BackgroundEpididymal sperm maturation occurs via interactions between sperm and proteins secreted by the epididymal epithelium. Although this is an important process, the genes that encode the involved proteins remain largely uncharacterized. Previous studies have demonstrated that the genes involved in sperm maturation are regulated by androgen. Spag11a is an epididymal gene that is influenced by androgen. However, little is known about the putative role of this gene in the sperm maturation process. The objective of this study was to characterize Spag11a in the mouse epididymis.MethodsIn silico analyses were performed to predict signal peptides and functional domains. Spag11a expression was measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Western blots and immunocytochemistry were performed to determine protein expression.ResultsSPAG11A is a member of the beta defensin protein family and constitutes a secretory protein. Spag11a was expressed exclusively in the epididymis. Moreover, it exhibited region-specific expression in the caput, which is typical for genes that are involved in creating a suitable microenvironment for sperm maturation. Mouse Spag11a was regulated by androgen. A significant decrease of Spag11a expression was observed at third day following a gonadectomy (P < 0.001). Interestingly, testosterone replacement therapy was able to maintain the expression almost at the normal level, indicating a dependency on androgen. Besides androgen, testicular factors influenced Spag11a expression in a different way. This was revealed by efferent duct ligation in which Spag11a was transiently up-regulated at the third day following the ligation before returning to the normal level at day 5. Spag11a regional expression was also observed at protein level detected by western immunoblotting which revealed a clear band in the caput but not in other regions. The prediction that SPAG11A is a secretory protein was confirmed by immunocytochemical analyses indicating cell-specific expression mainly in the caput principal cells and detection of the protein in epididymal luminal fluid and spermatozoa.ConclusionsBased on the characteristics of Spag11a, it is likely that this gene has a specific role in epididymal sperm maturation. Further studies using functional assays are necessary to confirm this finding.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a part of incurable chronic inflammatory disease that has gained importance over the past few decades. A lot of research has been done to find effective treatments for UC, one of which is herbal medicine. Phaleria macrocarpa (PM), an Indonesian native plant, is thought to be an alternative therapy for UC because of its anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, in this research, Phaleria macrocarpa Leaves Ethanol Extract (PMLEE) is used to assess its effect on UC by using Caspase-3 as apoptosis marker. PMLEE was made from dried material of PM that undergo maceration. Animals were separated into six groups: normal, negative control, positive control, and PMLEE groups (100, 200, 300 mg/kgBW). PMLEE was then injected to BALB/c mice that have been induced by dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) for 7 consecutive days. DSS is used to model UC in mice colon tissue. All animals were sacrificed and their colons were collected then stained with anti-Caspase-3. The stained sections were subsequently examined with ImageJ based on color intensity which generated H-Score as the results. Based on H-Score of each group, PMLEE 300mg has significantly upregulate the expression of Caspase-3 compare to the negative control (p=0.015). PMLEE also has a tendency to be dose dependent based on the significant difference between PMLEE doses. Therefore, it concludes that PMLEE is able to upregulate the expression of Caspase-3 in colon cells as in this study it was directly proportional.

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Introduction: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a multifactorial disease with genetic, viral, environmental and lifestyle-related risk factors. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can promote the oncogenic transformation of an infected cell into malignant. EBV encodes many stimulating products including Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) which plays a key role in the regulation of gene expression and replication of the genome in the latent period of infection. EBNA-1 in serum and tumour tissue of NPC patients correlates with NPC prognosis. Moreover, the presence of EBV DNA in serum samples from NPC patients' blood circulation can be used as an early marker in the diagnosis of NPC. Objective:The objective of this study was to find effective methods for monitoring the progress of NPC patients undergoing radiotherapy and therapeutic efficacy by observing the changes in EBV DNA in serum and saliva. Methodology:The pre-experimental design compared blood and saliva taken from a pretest and post-test group of NPC patients before and after radiation therapy. The concentration of EBV DNA was measured in the serum and saliva after amplification using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) with compatible primers for the EBNA-1 gene. The data were statistically analysed by paired T-test.Results: Highly significant (p = 0.0001) increase in cycle threshold qPCR and decrease in the mean concentration of EBV DNA (p = 0.0001) were observed in serum samples, but no significant changes were observed in saliva. Conclusions:The results suggest that EBV DNA in serum can be used as the gold standard and a marker for monitoring the response to radiation therapy in NPC patients, whereas the examination of EBV DNA from saliva samples is not accurate and thus, not appropriate.

Thirthy adult male Spraque Dawley (SD) rats (200-250 g), 8 weeks old from Center for drug and food control, Indonesia. The rats were husbandary with ABSTRACT Seahorse (Hippocampus spp) is marine fish and have pharmacological activity, such as an antiinflammatory, antioxidative, antifatigue and improve the fertility. Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is a contraception drug for male and affect the endocrine system by inhibiting pituitary gonadotropin with reduce testosterone levels in 12 weeks. There are limited studies reported the effects seahorse extract (SE) on Caspase-3 and TUNEL assay in rats induced by DMPA. Thirty Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats that were induced by 1.25mg/kgbw DMPA in 0 and 12 weeks. The animals were randomly into five groups, following: aquadest (G1), CMC 1% (G2), SE dose of 150 mg/kgbw (G3), SE dose of 225 mg/kgbw (G4), SE dose of 300 mg/kgbw (G5). The rats were gavage every day from seven until week eighteen. On the last week, we taken the right and left testis to observed the apoptotic on Caspase-3 and TUNEL assay. Apoptotic marker was observed through immunohistochemistry from testicular tissue and analysed with plugin ImageJ IHC profiler, which is H-score as the results. Data were analysed using One-Way ANOVA and Bonferroni's post hoc tests. The SE decrease the Caspase-3 and TUNEL assay expression in rats induced by DMPA until eighteen weeks, with dose 150 mg/kgbw given the significant difference with p=0.028; <0.05 and p=0.000; <0.01. These results suggest that SE decreased germ cells apoptotic in DMPA induced rats.