International Journal of Medical Laboratory
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Feb 2020

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has been assumed to be a complex and indecipherable disease, and poorly understood with regard to etiology which is characterized by relapses and remissions. The expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is known to be associated with the regulation of immune responses. Recently, investigations have reported that miRNA expression profiles in blood cells become changed in MS. The aim of this study was to elucidate the alterations in the expression of circulating miR-377 and miR-98 in 60 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients in comparison with controls.

This study was conducted using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method to explore the expression of circulating miR-377 and miR-98 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 60 RRMS patients, 30 of whom were recurring patients, 30 were two months after relapse patients, and 30 others were controls, in order to examine the association of expression level of these miRNAs with RRMS.

Results indicated that the expression of miR-377 significantly increases in recurring patients and two months after relapse patients in comparison with controls (p=0.0017 and p=0.0001, respectively). However, miR-98 demonstrated down regulation in recurring patients and two months after relapse patients (p=0.0002 and p=0.0001, respectively).

It can be concluded that miR-377 and miR-98 may be prospective biomarkers with the potential use for diagnosis of RRMS patients in the future investigations.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the most common form of inherited retinal degeneration, photoreceptors loss of which in the retina causes visual loss. The purpose of the present study was to determine patterns of inheritance in RP patients in Yazd to help the health professional for designing suitable laboratory testing for the high risk families.

Thirty affected RP patients referred to the Genetics Clinic of Research and Clinical Center for Infertility, in Yazd Medical Sciences University from 2010-2016. Full medical and family histories were taken from all family members. Ophthalmology examinations were performed in members of the families including electroretinogram, fundus photography, visual-field measurements and spectral domain optical coherence tomography.

In this study, the most commonly pattern was inheritance of autosomal recessive. The patients were diagnosed as having Usher syndrome, Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Posterior Column Ataxia with Retinitis Pigmentosa. The study also reported a patient with Kreans-Sayer syndrome, a mitochondrial disease.

We identified different inheritance patterns in RP patients. Identifying patterns of inheritance is important for pre-marriage and pre-conception genetic counselling.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is known as a partially inheritable inflammatory autoimmune disease which involves the nervous system. Different studies suggest that immune dysregulation has an important role in the pathogenesis of MS, but its exact pathomechanism has not yet been explicated. The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell surface molecules. In MS patients, the expression of membrane-bound RAGE on peripheral blood mononuclear cells, as well as the serum levels of the RAGE ligands are upregulated.

In this case-control study, we evaluated the association between MS incidence and RAGE p.82G>S polymorphism (rs2070600) compared with healthy controls in an Iranian population. A total of 158 patients and 156 healthy blood donors were enrolled. This polymorphism was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Allele frequencies (p=0.319) and genotype distribution (p=0.315) of the RAGE p.82G>S gene polymorphism in MS patients and controls were not significantly different.

The present study indicated no relationship between RAGE p.82G>S polymorphism and the risk of MS in Iranian population.

Previous investigations have revealed that microRNAs (miRNAs) can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and that the expression of miRNAs, such as miR-485-3p changes in several illnesses. This study was designed to determine the expression level of miR-485-3p and its target FOXD3 in CLL patients and controls to identify if this miRNA has the potential to be considered as a biomarker in CLL.

A total of 35 CLL patients and the same number of controls were recruited. Following total RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, quantitative analysis was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the SYBR Green PCR Master Mix to determine the expression level of miR-485-3p and its target. Moreover, in silico molecular enrichment analysis was conducted on targetome of miR-485-3p.

It was observed that the expression level of miR-485-3p was upregulated in CLL patients compared with controls (p<0.009). However, the expression profile of miR-485-3p’s target (FOXD3) was significantly downregulated in patients in comparison with the control group (p<0.02).

Based on the results, miR-485-3p could be a novel biomarker to diagnose CLL and to design novel CLL control strategies by targeting FOXD3.

There is now an increasing body of evidence that survivin is a protein, expressed highly in breast cancer. The signaling interaction of protein survivin in breast cancer is still unclear, but physiological regulation of survivin seems to be linked to the breast cancer occurrence and severity of it.

Serum samples were obtained from April 2015 to November 2017 out of women enrolled in a group undergoing annual breast cancer testing. Routine blood samples were analyzed at the Biochemical Laboratory of Rouhani Babol University Hospital .

Serum levels of survivin in patients with breast cancer group increased compared to the healthy controls [207.520±110.284 (mean±SD) vs. 126.212±53.130, ng/L, p<0.001]. Also, we detected a positive correlation between elevated serum survivin level and clinical characteristics of patients with breast cancer.

Serum survivin measurement was shown to discriminate patients with breast cancer from healthy controls. However, further studies are needed to confirm this role and its benefits.

Integrons as mobile genetic elements are located on the chromosome or on a plasmid in bacteria. Integrons play a main role in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes among different families of bacteria. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of class 1 integron in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from hospitals of Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, Iran.

Seventy Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were collected from Hospitals of Sanandaj. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern was performed by disc diffusion method. Class 1 integrons gene was screened by polymerase chain reaction assay. Data were analyzed by Fisher tests with STATA software program.

The highest and lowest rates of resistance were related to cefotaxime and imipenem, respectively. Thirteen (18.5%) out of 70 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates caring class 1 integron gene. Out of 28 multidrug resistant isolates, 11 isolates were identified to be positive for the existence of class 1 integrons.

class 1 integron positive isolates, compared to class 1 integron negative isolates, reveals resistance to more antibiotics.

The critical aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of breast-milk contamination with Nickel and Arsenic, as well as aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) on the milk levels of IL-6 and IL-8. 

Breast milk was collected from 76 mothers on the 30th day post-parturition and milk levels of AFM1, Nickel, Arsenic, IL-6 and IL-8 were evaluated.

The results showed 8 and 29 out of 76 collected samples being contaminated with AFM1, Nickel and Arsenic, respectively. Levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in the milk samples did not differ in AFM1 and Nickel and Arsenic contaminated milk compared with the normal controls (non-contaminated milks). There was a moderate positive relation between milk levels of IL-8 and Arsenic.

Although AFM1, Nickel and Arsenic are the inducers of cytokine production; they are unable to induce secretion of IL-6 in breast milk. Arsenic can be a trigger of IL-8, which is a strong chemoattract for neutrophils. Thus, it appears that Arsenic may induce an inflammation in milk in IL-8 dependent manner.

In this study we improved the purification of immunoglobulins from equine antiserum raised against the venom of 6 types of scorption species. Caprylic acid (octanoic acid), a fatty acid, was found to have no effect on the activity of the enzymes pepsin, which is used in antivenom purification to digest Fc fragment of immunoglobulins to obtain F(ab´)2.

A new method was developed for the production of F(ab´)2 antivenom whereby whole equine antiserum was mixed with equal amount of 0.15 M HCl and pH 3.4 with pepsin 660 mg/L of diluted antivenom and incubated for 4 h at 37°C. After digestion the pH were brought to 4.8 with sodium hydroxide solution (1.5 M) and then 1.5% caprylic acid and 10% ammonium sulfate was added and mixed for 60 minutes and passed through filter paper.

Caprylic acid caused precipitation of albumin, and ammonium sulfate reduced turbidity of solution, resulting in a reduced protein load presented to the digestion enzymes culminating in substantial reductions in processing time.

The equine F(ab´)2 obtained using these novel caprylic acid methods were comparable in terms of yield, purity and specific activity to those obtained by multi-step and time consuming conventional salt fractionation with ammonium sulfate.