Epidemiological Study of Various HPV Strains in Cervical Fluid Samples in South-Eastern Iran, 2018-2020.

BACKGROUND: Uterine cervical malignancy is one of the commonly detected malignancies related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) and is increasing incidentally in developing countries. Therefore, the use of an efficient diagnostic method is required as an effectual step for cervical cancer prevention and treatment. The purpose of the study was to diagnose various types of HPV in the cervical cytology specimens in the South-East of Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 1079 cervical fluid cytology specimens referred for two years, between 2018-2020. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization (INNO-LiPA HPV Genotyping EXTRA II assay) were used to determine HPV DNA and their genotypes, respectively. RESULTS: HPV was positive in 37.7% (407 of 1079) patients with a mean age of 34.62 ± 8.82. Among positive cases, 252 (62%) had only one HPV genotype and 155 (38.05%) had multiplex HPV genotypes, which included 94 (60.7%), 38 (24.6%), 18 (11.6%) and 5 (3.2%) cases with two, three, four and five or more genotypes, respectively. The samples with multiple strains revealed 31 HPV genotypes with the four most prevalent being HPV6 (14.7%), HPV16 (10.9%), HPV53 (9.6%) and HPV51 (5.9%). CONCLUSION: HPV infection is the main health challenge for women that requires improved health service programs and appropriate epidemic vaccination.

IL-18 and IL-1ß Gene Polymorphisms: The Plausible Risk Factors for Chronic Hepatitis B.

Chronic inflammation is the main risk factor for induction of liver cirrhosis and also hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Although our knowledge is growing regarding molecular mechanisms of immune responses against viruses, the main mechanisms that lead to the progression of chronic inflammation and then CHB are yet to be clarified. IL-18 and IL-1ß are the members of the IL-1 family and produced in the cytoplasm of a wide range of immune and nonimmune cells and activated by inflammasome pathways. The cytokines play key roles in the pathologies of CHB. IL-18 and IL-1ß productions are altered in CHB patients. It has been hypothesized that the polymorphisms within IL-18 and IL-1ß genes may be the main reasons for the induction of chronic inflammation in CHB patients. This review article discusses the related investigations regarding the main correlation between the polymorphisms within IL-18 and IL-1ß genes and CHB pathogenesis.

Statistical optimization of kojic acid production by a UV-induced mutant strain of Aspergillus terreus

ABSTRACT The ability of four Aspergillus strains for biosynthesis of kojic acid was evaluated among which Aspergillus terreus represented the highest level (2.21 g/L) of kojic acid production. Improvement kojic acid production ability of A. terreus by random mutagenesis using different exposure time to ultraviolet light (5-40 min) was then performed to obtain a suitable mutant of kojic acid production (designated as C5-10, 7.63 g/L). Thereafter, design of experiment protocol was employed to find medium components (glucose, yeast extract, KH2PO4 (NH4)2SO4, and pH) influences on kojic acid production by the C5-10 mutant. A 25-1 fractional factorial design augmented to central composite design showed that glucose, yeast extract, and KH2PO4 were the most considerable factors within the tested levels (p < 0.05). The optimum medium composition for the kojic acid production by the C5-10 mutant was found to be glucose, 98.4 g/L; yeast extract, 1.0 g/L; and KH2PO4, 10.3 mM which was theoretically able to produce 120.2 g/L of kojic acid based on the obtained response surface model for medium optimization. Using these medium compositions an experimental maximum Kojic acid production (109.0 ± 10 g/L) was acquired which verified the efficiency of the applied method.

Statistical optimization of kojic acid production by a UV-induced mutant strain of Aspergillus terreus.

The ability of four Aspergillus strains for biosynthesis of kojic acid was evaluated among which Aspergillus terreus represented the highest level (2.21g/L) of kojic acid production. Improvement kojic acid production ability of A. terreus by random mutagenesis using different exposure time to ultraviolet light (5-40min) was then performed to obtain a suitable mutant of kojic acid production (designated as C5-10, 7.63g/L). Thereafter, design of experiment protocol was employed to find medium components (glucose, yeast extract, KH2PO4 (NH4)2SO4, and pH) influences on kojic acid production by the C5-10 mutant. A 25-1 fractional factorial design augmented to central composite design showed that glucose, yeast extract, and KH2PO4 were the most considerable factors within the tested levels (p<0.05). The optimum medium composition for the kojic acid production by the C5-10 mutant was found to be glucose, 98.4g/L; yeast extract, 1.0g/L; and KH2PO4, 10.3mM which was theoretically able to produce 120.2g/L of kojic acid based on the obtained response surface model for medium optimization. Using these medium compositions an experimental maximum Kojic acid production (109.0±10g/L) was acquired which verified the efficiency of the applied method.

Probiotic and antioxidant properties of selenium-enriched Lactobacillus brevis LSe isolated from an Iranian traditional dairy product.

The present study was designed to isolate a highly selenium-tolerant lactobacillus strain from an Iranian traditional dairy product named as Spar. Different criteria such as tolerance to the low pH, simulated gastric juice (SGJ), simulated intestinal juice (SIJ) and bile salts tolerance as well as Caco-2 cell adhesion assay were examined to evaluate the probiotic potentials of the selected isolate. Furthermore, the antioxidant properties of the isolate cultivated in medium containing and free of SeO32- ions were evaluated using DPPH scavenging and reducing power assays. The isolate was identified using conventional identification and 16S rDNA gene sequencing methods as Lactobacillus brevis LSe. The obtained results showed that the isolate was able to tolerate high concentration of sodium selenite (3.16mM). By decreasing the pH of the SGJ from 6 to 3, the survival percent of L. brevis LSe was not significantly changed over the time (p>0.05). In addition, the survival percent of the isolate in the SIJ (pH 6 and pH 8) was not statistically altered after 3h, 6h and 24h of incubation (p>0.05). In the presence of bile salts (0.3% and 0.6%) the survival rate of L. brevis LSe was not significantly decreased (p>0.05).L. brevis LSe also demonstrated the satisfactory ability to adhere to Caco-2 cells which were similar to that of the reference strain L. plantarum. The obtained results of antioxidant evaluation showed that L. brevis LSe containing elemental Se exhibited significantly higher radical scavenging ability (36.5±1.31%) and reducing power (OD700, 0.14) than L. brevis LSe cultured in selenite-free medium (p<0.05). To sum up, further investigations should be conducted to merit the probable potential health benefit of Se-enriched L. brevis LSe and its application as Se-containing supplements or fermented foods.

Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of the Biologically Synthesized Tellurium Nanorods; A Preliminary In vitro Study.

Background: Recent theranostic (therapeutic or diagnostic) applications of tellurium nanoparticles have attracted a great interest for development of different methods for synthesis of this valuable nanostructure, especially via biological resources. Objectives: In the present study, the antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of the tellurium nanorods (Te NRs) biosynthesized by a bacterial strain Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes strain Te were evaluated. Materials and Methods: The antimicrobial effect of Te NRs and potassium tellurite against different bacterial and fungal pathogens was assessed by microdilution method. Furthermore, the disk diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial effect of the biogenic Te NRs and potassium tellurite against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, alone or in combination with various antibiotics. Also, the biogenic Te NRs were investigated for antioxidant activity using 2, 2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity and reducing power assay. Results: Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of the purified Te NRs showed individual and rod-shaped nanostructure (~22 nm diameter by 185 nm in length). Based on the data obtained from both microdilution and disk diffusion method the K2 TeO3 exhibited a higher antibacterial and antifungal activity compared to the Te NRs. The measured IC50 for the biogenic Te NRs (i.e. DPPH radical scavenging activity) was found to be 24.9 µg.mL-1, while, K 2 TeO3 has represented only 17.6 ± 0.8 % DPPH radical scavenging effect at the concentration of 160 µg.mL-1. The reducing power assay revealed a higher electron-donating activity for Te NRs compared to K2TeO3. Conclusions: Based on the data obtained from both microdilution and disk diffusion method the K2TeO3 exhibited a higher antimicrobial and antifungal activity than Te NRs. Te NRs didn't show the antibacterial effect against the tested bacterial strain: MRSA and showed an inhibitory effect and antibacterial activity of the effective antibiotics. However, more studies should be performed to explore the action mechanism of the produced biogenic Te NRs.

A minireview on the in vitro and in vivo experiments with anti-Escherichia coli O157:H7 phages as potential biocontrol and phage therapy agents.

Phage therapy is an old method of combating bacterial pathogens that has recently been taken into consideration due to the alarming spread of antibiotic resistance. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen that causes hemorrhagic colitis and life-threatening Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). There are several studies on isolation of specific phages against E. coli O157:H7 and more than 60 specific phages have been published so far. Although in vitro experiments have been successful in elimination or reduction of E. coli O157:H7numbers, in vivo experiments have not been as promising. This may be due to escape of bacteria to locations where phages have difficulties to enter or due to the adverse conditions in the gastrointestinal tract that affect phage viability and proliferation. To get around the latter obstacle, an alternative phage delivery method such as polymer microencapsulation should be tried. While the present time results are not very encouraging the work should be continued as more efficient phage treatment regimens might be found in future.

Maspin Gene Expression in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of Breast.

BACKGROUND: The breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women, on the other hand absence of myoepithelial cells play a pivotal role in pathogenesis of this cancer. Thus we aimed to investigate the possible abilities of the molecular assay technique to find a relationship between mammary serine protease inhibitor (Maspin) gene expression possibly secreted by myoepithelial cells, grade of breast cancer and other prognostics factors (ER, PR, and c-erb-B2). METHODS: Paraffin embedded blocks of 31 breast cancer patients together with two normal breast tissues were used for IHC staining and Maspin gene RNA detection uses the real-time PCR method. Applying QIAGEN kit, we were able to measure Maspin RNA and Extract the cDNA of different samples for evaluating the Maspin RNA level. RESULTS: We found that the RNA level was considerably lowerin these cancer samples compared with normal samples. In addition, different grades of breast cancer in the obtained results adopt some distinguishable values. The Maspin expression in samples with grades II and III is much lower than the ones in normal group (P<0.05) which could be considered as a promising way in diagnosing of this disease. The results showed no considerable differences in Maspin gene expression of the c-erb-B2 scores in the tumor group except the samples having score 0. The other observation of this research study confirmed that Maspin gene expression couldn't show any differences between the values of both ER and PR in different scores of the tumor group. On the other hand, the cDNA of these patients showed lower values compared with normal samples. CONCLUSION: Maspin expression was reduced in samples with grade II& III of invasive ductal carcinoma. Based on expression of Maspin Inc-erb-B2, it seems that more expression happened in normal group comparing with different scores of it. We could suggest that there was a reverse relationship between tumor formation and Maspin gene expression. These results showed possible role of Maspin as prognostic factor.

Microbial-assisted synthesis and evaluation the cytotoxic effect of tellurium nanorods.

The present study was designed to isolate bacterial strain capable of tellurium nanorods' (Te NRs) production followed by purification and evaluation of the cytotoxic effect of Te NRs. Among 25 environmental samples collected for screening of Te NR-producer bacterial strains one bacterial colony (isolated from hot spring and identified as Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes strain Te) was selected and applied for biosynthesis of Te NRs. Thereafter, an organic-aqueous partitioning system was applied for the purification of the biogenic Te NRs and the purified Te NRs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. The cytotoxic effect of biologically synthesized Te NRs and potassium tellurite on four cell lines of MCF-7, HT1080, HepG2 and A549 was then determined using the MTT assay method. The obtained results revealed lower toxicity for the rod-shaped biogenic tellurium nanostructures (~22nm diameter by 185nm length) compared to K2TeO3.

Preparation and evaluation of the effect of Fe3 O4 @piroctone olamine magnetic nanoparticles on matrix metalloproteinase-2: a preliminary in vitro study.

In the present study, Fe3 O4 magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by the coprecipitation of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) ions and used as a nanocarrier for the production of piroctone-olamine-loaded Fe3 O4 nanoparticles (Fe3 O4 @PO NPs). The nanocrystalline structure of the prepared iron oxide species was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction spectroscopy method. Particle size distribution analysis showed that the size of Fe3 O4 @PO NPs was in the range of 5-55 nm. The magnetization curve of Fe3 O4 @PO NPs (with saturation magnetization of 28.2 emu/g) confirmed its ferromagnetic property. Loading of PO on the surface of Fe3 O4 NPs qualitatively verified by Fourier transform infrared spectrum obtained from Fe3 O4 @PO NPs. Cytotoxicity studies on the human fibrosarcoma cell line (HT-1080) revealed higher inhibitory effect of Fe3 O4 @PO NPs (50% cell death [IC50 ] of 8.1 µg/mL) as compared with Fe3 O4 NPs (IC50 of 117.1 µg/mL) and PO (IC50 of 71.2 µg/mL) alone. In the case of human normal fibroblast (Hs68), the viability percentage was found to be 75% in the presence of Fe3 O4 @PO NPs (120 µg/mL). Gelatin zymography showed 17.2% and 34.6% inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in the presence of Fe3 O4 @PO and PO, respectively, at the same concentration of 40 µg/mL, whereas Fe3 O4 NPs did not inhibit MMP-2 at any concentration.