Cell, Organ and Tissue Culture
Ismael Bilal; Sijia Xie; Muna S Elburki; Zahra Aziziaram; Sangar Muhammad Ahmed; Salah Tofik Jalal Balaky
Abstract
Glioblastoma is a fatal brain tumor, and the standard treatment for this cancer is the surgical removal of the tumor followed by chemotherapy with temozolomide and radiotherapy. Because chemotherapy has many side effects, the use of compounds extracted from natural herbs, due to fewer side effects, can ...
Read More
Glioblastoma is a fatal brain tumor, and the standard treatment for this cancer is the surgical removal of the tumor followed by chemotherapy with temozolomide and radiotherapy. Because chemotherapy has many side effects, the use of compounds extracted from natural herbs, due to fewer side effects, can be a good alternative or supplement to chemical drugs in cancer treatment. In this study, curcumin (diferuloylmethane), known as the main active ingredient of turmeric, was used to evaluate its cytotoxicity on four human glioblastoma cell lines (U373, U251, D54, and T98G). Among these cell lines, U373 was temozolomide resistance, and T98G was photodynamic treatment resistance. These cell lines were treated with increasing concentrations of diferuloylmethane. Survival percentage was assessed by MTT assay and the trypan blue staining method was used to evaluate the rate of cell death and confirm the results of the MTT assay. The results showed that diferuloylmethane has a cytotoxic effect on U251, D54, and T98G cell lines. This effect was higher in high concentrations of diferuloylmethane on U251 and D54 than on U373. Therefore, according to the results of the current study and further studies, curcumin (diferuloylmethane) can be considered an effective complementary treatment in the treatment of glioblastoma.

Gene Expression Studies
Zahra Aziziaram; Ismael Bilal; Yuan Zhong; Azzadin Kamal Mahmod; Mohammad Reza Roshandel
Abstract
Naproxen is a common analgesic and antipyretic medication that is widely used around the world. This medicine at high doses leads to liver and kidney necrosis in humans and animals. The mechanism of kidney damage, unlike liver damage, is not well understood and is one of the most common causes of emergency ...
Read More
Naproxen is a common analgesic and antipyretic medication that is widely used around the world. This medicine at high doses leads to liver and kidney necrosis in humans and animals. The mechanism of kidney damage, unlike liver damage, is not well understood and is one of the most common causes of emergency department patients. Therefore, in the present study, the protective effect of curcumin, a compound derived from turmeric, was investigated on renal damage caused by naproxen. For this purpose, 25 male Wistar rats were selected and were randomly divided into five groups. Naproxen was dissolved in a 5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution and was injected intraperitoneally at 1000 mg/kg of animal weight. Also, curcumin was dissolved in 5% DMSO and was injected within peritoneum at a dose of 200 mg/kg of animal weight into the relevant groups. After 24 hours of injection, rats were bled and plasma urea and creatinine levels were measured. The rate of lipid peroxidation, the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase in the kidney, total plasma antioxidant capacity, and PGC-1α gene expression were measured. The results showed that naproxen significantly increased the levels of biochemical markers of urea and creatinine in plasma and lipid peroxidation in the kidney; also, it decreased the activity of the antioxidants enzymes. The use of curcumin in naproxen-exposed groups significantly reduced the concentrations of urea, creatinine, and lipid peroxidation. Curcumin increased the activity of catalase, superoxide enzymes, and the total antioxidant capacity of plasma. Also, curcumin increased the expression of the PGC-1α gene, which reduces the effects of naproxen. Therefore, according to the current study results, curcumin could significantly reduce the harmful effects of naproxen on the kidneys. However, in future studies, the effect of curcumin should be evaluated on the naproxen mechanism in the treatment of those patients who need naproxen.

Gene Expression Studies
Muhammed Furkan Ercisli; Gao Lechun; Sarhang Hasan Azeez; Rebwar Muhammad Hamasalih; Siyan Song; Zahra Aziziaram
Abstract
Rivaroxaban is an anticoagulant drug that prevents forming of blood clots. In addition, it can be administered to prevent and treat thrombotic diseases such as atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrhythmia, heart valve disease, orthopedic surgery, and thrombophilia to reduce the risk of thrombosis. Various ...
Read More
Rivaroxaban is an anticoagulant drug that prevents forming of blood clots. In addition, it can be administered to prevent and treat thrombotic diseases such as atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrhythmia, heart valve disease, orthopedic surgery, and thrombophilia to reduce the risk of thrombosis. Various factors such as age, gender, diet, medications, and genetic factors effectively determine the dose of rivaroxaban. Genetic variability in drug-metabolizing enzymes, including the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes and especially CYP3A4, has been associated with rivaroxaban response. The current study aimed to identify the frequency of CYP3A4 common polymorphisms, as well as their association with rivaroxaban response in 100 patients of Arab descent (48.6% female). CYP3A4 gene polymorphisms were examined by the PCR-RFLP method, and the findings were analyzed by SPSS 16 software and t-test. The frequency of CYP3A4*1B/*1B, CYP3A4*1B/*1A, CYP3A4*1B/*1C, and CYP3A4*1A/*1C was 67.35%, 10.64%, 19.12% and 2.89%, respectively. According to our results, CYP3A4 *1B/*1B genotype was the most common, and patients with CYP3A4*1B/*1B alleles needed a higher daily dose of rivaroxaban than *1B/*1A, *1B/*1C, and *1A/*1C carriers (9.57 ± 1.54 mg/day, P=0.015). Therefore, according to the results, CYP3A4 gene polymorphism has an important effect on the dose of rivaroxaban required to maintain the International Normalized Ratio (INR) in the range of 2-3.

Cell, Organ and Tissue Culture
Sarhang Hasan Azeez; Sarwar Nawzad Jafar; Zahra Aziziaram; Le Fang; Ahang Hasan Mawlood; Muhammed Furkan Ercisli
Abstract
Recently, stem cells have been considered renewable cell sources in the treatment of diabetes and the development of insulin-producing cells. In this regard, the current study aimed to compare Insulin-producing cells from bone marrow stem cells with injectable insulin in rats with type I diabetes. For ...
Read More
Recently, stem cells have been considered renewable cell sources in the treatment of diabetes and the development of insulin-producing cells. In this regard, the current study aimed to compare Insulin-producing cells from bone marrow stem cells with injectable insulin in rats with type I diabetes. For this purpose, 40 rats were divided into four groups: the control or healthy group, the diabetic control group, the group that received differentiated insulin-producing cells from bone marrow, and the group that received insulin treatment. To differentiate insulin-producing cells from bone marrow, the femoral bone marrow of rats was extracted using the flushing method. Differentiated cells were evaluated using dithizone-specific dye, anti-insulin-proinsulin antibodies, and anti-insulin beta receptors. Also, the expression of the pdx-I gene, as the specific gene of pancreatic cells, was examined by RT-PCR. The results showed that transplantation of insulin-producing cells could significantly increase blood insulin levels in diabetic rats. This increase intensified in the second stage of transplantation when more cells were injected into rats. Concerning decreasing blood sugar levels, differentiated cells were able to reduce blood sugar levels significantly. Even in the first stage of cell injection, in which the rats received a small number of cells, their blood sugar levels were controlled by these cells. As a result, the present study showed that repeated transplants of insulin-producing cells differentiated from bone marrow could decrease blood sugar and increase insulin levels.
