Investigating the Effects of Hydro-alcoholic Urtica Dioica Extract and Retinoic Acid on Follicular Development: An Animal Study.

Urtica dioica (UD), as a natural antioxidant, has positive effects on oocyte maturation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of hydro-alcoholic UD extract and retinoic acid on follicular development in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) condition. A total of 40 female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: group 1 received normal saline, group 2 was given 25 mg/kg retinoic acid, group 3 was administered with 100 mg/kg UD extract, group 4 was treated with retinoic acid plus UD extract, and group 5 received 10 mg/kg olive oil.

Advances in Biosensing of Chemical Food Contaminants Based on the MOFs-Graphene Nanohybrids.

Food safety issue is becoming an international challenge for human health owing to the presence of contaminants. In this context, reliable, rapid, and sensitive detecting technology is extremely demanded to establish food safety assurance systems. MOFs (Metal-organic frameworks) are a new type of porous crystalline material with particular physical and chemical characteristics presented in food safety requirements.

PCSK9 pathway-noncoding RNAs crosstalk: Emerging opportunities for novel therapeutic approaches in inflammatory atherosclerosis.

A variety of mechanisms contribute to the occurrence and development of inflammatory atherosclerosis (IA), resulting in cardiovascular disease. PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/ kexin type 9) has now been recognized as a key player in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. Following PCSK9 activation, LDL receptors (LDLR) are degraded and as a result, LDL cholesterol (LDLC) levels are increased.

Protective effects of summer savory (Satureja hortensis) oil on growth, biochemical, and immune system performance of common carp exposed to pretilachlor herbicide.

There are many reports on the deleterious effects of herbicides on aquatic organisms which lead to tremendous biological, environmental and economical damage. In this regard, in the present study, the protective effect of summer savory (Satureja hortensis) essential oil (SEO) against pretilachlor, one of the most used herbicides was investigated in common carp (Cyprinus carpio). The fish assigned to six treatment groups (T: control treatment; T: 25% LC pretilachlor herbicide; T: 50% LC pretilachlor herbicide; T: 1% SEO; T: 25% LC pretilachlor herbicide + 1% SEO; and T: 25% LC pretilachlor herbicide + 1% SEO) for 21 days.

Effect of tomato consumption on inflammatory markers in health and disease status: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

Background And Aims: Inflammation is a major cause of chronic diseases. Several studies have investigated the effects of tomato intake on inflammatory biomarkers; however, the results are equivocal. Therefore, the present study aimed to systematically review and analyses randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing the effects of tomato intake on inflammatory biomarkers in adults.

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells and their exosomes application in the treatment of intervertebral disc disease: A promising frontier.

Today, the application of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) and their exosomes to treat degenerative diseases has received attention. Due to the characteristics of these cells, such as self-renewability, differentiative and immunomodulatory effects, their use in laboratory and clinical studies shows promising results. However, the allogeneic transplantation problems of MSCs limit the use of these cells in the clinic.

A deep insight into CRISPR/Cas9 application in CAR-T cell-based tumor immunotherapies.

To date, two chimeric antigen receptors (CAR)-T cell products from autologous T cells have been approved by The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The case-by-case autologous T cell generation setting is largely considered as a pivotal restraining cause for its large-scale clinical use because of the costly and prolonged manufacturing procedure. Further, activated CAR-T cells mainly express immune checkpoint molecules, including CTLA4, PD1, LAG3, abrogating CAR-T anti-tumor activity.

gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to type 2 diabetes: evidence from a meta-regression and meta-analysis based on 47 studies.

Background: Evidence from various studies suggest that vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms are associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D); However, these results have been disputable. Here we conducted a meta-analysis to comprehensively evaluate the effect of gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to T2D.

Methods: All relevant studies reporting the association between gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to T2D published up to August 2020 were identified by comprehensive systematic database search in web of science, Scopus, and Medline.

Applications of Microfluidic Devices in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer: A Review Study.

Many cancer-related deaths are reported annually due to a lack of appropriate diagnosis and treatment strategies. Microfluidic technology, as new creativity has a great impact on automation and miniaturization via handling a small volume of materials and samples (in microliter to femtoliter range) to set up the system. Microfluidic devices not only detect various cancer-diagnostic factors from biological fluids but also can produce proper nanoparticles for drug delivery.

P53 long noncoding RNA regulatory network in cancer development.

The protein p53 as a transcription factor with strong tumor-suppressive activities is known to trigger apoptosis via multiple pathways and is directly involved in the recognition of DNA damage and DNA repair processes. P53 alteration is now recognized as a common event in the pathogenesis of many types of human malignancies. Deregulation of tumor suppressor p53 pathways plays an important role in the activation of cell proliferation or inactivation of apoptotic cell death during carcinogenesis and tumor progression.

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells as a valuable source for the treatment of immune-mediated disorders.

Over recent years, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and their potential biomedical applications have received much attention from the global scientific community in an increasing manner. Firstly, MSCs were successfully isolated from human bone marrow (BM), but in the next steps, they were also extracted from other sources, mostly from the umbilical cord (UC) and adipose tissue (AT). The International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) has suggested minimum criteria to identify and characterize MSCs as follows: plastic adherence, surface expression of CD73, D90, CD105 in the lack of expression of CD14, CD34, CD45, and human leucocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR), and also the capability to differentiate to multiple cell types including adipocyte, chondrocyte, or osteoblast in vitro depends on culture conditions.

The effects of oxygen-ozone therapy on regulatory T-cell responses in multiple sclerosis patients.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The decreased frequency and dysfunction of Treg cells cause inflammation and disease progression. Ozone autohemotherapy can be used as a potential therapeutic approach to regulate the immune system responses and inflammation in MS.

Mesenchymal stem cells and cancer therapy: insights into targeting the tumour vasculature.

A crosstalk established between tumor microenvironment and tumor cells leads to contribution or inhibition of tumor progression. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are critical cells that fundamentally participate in modulation of the tumor microenvironment, and have been reported to be able to regulate and determine the final destination of tumor cell. Conflicting functions have been attributed to the activity of MSCs in the tumor microenvironment; they can confer a tumorigenic or anti-tumor potential to the tumor cells.

Shedding more light on the role of Midkine in hepatocellular carcinoma: New perspectives on diagnosis and therapy.

One of the most common malignant tumors is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Progression of HCC mainly results from highly complex molecular and pathological pathways. Midkine (MDK) is a growth factor that impacts viability, migration, and other cell activities.

Codelivery of STAT3 and PD-L1 siRNA by hyaluronate-TAT trimethyl/thiolated chitosan nanoparticles suppresses cancer progression in tumor-bearing mice.

Immunotherapy methods using potential tumor microenvironment modulators have elicited durable therapeutic responses in cancer treatment. Immune checkpoint molecule programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and oncogenic transcription factor STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription-3) assigned as inhibitory targets of our study and particular delivery system designed to deliver small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to silence the targeted genes. Generated trimethyl chitosan (TMC) and thiolated chitosan (TC) nanoparticles (NPs) conjugated with HIV-1-derived TAT peptide and HA (hyaluronic acid) exhibited eligible physicochemical characteristics, notable siRNA encapsulation, serum stability, non-toxicity, controlled siRNA release, and extensive cellular uptake by cancer cells.