Background/Aims: The most appropriate route for bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) transplantation in the management of liver fibrosis remains controversial. This study investigated the therapeutic efficacy of intravenous and intrasplenic BM-MSC transplantation on carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced rat liver fibrosis. Methods: Fifty rats were divided into 5 groups (n = 10 rats per group): healthy control group, CCl₄ group, CCl₄/ recovery group, CCl₄/BM-MSC intravenous group, and CCl₄/BM-MSC intrasplenic group. BM-MSCs were isolated, labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP), and injected into fibrotic rats either intravenously or intrasplenically. Gene expression of interleukins (IL-1β and IL-6), interferon (INF)-γ, hepatic growth factor, and the hepatocyte-specific marker cytokeratin 18 was estimated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Vascular endothelial growth factor and connective tissue growth factor was detected by western blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. At 2 weeks after intravenous and intrasplenic BM-MSC injections, GFP-positive cells were detected in liver tissue. Results: Both routes achieved a similar enhancement of liver function, which was confirmed by histopathological examination. The intravenous route was more effective than the intrasplenic route in reducing gene expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and INF-γ. However, fibrotic changes were still observed in the recovery group. Conclusion: Intravenous BM-MSC injection was an efficient and appropriate route for BM-MSC transplantation for the management of liver fibrosis.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is commonest endocrine disease occurring in women of reproductive age. This study conducted to clarify altered concentrations of Nesfatin-1, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), and dopamine in PCOS women and controls. Also, to assess their role in PCOS pathophysiology and their correlation with measured biochemical parameters. Methods: In this observational study, 60 PCOS patients and 24 controls included. Medical history was recorded and full examinations were done. Serum concentrations of lipid profile, fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FSI), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin, testosterone, progesterone, estradiol, Nesfatin-1, dopamine, and NADPH were measured by ELISA kits. Values were analyzed using unpaired t-test and Pearson Chi-square test. The p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In this study, there was significantly elevated waist hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) in PCOS patients versus controls (p<0.0001 and p=0.014). There was significant increase in FSH, LH, prolactin, estradiol, testosterone, Nesfatin-1, and dopamine (p=0.021, p=0.015, p<0.0001, p<0.0001, p=0.006, p=0.017, p< 0.0001) and decrease of NADPH (p<0.0001) in PCOS patients. There were significant positive correlations between Nesfatin-1, prolactin, and dopamine levels. Also, there was significant positive correlation between dopamine and BMI, FSI, FSH, LH, estradiol, and prolactin levels; however, significant negative correlations observed between NADPH and BMI, FSI, estradiol, and prolactin levels. Conclusion: Elevated serum Nesfatin-1 concentrations and their association with hyperprolactinemia indicate that they have a role in PCOS pathophysiology. Moreover, elevated dopamine and decreased NADPH concentrations could play role in PCOS pathogenesis.

Background: Estrogen deprivation in the postmenopausal women plays a critical role in progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Aim: The present study investigated the overlaid effect of ovariectomy on T2DM and the possible underlying mechanism. Materials: Forty female Wistar rats were divided into four groups (10 rats each): sham control, ovariectomized control, sham diabetic and diabetic ovariectomized groups. At the end of experiment, estimation of body weight gain percentage, food intake, fasting blood glucose concentration, and insulin tolerance test were done. Then, rats were euthanized and blood samples were taken for measurement of serum concentration of insulin, HOMA-IR, lipid parameters, tumor necrosis factor-a, interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 4, interleukin 10, malondialdehyde and total thiol. Also, histopathological and immunohistochemical examination of the pancreas were done. Results: The present study revealed that ovariectomy aggravated the diabetic induced glucose metabolic disturbance as implied by impaired insulin tolerance test, increased insulin resistance alongside lipid dyshomeostasis. These metabolic disturbances might claim to exacerbation of oxidative stress and inflammatory response along with apparent histopathological and immunohistochemical changes on the pancreas. Conclusion: We concluded that metabolic disturbances induced by diabetes might be getting worse after ovariectomy via intensification of oxidative stress and inflammatory state.

Melatonin is effective in prevention and short-term treatment of the inflammatory process in acetic-acid induced colitis whereas the benefit of long-term treatment is unclear. Benefit may be linked to protection mechanisms against inflammatory processes by inhibiting the nuclear factor-kappa beta and conserving endogenous antioxidant reserves of total thiols, thus reducing the level of colonic damage possibly caused by lipid peroxides.

1IntroductionAlzheimersd isease (AD) is an eurodegenerative disorder characterizedb ya ggregation of beta-amyloid (Ab) peptidea nd formation of neurofibrillary tangles in the neuronsa sw ell as oxidatived amage of lipids, protein, DNAa nd RNA [1][2][3].A Dc ould be diagnosed by using clinicala nalysis,b ut it could be misdiagnosed with some other neurological diseases.A b peptidew as used as the key marker in the early diagnosis of AD [4] based on several detection methods such as the use of amyloid-reactive dyes [5],b ut this method is disadvantagedb ecause the dye should cross the blood-brain barrier.I na ddition, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA),f luorescence,a nd scanning tunneling microscopy methods have been developedf or detection of Ab [6][7][8].W hile these techniques showed good sensitivity and selectivity,t hey also have some disadvantages such asneeded complicated instrument and semi-quantitativec haracteristics [9].A lso, they need along time for sample preparation and analysis that could results in somes tructuralc hanges of Ab due to the ionic strength, acidity, temperature,a nd other environmental conditions [10,11].I no ur previous work we have reported Ramans pectroscopy as ap owerful technique for monitoring Ab peptide in as hort time without any sample preparation, but the sensing device is also expensive [12].Thus,i ti sc ritically important to developafast sensor that could detect Ab concentrationi ni ts aggregate forming step which would be amore suitable candidate to predict AD.E lectrochemicalt echniques have been widely used in variousb iological fields such as clinicald iagnosis, biomedical research, food quality control and environmental monitoring due to its high sensitivity,s implicity, and rapid response. During the last decade few attempts have been reported to apply differente lectrochemical techniques for monitoring Ab peptides and their aggregated forms by usingv ariousm odified electrodes [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. However, most of them were electrochemical immunosensor label-based systems for in-vitro detection;t hey also include immobilization of peptide into the electrode surface or the detection of the Ab in solutions such as Fe(CN) 6 3À that could change the peptide structure[ 21, 23] D-galactose (DG) is one of the reducing sugars that could be converted into glucose by galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase and galactokinase enzymes [24,25].B ut, at higher levels it will be accumulated in the cells and reacts with the free amines (in proteins and peptides) to form advancedg lycation end products [25] leadingt oo smotic stress and generation of reactiveo xygen species [26].D Gw as used for studying in-vivo AD [27][28][29][30],d ue to its ability to induce oxidative stress in cultured rat fetal brain neurons that may be contributed to the neurode-Abstract:T he beta-amyloid (Ab)p eptide was useda sa n important biomarker for Alzheimersd isease (AD) diagnosis.T he developmento fa na ccurate,s elective, rapid, and highly sensitive technique for detecti...