No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Inflammation and its master regulator, Nuclear Factor-kB (NF-kB), have been implicated in the development of endometriosis. Inhibition of NF-kB pathway using small molecules ameliorated disease progression and reduced the lesion size; nevertheless, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Therefore, this study, is an attempt to assess whether inhibiting NF-kB signaling by aloe-emodin (AE) or aspirin (Asp), as anti-inflammatory compounds, can suppresses the invasive activity of human endometrial stromal cells at stage IV endometriosis. Methods: The eutopic and healthy endometrial biopsies from a total of 8 infertile women with confirmed endometriosis and 8 women without endometriosis were digested and the single cells were cultured. Gene and protein markers of proliferation, migration, adhesion, and invasion of eutopic endometrial stromal cells (EuESCs) with and without treatment with AE or Asp, as well as control endometrial stromal cells (CESCs) was analyzed using q-PCR and immunofluorescence staining, respectively. Comparison between groups was performed using one-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni post hoc and p≤0.5 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was an association between NF-kB overexpression and higher proliferation/adhesion capacity in EuESCs. EuESCs (at stage IV endometriosis) displayed no invasive and migratory behaviors. Pre-treatment of EuESCs with AE or Asp significantly attenuated NF-kB expression and reduced proliferative, adhesive, invasive, and migratory activity of endometrial cells (p≤0.5). Conclusion: Eutopic endometrial stromal cells seem to have a semi-invasive activity which is largely suppressed by AE or Asp. It can be suggested that both Asp and AE (as potent NF-kB inhibitors) can be used as a supplement in conventional endometriosis treatments.

No abstract

The results showed that co-culture of HSCs with BM-MSCs in the presence of copper chelating agent (TEPA) could dramatically increase expansion rate of UCB-HSCs. Therefore, this strategy could be useful for HSC expansion.

No abstract

The prenatal determination of the fetal Rh genotype could lead to a substantial reduction in the use of anti-D immunoglobulin and prevention of unnecessary exposure of pregnant women carrying RhD negative fetus. The aim of this study was fetal RHD genotyping through the analysis of cffDNA in plasma samples of RhD negative pregnant women by real-time PCR technique. In this experiment, 30 plasma samples were collected from RhD negative pregnant women. DNA were extracted and real-time PCR reactions were done by specific primers for and beta-globin () genes. The Rh phenotypes of mothers and their babies were determined by agglutination method and specific anti-serums. From the 30 maternal plasma samples considered for genotyping, 16 samples revealed the presence of the gene. Regarding the fetal genotyping, 26 samples were positive for RhD and 4 samples were negative. In all cases, the predicted RhD and SRY genotypes were in concordance with the serologically determined phenotypes. The sensitivity, specificity and precision of the fetal and genotyping test were calculated 100 % ( value <0.0005; K = 100 %). The present study confirms the precision of fetal RHD and SRY genotyping in maternal plasma by real-time PCR technique. This method helps RhD negative pregnant women about the appropriate use of anti-D immunoglobulin and also on the management and prevention of HDFN. However, superior and confirmatory studies are recommended before fetal RHD genotyping by real-time PCR is introduced as a non-invasive prenatal screening test.