Acute and subacute administration of zinc exert neuroprotective effects in hypoxia-ischemia animal models; yet the effect of chronic administration of zinc still remains unknown. We addressed this issue by injecting zinc at a tolerable dose (0.5 mg/kg weight, i.p.) for 14 days before common carotid artery occlusion (CCAO) in a rat. After CCAO, the level of zinc was measured by atomic absorption...

Chronic lung infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the major severe complication in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, where P. aeruginosa persists and grows in biofilms in the endobronchial mucus under hypoxic conditions. Numerous polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) surround the biofilms and create local anoxia by consuming the majority of O2 for production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We hy...

PURPOSE The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) G894T polymorphism has been reported to cause endothelial dysfunction and may have a role in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of eNOS G894T genetic polymorphism and plasma levels of nitric oxide (NO) with CAD risk in an Iranian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS...

We here describe a new approach to visualise nitric oxide (NO) in living macrophages by fluorescent NO-sensitive microspheres based on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). PLGA microspheres loaded with NO550 dye were prepared through a modified solvent-evaporation method. Microparticles were characterized by a mean hydrodynamic diameter of 3000 nm, zeta potential of -26.000 ± 0.351 mV and a PD...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Obesity is now considered as a major risk factor for the development of fatty liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and atherosclerosis. SoSoSo is a newly developed dietary supplement made of seven medicinal herbs. This study was aimed at examining the anti-obesity effect of SoSoSo or its active ingredient chrysophanol on the production of inflammatory cytokines and a...

The diagnostics of health status and the quality of drinking water are among the most important United Nations sustainable development goals. However, in certain areas, wars and instability have left millions of people setting in refugee camps and dangerous regions where infrastructures are lacking and rapid diagnostics of water quality and medical status are critical. In this work, microfluidi...

BACKGROUND Recently, a prominent antiviral and macrophage stimulatory activity of cacao lignin-carbohydrate complex (LCC) has been reported. However, the solubility and sterility of LCC have not been considered yet. In the present study, complete solubilisation and sterilisation was achieved by autoclaving under mild alkaline conditions and the previously reported biological activities were re-...

Stem cell therapy for tissue regeneration has several limitations in the fact that transplanted cells could not survive for a long time. For solving these limitations, many studies have focused on the antioxidants to increase survival rate of neural stem cells (NSCs). Melatonin, an antioxidant synthesized in the pineal gland, plays multiple roles in various physiological mechanisms. Melatonin e...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PRP on SAOS-2 cells in terms of cytokine expression, cell activity and oxidative stress. DESIGN Cell line SAOS-2 (1×10(5)cells/mL) were grown in culture medium α-MEM with 10% FBS for 24h and stimulated (or not) with PRP at concentrations of 3, 10 and 20%, LPS (E. coli, 10g/mL) and IL-1β (1mg/mL) for 24h. The supernatant was col...

Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom (TSV) consists of a very complex mixture of molecules and demonstrates significant immunomodulatory activities capable of stimulating immune functions in vivo. The purpose of this study was to compare the crude TSV with fractionated toxins extracted from this venom in order to determine which toxin(s) presented immunomodulatory effects on peritoneal macrophages....