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    Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors
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    Germany

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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Molecular characteristics and replication mechanism of dengue, zika and chikungunya arboviruses, and their treatments with natural extracts from plants
    (2019-10-31) Rodriguez, Anny Karely; Muñoz, Ana Luisa; Segura, Nidya Alexandra; Rangel, Héctor Rafael; Bello, Felio
    Viruses transmitted by arthropods (arboviruses) are the etiological agents of several human diseases that have worldwide distribution; some of them are dengue (DENV), zika (ZIKV), yellow fever (YFV), and chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses. All of them are especially important in tropical and subtropical regions; however, zika and chikungunya viruses are involved in epidemics worldwide, while the dengue virus is still the biggest problem in public health in Latin America, with distribution in almost all countries. These viruses alter the quality of life of the population due to the morbidity and mortality associated with its complications. Factors, such as, environmental conditions that favor the distribution of vectors, deficiencies in health services, and lack of effective vaccines, guarantee the presence of these vector-borne diseases. The treatment of these diseases is only palliative, as there are no therapies formulated till date that demonstrate specific antiviral activity. Moreover, there is still no clarity about the effectiveness of the vaccine for dengue. The use of natural products, as therapeutic tools, is an ancestral practice in different cultures. According to a WHO the 80% of some population of some countries from Africa and Asia depends on the use traditional medicines to deal with some diseases. Molecular characteristics of these viruses are important in determining its cellular pathogenesis, emergence, and dispersion mechanisms, as well as for the development of new antivirals and vaccines for control strategies. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the molecular structure and replication mechanisms of DENV, YFV, ZIKV, and CHIKV, as well as their mechanism of entry into host cells, and a brief overview about the potential targets accessed to inhibit these viruses in vitro and a summary about their treatment with natural extracts from plants.
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    Gene surgery
    (2019-10-11) El-Kenawy, Ayman; Benarba, Bachir; Neves, Adriana Freitas; de Araujo, Thaise Gonçalves; Ling, Tan Bee; Gouri, Adel
    Gene therapy became in last decade a new emerging therapeutic era showing promising results against different diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurological disorders. Recently, the genome editing technique for eukaryotic cells called CRISPR-Cas (Clustered Regulatory Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) has enriched the field of gene surgery with enhanced applications. In the present review, we summarized the different applications of gene surgery for treating human diseases such as cancer, diabetes, nervous, and cardiovascular diseases, besides the molecular mechanisms involved in these important effects. Several studies support the important therapeutic applications of gene surgery in a large number of health disorders and diseases including β-thalassemia, cancer, immunodeficiencies, diabetes, and neurological disorders. In diabetes, gene surgery was shown to be effective in type 1 diabetes by triggering different signaling pathways. Furthermore, gene surgery, especially that using CRISPR-Cas possessed important application on diagnosis, screening and treatment of several cancers such as lung, liver, pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, gene surgery still presents some limitations such as the design difficulties and costs regarding ZFNs (Zinc Finger Nucleases) and TALENs (Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases) use, off-target effects, low transfection efficiency, in vivo delivery-safety and ethical issues.
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    N-3 fatty acids as preventive and therapeutic agents in attenuating PCOS complications
    (2019-07-25) Salek, Mina; Clark, Cain C. T.; Taghizadeh, Mohsen; Jafarnejad, Sadegh
    To our knowledge, in spite of several trials exploring the beneficial effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), no comprehensive evidence has investigated the effects of n-3 PUFA consumption on PCOS complications. Therefore, our aim was to conduct a review to investigate the possible effect and related mechanisms. A comprehensive systematic search was conducted in Embase, MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar, and SCOPUS, to identify studies investigating n-3 fatty acids as a preventative or therapeutic agent for the attenuation of PCOS complications. Subsequently, the impact of omega-3 on PCOS, omega-3 and inflammation, omega-3 and insulin resistance, omega-3 and adipokines, omega-3 and lipid metabolism, omega-3 and endothelial function and omega-3 and hormonal factors were discussed. There are multiple mechanisms by which n-3 PUFAs may exert their beneficial effects on PCOS, including anti-obesity, glycemic and hormonal hemostasis, anti-inflammatory, regulation of adipokine production and enhancement of endothelial function. N-3 PUFAs are a promising agent in relieving complications associated with PCOS. Although most of the studies in patients with PCOS reported an improvement in most complications after administration of omega-3 supplements, there is a distinct dearth of studies investigating the dietary intake of these types of fatty acids. Moreover, favorable effects regarding the improvement of dyslipidemia, regulation of adipokines, regulation of hormonal factors and enhancement of endothelial function are limited. Therefore, more trials are warranted to investigate palatable mechanisms for clarifying the metabolic and hormonal effects of these agents in PCOS.
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    Cell junctions and oral health
    (2019-06-07) Samiei, Mohammad; Ahmadian, Elham; Eftekhari, Aziz; Eghbal, Mohammad Ali; Rezaie, Fereshte; Vinken, Mathieu
    The oral cavity and its appendices are exposed to considerable environmental and mechanical stress. This frequently involves cell junctions, which are goalkeepers of tissue homeostasis. Among those, gap junctions permit the exchange of compounds between cells, thereby controlling processes such as cell growth and differentiation. Tight junctions restrict paracellular transportation and inhibit movement of integral membrane proteins between the different plasma membrane poles. Adherens junctions attach cells one to another and provide a solid backbone for resisting to mechanistical stress. The integrity of oral mucosa, normal tooth development and saliva secretion depends on the proper function of all these types of cell junctions. Furthermore, deregulation of junctional proteins and/or mutations in their genes can alter tissue functioning and may result in various human disorders, including dental and periodontal problems, salivary gland malfunction, hereditary and infectious diseases as well as tumorigenesis. The present paper reviews the role of cell junctions in the (patho)physiology of the oral cavity and its appendices.
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    Rhomboid antigens are promising targets in the vaccine development against Toxoplasma gondii
    (2019-05-21) Foroutan, Masoud; Zaki, Leila; Tavakoli, Sanaz; Soltani, Shahrzad; Taghipour, Ali; Ghaffarifar, Fatemeh
    Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular parasite with worldwide distribution. It is estimated that near one-third of the people around the globe are latently seropositive for the parasite. Since the current common drugs are incapable in the elimination of parasites within tissue cysts, the development of an effective vaccine has high priority for researchers to limit the infection. During recent years, non-stop efforts of scientists have made great progress in the identification and development of T. gondii candidate vaccines. However, there is a lack of a commercially licensed vaccine for human application yet. Rhomboid proteases (ROMs) are a class of serine proteases that have an important role in the invasion of the parasites that can be considered as a new target for vaccine strategy. They also play critical roles in mitochondrial fusion and growth factor signaling, allowing the parasite to completely enter into the host cell. In the current review, we have summarized the recent progress regarding the development of ROM-based vaccines against acute and chronic T. gondii infection in animal models.
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    Prostate cancer metastasis and soy isoflavones
    (2019-02-19) Ajdžanović, Vladimir; Filipović, Branko; Miljić, Dragana; Mijatović, Sanja; Maksimović-Ivanić, Danijela; Miler, Marko; Živanović, Jasmina; Milošević, Verica
    Prostate cancer is a complex, progressive, bone-tropic disease, which is usually associated with skeletal issues, poor mobility and a fatal outcome when it reaches the metastatic phase. Soy isoflavones, steroid-like compounds from soy-based food/dietary supplements, have been found to decrease the risk of prostate cancer in frequent consumers. Herein, we present a systematization of the data on soy isoflavone effects at different stages of metastatic prostate cancer progression, with a particular interest in the context of bone-related molecular events. Specifically, soy isoflavones have been determined to downregulate the prostate cancer cell androgen receptors, reverse the epithelial to mesenchymal transition of these cells, decrease the expressions of prostate-specific antigen, matrix metalloproteinase and serine proteinase, and reduce the superficial membrane fluidity in prostate cancer cells. In addition, soy isoflavones suppress the angiogenesis that follows prostate cancer growth, obstruct prostate cancer cells adhesion to the vascular endothelium and their extravasation in the area of future bone lesions, improve the general bone morphofunctional status, have a beneficial effect on prostate cancer metastasiscaused osteolytic/osteoblastic lesions and possibly affect the pre-metastatic niche formation. The observed, multilevel antimetastatic properties of soy isoflavones imply that they should be considered as promising components of combined therapeutic approaches to advanced prostate cancer.
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    Molecular diagnosis of glycogen storage disease type I
    (2019-01-30) Beyzaei, Zahra; Geramizadeh, Bita
    Glycogen storage disease type I (GSD I) is a relatively rare metabolic disease with variable clinical intensity. It is caused by deficient activity of the glucose 6-phosphatase enzyme (GSD Ia) or a deficiency in the microsomal transport proteins for glucose 6-phosphate (GSD Ib). We searched the most recent English literature (1997-2017) regarding any article with the key word of “glycogen storage disease type I” in PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. We will present all of the published articles about the molecular genetic characteristics and old-to-new diagnostic methods used to identify GSD I in regard of methodology, advantages and disadvantages. Diagnosis of GSD type I and its variants is challenging because it is a genetically heterogeneous disorder. Many molecular methods have been used to diagnose GSD I most of which have been based on mutation detection. Therefore, we discuss complete aspects of all of the molecular diagnostic tests, which have been used in GSD type I so far. With the advent of high throughput advanced molecular tests, molecular diagnosis is going to be an important platform for the diagnosis of storage and metabolic diseases such as GSD type I. Next-generation sequencing, in combination with the biochemical tests and clinical signs and symptoms create an accurate, reliable and feasible method. It can overcome the difficulties by the diagnosis of diseases with broad clinical and genetic heterogeneity.