مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 354 (هفته دوم آذر 1394)

Interferon beta (IFNβ) is one of the important cytokines expressed in response to stimulating factors such as antigens and plays roles in immunity and inflammatory process. In present study, the expression level of IFNβ-1a was examined in HEK293 cell line using real-time polymerase chain reaction (Real-Time PCR).

IFNβ gene sequence was amplified using specific primers contained KpnI and BglII restriction site from pSVMdhfr-IFNβ plasmid as template. It was cloned in similarly digested pBud.CE4.1 linear vector. Construction of recombinant plasmid was verified via restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, colony PCR and gene sequencing. Recombinant plasmid was transformed into competent Escherichia coli Top10 cells finally. After amplification, recombinant plasmid was purified and transfected into HEK293. At last, RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis and analysis of expression level of gene were performed using Real-Time PCR method.

IFNβ gene was expressed under eEf1a promoter in HEK293 successfully. The expression level of target gene was increased 79.9 times in comparison with the control via transfection. Transfection of null vector showed 2.87 times elevation of target gene expression in response to the alien genome entered into the cell.

The proteins produced in prokaryotic systems were non-glycosylated thus they had different physicochemical properties in comparison with the natural form. So, the production of IFNβ protein in human cell line under strong promoter of selected vector is one of the advantages of this research. Protein studies in this field are targeted for the future studies.

Alzheimer's disease is a disease of the nerve cells that is associated with neurodegeneration; including the weakening of nerve cells, as the cells show inflammatory activities. In this research, the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in inflammation in the rat hippocampus, as well as its effect on cell death were studied. The effects of intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide in the development of inflammation in the nerve cells in the hippocampus of Wistar rats with the weight of 230-250 g was assessed via measuring the levels of inflammatory factors [interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)] using Western blot analysis. The study of cell death was done using Hematoxylin and Eosin staining (H&E) in a time-dependent manner at 12, 24, 48, 72 and 120 hours after the injection. The amounts of inflammatory proteins, IL-1β and TNF-α, increased time-dependently as compared to the control group. The stained tissue confirmed the cell death. All the results were significant at the level of P < 0.001. Lipopolysaccharide causes inflammation and neuronal cell death in the hippocampus in the brain of male Wistar rats; which is a time-dependent apoptosis in these cells and induces development of Alzheimer's process, then.

Genital wart is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD). Because of the unpleasant symptoms, chances of transmission and high risk of dysplasia and malignancy, the treatment is necessary. Several methods are used for the treatment of genital warts that the most common ones are podophilin and cryotherapy. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of these two methods and determine the best approach to treat women with genital warts. This was a clinical trial study on women with external genital warts referred to Khatam al Anbiya clinic, Yazd, Iran, during the years 2012-2013. From 60 enrolled patients, 30 were treated with cryotherapy and 30 with 25% solution of podophyllin. Each method was done once a week to complete the clearance of lesions, or the maximum period of 6 weeks. Patients were clinically examined on a weekly basis and were treated to a full recovery of lesions. In each session, the recovery rate, the number of lesions and possible side effects were recorded in a questionnaire. 60 patients in the age range of 17 to 51 years were enrolled; 53 were married, and 7 were single. In the initial examination, 36 patients (60.0%) were engage in the genital area, 10 (16.7%) in anal region and 14 (23.3%) in both the anal and genital areas. The mean time full recovery of lesions was 2.9 weeks in podophyllin and 3.4 weeks in cryotherapy groups. 46.6% of patients in cryotherapy group and 23% in the podophyllin group had complication. The highest incidence of complications in both treatment groups was one week after the initiation of treatment. Based on the results, the cryotherapy group required more therapeutic sessions than podophyllin group. It can be concluded that cryotherapy is more effective than podophyllin solution in the treatment of genital warts and has low complication and recurrence rate compared to cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen.

Poisoning is a major psychological problem in the world and is a common cause of mortality. In addition, recent studies showed that the trend of mortality due to poisoning was increased in the recent decades. So, the aim of this study was determining the 5-years trend of poisoning led to death in Isfahan Province, Iran, during 2010-2014. In a cross-sectional study done in Isfahan Province General Office of Legal Medicine during 2010-2014, 1592 record of patients dead due to poisoning, incidence trend of mortality due to poisoning and the related factors were studied. During 2010-2014, from 1590 death due to poisoning, most of the cases (83.1%) were man and in 955 cases (60.1%), poisoning was intentional. The incidence of poisoning led to death was 373, 353, 280, 333, and 251 cases in the studied years, respectively with no significant difference between the years. But, there was a significant difference between the studied years according to the cause of poisoning (P = 0.001); where, the prevalence of poisoning with drug has the lowest incidence (26.3%) in 2010 and highest one (47.1%) in 2014. The mortality rate due to poisoning in Isfahan Province is high and death related to drug poisoning has increased significantly. Hence, some of preventive activities such as improvement of public awareness must be done by health centers and public media.

Premature or sick hospitalized infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) often receive a large number of radiographic examinations. Because of small size of neonates, a big part of their body is putted in radiation field during radiography. On the other hand, infants are more sensitive to radiation and their cancer risk is 2 or 3 times higher than that of adults. So, it seems that radiation dosimetry in the NICU is vital and important. Researchers have calculated the entrance surface dose (ESD), effective dose (ED), kinetic energy released in material (Kerma) and scatter radiation in neonatal intensive care unit. They emphasized that although radiation exposure in the neonatal intensive care unit is low but, because of neonates’ higher sensitivity, according to as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) law, the radiation should be kept as low as possible. This review article aimed to have a survey regarding measurement of radiation dose in the neonatal intensive care unit and to give some recommendations according to the literature for dose reduction. Overall, effort should be made to further lower patient doses while securing image quality. In addition, need to provide relevant education and training to staff is recommended. The outcomes are also useful to national and professional organizations.