Primary cilia are microtubule-based organelles that function as cellular antennae to address multiple metabolic and extracellular cues. The past decade has seen significant advances in understanding the pro-tumorigenic role of N-methyladenosine (mA) modification in tumorigenesis. Nevertheless, whether mA modification modulates the cilia dynamics during cancer progression remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParkinson's disease (PD) is a complex disorder that arises from genetic and environmental factors. The current investigation endeavors to investigate the role of exposure to organochlorine (OCPs) and organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), recognized as the main environmental elements, in the genesis of PD. In this case-control study, 29 PD patients and 51 healthy subjects were involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a polypeptide hormone synthesized during pregnancy and is also upregulated in some pathologic conditions such as certain tumors. Its measurement is essential for diagnosing pregnancy and malignancies. Despite numerous attempts to introduce an accurate method capable of detecting hCG levels, several limitations are found in previous techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpigenetic alterations, changes in gene expression without DNA sequence modifications, are associated with various health disorders, including reproductive health issues. These alterations can be influenced by environmental factors such as pesticides. This study aimed to explore the relationship between exposure to Organochlorine Pesticides (OClPs) and the histone modification mark H3K9ac in the placenta and fetal tissue, in the context of unexplained recurrent miscarriage (URM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Hematological parameters are crucial factors in disease severity and chronic condition pathogenesis. We aimed to evaluate the hematological factors in different severity stages of COVID-19 at different time intervals.
Methods: Serum samples were collected from 470 patients (235 men and 235 women) with a confirmed RT-qPCR COVID-19 test exhibiting moderate, severe, and critical symptoms based on WHO criteria.
N1-methyladenosine (mA) modification is one of the most prevalent epigenetic modifications on RNA. Given the vital role of mA modification in RNA processing such as splicing, stability and translation, developing a precise and controllable mA editing tool is pivotal for in-depth investigating the biological functions of mA. In this study, we developed an abscisic acid (ABA)-inducible and reversible mA demethylation tool (termed AI-dmA), which targets specific transcripts by combining the chemical proximity-induction techniques with the CRISPR/dCas13b system and ALKBH3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Endocrinol (Lausanne)
August 2023
Purpose: Cancer incidence depends on various factors e.g., pesticide exposures which cause epigenetic alterations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: In the current study, we investigate whether oral administration of agmatine (AGM) could effectively reduce motor and cognitive deficits induced by bile duct ligation (BDL) in an animal model of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) through neuroprotective mechanisms.
Methods: The Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sham, BDL, BDL+ 40 mg/kg AGM, and BDL+ 80 mg/kg AGM. The BDL rats were treated with AGM from 2 weeks after the surgery for 4 consecutive weeks.
Unlabelled: Aim / Objective: This study aimed to investigate the levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the serum of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.
Methods: 63 AD patients and 50 healthy individuals participated, and the levels of some OCPs derivatives (including; α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, 2,4-DDT, 4,4-DDT, 2,4-DDE, and 4,4-DDE), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), protein carbonyl (PC), malondialdehyde (MDA), Nitric oxide (NO) along with the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), paraoxonase 1(PON1), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were measured.
Results: The mean OCP level of OCPs in AD patients was significantly higher than in the control group.
Exposure to pesticides has been linked to an elevated risk of leukemia. The present research aimed to evaluate the relationship between organochlorine (OC) pesticides and biomarkers of oxidative stress in leukemia patients. This work was conducted on 109 patients with leukemia and 109 healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe molecular mechanisms of opium action with regard to coronary artery disease (CAD) have not yet been determined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of opium on the expression of scavenger receptors including CD36, CD68, and CD9 tetraspanin in monocytes and the plasma levels of (TNF-α), (IFN-γ), malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide metabolites (NO) in CAD patients with and without opium addiction. This case-control study was conducted on three groups: (1) opium-addicted CAD patients (CAD + OA, n = 30); (2) CAD patients with no opium addiction (CAD, n = 30); and (3) individuals without CAD and opium addiction as the control group (Ctrl, n = 17).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThyroid disease is one of the most common endocrine problems around the world. Among the numerous factors, exposure to environmental elements such as pesticides is associated with an increase in the incidence of thyroid disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in induction of oxidative stress (OS) and development of thyroid tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of paraoxonase 1 (PON1) rs662 polymorphism, arylesterase (ARE) activity, and the serum lipid profile in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in different stages of the disease considering post-COVID outcomes. A total of 470 COVID-19 patients (235 female and 235 male patients) were recruited into the study, and based on the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, the patients were divided into three groups: moderate, severe, and critical. PON1 rs662 polymorphism was determined by the Alw 1 enzyme followed by agarose gel electrophoresis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to investigate the presence/absence of SARS-CoV-2 genome in the air and high-touch surfaces. This cross-sectional study was conducted from late-2020 to mid-2021 in the sections of Intensive Care Unit (ICU), emergency, infectious disease ward, and nursing station of the COVID-19 patient reception center in Kerman, Iran. The presence/absence of SARS-CoV-2 genome in the 60 samples of high-touch surfaces and 23 air samples was analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpigenetics is the science of altering gene expression without changing nucleotide sequences and may be induced by various environmental factors, including pesticides. The aim of this study was to investigate certain epigenetic changes including the methylation of CDKN2B, CDKN2A, and MGMT gene promoters and histone modifications of H3K9ac, H4K16ac, H4K20me3, and H3K4me3, as well as their association with the levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The evaluation of OCP levels, promoter methylation, gene expression, and expression of histone modifications was performed by gas chromatography (GC), methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR), reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), and western blotting, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), led to a pandemic in March 2020. During a viral infection, it has been reported that epigenetic changes occur for both sides: Infected cells elicit an antiviral environmental response, which induces and initiates certain pathways for proper response to the virus, while the virus silences the expression of vital genes in the anti-viral host cell. In this study, we aimed to examine the methylation level of the MX1 gene promoter in different stages in COVID-19 patients compared to the control group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, oxidative stress was investigated as the possible mechanism of action of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) in primary brain tumors (PBT). The levels of seven OCP residues and enzymatic antioxidant biomarkers including erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) along with non-enzymatic oxidative biomarkers including malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and nitric oxide (NO) were measured in blood samples of 73 patients with PBT and 104 healthy controls. A significant association was found between farming activities and PBT (55% of patients were engaged in farming activities while 45% had no farming experience).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic psychiatric illness. Concentrations of inflammatory cytokines are increased in BD. Supplementation with probiotics has shown promising effects in reducing inflammation and producing improvement in clinical symptoms in some psychiatric disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to ascertain if the circulating levels of apelin, as an important regulator of the cardiovascular homeostasis, differ in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and controls.
Methods: A comprehensive search was performed in electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Web of Science to identify the studies addressing apelin in CVD up to April 5, 2021. Due to the presence of different units to measure the circulating levels of apelin across the included studies, they expressed the standardized mean difference (SMD) and their 95% confidence interval (CI) as summary effect size.
In the pathophysiology of COVID-19, immunomodulatory factors play a vital role. Viruses have epigenetic effects on various genes, particularly methylation. Explaining the changes in immunological factor methylation levels during viral infections requires substantial consideration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExposure to organochlorines is associated with epigenetic changes, including methylation change in the promoter of tumor suppressor genes, thereby leading to cancer induction. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and promoter methylation in child patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and the control group. The methylation rate of the promoter was evaluated using the methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction method, and the level of OCPs in patients with ALL and healthy children was measured using gas chromatography.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe prolactin hormone (PRL) is often secreted by lactotrophic cells of the anterior pituitary and has been shown to play a role in various biological processes, including breast feeding and reproduction. The predominant form of this hormone is the 23 kDa form and acts through its receptor (PRLR) on the cell membrane. This receptor is a member of the superfamily of hematopoietic/cytokine receptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrganophosphate (OPPs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are the two predominant forms of pesticides extensively used all around the world and are being reconsidered as environmental pollutants. The current study sought to assess the role of socioeconomic factors on the level of pesticides residues and the oxidative effects of exposure to OPPs and OCPs among the farmworkers of southeast Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 192 farmworkers and 74 non-farmworkers (controls) were involved.
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