Effect of selenium and grape seed extract on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers in rats

Indomethacin (IND) is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory agent that is known to induce severe gastric mucosal lesions. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of selenium (SEL), grape seed extract (GSE), and both on IND-induced gastric mucosal ulcers in rats. Sprague–Dawley rats (200–250 g) were given SEL, GSE, and both by oral gavage for 28 days, and then gastric ulcers were induced by oral administration of 25 mg/kg IND. Malondialdehyde (MDA), non-enzymatic (reduced glutathione, GSH) and enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase) antioxidants, prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) in gastric mucosa, and serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were measured. Moreover, gastric ulcer index and preventive index were determined. Indomethacin increased the gastric ulcer index, MDA, TNF-α, and decreased PGE₂ and non-enzymatic (GSH) and enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase) antioxidants. Pretreatment with SEL, GSE, and both significantly decreased the gastric ulcer index, MDA, and TNF and increased antioxidants and PGE₂. Histopathological observations confirm the gastric ulcer index and biochemical parameters. Selenium and GSE have a protective effect against IND-induced gastric ulcers through prevention of lipid peroxidation, increase of GSH, activation of radical scavenging enzymes, PGE₂ generation, and anti-inflammatory activity. Co-administration of GSE and SEL is more effective than GSE or SEL alone.     

GFP Affects Human T Cell Activation and Cytokine Production following In Vitro Stimulation

There are many Green Fluorescent Proteins (GFPs) originating from diverse species that are invaluable to cell biologists today because of their ability to provide experimental visualization of protein expression. Since their initial discovery, they have been modified and improved to provide more stable variants with emission ranges spanning a wide array of colors. Due to their ease of expression both in-vitro and in-vivo, they are an attractive choice for use as markers in molecular biology. GFPs are generally assumed to have negligible effects on the cells to which they have been introduced. However, a growing number of reports indicate that this is not always the case. Consequently, because of GFP''s ubiquitous use, it is important to document the nature and extent of unintended effects. In this report, we find that GFP affects T cell activation, leading to defects in clustering, upregulation of the activation marker CD25 and IL-2 cytokine production following stimulation in human primary T cells that also express TurboGFP. We utilized a reporter assay which has been routinely used to assay the NF-κB pathway and found reduced NF-κB activitation in stimulated HEK293 and HeLa cells that were co-transfected with TurboGFP, suggesting that GFP interferes with signaling through the NF-κB pathway. These findings indicate that the utilization of GFP-tagged vectors may negatively impact in vitro experiments in T cells, emphasizing the critical importance of controls to identify any GFP-induced effects.     

<i>Trichoderma</i>-Induced Improvement in Growth,Photosynthetic Pigments,Proline, and Glutathione Levels in <i>Cucurbita pepo</i> Seedlings under Salt Stress

Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stress in plants. However, traditional approaches are not always efficient in conferring salt tolerance. Experiments were conducted to understand the role of Trichoderma spp. (T. harzianum and T. viride) in growth, chlorophyll (Chl) synthesis, and proline accumulation of C. pepo exposed to salinity stress. There were three salt stress (50, 100, and 150 mM NaCl) lavels and three different Trichoderma inoculation viz. T. harzianum, T. viride, and T. harzianum + T. viride. Salt stress significantly declined the growth in terms of the shoot and root lengths; however, it was improved by the inoculation of Trichoderma spp. C. pepo inoculated with Trichoderma exhibited increased synthesis of pigments like chl a, chl b, carotenoids, and anthocyanins under normal conditions. It was interesting to observe that such positive effects were maintained under salt-stressed conditions, as reflected by the amelioration of the salinity-mediated decline in growth, physiology and antioxidant defense. The inoculation of Trichoderma spp. enhanced the synthesis of proline, glutathione, proteins and increased the relative water content. In addition, Trichoderma inoculation increased membrane stability and reduced the generation of hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, Trichoderma spp. can be exploited either individually or in combination to enhance the growth and physiology of C. pepo under saline conditions.     

Estimation of economic injury level of Aphis craccivora Koch. (Homoptera: Aphididae) infesting faba bean in new reclaimed area

This work was based on field screening procedure to detect the population density of Aphis craccivora for two successive seasons (2004–2005) and (2005–2006) to emphasis the relation between the economic injury level (EIL) and yield loss.

Results obtained showed that the equilibrium position (steady point) during the first and second season was 9.06 and 3.32 individuals/five leaflets, respectively, while the injury level was 3.4 and 1.16 individuals/leaflets. When the bean plant was subjected to three successive insecticidal applications during the early growing, season is sufficient to decrease the yield loss significantly (yield capacity 21.43 Ard./fed.) with comparing to untreated plant (14.98 Ard./fed.), while the plants exposure for one treatment was 17.36 Ard./fed. The EIL was 8.6 individual of aphids/plant depending on the market price of bean and control cost during the season.     

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.     

Observations on the ixodid ticks associated with domestic ungulate animals in Jordan

Abstract

Fourteen species and subspecies of ixodid ticks, representing four genera, were collected from native sheep, goats, camels and cattle in Jordan. Haemaphysalis otophila was the most common species (48.1%) with Rhipicephalus sanguineus (15.3%), Boophilus kohlsi (14.4%) and Haemaphysalis sulcatus (11.6%) representing other common species among the 9,545 specimens examined.     

Fe–O versus O–O bond cleavage in reactive iron peroxide intermediates of superoxide reductase

It is generally accepted that the catalytic cycles of superoxide reductases (SORs) and cytochromes P450 involve a ferric hydroperoxo intermediate at a mononuclear iron center with a coordination sphere consisting of four equatorial nitrogen ligands and one axial cysteine thiolate trans to the hydroperoxide. However, although SORs and P450s have similar intermediates, SORs selectively cleave the Fe–O bond and liberate peroxide, whereas P450s cleave the O–O bond to yield a high-valent iron center. This difference has attracted the interest of researchers, and is further explored here. Meta hybrid DFT (M06-2X) results for the reactivity of the putative peroxo/hydroperoxo reaction intermediates in the catalytic cycle of SORs were found to indicate a high-spin preference in all cases. An exploration of the energy profiles for Fe–O and O–O bond cleavage in all spin states in both ferric and ferrous models revealed that Fe–O bond cleavage always occurs more easily than O–O bond cleavage. While O–O bond cleavage appears to be thermodynamically and kinetically unfeasible in ferric hydrogen peroxide complexes, it could occur as a minor (significantly disfavored) side reaction in the interaction of ferrous SOR with hydrogen peroxide.