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Leishmaniasis denotes a significant health challenge worldwide with no ultimate treatment. The current study investigated the biological effects of gamma-terpinene (GT) on Leishmania major in putative antileishmanial action, cytotoxicity, apoptosis induction, gene expression alteration, antioxidant activity, hemolysis, and ROS generation.GT and meglumine antimoniate (MA) were probed alone and in combination (GT/MA) for their anti-leishmanial potentials using the MTT biochemical colorimetric assay and a model macrophage cell. In addition, their immunomodulatory properties were assessed by analyzing their effect on the transcription of cytokines related to Th1 and Th2 responses. GT and MA, alone and in combination, were also assessed for their potential to alter metacaspase gene expression in L. major promastigotes by real-time RT-PCR. The hemolytic potential of GT and MA-treated promastigotes were also measured by routine UV absorbance reading. Electrophoresis on agarose gel was employed to analyze genomic DNA fragmentation.GT demonstrated notable dose-dependent antileishmanial effects towards promastigotes and amastigotes of L. major. The ICThe results demonstrated that GT showed potent activity against L. major stages. It seems that its mechanism of action involves representing an immunomodulatory role towards upregulation of iNOS and JAK-1, while downregulation of IL-10 and TGF- β. Moreover, GT has an antioxidative potential and exerts its action through activating macrophages to kill the organism. Further in vivo and clinical studies are essential to explore its effect in future programs.

Purpose: One of the heterogeneous hematologic malignancies of the lymphocyte precursors or lymphoblasts is ALL. ALL has two incidence peaks that were determined in 2-5 years children and 60 years old adults. Cardiotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs is one of important side effect which may occur during or after chemotherapy period. Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Zataria Multiflora extract (ZME), DOX, and ZME/DOX combination on Nalm-6 cells. In this vein, the cell viability was assessed by Trypan blue and MTT assay. Evaluation of apoptosis was also analyzed by Annexin-V/7-PI staining. Moreover, the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, hTERT, c-Myc, P53, and P21 genes was detected by Real-Time PCR. Molecular docking as an in-silico method was performed for BCL2 and P53 as well. Result: Our achievements indicated that ZME had dose-dependent effect on Nalm-6 cells and ZME synergistically potentiated DOX effect. The expression of Bax, P53 and P21 genes increased although the expression of Bcl-2, hTERT, and c-Myc genes decreased when cells treated with ZME/DOX combination. Molecular docking showed the interactions of Carvacrol and Thymol in the active cavities of BCL2 and P53. Conclusions: Regarding to present study, ZME could be utilized as a combinatorial and potential drug for leukemic patients, which is under the treatment by DOX due to reducing the chemotherapy drug doses.

Purpose. Entero-aggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is one of the main causes of diarrhoea worldwide. Several virulence factors have been identified in EAEC. This study was conducted to investigate the distribution of virulence factor genes in EAEC strains isolated in Iran from children with diarrhoea, as well as the genetic similarity of these isolates. Methodology. A total of 37 EAEC isolates were tested for the presence of 11 virulence genes by PCR, and the genetic relatedness of these strains was further determined by multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA). Results. All EAEC isolates were typical EAEC. pic, set1A and set1B were the most prevalent genes, detected in 54.1 % of the isolates, followed by sat (43.2 %), astA (32.4 %), pet (24.3 %), agg4A (24.3 %), sepA (18.9 %), agg3A (13.5 %), sigA (8.1 %), aggA (8.1 %) and aafA (5.4 %). Using MLVA, the 37 isolates were divided into 32 types and classified into five clonal complexes. Conclusion. This study showed that EAEC is a heterogeneous group of E. coli possessing a broad range of virulence factors. There was no notable association between MLVA patterns and virulence profiles.

As a widely used cell culture supplement, fetal bovine serum (FBS) harbor high content of growth, proliferation, and adhesion factors. However, high cost, bio-safety, possible xenogeneic agent transmission, finite accessible, and ethical controversy are major obstacles that discourage the use of this additive. Accordingly, novel alternatives have been proposed with various pros and cons. Still, caution should be taken in choosing suitable substitute given that the alteration in the main aspects of cultured cells can be biased the consequences of clinical applications. Herein, the authors evaluated the impact of cord blood serum harvesting by hydroxyethyl starch (CBS-HES), as an enriched source of growth factors, on the basic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) characteristics. In the present experiment, umbilical cord-derived MSCs were isolated and continuously nourished with Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium containing either 10, 15, and 20% CBS-HES or FBSs to compare their morphology, immunophenotype, growth and proliferation rate, death rate, cell cycle, and gene expression profiles. Although all enriched media supported the expansion of MSCs with comparable morphology, cell surface markers, death rate, c-MYC and p16 expression, and growth rate, CBS-HES treated cells significantly (P