Association between Parvovirus B19 and thyroid/celiac autoantibodies among T1DM pediatric patients.

OBJECTIVE: In recent years, an overwhelming association between Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) and autoimmune diseases has been largely reported. The current study was designed to determine a possible association between autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT), celiac disease (CD) - associated autoantibodies, and Parvovirus B19 infection among pediatric T1DM cases in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Blood samples from age groups 1-18 years attending the Diabetic Clinic were collected over a period of 12 months. Serum anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPO), anti-thyroglobulin (TG), anti-tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A (TG-IgA), endomysial IgA (EMA-IgA), Parvovirus B19-IgG and IgM antibodies were detected by standard methods. RESULTS: The results showed the prevalence of autoantibodies against thyroid and CD among pediatric T1DM patients to be 44 (25%) and 25 (14.4%), respectively. The prevalence of antibodies against B19 was 70 (40%). Further determination of the prevalence of Parvovirus B19-IgG antibodies and thyroid antibodies among T1DM pediatric patients revealed that there was a significant association between them with a p<0.0491. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of autoantibodies against the thyroid was higher among the seropositive Parvovirus B19 children with T1DM. A positive association between the prevalence of autoantibodies against thyroid disease and the increase in the duration of diabetes was also noted. Hence, periodic screening of T1DM patients for B19 antibodies and autoantibodies for thyroid is crucial.

Assessment of phytoremediation potential of native plant species naturally growing in a heavy metal-polluted industrial soils.

The present study was carried out in Hayat Abad Industrial Estate located in Peshawar to assess the levels of cadmium (Cd) that were present in the soil as well as the plant parts (Roots and shoots). To evaluate the phytoremediation potential of the plants different factors i.e. Bioconcentration Factor (BCF), Translocation Factor (TF), and Bioaccumulation Coefficient were determined. These plants were grown in their native habitats (BAC). We have analysed, cadmium concentration from soil which are collected from 50 different locations ranged from 11.54 mg/Kg (the lowest) to 89.80 mg/Kg (highest). The maximum concentration (89.80 mg/Kg) of cadmium was found in HIE-ST-16L Marble City and HIE-ST-7 Bryon Pharma (88.51 mg/Kg) while its minimum concentration (12.47 mg/Kg) were detected in the soil of Site (HIE-ST-14L Royal PVC Pipe) and (11.54 mg/Kg) at the site (HIE-ST-11 Aries Pharma). Most plant species showed huge potential for plant based approaches like phyto-extraction and phytoremediation. They also showed the potential for phyto-stabilization as well. Based on the concentration of cadmium the most efficient plants for phytoextraction were Cnicus benedictus, Parthenium hysterophorus, Verbesina encelioides, Conyza canadensis, Xanthium strumarium, Chenopodium album, Amaranthus viridis, Chenopodiastrum murale, Prosopis juliflora, Convolvulus arvensis, Stellaria media, Arenaria serpyllifolia, Cerastium dichotomum, Chrozophora tinctoria, Mirabilis jalapa, Medicago polymorpha, Lathyrus aphaca, Dalbergia sissoo, Melilotus indicus and Anagallis arvensis. The cadmium heavy metals in the examined soil were effectively removed by these plant species. Cerastium dichotomum, and Chenopodium murale were reported to be effective in phyto-stabilizing Cd based on concentrations of selected metals in roots and BCFs, TFs, and BACs values.

Melatonin attenuates thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis in male rats through modulation of interleukin-6, interleukin-4, apoptosis and urokinase plasminogen activator receptor-associated protein/Endo180.

Liver fibrosis is a chronic progressive disease, its resolution still unclear, and the current study explored the role of melatonin in modulation of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-4 (IL-4), transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-ß1) and urokinase plasminogen activator receptor-associated protein/Endo180 (uPARAP/Endo180) pathway in thioacetamide (TAA)-induced hepatotoxicity. Thirty two adult Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: vehicle control group, TAA-induced liver fibrosis group that was left untreated, melatonin administration before and along with TAA and melatonin along with TAA group. TTA-induced massive liver necrosis, fibrosis around portal tract and increases serum levels of liver enzymes and total bilirubin when compared with control vehicle group. While both melatonin pretreatment and treatment retained liver parenchyma and liver enzymes quite similar to control group and reduced TAA-induced liver injury. Notably, melatonin pretreatment and treatment increased collagen degradation in TAA liver injury by19, 31.7-fold respectively evidence by collagen percentage area. Melatonin also decreased the amount of thiobarbituric acid reactive compounds and retained the reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase to basal level quite similar to control group. Additionally, melatonin significantly (P value ≤0.05) decreased the levels of TGF-ß1, epidermal growth factor (EGF), hydroxyproline, tissues IL-6, caspase-3, and receptor interacting serine/threonine kinase1 (RIPK1), fibrillin-1, and - smooth muscle actin in the liver tissues while significantly (P value ≤0.05) increasing the levels of IL-4 and uPARAP/Endo180. Due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antioxidant capabilities as well as its ability to decrease hepatic stellate cell activation and fibrogenesis, these data imply that melatonin has a powerful anti-fibrotic effect.

Kaempferol Induces Cell Death in A2780 Ovarian Cancer Cells and Increases Their Sensitivity to Cisplatin by Activation of Cytotoxic Endoplasmic Reticulum-Mediated Autophagy and Inhibition of Protein Kinase B.

This study investigated whether kaempferol could inhibit ovarian cancer (OC) by activation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy, and tested its effect on the sensitivity of OC cells to cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum, DPP). To study the effect of kaempferol on activation of ER stress and autophagy and find out whether its mechanism of action involves calcium (Ca2+), A2780 OC cells were cultured in DMEM/F12 for 24 h with or without kaempferol (40 µmol/l) in the presence or absence of autophagy or ER stress inhibitors or a calcium chelator. To study the effect of kaempferol on the sensitivity of OC cells to DPP and the potential involvement of modulation of protein kinase B (Akt) expression, A2780 OC were incubated with kaempferol and increasing concentrations of DPP (0-20 µmol/l) and then with kaempferol at its predetermined IC50 (6.8 µmol/l). Compared to control cells, kaempferol increased cell apoptosis (158 %) and decreased viability (53.17 %) and proliferation (49.17 %) of A2780 OC cells. Concomitantly, it increased the protein levels of GRP78, PERK, ATF6, IRE-1, LC3II, beclin 1, and caspase 4, thus suggesting activation of cytotoxic autophagy. This was mediated by increasing intracellular Ca+2 levels. In addition, kaempferol increased the sensitivity of A2780 cells to DPP (IC50 from 6.867 ± 0.99 to 3.73 ± 0.59 µmol/l) by decreasing the protein levels of p-Akt (0.31 ± 0.09 vs 0.12 ± 0.005). In conclusion, the findings of this study encourage the use of kaempferol alone or in combination with DPP to inhibit tumorigenesis of ovarian cells.

Biochemical and molecular aspects of aluminium chloride-induced neurotoxicity in mice and the protective role of Crocus sativus L. extraction and honey syrup.

Aluminium has been proposed as an environmental factor that may affect several enzymes and other biomolecules related to neurotoxicity and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The promising protective effect of aqueous saffron extract and honey syrup on neurotoxicity induced by aluminuim chloride (AlCl(3)) may be derived from their own antioxidant properties. Balb/c and C57BL/6 mice (35-40 g) were injected with AlCl(3), 40 mg/kg/day for 45 days. Each mice strain was divided into four groups: AlCl(3) treated group, AlCl(3) plus water saffron extract group (administered with saffron extract at 200 mg/kg b.w. once a day for the experimental period), AlCl(3) plus honey syrup group (administered with honey syrup at 500 mg/kg b.w. for 45 days). The control group received no treatment. Oxidative stress and antioxidant status were estimated in the brain and differential display was performed for both mice strains to scan the mRNA in the treated and non treated groups. In addition, the up and down regulated genes were isolated, cloned and sequenced. The sequence analysis was performed and compared with the other genes cited on GenBank. The results show that there was a decrease in the activity of the antioxidant enzymes (P≤0.001) such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the AlCl3 groups of both mice strains. The level of brain thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) showed a significant increase (P≤0.001) of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the AlCl(3) groups. There was an indication of carcinogenicity in the AlCl(3) treated group representing an increase in serum tumor markers such as arginase and a-l-fucosidase. More than 350 band patterns were obtained and about 22 different up-down regulated genes were observed. The sequence analysis of the three selected up-regulated genes revealed that they are similar to B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), R-spondin and the inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase genes (INPP4B), respectively. The R-spondin gene was up-regulated in all examined animals except the control ones but the other two genes were only induced in the animals treated with AlCl(3) and honey syrup. We conclude that the biochemical and molecular studies showed the neurotoxicity of AlCl(3) in the brains of mice. In addition, there was an ameliorative change with saffron extract and honey syrup against AlCl(3) neurotoxicity. The obtained molecular results suggest that AlCl(3) made induction for BCL-W gene, which is an anticancer gene or belongs to the DNA repair system in the brain cells, as well as for R-spondin and inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase genes, which help in cell proliferation.