Molecular Biomarkers & Diagnosis

Background: Early detection of renal affection in neonates is vital for early treatment and prevention of dangerous complications, so the using of some markers like urinary neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (uNGAL), interleukin-18 (uIL-18) is very important as the commonly used detectors as creatinine are very late.

Patient and methods: This study included 80 neonates and was carried out at neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), pediatrics department, Tanta university hospital, Egypt from 6/2013 to 6/2015. Group 1 (kidney injury-patient group): This group included forty neonates Group 2 (Control Group): This group included forty healthy neonates from outpatient clinic. uNGAL, uIL-18 and serum creatinine were assessed in 80 neonates at day 1 and day 3 of neonatal intensive care unit admission who had renal affection later proved by BUN serum creatinine.

Results: Means of uNGAL, uIL-18 and serum creatinine in the day 1 of admission in cases and control groups were (30.94 ± 10.05 vs 6.7 ± 4.49), (11.61 ± 9.00 vs 1.1.98 ± 1.18) and (0.64 ± 0.17 vs 0.59 ± 0.19) respectively with p-value <0.05 which was significant in uNGAL and uIL-18 only.

Conclusions: uNGAL and uIL-18 are considered simple and accurate markers in early detection of renal impairment in neonates which are better than serum creatinine

Biotechnology has offered modern medical devices for diagnostic and preventive purposes, which include diagnostic test kits, vaccines and radio-labeled biological therapeutics used for imaging and analysis. Human health is a major growing concern worldwide because of infectious diseases. Biotechnology has played a dynamic role in improving the challenges regarding to human health as it has flexibility to reduce global health differences by the provision of promising technologies. Health, life quality and expectancy of life have been increased worldwide through the services provided by biotechnology. Malnutrition mainly arises due to the lack of essential nutrients and vitamins in food and ultimately results in death. Biotechnology has play a major role in eliminating these problems by producing nutrients enriched food such as Golden Rice, Maize, potato and soybean etc. Biotechnology has also played an important role in controlling the environmental pollution through biodegradation of potential pollutants. This review sketches improvement of human health by the use of biotechnological advances in molecular diagnostics, medicine, vaccines, nutritionally enriched genetically modified crops and waste management.

Diabetes is one of the most important multifactorial, metabolic and chronic diseases, with fatal complications that remain a public health problem worldwide. The estimations by the international diabetes federation (IDF) showed in 2015 that, 415 million people had diabetes and with an expected rise to 646 million in 2040. Many ethnobotanical surveys were carried out in several parts of the world, but none has investigated the ethnomedical surveys to record plants used for both treatments of diabetes and its derived manifestations. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to collect and document information on herbal remedies traditionally used for the treatment of diabetes and its signs, symptoms and complications in Cameroon. Detailed botanical prospection and ethnopharmacological thorough preparation was conducted nearby 1131 interviewers from 58 tribes of Cameroon, in a random distribution. In total, 103 plant species belonging to 72 genera in 34 families were reported to be used in the preparation of the herbal remedies. The following species that include Antrocaryon klaineanum, Entandrophragma cylindricum, Cylicodiscus gabunensis, Allanblacka floribunda and Glossocalyx brevipes are amongst many recorded plants documented for the first time in the treatment of diabetes and its interconnected diseases. Nineteen plants species including Allium cepa, A. sativum, Momordica charantia, M. foetida, Morinda lucida are recognized by some interviewers in both usual and suspected treatment of diabetes. Abrus precatorius, Dioscoreophyllum volkensis, Synsepalum dulcificum and Thaumatoccus daniellii are known as edulcorants endowed of antidiabetic properties. The results provide the base for herbal medicines used in diabetes management and for further preparation of phytodrugs for diabetes and its complications.

DNA sequencing is becoming faster and cheaper by the day, and soon enough obtaining one’s complete genome will be an act as trivial as buying groceries at the supermarket. It is without surprise that so many start-ups and established brands sell their “do-it-yourself kit” to consumers who get, by means of a simple saliva sample, promises of an individualized diet that fits just as perfectly as Cinderella’s shoe, at least from a geno-pheno-typical standpoint. Theoretically, it sounds fantastic. But with the current practices in terms of nutritional genomics, these promises fall short.

Ocular adnexal lymphoma (OAL) is a rare tumor with an incidence of 0.2 per 1,00,000 individuals. However, it constitutes the most common orbital tumor especially in older population with an incidence ranging from 11% to 24%. OAL can involve conjunctiva, orbital soft tissues, eyelid, or adnexal structures such as lacrimal gland and lacrimal drainage system. The most common primary OAL is low-grade malignant extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (EMZL) of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) type. Though various classification and staging systems have been proposed for OAL, currently, American joint committee on cancer (AJCC) TNM (tumor node metastasis) staging is most commonly used. Most commonly, conjunctival lymphoma typically presents as ‘salmon-colored patch’ and orbital lymphoma presents as proptosis, which on imaging shows characteristic appearance of molding around the globe without any globe indentation or bone erosion. Orbital radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy forms the mainstay of treatment. Newer treatment modalities include immunotherapy with interferon and anti-CD20 antibody rituximab that have been shown to be useful either when used alone or in combination with chemotherapy or as radio-immunotherapy.

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer diagnosis in women, as it represents 14.6% of new cancer diagnoses in the United States and accounts for 6.8% of cancer deaths. Growing research into breast cancer etiology has shed new light on genetic risk factors. It is now estimated that 5% to 10% of all breast cancers have a hereditary link. This is especially true in younger patients, in whom 25% to 40% of cases have a coexisting genetic risk.

Purpose: To explore the relationship between XIAP and CIAP1 co-expression and the prognosis in HNSCC.

Experimental design: 69 patients were recruited in our study, expression level of XIAP and CIAP1 were examined in all patients, and was correlated with clinical outcomes of the patients.

Results: The patients whose tumors co-express high level of XIAP and CIAP1 presented poorer overall and disease-free survival rates than those whose tumors co-express low level of XIAP and CIAP1 (overall survival P<0.001, disease-free survival P<0.001).

Conclusions: Our results validate that co-expression of XIAP and CIAP1 prompted a worse prognosis.

In our pervious study, we had reported that basal microvilli with cellular trafficking ability exist in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and murine PDAC models, which a remarkable example of how endothelial plasticity in tumor blood vessels feed tumor cells. As human solid tumors in different organs are driven by similar oncogenic mutations, basal microvilli may exist in other human solid tumors. Here we have done a small pilot study in human solid tumors to see whether other solid tumors take this approach, and surprisingly found that basal microvilli-like structure observed in human cholangiocarcinoma, metastatic nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (panNET) and breast cancer, but not human hepatocellular carcinoma, glioblastoma, renal clear cell carcinoma and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Consistent with characteristics of basal microvilli in PDAC, immuno-staining results showed that the expression of VEGFR2 was down-regulate in the microvasculature with basal microvilli in panNET. This finding indicates that basal microvilli might be a common way to get nutrients from or clear waste to the microvasculature in aggressive and metastatic tumors.

Background: The contribution of high dietary cholesterol to encephalomyelitis and retinal diseases give more attention to overcome its neurotoxicity. These led physician and scientists of using anti-lepidemic statin drugs, however their long-term treatment may develop complication. Today many views recommended supplements of natural products especially fruit to get demand of needed antioxidant to scavenge bad free radicals liberated from inflammation. Pomegranate juice supplementation is used in the present study in combination with atorvastatin drug hoping to give synergistic effects and improve neurotoxicity.

Material and methods: Eighty pregnant Wistar albino rats weighing 180 g to 200 g body weight were used. They were arranged into eight groups (n=8) such as control, atorvastatin (1 mg/kg), pomegranate (0.5 ml 50%/ rat), atorvastatin and pomegranate, hyper ccholesterolemic group (3% cholesterol diet for 6 weeks before onset of gestation), hypercholesterolemia and atorvastatin and/or pomegranate. All treatments were maintained throughout gestation and lactation period till 2 and 3 week-old. Offspring were sacrificed by diethyl ether and their cervical spinal cord were dissected and separated. The spinal cord was subjected for histological and transmission electron microscopical investigations, biochemical assays of neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin and γ-Aminobutyric acid), vascular endothelial growth factors, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, caspase 3 and caspase 7 as well as comet assay).

Results: The present findings revealed massive cell death and necrosis within ependymal canal as well as pyknosis and edematous lesions of neuronal cells in offspring of hypercholesterolemic mothers. At ultrastructural level, there is a detected demyelination and vacuolar degeneration of myelinated axons. Many of sensory and motor neuronal cells exhibited compacted chromatin materials of their nuclei. These were associated with depletion of assayed neurotransmitters (DA and 5-HT), overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factors, caspases 3 and 7 and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine. Stretched DNA damage (comet assay) with obvious head and tail region was detected in neuronal cells of offspring of hypercholesterolemic mothers and decreased post-pomegranatesupplementation. Atorvastatin and pomegranate supplementation exhibited apparent improvement comparing with single atorvastatin or pomegranate manifesting highly synergistic effects.

Conclusion: Feeding pregnant on hypercholesterolemic diet induced spinal cord injury of their offspring and these can be improved by pomegranate juice supplementation in combination with atorvastatin- treatment.