Resveratrol, (RES), a phytoalexin, is well-known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. SEB, a superantigen, is known to trigger ALI and cause mortality. In the current study, we tested the effect of RES in a dual-dose model of SEB exposure that triggers ALI and causes 100% mortality in C3H/HeJ-mice. The data revealed RES attenuated SEB-induced ALI and prevented mortality. Forty eight hours post-SEB exposure, lung-infiltrating mononuclear cells were tested for microRNA expression profile to determine the epigenetic regulation by resveratrol. SEB-activated splenocytes were pre-treated with 50 μM of RES or vehicle for metabolic profile analysis by measuring oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR). We also noted significant decline in miR-193a in the lungs of RES-treated SEB group, which targeted and caused an increase in TGFβ2 and TGFβR3, potent inhibitors of T-cell proliferation, by using RT-PCR and validation by transfection studies. RES-induced downregulation of miR-193a also influenced the activity of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) as well as pyruvate kinase muscle isozyme2 (PKM2) genes, and caused RES-treated SEB-activated T cells to be quiescent metabolically in comparison to the energetic vehicle-treated SEB-activated T cells. Together, RES caused inhibition in the proliferation of SEB-activated T-cells by alterations in miR expression and metabolic profiles. (Supported by NIH grants P01AT003961, R01AT006888, R01ES019313, R01MH094755, P20GM103641 and R01AI129788).
Severe periodontitis is ranked as the sixth most prevalent disease affecting humankind, with an estimated 740 million people affected worldwide. The diagnosis of periodontal diseases mainly relies upon assessment of conventional clinical parameters. However, these parameters reflect past, rather than current, clinical status or future disease progression and, likely, outcome of periodontal treatment. Specific and sensitive biomarkers for periodontal diseases have been examined widely to address these issues and some biomarkers have been translated as point-of-care (PoC) tests. The aim of this review was to provide an update on PoC tests for use in the diagnosis and management of periodontal diseases. Among the PoC tests developed so
... Show MoreLiver is considered as the first target for the toxic effects of toxins and other xenobiotics, and this can be attributed to its role as a site which receive all absorbed xenobiotics from the gastrointestinal tract and its role as a major site for biotransformation of xenobiotics. The present study was designed to evaluate the possible hepatoprotective effect of benfotiamine against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The study was conducted on 48 male albino rats; the animals were allocated into 8 groups (6 rats in each group) and treated as follow: 4 groups treated with oral doses of either normal saline, benfotiamine (100 mg/kg), thiamine (100 mg/kg), N-acetylcystein (400 mg/kg) only without induction of hepatic damage. Th
... Show MoreWater level and distribution is very essential in almost all life aspects. Natural and artificial lakes represent a large percentage of these water bodies in Iraq. In this research the changes in water levels are observed by calculating the areas of five different lakes in five different regions and two different marshes in two different regions of the country, in a period of 12 years (2001 - 2012), archived remotely sensed images were used to determine surface areas around lakes and marshes in Iraq for the chosen years . Level of the lakes corresponding to satellite determined surface areas were retrieved from remotely sensed data .These data were collected to give explanations on lake level and surface area fluctuations. It is imp
... Show MoreThis study was designed to investigate the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity of aqueous green tea (GT) extract in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Forty adult male albino rats weighing 180-200 g were divided into four groups of 10 rats each: The first group was served as control; the second group was treated with GT (250 mg/kg b.w); the third group was affected by inducing experimental diabetes by intraperitonial injection of alloxan (150 mg/kg b.w); and the fourth group was affected by inducing diabetes and treated with GT (250 mg/kg b.w). Level of blood glucose and lipid profile [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and ve
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