فصلنامه زیست شناسی جانوری تجربی
سال هشتم شماره 4 (پیاپی 32، بهار 1399)

Preparation of scaffolds with special characters for growing of different cells is considered as an important goal of tissue engineering. In this study, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and its composites with different percentages of Fe (III) metal-organic frameworks (PAN/x%Fe-MOF) were treated with oxygen plasma. The surface chemistry of these compounds was studied using FT-IR spectroscopy. The morphology stability of the nanofibers after cell-scaffold adhesion was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Metabolic activity and survival of endothelial cells cultured on scaffolds were evaluated by MTT method. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that PAN/x%Fe-MOF scaffolds, in particular oxygen plasma treated scaffolds, provide a suitable support for binding and proliferation of endothelial cells due to their high biocompatibility.

Glyphosate based pesticides are safe for humans, but their widespread use in agricultural areas and water contamination raised serious concerns about its toxicity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different doses of roundup on body weight, gonadosomatic index (GSI) and histological alterations of gill and testis in common carp. 32 common carp broodstock (1723.75 ± 72.72gr) were randomly divided into 4 groups of 8 fish. . One group (control) had no exposure to herbicide and 3 groups (treatment) were exposed to rounduppesticide at 4 concentrations (5, 10 and 15 mg/L) for 10 days. After treatment period, body length, body weight and GSI index were determined and gill and testis samples were prepared for histological studies. Based on the results, exposure to roundup at a dose of 20 mg/L caused a significant decrease in body weight on the10th day and GSI index on the 5th and 10th day (p<0.05). In fishes exposed to roundup (20mg/L) necrosis and disintegration of gill lamellae structure, adhesions of gill lamellae, separation of basement membrane and damage of gill epithelium and exudation of blood cells were observed. In the testis of fish exposed to the highest dose of roundup, an increase in the number of spermatogonium due to reduced spermatogenesis, degradation of spermatocyte, reduction of spermatozoa, reduction of sperm storage tubules diameter and destruction of interstitial duct and sertoli cells were observed. The results indicated destructive effects of sublethal doses of roundup on gill structure and reproductive performance of common carp.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that have potential to differentiate into connective tissue lineages. They also have special properties such as immunomodulation and secretion of growth factors. Histone methyltransferase G9a is one of the factors that control stem cells behaviors and features. Hence, it is important to study the role of G9a in MSCs biological behaviors and potentials. MSCs were isolated from rat bone marrow and cultured in vitro. Then, the expression of positive markers (CD90 and CD 73) and negative markers (CD45) were analyzed using flowcytometry. BM-MSCs were treated with different doses of A366, and then were differentiated to osteocyte. Osteogenesis were analyzed using oil red staining and real time-PCR.  BM-MSCs were expanded as adherent cells with fibroblastic morphology. More than 85% of cells were positive for CD73 and CD90, and negative for CD45. The treatment of BM-MSCs with A366 reduced osteogenesis as evaluated by oil red staining and gene expression analysis. A366, as an epigenetic regulator decreases the osteogenic potential of BM-MSCs. Use of these regulators for cancer therapy, might influence tissue regeneration and homeostasis.

Whiteflies (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae) are one of the most important agricultural pests in fields, greenhouses and orchards which damage to various agricultural crops. Up on the conducted samplings through 2000-2004 in different regions of Guilan province on the base of collecting the whiteflies’ pupae from the host plants, 18 species including, Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby, 1915, Aleurochiton acerinus Haupt, 1934, Aleurolobus marlatti Quaintance, 1903, Aleurolobus moundi David & Subramaniam, 1976, Aleurolobus olivinus Silvestri, 1911, Aleyrodes elevatus Silvestri, 1934, Aleyrodes lonicerae Walker, 1852, Aleyrodes proletella (Linnaeus, 1758), Bemisia afer (Priesner & Hosny, 1934), Bemisia carpini (Koch, 1857), Bemisia mesasiatica Danzig, 1969, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius, 1889), Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead, 1885), ialeurodes kirkaldyi (Kotinsky, 1907), Parabemisia myricae (Kuwana, 1927), Siphoninus phillyreae (Haliday, 1835), Trialeurodes packardi (Morrill, 1903) and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood, 1856) were determined. The identified aleyrodids are belonging to nine genera, and all in the subfamily Aleyrodinae. In addition to introducing of aleyrodids of Guilan, identification key and host plants are given for all the species.

Nowadays, use of natural colors in food and medicine, due to toxic effects of synthetic colors is so important. Phycocyanin (PC) is an innate blue pigment with many mercantile usages in foods, cosmetics and medicines extracted from Spirulina platensis. In addition, it has been proven that phycocyanin has antifungal, antioxidant and anticancer activities. The present study was undertaken to value the antifungal activity of phycocyanin which was separated from the blue green algae Spirulina platensis cultured in Iran.  Phycocyanin extracted by sonication and centrifugation and purified by ammonium sulfate sedimentation and dialysis method. Purified sample was tested by UV Spectrophotometer absorption and FT-IR and antifungal activity of phycocyanin in different concentration was investigated against Candida albicans, on sabouraud dextrose (SD) agar plates, under sterile conditions. In UV Spectrophotometer, a wide peak range at 280, 615, 652 nm was gained. Also, structure and molecular bonds of phycocyanin was confirmed via FT-IR. An Anticandidal activity of phycocyanin was confirmed and maximum anti-fungal activity was observed in 20 and 25 mg/ml concentration of phycocyanin. In the present study, the use of phycocyanin has shown an antifungal effect against Candida albicans. This pigment seems to be a good alternative to chemical drugs in the treatment of Candidiasis.

Oxidation is one of the most harmful chemical processes that affect the properties of food and health of consumers. The aim of this study was to determine the process of changes in the biomarkers of meat oxidation in trout during storage at 4°C as well as comparing these treatments with similar ones on the market. For this purpose the samples of trout (n=15) collected and maintained at 4°C for 96 hours and their MDA and carbonyl groups were measured every 24 hours (0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours). Also, the same samples (n=30) were taken from the markets to measure those parameters. MDA levels in trout increased significantly from the initial value of 0.117 μmol/gw (in time of catch) to 0.189 μmol/gw within 96 hours (P<0.05). The amount of carbonyl groups in the salmon increased significantly from initial value of 1463.72 nmol/gw to 1756.19 nmol/gw within the 96 hours. MDA level of market trout was 0.17032 μmol/gw and did not show a significant difference with the samples collected and maintained for 72 hours. The amount of carbonyl groups in the trout of the market was 1551.15 nmol/gw and there was no significant difference with the treated samples during 48 and 72 hours. A Significant increase in the level of malondialdehyde and carbonyl groups of meat indicate an increase in the oxidation of lipids and proteins during storage at 4°C.

Previous studies have shown that ghrelin inhibits the activity of Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Thyroid (H-P-T) axis. It is also proved that ghrelin increases the appetite via Agouti Related Protein and neuropeptide Y Pathway, decreases T3 and T4 secretion. Also morphine by effect on Pituitary hormones like TSH decreases T3 and T4 concentrations. Thus, the goal of this study was to determine the influence of the interaction between ghrelin and morphine on thyroid hormones concentration. Twenty one male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly divided into 3 groups. The groups received 5 nmol ghrelin, 1µg morphine or 5 nmol ghrelin together with 1µg morphine in third cerebral ventricle in volumes of 3 μl .The blood samples were collected every day. Starting one day before and up to one day after injections. Brain slices were taken to ensure that the place of the canulae was right. The plasma was analysed by Radioimmunoassay technique to determine T3 and T4 concentrations. The results showed that the i.c.v injection of ghrelin and morphine significantly decreased the mean plasma concentrations of thyroid hormones (P<0.05). Co-administration of these two substances in some of groups showed that decrease mean plasma concentrations of thyroid hormones (P<0.05). This study showed that ghrelin and morphine significantly decreased mean plasma concentration of T3 and T4. Co-administration of two substances in some of groups showed that decrease mean plasma concentration of thyroid hormones (p<0.05).

Alzheimer's disease is a common form of progressive dementia and usually occurs between the sixth and ninth decades of life, given that there is a direct relationship between steroid hormones and neurodegenerative diseases, so the present study was designed to explore effect of testosterone in memory impairment induced by intra-cerebroventricular (icv) injection of streptozptocin (STZ) as a model of sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD). Study was carried out on male Wistar rats. Adult male Wistar rats were intracerebroventricularly (icv) infused with STZ (3mg/kg/icv) on d 1 and d 3, and a passive avoidance task was assessed 2 weeks after the first injection of STZ. Castration surgery was performed in another group of rats, and the passive avoidance task was assessed 4 weeks after the operation. Testosterone (1 mg/kg.d, SC), the androgen receptor antagonist flutamide (10 mg/kg.d, ip), the estrogen receptor antagonist tamoxifen (1 mg/kg.d, ip) or the aromatase inhibitor letrozole (4 mg/kg.d, ip) were administered for 6 d after the first injection of STZ.  STZ administration and castration markedly decreased both STL1 (the short memory) and STL2 (the long memory) in passive avoidance tests. Testosterone replacement almost restored the STL1 and STL2 in castrated rats, and significantly prolonged the STL1 and STL2 in STZ-treated rats. Administration of flutamide, letrozole or tamoxifen significantly impaired the memory in intact rats, and significantly attenuated the testosterone replacement in improving STZ- and castration-induced memory impairment. Testosterone administration ameliorates STZ- and castration-induced memory impairment in male Wistar rats.

Macrobenthos communities are used as the second and third levels of food chain, and can be considered as an index of total production and water quality. This study aimed to investigate the density and abundance of macrobenthos in the Zayandeh-rood River in 2017 and use them to determine the river water quality. For this purpose, 6 sampling stations were selected completely randomly and sediment samples was collected at each station with three replications in 4 seasons. Benthos identification was performed using binocular stereomicroscope and Benthos identifiers keys. Finally, 9 families and 7 order were identified, among which Monhysteridae, Oligochaeta and Hirudinea had the highest abundance. All seasons and stations are classified as serious organic pollutants based on the ASPT index. According to the EPT index, in spring, water quality was assessed as good. Summer and fall were in poor and winter in very poor quality class. Shannon Weiner index for all seasons is in the moderately pollution class. All of the seasons according to the BMWP index, were in moderately class. Based on BMWP index, stations 1 and 3, the water in poor quality and the other stations were in the moderately quality.

To investigate habitat suitability of Wild Sheep in Markazi province, presence/absent methods including Random Forest (RF), and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) were used. For this purpose, 215 presence points of the species from Rasvand, Chal-khtoon,, Alvand, Polangab, Haftad Gholeh, Jasb, Kolahe, Bazarjan and Kharaghan protected areas along with 10000 pseudo-absences points from the entire province were included in the modeling. 30% of the presence/absence points were randomly assigned to the test. In performing of the model, 12 effective variables regarding distribution of Wild Sheepwere used. By using Youden test appropriate threshold was calculated. Validation of continuous and binary maps was performed by using related statistics. According to the results, the RF model was more efficient than the CART. The findings of the two models showed that the distance from the high quality rangelands with the type of Astragalus-Agropyrum, Artemisia sieberi-Stipa, has the most effect on the distribution of species. In the tree CART method, the altitude and distance from poor rangelands variables and in the RF method, altitude and slope are in the later stages from affecting the habitat suitability point of view. Alvand, Chal-khtoon, Rasvand, Kolahe, Kharqan and Jasb are areas that more than half of their extent is suitable for Wild Sheep as a potential habitat. This find reveal the need for more protection of Wild Sheep habitat in these areas. The results of this study show the efficiency of the RF method in habitat modeling as a nonparametric, flexible and interpretable method.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that is created by hyperglycemia and impaired insulin secretion, resistance to insulin action or both. Researches show that aqueous extracts of white tea has an antioxidant properties but few studies have been conducted on the effects of diabetic and hyperlipidemic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of white tea on the lipid profile and blood glucose in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. In the experimental study, 32 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of 8 were; First group, control group that received standard diet and a daily 1ml of distilled water via gavage; the second group, streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats; the third group, healthy rats aqueous extract of white tea (1.5 percent) were consumed; the forth group, diabetic rats that were consumed aqueous extracts of white tea (1.5 percent). After the treatment period (30 days) to determine blood glucose levels and lipid profile was performed and the data were analyzed with SPSS software (P<0.05). A significant decreases in serum levels of glucose, LDL, cholesterol and triglyceride and significant increase in levels of HDL and weight were observed in the group receiving aqueous extract of white tea (P<0.05). The results showed that aqueous extracts of white tea decreases serum levels of glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels significantly (P<0.05). The aqueous extracts of white tea is effective for hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in diabetic rats.

The interaction between ECM and cells plays an important role in the direction of cellular behavior. So far, different scaffolds have been developed to examine the behavior of cells in three-dimensional conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction between the mesenteric decellularized scaffold of the bovin and the blastema tissue originated from the pinna of New Zealandwhite rabbit. Mesenteric bovine tissue (5 mm×5 mm) was decellularized using physical methods (slow freezing and snap freeze–thaw) and chemical agents (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Triton Х-100) followed by washing and sterilization procedures.These parts were assembled as scaffolds inside the blastema rings from rabbit’s pinna. Sampling was carried out on days 7, 10, 15 and 21. Interactions between the scaffolds and the blastema tissue cells were studied by histological and fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy.The study of the behavior of Blastema cells in different days of culture in addition to the migration and maintenance of Blastema cells on mesenteric decellularized scaffold showed that these scaffolds were able to restore the structure of blood capillaries, fibroblast and fat cells.Based on histological findings, the results indicate that the Blastema tissue has dynamic cells that can migrate into the scaffold.Furthermore the characteristics of the mesenteric decellularized ECM can support adhesion, migration and differentiation of blastema cells in vitro.