Background & objective: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are presently isolated from various human tissues such as bone marrow. These cells have relatively high replication potential and can differentiate into various cell lineages with mesodermal and non-mesodermal origin and therefore, show promising in treatment of diseases. Their striking features like availability of source, ease of isolation and replication, and migration to lesions have made them appropriate for disease treatment and tissue engineering. The low frequency of MSCs in bone marrow necessitates their in-vitro expansion prior to clinical use. However, over-expansion may lead to aging or replicative senescence of MSCs and other complications for the patient.
Materials & methods: In this study, we isolated BM MSCs and cultured them in vitro. After the first passage cell surface markers were determined by flowcytometry and the cells propagated in culture for more passages. Telomere length was assessed using Telo TAGGG Telomere Length Assay kit after each cell passage.
Results: Our data showed that there is a direct correlation between in-vitro expansion of MSCs and reduction of telomere length. The telomere length was shortened by 1 kb after nine passages. This means that expansion induces aging through reduction of telomere length.
Conclusion: These data suggest that in-vitro expansion of MSCs may restrict their future clinical application due to telomere length shortening which happens in each cell division. Thus, it would be much better to consider early passages of MSCs for cell and gene therapy due to their proliferation, differentiation and homing ability.

Background and Objective: Discovery of genetic changes which contribute to cellular neoplastic and malignant tumor transformation is one of the major aims in oncology researches. The aim of this study was to investigate the DMBA-induced breast cancer in SD rat strains using bioinformatical methods and also to find their homologous regions in human chromosomes. Materials and Methods: In this research, we used SD rat strains as a suitable model for DMBA-induced breast cancer. We gavaged the rats twice with 10 mg DMBA solved in 0.5 ml sesame oil. After tumors appeared in DMBA-treated rats, they were subjected to histopathology and immunohistochemistery studies, cell culture, metaphase chromosomal preparation, and finally G-banding stain. According to databases, we collected genes in the affected area and prepared a gene list by comparing genome of the rats and human in changed chromosomal segments. Results: Our data showed numerical and frequent structural changes in different number of chromosomes. For example, we found recurrent gain in chromosomes 3, 4, 8, 12, 17, loss in chromosomes 3, 9, 12 and 15, also deletion in chromosomes 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 20 and addition in chromosomes 11, 15 and 19. Conclusion: According to these chromosomal changes and based on bioinformatics studies we predict that the genesTGFBR3, HACE1, UBR5, CALB2, HPR, LCP1, RRM2B, ABO, ZFHX3, TNFSF11, ABL1, EPSTI1, PRDM1, REG3A, FOXA1 and PRKD1, probably may contribute to the development of breast cancer.

Background and Objective: Nowadays, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered as a promising tool for treatment of different diseases. Due to the low frequency of MSCs, however, it seems inevitable to expand them in vitro prior to use, which could affect the quality of the cells.  In all isolation procedures, the density gradient separation of Ficoll is used for volume reduction and RBC exclusion.  In this study, the efficiency of Ficoll density gradient was evaluated.
Materials and Methods: Human bone marrow samples were laid over Ficoll.  Following centrifugation, the upper fraction containing the mononuclear cell layer and the lower fraction (RBC layer) were used for in vitro culture. The number and characteristics of MSCs in both layers were then compared with each other.
Results: Inspection of the cultured cells showed that the lower fraction contained MSC-like cells. These cells had spindle–like appearances and exhibited a high capacity for expansion. Furthermore, they showed a potential for differentiating into adipocyte and osteocyte differentiation.  Cytofluorometric analysis showed that these cells were positive for CD73, CD90, and CD105, and negative for CD45, CD34, and CD31.  It was also found that this fraction contained 58 ± 22% of the total isolated MSCs. 
Conclusion: Density gradient is not a very efficient method for separation of MSCs because it leads to sedimentation of most of the cells to the lower compartment during centrifugation, which results in their exclusion. Therefore, there is a need for developing new methods to obtain larger amounts of MSCs from bone marrow.

Background and Objective: Transcription factors (TF) and microRNAs, are the largest families of transacting gene regulatory molecules in multicellular organisms. Our goal was to examine the effect of aerobic running on the expression of miR-124 and RE1-silencing TF in the hippocampus of adult male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: A total of twelve 8-week-old adult male Wistar rats with a mean body weight of 200-225 g were selected as subjects. Following 1 week of familiarization, the animals were randomly divided into two groups of test (n=6) and control (n=6). In the test group, animals were forced to run on a treadmill, at a speed of 25 m/min for 30 minutes per day, for 14 consecutive days. The animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the last exercise session, and the hippocampi were removed from both sides of the brain hemispheres. Changes in the expression of miR-124 and RE1-silencing TF were analyzed using the quantitative RT-PCR technique. Results: Statistical analysis by independent sample t-test, showed that there was a significant difference between the exercise and control groups (P≤0.05), and while exercise significantly elevated the expression of miR-124, it reduced the expression of RE1-silencing TF. Conclusion: Our findings show that forced aerobic running at a speed of 25 m/min could lead to positive changes in mechanisms involved in exercise-induced neurogenesis.

Background and Objective: As the main virulence factor of Helicobacter pylori, HP-NAP has an important role in immunoprotection against this pathogen. This antigen is a strong candidate as a part of multi-component vaccine in the clinical trial against this bacterium. Due to NAP importance, it was used in this study as a template for optimization of heterologous genes with a low A-T content and low expression in E. coli. Materials and Methods: A synthetic single gene that could reach the highest level of expression in the host was designed by using bioinformatics tools. Results: A number of factors that influence gene expression level were changed for HP-NAP gene optimizing: the codon usage bias in E. coli was changed the G+C content was upgraded from 38% to 45% and the stem-loop structure was broken. These could result to prolong of the half-life of the mRNA and overexpression of recombinant of HP-NAP protein up to 800 mg per liter. Conclusion: Applying of bioinformatics tools was appropriated to optimize of HP-NAP overexpression in E. coli. From our results, it appears that combination of In Silico and experimental approach is a logical approach for expression of heterologous genes in another host.

Background and Objective: Since the effect of self-respect upon the mental hygiene and physical health of man and his social behavior cannot be ignored, it seems necessary to shed light on the standpoint of religion and science in this issue. The importance of this concern is manifested when we choose coexisting relationship exist between both religion and science. In this research, we demonstrate the concomitant relationship between religion and science concerning self-concept and self-respect and their effect on physical and mental health. The word " self-concept " as a social psychological term ,contains this kind of evaluation along with a series of one’s beliefs and feelings about himself or others about him, and is equal to the word "Mokhtal" in Quranic terms. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, the data were collected from the documents and books and journals in the libraries. Results: Quranic emphasis on creation of an objective- based universe especially in the case of human beings causes to understand this fact that man should not miss his valuable pearl of existence very heedlessly. In the Social psychology, this kind of attitude toward the existence and man can be as a reason for "self -esteem", which is considered as the cornerstone for a normal behavior in society. Conclusion: Among the findings of this research is illumination of a mutual relationship existing between science and religion and providing some new evidence for the influence of this relationship on health of human beings.

Background and Objective: Hepatitis B virus is one of the hepadnaviruses which is an important cause of acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, prenatal transmission is the most important spreading route of hepatitis B in Iran and probability of its conversion into asymptomatic carrier in newborns of these women is high. Thus, this study was designed in order to have more accurate information about its prevalence among pregnant women in Zanjan city. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, from 1317 pregnant women who referred to healthcare centers, 2 mL blood sample was taken and after centrifugation the serums were kept frozen in -20℃. ELISA kit was used for measuring HBs-Ab and Immuno affinity chromatography was used for HBs-Ag measurement. Results: In this study, the prevalence of HBs-Ag and HBs-Ab was 0.4% and 38.4%, respectively. There was no correlation among the HBs-Ag positive individuals, history of jaundice, different age groups, and location. However, a statistically significant relationship was found between education level and positive HBs-Ag, as well as the history of vaccination against hepatitis B and the positive HBs-Ab. Conclusion: According to the results, it seems that parrallel to increase in education and awareness level, especially in pregnant women, the incidence and consequences of the chronic form of this disease has been reduced.

Background and Objective: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Saffron is one of the most well-known plants as an antioxidant and anticancer. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of saffron on the viability of breast cancer cells and simultaneous interaction effect of Paclitaxel drug. Materials and Methods: In this study, saffron extract (Crocus sativus L.) was prepared by Soxhlet method. Breast cancer cells (4T1) were prepared from the Pasteur cell bank then passaged several times until the required number of cells obtained. Cytotoxicity of Paclitaxel and the extracts of saffron were assessed separately and simultaneously using colorimetric MTT assay and trypan Blue test with certain concentrations of drug and extracts in the treatment period of 48 and 72 h. Then, the rate of apoptogenic changes in each compound was evaluated by Hoechst and PI methods. Results: Data from 48 and 72 h treatment of extract of Crocus sativus showed antitumor effects on breast cancer cells. These effects were dose and time dependent. The synergistic effects in 48 hour treatment indicated a significant increase in cytotoxicity of saffron/Paclitaxel (P <0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that ethanol and aqueous extract of saffron and Paclitaxel have significant anticancer properties against breast cancer cells. It was also found that the aqueous and ethanol extracts of saffron can considerably increase cytotoxicity in cancer cells induced by Paclitaxel while the aqueous extract of saffron showed better results. Referenses 1- Abdullaev Fl. Cancer chemoperventive and tumoricidal properties of saffron. Biol Med. 2002 227: 20-25. 2- Eisenberg D, Kessler R. Saffron redgold of brackish. Tehran Agricultural Information Bank. 1995. 3- Akhondzadeh S, Tahmacebi-Pour N, Noorbalaa A, et al. Crocus sativus L. 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Erlotinib added to carboplatin and paclitaxel as first-line treatment of ovarian cancer:A phase II study based on surgical reassessment.Gynecologic Oncology. 2010 119: 451-6. 10- Chryssanthi D, Lamari F, Iatrou G, Pylara A, Karamanos N, Cordopatis P. Inhibition ofbreast cancer cell proliferation by style constituents of different crocus species. Anticancer Res. 2007 27: 357-62. 11- Samarghandian S, Boskabadi MH, Davoodi S. Use of in vitro assays to assess the potential antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in human lung cancer cell line. Pharmacognosy Magazine. 2010 6(24): 309-14. 12- Tavakkol-Afshari J, Brook A , Mousavi SH. Study of cytotoxic and apoptogenic properties of saffron extract in human cancer cell lines. Food Chem. Toxicol. 2008 46: 3443-7. 13- Mark A, Marcus A, Jairo O, et al. Phase II trial of paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and carboplatin in extensivestagesmall cell lung cancer. Lung Cancer. 2003 40: 91-7. 14- Chakrabarty R, Das I. Saffron can prevent chemically induced skin carcinogenesis in swiss albino mice. Asian Pac J. 2004 5(1): 70-6. 15- Escribano J, Alonso G, Coca-Prados M, Fernandes J. Crocin safranal and picrocrocin from saffron inhibit the growth of human cancer cells in vitro. Cancer Letters Jurnal.1996 100(1): 23-30. 16- Tavakol-Afshari J, Rakhshandeh H, Brook A, Shahrokh abadi Kh. Study of cytutocity Saffron extract on carcinoma cell lines(HepG2). Azad Islamic University Jurnal. 2010 19(3): 154-9. 17- Mousavi S, Tavakol-Afshari J, Brook A, Jafari I. Role of caspases and Bax protein in Saffron-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. Food & Chemical Toxicology. 2009 47: 1909-13. 18- Abdullaev F, Macvicar C, Frenkel G. Inhibition by selenium of DNA and RNA synthesis in normal and malignant cells in vitro. Cancer Lett. 1994 139: 43-49. 19- Mousavi S, Moallem SA, Mehri S, Shahsavand S. Improvement of cytotoxic and apoptogenic properties of crocin in cancer cell lines by its nanoliposomal form. Cancer. 2011 49(10): 1039-45. 20- Chang F, Li L, Wu C, Liu T, Peng F. Paclitaxel induced apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma cell lines. Cancer. 1996 77(1): 8-14. 21- Ashrafi M, Taghikhani M, Moosavi-Movahedi A. The effect of carotenoids obtained from saffron on histone H1 structure and H1–DNA interaction. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 2005 36(4): 246-52. 22- Ganeyan Z, Hosseinzadeh H. Effectes of saffronon polymerytion microtubule inbreast cancer cell line. Iran danesh. 2010 4(1): 31-9. 23- Abdullaev FI. Cancer chemopreventive andtumoricidal properties of saffron (crocus sativusL.). Exp Biol Med. 2005 227: 20-5. 24- Premkumar K, Thirunavukkarasu C, AbrahamSK, Santhiya ST, Ramesh A. Protective effect of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) aqueous extract against genetic damage induced by anti-tumor agents in mice. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2006 25: 79-84. 25- Hosseinzadeh H, Sadeghnia HR. 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Background and Objective: Aging like many complex traits is the result of interaction between genome and environmental factors and epigenetic mechanisms as a central connector links these two markers. So far, investigations on age-related characteristics and biomarkers predicting survival and risk of death have been carried out, none of which led to an overall consensus among the researchers. Identical twins are good models to study epigenetic changes associated with senescence. MicroRNAs are small non-coding regulatory RNA molecules known as one of the epigenetic mechanisms involved in the aging process. The aim of this study was to compare some of miRNAs expression associated with aging in pairs of identical twins. Materials and Methods: In this study, variations in expression of miR-106a, miR-24 and miR-107 whose target genes are associated with cell cycle regulation, in six pairs of identical twins within two age ranges of 15 - 17 and 45 - 50 years old were studied using qRT-PCR technique. Results: There was a significant difference in expressions of miR-24, miR-106a and miR-107 (Fold change= 22 and 37) between two age ranges. Also, the level of discordance in expression of all three miRNAs between twins increased with aging (Fold change= 401 and 733). Conclusion: Increase in the expression of miR-106a, miR-24 and miR-107 may be considered as a marker of aging. A trend rising differences in expression levels related to aging may confirm the environmental effects on the identical twins.

Background and Objective: The importance of β-adrenergic signals in bone formation and resorption has been well investigated. However, little is known about the role of β -adrenergic signals in osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which is critically important in bone physiology and pharmacology. In this study, RUNX2 and Osteocalcin gene expression were quantified in MSCs differentiated by osteoblastic differentiation medium (ODM) and Isoproterenol (ISO). Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, human mesenchymal stem cells were treated by osteoblastic differentiation medium and ISO. RNA extraction was carried out from both osteoblastic differentiation medium at 4 and 21 days of differentiation and from undifferentiated MSCs. RUNX2 and osteocalcin gene expression were quantified by quantitative Real Time-PCR. Results: Isoproterenol decreased the expression of RUNX2 and osteocalcin genes at 4 and 21 days of osteoblastic differentiation. Statistically significant difference was found at 21 days of differentiation (P<0.05). Conclusion: Isoproterenol negatively affects MSC osteogenesis. These findings suggest that human mesenchymal stem cell is also a target for β-adrenergic and may provide valuable treatment option in bone diseases. References 1- Serre CM, Farlay D, Delmas PD, Chenu C. Evidence for a dense and intimate innervation of the bone tissue, including glutamate-containing fibers. Bone. 1999 25: 623-9. 2- Togari A, Mogi M, Arai M, Yamamoto S, Koshihara Y. Expression of mRNA for axon guidance molecules,such as semaphorin-III,netrins and neurotrophins,in human osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Brain Res. 2000 29 878: 204-9. 3- Cuscito C, Colaianni G, Tamma R, et al. Adrenergic stimulation decreases osteoblast oxytocin synthesis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 1237: 53-7. 4- Bonnet N, Pierroz D, Ferrari L. Adrenergic control of bone remodeling and its implications for the treatment of osteoporosis. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact. 2008 8: 94-104 5- Takeda S, Elefteriou F, Levasseur R, et al. Leptin regulates bone formation via the sympathetic nervous system. Cell. 2002 111: 305-317. 6- Kondo H, Takeuchi S, Togari A. Beta-adrenergic signaling stimulates osteoclastogenesis via reactive oxygen species. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2013 304: E507-15. 7- Qin W, Bauman WA, Cardozo CP. Evolving concepts in neurogenic osteoporosis. Curr Osteoporos Rep. 2010 8: 212-8. 8- Rejnmark L, Vestergaard P, Mosekilde L. Treatment with beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors,and calciumchannel blockers is associated with a reduced fracture risk: a nationwide case-control study. J Hypertens. 2006 24: 581-9. 9- Yan L, Vatner DE, O’Connor JP, et al. Type 5 adenylyl cyclase disruption increases longevity and protects against stress. Cell. 2007 130: 247-58. 10- Patricia Ducy, Thorsten Schinke, Gerard Karsenty. The osteoblast: A sophisticated fibroblast under central surveillance. Science. 2000 289: 1501-4. 11- Stein G, Lian J, Stein J, Wijnen A, Montecino M. Transcriptional control of osteoblast growth and differentiation. Physiol Rev. 1996 76: 593-629. 12- Celeste A, Rosen V, Buecker J, Kriz R, Wang E, Wozney A. Isolation of the human gene for bone gla protein utilizing mouse and rat cDNA clones . J M EMBO J .1986 5: 1885-90. 13- Lee TC, Lee TH, Huang YH, Chang NK, Lin YJ. Comparison of surface markers between human and rabbit mesenchymal stem cells. PLoS ONE. 2014 9: e111390 14- Aitken SJ, Landao-Bassonga E, Ralston SH, Idris AI. Beta 2-adrenoreceptor ligands regulate osteoclast differentiation in vitro by direct and indirect mechanisms. Arch of Biochem and Biophysics. 2009 482: 96-103. 15- Farshdousti Hagh M, Noruzinia M, Mortazavi Y, et al. Comparison of quantitative expression of runx2 in mesenchymal stem cells (mscs) differentiated by osteoblastic differentiation medium and zoledronic acid. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Scie. 2012 11: 377-90. 16- Haifang Li, Chichun Fong, Yao Chen, Guoping Cai, Mengsu Yang. Beta 2 and Beta 3 but not Beta 1 adrenergic receptors are involved in osteogenesis of mouse mesenchymal stem cells via cAMP/PKA signaling. Arch of Biochem and Biophysics. 2010 496: 77-83. 17- Ma Y, Krueger JJ, Redmon SN, et al. Extracellular norepinephrine clearance by the norepinephrine transporter is required for skeletal homeostasis. J Biol Chem. 2013 18 288: 30105-13. 18- Hirai T, Tanaka K, Togari A. β-adrenergic receptor signaling regulates Ptgs2 by driving circadian gene expression in osteoblasts. J Cell Sci. 2014 1127: 3711-9. 19- Dominique D, Bonnet N, Bianchi N, et al. Deletion of B-adrenergic receptor 1, 2, or both leads to different bone phenotypes and response to mechanical stimulation. J Bone Miner Res. 2012 27: 1252-62. 20- Pierroz DD, Bouxsein ML, Muzzin P, Rizzoli R, Ferrari SL. Bone loss following ovariectomy is maintained in absence of adrenergic receptor beta1 and beta2 signaling. J Bone Miner Res. 2005 20: S277. 21- Yirmiya R, Goshen I, Bajayo A, et al. Depression induces bone loss through stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. PNAS. 2006 103: 16876-16881. 22- Bonnet N, Benhamou CL, Brunet-Imbault B, et al. Severe bone alterations under beta 2 agonist treatment: bone mass, microarchitecture and strength analyses in female rats. Bone. 2005 37: 622-33. 23- Kitaura T, Tsunekawa N, Kraemer WJ. Inhibited longitudinal growth of bones in young male rats by clenbuterol. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 34: 267-73. 24- Hamrick MW, Della-Fera MA, Choi YH, Pennington C, Hartzell D, Baile CA. Leptin treatment induces loss of bone marrow adipocytes and increases bone formation in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. J Bone Miner Res. 2005 20: 994-1001. 25- Hamrick MW, Pennington C, Newton D, Xie D, Isales C. Leptin deficiency produces contrasting phenotypes in bones of the limb and spine. Bone . 2004 34: 376-83. 26- De Vries F, Pouwels S, Bracke M, et al. Use of beta-2 agonists and risk of hip/femur fracture: a population based case-control study. Pharmaco epidemiol Drug Saf. 2007 16: 612-29. 27- Schwartzman RJ. New treatments for reflex sympathetic dystrophy. N Engl J Med. 2000 343: 1811-2. 28- Collomp K, Le Panse B, Portier H, et al. Effects of acute salbutamol intake during a wingate test. Int J Sports Med. 2005 26: 513-7. 29- Veldhuis-Vlug AG, El Mahdiui M, Endert E, et al. Bone resorption is increased in pheochromocytoma patients and normalizes following adrenalectomy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 97: E2093-E2097. 30- Shui C, Spelsberg TC, Riggs BL, Khosla S. Changes in runx2/Cbfa1 expression and activity during osteoblastic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells. J Bone Miner Res. 2003 18: 213-221. 31- Liu F, Akiyama Y, Tai S, Maruyama K, Muramatsu K, Yamaguchi K. Changes in the expression of CD106, osteogenic genes and transcription factors involved in the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. J Bone Muner Metab. 2008 26: 312-20. 32- Brann DW, Hendry LB, Mahesh VB. Emerging diversities in the mechanism of action of steroid hormones. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 1995 52: 113-33 33- Byers BAPavlath GK, Murphy TJ, Karsenty G, Garcia AJ. Cell type dependent up- regulation of in vitro mineralization after overexpression of the osteoblast specific transcription factor RUNX2.cbfa1. J Bone Miner Res. 2002 17: 1931-44. 34- Aubin JE. Bone stem cells. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. 1998 73-82. 35- Kulterer B, Friedl G, Jandrositz A, et al. Gene expression profiling of human mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow during expansion and osteoblast differentiation. BMC Genomics. 2007 8:70.

Background and Objective: Nowadays, although umbilical cord blood is a commonly used source of hematopoietic stem cell, its low frequency of these cells is the main factor limiting its clinical application. The transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells derived from placenta tissue along with umbilical cord blood cells of the same sample may be an appropriate approach to solve this problem. In this study, we tried to mimic the niche of placenta by nano fiber scaffold in order to expand the hematopoietic stem cells derived from placenta tissue. Materials and Methods: Different stromal cells along with hematopoietic stem cells derived from placenta tissue were seeded on nano fiber scaffold produced from PLLA coated with collagen. Then, the rate of proliferation in these niches was studied. Results: The expansion in the mimicked niche associated with 3.6 fold increase in the number of cells but the capacity of forming colonies decreased significantly (P<0.0001). Also, the percentage of hematopoietic stem cells increased. Nevertheless, the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Due to a decreased capacity in forming colonies of hematopoietic stem cells derived from placenta, the expansion of stem cells from a part of placenta is not an appropriate solution and other approaches such as isolation of hematopoietic stem cells from the whole placenta tissue should be considered. References 1- Delaney C, Gutman JA, Appelbaum FR. Cord blood transplantation for hematological malignancies: conditioning regimens, double cord transplant and infectious complications. Br J Haematol. 2009 147: 207-16. 2- Escalon MP, Komanduri KV. Cord blood transplantation: evolving strategies to improve engraftment and immune reconstitution. Curr Opin Oncol. 2010 22: 122-9. 3- Hofmeister CC, Zhang J, Knight KL, Le P, Stiff PJ. Ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood stem cells for transplantation: growing knowledge from the hematopoietic niche. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2007 39: 11-23. 4- Tung SS, Parmar S, Robinson SN, De Lima M, Shpall Ej. Ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood for transplantation. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol. 2010 23: 245-57. 5- Devin SM, Lazarus HM, Emerson SG. Clinical application of hematopoietic stem cells expansion: current status and future prospects. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2003 31: 241-52. 6- Shpall EJ, Quinones R, Giller R, et al. Transplantation of ex vivo expanded cord blood. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2002 8: 368-76. 7- Yao CL, Chu IM, Hsieh TB, Hwang SM. A systematic strategy to optimize ex vivo expansion medium for human hematopoietic stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells. Exp Hematol. 2004 32: 720-7. 8- Schofield R. The relationship between the spleen colony-forming cell and the haemopoietic stem cell. Blood Cells. 1978: 4: 7-25. 9- Mercier FE, Ragu C, Scadden DT. The bone marrow at the cross roads of blood and immunity. Nat Rev Immunol. 2011 12: 49-60. 10- Ugarte F, Forsberg EC. Haematopoietic stem cell niches: new insights inspire new questions. EMBO J. 2013 32: 2535-47. 11- Frenette PS1, Pinho S, Lucas D, Scheiermann C. Mesenchymal stem cell: keystone of the hematopoietic stem cell niche and a stepping-stone for regenerative medicine. Annu Rev Immunol. 2013 31: 285-316. 12- Mendez-Ferrer S, Michurina TV, Ferraro F, et al. Mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells form a unique bone marrow niche. Nature. 2010 466: 829-34. 13- Sideri A, Neokleous N, Brunet De La Grange P, et al. An overview of the progress on double umbilical cord blood transplantation. Haematologica. 2011 96: 1213-20. 14- Barker JN, Weisdorf DJ, DeFor TE, et al. Transplantation of 2 partially HLA-matched umbilical cord blood units to enhance engraftment in adults with hematologic malignancy. Blood. 2005 105: 1343-7. 15- Gekas C, Dieterlen-Lievre F, Orkin SH, Mikkola HK. The placenta is a niche for hematopoietic stem cells. Dev Cell .2005 8: 365-75. 16- Barcena A, Kapidzic M, Muench MO, et al. The human placenta is a hematopoietic organ during the embryonic and fetal periods of development. Dev Biol. 2009 327: 24-33. 17- Serikov V, Hounshell C, Larkin S, et al. Human term placenta as a source of hematopoietic cells. Exp Biol Med. 2009 234: 813-23. 18- Omidkhoda A, Kaviani S, Soleimani M, et al. Isolation and characterization of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells derived from human placenta tissue. Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Organ. 2014 11: 4-11. 19- Ehring B, Biber K, Upton TM, et al. Expansion of HPCs from cord blood in a novel 3D matrix. Cytotherapy. 2003 5: 490-9. 20- Di Maggio N1, Piccinini E, Jaworski M, Trumpp A, Wendt DJ, Martin I. Toward modeling the bone marrow niche using scaffold-based 3D culture systems. Biomaterials. 2011 32: 321-9. 21- Oswald J, Steudel C, Salchert K, et al. Gene expression profiling of CD34+ hematopoietic cells expanded in a collagen I matrix. Stem Cells. 2006 24: 494-500. 22- Leisten I, Kramann R, Ventura Ferreira MS, et al. 3D co-culture of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and mesenchymal stem cells in collagen scaffolds as a model of the hematopoietic niche. Biomaterials. 2012 33: 1736-47. 23- Mortera-Blanco T, Mantalaris A, Bismarck A, Aqel N, Panoskaltsis N. Long-term cytokine-free expansion of cord blood mononuclear cells in three-dimensional scaffolds. Biomaterials. 2011 32: 9263-70. 24- Ferreira MS, Schneider RK, Wagner W, et al. Two-dimensional polymer-based cultures expand cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cells and support engraftment of NSG Mice. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2013 19: 25-38. 25- Xue C1, Kwek KY, Chan JK, Chen Q, Lim1 M. The hollow fiber bioreactor as a stroma-supported, serum-free ex vivo expansion platform for human umbilical cord blood cells. Biotechnol J. In press.

Background and Objective: In this study the effect of high intensity interval training on miR-29 expression that is expressed in the heart and in the regulation of physiological processes, including extracellular matrix and cardiac hypertrophy of healthy male rats were examined. Materials and Methods: 16 Wistar rats were divided into training (n=8) and control (n=8) groups. After one week of familiarization, the training protocol was performed for 8 weeks. The progressive training protocol included 6 min warm up (with 50 to 60% of VO2max), 7 frequency (4 min with 80 to 90% of VO2max and 3 min with 50 to 60% of VO2max) and 5 min cool down with 50 to 60% of VO2max.The animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the last session of training program and cardiac samples were kept at a temperature of - 80 ° C and the variable expression levels (miR-29a، miR-29b and miR-29c) were measured by RT-PCR method. Analysis of the results was performed by independent t-test. Results: Training led to a significant increase in miR-29a (3.5 fold), miR-29b (2.24 fold) and miR-29c (9.77 fold) gene expression in the training group compared with the control group (p<0.001). Also training brought about 22% increase in heart weight to body weight ratio (HW/BW) in the training group (p<0.001). Conclusion: These results point out that training increases miR-29 expression which is associated with physiological cardiac hypertrophy and improved heart performance. 1- Rohini A, Agrawal N, Koyani C, et al. Molecular targets and regulators of cardiac hypertrophy. Pharmacological Research. 2010 61: 269-80. 2- Braun LT. Physiologic versus pathologic hypertrophy: endurance exercise and chronic pressure overload. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 1994 8: 39-56. 3- Gaeini AA, Kazemi F, Mehdiabadi J, et al. The effect of 8-week aerobic interval training and a detraining period on left ventricular structure and function in non-athlete healthy men. 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Aerobic exercise reduces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and increases contractility, Ca2+ sensitivity and SERCA-2 in rat after myocardial infarction. Cardiovasc Res. 2002 54: 162-74. 19- Kemi OJ, Loennechen JP, Wisløff U, et al. Intensity-controlled treadmill running in mice: cardiac and skeletal muscle hypertrophy. J App Physiol. 2002 93: 1301-09. 20- Nigam A, Gremeaux V, Meyer P, et al. High-intensity interval training in cardiac rehabilitation. Sports Medicine. 2012 42: 587-605. 21- Maklaren D, Morton J. Biochemistry for sport and exercise metabolism: translated by Gaeini AA. Tehran, Iran. samt publication 2012. 22- Medeiros A, Oliveira E M, Gianolla R, et al. Swimming training increases cardiac vagal activity and induces cardiac hypertrophy in rats. Brazilian J Med Biol Res. 2004 37: 1909-1917. 23- Evangelista FS, Brum PC, Krieger JE. Duration-controlled swimming exercise training induces cardiac hypertrophy in mice. 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Background and Objective: Genetic factors greatly impact the response to treatment in patients. Recent studies on rs10853728 single nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter area, determined the IL-28B gene as a host factor affecting the treatment of hepatitis C infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate this polymorphism among Iranian patients

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 53 blood samples of patients with hepatitis C (49 patients were sensitive and 4 patients resistant to treatment) and 30 healthy controls. After DNA extraction from buffy coat samples, the frequency of polymorphisms was determined. Finally, the PCR products were detected on agarose gel electrophoresis. For statistical analysis of the data, the chi-square method was used.

Results: About 30 healthy controls (negative for HCV Ab ELISA test) participated in this survey. Of the 53 patients tested, none of them were homozygous CC (Wild Type) and only 2 (%3.8) were homozygous GG, one of which was sensitive to treatment. Of the 51 remaining patients, 48 (%96.2) were heterozygous CG and sensitive to treatment with peg interferon and ribavirin while 3 of the patients were resistant to treatment.

Conclusion: Statistical analysis showed that patients with the G allele had significantly higher sustained viralogic response (SVR) rate than those with the C allele. This data suggest that genotype detection of rs10853728  single nucleotide polymorphism may be useful as an important predictive biomarker for SVR in patients infected with HCV. However, further studies with more samples will lead to more valid results.

Background and Objective: Differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into neurons has great potential in the therapy of damaged nerve tissue. Neural tissue engineering offers tremendous promise to combat the effects of disease, aging and injury in the nervous system. The aim of this study was to investigate the differentiation of adipose derived stem cells to neuron like cells on aligned nanofibrous scaffold.

Materials and Methods: In this study, the surface of aligned polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous scaffolds were modified with O₂ plasma treatment to enhance their hydrophilicity in order to differentiate hADSCs into neuron like cells. The chemical and mechanical characteristics of electrospined aligned PCL fibers were determined using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the calculation of contact angles. The differentiation of adipose derived stem cells was performed using neuronal inducing factors including bFGF, forskolin and NGF with 1% FBS for 8 days.

Results: Real-time PCR analysis indicated the upregulation of Map2, NSE, and NFM genes and down-regulation of Nestin. Also the expression of neuronal proteins such as MAP2 and βTubullin were confirmed by immunocytochemistry. It was found that the direction of cell elongation and neurite outgrowth on the aligned nanofibrous scaffolds is parallel to the direction of fibers.

Conclusion: The results of the present study proposed that p-PCL is a cost-effective material for differentiation of hADSCs into neuron like cells and could apply in nerve tissue repair.

Background and Objective: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a new class of non-coding RNAs that are currently being studied extensively. LncRNAs have many biological roles in gene expression, cell development and diseases. Recent studies showed that lncRNAs have an important role in cancers, including hematopoietic disorders which can be a tool for easier diagnosis and prognosis of many diseases and also a possible alternative treatment. This study investigates the expression of long non-coding RNA HOTAIR, in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

Materials and Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 30 patients with CML and 20 healthy controls.  The selected patients had no history of treatment and all patients were positive for BCR-ABL. Healthy controls were chosen based on similarity with the patients' age and gender and had no history of disease. Total RNA was extracted from the patients and healthy controls and HOTAIR gene expression levels were measured using qRT-PCR technique.

Results: Quantitative comparison of gene expression between the patients and normal controls showed that HOTAIR gene expression in patients with CML is significantly increased compared to healthy individuals (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings showed that changes in the expression of HOTAIR gene can be involved in the biology of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Background and Objective: Most patients suffering from kidney failure who undergo dialysis for a long time have complaints of sleep disorders. Sleep disorders in these patients accompany some serious complications that reduce quality of life and increase mortality. Nowadays most treatments  are pharmaceutical drugs, which have many side effects and aren’t cost benefit . The aim of this study was to survey the effect of cool hemodialysis on improving sleep quality in hemodialysis patients.

Materials and Methods: This was a pre-post test, quasi experimental study that was performed in Semnan Fatemiyeh hospital. 23 patients were purposefully selected. Data collection was performed using demographic questionnaires, patients’ medical records and Pittsburgh Sleep Index. Patients underwent standard hemodialysis (37°^c) 3 times weekly, for 4 weeks, and afterwards they underwent cool hemodialysis (35°^c), in the same circumstances and time intervals. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical data analysis.

Results: Results showed that the mean and standard deviation of patient age was 60.2 ± 14.6 years. 47.8% patients required dialysis due to diabetes, 17.4% due to hypertension, 13% due to congenital diseases and glomerulonephritis. Sleep quality (P<0.001) in cool hemodialysis was improved significantly in comparison to standard hemodialysis (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Cool hemodialysis (instead of standard hemodialysis) could improve sleep quality thus improving quality of life in dialysis patients.

Background and Objective: Carbon tetrachloride is one of the chemical toxins widely used in hygiene industries. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Echinophora platyloba extract (EPE) on serum levels of testosterone and gonadotropins in male rats induced with carbon tetrachloride.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study 49  male Wistar  rats (220-250 g) were randomly divided into seven groups (n=7): Control group (2 ml/kg  normal saline, daily for 4 days, ip), toxicant group (2 ml/kg CCl₄+olive oil.1:1, single dose ,ip), sham group (2 ml/kg  olive oil, single dose, ip), positive control group (400 mg/kg EPE daily for 4 days, ip), toxicant-treated groups 1, 2 and 3 (CCl₄+ olive oil.1:1, single dose and 200 and 400 and 800 mg/kg of EPE, respectively, daily for 4 days, ip). At the end of the treatments, serum testosterone and FSH & LH hormones were measured.
Results: CCL₄ resulted in significantly decreased testosterone and increased FSH & LH serum levels in the toxicant group compared with the control group (P<0.001). EPE treatment with 400 and 800 mg/kg resulted in a significant increase in testosterone and decrease in FSH & LH serum levels compared with the toxicant group (P<0.001).   
Conclusion: Hydro-ethanolic E. platyloba extract increased serum levels of testosterone and decreased FSH and LH serum levels in male rats induced with CCL₄.

Background and Objective: Umbilical Cord blood (UCB) hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is a therapeutic approach for the treatment of malignant and non-malignant hematologic disorders due to ease of collection, lack of risk for donors and lower levels of infection. Moreover, it is considered a good alternative for bone marrow HSC transplantation. The main limitation of their use is insufficient amount of HSCs due to low volume of blood collected from umbilical cord. A possible solution to overcome this limitation may be the in vitro expansion of these cells on 3D nanofiber scaffolds, with the goal of natural niche’s topography and chemistry mimicking.
Materials and Methods: In this study, MACS isolated CD133+ cells were confirmed via flow cytometry and then cultured in three conditions:  2-dimensional culture (2D), 3D PLLA scaffold and collagen-fibronectin coated PLLA scaffold.
Comparison between three aforementioned groups showed that collagen-fibronectin coated scaffold had the highest expansion level CD133+ cells, while also having the highest clonogenic capacity and biocompatibility.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the protein coating of 3D PLLA scaffold with collagen-fibronectin provides a suitable system for the expansion of cells with minimal differentiation in vitro.