Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in institutionalized elderly people in Mashhad, Northeast Iran

doi: 10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2011.00588.x
Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in institutionalized elderly people in Mashhad, Northeast Iran Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in institutionalized elderly people in Mashhad, northeast of Iran. Background: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of oral lesions in the institutionalized elderly. Methods: In this survey, we studied all of the nursing homes in Mashhad; a total of five encompassing 237 residents. The subjects were examined and lesions recorded in a designed checklist. T‐test, chi‐square and Fisher’s exact tests were used for the analysis. Results: The mean age of the patients was 79.59 ± 8.88. Ninety‐eight per cent of cases had at least one oral mucosal lesion. The most common lesions were fissured tongue (66.5%), atrophic glossitis (48.8%), sublingual varicosity (42%) and xerostomia (38%). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of denture‐related lesions (DRLs) between men and women (p > 0.05). Xerostomia was more prevalent in 70–79‐year‐old than in 60–69‐year‐old subjects. No case of oral malignant lesion was detected. Discussion: These findings revealed a higher prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in Mashhad city compared with other studies conducted in other major cities in Iran and abroad. The results emphasise the necessity of national programmes towards oral health promotion.     

Peripherally acting novel lipo-endomorphin-1 peptides in neuropathic pain without producing constipation

We previously described two novel analogues of endomorphin-1 (Tyr-Pro-Trp-Phe-NH₂, 1), modified with an 8-carbon lipoamino acid (C8LAA) with or without replacement of Tyr¹ with 2,6-dimethyltyrosine (Dmt) at the N-terminus of the peptide (compounds 3 and 4, respectively). They were shown to be more stable and permeable, and acted as potent μ-opioid receptor agonists. In this study we report that the C8LAA modification resulted in successful systemic delivery of both analogues. They produced potent dose-dependent pain relief in a chronic constriction injury-rat model of neuropathic pain after intravenous administration with ED₅₀ values obtained at 6.58 (±1.22) μmol/kg for 3 and 6.18 (±1.17) μmol/kg for 4. Using two different rat models of constipation that assess the effects of μ-opioid receptor agonists on stool hydration and gastro-intestinal motility, compound 3 produced insignificant constipation at 16 μmol/kg, whereas morphine elicited significant constipation at 2 μmol/kg. Compound 3 in contrast to morphine, did not attenuate the hypercapnic ventilatory response at 5 μmol/kg, a dose that fully alleviated hindpaw sensitivity at the time of peak effect in CCI-rats. This finding revealed the lack of respiratory depression effect at antinociceptive dose.     

Characterization of fusion genes and the significantly expressed fusion isoforms in breast cancer by hybrid sequencing

We developed an innovative hybrid sequencing approach, IDP-fusion, to detect fusion genes, determine fusion sites and identify and quantify fusion isoforms. IDP-fusion is the first method to study gene fusion events by integrating Third Generation Sequencing long reads and Second Generation Sequencing short reads. We applied IDP-fusion to PacBio data and Illumina data from the MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Compared with the existing tools, IDP-fusion detects fusion genes at higher precision and a very low false positive rate. The results show that IDP-fusion will be useful for unraveling the complexity of multiple fusion splices and fusion isoforms within tumorigenesis-relevant fusion genes.     

A method for genetic modification of human embryonic stem cells using electroporation

The ability to genetically modify human embryonic stem cells (HESCs) will be critical for their widespread use as a tool for understanding fundamental aspects of human biology and pathology and for their development as a platform for pharmaceutical discovery. Here, we describe a method for the genetic modification of HESCs using electroporation, the preferred method for introduction of DNA into cells in which the desired outcome is gene targeting. This report provides methods for cell amplification, electroporation, colony selection and screening. The protocol we describe has been tested on four different HESC lines, and takes approximately 4 weeks from electroporation to PCR screening of G418-resistant clones.     

Experimental Analysis of E2BB (LTIIb) Signal Peptide in Secretory Production of Reteplase in Escherichia coli

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Recombinant reteplase is the truncated form of tissue plasminogen activator. Signal peptides play a pivotal role in the secretion of...     

The expanding role of CDR1‐AS in the regulation and development of cancer and human diseases

CircRNAs are a superabundant and highly conserved group of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) that are characterized by their high stability and integrity compared with linear forms of ncRNAs. Recently, their critical role in gene expression regulation has been shown; thus, it is not far‐fetched to believe that their abnormal expression can be a cause of different kinds of diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative, and autoimmune diseases. They can have a function in variety of biological processes such as microRNA (miRNA) sponging, interacting with RNA‐binding proteins, or even an ability to translate to proteins. A huge challenge in finding diagnostic biomarkers is finding noninvasive biomarkers that can be detected in human fluids, especially blood samples. CircRNAs are becoming candidate biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of these diseases through their ability to transverse from the blood‐brain barrier and their broad presence in circulating exosomes. The circRNA for miRNA‐7 (ciRS‐7) is newly recognized, and acknowledged to being related to human pathology and cancer progression. In this review, we first briefly summarize the latest studies about their characteristics, biogenesis, and their mechanisms of action in the regulation and development of human diseases. Finally, we provide a list of diseases that are linked to one member of this novel class of ncRNAs called ciRS‐7.     

Interplay between SARS-CoV-2-derived miRNAs,immune system,vitamin D pathway and respiratory system

The new coronavirus pandemic started in China in 2019. The intensity of the disease can range from mild to severe, leading to death in many cases. Despite extensive research in this area, the exact molecular nature of virus is not fully recognized; however, according to pieces of evidence, one of the mechanisms of virus pathogenesis is through the function of viral miRNAs. So, we hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis may be due to targeting important genes in the host with its miRNAs, which involved in the respiratory system, immune pathways and vitamin D pathways, thus possibly contributing to disease progression and virus survival. Potential miRNA precursors and mature miRNA were predicted and confirmed based on the virus genome. The next step was to predict and identify their target genes and perform functional enrichment analysis to recognize the biological processes connected with these genes in the three pathways mentioned above through several comprehensive databases. Finally, cis-acting regulatory elements in 5′ regulatory regions were analysed, and the analysis of available RNAseq data determined the expression level of genes. We revealed that thirty-nine mature miRNAs could theoretically derive from the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Functional enrichment analysis elucidated three highlighted pathways involved in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis: vitamin D, immune system and respiratory system. Our finding highlighted genes' involvement in three crucial molecular pathways and may help develop new therapeutic targets related to SARS-CoV-2.