[Effects of high fat diet and high intensity aerobic training on interleukin 6 plasma levels in rats]

Objective: Interleukin 6 [IL6] is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in obesity and related metabolic disorders. Also, exercise training has been offered in obesity prevention and immune system improvement. Hence, this study intends to survey the effects of high fat diet and high intensity aerobic training on plasma levels of IL6 in rats

Methods: We divided 28 male Wistar rats into two control groups with normal [CN] or high fat [CH] diet and two training groups with normal [EN] or high fat [EH] diet. The training groups ran for 60 minutes on a treadmill at 35 m/min for 5 days/week [75% VO2 max]. After 8 weeks, we collected blood samples for plasma IL6 assessment. Two-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis [P

Results: The high fat diet significantly increased the rats' weights and plasma IL6 levels. Performance of 8 weeks of high intensity aerobic training increased IL6 levels in the normal diet group and decreased IL6 levels in the high fat diet group. This change was not significant in the normal diet group

Conclusion: High fat diets probably induced inflammation due to elevated IL6 levels. High intensity aerobic training for 8 weeks significantly decreased IL6 levels

Cardioprotective effects of essential oil of Lavandula angustifolia on isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial infarction in rat

Myocardial infarction [MI] is a common presentation of the ischemic heart disease. Lavandula angustifolia is an herbaceous plant with antioxidative effects. This study was designed to investigate the cardioprotective effects of lavandula angustifolia essential oil against isoproterenol-induced MI in rats. The dried sample was subjected to hydrodistillation by using a Clevenger and the oils were dried over anhydrous Na[2]SO[4]. Male Wistar rats were assigned to 6 groups of control, sham, isoproterenol and treatment with 5, 10, 20 mg/Kg of the essential oil. MI was induced by subcutaneous injection of Isoproterenol [100 mg/Kg] for 3 consecutive days at an interval of 24 h. The essential oil was given intraperitoneally every 24 h started at MI induction. Following anesthesia, hemodynamic parameters were measured. After sacrificing the animals, the hearts were removed to measure the heart to body weight ratio and histopathological examination. Myeloperoxidase [MPO] and Malondialdehyde [MDA] were measured in heart tissues for evaluating the activity of neutrophils and lipid peroxidation, respectively. The essential oil amended ECG pattern by suppressing ST-segment elevation and increasing R-amplitude. 10 mg/Kg of the essential oil significantly decreased heart to body weight ratio [P<0.001] and the elevation of MDA and MPO in myocardium, it also increased dp/dtmax from 2793 +/- 210 to 4488 +/- 253 mmHg/sec [P<0.001], and 20 mg/Kg of it significantly lowered LVEDP from 14 +/- 3.43 to 4.3 +/- 0.83 mmHg [P<0.001].The results demonstrated that L. angustifolia protects myocardium against isoproterenol-induced MI that it could be related to its antioxidant properties

Tumor markers: a proteomic approach

This article reviews the recently published data on the diagnosis of cancer with proteomics, including the major proteomics technologies and promising strategies for biomarker discovery and development. Most of the tumor markers are proteins that either numerically increase in response to the alteration of cancer conditions or are produced by cancer cells. However, they are natural compounds ordinarily available in the typical cells to a little extent what are affected by increase of expression due to cancer and its intensity in blood, body fluids or tissues. Tumor markers are substances normally available in body fluids such as serum, urine, blood, and tissues that increase in the desired tissue of cancer patients. Most of tumor markers are proteins that either are produced in response to changes in cancer conditions or are made by the cancer cells. However, most of tumor markers are among the natural compounds of normal cells present in normal conditions in the cell in small amounts and are affected by increase of expression, due to cancer and their levels in the blood, body fluids or tissues

Structural biology: modeling applications and techniques at a glance

As recent advancements in biology shows, the molecular machines specially proteins, RNA and complex molecules play the main role of the so called cell functionality. It means a very big part of the system biology is concerned with the interactions of such molecular components. Drug industries and research institutes are trying hard to better understand the concepts underlying these interactions and are highly dependent on the issues regarding these molecular elements. However the costs for such projects are so high and in many cases these projects will be funded by governments or profit making companies. With this in mind it has to be said that the techniques like stimulation are always a very good candidate to decrease such costs and to provide scientists with a bright future of the project results before undergoing costly experiments. However the costs involved projects that determine an approximation for the problem is not that much high but they are also costly. So it is of utmost importance to invent special techniques for the concept of stimulation that can also decrease the project costs and also predict much accurately. Since the system biology and proteomics as the study of the proteins and their functions are in the center of consideration for the purpose of drug discovery, understanding the cell functionalities and the underlying causes behind diseases; so we need advance software and algorithms that can predict the structure of the molecular components and to provide researchers with the computational tools to analyze such models. In this paper we make review of the importance of molecular modeling, its limitations and applications

[Effects of various time courses of endurance training on antioxidant enzymes activity in rat Serum]

Due to the importance of antioxidative system and its effective intervention on cascade reactions of free radicals, this study was run to determine the alterations in antioxidant enzymes activity Superoxide dismutase [SOD], Catalase [CAT], and Glutathione peroxidase [GPX] after various time courses of endurance training in rat serum. In this study, 62 male Wistar rats were selected randomly and were divided into 3 control [n[1]=10, n[2]=10, n[3]=11] and 3 experimental [n[1]=10, n[2]=10, n[3]=11] groups. Experimental rats trained for 6, 9 and 12 weeks, running for 5 days/week on treadmill with initial speed of 10 m/min for 10 minute, which was gradually incrased to reach the ultimate speed of 25 m/min for 60 minute. For control groups, the protocol was walking on treadmill with the speed of 10 m/min for 3 days/week. After each course [6, 9 and 12 w], rats were anesthetized and serum samples were collected. Determination of antioxidant enzymes activity was done using Cayman chemical company kits [MI, USA], using enzymatic color assay method. The results were analyzed by t - test [alpha=0.05]. The results of this study showed that 6, 9 and 12 weeks of endurance training had no significant effects on Serum SOD and GPX activity, but 9 weeks of endurance training increased the activity of CAT significantly [CAT activity in experimental group was 24.09 +/- 2.43 U/mL while it was 18.76 +/- 3.81 U/m in the control group, p

[Effect of various time courses of endurance training on alterations of antioxidant enzymes activity in rat liver tissue]

Anti oxidative enzymes activity is an important issue in oxidative stress. Most previous researches have dealt with the effect of brief and anaerobic exercise on these enzymes; the purpose of this study was to determine the alterations of antioxidant enzymes viz. superoxide desmutase, catalase and glutathione [SOD, CAT, and GPX] activity after endurance training in rat liver tissue. In this experimental study, 62 male Wistar rats were selected randomly and divided into 3 control and 3 experimental groups. Experimental rats trained for 6, 9 and 12 weeks, 5 days/week running on treadmill with initial speed of 10 m/min for 10 minute to the ultimate speed of 25 m/min for 60 minute. For control groups the protocol was walking on treadmill with 10 m/min speed for 3 days/ week. After each course [6, 9, 12 wk.], rats were anesthetized and samples taken from the livers of all animals in the study. Determination of antioxidant enzymes activity was done with enzymatic color assay method. The results showed that 6, 9 and 12 weeks of endurance training have no significant effect on GPX activity. Also, 6 and 9 weeks of endurance training did not alter the activity of SOD and CAT in liver tissue, but, 12 weeks of endurance training decreased SOD and CAT activity significantly, [CAT activity in experimental group was 23.11 +/- 7.27 U/mL and in control group it was 31.43 +/- 7.21 U/mL; SOD activity in experimental group was 47.70 +/- 0.56 U/mL and in control group it was 48.20 +/- 0.48 U/mL, [P<0.05]]. Results of this study reveal that participating in 9 weeks of moderate exercise does not have detectable effects on the anti oxidative system, but when the exercise continues until 12 weeks, it decreases the SOD and CAT enzyme activity

Appraisal of fibroblast viability in different concentration of glucose as mimicry diabetic condition

Diabetes mellitus is a common name for a group of diseases of a much diversified etiopathogenesis, characterized by chronically increased concentration of blood glucose. Diabetes results from alterations of various genes, each having a partial and additive effect. The inheritance pattern is thus complex, and environmental factors play an important role in favoring or delaying the expression of the disease. Diabetes can cause devastating complications, including cardiovascular diseases, kidney failure, and blindness, leg and foot amputations, delay in wound healing, which often result in disability and death. Fibroblast cells play a critical role in wound healing. They are the most common cells of connective tissue in animals. Tissue damage stimulates fibrocystic and induces the mitosis of fibroblasts. Wound healing processes in diabetic patients are so longer and sometimes cause to cut damaged tissue. In this study Fibroblasts were isolated from foreskin and cultured as primary cell culture in different concentrations of glucose [8.8 mmol/l, 13.13 mmol/l, 18.31 mmol/l, 27.7 mmol/l, 37.18 mmol/l, 47.17 mmol/l, 83.24 mmol/l, 124.8 mmol/l and 166.4 mmol/l] for 48h incubation time. Traditionally, the determination of cell growth is done by counting viable cells after staining with a vital dye. Among several approaches have been used in the past, The MTT method of cell determination is most invaluable to cultures which are prepared in multiwall plates. This assay is a sensitive, quantitative and reliable colorimetric assay that measures viability, proliferation and activation of cells. The results of this preliminary study suggest that altered glucose concentrations may affect fibroblast behavior in ways that are important for tissue repair and wound healing. The cells had low level of confluency and viability and in high concentration fibroblast had very low cell division

Evaluation of pluripotency gene expression in mouse embryonic stem cell cultured on the human feeder layer

Embryonic stem [ES] cells are derived from the pluripotent inner cell mass [ICN] cells of blastocysts with the potential to maintain an undifferentiated state indefinitely. The derivation process involves plating of the blastocysts on mouse embryonic fibroblast [MEF] and expansion of the outgrowth in to established ES cell line. ES cell are capable of unlimited self-renewal by symmetric division and differentiated cells to all primitive embryonic germ layers. The capacity of ES cells to differentiate in to almost all the cell types of human body highlights their potential to play a promising role in cell replacement therapies for treatment of human diseases. In this study, MEFs have been replaced with human mesenchymal stem cells [hMSCs]. C4 mES cell [mouse embryonic stem cell line] colonies are cultured on inactivated hMSCs amplified >/= 600-folds during the 30 days of continuous culture. The longest continuous expansion of C4 mES cells on hMSC was 30 passages. In this study the gene expression for Oct-4, Nanog, Rex1, Brachyury, LIF, LIFR, TERT, B2M, Stat3, Sox2, Fgf4 in mES cells using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] and in which genes expression for Stat3, Sox2, Fgf4 genes was negative whilst the gene expansion for Oct-4, Nanog, Rex1, Brachyury, LIF, LIFR, TERT, B2M genes was positive. There was also a karyotype analysis for ES which showed normal result. The immunocytochemical analysis of Oct4 transcriptional factor for ES cells was made which showed positive result for this factor. These genes may be novel candidates to play critical roles in the regulation of ES Cell pluripotency and self-renewal