Background: Cancer is one of the major threatening factors of human health worldwide. Unfortunately, chemotherapy, the powerful arm of cancer therapy, is accompanied with many side effects, so alternative treatments with greater specificities and fewer side effects are highly required. Methods: Human cancer cell lines including SW-742, HCT116, HepG2, Hep2, MKN45 and LNcap were selected and the anti-cancer potential of Cyrtopodion scabrum extract (CsE) on their growth was studied. Vero cells were used to study the potential cytotoxicity on the normal cells. Cell cycle analysis and DNA fragmentation assay were also performed. Results: CsE was toxic (30% -78%) to all the cell lines, with the highest cytotoxicity on SW742, MKN45 and HepG2, respectively. A high selectivity index (> 2) was observed for the extract on SW742 and MKN45 cell lines. DNA laddering pattern, as well as a significant increase in the number of the cells accumulated in sub-G1 and G2-phase of the cell cycle compared to the control untreated cells, was also observed. Conclusions: CsE suppressed the human cancer cells selectively and probably through apoptosis and G2 arrest mechanism. It could suggest a promising alternative/complementary treatment for cancer patients, especially those who suffer from digestive tract cancer.
This study was performed to evaluate the infectivity of bradyzoites of two Besnoitia caprae isolates, BC-1 and BC-2, to inbred BALB/c mice. Each group of inbred BALB/c mice was inoculated intraperitoneally with 1 x 10(3), 1 x 10(4), 1 x 10(5), 5 x 10(5) and 1 x 10(6) of one of the two isolates of B. caprae bradyzoites. The mice were monitored daily for a period of 40 days for survival. After death of each mice, several passages from its peritoneal washing and tissues were analyzed using ribosomal DNA-specific PCR assay. Marked differences in pathogenicity between the isolates were seen. All the inbred BALB/c mice infected with BC-2 survived but all the mice that were administered with 1 x 0(5), 5 x 10(5) and 1 x 10(6) BC-1 bradyzoites were died within 4-9 days post-infection (DPI). Histopathological examination of the tissues of the dead mice revealed hyperemia and necrosis with presence of mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cell infiltration in myocardium, spleen and intestines together with interstitial pneumonia and peritonitis. All inbred BALB/c mice in the 1 x 10(3) and 1 x 10(4) groups of BC-1 inoculated mice survived and they were euthanized after 40 DPI. Chronic inflammation with infiltration of mononuclear cells was evident in myocardium, spleen, alveolar septa of the lungs of most of the examined tissues with hemorrhagic enteritis in the mice infected with 1 x 10(6) bradyzoites. The mice infected with different doses of BC-2 were euthanized after 40 DPI and no lesion was seen in histopathological sections of their organs. All peritoneal washings and examined tissues were PCR positive in BC-1 group. This experiment is the first report to show inbred BALB/c mice as a relevant model for B. caprae and demonstrates that this strain of inbred BALB/c mice is a suitable animal model for biological studies and examination of pathogenesis for this species of Besnoitia. The present findings also provide evidence for significant differences between the two isolates of B. caprae.
Aims: The effectiveness of four strains of Bifidobacteria against enterohemorrhagic Escherichiacoli O157:H7 infection was studied using a Vero cell model.
Methods and results: E. coli O157 was inoculated on the Vero cell line before and after treatment with probiotic. The cytopathic effect (CPE) was evaluated during 24 h of incubation. The results indicated that Shiga toxin activity was inhibited by the probiotic. To prevent a Stx2 CPE, the probiotic needs one log more than the Stx1.
Conclusion: The Vero cell assay, in particular, is a good model to evaluate the effect of Bifidobacteria inhibiting bacterial attachment because of soluble substances and the competitive aspect and could be used in a variety of foods like milk and yoghurt to protect pathogen bacteria.
Significance and Impact of the Study: Probiotics could control pathogenic bacteria and Vero cell introduce as a model for evaluation of probiotics against pathogen bacteria.
Recently chickens are considered as an important intermediate hosts for Neospora caninum. Free range chickens expose to infection with N. caninum oocysts because they feed from the ground therefore they could be a good index of the environmental contamination. We studied N. caninum infection in free range chickens by serological. One hundred and fifty chickens purchased from five regions from Fars province and their blood were used for serological testing. Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 26 (17.33 %) of 150 serum samples by MAT. This study is the first to describe the presence of antibodies to N. caninum in chicken in Iran. These serological results indicate a widespread exposure of free range chickens to N. caninum in south of Iran.
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