Sadeghi, N.,
Shirazi, N.,
Dehbashi, M.,
Maleki, B.,
Cho, W.C.,
Hojati najafabadi, Z. Publication Date: 2024
Practical Laboratory Medicine (23525517)42
Introduction: In response to the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we developed a rapid molecular approach to diagnose COVID-19 without the need for RNA extraction. Methods: The study utilized two molecular methods, RT-qPCR and colorimetric RT-LAMP, to diagnose the RdRp and ORF8 genes, respectively, in oro-nasopharyngeal swabs. Due to the high sequence diversity of ORF8 in SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, it has been identified as a suitable target for virus detection. The RT-LAMP method was also carried out directly on heat-treated swab samples. The strip tests were made using gold nanoparticles and combined with the RT-LAMP for further analysis. Results: The results showed that the isothermal amplification method had a sensitivity of 95 % (95 % C.I.: 86.08 %–98.96 %) and a specificity of 75 % (95 % C.I.: 19.41 %–99.37 %). The RT-LAMP-LFA method was able to distinguish positive and negative samples with 100 % sensitivity (95 % C.I.: 91.96–100) and 77.27 % specificity (95 % C.I.: 54.63–92.18). This method only required heating swab samples for 10 min at 65 °C before the RT-LAMP reaction. Conclusion: By utilizing the RT-LAMP in combination with the LFA, it is possible to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 rapidly without the need for RNA extraction. The entire process from sample collection to test interpretation takes only 75–90 min, and the results can be interpreted by untrained individuals with the naked eye. By employing the ORF8 gene as a diagnostic target and eliminating the need for RNA extraction, the direct RT-LAMP-LFA method achieves a significant breakthrough that was not previously reported. © 2024 The Authors
Publication Date: 2023
Molecular Biology Reports (03014851)50(3)pp. 2183-2194
Background: As an available cell line, mouse pluripotent P19 has been widely employed for neuronal differentiation studies. In this research, by applying the in vitro differentiation of this cell line into neuron-like cells through retinoic acid (RA) treatment, the roles of some genes including DNMT3B, ICAM1, IRX3, JAK2, LHX1, SOX9, TBX3 and THY1 in neural differentiation was investigated. Methods and results: Bioinformatics, microscopic, and transcriptional studies were conducted in a time-dependent manner after RA-induced neural differentiation. According to bioinformatics studies, we determined the engagement of the metabolic and developmental super-pathways and pathways in neural cell differentiation, particularly focusing on the considered genes. According to our qRT-PCR analyses, JAK2, SOX9, TBX3, LHX1 and IRX3 genes were found to be significantly overexpressed in a time-dependent manner (p < 0.05). In addition, the significant downregulation of THY1, DNMT3B and ICAM1 genes was observed during the experiment (p < 0.05). The optical microscopic investigation showed that the specialized extensions of the neuron-like cells were revealed on day 8 after RA treatment. Conclusion: Accordingly, the neural differentiation of P19 cell line and the role of the considered genes during the differentiation were proved. However, our results warrant further in vivo studies. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
Hojati najafabadi, Z.,
Hojati najafabadi, Z.,
Nabavizadeh, N.,
Bressin, A.,
Shboul, M.,
Moreno traspas, R.,
Chia, P.H.,
Bonnard, C.,
Szenker-ravi, E.,
Sarıbaş, B.,
Beillard, E.,
Altunoglu, U. Publication Date: 2023
EMBO Molecular Medicine (1757-4676)15(2)
Exome sequencing has introduced a paradigm shift for the identification of germline variations responsible for Mendelian diseases. However, non-coding regions, which make up 98% of the genome, cannot be captured. The lack of functional annotation for intronic and intergenic variants makes RNA-seq a powerful companion diagnostic. Here, we illustrate this point by identifying six patients with a recessive Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) and neonatal progeria syndrome. By integrating homozygosity mapping and RNA-seq, we delineated a deep intronic TAPT1 mutation (c.1237-52 G>A) that segregated with the disease. Using SI-NET-seq, we document that TAPT1's nascent transcription was not affected in patients' fibroblasts, indicating instead that this variant leads to an alteration of pre-mRNA processing. Predicted to serve as an alternative splicing branchpoint, this mutation enhances TAPT1 exon 12 skipping, creating a protein-null allele. Additionally, our study reveals dysregulation of pathways involved in collagen and extracellular matrix biology in disease-relevant cells. Overall, our work highlights the power of transcriptomic approaches in deciphering the repercussions of non-coding variants, as well as in illuminating the molecular mechanisms of human diseases. © 2023 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
Helaoui, A.,
Sfar, S.,
Boudhiba, N.,
Dehghanian, F.,
Dehbashi, M.,
Bouchahda, H.,
Hojati najafabadi, Z.,
Kenani, A. Publication Date: 2023
Molecular Biology Reports (03014851)50(2)pp. 949-959
Background: Host genetic characteristics and environmental factors interactions may play a crucial role in cervical carcinogenesis. We investigated the impact of functional genetic variants of four xenobiotic-metabolizing genes (AhR, CYP1A1, GSTM1, and GSTT1) on cervical cancer development in Tunisian women. Methods: The AhR gene polymorphism was analyzed using the tetra-primer ARMS-PCR, whereas the CYP1A1 polymorphism genotypes were identified by PCR-RFLP. A multiplex ligation-dependent polymerase chain reaction approach was applied for the analysis of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms. Results: The homozygous A/A genotype of the AhR gene (rs2066853) and the heterozygous T/C genotype of the CYP1A1 SNP (CYP1A1-MspI) appeared to be associated with an increased risk of cervical tumorigenesis (ORa = 2.81; ORa = 5.52, respectively). Furthermore, a significantly increased risk of cervical cancer was associated with the GSTT1 null genotype (ORa = 2.65). However, the null GSTM1 genotype showed any significant association with the risk of cervical cancer compared to the wild genotype (ORa = 1.18; p = 0.784). Considering the combined effect, we noted a significantly higher association with cancer risk for individuals with at least two high-risk genotypes of CYP1A1/GSTT1 (ORa = 4.2), individuals with at least two high-risk genotypes of CYP1A1/GSTT1/AhR (ORa = 11.3) and individuals with at least two high-risk genotypes of CYP1A1/GSTM1/GSTT1/AhR exploitation low-risk genotype as a reference. Conclusion: This study indicated that the single-gene contribution and the combined effect of xenobiotic-metabolizing gene polymorphisms (AhR, CYP1A1-MspI, GSTM1, and GSTT1) may have a considerable association with increased cervical cancer risk. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
Publication Date: 2022
Scientific Reports (20452322)12(1)
The phenylpropanoid pathway serves as a rich source of metabolites in plants, and it is considered as a starting point for the production of many other important compounds such as the flavonoids, flavonols, coumarins, and lignans. Scrophularia striata is a member of the Lamiaceae family with some biological activities similar to flavonoid compounds such as antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) and Chalcone synthase (CHS) are key enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway, leading to the biosynthesis of several secondary metabolites. In this study, two S. striata CHS and C4H were isolated and then analyzed. The investigation of the expression of these genes was performed under the effects of three salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and gibberellic acid (GA) at concentrations of 100 and 300 ppm with a completely randomized design at the transcript level using Real Time PCR method. These have different expression patterns at developmental stages. Moreover, these genes present different sensitivities to hormonal treatment. Considering the total results, it was found that the amount of expression of these genes during the reproductive phase is higher than that of the vegetative phase. Additionally, the treatment of 300 ppm SA in the reproductive phase is the most effective treatment on increasing the corresponding phenylpropanoid compounds. A correlation analysis was performed between the phenylpropanoid compounds content and both CHS and C4H expression values at different phenological development stages. The results indicate that the expression variations of both CHS and C4H are significantly related to the changes in total phenolic content. We believe that the isolation of CHS and C4H can be helpful in better understanding phenylpropanoid metabolis. © 2022, The Author(s).
Publication Date: 2022
European Journal of Clinical Investigation (00142972)52(11)
Background: Diagnosis is one of the main strategies to deal with infectious and deadly diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The global pandemic of COVID-19 has led to an immediate need to expand rapid diagnostic techniques. New isothermal-based methods are being developed for COVID-19 detection aiming to resolve the limitations related to the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method through immediate samples processing and minimizing false-negative or ambiguous results. Advances in nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAATs) can provide affordable and easy-to-use diagnostic platforms with high sensitivity and specificity in order to be available to the public as approved commercial kits. Aims: The development of point-of-care (POC) testing can assist in rapid clinical decision-making and mitigate burdens on health care facilities. Finally, we discussed the different diagnostic methods based on NAATs for COVID-19 in detail. Comparative parameters are addressed for all assays and Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA)-approved commercial tests are cited. Conclusions: Isothermal-coupled methods and LAMP-based molecular methods have been suggested as suitable portable tests with high diagnostic speed for use in POC testing. © 2022 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Publication Date: 2022
Differentiation (14320436)126pp. 1-9
Neural differentiation as a major process during neural cell therapy is one of the main issues that is not fully characterized. This study focuses on the major deconstruction of the transcriptional networks that regulate cell fate determination during neural differentiation under the influence of RA signalling. In our studies, we used four different microarray datasets containing a total of 15,660 genes to determine which genes were differentially expressed during neural differentiation from pluripotent stem cells (P19), among the 17 samples from four different datasets that were integrated via meta-analysis approaches. Of the 15,660 gene expression in our data integration, 443 DEGs are induced during neural differentiation. Upstream dissection of these 443 DEGs revealed a network of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) from TFs and kinases, as well as intermediate proteins between them, which are indicated by three (POU51, NANOG, and FOXO1) down-expression genes and one PAX6 up-expression gene playing roles in up-stream of these 443 induced DEGs during neural differentiation. The constructed network from the PPIs database revealed that four novel sub-networks play major roles in neuron differentiation in cluster 3, retinol metabolism in cluster 4, Rap1 signalling pathways in cluster 2, and axonogenesis in cluster 6. These four clusters have revealed very useful information about how neural characterization will be created from pluripotent stem cells. This research reveals a plethora of information on the neural differentiation process, including cell commitment and neural differentiation, and lays the groundwork for future research into particular pathways involving protein-protein interactions in neurogenesis. © 2022 International Society of Differentiation
Publication Date: 2021
Bmc Biotechnology (14726750)21(1)
Background: The ability of CRISPR/Cas9 to mutate any desired genomic locus is being increasingly explored in the emerging area of cancer immunotherapy. In this respect, current efforts are mostly focused on the use of autologous (i.e. patient-derived) T cells. The autologous approach, however, has drawbacks in terms of manufacturing time, cost, feasibility and scalability that can affect therapeutic outcome or wider clinical application. The use of allogeneic T cells from healthy donors may overcome these limitations. For this strategy to work, the endogenous T cell receptor (TCR) needs to be knocked out in order to reduce off-tumor, graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD). Furthermore, CD52 may be knocked out in the donor T cells, since this leaves them resistant to the commonly used anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody lymphodepletion regimen aiming to suppress rejection of the infused T cells by the recipient. Despite the great prospect, genetic manipulation of human T cells remains challenging, in particular how to deliver the engineering reagents: virus-mediated delivery entails the inherent risk of altering cancer gene expression by the genomically integrated CRISPR/Cas9. This is avoided by delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 as ribonucleoproteins, which, however, are fragile and technically demanding to produce. Electroporation of CRISPR/Cas9 expression plasmids would bypass the above issues, as this approach is simple, the reagents are robust and easily produced and delivery is transient. Results: Here, we tested knockout of either TCR or CD52 in human primary T cells, using electroporation of CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids. After validating the CRISPR/Cas9 constructs in human 293 T cells by Tracking of Indels by Decomposition (TIDE) and Indel Detection by Amplicon Analysis (IDAA) on-target genomic analysis, we evaluated their efficacy in primary T cells. Four days after electroporation with the constructs, genomic analysis revealed a knockout rate of 12–14% for the two genes, which translated into 7–8% of cells showing complete loss of surface expression of TCR and CD52 proteins, as determined by flow cytometry analysis. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that genomic knockout by electroporation of plasmids encoding CRISPR/Cas9 is technically feasible in human primary T cells, albeit at low efficiency. © 2021, The Author(s).
Imani, S.Z.H.,
Hojati najafabadi, Z.,
Khalilian, S.,
Dehghanian, F.,
Kheirollahi, M.,
Khorrami, M.,
Shaygannejad, V.,
Mirmosayyeb, O. Publication Date: 2021
Scientific Reports (20452322)11(1)
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system characterized by myelin loss and axonal dysfunction. Increased production of inflammatory factors such as cytokines has been implicated in axon destruction. In the present study, we compared the expression level of IL7R, NFATc2, and RNF213 genes in the peripheral blood of 72 MS patients (37 familial MS, 35 sporadic MS) and 74 healthy controls (34 individuals with a family history of the disease, 40 healthy controls without a family history) via Real-time PCR. Our results showed that the expression level of IL7R was decreased in the sporadic patients in comparison with other groups. Additionally, there was an increased NFATc2 expression level in MS patients versus healthy controls. Increased expression of NFATc2 in sporadic and familial groups compared to the controls, and familial group versus FDR was also seen. Our results also represented an increased expression level of RNF213 in familial patients as compared to the control group. The similar RNF213 expression between sporadic and control group, as well as FDR and familial group was also seen. Diagnostic evaluation was performed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and area under the curve (AUC) calculation. The correlation of clinical parameters including onset age and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) with our gene expression levels were also assessed. Overall, decreased expression level of IL7R in the sporadic cases and increased expression level of NFATc2 may be associated with the pathogenesis of MS disease. Confirmation of the effects of differential expression of RNF213 gene requires further studies in the wider statistical populations. © 2021, The Author(s).
Khalilian, S.,
Hojati najafabadi, Z.,
Dehghanian, F.,
Shaygannejad, V.,
Imani, S.Z.H.,
Kheirollahi, M.,
Khorrami, M.,
Mirmosayyeb, O. Publication Date: 2021
Scientific Reports (20452322)11(1)
Alterations in the regulatory mechanisms that control the process of myelination in the nervous system, may lead to the impaired myelination in the Multiple sclerosis. The Hippo pathway is an important mediator of myelination in the nervous system and might contribute to the pathophysiology of MS. This study examined via qPCR the RNA expression of YAP1, TAZ, and CRB3 as the key effectors of the Hippo pathway and also, VDR in the peripheral blood of 35 sporadic, 37 familial MS patients; and also 34 healthy first-degree relatives of the familial MS patients (HFR) and 40 healthy individuals without a family history of the disease (control). The results showed the increased expression of VDR in the sporadic group, as compared to other groups. There was also an increased expression of TAZ in the familial and HFR groups, as compared to the control group. The familial and sporadic patients displayed a significantly lower level of expression of YAP1 in comparison to the HFR group. The increased expression level in the sporadic patients and control group, as compared to the HFR group, was seen in CRB3. We also assessed different clinical parameters and MRI characteristics of the patients. Overall, these findings suggest that Hippo pathway effectors and also VDR gene may play a potential role in the pathophysiology of the sporadic and familial forms of MS. Confirmation of different gene expression patterns in sporadic and familial MS groups may have obvious implications for the personalization of therapies in the disease. © 2021, The Author(s).
Publication Date: 2021
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (14732165)20(9)pp. 2999-3006
Background: Skin aging is an inevitable phenomenon characterized by wrinkled skin and loss of elasticity. To date, several studies have been performed on skin aging to discover the underlying mechanisms and improve efficient preventive strategies and anti-aging therapeutics. Aims: Here, we aimed to investigate the modifications of oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis which are the critical determinants of aging in aged-phenotype skin. Methods: Due to the complexity of the skin aging process, we performed bioenergetic measurements on aged-phenotype fibroblasts from an inherited cutis laxa syndrome which remarkably presents clinical features of normal aged skin. Bioenergetic analysis was performed on cutis laxa samples (n = 3) and healthy samples (n = 3) using Seahorse XFe24 Analyzer. We also compared the sensitivity of cultured aged-phenotype fibroblasts to normal cells in glucose withdrawal. Results: Our results show a significant increase in oxidative phosphorylation parameters but not glycolysis in the patient fibroblast cells implying increased energy demand and preferential dependence on mitochondrial respiration in those cells. Interestingly, we found the patient cells demonstrate hypersensitivity to glucose starvation, supporting their enhanced energy consumption. Conclusions: In summary, our work suggested increased energy demand and higher oxidative phosphorylation in aged-phenotype cells which can be considered in anti-skin aging therapeutic design. © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC
Publication Date: 2021
Cell Journal (Yakhteh) (22285806)23(2)pp. 211-217
Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a type of dementia. Currently, there are not any existing and reliable methods for the prognosis or diagnosis of AD. Hence, finding a diagnostic/prognostic biomarker for AD helps physicians to prescribe the treatments and methods preventing disease progression. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are the most promising biomarkers due to their non-invasive and easily accessible for diagnosis and prognosis of AD. The aim of current study is to evaluate expression levels of two unwell-known circulating miRNAs including hsa-miR-324-3p and hsa-miR-331-3p in serums of AD patients and to understand their roles in AD physiopathogenesis by in silico analysis. Materials and Methods: In this case and control study, to get the gene targets related to these two miRNAs, TargetScan, miRTargetLink Human and mirDIP web servers were applied. In addition, gene networks and gene ontology enrichment analysis were performed by STRING 10.5, KEGG and ShinyGO v0.41. Experimentally, expression levels of these two miRNAs in the serum of 21 patients with AD and 23 healthy individuals were compared using the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) method. Results: The pathophysiological pathways associated with these two miRNAs were nucleotide metabolism and cellular response to stress pathway. Furthermore, the upregulated expression levels of hsa-miR-324-3p and hsa-miR-331-3p in comparison with the healthy control serums were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Non-significant results were obtained from the expression levels of AD patients and two significant pathways were obtained by networks and gene enrichment analysis. © 2021 Royan Institute (ACECR). All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021
Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry (09740422)36(2)pp. 159-166
Intervening proteins (Inteins) are identified as protein domains in a precursor protein structure. Inteins can excise itself from precursor protein and join the remaining portions which result in forming an active protein. In this study, the transcript expression level of recombinant human Interferon beta (rhIFNβ) connected to the self-cleavage Intein-ELK16 (LELELKLKLELELKLK) tag was measured by real-time PCR in HEK293T cell line. First, the sequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis RecA (Mtu recA) was obtained from the InBase database to do appropriate changes including adding the restriction sites, kozak sequence, signal peptide and ELK16 sequence by SnapGene software. The RNA secondary structure were also examined using the online RNA Fold 2.2 web server. Next, the construct was inserted into pUC19 plasmid. The sequence of rhIFNβ was also cloned into pBudCE4.1 vector. In the next step, the rhIFNβ was ligated into the construct (self-cleavage tag of ELK16) using T4 DNA ligase and the recombinant construct was transfected into HEK293T cell line. Finally, expression of the cassette was evaluated by real-time PCR. The analysis of secondary RNA structure indicates a minimum free energy of MEF − 261.10 kcal/mol. Our results indicate that IFNβ was upregulated (37.8-fold, p < 0.0001) in cells which transfected by rhIFNβ-ELK16 compared to the mock and un-transfected conditions. Altogether, our results show that the presence of mini self-cleavage Intein-ELK16 tag along with the rhIFNβ had no interference in transcription of rhIFNβ in the HEK293T cell line. © 2020, Association of Clinical Biochemists of India.
Publication Date: 2021
Journal of Isfahan Medical School (10277595)39(612)pp. 66-75
Background: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/ CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9)-mediated gene knockout of primary T cell has several limitations for clinical applications. Direct delivery of recombinant Cas9 protein and synthetic gRNA, as a pre-assembled ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex, has become a potent approach to introduce highly efficient gene editing in primary T cells. In this study, we employed Cas9 RNP-based delivery system for targeted T Cell receptor alpha constant (TRAC) and β2 microglobulin (B2M) genes knockout in human primary T cells. Methods: Specific gRNAs were designed to target the first exons of TRAC and B2M genes. Cas9 protein and respective synthetic gRNAs were then mixed separately, and electroporated into human primary T cells isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The gene editing efficiency was quantified using tracking of indels by decomposition (TIDE) analysis and flow cytometry. Findings: Three days after electroporation of primary T cells with the TRAC and B2M targeting RNP complexes, TIDE analysis revealed the knockout efficiency of 13-60 percent for the TRAC-targeting gRNAs and 21-53 percent for B2M-targeting gRNAs. Flow cytometry analysis confirmed ~76% and ~27% complete loss of expression for the most efficient gRNAs targeting TRAC (TRAC-gRNA3) and B2M (B2M-gRNA2), respectively. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that Cas9 RNP system can be efficiently delivered into primary T cells and result in targeted gene knockout. The protocol described here enables a streamlined and highly efficient solution for maximizing editing efficiency in primary T cells, and simplifies the gene editing process for next-generation immunotherapies. © 2021 Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021
Iranian Biomedical Journal (2008823X)25(1)pp. 62-67
Background: Among different roles of miRNAs in AD pathogenesis, hsa-miR-494-3p and hsa-miR-661 functions are poorly understood. Methods: To obtain the gene targets, gene networks, gene ontology, and enrichment analysis of the two miRNAs, some web servers were utilized. Furthermore, the expressions of these miRNAs were analyzed by qRT-PCR in 36 blood sera, including 18 Alzheimer’s patients and 18 healthy individuals. Results: The in silico analysis demonstrated the highlighted roles of metabolic and cellular response to stress pathways engaged in circulating hsa-miR-494-3p and hsa-miR-661 in AD. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that the downregulated expression level of hsa-miR-661 was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Also, the ROC curve of hsa-miR-661 displayed the significant AUC (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Based on our findings, the metabolic and cellular responses to stress pathways are closely connected to these two miRNAs functions. Besides, the qRT-PCR and Roc curve determined hsa-miR-661 could be as a biomarker for diagnosis or prognosis of AD patients. © 2021, Pasteur Institute of Iran. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021
Cell Transplantation (09636897)30
Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are one of the most common sources in cell-based therapies in heart regeneration. There are several methods to differentiate MSCs into cardiac-like cells, such as gene induction. Moreover, using a three-dimensional (3D) culture, such as hydrogels increases efficiency of differentiation. In the current study, mouse adipose-derived MSCs were co-transduced with lentiviruses containing microRNA-1 (miR-1) and Myocardin (Myocd). Then, expression of cardiac markers, such as NK2 homeobox 5(Nkx2-5), GATA binding protein 4 (Gata4), and troponin T type 2 (Tnnt2) was investigated, at both gene and protein levels in two-dimensional (2D) culture and chitosan/collagen hydrogel (CS/CO) as a 3D culture. Additionally, after induction of myocardial infarction (MI) in rats, a patch containing the encapsulated induced cardiomyocytes (iCM/P) was implanted to MI zone. Subsequently, 30 days after MI induction, echocardiography, immunohistochemistry staining, and histological examination were performed to evaluate cardiac function. The results of quantitative real -time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunocytochemistry showed that co-induction of miR-1 and Myocd in MSCs followed by 3D culture of transduced cells increased expression of cardiac markers. Besides, results of in vivo study implicated that heart function was improved in MI model of rats in iCM/P-treated group. The results suggested that miR-1/Myocd induction combined with encapsulation of transduced cells in CS/CO hydrogel increased efficiency of MSCs differentiation into iCMs and could improve heart function in MI model of rats after implantation. © The Author(s) 2021.
Hojati najafabadi, Z.,
Ganjalikhani-hakemi, M.,
Ameri, M.,
Alimohammadi-jelodar, S.F.,
Dehbashi, M.,
Mohammad ganji, M.,
Homayouni, V.,
Khanahmad, H. Publication Date: 2020
Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry (09740422)35(3)pp. 359-366
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is a complex blood malignancy leading to immature leukemic stem cells (LSCs) proliferation. T cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (TIM-3) is known as a biomarker of AML LSCs. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) can affect gene expression in AML. In this study, the silencing effect of miR-133a-5p on TIM-3 expression in AML cell lineage (HL-60) was investigated. It’s been hypothesized that miR-133a-5p may suppress the TIM-3 expression in AML cell line. Initially, miRNA-TIM-3 prediction, enrichment, and network analysis were done. Then, miR-133a-5p mimic was transfected into HL-60 cells. The TIM-3 protein and gene expression were measured by flow cytometry analysis and real-time PCR, respectively. MTT assay was also carried out. Based on the Bioinformatics predictions, miR-133a-5p was able to silence TIM-3 expression. Also, significant pathways pertained to miR-133a-5p were obtained using enrichment analysis. According to this, miR-133a-5p was mainly engaged in the MAPK signaling pathway and Nicotine addiction pathway using the KEGG database. The TIM-3 protein expression of the transfected cells was measured as 17.15 ± 8.87% (p = 0.001). A 52.48% significant gene silencing in mRNA level was obtained in comparison to the negative control. Despite of down regulation of TIM-3, HL-60 cell viability has not been significantly changed. It has been finally confirmed that miR-133a-5p could strongly suppress TIM-3 expression in AML cell line. Presumably, down regulation of TIM-3 could affect MAPK and Nicotine addiction signaling pathways. © 2019, Association of Clinical Biochemists of India.
Publication Date: 2020
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (0006291X)524(2)pp. 405-410
Deoxyribozymes or DNAzyme are identified as catalytic DNA sequences which catalyze different chemical reactions. Ligating deoxyribozymes catalyze the formation of branched and linear products. Due to the lack of efficient read-out systems, there is no report on in vivo application of ligating deoxyribozymes. To expand the biological application of branched-RNA forming deoxyribozymes, we performed our study in order to suggest a practical toolkit for measurement of in vivo real-time activity of ligating deoxyribozymes. Further in vitro studies were designed to analyze the effects of the location of branch site on reverse transcriptase (RT) interference. With this toolkit even the activity of RT was measured precisely. Our results indicate that the activity of RT enzyme significantly affected by a 17 nt branched adaptor synthesized by 10DM24 ligating deoxyribozyme. The RT stalls at or near the RNA branch point during both initiation and elongation phases. The DNA synthesis is decreased 4.3 and 2.7 fold during initiation and elongation phases respectively. In conclusion, we introduce a general and practical toolkit called “DMLR” which is based on Real-time PCR method. The use of DMLR precisely determines RT behavior when encountered with any backbone modification with the ability of stopping the enzyme activity. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.
Publication Date: 2020
Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology (14620316)95(2)pp. 183-191
Male flower induction and androgenesis in three genotypes of cucumber (Cucumis sativus), two Beth alpha F1 hybrids (BT1 and BT2, gynoecious) and Dastgerdi (DTG, monoecious), were evaluated. Induction of male flowers in gynoecious cucumber cultivars was assessed by single and combinatorial spraying of AgNO3 (3 mM), GA3 (1.5 mM) and CoCl2 (3 mM) after the first true leaf emergence. After 6 weeks from the beginning of treatments, the average numbers of male flowers induced by spraying AgNO3, GA3, and CoCl2 were 42, 14.5, and 0, respectively. Androgenesis was performed in two gynoecious cultivars, in which the donor plants were treated with AgNO3 (3 mM) or GA3 (1.5 mM) and the DTG cultivar without treatment. Among the three cultivars, the DTG showed the highest percentage of embryogenic calli formation (62.2%) and number of embryos per anther (1.81). In the gynoecious cultivars, the percentage of embryogenic calli formation (27.1%) and number of embryos per anther (0.23) in the anthers of GA3 treated plants were significantly higher than those treated by AgNO3. Cytological and SSR marker analysis of regenerants showed that 16 plants were spontaneous doubled haploid, 2 plants were diploid and one plant was tetraploid. © 2019, © 2019 The Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology Trust.
Publication Date: 2019
Biochimie (03009084)165pp. 161-169
Deoxyribozymes are synthetic and single stranded DNAs that are capable of catalysis of a variety of reactions, including cleavage of DNA substrates. Deoxyribozymes are usually characterized by analytical single-turnover kinetic assays, however, for many applications e.g. characterization of the reaction products, semi-preparative and preparative reactions are required. At such scales, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis and conditions that supports high amount of products in an appropriate time-scale are vaguely guessed by researchers. In this report, catalytic activity of an oxidizing DNA-cleaving deoxyribozyme, F-8(X), was comprehensively inspected in semi-preparative (10 μM substrate) scale. A 60 nucleotides long synthetic DNA sequence was selected as the target DNA for this study. The DNA sequence was originated from a single stranded DNA virus. Investigations revealed high yield in the presence of optimal concentration of oxidizing agents. The optimal conditions have been applied for scale-up of the reaction to preparative (40 μM substrate) and multi-turnover reactions to achieve highest amount of product in a cost-, time- and labor-effective manner. Such a comprehensive analysis of a deoxyribozyme's activity in semi-preparative scale provides a platform for expanded applications of DNA catalysts as a tool in chemical biology. © 2019 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM)
Publication Date: 2019
Genomics (08887543)111(4)pp. 831-839
The Hippo signaling pathway is identified as a potential regulatory pathway which plays critical roles in differentiation and stem cell self-renewal. Yap1 is a primary transcriptional effector of this pathway. The importance of Yap1 in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and differentiation procedure remains a challenging question, since two different observations have been reported. To answer this question we used co-expression network and differential co-expression analyses followed by experimental validations. Our results indicate that Yap1 is highly co-expressed with stem cell markers in ESCs but not in differentiated cells (DCs). The significant Yap1 down-regulation and also translocation of Yap1 into the cytoplasm during P19 differentiation was also detected. Moreover, our results suggest the E2f7, Lin28a and Dppa4 genes as possible regulatory nuclear factors of Hippo pathway in stem cells. The present findings are actively consistent with studies that suggested Yap1 as an essential factor for stem cell self-renewal. © 2018 Elsevier Inc.
Publication Date: 2019
Archives of Medical Research (01884409)50(3)pp. 79-85
Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a multifactorial disease identified by a deficiency in the production of insulin. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are identified as important epigenetic regulators in T1D. Many studies highlight the differential expression of these small non-coding molecules in the pathogenesis of T1D. Aim of the study: In the present study, the expression pattern of miR-21, miR-155 and miR-338 were analyzed in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of T1D patients compared to healthy controls. Methods: The expression levels of miR-21, miR-155 and miR-338 were measured in the PBMCs of 30 T1D patients and 11 healthy controls by real time PCR method. The final results were statistically analyzed and ROC curves were created for miRNAs with significant differential expression. Results: Both miR-155 (p value: 0.021) and miR-21 (p value: 0.05) were upregulated in the PBMCs of T1D patients compared to healthy controls. There was no significant difference in the expression level of miR-338 between patients and controls. Furthermore, ROC curve analysis was performed for miR-21 (AUC: 0.65) and miR-155 (AUC: 0.73) which suggests the potential role of miR-155 as a biomarker in T1D patients. Using integrative computational analysis, a number of dysregulated miR155-mRNA and miR21-mRNA interactions were also suggested. Conclusion: Our findings suggest the significant association between the expression levels of miR-21 and miR-155 with T1D. In addition, miR-155 (AUC: 0.73) could be considered as a possible biomarker to track disease in T1D patients. © 2019 IMSS
Publication Date: 2019
Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin (22517308)9(4)pp. 640-648
Purpose: Interferon beta (IFN-β) is used to combat multiple sclerosis (MS) disease. Creating R27T and V101F mutations (mHuIFN-β-27 and mHuIFN-β-101) is one of the tasks performed to improve human interferon beta (HuIFN-β) half-life, function and expression. In this work, the impact of R27T and V101F mutations in recombinant IFN-β on its binding to interferon receptors were studied by molecular docking. Methods: This work was performed through in silico study. The simulation of mutation was performed using the online Rosetta Backrub software and checked using server verify3D. Comparison of access to the solvent of the amino acids in the structures created was performed using the asaview online server. Also, the effect of mutations on the fold of the protein was reviewed by the online HOPE server. The molecular docking was performed between HuIFN-β and the external region of IFNAR receptor using the online ClusPro2 protein-protein docking server. Results: The comparison of the values of the negative binding energy (ΔGbind) obtained from protein-protein molecular docking between IFNAR receptor and HuIFN-β, mHuIFN-β-27, mHuIFN-β-101 and mHuIFN-β-27-101 ligands did not show a significant difference, and these differences do not see any meaningful relationship between them (P > 0.9999). Conclusion: Regarding these results, it can be concluded that these mutations do not have a negative effect on the composition of the complex rHuIFN-β/IFNAR. So, they do not interfere with the binding of the IFN-β to the receptor. It is concluded that the quality of the rHuIFN-β is improved by introducing these two mutations. © 2019 The Author (s).
Publication Date: 2018
Molecular Biology Reports (03014851)45(6)pp. 1973-1980
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder which is characterized by autoimmune attack on β cells of pancreas and lack of insulin. The involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the development of immune system and their differential expression in various autoimmune diseases including T1D have been well established. In this study, the association between expression levels of miR-20a, miR-326 and T1D were evaluated. The expression levels of miR-20a and miR-326 were measured in the PBMCs of 21 T1D patients and 16 healthy controls using qPCR method. In silico analysis was also performed on targetome of miR-20a and miR-326. Both miR-20a (p value: 0.015) and miR-326 (p value: 0.005) were upregulated in the PBMCs of T1D patients compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, different dysregulated miR326–mRNA and miR20a–mRNA interactions were also suggested using integrative computational analysis. The expression level of miR-20a and miR-326 indicates significant association with T1D which suggests the possible regulatory effects of these non-coding RNAs in T1D. © 2018, Springer Nature B.V.
Publication Date: 2018
Iranian Journal Of Allergy, Asthma And Immunology (17355249)17(5)pp. 477-484
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), have been documented to perform a key role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disease. Recent studies have shown that single nucleotide polymorphism in the sequence of the miRNA may change their production and expression which can lead to miRNA dysfunction and pathogenicity. Some studies have reported the relationship between miRNA polymorphism and the increased risk of autoimmune disease. This study was conducted to investigate the association between mir155 rs767649, mir196a2 rs11614913 and mir23a rs3745453 polymorphism and the risk of multiple sclerosis in the Iranian MS patients in Isfahan. A population of 80 patients and the same number control were selected. After DNA extraction, genotyping was performed through tetra amplification refractory mutation system-PCR method (T ARMS PCR). The frequencies of TT, TC and CC genotypes of mir23a were 46, 35 and 20% in MS patients and 42, 14 and 24 in healthy subjects respectively. These results showed that individuals carrying the genotypes of rs3745453 TC had a 2.3-fold increased risk of MS (OR=2.3, p=0.048). There was no significant difference between genotypes and allele frequency of mir155 and mir196a2 in patients and healthy controls (p>0.05). Our findings specified that CT heterozygosity in mir23a gene significantly related with risk of MS. Unlike mir155 and mir196a2, mir23a rs3745453 may have contributed to the etiology of MS in Isfahan patients. However, extensive studies are required to gain more reliable and authentic results. Copyright © October 2018, Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2018
Applied Microbiology And Biotechnology (14320614)102(16)pp. 7047-7059
Interferon beta (IFNβ) is transiently expressed in response to viral infections and widely used to treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). We introduced mutations in the IFNβ gene (in the 27th and 101st codons and in the Kozak sequence, and also deletion of 3′ and 5′ unstable, untranslated region, UTR) with the aim of increasing the expression of IFNβ. Computational analyses of mutant and wild-type RNAs and proteins of IFNβ by RNAfold, ASAView, HOPE and Ramachandran plot, and iStable web servers showed that the mutations could decrease RNA stability, protein solvent accessibility, and protein stability but could not change correct folding. Two recombinant IFNβ101 and IFNβ101+27 constructs were designed by site-directed mutagenesis. The wild-type IFNβ gene also was used as a control. In vitro experiments by quantitative real-time PCR, dot blot, SDS-PAGE, and Western blot assays showed an increased expression level of recombinant IFNβs. 79.9-fold, 99.7-fold, and 190-fold elevations in the mRNA expression of IFNβw, IFNβ101, and IFNβ101+27 were seen, respectively, in comparison with the endogenous IFNβ mRNA in untransfected HEK293T cells. The IFNβ mRNA expression was increased 2.38-fold and 1.25-fold for 101+27 and 101 mutated forms, respectively, in comparison with the IFNβ wild-type construct. An elevation in IFNβ protein production was also clearly detected in the transfected HEK293T cell containing recombinant IFNβ101 and IFNβ101+27 constructs. Finally, these directed mutations in the IFNβ gene successfully elevated protein and mRNA production but in silico analyses of mutant mRNAs showed decreased mRNA stability, unlike previous studies, in comparison with the wild-type mRNA. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
