Effect of Yeast Extract on h6h Gene Expression and Tropane Alkaloids Production in Atropa belladonna L. Hairy Roots

Russian Journal of Plant Physiology - Plant alkaloids, are one of the largest groups of pharmaceutical metabolites. Scopolamine and atropine are most common tropane alkaloids in Atropa belladonna...     

LncRNAs as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in gastric cancer: A novel approach to personalized medicine

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death with 5-year survival rate of about 30–35%. Since early detection is associated with decreased mortality, identification of novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and proper management of patients with the best response to therapy is urgently needed. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) due to their high specificity, easy accessibility in a noninvasive manner, as well as their aberrant expression under different pathological and physiological conditions, have received a great attention as potential diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive biomarkers. They may also serve as targets for treating gastric cancer. In this review, we highlighted the role of lncRNAs as tumor suppressors or oncogenes that make them potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of gastric cancer. Relatively, lncRNAs such as H19, HOTAIR, UCA1, PVT1, tissue differentiation-inducing nonprotein coding, and LINC00152 could be potential diagnostic and prognostic markers in patients with gastric cancer. Also, the impact of lncRNAs such as ecCEBPA, MLK7-AS1, TUG1, HOXA11-AS, GAPLINC, LEIGC, multidrug resistance-related and upregulated lncRNA, PVT1 on gastric cancer epigenetic and drug resistance as well as their potential as therapeutic targets for personalized medicine was discussed.     

Isolation and detection of Leishmania species among naturally infected Rhombomis opimus, a reservoir host of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Turkemen Sahara, North East of Iran

In Iran, three species of Leishmania have been incriminated as the causative agents of human leishmaniasis, Leishmania (L.) major, Leishmania tropica, and Leishmania infantum.Rhombomis opimus have been incriminated as a principal reservoirs of the parasitic protozoan Leishmania major, the causative agent of rural zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Iran. Rodents captured and examined to find Leishmania species using conventional methods including direct impression smear and microscopic observation inoculation samples to Balb/c and culture in NNN medium. Also molecular method was employed to detect Leishmania in rodents by amplifying a region of the ribosomal RNA amplicon of Leishmania (ITS1-5.8S rRNA–ITS2) using Nested PCR. Leshmania species were specified by DNA sequences. 36 (38.3%) of R. opimus were Leishmania positive using at least one conventional methods. Many more ITS-rDNA fragments were amplified from R. opimus but only 65 out of 74 PCR products contained enough DNA for direct sequencing or readable sequences. The PCR assays detected in Iranian R. opimus not only Leishmania major in 59 (79.7%) rodents but also Leishmania turanica in 6 (8.1%) rodents, another parasite of the great gerbil. These parasites were found in Turkemen Sahara, North East of Iran, in a focus of rural (ZCL). L. major and L. turanica in R. opimus firmly identified from Turkemen Sahara. Nine rodents with Leishmania infections unidentified which some were unreadable sequences, these could be mixed infections of L. major, L. turanica, Leishmania gerbillisensu lato and Leishmania close to L. gerbilli or a related species reported in sandflies previously from this location. The haplotypes of L. major and L. turanica were found to be identical to that of isolates of L. major and L. turanica from Iran and in GenBank elsewhere. R. opimus is probably the key reservoir in this ZCL focus because of its abundance and its infection rates with both L. major and L. turanica.     

Stimulation of the Streptococcus pneumoniae RecA protein-promoted three-strand exchange reaction by the competence-specific SsbB protein

The effect of the transformational competence-specific Streptococcus pneumoniae single-stranded DNA binding protein, SpSsbB, on the ATP-dependent three-strand exchange activity of the SpRecA protein was investigated. Although SpRecA exhibited only a trace level of strand exchange activity in the absence of SpSsbB, an extensive strand exchange reaction was observed when SpSsbB was added to the reaction solution after SpRecA. A more limited strand exchange reaction was observed, however, when SpSsbB was added to the reaction solution before SpRecA. This dependence on the order of addition, together with additional DNA-dependent ATP hydrolysis experiments, indicated that the mechanism of stimulation may involve the postsynaptic binding of SpSsbB to the displaced linear single-stranded DNA reaction product. When dATP was provided in place of ATP as the nucleotide cofactor (to suppress a potentially inhibitory effect of SpSsbB on the interaction of SpRecA with the circular ssDNA reaction substrate), the stimulatory effect of SpSsbB on the strand exchange reaction was apparent regardless of the order in which it was added to the reaction solution. These findings suggest that SpSsbB may be able to facilitate SpRecA-promoted DNA recombination reactions during natural transformation in S. pneumoniae.     

Shedding light on the EpCAM: An overview

The epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a Type I transmembrane superficial glycoprotein antigen that is expressed on the surface of basolateral membrane of multiple epithelial cells with some exceptions such as epidermal keratinocytes, hepatocytes, thymic cortical epithelial cells, squamous stratified epithelial cells, and myoepithelial cells that do not express the molecule. The molecule plays a pivotal role in the structural integrity, adhesion of the epithelial tissues and their interaction with the underlying layers. EpCAM prevents claudin-7 and claudin-1 molecules from degradation, thereby, decreasing the number of tight junctions and cellular interconnections, and promoting the cells toward carcinogenic transformation. Moreover, the mutations in the EpCAM gene lead to congenital tufting enteropathy, severe intestinal epithelium homeostasis disorders, and Lynch and Lynch syndrome. Overexpression of EpCAM on stem cells of some cancers and the presence of this molecule on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) makes it a promising candidate for cancer diagnosis as well as tracing and isolation of CTCs.     

IL-35, a double-edged sword in cancer

Interleukin 35 (IL-35), a cytokine mainly produced by regulatory T cells (Treg cells), is composed of an Epstein-Barr virus–induced gene 3 β-chain and an IL-12 p35 α-chain. IL-35 causes tumorigenicity in cancer, protects cancer cells against apoptosis, and facilitates cancer progression. However, a few reports have referred to its contradictory roles in cancer prevention. Therefore, the exact purpose of this cytokine in cancer development has become a fundamental question that needs to be answered. In this review, we explain the structure of IL-35 and its receptors and their different signaling pathways. Finally, the function of IL-35 in some cancers and the possible application of this cytokine in approaches for cancer therapy have been discussed.     

The relation of omentin gene expression and glucose homeostasis of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues in non-diabetic adults

Molecular Biology Reports - Adipose tissue (AT) is a passive reservoir for energy storage and an active endocrine organ responsible for synthesizing bioactive molecules called...     

Copper (II) complexes with N,S donor pyrazole-based ligands as anticancer agents

BioMetals - A group of bidentate nitrogen and sulfur donor pyrazole derivative ligands abbreviated as Na[RNCS(Pz)], Na[RNCS(PzMe2)], Na[RNCS(PzMe3)], Na[RNCS(PzPhMe)], Na[RNCS(PzPh2)], where...