Combining gene expression programming and genetic algorithm as a powerful hybrid modeling approach for pear rootstocks tissue culture media formulation.

BACKGROUND: Predicting impact of plant tissue culture media components on explant proliferation is important especially in commercial scale for optimizing efficient culture media. Previous studies have focused on predicting the impact of media components on explant growth via conventional multi-layer perceptron neural networks (MLPNN) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) methods. So, there is an opportunity to find more efficient algorithms such as Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) and Gene Expression Programming (GEP). Here, a novel algorithm, i.e. GEP which has not been previously applied in plant tissue culture researches was compared to RBFNN and MLR for the first time. Pear rootstocks (Pyrodwarf and OHF) were used as case studies on predicting the effect of minerals and some hormones in the culture medium on proliferation indices. RESULTS: Generally, RBFNN and GEP showed extremely higher performance accuracy than the MLR. Moreover, GEP models as the most accurate models were optimized using genetic algorithm (GA). The improvement was mainly due to the RBFNN and GEP strong estimation capability and their superior tolerance to experimental noises or improbability. CONCLUSIONS: GEP as the most robust and accurate prospecting procedure to achieve the highest proliferation quality and quantity has also the benefit of being easy to use.

The role of microRNAs in embryonic stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell differentiation in male germ cells.

New perspectives have been opened by advances in stem cell research for reproductive and regenerative medicine. Several different cell types can be differentiated from stem cells (SCs) under suitable in vitro and in vivo conditions. The differentiation of SCs into male germ cells has been reported by many groups. Due to their unlimited pluripotency and self-renewal, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be used as valuable tools for drug delivery, disease modeling, developmental studies, and cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine. The unique features of SCs are controlled by a dynamic interplay between extrinsic signaling pathways, and regulations at epigenetic, transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. In recent years, significant progress has been made toward better understanding of the functions and expression of specific microRNAs (miRNAs) in the maintenance of SC pluripotency. miRNAs are short noncoding molecules, which play a functional role in the regulation of gene expression. In addition, the important regulatory role of miRNAs in differentiation and dedifferentiation has been recently demonstrated. A balance between differentiation and pluripotency is maintained by miRNAs in the embryo and stem cells. This review summarizes the recent findings about the role of miRNAs in the regulation of self-renewal and pluripotency of iPSCs and ESCs, as well as their impact on cellular reprogramming and stem cell differentiation into male germ cells.

Derivation of male germ cells from induced pluripotent stem cells by inducers: A review.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) refer to stem cells that are artificially produced using a new technology known as cellular reprogramming, which can use gene transduction in somatic cells. There are numerous potential applications for iPSCs in the field of stem cell biology becauase they are able to give rise to several different cell features of lineages such as three-germ layers. Primordial germ cells, generated via in vitro differentiation of iPSCs, have been demonstrated to produce functional gametes. Therefore, in this review we discussed past and recent advances in the in vitro differentiation of germ cells using pluripotent stem cells with an emphasis on iPSCs. Although this domain of research is still in its infancy, exploring development mechanisms of germ cells is promising, especially in humans, to promote future reproductive and developmental engineering technologies. While few studies have evaluated the ability and efficiency of iPSCs to differentiate toward male germ cells in vitro by different inducers, the given effect was investigated in this review.

Recombinant Endolysins as Potential Therapeutics against Antibiotic-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Current Status of Research and Novel Delivery Strategies.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens of humans and animals, where it frequently colonizes skin and mucosal membranes. It is of major clinical importance as a nosocomial pathogen and causative agent of a wide array of diseases. Multidrug-resistant strains have become increasingly prevalent and represent a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. For this reason, novel strategies to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens are urgently needed. Bacteriophage-derived enzymes, so-called endolysins, and other peptidoglycan hydrolases with the ability to disrupt cell walls represent possible alternatives to conventional antibiotics. These lytic enzymes confer a high degree of host specificity and could potentially replace or be utilized in combination with antibiotics, with the aim to specifically treat infections caused by Gram-positive drug-resistant bacterial pathogens such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus. LysK is one of the best-characterized endolysins with activity against multiple staphylococcal species. Various approaches to further enhance the antibacterial efficacy and applicability of endolysins have been demonstrated. These approaches include the construction of recombinant endolysin derivatives and the development of novel delivery strategies for various applications, such as the production of endolysins in lactic acid bacteria and their conjugation to nanoparticles. These novel strategies are a major focus of this review.

Dysregulated expression of long noncoding RNAs in gynecologic cancers.

Cancers of the female reproductive system include ovarian, uterine, vaginal, cervical and vulvar cancers, which are termed gynecologic cancer. The emergence of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are believed to play a crucial role in several different biological processes, has made the regulation of gene expression more complex. Although the function of lncRNAs is still rather elusive, their broad involvement in the initiation and progression of various cancers is clear. They are also involved in the pathogenesis of cancers of the female reproductive system. LncRNAs play a critical physiological role in apoptosis, metastasis, invasion, migration and cell proliferation in these cancers. Different expression profiles of lncRNAs have been observed in various types of tumors compared with normal tissues and between malignant and benign tumors. These differential expression patterns may lead to the promotion or suppression of cancer development and tumorigenesis. In the current review, we present the lncRNAs that show a differential expression between cancerous and normal tissues in ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancers, and highlight the associations between lncRNAs and some of the molecular pathways involved in these cancers.