Effect of pituitary tumor MtT-F4 on carnitine levels in the serum,liver and heart of rats

Implantation of MtT-F4 tumor, a pituitary tumor that secretes large quantities of proclactin, growth hormone and ACTH, enhanced total liver carnitine 9-fold without alteration of the esterified to free carnitine ratio. This ratio increased and the concentration of free and total carnitine decreased in the serum of tumor bearing rats. Cardiac carnitine decreased (23%) when expressed on per unit organ weight but showed an increase on per 100 g body weight basis because of marked cardiac hypertrophy. Besides indicating that lipolytic products of pituitary affect liver carnitine, these results show that hyperlipidemia and fatty livers can exist at times despite elevation of liver carnitine content.     

The effect of oral treatment with 6-O-butanoyl castanospermine (MDL 28,574) in the murine zosteriform model of HSV-1 infection

Oral treatment of mice, cutaneously infected with herpes simplexvirus type 1 (HSV-1) (strain SC16), with the     

Personalized evolutionary hypothesis of breast neoplasm based on differential hybridization signals of subtelomeric probes

The limited availability of data on somatic gene evolution in breast cancer is challenging item to apply an appropriate clinical management for each individual. As human subtelomeric sequences are diverse‐prone and variable, they can be considered as hot spots for analysis of the health or disease status. We compared the hybridization signals of subtelomeric sequences in normal cells with those in auxiliary lymph nodes (ALNs) isolated from a single patient. Distinct signal intensities were found in all chromosomes: weak (5, 6, 9–12, and 16–19), medium (1, 5–9, 19, and X), and strong (2, 5, 9, 10, 16, and 18) intensities. Signal intensities in the patient's ALN and lymphocytes were higher than in normal tissues. The absence and presence of one or more hybridization signals and the presence of signals in the p and q arms were also variable. Whereas chromosomes 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 16, 18, 20, and X showed three hybridization spots, chromosomes 1, 4, 9, 12, 17, and 18–19 presented a reduced signal in the ALN and lymphocytes. In addition, signal intensity in the p arm was higher than in the q arm in most patients’ chromosomes. Therefore, we propose that subtelomeric hybridization be followed periodically in individuals with breast neoplasm to provide specific patterns. Such profiling could be considered as a prediction marker throughout the patients’ life. Together with the Ki67, cyclin D1, and cyclin E expression profiles, the subtelomeric hybridization profile could provide complementary information for cancer management.     

Further evaluation of the pregnancy-linked down-regulation of the paternal antigen-specific splenic cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity in allogeneically pregnant mice.

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity directed against paternal alloantigen was examined in allogeneically pregnant mice using various allogeneic combinations. The spleen cells from pregnant C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice mated with BALB/c (H-2d) male mice generated less anti-H-2d CTL after in vitro sensitization than those from unpregnant or syngeneically mated C57BL/6 mice. Different allogeneic combinations including the incompatibility at only D region of H-2 or minor histocompatibility loci were effective for downregulating the anti-paternal CTL activity in pregnancy. The downregulation of anti-paternal CTL activity induced by allogeneic pregnancy occurred at day 10 to day 18 of pregnancy, most extensively at day 14. The allogeneic pregnancy also downregulated the allogeneic CTL activities that had been amplified by injecting alloantigens before mating.     

Synergic effects of exercise training and octopamine on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator -1a and uncoupling protein 1 mRNA in heart tissue of rat treated with deep frying oil

Octopamine (OCT) have an adverse effect on heart function. One of the positive effects of exercise training is improving cardiac function and cardiomyocytes signaling, which along with herbal supplements can have better effects on the heart tissue. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of exercise training and OCT on changes of PGC1α and UCP1 expression in heart tissue of rat treated with deep frying oil (DFO). In this study, 45 male wistar rats were divided into 5 groups (n = 9 in each): I) control (Co), II) DFO, III) DFO + exercise, IV) DFO + OCT, and V) DFO + OCT + exercise. The quantification of apoptotic effects of DFO in heart tissue was assessed by TUNEL assay. Masson's trichrome stain applied to study cardiomyocytic fibers. Moreover, PGC1α and UCP1 genes and proteins expression in all groups were investigated using quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemical method. A significant increase in apoptotic cells was observed in the DFO-treated group (p < 0.05). In Masson's Trichrome stain study, more cardiomyocytic fibers were observed and some lymphocytic cells were present in some fibers. Also, the expression of PGC1α and UCP1 was significantly increase in DFO + exercise group, DFO + OCT group, and DFO + OCT + exercise group compare to DFO group (p < 0.05). Based on these findings, exercise and octopamine can be considered as factors affecting the expression of PGC1α genes and UCP1 as well as drug poisoning.     

Anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule RNA aptamer-conjugated liposomal doxorubicin as an efficient targeted therapy in mice bearing colon carcinoma tumor model

To overcome the lack of selectivity and nonspecific biodistribution of drugs in the body, targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic agents with aptamers is a very effective method. In this strategy, aptamers could be specifically identified and attach to targeted molecules on the cancerous cells and deliver the chemotherapeutic agents to desired tissue with minimal or no damage to the normal cells. In this study, we designed anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) RNA aptamer conjugated PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (ER-lip) to investigate its in vitro and in vivo anticancer abilities. Data showed that EpCAM aptamer was able to enhance cell uptake and cytotoxic effects of Dox in C26 cell line. The biodistribution study indicated that ER-lip enhanced the tumor accumulation of Dox compared to Caelyx. Also, double staining of isolated tumor cells with anti-CD44-PE-cy5 and anti-EpCAM Cy-7 antibodies indicated that tumor cells expressed a high level of EpCAM⁺ CD44⁺ cells (p ≤ .001) compared to cultured C26 cell line. in vivo results showed that ER-lip promoted survival and reduced tumor growth rate in animal model compared to Caelyx. In conclusion, these results suggested that the ER-lip could be served as promising formulation for the treatment of cancers with the high expression of EpCAM.