Genetic variability in energy balance and pancreatic cancer risk in a population-based case-control study in Minnesota

OBJECTIVES: Accumulating evidence suggests that energy imbalance plays a role in pancreatic carcinogenesis. However, it remains unclear whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes regulating energy homeostasis influence pancreatic cancer risk. We investigated this question in a case-control study conducted from 1994 to 1998. METHODS: Patients (n = 173) were ascertained from hospitals in the Twin Cities and Mayo Clinic, Minnesota. Control subjects (n = 476) were identified from the general population and frequency matched to patients by age and sex. Seven SNPs were evaluated in relation to pancreatic cancer using unconditional logistic regression. RESULTS: After adjustment for confounders, the leucine/proline or proline/proline genotype of the neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene rs16139 was associated with a lower risk than the leucine/leucine genotype (odds ratio, 0.40 [95% confidence interval, 0.15-0.91]). Conversely, an increased risk was observed for the glycine/arginine or arginine/arginine genotype of the adrenoceptor β2, surface (ADRB2) gene rs1042713 as compared with the glycine/glycine genotype (odds ratio, 1.52 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-2.31]). CONCLUSIONS: This study first reveals that SNPs in genes modulating energy intake (NPY) and energy expenditure (ADRB2) altered pancreatic cancer risk. If confirmed by other studies, our findings may shed new light on the etiology and prevention of pancreatic cancer

Modified atmosphere packaging of capsicum for extending shelf life under coolbot condition

Capsicum is one of the high value vegetable crops in Nepal. Its demand in kitchen is increasing due to urbanization and increased awareness on its health benefit. Its commercial cultivation has been started in protected as well as open field conditions. It fetches higher price in market but has very short storage life under ordinary storage condition. An experiment was carried out to evaluate the modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on extension of shelf-life of capsicum fruit. Fruit were harvested at full mature stage with smooth and shiny appearance from farmer's field grown under protected condition at Chitwan, Nepal. The fruits were brought to postharvest laboratory of National Horticulture Research Centre, pre-cooled for 3-4 hours, cleaned with muslin cloth and packed in 25 micron Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) packaging with different number of pinhole sized perforations viz. without pinholes, eight pinholes, sixteen pinholes, twenty four pinholes and control (without MAP). The study was conducted in completely randomized block design with five treatments and four replications. Fruits were kept at coolbot storage (9.8+2 ºC, 86+5% RH) till 30 days and analyzed for various postharvest physical, chemical and physiological parameters at every 10, 20 and 30 days of storage. The result showed that LDPE packaging influenced on reduction of physiological loss in weight (PLW), spoilage loss, ascorbic acid content, TA, freshness, firmness and shelf life. The modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) without pinholes showed the minimum PWL (1.71%) and the optimum fruit freshness (4.76) but the spoilage loss was the maximum (14%). Among the packaging, MAP with 8 pinholes maintained majority of postharvest quality retention with reduced physiological loss in weight (4.15 %), freshness (4.5) and spoilage loss (2%)

Risk of Cancer among Commercially Insured HIV-Infected Adults on Antiretroviral Therapy.

The objective of this study was to explore the cancer incidence rates among HIV-infected persons with commercial insurance who were on antiretroviral therapy and compare them with those rates in the general population. Paid health insurance claims for 63,221 individuals 18 years or older, with at least one claim with a diagnostic code for HIV and at least one filled prescription for an antiretroviral medication between January 1, 2006, and September 30, 2012, were obtained from the LifeLink® Health Plan Claims Database. The expected number of cancer cases in the general population for each gender-age group (<30, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and >60 years) was estimated using incidence rates from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were estimated using their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Compared to the general population, incidence rates for HIV-infected adults were elevated (SIR, 95% CI) for Kaposi sarcoma (46.08; 38.74-48.94), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (4.22; 3.63-4.45), Hodgkin lymphoma (9.83; 7.45-10.84), and anal cancer (30.54; 25.62-32.46) and lower for colorectal cancer (0.69; 0.52-0.76), lung cancer (0.70; 0.54, 0.77), and prostate cancer (0.54; 0.45-0.58). Commercially insured, treated HIV-infected adults had elevated rates for infection-related cancers, but not for common non-AIDS defining cancers

Induction of cell proliferation and survival genes by estradiol-repressed microRNAs in breast cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In estrogen responsive MCF-7 cells, estradiol (E₂) binding to ERα leads to transcriptional regulation of genes involved in the control of cell proliferation and survival. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. The aim of this study was to explore whether miRNAs were involved in hormonally regulated expression of estrogen responsive genes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Western blot and QPCR were used to determine the expression of estrogen responsive genes and miRNAs respectively. Target gene expression regulated by miRNAs was validated by luciferase reporter assays and transfection of miRNA mimics or inhibitors. Cell proliferation was evaluated by MTS assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>E₂significantly induced bcl-2, cyclin D1 and survivin expression by suppressing the levels of a panel of miRNAs (miR-16, miR-143, miR-203) in MCF-7 cells. MiRNA transfection and luciferase assay confirmed that bcl-2 was regulated by miR-16 and miR-143, cyclinD1 was modulated by miR-16. Importantly, survivin was found to be targeted by miR-16, miR-143, miR-203. The regulatory effect of E₂can be either abrogated by anti-estrogen ICI 182, 780 and raloxifene pretreatment, or impaired by ERα siRNA, indicating the regulation is dependent on ERα. In order to investigate the functional significance of these miRNAs in estrogen responsive cells, miRNAs mimics were transfected into MCF-7 cells. It revealed that overexpression of these miRNAs significantly inhibited E₂-induced cell proliferation. Further study of the expression of the miRNAs indicated that miR-16, miR-143 and miR-203 were highly expressed in triple positive breast cancer tissues, suggesting a potential tumor suppressing effect of these miRNAs in ER positive breast cancer.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results demonstrate that E₂induces bcl-2, cyclin D1 and survivin by orchestrating the coordinate downregulation of a panel of miRNAs. In turn, the miRNAs manifest growth suppressive effects and control cell proliferation in response to E₂. This sheds a new insight into the integral post-transcriptional regulation of cell proliferation and survival genes by miRNAs, a potential therapeutic option for breast cancer.</p

Genotypic and allelic variability in CYP19A1 among populations of African and European ancestry.

CYP19A1 facilitates the bioconversion of estrogens from androgens. CYP19A1 intron single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may alter mRNA splicing, resulting in altered CYP19A1 activity, and potentially influencing disease susceptibility. Genetic studies of CYP19A1 SNPs have been well documented in populations of European ancestry; however, studies in populations of African ancestry are limited. In the present study, ten 'candidate' intronic SNPs in CYP19A1 from 125 African Americans (AA) and 277 European Americans (EA) were genotyped and their frequencies compared. Allele frequencies were also compared with HapMap and ASW 1000 Genomes populations. We observed significant differences in the minor allele frequencies between AA and EA in six of the ten SNPs including rs10459592 (p<0.0001), rs12908960 (p<0.0001), rs1902584 (p = 0.016), rs2470144 (p<0.0001), rs1961177 (p<0.0001), and rs6493497 (p = 0.003). While there were no significant differences in allele frequencies between EA and CEU in the HapMap population, a 1.2- to 19-fold difference in allele frequency for rs10459592 (p = 0.004), rs12908960 (p = 0.0006), rs1902584 (p<0.0001), rs2470144 (p = 0.0006), rs1961177 (p<0.0001), and rs6493497 (p = 0.0092) was observed between AA and the Yoruba (YRI) population. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks and haplotype clusters that is unique to the EA population but not AA was also observed. In summary, we demonstrate that differences in the allele frequencies of CYP19A1 intron SNPs are not consistent between populations of African and European ancestry. Thus, investigations into whether CYP19A1 intron SNPs contribute to variations in cancer incidence, outcomes and pharmacological response seen in populations of different ancestry may prove beneficial

Modified Atmosphere Packaging of Capsicum for Extending Shelf Life Under Coolbot Condition

Capsicum is one of the high value vegetable crops in Nepal. Its demand in kitchen is increasing due to urbanization and increased awareness on its health benefit. Its commercial cultivation has been started in protected as well as open field conditions. It fetches higher price in market but has very short storage life under ordinary storage condition. An experiment was carried out to evaluate the modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on extension of shelf-life of capsicum fruit. Fruit were harvested at full mature stage with smooth and shiny appearance from farmer's field grown under protected condition at Chitwan, Nepal. The fruits were brought to postharvest laboratory of National Horticulture Research Centre, pre-cooled for 3-4 hours, cleaned with muslin cloth and packed in 25 micron Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) packaging with different number of pinhole sized perforations viz. without pinholes, eight pinholes, sixteen pinholes, twenty four pinholes and control (without MAP). The study was conducted in completely randomized block design with five treatments and four replications. Fruits were kept at coolbot storage (9.8+2 ºC, 86+5% RH) till 30 days and analyzed for various postharvest physical, chemical and physiological parameters at every 10, 20 and 30 days of storage. The result showed that LDPE packaging influenced on reduction of physiological loss in weight (PLW), spoilage loss, ascorbic acid content, TA, freshness, firmness and shelf life. The modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) without pinholes showed the minimum PWL (1.71%) and the optimum fruit freshness (4.76) but the spoilage loss was the maximum (14%). Among the packaging, MAP with 8 pinholes maintained majority of postharvest quality retention with reduced physiological loss in weight (4.15 %), freshness (4.5) and spoilage loss (2%)