Fatemeh Naseri; Gholamreza Hashemitabar; Nasser Mahdavi Shahri; Hossein Nourani; Amin Tavassoli
Abstract
Immediate intervention with minimal side effects is the most significant factor in the enhancement of wound healing. However, a majority of drugs used for this purpose are chemical-based containing various compounds, such ...
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Immediate intervention with minimal side effects is the most significant factor in the enhancement of wound healing. However, a majority of drugs used for this purpose are chemical-based containing various compounds, such as sulfite, which sometimes causes allergic reactions in a number of patients, or anti-inflammatory agents that cause elevated blood sugar and weight gain. Hence, many researchers look for natural compounds, such as glycoproteins, not only to reduce the side effects but also to improve the speed of healing. In this study, we have created a natural biological dressing using the combination of extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from articular cartilage and DH5α bacterial ghost (BG). Both articular cartilage and BG contain high amounts of collagen and glycoproteins, and proteoglycans, respectively. The experimental wound on the rabbit pinna was treated by the biological dressing. Then microbial, scanning electron microscopy and microscopic analyses measured the wound healing parameters, including the number of fibroblast cells, the collagen contents, percentage of wound closure, and the number of colonies. The results confirmed ECM (OC), BG (OG) and their mixture (OGC) groups have better effects than control groups. Histological parameters, such as number of fibroblast cells and the amount of collagen fibers, represented a greater degree of wound healing in OGC group compared with OC, OG, and control groups. Our findings proved that ECM and bacterial ghost effectively increased the rate of wound healing. The mixture of ECM and BG provides a biological dressing that could be used in wound repair in the future.
Mohammad Amin Manavi
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged in Wuhan, China, and because of fast transmission, it has led to its extensive prevalence in almost all countries, which has made it a global crisis. Drug repurposing is considered a fast way to discover new applications of the current drugs. This study ...
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged in Wuhan, China, and because of fast transmission, it has led to its extensive prevalence in almost all countries, which has made it a global crisis. Drug repurposing is considered a fast way to discover new applications of the current drugs. This study aims to recognize a possible small molecule as a primary protease inhibitor versus the main protease protein of SARS-CoV-2 by computational programs. Virtual screening procedures like using Molegro Virtual Docker, AutoDock Tool, and AutoDock Vina, were done for more than 1600 FDA-approved medicines downloaded from the ZINC database, were employed to characterize new implied molecule inhibitors for the recently published crystal structure of the main protease protein of SARS-CoV-2. Virtual screening results indicated, many drugs including ARBs, cephalosporins, some kinase inhibitors, HMG CoA reductase, and leukotriene receptor antagonist, may inhibit the main protease of SARS-COV-2. Velpatasvir, Molnupiravir, and Ivermectin were selected by virtual screening methods for further studies to find an efficient ligand for the treatment of COVID-19. Due to some other beneficial features, including anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory properties, and ADME profile, they could be a promising drug nominee for repurposing to the treatment of COVID-19. Velpatasvir was selected by some virtual screening methods for further studies to find a suitable ligand for the treatment of COVID-19. Furthermore, more studies need to approve this data and finally clinical trial needs to be done to examine the efficacy of Velpatasvir for the treatment of covid-19 as an anti-viral agent.
Ali Khastar; Majid Jamshidain-Mojaver; Hamidreza Farzin; Masoumeh Jomhori Baloch; Iman Salamatian; Kaveh Akbarzadeh-Sherbaf
Abstract
Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) is a non-toxic and immunostimulatory component of Vibrio cholera toxin. CTB is one of the most studied protein compounds for adjuvant design. This study aimed to produce and purify recombinant CTB (rCTB) by pET-22a plasmid in Escherichia coli BL21(DE) strain, focusing on ...
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Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) is a non-toxic and immunostimulatory component of Vibrio cholera toxin. CTB is one of the most studied protein compounds for adjuvant design. This study aimed to produce and purify recombinant CTB (rCTB) by pET-22a plasmid in Escherichia coli BL21(DE) strain, focusing on cost-effectiveness and ease of use. The target gene was identified in the genome of Vibrio cholerae biotype El Tor through the NCBI database, and its specific primers were designed. The gene fragment was amplified by PCR and cloned into pET-22a plasmid by NcoI and SacI restriction enzymes and transformed into E. coli. Transformed bacteria were inoculated into a 2×YT medium. Stimulation of recombinant protein production was performed by adding IPTG with a final concentration of 0.4 mM. Finally, recombinant protein was purified by a Ni-IDA column. The concentration of recombinant protein was determined by GM1-ELISA and Bradford tests. The Western blotting technique verified recombinant CTB, So results showed the expected bands at a molecular weight of about 12.76 kDa (denatured) and 63 kDa (non-denatured). GM1-ELISA and Bradford tests showed the final protein concentrations of 11 and 9.57 mg/L, respectively. GM1-ELISA confirmed the biological activity of rCTB in the presence of GM1 ganglioside receptor. Recombinant CTB produced by the method proposed in this research has high purity and appropriate concentration and can be used in immunological studies, especially adjuvant design.
Seyed Javad Rajaei; Mostafa Shakhsi-Niaei; Masoud Etemadifar
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system with unknown etiology. Recent evidences suggest the HLA contribution to Multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenicity as they may present neuropeptides ...
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system with unknown etiology. Recent evidences suggest the HLA contribution to Multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenicity as they may present neuropeptides to cytotoxic lymphocytes. We aimed to investigate the association of some related HLA-A alleles and haplotypes with MS and compare the results with other Universal reports to shed light on some aspects of this universally expanded disease. In this investigation, alleles were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) in 50 MS patients, and 50 unrelated healthy individuals. The analysis was carried out using SPSS V.19 statistical software. The results of this study showed a significant association of HLA-A*03 and HLA-A*24 alleles with MS (P<0.0001), but HLA-A*02 and other alleles did not show any significant association (P>0.05). However, other alleles were not significantly associated (P>0.05). Interestingly, in our study, the HLA-A*31 allele was often in combination with HLA-A*03 and HLA-A*24 as risk haplotypes in MS patients. In the present study, not only HLA-A*03 and HLA-A*24 were highly associated with the risk of MS susceptibility, but also their combinations with HLA-A*31 allele were more frequent in patients. Therefore, HLA-A*31 may be introduced as a new complementary risk factor in MS pathogenesis.
Saad Badday Betti; Mojtaba Tahmoorespur; Ali Javadmanesh
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) compose a plentiful category of transcripts that have gained increasing importance because of their roles in different biological processes. Although the function of most lncRNAs remains unclear. They are implicated in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, including ...
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Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) compose a plentiful category of transcripts that have gained increasing importance because of their roles in different biological processes. Although the function of most lncRNAs remains unclear. They are implicated in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, including muscle development and differentiation. We aimed to identify the effect of novel lncRNAs (Alternatively spliced) and their target genes on two stages of sheep skeletal muscle growth and development. FastQC files have been used to examine the quality control and the Trimmomatic program for trimming low-quality reads from twelve longissimus dorsal muscle tissue samples (including six young and six old from Texel sheep). Hisat2, Cufflink, Cuffmerge, and Cuffdiff investigated the expression levels. Novel lncRNAs (Alternative spliced) were distinguished using NONCODE databases and Cuffcompare software. In addition, the lncRNA–mRNA interactions and regulatory network visualization were identified via RIsearch and Cytoscape software, respectively. Those 139 novel lncRNA (Alternative spliced) transcripts had been recognized, probably 65 lncRNAs interacted with their target genes and regulated sheep skeletal muscle growth and development. Three novel lncRNA transcripts (TCONS_00041386, TCONS_00050059, and TCONS_00056428) showed a strong association and five transcripts (TCONS_00055761, TCONS_00055762, TCONS_00055763, TCONS_00055764, and TCONS_00055770) had made complex network correlations with mRNAs. Our research provided more knowledge of the associated mechanisms with novel lncRNAs, which could play a role in regulating sheep skeletal muscle tissue development and growth.
Narges ZadehRashki; Zahra Shahmohammadi; ZahraSadat Damrodi; Sohrab Boozarpour; Arezou Negahdari; Nazanin Mansour Moshtaghi; Mehdi Vakilinejad; Shaaban Ghalandarayeshi
Abstract
Cancer is a disorder of growth control and cell differentiation caused by the abnormal expression of multiple genes. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are critical regulators of numerous biological processes, especially in the development of diseases. Abnormal expression of some lncRNAs causes disease, ...
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Cancer is a disorder of growth control and cell differentiation caused by the abnormal expression of multiple genes. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are critical regulators of numerous biological processes, especially in the development of diseases. Abnormal expression of some lncRNAs causes disease, especially cancer, and disease resistance. lncRNAs may act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors and can be used as diagnostic or prognostic markers, and may also have therapeutic potential in cancer treatment. Studies show that many lncRNAs have different effects on cell activity by regulating multiple downstream targets, such as signaling pathways that are signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3). The STAT3 signaling pathway is one of the most critical pathways in developing various diseases, including cancer, which plays a vital role in cellular processes, disease onset and progression, and stem cell regeneration by regulating its target genes. STAT3 has been proven to be an anticancer target in various contexts. Types of genes can activate the STAT3 pathway in cancer. Many lncRNAs have been identified associated with the STAT3 pathway that is upstream or downstream. Oncogenic lncRNAs, including PVT1, HOTAIRM1, and MCM3AP-AS1, increase STAT3 expression, while tumor suppressor lncRNAs, such as TSLNC8, TPTEP1, and DILC decrease STAT3 expression. These lncRNAs can affect STAT3 signaling activity through numerous molecular mechanisms, including sponge of microRNAs, transcriptional activation/inhibition, and epigenetic alterations. Numerous studies show that targeting lncRNAs and molecules associated with the STAT3 signaling pathway are promising therapeutic strategies for various cancers. This review highlighted the mechanisms of the upstream lncRNAs of the STAT3 signaling pathway.
Mina Lashkarboloki; Amin Jahanbakhshi; Seyed Javad Mowla; Bahram Mohammad Soltani
Abstract
Cancer is one of the most challenging diseases in the world. It is widely accepted that knowing the molecular aspects of diseases, including cancers, helps to develop methods for their therapy and diagnosis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRANs) are a novel category of regulatory genes known to be involved ...
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Cancer is one of the most challenging diseases in the world. It is widely accepted that knowing the molecular aspects of diseases, including cancers, helps to develop methods for their therapy and diagnosis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRANs) are a novel category of regulatory genes known to be involved in cancer incidence. The expression of these genes is said to be suitable of using in prognosis, diagnosis, targeted therapy, etc. The RT-qPCR method that is widely used for analyzing the gene expression requires the application of appropriate reference genes as the internal control. The expression status of a proper housekeeping reference gene is not supposed to change under experimental circumstances. This study aimed to find a suitable reference gene in the U87 cells after overexpression of a gene of interest. To this aim, the expression status of four common reference genes (ACTB, β2M, GAPDH, and HPRT1) was examined in the transfected U87 cells. The U87 cells were transfected with a vector overexpressing YWHAE-lncRNA and an empty vector (mock). After total RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, RT-qPCR was applied using the aforementioned internal control genes. Data were analyzed, and their graphs were plotted in GraphPad Prism 8.2 software. Β2M showed the most change; accordingly, GAPDH and HPRT1 expression levels were changed about 5 and 4 times, respectively. Of the candidate genes, only the ACTB gene had a consistent expression level in two different modes of transfection, and therefore, it is suggested as an appropriate reference gene for the study of gene expression in the transfected U87 cell line. It is remained to be tested if β2M, GAPDH, and HPRT1 common internal controls are specifically affected by YWHAE-lncRNA overexpression or other lncRNAs may affect their expression as well.
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