Ovarian follicle atresia is thought to be induced through apoptosis of granulosa cells. This study was designed to investigate the possible involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in granulosa cell apoptosis. In immature rat ovaries obtained 48 h after pregnant mare serum gonadotropin administration, immunohistochemistry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTPbiotin nick end labeling (...

Background: Diagnostic ultrasound has been used to detect human disease especially fetus abnormalities in recent decades. Although the harmful effects of diagnostic ultrasound on human have not been established so far, several researchers showed it has had bioeffects in cell lines and in experimental animals. Three-dimensional (3D), four-dimensional (4D), and color Doppler sonography are new te...

The aim of this work was to analyze the cell proliferation and apoptosis indexes on the 18 and 21 days of pregnancy of diabetic rats and to correlate with maternal glycemia and perinatal outcomes. Placentas from 20 Wistar rats were collected and divided into four experimental groups: control and diabetic of 18 and 21 days of pregnancy. The cell proliferation was analyzed using the PCNA expressi...

543 Background: Apricoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, is currently in phase II trials, but its anticancer mechanisms of action could be better defined. Apricoxib inhibits COX-2 enzymatic activity and suppresses production of PGE2 and VEGF at low nanomolar concentrations but also directly inhibits tumor cell proliferation and survival with 10-20μM potency. In this study we characterized the in...

The mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) has been consumed in China as a medicine for promoting health and longevity for thousands of years. Due to its paramount and multiple pharmaceutical effects, G. lucidum has received considerable attention from researchers and its chemical constituents as well as their respective functions were gradually unveiled by using modern research methods. Herei...

Clostridium difficile is the aetiological agent of pseudomembranous colitis, and animal studies suggest the essential role of secreted toxin A in inducing disease. This study examined the biological responses to toxin A by human intestinal epithelial cells. Confluent monolayers of Caco2, HT29, and T84 cells and primary epithelial cells in organ cultures of human colonic biopsy specimens and aft...

introduction: lead toxicity induces retinal cell apoptosis. vitamin c and garlic may decrease lead-induced apoptosis. this study was undertaken to investigate vitamin c and garlic protective effects on lead-induced apoptosis in eye retina. methods: pregnant wistar rats (n = 72) were divided randomly into 9 groups: (l) treated rats with lead acetate in drinking water and (l+aa) with leaded water...

although pyrimethamine (tindurin™) appears to be effective in the prevention and treatment of some infectious diseases, very little information exists on its unpredictable properties. we design this study to evaluate its anti-tumoral effect on a model of cell line. methods: the cytotoxic influence of pyrimethamine on prostate cell line was investigated using an in vitro colometric assay. the po...

Aurora kinase A plays an essential role in mitosis including chromosome separation and cytokinesis. Aberrant expression and activity of Aurora kinase A is associated with numerous malignancies including colorectal cancer followed by poor prognosis. The aim of this study is to determine the inhibitory effects of LDD970, an indirubin derivative, on Aurora kinase A in HT29 colorectal cancer cells....

zn (ii) is an important regulator of caspase-3, as well as an antioxidant, microtubule stabilizer, growth cofactor, and anti-inflammatory agent. over the past 30 years, many researchers have demonstrated the important role of zn (ii) in a variety of physiological processes, including growth and development, maintenance and priming of the immune system, and in tissue repair and regeneration. in ...