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Background and the purpose of the study: Recent studies have indicated the role of apoptosis and angiotensin in the pathogenesis of bleomycin induced-pulmonary fibrosis. Losartan, an angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R) antagonist, has ameliorated apoptosis and fibrosis from bleomycin. In this study, alterations in the expression of apoptosis-regulatory genes (bcl-2 and bax) were investigated in different cells of lung tissue of mice treated with bleomycin in the presence of losartan. Methods: Losartan (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was given to mice two days before administration of bleomycin (3 U/kg) and throughout the test period. After two weeks, lung tissues of mice were evaluated for fibrosis by biochemical measurement of collagen deposition and semiquantitative analysis of pathological changes of the lung. The expression of bcl-2 and bax was assessed by immunohistochemical assay using biotin-streptavidin staining method on paraffin-embedded lung tissues. Results and major conclusion: Pre-treatment with losartan significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the increase in lung collagen content and also inhibited the histological changes induced by bleomycin. Immunohistochemical studies showed that losartan significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the bax/bcl-2 expression ratio in the alveolar epithelial cells, lymphocytes, macrophages and interstitial myofibroblasts. Losartan also inhibited the bcl-2 upregulation which was educed by bleomycin in neutrophils. By reduction of bax/bcl-2 ratio as a determinant of susceptibility of a cell to apoptosis, losartan exerted protective effects on the alveolar epithelial cells that may be important in the amelioration of pulmonary fibrosis. These results may help to better understanding of the role of angiotensin II and apoptosis in pulmonary fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosai Dorfman disease is generally defined as a massive bilateral painless cervical lymphadenopathy accompanied with both fever and leukocytosis with neutrophilia. Additionally, it may possibly be associated with polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, reversal of CD4/CD8 ratio, the elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), microcytic anemia, and thrombocytosis. Rosai-Dorfman disease is known as a benign self-limiting disease, so no treatment is required in many cases, although it causes death in some cases by involving vital organs like kidney. The treatment is required when there is a life-threatening situation such as airway obstruction or involvement of vital organs such as kidney, liver, and lower respiratory tract. The required treatment choices include steroid therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Surgical treatment is performed for bulk removal to resolve the obstruction caused by the mass as well as taking biopsy for the definite histopathologic diagnosis of disease. A 26-year-old man was referred to oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) clinic of Taleghani hospital with chief complaints of pain and swelling of left submandibular space. According to the patient himself, the swelling had been started three months earlier. After rejecting dental source of the lesion, we decided to remove the mass by excisional biopsy concerning the patient's discomfort. Histopathology report verified Rosai Dorfman disease as definite diagnosis of the mass., Competing Interests: Authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest in this study., (Copyright: © Journal of Dentistry.)

Background: Patients' attitudes about their nose changes after orthognathic surgeries. We aimed to evaluate the patient's opinion about nasal change and morphologic changes following orthognathic surgery., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The sample was derived from the population of patients who underwent orthognathic surgery in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran between 2017 and 2019. Subjects who underwent orthognathic surgery were studied. Subjects filled a modified nose evaluation form before and nine months after orthognathic surgery. For objective assessment, the nasolabial angle, nasofrontal angle, nasofacial angle, tip projection, and tip deviation and alar width were evaluated. Sixty-two patients were studied., Results: Forty (64.5%) patients did not absolutely like their nose before orthognathic surgeries, two (3.2 %) expressed a little satisfaction, 17(27.4%) answered they liked more or less, and three liked very much. Nine months after orthognathic surgeries, 4 (6.5%) patients did not like their nose, nine patients (14.5%) liked a little, 30 (48.4%) liked more or less, and 19 liked very much. Analysis of the data demonstrated a significant difference in patients' satisfaction with their noses before and nine months after orthognathic surgeries ( P <0.001). Patients' satisfaction nine months after orthognathic surgery was not affected by nasal morphologic changes., Conclusion: It seems, patients' satisfaction with their nose improved after orthognathic surgeries. Patients' attitude was not associated with nasal morphologic changes., Competing Interests: Non-declared.

Objective: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to compare the effect of sunitinib-loaded poly (glycerol sebacate) (PGS)/gelatin nanoparticles doped in an injectable hydrogel with bevacizumab as a standard treatment of DR., Methods: The shear-sensitive hydrogel was prepared based on tragacanthic acid (TA) cross-linked with sodium acetate. DR was induced in rats by streptozotocin (STZ), and the animals were injected intravitreally a single dose of 20 µL sunitinib solution in three different concentrations (12.5, 25, and 50 µg/mL), sunitinib-loaded nanoparticles in hydrogel (413 µg/mL) and bevacizumab solution (6.25 mg/mL). The efficacy of the treatments was studied by histological and immunohisitological tests, angiogenesis, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentration was measured in the retina., Results: The results revealed that 20 µL of sunitinib with the concentration of 25 µg/mL was effective in DR without any disruption in the retina or any other side effects. This dose was considered the therapeutic dose for nanoparticles. Sunitinib loaded PGS/gelatin nanoparticles that were incorporated in the injectable hydrogel were as effective as bevacizumab in controlling DR. Although sunitinib solution reduced VEGF production and neovascularization in the retina compared to the negative control group, it was not as suitable as the nanoparticles. TA-based hydrogel showed no toxicity on the normal retina, and the angiography and histologic studies confirmed the VEGF results.', Conclusions: Sunitinib nanoparticles doped in TA hydrogel may be an appropriate substitution of bevacizumab in the treatment of DR.

Central giant cell granuloma (CGCG) is a benign non-neoplastic intraosseous lesion mainly found in the anterior mandible. It is characterized by multinucleated giant cells, representing osteoclasts or macrophages. Central odontogenic fibroma (COF) is an uncommon benign lesion of the jaws. It originates from the odontogenic ectomesenchyme. In rare cases, COF may accompany a CGCG. To date, 49 cases of COF accompanied by CGCG-like lesions have been reported in the literature. In this paper, we present another case of COF-CGCG in a 46-year-old female. The lesion was located in the posterior mandible. Excisional biopsy was carried out, and histopathological analysis revealed multinucleated giant cells with numerous strands of odontogenic epithelium. A literature review of previously reported cases was also performed., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Osteosarcoma of the jaw can be successfully treated by a single aggressive surgical operation with good prognosis. Timely diagnosis, with a complete surgical removal of the tumor with clear margins, can fulfill favorable clinical results., Competing Interests: There is no conflict of interest., (© 2021 The Authors. Clinical Case Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This single-blind clinical trial study aimed to assess the efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in increasing stability following Le Fort I osteotomy for maxillary advancement. Patients who underwent Le Fort I osteotomy for maxillary advancement were assigned randomly into two groups: in group 1 (the study group, n = 22) PRF was placed in the osteotomy sites following fixation, while no PRF was used in group 2 (the control group, n = 22). Lateral cephalograms obtained preoperatively (T0), immediately after surgery (T1), and 1 year after surgery (T2) were compared between the two groups, and the amount of relapse was determined. The amount of maxillary change (relapse) at the A point in relation to the x-axis was 0.45 ± 0.67 mm in group 1 and 1.86 ± 0.56 mm in group 2. There was a significant difference in mean relapse in relation to the x-axis between the two groups 12 months after osteotomy (p < 0.001). The mean maxillary change (relapse) in relation to the y-axis was 0.77 ± 1.15 mm in group 1 and 2.25 ± 1.22 mm in group 2. Analysis of the data demonstrated a significant difference in mean relapse in relation to the y-axis between the two groups (p < 0.001). PRF may enhance the stability of the maxilla following Le Fort I osteotomy. Based on the results of this study the administration of PRF should be considered whenever possible., (Copyright © 2020 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a rare and highly aggressive salivary gland tumor with poor prognosis, rapid growth, distant metastasis, early regional metastasis, and a high rate of recurrence. The parotid gland is the most common site of involvement, and the lungs and the bones are the most common sites of distant metastasis of SDC. Herein, we present a case of SDC of the parotid gland in a 62-year-old male patient with an unusual metastasis to the skin of the primary site and brain 6 years after primary treatment, which comprised of total parotidectomy and radical neck dissection followed by radiotherapy. It is noteworthy that in few cases of SDC with infiltration, (and not in low-grade intraductal carcinoma of the salivary glands), routine treatment may not suffice, and long-term follow-up is highly recommended.

Background: Lipase enzymes have applications in a wide range of industries. A crucial determining factor of industrial prices of these enzymes is the culture media composition that is constantly under review by researchers. In this work, for maximum lipase production by Bacillus sp. ZR-5 , culture media compositions were optimized using ″one variable at a time″ strategy., Methods: For this purpose, the culture medium parameters such as low and high cost carbon and nitrogen sources, substrates and incubation times were evaluated., Results: Maximum lipase activity was achieved after 24 hr of incubation with 1.5% of glucose syrup (1600±69.1 u/mg ), 1% of fish powder (1238±36.7 u/mg ) and olive oil (1407±2.1 u/mg ) as low cost carbon and nitrogen sources and substrate, respectively., Conclusion: Our results show a significant increase in lipase activity with usage of low cost sources; this could help in reducing the media prices for industrial application of lipase enzyme.

Background: Chimeric proteins consisting of a targeting moiety and a cytotoxic moiety are now under intense research focus for targeted therapy of cancer. Here, we report cloning, expression, and purification of such a targeted chimeric protein made up of p28 peptide as both targeting and anticancer moiety fused to NRC peptide as a cytotoxic moiety. However, since the antimicrobial activity of the NRC peptide would intervene expression of the chimeric protein in Escherichia coli, we evaluated the effects of two fusion tags, that is, thioredoxin (Trx) and 6x-His tags, and various expression conditions, on the expression of p28-NRC chimeric protein., Materials and Methods: In order to express the chimeric protein with only 6x-His tag, pET28 expression plasmid was used. Cloning in pET32 expression plasmid was performed to add both Trx and 6x-His tags to the chimeric protein. Expression of the chimeric protein with both plasmids was evaluated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blot analysis following optimization of expression conditions and host strains., Results: Expression of the chimeric protein in pET28a was performed. However, expression yield of the chimeric protein was low. Optimization of culture conditions and host strains led to reasonable expression yield of the toxic chimeric protein in pET32a vector. In cases of both plasmids, approximately 10 kDa deviation of the apparent molecular weight from the theoretical one was seen in SDS-PAGE of purified chimeric proteins., Conclusions: The study leads to proper expression and purification yield of p28-NRC chimeric protein with Trx tag following optimizing culture conditions and host strains.

The nanoparticles of oligochitosan-water soluble tragacanth (OCH-WST) as novel gene carriers have been prepared and their transfection efficiency has been investigated on Hela and HepG2 cell lines. Different OCH:WST weight ratios were prepared to obtain particles with low size distribution and high surface charge, and also in range of below 200 nm. Nanoparticles with 132.5 ± 6.77 nm size, polydispersity index 1.92 ± 0.061, surface charge 30.45 ± 1.84 and spherical morphology, have been chosen as gene carrier. Nanoparticle-DNA complexes (nanoplexes) showed better transfection efficiency in both Hela and HepG2 cells than chitosan polyplexes, with 1.26 × 10(6) versus 9.05 × 10(5) and 7.76 × 10(5) versus 2.16 × 10(5), respectively. Higher transfection efficiency of nanoplexes could be attributed to their weaker complexation. Decreasing of transfection in presence of galactose in HepG2 cells, indicated receptor mediated endocytosis of nanoplexes. These properties all together, make OCH-WST nanoparticles as potential gene carrier for active gene delivery into cells containing sugar receptors., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARs) have been identified as ligand-activated transcription factors that belong to the nuclear receptor superfamily. It has been shown that an association exists between Proline 12 alanine (Pro12Ala) polymorphism of PPAR-GAMMA2 (PPAR-γ2) gene and increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in different populations. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the association between Pro12Ala polymorphism of PPAR-γ2 gene and T2DM in an Iranian population., Materials and Methods: Two hundred unrelated people, including 100 healthy controls and 100 diabetic patients were recruited diagnosed based on American Diabetes Association criteria. Blood samples were used for isolation of genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Having extracted the genomic DNA from human blood leukocytes by means of High Pure polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Template preparation kit, we carried out polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) on each blood sample. Then, Genomic DNA was digested by BstU-I restriction enzyme. Thereafter, restriction products were analyzed by means of Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and stained by Ethidium Bromide., Results: We found that the frequency of Ala allele in healthy subjects was significantly higher than in diabetic subjects (P = 0003). Moreover, the genotype frequency of Ala/Ala in healthy subjects was significantly higher than in diabetic subjects (P < 0.001). However, the genotype frequency of Ala/Pro in diabetic subjects was significantly higher than in healthy subjects (P < 0.001)., Conclusion: The present study suggests that polymorphism of PPAR-γ2 gene is associated with T2DM. Furthermore, Ala allele is significantly found in non-diabetic individual's Iranian population.

Background: Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is a polymorphic disease that may show various clinical manifestations. Although it is suggested that the genetic variability of the parasite is one of the factors influencing clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis, no data exists regarding genetic polymorphism of Leishmania major (L.major). This study investigates the determination of genetic variations within the species of L.major isolates from different cases of ZCL in two hyper-endemic areas of Iran., Methods: A variety of nucleic acid detection methods that target both DNA and RNA have been developed. Among these, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method proved to be a highly sensitive and specific technique. Species identification was based on permissively primed intergenic polymorphic-polymerase chain reaction (PPIP-PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of amplified internal transcribed spacer (ITS-RFLP) in the ribosomal operon of L.major from clinically different forms of ZCL. The DNA products were amplified by PCR, followed by digestion of the PCR product with restriction enzymes. The profiles were visualized in agarose gel under ultraviolet (UV) light., Results: The PCR product obtained for all isolates was about 1060 bp in size. Different patterns of PPIP-PCR and ITS-RFLP in the ribosomal operon were classified as I, II, III, IV, and V. This classification was according to the number and localization of bands. Results of this research detected the genetic and clinical polymorphism of L. major, and showed that strain A was more frequent than other strains., Conclusion: The L.major causing ZCL in Isfahan, Iran is genetically a highly polymorphic species and PPIP-PCR exposed more genetic polymorphism among clinical samples in Isfahan, Iran.

Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus is a foremost source of numerous nosocomial and community acquired infections. Antibiotic therapy for vancomycin resistant S. aureus (VRSA) can not promise the eradication of infections. Since adhesion is the major route of infections, adhesin based vaccine could suppress S. aureus infections. Fibronectin binding protein A (FnBPA) and clumping factor A (ClfA) are major responsible adhesions involved in S. aureus infections, so they could be candidate vaccine molecules against an extensive range of infections. This project intended to express a new fusion protein construct and analysis of biological activity regarding binding activity., Materials and Methods: pfnbA- ClfA construct was transformed to Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Transformant E. coli were grown in LB broth and induced with IPTG and cellular extracts were separated on SDS-PAGE. RT-PCR was performed to verify expression. Binding activity of fusion protein was studied using human gingival fibroblast (HGF) cell line. D1-D3 protein from unpublished study was used as control., Results: The expected fusion protein fragment showed by SDS-PAGE. RT-PCR verified the existence of mRNA relating to expressed fusion protein. Binding activity of S. aureus decreased after treatment of HGF cells with fusion protein., Conclusion: In total, binding activity of fusion protein was approximately two fold lesser than D1-D3 protein. It is supposed that the fusion protein could not be attached to its ligand easily and would be more accessible to antigen presenting cells and consequently protective antibodies will be produced. This project is pending for in vivo infection study in animal model.

The aim of this study was to isolate and express the randomly mutated α-amylase gene from B. subtilis strain 168. BS168F: 5'-gtgtcaagaatgtttgc-3' and BS168R: 3'-gttttgttaaaagatga-5' primers were used to amplify the amylase gene using the following cycle in error-prone PCR method: 94°C for 30 s, 40°C for 2 min, and 72°C for 2 min in 30 cycles that were followed with 72°C for 2 min as a post cycle. E. coli XL1 blue was used as host for plasmid construction. Amylase enzyme activity assay was performed using continuous spectrophotometric procedures. Results of sequencing showed that sequence was cloned from the first ATG and with the correct open reading frame. Having confirmed the integrity of the insert, the gene was ligated into expression vector pET-15b and then further confirmed using digestion analysis. Amylase activity showed 3 clones with higher enzymatic activity compared with the wild type. Error-prone PCR method produced a mutated gene that provides amylase activity much higher than that of wild type. Sequencing the mutated genes should shed light on the important region of the genes that could be manipulated in future studies.

Background: Vasopressin type 2 receptor (V2R) plays an important role in the water reabsorption in the kidney collecting ducts. V2R is a G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and the triplet of amino acids aspartate-arginine-histidine (DRH) in this receptor might significantly influence its activity similar to other GPCR. However, the role of this motif has not been fully confirmed. Therefore, the present study attempted to shed some more light on the role of DRH motif in G protein coupling and V2R function with the use of site-directed mutagenesis., Methods: Nested PCR using specific primers was used to produce DNA fragments containing aspartate-lysine-isoleucine and aspartate-arginine-tyrosine mutations with replacements of the arginine to lysine and histidine to tyrosine, respectively. After digestion, these inserts were ligated into the pcDNA3 vector and transformation into E. coli HB101 was performed using heat shock method. The obtained colonies were analyzed for the presence and orientation of the inserts using proper restriction enzymes. After transient transfection of COS-7 cells using diethylaminoethyl-dextran method, the adenylyl cyclase activity assay was performed for functional study. The cell surface expression was analyzed by indirect ELISA method., Results: The functional assay indicated that none of these mutations significantly altered cAMP production and cell surface expression of V2R in these cells., Conclusion: Since some substitutions in arginine residue have shown to lead to the inactive V2 receptor, further studies are required to define the role of this residue more precisely. However, it seems that the role of the histidine residue is not critical in the V2 receptor function.