Expression of cell adhesion molecules in the adriamycin-induced esophageal atresia rat model

Cell adhesion molecules are well-known membrane glycoproteins widely expressed during embryonic development that play a crucial role in cell division, migration and differentiation. We investigated the cell-matrix relationship using N-CAM and pan-cadherin adhesion molecules in the adriamycin-induced esophageal atresia (EA) rat model in the hope of finding a clue to the mechanisms of this unique anomaly.Time-mated pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were given either saline or adriamycin on days 8 and 9 of gestation. Embryos were harvested on the 18th day of gestation. Esophageal specimens obtained from adriamycin-exposed embryos with (EA+) or without esophageal atresia (EA-) and from saline-exposed embryos were immunostained with N-CAM and pan-cadherin primary antisera.The esophageal specimens from control and EA- groups revealed similar immunostaining properties: weak N-CAM and pan-cadherin immunoreactivity. In contrast, the EA+ group showed intense immunoreactivity.Our study demonstrated an increased synthesis of N-CAM and pan-cadherin in the epithelial cells of the atretic esophagus and trachea. These results suggest that embryonic cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions may play a crucial role in the development of adriamycin-induced EA.     

Tissue and blood levels of zinc, copper, and magnesium in nitric oxide synthase blockade-induced hypertension

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of tissue and blood zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg) in nitric oxide (NO) synthase blockade-induced hypertension. A group of albino rats received a NO synthase inhibitor, N ^G -nitro-l-arginine-methyl ester (l-NAME, 60 mg/kg/d) in their drinking water for 21 d. l-NAME intake caused a progressive rise in this group’s resting mean arterial blood pressure compared to a control group (p<0.01). There were no differences between the groups with regard to tissue and blood levels of Zn or Cu; however, Mg concentrations were significantly lower in the hypertensive rats’ erythrocytes (20.2% reduction from control levels), cerebral cortex (17.0%), heart (9.1%), renal cortex (12%), renal medulla (16.7%), and in the tissues of the caval vein (23.7%), mesenteric artery (29.8%), renal artery (18.4%), and renal vein (22.1%). There were no significant Mg concentration changes in the hypertensive group’s plasma, cerebellum, liver, duodenum, or aortal tissue. These findings suggest that Mg depletion may play a role in the blood pressure rise that occurs in the model of chronic NO synthase inhibition-induced hypertension.     

The effect of hyperbaric oxygen on neuroregeneration following acute thoracic spinal cord injury

AimsAlthough hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment following spinal cord injury (SCI) have been studied in terms of neurological function and tissue histology, there is a limited number studies on spinal cord tissue enzyme levels.Main methodsThe effect of HBO treatment in SCI was investigated by measuring superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and nitric oxide (NO) activity in the injured tissue. SCI was induced by applying an aneurysm clip extradurally at the level of T9-T11 vertebrae. Preoperative HBO (preopHBO) treatment was applied for 5 days and postoperative HBO (postopHBO) for 7 days.Key findingsIn the preopHBO group, a significant decrease was observed in NOS and NO compared to the SCI group. There was a decrease in SOD, NOS and NO in the postopHBO group when compared to the SCI group. In the pre–postHBO group SOD, GPx, NOS and NO decreased significantly. There was a decrease in SOD in postopHBO compared to preopHBO. In the prepostopHBO, SOD decreased significantly compared to that in the preopHBO group. The prepostopHBO presented a significant decrease in GPx compared to postopHBO (p < 0.05 for all parameters). No significant difference was observed for catalase for all groups. Significant improvement was found in BBB scores for both postopHBO and prepostHBO groups when compared to the SCI group (p < 0.05).SignificanceHBO treatment was found to be beneficial following SCI in terms of biochemical parameters and functional recovery in the postoperative period.     

Variation in extragenic repetitive DNA sequences in Pseudomonas syringae and potential use of modified REP primers in the identification of closely related isolates

In this study, Pseudomonas syringe pathovars isolated from olive, tomato and bean were identified by species-specific PCR and their genetic diversity was assessed by repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP)-PCR. Reverse universal primers for REP-PCR were designed by using the bases of A, T, G or C at the positions of 1, 4 and 11 to identify additional polymorphism in the banding patterns. Binding of the primers to different annealing sites in the genome revealed additional fingerprint patterns in eight isolates of P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi and two isolates of P. syringae pv. tomato. The use of four different bases in the primer sequences did not affect the PCR reproducibility and was very efficient in revealing intra-pathovar diversity, particularly in P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi. At the pathovar level, the primer BOX1AR yielded shared fragments, in addition to five bands that discriminated among the pathovars P. syringae pv. phaseolicola, P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi and P. syringae pv. tomato. REP-PCR with a modified primer containing C produced identical bands among the isolates in a pathovar but separated three pathovars more distinctly than four other primers. Although REP- and BOX-PCRs have been successfully used in the molecular identification of Pseudomonas isolates from Turkish flora, a PCR based on inter-enterobacterial repetitive intergenic concensus (ERIC) sequences failed to produce clear banding patterns in this study.     

Avian eggshell pigments are not consistently correlated with colour measurements or egg constituents in two Turdus thrushes

The colourful appearance of avian eggshells is a prominent aspect of maternal reproductive effort in birds. Some differences in eggshell coloration have been reported to co‐vary with various measures of maternal condition and these patterns support the hypothesis that, in some bird species, several aspects of eggshell colour (i.e. primary chroma and brightness) function as a signal of maternal and offspring quality to induce greater paternal investment. We directly quantified eggshell pigment concentrations of blackbird Turdus merula and song thrush T. philomelos eggshells and tested how the two key pigments (protoporphyrin IX and biliverdin) co‐varied with other eggshell traits and egg constituents as measures of maternal reproductive investment, including total yolk carotenoid concentration, total lipid concentration, yolk mass, and shell thickness. Contrary to predictions, we detected few statistical patterns overall. We found that protoporphyrin IX concentration was negatively associated with blue‐green chroma in blackbirds but not in song thrush. The concentration of protoporphyrin IX was significantly greater in blackbirds and also showed different patterns of association with total yolk lipids and yolk carotenoid concentrations between these two species (significant species interaction terms). Our results reveal that it is not appropriate to simply assume in these two avian species that reflectance‐based eggshell colour measures are a suitable proxy for eggshell pigment concentrations or can be used as consistent predictors of maternal reproductive investment. These results highlight the need to assess and validate the strength and direction of the statistical relationships between eggshell colour measures, pigment concentrations, and maternal resource deposition in the egg for other species of birds.     

Selenium and/or iodine deficiency alters hepatic xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme activities in rats

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of iodine (I(2)) and/or selenium (Se) deficiency on thyroid hormones and hepatic xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme systems using a triple animal model. Three-week-old male Wistar rats were fed for seven weeks. Se deficiency was introduced by a diet containing <0.005 mg/kg Se, and I(2) deficiency was produced by sodium perchlorate containing drinking water. The levels of plasma thyroid hormones [total T(4) (TT(4)), total T(3) (TT(3))], thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH); total microsomal cytochrome P450 (CYP450) and cytochrome b5 (CYP b5) levels; activities of microsomal NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (P450R), microsomal aniline hydroxylase (CYP2E1), microsomal 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), microsomal 7-pentoxyresorufin O-depentylase (PROD) and cytosolic glutathione S-transferase (GST) were determined. In I(2) deficiency total CYP450 levels, activities of CYP2E1, EROD and GST decreased, and CYP b5 content increased significantly. In Se-deficient rats, total CYP450 level and CYP2E1 activity increased, and EROD and GST activities and CYP b5 level decreased significantly. In combined I(2) and Se deficiency, except for CYP450 content and CYP2E1 activity, all enzyme activities and CYP b5 content decreased significantly compared to control group. Overall results of this study have suggested that metabolism of xenobiotics as well as endogenous compounds is affected by Se and I(2) status.     

Betaine prevents loss of sialic acid residues and peroxidative injury of erythrocyte membrane in ethanol-given rats

To evaluate chronic ethanol toxicity on erythrocyte membrane and preventive action of betaine as a methyl donor, 24 male Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups: control, ethanol and ethanol plus betaine group. Animals were fed 60 ml diet per day for two months. Rats in the ethanol group were fed ethanol 8 g/kg/day. The ethanol + betaine groups were fed ethanol plus betaine (0.5% w/v). After two months, all animals were killed. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and sialic acid (SA) levels were determined in plasma samples. Osmotic fragility tests were performed on whole blood samples and erythrocyte membrane thiol contents were determined using membrane suspensions. Plasma MDA levels in ethanol-given rats were increased significantly compared to the control group of rats (p < 0.05). MDA in the betaine group was significantly lower than that in the ethanol group (p < 0.05). Erythrocyte membrane thiol contents in ethanol group were decreased compared with those of the control group (p < 0.05). Thiol contents were increased slightly after betaine therapy, but this increase was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Plasma sialic acid levels in the ethanol group were significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.05). Sialic acid was decreased in the betaine group compared to the ethanol group (p < 0.05). In the osmotic fragility test, we observed that chronic ethanol consumption increased erythrocyte hemolysis. Betaine protected against ethanol-induced hemolysis. Our findings show that chronic ethanol administration affects erythrocyte membrane properties and this may be related to oxidative stress. Betaine protects erythrocyte membrane alterations against chronic ethanol toxicity. Therefore betaine as a nutritional agent, may protect ethanol induced clinical problems associated with membrane abnormalities.     

Modeling chlorophenols degradation in sequencing batch reactors with instantaneous feed-effect of 2,4-DCP presence on 4-CP degradation kinetics

Two instantaneously fed sequencing batch reactors (SBRs), one receiving 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) (SBR4) only and one receiving mixture of 4-CP and 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) (SBRM), were operated with increasing chlorophenols concentrations in the feed. Complete degradation of chlorophenols and high-Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies were observed throughout the reactors operation. Only a fraction of biomass (competent biomass) was thought to be responsible for the degradation of chlorophenols due to required unique metabolic pathways. Haldane model developed based on competent biomass concentration fitted reasonably well to the experimental data at different feed chlorophenols concentrations. The presence of 2,4-DCP competitively inhibited 4-CP degradation and its degradation began only after complete removal of 2,4-DCP. Based on the experimental results, the 4-CP degrader’s fraction in SBRM was estimated to be higher than that in SBR4 since 2,4-DCP degraders were also capable of degrading 4-CP due to similarity in the degradation pathways of both compounds.     

Expression status of let-7a and miR-335 among breast tumors in patients with and without germ-line BRCA mutations

The genetic factors of cancer predisposition remain elusive in the majority of familial and/or early-onset cases of breast cancer (BC). This type of BC is promoted by germ-line mutations that inactivate BRCA1 or BRCA2. On the other hand, recent studies have indicated that alterations in the levels of miRNA expression are linked to this disease. Although BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations have been reported to commonly lead to alterations in genes that encode cancer-related proteins, little is known regarding the putative impact of these mutations on noncoding miRNAs. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether miRNA dysregulation is involved in the pathogenesis of BRCA-mutated BC. An expression analysis of 14 human miRNAs previously shown to be related to BC diagnosis, prognosis, and drug resistance was conducted using tissues from 60 familial and/or early-onset patients whose peripheral blood samples had been screened for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations through sequence analysis. Let-7a and miR-335 expression levels were significantly downregulated in the tumors of patients with a BRCA mutation compared with those of patients without a BRCA mutation (P = 0.04 and P = 0.02, respectively). Our results defined the associations between the expression status of let-7a and miR-335 and BRCA mutations. The expression analysis of these miRNAs might be used as biomarkers of the BRCA mutation status of early-onset and/or familial BC.     

Clinical and molecular analysis of common MEFV gene mutations in familial Mediterranean fever in Sivas population

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most frequent hereditary inflammatory disease characterized by self-limited recurrent attacks of fever and serositis. The aim of the current study is to determine the frequency of the mutations in 365 suspected FMF patients and to reveal whether there is a correlation between genotype and phenotype of these patients. All patients were clinically examined according to Tell-Hashomer FMF criteria and were screened genetically in terms of common 12 Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) mutations. Various point mutations were detected in 270 (74%) patients. The most frequent mutation was M694V (26.85% of the alleles) and was followed by E148Q (15.55%), M680I (G/C) (9.62%) and V726A (7.96%). Patients who bear M694V homozygous mutation had most severe disease phenotype and high risk for amyloidosis (P = 0.04). Our results indicate that Sivas population has a wide range of heterozygous mutated carriers of MEFV gene and there is a high frequency of E148Q allele when compared to the other Mediterranean groups.