Potential Therapeutic Effects of Melatonin Mediate via miRNAs in Cancer.

miRNAs are evolutionarily conserved non-coding ribonucleic acids with a length of between 19 and 25 nucleotides. Because of their ability to regulate gene expression, miRNAs have an important function in the controlling of various biological processes, such as cell cycle, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. Owing to the long-standing regulative potential of miRNAs in tumor-suppressive pathways, scholars have recently paid closer attention to the expression profile of miRNAs in various types of cancer. Melatonin, an indolic compound secreted from pineal gland and some peripheral tissues, has been considered as an effective anti-tumor hormone in a wide spectrum of cancers. Furthermore, it induces apoptosis, inhibits tumor metastasis and invasion, and also angiogenesis. A growing body of evidence indicates the effects of melatonin on miRNAs expression in broad spectrum of diseases, including cancer. Due to the long-term effects of the regulation of miRNAs expression, melatonin could be a promising therapeutic factor in the treatment of cancers via the regulation of miRNAs. Therefore, in this review, we will discuss the effects of melatonin on miRNAs expression in various types of cancers.

Impairment of endothelial progenitor cells function in patient with mustard gas intoxication.

Background: Sulfur mustard (SM), also known as mustard gas, was first widely used in the Iraq-Iran. After SM exposure, the most prominent clinical signs are the development of extensive non-healing skin wounds and pulmonary signs, persisting over long time. Since the most frequent complications in SM-intoxicated patients are respiratory and dermatologic lesions, and with respect to the important role of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the pathophysiology of these lesion, we conducted this study to recognize the potential effects of SM on biological features of EPCs in patients exposed with this gas.Methods: In this study, 30 patients with the history of SM exposure during the Iran-Iraq war (1984-1988), 27 patients with pulmonary signs with no history of SM exposure and 20 healthy participants were included. Cell population and function of EPCs were assessed 4 years post-exposure. For this purpose, circulating EPCs (cEPCs) were harvested and cultivated, then the biological features of these cells, including migratory, proliferative, and tubulogenic activities were analyzed. We also measured serum antioxidants levels and mRNA levels of some proangiogenic factors in EPCs from SM-intoxicated patients.Results: Our results showed lesser number of cEPCs in patients exposed with SM, which was associated with decreased proliferative, migratory, and tubulogenic activity of these cells. Also, we found the lesser serum activity of SOD, GPX and MDA in the SM group than in the healthy control group.Conclusions: SM exposure resulted in decreased proliferation and migration of EPCs, which was associated with decreased tubule formation and angiogenic factors.

Circulating endothelial progenitor cells in pregnant women with premature rupture of membranes: potential association with placental disorders.

The frequency of preterm labour has risen over the last few years. Plasma oestrogen concentrations differ between patients who deliver before term and those who deliver at term. Oestrogen can influence the kinetics of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (cEPCs). Here, we attempted to identify the potential association of cEPCs with the incidence of complications typical of prematurity. The study groups consisted of 60 pregnant women with premature rupture of membranes (PROM; less than 37 weeks) and 50 term pregnant women (more than 38 weeks). cEPCs were isolated from term pregnant women and pregnant women with PROM and then migratory, proliferative, tubulogenic and functional properties of these cells along with serum secretion of important EPC chemotactic cytokines were analysed. In addition, the effect of 17ß-oestradiol on biological features of cEPCs harvested from pregnant women was investigated. Our results showed that an increased concentration of oestrogen in women with PROM was associated with increased numbers of cEPCs, with these cells having increased oestrogen receptor α expression together with augmented proliferative, migratory and colony-formation properties. 17ß-oestradiol induced proliferation, migration and angiogenic secretory activity of cEPCs from pregnant women. Overall, circulation mobilisation of EPCs in pregnant women may be associated with placental disorders.

Comparison of the effects of zinc oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles on the expression of hepcidin gene in rat liver.

OBJECTIVES: Nanoparticles have special properties, such as increased intestinal absorption, permeability, and so on. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles have medical applications such as using in drug production. Studies of ZnO nanoparticles have shown the role of these particles in reducing or increasing the genes expression. Given the important role of hepcidin in the development of anemia and iron overload diseases, this study investigated the effect of ZnO nanoparticles on the hepatic expression of the hepcidin gene to help find a way to treat these diseases. METHODS: In this experimental study, 24 male Westar rats were divided into three groups: control, ZnO treating group and ZnO nanoparticle treating group. Both ZnO and ZnO nanoparticles were injected with 50 mg/kg body weight for 14 days. At the end, serums were collected and iron, ferritin and IL-6 levels were measured. Expression of the hepcidin gene was done by Real Time PCR. RESULTS: ZnO and the ZnO nanoparticle significantly increased the expression of the hepcidin gene relative to the control group. The increase in expression of the hepcidin gene in ZnO nanoparticles was more significant than in the ZnO. CONCLUSION: ZnO nanoparticles led to significant increase in expression of the hepcidin gene.

Association between vitamin D deficiency and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in female population: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) especially in female population, has become a major problem in health care systems. In this regards, it is necessary to identify the risk factors. Vitamin D deficiency is now proposed as one of the possible risk factors for metabolic syndrome, we investigated the relationship between vitamin D status and MS in female. METHODS: We searched observational studies with keywords Vitamin D, metabolic syndrome, metabolic syndrome X, insulin-resistance syndrome, metabolic cardiovascular syndrome and Reaven Syndrome X and female in pubmed, scopus, science direct, cochrane, web of science, google scholar and SID databases, regardless of publication time. Two hundred ninety five studies were found, and finally only 12 articles were selected according to exclusion and inclusion criteria. RESULTS: In nine studies that reported the prevalence of MS, the prevalence of MS among women with vitamin D deficiency was higher than female with normal vitamin D (34.5 vs. 30.2%). The prevalence of abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high TG and HDL deficiency is higher in women with vitamin D deficiency. Also, the mean waist circumference, blood pressure, fast blood sugar (FBS), TG and BMI were higher. The most incident factor was high blood pressure (61.4 vs. 56.5%) and the lowest prevalence is associated with high FBS (32.2 vs. 33.5% in the other group). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MS is significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency, and among related factors, HDL, TG and blood pressure are statistically associated with vitamin D status.

Formulation of Stattic as STAT3 inhibitor in nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) enhances efficacy of doxorubicin in melanoma cancer cells.

Nowadays, nanoparticle-based combination therapy has been emerging as huge innovation in cancer treatment. Here, we studied the effect of Stattic (STAT3 inhibitor) loaded in nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) on enhancing the efficacy, cytotoxicity, and induction of apoptosis of doxorubicin in B16F10 mouse melanoma cancer cell. The evaluation of Stattic-loaded NLCs has been done in terms of zeta potential, particle size, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and cellular uptake. MTT assay was applied to evaluate the cell proliferation. Apoptotic cell death and identification of early and late apoptosis were assessed by DAPI staining and Annexin V/PI staining, respectively. Real-time RT-PCR was applied to measure the effects of doxorubicin and/or Stattic on key apoptotic genes such as Bad, Survivin, HIF1, and STAT3. The Stattic formulated into NLCs shown mean particle size of 56 ± 7 nm which was confirmed by SEM. The IC50 values for Stattic and doxorubicin were 2.95 ± 0.52 µM and 1.21 ± 0.36 µM, respectively. Stattic-loaded NLCs diminished percent of cell proliferation from 68 ± 6.8 to 54 ± 3.7% (p < 0.05). Combinational treatment of the cells with Stattic-loaded nanoparticles and doxorubicin give rise to a significant increase in the percentage of apoptosis (p < 0.05). The study of gene expression profile has shown a remarkable decrease in anti-apoptotic gene, Survivin, along with smooth decline in HIF1 as angiogenesis intermediator and increase in Bad mRNA levels. Our results recommend that NLCs as novel technology have potent strategy to augment efficacy of current chemotherapeutic agent in melanoma cancer cells.