Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology

Background: Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) is the most frequently isolated pathogen from prostheses infections in the body. Therefore, improving its diagnostic methods, including rapid Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAAT), seems necessary. Since the first step in designing a NAAT is to find a specific sequence and all DNA targets that have been introduced so far are not completely specific, we introduced a new 100% specific DNA target sequence to identify S. epidermidis in this study...

Background: Evidence on seroconversion profile of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected patients is limited. We mainly aimed to evaluate seroconversion and persistence of virus-specific antibodies in patients infected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 118 patients with COVID-19 presentations admitted to three hospitals in Iran and recovered from the disease, during April and May 2020...

Background: Shigella spp. is the cause of dysentery and is widespread worldwide. On the other hand, antibiotic resistance is increasing in this bacterium. Bioinformatics is a new approach to vaccine and drug design involving the selection of appropriate antigens. This study aimed to design a chimeric protein consisting of IpaD, StxB, and TolC proteins from Shigella through a bioinformatics approach as an immunogen candidate. Methods: The sequences of ipaD , stxB, and tolC genes were obtained...

Background: Bacteriophages are bacterial parasites. Unlike lytic bacteriophages, lysogenic bacteriophages do not multiply immediately after entering the host cells and may integrate their genomes into the bacterial genomes as prophages. Prophages can include various phenotypic and genotypic effects on the host bacteria. Enterococcus spp. are Gram-positive bacteria that cause infections in humans and animals. In recent decades, these bacteria have become resistant to various antimicrobials, including vancomycin...

Background: Antibiotic resistance is an important concern for the public health authorities at global level. It is detrimental to human and environmental ecosystems, thus, there is a big need for natural bioactive compounds. In this work, we aimed to find out biomolecules derived from marine bacteria that may constitute an alternative to antibiotics. Methods: We isolated and identified thirty one marine bacteria collected from deep ocean water in central coast of Safi city, Morocco...

Background: Non-Syndromic Cleft Lip and Palate (NSCL/P) is a multifactorial birth defect. The world-wide prevalence of NSCL/P is 1 in 1000 live births; it differs with race, ethnicity and gender. The aim of the present study was to find out the status of candidate gene polymorphisms in NSCL/P cases and its association in phenotype of the patients. Methods: We have screened five polymorphisms in four candidate genes MTHFR (rs1801133, rs1801131) BMP4 (rs17563), TGFA (rs1146297) and IRF6 (rs2235371) by restriction fragment length polymorphism and results were validated by Sanger sequencing...

Background: An increasing number of studies have suggested that unveiling the molecular network of miRNAs may provide novel therapeutic targets or biomarkers. In this study, we investigated the probable molecular functions that are related to microRNA-802 (miR-802) and evaluated its prognostic value in breast cancer utilizing bioinformatics tools. Methods: PPI network, pathway enrichment and transcription factor analysis were applied to obtain hub genes among overlapping genes of four miRNA target prediction databases...

Background: Adjuvants are essential to potentiate the immune response to inoculated antigens and play a central role in vaccine development. Alum is generally used as a classic adjuvant, although it does not stimulate proper immunity, and some of the immunized subjects have low or no antibody response. Efforts have been continued to find more efficient adjuvants for better antibody responses. In the present study, the efficacy of three formulations of adjuvants, i.e . Cysteine p Guanine Oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG ODN), alum, and Freund, in the production of monoclonal anti Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) antibodies was investigated...

Background: The high heritability of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) has been estimated from different studies. Recently, Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) show a large number of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) loci affecting susceptibility to RA. The rs934734 polymorphism in the SPRED2 gene is one of these loci. Studies have shown that the SPRED2 gene is involved in the regulation of inflammatory response, leukocyte infiltration, and local chemokine production. In the current study, the possible association between SNP rs934734 (intronic variant) in the SPRED2 gene with RA risk in the Iranian population was evaluated...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy worldwide. Doxorubicin is an anthracycline used to treat breast cancer as the first treatment choice. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying the response to Doxorubicin and its side effects are not comprehensively understood so far. We used systems biology and bioinformatics methods to identify essential genes and molecular mechanisms behind the body response to Doxorubicin and its side effects in breast cancer patients...

Background: Growing evidence supports that changes in the methylation state of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)-associated genes could significantly alter levels of gene expression, potentially contributing to disease onset and progression. We supposed that alterations in DNA methylation status at promoter region within the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) gene in intestinal tissues may be involved in the susceptibility to Crohn's Disease (CD). Methods: DNA methylation status in the promoter region of the human SOCS3 gene of intestinal tissues from 15 patients with CD and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were profiled using the real-time Quantitative Multiplex Methylation Specific PCR (QM-MSP) assay...

Background: Serological diagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis ( S. stercoralis ) is fre-quently challenging because of cross-reactivity with other parasitic nematodes. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce novel serological tests with high performance to properly diagnose this neglected parasitic infection. The purpose of the current study was to design a multi-epitope construct for the diagnosis of S. stercoralis . Methods: For the purpose of this study, first, highly antigenic segments and potential immunodominant epitopes of S...

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antimicrobial effects of berberine and thioridazine, as well as their effect on the gene expression of the AdeABC efflux pump system in Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii ( A. baumannii ) isolates. Methods: This study was carried out in five MDR clinical isolates of A. baumannii and a sample of standard strain ( A. baumannii PTCC1797). The effect of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of berberine, thioridazine, and ciprofloxacin alone and their combination on A...

Background: Non-syndromic cleft lip occurs by the interaction of environmental and genetic factors. The purpose of the current study was to analyze the association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in IRF6 and NSCL/P in an Iranian population. Methods: A group of 105 children with NSCL/P and 185 normal controls were included in the current study. Genotyping of IRF6 rs2013162 and rs2235375 was performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method...

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a group of very diverse viruses that cause a broad spectrum of diseases from mild to severe enteric, respiratory, systemic diseases, and common cold or pneumonia among humans and animals. This virus is associated with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and lung disease that lead to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). In December 2019, researchers identified a novel coronavirus type, called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), which was associated with symptoms of high fever, dry cough, headache, diarrhea, and reduction of White Blood Cells (WBC)...

BACKGROUND: The highly contagious SARS-COV-2 virus spread rapidly from China and formed a global pandemic. The virus has infected over 509 million people worldwide and killed about 6.32 million up to date. Up on invasion, the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of Spike protein plays a crucial role in the entry of the virus into the host cell. The virus N protein is another protein that has a critical role for genome packaging. METHODS: As bioinformatics approaches, the cassette design, codon adaptation, and protein stability were investigated in this study...

BACKGROUND: The biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant materials is a rapidly developing method with several alternative medical applications. This comparative study of ethanolic fruit extract of Citrullus colocynthis ( C. colocynthis ) (EFECC) and synthesized silver nanoparticles (CC-AgNPs) were carried out for antioxidants and anti-gout arthritic activities. METHODS: The AgNPs were synthesized using C. colocynthis fruit and its characterization was done by UV-visible spectroscopy, TEM, XRD and FT-IR...

BACKGROUND: Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) elicit humoral and cellular immune responses. Due to their high sequence homology, they can be developed as a new immunogen for cross prophylactic and vaccination effects against infectious agents such as Enteropathogenic and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC). This study aimed to evaluate the immunogenicity and cross-protective efficacy of rGroEL of Salmonella typhi ( S. typhi ) encapsulated in poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles against EPEC and EHEC...

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a common condition with a high risk of mortality and morbidity, so, early diagnosis and management of AKI is very important in clinical practice. Despite significant progress in the management of AKI, it still carries high morbidity and mortality. BUN and serum creatinine are not very sensitive nor specific for the diagnosis of AKI because they are affected by many renal and non-renal factors that are independent of kidney injury or kidney function and change significantly only after significant kidney injury and with a substantial time delay...