An update on the therapeutic role of RNAi in NAFLD/NASH.

Unhealthy lifestyles have given rise to a growing epidemic of metabolic liver diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD often occurs as a consequence of obesity, and currently, there is no FDA-approved drug for its treatment. However, therapeutic oligonucleotides, such as RNA interference (RNAi), represent a promising class of pharmacotherapy that can target previously untreatable conditions. The potential significance of RNAi in maintaining physiological homeostasis, understanding pathogenesis, and improving metabolic liver diseases, including NAFLD, is discussed in this article. We explore why NAFLD/NASH is an ideal target for therapeutic oligonucleotides and provide insights into the delivery platforms of RNAi and its therapeutic role in addressing NAFLD/NASH.

Circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA in breast cancer diagnosis and monitoring.

Liquid biopsy, including both circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA, is becoming more popular as a diagnostic tool in the clinical management of breast cancer. Elevated concentrations of these biomarkers during cancer treatment may be used as markers for cancer progression as well as to understand the mechanisms underlying metastasis and treatment resistance. Thus, these circulating markers serve as tools for cancer assessing and monitoring through a simple, non-invasive blood draw. However, despite several study results currently noting a potential clinical impact of ctDNA mutation tracking, the method is not used clinically in cancer diagnosis among patients and more studies are required to confirm it. This review focuses on understanding circulating tumor biomarkers, especially in breast cancer.

An Evaluation of Antibacterial Effects of Human Amniotic Fluid on Pathogenic and Probiotic Bacteria In Vitro.

Background: Amniotic fluid in the uterus is beneficial for the fetus growth and protection due to its nutritional elements as well as its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Today, body membranes are increasingly being used in multiple fields. The purpose of the current study was evaluation of the antibacterial effects of amniotic fluid and comparison of its effects on pathogenic and probiotic bacteria. Methods: This experimental study was conducted on amniotic fluid obtained from 43 healthy mothers who gave birth by selective cesarean section. Then, antibacterial effects of amniotic fluids were investigated on 8 standard bacterial strains, including Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexneri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, and Lactobacillus plantarum by agar well-diffusion method. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software, vs. 22 (IBM, US). Results: Amniotic fluid revealed an inhibitory effect on the growth of bacterial strains. Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes strains showed growth inhibition in 39% and 17% of samples, respectively. In other bacterial strains, there was growth inhibition in less than 5% of the samples. Also, the zone of growth inhibition for Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes was significantly higher than the other strains. Amniotic fluid samples had an antibacterial effect on all pathogen strains in general, but not on the Lactobacillus plantarum probiotic strain. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the antibacterial effect of amniotic fluid on pathogenic bacteria is significantly higher than the Lactobacillus plantarum as a probiotic one. Overall, the findings support the use of natural substances as alternative therapeutic agents to combat antibiotic resistance.

Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles: Preparation, Characterization, and Biomedical Applications.

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdS NPs) have been employed in various fields of nanobiotechnology due to their proven biomedical properties. They are unique in their properties due to their size and shape, and they are popular in the area of biosensors, bioimaging, and antibacterial and anticancer applications. Most CdS NPs are generally synthesized through chemical, physical, or biological methods. Among these methods, biogenic synthesis has attracted more attention due to its high efficiency, environmental friendliness, and biocompatibility features. The green approach was found to be superior to other methods in terms of maintaining the structural characteristics needed for optimal biomedical applications. The size and coating components of CdS NPs play a crucial role in their biomedical activities, such as anticancer, antibacterial, bioimaging, and biosensing applications. CdS NPs have gained significant interest in bioimaging due to their desirable properties, including good dispersion, cell integrity preservation, and efficient light scattering. Despite these, further studies are necessary, particularly in vivo studies to reduce NPs' toxicity. This review discusses the different methods of synthesis, how CdS NPs are characterized, and their applications in the biomedical field.

Multifunctional Self-Assembled Peptide Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications.

Self-assembly is a growth mechanism in nature to apply local interactions forming a minimum energy structure. Currently, self-assembled materials are considered for biomedical applications due to their pleasant features, including scalability, versatility, simplicity, and inexpensiveness. Self-assembled peptides can be applied to design and fabricate different structures, such as micelles, hydrogels, and vesicles, by diverse physical interactions between specific building blocks. Among them, bioactivity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability of peptide hydrogels have introduced them as versatile platforms in biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensing, and treating different diseases. Moreover, peptides are capable of mimicking the microenvironment of natural tissues and responding to internal and external stimuli for triggered drug release. In the current review, the unique characteristics of peptide hydrogels and recent advances in their design, fabrication, as well as chemical, physical, and biological properties are presented. Additionally, recent developments of these biomaterials are discussed with a particular focus on their biomedical applications in targeted drug delivery and gene delivery, stem cell therapy, cancer therapy and immune regulation, bioimaging, and regenerative medicine.

Role of miRNAs in mediating organophosphate compounds induced toxicity.

Organophosphate compounds (OPCs) are a diverse class of chemicals utilized in both industrial and agricultural settings. The exact molecular pathways that OPCs-induced toxicity is caused by are still being investigated, despite the fact that studies on this topic have been ongoing for a long time. As a result, it's important to identify innovative strategies to uncover these processes and further the understanding of the pathways involved in OPCs-induced toxicity. In this context, determining the role of microRNAs (miRs) in the toxicity caused by OPCs should be taken into consideration. Recent research on the regulation function of miRs presents key discoveries to identify any gaps in the toxicity mechanisms of OPCs. As diagnostic indicators for toxicity in people exposed to OPCs, various expression miRs can also be used. The results of experimental and human studies into the expression profiles of miRs in OPCs-induced toxicity have been compiled in this article.