Circulating and tissue microRNAs as a potential diagnostic biomarker in patients with thrombotic events

Venous and arterial thrombosis are conditions that have a considerable burden if left untreated. The hypoxia-induced by the occluded vessel can disrupt the circulation of any organ, the cornerstone of treating thrombosis is rapid diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Diagnosis of thrombosis may be made by using laboratory tests or imaging techniques in individuals who have clinical manifestations of a thrombotic event. The use of serum micro ribonucleic acids (RNAs) has recently been applied to the diagnosis of thrombosis. These small RNA molecules are emerging as new diagnostic markers but have had very limited applications in vascular disease. Most of the articles provided various microRNAs with different levels of accuracy. However, there remains a lack of an appropriate panel of the most specific microRNA in the literature. The purpose of the present review was to summarize the existing data on the use of microRNAs as a diagnostic biomarker for venous thrombosis.     

Natural parasitism of the diamondback moth,Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lep.: Plutellidae) by a larval parasitoid wasp,Diadegma anurum on different cauliflower cultivars

The diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), is the most serious pest of cauliflower fields in central Iran and its control is primarily based on pesticide sprays. Over the past years, a number of new pesticide compounds were introduced onto the market and some of them may cause adverse effects on natural populations of parasitoids associated with DBM. Excessive use of insecticides against the pest did not produce satisfactory results but has caused concerns about environmental pollution and increased pest resistance to chemicals. This research aims to study natural parasitism of pest on different cauliflower cultivars in the fields of south of Tehran. Dominant species of parasitoids include Diadegma anurum, Cotesia plutellae and Oomyzus sokolowskii. The highest parasitism rate was observed by D. anurum that was recorded on Buris cultivar (19.92?±?1.06) and White cloud cultivar (16.20?±?1.49) and the lowest parasitism rate was observed on Snow crown cultivar (3.42) and SG cultivar (5.00) during the season.     

Screening of oilseed rape cultivars relation to diamondback moth,Plutella xylostella (Lep.: Plutellidae) in fields of Tehran

The diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lep., Plutellidae), is one of the most important pests of oilseed rape, Brassica napus L., in the world. In this study, resistance of oilseed rape cultivars to DBM was evaluated in fields of Tehran based on injury rate of the cultivars. To evaluate cultivar resistance, 19 cultivars of oilseed rape were planted in randomised complete-block design with three replications. Total experiments were conducted in experimental field of Shahed University. Results showed that DBM had activity on the plants during season and peak of the injury occurred on 27 May. Results indicated that the total of oilseed rape cultivar was spotty. Statistical analysis showed that there was significant difference among determined characteristics in all cultivars. The highest and lowest numbers of holes in the leaf were observed in Midas, Karaj3, Zarfam and Hyola420, Hyola308 cultivars, respectively, in sampling of the end growth. Opera and Midas cultivars have the highest percentage of leaf infestation and the lowest percentage of leaf infestation was observed in Hyola420 and Hyola308. Also, Karaj3 and Zarfam cultivars have the highest percentage of meristem infestation and the lowest percentage of meristem infestation was observed in Licard and Hyola420 cultivars. Based on peak of the injury rate and importance of meristem injury, Hyola420 and Hyola308 cultivars were relatively resistant to DBM, and Karaj3 and Zarfam were relatively sensitive to DBM.     

Understory vegetation as an indicator of soil characteristics in the Hyrcanian area,N. Iran

The mesic Caspian (Hyrcanian) forest and ecotone communities provide a marked contrast to the arid and semiarid landscapes associated with most of the territory of Iran. To date, the ecological characteristics of these habitats, threatened and of conservation importance, have been little studied. Accordingly, ecological profiles of some important plant species of these communities have been assessed along two altitudinal gradients (300–2300 m a.s.l.). Vegetation and soils were sampled every 100 m in elevation, with the data subsequently analyzed using TWINSPAN and corrected frequency (CF) analyses. Relationships between soil variables (subdivided into three classes, the lowest, the middle and the upper third of all values) and herbaceous and shrub species (presence/absence data) were analyzed by the polythetic divisive classification method. 379 plant species and eleven soil variables – N, P, K, CaCO₃, EC, pH, organic matter, C/N ratio and percentage of sand, clay and silt – were considered. The ecological profile method was used to evaluate the affinity and significance of associations between the probability of species’ occurrence and topsoil characteristics found by the polythetic method. Five vegetation groups were identified: two groups, with Acer campestre and Quercus macranthera in the tree layer and Veronica mazanderanae and Phuopsis stylosa as herbs, were restricted to forest-steppe ecotones and the upper mountain areas. Three groups, with Acer velutinum, Ruscus hyrcanus, Carpinus betulus, Danae racemosa, Fagus orientalis and Aruncus vulgaris as indicator species, occurred in the forest itself. Of the 42 plant species assessed as being of particular importance, 13 had significant relationships with eight soil factors. Thus, certain species, including endemic plant species of restricted distribution and conservation importance, can be used as indicators of particular soil conditions in the Hyrcanian forest area.     

Efficient growth inhibition of EGFR over-expressing tumor cells by an anti-EGFR nanobody

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is deemed to be one of the main molecular targets for diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It has been identified that EGFR involves in pathogenesis of some forms of human cancers. Monoclonal antibodies targeting EGFR could control the tumor cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis by suppressing the signal transduction pathways. Nanobodies can be regarded as the smallest intact antigen binding fragments, derived from heavy chain-only antibodies existing in camelids. Here, we describe the identification of an EGFR-specific nanobody, referred to as OA-cb6, obtained from immunized camel with a cell line expressing high levels of EGFR. Utilizing flow cytometry (FACS) and blotting methods, we demonstrated that OA-cb6 nanobody binds specifically to EGFR expressing on the surface of A431 cells. In addition, OA-cb6 nanobody potently causes the inhibition of EGFR over expression, cell growth and proliferation. The antibody fragments can probably be regarded as worthwhile binding block for further rational design of anti-cancer therapy.     

Probing the interaction of silver nanoparticles with tau protein and neuroblastoma cell line as nervous system models

Interestingly pharmaceutical sciences are using nanoparticles (NPs) to design and develop nanomaterials-based drugs. However, up to recently, it has not been well realized that NPs themselves may impose risks to the biological systems. In this study, the interaction of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with tau protein and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line, as potential nervous system models, was examined with a range of techniques including intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) dual staining method. Fluorescence study showed that AgNPs with a diameter of around 10–20 nm spontaneously form a static complex with tau protein via hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions. CD experiment revealed that AgNPs did not change the random coil structure of tau protein. Moreover, AgNPs showed to induce SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell mortality through fragmentation of DNA which is a key feature of apoptosis. In conclusion, AgNPs may induce slight changes on the tau protein structure. Also, the concentration of AgNPs is the main factor which influences their cytotoxicity. Since, all adverse effects of NPs are not well detected, so probably additional more specific testing would be needed.     

Comparative immunomodulatory properties of adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells conditioned media from BALB/c,C57BL/6, and DBA mouse strains

Adipose tissue‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD‐MSCs) have been shown to be capable of differentiating into multiple cell type and exert immunomodulatory effects. Since the selection of ideal stem cell is apparently crucial for the outcome of experimental stem cell therapies, therefore, in this study we compared AD‐MSCs conditioned media (CM) from BALB/c, C57BL/6, and DBA mouse strains. No significant difference was found in the morphology, cell surface markers, in vitro differentiation and proliferation potentials of AD‐MSCs isolated from C57BL/6, BALB/c, and DBA mice. The immunological assays showed some variation among the strains in the cytokines, nitric oxide (NO), and indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO) production and immunomodulatory effects on splenocytes functions. Our results indicated a suppression of splenocytes proliferation in the presence of AD‐MSC CM from the three inbred mouse strains. However, BALB/c CM exerted a higher suppression of splenocytes proliferation. AD‐MSCs isolated from C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice produced higher levels of TGF‐β than those from DBA mice. Furthermore, IL‐17 and IDO production was higher in AD‐MSCs isolated from BALB/c mice. Our results indicated an increased production of TGF‐β, IL‐4, IL‐10, NO, and IDO by splenocytes in response to CM from BALB/c AD‐MSCs. In conclusion, our results showed that the immunomodulatory properties of mouse AD‐MSCs is strain‐dependent and this variation should be considered during selection of appropriate stem cell source for in vivo experiments and stem cell therapy strategies. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 955–965, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

First record of Diversitermes diversimiles (Silvestri, 1901) from French Guiana (Isoptera: Termitidae,Nasutitermitinae)

Previously known from Brazil, North Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia, Diversitermes diversimiles (Silvestri, 1901) is cited for the first time from French Guiana, on the basis of the soldier and worker castes. The digestive tube of its worker is photographied for the first time.     

Normalization of miRNA qPCR high-throughput data: a comparison of methods

Low-density quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) arrays are often used to profile expression patterns of microRNAs in various biological milieus. To achieve accurate analysis of expression of miRNAs, non-biological sources of variation in data should be removed through precise normalization of data. We have systematically compared the performance of 19 normalization methods on different subsets of a real miRNA qPCR dataset that covers 40 human tissues. After robustly modeling the mean squared error (MSE) in normalized data, we demonstrate lower variability between replicates is achieved using various methods not applied to high-throughput miRNA qPCR data yet. Normalization methods that use splines or wavelets smoothing to estimate and remove Cq dependent non-linearity between pairs of samples best reduced the MSE of differences in Cq values of replicate samples. These methods also retained between-group variability in different subsets of the dataset.