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Fulltext Diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis in a young boy: a case report

Guan-Fook N, Hayati AA, Raja-Azmi MN, Liza-Sharmini AT, Wan-Hazabbah WH, Zunaina E

Clin Ophthalmol, 2012;6:487-90.
PMID: 22536041 DOI: 10.2147/OPTH.S29806

We report a case of diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis in a young boy with no clinical visualization of nematode. The diagnosis was made based on clinical findings and detection of Toxocara immunoglobulin G by Western blot test. An 11-year-old Malay boy presented with progressive blurring of vision in the left eye for a duration of 1 year. It was associated with intermittent floaters. Visual acuity in the left eye was 6/45 and improved to 6/24 with pinhole. There was positive relative afferent pupillary defect, impaired color vision, and presence of red desaturation in the left eye. There were occasional cells in the anterior chamber with no conjunctiva injection. Posterior segment examination revealed mild-to-moderate vitritis and generalized pigmentary changes of the retina with attenuated vessels. The optic disk was slightly hyperemic with mild edema. There was presence of multiple, focal, gray-white subretinal lesions at the inferior part of the retina. Full blood picture results showed eosinophilia with detection of Toxocara immunoglobulin G by Western blot test. Investigations for other infective causes and connective tissue diseases were negative. The diagnosis of diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis secondary to Toxocara was made based on clinical findings and laboratory results. He was treated with oral albendazole 400 mg daily for 5 days and oral prednisolone 1 mg/kg with tapering doses over 6 weeks. At 1 month follow-up, the inflammation had reduced, and multiple, focal, gray-white subretinal lesions were resolved; however there was no improvement of vision.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Fulltext Effect of glycerol feed in methanol induction phase for Hepatitis B surface antigen expression in Pichia pastoris strain KM71

Morvarid, A.R., Zeenathul, N.A., Tam, Y.J., Zuridah, H., Mohd-Azmi, M.L., Azizon, B.O.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2012;20(1):31-42.
MyJurnal

This study describes expression of HBs Ag in methylotrophic yeast, Pichia Pastoris under alcohol oxidase promoter. A single copy number of HBs Ag gene was transformed into pichia strain of KM 71, a Muts type, by using pA0815 pichia expression vector. The recombinant was cultivated in a shake flask either using methanol or a mixed feed of glycerol -methanol for induction. The HBs Ag gene integrity was justified using direct PCR method. The expressed products in the soluble cell extracts were analyzed by Western blot, SDS page, Bradford assay and ELISA tests. The recombinant HBs Ag was expressed successfully in Pichia pastoris strain KM71 at a high level of HBs Ag protein expression. Thus, an addition of glycerol in the ratio of glycerol per methanol 1/1 (g g-1) consistently produced 2-fold increment in both biomass accumulation and HBs Ag productivity.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Fulltext Comparison of protein expression profiles of different stages of lymph nodes metastasis in breast cancer

Lee HH, Lim CA, Cheong YT, Singh M, Gam LH

Int J Biol Sci, 2012;8(3):353-62.
PMID: 22393307 DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.3157

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Breast cancer metastasis primarily happens through lymphatic system, where the extent of lymph node metastasis is the major factor influencing staging, prognosis and therapeutic decision of the disease. We aimed to study the protein expression changes in different N (regional lymph nodes) stages of breast cancer. Protein expression profiles of breast cancerous and adjacent normal tissues were mapped by proteomics approach that comprises of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Calreticulin and tropomyosin alpha 3 chains were the common up-regulated proteins in N0, N1 and N2 stages of breast cancer. Potential biomarker for each N stage was HSP 70 for N0, 80 k protein H precursor and PDI for N1 stage while 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein was found useful for N2 stage. In addition, significant up-regulation of PDI A3 was detected only in the metastasized breast cancer. The up-regulation expression of these proteins in cancerous tissues can potentially use as indicators for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of different N stages of breast cancer.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Fulltext Progesterone downregulates oestrogen-induced expression of CFTR and SLC26A6 proteins and mRNA in rats' uteri

Gholami K, Muniandy S, Salleh N

J Biomed Biotechnol, 2012;2012:596084.
PMID: 23226939 DOI: 10.1155/2012/596084

Under progesterone (P) dominance, fluid loss assists uterine closure which is associated with pH reduction. We hypothesize that P inhibits uterine fluid secretion and HCO3⁻ transport.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Cloning and in silico characterization of two signal peptides from Pediococcus pentosaceus and their function for the secretion of heterologous protein in Lactococcus lactis

Baradaran A, Sieo CC, Foo HL, Illias RM, Yusoff K, Rahim RA

Biotechnol Lett, 2013 Feb;35(2):233-8.
PMID: 23076361 DOI: 10.1007/s10529-012-1059-4

Fifty signal peptides of Pediococcus pentosaceus were characterized by in silico analysis and, based on the physicochemical analysis, (two potential signal peptides Spk1 and Spk3 were identified). The coding sequences of SP were amplified and fused to the gene coding for green fluorescent protein (GFP) and cloned into Lactococcus lactis pNZ8048 and pMG36e vectors, respectively. Western blot analysis indicated that the GFP proteins were secreted using both heterologous SPs. ELISA showed that the secretion efficiency of GFP using Spk1 (0.64 μg/ml) was similar to using Usp45 (0.62 μg/ml) and Spk3 (0.58 μg/ml).

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Evaluation of Toxoplasma gondii-recombinant dense granular protein (GRA2) for serodiagnosis by western blot

Ching XT, Lau YL, Fong MY, Nissapatorn V

Parasitol Res, 2013 Mar;112(3):1229-36.
PMID: 23274488 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-012-3255-5

Toxoplasma gondii infects all warm-blooded animals including humans, causing serious public health problems and great economic loss in the food industry. Commonly used serological tests involve preparation of whole Toxoplasma lysate antigens from tachyzoites which are costly and hazardous. An alternative method for better antigen production involving the prokaryotic expression system was therefore used in this study. Recombinant dense granular protein, GRA2, was successfully cloned, expressed, and purified in Escherichia coli, BL21 (DE3) pLysS. The potential of this purified antigen for diagnosis of human infections was evaluated through western blot analysis against 100 human serum samples. Results showed that the rGRA2 protein has 100 and 61.5 % sensitivity towards acute and chronic infection, respectively, in T. gondii-infected humans, indicating that this protein is useful in differentiating present and past infections. Therefore, it is suitable to be used as a sensitive and specific molecular marker for the serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma infection in both humans and animals.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western/methods*
Fulltext Isolation and partial characterization of Asian sea bass (Lates calcarifer) Vitellogenin

Fazielawanie NM, Siraj SS, Harmin SA, Ina-Salwany MY

Fish Physiol Biochem, 2013 Apr;39(2):191-200.
PMID: 22878544 DOI: 10.1007/s10695-012-9690-5

A study was conducted to isolate, partial characterize Asian sea bass (Lates calcarifer) vitellogenin (vtg). Two-year-old juvenile L. calcarifer (n = 10) were given three intraperitoneal injections of 17-β estradiol (E2) at a dose of 2 mg/kg body weight to induce vitellogenesis. Blood was collected 3 days after the last injection, and plasma was purified through gel filtration chromatography. A broad single symmetrical peak consisting of vtg molecule was produced. Protein concentration was 0.059 mg/ml as determined by Bradfrod assay using bovine serum albumin as a standard. The protein appeared as one circulating form in Native PAGE considering the dimeric form of putative vtg with molecular weight of 545 kDa. In SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions, two major bands appeared at 232.86 and 118.80 kDa and minor bands at 100.60, 85.80 and 39.92 kDa, respectively. The purified vtg was used to generate a polyclonal antibody, and the specificity of antibody was assessed by Western blot analysis. Two major bands were immunoreacted, but no cross-reactivity was observed with plasma from non-induced males. The protein was characterized as phosphoglycolipoprotein as it positively stained for the presence of lipid, phosphorus and carbohydrate using Sudan Black B, methyl green and periodic acid/Schiff reagent solution, respectively. The amino acid composition was analyzed by high sensitivity amino acid analysis that showed high percentage of non-polar amino acids (~48 %). The results suggest the potential utilization of vtg as a basis tool to further study about reproductive physiology of this important economical species.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western/veterinary
IgG avidity Western blot using Toxoplasma gondii rGRA-7 cloned from nucleotides 39-711 for serodiagnosis of acute toxoplasmosis

Deshpande PS, Kotresha D, Noordin R, Yunus MH, Saadatnia G, Golkar M, et al.

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo, 2013 4 9;55(2):79-83.
PMID: 23563759

Toxoplasmosis is an important cause of congenital infection. The present study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of recombinant (r) GRA-7 cloned from nucleotides (n) 39-711 in discriminating between acute and chronic toxoplasmosis. First, commercial IgM, IgG and IgG avidity ELISAs were used to determine the serological profile of the sera. Serum samples were from 20 symptomatic patients with acute infection (low IgG avidity, IgM positive), 10 with chronic infection (high IgG avidity, IgM negative) and 10 with indeterminate IgG avidity (IgM positive) which were tested for IgG avidity status with an in-house developed IgG avidity Western blot using the rGRA-7 recombinant antigen. All 20 sera from cases of probable acute infection showed bands which either faded out completely or reduced significantly in intensity after treatment with 8 M urea, whereas the band intensities of the 10 serum samples from chronic cases remained the same. Of the 10 sera with indeterminate IgG avidity status, after treatment with 8 M urea the band intensities with six sera remained the same, two sera had completely faded bands and another two sera had significantly reduced band intensities. Discrimination between acute and chronic toxoplasmosis was successfully performed by the in-house IgG avidity Western blot.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Fulltext Evaluation of recombinant Plasmodium knowlesi merozoite surface protein-1(33) for detection of human malaria

Cheong FW, Lau YL, Fong MY, Mahmud R

Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2013 May;88(5):835-40.
PMID: 23509118 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.12-0250

Plasmodium knowlesi is now known as the fifth Plasmodium species that can cause human malaria. The Plasmodium merozoite surface protein (MSP) has been reported to be potential target for vaccination and diagnosis of malaria. MSP-1(33) has been shown to be immunogenic and its T cell epitopes could mediate cellular immune protection. However, limited studies have focused on P. knowlesi MSP-133. In this study, an approximately 28-kDa recombinant P. knowlesi MSP-1(33) (pkMSP-1(33)) was expressed by using an Escherichia coli system. The purified pkMSP-1(33) reacted with serum samples of patients infected with P. knowlesi (31 of 31, 100%) and non-P. knowlesi malaria (27 of 28, 96.43%) by Western blotting. The pkMSP-1(33) also reacted with P. knowlesi (25 of 31, 80.65%) and non-P. knowlesi malaria sera (20 of 28, 71.43%) in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Most of the non-malarial infection (49 of 52 in by Western blotting and 46 of 52 in the ELISA) and healthy donor serum samples (65 of 65 by Western blotting and ELISA) did not react with recombinant pkMSP-1(33).

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Entamoeba histolytica antigenic protein detected in pus aspirates from patients with amoebic liver abscess

Othman N, Mohamed Z, Yahya MM, Leow VM, Lim BH, Noordin R

Exp Parasitol, 2013 Aug;134(4):504-10.
PMID: 23680184 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2013.05.001

Entamoeba histolytica is a causative agent of amoebic liver abscess (ALA) and is endemic in many underdeveloped countries. We investigated antigenic E. histolytica proteins in liver abscess aspirates using proteomics approach. Pus samples were first tested by real-time PCR to confirm the presence of E. histolytica DNA and the corresponding serum samples tested for E. histolytica-specific IgG by a commercial ELISA. Proteins were extracted from three and one pool(s) of pus samples from ALA and PLA (pyogenic liver abscess) patients respectively, followed by analysis using isoelectric focussing, SDS-PAGE and Western blot. Unpurified pooled serum samples from infected hamsters and pooled human amoebic-specific IgG were used as primary antibodies. The antigenic protein band was excised from the gel, digested and analysed by MALDI-TOF/TOF and LC-MS/MS. The results using both primary antibodies showed an antigenic protein band of ∼14kDa. Based on the mass spectrum analysis, putative tyrosine kinase is the most probable identification of the antigenic band.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Reduced expression of prostacyclin synthase and nitric oxide synthase in subcutaneous arteries of type 2 diabetic patients

Safiah Mokhtar S, M Vanhoutte P, W S Leung S, Imran Yusof M, Wan Sulaiman WA, Zaharil Mat Saad A, et al.

Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2013 11;231(3):217-22.
PMID: 24225501

Diabetic endothelial dysfunction is characterized by impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation. In this study, we measured the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), prostacyclin synthase (PGIS), and prostacyclin receptor (IP) in subcutaneous arteries of type-2 diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Subcutaneous arteries were dissected from tissues from seven diabetics (4 males and 3 females) and seven non-diabetics (5 males and 2 females) aged between 18 to 65 years, who underwent lower limb surgical procedures. Diabetics had higher fasting blood glucose compared to non-diabetics, but there were no differences in blood pressure, body mass index and age. Patients were excluded if they had uncontrolled hypertension, previous myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, renal or hepatic failure and tumor. The relative expression levels of eNOS, COX-1, COX-2, PGIS and IP receptor were determined by Western blotting analysis, normalized with the β-actin level. Increased expression of COX-2 was observed in subcutaneous arteries of diabetics compared to non-diabetics, whereas the expression levels of eNOS and PGIS were significantly lower in diabetics. There were no significant differences in expression levels of COX-1 and IP receptor between the two groups. Immunohistochemical study of subcutaneous arteries showed that the intensities of eNOS and PGIS staining were lower in diabetics, with higher COX-2 staining. In conclusion, type-2 diabetes is associated with higher COX-2 expression, but lower eNOS and PGIS expression in subcutaneous arteries. These alterations may lead to impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilatation, and thus these proteins may be potential targets for protection against the microvascular complications of diabetes.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Antibody and T cell responses induced in chickens immunized with avian influenza virus N1 and NP DNA vaccine with chicken IL-15 and IL-18

Lim KL, Jazayeri SD, Yeap SK, Mohamed Alitheen NB, Bejo MH, Ideris A, et al.

Res Vet Sci, 2013 Dec;95(3):1224-34.
PMID: 23948357 DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2013.07.013

We had examined the immunogenicity of a series of plasmid DNAs which include neuraminidase (NA) and nucleoprotein (NP) genes from avian influenza virus (AIV). The interleukin-15 (IL-15) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) as genetic adjuvants were used for immunization in combination with the N1 and NP AIV genes. In the first trial, 8 groups of chickens were established with 10 specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens per group while, in the second trial 7 SPF chickens per group were used. The overall N1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) titer in chickens immunized with the pDis/N1+pDis/IL-15 was higher compared to the chickens immunized with the pDis/N1 and this suggesting that chicken IL-15 could play a role in enhancing the humoral immune response. Besides that, the chickens that were immunized at 14-day-old (Trial 2) showed a higher N1 antibody titer compared to the chickens that were immunized at 1-day-old (Trial 1). Despite the delayed in NP antibody responses, the chickens co-administrated with IL-15 were able to induce earlier and higher antibody response compared to the pDis/NP and pDis/NP+pDis/IL-18 inoculated groups. The pDis/N1+pDis/IL-15 inoculated chickens also induced higher CD8+ T cells increase than the pDis/N1 group in both trials (P<0.05). The flow cytometry results from both trials demonstrated that the pDis/N1+pDis/IL-18 groups were able to induce CD4+ T cells higher than the pDis/N1 group (P<0.05). Meanwhile, pDis/N1+pDis/IL-18 group was able to induce CD8+ T cells higher than the pDis/N1 group (P<0.05) in Trial 2 only. In the present study, pDis/NP was not significant (P>0.05) in inducing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells when co-administered with the pDis/IL-18 in both trials in comparison to the pDis/NP. Our data suggest that the pDis/N1+pDis/IL-15 combination has the potential to be used as a DNA vaccine against AIV in chickens.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western/veterinary
Fulltext Immunogenicity of bacterial-expressed recombinant Plasmodium knowlesi merozoite surface protein-142 (MSP-142)

Cheong FW, Fong MY, Lau YL, Mahmud R

Malar J, 2013;12:454.
PMID: 24354660 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-12-454

Plasmodium knowlesi is the fifth Plasmodium species that can infect humans. The Plasmodium merozoite surface protein-1(42) (MSP-1(42)) is a potential candidate for malaria vaccine. However, limited studies have focused on P. knowlesi MSP-1(42).

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Fulltext Evaluation of antiviral activities of four local Malaysian Phyllanthus species against herpes simplex viruses and possible antiviral target

Tan WC, Jaganath IB, Manikam R, Sekaran SD

Int J Med Sci, 2013;10(13):1817-29.
PMID: 24324358 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.6902

Nucleoside analogues such as acyclovir are effective antiviral drugs against herpes simplex virus infections since its introduction. However, with the emergence of acyclovir-resistant HSV strains particularly in immunocompromised patients, there is a need to develop an alternative antiherpetic drug and plants could be the potential lead. In this study, the antiviral activity of the aqueous extract of four Phyllanthus species were evaluated against herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 in Vero cells by quantitative PCR. The protein expressions of untreated and treated infected Vero cells were studied by 2D-gel electrophoresis and Western blot. This is the first study that reported the antiviral activity of P. watsonii. P. urinaria was shown to demonstrate the strongest antiviral activity against HSV-1 and HSV-2, with SI >33.6. Time-of-addition studies suggested that the extract may act against the early infection stage and the replication stage. Protein expression studies indicated that cellular proteins that are involved in maintaining cytoskeletal structure could be potential target for development of antiviral drugs. Preliminary findings indicated that P. urinaria demonstrated potent inhibitory activity against HSV. Hence, further studies such as in vivo evaluation are required for the development of effective antiherpetic drug.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Fulltext Recombinant human adiponectin as a potential protein for treating diabetic tendinopathy promotes tenocyte progenitor cells proliferation and tenogenic differentiation in vitro

Rothan HA, Suhaeb AM, Kamarul T

Int J Med Sci, 2013;10(13):1899-906.
PMID: 24324367 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.6774

Adiponectin is an adipocyte-secreting hormone that increases cell sensitivity to insulin. It has been previously demonstrated that this hormone protects against Type II Diabetes and, is found to concurrently promote cell proliferation and differentiation. It is postulated that diabetic patients who suffer from tendinopathy may benefit from using adiponectin, which not only improves the metabolism of diabetic ridden tenocytes but also promotes progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation in tendons. These changes may result in tendon regeneration, which, in diabetic tendinopathy, is difficult to treat. Considering that such findings have yet to be demonstrated, a study was thus conducted using diabetic ridden human tenocyte progenitor cells (TPC) exposed to recombinant adiponectin in vitro. TPC were isolated from tendons of diabetic patients and exposed to 10 μg/ml adiponectin. Cell proliferation rate was investigated at various time points whilst qPCR were used to determine the tenogenic differentiation potential. The results showed that adiponectin significantly reduced blood glucose in animal models. The proliferation rate of adiponectin-treated TPCs was significantly higher at 6, 8 and 10 days as compared to untreated cells (p<0.05). The levels of tenogenic genes expression (collagen I, III, tenomodulin and scleraxis) were also significantly upregulated; whilst the osteogenic (Runx2), chondrogenic (Sox9) and adipogenic (PPARУγ) gene expressions remained unaltered. The results of this study suggest that adiponectin is a potential promoter that not only improves diabetic conditions, but also increases tendon progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation. These features supports the notion that adiponectin may be potentially beneficial in treating diabetic tendinopathy.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Suppression of β-catenin and cyclooxygenase-2 expression and cell proliferation in azoxymethane-induced colonic cancer in rats by rice bran phytic acid (PA)

Saad N, Esa NM, Ithnin H

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2013;14(5):3093-9.
PMID: 23803085

BACKGROUND: Phytic acid (PA) is a polyphosphorylated carbohydrate that can be found in high amounts in most cereals, legumes, nut oil, seeds and soy beans. It has been suggested to play a significant role in inhibition of colorectal cancer. This study was conducted to investigate expression changes of β-catenin and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and cell proliferation in the adenoma-carcinoma sequence after treatment with rice bran PA by immunocytochemistry.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 6 equal groups with 12 rats in each group. For cancer induction two intraperitoneal injections of azoxymethane (AOM) were given at 15 mg/kg bodyweight over a 2-weeks period. During the post initiation phase, two different concentrations of PA, 0.2% (w/v) and 0.5% (w/v) were administered in the diet.
RESULTS: Results of β-catenin, COX-2 expressions and cell proliferation of Ki-67 showed a significant contribution in colonic cancer progression. For β-catenin and COX-2 expression, there was a significant difference between groups at p<0.05. With Ki-67, there was a statistically significant lowering the proliferating index as compared to AOM alone (p<0.05). A significant positive correlation (p=0.01) was noted between COX-2 expression and proliferation. Total β-catenin also demonstrated a significant positive linear relationship with total COX-2 (p=0.044).
CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated potential value of PA extracted from rice bran in reducing colonic cancer risk in rats.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Antigenic proteins of Helicobacter pylori of potential diagnostic value

Khalilpour A, Santhanam A, Wei LC, Saadatnia G, Velusamy N, Osman S, et al.

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2013;14(3):1635-42.
PMID: 23679248

Helicobacter pylori antigen was prepared from an isolate from a patient with a duodenal ulcer. Serum samples were obtained from culture-positive H. pylori infected patients with duodenal ulcers, gastric ulcers and gastritis (n=30). As controls, three kinds of sera without detectable H. pylori IgG antibodies were used: 30 from healthy individuals without history of gastric disorders, 30 from patients who were seen in the endoscopy clinic but were H. pylori culture negative and 30 from people with other diseases. OFF-GEL electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE and Western blots of individual serum samples were used to identify protein bands with good sensitivity and specificity when probed with the above sera and HRP-conjugated anti-human IgG. Four H. pylori protein bands showed good (≥ 70%) sensitivity and high specificity (98-100%) towards anti-Helicobacter IgG antibody in culture- positive patients sera and control sera, respectively. The identities of the antigenic proteins were elucidated by mass spectrometry. The relative molecular weights and the identities of the proteins, based on MALDI TOF/ TOF, were as follows: CagI (25 kDa), urease G accessory protein (25 kDa), UreB (63 kDa) and proline/pyrroline- 5-carboxylate dehydrogenase (118 KDa). These identified proteins, singly and/or in combinations, may be useful for diagnosis of H. pylori infection in patients.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Fulltext Evaluation of Entamoeba histolytica recombinant phosphoglucomutase protein for serodiagnosis of amoebic liver abscess

Ning TZ, Kin WW, Noordin R, Cun ST, Chong FP, Mohamed Z, et al.

BMC Infect Dis, 2013;13:144.
PMID: 23514636 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2334-13-144

Amoebic liver abscess (ALA) is the most frequent clinical presentation of extra-intestinal amoebiasis. The diagnosis of ALA is typically based on the developing clinical symptoms, characteristic changes on radiological imaging and serology. Numerous serological tests have been introduced for the diagnosis of ALA, either detecting circulating amoebic antigens or antibodies. However those tests show some pitfalls in their efficacy and/or the preparation of the tests are costly and tedious. The commercial IHA kit that used crude antigen was reported to be useful in diagnosis of ALA, however high antibody background in endemic areas may cause problems in its interpretation. Thus, discovery of well-defined antigen(s) is urgently needed to improve the weaknesses of current serodiagnostic tests.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Inhibitory effects of Tualang Honey on experimental breast cancer in rats: a preliminary study

Kadir EA, Sulaiman SA, Yahya NK, Othman NH

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2013;14(4):2249-54.
PMID: 23725121

The study was conducted to determine the effect of Malaysian jungle Tualang Honey (TH) on development of breast cancer induced by the carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz(α)anthracene (DMBA) in rats. Forty nulliparous female Sprague-Dawley rats were given 80 mg/kg DMBA then randomly divided into four groups: Group 1 served as a Control while Groups 2, 3 and 4 received 0.2, 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg bodyweight/day of TH, respectively, for 150 days. Results showed that breast cancers in the TH-treated groups had slower size increment and smaller mean tumor size (≤ 2 cm3) compared to Controls (≤ 8 cm3). The number of cancers developing in TH-treated groups was also significantly fewer (P<0.05). Histological grading showed majority of TH-treated group cancers to be of grade 1 and 2 compared to grade 3 in controls. There was an increasing trend of apoptotic index (AI) seen in TH-treated groups with increasing dosage of Tualang Honey, however, the mean AI values of all TH-treated groups were not significantly different from the Control value (p>0.05). In conclusion, Tualang Honey exerted positive modulation effects on DMBA-induced breast cancers in rats in this preliminary study.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western
Fulltext Stevioside from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni Increases Insulin Sensitivity in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Mohd-Radzman NH, Ismail WI, Jaapar SS, Adam Z, Adam A

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2013;2013:938081.
PMID: 24391675 DOI: 10.1155/2013/938081

Stevioside from Stevia rebaudiana has been reported to exert antihyperglycemic effects in both rat and human subjects. There have been few studies on these effects in vitro. In this paper, radioactive glucose uptake assay was implemented in order to assess improvements in insulin sensitivity in 3T3-L1 cells by elevation of glucose uptake following treatment with stevioside. Oil Red-O staining and MTT assay were utilized to confirm adipocyte differentiation and cell viability, respectively. Findings from this research showed a significant increase in absorbance values in mature adipocytes following Oil Red-O staining, confirming the differentiation process. Stevioside was noncytotoxic to 3T3-L1 cells as cell viability was reduced by a maximum of 17%, making it impossible to determine its IC50. Stevioside increased glucose uptake activities by 2.1 times (p < 0.001) in normal conditions and up to 4.4 times (p < 0.001) in insulin-resistant states. At times, this increase was higher than that seen in positive control group treated with rosiglitazone maleate, an antidiabetic agent. Expressions of pY20 and p-IRS1 which were measured via Western blot were improved by stevioside treatment. In conclusion, stevioside has direct effects on 3T3-L1 insulin sensitivity via increase in glucose uptake and enhanced expression of proteins involved in insulin-signalling pathway.

Matched MeSH terms: Blotting, Western

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