Minocycline attenuates depressive-like behaviors in mice treated with the low dose of intracerebroventricular streptozotocin; the role of mitochondrial function and neuroinflammation

Molecular Biology Reports - Neuroinflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction are suggested as mechanisms which are implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. Streptozotocin (STZ) is known to...     

Improving Multi-Epitope Long Peptide Vaccine Potency by Using a Strategy that Enhances CD4+ T Help in BALB/c Mice

Peptide-based vaccines are attractive approaches for cancer immunotherapy; but the success of these vaccines in clinical trials have been limited. Our goal is to improve immune responses and anti-tumor effects against a synthetic, multi-epitope, long peptide from rat Her2/neu (rHer2/neu) using the help of CD4+ T cells and appropriate adjuvant in a mouse tumor model. Female BALB/c mice were vaccinated with P₅₊₄₃₅ multi-epitope long peptide that presents epitopes for cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in combination with a universal Pan DR epitope (PADRE) or CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) as a Toll-like receptor agonist adjuvant. The results show that vaccination with the multi-epitope long peptide in combination with the PADRE peptide and CpG-ODN induced expansion of subpopulations of CD4+ and CD8+ cells producing IFN-γ, the average tumor size in the vaccinated mice was less than that of the other groups, and tumor growth was inhibited in 40% of the mice in the vaccinated group. The mean survival time was 82.6 ± 1.25 days in mice vaccinated with P₅₊₄₃₅ + CpG+ PADRE. Our results demonstrate that inclusion of PADRE and CpG with the peptide vaccine enhanced significant tumor specific-immune responses in vaccinated mice.     

Using spray-dried and encapsulated Nannochloropsis oculata biomasses in white spread

Journal of Applied Phycology - In this study, dried or encapsulated Nannochloropsis oculata microalgal biomass was used in spread samples (0.00–0.75 g (100 g)?1...     

A Comparative Approach to Strategies for Cloning,Expression, and Purification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Mycolyl Transferase 85B and Evaluation of Immune Responses in BALB/c Mice

Protein antigens have drawn a lot of attention from investigators working on tuberculosis vaccines. These proteins can be used to improve the immunogenicity of the new generation BCG vaccines or even replace them completely. Recombinant technology is used to insure the production of pure mycobacterial antigens in high quantities. Mycolyl transferase 85B (Ag85B) is a potent, mycobacterial antigen that significantly stimulates immune responses. Since Ag85B is an apolar protein, production of the water-soluble antigen is of interest. In this work, we report a systematic optimization strategy concerning cloning systems and purification methods, aiming at increasing the yield of recombinant Ag85B. Our optimized method resulted in a yield of 8 mg of recombinant Ag85B from 1 liter of induced culture (400 μg/ml) by using pET32a(+), Escherichia coli Rosseta-gami?(DE3) pLysS and a Ni–NTA agarose-based procedure and on-column re-solubilization. The purified recombinant Ag85B showed strong immunostimulating properties by inducing high levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-12, and IgG2a in immunized mice, therefore it can effectively be applied in TB vaccine researches.     

Superior adaptation of aerobic rice under drought stress in Iran and validation test of linked SSR markers to major QTLs by MLM analysis across two years

Molecular Biology Reports - Drought is one of the biggest challenges for rice (Oryza sativa L.) production in rainfed areas. Developing “aerobic rice” cultivars could be a valuable...     

Identification of Cladosporium delicatulum as a mycoparasite of Taphrina pruni

From 2012 until 2014, surveys and frequent visiting the orchards of Hamedan province, west of Iran, have provided strong evidence for the existence of a mycoparasite. The olive green to dark brown velvet colonies, which were observed on infected fruit with Taphrina pruni, Pocket Plum gall, were collected. Morphological characteristics were investigated on Synthetic Nutrient Agar medium. A portion of the translation elongation factor 1-α gene was amplified by using the EF1-526-F and EF1-156-R primers and then sequenced. A mycoparasitic ability was performed by spraying a conidial suspension of Taphrina pruni (1 × 10⁵ spores/mL) and sterile water on leaves. Symptoms appeared in 4–5 days of post-inoculation. The leaves were examined by a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope, and the results of examinations revealed that Cladosporium delicatulum, which had never been reported as a mycoparasite, was in Taphrina pruni.     

Clustered epitopes within a new poly-epitopic HIV-1 DNA vaccine shows immunogenicity in BALB/c mice

Despite a huge number of studies towards vaccine development against human immunodeficiency virus-1, no effective vaccine has been approved yet. Thus, new vaccines should be provided with new formulations. Herein, a new DNA vaccine candidate encoding conserved and immunogenic epitopes from HIV-1 antigens of tat, pol, gag and env is designed and constructed. After bioinformatics analyses to find the best epitopes and their tandem, nucleotide sequence corresponding to the designed multiepitope was synthesized and cloned into pcDNA3.1+ vector. Expression of pcDNA3.1-tat/pol/gag/env plasmid was evaluated in HEK293T cells by RT-PCR and western-blotting. Seven groups of BALB/c mice were intramuscularly immunized three times either with 50, 100, 200 µg of plasmid in 2-week intervals or with similar doses of insert-free plasmid. Two weeks after the last injection, proliferation of T cells and secretion of IL4 and IFN-γ cytokines were evaluated using Brdu and ELISA methods, respectively. Results showed the proper expression of the plasmid in protein and mRNA levels. Moreover, the designed multiepitope plasmid was capable of induction of both proliferation responses as well as IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokine production in a considerable level compared to the control groups. Overall, our primary data warranted further detailed studies on the potency of this vaccine.