Circulating and Endometrial Profiles of miR-145, miR-155-5p, miR-224, MPP-5, and PECAM-1 Expression in Patients with Repeated Implantation Failure: A Case Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: An association between microRNAs (miRNAs) and adhesion proteins expression with repeated implantation failure (RIF) has been recently reported; however, these findings are controversial. This study aims to evaluate the endometrial and circulating expressions of miR-145, miR-155-5p, and miR-224 in addition to the endometrial expressions of membrane protein palmitoylated-5 (MPP-5) and endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) in patients with RIF compared to control subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case-control study was carried out between June 2021-July 2022. Subjects included 17 patients with RIF and 17 control subjects, who had previous spontaneous term pregnancy with a live birth, who referred to the Medical Centre of Arash Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Endometrial tissue samples were obtained via hysteroscopy and Pipelle catheter in the RIF and control subjects, respectively. Plasma samples were collected after ovulation in all subjects. The expression levels of MPP5, PECAM-1, miR-224, miR-145, and miR-155-5p were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The student's t test, chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used for data analyses. RESULTS: RIF patients had less endometrial miR-155-5p expression, and higher endometrial and circulating expressions of miR-145 and miR-224 compared to control subjects. Endometrial PECAM-1 and MPP5 expression significantly decreased in patients with RIF compared to the control group. There was a positive correlation between circulating miR-224 and endometrial miR-155-5p, and between circulating miR-155-5p and endometrial PECAM-1 expression levels in patients with RIF. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that circulating miR-224, endometrial miR-145, and PECAM-1 can be reliable, novel biomarkers for diagnosis of RIF.

Therapeutic Potential of Resveratrol and Atorvastatin Following High-Fat Diet Uptake-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Targeting Genes Involved in Cholesterol Metabolism and miR33.

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of resveratrol, atorvastatin, and a combination of resveratrol and atorvastatin on expression levels of genes involved in the cholesterol metabolic pathway in the fatty liver of C57/BL6 mice. A high-fat diet was used to induce fatty liver in C57/BL6 mice treated with resveratrol, atorvastatin, or a combination of resveratrol and atorvastatin. Pathological and biochemical studies were performed. In addition, hepatic gene expressions of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), ABCG1, liver X receptor (LXR)α, scavenger receptor B1 (SR-B1), low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), and miR33 were evaluated by the real-time PCR method, and the Western blot method was used to measure the ABCA1, ABCG1, and LXRα protein levels. Resveratrol and atorvastatin reduced fat accumulation in the liver of mice with fatty liver, and this effect was correlated with decreased blood glucose levels, triglyceride, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol blood levels compared with the positive control (PC) group. In contrast to the animals of the PC group, fatty liver groups that received resveratrol and atorvastatin had a significant effect on the mRNA levels of the ABCA1, ABCG1, LXRα, SR-B1, LDLR, and miR33 genes. Moreover, resveratrol and atorvastatin administration elevated ABCA1 and ABCG1 and reduced LXRα protein expression. Obtained results showed that resveratrol and atorvastatin combination therapy can improve nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by targeting genes involved in cholesterol metabolism and miR33.

Inflawell® improves neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and shortens hospitalization in patients with moderate COVID-19, in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

AIMS: COVID-19 is a significant global threat to public health. Despite the availability of vaccines and anti-viral drugs, there is an urgent need for alternative treatments to help prevent and/or manage COVID-19 symptoms and the underlying dysregulated immune response. We hypothesized that administration of Inflawell® syrup, a Boswellia extract formulation enriched for boswellic acids (BAs), can reduce the excessive or persistent inflammation and thereby prevent disease progression. BAs are medicinally activated triterpenoids found in the resins of Boswellia spp., and possess an immense therapeutic potential due to their anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities. We investigated the effect of Inflawell® syrup, on moderate COVID-19 patients along with the current standard of care treatment. METHODS: A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial was conducted, following definitive confirmation of COVID-19. Forty-seven hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19 were enrolled and received either the Inflawell® syrup or placebo. Clinical symptoms and markers of inflammation were evaluated at baseline and completion of the trial. RESULTS: Our clinical trial revealed an increase in the percentage of oxygen saturation level in patients that received the BAs compared to placebo (P < 0.0001). In addition, the average duration of hospitalization was significantly shorter in the BAs group compared with the placebo group (P < 0.04). Concomitantly, some improvement in the clinical symptoms including cough, dyspnea, myalgia, headache, and olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were detected in the BAs group. Hematologic findings showed a significant decrease in the percentage of neutrophils (P < 0.006) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) levels (P < 0.003), associated with a significant increase in the percentage of lymphocytes in the BAs group compared with the placebo (P < 0.002). Additionally, a significant decrease in CRP, LDH, IL - 6 and TNF - α levels was detected in the BAs group. Following the intervention, fewer patients in the BAs group were PCR-positive for COVID-19 compared to placebo, though not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Overall, the treatment with Inflawell® resulted in shorter hospital stay, alleviation of COVID-19 clinical symptoms and decline in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has been registered in  https://www.irct.ir  with unique identifier: IRCT20170315033086N10 ( https://en.irct.ir/trial/51631 ). IRCT is a primary registry in the WHO registry network ( https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform/network/primary-registries ).

Prediction of preterm labor by the level of serum magnesium using an optimized linear classifier.

Background: This study investigates the possibility of predicting preterm labor by utilizing serum Magnesium level, BMI, and muscular cramp. Methods: In this case-control study, 75 preterm and 75 term labor women are included. Different factors such as serum magnesium level, mother's age, infant's sex, mother's Body Mass Index (BMI), infant's weight, gravid, and muscular cramp experience are measured. Preterm labor is predicted by developing a linear discriminant model using Matlab, and the prediction accuracy is also computed. Results: The results show that each of the studied variables has a significant correlation with preterm labor. The p-value between BMI and preterm labor is 0.005, and by including the muscular cramp, it becomes less than 0.001. The correlation between serum magnesium level and the preterm labor is less than 0.0001. Using these three significant variables, a linear discriminant function is developed, which improves the accuracy of predicting preterm labor. Conclusion: The prediction error of preterm labor decreases from 31% (using only serum magnesium level) to 24% using the new proposed discriminant function. Based on this, it is suggested to use the optimized linear discriminant function to enhance the prediction of preterm labor, since the serum magnesium level cannot predict the preterm labor accurately.