To determine the association between cigarette smoking and oxidative stress, a study was conducted in the period from January 2020 to April 2021, at College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq. The Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was utilized for measurement the antioxidant enzymes including: Glutathione superoxide (GPX) and catalase (CAT) and the biomarker of lipid peroxidation Malondialdehyde (MDA). Also, the gene expression of Nrf2 and HO-1were determined by using RT-PCR technique. The results indicate lower level of both GPX and CAT (p ≤ 0.001) in smokers compared with non-smokers. While the result of MDA indicate higher level in smokers (p≤0.001) compared with nonsmokers. The Nrf2 and HO-1 gene expression was lower in smokers (p≤0.001) compared with non-smokers. Thus, we may conclude that smokers are exposed to more oxidative stress compared to the non-smokers group led to alterations in gene expression, enzymatic activities and MDA level.
Huge efforts are being made to control the spread and impacts of the coronavirus pandemic using vaccines. However, willingness to be vaccinated depends on factors beyond the availability of vaccines. The aim of this study was three-folded: to assess children’s rates of COVID-19 Vaccination as reported by parents, to explore parents’ attitudes towards children’s COVID-19 vaccination, and to examine the factors associated with parents’ hesitancy towards children’s vaccination in several countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).
Methotrexate (MTX) is a folate antagonist widely used in the treatment of neoplastic diseases; its biotransformation in the liver produced active metabolites that promote hepatotoxicity. The present study was designed to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of aqueous extract of Camellia sinensis (Green tea) against MTX-induced liver damage in rats. A model of liver injury in rats was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 20mg/kg MTX as a single dose followed by saline and 1.25% and 2.5% aqueous extract of green tea (GTE) were orally administered 7 days prior and 5 days after MTX-intoxication as a sole source of drinking water. After killing the animals, blood samples were obtained for evaluation of serum levels of alanine and
... Show MoreThe objective of this study was to evaluate the impact two doses of Menaquinones-7 on hepatotoxicity induced by doxorubicin in rats. Sixty adult rats of both sexes were used in this study; the animals were randomly enrolled into six groups of 10 animals each. Group I: negative control (rats administered distilled water); Group II: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 16 µg/kg; Group III: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 48 µg/kg; Group IV: positive control (Doxorubicin 15 mg/kg); Group V: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 16 µg/kg administered prior to a single dose of Doxorubicin 15 mg/kg; Group VI: Menaquinones-7 at a dose of 48 µg/kg administered prior to a single dose of Doxorubicin 15 mg/kg. On day twelve of the study, blood was
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To evaluate the effectiveness of Phenolic Compound of Salvia Frigida on induced atopic dermatitis (AD) of mice. Forty mice were included in the study, divided in to four groups (10 mice/group): apparently healthy, induced AD without treatment, induced AD treated with tacrolimus 0.1% ointment, and induced AD treated with Phenolic Compound of Salvia Frigida cream 5%. Examination of histopathology was done and skin homogenates levels also measured. Levels of WBC, Eosinophil, skin tissue homogenate of IL-13 and IL-4, serum IgE, and histopathological scores were significantly increased among induced non treated AD group in comparison with control group. Comparisons of non-treated induced AD
... Show MoreBackground and Aim. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major risk factor for the progression to heart failure (HF), which is associated with an increase in left ventricular volume (LVV). This study aims to measure ventricular function and myocardial perfusion imaging markers of the left side of the heart, which can be performed with injection of a 99mTc at stress and rest by using single-photonemission-computed-tomography (SPECT). Subject and methods. The study included 121 patients with CAD, comprising 53 females and 68 males with ages between 25 to 88 years and 265 healthy subjects comprising 84 males and 181 females. All patients and healthy subjects volunteered to participate in this study. They were classified according to
... Show MoreAbstract: E2F6 is a member of the E2F family of transcription factors involved in regulation of a wide variety of genes through both activation and repression. E2F6 has been reported as overexpressed in breast cancers but whether or not this is important for tumor development is unclear. We first checked E2F6 expression in tumor cDNAs and the protein level in a range of breast cancer cell lines. RNA interference-mediated depletion was then used to assess the importance of E2F6 expression in cell lines with regard to cell cycle profile using fluorescence-activated cell sorting and a cell survival assay using (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT). The overexpression of E2F6 was confirmed in breast tumor cDNA samp
... Show MoreBackground: Recently epigenetic alterations have received increased attention because of theirimportant role in the process of tumerigenesis. It has been found that more than half of genetic changes were epigenetic. Epigenetic alterations are catalyzed by DNMTs enzymes. Increased knowledge about this molecular event may achieve progress in the war against cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the expression of DNMT3B among oral, laryngeal and skin SCC. Materials and Methods: This study was performed on (120) formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks, histopathologically diagnosed as oral, laryngeal and skin SCC). Immunohistochemical staining of DNMT3B antibody was performed on each case of this study. Results: The immunoh
... Show MoreThe current study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of GKB in the rat model of granulomatous inflammation. Thirty rats were distributed into five groups: The first group served as negative control group that received distilled water (DW) only without inducting inflammation, positive control group; treated with DW with the induction of inflammation and they were assigned to cotton pellet-induced granuloma, ginkgo biloba (GKB) treated group (200mg/kg/day), dexamethasone-treated group (1mg/kg), and Prednisolone treated group (5mg/kg). All the treatments were given orally for seven consecutive days. On day eight, the rats were anesthetized and the pellets together with granulation tissue were carefully removed
... Show MoreBackground Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) and trinucleotide repeat-containing 9 (TNRC9) gene polymorphisms have been associated with some cancers. We aimed to assess the association of FGFR2 rs2981582 and TNRC9 rs12443621 polymorphisms with hepatocellular cancer risk. Methods One hundred patients with HCV-induced HCC, 100 patients with chronic HCV infection, and 100 controls were genotyped for FGFR2 rs2981582 and TNRC9 rs12443621 using allele-specific Real-Time PCR analysis. Results FGFR2 rs2981582 genotype TT was associated with increased risk of HCC when compared to controls (OR = 3.09, 95% CI = 1.24–7.68). However, it was significantly associated with a lower risk of HCC when using HCV patients as controls (OR =
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