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Background and Objective: One of the most important effects of nanomaterials on cells is the induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis). The aim of this study is to investigate the toxicity of graphene oxide-gold nanoparticles and to evaluate the expression of caspase 3 gene in HepG2 liver cancer cell line. Methods: In this experimental study, hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) was prepared from Pasteur Institute of Iran. Cells were treated with concentrations of 10 to 500 µg/ml Gold-rGO and untreated cells were used as control. The level of caspase 3 gene expression and cell viability were investigated and compared within 24 and 48 hours in three groups of A, B and control (C). The effect of concentration was investigated by XTT method and acridine orange ethidium bromide staining. Caspase 3 gene expression was measured by relative quantification using real time PCR test. Findings: Based on XTT results, EC20, EC50, EC80 values were calculated as 386.420, 90.680, 24.151 µg/ml in 24 hours and 358.146, 89.536, 22.384 µg/ml in 48 hours. Examining the level of caspase 3 gene expression change in these concentrations compared to untreated cells showed mean fold changes (mean±SEM) of 3.436±1.022 in 24 hours and 4.054±0.02 in 48 hours, according to which the level of gene expression changes significantly. The viability of control cells (C) compared to cells treated with concentrations higher than 50 μg/ml (B) has a relative increase, which was statistically significant (p<0.0001). Examination with AO/EB staining to determine the level of apoptosis showed a higher level of apoptosis with increasing dose. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that shorter times and lower concentrations should be used in the application of this nanoparticle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the second prevalent causative agent of acute hepatitis in adults after hepatitis B. Transmission routes of this infection is fecal-oral. There are limited studies on epidemiology of this virus in Iranian general population. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of hepatitis E infection in general population of some towns of Tehran province and Eastern and Northern section of Tehran city. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study conducted in 2006 and 2007 a number of 501 subjects selected by random cluster sampling from Tehran province were studied. Demographic data (through a questionnaire) and blood samples were collected and anti-HEV antibodies were measured by ELISA method. Chi-square test, logistic regression, and T-test were used for statistical analysis. Result: O f the total 493 subjects with mean age of 40.98± 17.10, 180 were men and the rest (313 subjects) were women. Of these numbers, 48 subjects (9.7%) were positive for anti-HEV antibody. There were no significant differences in HEV seropositivity and different sex or age groups. Conclusion: The prevalence in Tehran province was high and this indicates the endemic state of this infection in the studied population. Results are similar to those in eastern section of Golestan province and are in contradiction with results from Isfehan Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Several strains of the Echinococcus granulosus have been described based on morphological characters, intermediate host specificity and/or genetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. The aim of this study was to characterize different E.granulosus isolates by using sequences of mitochondrial atp6 gene. Materials and Methods: In this study, Sixty infected liver and lungs of cattle, sheep and goats were collected from the abattoir of Varamin city-Iran during 2008. Protoscoleces were removed from each fertile cyst and DNA extracted. New and specific primers were designed for two existing genotypes (G1 and G6) of E. granulosus known to occur in Iran and applied in PCR reactions. Results: The new primers selectively amplified the G1 and G6 genotypes of E. granulosus with specific bands of 708 and 705 bp respectively. The G1 genotype was identified in all fertile cyst samples. Conclusion: This study showed that the new primer pairs which specifically amplify portions of the mitochondrial atp6 gene of the G1 and G6 strains of Echinococcus granulosus are proper molecular marker for investigating genetic variation in a number of isolates of E. granulosus from a range of hosts (sheep, goats, cattle) in Iran. The result of sequenced samples showed that our sequences were the same as those reported previously for these strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fluctuating levels of circulating estrogen and progesterone orchestrate regeneration of uterine tissue. It has been postulated that stem cells are likely responsible for this remodelling. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of estradiol and progesterone hormones on the Oct4 and Sox2 expression at the protein level of uterine tissue in the ovariectomized mice. Materials and Methods: Adult female NMRI mice were underwent ovariectomy operation. After two weeks, following 5 days of treatment with 17β-estradiol, progesterone and combination of estradiol & progesterone, uterus was removed and Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) of pluripotent markers (Oct4 and Sox2) were performed on the paraffin sections of middle region of uterus horn. Results: IHC staining revealed different expression locations of the Oct4 and Sox2 in the endometrium and myometrium of treated groups. Oct4 and Sox2 expression were seen innuclei of few number of cells in the estradiol-treated group, whereas the Oct4 and Sox2 overexpression were detected in the cytoplasm of a large number of cells (non- pluripotent cells) in the endometrium and myometrium of progesterone treated groups. Conclusion: The present study indicated that expression of the Oct4 and Sox2 at protein level in the uterine tissue were affected by steroid hormones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background. Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) are life-threatening disorders, which manifest commonly with gastrointestinal (GI) signs, mainly as chronic diarrhea. Objective. To investigate and compare infectious etiology of chronic diarrhea in different PIDs. Patients and methods. Assessing clinical features, obtaining immunological profiles, as well as characterizing infectious etiology of diarrhea were performed in 38 PID patients with chronic diarrhea. Stool samples and/or biopsy specimens were checked using culture, microscopic examination, RT-PCR, and PCR, as appropriate. The patients were diagnosed to have common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA), and hyper-IgM (HIgM) syndrome. Results. In 32 patients we identified 41 infectious agents including 16 parasitic (39.0%, the most common Giardia lamblia), 11 bacterial (26.8%, the most common salmonella spp), 8 viral (19.5%, the most frequent group A rotavirus), and 6 fungal organisms (14.7%, the most common Candida albicans). From 6 of the patients, no infectious agent was isolated. In CVID bacteria and parasites, in SCID bacteria and viruses, in XLA parasites, and in individuals with HIgM syndrome parasites were the leading causes of chronic diarrhea. Infection with giardia and cryptosporidium were more frequent in XLA and HIgM, respectively. Conclusion. The current study suggests considering both usual and unusual pathogens in laboratory investigation and in the empiric treatment of chronic diarrhea. Opportunistic pathogens should be taken into account when no other pathogen is identified, especially in patients on long-term treatment or prophylaxis with antifungals/antibiotics and in those from geographical locations that favor pathogenicity of these organisms.

Mitochondrial genes have more power than nuclear genes in reconstructing phylogenetic relationships among closely related species because of their faster sequence evolution. The aim of this study was to use the complete or near-complete sequences from three mitochondrial genes (cox1, nad1 and atp6) and partial sequences of the 12S rRNA gene to infer relationships among isolates of Echinococcus granulosus from Iran. Two hundred and twenty-nine isolates of E. granulosus were collected from cattle, camels, sheep, buffalo and goats from different geographical areas. Most individuals were found to possess the G1 genotype but some of the camel samples belonged to the G6 genotype. Newly designed primers for cox1, nad1 and atp6 genes amplified bands of 1830, 708 and 1157 bp for the G1 genotype and 1856, 705, 1054 bp for the G6 genotype, respectively. The result of this survey showed that atp6 and nad1 genes are good molecular markers for identifying E. granulosus isolates from a range of hosts in Iran.