Background/Aims: Ulcerative colitis (UC), along with Crohn’s disease, is one of the main types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). On the other hand, deregulated autophagy is involved in many chronic diseases, including IBD. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of Atg5 and microRNA-181a (miR-181a) in the pathophysiology of UC. Methods: Colon biopsy, stool, and blood samples of 6 men and 9 women were confirmed for UC. Also, 13 men and 17 women were selected as healthy control (HC). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry were used to measure the Atg-5 content of the colon biopsies. Besides, the serum and stool levels of Atg5 were measured using ELISA. Moreover, the total RNA of blood cells was extracted and evaluated for the expression of miR-181a. Results: We found 1.2 ng/mL versus 0.46 ng/mL, 0.34 ng/mL versus 0.24 ng/mL, and 0.082 ng/mL versus 0.062 ng/mL of Atg5 in stool, intestinal tissue, and serum of UC and HCs, respectively. There was no significant difference in the expression of miR-181a in the blood samples of UC and HCs. Immunohistochemistry showed high positivity without any significant difference between the 2 groups in the quantitative analysis. Conclusions The significant difference observed between the stool Atg5 content of the HCs and UC patients may provide new insight into using this protein as a diagnostic biomarker, however, considering the small size of our studied population further studies are needed.

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have potential of differentiation and they secrete anti-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors which make them appropriate for cell therapy. AIM OF THE WORK: Were to evaluate the healing effect of BM-MSCs transplantation on germinal cells of busulfan-induced azoospermic hamsters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the present experimental case control study, BM-MSCs were isolated from bone marrow of donor albino hamsters. Five mature male recipient hamsters received two doses of 10 mg/kg of busulfan with 21 days interval to stop endogenous spermatogenesis. After induction of azoospermia, right testis of hamsters was injected with 106 BM-MSCs via efferent duct and the left one remained as azoospermia control testis. Five normal mature hamsters were selected as normal intact control. After 35 days, testes and epididymis of three groups were removed for histological evaluation. RESULTS: Histomorphological analyses of BM-MSCs treated testes and epididymis showed the epithelial tissue of seminiferous tubules had normal morphology and spermatozoa were present in epididymis tubes. Spermatogenesis was observed in most cell-treated seminiferous tubules. The untreated seminiferous tubules were empty. CONCLUSION: Transplanted BM-MSCs could successfully induce spermatogenesis in seminiferous tubules of azoospermic hamster. Therefore, BM-MSCs can be an attractive candidate in cell transplantation of azoospermia.
Animals ; Azoospermia* ; Bone Marrow ; Busulfan ; Case-Control Studies ; Cell Transplantation ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Cricetinae* ; Cytokines ; Epididymis ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Spermatogenesis* ; Spermatozoa ; Testis ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants