I read this book the same weekend that the Packers took on the Rams, and the experience of the latter event, obviously, colored my judgment. Although I abhor anything that smacks of being a handbook (like, \"How to Earn a Merit Badge in Neurosurgery\") because too many volumes in biomedical science already evince a boyscout-like approach, I must confess that parts of this volume are fast, scholarly, and significant, with certain reservations. I like parts of this well-illustrated book because Dr. Sj6strand, without so stating, develops certain subjects on technique in relation to the acquisition of judgment and sophistication. And this is important! So, given that the author (like all of us) is somewhat deficient in some areas, and biased in others, the book is still valuable if the uninitiated reader swallows it in a general fashion, realizing full well that what will be required from the reader is a modulation to fit his vision, propreception, adaptation and response, and the kind of problem he is undertaking. A major deficiency of this book is revealed by comparison of its use of physics and of chemistry to provide understanding and background for the application of high resolution electron microscopy to problems in biology. Since the volume is keyed to high resolution electron microscopy, which is a sophisticated form of structural analysis, but really morphology in a modern guise, the physical and mechanical background of The instrument and its ancillary tools are simply and well presented. The potential use of chemical or cytochemical information as it relates to biological fine structure , however, is quite deficient. I wonder when even sophisticated morphol-ogists will consider fixation a reaction and not a technique; only then will the fundamentals become self-evident and predictable and this sine qua flon will become less mystical. Staining reactions (the most inadequate chapter) ought to be something more than a technique to selectively enhance contrast of morphological elements; it ought to give the structural addresses of some of the chemical residents of cell components. Is it pertinent that auto-radiography gets singled out for more complete coverage than other significant aspects of cytochemistry by a high resolution microscopist, when it has a built-in minimal error of 1,000 A in standard practice? I don't mean to blind-side (in strict football terminology) Dr. Sj6strand's efforts for what is \"routinely used in our laboratory\"; what is done is usually well done. It's just that …

Methods in Enzymology.

Leu-M

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of cadmium carcinogenesis

Nickel is an essential nutrient for plants. However, the amount of Ni required for normal growth of plants is very low. Hence, with the level of Ni pollution in the environment increasing, it is essential to understand the functional roles and toxic effects of Ni in plants. We briefly review advances in relevant research over the past 20 years. Based on the available data, two new indirect pathways of Ni toxicity in plants are proposed. These are (i) interference with other essential metal ions and (ii) induction of oxidative stress. Research should focus on these mechanisms at the protein and molecular levels. Further research should also be directed at plant species that are capable of accumulating Ni at high concentration, so-called hyperaccumulators. Such species can provide model systems to study the mechanisms of Ni tolerance and can also be used for phytoremediation by removing nickel from polluted environment.

/pdf/functions-and-toxicity-of-nickel-in-plants-recent-advances-14goyq7ame.pdf

Functions and Toxicity of Nickel in Plants: Recent Advances and Future Prospects

Renin is a key enzyme in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) which controls the blood pressure and electrolyte balance. By numerous studies on RAS and structures of renin and prorenin, the determination of three-dimensional structure for renin has been thought to be important in the rational approach to the drug design for antihypertensives. Here, several investigations for the three-dimensional structure of human and mouse renins are reviewed. These papers showed that the active site cleft had a less open arrangement in renins than that in other aspartic proteinases, although the general topology of both renins were quite similar. They also described subsites of renins and others.

[Renin-angiotensin system].

This work aimed to study the relation- ship between the accumulation of cadmium (Cd) or aluminum (Al) in certain tissues and the levels of lipid peroxides as well as tissue antioxidants. To carry out such investigations, CdCl2 was given to rats in two dose levels; 0.5 or 2.0 mg=kg i.p for 1 day or daily repeated doses for 2 weeks. Al was given as AlCl3 either in a single dose of 100 mg/kg or daily repeated doses of 20 mg=kg for 2 and 4 weeks. The measured parameters were tissue malondialdehyde (MDA, index of lipid peroxidation) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels as well as the activities of glutathione per- oxidase (GSH-PX), glutathione reductase (GSSG-R), and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH) enzymes. Liver and kidney functions were assessed by measuring serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities as well as serum urea and creatinine concentrations. Cd and Al concentrations in the studied tissues were also measured. Results indicated that tissue Cd was sig- nificantly increased after administration of either Cd doses. After a single dose of 0.5 or 2.0 mg/kg CdCl2, the increase in tissue Cd levels were accompanied by an increase in MDA and a decrease in GSH levels. On the other hand, after repeated administration of Cd, tissue Cd accumulation was accompanied by increased hepatic and renal GSH levels with decrease in MDA content and a decrease in GSH-PX activity in liver. Liver function was affected at all dose regimens, whereas kidney function was affected only after 2 weeks administration of the higher dose. In Al treated rats, Al concentration was shown to be increased in liver much more than in brain. This was accompanied by a slight decrease in hepatic GSH level after 2 weeks and a decrease in GSH-PX activity after 4 weeks. Liver function was affected only after repeated injection of Al for 2 or 4 weeks. In general, Al administration exhibited safer pattern than Cd. C

Effect of cadmium and aluminum intake on the antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation in rat tissues.

Gastroprotective effect of crocin in ethanol-induced gastric injury in rats.

Circulating microRNAs are deregulated in liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and are candidate biomarkers This study investigated the potential of serum microRNAs; miR-19a, miR-296, miR-130a, miR-195, miR-192, miR-34a, and miR-146a as early diagnostic biomarkers for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related HCC As how these microRNAs change during liver fibrosis progression is not clear, we explored their serum levels during fibrosis progression in HCV-associated chronic liver disease (CLD) and if they could serve as non-invasive biomarkers for fibrosis progression to HCC 112 Egyptian HCV-HCC patients, 125 non-malignant HCV-CLD patients, and 42 healthy controls were included CLD patients were subdivided according to Metavir fibrosis-scoring Serum microRNAs were measured by qRT-PCR custom array Serum microRNAs were deregulated in HCC versus controls, and except miR-130a, they were differentially expressed between HCC and CLD or late fibrosis (F3-F4) subgroup Serum microRNAs were not significantly different between individual fibrosis-stages or between F1-F2 (early/moderate fibrosis) and F3-F4 Only miR-19a was significantly downregulated from liver fibrosis (F1-F3) to cirrhosis (F4) to HCC Individual microRNAs discriminated HCC from controls, and except miR-130a, they distinguished HCC from CLD or F3-F4 patients by receiver-operating-characteristic analysis Multivariate logistic analysis revealed a panel of four microRNAs (miR-19a, miR-195, miR-192, and miR-146a) with high diagnostic accuracy for HCC (AUC = 0946) The microRNA panel also discriminated HCC from controls (AUC = 0949), CLD (AUC = 0945), and F3-F4 (AUC = 0955) Studied microRNAs were positively correlated in HCC group miR-19a and miR-34a were correlated with portal vein thrombosis and HCC staging scores, respectively In conclusion, studied microRNAs, but not miR-130a, could serve as potential early biomarkers for HCC in high-risk groups, with miR-19a as a biomarker for liver fibrosis progression to cirrhosis to HCC We identified a panel of four serum microRNAs with high accuracy in HCC diagnosis Additional studies are required to confirm this panel and test its prognostic significance

/pdf/serum-micrornas-as-potential-biomarkers-for-early-diagnosis-1tin2hu8gb.pdf

Serum MicroRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis of Hepatitis C Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Egyptian Patients

Nitrosamine compounds are known hepatic carcinogens. This study was designed to study the efficacy of dietary supplementation with blueberries (BB) on diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-initiated hepatocarcinogenesis in male wistar rats. Rats were divided into three groups. The first group served as normal control group, the second group received DEN at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight five times a week for 15 weeks. The third one received DEN as in DEN-treated group simultaneously with 4% BB-supplemented diet. The results showed that BB caused significant decrease in the elevated serum levels of α-fetoprotein (AFP), homocysteine (Hcy) along with levels of glutathione(GSH), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA)and activity of glutathione reductase (GR) in liver. Normalization of elevated α2-macroglobulin (α2M) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels in serum, hepatic glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and liver weight was achieved whereas body weight was significantly decreased. Moreover, no significant change was observed in elevated relative liver weight, hepatic glucose-6-P-dehydrogenase (G6PD), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) along with serum aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT) activities. Significant increase in reduced hepatic activity of xanthine oxidase (XO) was achieved and histopathological damage was minimized in BB-treated group. It is suggested that BB suppress DEN- induced hepatocarcinogenesis and could be developed as a promising chemopreventive natural supplement for liver cancer.

	 

	Key words: Blueberries, diethylnitrosamine, hepatocarcinogenesis, α2-macroglobulin, α-fetoprotein, homocysteine, glutathione, rats.

https://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1380022368_Sadik et al.pdf

Shohda A. El-Maraghy

Papers

Effect of cadmium and aluminum intake on the antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation in rat tissues.

Gastroprotective effect of crocin in ethanol-induced gastric injury in rats.

Serum MicroRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis of Hepatitis C Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Egyptian Patients

Diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats: possible chemoprevention by blueberries

Nicorandil ameliorates mitochondrial dysfunction in doxorubicin-induced heart failure in rats: possible mechanism of cardioprotection.