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Mohammad Bagher Khorrami,1,2 Hamid Reza Sadeghnia,3 Alireza Pasdar,1,4 Majid Ghayour-Mobarhan,5 Bamdad Riahi-Zanjani,6 Alireza Hashemzadeh,7 Mohammad Zare,2 Majid Darroudi8 1Department of Modern Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; 2Social Security Organization, 17th Shahrivar Hospital, Mashhad, Iran; 3Division of Neurocognitive Sciences, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; 4Division of Applied Medicine, Medical School, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK; 5Biochemistry of Nutrition Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; 6Medical Toxicology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; 7NanoBioEletrochemistry Research Center, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran; 8Nuclear Medicine Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute toxic potential of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) synthesized by pullulan in adult male Wistar rats. Patients and methods: Thirty male Wistar rats randomly were divided into five experimental groups of six animals each. The animals were received 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg CNPs for 14 consecutive days. At the end of the experiment, the rats were euthanized and histopathological evaluation of the liver and renal tissues, as well ass, the markers of serum oxidative stress including thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, total sulfhydryl content, and antioxidant capacity (using ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay) were assessed. Hematological parameters and the activity of liver function enzymes were also measured. Results: The results of this study showed that CNPs caused no significant changes in the activity of liver enzymes, hepatic and renal histopathology and hematological parameters, while significantly improved serum redox status. Conclusion: Acute administration of pullulan-mediated CNPs is safe and possess antioxidant activity. Keywords: green synthesis, metal oxide, sol-gel, toxicology, radical scavenger

The principal impediment to gene therapy is the development of efficient, nontoxic gene carriers that can handle and deliver foreign genetic materials into various cell types, including healthy and cancerous cells. Poly- l -lysine (PLL) polymers are one of the most favorable gene carriers among nonviral vectors, and PLL had low transfection and safety issues. The purpose of this study was to measure cellular toxicity, DNA damage, and apoptotic effects of PLL nanoparticles. Neuro2A mammalian cells were cultured and exposed to PLL/DNA complexes at different polymer/DNA ratios (C / P ratio 2 and 6) for 24 h. To evaluate metabolic activity, genotoxicity, and apoptotic influences of PLL nanoparticle, the following experimental methods were employed, in order: 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), DNA damage (COMET analysis) assay, and sub-G1 peak apoptosis assay. Our data indicate that toxicity is concentration dependent and a high concentration of polymer declined the metabolic activity. In addition, largest complexes (C / P 6 in HEPES buffered saline buffer) have slighter negative impact on metabolic activity. In agreement with our cytotoxicity data, apoptotic assay result represented that increase in size of PLL/DNA complexes decrease the number of apoptotic cells. Also, there was a remarkable increase in percent tail DNA of Neuro2A cells treated with higher concentration of PLL and its polyplexes. The present study demonstrated that PLL/DNA complexes caused cytotoxic, apoptotic, and genotoxic effects in a dose-dependent and weight ratio-dependent manner, which also affected the size of polyplexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebral ischemia produces brain damage and related behavioral deficits such as memory. In this study, a rat model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion was used to determine whether saffron extract and crocin, which are potent antioxidants and free radical scavengers, can reduce vascular cognitive impairment. Male adult Wistar rats were administered different doses of an aqueous solution of crocin or hydroalcohol extract of saffron intraperitoneally (i.p.) 5 days after permanent occlusion of the common carotid arteries. Spatial learning and memory were assessed in training trials, 7-11 days after common carotid artery ligation using the Morris water maze. The results showed that the escape latency time was significantly reduced from 24.64 s in the control group to 8.77 and 10.47 s by crocin (25 mg/kg) and saffron extract (250 mg/kg). The traveled distance to find the platform was also changed from 772 cm in the control group to 251 and 294 cm in the crocin (25 mg/kg) and saffron extract (250 mg/kg) groups. The percentages of time spent in the target quadrant, in comparison with the control group (24.16%), increased to 34.25% in the crocin (25 mg/kg) and 34.85% in the saffron extract (250 mg/kg) group. This study suggests that saffron extract and crocin improve spatial cognitive abilities following chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and that these effects may be related to the antioxidant effects of these compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]