Search

Objective(s): Chronic methamphetamine (METH) abuse is recognized as an important risk factor for cognitive impairment. A plant-based isoquinoline alkaloid, Berberine hydrochloride (BER), shows memory and cognition enhancement properties. Due to the aim of the present study which is to investigate the influence of BER administration on METH-induced cognitive deficits, we investigated neurotrophin signaling including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) as a possible mechanism by which BER exerts its cognitive improvement influences. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, thirty-two male Wistar rats were randomly classified into four groups, including non-treated control, intubated control, METH-inhaled, and METH-inhaled + BER-intubated. Rats in the METH-inhaled group underwent METH inhalation for 14 days, and the BER-inhaled and BER-intubated rats were intubated (100mg/kg) for the following three weeks. A novel object recognition task (NORt) was carried out on days 36 and 37. Rats were sacrificed for histological preparations after the behavioral tests. Neurotrophic factors, including GDNF and BDNF, were evaluated by immunofluorescence staining in the hippocampus. Results: This experiment indicated a dramatic improvement in cognitive deficits associated with chronic METH abuse (P<0.001). Furthermore, a significant decrease in the expression of both neurotrophins, GDNF (P<0.001) and BDNF (P<0.001), was observed in the METH-inhaled group compared with the METH-inhaled group treated with BER and non-treated control group. Conclusion: Activation of neurotrophic factors after BER administration resulted in improvement of METH-induced cognitive deficits. Therefore, BER may be considered a promising treatment for METH users who experience cognition deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): End-stage hepatic failure is a potentially life-threatening condition for which orthotopic liver transplantation is the only effective treatment. However, a shortage of available donor organs for transplantation each year results in the death of many patients waiting for liver transplantation. Xenotransplantation, or the transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs between different species, was proposed as a possible solution to the worldwide shortage of human organs and tissues for transplantation. The purpose of this preliminary study was to reconstruct human liver tissue by xenotransplantation of human Wharton jelly mesenchymal stem cells (hWJ-MSCs) into fetal rabbit. Materials and Methods: Isolation and confirmation of hWJ-MSCs from human umbilical cord was performed. Eight rabbits at gestational day 14 were anesthetized. All rabbits carried pregnancies to term yielding 40 rabbit fetuses. Intrauterine injection of hWJ-MSCs was performed in 24 fetuses. Twenty-seven fetuses were born alive. Ten liver samples from injected fetuses were sampled, eight rabbits 3 days after birth and two rabbits 21 days after birth. The non-injected fetuses served as positive control. Fetuses of non-injected rabbits were negative controls. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), mRNA expression of albumin (ALB), α-fetoprotein (AFP), hepatic nuclear factor 4 (HNF4), and CYP2B6 (CYP) were detected in liver samples. Results: The human ALB, AFP, HNF4, and CYP mRNAs were expressed in the injected sampled fetuses by hWJ-MSCs into fetuses of rabbits in utero. Conclusion: Developing xenotransplantation of hWJ-MSCs into rabbit uterus can introduce an applied approach for producing human liver tissue in rabbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]