Cardiac risk factors in descendants of parents with history of coronary artery disease (CAD) : An evaluation focusing on small dense low density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDLc) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc)

453-461<span style="font-size: 9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt" lang="EN-US">The risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in descendants with positive family history of CAD was evaluated in either one of or both the parents among 71 selected families. Subjects were grouped as parents and descendants without and with CAD and descendants spouses without CAD or family history of CAD. All subjects were examined for anthropometric characteristics, fasting blood sugar, serum lipids, lipoprotein sub-fractions, insulin, insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell function. The results were subjected to statistical analysis by using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was prevalent in the 83% descendants with CAD and 54.6% parents with CAD. The traditional risk factors were observed in both parents and descendants with CAD. Metabolic risk factors, including hypertriglyceridemia, low HDLc levels and hyperglycaemia had a higher frequency in the descendants with CAD. ANOVA showed significant ‘F’ ratio for the anthropometric characteristics, hypertension, serum lipids, small dense (sd) LDLc levels, HDL2c levels and HDL3c levels in the descendants parents with CAD and CAD + diabetes mellitus (DM), as compared to those without CAD. The descendants without CAD, but with a positive family history had central adiposity, hypertension and had lower HDL levels and elevated sdLDLc levels. Multiple analyses of variance showed that sdLDLc and waist circumference were the most potent risk factors for prevalence of CAD. Thus, we conclude that a positive family history of CAD along with central adiposity and elevation of sdLDLc levels appear to be important factors in the assessment of CAD risk in humans. </span

A clinical and in-silico study exploring the association of CASP-3, NF-kB, miR-187, and miR-146 in pre-eclampsia

Introduction Apoptosis is involved in pathogenesis of Pre-eclampsia (PE), further research is needed to determine its molecular mechanism. Methods The study recruited two groups (controls; 09, PE; 11). Biochemical tests, RT-PCR and ELISA were employed for analysis of genes and MicroRNAs (miRNA). Bioinformatics tools were employed for interactomics analysis. Results There was increased apoptosis in maternal placental tissue (MPT) and Maternal Blood Cells (MBC) as demonstrated by expression of CASP3 and NF-κB1. miR-146-5p and 187-5p were downregulated in MBC and MPT but upregulated in fetal placental tissue (FPT).. Discussion An increased apoptosis in MBC and MPT is a significant contributory factor for PE in pregnancy, while FPT is immune to the aforementioned effects

Growth Differentiation Factor-15 as a candidate biomarker in gynecologic malignancies: A meta-analysis

Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF-15), though emerged as a novel marker in gynecological cancers, is yet to be recognized in clinical diagnostics. Eligible studies were sorted from multiple online databases, namely PubMed, Cochrane, ClinicalTrials.gov, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, LILACS, Opengrey. From six studies, histopathologically diagnosed cases without prior treatment, and with diagnostic accuracy data for GDF-15 in gynecological cancers, were included. Our meta-analysis shows that GDF-15 has pooled diagnostic odds ratio of 12.74 at 80.5% sensitivity and 74.1% specificity, and an AUC of 0.84. Hence, GDF-15 is a potential marker to differentiate gynecological malignancy from non-malignant tumors

Analyzing the Association of Visceral Adipose Tissue Growth Differentiation Factor-15 and MicroRNA in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background : Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is involved in insulin resistance and diabetes. In this study, we determine the associations of GDF-15 with miR-181b-5p, miR-330-3p, mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 7 (SMAD7), and insulin resistance in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Methods : Sixty patients, equally divided into those with T2DM and non-diabetic controls, were recruited for gene expression analysis. Protein-protein interaction (STRING), target prediction (miRNet), and functional enrichment were conducted accordingly. Results : Our study showed that VAT and PBMCs had similar expression profiles, where GDF-15 and miR-181b-5p were upregulated, whereas SMAD7 and miR-330-3p were downregulated. Serum GDF-15 could differentiate between T2DM and non-diabetic patients (P<0.001). Target prediction revealed a microRNA (miRNA)-messenger RNA regulatory network, transcription factors, and functional enrichment for the miRNA that suggested involvement in T2DM pathogenesis. Conclusion : VAT GDF-15 is associated with insulin resistance and is possibly regulated by miR-181b-5p, miR-330-3p, and SMAD7 in T2DM