Objective: The present work was undertaken to investigate the impact of sub inhibitory concentration of gentamicin on hla gene expression in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Methods: The bacterial isolates used in this study represent 33 MRSA strains, previously isolated form patients visiting several hospitals in Baghdad. Gentamicin, vancomycin, and oxacillin MIC were determined using broth dilution method. Microtiter plate method was adopted to investigate the biofilm forming capacity. Alpha hemolysin was detected by culturing MRSA isolates on rabbit blood agar. Furthermore, hla gene was detected in MRSA isolates using conventional PCR technique; while, qRT-PCR method was performed to assay the hla expression in planktonic and biofilm cells in presence and absence of gentamicin. Results: the present results demonstrated that 12 (36.36%) isolates were gentamicin-resistant; whereas, all isolates were resistant to oxacillin and sensitive to vancomycin. Out of 33 MRSA, 3, 23, and 7 isolates formed a weak, moderate, and strong biofilm, respectively. Phenotypically, 30 isolates produced alpha hemolysin on rabbit blood agar plates; nevertheless, hla gene was located in 29 isolates. Of considerable interest, the addition of gentamicin significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the hemolysis activity; while, insignificant fold change (less than two) of hla gene was observed in all tested isolates in the presence of sub MIC of gentamicin (16 µg/ml). Conclusion: gentamicin upregulated the hla gene expression in biofilm cells; hitherto, this increment was isolate specific.
Background: Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) is a prototypical resistant bacterium in root canal infections and a leading cause of endodontic treatment failure. German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) flower extract has been used as a traditional medicine to treat infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy of chamomile extract on the removal of E. faecalis root canal biofilm. Materials and Methods: Chamomile flower extract was prepared and subjected to detailed chemical analysis. For the in vitro biofilm model, human mandibular premolars (n=48) with 18-20mm working length were used. Root canal preparation was performed using the ProTaper® Next system. Each sample was split longitudinally and reassem
... Show MoreBackground: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the sixth most common cancer world wide. Despite greater emphasis on multi-modality therapy including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, advanced stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma continues to have poor 5-year survival rates (0-40%) that have not significantly improved in the last (30) years. To improve outcomes for this deadly disease , It is required a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tumor growth, metastasis, and treatment resistance. This study evaluates the Immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin and CD44 adhesion molecules in OSCC and to correlate the expression of either marker with each other, with lymph node
... Show MoreBackground: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common chronic inflammatory muco-cutaneous disease classified among the potentially malignant lesions of oral mucosa. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the expression of p53 and PCNA proteins in oral lichen planus and epithelial dysplasia cases. Materials and methods:Formalin-fixed and paraffin- embedded blocks of 21 lichen planusand 21 oral dysplasia cases were referred to immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis for anti p53 and anti PCNA monoclonal antibodies. Results: The results showed that positive nuclear staining for p53 was found in 11/21 (52.4%) cases of lichen planus and 17/21 (80.9%) cases of dysplasia. Positivity for PCNA was observed in 18/21(85.7%) of oral li
... Show More
Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) constitutes about 4% of salivary epithelial tumors and is the second common malignant epithelial salivary gland tumor involving both the major and minor salivary glands. Aims of the study is to evaluate immunohistochemical expression of Ki67 and p53 proteins in ACC. Materials and Methods: immunohistochemical analyses of fifteen cases of formalin – fixed paraffin – embedded tissues blocks of ACC of salivary glands using ki67 and p53 antibodies. Results: ki67 was expressed in 6 of 15 ACC (40%) while p53 aberration was demonstrated in 11 of tumor (73.3%). There was a statistically significant difference between the expression of ki67 and p53 proteins in ACC cases (p value = 0.041). Pearson’s cor
... Show MoreThe design of this paper is to find the possible correlation of Epstein Barr virus infection ina group of Iraqi women with cervical carcinoma though detection of Latent Membrane Protein 1 (LMP1) in these cervical tissues. Paraffinized blocks of two groups were included. The first sample of 30 cervical carcinomatous tissues and 15 biopsies from an apparently normal cervical tissues. All the samples were sectioned on a positive charged slides with 4 mm – thickness then submitted for immunohistochemical (IHC) staining to detect viral LMP1 expression. Sixty three percentage (19 out of 30) of the studies group showed positive overexpression as shown in with a significant association of the expression with cervical cancer with a significant ass
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase in salivary pleomorphic adenoma, and to correlate the two studied markers with each other and with clinicopathological parameters including: age, sex, tumor site and histopathological presentation. Methods: Sections of twenty five formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks specimens of salivary pleomorphic adenoma were immunostained using monoclonal antibodies (Fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase) to assess their expression in this tumor. Results: The expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase were positive in all pleomorphic adenoma cases (100%). The positive expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 was signi
... Show MoreThe present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of fungi Gigaspora margarita and Glomus desriticola in stimulating the resistance of the capsicum annuum L. towards the chromium and lead after 60 days, planting and using the pots in the glass house. The highest concentration of chromium and lead in the root was found in the presence of the mycorrhizal mixture (194.93, 150.40) μg / g, respectively, compared to the lowest concentration (90.69, 79.37) μg / g respectively, while the highest concentration of chromium and lead in the shoot was found in the presence of the mycorrhizal mixture (94.63, 79.33) μg / g respectively, compared with the lowest concentration in the control treatment (72.58, 60.70) μg / g respectively. The results
... Show MoreAbiotic stress-induced genes may lead to understand the response of plants and adaptability to salinity and drought stresses. Differential display reverse transcriptase – polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR) was used to investigate the differences in gene expression between drought- and salinity-stressed plantlets of Ruta graveolens. Direct and stepwise exposures to drought- or salt-responsive genes were screened in R. graveolens plantlets using the DDRT technique. Gene expression was investigated both in the control and in the salt or drought-stressed plantlets and differential banding patterns with different molecular sizes were observed using the primers OPA-01 (646,770 and 983 pb), OPA-08 (593 and 988 pb), OPA-11 (674 and 831 pb
... Show More