HFE H63D mutation frequency shows an increase in Turkish women with breast cancer

BACKGROUND: The hereditary hemochromatosis gene HFE plays a pivotal role in iron homeostasis. The association between cancer and HFE hetero- or homozygosity has previously been shown including hepatocellular and nonhepatocellular malignancies. This study was performed to compare frequencies of HFE C282Y and H63D variants in Turkish women with breast cancer and healthy controls. METHODS: Archived DNA samples of Hacettepe University Oncology Institute were used in this study. The HFE gene was investigated by PCR-RFLP. RESULTS: All subjects studied were free from C282Y mutation. Thirty-nine patients had H63D mutation and were all heterozygous. H63D allele frequency was 22.2% (39/176) in the breast cancer patients, and 14% (28/200) in the healthy volunteers. Statistical analysis of cases with HFE H63D phenotype showed significant difference between breast cancer and healthy volunteers (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that HFE H63D mutation frequencies were increased in the breast cancer patients in comparison to those in the general population. Also, odds ratios (odds ratio = 2.05) computed in this study suggest that H63D has a positive association with breast cancer

Molecular and functional analysis of a novel recombinant clone of rat (Rattus norvegicus) CD40 ligand (CD40L) gene

Esendagli, Gunes/0000-0003-4865-2377;WOS: 000262088100011PubMed: 17922253Genetic material obtained from various individuals may contain certain polymorphisms which may conflict with the predetermined DNA sequence and consequently, may modulate the function of gene products. In this study, coding sequence of rat CD40 ligand (CD40L, CD154) was obtained from activated splenocytes, amplified, and cloned into a eukaryotic expression vector by using directional cloning method. Sequence of the recombinant rat CD40L DNA, pCD40L-IRES2-EGFP (pCD40L), was compared with the previously reported rat CD40L cDNA sequences and a 99% identity was found. Differing nucleotides were on the positions; 122-T/C, 341-G/A, 476G/A, 762-T/A. Further alignment analysis showed that pCD40L was collectively carrying the nucleotides each previously reported by different groups. The sequence was submitted to NCBI GenBank and nucleotide database accession number EF066490 was obtained. Following transfection of the construct into NIH/3T3 cell line, novel CD40L clone was functionally expressed de novo, increasing the expression of CD80 and CD86 costimulatory molecules and augmenting the proliferation rate of effector splenocytes in immune reactions ex vivo. Based on these data, here we report a novel recombinant clone of the rat CD40L gene which may represent a potential polymorphic variant.Eczacibasi Scientific Research and Award Fund; Hacettepe UniversityHacettepe University [05DO3104001]This study was supported by Eczacibasi Scientific Research and Award Fund, and Hacettepe University Scientific Research Unit (project no. 05DO3104001)

Pknox2 Expression And Regulation In The Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Of Fanconi Anemia Patients And Healthy Donors

HOX and TALE transcription factors are important regulators of development and homeostasis in determining cellular identity. Deregulation of this process may drive cancer progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of these transcription factors in the bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) of Fanconi anemia (FA) patients, which is a cancer-predisposing disease. Expression levels of HOX and TALE genes in BM-MSCs were obtained from FA patients and healthy donors by RT-qPCR and highly conserved expression levels were observed between patient and donor cells, except PKNOX2, which is a member of TALE class. PKNOX2 was significantly downregulated in FA cells compared to donors (P<0.05). PKNOX2 expression levels did not change with diepoxybutane (DEB), a DNA crosslinking agent, in either donor or FA cells except one patient's with a truncation mutation of FANCA. A difference of PKNOX2 protein level was not obtained between FA patient and donor BM-MSCs by western blot analysis. When human TGF-beta 1 (rTGF-beta 1) recombinant protein was provided to the cultures, PKNOX2 as well as TGF-beta 1 expression increased both in FA and donor BM-MSCs in a dose dependent manner. 5ng/mL rTGF-beta stimulation had more dominant effect on the gene expression of donor BM-MSCs compared to FA cells. Decreased PKNOX2 expression in FA BM-MSCs may provide new insights into the molecular pathophysiology of the disease and TGF-beta 1 levels of the microenvironment may be the cause of PKNOX2 downregulation.Wo

Hereditary haemochromatosis gene (HFE) H63D mutation shows an association with abnormal sperm motility

Ankarali, Handan Camdeviren/0000-0002-3613-0523; KISA, Ucler/0000-0002-8131-6810;WOS: 000268496800009PubMed: 18846434The aim of this study was to screen infertile men for HFE H63D mutation in correlation with clinical characteristics of infertile men (sperm concentration, sperm motility, morphology, testicular volume, Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and total Testosterone levels) and find out if the HFE H63D mutation has an effect on male infertility. After excluding hormonal treatment, any scrotal pathology, having any systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, sickle cell anemia and microdeletions of the Y chromosome, a total of 148 infertile men with age range between 17 and 52-years-old (average age 29.6 +/- A 7.2) were enrolled into the study. Our analysis indicates that the mean FSH levels are significantly higher (6.3 +/- A 4.6 mIU/ml, P = 0.03), whereas sperm motility is significantly lower (36.6 +/- A 28.1%, P = 0.01) in the infertile men with the HFE H63D mutation compared with subjects lacking this mutation. Comparison of allele frequencies of the infertile men with Ts 50% revealed a significant difference as expected (P = 0.001, OR = 0.14, %95 CI = 0.04-0.44). Comparison of allele frequencies of infertile men with abnormal sperm motility versus infertile men with normal sperm motility revealed a highly significant difference (P = 0.005, OR = 3.11, %95 CI = 1.41-6.86). Thus, the HFE H63D mutation seems to be an important risk factor for impaired sperm motility and is clinically associated with male infertility.Kirikkale University Research FoundKirikkale University [03/08.01.03]This work was supported by Kirikkale University Research Found (KU AF 03/08.01.03). We thank the infertility patients who made this analysis possible

The frequency of Familial Mediterranean fever gene mutations and genotypes at Kirikkale and comparison with the mean of regional MEFV mutation frequency of Turkey

WOS: 000332000400025PubMed: 24381109In this study we have retrospectively analysed the mutation spectrum of the 351 Familial Mediterranean fever patients referred to KA +/- rA +/- kkale University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Genetics Laboratory over a period of 5 years and compared them with Turkey's mean. We have found 11 different mutations, including rare mutations such as F479L, K695R, M680I(G/A) and 45 different genotypes showing the heterogeneity of MEFV mutations in Central Anatolia. The most three prevalent mutations were M694V (14.8 %), E148Q (7.1 %) and M680I(G/C) (4.1 %) in accordance with the literature. We have also investigated R202Q in our routine molecular diagnosis. Mutation causing R202Q (c.605G > A) change was described as a frequent polymorphism and G allele was found in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with M694V. There are limited number of studies investigating R202Q, some of them implicate that its homozygote state is disease causing. We showed the high frequency of R202Q (23.7 %) with and without M694V in all the groups analysed and its high LD rate with M694V in the diagnosed group. Our study is reflecting the mutational heterogeneity of MEFV and summarize mutational spectrum of Turkey's geographical regions and overall Turkey

Adhesion of beta1 integrin to fibronectin regulates CAM-DR phenotype via p21(WAF1/cip1) in HL60 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells

Esendagli, Gunes/0000-0003-4865-2377;WOS: 000254702300001Aims: Drug resistance is a major obstacle for a successful cancer therapy. Cell adhesion mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) is a novel type of drug resistance and generated via interaction of cancer cells with the microenvironment. In this study, CAM-DR phenotype was analyzed in HL60 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Materials and Methods: Fibronectin (FN) adherence of HL60 cells was tested by a colorimetric adhesion assay. Flow cytometry analyses were performed to evaluate doxorubicin-incluced apoptosis and to determine cell cycle status. Proliferation rate was evaluated by [H-3]-thymidine incorporation assay. Western blot and RTPCR were used for analysis of the factors involved in cell cycle control. Results: Binding of HL60 to FN via alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 integrins exerted a CAM-DR phenotype, which shows resistance to apoptosis triggered by doxorubicin. FN-adherent HL60 cells accumulated in the G(0)/G(1) phase of cell cycle and stopped proliferation. However, after detachment from FN, cells entered S phase, proliferated, and became sensitive to apoptosis. The analysis of the factors involved in the G(0)/G(1) cell cycle checkpoint showed that CAM-DR phenotype might be regulated mainly by p21(waf/cip). Conclusions: Here we showed that CAM-DR may also represent a reversible drug resistance mechanism that decreases apoptosis and causes growth arrest in AML blasts

The spectrum of FMF mutations and genotypes in the referrals to molecular genetic laboratory at K&Aumlaut +/- r&Aumlaut +/- kkale University in Turkey

WOS: 000263798400019PubMed: 18389382Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterised by recurrent and self-limited abdominal pain, synovitis and pleuritis. MEFV gene mutations are responsible from the disease and its protein product, pyrin or marenostrin, plays an essential role in the regulation of the inflammatory reactions. MEFV gene contains 10 exons and most of the mutations have been found on the last exon. Up to date, 152 mutations and polymorpisms have been reported inwhere V726A, M694V, M694I, M680I and E148Q are the most common mutations. In this study, MEFV allele frequencies of 136 individuals (60 from Pediatry, 76 from Internal Medicine) have been evaluated, and compared with each other. Asymptomatic individuals with FMF family history (4 from Pediatry, 6 from Internal Medicine) were excluded from the analysis. The prominent mutations indicated in the Pediatry group are V726A, M694V and M680I (G/C) and with the allele frequency of 0.06, 0.05 and 0.04 respectively while they were E148Q, M694V, M680I (G/C) in the Internal Medicine group with the allele frequency of 0.12, 0.08 and 0.04. The E148Q mutation is significantly overrepresented in the adult referrals (P = 0.02). Mutation on both alleles was observed in only 12% of cases. Overall mutation frequency was low, seen in 26.2% (66/252). However, when only diagnosed patients were analyzed it is 72.7% (16/22). It is also interesting that 63% of individuals are female that there may be sex influence on FMF phenotype

Primary Tumor Cells Obtained from Mnu-Induced Mammary Carcinomas Show Immune Heterogeneity Which Can Be Modulated by Low-Efficiency Transfection of Cd40L Gene

The presence of CD40 on carcinoma cells is an important factor for the generation of tumor-specific responses induced by CD40 ligation. In an N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU)-induced autochthonous mammary tumor model, we analyzed the immune features of primary tumor cells. Here, CD40 was frequently detected on the primary tumor cultures and selectively expressed on the malignant mammary tissue in vivo. On the other hand, every mammary tumor cell culture had a heterogeneous and reduced expression of proinflammatory TNF alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6 and CXCL1 cytokines compared to normal mammary epithelial cells. Low-efficiency transfection of CD40 ligand (CD40L) gene enhanced the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the tumor cells, and strengthened allogeneic immune reactions and costimulatory activity which may help overwhelming suppressive features of the tumor.WoSScopu

H63D mutation frequency shows an increase in Turkish women with breast cancer-0

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "H63D mutation frequency shows an increase in Turkish women with breast cancer"</p><p>BMC Cancer 2006;6():37-37.</p><p>Published online 19 Feb 2006</p><p>PMCID:PMC1402308.</p><p>Copyright © 2006 Gunel-Ozcan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.</p