Cardiovascular complications and related risk factors underlying opium consumption

Opium is considered as the second most abused addictive compound in worldwide. It seems that one of the causes for common consumption of opium in many countries is a traditional belief, even among medical personnel, through which opium might have advantageous influences on cardiovascular events and be beneficial in controlling hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. According to several investigations, it is thought that opium not only has no beneficial effects on cardiovascular events, but it might have deleterious influences on these settings. As a result, people need to be trained with regard to the adverse effects of opium on cardiovascular events. In this review, we try to go through the understanding of the effects of opium cardiovascular disorders and related complications such as blood pressure, blood sugar, lipid circumstances, and finally atherosclerosis.     

A unique EF-hand motif in mnemiopsin photoprotein from Mnemiopsis leidyi: implication for its low calcium sensitivity

Up to now, all reported Ca²⁺-regulated photoproteins, except for mnemiopsin, have been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. In this study, the cDNA for an isotype of mnemiopsin, from the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, has been cloned, sequenced, and functionally expressed. The full length cDNA encoding mnemiopsin of M. leidyi was 624 bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 207 amino acid residues with calculated molecular mass of ∼24 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence showed 90% and 84% identity to berovine (from ctenophore Beroe abyssicola) and bolinopsin 2 (from the ctenophore Bolinopsis infundibulum) respectively. In contrast to all known EF-hand in photoproteins, a unique EF-hand motif was found in mnemiopsin, in which a conserved glycine is substituted with glutamic acid. According to the results, the optimum pH was 9.0, time course of regeneration was 15 h and its Ca²⁺ sensitivity was lower than aequorin. Results of pK_a calculation for ionizable residues, motif scan and hydrophobic interactions of cavity aromatic residues of mnemiopsin in comparison with aequorin showed different patterns in these two photoproteins. In addition, experimental results are confirmed with the theoretical studies.     

miRNA-375 promotes beta pancreatic differentiation in human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells

Islet transplantation is considered as an ultimate option for the treatment of type I diabetes. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have raised the possibility that patient-specific insulin-secreting cells might be derived from somatic cells through cell fate reprogramming. However, current protocols mostly rely on the use of several cytokines and inhibitors for directing differentiation towards pancreatic fate. Given the high manufacturing cost of these recombinant proteins, this approach is prohibitive for clinical applications. Knowing that microRNAs (miRNAs) are key players in various stages of pancreatic development, we present a novel and cost-effective strategy in which over-expression of miR-375 promotes pancreatic differentiation in hiPSCs in the absence of any other stimulator. We used a polycistronic viral vector expressing Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc, and Oct4 to drive hiPSCs from human foreskin fibroblasts. The established hiPSCs are similar to human embryonic stem cells in many aspects including morphology, passaging, surface and pluripotency markers, and gene expression. For differentiation induction, miR-375 was lentivirally overexpressed in these hiPSCs. Morphological assessment, immunocytochemistry, and expression analysis of islet marker genes confirmed that islet like cells were obtained in miR-375 transduced cells compared to controls. Our differentiated clusters secreted insulin in a glucose-dependant manner, showing in vitro functionality. We demonstrated for the first time that miRNAs might be ideal substitutes to induce pancreatic differentiation in hiPSCs. This work provides a new approach to study the role of miRNAs in pancreatic specification and increase the feasibility of using patient-specific iPSCs for beta cell replacement therapy for type I diabetes.     

Reactive oxygen species in colorectal cancer: The therapeutic impact and its potential roles in tumor progression via perturbation of cellular and physiological dysregulated pathways

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced by mitochondria during metabolism. In physiological states, the production of ROS and their elimination by antioxidants are kept in balance. However, in pathological states, elevated levels of ROS interact with susceptible cellular target compounds including lipids, proteins, and DNA and deregulate oncogenic signaling pathways that are involved in colorectal cancer (CRC) carcinogenesis. Although antioxidant compounds have been successfully used in the treatment of CRC as prevention approaches, they have also been shown in some cases to promote disease progression. In this review, we focus on the role of ROS in gastrointestinal homeostasis, CRC progression, diagnosis, and therapy with particular emphasis on ROS-stimulated pathways.     

Apoptotic cell death increases with senescence in normal human dermal fibroblast cultures

Normal human dermal fibroblasts have a limited life-span in vitro and stop proliferation after a fixed number of cell divisions. This process by which cells stop proliferation is called senescence. Senescence is also characterized by a decrease in the total cell number. In this study, we characterized an increase in cell death in normal human dermal fibroblasts in vitro as a function of increasing cell passage. With increasing passage, human fibroblasts showed an increase in the number of dead cells and increased DNA fragmentation as determined by flow cytometry. Serial passage of human fibroblasts also resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction, represented by a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. The apoptotic markers caspase-3 and cytochrome c were both found to increase in senescent cells. These results suggest the activation of an apoptotic pathway within a population of human fibroblasts as a function of cell passage.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Histopathological and clinical evaluation of Kombucha tea and Nitrofurazone on cutaneous full-thickness wounds healing in rats: an experimental study

Background

Kombucha, a fermented tea (KT) is claimed to possess many beneficial properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical and histopathological alterations of Kombucha tea and Nitrofurazone on cutaneous full-thickness wounds healing in rat.

Methods

In present study 24 Wister -albino rats weighing 150–200 g were selected and divided to two treatment groups as Nitrofurazone ointment (0.2%) and Kombucha tea. Subsequently, the anesthesia was exerted by Ketamin hydrochloride 10% (40 mg/kg) and Xylasine (2 mg/kg) through intra muscular (IM) route. Furthermore, upon preparation of dorsal region of the animal for surgery, a piece of full-thickness skin removed (2?×?2 cm). In order to comparing wounds healing clinically and histologically, once every four days from the commencement, the wounds were photographed and the healed surface was measured by Scion image software.

Result

The clinical findings indicated that the Kombucha fungus resulted in precipitating healing than Nitrofurazone; however, it was not significant (p?>?0.05). In order to pathological comparing of wound healing process, several wound biopsies were taken on 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20^th days. Additionally, the histopathological results demonstrated that there was inflammation in Nitrofurazone group through twelveth day, somehow the epithelium was formed and abundant vessels were visible. Although on 16^th day and the previous days the healing condition of Kombucha fungus was considered as minimal rate, revealing it is similar to Nitrofurazone group on 20^th day.

Conclusions

To wrap up. These observations suggest that the Kombucha fungus healing quality was rapid from 12^th day to the end of the research, whereas no significant difference was observed.

Virtual slide

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1107407136102196