A study on the potential role of autophagy-related protein 10 as a biomarker for ulcerative colitis.

PURPOSE: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a lifelong disease with unclear etiology and increasing prevalence worldwide. Autophagy has been reported to play roles in the pathogenesis and progression of UC. Here, we aimed to analyze the expression of autophagy related protein 10 (ATG10) and its regulator, micro-RNA (miR) 519a, in UC patients. METHODS: The level of ATG10 in the serum, stool, and colon biopsies from 15 UC patients and 30 non-UC healthy individuals (HC) group was measured by ELISA. Also, the blood level of miR-519a was investigated by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: We found 13.63 ng/ml versus 0.99 ng/ml, 11.01 ng/ml versus 1.11 ng/ml and 6.41 ng/ml versus 3.21 ng/ml of ATG10 in the stool, colon tissue, and serum of UC and HC, respectively. There was no significant difference in the expression of miR-519a in the blood samples of UC and HC. CONCLUSIONS: ATG10 might be a potential non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for UC.

Effects of osteogenic medium on healing of the experimental critical bone defect in a rabbit model.

Today, finding an ideal biomaterial to treat the large bone defects, delayed unions and non-unions remains a challenge for orthopedic surgeons and researchers. Several studies have been carried out on the subject of bone regeneration, each having its own advantages. At the same time, a variety of disadvantages still remain. The present study has been designed in vivo to evaluate the effects of osteogenic medium on healing of experimental critical bone defect in a rabbit model. Twenty New Zealand albino rabbits, 12 months old, of both sexes, weighing 2.0±0.5 kg were used in this study. An approximately 10mm segmental defect was created in the mid portion of each radius as a critical size bone defect. In the osteogenic medium group (n=5) 1 ml osteogenic medium, in the maintenance medium group (n=5) 1 ml maintenance medium, and in the normal saline group (n=5) 1 ml normal saline were injected in the defected area while the defects of the rabbits of the control group (n=5) were left empty. Radiological evaluation was done on the 1st day and then at the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th weeks post injury. Biomechanical and histopathological evaluations were done 8 weeks post injury. The radiological, histological and biomechanical findings of the present study indicated a superior bone healing capability in the osteogenic and maintenance medium groups, by the end of 8 weeks post-surgery, in comparison to the normal saline and control groups. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the osteogenic medium and maintenance medium could promote bone regeneration in long bone defects better than the control group in rabbit model.