Background:Articular cartilage injuries of the knee are among the most debilitating injuries leading to osteoarthritis due to limited regenerative capability of cartilaginous tissue. The use of platelet concentrates containing necessary growth factors for cartilage healing has recently emerged as a new treatment method.Objectives:The efficacy of two types of different platelet concentrates were compared in the treatment of acute articular cartilage injuries of the knee in an animal model.Materials and Methods:Eighteen adult Iranian mixed breed male dogs were used to conduct this experimental study. Full thickness articular cartilage defects (diameter 6 mm, depth 5 mm) were created in the weight bearing area of femoral condyles of both hind limbs in all dogs (n = 72). Twelve dogs were randomly selected to receive treatment and their right and left hind limb defects were treated by L-PRP and L-PRF implantation respectively, while no treatment was undertaken in six other dogs as controls. The animals were euthanized at 4, 16 and 24 weeks following surgery and the resultant repair tissue was investigated macroscopically and microscopically. At each sampling time, 4 treated dogs and 2 control dogs were euthanized, therefore 8 defects per group were evaluated.Results:Mean macroscopic scores of the treated defects were higher than the controls at all sampling times with significant differences (P < 0.05) observed between L-PRF treated and control defects (10.13 vs. 8.37) and L-PRP treated and control defects (10 vs. 8.5) at 4 and 16 weeks, respectively. A similar trend in mean total microscopic scores was observed with a significant difference (P < 0.05) between L-PRP treated and control defects at 4 (9.87 vs. 7.62) and 16 (13.38 vs. 11) weeks. No significant difference was observed between the platelet concentrate treated defects in either mean macroscopic scores or mean total microscopic scores.Conclusions:Both L-PRP and L-PRF could be used to effectively promote the healing of articular cartilage defects of the knee.

The effect of autologous platelet rich fibrin (PRF), a second generation platelet product, on the healing of experimental articular cartilage lesions was evaluated in an animal model. Full thickness cartilage lesions with a diameter of 6 mm and depth of 5 mm were created in the weight bearing area of femoral condyles of both hind limbs in 12 adult mixed breed dogs. Defects in the left hind limb of each dog were repaired by PRF implantation whereas those in the right hind limb were left empty. The animals were euthanized at 4, 16, and 24 weeks following surgery and the resultant repair tissue was investigated macroscopically and microscopically. The results of macroscopic and histological evaluations indicated that there were significant differences between the PRF treated and untreated defects. In conclusion, the present study indicated that the use of platelet rich fibrin as a source of autologous growth factors leads to improvement in articular cartilage repair.

The results of the current study showed that high MCD in the invasive edge of tumor is related to tumor progression and decreased survival rate following surgery.

COX-2 expression was positive in skin tumors including malignant and pre-malignant skin lesions. This study strongly suggests that COX-2 can be one of the molecular targets in treating various skin tumors.

The aim of this study was to determine the association of dietary folate and cobalamin with plasma levels of Angiopoietins (ANG), vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and tyrosine kinase receptor-2 (Tie-2) of primary breast cancer patients. Women (n = 177), aged 30 to 75 years diagnosed with breast cancer were recruited from an ongoing case series study. Dietary intake of nutrients was estimated by using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to measure biomarkers. MCF-7 cell cultures were supplemented with folic acid (0–40 μM) for 24 h to measure cell viability and fold change of expression by the real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the structural relationships between the measured variables of nutrients and Angiopoietins. Dietary intake of folate and cobalamin showed a significant inverse correlation with plasma ANG-1 and ANG-2 (P < 0.05), particularly in subjects with estrogen-receptor positive tumors or low plasma VEGF-C. Plasma folate was positively associated with the ratio of ANG-1/ANG-2 (P < 0.05). Residual intake levels of total cobalamin were inversely associated with plasma ANG-1 when plasma stratum of VEGF-C was high (P < 0.05). Structural equation modeling identified a significant inverse contribution of folate profiles on the latent variable of Angiopoietins (coefficient β = −0.99, P < 0.05). Folic acid treatment resulted in dose-dependent down-regulations on ANGPT1 and ANGPT1/ANGPT2 ratio but VEGF and ANGPT2/VEGF were upregulated at folic acid >20 μM. Studying the contributing role of dietary folate to pro-angiogenic biomarkers in breast cancer patients can infer the preventive role of folate in the ANGs/VEGF-C-dependent cascade of tumor metastasis. By contrast, high concentrations of folic acid in vitro supported VEGF-C-dependent ANGPT2 overexpression might potentiate micro-lymphatic vessel development to support malignant cell dissemination.

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Introduction:Breast carcinoma is the most prevalent tumors among women. Transformation of inflated cells in immune response leads to increase in inflammatory cells such as macrophages, mast cells (MC) and fibroblasts. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between grades of invasive carcinoma of the breast ducts and MC infiltration around tumoral cells.Methods:During the present study, 75 female patients suffering from invasive ductal carcinoma who underwent surgery or diagnostic biopsy during 2010 and 2013 in Educational-Medical centers of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, were included in the study. Based on Bloom-Richardson grading system, 25 cases were selected from each grade. To better observe of MCs, samples were stained by Toluidine blue and MCs were counted in 10 40 × 10 fields.Results:The mean age was 47.56 ± 10.84 and the number of MCs was between 6 and 96 and their overall average was 43.01. Average count of MCs in grade 1, 2 and 3 were 15.92 ± 10.07, 45.32 ± 10.47, and 67.8 ± 20.70, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the number of MCs and increase in disease grade (P < 0.001). With increasing grade of malignancy, the number of MCs had grown. No significant relationship was observed between age and grade of disease or age and number of MC.Conclusion:According to obtained results, number of MC around tumoral cells increased significantly with an increase in the grade of disease. In order to treat in the first stages of the disease, recognizing primary changes in the stroma of cells could be helpful.

Meningiomas are the most prevalent intracranial tumors in human being. Although, majority of these cases are of benign nature, malignant behavior might be seen in a number of patients. This study aimed to investigate the status of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and Ki-67 labeling index in different grades of surgical intracranial meningiomas. In this prospective study, 50 patients with intracranial meningiomas were operated at the department of neurosurgery, Tabriz Teaching Imam Reza Hospital; from February 2010 through January 2012. Tumor grade was determined histopathologically according to the World Health Organization (WHO) subtyping system. Status of estrogen and progesterone receptor, as well as the Ki-67 labeling index was determined by immunohistochemical approach and graded as 0 (absent), 1 (weak), 2 (moderate) and 3 (strong). The group of patients comprised 15 males (30%) and 35 females (70%) with a mean age of 71.76 +/- 10.20 (range: 49-87) years. WHO grades I, II and III tumors were reported in 68, 22 and 10% of the cases, respectively. Estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and Ki-67 labeling index were detected in 20% (all grade 1), 98% (grade 1: 2%, grade 2: 22%, grade 3: 74%) and 38% (grade 1: 6%, grade 2: 22% and grade 3: 10%) of the cases, respectively. The rate of grade 1 estrogen receptor was significantly higher in WHO grade I tumors (29%) than in WHO grades II and III (zero for both, p = 0.02). Grade 2 progesterone receptor was significantly higher in WHO grade II tumors (72.7%) vs. WHO grades I (8.8%) or III (0%). On the other hand, the rate of grade 3 progesterone receptor was significantly higher in WHO grades I (85.3%) and III (100%) tumors than in WHO grade II (27.3%) (p = 0.01). The rate of grade 3 Ki-67 labeling index was significantly higher in WHO grade III tumors (100%) than in WHO grades I and II (zero for both, p < 0.001). This study showed that firstly, estrogen receptor is seldom expressed in patients with meningioma; however, its presence means a good prognosis. Secondly, Ki-67 labeling index is a marker of poor prognosis in these patients. Thirdly, although, progesterone receptors are frequently expressed in meningioma, their prognostic role varies greatly and needs to be determined in further studies.