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Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), the main drug-metabolizing enzyme in the liver, has a functional SNP in intron six named CYP3A4⁎22. Given the CYP3A4⁎22 polymorphism effect on the reduced CYP3A4 mRNA/protein expression, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of CYP3A4⁎22 polymorphism in Iranian patients with stroke compared to the control group. A total of 175 patients with stroke and 236 control age-sex matched ones have been examined for CYP3A4⁎22 polymorphism by Tetra ARMS-PCR methods. The results were confirmed by the PCR-RFLP technique and the sequencing of DNA. This study is the first report of CYP3A4⁎22 polymorphism from Iran. The frequency of the CYP3A4⁎22 wild-type (GG genotype) and heterozygous genotypes (GA genotype) was 93.1% and 6.9% in patients, and 92.8% and 7.2% in the controls, respectively. None of the participants was the recessive model for this polymorphism. There were no statistical differences between the patient and control groups (p > 0.05). Also, the GA genotype was not associated with increased risk of stroke compared with the GG genotype (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.44–2.04, P = 0.892). Since CYP3A4⁎22 polymorphism may result in reduced CYP3A4 activity in vivo, due to the large number of drugs that are CYP3A4 substrates, individuals with this polymorphism may experience unusual drug effects. To clarify these impacts, further investigations are, therefore, needed to be done.

Objective: The diagnosis of hereditary red blood cell (RBC) membrane disorders, and in particular hereditary spherocytosis (HS) and Southeast Asian ovalocytosis (SAO), is based on clinical history, RBC morphology, and other conventional tests such as osmotic fragility. However, there are some milder cases of these disorders that are difficult to diagnose. The application of eosin-5’-maleimide (EMA) was evaluated for screening of RBC membrane defects along with some other anemias. We used EMA dye, which binds mostly to band 3 protein and to a lesser extent some other membrane proteins, for screening of some membrane defects such as HS. Materials and Methods: Fresh RBCs from hematologically normal controls and patients with HS, SAO, hereditary elliptocytosis, hereditary spherocytosis with pincered cells, severe iron deficiency, thalassemia minor, and autoimmune hemolytic anemia were stained with EMA dye and analyzed for mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) using a flow cytometer. Results: RBCs from patients with HS and iron deficiency showed a significant reduction in MFI compared to those from normal controls (p

Context: There are plenty of evidence that suggest that the potential high doses of radiation result in severe health effects to exposed individuals, although there is no consensus about the health impact of low dose of ionizing radiation (IR). Aims: This study aimed to discuss the effect a range of IR doses on the changes of gene expression and serum protein levels of two immune factors transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in rats. Findings from this study can be useful to develop a suitable biomarker for biological dosimetry applications. Subjects and Methods: After 24 h of irradiation of rats with the doses of 1000, 500, 100, 50, and 20 mGy, the gene expression of TGF-β and IFN-γ in lymphocytes was assessed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Besides, the protein level of these two factors in blood plasma was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Statistical Analysis Used: One-way analysis of variance Tukey–Kramer Multiple Comparisons Test was used. P

In this paper, we investigate the terahertz bistability behavior in a photonic crystal doped with an InSb layer and coupled nonlinear defects by employing the modified transfer matrix method. It is demonstrated that the switch-up threshold for bistability can be strongly controlled by ambient temperature without changing the structure of photonic multilayer. The switch-up threshold increases with increasing temperature to a certain value. No dramatic changes are observed in switch-down threshold with increasing the ambient temperature. Further increase of temperature from 309 K to 311 K leads to the strong reduction of switch-up threshold. Our results reveal that the switch-up threshold for the case T = 311 K is approximately 3000 times lower than that of the case T = 309 K. This sensitivity to temperature can have potential applications in terahertz devices. When temperature increases from 309 K, both switch-up and switch-down threshold increase. However, the switch-down threshold indicates much smaller changes compared to the switch-up threshold. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of incident angle on the bistability behavior. It is shown that the temperature at which the lowest value of switching powers is achieved depends on the incident angle.

Background and Aim: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a multifactorial disease associated with dysregulated immunity. Recently, cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) gene polymorphisms have been reported in association with several autoimmune diseases in several populations. In the present study, the possible implication of the CTLA-4 gene as a risk factor for UC in the Iranian population was investigated. Methods: One hundred UC patients and 100 healthy subjects were studied. CTLA-4 exon 1 position 49 (A/G: codon 17: Thr/Ala) polymorphisms were investigated by polymerase chain reaction single strand confirmation polymorphism method. Four of the patients and one of the healthy controls were excluded from the study because of incomplete DNA extraction. Results: The allele frequencies of A and G in 96 patients (A: 66.1%; G: 33.9%) were not significantly different from the 99 control subjects (A: 63.1%; G: 36.9%, P > 0.05). No significant differences in the distribution of genotype frequencies were observed between A + 49G gene polymorphisms and UC in the Iranian population (P > 0.05). Conclusion: CTLA-4 polymorphism is not associated with UC in the Iranian population.

Although, the cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 gene polymorphism at position 49 of exon-1 has been strongly elucidated in different autoimmune diseases, but its role in predisposition to systemic sclerosis (SSc) is yet controversial. This study intends to analyze the genetic correlation of the ctla-4 gene locus with diffuse systemic sclerosis (dSSc), as well as to understand the influence of these genotypes in disease expression. Seventy known cases of SSc, and 151 age-matched healthy controls, were participated in this investigation. The frequencies of AA, GG and AG genotypes were found to be 26 (37.1%), 5 (7.2%) and 39 (55.7%) in patients, and 60 (39.7%), 19 (12.6%) and 72 (47.7%) in controls, respectively. As indicated, the differences in genotype and allele frequencies between patients and controls were insignificant (P>0.05). Moreover, the distribution of CTLA-4 polymorphism between patients did not differ significantly according to clinical and serologic features. In Iranian patients, susceptibility to SSc is not influenced by a bi-allelic ctla-4 gene (A49G) polymorphism.

Objective One of the major complications of pregnancy, preeclampsia makes pregnancy termination inevitable in most cases. Similarities exist between the mechanisms that maintain normal pregnancy, allograft transplants, and, it is postulated, peripheral self-tolerance. In addition, the critical role of the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) molecule in maintaining self-tolerance has been established. Therefore, the frequency of CTL A-4 A49G polymorphism was investigated in severe preeclampsia. Patients and Methods Genomic DNA extracted from mononuclear cells of the peripheral blood of 36 pregnant women with severe preeclampsia and 151 healthy women was analyzed. A49G polymorphism in position 49 of exon-1 of the CTL A-4 gene was studied by the polymerase chain reaction–single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR–SSCP) method. Results The frequency of the GG genotype was 2 (5.6%) in patients and 19 (12.6%) in controls, while the frequency of the AA genotype was 4 (11.1%) and 60 (39.7%). Interestingly, the frequency of the AG genotype was significantly higher in preeclamptic than in healthy women from the general population (83.3% vs. 47.7%; P =0.0005). Conclusion These data suggest that heterozygosity in the CTL A-4 A49G allele might be a predisposing factor for severe preeclampsia. Whether the observed association results from linkage imbalance with other loci on chromosome 2 or other polymorphisms of the CTL A-4 gene or even from a preferential transfer and/or expression of one allele from a heterozygous mother to the fetus will be the subject of future investigations.