Aysun Çetin

Role of Grape Seed Extract on Methotrexate Induced Oxidative Stress in Rat Liver

UNLABELLED The efficacy of methotrexate (MTX), a widely used cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent, is often limited by its severe hepatotoxicity. Regarding the mechanisms of these adverse effects, several hypotheses have been put forward, among which oxidative stress is noticeable. The present study was undertaken to determine whether grape seed extract (GSE), a new natural free radical scavenger, could ameliorate the MTX-induced oxidative injury in the rat liver. The animals were divided into 3 groups. Each group consisted of 12 animals. MTX-GSE group: rats were given GSE (100mg/kg body weight) orally for 15 days, and a single dose of MTX (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) was added on the 10th day. MTX group: these received placebo distilled water (orally) instead of GSE for 15 days and the same MTX protocol applied to this group on the 10th day. CONTROL GROUP rats were given distilled water (orally) through 15 days and physiological saline (intraperitoneally) instead of MTX was administered on the 10th day in a similar manner. On the 16th day, liver tissue samples were obtained under deep anaesthesia. The level of malondialdehyde (MDA), an end product of lipid peroxidation, and the activities of süperoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), two important endogenous antioxidants, were evaluated in the tissue homogenates. MTX administration increased the MDA level and decreased the SOD and CAT activities in the liver homogenates (p < 0.001), while these alterations were significantly reversed by GSE treatment (p < 0.001). MTX led to significantly reduced whole blood count parameters (p < 0.05). When GSE was supplemented, no significant changes in blood count parameters were noted. It appears that GSE protects the rat liver and inhibits methotrexate-induced oxidative stress. These data indicate that GSE may be of therapeutic benefit when used with MTX.

The effects of long-term sleep deprivation on the long-term potentiation in the dentate gyrus and brain oxidation status in rats

Some evidence suggests that sleep deprivation might impair synaptic plasticity and produce oxidative stress in the hippocampus. However it is not clear whether impairment of long-term potentiation depends on the oxidative stress evoked by sleep deprivation protocol. In this study we aimed to investigate the effects of a 21-day sleep deprivation period on long-term plasticity taking into account the stressful effect of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation was carried out using the multiple platforms method on adult male Wistar rats. Long-term potentiation was studied in the medial perforant pathway-dentate gyrus synapses. Elevated T test was applied, and blood corticosterone levels were measured. Lipid peroxidation products in whole brain and hippocampus were determined. No significant difference was found between the sleep deprived, pedestal and cage control groups at the end of the 21-day period when corticosterone levels were compared. The results of the elevated T test indicated that sleep deprivation did not change the anxiety-like behavior of the animals. When compared with cage or pedestal control groups, sleep deprived rats displayed elevated malondialdehyde levels, and decreased superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities together with impaired long-term potentiation maintenance. It can be argued that 21-day SD may impair the maintenance of long-term potentiation evoked in the dentate gyrus, and the balance between oxidant and antioxidant defenses of the hippocampus.

Investigation of Trace Elements in Pterygium Tissue

Abstract Purpose: In this study, we compare the concentrations of the essential trace elements chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), boron (B) and zinc (Zn) in both pterygium and normal conjunctiva and investigate the role they play in the development of pterygium. Methods: Included in the study were 38 patients with pterygium and 38 control patients in matching age groups who had been operated on for strabismus or cataracts and in whom conjunctiva samples were collected from the nasal limbus area. All conjunctiva samples were kept at −80 °C until the performance of the biochemical investigations. The B, Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn and Se levels in the samples were then measured. The levels of all tissue trace elements were determined by using Agilent 7500a Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA). Results: Cr, Mn, Zn and Se levels are significantly lower in the study group as compared to those of the control group (p < 0.001 for all four values). Regarding the level of B, there was no significant difference between the groups. The Cu levels of almost all subjects in the control group and all subjects in the pterygium group were under the detection limit. Conclusions: These findings indicate that remarkable differences in Mn, Zn, Se and Cr levels exist in pterygium tissues. Further investigation of electrolyte composition of the conjunctiva is needed to understand the genesis and developmental mechanism of pterygium.

Evaluation of peripheral blood CD34+ cell count in the acute phase of traumatic brain injury and chest trauma

Abstract Aim: To determine the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chest trauma (CT) on the number of peripheral blood (PB) stem cells in affected patients in comparison to normal controls. Additionally, the aim was to determine the relationship between CD34+ cell counts and TBI-induced hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction in the acute phase of trauma. Patients and method: Thirty patients with TBI, 12 patients with CT and 53 healthy subjects were included in the study. Results: CD34+ cell counts within the first 24–48 hours of TBI were found to be lower than those obtained on the 7th day of TBI and those in the healthy controls. CD34+ cell counts obtained on the 2nd day of CT were lower than those in the healthy group, but did not differ from those measured on the 7th day of CT. There was no correlation between CD34+ cell counts and serum total cortisol (STC) levels on the 2nd and 7th days in the TBI or CT groups. Conclusion: An increase in CD34+ cell counts as observed on the 7th day in both TBI and CT groups suggested that CD34 changes were not specific to TBI. Moreover, this study showed for the first time that CD34 response was not affected by changes in cortisol levels induced by TBI and severity of TBI.

Successful Treatment of Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia Using Cascade Filtration Plasmapheresis

Objective: The aim of this study was to report the efficacy of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) apheresisusing a cascade filtration system in pediatric patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), and toclarify the associated adverse effects and difficulties. Material and Methods: LDL-C apheresis using a cascade filtration system was performed in 3 pediatric patientswith homozygous FH; in total, 120 apheresis sessions were performed. Results: Cascade filtration therapy significantly reduced the mean LDL-C values from 418 ± 62 mg/dL to 145 ± 43 mg/dL (p= 0.011). We observed an acute mean reduction in the plasma level of total cholesterol (57.9%), LDL-C (70.8%),and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (40.7%). Treatments were well tolerated. The most frequent clinicaladverse effects were hypotension in 3 sessions (2.5%), chills (1.7%) in 2 sessions, and nausea/vomiting in 3 sessions(2.5%). Conclusion: Our experience using the cascade filtration system with 3 patients included good clinical outcomes andlaboratory findings, safe usage, and minor adverse effects and technical problems. Conflict of interest:None declared.

Grain amino acid composition of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars subjected to selenium doses

Abstract Background: Selenium (Se34) is an essential micronutrient for humans and animals and has growth promoting and antioxidative effects at low concentrations. Methods: Effects of various sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) doses on grain amino acid content of barley cultivars (Bülbül 89 and Çetin 2000) was investigated using ion exchange liquid chromatography. Results: Majority of the amino acids could be altered with Selenium (Se) fertilization. Grain Se content of Bülbül 89 (0.175 mg kg−1) and Çetin 2000 (0.171 mg kg−1) were similar and both displayed an increase in proteinogenic, essential, and sulfur amino acids. The response of cultivars was more pronounced for Se accumulation and amino acid content at mid dose (12.5 mg ha−1). The quantities of proteinogenic, essential and sulfur amino acids increased considerably at that dose. Se induced increase in nitrogen content might cause an increase in some of the proteins of grain and consequently can alter amino acid composition. An obvious increase in the limiting amino acids (lysine and threonine) were prominent in response to Se fertilization. Conclusion: Se treatment influence amino acid composition of barley grains; especially improve the quantity of limiting amino acids and consequently nutritional value of the grain.

Oxydative stress markers and cytokine levels in rosuvastatin-medicated hypercholesterolemia patients

Abstract Background Limited research is available concerning the relationship between oxidative stress and inflammation parameters, and simultaneously the effects of rosuvastatin on these markers in patients with hypercholesterolemia. We aimed to investigate the connection between cytokines and oxidative stress markers in patients with hypercholesterolemia before and after rosuvastatin treatment. Methods The study consisted of 30 hypercholesterolemic patients diagnosed with routine laboratory tests and 30 healthy participants. The lipid parameters, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), paraoxonase-1 (PON1) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in controls and patients with hypercholesterolemia before and after 12-week treatment with rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg/day), were analyzed by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results It was found that a 12-week cure with rosuvastatin resulted in substantial reductions in IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α and MDA levels as in rising activities of PON1 in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Before treatment, the PON1 levels were significantly negatively correlated with TNF-α and IL-6 in control group, while it was positively correlated with TNF-α in patients. Conclusion Our outcomes provide evidence of protected effect of rosuvastatin for inflammation and oxidative damage. It will be of great interest to determine whether the correlation between PON1 and cytokines has any phenotypic effect on PON1.

Comparison of ELISA and flow cytometry for measurement of interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α

Abstract Background Although majority of the previous studies have shown a good correlation between enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry in terms of cytokines, two laboratory methods usually were compared with the regression analysis and correlation in the literature. This study aimed at comparing the ELISA and flow cytometry assay for measuring cytokines by using two different statistical methods, regression analysis and Bland-Altman plot. Materials and methods Fifty patients, diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia and expecting high level serum cytokines, and 30 healthy volunteers, expecting normal level serum cytokines, were enrolled in the study. The interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were measured using ELISA, and compared with obtained levels using flow cytometric method. Results Although regression analysis showed that the two methods are compatible with measurements of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, they tended to show dissimilarity with measurements of IL-1β and TNF-α based on Bland-Altman graphs. Conclusion According to Bland-Altman plot, our results providing evidence of ELISA and flow cytometry assays were compatible with each other for IL-1β and IL-6 measurements compared to TNF-α measurement. However, our study has a small number of participants, hence this study need to be confirmed by investigations involving more participants.

High Metabolic Tumor Volume and Total Lesion Glycolysis Derived from Baseline 18 F-FDG PET/CT may Predict the Metabolic Abnormalities in Newly Diagnosed Cancer Patients

The present study was conducted to investigate the role of total body Metabolic Tumor Volume (MTV, mm3) and Total Lesion Glycolysis (TLG) values obtained by PET/CT imaging for predicting metabolic abnormalities in newly diagnosed cancer patients. Patients having solid tumors with initial PET/CT staging were evaluated in a prospective cohort study. MTV and TLG values of all patients were measured besides SUV values as PET/CT parameters. Initial metabolic status of patients was evaluated based on basal metabolic rates, serum vitamin, mineral, and biochemical metabolite levels and antioxidant enzyme capacities. The MTV and TLG levels revealed significant relationships with cancer-induced metabolic abnormalities as high BMR and LDH, and low albumin levels as well as advanced stage and presence of metastasis (p< 0.05). Cut-off values along with sensitivity and specificity rates in terms of high BMR (>20 Kcal/kg) were obtained to be > 52400 mm3 for MTV (0.84 and 0.63) and >274208 for TLG (0.84 and 0.63). The same values for high LDH were ≥ 219520 mm3 (0.52 and 0.88) for MTV and ≥ 411792 (0.78 and 0.58) for TLG, respectively. The values for low albumin levels were ≥89520 mm3 (0.63 and 0.10) for MTV, and ≥ 887840 (0.75 and 1.00 ) for TLG, respectively. In conclusion, MTV and TLG cut-off values determined by ROC analysis can predict metabolic abnormalities in initial BMR, LDH and albumin levels with high specificity and sensitivity. It is recommended to test MTV and TLG levels to determine initial metabolic status of diverse patient groups with various types of cancer.

Long-term efficacy of lipoprotein apheresis in the management of familial hypercholesterolaemia: Application of two different apheresis techniques in childhood

Lipoprotein apheresis is used to treat patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). The aim of the present study is to clarify the lipoprotein apheresis procedure performed by cascade filtration (CF) or double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) on pediatric patients in terms of side effects, laboratory results and cardiovascular follow-up. Data of ten pediatric patients were analyzed retrospectively. The average age of the patients was 12.1 ± 3.4 years. Percentage of long term reduction of low density lipoprotein cholesterol was 62.35 ± 7.19% (n = 3) for CF and 63.66 ± 6.63% (n = 3) for CF plus DFPP, 64.79 ± 8.29% (n = 7) for DFPP. Cardiovascular disease was not detected in thirty percent of the patients. Lesions remained stable in fifty percent of patients with heart valve lesions. Valvular lesions worsened in twenty percent of patients. Lipoprotein apheresis can be used effectively and successfully in pediatric patients as well as adults for homozygous FH.