سال:1393 | دوره: | شماره: |تعداد مقالات:5

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) or adenosine aminohydrolase (EC 3.5.4.4) is an important enzyme in purine metabolism. It is involved in the breakdown of dietary adenosine as well as those produced from the turnover of nucleic acids in tissues. Although several enzymes including 5′-nucleotidase, ADA and adenosine kinase are involved in the metabolism of adenosine, its concentration is mainly regulated by the hydrolytic activity of ADA, which converts adenosine and deoxyadenosine nucleosides in an irreversible manner into inosine and deoxyinosine, respectively.

Background: Diabetes mellitus type 1, formerly called insulin-dependent diabetes, is one of the autoimmune diseases where insulin-producing cells are destroyed by autoimmune response via T cells. The new approaches in treatment of diabetes are using the stem cells, cell transplantation of islet β cell, gene transfer by virus based plasmids, and non-viral gene constructs.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to construct glucose inducible insulin gene plasmid and use it in the muscle tissue of the rabbit.Materials and Methods: To achieve this goal, the preproinsulin, metallothionein2A promoter and the response element to carbohydrate genes were cloned into pBIND plasmid by standard cloning methods, to construct pBINDMTChIns. The gene cloning products were confirmed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction enzyme digestion template. The recombinant plasmid, containing the preproinsulin gene, was transferred into NIH3T3 cells and insulin gene expression was evaluated by reverse transcriptase PCR and western blotting techniques. Plasmid naked DNA containing the preproinsulin gene was injected into the rabbits’ thigh muscles, and its expression was confirmed by western blotting method.Results: This study shows the prepared gene construct is inducible by glucose. Gene expression of preproinsulin was observed in muscle tissue of rabbits.Conclusions: These finding indicated that research in diabetes mellitus gene therapy could be performed on larger animals.

Background: Transdermal drug delivery has several advantages and has been vastly investigated over the last decades. Chemical enhancers improve the quantity of drug penetration through the skin.Objectives: In this study, some conventional solvents and surfactants were used as enhancers to promote dermal penetration of a-hydroxyacids (AHA) and hyaluronic acid (HA).Materials and Methods: A total of 42 different formulations containing AHA or HA as the active ingredient and a solvent or surfactant as the enhancer were prepared. The experiments for determination of transdermal absorption of AHA or HA for each formulation were performed using a diffusion cell and a slice of chicken skin as model at 32oC. After 1.5 or 12 hours, samples from the medium were collected and analyzed for AHA or HA concentration.Results: After 1.5 and 12 hours, the maximum permeated amount of AHA were 89.8 and 342.5 mg, respectively, which related to the formulations with liquid paraffin. After 1.5 and 12 hours, the maximum permeated amount of HA were 57.3 and 70.6 mg, respectively, which related to the formulations with glycerol.Conclusions: The most effective enhancer for AHA and HA were liquid paraffin and glycerol, respectively. The most effective surfactant for both AHA and HA was Tween 80. The effects of the enhancers were increased by prolonging the exposure time.

Background: Adipokines that are produced by adipose tissue have extensive effects on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and also on the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome (MetS).Objectives: This study aimed to measure the concentrations of omentin-1, visfatin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) as likely markers of metabolic syndrome and also to demonstrate their associations in women with MetS.Materials and Methods: Eighty women with MetS and eighty healthy women as controls participated in this study. Blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), and serum biochemical parameters were determined in all subjects. The serum level of IGF-1, omentin-1 and visfatin were assessed using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The association between omentin, visfatin and IGF-1 was also determined in these women.Results: Significantly lower levels of omentin-1 and IGF-1 were observed in MetS subjects compared to the controls (P=0.009 and<0.001 respectively). However, a significant difference was not observed in visfatin concentration between the two studied groups (P=0.67). A positive association was observed between omentin-1, visfatin and IGF-1 in the MetS group.Conclusions: Our findings indicated a lower level of both omentin-1 and IGF-1 in women with MetS; this might play a role in the pathogenesis of MetS. Furthermore, the main finding of the current investigation was the association between omentin, visfatin and IGF-1; however determining the molecular mechanism of the observed relationships needs further studies.

Background: Diabetes causes cognitive impairment. Medicinal plants due to different mechanisms, such as antioxidant activities may improve diabetes and relieve its symptoms. Commiphora mukul (Burseraceae) has a significant antioxidant activity.Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of hydro- alcoholic extract of C. mukul on passive-avoidance learning and memory in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic male rats.Materials and Methods: Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats were randomly allocated to four groups: normal, diabetic, normal+extract of C. mukul and diabetic+extract of C. mukul groups with free access to regular rat diet. Diabetes was induced in male rats by single interaperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg STZ. After the confirmation of diabetes, 300 mg/kg C. mukul extract was orally administered to the extract-treated groups. Control groups received normal saline at the same time. Passive-avoidance memory was tested eight weeks after the STZ treatment, and blood glucose and body weight were measured in all groups at the beginning and end of the experiment.Results: In the present study, diabetes decreased learning and memory. Although the administration of C. mukul extract did not affect the step-through latency (STLa) and the number of trials of the diabetic groups during the first acquisition trial, a significant decrease was observed in STLr and also a significant increase in time spent in the dark compartment (TDC) and number of crossing (NOC) in the retention test (after 24 and 48 hours). Although no significant difference was observed in body weight of diabetic+extract of C. mukul (DE) and diabetic control (DC) groups, the plasma glucose of DE group was significantly lower in comparison to DC group.Conclusions: Commiphora mukul extract can improve passive-avoidance learning and memory impairments in the STZ-induced diabetic rats. This improvement may be due to the antioxidant, acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, anti-inflammatory or power to reduce hyperglycemia and lowering cholesterol and triglyceride properties of this extract. The result of this study is a promising point for new therapeutic alternatives in alleviating cognitive impairments caused by diabetes.