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Background and Objective: Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an antiepileptic drug that causes significant malformations such as neural tube defects (NTDs), cardiac, skeletal and craniofacial defects if it is consumed during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of folic acid on prevention of birth defect due to Carbamazepine in Balb/c mice. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, Sixty Balb/c timed-pregnant mice were divided into 4 experimental and 2 control groups. Two experimental groups received daily intraperitoneal injections of 30 mg/kg (group I) and 60 mg/kg/body weight (group II) of CBZ on gestational days (GD) 6 to 15. Two other experimental groups (group III and IV) received similar doses of CBZ with folic acid supplement (3 mg/kg/day) by gavages route for 10 days before pregnancy and 15 days after GD0 (gestational day 0). Two control groups received normal saline or Tween 20 (polysorbate 20). Dams underwent cesarean section on GD18 and embryos were collected. External examination was done and data concerning malformations, weight and crown- rump of fetuses were collected and analyzed by using SPSS-11.5 software and ANOVA and chi-square tests. Results: The mean weight and crown-rump of the fetuses in both experimental groups I and II were significantly reduced. Also in both experimental groups I and II various malformations were detected such as open eyes, limb defects, scoliosis, facial deformity and NTDs. The mean weight and crown-rump of fetuses in the folic acid treated groups did not show any meaningful differences in comparison with fetuses in experimental groups I and II. Also, meaningful reductions in eye, vertebral, limb and facial defects were seen in fetuses of group III. In experimental group IV, reduction of vertebral and limb defects were observed. Conclusion: This study showed that consumption of folic acid (3 mg/kg/body weight) before and during pregnancy can reduce birth defects due to CBZ in Balb/c mice fetus.

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Background and Objective: Different organizers are involved in spinal cord development and differentiation by sending various messages. Specific glycoconjugates secreted from the cells of lateral wall of spinal cord can also act as neurogenesis and neural differentiation messengers. This study was carried out to determine the distribution of sugar compounds in the lateral walls of spinal cord during mice morphogenesis using lectin histochemistry method. Methods: In this experimental study, sections of BALB/c mice from 10-16 embryonic days were fixed in formalin and then histological sections were prepared. Tissue samples for reaction to the glycoconjugates were incubated with DBA, OFA, GSA1B4 and MPA lectins. Alcian blue with pH equal 2.5 was used for background staining. Results: DBA lectin did not react with the lateral wall of the spinal cord. MPA lectin showed severe reaction but consistent, especially in nerve fibers of the lateral wall of spinal cord. GSA1B4 lectin showed weak reaction in the cells and nerve fibers of the spinal cord, but severe reaction was clearly observed in blood vessels. OFA lectin showed severe reaction with α-L-Fucose terminal sugar in the lateral walls of the spinal cord in early stages of morphogenesis. Conclusion: The most reaction in the lateral walls of the spinal cord was related to OFA, which reflects the importance of fucose terminal sugar by connecting (1→6) to the penultimate sugar N-acetyl-D-glocosamin (Glc-Nac) in the development of spinal cord. Due to severe reaction of GSA1B4 to blood vessels of spinal cord, use of this lectin for vascular studies, is recommended.

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Background and Objective: Use of cell-phone cause adverse effect of radiations in many people. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of cell-phone radiation during pregnancy on serum level of the testosterone, FSH, LH and sex cell lines in 60-day old offspring male rats.

Methods: In this experimental study, 24 rat's dams were randomly allocated into control, sham and interventional groups. Animals in control group have not been affected with the radiation and the interventional groups were exposed to cell-phone radiation from the beginning of pregnancy as much as 4 hours daily for 14 days. The sham group over the same period was exposed around cell-phone turning on without conversation. After childbirth and maturity 10 male offspring of different groups separated and after phlebotomizing, testosterone, FSH, LH was measured for each offspring. After anestasia, testis was removed, weighted, measured and throught histological method leydig, sertoli, spermatogonia and spermatid cells were counted for each offspring.

Results: weight and size of the testis, the volume of seminiferous tubules, the volume of interstitial tissues of seminiferous tubules, and spermatocytes, spermatid, sertoli and spermatogonia cells numbers were significantly reduced in interventional group in compare to control and sham groups (P<0.05) but reduction of leydig cells, FSH, testosterone and increasing level of LH in interventional group did not change significantly in comparision with control and sham groups.

Conclusion: Cell-phone radiations during pregnancy caused significantly reducing in sex cell lines but do not cause significant effect on FSH, LH and testosterone level in mature male offspring.

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Background and Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is usually a disease caused by inadequate insulin production in pregnant women. GDM induces abnormal fetal growth.This study was done to evaluate the BMP2 and BMP4 genes expression in the development of the embryos heart in induced gestational diabetes of C57BL/6 mice.
Methods: In this experimental study, 8-week old adult C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into diabetic and control groups. After mating of animals, the dams in diabetic group were received a single dose of 150 mg/kg/bw of streptozotocin on gestational day 1 of pregnancy, intrapereatonally. After 11.5 days of pregnancy, the embryos of both groups were extracted and heart tissue was extracted. RNA total tissue of the heart was extracted by trazole. After extracting RNA, expression of BMP2 and BMP4 genes in the heart of both groups was estimated by Real-time PCR.
Results: There was no singnificant diference in expression of BMP2 and BMP4 genes in the heart of 11.5 days of embryos in gestational diabetes mellitus group and control group.
Conclusion: Gestational diabetes mellitus had no effect on the expression of BMP2 and BMP4 genes in the development of the embryos heart.

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Background and Objective: Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a metabolic disorder which is caused by insufficient secretion of insulin. GDM is a risk factor for embryo during pregnancy and it is possible leads to congenital heart defects (CHD). Some of these defects may be due to a change in the expression of some of the important structural genes in the heart. Desmocollin 2 and collagen structural genes have important role in the cell adhesion of the cardiomyocytes.This study was done to determine the effect of gestational diabetes on expersion of desmocollin 2 and col5a2 structural genes in C57BL mouse embryo heart.
Methods: In this experimental study, 12 adult female and six adult male C57BL mice were used.After mating of the animals and observation of the vaginal plug, the female mice with vaginal plug were randomly divided into diabetic and control groups. At the first day of pregnancy, Induction of gestational diabetes mellitus in dams in the diabetic group was performed by the intraperitoneal (IP) injection of Streptozotocin with a dose of 150 mg / kg body weight per day in GD1. While in the control group, only citrate buffer was injected.Cesarean Surgery was done at E11.5 and embryo's heart was extracted from the body.Extraction of RNA, cDNA, and quantitative measurements of the amount of RNA were performed using Real -Time PCR.
Results: Induction of gestational diabetes increased the expersion of desmocollin 2 and col5a2 structural genes in compared to controls, althought only the expersion of desmocollin 2 gene was significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion: We suggest that the induction of DM lead to upregulation of structural genes primarily including desmocollin 2 and col5a2 in embryos heart development.

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Background and Objective: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common metabolic and global health threats. The gene needed for the development of the TBX20 gene is the fusion of the gene, and the defect in the sequence and expression of this gene also causes heart defects. Due to significant prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus in human population, this study was done to evaluate the effect of TBX20-induced gestational diabetes mellitus in the heart of the mice embryo at 11.5 days.
Methods: This experimental study was done on induced diabetic C57BL/6 female mice. Gestational diabetes induced by interaperitoneal injection of sterptozotocin at GD1. On the day of pregnancy 11.5, embryonic heart samples from these mice were isolated. After extraction of RNA, cDNA synthesis of RNA was performed. The Real Time-PCR technique was used to determine the expression of TBX20 gene. Expression level   of TBX20 gene in experimental and control was calculated using the 2^–∆∆CT method.
Results: Expression of TBX20 gene in diabetic specimens was twice as high as the control samples, which was statistically significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion: It seems, increasing TBX20 gene expression in embryonic heart tissue may be one of the complications of gestational diabetes mellitus and can lead to abnormalities in the heart embryo.