Colorectal cancer (CRC) is ranked as the third most common cancer and second deadliest cancer in both men and women in the world. Currently, the cure rate and 5-year survival rate of CRC patients remain relatively low. Therefore, discovering a novel molecular biomarker that can be used to improve CRC screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment would be beneficial. Long non-coding RNA colon cancer-associated transcript 1 (CCAT 1) has been found overexpressed in CRC and is associated with CRC tumorigenesis and treatment outcome. CCAT 1 has a high degree of specificity and sensitivity, it is readily detected in CRC tissues and is significantly overexpressed in both premalignant and malignant CRC tissues. Besides, CCAT 1 is associated with clinical manifestation and advanced features of CRC, such as lymph node metastasis, high tumor node metastasis stage, differentiation, invasion, and distant metastasis. In addition, they can upregulate oncogenic c-MYC and negatively modulate microRNAs via different mechanisms of action. Furthermore, dysregulated CCAT 1 also enhances the chemoresistance in CRC cells while downregulation of them reverses the malignant phenotypes of cancer cells. In brief, CCAT 1 serves as a potential screening, diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in CRC, it also serves as a potential therapeutic marker to treat CRC patients.

Background: Evidences suggest that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be considered as potential biomarkers for disease progression and therapeutic response in cervical cancer. The present study investigated the association of CYP1A1 T>C (rs4646903), CYP1A1 A>G (rs1048943), CYP2E1 T>A (rs6413432), RAD51 G>C (rs1801320), XRCC1 G>A (rs25487), XRCC2 G>A (rs3218536) and XRCC3 C>T (rs861539) polymorphisms with treatment outcome of cisplatin based chemoradiation (CRT). Methods: Total 227 cervical cancer cases, treated with the same chemoradiotherapy regimen were selected for the study. Genotyping analysis was performed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP). Treatment response was evaluated by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Association of all clinical data (responses, recurrence and survival of patients) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was analysed by using SPSS (version 21.0). Results: Patients with TA/AA genotype of CYP2E1 T>A polymorphism showed significantly poor response while those with GC/CC genotype of RAD51 G>C showed better response (p = 0.008, p = 0.014 respectively). Death was significantly higher in patients with GG genotypes of RAD51 G>C and XRCC1 G>A (p = 0.006, p = 0.002 respectively). Women with GC+CC genotype of RAD51 G>C and AG+GG of XRCC1 showed better survival and also reduced risk of death (HR = 0.489, p = 0.008; HR = 0.484, p = 0.003 respectively). Conclusion: Results suggested that CYP2E1 T>A (rs6413432), RAD51 G>C (rs1801320), and XRCC1 G>A (rs25487) polymorphisms may be used as predictive markers for clinical outcomes in cervical cancer patients undergoing cisplatin based concomitant chemoradiotherapy.

ABSTRACT Background and aim: The pathogenesis of β-thalassemia has been attributed to ineffective erythropoiesis. The function of Hox genes in normal haematopoiesis has been widely studied using gene expression analysis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the expression of HoxA9, and HoxA5 genes in beta-thalassemia. Materials and methods: Children with thalassemia major, thalassemia intermediate, and age and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 50/group) were enrolled. Detection of HoxA5 and HoxA9 mRNA expression was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: Expression of HoxA9 increased in a direct linear trend (median 0.5 in controls, 2.4 in intermediate disease, 4.1 in major disease, p = 0.001) and generally correlated with the red cell count, haematocrit, ferritin and levels of beta-globin. In those with thalassemia major, the relative change of HoxA9 was linked to transfusion history, the white blood cell count, ferritin, and beta-globin (all r > 0.5, p < 0.001). Levels of HoxA9 were superior to HoxA5 in differentiating controls from thalassemia intermedia, whilst both differentiated major from the intermediate disease. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of HoxA genes in early identification of patients, at high risk of developing complications, as it allows specific measures to delay the progression of the disease. HoxA gene expression is a promising diagnostic and prognostic marker in patients with β-thalassemia.

ABSTRACT We report a 12-year-old diabetic boy with a right-sided parapneumonic effusion and pneumonia who failed initial empirical antibiotics. Prevotella pleuritidis was identified from the pleural fluid using next-generation sequencing-based clinical metagenomics with cultures of pleural fluid and blood resulting negative. The patient responded well to intravenous meropenem followed by oral metronidazole.

ABSTRACT Background Altered expression of several long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been described in numerous malignancies, including breast cancer, and some may have a role in carcinogenesis. We hypothesised differences in the expression of lncRNA MCM3AP-AS1 in breast cancer tissues compared to nearby healthy tissues and potential links with clinical features. Methods We tested our hypothesis in 102 pairs of breast cancer tumours and adjacent non-tumour tissues from female patients. After RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis was performed for all specimens. The differential gene expression was assessed using Quantitative Real-Time PCR Technique. Results There was a significant overexpression of the lncRNAs in tumour tissues as compared with their adjacent non-tumour tissues (P < 0.001). Expression was significantly linked with the tumour oestrogen receptor expression (P = 0.023) and tumour progesterone receptor expression (P < 0.001). ROC analysis showed an AUC of 0.67 (95% CI 0.60–0.75) (P < 0.001) with sensitivity and specificity of 58% and 76%, respectively Conclusion The lncRNA MCM3AP-AS1 may be a novel breast cancer lncRNA with high expression levels in breast cancer patients’ tissue. Further investigations are needed to confirm its uses as a potential molecular marker and therapeutic target.

Infertility is defined as a failure to achieve pregnancy despite one year of unprotected intercourse at regular intervals. In nearly 50% of infertility cases, the male has suboptimal sperm paramete...

Globally, around 15% of couples suffer from infertility [1]. Factors linked to female infertility including uterine abnormalities, endometriosis, chromosomal abnormalities, endocrine disorders, and...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the 10 main causes of morbidity and death in adult populations worldwide, the pathophysiology being airflow obstruction [1]. The integrity of ...

ABSTRACT Background Certain single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes such as PADI4 (coding for peptidyl arginine deiminase 4), PDCD1 (coding for programmed cell death 1), and CTLA4 (coding for cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4) are linked to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, links between SNPs rs2240340, rs10204525 and rs231775 in PADI4, PDCD1 and CTLA4 respectively, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), the commonest type of childhood arthritis, are unclear. We aimed to determine whether any of these SNPs are associated with JIA, and to clinical indices disease activity score (JADAS 71) and functional disability score (CHAQ). Methods We genotyped the three SNPs in 150 children with polyarticular JIA and 160 healthy children, recording standard health questionnaires, clinical features and laboratory markers. Results The TT genotype of PADI4 rs2240340 (aOR/95%CI 2.64: 1.31–5.30, P = 0.006) and CT genotype of PDCD1 rs10204525 (aOR/95%CI 4.99: 2.98–8.36, P < 0.0001) were associated with JIA. The AG+GG genotype of CTLA4 rs231175 was modestly linked to disease activity (aOR/95%CI 2.44 (1.19–5.04), p = 0.015). PADI4 rs2240340 was linked to CHAQ score (genotypes p = 0.013, alleles p = 0.006), whilst PDCD1 rs10204525 was linked to anti-CCP antibodies (genotypes p = 0.004), RF (genotypes p = 0.01), and the CHAQ score (genotypes p = 0.005, alleles p = 0.013). Conclusions There are various roles for these SNPs in PADI4, CTLA4 and PDCD1 in the diagnosis and, potentially, in the management of JIA.

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. Many factors are related to progression of cirrhosis to HCC and poor outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus(HCV) ...