Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death in the world. The expression of N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) is down-regulated in CRC. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of NDRG2 overexpression on cell proliferation and invasive potential of SW48 cells.Methods: SW48 cells were transfected with a plasmid overexpressing ND...

Background: The emergence of drug-resistant strains of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) has been increasingly reported. Therefore, attempts to discover new antiviral agents in particular from natural compounds are required. In this study, we evaluated the possible inhibitory effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Sambucus ebulus (S. ebulus) against HSV-1.    Methods: S. ebulus extract was pro...

Background MicroRNAs are small and non-coding RNA molecules with approximately 22 nt in length that cause inhibition of translation or degradation of mRNA. MiR-155 is a kind of molecule with different functions, such as its role in proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation, differentiation, and immunity. One of its best known functions is apoptosis that affects on caspase-3 activity. The main aim...

Incubation (30 degrees) of fat cell particulate fractions with fluoride before assay in the effective absence of fluoride results in activation of adenylate cyclase. Whereas the effect of fluoride (1.3 to 7 mM) when added to the assay was maximal in less than 2 min, 10 or 15 min of incubation before assay was usually required to produce maximal activation with any given concentration of fluorid...

A TaqMan assay for the causative agent of chytridiomycosis in amphibians (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) can be inhibited by phenolic compounds, including humic and tannic acids, resulting in false negatives. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) is known to reduce inhibition of PCR when samples are contaminated with these inhibitors. We assessed the effect of BSA in reducing inhibition of the TaqMan ass...

Background & Aims: In most cases, drugs used for the treatment of cancer are not effective or have unpleasant side-effects. This has forced scientists to find more effective drugs with less toxicity. Artemisia is an important medicinal plant in the world and anti-tumoral activity of some Artemisia species has been reported. This study was designed for evaluation of anti-tumoral effect of methan...

Background: Macrophages have important role in defense against Herpes Simplex Virus type-1 (HSV-1). The present study was performed to determine the viability and nitric oxide (NO) production by HSV-1 infected mouse peritoneal macrophages (HIM). Method: The viability of macrophages was evaluated using MTT reduction assay and the production of nitrite using Griess method. Results: The ability of...

Cathepsin cysteine proteases such as cathepsin S are responsible for the unfavorable and irreversible dysregulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteolysis found in cardiomyopathy, heart valve diseases atherosclerosis. plays a central role ECM remodeling, which has been implicated development progression cardiovascular diseases. The current study aimed to evaluate aqueous ethanol extracts ber...