Research in Molecular Medicine
Volume:8 Issue: 3, Aug 020

Following the skyrocketing spread of SARS-CoV-2 into almost all the countries over five continents, diverse clinical strategies are urgently needed to defeat its pandemic, considering that an magic-bullet antiviral vaccine or treatment is presently unavailable. WHO later proclaimed the viral outbreak as a pandemic. Despite this fast speed of the pandemic, any recommended treatment must first pass initial clinical and para-clinical testing. Antiviral therapy, immunotherapy, and application of prophylactic vaccines are recommended in the management of this pandemic, but no definitive intervention has been validated to treat the COVID-19 patients. Whether SARS-CoV-2 infection can directly affect the cardiovascular system is unknown. Furthermore, other pathogenic mechanisms underlying this viral infection are largely unclear. Thus, it is risky to administer any intervention in emergency treatment of the vulnerable patients with comorbid CVDs. Conclusively, while we lack evidence-based facts to confirm a significant association between the poor prognosis of COVID-19 patients and high expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, administering any new treatment in CVD patients should be done prudently.

Lactoferrin is a glycoprotein with antimicrobial, antioxidant, immune-modulating, antiviral, and most importantly anticancer properties. In the present study, the effect of lactoferrin on breast cancer cell growth and the expression of Bax and Bak genes are evaluated.

MCF7 cells were cultured in a 96-well plate with 1×105 cells in each well. Different lactoferrin concentrations of 0, 50, 300, 600, and 800 μg/mL were added to each well in three replicates and the well was incubated for 24 hours. After treatment, cell survival was measured using the MTT assay. To determine the level of expression of Bax and Bak genes, the cells were treated with lactoferrin concentrations of 0, 50, and 800 μg/mL in 2 replicates for 24 hours. Then RNA extraction was performed and cDNA was synthesized immediately and the expression of the genes in the presence of beta-actin reference gene and cyber-green fluorescence color was investigated with real-time reactions.

The cells viability in lactoferrin concentrations of 0, 50, 300, 500 and 800 μg/μL were 100%, 94%, 83%, 62%, and 32%, respectively. The expression level of the Bax gene at a concentration of 50 μg increased by 2.71 times and in 800 μg concentration decreased by 0.88 times. Also, the expression level of the Bak gene at concentrations of 50 and 800 μg increased by 1.23 and 1.0 fold, respectively. Statistical analysis of the data indicated that the expression levels of two genes at a concentration of 50 μg/mL of lactoferrin significantly increased (P<0.01), compared to the control. The significance level in this study was set at < 0.05.

In this study, lactoferrin showed a growth inhibitory effect on breast cancer cells and increased the expression of Bax and Bak genes involved in apoptosis at a concentration of 50 µg/mL.

Proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) can be a treatment for infertile men. Here, we design an efficient method based on culturing in the presence of Sertoli cells to improve the expression level of some specific spermatogonia stem cell genes during two weeks post culture.

Cells were derived from neonatal (2-6 days old) mice testes and were cultured in DMEM medium with FBS. The colonization of cultured SSCs in days 4, 7, and 14 of culture was counted via phase-contrast microscope and Image J software. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) test was performed to evaluate the viability of cultured SSCs in days 3, 7, and 14 of culture. The expression level and the alteration pattern of specific spermatogonial markers, i.e., Stra8, DAZL, and Piwill2 was examined via real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) during two weeks post culture.

The number and the diameters of colonies showed a significant increase in cultured cells. MTT results proved the higher viability of testicular cells during the culture period. The results of ALP staining detected a positive reaction in spermatogonia colonies. Real-time PCR data showed that culturing SSCs in the presence of interstitial cells of the testis, amplified the level and alteration pattern of specific spermatogonia stem cells genes beneficial in the enrichment of SSCs propagation.

Providing a similar culture environment to testicular niche increases viability, forms SSCs colonies, and regulates the level and alteration pattern of spermatogonia stem cell genes.

Fucoidans are a group of sulfated fucose-rich polysaccharides that are isolated from brown marine algae and echinoderms, and recently have been found in seagrasses. Fucoidans, as well as their derivatives, have several beneficial biological effects and therapeutic potentials. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the anticoagulative effects of two species of brown algae, namely Sargassum angustifolium (S. angustifolium) and Cystoseira indica (C. indica).

Fucoidan C and fucoidan S were extracted by an ethanol/water solvent system from S. angustifolium and C. indicia, respectively.  The anticoagulative effects of fucoidan C and fucoidan S were tested on 10 normal serum samples by evaluating the rate of thrombin time (PT) and prothrombin time (PTT).

Both fucoidan C and fucoidan S significantly increased PTT. However, no significant difference was observed in PT. Fucoidan C had a greater effect on PTT prolongation compared with fucoidan S.

Both fucoidans extracted from S. angustifolium and C. indicia can be used as anticoagulants in biotechnology and human disorders.

HER2 status testing in breast cancer is crucial for the detection of eligible patients for trastuzumab therapy. In this study, the relative copy number of HER2 gene, in patients with breast cancer, was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and the results were compared with those of immunohistochemistry (IHC) to obtain the concordance rate between these two methods.

HER2 status of 31 invasive breast cancer samples was compared using IHC and FISH techniques. The ratio of HER2/CEP17 was used to determine the amplification of the HER2 gene. If the ratio of HER2/CEP17 is greater than 2.2, HER2 gene amplification has occurred in the cancer cells. Then, a comparative analysis is performed to estimate the concordance rate between FISH and IHC results.

The gene amplification of HER2 was observed in 26% of cases by FISH. The IHC and FISH results showed 100%, 36.36%, and 85.71% concordance rates for cases with IHC scores of 3+, 2+, and 0/+1, respectively. The overall concordance between the two methods was 80%. Based on statistical analysis, HER2 status showed a considerable correlation with tumor grade (P= 0.02). No correlation was observed between HER2 gene status and the size and type of tumor, characteristics of lymph node, and patients’ age.

The data suggested that IHC results are reliable for HER2 status testing in cases with IHC scores 0/+1 and 3+. However, in patients with an IHC score of +2, it is necessary to perform a complimentary test to evaluate HER2 status to avoid haphazard treatment with trastuzumab in negative cases and identifying positive cases for suitable treatment.

Currently, glycans, which are known as functional molecules in the biological system, are being under study as potential cancer markers. This study aimed to determine the level of serum L-fucose and sialic acid as the biomarkers in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

The patients with CRC (n=40, 20 men and 20 women) participated in the present study. The spectrophotometric method was used to measure the levels of L-fucose and sialic acid in the serum of the patients. SPSS (version 21) was used to analyze the obtained data. The results were expressed as mean ± SD.

The mean ± SD L-fucose level in patients with CRC was 27.46 ± 4.8 ng/mL, which was more than this level in the healthy control group (18.64±3.1 ng/mL). Also, the mean ± SD serum concentration of sialic acid in patients with CRC was 2.1 ± 0.41 ng/mL, which was more than the mean ± SD sialic acid level of 1.23±0.21 ng/mL in the healthy controls.

Serum concentration of L-fucose and sialic acid increased significantly (P < 0.05) in patients with CRC compared with the healthy controls. We believe that determining serum L-fucose and sialic acid levels could be useful for the detection of CRC patients in the early stage.