney weight, body weight change, and Na excretion was altered significantly (P < 0.05) in animals treated with continuous dose of CP (treat 2), while alteration of BUN and Cr was gender related. The kidney levels of malondialdehyde and nitrite were significantly different between male and female in two protocols of treatments. Conclusion: Renal function after CP therapy alters in rats' gender dependently, and it is related to protocol of treatment

The protective roles of zinc and estradiol in renal ischemia/ reperfusion injury in ovariectomized rats

Context: One of the main events associated with ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Zinc (Zn) and estradiol are considered as antioxidants that scavenge free radicals. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the protective effect of Zn and estradiol against renal IRI in ovariectomized rats. Materials and Methods: Ovariectomized Wistar rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups including control (sham operated), IRI, estradiol treated +IRI, estradiol and Zn treated +IRI, Zn treated +IRI groups. The IRI was induced by clamping renal vessels for 45 minutes followed by 24 hours reperfusion. During the last 6 hours of reperfusion, urine output was collected and the measurements were performed. Results: IRI caused an increase in kidney tissue damage score (KTDS) significantly (P<0.05). The serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and the creatinine (Cr) also elevated by IRI, but theses parameters attenuated by Zn treatment significantly (P<0.05). Cr-clearance and urine flow were increased by Zn, and the percent of sodium excretion was increased by estradiol significantly (P<0.05). The kidney tissue level of malondialdehyde was decreased by co-treatment of Zn and estradiol statistically (P<0.05). Conclusions: Zn protected the kidney against IRI with an evident improvements of serum BUN and Cr levels, Cr clearance and tissue damage

The protective effect of γ-aminobutyric acid on kidney injury induced by renal ischemia-reperfusion in ovariectomized estradiol-treated rats

Background: Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is one of the most important causes of kidney injury, which is possibly gender-related. This study was designed to investigate the role of g-aminobutyric acid (GABA) against IRI in ovariectomized estradiol-treated rats. Methods: Thirty-five ovariectomized Wistar rats were used in six experimental groups. The first three groups did not subject to estradiol treatment and assigned as sham-operated, control, and GABA-treated groups. GABA (50 μmol/kg) and saline were injected in the treated and control groups 30 min before the surgery, respectively. The second three groups received the same treatments but received estradiol valerate (500 μg/kg, intramuscularly) 3 days prior to the surgery. The IRI was induced in the control and treated groups by clamping the renal artery for 45 min and then 24 h of reperfusion. All animals were sacrificed for the measurements. Results: The serum levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, kidney weight, and kidney tissue damage score significantly increased in the IRI rats (P < 0.05). GABA significantly decreased the aforementioned parameters (P < 0.05). The uterus weight increased significantly in rats that received estradiol (P < 0.05). Serum and kidney levels of nitrite (nitric oxide metabolite) did not alter significantly. Serum level of malondialdehyde increased significantly in the ovariectomized rats exposed to IRI (P < 0.05). Conclusions: It seems that GABA improved IRI in ovariectomized rats. Estradiol was also nephroprotective against IRI. However, co-administration of estradiol and GABA could not protect the kidney against IRI

Recognition of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells in microscopic images using k-means clustering and support vector machine classifier

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common form of pediatric cancer which is categorized into three L1, L2, and L3 and could be detected through screening of blood and bone marrow smears by pathologists. Due to being time-consuming and tediousness of the procedure, a computer-based system is acquired for convenient detection of Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Microscopic images are acquired from blood and bone marrow smears of patients with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia and normal cases. After applying image preprocessing, cells nuclei are segmented by k-means algorithm. Then geometric and statistical features are extracted from nuclei and finally these cells are classified to cancerous and noncancerous cells by means of support vector machine classifier with 10-fold cross validation. These cells are also classified into their sub-types by multi-Support vector machine classifier. Classifier is evaluated by these parameters: Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy which values for cancerous and noncancerous cells 98%, 95%, and 97%, respectively. These parameters are also used for evaluation of cell sub-types which values in mean 84.3%, 97.3%, and 95.6%, respectively. The results show that proposed algorithm could achieve an acceptable performance for the diagnosis of Acute lymphoblastic leukemia and its sub-types and can be used as an assistant diagnostic tool for pathologists

Role of endothelin receptor antagonist; bosentan in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in ovariectomized estradiol treated rats

Background: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a vasoconstrictor peptide that mediates cell proliferation, fibrosis, and inflammation. ET-1 has 2 receptors A and B. Objectives: The present study investigated whether administration of ET-1 receptor type A antagonist leads to protect cisplatin (CP) induced nephrotoxicity in ovariectomized-estradiol (Es) treated rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six ovariectomized Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups. Group 1 received CP (2.5 mg/kg/day) for one week. Groups 2 and 3 received 2 different doses of Es (0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg/week) for 3 weeks, but CP was started in the third week. Group 4 was treated as group 1, but bosentan (BOS, 30 mg/kg/day) was also added. Groups 5 and 6 treated similar to groups 2 and 3 but CP and BOS were added in the third week. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were obtained, and the animals were sacrificed for histopathological investigation of kidney tissue. Results: The serum levels of creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) increased by CP; however, BOS significantly elevated the BUN and Cr levels that were increased by CP administration (P < 0.05). Co-treatment of Es, BOS, and CP decreased the serum levels of BUN, Cr, and malondialdehyde (MDA) when compared with the group treated with BOS plus CP (P < 0.05). Such finding was obtained for kidney tissue damage score (KTDS). As expected, Es significantly increased uterus weight (P < 0.05). The groups were not significantly different in terms of serum and kidney nitrite, kidney weight (KW), and bodyweight Conclusions: According to our findings, BOS could not protect renal functions against CP-induced nephrotoxicity. In contrast, Es alone or accompanied with BOS could protect the kidney against CP-induced nephrotoxicity via reduction of BUN, Cr, and KTDS