Effects of nano elicitors on callus induction and mucilage production in tissue culture of linum usitatissimum L.

Background: tissue culture is a new approach for production of secondary metabolites with many advantages over conventional methods. Elicitors such as nano particles are molecules that can stimulate the production of secondary metabolites

Objective: this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of some nano particles on mucilage production in Linum usitatissimum under tissue culture conditions

Methods: concentrations of 5, 10 and 20 mg/L of nano-ZnO, nano-SiO2 and nano-Al2O3 were selected as elicitor treatments. The cultures incubated in growth room at 25 +/- 1 oC with 16/8 h illumination periods. After 2 weeks of incubation callus fresh weight, percentage of mucilage and mucilage yield were recorded

Results: the results indicated the positive effect of low dosage of nano elicitors on callus induction and mucilage production. Furthermore, the callus induction is tightly dependent to the presence of auxin and cytokinin, which stimulate both cell division and cell elongation

Conclusion: generally, the type and concentration of nano elicitors had significant effects on the mucilage content

[Genetic and phytochemical evaluation of tissue culture-derived plants in fennel [foeniculum vulgar] under different concentrations of growth regulators]

The genetic diversity among plants derived from tissue culture is called somaclonal variation, which provides a valuable source of genetic variation for the improvement of medicinal plants. Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the efficiency of molecular markers in detection of somaclonal variation and to assess the importance of DNA methylation in occurrence of genomic changes. The genomic DNA of a normal plant and eight abnormal regenerated plants from calluses cultured in different conditions were extracted using modified Delaporta method. The AFLP procedure was performed with application of two different double digestion methods using restriction enzymes. The digested fragments were ligated to appropriate adaptors and amplification was carried out using appropriate primers. Also percentage and component of essential oil were indicated by GC/MS analysis. Analysis of banding patterns showed high differences in amount of polymorphism detected between two different double digestion methods. According to the results of cluster analysis based on the Jaccard's similarity coefficient, all tested plants divided into two main group. While the first group contained only normal sample, other abnormal samples were placed in the second group. Phytochemical analysis showed that the important secondary metabolites such as Limonene, Fenchone, Estragole ,Anethole didn't produce in invitro culture condition. In contrast some metabolites like Cineol, Terpineol, 2,4 Decadienal produce just in invitro culture. The results indicated that the used method has the potential to be used for assessment of somaclonal variations in regenerated plants. Additionally, considering characters of served enzymes in this study, phenotypic variations in abnormal plants that are resulted from somaclonal variation can be related to genome methylation

[Evaluation of long-term effect of adding low-dose daclizumab to standard protocol on kidney rejection in kidney recipients]

Daclizumab is a monoclonal antibody directed against CD25 subunit of interlukin 2 receptor. Several studies have shown the effectiveness of daclizumab on reduction of acute rejection in renal transplantation with regular or limited dose. The present study assessed the outcomes of 3 and 5 years follow-up of a prospective case-control trial comparing safety and efficacy of induction therapy with two doses of daclizumab, compared with no induction treatment, in renal transplant recipients. This clinical-trial study was started in 2006 on 140 living donor kidney recipients admitted to kidney transplant ward of Kerman Afzalipour hospital, Iran. These patients were randomly assigned into two 70 patients, intervention and control groups. All patients received cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil and prednisolone. Intervention group recieved daclizumab at a dose of 1 mg/kg before transplantation and then two weeks later, also. All patients were followed up for 3 and 5 years for graft and patient survival and side effect of daclizumab, so.After 3 years, 58 patients remained in case and 61 in control group. Function of transplanted kidney was evaluated on base of calculated glomerular filtration rate [GFR], and after 3 and 5 years, were same between two groups. Rate of sepsis was same between two groups but infection with varicella zuster, in first 6 months after transplantation, was significantly more in intervention group [P = 0.04].Daclizumab did not have any effect on patient or graft survival. It did not increase the rate of sepsis but might increase the rate of varicella zuster infection

Hazel [corylus avellana L.] as a new source of taxol and taxanes

Taxol is used to treatment of variety cancers including ovarian, breast, lung, head and neck carcinomas and the AIDS-related Karposi's carcinoma, and was originally obtained from bark of taxus brevifolia. However the amount of extracted taxol from taxus is extremely low and cannot be considered as a suitable commercial source and it has led to studies for finding new sources of Taxol. In 1998, Angela Hoffman and her team reported that hazel could be as a taxol-producing species and it has been confirmed by recent studies. On the other hand, the genes and enzymes involved in taxol biosynthesis pathway in taxus sp. have been identified and characterized but because of very slow growth and difficult somatic embryogenesis, manipulation of taxus is restricted. Instead, hazel with widely contribution in the world, easy invitro culture and characterization of some genes involved in the pathways of MVA and DXP [such as HMGR, IPI and GGPP], makes possibility of manipulation of taxol biosynthesis pathway. In this paper we reviewed a summary of genetic and biotechnology studies on hazel

[ efficacy of amlodipine and diltiazem in cyclosporine dose adjustment with respect to trough and 2-hour concentrations in kidney transplant patients]

Hypertension, hyperuricaemia and nephrotoxicity are some common side-effects of Cyclosporine A [CsA] treatment in renal transplant recipients. Previous studies suggest that Calcium Channel Blockers [CCB] can increase serum level of CsA and may improve graft function in patients receiving CsA. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Diltiazem and Amlodipine on cyclosporine dose adjustment with respect to trough and 2-hour concentrations in renal transplant recipients treated with CsA. This observer-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 120 renal transplant recipients treated with CsA. Patients received either Amlodipine [5-10mg/day] or Diltiazem [90-180mg/day] for 3 months and were compared with control group receiving no CCB. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, Post Hoc and Correlation tests. Diltiazem significantly decreased CsA dosage [20%] from 162.03 +/- 40.6 mg/dl to 128.5 +/- 25.5 mg/dl [P=0.000] and Amlodipine, too, decreased it to 140.5 +/- 22.3 mg/dl [13%] which was significant [P=0.008]. Trough concentration in patients who had received Amlodipine were significantly higher than control group [P=0.019]. Diltiazem significantly decreased Cholesterol Level [P=0.027] but other parameters were not significantly different between Amlodipine / Diltiazem and control groups. Diltiazem and Amlodipine were well tolerated in co-administration with CsA with no adverse effect on graft function and did not affect blood pressure or heart rate. Our findings support that these two CCBs can be used in clinical settings to reduce the administered dose of cyclosporine