Background And Objective: Ensuring colon homeostasis is of significant influence on colon cancer and delicate balance is maintained by a healthy human gut microbiota. Probiotics can modulate the diversity of the gut microbiome and prevent colon cancer. Metabolites/byproducts generated by microbial metabolism significantly impact the healthy colonic environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtracellular nanovesicles, particularly exosomes, can deliver their diverse bioactive biomolecular content, including miRNAs, proteins, and lipids, thus providing a context for investigating the capability of exosomes to induce stem cells toward lineage-specific cells and tissue regeneration. In this study, it is demonstrated that rat subventricular zone neural stem cell-derived exosomes (rSVZ-NSCExo) can control neural-lineage specification of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Microarray analysis shows that the miRNA content of rSVZ-NSCExo is a faithful representation of rSVZ tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have significantly lower vitamin D levels. Cholesterol is known to be the precursor for vitamin D synthesis, and cholesterol removal is regulated by cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) in the liver and cholesterol 24S-hydroxylase (CYP46A1) in the brain. In this study, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the genes CYP7A1 (rs3808607) and CYP46A1 (rs754203) were investigated for their effects on serum lipid profiles, vitamin D levels, and the risk of developing MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) and microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) both catalyze the metabolism of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), lipid signaling molecules that are protective against ischemic brain injury owing to their participation in the regulation of vascular tone and cerebral blood flow. In addition, mEH metabolizes polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, one of the causative factors of atherosclerotic lesion development. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of enzyme activity-modifying missense single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the sEH gene () and mEH gene () and ischemic stroke risk in a Turkish population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Oxidative stress is a known risk factor for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, the main cause of ischemic stroke. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) omega-1 and omega-2, members of phase II enzymes, play a role in the antioxidant system. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), C419A and A424G in GST omega genes can cause a decrease in enzyme activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective Vitamin D deficiency is known as an important risk factor in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, which contributes to stroke development. Genetic variations including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in enzymes involved in vitamin D metabolism can affect susceptibility to the development of stroke. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms of vitamin D metabolizing enzymes (rs927650 SNP in CYP24A1, and rs10741657 SNP in CYP2R1 genes,) and ischemic stroke risk in Turkish population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite very extensive studies on the molecular mechanisms of memory formation, relatively little is known about the molecular correlates of individual variation in the learning skills within a random population of young normal subjects. The role of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in the brain also remains poorly understood. On the other hand, these enzymes are known to be related to the metabolism of substances important for neural functions including steroids, fatty acids, and retinoic acid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStroke, a major cause of death and disability, is described as interruption or severe reduction of blood flow in cerebral arteries. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and carotid atherosclerosis is a risk factor for stroke. Combination of multiple environmental and genetic risk factors is thought to increase stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the present study, the possible role of ellagic acid (EA) on antioxidant potential of Epilobium hirsutum (EH) in rat liver was investigated. Wistar rats were intraperitoneally treated with 37.5 mg/kg of EH and 10 mg/kg of EA for 9 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of plant phenolic compound tannic acid (TA) on proliferative, metastatic, invasive properties of prostate cancer (PCa) cells; PC-3 and LNCaP, as well as drug metabolizing and antioxidant enzymes. Characterization of TA was done by using FT-IR and NMR. TA dose dependently inhibited the proliferation of PC-3 and LNCaP cells with IC50 values 35.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpilobium hirsutum (EH) is a medicinal plant for treating various diseases. Despite its wide usage, there is no available information about its potential influences on drug metabolism. The present study was undertaken to determine the in vivo effects of EH on hepatic CYP2B, CYP2C, CYP2D, and CYP3A enzymes that are primarily involved in drug metabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between endothelial nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) G894T, T-786C, and intron 4 variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) variants, alone or in combination, and the risk of incidence of ischemic stroke in the Turkish population. The genotypes for all polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques on 245 ischemic stroke patients and 145 controls. In the case-control analysis, no significant difference was observed between stroke patients and controls with respect to NOS3 G894T, T-786C, and intron 4 VNTR polymorphisms genotype and allele frequency distribution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study was designed to evaluate different doses of ellagic acid (EA) in vivo in rats for its potential to modulate hepatic phases I, II, and antioxidant enzymes. EA (10 or 30 mg/kg/day, intragastrically) was administered for 14 consecutive days, and activity, protein, and mRNA levels were determined. Although the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2B and CYP2E enzyme activities were decreased significantly, the activities of all other enzymes were unchanged with the 10 mg/kg/day EA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite very extensive investigations on molecular processes underlying memory formation, there are very few studies examining potential differences in the brain biochemistry between "good" and "poor" learners belonging to a random population of young animals. In the present study, an attempt was made to correlate individual variation in spatial learning in young-adult Long-Evans rats with hippocampal levels of protein kinase A (PKA), calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha (CaMKIIα), and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). Additionally, in order to indirectly estimate the activity of CaMKIIα and PKA, hippocampal levels of their phosphorylated forms (pCaMKIIα and pPKA) were assessed using Western blot technique.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Natural products have attracted increasing interests due to their use in flavoring, nutrition, cosmetics, pharmacy and medicine. Epilobium hirsutum L. (Onagraceae) is known for its analgesic, antimicrobial, and antiproliferative activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIschemic stroke is a multifactorial disease leading to severe long-term disability and it is the third leading cause of death in developed countries. Although many studies have been reported to elucidate etiological and pathological mechanisms of stroke, the genetic and molecular basis of disease remains poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that reactive oxygen species causing oxidative stress play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis that is the main cause of a group of cardiovascular diseases including ischemic stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtherosclerosis, a major cause of ischemic stroke, may be associated with variability of triglyceride (TG) levels. Apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) genetic polymorphisms are associated with altered TG levels. The objective of this study was to investigate the coding region polymorphisms S19W (rs3135506) and G185C (rs2075291) and the promoter region polymorphism -1131T>C (rs662799) of the APOA5 gene as risk factors for ischemic stroke in Turkish population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the present study, to better understand the role of different nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms in hippocampus-dependent forms of learning, we examined the expression of neural, endothelial, and inducible NOS in the hippocampus of young-adult rats classified as "poor" and "good" learners on the basis of their performance in the partially baited 12-arm radial maze. Taking into consideration strain-dependent differences in learning skills and NOS expression, experiments were performed on two different lines of laboratory rats: the inbred Wistar (W) and the outcrossed Wistar/Spraque-Dawley (W/S) line. The hippocampal levels of NOS proteins were assessed by Western Blotting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOxidative stress plays a major role in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis which is responsible for stroke. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) detoxify metabolites produced by oxidative stress within the cell and protect the cells against injury. This study aimed to investigate the association of polymorphisms in GSTT1, GSTM1 genes and GST activity with ischemic stroke risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Paraoxonase1 (PON1) is protective against the development of atherosclerosis, a risk factor for ischemic stroke. PON1 gene has one promoter region (-107T/C) and two coding region (192Q/R and 55L/M) polymorphisms that affect the levels and catalytic efficiency of the enzyme, respectively. In this study, we aimed to determine the importance of -107T/C, 192Q/R and 55L/M polymorphisms of PON1 gene and three PON1 activities (diazoxonase, paraoxonase, arylesterase) as risk factors for ischemic stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: The molecular etiology of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is likely to involve interactions between environmental factors and genetic make up. Understanding these interactions between various predisposing genes for the risk of developing childhood leukemia is of considerable importance. CYP2E1 is a susceptible gene in this respect, especially for its capacity to bioactivate many procarcinogens including benzene and N-nitrosodimethylamine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: In recent years, importance of enzyme activity measurements, in addition to genotyping, in epidemiological studies relating paraoxonase 1 (PON1) and vascular disease was emphasized. This is the first report evaluating paraoxonase and arylesterase activities as risk factors for ischemic stroke. In addition, PON1 192Gln(Q)/Arg(R) and 55Leu(L)/Met(M) polymorphisms were also analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF6-Mercaptopurine (6MP) is an essential anticancer drug used in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) polymorphisms are the major determinants of interindividual differences in the severe toxicity or efficacy of 6MP. Four variant alleles, TPMT*2, TPMT*3A, TPMT*3B, and TPMT*3C, are responsible over the 80% of low or undetectable enzyme activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1) gene shows genetic polymorphisms that vary markedly in frequency among different ethnic and racial groups. We studied the genotype distributions and allele frequencies of three CYP2E1 polymorphisms: CYP2E1*5B (RsaI/PstI RFLP, C-1053T/G-1293C SNP, rs2031920 /rs3813867), CYP2E1*6 (DraI RFLP, T7632A SNP, rs6413432), and CYP2E1*7B (DdeI RFLP, G-71T SNP, rs6413420) by PCR/RFLP technique in a sample of 206 healthy subjects representing Turkish population. CYP2E1*5B polymorphism analysis yielded the genotype distribution as 96.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere are limited number of studies regarding the influence of diabetes on the regulation of cytochrome P450s and associated drug metabolizing enzyme activities especially in extrahepatic tissues such as kidney. However, there is almost no such study in lung. Alloxan-induced diabetes did not change CYP2B4 expression as measured with immunoblot analysis and associated enzyme, benzphetamine N-demethylase, activity in rabbit kidney and lung.
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