Evaluation of groundwater quality using water quality index and its suitability for assessing water for drinking and irrigation purposes: Case study of Sistan and Baluchistan province (Iran)

The present study evaluates the groundwater quality for drinking and agricultural purposes and determines physicochemical characteristics of groundwater in the Sistan and Baluchistan province in Iran. In order to investigate the water quality, sampling was done in 654 open dug wells, the chemical parameters were analyzed, and water quality index was determined. In this regard, Langelier saturation index (LSI), Ryznar Stability index (RSI), Puckorius scaling index (PSI), Larson–Skold index (LS), and Aggressiveness index (AI) were considered to determine water suitability for industrial purposes. Finally, the analytical results were taken to generate the numerical spatial distribution of the parameters using the geographic information system (GIS) environment. According to the results, water sources were less corrosive based on AI and PSI, low and light corrosion according to RSI, and corrosion according to the Larsson–Sckold index. The results of the drinking water quality index showed that 1.2% shared extraction wells were classified as excellent, 52.1% as good, 39% as poor, 6% as very poor, and 1.7% as unsuitable for drinking purpose classes. In addition, irrigating water quality index illustrated that 19.9% and 80.1% wells were placed in the “excellent” and “Good” classes, respectively. Also, the quality of water in this study was categorized as brackish.     

Comparison of characteristics of cultured limbal cells on denuded amniotic membrane and fresh conjunctival, limbal and corneal tissues

This study aimed to evaluate proposed molecular markers related to eye limbal stem cells (SC) and to identify novel associated genes. The expression of a set of genes potentially involved in stemness was assessed in freshly prepared limbal, corneal and conjunctival tissues. PAX6, AC133, K12 and OCT4 were detected in all the tissues and p63(+)/K3(-)/K12(+)/Nodal(+)/Cx43(+) were expressed in conjunctival, p63(-)/K3(+)/K12(+)/Nodal(-)/Cx43(+) in corneal, and p63(+)/K3(-)/K12(-)/Nodal(-)/Cx43(-) in limbal tissues. Limbal explants were cultured on human amniotic membrane for 21 days. The cells expressed p63 but not K3, K12, Nodal and Cx43, however, the expression of K3, K12 and Cx43 was detected, and p63 and the high BrdU-labeling index decreased with more culture. Ultrastructure analysis of the cultured cells showed typically immature organization of intracellular organelles and architecture. Our data suggest that limbal, corneal and conjunctival tissues are heterogeneous with some progenitors. Also, the expression of traditional SC markers may not be a reliable indicator of limbal SC and there is an increasing need to determine factor(s) involved in their stemness.     

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration risk based on CFH, LOC387715/HTRA1, and smoking

Background

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the major cause of blindness in the elderly. Those with the neovascular end-stage of disease have irreversible loss of central vision. AMD is a complex disorder in which genetic and environmental factors play a role. Polymorphisms in the complement factor H (CFH) gene, LOC387715, and the HTRA1 promoter are strongly associated with AMD. Smoking also contributes to the etiology. We aimed to provide a model of disease risk based on these factors.

Methods and Findings

We genotyped polymorphisms in CFH and LOC387715/HTRA1 in a case–control study of 401 patients with neovascular AMD and 266 controls without signs of disease, and used the data to produce genetic risk scores for the European-descent population based on haplotypes at these loci and smoking history. CFH and LOC387715/HTRA1 haplotypes and smoking status exerted large effects on AMD susceptibility, enabling risk scores to be generated with appropriate weighting of these three factors. Five common haplotypes of CFH conferred a range of odds ratios (ORs) per copy from 1 to 4.17. Most of the effect of LOC387715/HTRA1 was mediated through one detrimental haplotype (carriage of one copy: OR 2.83; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.91–4.20), with homozygotes being at particularly high risk (OR 32.83; 95% CI 12.53–86.07). Patients with neovascular macular degeneration had considerably higher scores than those without disease, and risk of blinding AMD rose to 15.5% in the tenth of the population with highest predicted risk.

Conclusions

An individual''s risk of developing AMD in old age can be predicted by combining haplotype data with smoking status. Until there is effective treatment for AMD, encouragement to avoid smoking in those at high genetic risk may be the best option. We estimate that total absence of smoking would have reduced the prevalence of severe AMD by 33%. Unless smoking habits change or preventative treatment becomes available, the prevalence of AMD will rise as a consequence of the increasing longevity of the population.     

MicroRNA in leukemia: Tumor suppressors and oncogenes with prognostic potential

Leukemia is known as a progressive malignant disease, which destroys the blood-forming organs and results in adverse effects on the proliferation and development of leukocytes and their precursors in the blood and bone marrow. There are four main classes of leukemia including acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, myelogenous leukemia, and lymphocytic leukemia. Given that a variety of internal and external factors could be associated with the initiation and progression of different types of leukemia. One of the important factors is epigenetic regulators such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (ncRNA). MiRNAs are short ncRNAs which act as tumor suppressor (i.e., miR-15, miR-16, let-7, and miR-127) or oncogene (i.e., miR-155, miR-17-92, miR-21, miR-125b, miR-93, miR-143-p3, miR-196b, and miR-223) in leukemia. It has been shown that deregulation of these molecules are associated with the initiation and progression of leukemia. Hence, miRNAs could be used as potential therapeutic candidates in the treatment of patients with leukemia. Moreover, increasing evidence revealed that miRNAs could be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in monitoring patients in early stages of disease or after received chemotherapy regimen. It seems that identification and development of new miRNAs could pave to the way to the development new therapeutic platforms for patients with leukemia. Here, we summarized various miRNAs as tumor suppressor and oncogene which could be introduced as therapeutic targets in treatment of leukemia.     

Wnt lipidation: Roles in trafficking,modulation, and function

The Wnt signaling pathway consists of various downstream target proteins that have substantial roles in mammalian cell proliferation, differentiation, and development. Its aberrant activity can lead to uncontrolled proliferation and tumorigenesis. The posttranslational connection of fatty acyl chains to Wnt proteins provides the unique capacity for regulation of Wnt activity. In spite of the past belief that Wnt molecules are subject to dual acylation, it has been shown that these proteins have only one acylation site and undergo monounsaturated fatty acylation. The Wnt monounsaturated fatty acyl chain is more than just a hydrophobic coating and appears to be critical for Wnt signaling, transport, and receptor activation. Here, we provide an overview of recent findings in Wnt monounsaturated fatty acylation and the mechanism by which this lipid moiety regulates Wnt activity from the site of production to its receptor interactions.     

Potential use of melatonin in skin cancer treatment: A review of current biological evidence

Skin cancer, particularly melanoma, is a leading cause of death worldwide. The therapeutic methods for this malignancy are not effective, and due to the side effects of these treatments, applying an appropriate alternative or complementary treatment is important. According to available data, melatonin as the main product of the pineal gland has oncostatic and antitumoral properties. Also, melatonin acts as an anti-inflammatory and reactive oxygen species inducer agent which suppresses the growth of tumors. It also has apoptosis induction characteristics through regulating signaling pathways, including heat shock protein 70, nuclear factor-erythroid 2 p45-related factor 2 and others. Thus, adding melatonin to chemo- and radiotherapy may have synergistic therapeutic effects and increase the survival time in patients with skin cancer. Few clinical studies have evaluated the efficacy of melatonin in skin cancer. Based on the related mechanisms, this review discusses about how melatonin may improve outcomes in skin cancer patients.     

Positive correlation between vitamin D receptor gene TaqI variant and gastric cancer predisposition in a sample of Iranian population

Gastric cancer is the second cause of cancer-related mortality and the fourth most common cancers worldwide. Owing to the immune modulatory effect of vitamin D in the body, the role of vitamin D receptor gene in vitamin D regulation receives a great deal of research interest. The aim of the current study was to highlight the association between two variants of TaqI and FokI in the vitamin D receptor gene and gastric cancer predisposition in a sample of South Khorasan population. The present investigation consisted of 69 patients affected with gastric cancer and 100 healthy individuals. The genomic DNA was extracted by salting out the protocol from peripheral venous blood. Genotyping of TaqI and FokI variants were performed by PCR-RFLP method. Our findings manifested that TC genotype of TaqI polymorphism was statistically significant between the case and the control groups (p = 0.002). Moreover, the frequency of TC + CC genotypes was statistically significant between the two groups (p = 0.009). Furthermore, we could not find any meaningful association between FokI variant and the participant groups. The present results declared that, in our population, TC genotype of TaqI polymorphism has an association with gastric cancer susceptibility. In addition, more investigation with greater sample sizes is needed to confirm our results.     

Global estimate of gastric cancer in Helicobacter pylori–infected population: A systematic review and meta-analysis

There is information regarding the rates of gastric cancer (GC) in different populations and the important role of Helicobacter pylori in GC development; however, no comprehensive study has yet been performed to investigate the prevalence of GC in H. pylori–infected patients. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library through January 1, 2000 were searched without language restrictions. Quality of included studies was assessed with a critical appraisal checklist recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute. All of the analyses were conducted using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software Version 2.0 and Stata 14.0. Forty-four studies from 17 countries were included. The pooled frequency of GC was 17.4% (95% confidence interval: 16.4–18.5) in H. pylori–infected population. The frequency of GC among H. pylori–infected population varied markedly across countries. The highest rate of GC was observed in H. pylori–infected individuals from Asian countries. The frequency of GC was relatively high in H. pylori–infected population in the world. However, the eradication of H. pylori might be a promising strategy for GC prevention, especially in high-risk populations such as Asian countries.     

microRNAs: Key players in virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is known as one of the major health problems worldwide. Pathological analysis indicated that a variety of risk factors including genetical (i.e., alteration of tumor suppressors and oncogenes) and environmental factors (i.e., viruses) are involved in beginning and development of HCC. The understanding of these risk factors could guide scientists and clinicians to design effective therapeutic options in HCC treatment. Various viruses such as hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) via targeting several cellular and molecular pathways involved in HCC pathogenesis. Among various cellular and molecular targets, microRNAs (miRNAs) have appeared as key players in HCC progression. miRNAs are short noncoding RNAs which could play important roles as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in several malignancies such as HCC. Deregulation of many miRNAs (i.e., miR-222, miR-25, miR-92a, miR-1, let-7f, and miR-21) could be associated with different stages of HCC. Besides miRNAs, exosomes are other particles which are involved in HCC pathogenesis via targeting different cargos, such as DNAs, RNAs, miRNAs, and proteins. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the role of miRNAs and exosomes as important players in HCC pathogenesis. Moreover, we highlighted HCV- and HBV-related miRNAs which led to HCC progression.