Showing 9 results for Sepehr
Gholamreza Sepehri, Mohammad Naser Shafeiee,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (1-2006)
Abstract
The present study was performed to evaluate the analgesic effect of morphine microinjection into the cuneiformis nucleus (CnF) and the effect of inactivation of this area by lidocaine on pain modulation. Rats were anaesthetized by thiopental (45-60 mg/kg/i.p.) and placed in a stereotaxic instrument, and then a guide cannula was implanted just one mm above the CnF. Following surgery and recovery period, various doses of morphine (10, 20 and 40 µg/0.5 µl saline) and lidocaine 5% (0.5 µl) were microinjected into the CnF. Antinociceptive response was measured by tail flick latency (TFL) and maximal possible effect (% MPE) for 25 min at 5-min intervals, before and after any injection in control and experimental groups. The results of this study showed that morphine microinjection into the CnF increased TFL in a dose-dependent manner. TFL was also increased significantly after lidocaine microinjection. However, co-microinjection of morphine and lidocaine increased TFL which was less than morphine microinjection alone. The intravenous morphine injection with lidocaine microinjection increased TFL significantly, as compared to morphine microinjection. These effects were reversed by naloxone administration. In summary, the results of this study showed that morphine microinjection into the CnF caused a significant analgesic response which indicates that CnF may be involved in pain modulation.
Amina Kariminia, Sussan K. Ardestani, Nargess Al-Sadat Ardestani, Houri Sepehry, Haideh Darabi,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (4-2006)
Abstract
It is now well documented that interferon gamma (IFN-γ) is the indispensable cytokine for inducing protective immunity against experimental and human cutaneous leishmaniaisis. The importance of IFN-γ receptor (IFN-γR) has also been studied. In the present study, we made attempts to find out whether L. major infection is able to alter the expression of IFN-γR in vivo. In addition, we studied the responsiveness to IFN-γ ex vivo. To do that, we assessed the expression of CD119 (IFN-γRα ) on CD45+ cells isolated from draining lymph nodes of infected and uninfected BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice by flow cytometry. The MFI (mean fluorescence intensities) of CD119 on uninfected BALB/c mice were 192.8 ± 18.4 but the CD119 MFI of infected BALB/c mice were remarkably decreased (107.9±40.8). CD119 MFI of uninfected and infected C57BL/6 mice were 276.2 ± 17.1 and 140.4±43.0 respectively Moreover, we measured the production of nitric oxide (NO) by these cells in the presence of IFN-γ in order to study the function of IFN-γR. NO production by draining lymph nodes cells of infected C57BL/6 mice in response to recombinant murine IFN-γ was significantly higher than the cells of infected BALB/c mice (37.5 ± 0.6 and 11.6 ± 0.5 µM respectively, p<0.05). Therefore, our results confirm the in vitro reports regarding the impairment of IFN-γ responsiveness due to Leishmania infection.
Delaram Eslimi, Houri Sepehri, Yasaman Rassouli, Samideh Khoei, Bahram Goliaei,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (7-2008)
Abstract
Background: Pectic acid extracted from plants increases the secretion of prolactin (PRL) when injected intravenously into ewes or fed to rats. Fragments of ewe hypophysis and lactating rabbit mammary gland incubated in vitro in the presence of pectic acid secreted more PRL and caseins compared to the controls. However, it is not known whether pectic acid directly stimulates PRL secretion in pituitary or interference of factors from hypophysis is required for this process. Methods: GH3/B6 cells, a clonal strain of rat pituitary, were cultured and incubated with pectic acid (2.5-100 mg/mL). The integrity of cells was examined under pectic acid treatment microscopically. Controls or pectic acid treated cells were assayed for their ability to produce PRL. The PRL was assayed by Western-blotting and Radioimmunoassay. Results: pectic acid did not have any significant effect on the viability of cells. After being incubated with pectic acid, the cells started to become circular and protuberant shape. The maximum stimulation and PRL secretion occurred at 100 mg/mL concentration within 30 min of incubation with pectic acid. Conclusion: pectic acid could stimulate the release of PRL in GH3/B6 cells in the short-term incubation. This result suggested that pectic acid is a non-toxic agent that could directly stimulate PRL secretion in pituitary cells without any interference of hypophysis.
Farnoosh Attari, Houri Sepehri, Ladan Delphi, Bahram Goliaei,
Volume 13, Issue 4 (10-2009)
Abstract
Background: Pectin is composed of complex polysaccharides that can inhibit cancer metastasis and proliferation with no evidence of toxicity. In the present study, the apoptotic and necrotic effects of pectic acid (PA) on the rat pituitary GH3/B6 tumor cells has been investigated. Methods: GH3/B6 cells were cultured in the Ham’s F12 medium enriched with 15% horse serum and 2.5% fetal bovine serum for 3 days. Then, they were treated by various amounts of PA in different periods (6, 24 and 48 hours). Bromocriptine was used as positive control and the cell viability was detected by MTT test. The nuclear morphology of cells was explored by florescent stains including acridine orange (AO)/ethidium bromide (EB). In addition, percentages of apoptotic and necrotic cells were studied with triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, cell cycle analysis and propidium iodide (PI) staining. Results: Long-term incubation with PA results in increased cell death and DNA damage as detected by MTT assay and AO/EB staining. TUNEL assay showed that PA (100 µg/ml to 1 mg/ml) could induce apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, while higher concentrations of PA (2.5 and 5 mg/ml) induced necrosis which was confirmed by PI staining. Furthermore, cell cycle analysis indicated that PA induced sub G1 events, and DNA fragmentation was also correlated with the number of the apoptotic cells. Conclusion: It can be concluded that PA is responsible for apoptosis in the rat pituitary tumor cells. Therefore, one may suggest that this group of polysaccharides can be used in treatment of pituitary tumors.
Meghdad Abdollahpour-Alitappeh, Majid Lotfinia, Sepand Razavi-Vakhshourpour, Saeed Jahandideh, Hamid Najminejad, Koushan Sineh Sepehr, Reza Moazami, Elnaz Shams, Mahdi Habibi-Anbouhi, Mohsen Abolhassani,
Volume 21, Issue 4 (7-2017)
Abstract
Background: Reduction/alkylation is one of the leading strategies for the development of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). Precise control of the reduction process would not only yield a defined number of free thiols per antibody but also result in development of more homogenous conjugates. Methods: In the present study, we investigated the effect of various dithiothreitol (DTT) concentrations, temperature conditions, and DTT exposure times on antibody reduction. After antibody reduction, the Ellman's test and SDS-PAGE analysis were used to evaluate free thiols produced and confirm the reduction process, respectively. Results: DTT concentration seems to be a potential factor in the reduction process. Concentrations of 0.1, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 mM DTT at 37°C for 30 minutes resulted in approximately 0.4, 1.2, 5.4, 7, 8, 8, and 8 thiols per antibody, respectively. Conclusion: Optimized site-specific conjugation can provide better process control and reproducibility for the development of disulfide-based ADCs.
Zakieh Rostamzadeh Khameneh, Nariman Sepehrvand, Mahshid Mohammadian,
Volume 24, Issue 2 (3-2020)
Abstract
Background: Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) seroprevalence has been shown to be a potential sign of infection in pregnant women, and it could be applied to check HSV-2 transmission. This study evaluated the anti-HSV-2 IgG prevalence in pregnant women who were referred to health centers in Urmia, Northwest of Iran, during 2014-2015. Methods: Serum samples were collected from 86 pregnant women and tested for Anti-HSV-2-specific IgG using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays kit. Results: Five (5.8%) pregnant women showed the presence of Anti-HSV-2-specific IgG antibodies. Previous abortion was reported in 16 (19.7%) and 2 subjects in the seronegative and seropositive groups, respectively. Conclusion: Data from the present study indicate a lower number of HSV-2 seropositives among the pregnant women in Urmia. This reduction would be a result of low number of studied subjects used in the present study; hence, assessing a large sample is recommended.
Afsaneh Salimi, Amin Sepehr, Hossein Ajdarkosh, Shadi Aghamohamad, Maliheh Talebi, Mahdi Rohani*, Mohammad Reza Pourshafie,
Volume 26, Issue 5 (9-2022)
Abstract
Background: Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. The gut microbiota is an important factor in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Due to a link between the gut microbiota and IBD, studying microbiota changes using an accurate, sensitive and rapid method for detection of the disease seems necessary. This study aimed to compare the composition of gut microbiota in three groups of people, including IBD patients, cured Inflammatory bowel disease (CIBD), and healthy groups.
Methods: For this study, 45 stool samples (15 from each group) were collected. Using real-time PCR, the abundance of 11 bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences was examined.
Results: In the IBD group, the number of three bacterial phyla, including Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, decreased (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively), while the population of γ-Proteobacteria increased significantly (p < 0.0001). In the CIBD group, the number of Actinobacteria enhanced (p < 0.01), but that of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes decreased (p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively).
Conclusion: Findings of this study indicate that decrease in Firmicutes and increase in γ-Proteobacteria could be used as an indicator of IBD instead of employing invasive and costly detection methods such as colonoscopy and other tests.
Ali Sepehrinezhad, Sajad Sahab Negah, Navid Pousti, Sajjad Mollaei,
Volume 28, Issue 0 (Supplementary 2024)
Abstract
Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by respiratory failure, pneumonia, coagulation, and multiorgan failure due to deregulation of cytokine release. Inflammasome activation has been reported with tissue injury and increased disease severity. Here, we conducted a bioinformatic analysis to predict possible cellular and molecular mechanisms of inflammasome activation-induced cell injury/death in COVID-19.
Methods and Materials: All genes- associated with SARS-CoV-2 and inflammasome were extracted from GeneWeaver. Afterward, common genes were selected for further enrichment analysis. Common genes were uploaded into the ToppGene database to predict significant molecular functions, biological processes, Cellular components, signaling pathways, and microRNAs for both SARS-CoV2 and inflammasome. Cytoscape was also used to reconstruct the drug-genetic network for shared genes.
Results: Our results demonstrated that 62 genes were related to inflammasome, and 2379 genes were associated with SARS-CoV-2. Among these gene sets, nine genes such as tumor necrosis factor, cathepsin B, baculoviral IAP repeat containing 3, interleukin 6, absent in melanoma 2, leptin receptor, NLR family pyrin domain containing 1, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 1, and signal transducer and activator of transcription one were shared between inflammasome and COVID-19. NOD-like receptor signaling, nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat-containing receptor NLR signaling, TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis TWEAK signaling, SARS-CoV2 innate immunity evasion and cell-specific immune, and toll-like receptor signaling were the most significant involved pathways in pyroptosis following COVID-19. The external side of the plasma membrane, membrane raft, ISGF3 complex, AIM2 inflammasome complex, and endolysosome lumen were the main cellular components that may disrupt following inflammasome activation in COVID-19.
Conclusion and Discussion: Notably, our findings predicted some microRNAs and revealed central signaling cascades following inflammasome activity, which may benefit future therapeutic targets in COVID-19.
Amin Sepehr, Shadi Aghamohammad, Roya Ghanavati, Malihe Talebi, Mohammad Reza Pourshafie*, Mahdi Rohani,
Volume 28, Issue 4 (7-2024)
Abstract
Background: Colon microbiome composition in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients undergoes remarkable changes. The present study was designed to assess the impact of Lactobacillus mixture on the regulating the CRC by influencing the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway in both in vitro (HT-29 cancer cells) and in vivo (BALB/c mice) models.
Methods: In this study, the antiproliferative effect of a native potential probiotic Lactobacillus mixture on HT-29 cancer cells was evaluated using the MTT assay method. Also, qRT-PCR was performed to assess the RNA expression level of genes associated with the TGF-β signaling pathway at three levels: receptor, regulatory, and inhibitory SMADs. Finally, the in vivo assays were investigated by three groups of mice: a naive group (PBS), a disease group (azoxymethane [AOM]/ dextran sulfate sodium [DSS] + PBS), and a treatment group (AOM/DSS + Lactobacillus mixture in PBS).
Results: The MTT results showed a significant decrease in proliferation of HT-29 cancer cells after 120 h of treatment. Furthermore, qRT-PCR demonstrated the downregulation of the smad2/3 gene expression in HT-29-treated cells and also reduction in the level of smad4 gene expression. In addition, in the mouse model, the tgf-βR1 gene was downregulated in the group treated with AOM/DSS/Lactobacillus, but not the AOM/DSS group. A downregulation of smad4 gene expression was also observed in in vivo models.
Conclusion: The obtained results suggest that our novel probiotic Lactobacillus mixture could have a positive impact on the inhibition of the CRC progression by downregulating the TGF-β signaling pathway.
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