Chronic organic arsenic induced liver ultra structural damage

Introduction: Inorganic arsenic is one of the environmental toxins that has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and vascular contributions to liver diseases. It has generally been thought to be more toxic than organic arsenic. In human liver, inorganic arsenic promotes vascular remodelling, portal fibrosis and hypertension. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether chronic exposure to organic arsenic impair liver ultrastructure as in inorganic arsenic exposure. Materials and Methods: Twenty eight male SpragueDawley rats were divided into 2 groups with their own control group. They received oral intubation of monosodium- methylarsonate (MSMA) at 63.30 mg/kg body weight for 4 and 6 months duration respectively while the control groups received distilled water. The liver of euthanized rats were perfused- fixed with glutaraldehyde for transmission electron microscopy processing. Results: TEM revealed a marked reduction in the number of mitochondria in both treatment groups. Some typical features of apoptosis are present with pyknotic nuclei of hepatocytes and disintegrated hepatic cytoplasm in 4- month groups. The microvilli of hepatocyte are almost completely absent with the presence of many fibre bundles (collagen fibres) widening the space of Disse. In 6-month treatment group, disintegrated cytoplasms are more prominent with degrading mitochondria of varying stages. Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC) of 6-month treatment group are noted to have chromatin condensation with few caveolae seen. Conclusion: Chronic exposure of MSMA leads to necrotic changes of hepatocytes and apoptotic changes in LSEC and collagenisation in the space of Disse

Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cell (LSEC) isolation following a liver perfusion technique

Introduction: Liver perfusion has been the standard method to digest and isolate liver cells including liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC). Poor cannulating skills through portal vein results in a waste of animal resource. Familiarization of both liver perfusion technique and adhering strictly to aseptic technique during cell handling ensure high cell yield, minimum morphology disruption and cell contamination. We aimed to present a method of liver perfusion procedure followed by the isolation of LSEC. Materials and method: The study was conducted with the approval of IACUC committee. Seven Sprague Dawley rats underwent these procedures under anaesthesia. Liver perfusion was done as previously described. Briefly, LSEC were isolated by liberase enzyme perfusion of the liver, isopycnic sedimentation in a two- step Percoll gradient and selective adherence. The purification and cultivation of LSEC was evaluated by light and electron microscopy. Results: Purity and viability of LSEC after selective adherence was 80.5 ± 3.5% and ≥ 95 %, respectively. The average concentration of the cells ranged from 32 - 75 x 106 per 400 gm rat. After 8 hours of culture, LSEC monolayers were contaminated with less than 5% of other cells. Conclusion: This method is reliable and reproducible for the isolation of LSEC to enable the study of structure and function of these cells in vitro. However, improvement on the perfusion skills and isolation technique are vital to ensure better cell purity

Effect of Pump Dithering at Each Stage of Cascaded Fiber Optical Parametric Amplifier

Cascaded fiber optical parametric amplifier (FOPA) can enhance gain and bandwidth. The gain and bandwidth can be further enhanced by dithering the FOPA pump. However, to our knowledge, the effects of a pump dithering at every stage of cascaded FOPA have not been discussed. The study of performance at every stage of cascaded FOPA is quite interesting and beneficial in designing the system. Here, we analyzed, using OptiSystem software, each stage of a cascaded FOPA, when there was a pump dithering and not. The results showed that the pump dithering enhanced the gain and broaden the bandwidth at every stage. The gain and bandwidth obtained with the pump dithering were 27 dB and 20 nm, respectively. On the other hand, when there was no pump dithering, the gain and bandwidth were 9 dB and 12 nm, respectively

Chronic low dose organic arsenic induced liver structural damage

Over the decades, organic arsenic has been thought to be less toxic than inorganic arsenic. Monosodium methylarsonate (MSMA) is a potent organoarsenical herbicide that is still being used in most Asian countries, even though in some countries the used has been restricted. Other organic studies reported the effects mainly on the gastrointestinal system. However, the evidence on the severity of it to the liver is still insufficient. The study objective was to investigate the effect of organic arsenic (MSMA) exposure on hepatocytes and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC). Rats were exposed to MSMA at 63.20 mg/kg daily for 6 months duration through oral gavage daily. Control rats received distilled water ad libitum. At the end of the duration, they were sacrificed and underwent liver perfusion for tissue preservation. Liver tissue was prepared for light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Histopathological and ultrastructural comparison between control and treated rats were qualitatively described. Histopathological and ultrastructurally, MSMA has caused necrotic and apoptotic changes of the liver with a reduction of organelles in hepatocytes and capillarization of LSEC. Chronic low dose organic arsenic exposure showed evidence of toxicity to hepatocytes. Interestingly, LSEC demonstrated survival accommodation

Isolation of a pigment-producing bacterium chryseobacterium sp. from the tentacle of holothuria (lessonothuria) pardalis (Selenka 1867) from Pulau Tinggi, Johor

Chryseobacterium sp, a bacteria producing pigment was isolated from the tentacles of Holothuria (Lessonothuria) pardalis (Selenka 1867) from Pulau Tinggi, Johor. This study aimed to observe and genetically identified the presence of bacteria focusing on pigmentproducing bacteria. Thus, the partial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence of bacteria obtained and the shape, number of bacteria and gram staining observed using a digital compound microscope. Six gene sequence successfully obtained and the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis suggested three species of bacteria identified from genus Pseudomonas, Chryseobacterium and Klebsiella. Besides, the neighbourhood-joining and Maximum Likelihood method had been used in the phylogenetic analysis to support the identification of bacteria species. The visible spectra of Chryseobacterium sp. were recorded between 400nm to 600nm which is a visible spectrum for carotenoid; orange pigment. However, further analysis is needed to confirm the characterisation and the potential of this pigment in industria

Hepatotoxicity induced by antifungal drugs itraconazole and fluconazole in rats: a comparative in vivo study

Itraconazole and fluconazole are oral antifungal drugs, which have a wide spectrum antifungal activity and better efficacy than the older drugs. However, both drugs have been associated with hepatotoxicity in susceptible patients. The mechanism of antifungal drug-induced hepatotoxicity is largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this present study was to investigate and compare the hepatotoxicity induced by these drugs in vivo. Rats were treated intraperitoneally with itraconazole or fluconazole either single (0, 10, 100 and 200 mg/kg) or subchronic (0, 10, 50 and 100 mg/kg per day for 14 days) doses. Plasma and liver samples were taken at the end of the study. A statistically significant and dose dependent increase of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase [ALP) activities were detected in the subchronic itraconazole-treated group. In addition, dose-dependent hepatocellular necrosis, degeneration of periacinar and mizonal hepatocytes, bile duct hyperplasia and biliary cirrhosis and giant cell granulome were observed histologically in the same group. Interestingly, fluconazole treated rats had no significant increase in transaminases for both single and subchronic groups. In the subchronic fluconazole treated rats, only mild degenerative changes of centrilobular hepatocytes were observed. These results demonstrated that itraconazole was a more potent hepatotoxicant than fluconazole in vivo in rats

The Exalted Islamic Ethics towards Conquest of Fintech

Ethics is the conduct that is transmitted from the understanding of norms into a person’s attributes. The essential of exalted ethics, especially regarding Shariah compliance has a strong basis of knowledge as it depends on the Quran and Sunnah. The delivery of knowledge for Islamic Finance while possessing Islamic Ethics is vital for weighing Shariah compliance in a holistic manner for the conquest of Finance Technology (FINTECH). It is important to note that numerous prior researchers have done most of the research that regards Islamic Ethics. The secondary data of the Maqasid al-Syariah variables from Islamic financial institutions of specified sectors is to be taken for assessment. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method was the main statistical technique to be employed in this study. This study fits its real purpose by offering an accurately precise mode of Islamic Ethics in influencing the accomplishment of Islamic Fintech. In particular, the study of Islamic Ethics influences the direction of the religious aims as well as the accurate application of Islamic Fintech

Isolation of bacteria associated with the tentacles of holothuria (lessonothuria) pardalis (selenka 1867) from Pulau Tinggi, Johor including pigment-producing chryseobacterium sp.

Pigment-producing microorganisms have become a main focus due to the search of food-grade microbial pigments for natural food colourant industry. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate and genetically identify bacteria including pigmentproducing bacterial strains associated with the tentacles of Holothuria (Lessonothuria) pardalis (Selenka 1867) from Pulau Tinggi, Johor. Morphological characteristics of bacteria based on Gram staining were observed using a digital compound microscope. Partial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing was also incorporated to support the morphological approach. A number of six partial gene sequences of non-protein coding 16S rRNA were obtained and the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis suggested the presence of three known bacteria species from the genera of Pseudomonas, Chryseobacterium and Klebsiella. The neighbourhood-joining method and Maximum Likelihood method used in the phylogenetic analysis supported the identification and classification of the bacteria species. Among the bacterial isolates, only strain B14 identified as Chryseobacterium sp. produced pigment i.e. orange pigment. The highest point of cell density of Chryseobacterium sp. was recorded at 16 hours. However, further analysis is needed to confirm the pigment characterisation and the potential of this pigment to be exploited as natural colourant in the food industry

DNA barcoding of holothuria (mertensiothuria) leucospilota from Pulau Tinggi, Johor

Sea cucumber or locally known as gamat and timun laut is a well-known attraction of Pulau Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia. Not only limited to Pulau Langkawi, sea cucumber can also be found in other coastal water areas of Malaysia. However, the species richness and genetic diversity of sea cucumber in Pulau Tinggi, Johor is still unknown to the marine scientific communities, especially for Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota, the most dominant species in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aimed to generate DNA barcodes of H. leucospilota from Pulau Tinggi. Protein-coding cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) mtDNA gene was used as it is commonly and widely used for molecular species identification via DNA barcoding. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing were incorporated to generate the DNA barcodes of CO1 mtDNA gene. The BLAST program confirmed the species status of the sea cucumber specimens as H. leuscospilota or locally known as bat puntil or white threads fish. The application for GenBank, NCBI, U.S. National Library of Medicine registration was successfully accepted on October 17, 2019 with accession numbers of MN580537 and MN580538). The phylogenetic trees i.e neighbor joining tree (NJ, distancebased method), maximum parsimony tree (MP, character-based method) and maximum likehood tree (ML, character-based method) reconstructed using MEGA X software version 10.0.5 (BETA) further supported the species status of the sea cucumber specimens from Pulau Tinggi as H. leuscospilota. This is the first record of CO1 mtDNA barcodes of H. leuscospilota from Pulau Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia

Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC) isolation from rat's liver

Liver perfusion has been the standard method to digest and isolate liver cells including liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC). Poor cannulating skills through portal vein results in a waste of animal resource. Familiarization of both liver perfusion technique and adhering strictly to aseptic technique during handling cells ensure high cell yield, minimum morphology disruption and cell contamination. We presented a method of liver perfusion procedure followed by the isolation of LSEC. Seven Sprague Dawley rats underwent these procedures under anaesthesia. Liver perfusion was done as previously described. Briefly, LSECs were isolated by Liberase enzyme perfusion of the liver, isopycnic sedimentation in a two-step Percoll gradient and selective adherence. The purification and cultivation of LSEC were evaluated by light and electron microscopy. Purity and viability of LSEC after selective adherence was 80.5 + 3.5% and > 95 % respectively. The average concentration of the cells ranged from 32 - 75 x 106 per 400 g rat. After 8 hours of culture, LSEC monolayers were contaminated with less than 5% of other cells. This method is reliable and reproducible for isolation of LSEC to enable the study of the structure and function of these cells in vitro. However, an improvement in the perfusion skills and isolation technique is vital to ensure better cell purity