Low expression level of Tlr4 following IVM and higher fertilization rate through TLR4 receptor activation with LPS proposed that alteration in TLR4 expression and subsequent cytokine section could be a possible cause of low fertilization rate in IVM-derived oocytes.

Insulin resistance has been implicated as one of the best predictors for type 2 diabetes. Growing evidence propose the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) as short regulatory molecules in modulating and inducing resistance. In this regard, we have investigated the role of three selected miRNAs in insulin resistance development (miR‐135, miR‐202, and miR‐214), via assessing glucose uptake levels in C2C12 and L6 muscle cell lines. Interestingly, miRNA‐transfected cells demonstrated a significantly different glucose uptake compared to the positive control cells. In addition, we evaluated the expression levels of three putative miRNA target genes (Rho‐associated coiled‐coil containing protein kinase 1, serine/threonine kinase 2, and vesicle‐associated membrane protein 2) in transfected cells, recruiting luciferase assay. Our results indicated the targeting and downregulation of Rho‐associated coiled‐coil containing protein kinase 1 and serine/threonine kinase 2 genes in all miR‐transfected cell lines ( P ≤ 0.05), but not for vesicle‐associated membrane protein 2. MiRNA upregulation led to the poor stimulation of glucose uptake through insulin and developed insulin‐resistant phenotype in both muscle cell lines. Our study showed the role of three miRNAs in the induction of insulin resistance in cell lines and making them prone to type 2 diabetes development.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and among all types, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterised by high risk of recurrence. The discovery of microRNAs (miRNA) has opened the door for targeted therapy of TNBC. miR-340 down-regulation and sub-G1-accumulated cells in flowcytometry were observed in metastatic TNBC cells (data in publication), leading us to investigate the potential tumour suppressive role of this miRNA on cell-cycle-related genes. A lentiviral vector containing miR-340 was applied to over-express miR-340 in TNBC cell line, MDA-MB-231. Then, the expression of some cell-cycle-regulating genes including cyclin A2 (cyclin A2), Cyclin-dependent kinases 2 (CDK2), cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (P16, P18 and P27), Retinoblastoma (RB) and transcription factors (SMAD 4, SOX2 and SOX17) was investigated using quantitative RT-PCR. The results showed a decline in the expression of SOX2, P16 and P27 after miR-340 over-expression, whereas we observed an increase in the expression of cyclin A2, CDK2, SOX17, P18, SMAD 4 and RB. The over-expression of tumour suppressor genes such as RB and SOX17 and down-regulation of an oncogene such as SOX2 were in accordance to the inhibitory role of miR-340 that causes blockage of breast cancer metastasis which should be further investigated.

microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in implantation and development of mouse embryos. In this study, we aim to evaluate the possibility of miRNAs as potential biomarkers in the blastocyst culture to assess embryo quality. We also intend to investigate whether improved clinical outcomes of vitrified embryos agree with altered miRNA expressions. Mouse embryos from in vitro fertilization were vitrified at the two-cell stage. After thawing, the embryos were individually cultured and developed to the blastocyst stage. We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to evaluate miRNA expression levels in both vitrified and fresh groups, and culture medium (CM). The fibronectin binding assay was performed to examine for blastocyst attachment.The findings showed reduced expressions of miR-16-1 (0.2 ± 0.06) and miR-Let-7a (0.65 ± 0.1) after vitrification compared to fresh embryos. We observed significant upregulation of the target genes Vav3 (4.33 ± 0.25), integrin β-3 (Itg β3; 4.73 ± 0.2), and Bcl2 (2.29 ± 0.16) in the vitrified embryos compared to the fresh groups. Evaluation of blastocyst CM showed upregulation of miR-Let-7a (15.68 ± 0.89), miR-16-1 (16.18 ± 0.75), and miR-15a (13.36 ± 0.73) in the vitrified group in comparison to the fresh blastocysts (P < .05). The expression levels of miR-16-1 (3.28 ± 0.63), miR-15a (5.91 ± 0.38), and miR-Let-7a (9.07 ± 0.6) in CM of the vitrified blastocysts conducted on fibronectin were significantly higher than the fresh group (P < .05).This study showed that vitrification of embryos changes implantation and proliferation biomarkers. In addition, upregulated miRNAs in CM could be potentially used for noninvasive early assessment of embryo quality.

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Background: Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is an emerging uncontrollable and neglected infectious disease worldwide including Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profile of apoptosis- related miRNA and its target gene in macrophages. Methods: This study was carried out in the Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran from January 2016 to November 2018. Applying literature reviews, bioinformatics software, and microarray expression analysis, we selected miRNA-24-3p interfering in apoptosis pathway. The expression profile of this miRNA and target gene were investigated in Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER)-infected primary and RAW 264.7 macrophages (IBRC-C10072) compared with non-infected macrophages (control group) using quantitative Real-time PCR. Results: Results of bioinformatics analysis showed that miR-24-3p as anti-apoptotic miRNA inhibits pro-apoptotic genes (Caspases 3 and 7). Microarray expression data presented in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) revealed a significant difference in the expression level of selected miRNA and its target gene between two groups. QRT-PCR results showed that the expression of miR-24-3p was upregulated in L. major infectioned macrophages that approved the results of bioinformatics and microarray analysis. Conclusion: Parasite can alter miRNAs expression pattern in the host cells to establish infection and its survival. Alteration in miRNAs levels likely plays an important role in regulating macrophage functions following L. major infection. These results could highlight current understanding and new insights concerning the gene expression in macrophages during leishmaniasis and will help to development of novel strategies for control and treatment of CL.

Objectives: Endometrial receptivity is a complex event that occurs during the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle known as the "window of implantation". During this period, the endometrium develops characteristics that allow the adhesion and invasion of the embryo to the uterine epithelium. Accordingly, the expressions of miR-31 and its target gene were evaluated to study the effect of miR-31 on FOPX3 gene expression in recurrent implantation failure (RIF) patients and normal fertile women. More precisely, the aim of this study was to understand the expression of miR-31 as one of the important regulators of the FOXP3 gene in the endometrium of RIF patients versus receptive endometria from fertile patients. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 20 endometrial tissue samples of normal fertile women and RIF patients in order to evaluate miR-31 and its target gene expression. Results: According to the results of this study, a significant difference existed between RIF patients and normal fertile women (control group). The expression of the FOXP3 gene was more significant in the control group. miR-31 was also significantly expressed, which was due to the endometrial immunological disorder leading to the decreased expression of its target gene (FOXP3). Conclusions: In general, implant abnormalities and recurrent abortions were observed in RIF patients due to the decreased expression of the FOXP3 gene resulting from the inhibitory effects of miR-31.

The serious drawbacks of conventional pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) therapy like nonspecific toxicity and high resistance to chemo and radiation therapy, prompted the development and application of countless siRNA-based therapeutics. Significant technological success has been achieved in this area; however, the major challenges to siRNA-based therapeutics becoming a new paradigm in the pancreatic cancer therapy stem from enzymatic digestion, off-target effects, difficulty to enter cells, induction of innate immune responses, and renal clearance. Recent advances in drug delivery systems hold great promise for improving siRNA-based therapeutics and developing a new class of drugs, nano-siRNA drugs. However, a number of fundamental questions, regarding toxicity, immunostimulation, and poor knowledge of nano-bio interactions, need to be addressed before clinical translation. In this review, we provide recent achievements in designing and development of various non-viral delivery vehicles for pancreatic cancer therapy. More importantly, co-delivery of conventional anticancer drugs with siRNA as a new revolutionary pancreatic cancer combinational therapy is completely discussed.