Effect of human urotensin-II infusion on hemodynamics and cardiac function

Recent studies have shown that the vasoactive peptide urotensin-II (U-II) exerts a wide range of action on the cardiovascular system of various species. In the present study, we determined the in vivo effects of U-II on basal hemodynamics and cardiac function in the anesthetized intact rat. Intravenous bolus injection of human U-II resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in mean arterial pressure and left ventricular systolic pressure. Cardiac contractility represented by +/-dP/dt was decreased after injection of U-II. However, there was no significant change in heart rate or diastolic pressure. The present study suggests that upregulation of myocardial U-II may contribute to impaired myocardial function in disease conditions such as congestive heart failure.     

Hydrocarbon bioremediation potential of an unimpacted Kuwaiti oil-field environment

Seasonal variations in the hydrocarbon-degrading potential of soil samples from an unimpacted site in the Kuwaiti Burgan oil field environment were studied under mesophilic conditions. Hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms occurred but varied all-year-round, and their numbers ranged from 1.3 x 10(7) to 9.3 x 10(7) CFU g(-1) dry soil, while hydrocarbon-degrading fungi ranged from 3.0 x 10(4) - 3.8 x 10(5) CFU g(-1) dry soil, depending on the sampling period. These hydrocarbon-degraders also comprised variable but generally high proportions of the total aerobic heterotrophic organisms (2 to > 98%) for bacteria and lower levels (7-9%) for fungi. The crude oil-degrading capacity of the oil-degrading populations (bacteria and fungi) ranged from 80-95% of the hexane-extractable fractions. Differential inhibition studies carried out on soil samples showed that bacteria were the greater contributors to hydrocarbon degradation (79-92%) than fungi. Pure hydrocarbon substrates, hexadecane and phenanthrene, were degraded to near completion after a 28-day incubation by both the bacterial and fungal portions of the soil flora.     

Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) infecting Lycopersicon esculentum

Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) was detected in tomato crop (Lycopersicon esculentum) in Egypt with characteristic mosaic leaf deformation, stunting, and bushy growth symptoms. TBSV infection was confirmed serologically by ELISA and calculated incidence was 25.5%. Basic physicochemical properties of a purified TBSV Egh isolate were identical to known properties of tombusviruses of isometric 30-nm diameter particles, 41-kDa coat protein and the genome of approximately 4800 nt. This is the first TBSV isolate reported in Egypt. Cloning and partial sequencing of the isolate showed that it is more closely related to TBSV-P and TBSV-Ch than TBSV-Nf and TBSV-S strains of the virus. However, it is distinct from the above strains and could be a new strain of the virus which further confirms the genetic diversity of tombusviruses.     

Innate immunity triggers IL-32 expression by fibroblast-like synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction  

Interleukin-32 (IL-32) is a recently described cytokine that is a strong inducer of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8. The expression of this cytokine is highly increased in the rheumatoid synovium and correlated with the severity of joint inflammation. Little is known regarding the innate immune-related regulation of IL-32 by fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs). We therefore investigated the effect of innate immune stimulation by ligands of Toll-like receptor (TLR)2, TLR3, and TLR4, and cytokines such as TNF-α and interferon (IFN)-γ, on IL-32 expression by FLSs.     

Cytotoxicity and gene expression profiles of novel synthesized steroid derivatives as chemotherapeutic anti-breast cancer agents

Anti-cancer agents which combine two biologically active compounds in one such as steroidal heterocyclic derivatives attain both hormone and cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. The aim of the present study is to synthesize and evaluate new potential chemotherapeutic anti-breast cancer agents. Several pyridazino-, pyrimido-, quinazolo-, oxirano- and thiazolo-steroid derivatives were synthesized. The structure of the novel steroid derivatives was confirmed using the analytical and spectral data. The most structurally promising of the novel synthesized steroid derivatives, compounds 8, 12, 17, 20, 22c, 24c, 30a and 30b, were investigated individually as anti-breast cancer agents against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) using sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The tested compounds 17, 20, 22c and 8 showed potent broad spectrum cytotoxic activity in vitro after 48 h incubation. Compound 17 (IC(50)=2.5 μM) exhibited more inhibitory influence on MCF-7 growth than the reference drug doxorubicin (Dox) (IC(50)=4.5 μM) after 48 h incubation. Also, the present study showed that all the tested steroid derivatives exhibited significant depletion with various intensities in gene expression of breast cancer related genes (VEGF, CYP19 and hAP-2γ). Noteworthy, compounds 17, 20 and 22c showed the most pronounced effect in this respect.