فهرست مطالب
Biolmpacts
Volume:3 Issue: 3, Sep 2013
- تاریخ انتشار: 1392/08/05
- تعداد عناوین: 7
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Pages 105-19Non-viral lipid/polymeric vectors have widely been used as nanocarriers (NCs) for gene delivery. They possess large surface area to volume ratio and are able to interact with biomolecules through functional moieties, resulting in inadvertent biological impacts, in particular at genomic level. Thus, their genomic bio-signature needs to be investigated prior to use in vivo. Using high-throughput microarray and qPCR gene expression profiling techniques, we have reported the genomic impacts of lipid/polymeric NCs. Given the fact that the ultimate objectives of gene therapy may inevitably be impaired by nonspecific intrinsic genomic impacts of these NCs, here, we highlight their nonspecific genomic bio-signature. We envision that better understanding on the genotoxicity of gene delivery NCs, as guiding premise, will help us to develop much safer NCs and also to accelerate their translation into clinical use and to provide pivotal information on safety liabilities early in discovery and developments process prior to its inevitable consequences in vivo.
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Pages 111-117Plant mediated nanoparticles’ synthesis has led to a remarkable progress via unfolding a green synthesis protocol towards nanoparticles’ synthesis. It seems to have drawn quite an unequivocal attention with a view of reformulating the novel strategies as alternatives for popular conventional methods. Hence, the present review summarizes the literature reported thus far and envisions towards plants as emerging sources of nanofactories.
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Pages 119-122IntroductionAcute exposure to pesticide due to suicidal poisoning is the most extensive cause of pesticide exposure, compared with all other causes including agricultural or industrial exposure. Organophosphate (OP) and carbamate group of pesticides can inhibit acetylcholinesterase; on the other hand, paraoxonase1 can detoxify organophosphate poisoning by hydrolyzing organophosphate metabolites.MethodsWe have compared the serum paraoxonase1 status and cholinesterase activity of subjects who attempted to commit suicide by consuming OP pesticide. Cholinesterase and paraoxonase1 activity were measured spectrophotometrically using butyrylthiocholine and phenyl acetate as substrates, respectively.ResultsA positive correlation was found between serum paraoxonase1 activity and cholinesterase activity among pesticide consumed subjects.ConclusionOur results suggest that subjects with higher paraoxonase1 activity may have a better chance of detoxifying the lethal effect of acute organophosphate poisoning.
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Pages 123-128IntroductionTuberculosis is difficult to diagnose and it is the leading cause of death in HIV infected individuals in developing countries. There is an urgent need of low-cost diagnostic markers for resource-limited settings.MethodsThe study involved 1571 patients from an HIV cohort study in India with known serum albumin concentrations at the time of becoming eligible for antiretroviral therapy (ART). We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of serum albumin to predict tuberculosis within six months of ART eligibility and the prognostic value in patients who experienced tuberculosis.ResultsThe diagnostic accuracy of serum albumin, measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, to predict tuberculosis was 0.81 (95% confidence interval 0.78-0.83). Serum albumin concentrations <3.2 g/dL were associated with 85% specificity and <4.1 g/dL were associated with negative predictive values >90%, even in settings with high tuberculosis prevalence. Hypoalbuminemia was associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients with tuberculosis.ConclusionSerum albumin can be a useful low-cost diagnostic marker for tuberculosis in HIV infected patients eligible for ART. However, we failed to find thresholds to rule out or rule in tuberculosis. If these results are confirmed by other studies, serum albumin could be used to improve the diagnostic accuracy of intensive case finding algorithms for HIV-related tuberculosis. In patients who experience tuberculosis, hypoalbuminemia is associated with poor prognosis.
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Pages 129-134IntroductionStreptomyces are a group of prokaryotes that are usually found in all types of ecosystems including water and soil. This group of bacteria is noteworthy as antibiotic producers; so the isolation and characterization of new species seemed to be crucial in introduction of markedly favorable antibiotics. Therefore, in this study we aim to isolate and characterize novel strains of Streptomyces with high antibiotic production capability.MethodsTo achieve this goal, from 140 isolates collected throughout northwest of Iran, 12 selected Streptomyces isolates which exhibited high antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria were subjected to PCR reaction for identification via 16S rDNA gene and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) pattern analysis.ResultsAnalysis of morphological and biochemical characteristics and the 16S rDNA gene sequence indicated that all 12 selected isolates belonged to the genus Streptomyces. Moreover, screening of the isolates with regard to their antimicrobial activity against indicator bacteria as well as their classification using RAPD analysis revealed that G614C1 and K36C5 isolates have considerable antimicrobial activity and high similarity to Streptomyces coelicolor and Sreptomyces albogriseolus, respectively.ConclusionSince many isolates in this study showed inhibitory effects against pathogenic bacteria, soil of northwest of Iran could be used as a rich source to be explored for novel Streptomyces strains with high potency of antibiotic production.
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Pages 135-140IntroductionThere is a powerful relationship between high-risk human papillomaviruses and lung cancer. In fact, inactivation of p53 is the most common genetic abnormality in lung cancer. Indeed, the frequency of HPV types and TP53 mutations in squamous cell carcinoma of lung, among patients from the northwest of Iran has been evaluated in this article. Methodes: Fifty Paraffin embedded blocks of lung SCC were selected for detection of HPV DNA by Nested PCR, and then DNA was sequenced for HPV typing. Equal numbers of positive and negative samples for the HPV DNA were examined for the presence of mutations in exons 5-7 of the TP53 gene by PCR and direct sequencing.ResultsOvertly 9 (18%) of 50 samples presented the HPV DNA: eight were HPV-18 and one was HPV-6. TP53 mutations were found in 5 samples (27.7%). Of these, 4 cases showed mutations in exon 5 and one case contained a mutation in exon 7.The most frequent mutation in exon 5 was the C to G transversion (c.409C>G), and also the T to A tansversion (c.770T>A) in exon 7.ConclusionThis study showed that HPV-18 is more likely to conscequence in the development of lung cancer among some communities. Genetic alterations, alongside with environmental factors, all play a significant role in the pathogenesis of lung cancer.
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Pages 141-144IntroductionMetastasis is a crucial aspect of cancer. Macrophage stimulating protein (MSP) is a single chain protein and can be cleaved by serum proteases. MSP has several roles in metastasis. In this in silico study, MSP as a metastatic agent was considered as a drug target.MethodsCrystallographic structure of MSP was retrieved from protein data bank. To find a chemical inhibitor of MSP, a library of KEGG compounds was screened and 1000 shape complemented ligands were retrieved with FindSite algorithm. Molegro Virtual Docker (MVD) software was used for docking simulation of shape complemented ligands against MSP. Moldock score was used as scoring function for virtual screening and potential inhibitors with more negative binding energy were obtained. PLANS scoring function was used for revaluation of virtual screening data.ResultsThe top found chemical had binding affinity of -183.55 based on MolDock score and equal to -66.733 PLANTs score to MSP structure.ConclusionBased on pharmacophore model of potential inhibitor, this study suggests that the chemical which was found in this research and its derivate can be used for subsequent laboratory studies.