The diagnostic potential of miR-196a-1 in colorectal cancer

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignancy worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important epigenetic alterations that notably impact various physiological and pathological processes by acting as negative regulators of gene expression. Furthermore, they have a vital function in different types of cancers, including CRC. In this research, we evaluated, for the very first time, the expression levels of miR-196a-1 in the tissue and plasma of patients with CRC and also homeobox D8 (HOXD8) as the target gene. Materials and methods This study included a collection of 220 plasma and tissue samples from 55 patients diagnosed with CRC, as well as 55 healthy individuals matched by age and sex. Total RNA was extracted from plasma and tissue samples, and then polyadenylation and cDNA synthesis were performed. The expression levels of miR-196a-1 and HOXD8 as target gene was evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay. We compared the diagnostic value of plasma miR-196a-1 with that of the circulating tumor markers CA19-9 and CEA using a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis. The association of miR-196a-1 with clinicopathological characteristics was assessed in tissue and plasma samples from patients with CRC. Results Our data demonstrated that the expression levels of miR-196a-1 in the tissue and plasma samples of CRC patients were 11.426- and 11.655-fold higher, respectively than those in adjacent normal tissue and plasma samples from normal subjects (p  0.05). Conclusions These results show that miR-196a-1 has an oncogenic impact and plays a significant role in CRC development. The results also indicate that miR-196a-1 could serve as a novel noninvasive biomarker for the detection of CRC

Speciation of As(ΙΙΙ)/As(V) and Total Inorganic Arsenic in Biological Fluids Using New Mode of Liquid-Phase Microextraction and Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.

In this paper, a new extraction method based on countercurrent liquid–liquid microextraction (CLLME) has been developed for the extraction and preconcentration of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in plasma and urine samples prior to their analysis by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). In this method, firstly, 5 ml of water is added to the extraction vessel. Then 30.0 μl of the extracting solvent is added to it in order for the extracting solvent to be placed in the narrow-necked vessel. In total, 10 ml of a standard solution or a pretreated real sample is added to the sample container and it is connected to the extraction vessel via a connector. While opening the embedded valve at the bottom of the sample container and the one in the extraction vessel, the sample solution flows into the extracting solvent with the same flow rate, leading to the successful extraction of metal ligand into the extracting organic solvent. Under the optimum conditions, calibration curves are linear in the range of 0.1–50 μg l−1, and limit of detections (LODs) are in the range of 0.03–0.05 μg l−1. The enhancement factor and enrichment factor were in the range of 220–240 and 198–212, respectively. Repeatability (intra-day) and reproducibility (inter-day) of method based on seven replicate measurements of 5.0 μg l−1 of arsenic were in the range of 2.3–3.5% and 4.0–5.7%, respectively. The applicability of the proposed CLLME and ETAAS methods was demonstrated by analyzing the iAs in spiked urine and plasma samples. The obtained recoveries of the arsenic in the range of 92–107% indicated the excellent capability of the developed method for speciation of arsenic from plasma and urine samples

Association between Genetic Variants of Nitric Oxide/cGMP Pathway and Susceptibility to Hypertension in Kermanshah Province

Background and purpose: Hypertension is a global health challenge due to its high prevalence and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. It is a multifactorial disease in which both genetic and environmental factors are involved. So far, a number of genes and pathways have been proposed to be associated with HTN, including the nitric oxide/cGMP pathway. To further clarify the role of NO /cGMP in the pathogenesis of HTN and also to find genetic determinants of predisposition to HTN in Kermanshah province, Iran, we aimed to investigate the association between three key points in nitric oxide signaling pathway, namely eNOS, GUCY1A3, and PDE1A genes, and susceptibility to hypertension. Materials and methods: In this case-control study, a total of 130 patients and 110 healthy subjects were enrolled. Three polymorphisms (rs1799983 in eNOS gene, rs13139571 in GUCY1A3 genes and rs16823124 in PDE1A gene) were investigated by PCR-RFLP method. Data were then statistically analyzed. Results: This study showed a significant association between the genotypic and allelic frequencies of the rs1799983 polymorphism in the eNOS gene and the rs13139571 gene in GUCY1A3 (P0.05). However, the interaction with the other two SNPs may confer susceptibility to hypertension