azizollah bakhtari

Sodium polyacrylate is a material with a high potential for water and moisture absorption. In this study, the effects of this material on the rate of embryo development and the expression of apoptosis-related and antioxidants genes in the blastocyst was evaluated. Adult female mice were superovulated by injection of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and after placing beside adult male mice, zygotes were harvested from oviducts and transferred into media containing 0, 5, 25, and 50 μg/ml sodium polyacrylate. Zygotes were cultured towards the blastocyst stage and the rate of embryo development was assessed. Expression of intended genes were evaluated by real time RT-PCR. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan's post hoc toast were used to determine the differences between the means of the groups. The rate of blastocysts was significantly lower in 50 μg/ml compared to the control group (P<0.05). The expression of Bcl-2 increased significantly in 5 μg/ml in comparison to the control group and decreased significantly in 50 μg/ml compared to 5 and 25 μg/ml (P<0.05). The expression of Bax/Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 in 50 μg/ml increased significantly in comparison to 0, 5, and 25 μg/ml (P<0.05). Therefore, the high concentration of sodium polyacrylate has an adverse effect on the embryo through apoptosis system.

Although application of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) in industry and medicinehas increased, their potential toxicity in reproductive cells remains a controversial issue. This study was undertakento address the response of sperm, oocyte, and resultant blastocyst to dextran-coated SPIONs (D-SPIONs) treatmentduring murine in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In this experimental study, murine mature oocytes were randomly divided into three groups:control, and low- and high-dose groups in which fertilization medium was mixed with 0, 50 and 250 μg/ml of DSPIONs,respectively. Sperm and/or cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured for 4 h in this medium for electronmicroscopic analysis of sperm and COCs, and assessment of developmental competence and genes expression ofGpx1, Sod1, catalase, Bcl2l1 and Bax in the resultant blastocysts.

Ultrastructural study of sperm, oocyte, and granulosa showed destructed mitochondria and membranes inspermatozoa, vacuolated mitochondria and distorted cristae in oocytes, and disrupted nuclei and disorganized cellmembranes in granulosa in a dose-dependent manner. Data showed that cleavage and blastocyst rates in the 250 μg/mlof D-SPIONs were significantly lower than in the control group (p <0.05). Gene expression of GPx1, Sod1, catalase,Bcl2l1 and Bax in resultant blastocysts of the high-dose group and catalase and Bax in resultant blastocysts of thelow-dose group, was higher than the controls.

There is considerable concern regarding D-SPIONs toxic effects on IVF, and mitochondrial and cellmembrane damage in mouse spermatozoa and oocytes, which may be related to oxidative stress and apoptotic events.

Regarding that undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells, as donor cells, require less epigenetic reprogramming, possibility of using bovine adipose tissue-derived stem cells (BASCs) with low level of DNMTs and HDACs expression was evaluated.

In this experimental study, we examined gene expression of epigenetic modifiers including DNA methyltransferases (DNMT1, DNMT3A and DNMT3B) and histone deacetylases (HDAC1-3), as well as protein levels of histone H3 acetylation at lysine 9 (H3K9ac) and POU5F1 (also known as OCT4) at two stages of preimplantation development among in vitro fertilization (IVF), parthenogenetic activation (PA) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) groups.

The results revealed that developmental competence of IVF embryos was higher than SCNT embryos (P<0.05). In the PA and SCNT groups, DNMT1, HDAC2 and HDAC3 mRNA were overexpressed (P<0.05), and proteins levels of H3K9ac and POU5F1 were reduced at 6-8 cells and blastocyst stages compared to IVF (P<0.05). The mRNA expression of DNMT1 and HDAC1 and proteins levels of POU5F1 and H3K9ac were significantly different between SCNT and PA groups (P<0.05) in both developmental stages (except HDAC1 in blastocyst stage).

The SCNT embryos derived from BASCs have endured considerable nuclear reprogramming during early embryo development. Comparison of PA and SCNT blastocysts demonstrated that HDAC1 and DNMT1 may attribute to developmental competence variability of bovine embryos.

 Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases around the world and this problem is the result of variety of different bacteria. Streptococcus mutants is one of the most important bacteria which is related to this disease. Finding new effective antibacterial agents is an important area in bioscience for fighting and controlling bacterial infections. Essential oils are most important natural sources of antibacterial agents, particularly against drug-resistant bacteria.  The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the antibacterial activity of three essential oils Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita and Foeniculum vulgare Mill against Streptococcus mutants. Disk diffusion method was carried out and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were measured.  The results showed that all three essential oils have antibacterial activity against S. mutants. With a constant concentration of 100 µg/µl, the efficiency of Mentha piperita and then Foeniculum vulgare Mill was higher than the efficiency of Mentha arvensis at all 3 given time points (24, 48 and 72 hours). The most effective MIC and MBC were related to Streptococcus mutants using Foeniculum vulgare essential oil which were equal to 8.4 and 14.9 µg/ml, respectively. MIC and MBC for Mentha piperita essential oil were measured 10.5 and 16.3 µg/ml, respectively.  The Essential oils used in present study with different components showed antibacterial activity and therefore they can be used as new antibacterial substances.

The current study aimed at evaluating testis parameters and spermatogenesis changes in male rats administrated by different busulfan doses and time to construct a subfertile animal model by stereological methods. In the present study, 150 male Wistar rats randomly divided into 5 groups. All experimental groups were treated by different concentrations of busulfan (0.0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 mg/kg). Rats were sacrificed 1, 15, and 30 days after busulfan treatment. The tissue processing was done for stereological study and the results were analyzed by the one-way ANOVA followed by the Duncan test. The most stereological parameters such as testes weight and volume, tubules volume density, interstitial tissue (P<0.05), and germinal epithelium (P<0.01) were significantly reduced by busulfan treatment. Also, at different busulfan doses, the number of spermatogenic cells including spermatogonia (P<0.05), spermatocyte, round and elongated spermatid, and the Sertoli and Leydig cells (P<0.01) significantly decreased, compared with those of the control group. The decline was more obvious in higher busulfan doses and time (from the day 15 to 30) (P<0.05). Most of testicular stereological parameters reduced during 15 days onwards after busulfan treatment in a dose-dependent manner.

Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases around the world and this problem is the result of variety of different bacteria. Streptococcus mutants is one of the most important bacteria which is related to this disease. Finding new effective antibacterial agents is an important area in bioscience for fighting and controlling bacterial infections. Essential oils are most important natural sources of antibacterial agents, particularly against drug-resistant bacteria.
The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the antibacterial activity of three essential oils Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita and Foeniculum vulgare Mill against Streptococcus mutants. Disk diffusion method was carried out and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were measured.
The results showed that all three essential oils have antibacterial activity against S. mutants. With a constant concentration of 100 µg/µl, the efficiency of Mentha piperita and then Foeniculum vulgare Mill was higher than the efficiency of Mentha arvensis at all 3 given time points (24, 48 and 72 hours). The most effective MIC and MBC were related to Streptococcus mutants using Foeniculum vulgare essential oil which were equal to 8.4 and 14.9 µg/ml, respectively. MIC and MBC for Mentha piperita essential oil were measured 10.5 and 16.3 µg/ml, respectively.
The Essential oils used in present study with different components showed antibacterial activity and therefore they can be used as new antibacterial substances.

One of the most common chronic diseases in the world is tooth decay. A variety of bacteria are involved in this disorder of which Streptococcus mutants is the most common. Essential oils are considered as new natural compounds for use in combating drug-resistant bacteria. This study was aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of some essential oils prepared from Eucalyptus caesia Benth, Cuminum cyminum L. and Satureja hortensis L. on S. mutants. In this study, essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation method. E. caesia Benth, C. cyminum L. and S. hortensis L. were characterized by using gas chromatography‒mass spectrophotometry (GC‒MS). Antibacterial activity indices including minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and zone of inhibition for the above essential oils against Streptococcus mutans were determined using broth macro-dilution and disk diffusion methods. Data analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey test. Results showed that all three extracts had antibacterial activity against S. mutants. S. hortensis L. essential oil with the lowest MIC and MBC value (13.2 and 18.4 µg/ml, respectively) and the biggest inhibition zone showed the strongest antibacterial effect against S. mutants in all exposure times and at all concentrations, compared with two other essential oils. Furthermore, C. cyminum L. essential oil had higher anti-bacterial activity against S. mutant than E. caesia Benth essential oil. The essential oils used in the present study with different components showed antibacterial activity (especially S. hortensis L essential oil), and therefore they can be used as a new antibacterial substance.

Nowadays, many antibiotics are being used to control infectious diseases. Inappropriate use of antibiotics leads to emergence of resistant bacteria and problems such as a prolonged course of treatment. Medicinal plants and their derivatives, as a good source of treatment, are effective against drug resistance. In this study we have evaluated the antimicrobial activity of herbal essential oils of four medicinal plant Cuminum cyminum, Satureja hotensis L, Citrus limon and Mentha piperita. For preparation of herbal essential oils clevenger apparatus was used, and the active components of the herbal essential oils were determined by GC-MS. In order to observe the effects of the essential oils, they were examined on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi using disc diffusion method in vitro. Also, the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimal Bactericide Concentration (MBC) of each essential oil was measured and compared with commonly used antibiotics. Obtained results showed that all of the essential oils possess inhibitory and antibacterial effects, but the Mentha piperita essential oil showed a better effect in comparison to other used essential oils. It was concluded that all the herbal species demonstrate antibacterial properties, but the level of bacterial growth inhibition induced by plant materials, shown to be dependent on herbal source and bacterial strain.

Infertility due to heat stress is one of the great economic problems in dairy industry. Heat stress at the earliest stages of follicular growth can affect the oocyte quality and developmental competence. The objective of this study was to determine factors which may have role to reduce of polyspermy in heat stress condition. For this propose, some changes in sperm concentration, maturation medium, and fertilization medium were done. In first step, three concentrations of sperm (0.5×106, 0.75×106 and 1×106) were selected. Results showed that with decrease in sperm concentration, polysermic rate did not significantly changed (p>0.05). But in 0.5×106 sperm concentration, fertilization rate significantly decreased (p<0.001). So, for next steps 0.75×106 sperm was used. In second experiment, fetal bovine serum in two concentrations (10 or 20%) was added to maturation medium. Result did not show any difference between these two groups in polyspermic rate, normal fertilization, and total zygote (p>0.05). In the next step, adding two different levels of heparin (1 or 10 µg/ml) in fertilization medium was evaluated. The fertilization parameters did not affected by both concentrations of heparin (p>0.05). In last experiment, non-essential amino acid was removed from fertilization medium. Polyspermic rate was reduced to less than 15% in non-amino acid group. The cleavage, blastocyst, hatched blastocyst rates significantly promote in group without amino acid (p<0.05).