Hepatoprotective effects of brown algae Sargassum boveanum on bile duct-ligated cholestasis in rats are mediated by modulating NF-κB/TNF-α and Nrf2/HO-1 gene expression.

Objective: The current study assessed hepatoprotective effects of Sargassum boveanum (S. boveanum) in cholestatic rats. To induce cholestasis, bile duct ligation (BDL) was utilized. Materials and Methods: Five groups of Sprague-Dawley rats including Sham and four BDL groups were assigned to receive vehicle (BDL-V) or ethanolic extract of S. boveanum at 100 (BDL-SE 100), 200 (BDL-SE 200) and 500 (BDL-SE 500) mg/kg/day for seven days. Results: BDL group receiving the vehicle (BDL-V) had substantially increased blood levels of alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total, and indirect bilirubin in comparison to the sham group. S. boveanum significantly decreased these variables compared to the BDL-V group. Hepatic malondialdehyde and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) level, and nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and TNF-α gene expression were higher in BDL-V rats compared to the sham group but these were reduced markedly in BDL groups receiving S. boveanum in comparison to the BDL-V group. BDL-V group had a significantly lower hepatic glutathione value, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and gene expression of SOD, GPx, Nrf2, HO-1 in comparison to the sham group. S. boveanum prevented the decrease of these variables. The histopathological assay showed marked bile ducts proliferation, portal inflammation, and hepatocellular damage in the BDL-V group and S. boveanum administration remarkably reduced hepatic injury. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis revealed that S. boveanum ethanolic extract contained 39 active compounds. Conclusion: S. boveanum treatment significantly ameliorated cholestatic hepatic injury via anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.

177Lu-PSMA and 177Lu-DOTATATE Therapy in a Patient With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer and Neuroendocrine Differentiation.

We presented a promising result of radionuclide therapy using Lu-PSMA and Lu-DOTATATE in a patient with prostatic adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine differentiation. Functional imaging of somatostatin receptors in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer may pave the way toward implementation of novel radionuclide targets for the treatment of this aggressive subtype of prostate cancer.

The effect of land use configurations on concentration, spatial distribution, and ecological risk of heavy metals in coastal sediments of northern part along the Persian Gulf.

In the present study, a total of 41 sediment samples were collected from the areas with different land uses: industrial (IS), urban (US), agricultural (AGS), and natural field (NS) in the northern coasts along the Persian Gulf from November 2016 to January 2017. Samples were analyzed to determine the concentration of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, and Ni). The mean concentration of Ʃ6 heavy metals in the samples taken from IS, US, AGS, NS were 2300.24, 251.02, 553.21, and 40.93 mg/kg, respectively. The predominant metals were Zn, Cu, and Pb and the mean concentrations of Ʃ3 metals (Zn, Cu, and Pb) in IS, US, AGS, NS areas were 2245.6, 241.44, 529.61, and 36.98 mg/kg, respectively. The results indicated that the mean concentrations of Ʃ6Metals/Ʃ3 metals in the IS and AGS samples were significantly higher than US and NS samples (p < 0.05). Heavy metal levels (mg/kg. dry weight) in all four land uses were as follows: industrial region: Pb (1347.44) > Cu (465.00) > Zn (427.16) > Cr (34.20) > Cd (19.45) > Ni (7.09); urban region: Zn (97.45) > Cu (79.90) > Pb (64.09) > Cr (5.30) > Ni (2.55) > Cd (1.73); agricultural region: Zn (247.88) > Pb (164.89) > Cu (116.84) > Cr (11.09) > Ni (7.45) > Cd (5.06); and natural fields: Zn (27.43) > Cu (6.34) > Pb (3.18) > Cr (1.94) > Ni (1.18) > Cd (0.83). According to geo-accumulation index (I-geo), the IS, US, and AGS were classified into "highly-extremely polluted", "unpolluted-moderately polluted" and "highly polluted", respectively. Similarly, in accordance with the ecological risk index (ERI), the IS and AGS fell into the very high and considerable categories, respectively, while US land uses area was categorized as low risk. Based on the results obtained from the present study, it can be concluded that the sediments of Asalouyeh coasts in the northern part of the Persian Gulf are heavily contaminated with heavy metals, causing serious negative effects on both the human being and environment.

Serological, pathological, and scintigraphic assessment of Hemiscorpius lepturus effects on renal dysfunction in rats.

OBJECTIVES: Hemiscorpius lepturus is one of the dangerous scorpions of Iran leading to acute kidney injury (AKI) especially in infants. The purpose of this animal study was to compare the serological, pathological and scintigraphic data to quickly predict the occurrence of this disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In two groups of animals, each contained five rats, H. lepturus venom (1200 µg/Kg) were injected intravenously via the tail vein. At three hours and one week later, 99m Tc-DMSA (3 mCi) was intravenously injected and renal scintigraphy was performed after an hour. Moreover, plasma levels of creatinine, sodium, potassium, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured. At the end of the study, renal tissues were excised and prepared to perform pathological evaluation after Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. RESULTS: All serological indices were remained unchanged compared to control. A large number of glomerular fibrin thrombi with entrapped red blood cells and simplified tubular epithelium in dilated and ectatic tubules were observed in high power field (×100) four hours after envenomation, which reduced significantly one week later. In our scintigraphic study, there was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) in kidney count rate per pixels (CRPP) in both acute and chronic phases compared to the sham group that received normal saline (0.84±0.05 and 1.36±0.07 versus 1.7±0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this preliminary animal study suggest renal scintigraphy is a non-invasive method to predict the occurrence of the AKI in H. lepturus envenomation. It leads the way for more investigation to counteract the renal failure induced by this venom.

Data on heavy metal levels (Cd, Co, and Cu) in wheat grains cultured in Dashtestan County, Iran.

Due to importance of wheat as the most popular food, in this data article, we determined the accumulation of heavy metal levels including Cd, Co, and Cu in wheat grains in Dashtestan county, Iran. The concentration levels of heavy metals in wheat grains cultured were determined by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS).

Data on Fe (II) biosorption onto Sargassum hystrix algae obtained from the Persian Gulf in Bushehr Port, Iran.

In this article, we used Sargassum hystrix algae as biosorbent for removal of Fe (II) from aqueous solutions that was collected along the Persian Gulf coastline, Bushehr, Iran. The concentration level of remaining Fe (II) in the samples was measured by using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS, Varian AA240, Australia). The isotherms, kinetics and modeling data of Fe (II) biosorption onto Sargassum hystrix were also presented.

Data on daily fluoride intake based on drinking water consumption prepared by household desalinators working by reverse osmosis process.

In this data article, we evaluated the daily fluoride contents in 20 household desalinators working by reverse osmosis (RO) process in Bushehr, Iran. The concentration levels of fluoride in inlet and outlet waters were determined by the standard SPADNS method using a spectrophotometer (M501 Single Beam Scanning UV/VIS, UK). The fluoride content in outlet waters were compared with EPA and WHO guidelines for drinking water.