objective: mir-302-367 is a cluster of polycistronic micrornas that are exclusively expressed in embryonic stem (es) cells. the mir-302-367 promoter is functional during embryonic development but is turned off in later stages. motivated by the cancer stem cell hypothesis, we explored the potential expression of mir-302 in brain tumor cell lines. materials and methods: in the present experimenta...

Scorpion venom toxicity is one of the major medical concerns from old years, due to its influence on human activities and health. From many years ago a lot of researches established to examine different aspects of venom toxicity and its effects on different organs. During these years researchers are doing more specific studies on the cytotoxicity of scorpion venom. In Iran, Odonthobuthus doriae...

Scorpion venom toxicity is one of the major medical concerns from old years, due to its influence on human activities and health. From many years ago a lot of researches established to examine different aspects of venom toxicity and its effects on different organs. During these years researchers are doing more specific studies on the cytotoxicity of scorpion venom. In Iran, Odonthobuthus doriae...

Prior to the availability of chemotherapeutic agents, dietary measures, including traditional medicines derived from plants, were the major forms of cancer treatment. One such plant is Momordica charantia (Family: Cucurbitaceae), whose fruit is known as corilla or bitter gourd/melon. M. charantia possesses anti-carcinogenic properties and it can modulate its effect via xenobiotic metabolism and...

The activity of ATP as a fast neurotransmitter is mediated by the P2X family of ligand-gated ion channels. P2X receptor subtypes are subject to functional modulation by a diverse set of factors, including pH, divalent cations, and temperature. The human P2X(3) (hP2X(3)) receptor subunit is expressed primarily in sensory ganglia where it exists as either a homomultimeric receptor or, in combinat...

Spironolactone has produced beneficial effects in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms of this agent on neurons and glia are mostly unknown. Therefore, we aimed to show the effects of spironolactone and fludrocortisone, a mineralocorticosteroid receptor agonist, on neuronal and glial toxicity induced by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) activation and chlor...

Previous work has shown up-regulation of a UTP-sensitive P2Y receptor in porcine coronary smooth muscle cells (CSMC) of organ-cultured arteries. However, the molecular identity and functional role of this putative receptor remained undefined. Here we report the cloning of the cDNA for this receptor that encodes an open reading frame for a protein of 373 amino acids with the highest homology to ...

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) can be phosphorylated by mitogens binding to G-protein-coupled receptors and is considered a major pathway involved in cell proliferation. In this study, we report on the activation of MAPK by muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in astroglial cells, namely the 1321N1 human astrocytoma cell line, primary rat cortical astrocytes, and fetal human astrocytes. ...