Jorjani Biomedicine Journal
Volume:7 Issue: 2, Summer 2019

Infertility is a disorder of the reproductive system, which often occurs after one year of regular unprotected intercourse with the aim of pregnancy. Several physical functions require the synthesis of steroid hormones, in which gonadal steroids (estrogen and progesterone) play a pivotal role in reproduction. Follicular growth and ovulation depend on the proliferation and differentiation of the granulosa and theca cells, which are possible in the steroid pathway after stimulation with the ovarian gonadotropins and cytokines. Steroidization is initiated with the transfer of cholesterol by the StAR protein to the mitochondrial membrane of the steroid cells, which is followed by a cascade of steroid hormones. Recent studies have highlighted the impact of epigenetic mechanisms on reproduction, emphasizing the importance of these changes in the early and secondary stages of gametogenesis. To determine the causes of infertility, it is essential to recognize the altered epigenetic modifications of the relevant gene and its mechanisms. In the present study, the H3K4me3 methylation level was evaluated in the StAR gene regulatory region in the granulosa cells collected from the fertile and infertile women referring to Tabriz Jihad Infertility Centerin Tabriz, Iran using ChIP-qPCR. According to the results, the H3K4me3 methylation level increased in the StAR gene regulatory region in the fertile women compared to the infertile women. In addition, a significant correlation was observed between the follicle and egg rates at the MII stage and the level of this methylation.

Infertility is defind as the inability to conceive after one year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse by a couple. Female infertility can have different causes that all factors can in somehow be influenced by genetic factors. Studies have shown that epigenetic changes play an important role in fetal development, oogenesis and spermatogenesis. During the growth of oocyte, follicular cells make a multilayer coating of granulosa cells. Granulosa cells are affected by gonadotropin hormones. The CYP11A1 gene is one of the genes involved in the production of steroid hormones in luteinized granulosa cells. The CYP11A1 enzyme in the progesterone prodaction path way leads to the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolon. Progesterone is an important steroid hormone that plays an important role in fertility and pregnancy. Histone modifications help to express the CYP11A1 gene. Trimethylation of Lysine 4 on histone H3 (H3K4me3) works to active transcription in the CYP11A1 promoterIn the present study, the level of methylation H3K4me3 in regulation area of CYP11A1 gene in granulosa cells collected from the women with infertility problem and also from fertile women giving oocyte was investigated in Tabriz Jihad Daneshgahi infertilization center. To do this, the Chromatin Immunoprecipitation and then Real-Time PCR were used to investigate the level of methylation.According to the results of the present study, the level of methylation H3K4me3 in the regulating area of CYP11A1 gene in the given infertile people doesn’t show significant difference in comparision with control group and no significant relationship was observed between methylation of histone in CYP11A1 promoter and number of follicles and oocyte.It is suggested that epigenetic changes in regulating area of CYP11A1 gene are not involved in the number of follicle and oocytes.

Afew large population-based studies have been conducted on the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in relation to fertility status in the Iranian population. The aim of study was determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in relation to fertility status in women participants of Shahedieh cohort study. 

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 4935 women who participated in the Shahedieh cohort study. The age range of participants was 35-71 years with a mean age of 47.12 years. The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions considering fertility variables including pregnancy, number of pregnancy, oophorectomy, tubectomy, hysterectomy, infertility, menopause, normal menopause, and abortion, application of infertility and oral contraceptive drugs and hormone replacement therapy were recorded.

The total prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in the studied women were 3.8%. The most commonly affected age group was 40-49 years, followed by 30-39, 50-59 and 60-71 years, respectively. Considering the fertility variables, only menopause (P=0.047) and normal menopause (P=0.024) significantly related to the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions.

The findings of the present study provide information on the prevalence of the oral mucosal lesions considering fertility status in a large population-based study in Iran. With due attention to the higher prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in menopause women, an improved comprehension of oral manifestations at menopause and preventive and treatment approaches during this period should be programmed with health care services to meet the needs of patients deservingly.

Acinetobacter is a genus of opportunistic pathogens that are commonly found in the environment. Given the unique ability of these bacteria to survive in the hospital, they are considered as one of the main causes of hospital-acquired infections. The emergence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter spp., particularly Acinetobacter baumannii has become a major health threat worldwide. In this study, we investigate antibacterial effects of probiotic isolates from goat milk on clinical isolates of A. baumannii.

In this study, 100 clinical specimens were taken from patients hospitalized in six hospitals in the Golestan Province, north of Iran. Following isolation and identification of A. baumannii strains, antibiotic resistance patterns of the isolates were investigated using the Kirby-Bauer method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI-2015) guidelines. Probiotic bacteria in goat milk were isolated and identified by culture in MRS and M17 media and carbohydrate fermentation tests. Antibacterial effects of the probiotic bacteria against resistant A. baumannii isolates were evaluated using the agar well diffusion method.

Overall, 55% of the isolates were identified as A. baumannii. The highest resistance rates were observed against tobramycin (76.3%), mezlocillin (74.5%) and cefotaxime (74.5%). Resistance to levofloxacin, tetracycline, imipenem and minocycline was detected in 72.7%, 72.7%, 70.9% and 29.1% of the isolates, respectively. The most common probiotic isolates were Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactococcus piscium (30% each). The highest and lowest effects were exerted by Lactococcus lactis (34.54%) and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (3.63%), respectively.

Our results demonstrate that the prevalence of drug-resistant A. baumannii strains is high in the hospitals. Given the promising antimicrobial effects of the isolated probiotic bacteria, goat milk can be recommended as an adjuvant therapy or an alternative to common antibiotics for improving treatment outcome of infections caused by drug-resistant A. baumannii.

patients undergoing Chemotherapy are severely susceptible to infections due to a compromised immune system and also their oral cavity is a great place for microorganisms and fungi to grow. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of different strains of Candida from oral lesions of these patients.

 This descriptive study was performed on 128 patients undergoing chemotherapy in teaching hospitals of Yazd, which was three weeks pass receiving their first medicine. Oral samples were prepared from swabs and then cultured in Sabouraud dextrose agar culture media for evaluation of yeast growth, colonization, and identification of species. Samples were examined under the microscope and recorded. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS17 software, Chi-square, and Man-Whitney tests.

128 patients participated in this study, which included 45 males (35.15%) and 83 females (64.85%) with an average age of 40.16 ± 19.95 years. 84 patients (62.65%) had candida in their oral cavity, of which 79 were candida albicans and 5 were Non-albicans Candida. No significant correlation was found between the type of candidates, type of cancer and the frequency of Candida albicans with the age and sex of the patients (P-value <0.05).

Based on the results of this study, the prevalence of Candida albicans in patients undergoing chemotherapy is higher than Non-albicans Candida. Patients with leukemia are more susceptible to Candida infections.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a childhood neurodevelopmental disorder and according to DSM-5 classification, its severity includes three levels: requiring support, requiring substantial support, and requiring very substantial support. This classification is unclear from a possible perspective and from a fuzzy point of view; it has a degree of uncertainty. The purpose of this study is to predict the severity of autism disorder by fuzzy logistic regression.

In this cross-sectional study, 22 children with ASD which referred to the rehabilitation centers of Gorgan in 2017 were used as a research sample. Therapist's viewpoint about the severity of the disorder that is measured by linguistic terms (low, moderate, high) was considered as fuzzy output variable. In addition, to determine the prediction model for the severity of autism, a fuzzy logistic regression model was used. In this sense parameters were estimated by least square estimations (LSE) and least absolute deviations (LAD) methods and then the two methods were compared using goodness-of-fit index.

The age of children varied from 6 to 17 years old with mean of 10.44± 3.33 years. Also, the goodness-of-fit index for the model that was estimated by the LAD method was 0.0634, and this value was less than the LSE method (0.1255). The estimated model by the LAD indicates that with the constant of the values of other variables, with each unit increase in the variables of age, male gender, raw score of stereotypical movements, communication and social interaction subscales, possibilistic odds of severity of autism disorder varied about 0.67 (decrease), 0.362 (decrease), 0.098 (increase), 0.019 (increase) and 0.097 (increase) respectively.

The LAD method was better than LSE in parameter estimation. So, the estimated model by this method can be used to predict the severity of autism disorder for new patients who referred to rehabilitation centers and according to predicted severity of the disorder, proper treatments for children can be initiated.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common chronic and systemic autoimmune disease, characterized by inflammation and the destruction of the joints. It is well known that CD4+ T cells play a major role in the pathogenesis of RA. Expanded subpopulations of CD4+ T cells have been reported in RA patients. Here, we investigated the expression of PD-1 on subsets of CD4+ T cells (CD4+CD28- and CD4+CD28+ T cells) in the peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) of patients with RA.

A total of 42 RA patients, including 10 newly diagnosed (ND) and 32 relapsed (RL) cases and also 20 healthy controls were enrolled. Phenotypic characterization subsets of CD4+ T cells were evaluated by flow cytometry, using fluorescence conjugated specific human monoclonal antibodies.

The frequency of CD4+CD28+ T cells was significantly increased in SF versus PB in ND and RL patients. In contrast, the percentage of CD4+CD28- T cells was elevated in PB of ND and RL patients comparison to SF. Expression of PD-1 on CD4+CD28+ and CD4+CD28- T cells in PB of ND and RL patients was significantly higher than the healthy controls. Furthermore, PD-1 expression on CD4+CD28+ and CD4+CD28- T cells in SF versus PB of RL patients were significant increased.

These data suggest that CD4+ T cells subsets in RA patients were resistance to PD-1 mediated effects and PD-1 has insufficient ability to suppression of CD4+T cells.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a life-threatening disease which lacks reliable prognostic and/or diagnostic biomarkers. In the present study, we examined the serum oxidative stress balance (OSB) and evaluated its diagnostic and prognostic value for IS.

Sera from 52 IS patients and 52 sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers were obtained. All patients were subjected to the collection of samples at the time of admission, 24 and 48 hours later, at the time of discharge and three months later. OSB levels were assessed by spectrophotometry. Statistical analyses for diagnostic accuracy of quantitative measures were performed.

We showed that OSB levels were elevated at the time of admission in comparison to normal subjects. ROC curve analysis expressed that OSB could be an acceptable diagnostic marker to discriminate IS patients from normal subjects (AUC = 0.7337; P<0.0001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that OSB had no prognostic value (P=0.8584).

Oxidative stress balance could be introduced as a suggested biomarker to segregate IS patients from normal subjects.