Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26112013›Full record

ArticleBMC research notes2015

The effects of pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin on liver and serum concentrations of activin-A and follistatin in normal Wistar rat: a preliminary report.

Bassem Refaat, Adel Galal El-Shemi, Ahmed Mohammed Ashshi

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC research notes, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Bassem RefaatLaboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Al Abdeyah, PO Box 7607, Makkah, KSA. bassem.refaat@yahoo.co.uk.
Adel Galal El-ShemiLaboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Al Abdeyah, PO Box 7607, Makkah, KSA. dr_adel_elshemy2006@yahoo.com.
Ahmed Mohammed AshshiLaboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Al Abdeyah, PO Box 7607, Makkah, KSA. aashshi@yahoo.com.
Umm al-Qura University · SA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundActivin-A and follistatin regulate the liver and the immune system.

aimsTo measure the effects of treatment with pegylated-interferon-α (Peg-IFN-α) and ribavirin on the concentrations of mature activin-A and follistatin in serum and liver tissue homogenates in rats.

methodsA total of 28 male Wistar rats were divided equally into four groups as follow: 'Control group' (n = 7), 'PEG only group' consisted of those that only received a weekly injection of Peg-IFN-α (6 µg/rat) for 4 weeks, 'RBV only group' received ribavirin only (4 mg/rat/day) orally for 35 days and the last group received both Peg-IFN-α and ribavirin 'PEG & RBV group'. The concentrations of candidate proteins in serum and liver samples were measured using ELISA.

resultsPegylated-interferon-α decreased activin-A and increased follistatin significantly in serum and liver of 'PEG only' and 'PEG & RBV' groups compared with the 'Control' and 'RBV only' groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the 'RBV only' and 'Control' groups (P > 0.05) in the concentrations of candidate proteins. A significant positive correlations between serum and liver activin-A (r = 0.727; P = 0.02 × 10(-3)) and follistatin (r = 0.540; P = 0.01) was also detected.

conclusionPegylated-interferon-α modulates the production of activin-A and follistatin by the liver, which is reflected and can be detected at the serum level. Further studies are needed to explore the role of Peg-IFN-α based therapy on the production of activins and follistatin by the liver and immune cells.

Indexed as

Administration, OralAnimalsAntiviral AgentsDrug Administration ScheduleDrug CombinationsFollistatinGene Expression RegulationInhibin-beta SubunitsInterferon-alphaLiverMalePolyethylene GlycolsRatsRats, WistarRecombinant ProteinsRibavirinAntiviral AgentsDrug CombinationsFollistatininhibin beta A subunitInhibin-beta SubunitsInterferon-alphapeginterferon alfa-2aPolyethylene GlycolsRecombinant ProteinsRibavirin

Identifiers

PMID26112013
PMCPMC4481076
OpenAlexW1495477166

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.