HE4 – not only an ovarian cancer biomarker – a brief review

Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) was firstly identified in epididymal epithelial cells and described as a protease inhibitor playing a role in spermatogenesis. Regarding numerous studies proving its diverse potential as a prognostic and predictive factor in ovarian cancer, it was incorporated into ROMA algorithm. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that serum level of HE4 is not exclusive to ovarian cancer. As a result, doctors using ROMA algorithm for stratifying patients with ovarian cancer must be aware of other conditions that may affect serum level of HE4. This review comprises different conditions connected with high level of HE4 that might impact ovarian cancer diagnosing process. Moreover, discovering increased HE4 level in various conditions should open discussion about its applicability in diseases other than ovarian cancer

Alcohol availability, consumption, and knowledge of alcohol-related cancer risk among citizens of Warsaw

Introduction.The high availability of alcohol products and low awareness of their harmful effects appear to influence individual health conditions and cancer risk. Material and methods.We used publicly available data on alcohol retailers in Warsaw to assess the availability of alcohol products for each district of the city and the AUDIT C questionnaire to assess drinking behavior. Results.Alcohol outlets were located within 500 meters of residence for most of the study group. We found risky alcohol consumption in about 15% of respondents. Knowledge about the harmfulness of excessive alcohol consumption had a statistically significant effect on the number of drinks consumed (p < 0.05). Conclusions.The study confirmed the high availability and affordability of alcoholic products and the high percentage of risky alcohol behaviors among Warsaw’s citizens. In addition, low awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol was associated with higher consumption, which emphasizes the need to improve educational strategies.

Identification and characterization of Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxins

Aspergillus flavus is the main producer of the well known carcinogenic aflatoxins. The presence of this fungus and aflatoxins is of huge concern in terms of food safety. The identification of A. flavus is not straightforward due to similarities with closely related species (e.g. A. parasiticus and A. nomius). Also, from the biochemical point of view the closely-related species are able to produce different mycotoxins. In order to clarify the differentiation between species the identification schemes is revisited. Selective media, data from mycotoxins production and molecular biology tools are discussed in order to clarify the concept of A. flavus species.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Tumour markers in the routine diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma

Rak nerki to szczególnie złośliwy nowotwór, który występuje częściej u mężczyzn niż u kobiet i stanowi blisko 90% wszystkich guzów nerek. Najczęściej występującym rakiem nerki jest rak jasnokomórkowy, stanowiący około 80% wszystkich przypadków raka nerki.Wśród markerów diagnostycznych raka nerki, o których mowa w niniejszym artykule, wymienia się najczęściej kwaśne białko immunosupresyjne IAP, którego podwyższony poziom we krwi wskazuje na obecność u chorych przerzutów do węzłów chłonnych lub innych odległych przerzutów. Istotnym markerem w diagnostyce raka nerki jest również glikoproteina P, której zwiększona ekspresja związana jest ze złym rokowaniem. Jako markery zaawansowanego raka nerki badane są także cząsteczki adhezyjne, metaloproteinazy oraz cyklooksygenaza 2. W ostatnim czasie PAX2 okazał się być przydatnym markerem w diagnostyce raka nerki.Mimo iż w diagnostyce raka nerki stosowanych jest wiele markerów, to żaden z nich nie jest w pełni diagnostyczny, dlatego też diagnostyka oparta na biomerkerach nie może pełnić podstawowego kryterium rozpoznania raka nerki. Może służyć jedynie uzupełnieniu prowadzonej diagnostyki oraz monitorowaniu leczenia i wykryciu ewentualnego nawrotu procesu chorobowego.Istotne jest dalsze poszukiwanie nowych prognostycznych biomarkerów, które by były odpowiednie w rutynowej diagnostyce tego nowotworu i mogły podnieść efektywność leczenia.Kidney cancer is a particularly malignant cancer that occurs more often in men than in women and accounts for nearly 90% of all renal tumours. The most common kidney cancer is clear cell carcinoma, making up approximately 80% of all cases.Among the diagnostic markers of kidney cancer, is the most common immunosuppressive acidic protein IAP, whose elevated levels in the blood indicate the presence of lymph node metastases or other distant metastases. Another important marker in the diagnosis of kidney cancer is P-glycoprotein: the increased expression is associated with poor prognosis. Other markers of advanced kidney cancer are also examined: adhesion molecules, matrix metalloproteinases, and cyclooxygenase. It is also noted that 2 PAX2 has recently proved to be a useful marker in the diagnosis of renal cancer.No markers used are fully diagnostic, therefore such markers cannot act as the primary criterion for the diagnosis of renal cancer. They can be used only as a supplement to other diagnostics used to monitor the treatment and detection of a possible recurrence of the disease. It is important to continue to search for new prognostic biomarkers that can be appropriate for routine diagnosis of this tumour and may increase the eff ectiveness of treatment

Fungi in bottled water: a case study of a production plant

A one year fungal survey of a water bottling plant was conducted in order to evaluate the incidence and fluctuations of the biota. The dominant fungal genera in order of highest numbers were Penicillium, Cladosporium and Trichoderma followed by Aspergillus, Paecilomyces, and others. As expected, highest number of isolates collected were during the summer months, particularly May and June. Indeed during these two months there were more fungi present in the water after it had passed through the filtration system (0.4μm filter), indicating that during those times of the year when fungal contamination is high, filters should be changed on a more regular basis. In order to assess whether contamination was single or multi-loci, molecular methods based on PCR were used. Overall fungal contamination arose from multiple sources. Some fungal strains were very “alike” and were detected during different sampling times, indicating that some strains were endemic to the plant. There was little evidence to suggest that fungi detected in the source water passed through to other parts of the plant. However, there was evidence that fungal strains isolated from the water filter were detected elsewhere in the factory, confirming the need to change filters more regularly during periods of high fungal contamination. In order to improve quality control a HACCP programme was implemented and Best Practice Guidelines introduced.Control of Mycological Contaminations in Bottled Water (COMBOW) - CRAFT/QLK1-2002-70843 contract

Contributions of micoteca da Universidade do Minho to food mycology

Micoteca da Universidade do Minho (MUM) is a collection of fungi established in 1996 where research into secondary metabolites in the form of mycotoxins is paramount. An objective is to maintain and provide authentic strains for research in biotechnology, life sciences and challenge testing. Knowledge, information and training in mycology are promulgated by the biological resource centre. MUM is involved in projects which address the health and quality risks from fungal contamination of grape products (e.g. wine), apples, cheese, chillies, nuts and corn: Fungi in drinking water are of particular concern. Aspergillus ochraceous, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium expansum and Fusarium graminearum especially are relevant to our work: Associated mycotoxins are ochratoxin A, aflatoxins, patulin, citrinin and zearalenone. We study the earthy off-flavours in wine from Botrytis cinearum and P. expansum. The analytical techniques employed are PCR, HPLC, GC-MS and MALDITOF MS for strain characterization. MUM participates in several European and national projects. Post-graduate studies on mycotoxigenic fungi and food security particularly are important. A key objective is international collaboration. MUM strains are well characterized for toxigenicity, making the collection relevant to its mission and industry. This presentation will describe the progress made in this innovative Portuguese laboratory over 10 years

Food mycology : from the fork to the farm

Filamentous fungi are ubiquitous in nature and are responsible for producing mycotoxins in agricultural crops. Fungi and mycotoxins are considered generally as being natural and unavoidable [1]. The control and detection of mycotoxins is a continuous process in commodity production. Since mycotoxins can become established and remain within the commodity anywhere throughout the production, storage, transportation and processing chain, there is a need to study all the food chain: from the fork to the farm. The control over the presence of mycotoxins involves several competencies, such as taxonomy skills, ability to evaluate mycotoxins production by fungi, and ability to quantify mycotoxins in commodities. The prevention of mycotoxin formation is achieved by influencing environmental conditions through management of agricultural practices prior to harvest. After harvest, two overriding factors for storage are water activity (aw) and temperature. Control over these parameters may lead to the prevention of fungi growth and of mycotoxins accumulation. Strategies followed to have control over the presence of mycotoxins in commodities will be illustrated by presenting case studies: (i) ochratoxin A in wine; and (ii) aflatoxins in maize and in nuts