Abstract

Background and Objective: Assessment of alimentary tract helminthes of rodents has a great zoonotic importance.  This study aimed at determining the prevalence of helminth infections in rodents in Hamadan.

Material and Methods: a total of 100 rodents trapped from different parts of city were transported to laboratory. After anesthetizing by chloroform, the animals were undergone an operation to isolates the helminthes. The isolates were stained by Carmine and identified at the genus and species levels. Furthermore, age, sex, weight of rodent and size of various organs of body were determined.

Results: Totally, 62% of the rodents were infected to intestinal helminthes. All trapped rodents were Rattus norvegicus. Six species of helminthes, including three Nematode (45%), 3 Cestode (51%) and no Trematode were isolated from rodents. The infection rate for different helminthes was as follow: Hymenolepis nana 21%, H. diminuta 29%, Heterakis spomosa 43%, Strongyloides sp. 1% Trichuris muris 1% and Cysticercus fasciolaris 1%.

Conclusion: in this area, infection rate of alimentary tract helminthes in the Rattus norvegicus, especially zoonotic helminthes, is relatively high, and the rate of Cestodes is higher than those of Nematodes and Trematodes.

Key words: Prevalence, Helminthes, Alimentary tract, Rodents

Abstract

Background and Objective: Ophthalmic pterygium is a potentially vision-threatening lesion of unknown etiology that often extends on the corneal surface and has a worldwide distribution. Despite various studies, the pathogenesis of pterygium remains unclear and the involvement of human papillomavirus is controversial. We aimed to investigate the involvement of papillomavirus in pterygium formation.

Material and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 50 tissue specimens of pterygium from the patients who had pterygium surgery as the case group and 10 conjunctival biopsy specimens of individuals without pterygium including the patients with  cataract surgery, as controls. The evidence of papillomavirus infection was tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results: All samples, case and control, were not positive for papillomavirus. Both groups were positive for beta-globulin gene used to check the quality of extracted DNA.

Conclusion: In this study, due to the absence of papillomavirus in the context of Pterygium it seems that other factors are involved in causing the disease.

Keywords: Pterygium; Human Papilloma Virus; PCR.

Abstract

       Background and Objective: Various cellular factors affect the process of HIV activity. One of these cellular factors are structures known as microRN that are expected to be involved in controlling HIV replication and infectivity. The expression of one or a set of them may represent the patient's clinical conditions. In this study,  the expression of miR-29a and miR-29b involved in regulating viral genes’ expression was evaluated in three HIV-positive groups and a healthy control group. Later,  the expression level of these microRNAs  was compared between the cases and controls.

      Methods: Total RNA extraction was performed on the collected samples using RNx-plus kit and then the microRNA expression levels were evaluated using Relative Real-time PCR. The obtained data was entered into SPSS 22 and Graphpad softwares and analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Man-Whitney tests. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistical significance level.

     Results: The expression level of miR-29a  was reduced in patients under treatment and drug-resistant patients ( P ≤ 0.05)  . All three HIV-positive groups including people without drug treatment, patients under treatment and drug-resistant patients showed reduced miR-29b expression level compared to  control group (P ≤ 0.05).

     Conclusion: the decreased expression of miR-29a and miR-29b in patients under treatment and drug-resistant patients indicates an  increased viral replication and reduced CD4 cell count. It may be possible to predict the progression of the disease by miRNA measurement or control viral replication using these mir-RNAs that requires further studies.

        Keywords: HIV, expression, mir-29a, mir-29b.

Abstract

      Background and Objective: Agr is the most important regulatory system for the expression of Staphylococcus aureus virulence factors in different conditions. Agr acts as a quorum sensing system in this bacterium which is activated by increased cell concentration during the transition from logarithmic growth phase to stationary phase. Its role is to upregulate the secretory virulence factors such as alpha-hemolysin and inhibit the transcription of surface proteins including protein A-encoding gene. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the agr system expression and some virulence factors of Staphylococcus aureus in Brain-heart infusion (BHI) culture medium.

     Methods: The expression level of agrA and RNAIII genes from the agr locus along with the expression of hla, spa and mecA genes in BHI broth were assessed in different growth phases using Real time-PCR. Also, gyrB was used as an internal control in this study.

     Results: The growth curve of the five tested isolates in BHI broth at 24 hours showed that all the isolates had relatively similar growth patterns. AgrA gene expression in the stationary phase was decreased by 0.89-fold compared with the logarithmic phase. Although the expression of RNAIII gene increased by 3-fold, hla expression decreased by 0.47-fold.

     Conclusion: An inactive agr system is observed in the BHI broth medium. BHI broth medium contains high amounts of suitable nutrients for the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, thus the bacteria do not require the activity of the agr system for the regulation of the virulence genes in these conditions.

Abstract

      Background and objective: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a DNA virus with high tendency toward hepatic tissue. There are currently about 3 million HBV-infected people and 350 to 400 million chronic carriers of this virus in the world. X protein plays a role in the over-expression of oncogenes, carcinogenicity of liver cells and overlaps with the basal core promoter of the virus. Mutations at specific nucleotides of this region increase viral replication and liver disease progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of mutations at nucleotides 1762, 1764 and 1766 of HBV X gene in patients with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis B-related cirrhosis.

      Methods: In this study, 102 patients including 68 chronic hepatitis patients and 34 patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis were enrolled. After DNA extraction, HBV X gene was amplified and sequenced using Semi Nested-PCR. Obtained gene sequences were compared with the standard sequence of HBV virus X gene available in the gene bank (Okamoto AB033559). Then, the mutations in the gene X of HBV were identified.

      Results: Comparison of the standard sequence with sequences obtained from patients showed the presence of A1762T / G1764A mutation in 12 chronic (17.64%) and 13 cirrhotic (38.23%) patients. Also, C1766G / G1764T mutations were found in 8.23% of chronic patients and 17.64% of cirrhotic patients.

      Conclusion: A1762T / G1764A mutations in the overlapping region of the basal core promoter with gene X C-terminal may lead to liver disease progression from chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis, by changing the amino acid sequence of the X protein.

ABSTRACT

       Background and Objective: The association of Triglyceride/High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio with fasting serum insulin, which is an alternative method of insulin resistance (IR) measurement, is well-recognized. Thus, the measurement of TG/HDL-C ratio is useful to determine both IR and dyslipidemia, which itself is a characteristic of individuals with IR. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between TG/HDL ratio as an indicator of IR, with different fasting blood glucose levels.

      Methods: This case-control study was performed on 343 volunteers with no history of diabetes or use of blood glucose-lowering medications and fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels of less than 126 mg/dl. After sampling, the subjects were divided into three groups based on their FBS level. First group included healthy subjects with FBS of less than 100 mg/dl. Second group consisted of subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and FBS of 110-100 mg/dl and a third group including those with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and FBS of 110-125 mg/dl.

       Results: The amount of TG/HDL-C ratio was 3.8 ± 2.8, 4.0 ± 2.1 and 5.4 ± 3.8 for the healthy group, individuals with IFG and IGT, respectively. The TG/HDL index was significantly different among the tested groups with no significant difference between healthy subjects and subjects with IFG. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between the IGT and IFG groups with healthy individuals.

       Conclusion: Considering the significant increase of the TG/HDL ratio in groups with impaired glucose, using this index can be helpful in evaluation of glycemic disorder.

ABSTRACT

      Background and Objective: Glycyrrhizaglabra L. is one of the most widely used medicinal herbs in Golestan province that is known for its anti-inflammatory, carminative, antiviral, anti-infection and anti-ulcer properties in Iranian traditional medicine. This study aimed to assess the anti-bacterial and anti-oxidative activity of G. glabrafrom the Golestan province.

        Methods:  The rip root of the plant was collected in autumn 2013. The ethanolic extract of the plant was prepared by maceration method. The anti-oxidative property of the plant was assessed by total antioxidant capacity (TAC), reducing power (RP) and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity assays. The anti-bacterial activity was assessed using agar-well diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay.

        Results: The ethanolic extract of G. glabrahad relatively high anti-oxidative activity with IC50 value of 130 µg/ml, especially in the DPPH method. The extract also exhibited high anti-bacterial activity against the following Gram-positive bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus (21.1±0.7 mm), Staphylococcus epidermidis (19.6±0.2 mm), Bacillus subtilus (19.3±0.6 mm), followed by Escherichia coli (12.1±0.8 mm), Enterococcus faecalis (13.2±0.1 mm) and Kelebsiellapneumoniae (11.5±0.4 mm) with MIC values in the range of 31 - 132 mg. mL^-1.

         Conclusion: According to results, the root extract of G.glabrais a good source of antioxidant compounds with suitable anti-bacterial activity, which can be used as natural anti-infection and anti-inflammatory agent for treatment of many diseases.

ABSTRACT

       Background and Objective: Esophageal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in Iran. Studies on water, soil, grains, waste and sediments in Golestan Province have shown that the environmental concentrations of antimony and strontium are increased in areas with high incidence rate for cancer. The carcinogenic effects of strontium have been reported, but carcinogenicity of antimony is still unclear. Since there is not enough information regarding the relationship between the concentration of strontium and antimony and prevalence of esophageal cancer in the province, this study aimed to evaluate serum levels of these elements in patients with esophageal cancer using atomic absorption spectroscopy.

       Methods: This study was performed on 30 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and 30 healthy matched controls. After sampling, concentrations of strontium and antimony were measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy.

       Results: Half of the esophageal cancer patients and control participants were male. The mean age of patients and controls was 66 ± 13 and 64 ± 8 years, respectively. The mean serum concentration of strontium in patients and controls was 24.18 ± 1.62 and 24.08 ± 1.46 μg/L, respectively. The mean serum concentration of antimony in patients and controls was 18.61 ± 1.48 and 18.98 ± 1.93 μg/L, respectively. No statistically significant difference was observed between the serum concentrations of the two elements in patients and controls.

        Conclusion: There is no difference between serum levels of strontium and antimony in cancer patients and healthy controls, which could be due to tissue accumulation.

          Keywords: Antimony, Strontium, Esophageal Neoplasms.

ABSTRACT

         Background and objectives: Globally, about one third of the population has been infected with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and more than 400 million people have become chronically infected. Nearly, 20-25% of all carriers develop serious liver diseases such as cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). According to the World Health Organization, HBV infection causes more than one million deaths every year. Co-infection with Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HBV is common, since both viruses have the same routes of transmission. Approximately 10 -15% of HIV-infected individuals develop chronic hepatitis B. The risk of liver diseases-related deaths is also higher in the co-infected patients. According to previous studies, mutation of the pre-core (PC) and basal-core promoter (BCP) regions may play an important role in development of HBV-related HCC and severe liver disease. The aim of this study was to investigate mutations in the BCP, PC and core regions of HBV in HIV-positive patients.

          Methods: DNA was extracted using commercial kits to determine the BCP, PC/core mutations in 124 HIV/HBV co-infected patients (32.4% female and 67.6% male). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using specific primers. The positive PCR products were subjected to automated sequencing. Then, nucleotide sequences were aligned with the standard hepatitis B sequence [Gene bank, accession number: AB033559] for mutation detection and analysis.

          Results: In this study, three patients (8.1%) were HBeAg-positive and all of them were HBsAg-positive. The mean of CD4 cell count was 120 cells/mL. The mean age of the patients was 36.16 years. The important pathological mutations in HBV patients including 1752A (73%), 1773C (70.3%), 1753C (10.8%), 1896A (8.1%) and 1762T/1764A (2.7%) were detected in this study.

         Conclusion: Identification of mutations in co-infected patients is of greater importance compared to mono-infected patients, because it can be useful for prediction of HCC-related mutations. Co-infection with HIV has important effects on the natural history of HBV infection, and creates different mutational patterns compared to mono-infected patients.

           Keywords: HBV, HIV, Mutation.