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Background and Objective: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common inherited disorder in Caucasian populations caused by mutation in cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). The type of mutations and their distributions varies widely between different countries and/or ethnic groups. The aim of this study was to characterize mutations involved in this disease in Mazandaran province, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study thirty unrelated Iranian cystic fibrosis patients were screened for deltaF508, N1303K, G542X, R347H and W1282X mutations in the CFTR gene using Reverse Dot Blot method during 2004-06. This technique uses biotinilated PCR products for simultaneous hybridization with several normal and mutant probes specific to known mutations fixed on Biodyne C membranes. Results: DeltaF508 mutation was found in 13 (21.66%) alleles. 6 patients were homozygote and one was compound heterozygote for this mutation. Conclusion: These findings reveal an important heterogeneity of CFTR gene mutations in Mazandaran Province. Thus regarding the relative low rate of detectable mutations, it is necessary to undertake larger studies for molecular diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in this province.

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Background and Objective: Noninvasive methods have been proposed as surrogate markers for liver biopsy in recent years. It was shown that serum laminin level increases with the development for liver fibrosis The aim of this work was to determine serum laminin level cutoff point for predicting liver fibrosis, highlighting its diagnostic value and determining the effect of treatment on its level. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study during 2008-09, serum laminin levels in chronic hepatitis patients (n=62) and controls (n=20) before the beginning of the treatment and three times in a 2 month's interval i.e. 2.4 and 6 months after the beginning of the treatment- were compared by ELISA and stages of fibrosis were assessed according to the liver biopsy. Results: Mean serum laminin concentration in patients (91.9±20.9 ng/ml) was greater than the control (46.2±10.2 ng/ml, P<0.05). Serum levels of laminin in all stages of hepatic fibrosis were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls (P<0.05). A cutoff point of 52.0 ng/ml of laminin serum was obtained for the discrimination of patients with liver fibrosis than the healthy control showed a good sensitivity (96.8%) and specificity (80%). After 6 months of treatment, a gradual decrease in serum laminin level was observed, however the level was still higher than that of the healthy group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that serum laminin level is a useful non-invasive marker of liver fibrosis due to strong positive correlation between serum laminin level and the degree of liver fibrosis.

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Background and Objective: The anthracyclin drug doxorubicin (Adriamycin) is one of the most effective antineoplastic agents, and widely used to treat a number of malignancies. However, its use has been restricted due to the dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. The mechanisms of Doxorubicin - induced cardiotoxicity is not entirely clear. This study investigates the effect of Doxorubicin on Bcl2 and Bax genes expression as key molecules that involve in intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in rat heart. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study Doxorubicin administration, male Wistar rats were exposed to intraperitoneal injections (2.5 mg/kg, six times for 2 weeks, n=20). Animals were randomly assigned to the healthy untreated control (n=10) and to the Doxorubicin treatment groups (n=10). Three weeks after completion of treatment myocardial fibrosis, Bcl2 and Bax genes expression were investigated by Masson’s trichrome staining and Real Time- PCR analysis respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS-16 and independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney and Kaplan-Meyer method. Results: Masson’s trichrome staining showed that Doxorubicin increased fibrosis in the cardiac muscle (16.4±1) in compare to control group (1±0.79). Real Time- PCR analysis showed that Doxorubicin decreased Bcl2 expression levels (0.1±0.07) and increased Bax expression levels (2.1±0.1) in the myocardium in compare to control group (P<0.01). Conclusion: This study showed that administration of Doxorubicin increase interstitial fibrosis of myocardium and Bax expression levels and decrease Bcl2 expression that are the key genes of mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway.