Gene, Cell and Tissue
Year:2015 | Volume:2 | Issue:4|Papers Count:6

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive tumor that arises in subjects with chronic hepatitis B and C infection. Frequently, HCC is a primary solid tumor of the liver. It is a disseminative cancer that leads to poor prognosis and causes approximately 5% of all malignant lesions (1). The prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is rising throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and it’s consequence is an increase in the incidence of HCC (2, 3). Therefore, the number of patients that are at risk of developing HCC is constantly rising.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, and inflammatory disease that can cause swelling and damage the cartilage and bone around the joints. Some factors such as polymorphic variations of the HLA-DRB1 and MTHFR genes have been identified as potential markers of susceptibility, severity, or protection in RA. In this disorder, hands and feet are the most affected parts of the body. The risk of RA is almost three times higher in women than in men, and the onset of RA is more common between 40 and 60 years of age, but the disease may occur at any age.Objectives: To study the possible association between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and RA risk in the Khuzestan province.Patients and Methods: The study included 240 persons (120 patients with RA and 120 healthy controls). Genomic DNA was isolated and genotyping was performed by restriction-fragment-length-polymorphism (PCR-RFLP)-based assays.Results: Our results showed significant differences between the groups with respect to MTHFR C677T genotype (P = 0.015) and allele frequencies (0.004). Statistical analysis showed that there is no relation between gender, age, and RA risk. However, we found that there is a significant association between ethnicity and the risk of RA (P < 0.001). After examining the clinical factors, levels of rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), separately from genotype frequencies, we found that there is no difference between these factors and MTHFR C677T genotypes. However, comparison of RF and anti-CCP with one another, showed significant association (P = 0.001). There was no significant deviation in frequencies of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for the patient and control groups (P > 0.05).Conclusions: Our findings suggest that there is an association between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and susceptibility for the development of RA.

Background: In some autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Interleukin-27 (IL-27) and IL-33 levels are increased. These observations suggest that IL-27 and IL-33 may have a role in the pathogenesis of polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM).Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess IL-27 and IL-33 levels in PM/DM patients compared to healthy control subjects.Patients and Methods: Twenty patients with DM and nine patients with PM were recruited in this study. Twenty-nine healthy controls whose age and gender were matched with the patients were also recruited. Serum IL-27 and IL-33 was measured by the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).Results: The serum levels of IL-27 in patients with DM and PM were higher than those of healthy controls. There were no significant differences in serum levels of IL-33 in patients with DM and PM compared to the healthy control group.Conclusions: These data indicate that IL-27 might be selectively involved in the pathogenesis of DM and PM. However, IL-33 does not appear to be influenced.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease, which is characterized pathologically by degeneration of articular cartilage. One of the mechanisms of cartilage lesion in OA is decreased synthesis of cartilage matrix and amongst the variety of treatment methods for OA, cell base therapies has a crucial role.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to understand the regeneration effect of mesenchymal stem cells as well as secretions of these cells after induction of early-stage Osteoarthritis (OA).Materials and Methods: To achieve this aim articular cartilages of rat knees were cured by monosodium iodoacetate (1 mg/50 mL). Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) were cultured and injected into the knee joint of rats after two weeks. The left knee was kept as the control group and injected with either sterill saline. The animals were sacrificed at two weeks after transplantation. The knee joints were harvested and safranin-o and toluidine-blue microscopic analysis were performed. In order to assess changes, the amount of control and experimental cartilage extracellular matrix structure (proteoglycan) and cartilage fibrillation were determined by using histological approaches.Results: The results revealed a decrease of proteoglycan content in the superficial and intermediate zones and presence of surface fibrillation. Therefore, OA induced matrix degeneration, and the reparative effects of MSCs were higher than cell secretions.Conclusions: It can be concluded that due to some bioactive and nutrient factors, MSCs secretions could be used for recovery of OA as well as prevention of articular cartilage matrix degeneration, using a high dose of cell secretions.

Dear EditorGiven the importance of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as the unknown etiology and that detection of an infectious agent in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) might have important implications in treatment and prevention, the authors investigated the prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in patients with UC in comparison with healthy subjects using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique.

Background: Apoptosis or programmed cell death plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases, particularly heart failure. Current evidence suggests that exercise training may alter apoptosis-related signaling in sensitive somatic tissues such as the myocardium.Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of exercise training on Bcl-2 and Bax genes expression as key molecules involved in intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in the rat heart.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with a two-group experimental design (animal model) and sixteen three-month-old male rats were selected and randomly divided to two groups of exercise training (n = 8) and control (n = 8). Rats in the trained group participated in an exercise training program for 12 weeks (10 – 60 m min-1, 24 – 33 min d-1, 15%). The rat hearts were removed forty-eight hours after the last training session. RNA extraction and synthesis of cDNA was done, and Bax and Bcl2 genes expression was analyzed through the Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Kolmogorov-Smirnov and independent t-test were applied for statistical analysis of the data (P < 0.05).Results: The results showed that Bax gene expression and Bax/Bcl2 ratio of the trained group were significantly lower than the control group, 81% and 89%, respectively (P < 0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference between the two groups in Bcl2 (P > 0.05). However, Bcl2 expression was higher in the trained group compared to the control group (11%).Conclusions: In general, it seems that three-month exercise training was effective in reducing cardiac mitochondrial pro-apoptotic protein. However, considering the results of the Bcl2 gene expression, more researches are needed to identify effects of exercise trainings on indices of myocardial apoptosis.