Effects of resveratrol on VEGF & HIF1 genes expression in granulosa cells in the angiogenesis pathway and laboratory parameters of polycystic ovary syndrome: a triple-blind randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: Management options for PCOS, as the most prevalent endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, using natural supplements have a high priority for physicians, especially based on the etiological pathways. Therefore, this study was conducted to describe the effect of resveratrol on the angiogenesis pathway, for management of PCOS through assessing VEGF, HIF1 gene expression, and laboratory parameters. METHODS: In this triple-blind RCT, PCOS was confirmed in ICSI candidates based on the Rotterdam criteria. Sixty-two patients that met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to two groups. All patients took resveratrol 800 mg/day or placebo for 40 days orally from the beginning of their previous menstruation cycle until the oocyte retrieval day. The serum levels of different hormones were measured, and the expression of HIF1 & VEGF genes was quantified by real-time PCR. RESULTS: As for the laboratory hormone assay in 61 PCOS patients, a significant mean difference was seen in the FSH, LH, TSH, and testosterone between the two groups (P < 0.05). The results showed a reduction in the expression of VEGF & HIF1 genes under the effect of resveratrol in the granulosa cells (P = 0.0001). The number of mature oocytes, cleavage rate, fertilization rate, and fertility rate were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05), but the high-quality oocyte rate and high-quality embryo rate were higher in the resveratrol group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results, resveratrol may improve some outcomes of PCOS patients, probably through changing the serum levels of some sex hormones and expression of VEGF & HIF1 genes in the angiogenesis pathway of granulosa cells.

DNA methylation as a promising landscape: A simple blood test for breast cancer prediction.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide. Risk assessment is one of the main services delivered by cancer clinics. Biomarker analysis on different tissues including the peripheral blood can provide crucial information. One of the potential epigenetic biomarkers (epimarkers) is introduced as the peripheral blood DNA methylation pattern. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential value of peripheral blood epimarkers as an accessible tool to predict the risk of breast cancer development. WBC's DNA was the focus of several case-control studies at both genome wide and candidate gene levels to reveal epigenetic changes accounting for predisposition to breast cancer, leading to suggest that ATM, TITF1, SFRP1, NUP155, NEUROD1, ZNF217, DBC2, DOK7 and ESR1 genes and the LINE1, Alu and Sat2 DNA elements could be considered as the potential epimarkers. To address that by which mechanisms WBC's DNA methylation patterns could be linked to the propensity to breast cancer, several contemplations have been offered. Constitutional epimutation during embryonic life, and methylation changes secondary to either environmental exposures or tumor-mediated immune response, are the two main mechanisms. One can deduce that epimarkers based on their potential properties or regulatory impacts on cancer-related genes may be employed for risk prediction, prognosis, and survival inferences that are highly required for breast cancer management toward personalized medicine.

Treatment of adenomyomectomy in women with severe uterine adenomyosis using a novel technique.

The advised treatment for severe adenomyosis is hysterectomy, but for patients wishing to preserve their uterus, novel conservative surgery, adenomyomectomy, can be performed. The technique needs to be developed to reduce spontaneous uterine rupture, adhesion and recurrence rates. This study aimed to investigate the safety and therapeutic outcomes of adenomyomectomy. Prospectively, 103 Iranian patients with documented severe adenomyosis were candidates for adenomyomectomy over a period of 7 years (from April 2004 to March 2011). The surgical procedure involved resection of adenomatosis lesions with a thin (⩽ 0.5 cm) margin (wedge-shaped removal) after sagittal incision in the uterine body. Reconstruction of the layers was performed and inverted sutures were used for the serosal layer ends. Of 103 patients, 55.34% presented with infertility, 16.50% with IVF failure, 8.74% with recurrent abortion and 19.42% with abnormal uterine bleeding. Of 70 patients who attempted pregnancy, naturally (n=21) or by assisted reproduction treatment (n=49), 30% achieved a clinical pregnancy, and 16 resulted in a full-term live birth. Dysmenorrhoea and hypermenorrhoea were reduced post surgery. Only one patient had relapsed adenomyosis. Adenomyomectomy is a conservative and effective treatment for adenomyosis. This study describes an efficient procedure to treat severe adenomyosis. Adenomyosis is uterine thickening that occurs when endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus, moves into the outer muscular walls of the uterus. The advised treatment for the severe forms of adenomyosis is hysterectomy (removal of the patient's uterus), but for the patient who wishes to preserve her uterus, a novel conservative surgery referred to as 'adenomyomectomy' (removal of the abnormal tissues) can be performed. This technique must be developed for reduction of spontaneous uterine rupture, adhesions and recurrence rate. This study aims to investigate the safety and therapeutic outcomes of adenomyomectomy. Prospectively, 103 Iranian patients with documented severe adenomyosis were candidates for adenomyomectomy over a period of 7 years (from April 2004 to March 2011). The surgical procedure was resection of adenomatosis lesions with a thin margin. Of 103 patients, 55.34% presented with infertility, 16.50% with IVF failure, 8.74% with recurrent abortion and 19.42% with abnormal uterus bleeding. Of 70 patients who attempted pregnancy either naturally (n=21) or using assisted reproduction technology (n=49), 30% became pregnant, and 16 pregnancies reached full term. There was a significant reduction in dysmenorrhoea and hypermenorrhoea. Only one patient had relapsed adenomyosis. Based on these results, we conclude that adenomyomectomy is the conservative and effective option to treat adenomyosis with preservation of the uterus. The procedure described in this study can be an efficient procedure to treat severe adenomyosis.

The Effect of Biomaterials on Human Dental Pulp Stem Cell Neural Differentiation: A Scoping Review.

Neural cells are the most important components of the nervous system and have the duty of electrical signal transmission. Damage to these cells can lead to neurological disorders. Scientists have discovered different methods, such as stem cell therapy, to heal or regenerate damaged neural cells. Dental stem cells are among the different cells used in this method. This review attempts to evaluate the effect of biomaterials mentioned in the cited papers on differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) into neural cells for use in stem cell therapy of neurological disorders. We searched international databases for articles about the effect of biomaterials on neuronal differentiation of hDPSCs. The relevant articles were screened by title, abstract, and full text, followed by selection and data extraction. Totally, we identified 731 articles and chose 18 for inclusion in the study. A total of four studies employed polymeric scaffolds, four assessed chitosan scaffolds (CS), two utilised hydrogel scaffolds, one investigation utilised decellularised extracellular matrix (ECM), and six studies applied the floating sphere technique. hDPSCs could heal nerve damage in regenerative medicine. In the third iteration of nerve conduits, scaffolds, stem cells, regulated growth factor release, and ECM proteins restore major nerve damage. hDPSCs must differentiate into neural cells or neuron-like cells to regenerate nerves. Plastic-adherent cultures, floating dentosphere cultures, CS, polymeric scaffolds, hydrogels, and ECM mimics have been used to differentiate hDPSCs. According to our findings, the floating dentosphere technique and 3D-PLAS are currently the two best techniques since they result in neuroprogenitor cells, which are the starting point of differentiation and they can turn into any desired neural cell.

A novel biallelic LMNB2 variant in a patient with progressive myoclonus epilepsy and ataxia: A case of laminopathy.

The report of LMNB2-related progressive myoclonus epilepsy and ataxia due to missense homozygous c.473G>T variant.

Comparison of mitochondrial-related transcriptional levels of TFAM, NRF1 and MT-CO1 genes in single human oocytes at various stages of the oocyte maturation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current study was to assess the mRNA levels of two mitochondria-related genes, including nuclear-encoded NRF1 (nuclear respiratory factor 1), mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), and mitochondrial-encoded cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (MT-CO1) genes in various stages of the human oocyte maturation. METHODS: Oocytes were obtained from nine infertile women with male factor undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection protocol. Mitochondrial-related mRNA levels were performed by single-cell TaqMan real-time PCR. RESULTS: the expression level of the target genes was low at the germinal vesicle stage (P>0.05). Although the mRNA level of NRF1gene remained stable in metaphase I, the mRNA level of TFAM and MT-CO1 increased significantly (P<0.05).In metaphase II, the expression level of all genes increased compared to metaphase I (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The overexpression levels of NRF1, TFAM, and MT-CO1 genes are related to the oocyte maturation. Therefore, the current study could be used clinically to improve the success rate of IVF.