Medical Laboratory Journal
Volume:11 Issue: 6, Nov - Dec 2017

The present study aimed to investigate effects of eight weeks of aquatic exercise and resistance training on plasma neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) levels and NT-4 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of women with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Thirty women with MS were randomly assigned to a resistance-training group, an aquatic exercise group and a control group. After separating plasma and PBMCs from blood samples, level of plasma NT-4 and NT-4 expression was measured after eight weeks of exercise via ELISA and Real-time PCR, respectively.

The level of plasma NT-4 and NT-4 expression increased significantly following eight weeks of aquatic training and resistance training.

Based on the results of the present study, both resistance training and aquatic exercise can increase the level of plasma NT-4 and NT-4 expression in female MS patients. It can be concluded that such trainings could have protective and positive effects on the nervous system of MS patients.

Nowadays, the prevalence of multidrug-resistant pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa is increasing worldwide. Many studies have been seeking new treatment strategies to treat infections caused by these microorganisms. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) along with L-arginine have significant antimicrobial effects and could be used as alternatives for ineffective drugs.

In this study, the antibacterial activity of AgNPs, L-arginine and various concentrations of AgNPs along with L-arginine (12.5 and 25 mg/ml) were investigated against P. aeruginosa PAO1 using the broth macrodilution method.

Minimum inhibitory concentration of AgNPs, L-arginine and AgNPs combined with 25 and 12.5 mg/ml L-arginine was 15.6 μg/ml, 25 mg/ml, 1.9 μg/ml and 3.9 μg/ml, respectively. Minimum bactericidal concentration of AgNPs, L-arginine and AgNPs combined with 25 and 12.5 mg/ml L-arginine was 31.2 μg/ml, 50 mg/ml, 3.9 μg/ml and 7.8 μg/ml, respectively.

Our study suggests that AgNPs along with L-arginine can be used as an alternative antibacterial agent against P. aeruginosa, and might be useful for treatment of wound infections.

Determining the genetic relationship between S. aureus isolates is important for epidemiological surveillance and control of infections caused by this bacterium. The present study was conducted to determine polymorphisms of coagulase gene (coa) among S. aureus isolates from pastry and cheese samples using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis.

Overall, 65 S. aureus isolated from pastry (n=45) and cheese (n=20) samples were examined for the coa gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR products were digested with AluI enzyme and the products were assessed using gel electrophoresis.

Except for two isolates, all isolates were positive in coa-PCR and produced four different PCR products, with molecular sizes ranging from 570 to 970 bp. Overall; five distinct RFLP patterns were detected (I-V). Although pattern types I and III were present in isolates from both samples, types I and IV were mainly present in isolates from cheese and pastry samples, respectively.

PCR-RFLP analysis of the coa gene indicates that S. aureus isolates from pastry and cheese samples may be originated from different sources. However, as one pattern type was predominant in each group, it can be concluded that majority of the isolates may have the same origin.

Tricyclazole (TCZ) is a member of triazole fungicides, which might cause damage in living systems. This study was carried out to examine effects of TCZ on liver tissues and level of liver enzymes.

Forty mice were randomly divided into four groups including control, sham and two experimental groups. Experimental groups 1 and 2 received 5 mg/Kg and 15 mg/Kg intraperitoneal injection of TCZ for two weeks, respectively. The sham group received sterile water but the control group received no injection. The animals were sacrificed 24 h after the last injection, and microscopic slides were prepared for cell counting and evaluation of tissue damage. Levels of liver enzymes were measured using commercial kits. Data was analyzed in SPSS (version 20) using one-way ANOVA.

The injection of TCZ caused a significant increase in the number of hepatocytes and a significant decrease in the number of Kupffer cells compared to control group (P Our results indicate that the intraperitoneal injection of TCZ in mice can cause irreparable hepatic damage in a dose-dependent manner.

We studied effects of eight weeks of resistance training and IGF-1 injection on serum level of IGF-1, IGFBP-3 and IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio in Wistar rats.

We randomly divided 28 male Wistar rats into four groups of saline-injected control (C), resistance training놩抝 injection (RS), resistance training⁡1 injection (RI) and IGF-1 injection (II). Resistance training protocol consisted of climbing a ladder (three days/week with 5 reps/3 sets) while carrying a weight suspended from the tail for eight weeks. IGF-1 and saline (1.5 µg/kg/day) were injected before and after exercise sessions. Serum IGF-1, IGFBP-3 and IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio and morphology of colorectal tissue were evaluated.

Serum IGF-1 level and IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio decreased in the RS group compared to the other groups (P The resistance training reduces IGF-1 and increases IGFBP-3 levels, which might represent a link between resistance training and lower risk of colorectal cancer.

Leishmaniasis is a public health problem caused by the protozoan Leishmania. Pentavalent antimonials are currently used for treatment of leishmaniasis, but they have serious side effects. Nerium oleander L. has been used in traditional medicine due to its various health-protective properties. This study aimed to investigate anti-leishmanial activity of N. oleander L. leaves extract against Leishmania major promastigotes and amastigotes in vitro.

L. major promastigotes were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium supplied with 10% fetal bovine serum. Different concentrations were prepared from the extract and added to L. major promastigotes seeded in 96-well plates. Viability percentage was evaluated by direct counting and MTT assay after 24, 48 and 72 hours. To investigate the cytotoxic effect of N. oleander L. on L. major amastigotes, the plant extract was added to amastigotes cultured in intraperitoneal macrophages. The mean number of amastigotes was calculated by direct counting after 24 and 48 hours.

All concentrations of the extract significantly reduced the viability of promastigotes when compared with the controls. Half-maximal inhibitory concentration was estimated to be 22.21 µg/ml after 24 hours. Percentage of cytotoxicity in amastigotes exposed to 20 μg/ml of the extract was 53.61% and 53.27% after 24 and 48 hours, respectively. In addition, percentage of cytotoxicity in amastigotes exposed to 80 μg/ml of the N. oleander L. extract was 53.77% and 55.48% after 24 and 48 hours, respectively.

The N. oleander L. extract exerts anti-leishmanial activity on L. major promastigotes in a time- and dose-dependent manner.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important non-fermenting gram-negative hospital-acquired pathogen. Treatment of P. aeruginosa infections has become more challenging due to overexpression of efflux pumps. The aim of the present study was to apply in silico analysis to evaluate the structure of the efflux pump regulatory protein, MexR, and impact of mutation on its stability and function.

Different bioinformatics tools including EXPASY, PROTEER, TECCOFFE, iStable, I-Mutant 2, STRING, ESPript, GOR IV, and PDB were used in the study.

Aliphatic and instability indices were 104.15, and 46.52, respectively, indicating that the protein has a relatively short half-life. Most mutations decreased protein stability. Twenty-four mutations were identified as deleterious, with negative impact on the protein’s function.

Determination of structure, variability, and function of MexR could be useful for modeling of treatment and control of multidrug resistant P. aeruginosa, with overexpressed efflux pump. We found that MexR is a relatively unstable and conserved protein and the majority of mutations decrease its stability.

Development of ecofriendly processes for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles is of great importance in the field of nanotechnology. Microorganisms such as bacteria could be suitable candidates for bioproduction of nanoparticles due to their simplicity and high compatibility with the environment. The aim of this study was to use bacteria isolates from the effluent of wastewater treatment plants to produce silver nanoparticles.

For identifying silver-resistant microorganisms, we used the agar diffusion method using PHG II medium containing 0.5 mM silver to determine minimum inhibitory concentration. Bacterial identification was done with biochemical testing and polymerase chain reaction (colony PCR). Finally, silver nanoparticles were produced in the desired bacteria, and the properties of these nanoparticles were studied.

We found five silver-resistant bacteria among which Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain MS8 showed the highest resistance (MIC= 6 mM). The bacterium was able to synthesize silver nanoparticles in spherical shapes. The results obtained from visual observations using UV-VIS, TEM and XRD showed that the bacterium was able to reduce silver ions into silver nanoparticles with maximum size of 20 nm.
Based on our findings, this bacterium could be useful for biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles.