Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology

BACKGROUND: Stem cells are used to treat numerous diseases; however, their lifespan is rather short. Factors such as probiotics affect and improve various cell lineage efficacies. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of probiotics-conditioned media on dental pulp stem cell potentials in osteogenesis. METHODS: The experiment was initiated by culturing Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus acidophilus probiotics as well as DPS-7 cells. Bacterial supernatants were separated and concentrated as the conditioned media...

BACKGROUND: Vimentin is a prominent Intermediate Filaments (IFs) protein expressed in different mesenchymal origin cell types. Besides a wide range of cellular function roles associated with vimentin expression, its dysregulation and cell surface expression in the induction of malignancy properties have been reported extensively, making it a promising cancer-specific target. Therefore, this study aimed to generate and characterize anti-vimentin monoclonal antibodies. METHODS: A 14-mer synthetic peptide from vimentin was conjugated to Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) and used for immunization of Blab/C mice and monoclonal production by conventional hybridoma technology...

BACKGROUND: Hearing Loss (HL) is the most common sensory disorder. HL commonly ranges from mild to severe. Persons with HL face difficulty in hearing conversations or sounds through one ear or both ears, which impacts one's ability to interact with others. Hence it is a communicable disorder that makes people socially isolated, lonely, and frustrated. HL in children severely affects language development. The people who are referred to as 'Deaf' with very little or no hearing capabilities, are considered as having profound hearing loss...

BACKGROUND: External factors have the potential to act as immunostimulants in order to influence the body's protection from many foreign antigens. We intended to investigate the ethanol extract Formulary of F-MaCg effect as an immunostimulant. METHODS: A purely experimental with a completely randomized design was used on twenty-four white male rats. They were divided into four groups:1) G0 [given aquades (5 ml )]; 2) G1 [given F-MaCg-75 mg/gr BW (Body Weight)]; 3) G2 (F-MaCg -150 mg/gr plus Hepatitis B vaccine at the beginning and the end of treatment); and 4) G3 (F-MaCg -300 mg/gr BW plus hepatitis B vaccine at the end of treatment)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Anti-tumor effects of N-myc Downstream Regulated Gene2 (NDRG2) have been demonstrated in many tumors. In the present study, NDRG2 was specifically overexpressed in lung cancer cell line using Survivin Promoter (Sur-P). Then, the effects of NDRG2 overexpression on viability, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of A549 cells were evaluated. METHODS: Recombinant pAdenoVator-Sur-P-NDRG2-IRES-GFP plasmid harboring NDRG2 gene under transcriptional control of Sur-P and mock plasmid were constructed...

BACKGROUND: WWTR1 or TAZ is a transcriptional co-activator protein expressed in cytoplasm which functions as the main downstream effector of the Hippo signaling pathway. This pathway is an evolutionally conserved signal cascade, which plays a pivotal role in organ size control and tumorigenesis. Ectopic expression of TAZ has already been observed in many malignancies, while the ectopic localization of TAZ is reported for the first time. The aim of this study was to produce a specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) against a synthetic peptide derived from WWTR1 protein to be used as a research tool in human carcinomas...

BACKGROUND: The Mattan tailam mixture has been extensively used to heal ulcerous wounds in traditional Siddha practice. The present study aimed to synthesize a Mattan tailam nanogel and evaluate the enhancement of wound healing potential in an experimental wound model. METHODS: Mattan tailam nanogel was synthesized using the high-energy milling approach, and characterization of nanogel and potency of wound healing was investigated. The novelty of this study was the nanogel preparation of Mattan tailam...

Computer-aided drug designing is a promising approach to defeating the dry pipeline of drug discovery. It aims at reduced experimental efforts with cost-effectiveness. Naturally occurring large molecules with molecular weight higher than 500 Dalton such as cationic peptides, cyclic peptides, glycopeptides and lipopeptides are a few examples of large molecules which have successful applications as the broad spectrum antibacterial, anticancer, antiviral, antifungal and antithrombotic drugs. Utilization of microbial metabolites as potential drug candidates incur cost effectiveness through large scale production of such molecules rather than a synthetic approach...

BACKGROUND: Despite the significant progress in the treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in children, it still remains as one of the most challenging malignancies in adults. Identification of new biomarkers may improve the management of adult ALL. Proteins expressed on the cell surface can be considered as disease-associated biomarkers with potential for diagnosis and targeted therapies. Thus, membrane proteome studies give essential information about the disease-related biomarkers...

BACKGROUND: Uncontrolled mitosis of cancer cells and resistance cells to chemotherapy drugs are the challenges of prostate cancer. Thalicthuberine causes a mitotic arrest and a reduction of the effects of drug resistance, resulting in cell death. In this study, we applied bioinformatics and computational biology methods to identify functional pathways and side effects in response to Thalicthuberine in prostate cancer patients. METHODS: Microarray data were retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and protein-protein interactions and gene regulatory networks were constructed, using the Cytoscape software...

BACKGROUND: The screen of Polyketide Synthase ( PKS ) and Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase ( NRPS ) gene groups is a quick way to discover new therapeutic agents. However, errors in laboratory techniques cause a loss of touch with reality. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of PKS and NRPS gene groups in previously isolated strains by optimizing their specialized amplification by degenerate primers and indicating the evolutionary relationships with reference strains. METHODS: PKS-I , II , and NRPS genes PCR amplification was performed using three degenerate primer sets for 22 actinomycete strains with antibacterial activity...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor with poor prognosis and high potential of dispersion to other brain tissues in adult. Effective and modern choices of treatment including chemotherapy with alkylating agents marginally extend survival of GBM. However, alkylating agents can lead to highly harmful mismatch during DNA replication causing apoptosis and cell death. Accordingly, O6-Methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) removes alkyl adducts, thereby causing resistance to alkylating drugs...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) has multifactorial etiology and numerous genetic and environmental factors have been related to an increased risk of RA. Recently, Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) suggested a large number of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) loci affecting the susceptibility to RA. One of these loci is rs6859219 (C>A), a functional polymorphism in the ANKRD55 gene which was associated with the expression of ANKRD55 and IL6ST . In the current study, we evaluated the possible association between rs6859219 (intronic variant) in the ANKRD55 gene with RA risk in the Iranian population...

Background: Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs) are the critical mediators of inflammatory routs in the gut, which play an essential role in regulating the immune responses towards various ligands derived from pathogenic bacteria. Also, TLR signaling has been implicated in the development of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Adenomatous Polyp (AP), and Colorectal Cancer (CRC). Here, we aimed to examine the expression of some TLRs concerning certain fecal bacteria in AP and CRC patients with and without IBD...

Background: The present study was aimed at phyto-synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Amygdalus spinosissima ( A. spinosissima) extract and to investigate the antibacterial, antioxidant effects, anticancer and apoptotic effects of phyto-synthesized AgNPs. Methods: The bio-fabricated AgNPs were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-visible), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Disper-sive X-ray (EDX)...

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) has emerged as a major threat to global health that fosters life-threatening clinical complications, taking a huge toll on our society. More than 65 million Indians suffer from T2DM, making it one of the leading causes of death. T2DM and associated complications have to be constantly monitored and managed which reduces the overall quality of life and increases socioeconomic burden. Therefore, it is crucial to develop specific treatment and management strategies...