Cyclosporine A is a well-known immunosuppressor agent universally used in allotransplantation. However, it has been demonstrated that this drug produces side-effects in several organs, particularly in the kidney and in the heart. Nigella sativa oil has long been used in folk medicine for a wide range of illnesses. One of the potential properties of N. sativa oil is the ability of one or more of its constituents to reduce toxicity due to its antioxidant activities. The antioxidant effects of N. sativa oil have been examined using different hepatic and kidney toxicity in in vivo murine models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of N. sativa oil in the antioxidant enzyme status and myocardium of cyclosporine-A-treated rats. This study included 24 male Wistar albino young healthy rats (8-12 weeks) weighing 150-200 g. The control group received sunflower oil (21 days, 2 ml/kg/day, orally) without any treatment. The second group received only N. sativa oil (21 days, 2 ml/kg, orally) (N. sativa oil group). The animals in the third group received only cyclosporine A (21 days, 25 mg/kg, orally) (cyclosporine A group). The animals in the fourth group were treated with cyclosporine A (21 days, 25 mg/kg, orally) and starting one day before cyclosporine A administration were treated with N. sativa oil (21 days, 2 ml/kg, orally) (cyclosporine A + N. sativa oil group). Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in the heart tissues were significantly reduced in the cyclosporine A group compared to control values. Nigella sativa oil treatment caused an increase in the activities of SOD, CAT and GSH-Px compared to the control group. Malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide and protein carbonyl (PC) levels were increased in the cyclosporine A-treated group in comparison with the control and N. sativa groups. Co-administration of N. sativa oil and cyclosporine A abrogated the cyclosporine A-induced MDA, N. sativa oil and PC increase compared to the cyclosporine A group. The results of our study show that pre-treatment with N. sativa oil reduced the subsequent cyclosporine A injury in rat heart, demonstrated by normalized cardiac histopathology, decrease in lipid peroxidation, improvement in antioxidant enzyme status and cellular protein oxidation. Cyclosporine A is the most frequently used immunosup-pressor agent in transplant surgery and in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, because of its specific inhibiting effect on the signal transduction pathways of the T cell receptor [1]. However, the major limiting factors for the clinical use of the drug are the adverse effects, which include nephrotoxicity [2], hypertension [3], hepatotoxicity [4] and cardiotoxicity [5,6]. Moreover, the use of cyclosporine A is also reported to be related to increased vasoconstriction and vascular endothelial dysfunction [7]. Although the mechanisms by which cyclosporine A-induced cardiotoxicity are still not clear and is a matter of debate, recent studies have reported that oxidative stress mi...

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is found in a variety of plants and well-known the active ingredient of the honeybee propolis. CAPE showed anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antimitogenic, antiviral, and immunomodulatory properties in several studies. The beneficial effects of CAPE on different health issues attracted scientists to make more studies on CAPE. Specifically, the anti-viral effects of CAPE and its molecular mechanisms may reveal the important properties of virus-induced diseases. CAPE and its targets may have important roles to design new therapeutics and understand the molecular mechanisms of virus-related diseases. In this mini-review, we summarize the antiviral effects of CAPE under the light of medical and chemical literature.

A nonlinear process between co-propagating signal and control pulses has been proposed and demonstrated numerically, based on semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA). Results show that a Gaussian signal pulse with picosecond duration can be simultaneously amplified and compressed in a SOA by utilizing a co-propagating high-intensity control pulse. To obtain high quality signal pulse with high peak power level and short pulse width, the center carrier wavelengths of two pulses should locate in the gain region of the SOA. The initial delay time between both pulses should be tuned suitably before entering the SOA.

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Serum HO1 levels were found to be increased in patients with PE compared with normotensive pregnant women.

Bacground and objective: Pyrimidine 5’nucleotidase I and II activities of peripheral mononuclear cells were studied to evaluate their role in diagnosis, assessment of therapy and follow up of remission in acute leukaemias. Design and methods: Blood samples were obtained from 40 untreated patients with acute lymphoblastic and myeloid leukaemia and 40 healthy controls, before the therapy and after remission. The correlation between the activity of the enzymes and the efficacy of therapy were established. The enzyme activities were measured by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), using the method described by Amici. For statistical analysis, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon methods were used. Results: Before the therapy, Pyrimidine 5’nucleotidase I levels in the leukaemic group were found to be significantly elevated when compared to the control group (p<0.001). Also Pyrimidine 5’nucleotidase II levels were significantly elevated before the therapy and during remission (p<0.02 and p<0.001 respectively). The isoenzyme activities were compared in patients who were in remission, who did not respond to therapy and in patients who died during the therapy, but no significant difference was found. Interpretation and conclusions: We concluded that, Pyrimidine 5’nucleotidase I and II activities can be used as markers for diagnosis and follow up of remission in patients with acute leukaemia. But, they can not have predictive value for prognosis.

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