Zahedan Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:17 Issue: 5, May 2015

Leishmaniasis is now accounted as a worldwide disease, which is caused by different species of Leishmania parasite. This parasitic disease is now endemic in many areas including 16 developed and 72 developing countries. An estimated 12 million cases of leishmaniasis exist worldwide and a further 367 million are at the risk of acquiring the disease. A high rate of Leishmania and HIV co-infection has now been reported from 30 countries around the world. Th1 immune responses have the main role in eliciting immunity to Leishmania parasite. Many attempts have been made and different strategies have been approached to develop a potent vaccine against this parasite. The main objective of this study was to clone and detect the gene encoding Leishmania major gp63 in mouse CT26 cell line. In this observational study, the Leishmania major gp63 gene segment was amplified using specific primers and then sub-cloned into pcDNA3 expression vector. The new construct was transfected into mouse CT26 cell line. The results clearly showed that pcDNA3 L. major gp63 was successfully constructed and transfected into CT26 mouse cell line and these cells have a high potency in accepting and expressing Leishmania genes. A full length of L. major gp63 gene was cloned in to mouse CT26 cell line, which can be used in future vaccine studies for Leishmania.

Hepatitis B is considered as a cause for serum hepatitis which may lead to liver cells cancer. Hepatitis C is major cause of chronic hepatitis in developed countries. Information about tumor markers in patients with HBV and HCV in Iran population is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the role of tumor markers CA15-3, CA125, CA19-9 in patients with hepatitis B and C who refer to Guilan Liver and Digestive Disease Research Center. Patients and In this descriptive cross sectional study on serum samples from 80 patients with hepatitis B and C at Guilan Liver and Digestive Disease Research Center has been conducted from October 2012 to October 2013 in terms of listed tumor markers via ELISA method. The findings showed that no increases in serum levels of tumor marker CA19-9 has been seen in patients with hepatitis. In patients with hepatitis B, there was an increasing at levels of tumor marker CA15-3 (P = 0.04). Also in patients with hepatitis C, increasing in the tumor marker CA125 were observed (P = 0.02). The study showed that the tumor marker CA 15 - 3 and tumor marker CA125 was high respectively in hepatitis B and hepatitis C, but this increasing is not for malignancy, but further studying seemed to be necessary because of low size of samples to find the reasons of the increasing.

Biological scaffolds that compose extracellular matrix (ECM) can facilitate the restructuring of a large number of pre-clinical studies in animal tissues and also in clinical applications. As we know interaction between cells and ECM provides suitable three-dimensional structures. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of induced matrix of New Zealand rabbit bladder on the blastema cells in vitro. In this experimental study, first of all, in order to decellularize, it is necessary to put bladder of New Zealand rabbit in 1% weight/vol solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) for 24 hours. Then, to prepare blastema tissue, the pinna of New Zealand rabbit should be punched-hole manually with a special puncher, and after 72 hours a circular blastema is separated with another puncher. After that, the decellularized samples are put in the middle of the blastema ring and transferred to the culture. Then to test, we first use Hematoxylin & Eosin and pick indigo staining. To identify 1 micron samples Toluidine Blue staining is used. After preparing 7 nm sections, some samples are studied by transitional electron microscope on day 15 and 20. Collagen fibers are preserved after decellularizing in matrix of bladder. Most migration of blastema cells occur on days 15 and 20 of culture. Blastema cells are differentiated in different types of cells. Toluidine Blue staining shows desmosome connections between epithelial cells. Glycoproteins that are secreted by the epithelial cells can be indicated in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Bladder scaffold has the ability to induce blastema cells as they differentiate and migrate. This finding is very important since no other growth factor and inducer component has been used.

Cancer metastasis is the most important cause of cancer death and different treatment strategies have targeted on preventing the occurrence of metastasis. Quercetin is a flavonoid and widely used as an antioxidant and recent studies have discovered its anticancer and antiproliferative capabilities. Rac1 is protein known to involve in tumor invasion and metastases. In this study, we investigated the effect of quercetin on expression of Rac1 protein. In this experimental study, HeLa cells were treated with quercetin at 2 concentrations (20 and 40 μM) for 24 hours and then cell lysate was assessed by Western blotting analysis to investigate the impact of quercetin on expression of Rac1 protein. Quercetin significantly decreased Rac1 expression of HeLa cells assessed by western blotting, in dose-dependent manners (P < 0.05). This study showed that quercetin decreased Rac1 expression as a marker of metastasis in cervical cancer cells. Therefore, the quercetin may provide an effective new strategy to reduce of tumor metastasis.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are common and often destructive brain disorders. It has generally been assumed that dozens of genes, along with environmental factors, contribute to the development of these diseases. Schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder affect many families simultaneously. This theme suggests that these disorders have a shared genetic etiology at least to some extent. The DAOA/G72 gene is one of the common loci shared both by schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The functions of this gene could converge in a pathway of glutamate metabolism. The purpose of the study was determination of genetic overlap between affective disorders using association analysis of M18 and M23 SNPs of DAOA/G72 gene with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Patients and In this case-control study, in order to evaluate the potential association of DAOA gene with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a southwest Iran population, two single nucleotide polymorphisms M18 and M23 were genotyped by the PCR-RFLP method and sequencing assay in 127 normal controls and 100 patients with schizophrenia and 100 patients with bipolar disorder. Data were analyzed by Logistic Regression and Mantel-Haenszel chi square tests. Our finding showed that the M18 was significantly associated with bipolar disorder. We observed there is overlap association in M23 with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Also, our results indicated that the coexistence of the A and T alleles from the two polymorphisms, M18 and M23, increase the risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In summary, our data provides further evidence for a positive association between the DAOA locus and schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, these results may provide further support for genetic overlap in DAOA gene between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The heart has a very high energy demand and to sustain sufficient ATP generation, can use a variety of different carbon substrates as energy sources if available. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of a high intensity treadmill running training (8 weeks) with or without aqueous extraction of Crataegus pentaegyna (Sorkh valik) on heart ABCA1, ABCG1, PPARα and LXR genes expression. In this experimental study, 20 Wistar male rats (4-6 weeks old, 158.9 ± 9.59 g weight) were used. Animals were randomly assigned into saline-control (SC, n = 5), saline-training (ST, n = 5), Sorkh valik-control (SVC, n = 5) and Sorkh valik-training (SVT, n = 5) groups. Training groups have performed a high intensity running program 34 m/min on a motor-driven treadmill for 8 weeks. Animals were fed orally with Sorkh valik extraction (500 mg/kg) and saline solution for last 6 weeks. Seventy two hours after the last training session, rats were sacrificed, heart were excised, cleaned and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -70°C until RNA extraction. Statistical analysis was performed using a two way ANOVA, and significance was accepted at P < 0.05. Changes in ABCA1 and ABCG1 gene expression were not significant and a non-significant increase in PPAR-α and LXR genes expression were found in the trained rats and Sorkh valik-control group than in the control group. The findings indicate that training and Sorkh valik extraction solely were able to increase non-significantly all selected genes expression in rat heart. It seems that exercise with Sorkh valik supplementation trend to decrease mentioned genes expression.

Dipicolinic acid (DPA) comprising 5-15% of the spore dry weight is important for spore stability and resistance properties. In some Gram-positive bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens, an electron transfer flavoprotein, EtfA, acts in an incorporative way in DPA formation. The aim of this study was to explore if the fixA and fixB genes which are electron transfer flavoproteins could incorporate in DPA formation in Mycobacterium marinum CCUG 20988. In this descriptive-analytic study, the fixA and fixB genes were PCR-amplified and ligated between the Nde I and Hind III sites of pET19b vector with ampicillin resistance gene in frame with an N-terminal T7-promotor and a C-terminal of 6-histidin tag and transformed into BL21-Codon Plus-RIL Escherichia coli competent cells. For over expression of fixA and fixB genes, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used. Also the direct interaction between dihydrodipicolinate acid (DHDPA) synthase and fixA and fixB proteins for DPA formation was investigated. Detectable DPA formation has been identified upon isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) induction using fixA and fixB genes together. The amount of dipicolinic was about 32.8 and 49.2 µg/mL acids in LB and M9 media, respectively. It can be concluded that both fixA and fixB genes as electron transfer flavoproteins may incorporate in dipicolinic acid formation in M. marinum. We assume that if sporulation turns out to be a common mechanism used by mycobacteria in response to environmental conditions, it might be one of the means by which it attains dormancy within the host.

Genotyping of Crithidia species is critical in order to design appropriate programs for control and prevention of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). The purpose of this project was study and investigation genetic polymorphism of Crithidia in Isfahan city. Patients and In this descriptive-analytical study, 602 samples were isolated from suspicious patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis who referred to Leishmaniasis Research Center or other health centers in the vicinity of Isfahan. After culturing of the samples in NNN (Novy MacNeal Nicole, ©Merck) medium, DNA extraction was performed. Molecular detection and identification was done using PCR-RFLP technique. Results showed that 50 samples (8.31%) were negative. Out of 201 samples (33.39%) were Crithidia Spp which 27 cases (13.44%) were Crithidia fasciculata, 11 cases (5.47%) were Crithidialuciliae and the rest (163 cases or 81.9%) were similar to Trypanosomatidae which submitted at gen bank with accession number of GQ331988. BLAST showed that the last ones have 92% and 89% similarity to C. fasciculata and C. luciliae, respectively. Out of 351 patients (58.31%) identified as Leishmania spp. The results of the present study suggested that there is some recombinant species in Isfahan and surrounding area that could be an important agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The –α 3.7 rightward deletion is the most frequent α-globin mutation but ααα (anti 3.7) triplication is relatively rare. We describe 2 years old female that was heterozygous of IVSI-5 mutation and homozygous α 3.7 triplication. The hematological picture of β-thalassemia heterozygotes with a triplicated α-globin gene arrangement is variable. Suggested that homozygous alpha-gene triplication interacts with a severe β-thalassemia mutation to cause α-chain excess equivalent to that observed in homozygous β-thalassemia intermedia.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is one of the most common genetic kidney disorders. Genetic studies have demonstrated an important allelic variability among patients but very few data are known about the genetic variation in Iranian populations. In this study, in order to verify the ADPKD in a patient with some clinical symptoms and study the variations of the PKD1 gene for the first time in Iranian population, the PKD1 gene was entirely sequenced. Coding exons analysis of PKD1 by exon direct sequencing was performed. Molecular genetic testing found a novel mutation in the patient. It was a missense mutation CAT > GAT at position 3311 in exon 30 of PKD1. CAT > GAT causes the conversion of amino acids histidine to argenine and change the transmembrane domain and proper function of the polycystin 1 protein.