Shiraz University PressMolecular Biology Research Communications2322-181X9120200301Analyzing Signal Peptides for Secretory Production of Recombinant Diagnostic Antigen B8/1 from Echinococcus granulosus: An In silico Approach110557110.22099/mbrc.2019.35429.1457ENSeyyed Hossein KhatamiDepartment of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran0000-0002-8579-5097Mortaza Taheri-AnganehCellular and Molecular Research Center, Research Institute on Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences,Urmia, Iran0000-0002-9659-7491Farzane ArianfarDepartment of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranAmir SavardashtakiDepartment of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IranPharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran0000-0003-1700-9426Bahador SarkariDepartment of Parasitology and Mycology School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IranBasic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IranYounes GhasemiPharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IranDepartment of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran0000-0003-4172-0672Zohreh Mostafavi-pourDepartment of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IranMaternal-Fetal Medicine Research Center, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran0000-0002-3779-177XJournal Article20191106Recombinant AgB8/1 as the most evaluated antigen for serological diagnosis of Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) can provide early and accurate diagnosis for proper management and treatment of the disease. Thus, the secretory production of this recombinant protein is the main goal and the application of signal peptides at the N terminus of the desired protein can help to achieve this goal. The present study applied few bioinformatics tools to evaluate several signal peptides to offer the best candidate for extracellular production of AgB8/1 of <em>Echinococcus granulosus</em> in <em>Escherichia coli</em>. The sequences related to signal peptides were obtained from “Signal Peptide Website” and were checked by “UniProt”. In addition, UniProt was employed to retrieve the sequence of AgB8/1. Then, the probable signal peptide sequences and their cleavage site locations were determined by SignalP 4.1 followed by evaluation of their physicochemical features, using ProtParam. The solubility of the target recombinant proteins was accessed by SOLpro. Finally, PRED-TAT and ProtCompB were implemented to predict protein secretion pathways and final destinations. Among the 39 candidate signal peptides, ENTC2_STAAU and ENTC1_STAAU are the best ones which are stable and soluble in connection with AgB8/1 and can secrete target protein through Sec pathway. The signal peptides recommended in this investigation are valuable for rational designing of secretory stable and soluble AgB8/1. Such information is useful for future experimental production of the mentioned antigen.https://mbrc.shirazu.ac.ir/article_5571_c1935690d79044c76b906742e1fb5b78.pdfShiraz University PressMolecular Biology Research Communications2322-181X9120200301Genetic polymorphisms of Y-chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) in a male population from Golestan province, Iran1116559410.22099/mbrc.2020.35547.1462ENMinoo SayyariDepartment of Biology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, IranAli SalehzadehDepartment of Biology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran0000-0003-4238-0999Mohammad Amin TabatabaiefarDepartment of Genetics and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, IranAli AbbasiIranian Legal Medicine Research Center, Legal Medicine Organization, Tehran, IranJournal Article20191117Short Tandem Repeats (STRs), which are located out of pseudo-autosomal parts of the human Y chromosome and passed-down from fathers to the male offspring in a non-recombinant form, are regarded as appropriate markers for forensic purposes and evolutionary investigations. Few studies concerned the genotyping of Y chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) among the ethnic groups of the north of Iran, especially the province of Golestan which is a multiethnic region of Iran. Thus, in this work we investigated the frequency of Y-STR haplotypes among the male population from Golestan province, to elucidate their identity and kinship patterns. A total number of 106 unrelated male individuals participated in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples and the multiplex polymerase chain reaction was employed to amplify DNA fragments. Genotyping was performed using capillary electrophoresis and, finally, allele polymorphisms, haplotype diversity (HD) and haplotype discrimination capacity (DC) were determined using GenAlEXv6.5 and Arlequin v5.3.2 software and compared to other regions of Iran. A total number of 87 unique haplotypes were determined. The highest and least allelic polymorphism was observed for the DYS385b and DYS391 loci, respectively. HD and DC were 0.9962 and 0.8207, respectively. In the case of locus with the least allelic variation, we didn’t observe any difference between the Gilan and Golestan but there was a difference between the Golestan and Mazandaran provinces. Our results indicated the efficiency of Y-STRs to be used as genetic markers for forensic medicine, and also the evolutionary comparison of different ethnic groups of Golestan, Iran. Also, a low genetic distance between the population of Golestan with other northern provinces was noticed.https://mbrc.shirazu.ac.ir/article_5594_344dd7b67cecf0874e09561de560c9c5.pdfShiraz University PressMolecular Biology Research Communications2322-181X9120200301Molecular detection of Mycobacterium leprae using RLEP-PCR in post elimination era of leprosy1722559710.22099/mbrc.2020.35658.1464ENPartha Sarathi MohantyDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, India0000-0001-6597-4971Farhah NaazDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, India0000-0002-6894-3414Avi Kumar BansalDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, India0000-0003-1662-0514Dilip KumarDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, IndiaSandeep SharmaDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, IndiaMamta AroraClinical Division, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, IndiaHaribhan SinghDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, IndiaPradhumn KataraDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, IndiaNamrata SoniDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, IndiaShripad A. PatilDepartment of Epidemiology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, M. Miyazaki Marg, Tajganj, Agra, IndiaManjula SinghEpidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division, Indian Council of Medical Research, V Ramalingaswami Marg, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, IndiaJournal Article20191203Leprosy is considered as a contagious disease and is still a health problem in several countries including India. Diagnosis of leprosy is based either on clinical findings or on acid fast bacilli staining. Due to low sensitivity of acid fast bacilli staining most of the leprosy cases were remained undetected. The present study aims toassess the efficacy of RLEP-PCR in the field condition where majority of the patients are acid fast bacilli negative and have early disease. A total of 80 suspected leprosy cases were recruited. Slit skin smear samples were taken for microscopy and molecular experimentation. DNA was extracted and RLEP-PCR was executed for all the 80 samples. To establish the statistical correlation χ<sup>2 </sup>test and Fisher's exact test were made. To elucidate the sensitivity of the test Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) was drawn. These 80 leprosy patients comprised of 38 paucibacillary and 42 multibacillary leprosy cases. Of 80 leprosy patients 18 (22.5%) were AFB positive while 53 (66.25%) leprosy cases were RLEP-PCR positive. The results of test of significance (P=0.0001) and Cohen's kappa coefficient (<em>κ</em>) (0.614) indicated that the RLEP-PCR is a better diagnostic tool over AFB microscopy in case detection of leprosy. From the findings we concluded that RLEP-PCR could be used for the definitive detection of leprosy cases in accordance with the clinical findings in the field condition in the post elimination era of leprosy.https://mbrc.shirazu.ac.ir/article_5597_9620f19f12e72cff297ca0b955789ba6.pdfShiraz University PressMolecular Biology Research Communications2322-181X9120200301Production of phenolic acids in hairy root cultures of medicinal plant Mentha spicata L. in response to elicitors2334560110.22099/mbrc.2020.36031.1475ENShirin YousefianDepartment of Plant Bioproducts, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran0000-0002-3208-964XTahmineh LohrasebiDepartment of Plant Bioproducts, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, IranMohsen FarhadpourDepartment of Plant Bioproducts, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran0000-0001-7940-5884Kamahldin HaghbeenDepartment of Plant Bioproducts, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran0000-0003-3011-5629Journal Article20200107In this study, hairy root induction in leaf and stem explants of <em>Mentha spicata</em> using various <em>Agrobacterium rhizogenes</em> strains was established for the first time. Although inoculation of explants by immersion method resulted in tissue necrosis, direct injection of explants by all examined strains (A13,R318,A4,GMI 9534 and ATCC15834) was effective. All different parts of the stem were susceptible to <em>A. rhizogenes</em> infection. However, the middle and lower internodes showed a higher rate of transformation. Among the different strains, the strain A13 exhibited the highest infection efficiency (almost 75% of the explants). A13 and R318-infected hairy roots showed the highest biomass production (close to 60 mg/flask), while infection with GMI 9534 produced the highest content of phenolic acids. Finally, the effect of phytohormone elicitation on hairy root growth and phenolic acid biosynthesis was investigated. A substantial increase in root growth and phenolic acids accumulation was obtained followed by 0.3 mg L<sup>-1 </sup>IBA and 100µM MeJA treatment, respectively.https://mbrc.shirazu.ac.ir/article_5601_306bbe372efca4f5747a60720fe9e0a0.pdfShiraz University PressMolecular Biology Research Communications2322-181X9120200301Association study between rs2275913 genetic polymorphism and serum levels of IL-17A with risk of coronary artery disease3540560410.22099/mbrc.2020.35442.1463ENHabib GhaznaviCellular and Molecular Research Centre, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, IranMohammad Soleiman SoltanpourDepartment of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Paramedical Sciences, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, IranJournal Article20191202Coronary artery disease (CAD) is now considered as a main cause of disability and mortality in Iranian population. Inflammatory processes are the initial events in the development of CAD. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine and its genetic variation may contribute to the development of CAD. This study investigated serum levels and the G-197A polymorphism of IL17A in a group of patients with CAD and healthy controls. The study population included 220 angiographically verified CAD patients and 220 healthy controls. Genotyping of G-197A polymorphism of IL17A was done by PCR-RFLP method and serum level of IL-17 was measured by enzyme immunoassay. Results indicated that serum concentration of IL-17A was significantly higher in CAD group than control group (P<0.001). Also, serum levels of IL-17A was significantly higher in carriers of GA and AA genotype relative to carriers of GG genotype in both study population (P<0.05). The G-197A polymorphism of IL17A increased the risk of CAD in mutant homozygous (P=0.007) but not heterozygous (P=0.104) genotype. Moreover, this polymorphism was associated with higher risk of CAD development in allelic (P=0.041) model. However, no significant association was observed between genotypic distribution of G-197A polymorphism and the number of stenotic vessels (P>0.05). In conclusion, the present study indicated G-197A polymorphism of IL17A as a significant contributor to the development but not to the severity of CAD. Moreover, elevated serum levels of IL-17A were identified as a susceptibility marker of CAD.https://mbrc.shirazu.ac.ir/article_5604_1cc50445c051e74734b98a90734dc02f.pdf