The Effects of Ovalbumin on Proliferation, Migration, and Stemness Properties of Chemoresistant SW480 Colon Cancer Cells.

Egg peptides are factors in the embryonic environment with many significant biological activities, such as anticancer activity. Therefore, the current study investigates the effect of egg ovalbumin (OVA) on survival, cell cycle, self-renewal ability, stemness properties, and migration in SW480 colon cancer cells and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) resistant subgroup. MTT test was performed to assess cell viability. Flow cytometry was employed to analyze the cell cycle. Clonogenic assay and spheroid formation were used to assess the effect of OVA on self-renewal and stemness properties. Wound healing assay and RT-PCR were performed to analyze migration and gene mRNA expression. We demonstrated that OVA (8 and 12 mg/ml) attenuated cell viability, induced cell-cycle arrest, inhibited colony formation, and non-significantly reduced spheroid formation and migration in both cell lines. Furthermore, OVA downregulated the expression of Nanog, c-Myc, and NDRG1 in both cells, suggesting a stemness and self-renewal attenuation by OVA. In conclusion, OVA exposure inhibited the 5FU-SW480 chemo-resistant subpopulation growth by inducing cell cycle arrest and diminishing self-renewal and partially stemness properties of colon cancer cells.

Low physical activity is the strongest factor associated with frailty phenotype and frailty index: data from baseline phase of Birjand Longitudinal Aging Study (BLAS).

BACKGROUND: Frailty is the most complicated expression of aging that is related to disability or multi-morbidity. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of frailty and its associated factors among community-dwelling aged population. METHODS: A total of 1529 eligible community- dwelling older adults (≥ 60 years) were enrolled in the baseline phase of Birjand Longitudinal Aging Study (BLAS) from 2019 to 2020. Their frailty status was assessed using the Fried's frailty phenotype and frailty index. Sociodemographic factors, including sex, age, marital status, and education level, were collected. Health status assessment included the history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's diseases and dementia, and other health conditions. Furthermore, functional assessment (ADL, IADL) and anthropometric measurements including height, weight, waist, calf, and mid-arm circumference were made and the body mass index was calculated. The nutrition status and polypharmacy (use 3 or more medication) were also evaluated. RESULTS: The prevalence of frailty was 21.69% according to the frailty phenotype and 23.97% according to the frailty index. A multiple logistic regression model showed a strong association between low physical activity and frailty phenotype (OR = 36.31, CI = 16.99-77.56, P < 0.01), and frailty index (OR = 15.46, CI = 5.65-42.34, P < 0.01). Other factors like old age (≥80), female sex, malnutrition, polypharmacy, obesity, and arthritis were also associated with frailty. The Kappa coefficient of the agreement between these two instruments was 0.18. CONCLUSION: It seems that low physical activity is the most important determinant of frailty. Low physical activity and some other factors may be preventable or modifiable and thus serve as clinically relevant targets for intervention.

Policy Implications for Diabetes Prevention and Control: An Experience from Iran.

Background: Diabetes and its complications threaten the life of communities at global, national, and sub-national levels. Following the United Nations' call to action and develop a global action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs by The World Health Organization (WHO), all countries have a commitment to halt the rise in diabetes prevalence across the world. But the different situations of disease and risk factors, different priorities, and the context of the health care systems moved the countries to develop adapted targets and action plans. On the same ground, Iran established a national authority construction as the Diabetes Sub-committee which is part of the Iranian Non-Communicable Diseases Committee (INCDC) and incorporated a multi-sectoral mechanism to develop the national service framework for diabetes. Accordingly, this paper is aiming at sharing Iran's experience regarding the policy implications for diabetes prevention and control. Exchange this experience could be beneficiary to other countries to lead a systematic action to prevent disability and mortality due to diabetes.

Obesity and intestinal stem cell susceptibility to carcinogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a top public health problem associated with an increase in colorectal cancer incidence. Stem cells are the chief cells in tissue homeostasis that self-renew and differentiate into other cells to regenerate the organ. It is speculated that an increase in stem cell pool makes cells susceptible to carcinogenesis. In this review, we looked at the recent investigations linking obesity/high-fat diet-induced obesity to intestinal carcinogenesis with regard to intestinal stem cells and their niche. FINDINGS: High-fat diet-induced obesity may rise intestinal carcinogenesis by increased Intestinal stem cells (ISC)/progenitor's population, stemness, and niche independence through activation of PPAR-δ with fatty acids, hormonal alterations related to obesity, and low-grade inflammation. However, these effects may possibly relate to the interaction between fats and carbohydrates, and not a fatty acid per se. Nonetheless, literature studies are inconsistency in their results, probably due to the differences in the diet components and limitations of genetic models used. CONCLUSION: High-fat diet-induced obesity affects carcinogenesis by changing ISC proliferation and function. However, a well-matched diet and the reliable colorectal cancer models that mimic human carcinogenesis is necessary to clearly elucidate the influence of high-fat diet-induced obesity on ISC behavior.

Anti-mullerian hormone attenuates insulin resistance and systemic inflammation in old obese C57BL/6 male mice.

PURPOSE: Epidemiological studies show that Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is inversely correlated with age, obesity-related diseases, and all-cause mortality in men. To further investigate the role of AMH in aging and obesity, we studied the effect of AMH treatment on the inflammatory and metabolic parameters and weight in old male C57BL/6 mice. METHOD: Thirty-six old male C57BL/6 mice (18 month-old) were either on the High-Fat Diet (HFD) or Normal Diet (ND). When obesity occurred in the HFD group, each group was divided into two subgroups; AMH-treated (ND+AMH and HFD+AMH) or controls (ND and HFD). The AMH subgroup received 15 ng/gbw of recombinant AMH injection every 48 h in four weeks. Then, serum AMH, CRP, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR were measured and analyzed. RESULTS: AMH injection decreased CRP level (HFD =622.86±25.73, HFD+AMH =543.2±24.99 ng/ml, p= 0.003), fasting insulin (HFD=1.50± 0.34, HFD+AMH =0.8±0.25 ng/ml, p=0.006) and HOMA-IR (HFD=12.76± 2.88, HFD+AMH =7.06±2.31, p=0.008) in the obese old mice comparison with control. In ND group, just CRP levels dropped following AMH injection (ND=451.24±20.61, ND+AMH= 326.8±23.76 ng/ml; p=0.001). Accelerated weight gain was observed in HFD+AMH compared with the HFD subgroup (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, increasing the circulating level of AMH could subside the systemic inflammation through decreasing CRP levels regardless of diet type and enhance insulin sensitivity in old obese mice. It can also lead to higher weight gain, without inflammation, in old obese male mice who are on an HFD.

Molecular detection of nine clinically important non-O157 Escherichia coli serogroups from raw sheep meat in Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari province, Iran.

STEC isolates and also stx-negative Escherichia coli isolates from sheep meat from the Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari province, Iran were analyzed for nine clinically important non-O157 serotypes by PCR. A total of 90 E. coli isolates were tested. Stx-positive and eae-positive E. coli isolates did not belong to the nine most clinically relevant non-O157 STECs. Of the 80 non-STEC isolates, two belonged to the O103 and two belonged to the O128 groups. Stx-negative E. coli O103 and O128 strains isolated have potential in acquiring stx genes and continuing into the digestive system of consumers. Further studies are needed to analyze virulence characteristics of these E. coli strains to determine their potential role in causing disease in humans. For the sake of public health, it is important to monitor and investigate non-O157 diarrheagenic E. coli strains in meat in order to control and prevent them.