Jentashapir Journal of Cellular and Molecular Biology
Year:2023 | Volume:14 | Issue:4|Papers Count:8

Background: Coxiella burnetii, a pleomorphic coccobacillus with a Gram-negative cell wall and the cause of query (Q) fever. Amongst animals, farm animals, goats, and sheep are the main reservoirs of Q fever. Methods: This study was conducted to outline the presence of C. burnetii in raw milk received from farm animals and buffalo in all 12 months of 2020 within the Urmia region, northwest Iran. A total of 600 milk samples were received from 3 regions by registering the animals' ages. DNA extraction from milk samples was performed. Results: The nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was efficient in the detection of C. burnetii based on the transposable com1 gene. The results showed that 12. 33% (95% CI: 9. 9-15%) of the total samples (12. 66% buffalo and 12% in cattle raw milk) were positive for C. burnetii DNA. The prevalence of C. burnetii in raw milk samples was considerably higher in summer (12. 66%, P < 0. 05, 95% CI: 9. 3-17%). In addition, the superiority of C. burnetii in livestock milk drastically varied (P < 0. 05) amongst age groups. However, it was not significant in buffalo milk samples. Conclusions: The farm animals and buffalo population in Urmia may be taken into consideration as an important parameter in the epidemiology of Q fever.

Background: The main reason for treatment failure and the primary cause of breast cancer deaths is metastasis. Cancer features, such as epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasiveness, stemness, and ability to metastasize, are significantly influenced by oxidative stress. Objectives: The primary objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of human Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cell secretomes (hWJMSCs-Se) on oxidant contents and development of the breast cancer SK-BR3 cell line and alterations in EMT markers genes after treatment. Methods: SK-BR3 cells received 48 hours of treatment with 10, 25, or 50 μg/mL hWJMSCs-Se. The MTT test and colony formation were used to evaluate the SK-BR3 cells’ viability and proliferation capability. By using annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining, apoptosis was determined. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression levels in genes associated with antioxidants were additionally assessed. Antioxidant enzyme activity was checked after SK-BR3 treatment with hWJMSCs-Se. Results: In the hWJMSCs-Se-treated SK-BR3 cells, colony counts, and viability percentages decreased significantly with time and concentration. The treated cells displayed considerably greater apoptotic indices when compared to the control. Catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, and glutathione (GSH) content were significantly greater in the hWJMSCs-Se-exposed SK-BR3 cells. The Vimentin gene and N-cadherin gene were significantly elevated in the treated cells, and E-cadherin and β-catenin decreased conversely. Conclusions: The present study suggests that the use of hWJMSCs in the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive malignancies provides an innovative solution for cancer therapy. As the oxidant level and EMT pathway decreased, breast cancer cell growth was significantly restricted, and mortality increased.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer that frequently spreads to other parts of the body, with a low chance of recovery and a high mortality rate. Long non-coding RNAs are considered significant prognostic and diagnostic indicators because they are dysregulated in various cancers and have distinctive expression patterns and high tissue-and cell-specificity. VLDLR-AS1 lncRNA deregulation has been associated with several malignancies. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of VLDLR-AS1 in CRC. It was the first time this assessment was conducted. Methods: We studied 188 samples, including 94 tumor samples and 94 paired adjacent non-tumor tissues. Total RNA was extracted, and its quantity and purity were assessed. TaKaRa PrimeScript 1st Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Kusatsu, Japan) was used for the reaction. The StepOnePlus Real-Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems) was set up to assess the relative expression of VLDLR-AS1. Results: According to the qRT-PCR data, the VLDLR-AS1 expression levels in CRC tissues were significantly lower than in tumor margins (P < 0. 0001). In addition, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that VLDLR-AS1 expression can discriminate between tumor and non-tumor samples with the sensitivity and specificity of 72. 34% and 51. 06%, respectively (P = 0. 03, AUC = 0. 6274). However, no significant association was found between the expression levels of VLDLR-AS1 and clinicopathological features in CRC patients. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that VLDLR-AS1 lncRNA is significantly downregulated in the tumor tissues of CRC patients compared to healthy tumor margin tissues. This evidence shows the potential of this gene as a promising biomarker for the early detection of CRC development.

Background: The roles of many long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in breast cancer (BC) are unclear, and the medications that affect them have attracted less attention. Objectives: This study aimed to identify lncRNAs that have the highest association with poor prognosis in BC. Moreover, the relationship between the expression of identified lncRNA and conventional chemotherapy agents was investigated. Methods: The cancer genome atlas data were used to identify lncRNA with the most significant impact on BC survival. The relation of identified lncRNA levels with different subtypes of BC and mutation was assessed. PharmacoGX data and the GEO database were used to evaluate the association of identified lncRNA levels with drug sensitivity and find appropriate medications to reduce its expression, respectively. To assess the effect of the identified drug on the level of lncRNA expression, MCF7, and MDA-MB-468 cell lines were used, and the expression level of target genes was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: The expression level of lncRNA MIR4435-2HG was most associated with the poor survival of BC patients, and its expression level can be related to TP53 mutation and estrogen and progesterone receptors. Increased expression of MIR4435-2HG was observed in cancer samples, and MIR4435-2HG level was correlated with metastasis pathway genes. Drug sensitivity to epirubicin, irinotecan, and lestaurtinib correlated with MIR4435-2HG levels. Furthermore, GEO data showed that the expression level of MIR4435-2HG could decrease under estrogen receptor (ER) activity. Finally, in vitro, results showed that MIR4435-2HG expression declined in response to estradiol as an ER-activating ligand in the MCF7 cell line. Conclusions: The expression of MIR4435-2HG can be a powerful biomarker for poor prognosis in BC. The data also suggested that this lncRNA may play an oncogenic role in metastatic pathways, and ER activity could regulate its expression.

Background: Breast cancer is the first fatal disease in women and the second leading cause of death in humans, after heart disease. In approximately 20% of these patients, breast cancer cells have a higher-than-normal level of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) on their surface. These cancers, called HER2-positive, tend to grow and spread faster than other breast cancers. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the binding of the peptide LTVSPWY labeled with the HER2 receptor compared to the non-labeled peptide and simulate its docking. Methods: The LTVSPWY peptide was first labeled with the 99-radioactive technetium (Tc-99m) and optimized for molecular docking with the HER2 receptor in HyperChem software. Then, the HEX 6 software was used to check how the compounds were connected to the active site of the HER2. Finally, data was analyzed by HEX, LIGPLOT, and other programs. Results: During docking in HEX, the labeled peptide showed a good link with the HER2 protein receptor. The energy of this kind of transplantation was higher than the nonlabeled peptide bond with the HER2 protein receptor. In fact, this combination had the lowest level of connection energy with the receptor, which reflects the success of docking. Conclusions: In the analysis of the post-docking data, we observed the ligand was connected to the HER2 receptor from 5 major sites at different intervals, indicating a suitable bond to the receptor ligand.

Background: The effect of selegiline as an oxidase inhibitor on cell differentiation into neuron-like cells has been demonstrated by altering gene expression. Based on the results of studies on the role of statins in neurotrophin regulation, in this study, we examined the effect of lovastatin (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor) on the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal cells (BMSCs) into neuron-like cells. Selegiline is an irreversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase (MAO) type B. Since dopamine in the human brain is metabolized primarily by MAO-B, selegiline increases dopamine levels in the central nervous system. In addition to inhibiting MAO-B, selegiline also inhibits the uptake of dopamine and norepinephrine into presynaptic nerves and increases dopamine turnover. Methods: Bone marrow mesenchymal cells were collected from 28-day-old rats and cultured under standard conditions on the medium. The experimental groups in this study were as follows: BMSCs (control),BMSCs induced with 20 µM selegiline for 24 hours (experiment 1),BMSCs induced with 6 µM lovastatin for 24 hours (experiment 2),BMSCs were induced with 20 µM selegiline for 24 hours and 6 µM lovastatin for the next 24 hours (experiment 3). Real-time RT-PCR was performed to determine the mRNA levels of the nestin and NF-68 genes. Results: Real-time RT-PCR results showed that nestin and NF-68 mRNA levels were significantly increased in the co-treatment group (experiment 3) compared to the other experimental groups (P < 0. 05). Conclusions: Based on the increased expression of nestin and NF-68 genes, the presence of lovastatin has a synergistic effect on neuronal differentiation and optimization of stem cell therapeutic approaches.

Electrospinning is one of the methods that can be used to create nanofibers, and it is also one of the most versatile processes for synthesizing nanofibers. Depending on how closely their morphologies mirror the extracellular matrix of the body, some products may be ideal for use in tissue engineering applications. With the use of this technique, researchers were able to investigate the possibility of directly producing fibers from a cell solution that included a diverse range of cells. When it comes to bioink, natural biomaterials are significantly superior to synthetic polymers. The purpose of tissue engineering is to produce new organs and tissues that can be used in the therapeutic regeneration of individuals who have been injured. The building blocks of a tissue engineering structure are biomaterial scaffolds that have been functionally oriented, with cell cultures growing on top of them. Electrospun fibers differentiate themselves from other scaffolds used in tissue engineering because of their simplicity in manufacturing and their structural resemblance to the extracellular matrix.

Background: It has been proven that plant extracts show great promise in fighting pathogenic microorganisms. This study aimed to evaluate the resistance of 20 strains of Salmonella typhimurium extracted from poultry feces against conventional antibiotics and the antibacterial activity of 10 medicinal plant extracts, including Hibiscus sabdariffa L., Capparis spinosa L., Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Eryngium planum L., Rumex acetosa L., Calotropis procera (Aiton) Dryand, Psidium guajava L., Malva sylvestris L., Urtica dioica L., and Alcea setosa Alef., against the extracted strains. Methods: The susceptibility of S. typhimurium strains against tested antibiotics was determined using disk diffusion, and the antibacterial activity of medicinal plant extracts was evaluated using well diffusion and broth microdilution assays. Results: The extracted S. typhimurium strains showed high resistance to cephalosporin (100%) and gentamicin (40%),however, all plant extracts examined in this study were influential in inhibiting the growth of the tested strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of tested plant extracts ranged from 6. 25 to 25 mg/mL and 12. 5 to 50 mg/mL, respectively. The most effective plant extracts in inhibiting bacterial growth in the agar well diffusion method were P. guajava, H. sabdariffa, and A. setosa,nevertheless, the most potent bactericidal activity was recorded for M. sylvestris and A. setosa in the broth microdilution method. The examined strains showed 80% and 85% sensitivity to the MBC of alcoholic extracts of M. sylvestris and A. setosa (50 mg/mL), respectively, which is worthy of further exploration by scientists. Conclusions: The results of this study represent the high potency of M. sylvestris and A. setosa extracts as appropriate medicinal and/or food supplements to replace ineffective antibiotics in bird breeding.