Isra University

UDP-glucuronosyl transferases (UGTs) are major enzymes of phase II drug metabolism, yet their expression in human platelets remains underexplored. Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the mRNA expression profile of UGT isoforms in human platelets and to assess differences between cigarette smokers and nonsmokers.

Total RNA was extracted from platelet-rich plasma (PRP), buffy coat (BC), and liver samples. After reverse transcription, PCR was performed to detect UGT isoforms including UGT1A1, 1A3, 1A4, 1A5, 1A6, 1A7, 1A8, 1A9, 1A10, 2B7, and 2B15. The mRNA levels of UGT1A5 and 2B15 in PRP were quantified and compared to levels in liver and BC. PRP samples from smokers and nonsmokers were also analyzed.

UGT1A5 and 2B15 mRNAs were detected in human platelets. UGT1A5 expression was significantly higher in PRP than in liver, while it was about threefold lower. Both genes showed elevated expression in smokers' platelets, approximately 11.3-fold for UGT1A5 and 3.3-fold for UGT2B15, compared to nonsmokers.

This study concludes the presence of UGT1A5 and 2B15 mRNA in human platelets and their elevated level in the platelets of smokers. Further research, including pharmacokinetic studies and protein-level validation, is needed to understand their functional significance.

The present study aims at examining the low-energy radiation shielding properties of a Bi₂O₃- and ZnO-doped borosilicate [(61-x) B₂O₃-10ZnO-10BaO-5TiO₂-(14+x) Bi₂O₃; x = 4, 8, 12, and 16 mol%] glass system.The mech. characteristics of the produced glasses were evaluated using the Makishima-Mackenzie theory.The study shows that substituting part of B₂O₃ with Bi₂O₃ reduces the microhardness and mech. moduli of the glasses.Addnl., radiation shielding factors were determined to investigate the relationship between Bi₂O₃ and B₂O₃ content and the glasses′ low-energy gamma-ray shielding performance, as well as the influence of the radiation source energy on the glass properties.The results demonstrated a pos. correlation between increasing Bi₂O₃ concentration and the linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) of the glasses.The glass sample containing 18 mol% Bi₂O₃ led to the lowest LAC values, whereas the sample with 30 mol% Bi₂O₃ led to the highest.Furthermore, the mean free path (MFP) of the glasses was compared to that of com. glasses to assess their effectiveness in low-energy radiation protection.The glass with the highest Bi₂O₃ content had the lowest MFP and thus provided better protection than some com. alternatives.

This work deals with the synthesis and characterization of a new borate-based glass series reinforced with various concentrations of PbO₂, BaO, and Pr₆O₁₁ according to the chem. formula of (7 + x)PbO₂-(18 + y)BaO-12CaO-(63-x-y-z)B₂O₃-z Pr₆O₁₁; x = y = 0, 1, 2, and 3 mol%, while z = 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mol%.The influence of the corporation of PbO₂, BaO, and Pr₆O₁₁ compounds on the structural, optical, mech., and radiation shielding characteristics was investigated.The evaluation shows that the raise in substitution of PbO₂ + BaO + Pr₆O₁₁ for B₂O₃ across the concentration of 25-32.5 mol% decreases the direct energy band gap between 3.08 and 2.82 eV.The absorption bands and corresponding IR active vibrational modes were identified for the synthesized glasses using FTIR spectrometry.The Makishima Makinzie model was applied to understand the behavior of mech. modulus and mech. properties for the glasses.The increase in PbO₂ + BaO + Pr₆O₁₁ throughout a concentration range of 25-32.5 mol.% decreases slightly the microhardness of the prepared samples from 4.985 to4.736 GPa.