[Prevalence of [CTX-M-2] beta lactamase gene in E.coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections [UTI] in Sanandaj, Iran]

Background and Aim: In recent years, the production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases [ESBLs] among clinical isolates of bacteria in particular E.coli has been on the rise. Production of beta-Lactamase in E.coli has caused many problems in the treatment of the patients. The CTX-M-2 gene is one of the several factors producing resistance due to ESBL. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility to beta-lactam antibiotics and investigation of the CTX-M-2 gene level in E. coli isolated from urine samples

Material and Methods: In this study, 260 UTI samples were collected from medical centers in Sanandaj and 100 E.coli isolates were collected and confirmed by biochemical tests. Then susceptibility test to 11 selected antibiotics were performed by disk diffusion method and the ESBLs producing strains were identified by the combined disk method. Using PCR method, ESBLs positive strains were examined for the presence of CTX-M-2 gene

Results: The results of the phenotype tests showed that out of 100 E.coli strains, 27 [27%] were ESBLs producing. Also, PCR showed that among these 27 strains, 2 [7.4%] strains contained CTX-M-2 gene

Conclusion: Considering the high rate of resistance to the third generation cephalosporins, careful antibiogram tests is an inevitable necessity before prescribing antibiotics for the treatment of infections caused by ESBLs producing organisms

[Effect of N-acetylcysteine on motor symptoms and parkin protein level in frontal cortex in rat model of Parkinson's disease]

Recent studies have shown that oxidative stress has a critical role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease. Frontal cortex receives a great amount of dopaminergic neurons from nigrostriatal pathway and is one of the brain regions which aredamagedin Parkinson's disease. On the other hand anti-oxidant properties of Nacetylcysteine have been proven to occur via fortifying glutathione. Glutathione is one of the main intracellular anti-oxidant systems. Therefore our study was aimed to evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine in the management of Parkinson's disease. Male Wistar rats with age range of 10-12 months and weights of 400 +/- 50g received rotenone [2.5 mg/kg/48h ip] to induce Parkinson's disease model. NAC [25 or 50 mg/kg/48h ip] was administered one hour before rotenone injections. In order to measure the motor symptoms and verify the development of the model, rotarod test was performed. Moreover the frontal cortex parkin level, one of the crucial proteins in Parkinson's disease, was measured using western blot technique. The results indicated that N-acetylcysteine could prevent decline in the motor performance inrotarod test. In addition frontal cortex parkin level was significantly decreased in rotenone received animals while N-acetylcysteine prevented the reduction of parkin in this region. Our results indicated that that N-acetylcysteine could prevent the development of Parkinson's disease in this model which is probably due to its anti-oxidant properties

The expressions of stem cell markers: Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, nucleostemin, Bmi, Zfx, Tcl1, Tbx3, Dppa4, and Esrrb in bladder, colon, and prostate cancer, and certain cancer cell lines / 대한해부학회지

Uncontrolled self-renewal plays a direct function in the progression of different types of carcinomas. The same molecular pathway that manages self-renewal in normal stem cells also seems to manage cancer stem cells. Here, we examine the expressions of self-renewal regulatory factors Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, nucleostemin, Zfx, Esrrb, Tcl1, Tbx3, and Dppa4 in tissue samples of colon, prostate, and bladder carcinomas as well as cancer cell lines HT-29, Caco-2, HT-1376, LNCaP, and HepG2. We used reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to examine expressions of the above mentioned regulatory factors in cancer cell lines HT-29, Caco-2, HT-1376, LNCaP, and HepG2 and in 20 tumor tissue samples. Total RNA was isolated by the ISOGEN method. RNA integrity was checked by agarose gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometry. Expressions of Oct4 and nucleostemin at the protein level were determined by immunocytochemistry. A significant relationship was found between tumor grade and self-renewal gene expression. Expressions of stem cell specific marker genes were detected in all examined cancer cell lines, in 40% to 100% of bladder cancer samples, and in 60% to 100% of colon and prostate cancer samples. Oct4 expressed in 100% of tumor tissue samples. Our data show that stem cell markers Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, nucleostemin, Bmi, Zfx, Esrrb, Tcl1, Tbx3, and Dppa4 significantly express in cancer cell lines and cancer tissues. Hence, these markers might be useful as potential tumor markers in the diagnosis and/or prognosis of tumors.

[Evaluating the expression of Oct-4, NANOG, Sox2 and nucleostemin in colon cancer cell lines [Caco-2 and HT-29]]

Evaluating the expression of Oct-4, NANOG, Sox2 and Nucleostemin in colon cancer cell lines [Caco-2 and HT-29]. Caco-2 and HT-29 human colon cancer cell lines were cultured in Dulbecco's modified eagles medium [DMEM] and Roswell Park Memorial Institute medium [RPMI] respectively, containing 10% fetal bovin serum [FBS] with 1% peniciline and streptomycinen in 37°, 5% CO2 incubator. Total RNA was isolated using the ISOGEN method. RNA integrity was checked with the use of agarose gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometry. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] was used to examin the samples. The expression of Oct-4 and Nucleostemin at the protein level was further determined using immunocytochemistry. RT-PCR analysis of Caco2 and HT-29 colon cancer cell lines showed expression of Oct-4, NANOG, Sox2 and Nucleostemin genes. Also immunocytochemical analysis confirmed the cytoplasmic and nuclear expression of the Oct-4 protein and Nucleostemin proteins. Collectively, our data confirmed the expression of Oct-4, NANOG, Sox2 and Nucleostemin in colon cancer cells and suggested that their expression can be used as potential tumor markers in diagnosis and /or prognosis of colon tumors. These results confirm the potential value of the cancer stem-cell theory in cancer therapy