فهرست مطالب reza hadavi

We have previously reported the aberrant expression of Fibromodulin (FMOD) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Although FMOD has been considered as a cytoplasmic or secretory protein, we discovered the cell surface expression of FMOD in leukemic B cells via anchoring with glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). To evaluate FMOD as a new biomarker in CLL patients in comparison with healthy individuals. A monoclonal antibody was generated against human FMOD. The cell surface expression of FMOD in 52 CLL patients and 45 healthy individuals were compared by flow cytometry. A bacterial phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) was used to determine the cell surface localization of FMOD using ELISA and flow cytometry techniques. Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) was used to detect apoptosis induction in CLL PBMCs following in vitro incubation with anti-FMOD mAb. The results demonstrated the widespread cell surface expression of GPI-anchored FMOD in CLL patients (median: 79.9 %), although healthy individuals had low FMOD expression (median: 6.2 %) (p≤0.0001). The cut-off value of FMOD expression was estimated with high sensitivity and specificity at 17.9%. Furthermore, in vitro apoptosis induction of leukemic cells following incubation with anti-FMOD mAb showed a direct apoptosis of CLL cells (27.9%) with very low effect on healthy PBMCs (6%). The membrane-anchoring of FMOD by means of a GPI moiety in leukemic cells supports FMOD as a highly potential diagnostic and therapeutic target in CLL patients.

Our preliminary data on the protein expression of SORT1 in ovarian carcinoma tissues showed that sortilin was overexpressed in ovarian carcinoma patients and cell lines, while non-malignant ovaries expressed comparably lower amount of this protein. In spite of diverse ligands and also different putative functions of sortilin (NTR3), the function of overexpressed sortilin in ovarian carcinoma cells is an intriguing subject of inquiry. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the functional role of sortilin in survival of ovarian carcinoma cell line. Expression of sortilin was knocked down using RNAi technology in the ovarian carcinoma cell line, Caov-4. Silencing of SORT1 expression was assessed using real-time qPCR and Western blot analyses. Apoptosis induction was evaluated using flow cytometry by considering annexin-V FITC binding. [3H]-thymidine incorporation assay was also used to evaluate cell proliferation capacity. Real-time qPCR and Western blot analyses showed that expression of sortilin was reduced by nearly 70-80% in the siRNA transfected cells. Knocking down of sortilin expression resulted in increased apoptosis (27.5±0.48%) in siRNA-treated ovarian carcinoma cell line. Sortilin silencing led to significant inhibition of proliferation (40.1%) in siRNA-transfected Caov-4 cells as compared to mock control-transfected counterpart (p<0.05). As it was suspected from overexpression of sortilin in ovarian tumor cells, a cell survival role for sortilin can be deduced from these results. In conclusion, the potency of apoptosis induction via silencing of sortilin expression in tumor cells may introduce sortilin as a potential candidate for developing a novel targeted therapy in patients with ovarian carcinoma.

Pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and polymorphisms of their genes have been described to be involved in the pathogenesis of recurrent miscarriage (RM). To investigate the association between RM and five polymorphisms of cytokine genes, interleukin 10 (IL-10), (-592 A/C, -819 C/T, -1082 A/G), IL-6 (-174 C/G) and IL-17 (-197 G/A) in Iranian women. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was performed to determine the frequencies of the IL-6, IL-10 and IL-17 gene polymorphisms in 85 women with RM compared with 104 healthy controls. The frequencies of IL- 10 promoter gene polymorphisms (-592 A/C and -819 C/T) were significantly higher in RM women than those in controls (p=0.003). However, no statistically significant differences were observed in the frequencies of IL-6 (-174 C/G), IL-10 (-1082 A/G) and IL-17 (-197 G/A) polymorphisms between RM women and controls. These results suggest that IL-10 gene polymorphism screening might have some relevance in patients with RM, a suggestion which requires further studies.

Antibodies against actin, as one of the most widely studied structural and multifunctional housekeeping proteins in eukaryotic cells, are used as internal loading controls in western blot analyses. The aim of this study was to produce polyclonal antibody against a synthetic peptide derived from N-terminal region of β-actin protein to be used as a protein loading control in western blot and other assay systems. A synthetic peptide derived from β-actin protein was designed and conjugated to Keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH (and used to immunize a white New Zealand rabbit. The antibody was purified from serum by affinity chromatography column. The purity of the antibody was determined by SDS-PAGE and its ability to recognize the immunizing peptide was measured by ELISA. The reactivity of the antibody with β-actin protein in a panel of different cell lysates was then evaluated by western blot. In addition, the reactivity of the antibody with the corresponding protein was also evaluated by Immunocytochemistry and Immunohistochemistry in different samples. The antibody could recognize the immunizing peptide in ELISA. It could also recognize β-actin protein in western blot as well as in immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry. Our data suggest that this antibody may be used as an internal control in western blot analyses as well as in other immunological applications such as ELISA,immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry.

Decreasing postoperative nausea and vomiting is one of the most important concerns of the anesthesiologist. There are several managements for prevention and/or treatment of this postoperative complication, but none is completely effective, some are relatively expensive (eg, ondansetrone), and others have considerable side effects (eg, steroids). Clonazpam is a benzodiazepine that is effective for treatment of refractory chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in addition to providing good sedation for stressful surgical patients. This study was designed to compare clonazpam with one of the most effective choices ondansetrone. In this randomized clinical trial study, 150 ASA Class I or II patients, scheduled for gynecologic laparoscopic surgeries were selected. They were enrolled according to inclusion & exclusion criteria & randomized in 3 groups, each group comparing of 50 patients. In clonazpam group, 2 mg oral clonazpam was administered 2hour before operation. In ondansetron group, 4 mg IV ondansetron was administered after intubation and control group received placebo. Postoperative nausea and vomiting was evaluated till 12 hours post op in all patients. There was no significant difference between administration, clonazepam or ondansetron or placebo in decreasing of post operation nausea and vomiting in the 3 groups (p>0.05). Adminstration of oral clonazepam compared to intravenous ondansetron or oral placebo in gynecologic laparoscopic surgeries did not decrease the rate of post operative nausea and vomiting.

Recurrent pregnancy loss is (RPL) a heterogeneous condition. While the role of acquired thrombophilia has been accepted as an etiology for RPL, the contribution of specific inherited thrombophilic gene polymorphisms to the disorder has been remained controversial. One hundred women with a history of two or more consecutive abortions and 100 women with at least two live births and no miscarriages were included in the study and evaluated for the presence of 11 thrombophilic gene polymorphisms (Factor V LEIDEN, Factor V 4070 A/G, Factor V 5279 A/G, Factor XIII 103 G/T, Factor XIII 614 A/T, Factor XIII 1694 C/T, PAI-1 -675 4G/5G, ITGB3 1565 T/C, β-Fibrinogen -455G/A, MTHFR 677 C/T, MTHFR 1298 A/C) using PCR-RFLP technique. The data were statistically analyzed using Mann-Whitney test and logistic regression model. There was no relation between factor XIII 103G/T gene polymorphism with increased risk of RPL. However, the other 10 gene polymorphisms were found to be associated with increased/decreased risk of RPL. Multiple logistic regression model for analyzing the simultaneous effects of these polymorphisms on the risk of RPL showed that six of these 11 polymorphisms (Factor V 1691G/A, Factor V 5279A/G, Factor XIII 614A/T, β-Fibrinogen -455G/A, ITGB3 1565T/C, and MTHFR 1298A/ C) were associated with RPL. It is possible to calculate the risk of abortion in a patient with RPL by determining only six of the 10 polymorphisms that are individually associated with RPL.

Expression of receptor tyrosine kinase Ror1 in a wide variety of cancers has emerged as a new era focusing on targeting this receptor in cancer therapy. Our preliminary re-sults indicate the presence of a truncated transcript of Ror1 in tumor cells. The trun-cated Ror1 encompasses extracellular and transmembrane domains, lacking catalytic kinase domain (Ror1-ECD). As enzyme activity is highly dependent on the catalytic domain, we were wondering how this transcript and its encoded protein could play a possible role in tumorigenesis. To understand the function of this truncated transcript and whether or not the encoded protein translocates to the cell surface, we construct-ed a mammalian expression vector containing exon 1 to exon 8 of human Ror1 gene as a model system. The encoded protein by this construct covers the entire extracellular and transmembrane domains of Ror1. The Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell line (CHO) was used for transfection. Our results showed that this construct could express Ror1-ECD at protein level and also the protein could effectively translocate to the surface of transfected cells. Such model may suggest that a proportion of Ror1 molecules ex-pressed by tumor cells are not full-length Ror1. This notion may be considered when applying flow cytometry using antibodies against Ror1 for screening of tumor cells in order to avoid any miscalculation in the number of Ror1 molecules expressed by tumor cells. Furthermore, such expression may bring about assumptions on functional roles of Ror1-ECD in tumorigenesis, which requires extensive functional studies.

Synthetic fluorescent dyes that are conjugated to antibodies are useful tools to probe molecules. Based on dye chemical structures, their photobleaching and photostability indices are quite diverse. It is generally believed that among different fluorescent dyes, Alexa Fluor family has greater photostability than traditional dyes like fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and Cy5. Alexa Fluor 568 is a member of Alexa Fluor family presumed to have superior photostability and photobleahing profiles than FITC. In this experimental study, we conjugated Alexa Fluor 568 and FITC dyes to a mouse anti-human nestin monoclonal antibody (ANM) to acquire their photobleaching profiles and photostability indices. Then, the fluorophore/antibody ratios were calculated using a spectrophotometer. The photobleaching profiles and photostability indices of conjugated antibodies were subsequently studied by immunocytochemistry (ICC). Samples were continuously illuminated and digital images acquired under a fluorescent microscope. Data were processed by ImageJ software. Alexa Fluor 568 has a brighter fluorescence and higher photostability than FITC. Alexa Fluor 568 is a capable dye to use in photostaining techniques and it has a longer photostability when compared to FITC.

Purification and isolation of cellular target proteins for monoclonal antibody (MAb) production is a difficult and time-consuming process. Immunization of mice with murine cell lines stably transfected with genes coding for xenogenic target molecules is an alternative method for mouse immunization and MAb production. Here we present data on transfection efficiency of some commercial reagents used for transfection of murine myeloma cell lines. Little is known about transfectability of murine myeloma cell lines by different transfection reagents. Mouse myeloma cell lines (SP2/0, NS0, NS1, Ag8, and P3U1) were transfected with pEGFP-N1 vector using Lipofectamine 2000, jetPEI and LyoVec commercial transfection reagents in different combinations. The transfection permissible HEK293-FT cell line was used as a control in transfection procedure. Transfected cells, expressing the Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP), were analyzed by flow cytometry 48 hrs post transfection. Our results showed transfection efficiency of 71%, 57% and 22% for HEK293-FT, 5.5%, 3.4% and 1% for SP2/0, 55.7%, 21.1% and 9.3% for NS0, 8.2%, 6% and 5.5% for NS1, 22%, 49.2% and 5.5% for Ag8 and 6.3%, 21.5% and 4.6% for P3U1 cell lines after transfection with Lipofectamine 2000, jetPEI and LyoVec reagents, respectively. Our data indicate that NS0 and Ag8 are efficiently transfected by Lipofectamine 2000 and jetPEI reagents. Finally, we propose Ag8 and NS0 cell lines as suitable host cells for efficient expression of target genes which can be used for mouse immunization and MAb production.

We have employed a peptide-based antibody generation protocol for producing antibody against human nestin. Using a 12-mer synthetic peptide from repetitive region of human nestin protein devoid of any N- or O-glyco-sylation sequences, we generated a mouse monoclonal antibody capable of recognizing human, mouse, bovine, and rat nestin. A wide variety of nestin proteins ranging from 140-250 kDa was detected by this antibody. This antibody is highly specific and functional in applications such as ELISA, flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, and Western blot assays.

Production of antibodies against specific proteins of testis germ cells is of great significance for the investigation of processes involved in spermatogenesis, study of infertility problems and determination of the probable role of these proteins as cancer-testis antigens. Murine Testis Specific Recombinant Protein 101 (mTEX101) is a 38kDa, GPI-anchored protein which is expressed in testis germ cells of adult mice but it seems to be absent in other tissues. The structure and function of mTEX101 is not completely understood yet, but it is speculated that it may transduce biochemical signals into the cytoplasm since mTEX101 does not have an intracellular domain but the precise mechanisms are still ambiguous. RNA was extracted from three adult mice testis. The RNA was used in RT-PCR, employing a pair of specific primers for mTEX101 ORF region. TA-cloning technique was performed by the insertion of mTEX101 into a pGEM-T Easy Vector, followed by its subcloning into a His-tagged expression vector, pET-28a (). The recombinant mTEX101 was then produced by transfection of the expression vector into BL 21 (DE3) E. coli strain. A recombinant protein, weighing 27kDa, was produced upon IPTG-induction of the bacterial host. The presence of mTEX101 protein was detected through Western blot analysis by anti-mTEX101 peptide antibodies. We produced mTEX101 recombinant protein that could be used for the production of mono and polyclonal antibodies.

Transformation of plasmid DNA into bacterial competent cells is a key technique for molecular cloning. Transformation can be achieved using either chemical or physical methods, e.g., electroporation. The rate of success in these methods depends on experience and attention to method’s details. Therefore, the higher the efficiency and quality of a transformation method, the more the rate of success in that experience would be. The aim of the present study was to design a simple and rapid molecular transformation method, to achieve the efficiency without the need for special expensive apparatus. In our improved method after preparation of bacterial cell’s pellet, it was resuspended in new Competent/Transformation Solution (CTS); the suspension was mixed with 1 µl (0.1ng) of plasmid DNA and incubated for 5-30 minutes at 4°C. Then 10 µl of 1 M glucose was added to it and cells were grown at 37°C with shaking for 1 hour. After incubation, the cells were spread on selective medium plates containing 100 mM CaCl2 by standard methods. This method does not necessary to heat shock and it is more efficient than classical transformation methods (107 transformants/µg). Our procedure represents a simple and convenient method for simultaneous Escherichia coli preparation and its transformation.