Length–weight relationships of five commercial fish species from the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf

Length‐weight relationships are described for five fish species from the coast of the Hormuz Strait in the Persian Gulf, Iran. Specimens were collected between August 2010 and July 2011 using shrimp beam trawls, gill nets and intertidal fishing weirs. Relationships for three of the species had no previous data in the international science global databank on fishes: www.FishBase.org . A new maximum length was recorded for Acanthopagrus latus.     

Gene polymorphisms of macrophage migration inhibitory factor affect susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B virus infection in an Iranian cohort

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a key proinflammatory mediator, plays important roles in chronic diseases. In this study, an attempt was made to clarify the associations between some functional polymorphisms such as MIF‐173 G/C, MIF 95 bp and 189 bp insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphisms and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Polymorphisms were assessed in 221 HBV patients and 200 normal subjects. MIF‐173 G/C and MIF 95 bp and 189 bp I/D polymorphisms were genotyped using PCR–RFLP and PCR, respectively. When allele and genotype frequencies of the variants were compared between patients and controls by the χ² test, it was found that the frequency of MIF‐173 G/C genotypes differed significantly between patients with chronic HBV and healthy controls (P < 0.05). Carriers of the MIF ‐173‐C allele were at significantly higher risk of HBV infection than carriers of the MIF ‐173‐G allele (P = 0.009, OR = 1.549, 95% CI = 1.114 ? 2.155). Moreover, 95 bp I/D polymorphism was not associated with CP and the 185 bp I/D variant was not polymorphic in our group of subjects. The frequency of haplotypes did not differ significantly between groups (χ² = 11.391, P = 0.181). Our results suggest that MIF ‐173 G/C variant increases the risk of HBV in Iranian subjects. Further studies with larger sample sizes and different ethnicities are required to validate our findings.

     

Seroprevalence of Brucellosis,Leptospirosis, and Q Fever among Butchers and Slaughterhouse Workers in South-Eastern Iran

Zoonotic diseases can be occupational hazards to people who work in close contact with animals or their carcasses. In this cross-sectional study, 190 sera were collected from butchers and slaughterhouse workers in different regions of the Sistan va Baluchestan province, in Iran in 2011. A questionnaire was filled for each participant to document personal and behavioural information. The sera were tested for detection of specific IgG antibodies against brucellosis, leptospirosis, and Q fever (phase I and II) using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The seroprevalence of brucellosis was 7.9%, leptospirosis 23.4%, and phase I and II of Q fever were 18.1% and 14.4%, respectively. The seroprevalence of Q fever and leptospirosis, but not brucellosis, varied among regions within the province (p = 0.01). Additionally, a significant relationship was found between seropositivity of Q fever and camel slaughtering (p = 0.04). Reduced seropositivity rate of brucellosis was associated with use of personal protective equipment (PPE) (p = 0.004). This study shows that brucellosis, leptospirosis and Q fever occur among butchers and slaughterhouse workers in this area.     

Picomolar-affinity binding and inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity by melatonin in syrian hamster hypothalamus

1. The effect of melatonin on forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was measured in homogenates of Syrian hamster hypothalamus. In addition, the saturation binding characteristics of the melatonin receptor ligand, [125I]iodomelatonin, was examined using an incubation temperature (30 degrees C) similar to that used in enzyme assays. 2. At concentrations ranging from 10 pM to 1 nM, melatonin caused a significant decrease in stimulated adenylate cyclase activity with a maximum inhibition of approximately 22%. 3. Binding experiments utilizing [125I]iodomelatonin in a range of approximately 5-80 pM indicated a single class of high-affinity sites: Kd = 55 +/- 9 pM, Bmax = 1.1 +/- 0.3 fmol/mg protein. 4. The ability of picomolar concentrations of melatonin to inhibit forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity suggests that this affect is mediated by picomolar-affinity receptor binding sites for this hormone in the hypothalamus.     

PEG-PLA nanoparticles decorated with small-molecule PSMA ligand for targeted delivery of galbanic acid and docetaxel to prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent non-drug delivery system cutaneous malignancies. Undoubtedly, introducing novel treatment options to achieve higher therapeutic index will be worthwhile. In this study, we report for the first time, a novel targeted self-assembled based on PEG-PLA nanoparticles (PEG-PLA NPs) containing galbanic acid (GBA) and docetaxel, which was targeted using ((S)-2-(3-((S)-5-amino-1-carboxypentyl) ureido) pentanedioic acid (ACUPA), a small molecule inhibitor targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), in prostate cancer cell line. The prepared NPs were characterized by different analytical methods. The MTT assay was used to compare the anti-proliferation of drugs-loaded PEG-PLA NPs and ACUPA-PEG-PLA against LNCaP (PSMA⁺) and PC3 (PSMA⁻) cells. PEG-PLA NPs with an average size of 130–140 nm had an enhanced release of GBA and docetaxel at pH 5.5 compared with pH 7.5. Spectrofluorometric analysis suggested that ACUPA-modified PEG-PLA could effectively enhance the drug uptake in PSMA⁺ prostate cancer cells. Cytotoxicity studies showed that the targeted NPs loaded with different concentrations of GBA and fixed concentration of docetaxel (4 nM) have shown higher toxicity (IC₅₀ 30 ± 3 µM) than both free GBA (80 ± 4.5 µM) and nontargeted NPs (IC₅₀ 40 ± 4.6 µM) in LNCaP cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that ACUPA-conjugated PEG-PLA nanosystem containing GBA and docetaxel is a viable delivery carrier for various cancer-targeting PSMA that suffer from short circulation half-life and limited therapeutic efficacy.     

The effects of somatic mutations on EGFR interaction with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies: Implication for acquired resistance

A number of mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been identified that imparts resistance to anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in clinical and preclinical samples. Primary or acquired resistance to targeted therapy will eventually limit the clinical benefit of anticancer mAbs. The aim of the current study was to perform computational analysis to investigate the structural implications of the EGFR somatic mutations on its complexes with the four anti-EGFR mAbs (Cetuximab, Panitumumab, Necitumumab, and Matuzumab). Docking analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to understand the plausible structural and dynamical implications caused by somatic mutations available in the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer database on the EGFR and anti-EGFR mAbs. We found that EGFR^S492R and EGFR^V441I in complex with Cetuximab, EGFR^R377S and EGFR^S447Y in complex with Panitumumab, and EGFR^V441I in complex with Necitumumab have a weakest binding affinity in comparison to EGFR^WT in complex with the relevant mAb. Taken together with the results obtained from docking analysis and MD simulations, the present findings may suggest that, the S492R and V441I mutations confer resistance to Cetuximab, R377S and S447Y mutations mediate resistance to Panitumumab and finally, V441I mutation also confers resistance to Necitumumab.     

Motility of Mugil cephalus L. spermatozoa in coelomic fluid, seminal fluid and saline media

The aim of this study was to assess the motility duration of Mugil cephalus when exposed to seminal fluid, coelomic fluid and saline media. Hypo-osmotic activation medium (distilled water containing bovine serum albumin 10 or 30 mg ml⁻¹) did not trigger sperm motility. Saline solution containing 500 m m NaCl, 3.1 m m KCl, 0.2 m m Tris, 3.4 m m CaCl₂, pH 7.5 initiated the sperm activation and the motility lasted for more than 2 min. Coelomic fluid showed an inhibitory effect for triggering the motility of spermatozoa. Higher salinity increases the motility duration of sperm. The optimum motility duration was shown in salinity 32 psu.