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Umbelliprenin via increase in the MECP2 and attenuation of oxidative stress mitigates the autistic-like behaviors in mouse model of maternal separation stress
No full textIntroduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition. Maternal separation (MS) stress is an early-life stress factor associated with behaviors resembling Autism. Both MECP2 and oxidative stress are implicated in the pathophysiology of Autism. Umbelliprenin (UMB) is a coumarin compound with various pharmacological properties. Our study aimed to investigate the potential effects of UMB in mitigating autistic-like behaviors in a mouse model subjected to MS stress, focusing on probable alterations in MECP2 gene expression in the hippocampus. Methods: MS paradigm was performed, and mice were treated with saline or UMB. Behavioral tests consisting of the three-chamber test (evaluating social interaction), shuttle box (assessing passive avoidance memory), elevated plus-maze (measuring anxiety-like behaviors), and marble-burying test (evaluating repetitive behaviors) were conducted. Gene expression of MECP2 and measurements of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), nitrite level, and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were assessed in the hippocampus. Results: The findings demonstrated that MS-induced behaviors resembling Autism, accompanied by decreased MECP2 gene expression, elevated nitrite, MDA levels, and reduced TAC in the hippocampus. UMB mitigated these autistic-like behaviors induced by MS and attenuated the adverse effects of MS on oxidative stress and MECP2 gene expression in the hippocampus. Conclusion: In conclusion, UMB likely attenuated autistic-like behaviors caused by MS stress, probably, through the reduction of oxidative stress and an increase in MECP2 gene expression
Overexpression of Argonaute HIWI Gene in Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells and Colorectal Cancerous Tissue
No full textBackground: Recent studies have demonstrated that Hiwi has a crucial role in stem cell self-renewal in various organisms, and it is associated with some cancers.
Objectives: In the present study, Hiwi expression was examined in different grades of primary human colorectal cancer (CRC), colorectal cancer stem cells (CRCSCs), and HT-29 CRC cell line.
Methods: The CRC tissue samples were collected from 20 patients with CRC. Furthermore, the HT-29 cell line, CRCSC, and 13 normal colorectal tissue samples were prepared. The expression of Hiwi at mRNA and protein levels was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR), flow cytometry, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry.
Results: The overexpression of Hiwi was detected in 40% (3.351 +/- 2.94, P<0.05) of clinical CRC tissue specimens. We also observed a significant increase in the expression of Hiwi in CRCSCs (5.94 +/- 0.05, P<0.005). Hiwi expression was significantly higher in CRCSC compared to that in the colorectal cancer tissue and HT-29 cells (P<0.01). Hiwi mRNA level was significantly correlated to tumor grade (P< 0.01) and stage (P< 0.01).
Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, Hiwi can be considered an oncogene in progressive cancer and, therefore, can be a valuable biomarker and target in therapeutic procedures
Investigating the self-care status of pregnancy and its relationship with social support and anxiety caused by corona disease in pregnant women following the implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccination program
No full textBackground and aims: COVID-19 has adverse effects on health. The best way to prevent it is vaccination. One of the high-risk groups for COVID-19 is pregnant women. Self-care of pregnancy can reduce the adverse consequences of pregnancy, which are affected by many factors. The present study aims to investigate the self-care status of pregnancy and its relationship with social support and anxiety caused by Corona in pregnant women following the implementation of the national vaccination program for COVID-19.
Methods: A total of 199 pregnant women from comprehensive health service centers were included in the study and completed self-care questionnaires during pregnancy, social support, and anxiety questionnaires caused by corona. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18 software.
Results: The average score of self-care was 41.19±5.21, the average score of social support was 65.14±11.45, and the average score of anxiety caused by Corona was 10.64±8.93. The Pearson correlation test showed that self-care was significantly associated with social support (P<0.05, r: 0.347) but not coronavirus anxiety. The regression model showed that social support is the strongest predictor of pregnancy self-care (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Considering the favorable score of self-care and social support and the low score of corona anxiety of the participants in the study and comparing with the results of other studies in the COVID-19 pandemic and before vaccination, it seems that COVID-19 vaccination had a significant effect on the results. However, longitudinal studies are suggested to ensure the results.
Keywords: COVID-19, Self-care, Social support, Anxiety, Vaccinatio
Exosomes: special nano-therapeutic carrier for cancers, overview on anticancer drugs
No full textChemotherapy drugs are the first line of cancer treatment, but problems such as low intratumoral delivery, poor bioavailability, and off-site toxicity must be addressed. Cancer-specific drug delivery techniques could improve the therapeutic outcome in terms of patient survival. The current study investigated the loading of chemotherapy drugs loaded into exosomes for cancer treatment. Exosomes are the smallest extracellular vesicles found in body fluids and can be used to transfer information by moving biomolecules from cell to cell. This makes them useful as carriers. As the membranes of these nanoparticles are similar to cell membranes, they can be easily transported to carry different components. As most chemotherapy drugs are not easily soluble in liquid, loading them into exosomes can be a suitable solution to this problem. This cancer treatment could avert the injection of high doses of drugs and provide a more appropriate release mechanism
Testicular Tissue Vitrification: a Promising Strategy for Male Fertility Preservation
No full textDestruction of spermatogonial stem cells in juvenile men survivors of pediatric cancers leads to infertility as a side effect of gonadotoxic therapies. Sperm freezing before cancer treatment is commonly used in the clinic for fertility preservation, but this method is not applicable for prepubertal boys due to the lack of mature sperm. In these cases, cryopreservation of testicular tissues is the only option for fertility preservation. Although controlled slow freezing (CSF) is the most common procedure for testicular tissue cryopreservation, vitrification can be used as an alternative method. Controlled vitrification has prevented cell damage and formation of ice crystals. Procedures were done easily and quickly with a brief exposure time to high concentration of cryoprotectants without expensive equipment. Different studies used vitrification of testicular tissues and they assessed the morphology of seminiferous tubules, apoptosis, and viability of spermatogonial cells. Transplantation of vitrified testicular tissue into infertile recipient mice as well as in vitro culture of vitrified tissues was done in previous studies and their findings showed complete spermatogenesis and production of mature sperm. Review articles usually have compared controlled slow freezing with vitrification. In this review, we focused only on the vitrification method and its results. Despite promising results, many studies have been done for finding an optimal cryopreservation protocol in order to successfully preserve fertility in prepubertal boys
Chicoric acid ameliorates palmitate-induced sphingosine 1-phosphate signaling pathway in the PBMCs of patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes
No full textObjective Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) signaling pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). So, targeting S1P signaling pathway could be considered as potential therapeutic target for T2D. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of palmitate and chicoric acid (CA) on S1P signaling pathway in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from newly diagnosed patients with T2D. Materials and methods 20 newly diagnosed patients with T2D, aged 40-60 years, were enrolled in the study. PBMCs were isolated and then treated as follows: control groups (untreated, treated with BSA 1% for 12 h), CA groups (treated with 50 mu M CA for 6 h), palmitate groups (treated with 500 mu M palmitate for 12 h), palmitate + CA groups (treated with 500 mu M palmitate for 12 h and then treated with 50 mu M CA for 6 h). Finally, sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) and sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) genes expression were evaluated by real-time PCR and S1PR1 protein levels were quantified using ELISA. Results Palmitate significantly increased SPHK1 and S1PR1 genes expression and S1PR1 protein levels in PBMCs of patients with diabetes. However, CA ameliorates palmitate-increased SPHK1 and S1PR1 genes expression and S1PR1 levels in these cells. Conclusion These data indicate that CA could be considered as a novel S1P signaling pathway inhibitor through down regulation of SPHK1 and S1PR
Urinary bio-monitoring of aromatic amine derivatives by new needle trap device packed with the multi-component adsorbent
No full textAromatic amines are a large group of chemical compounds that have attracted the attention of researchers due to their toxicity and carcinogenicity. This study aimed to develop an efficient method for sampling and analysis of aromatic amines (Aniline, N, N-dimethylaniline, 2-chloroaniline, and 3-chloroaniline) from the vapour phase (headspace) of urine samples. For the implementation of this plan, a needle trap device packed with the three-component adsorbent consisting of nano-Hydroxy Apatite (nHA), Zeolite (Ze), and Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) equipped with GC-FID was employed for the first phase. Examination of the prepared adsorbents was performed by FT-IR, PXRD, and FE-SEM techniques. The optimal value of considerable parameters such as time and temperature of extraction, salt content, and pH were established using the Response Surface Methodology-Central Composite Design (RMS-CCD) method. In this way, the optimal extraction of targeted analytes was accomplished in 41 min at 41 °C with NaCl content of 33.0% (w/v) and pH: 13.0, respectively. Also, the repeatability and reproducibility of the method were calculated to be in the range of 2.2–7.1% and 3.9–8.1%, respectively, which indicates the acceptable precision of the method. Also, the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were determined in the range of 0.3–32.0 ng.L−1 and 0.8–350.0 ng.L−1, respectively, which proves the high sensitivity of the proposed method. Furthermore, the recovery percent of the extracted analytes was concluded in the range of 97.0–99.0% after 6 and 30 days of the sampling and storage at 25 °C and 4 °C, respectively. Finally, the designed procedure was employed in the analysis of the above-mentioned aromatic amines in the real urine samples. The achieved results illustrate that the three-component absorbent system (nHA;Ze;MOF@NTD) can be introduced as an efficient, fast-response, sensitive, and versatile procedure for trace analysis of the different aromatic amine compounds in public and occupational health
Dietary intake of micronutrients are predictor of premenstrual syndrome, a machine learning method
No full textBackground & aims: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder affecting 30–40% of women of reproductive age. Many modifiable risk factors associated with PMS involve nutrition and poor eating habits. This study aims to explore the correlation between micronutrients and PMS in a group of Iranian women and to build a predictor model showing the PMS using nutritional and anthropometric variables. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was conducted on 223 females in Iran. Anthropometric indices were measured, including Body Mass Index (BMI) and skinfold thickness. Machine learning methods were used to assess participants' dietary intakes, Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and analyze the data. Results: After applying different variable selection techniques, we have created machine learning models such as KNN. KNN achieved 80.3% accuracy rate and 76.3% F1 score indicating that our model is a curate and valid proof to show a strong relationship between input variables (sodium intake, Skin fold thickness of suprailiac, irregular menstruation, total calorie intake, total fiber intake, trans fatty acids, painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea), total sugar intake, total fat intake, and biotin) and the output variable (PMS). We sorted these effective variables based on their 'Shapley values' and figured out that Na intake, suprailiac skinfold thickness, biotin intake, total fat intake and total sugar intake have a major impact on having PMS. Conclusions: Dietary intake and anthropometric measurements are highly associated with the occurrence of PMS, and in our model, these variables can predict PMS in women with a high accuracy rate
Engineering of a core-shell polyvinyl alcohol/gelatin fibrous scaffold for dual delivery of Thymus daenensis essential oil and Glycyrrhiza glabra L. extract as an antibacterial and functional wound dressing
No full textWound healing is an intricate process that can be delayed by the bacterial infection. Extracts or essential oils from medicinal plants have recently shown increased interest given the emergence of antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics. In this study, we evaluated the synergistic effect of thymus essential oil and Licorice extract on wound healing applications. Core-shell nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Gelatin (Gel)/thymus essential oil as the core (antibacterial agent) and PVA/Gel/licorice extract as the shell. SEM images of the he developed nanocomposite fibers show a monotonic, smooth, and bead-free morphology. The average diameter of PVA/Gel nanofibers was 119 nm and it was observed to increase as the essential oil and extract were added. FTIR technique was used to evaluate the chemical structure of developed nanofiber scaffolds. The core-shell nanocomposite fibers demonstrated promising antibacterial activity against both gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae. Furthermore, the nanocomposite scaffolds promoted proliferation of fibroblasts (L929) and was hemo-compatible in hemolysis and blood clotting assays. Developed nanofibers exhibited effective migration of fibroblasts in in vitro wound healing assays. Therefore, these results substantiated the synergistic effects of licorice extract and thymus essential oil and pose promising potential as materials of choice for wound healing application
Ultrasound-guided chemoradiotherapy of breast cancer using smart methotrexate-loaded perfluorohexane nanodroplets
No full textChemoradiotherapy with controlled-release nanocarriers such as sono-sensitive nanodroplets (NDs) can enhance the anticancer activity of chemotherapy medicines and reduces normal tissue side effects. In this study, folic acid-functionalized methotrexate-loaded perfluorohexane NDs with alginate shell (FA-MTX/PFH@alginate NDs) were synthesized, characterized, and their potential for ultrasound-guided chemoradiotherapy of breast cancer was investigated in vitro and in vivo. The cancer cell (4T1) viabilities and surviving fractions after NDs and ultrasound treatments were significantly decreased. However, this reduction was much more significant for ultrasound in combination with X-ray irradiation. The in vitro and in vivo results confirmed that MTX-loaded NDs are highly biocompatible and they have no significant hemolytic activity and organ toxicity. Furthermore, the in vivo results indicated that the FA-MTX/PFH@alginate NDs were accumulated selectively in the tumor region. In conclusion, FA-functionalized MTX/PFH@alginate NDs have a great theranostic performance for ultrasound-controlled drug delivery in combination with radiotherapy of breast cancer