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Introduction: Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most common drugs in cancer treatment. However, its partial solubility along with the high incidence of side effects remains a challenge to tackle. To address these issues, we designed a formulation based on graphene oxide (GO) and used it as an anticancer drug delivery system. Methods: The physical and chemical properties of the formulation were studied using FTIR, SEM, EDX, Mapping, and XRD. Release studies in the in vitro condition were used to evaluate the pH sensitivity of drug release from nanocarriers. Other in vitro studies, including uptake assay, MTT, and apoptosis assay were carried out on the osteosarcoma cell line. Results: In vitro release studies confirmed that the synthesized formulation provides a better payload release profile in acidic conditions, which is usually the case in the tumor site. On the OS cell line, the cytotoxicity of the DOX-loaded nanocarrier (IC50=0.293 μg/mL) and early apoptosis rate (33.80 % ) were higher in comparison to free DOX (IC50=0.472 μg/mL, and early apoptosis rate= 8.31 % ) after 48 hours. Conclusion: In summary, our results suggest a DOX-loaded graphene oxide carrier as a potential platform for targeting cancer cells.

Introduction: Nephrotoxicity as a side effect caused by the immunosuppressive drug, cyclosporine-A (CsA), can be a major problem in transplant medicine. Oxidative stress may play an important role in the CsA-induced nephrotoxicity. It has been shown that the antihypertensive drug, valsartan (Val), has also renoprotective effects but, its molecular mechanism is largely unknown. In the present study, it was aimed to evaluate the Val effect in the alleviation of CsA nephrotoxicity via probable renal glutathione peroxidase (GPx) upregulation and oxidative stress decrease. Methods: Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups based on CsA and/or Val administration: group A (Control, 1 mL/kg/day of olive oil as vehicle), group B (CsA, 30 mg/kg/day), group C (CsA+Val, 30+30 mg/kg/day), and group D (Val, 30 mg/kg/day). After the administration period (six weeks), renal GPx expression was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Plasma levels of GPx and 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl groups (PCG) were measured by spectrophotometer. Plasma levels of urea and creatinine were measured by an autoanalyzer. Results: CsA treatment led to the decrease in renal expression and plasma levels of GPx in comparison to other study groups. Rats received CsA were detected to have significantly (p

Introduction: There are many ideas concerning the etiology and pathogenesis of preeclampsia including endothelial dysfunction, inflammation and angiogenesis. Elevated levels of total homocysteine (Hcy) and lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] are risk factors for endothelial dysfunction. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of high dose folic acid (FA) on serum Hcy and Lp(a) concentrations with respect to methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms 677C→T during pregnancy. Methods: In a prospective uncontrolled intervention, 90 pregnant women received 5 mg FA supplementation before pregnancy till 36th week of pregnancy. The MTHFR polymorphisms 677C→T, serum lactate dehydrogenase activity, urine protein and creatinine concentrations were measured before starting folic acid administration. Serum levels of Hcy and Lp(a) were determined before and after completion of folic acid supplementation period. Results: Supplementation of the patients with FA for 36 week decreased the median (minimum–maximum) levels of serum Hcy from 11.40 µmol/L (4.40-28.70) to 9.70 (1.60-20.80) µmol/L (p=0.001). There was no significant change in serum Lp(a) after FA supplementation (p=0.17). The overall prevalence of genotypes in pregnant women that were under study for MTHFR C677T polymorphism was 53.3% CC, 26.7% CT and 20.0% TT. There was no correlation between decreasing level of serum Hcy in the patients receiving FA and MTHFR polymorphisms. Conclusion: Although FA supplementation decreased serum levels of Hcy in different MTHFR genotypes, serum Lp(a) was not changed by FA supplements. Our data suggests that FA supplementation effects on serum Hcy is MTHFR genotype independent in pregnant women.

Introduction: We evaluated the association between four polymorphisms in the CRP gene with plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels,prevalence and severity of coronary artery disease(CAD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)patients. Methods: We performed coronary angiography for 308 T2DM patients and classified them into two groups: T2DM with CAD and T2DM without CAD, all patient come from Ahwaz, Iran. Plasma levels of CRP, glucose and lipid profile were measured. Genotyping was performed by PCR/RFLP, and the severity of coronary artery disease was determined by Gensini score. Results: The GG genotype of SNP rs279421 was associated with increased risk CAD (OR = 2.38; 95%CI: 1.12- 5.8; P = 0.02)and CA,TT,TA genotypes and A allele of SNP rs3091244 and GA genotypes and A allele of SNP rs3093062 were significantly associated with increased CRP levels.None genotypes or alleles was not associated with Gensini score. We found that the haplotype 7 (AGCG) was associated with decreased risk of CAD (OR = 0.11; 95%CI: 0.02, 0.66; P = 0.017) . The Gensini score was correlated with increased levels of CRP, only in CAD group. Conclusion: Although genetic polymorphisms were influenced on plasma CRP levels but none of the alleles and genotypes raising or falling C-reactive protein levels was consistently associated with an increased prevalence of CAD or protected from that.

This paper1 was simultaneously submitted by the authors to "Transplantation" journal under the title "The Effects of Valsartan on Renal Klotho Expression and Oxidative stress in Alleviation of Cyclosporine Nephrotoxicity" and was accepted for publication in that journal. On the basis of BioImpacts policy in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), any duplicate submission is considered as an ethical misconduct. The accepted manuscript in Transplantation shared considerable overlapping text and data (identical images and materials) with the published paper1 in BioImpacts. The Editor-in-Chief of BioImpacts, Prof. Y. Omidi, was alerted by the Editor-in-Chief of Transplantation, Prof. Jeremy R. Chapman, on such duplication. A comprehensive investigation through comparison of both papers was conducted by the editorial office of BioImpacts along with the Ethics Committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (TUOMS) under Prof. M. R. Rashidi, who also acts as Director-in-Charge of BioImpacts and TUOMS Vice Chancellor of Research and Technology Affairs. As a result, they decided to retract this paper in line with the COPE recommendations. The authors were informed and advised on this serious ethical breach. Therefore, the paper is retracted at the request of authors, the aforementioned committee and the Editor-in-Chief of BioImpacts, even though the corresponding author believed that two papers were different in their aims, studied animals, and factors. By the way, they apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. One of the conditions of submission of a paper to BioImpacts is that authors declare explicitly that "This manuscript has been exclusively submitted to this journal and is not under review or accepted for publication elsewhere". As such, this paper represents abuse of the scientific publishing system. As a peer-review multidisciplinary international "Publish Free" and "Access Free" journal, BioImpacts strongly adheres to the "Publication Ethics", and its foremost goal is to preserve the integrity of the scientific reports in the highest standards, therefore the journal takes all issues of publication misconduct seriously.