Diagnostic and therapeutic role of laparoscopy in chronic abdominal pain: a retrospective study in a rural tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Abdominal pain was the third most common complaint of individuals often recurrent and needs immediate care. The ability of the method to access and inspect the entire abdominal cavity and retro-peritoneum without harming the structures of it places laparoscopy as the procedure of choice in the diagnosis of abdominal pain.Methods: The study is a retrospective study conducted in Tagore Medical College and Hospital, Chennai during the period of 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2017. Patients of age above 18 years with history of abdominal pain for 6 months or more were included in the study. Basic investigations were also done for the patient. Based on the clinical examinations, patients were subjected to diagnostic laparoscopy. All cases were done as elective surgeries.Results: A total of 48 patients were found in the record, in which the diagnosis remained uncertain despite of all important investigations. The majority of the patients 19 (40%) were in the age group of 21-40 years followed by 17 (36%) in 41-65 years. The duration of pain ranged between 6 months to 1 years. On laparoscopic examination, majority of patients (46%) were diagnosed with chronic appendicitis.Conclusions: Laparoscopy is not only safe, but also quick and effective investigation tool for chronic abdominal pain

CRISPR Cas/Exosome Based Diagnostics: Future of Early Cancer Detection

Trending and Thriving, CRISPR/Cas has expanded its wings towards diagnostics in recent years. The potential of evading off targeting has not only made CRISPR/Cas an effective therapeutic aid but also an impressive diagnostic tool for various pathological conditions. Exosomes, 30 - 150nm sized extracellular vesicle present and secreted by almost all type of cells in body per se used as an effective diagnostic tool in early cancer detection. Cancer being the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality can be effectively targeted if detected in the early stage, but most of the currently used diagnostic tool fails to do so as they can only detect the cancer in the later stage. This can be overcome by the use of combo of the two fore mentioned diagnostic aids, CRISPR/Cas alongside exosomes, which can bridge the gap compensating the cons. This chapter focus on two plausible use of CRISPR/Cas, one being the combinatorial aid of CRISPR/Cas and Exosome, the two substantial diagnostic tools for successfully combating cancer and other, the use of CRISPR in detecting and targeting cancer exosomes, since they are released in a significant quantity in early stage by the cancer cells

Role of a Putative Alkylhydroperoxidase Rv2159c in the Oxidative Stress Response and Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis, is one of the leading infectious agents worldwide with a high rate of mortality. Following aerosol inhalation, M. tuberculosis primarily infects the alveolar macrophages, which results in a host immune response that gradually activates various antimicrobial mechanisms, including the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), within the phagocytes to neutralize the bacteria. OxyR is the master regulator of oxidative stress response in several bacterial species. However, due to the absence of a functional oxyR locus in M. tuberculosis, the peroxidase stress is controlled by alkylhydroperoxidases. M. tuberculosis expresses alkylhydroperoxide reductase to counteract the toxic effects of ROS. In the current study, we report the functional characterization of an orthologue of alkylhydroperoxidase family member, Rv2159c, a conserved protein with putative peroxidase activity, during stress response and virulence of M. tuberculosis. We generated a gene knockout mutant of M. tuberculosis Rv2159c (MtbΔ2159) by specialized transduction. The MtbΔ2159 was sensitive to oxidative stress and exposure to toxic transition metals. In a human monocyte (THP-1) cell infection model, MtbΔ2159 showed reduced uptake and intracellular survival and increased expression of pro-inflammatory molecules, including IL-1β, IP-10, and MIP-1α, compared to the wild type M. tuberculosis and Rv2159c-complemented MtbΔ2159 strains. Similarly, in a guinea pig model of pulmonary infection, MtbΔ2159 displayed growth attenuation in the lungs, compared to the wild type M. tuberculosis and Rv2159c-complemented MtbΔ2159 strains. Our study suggests that Rv2159c has a significant role in maintaining the cellular homeostasis during stress and virulence of M. tuberculosis

Author Correction: Cancer Testis Antigen Promotes Triple Negative Breast Cancer Metastasis and is Traceable in the Circulating Extracellular Vesicles (Scientific Reports, (2019), 9, 1, (11632), 10.1038/s41598-019-48064-w)

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has poor survival, exhibits rapid metastases, lacks targeted therapies and reliable prognostic markers. Here, we examined metastasis promoting role of cancer testis antigen SPANXB1 in TNBC and its utility as a therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker. Expression pattern of SPANXB1 was determined using matched primary cancer, lymph node metastatic tissues and circulating small extracellular vesicles (sEVs). cDNA microarray analysis of TNBC cells stably integrated with a metastasis suppressor SH3GL2 identified SPANXB1 as a potential target gene. TNBC cells overexpressing SH3GL2 exhibited decreased levels of both SPANXB1 mRNA and protein. Silencing of SPANXB1 reduced migration, invasion and reactive oxygen species production of TNBC cells. SPANXB1 depletion augmented SH3GL2 expression and decreased RAC-1, FAK, A-Actinin and Vinculin expression. Phenotypic and molecular changes were reversed upon SPANXB1 re-expression. SPANXB1 overexpressing breast cancer cells with an enhanced SPANXB1:SH3GL2 ratio achieved pulmonary metastasis within 5 weeks, whereas controls cells failed to do so. Altered expression of SPANXB1 was detected in the sEVs of SPANXB1 transduced cells. Exclusive expression of SPANXB1 was traceable in circulating sEVs, which was associated with TNBC progression. SPANXB1 represents a novel and ideal therapeutic target for blocking TNBC metastases due to its unique expression pattern and may function as an EV based prognostic marker to improve TNBC survival. Uniquely restricted expression of SPANXB1 in TNBCs, makes it an ideal candidate for targeted therapeutics and prognostication

Diagnostic and therapeutic role of laparoscopy in chronic abdominal pain: a retrospective study in a rural tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Abdominal pain was the third most common complaint of individuals often recurrent and needs immediate care. The ability of the method to access and inspect the entire abdominal cavity and retro-peritoneum without harming the structures of it places laparoscopy as the procedure of choice in the diagnosis of abdominal pain.Methods: The study is a retrospective study conducted in Tagore Medical College and Hospital, Chennai during the period of 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2017. Patients of age above 18 years with history of abdominal pain for 6 months or more were included in the study. Basic investigations were also done for the patient. Based on the clinical examinations, patients were subjected to diagnostic laparoscopy. All cases were done as elective surgeries.Results: A total of 48 patients were found in the record, in which the diagnosis remained uncertain despite of all important investigations. The majority of the patients 19 (40%) were in the age group of 21-40 years followed by 17 (36%) in 41-65 years. The duration of pain ranged between 6 months to 1 years. On laparoscopic examination, majority of patients (46%) were diagnosed with chronic appendicitis.Conclusions: Laparoscopy is not only safe, but also quick and effective investigation tool for chronic abdominal pain

“Janus-Faced” α-Synuclein: Role in Parkinson’s Disease

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