مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 440 (هفته چهارم شهریور 1396)

Nowadays, by genetic engineering and bioinformatics, large scale production of pharmacological recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, which has unique expression properties, becomes a routine and economic imperative. In this study, periplasmic production of human growth hormone was investigated using bioinformatics methods.
The aim of this study was bioinformatic evaluation of 48 human signal peptides by reliable servers for expression analysis of human growth hormone in Escherichia coli. Accuracy and precision of 48 signal peptides were evaluated via powerful SignalP server. Physicochemical properties of remaining signal peptides were investigated using Genescript and Protparam servers. Solubility of protein, secretory activity of signal peptides after expression, and transmission mechanism of signal peptides were investigated using Solpro, ProtCompB and PRED-TAT, respectively.
Findings: Theoretically, proline rich protein HaeIII subfamily 1 (PRH1), C10orf99, and prolactin-releasing hormone (PRLH) signal peptides were predicted as the most proper signal peptides in fusion of human growth hormone protein, respectively.
Secretory expression instead of cytoplasmic expression provides benefits. This study results indicated that by examining different signal peptide sequences in fusion with human growth hormone protein, achieving signal peptides with potential and capability for high expression is possible. The accuracy of these results can be verified in future studies and experiments.

Calculation of dose distribution of electron beams within in homogeneities may be complex for some of treatment planning systems (TPS). The aim of this study was to investigate the calculation errors of targeted image-guided radiation therapy (TiGRT) treatment planning systems for dose distribution of electron beams within lung.
The computed tomography (CT) images of an anthropomorphic Rando phantom were imported on the treatment planning systems (TiGRT, Lina Tech, China). The direct 10 MeV electron plan was performed by the TiGRT treatment planning systems. According to the plan, the phantom was irradiated using 10 MeV electrons of Siemens Primus linac. Dose measurements were done using LiF (TLD-100) inside the lung of this phantom. Finally, the calculation of the treatment planning systems was compared to the dose measurements.
Findings: The minimum (0.86%) and maximum (76.14%) calculation errors of the treatment planning systems were occurred on the chest wall-lung interface and at the end of lung, respectively.
It considerably seems that the treatment planning systems may not be able to perform some of essential corrections for dose distribution of electrons within in homogeneities. In this study, the in- homogeneities included ribs and lung with low electron density. The calculation errors may be resulted from production of secondary beams and multi scattering of electrons (when the electrons incident to ribs), and also X-ray contamination of electron beams at the end of its path. Therefore, the calculation of the treatment planning systems for dose distribution of electron beams within the lung is not comfortable.

The morbidity and mortality rates are increased in patients with drug interactions. Patients in the intensive care units are at risk for developing drug interactions for various reasons including impaired absorption, reduced metabolism, and renal failure, which are common in these patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of drug interactions in patients admitted to intensive care units.
In this retrospective study, the prescriptions of 195 patients admitted to intensive care units of Alzahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran, were investigated. Drug interactions were determined using Lexi-Comp application and the textbook of Drug Interaction Facts. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.
Findings: The frequency and mean drug reactions were 88.2% and 10.49 ± 9.88, respectively. There were significant correlations between number of drug interactions and age, duration of hospitalization, and the number of prescribed medications and physicians (P Significant drug reactions as potential risks of health were prevalent in patients in intensive care units. Detection of drug interactions, replacing of interacting drug with other drugs as much as possible, awareness of highly interacting drugs, and diminishing number of prescribed drugs can reduce the number of potential drug reactions and minimize their adverse events.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) plays a crucial role in hindering the progression and growth of cancer cells. The function of PPARγ in gastric cancer and its relationship with progression of the disease have not been appropriately defined. Therefore, this study examined the association of PPARγ expression in tumor with advancement of gastric cancer.
In the cross-sectional case-control study, the expression of PPARγ in tumoral and the paired adjacent normal tissues of 50 patients with gastric cancer, who undergone tumor resection at Institute of Imam Khomeini University Hospital, Tehran, Iran, were assayed and compared using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method. Correlation between PPARγ expression in tumor tissue and the cancer progression relevant clinicopathological features was evaluated using the Spearman’s rho correlation test.
Findings: The relative expression levels of PPARγ in tumoral tissues were shown to be profoundly decreased compared with their adjacent normal tissues [0.36 (0.15-0.89) vs. 1.01 (0.83-1.16), P Decreased expression of PPARγ in gastric cancer tissue compared to the adjacent normal tissues is inversely associated with the cancer progression and development relevant clinicopathological features; hence, it may play an important role in the pathophysiology of gastric cancer.

Periodontal disease, a common widespread chronic disease, is considered as an important complication in diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cranberry juice enriched with omega-3 and their individual consumption on glycemic control and lipid profile in patients with diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease.
In this randomized clinical trial study, 41 patients with diabetes mellitus and chronic adult periodontal disease were randomly assigned to one group of control (n = 12) and three groups of intervention receiving omega-3 (n = 10), cranberry juice (n = 9), and cranberry juice enriched with omega-3 (n = 10) for 8 weeks. Nonsurgical periodontal therapy was provided for all the patients during the study. Fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin A, and lipid profile were measured at baseline and at the end of the study.
Findings: There was significant reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin A observed in intervention groups of receiving omega-3 (11%, P = 0.017) and cranberry enriched with omega-3 (7%, P = 0.014). The intervention group receiving omega-3 had significantly lower glycosylated hemoglobin A compared with control group. Furthermore, the intervention group receiving cranberry juice enriched with omega-3 had significantly higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) than the other intervention groups. There were no significant differences found in fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol and Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) between and within the groups.
It is suggested that consumption of cranberry juice enriched with omega-3 as a nutritional approach in adjunct with nonsurgical periodontal therapy may help to improve glycemic control and lipid profile in patients with diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease.