Effect of plant extracts on the mortality of root-knot nematodes’ J2, Meloidogyne javanica

Root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica, is a major problem confronting greenhouse’s productions, field crops, vegetables, grapevines and almond rootstocks in Kermanshah province, Iran. Nematicides are not affordable to control this nematode. In the search for alternatives to chemicals control of nematodes, this research has dealt with nematicidal effects of crude herbal extracts on the root-knot nematodes. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of 21 endemic and exotic herbal extracts belong to 12 families of flowering plants in comparison with chicken manure and chemical nematicide (Temik) to control root-knot nematodes in in vitro conditions. The nematodes were pured and mass multiplied on tomato in the soil at greenhouse conditions. In order to study the effect of herbal extracts on mortality of second-stage juveniles (J₂), a 6?mL of each extract was poured in sterilised Petri dish and 54?±?4 juveniles were added. Distilled water was used as control and treatments replicated four times and incubated at ambient temperature. The LC₅₀ value of each extract was determined by assessing the mortality of juveniles (in the range of 5–95%) after 24, 48 and 72 h. Comparison between LC₅₀ value of the extracts indicated that Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Eugenia caryophillata are the most effective crude extracts on the mortality of juveniles and they were 15.4 and 17.9?mg?mL^?1, respectively. Meanwhile, the extract of tobacco, ferulago, garlic, eucalyptus, persan lilac, rattle, oliveria, licorice, russian knapweed, turnsole, sicilian sumac and chicken manure did not have any antinematode activity against fresh second-stage juveniles of the root-knot nematode.     

Two anti-radial spoke monoclonal antibodies inhibit Chlamydomonas axonemal motility by different mechanisms

In the 9 + 2 axoneme, radial spokes are structural components attached to the A-tubules of the nine outer doublet microtubules. They protrude toward the central pair microtubule complex with which they have transient but regular interactions for the normal flagellar motility to occur. Flagella of Chlamydomonas mutants deficient in entire radial spokes or spoke heads are paralyzed. In this study the importance of two radial spoke proteins in the flagellar movement is exemplified by the potent inhibitory action of two monoclonal antibodies on the axonemal motility of demembranated-reactivated Chlamydomonas models. We show that one of these proteins is localized on the stalk of the radial spokes, whereas the other is a component of the head of the same structure and most likely correspond to radial spoke protein 2 and 1, respectively. Fine motility analysis by videomicrography further indicates that these two anti-radial spoke protein antibodies at low concentration affect motility of demembranated-reactivated Chlamydomonas by changing the flagellar waveform without modifying axonemal beat frequency. They also modify wave amplitude differently during motility inhibition. This brings more direct evidence for the involvement of both radial spoke stalk and head in the fine tuning of the waveform during flagellar motility.     

Modeling the time dependent distribution of a new 153Sm complex for targeted radiotherapy purpose

BackgroundFor radioimmunotherapy purposes, a chemical complex with high absorption in cancer tumor is required. New chemicals are to be examined for their concentration in tumor and healthy organs. These are labeled with β-emitting radioisotopes to irradiate the tumor while deposited inside it.AimTo study the capability of recently developed chemical complex in targeting cancer tumor and investigate the distribution of ¹⁵³Sm-TPTTC in rat organs as function of time.Materials and methodsThe chemical complex – [Tris(1,10-phenanthroline)Samarium(III)] trithiocyanate was prepared and labeled with ¹⁵³Sm radioisotope. The labeled complex was injected to a population of tumor bearing mice. In 2, 4, 24, 48, 96 h after injection the animals were sacrificed and the concentration of Samarium complex was measured in various organs such as blood, heart, intestine, colon, liver, spleen, kidney, sternum and bone.ResultsThe concentration of the radiopharmaceutical in various organs was measured at different times. The temporal behavior of biodistribution of ¹⁵³Sm-TPTTC was modeled and drawn as function of time.ConclusionIt is shown that ¹⁵³Sm-TPTTC is concentrated in tumor tissue and liver much more than in other organs. The variation of pharmaceutical concentration in all organs is described with summation of eight exponential terms and it approximates our experimental data with precision better than 2%.     

Effects of flashing light–emitting diodes (LEDs) on membrane fouling in a reciprocal membrane photobioreactor (RMPBR) to assess nitrate and phosphate removal from whey wastewater

Journal of Applied Phycology - Light is one of the most critical factors for the growth of microalgae; therefore, optimization and accessibility of light improve productivity and wastewater...     

Prevalence of cytomegalovirus infection and its role in total immunoglobulin pattern in Iranian patients with different subtypes of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common autoimmune disease characterized by multifocal areas of inflammatory demyelination within the central nervous system. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has a complex pathobiology and in most cases is simply asymptomatic. There is some recent controversy over the role of CMV in the pathology of MS. The aim of this study was to evaluate active CMV infection and its effect on the humoral immunity in patients with MS. Serum, plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), saliva and urine collected from MS patients (n=78) and healthy subjects (n=123) were screened for the presence of anti-CMV antibodies and CMV-DNA by nephelometric and PCR methods. Concentrations of total antibodies in MS subtypes were measured using both nephelometric and enzyme linked fluorescent assay (ELFA) techniques. The results extend the observation of an increased frequency of CMV-DNA in patients, in contrast with controls (p<0.001). Furthermore, systemic CMV infections were found in 25.5% of patients and only 3.2% of controls (p<0.001). There was significant difference in the titers of anti-CMV IgG and total IgE in patient and controls (P<0.001). These results support the hypothesis that CMV may contribute to MS thought to establish systemic infection process and induce immune response.     

Melatonin: An important anticancer agent in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers among the elderly, which is also seen in the forms of hereditary syndromes occurring in younger individuals. Numerous studies have been conducted to understand the molecular and cellular pathobiology underlying colorectal cancer. These studies have found that cellular signaling pathways are at the core of colorectal cancer pathology. Because of this, new agents have been proposed as possible candidates to accompany routine therapy regimens. One of these agents is melatonin, a neuro-hormone known best for its essential role in upholding the circadian rhythm and orchestrating the many physiologic changes it accompanies. Melatonin is shown to be able to modulate many signaling pathways involved in many essential cell functions, which if deregulated cause an accelerated pace towards cancer. More so, melatonin is involved in the regulation of immune function, tumor microenvironment, and acts as an antioxidant agent. Many studies have focused on the beneficial effects of melatonin in colorectal cancers, such as induction of apoptosis, increased sensitivity to chemotherapy agents and radiotherapy, limiting cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion. The present review aims to illustrate the known significance of melatonin in colorectal cancer and to address possible clinical use.     

Involvement of damage-associated molecular patterns in tumor response to photodynamic therapy: surface expression of calreticulin and high-mobility group box-1 release

Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), danger signal molecules expressed after injury or infection, have become recognized as prerequisite for orchestrating effective anti-tumor host response. The expression of two prototypical DAMPs, calreticulin and high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein, was examined following Photofrin™-photodynamic therapy (PDT) of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells in vitro and LLC tumors growing in syngeneic mice. Cell surface expression of calreticulin was found to be highly increased at 1 h after PDT treatment both in vitro and in vivo. Increased exposure of calreticulin was also detected on the surface of macrophages from PDT-treated LLC tumors. At the same time interval, a rise in serum HMGB1 was detected in host mice. Intracellular staining of macrophages co-incubated for 16 h with PDT-treated LLC cells revealed elevated levels of HMGB1 in these cells. The knowledge of the involvement of these DAMPs uncovers important mechanistic insights into the development of host response induced by PDT.     

Membrane-active metabolites produced by soil actinomycetes using chromatic phospholipid/polydiacetylene vesicles

Increased resistance of pathogens toward existing antibiotics has compelled the research efforts to introduce new antimicrobial substances. Drugs with new and less resistant-prone targets to antimicrobial activity have a high priority for drug development activities. Cell membrane seems to be a potential target for new antibiotic agent development to overcome resistance. In this study, A total number of 67 actinomycetes were isolated from the soil samples collected from desert, farming and mineral parts of Iran. We used a chromatic sensor as a membrane model that was set up for the target of antimicrobial metabolites of actinomycetes isolated from the soil. The sensors particles were composed of phospholipid and polymerized polydiacetylene (PDA) lipids. These polymers exhibited color change following interaction with membrane-active metabolites. The color change was due to structural disorder in the lipids following their interaction with membrane-active metabolites. The resultant color change was recorded by fluorescent microscope and easily recognizable by naked eye as well. Sixteen strains were isolated which produced antimicrobial metabolites and were effective against test microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ). A total number of 3 out of 16 strains produced membrane-active metabolites. These 3 strains were identified using 16s rRNA as Streptomyces sp and submitted to GenBank (accession no. JN180853; JN180854; JN180855).