Metagenomics Characterization of Ixodes ricinus Intestinal Microbiota as Major Vector of Tick-Borne Diseases in Domestic Animals.

Background: Understanding the microbiota of disease vectors can help for developing new strategies to prevent the transmission of vector pathogens. Ixodes ricinus is one of the most notorious tick vectors with increasing importance in Iran and other parts of the world while there is limited data on its microbiota. This study aimed to use metagenomics for identifying the I. ricinus tick's microbiota of Iran. Methods: A total of 39 adult ticks were collected from Mazandaran (21 females), Gilan (17 females), and Golestan (1 male). Five tick pools prepared from 39 adults of I. ricinus were subjected to metagenomics analysis. The data were analyzed by targeting the V6 region of the 16S rRNA gene by Illumina 4000 Hiseq sequencing. Results: Among hundreds of intestinal microbiota identified by metagenomics, various pathogenic microorganisms distributed in 30 genera and species including those responsible for tick-borne diseases resided in the genera Coxiella, Rickettsia, and Burkholderia were found. Conclusion: Our results indicated that metagenomics identifies bacteria genera and species which cannot be easily recognized by routine methods. The presence of such pathogenic bacteria indicates the importance of possible zoonotic diseases in this region which could affect public health. These results further substantiate the importance of advanced metagenomics analyses to identify neglected tick-borne pathogens which enable researchers to provide efficient mapping roads for the management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

A Retrospective Study of Serum Calcium Status in Tehran, Iran (105,128 Samples, from 2009-2018).

Background: Calcium is a necessary mineral for life to keep the body and bones healthy. Various factors including hormones, diet, age, and gender affect serum calcium status. The aim of this sturdy was to assess the serum calcium level (SCL) of Tehran population, which has about 10 million multi-Ethnic populations and represents from the whole country. Methods: In this retrospective study, the measured SCL of 105,128 individuals referred to different laboratories of Tehran, Iran were evaluated and its relationship with the age, gender, seasons, and different years during 2009-2018, were analyzed. Results: After excluding outliers, 91,257samples remained, which 61162 (58.64%) and 30,095 (41.36%) were female and male, respectively. The mean SCL was 9.36 (9.35, 9.37) mg/dl (95%CI). The highest and lowest SCLs were 3.1 and 18.2mg/dl, respectively. From the total study population, 74127 (81.23%) had normal SCLs, 14110 (15.46%) had hypocalcemia, and 3020 (3.31%) had hypercalcemia. SCLs were normal in 83.6% of men and 79.66% of women. Women had a significantly higher frequency of hypocalcemia compared to men (17.2% vs. 12.83%, p<0.0001). Conclusion: Normal and abnormal SCLs were significantly different in age groups and in both genders. It means that gender and age affect SCLs. Every year of increasing age, reduces the chance of hypercalcemia by 40%, significantly. Age seems to affect hypercalcemia more than hypocalcemia. Age in men increases the risk of hypocalcemia, and reduces the risk of hypocalcemia in women. Therefore, it is recommended to encourage dietary calcium intake among premenopausal women and older men.

The History of Corona Virus: From Neanderthals to the Present Time: A Brief Review.

Contrary to popular belief, 2019 was not the first time humans were infected by the Coronavirus. Coronavirus is one of the oldest viruses on the earth. This article discusses the history of this virus from Neanderthal time so far. We have collected a variety of articles related to coronaviruses and the extent of their interaction with humans from the first time probably appeared on earth, given that this virus is one of the ancient viruses. By examining and following the footsteps of coronaviruses in different works of literature, we found that the first homo that was infected with the coronavirus was Neanderthal. Moreover, we realized that in addition to risk factors such as age and background diseases, genetic evolution also plays an essential role in the protection of the body against coronavirus. On the other hand, this virus has evolved throughout history gradually, the same as humans. The presence of disease in humans, in any period of history, causes changes in human quality of life. Therefore, paying attention to the background of ancient diseases reveals principal information about the complexity of pathogens.

EZH2 as a new therapeutic target in brain tumors: Molecular landscape, therapeutic targeting and future prospects.

Brain tumors are responsible for high mortality and morbidity worldwide. The brain tumor treatment depends on identification of molecular pathways involved in progression and malignancy. Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) has obtained much attention in recent years in field of cancer therapy due to its aberrant expression and capacity in modulating expression of genes by binding to their promoter and affecting methylation status. The present review focuses on EZH2 signaling in brain tumors including glioma, glioblastoma, astrocytoma, ependymomas, medulloblastoma and brain rhabdoid tumors. EZH2 signaling mainly participates in increasing proliferation and invasion of cancer cells. However, in medulloblastoma, EZH2 demonstrates tumor-suppressor activity. Furthermore, EZH2 can regulate response of brain tumors to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Various molecular pathways can function as upstream mediators of EZH2 in brain tumors including lncRNAs and miRNAs. Owing to its enzymatic activity, EZH2 can bind to promoter of target genes to induce methylation and affects their expression. EZH2 can be considered as an independent prognostic factor in brain tumors that its upregulation provides undesirable prognosis. Both anti-tumor agents and gene therapies such as siRNA have been developed for targeting EZH2 in cancer therapy.

Expression of miR-127, miR-154, and miR-183 in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Tumors.

BACKGROUND: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) accounts for 5%-10% of all thyroid cancers, but causes 13% of all thyroid cancer related deaths. MicroRNAs (miRs) have key functions in the development and progression of MTC. Altered expression of some miRs has been reported in many human cancers, including Thyroid cancer. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the expression of miR-154, miR-183 and miR-127 in MTC tumor tissues. METHODS: In this case-control study, 15 MTC Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples and 15 adjacent normal thyroid FFPE tissues, as a control group, were collected from Taleghani, and Loghman Hakim Hospitals, Tehran, Iran since 2005 till 2015. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, the expression of miR-127, miR-154 and miR-183 was measured by quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: Our data showed a significant increase in the expression of miR-127 in MTC samples in comparison with the control group (P<0.05). Although miR-154 and miR-183 expression levels had increase expression in MTC tumors, this change was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The miR-127 could be considered as a prognostic, diagnostic and therapeutic marker for the management of MTC, and it is proposed for further investigation to fully establish the role of this miRNA in MTC.

A Comprehensive, Epidemiological and Ecological Descriptive Study on Vitamin D Status in Iran (308005 People, from 2009-2018).

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D is an essential substance for absorption of calcium and phosphorus from intestine so it is vital for muscles and skeletal development. Deficiency of this vitamin is pandemic. The vitamin D status depends on the different factors such as UV exposure, diet, and ecological features of living location, age and gender. The aim of this study was to describe the vitamin D level in different provinces of Iran and to investigate the association between vitamin D status and multiple variables. METHODS: We collected the serum 25(OH)D (Vitamin D) level data of 308,005 people referred to different laboratories from 30 provinces of Iran and organized them by each province, year, age, gender, precipitation, latitude and longitude, and humidity over 10 yr (2009-2018). Data were analyzed to find out the correlation between age, gender, longitude and latitude, humidity and sum of precipitation. RESULTS: West Azerbaijan had the highest level of vitamin D with a mean level of 33.24 and a standard deviation of 32.001, and North Khorasan had the lowest level with a mean level of 14.46 and a standard deviation of 8.980 among 30 provinces of Iran. The correlation between all studied variables (age, and gender, latitude and longitude, humidity, the sum of precipitation) was significant (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The average total vitamin D level in Iran is 25.41 ng/ml, which is within the area of deficiency. Vitamin D is associated with age, and gender, latitude and longitude, humidity, the sum of precipitation. So changes in any of these variables can lead to vitamin D alteration.