Essential oil composition and antimicrobial activity of Diplotaenia damavandica

Antimicrobial activity of the essential oils obtained from leaves, root and the seeds of Diplotaenia damavandica Mozaffarian, Hedge & Lamond, an endemic plant to Iran, was determined against 10 microorganisms using the disk susceptibility test as well as measuring minimum inhibitory concentrations. The results showed that all three oils had antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli. The essential oil from the leaves had the highest antimicrobial activity against all test microorganisms including the fungal strains. The essential oils compositions were analyzed and determined by GC and GC-MS. The oils analyses resulted in the identification of 16, 17 and 20 compounds representing 94.2%, 96.4% and 95.1% of the total oils, respectively. The main components of the leaf essential oils were (Z)-beta-ocimene (21.6%), alpha-phellandrene (21.3%) and terpinolene (20%). Dill apiol (30.1%) and gamma-terpinene (16.2%) were the main components of the root and seed essential oils, respectively.     

Optimizing methods for human testicular tissue cryopreservation and spermatogonial stem cell isolation

Cryopreservation of testicular tissue before cancer therapy for fertility preservation in prepubertal boys with cancer is of great interest in reproductive medicine. Isolation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) from cryopreserved tissues would be a suitable cell source to re-establish spermatogenesis after cancer therapy. We herein establish optimized protocols for cryopreservation of human testicular tissue and isolation of SSCs from cryopreserved tissue. We developed a freezing protocol that provided high testicular cell viability and supported structural integrity and tubular epithelium coherence similar to fresh tissue. Then, we established a protocol that allowed efficient isolation of functional SSCs from cryopreserved tissues. Isolated cells were found on the testicular basement membrane after xenotransplantation. Our results demonstrated the preservation of testicular tissue structure and high cell viability with efficient isolation of SSCs after testicular cryopreservation, which is promising for future therapeutic applications in fertility preservation.     

Dynamics of Competition between Subnetworks of Spiking Neuronal Networks in the Balanced State

We explore and analyze the nonlinear switching dynamics of neuronal networks with non-homogeneous connectivity. The general significance of such transient dynamics for brain function is unclear; however, for instance decision-making processes in perception and cognition have been implicated with it. The network under study here is comprised of three subnetworks of either excitatory or inhibitory leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, of which two are of the same type. The synaptic weights are arranged to establish and maintain a balance between excitation and inhibition in case of a constant external drive. Each subnetwork is randomly connected, where all neurons belonging to a particular population have the same in-degree and the same out-degree. Neurons in different subnetworks are also randomly connected with the same probability; however, depending on the type of the pre-synaptic neuron, the synaptic weight is scaled by a factor. We observed that for a certain range of the “within” versus “between” connection weights (bifurcation parameter), the network activation spontaneously switches between the two sub-networks of the same type. This kind of dynamics has been termed “winnerless competition”, which also has a random component here. In our model, this phenomenon is well described by a set of coupled stochastic differential equations of Lotka-Volterra type that imply a competition between the subnetworks. The associated mean-field model shows the same dynamical behavior as observed in simulations of large networks comprising thousands of spiking neurons. The deterministic phase portrait is characterized by two attractors and a saddle node, its stochastic component is essentially given by the multiplicative inherent noise of the system. We find that the dwell time distribution of the active states is exponential, indicating that the noise drives the system randomly from one attractor to the other. A similar model for a larger number of populations might suggest a general approach to study the dynamics of interacting populations of spiking networks.     

Three-dimensional differentiation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells into insulin-producing cells

The aim of this study is to evaluate the collagen/hyaluronic acid (Col/HA) scaffold effect on the differentiation of insulin-producing cells (IPCs) from adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs). In this experimental study, ASCs were cultured and seeded in a Col/HA scaffold (3D culture) and then treated with induction media. After induction, the presence of IPCs was evaluated using gene expression (PDX-1, GLUT-2 and insulin) analysis and immunocytochemistry, while functional maturity was determined by measuring insulin release in response to low- and high-glucose media. The induced IPCs were morphologically similar to pancreatic islet-like cells. Expression of the islet-associated genes PDX-1, GLUT-2 and insulin genes in 3D-cultured cells was markedly higher than the 2D-cultured cells exposure differentiation media. Compared to the 2D culture of ASCs-derived IPCs, the insulin release from 3D ASCs-derived IPCs showed a nearly 4-fold (p?<?0.05) increase when exposed to a high glucose (25 mmol) medium. The percentage of insulin-positive cells in the 3D experimental group showed an approximately 4-fold increase compared to the 2D experimental culture cells. The results of this study demonstrated that the COL/HA scaffold can enhance the differentiation of IPCs from rat ASCs.     

Targeted Disruption of β-Arrestin 2-Mediated Signaling Pathways by Aptamer Chimeras Leads to Inhibition of Leukemic Cell Growth

β-arrestins, ubiquitous cellular scaffolding proteins that act as signaling mediators of numerous critical cellular pathways, are attractive therapeutic targets because they promote tumorigenesis in several tumor models. However, targeting scaffolding proteins with traditional small molecule drugs has been challenging. Inhibition of β-arrestin 2 with a novel aptamer impedes multiple oncogenic signaling pathways simultaneously. Additionally, delivery of the β-arrestin 2-targeting aptamer into leukemia cells through coupling to a recently described cancer cell-specific delivery aptamer, inhibits multiple β-arrestin-mediated signaling pathways known to be required for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) disease progression, and impairs tumorigenic growth in CML patient samples. The ability to target scaffolding proteins such as β-arrestin 2 with RNA aptamers may prove beneficial as a therapeutic strategy.

Highlights

• An RNA aptamer inhibits β-arrestin 2 activity.
• Inhibiting β-arrestin 2 impedes multiple tumorigenic pathways simultaneously.
• The therapeutic aptamer is delivered to cancer cells using a cell-specific DNA aptamer.
• Targeting β-arrestin 2 inhibits tumor progression in CML models and patient samples.

     

Exercise-induced changes of MCT1 in cardiac and skeletal muscles of diabetic rats induced by high-fat diet and STZ

We hypothesized that a part of therapeutic effects of endurance training on insulin resistance is mediated by increase in cardiac and skeletal muscle mitochondrial lactate transporter, monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1). Therefore, we examined the effect of 7 weeks endurance training on the mRNA and protein expression of MCT1 and MCT4 and their chaperon, CD147, on both sarcolemmal and mitochondrial membrane, separately, in healthy and type 2 diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by injection of low dose of streptozotocin and feeding with high-fat diet. Insulin resistance was confirmed by homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance index and accuracy of two membranes separation was confirmed by negative control markers (glucose transporter 1 and cytochrome c oxidase. Real-time PCR and western blotting were used for mRNA and protein expression, respectively. Diabetes dramatically reduced MCT1 and MCT4 mRNA and their expression on sarcolemmal membrane whereas the reduction in MCT1 expression was less in mitochondrial membrane. Training increased the MCT1 mRNA and protein expression in both membranes and decreased insulin resistance as an adaptive consequence. In both tissues increase in CD147 mRNA was only parallel to MCT1 expression. The response of MCT1 on sarcolemmal and mitochondrial membranes was different between cardiac and skeletal muscles which indicate that intracellular lactate kinetic is tissue specific that allows a tissue to coordinate whole organism metabolism.     

Sericin modulates learning and memory behaviors by tuning of antioxidant,inflammatory, and apoptotic markers in the hippocampus of aged mice

Molecular Biology Reports - Sericin is a protein derived from silkworm cocoons and identified as an anti-aging agent. This study aimed to examine the effects of sericin administration on episodic...     

Identification of a novel missense mutation of PEX7 gene in an Iranian patient with rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata type 1

Deficiency in the PTS2 protein import pathway due to mutations in PEX7 gene results in the rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (RCDP) type 1. In the present study, we have reported a novel missense mutation, W75R, in the PEX7 gene in an Iranian patient with the RCDP type 1. The inability of PEX7 protein to transport PTS2 containing proteins including peroxisomal 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase and PTS2-EGFP protein to the surface of the peroxisomes showed that the W75R mutation in PEX7 gene severely impaired the function of PEX7 protein and was responsible for RCDP type 1 in this patient.     

The effect of 8 weeks of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on cardiac angiogenesis factor in diabetic male rats

Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry - The balance of pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors has a significant role in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. The purpose of this study...