Biomedical Research and Therapy

Deciphering the role of AMPK-related kinase 5 in human cancer progression and metastasis

2019-11-17T12:25:12+00:00

Malignancies related mortality is currently growing at an alarming rate. Early detection of cancer is vital in order to improve survival rates of cancer patients, and biomarker detection is regarded as one of the most promising approaches. Recent studies have reported that elevated AMPK-related kinase 5 (ARK5) expression is associated with tumor progression and metastasis in several human malignancies. Several pathways are also influenced by the presence of ARK5, most notably the PI3k-Akt pathway, m-TOR phosphorylation, and several pathways that induce increased tumor invasion activity. Additionally, ARK5 expression are linked to miR-1181 down-regulation, which promotes epithelial mesenchymal transformation in ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, ARK5 gene transcription is also affected by the interaction of c-MAF and MAFB with both MARE core sequences present in the ARK5 promoter. Based on the current evidences, ARK5 might be the master regulator of cancer progression and metastasis, which could potentially serve as a novel target for cancer therapies.

Comparison of sublingual versus vaginal misoprostol in the management of missed abortions

2019-11-17T12:25:13+00:00

Introduction: Missed abortion is one type of abortions in which the product of a pregnancy is dead and does not leave the cervix, despite a long period of time. Missed abortion requires urgent action due to serious maternal complications. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the effects of using misoprostol on the treatment of missed abortions by two different methods.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 100 women with missed abortions at the pregnancy age of 4-6 weeks, who had been referred to Fatemieh Hospital of Hamadan and were candidates for termination of pregnancy, were randomly allocated into two equal groups. In the first group, 600 ug of misoprostol was administered sublingually, and in the second group, 600 ug of misoprostol was given vaginally. The treatment was repeated for both groups at intervals of 6 hours (3 times). Then, the patients were assessed at the 3^rd, 6^th and 12^th hours after treatment for onset of bleeding and success of treatment (as well as abortion, with sonography). Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 with 95% confidence interval.

Results: In this study, the percentage of complete abortion in women receiving vaginal and sublingual misoprostol was 90% and 96%, respectively (p>0.05). The mean (SD) of misoprostol use was 1164 (467.02) and 924 (367.87) ug, respectively (P=0.004). The mean (SD) time interval between the use of the first tablet and the incidence of bleeding in women receiving misoprostol by sublingual and vaginal methods were 5.64 (1.85) and 7.47 (2.72) hours, respectively. Also, the time until the complete abortion for those receiving the sublingual and vaginal method was 7.10 (1.90) and 9.38 (2.53) hours, respectively (P<0.001).

Conclusion: In women with a missed abortion, prescribing 600 ug of misoprostol by sublingual method caused a bleeding event of shorter duration than the vaginal method, and complete abortion was achieved with a higher success rate.

Assessment of clinical judgment accuracy provided by emergency physicians in comparison with Peak Flowmetry in the severity and discharge criteria of patients with asthma attack

2019-11-17T12:25:10+00:00

Introduction: In the emergency department, the decisions on admission or discharge are based on clinical symptoms and physical examinations. The aim of this study is to compare the assessment of emergency physician clinical judgment accuracy with the actual amount of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR).

Method: The present research was a cross-sectional study. In this study, 138 patients with asthma of the age of 18 to 55 years were enrolled. From admission to discharge, clinical signs and symptoms were investigated and recorded by emergency physicians and the severity of asthma was determined (mild, moderate, severe). In both stages (admission and discharge), the PEFR was measured by researcher and was compared with the severity of asthma, which are determined based on clinical symptoms and physical examination.

Results: 37.7% of patients were male and the rest were females, and the mean age of participants was 49.84 years. The number of mild, moderate and severe asthma cases was 14, 36 and 88, respectively in peak flow meter. The number of mild, moderate and severe asthma cases was 37, 32 and 69, respectively in clinical judgment. In assessment of emergency physician clinical judgment accuracy in severity of asthma in comparison with peak flowmetry, the result was the kappa value of 0.231 (P <0.001).

Conclusion: The study showed that clinical judgment of physicians in the emergency department is not a good prediction of severity of asthma.

Comparable effect of adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction and mesenchymal stem cells for wound healing: An in vivo study

2019-11-17T12:25:09+00:00

Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been known to have angiogenic potency, particularly for wound healing. However, it is such a cumbersome procedure to obtain a large amount of MSCs due to the culture process. The stromal vascular fraction (SVF), or so called nonexpanded MSCs, of adipose tissue is gaining increased interest in the field of cell therapy. An optimized method that takes only 2 hours to produce a large amount of stromal cells from adipose tissue has been developed. Burn wound model was used to assess the efficacy of SVF produced by our method. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of SVF compared to MSCs.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats with second degree burn wound were divided into the study groups: SVF, MSCs and saline control. The wound was photographed and evaluated weekly up to 5 weeks. The comparative analysis consisted of healing time, histology of skin tissue, as well as rat and human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression.

Results: In this study, wounds treated with SVF and MSCs were smaller after 14-21 days, compared to the untreated group. Expression of rat VEGF in SVF and MSC- treated groups after seven days post-wounded were also higher than the untreated group. No human VEGF was found expressed in the skin biopsies.

Conclusion: This suggests that SVF and MSCs promote wound healing via a paracrine effect. The results suggest that SVF may be useful for wound healing and may be used as a promising alternative to MSC-based therapy.

The effects of the Panax Vietnamensis ethanol fraction on proliferation and differentiation of mouse neural stem cells

2019-11-17T12:25:08+00:00

Introduction: Panax vietnamensis Ha et Grushv. (Ngoc Linh ginseng) – a new species recently discovered in Vietnam – has received much interest due to its rich content of saponins, including those unknown. This study assessed the effects of the Ngoc Linh ginseng extract fractions on proliferation and differentiation of cultured mouse neural stem cells.

Methods: Whole brains were harvested from E13.5-14 Swiss mouse fetuses. Isolated cells were floating seeded to form spheroid bodies. Neurospheres were treated with one in fractions of ethanol 200-500 mg/mL, or nbutanol 200 mg/mL, or aqueous 200-500 mg/mL for 5 days. Neural stem cells could persistently generate secondary spheres. Neurospheres strongly expressed nestin, CD24 and deriving cells could differentiate into the GFAP-positive astrocyte-like cells.

Results: Ginseng fractions significantly promoted neurosphere growth rate. Particularly, 200 mg/mL ginseng ethanol fraction significantly increased the neurosphere size (28.00 +/- 3.00%, p<0.0001) not showing degeneration to the 5^thday. However, n-butanol and aqueous fraction could not sustain the sphere structure. Ginseng ethanol fraction also elevated in the G2/M proportion (28.73+/-0.45%, p<0.0001), up-regulated proliferation mRNA ki67 (4.605+/-6.48 fold-change, p<0.05), cycA1 (12.61+/-4.65 fold-change, p<0.0001), cycD1 (22.47+/-8.18 fold-change, p<0.0001), cycC (9.53+/-2.63 fold-change, p<0.0001) compared with those of the n-butanol or aqueous fraction-treated neurospheres. Shorten G0/G1 phase (47.08 +/-0.16, p<0.0001), up-regulation of sox2 (71.25+/-27.24 fold-change, p<0.0001) mRNA levels indicated self-renewal effect of the ginseng ethanol fraction; however, those of n-butanol and aqueous fraction-treated neurospheres suggested an inhibiting effect on the cell proliferation.

Conclusion: Panax vietnamensis extract fractions had a positive effect on the proliferation of cultured neural stem cells. The ethanol fraction at 200 mg/mL could significantly promote the growth rate while still sustained the integrity of treated spheres.