Metabolic responses to short starvation and re-feeding in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Ichthyological Research - A feeding study was conducted to determine the effect of short-term starvation periods and subsequent re-feeding on some morphological and physiological parameters of...     

Functional Characterization of D9, a Novel Deazaneplanocin A (DZNep) Analog,in Targeting Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Aberrant epigenetic events contribute to tumorigenesis of all human cancers. Significant efforts are underway in developing new generation of epigenetic cancer therapeutics. Although clinical trials for agents targeting DNA hypermethylation and histone deacetylation have yielded promising results, developing agents that target histone methylation remains to be in the early stage. We and others have previously reported that 3-Deazaneplanocin A (DZNep) is a histone methylation inhibitor that has a wide range of anticancer effects in various human cancers. Here, focusing on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as a model, we reported a less toxic analog of DZNep, named D9, which is shown to be efficacious in AML cell lines and patient-derived samples in vitro, as well as AML tumorigenesis in vivo. Gene expression analysis in a panel of AML cell lines treated with D9 identified a set of genes that is associated with D9 sensitivity and implicated in multiple oncogenic signaling pathways. Moreover, we show that D9 is able to deplete the leukemia stem cells (LSC) and abolish chemotherapy-induced LSC enrichment, leading to dramatic elimination of AML cell survival. Thus, D9 appears to be a robust epigenetic compound that may constitute a potential for AML therapy.     

Transforming growth factor beta 1 869T/C and 915G/C polymorphisms and risk of autism spectrum disorders

Background:

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) has been found to play a crucial role in early central nervous system development. Several studies have illustrated decreased TGF-β1 levels in sera and brains of autistic children. Two point mutations in the TGF-β1 signal peptide at 869T/C and 915G/C have been reported to influence TGF-β1 expression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation of TGF-β1 polymorphisms and their haplotypes with autism.

Methods:

This study was performed on 39 autistic patients and 35 age- and sex-matched normal controls in an Iranian population, using the sequence specific primed-polymerase chain reaction (PCR-SSP) technique. Patients were divided into mild-to-moderate and severe groups according to the childhood autism rating scale.

Results:

No significant differences were observed for allele, genotype, or haplotype frequencies between the autistics and controls. Only a slight difference was observed in GC25 between the controls and all children with autism.

Conclusion:

Thus, these results indicate that the polymorphisms in TGF-β1 gene may not play an important role in the development of autism.Key Words: Autism spectrum disorders, Development, Polymorphism, Transforming Growth Factor beta 1     

Targeted Gene Delivery to MCF-7 Cells Using Peptide-Conjugated Polyethylenimine

Specific and effective delivery of drugs and genes to cancer cells are the major issues in successful cancer treatment. Recently, targeted cancer gene therapy has been emerged as a main technology for the treatment of different types of cancers. Among various synthetic carriers, polyethylenimine is one of the most well-known polymers for gene delivery. In this study, we conjugated phage-derived peptide (DMPGTVLP) to polyethylenimine (10 kDa) via disulfide bonds for targeted gene delivery into breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7). As negative-control cells, we used non-related hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2). Peptide-conjugated polyplex exhibited low cytotoxicity and significantly increased the transfection efficiency in comparison with unmodified polyethylenimine. Therefore, the peptide-modified vector can be used as a good targeting agent for gene or drug delivery into breast adenocarcinoma cells.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1208/s12249-014-0208-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.KEY WORDS: breast cancer, gene therapy, phage-derived peptide, polyethylenimine     

The Clinical Performance of an Office-Based Risk Scoring System for Fatal Cardiovascular Diseases in North-East of Iran

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVD) are becoming major causes of death in developing countries. Risk scoring systems for CVD are needed to prioritize allocation of limited resources. Most of these risk score algorithms have been based on a long array of risk factors including blood markers of lipids. However, risk scoring systems that solely use office-based data, not including laboratory markers, may be advantageous. In the current analysis, we validated the office-based Framingham risk scoring system in Iran.MethodsThe study used data from the Golestan Cohort in North-East of Iran. The following risk factors were used in the development of the risk scoring method: sex, age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, hypertension treatment, current smoking, and diabetes. Cardiovascular risk functions for prediction of 10-year risk of fatal CVDs were developed.ResultsA total of 46,674 participants free of CVD at baseline were included. Predictive value of estimated risks was examined. The resulting Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) was 0.774 (95% CI: 0.762-0.787) in all participants, 0.772 (95% CI: 0.753-0.791) in women, and 0.763 (95% CI: 0.747-0.779) in men. AUC was higher in urban areas (0.790, 95% CI: 0.766-0.815). The predicted and observed risks of fatal CVD were similar in women. However, in men, predicted probabilities were higher than observed.ConclusionThe AUC in the current study is comparable to results of previous studies while lipid profile was replaced by body mass index to develop an office-based scoring system. This scoring algorithm is capable of discriminating individuals at high risk versus low risk of fatal CVD.     

Epitope Prediction by Novel Immunoinformatics Approach: A State-of-the-art Review

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Immunoinformatics is a science that helps to create significant immunological information using bioinformatics softwares and...     

Functional Exposed Amino Acids of CarO Analysis as a Potential Vaccine Candidate in Acinetobacter Baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii is a well-recognized cause of nosocomial infections. This organism is recognized to be among the most difficult antimicrobial-resis     

Effect of memantine on expression of Bace1-as and Bace1 genes in STZ-induced Alzheimeric rats

Molecular Biology Reports - Recent studies have showed that the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) expression is dysregulated in different neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease...