MiRNAs and inflammatory bowel disease: An interesting new story

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), as a chronic and recurrent inflammatory disorder, is caused by a dysregulated and aberrant immune response to exposed environmental factors in genetically susceptible individuals. Despite huge efforts in determining the molecular pathogenesis of IBD, an increasing worldwide incidence of IBD has been reported. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a set of noncoding RNA molecules that are about 22 nucleotides long, and these molecules are involved in the regulation of the gene expression. By clarifying the important role of miRNAs in a number of diseases, their role was also considered in IBD; numerous studies have been performed on this topic. In this review, we attempt to summarize a number of studies and discuss some of the recent developments in the roles of miRNAs in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of IBD.     

Two case reports of unusual phimosis in rhesus monkeys (Macaca Mulatta)

Phimosis is the inability of the penis to protrude from the prepuce. In the present report, we present two cases of phimosis in two rhesus monkeys. Surgical enlargement of preputial orifice was performed for unrestricted movement of penis. The exact cause of this condition is unknown to us.     

Optimizing culture medium ingredients and micrografting devices can promote in vitro micrografting of cut roses on different rootstocks

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Tissue culture and micrografting techniques are known as effective procedures to produce healthy rose rootstocks and high quality scions. In order to...     

Detection of Contracaecum multipapillatum (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in the indigenous killifish Aphanius hormuzensis (Teleostei; Aphaniidae) and its histopathological effects: A review of Iranian Aphanius species parasites

The present study reports the occurrence of Contracaecum multipapillatum (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in an indigenous small killifish, Aphanius hormuzensis Teimori, Esmaeili, Hamidan, Reichenbacher, 2018 from Southern Iran and shows its histopathology. A total of 110 A. hormuzensis specimens were collected from Shur (Naband) River, Hormuzgan basin in Southern Iran and examined for their possible parasitic infections. Third‐stage larva of C. multipapillatum was extracted for the first time from the body cavity of 19 fish specimens (one male and 18 female) and identified by molecular and morphological methods. In comparison with non‐infected fishes, the melanomacrophage centers were detected in the tissue sections from liver, kidney and spleen of all the parasite infected fishes. To date, 16 parasites belong to nine families have been recorded from six Aphanius species (out of 15 known species) in Iran. Among them, eight and four parasites have been identified from A. vladykovi, and A. hormuzensis respectively. Since Aphanius species are living in different environments, therefore, they seem to be good hosts for the different types of parasites, and more new parasites are expected to be found in these fishes.     

Anti-cancer study and whey protein complexation of new lanthanum(III) complex with the aim of achieving bioactive anticancer metal-based drugs

In this study, a new lanthanum (III)-amino acid complex utilizing cysteine has been synthesized and characterized. The anticancer activities of the prepared La(III) complex against MCF-7 cell lines were studied. Results of MTT assay showed that at all three incubation times, the cytotoxic effect of prepared La(III) complex on MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines displays a time- and dose-dependent inhibitory effects. The interactions of the La(III) complex with two whey proteins (bovine serum albumin, BSA, and Bovine β-lactoglobulin, βLG) have been explored by using spectroscopic and molecular dicking methods. The obtained results indicated that La(III) complex strongly quenched the fluorescence of two carrier proteins in static quenching mode and also, BSA hah stronger binding affinity toward studied complex than βLG whit binding constant values of K_{BSA-La?Complex}?～?0.11?×?10⁴ M^?1 and K_{βLG-La?Complex}?～?0.63?×?10³ M^?1 at 300 K. The thermodynamic parameters revealed the contribution of hydrogen bond and Vander Waals interactions in both systems. The distances of the La(III) complex whit whey proteins were calculated using Förster energy transfer theory and proved existence of the energy transfer between two proteins and prepared La(III) complex with a high probability. FT-IR and UV–Vis absorption measurements indicated that the binding of the La(III) to BSA and βLG may induce conformational and micro-environmental changes of the proteins. The docking results indicate that the La(III) complex bind to residues located in the site II of BSA and second site of βLG.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

A simple and highly efficient method for transduction of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells capable of differentiating into a wide range of cell types and provide a potential to transfer therapeutic protein in vivo, making them valuable candidates for gene therapy and cell therapy. However, using MSCs in in vivo is limited due to the low rate of transfection and transduction efficacy. Therefore, developing methods to efficiently transfer genes into MSCs would provide a number of opportunities for using them in the clinic. Here, we introduce a simple and robust method for efficient transduction of human adipose-derived MSCs by modification under the culture condition of human embryonic kidney cells 293 (HEK293T) and MSCs. Moreover, as a transduction enhancer, polybrene was replaced with Lipofectamine, a cationic lipid. Therefore, we showed that transduction of primary cells can be increased efficiently by modifying the culture condition.     

An analytical enrichment-based review of structural genetic studies on keratoconus

Keratoconus is a progressive bilateral corneal protrusion that leads to irregular astigmatism and impairment of vision. Keratoconus is an etiologically heterogeneous corneal dystrophy and both environmental and genetic factors play a role in its etiopathogenesis. In this analytical review, we have studied all the genes that are structurally associated with keratoconus and have tried to explain the function of each gene and its association with other eye disorders in a concise way. In addition, using gene set enrichment analysis, it was attempted to find the most important impaired metabolic pathways in keratoconus. Several genetic studies have been carried out on keratoconus and several genes have been identified as risk factors involved in the etiology of the disease. In the current study, 16 studies, including nine association studies, five genome-wide association studies, one linkage study, and one meta-analysis, were reviewed and based on the 19 genes found, enrichment was performed and the most important metabolic pathways involved in the disease were identified. The enrichment results indicated that the two pathways, interleukin 1 processing and assembly of collagen fibrils, are significantly associated with the disease. Obviously, the results of this study, in addition to providing information about the genes involved in the disease, can provide an integrated insight into the gene-based etiology of keratoconus and therapeutic opportunities thereof.     

A new species of Polydrusus (Polydrusus) Germar (Coleoptera:Curculionidae) from the Kurdistan region of Iraq

Polydrusus (s. str.) akreanus sp. n. is a new record of Curculionidae found in Iraqi Kurdistan. The new species is described, illustrated and compared with Polydrusus (s. str.) kadleci Borovec & Germann, 2013 known from Turkey and Iran, which is morphologically similar to the new species.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9FDC3C5B-6854-4DEF-BDF6-EE6809F82DEE