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Arnebia euchroma callus, obtained from the root cell culture of an Iranian native specimen, has gained a doubling time of 63 H after regular subculturing on Linsmaier-Skoog (LS) medium containing sugar (50 g/L), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (10−6 M), and kinetin (10−5 M) under darkness at 25°C. Despite the observed somaclonal variations, peroxidase production by the A. euchroma calli has been stable over 4 years under the aforementioned conditions. Isoelectric focusing experiments revealed that the partially purified A. euchroma peroxidases (AePoxs) are mainly anionic with pI values of about 5.5 and 6.6. AePox reaches its optimal activity at 55°C and pH 7.5. Results of the various kinetic studies suggest that AePox belongs to the type III plant peroxidases with no activity for the oxidation of 3-indoleacetic acid, but seems to play a role in the lignin biosynthesis and H2O2 regulation during the proliferation of the A. euchroma cells on LS medium. Comparing the biochemical properties of AePox with horseradish peroxidase and in view of the ease of solid cell culture, the A. euchroma callus could be considered as a source of plant peroxidase for some biotechnological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives:: Uveitis is an eye disease that affects humans worldwide. Inflammation of the uveal tract is termed uveitis. Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is one of many factors that may be involved in abnormalities such as liver and lung disease, inflammatory joint diseases, and inflammatory eye diseases. In this study, the role of AAT in uveitis is analyzed. Design and methods:: AAT phenotyping and serum-trypsin inhibitory capacity (S-TIC) experiments were performed on 103 patients who were referred to the ALZAHRA eye center in Zahedan (southeast of Iran). The same experiments were performed on 167 people who did not suffer from any eye or systemic diseases and served as a control group. Results:: The results revealed that the frequency of M1S, M2S, M1Z, and MV phenotypes were significantly higher in uveitis patients (P < 0.001). There was no difference in AAT phenotype frequencies between various types of uveitis (P = 0.1). Conclusion:: AAT deficiency appears to be a risk factor for uveitis in southeast Iran. More investigation is needed to establish potential benefits of AAT phenotyping tests and AAT therapy in the diagnosis and treatment of uveitis cases with unclear etiology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background and Aims: The reduced alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) activities of some phenotypes have been suggested as contributing to the development of respiratory diseases., Materials and Methods: One hundred patients with respiratory disease following exposure to sulfur mustard were divided into two groups of 50 based on their respiratory symptoms and compared with a healthy control group. AAT phenotypes were determined in the plasma of all patient and control subjects by isoelectric focusing (IEF)., Results: Mean AAT activities in patient and control groups were 3.4 +/- 0.3 and 4.2 +/- 0.1 micromol min(-1) ml(-1), respectively (p < 0.001). No phenotypic alterations were detected., Conclusions: The difference in the clinical pulmonary symptoms of the two groups was attributed to reduced AAT activity, but this was not manifested as phenotypic changes identifiable by IEF.

Phenotype and gene frequency distributions of the inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor (ITI) system were analysed in populations from southern Korea and from Iran. The gene frequencies of the common alleles ITI*I and ITI*2 were 0.532 and 0.422, respectively, in southern Korea, and 0.612 and 0.354, respectively, in Iran. The postulated third allele, ITI*3, was found in the homozygous form. Gene frequencies of this rare allele were calculated to be 0.042 and 0.029 in Korea and Iran, respectively. Two additional rare alleles, ITI*4 and ITI*5, determine further phenotypes found in the population from Taejon (Korea) and Iran, respectively, in combination with the common ITI*2 allele. Gene frequencies of ITI*4 and ITI*5 were calculated to be 0.006 and 0.005, respectively. For phenotype classification, untreated sera were separated by isoelectric focusing (IEF) on polyacrylamide gels followed by immunoblotting.

A total of 243 and 236 red cell and serum samples from the Zoroastrians of Iran were sub-typed by isoelectric focusing for the red cell enzyme phosphoglucomutase locus 1 and the group-specific component respectively and the phenotype and gene frequency values were calculated. Comparison of the results with those of examinations performed on African, Asian and European population shows that for both the PGM and Gc systems Zoroastrians show similarity to western populations and differ from middle-eastern populations.