Roya Solhi | Tehran University of Medical Sciences (original) (raw)

Papers by Roya Solhi

Toxicology in Vitro, 2022

Activation of hepatic stellates (HSCs) is known as the major cause of initiation and progression ... more Activation of hepatic stellates (HSCs) is known as the major cause of initiation and progression of liver fibrosis. A wide array of events occurs during HSC activation including induction of hedgehog (Hh) signaling and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Targeting HSC activation may provide promising insights into liver fibrosis treatment. In this regard, establishing in vitro models which can mimic the molecular pathways of interest is very important. We aimed to activate HSC in which Hh signaling and ER stress are stimulated simultaneously. We used 5 ng/ml TGFβ to activate LX-2 cells, HSC cell line. Gene expression analysis using qRT-PCR, immunostaining and immunoblotting were performed to show HSC activation associated markers. Furthermore, the migration capacity of the TGFβ treated cells is evaluated. The results demonstrated that major fibrogenic markers including collagen1a, lysyl oxidase, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 genes are up-regulated significantly. In addition, our immunofluorescence and immunoblotting results showed that protein levels of GLI-2 and XBP1, were enhanced. Moreover, we found that TGFβ treatment reduced the migration of LX-2 cells. Our results are compatible with high throughput data analysis with respect to differentially expressed genes of activated HSC compared to the quiescent ones. Moreover, our findings suggest that quercetin can reduce fibrogenic markers of activated HSCs as well as osteopontin expression, a target gene of hedgehog signaling.

Drug Discovery Today, 2021

Proposing efficient prophylactic and therapeutic strategies for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) requi... more Proposing efficient prophylactic and therapeutic strategies for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) requires precise knowledge of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogenesis. An array of platforms, including organoids and microfluidic devices, have provided a basis for studies of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we summarize available models as well as novel drug screening approaches, from simple to more advanced platforms. Notably, organoids and microfluidic devices offer promising perspectives for the clinical translation of basic science, such as screening therapeutics candidates. Overall, modifying these advanced micro and macro 3D platforms for disease modeling and combining them with recent advances in drug screening has significant potential for the discovery of novel potent drugs against COVID-19.

Cellular Signalling, 2021

The unknown etiology of systemic autoimmune diseases, such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) ... more The unknown etiology of systemic autoimmune diseases, such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), with a remarkable predominance of female, have prompted many researchers for unveiling the precise molecular mechanisms involved in this gender bias. In fact, depending on hormones and transcribed genes from sex chromosomes, at least, the initial mechanisms involved in pathogenesis might differ largely. With the aim of elucidating the above mechanisms, we have tried to specify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) extracted from microarray libraries from both female and male SLE and RA patients. Subsequently, the androgen and estrogen receptor elements (ARE and ERE) among differentially expressed transcription factors (TFs) and the DEGs located on X or Y chromosomes have been determined. Moreover, the pathways regarding the common DEGs in both sexes are enriched. Our data revealed several ARE and ERE-containing genes (LCN2, LTF, RPL31, RPL9, RPS17, RPS24, RPS27L, S100A8, ABCA1, HIST1H2BD, ISG15, MAFB, GNLY, EVL, and HDC) to be associated with the related autoimmune disease and sex. Also, two DEGs (KDM5D and RPS4Y1) in SLE patients were determined to be on Y chromosome with one had been proved to be associated with autoantigens in SLE. Altogether, our data showed a number of plausible pathways in both autoimmune conditions together with the relevance of several sex-related genes in the mentioned diseases pathogenesis.

International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 2020

Solid tumors are spatial and temporally heterogeneous. Its pattern has been studied through quant... more Solid tumors are spatial and temporally heterogeneous. Its pattern has been studied through quantitative features extraction from medical images, as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These features can be related with genetic patterns of tumors and hence with treatment response. The most studied example with high heterogeneity is glioblastoma multiform (GBM). This characteristic limit the use of invasive biopsies to tissue characterization, but few studies about GBM characterization with a non-invasive way has been done. GBM has a bad prognosis due to high tumor recurrence. The average survival is around 14 months, when the default treatment is selected. That said, a very precise choice for treatment must be done to avoid decreasing patient's performance. In this context, this study has the main goal extract quantitative features through MRI from GBM patients that were submitted to radiotherapy with image processing to correlate them with specific GBM prognosis. The methodology consisted in 105 features extracted by Radiomics analysis from a region of interest (ROI) in T1-post contrast-weighted-MRI of 43 patients submitted to radiotherapy at Clinics Hospital of Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto. The software used in feature extraction was 3D Sliceran open source for image processing. Beside this, the endpoints Overall Survival (SG), Progression Free Survival (SLPD) and Lesion Recurrence (RECURR) inside treatment field were collected. Statistical tests (Shapiro-Wilk and t-Student) were applied to achieve which features were significatively correlated with endpoints. As result, for 3 months SLPD, the Kurtosis feature has shown the best result in separating patients with clinical endpoints 1 and 0 (binary representation for patients who had lesion recurrence within 3 months or not, respectively), with an accuracy of 69%. For this same variable, a Logistic Regression classifier was applied and an area under curve-AUC-of 75% was observed in this model. With respect on literature, studies involving Radiomics, GBM and clinical endpoints, we reproduced a methodology in which used a dimensionality reduction technique based on Spearman's rank to create a predictive model using Decision Trees and we got a similar result when comparing the accuracy of 62,8% for RECURR endpoint.

Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2021

Despite the crucial role of cell metabolism in biological processes, particularly cell division, ... more Despite the crucial role of cell metabolism in biological processes, particularly cell division, metabolic aspects of liver regeneration are not well defined. Better understanding of the metabolic activity governing division of liver cells will provide powerful insights into mechanisms of physiological and pathological liver regeneration. Recent studies have provided evidence that metabolic response to liver failure might be a proximal signal to initiate cell proliferation in liver regeneration. In this review, we highlight how lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins dynamically change and orchestrate liver regeneration. In addition, we discuss translational studies in which metabolic intervention has been used to treat chronic liver diseases (CLDs).

Background and Objectives: Numerous procedures in biology and medicine require the counting of ce... more Background and Objectives: Numerous procedures in biology and medicine require the counting of cells. Direct enumeration of Colony Forming Units (CFUs) is time-consuming and dreary accurate cell counting on plates with high numbers of CFUs is error prone. In this study we report a new indirect cell counting method that was developed based on the use of Redsafe fluorometric assay. The usefulness of Redsafe, a nucleic acid stain, in liquid medium is based on the binding of the fluorescent dye to DNA. Materials and Methods: Redsafe fluorometric assay was evaluated in comparison with MTT colorimetric assay as a colourimetric assay for enumeration of bacterial cells. Results: Obtained results showed that fluorometric assay threshold for LB grown E. coli is 6×104 CFU/ml. Redsafe fluorescent assay can be used as a rapid and inexpensive method for bacterial enumeration and quantification with increased sensitivity. Conclusion: The sensitivity of the Redsafe fluorometric assay for detection ...

Background Diphtheria is a bacterial disease which is caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae . The... more Background Diphtheria is a bacterial disease which is caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae . The symptoms are due to the diphtheria toxin produced by the bacteria. Antibiotic therapy and the use of diphtheria antitoxin is a recommended strategy to control diphtheria. Although mammalian antibodies are used to treat patients, IgY antibody has advantages over mammalian ones, including cost-effectiveness and production through non-invasive means. Moreover, in contrast to mammalian antibodies, IgY does not bind to the rheumatoid factor and does not activate the complement system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro neutralizing effect of IgY against diphtheria toxin. Results Anti-DT IgY was produced by immunization of the laying white leghorn chickens. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed successful immunization of the animals, and the IgY was purified with a purity of 93% via polyethylene glycol precipitation method. The neutralizing activity of the ...

Microbial pathogenesis, Jan 27, 2017

The present study aimed to evaluate in vitro cross-strain inhibitory effects of IgY polyclonal an... more The present study aimed to evaluate in vitro cross-strain inhibitory effects of IgY polyclonal antibody on both growth and urease enzyme of four local strains of H. pylori. Leghorn chickens were immunized with whole cells of four different strains of H. pylori, separately. Rising of specific IgY was detected by ELISA. The IgY purified using polyethylene glycol method and the purity was evaluated by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. Each strain was treated with its own-specific and also other strain-specific IgYs. The strain-specific IgY could inhibit the growth of specific strains by 49-72% and also other different strains of H. pylori by 29-86%. Our findings revealed that strain-specific IgY could inhibit urease activity of its own by 64-72% and other different strains by 49-79%. These findings confirmed strain-specific and also cross-strain inhibitory effects of the IgY polyclonal antibody on both growth and urease activity of H. pylori.

Iranian journal of microbiology, 2015

Numerous procedures in biology and medicine require the counting of cells. Direct enumeration of ... more Numerous procedures in biology and medicine require the counting of cells. Direct enumeration of Colony Forming Units (CFUs) is time-consuming and dreary accurate cell counting on plates with high numbers of CFUs is error prone. In this study we report a new indirect cell counting method that was developed based on the use of Redsafe fluorometric assay. The usefulness of Redsafe, a nucleic acid stain, in liquid medium is based on the binding of the fluorescent dye to DNA. Redsafe fluorometric assay was evaluated in comparison with MTT colorimetric assay as a colourimetric assay for enumeration of bacterial cells. Obtained results showed that fluorometric assay threshold for LB grown E. coli is 6×10(4) CFU/ml. Redsafe fluorescent assay can be used as a rapid and inexpensive method for bacterial enumeration and quantification with increased sensitivity. The sensitivity of the Redsafe fluorometric assay for detection and enumeration of bacterial cells was 2-log-unit more than that was ...

Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2021