Human agt-p.Met268thr and coronary heart disease risk: A case-control study and meta-analysis

Summary Background. Polymorphisms in genes, which is involved in the renin–angiotensin system, play an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease (CHD). Polymorphism of c.803T>C in the human angiotensinogen gene results in methionine (M) to threonine (T) substitution at codon 268 (p.Met268Thr), which traditionally has been known as M235T. This polymorphism may contribute to cardiovascular diseases. Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between p.Met268Thr polymorphism in the angiotensinogen gene and coronary heart disease (CHD) through a case-control study, which is followed by a meta-analysis. Material and methods. In the case-control study, c.803T>C genotyping of 217 subjects (102 CHD cases vs 115 controls) was investigated by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. In the meta-analysis, 31 studies were included, reflecting 12,028 people with CHD and 16,362 healthy controls. Results. The data from the case-control study revealed that MT (OR, 1.875; 95%CI, 1.060–3.316; p = 0.031) and TT (OR, 3.389; 95%CI, 1.251–9.179; p = 0.016) genotypes are significantly associated with CHD. The meta-analysis revealed a significant association in the recessive model (OR, 1.156; 95%CI, 1.011–1.321; p = 0.034). Conclusions. Although the pooled OR of the meta-analysis showed that there is an increased risk of CHD conferred by p.Met268Thr of the AGT gene, this association was weak, which could be attributed to a bias in publications. © Copyright by Wydawnictwo Continuo

Dietary flavanones and citrus fruits influence cytokines and thyroid transcription factor-1 in an HDM-induced chronic asthma murine model

The effects of hesperetin plus naringenin, orange juice and grapefruit juice on mRNA expression of TNF-α, TGF-β1 and TTF-1 in a house dust mite (HDM)-induced asthma animal model were investigated. Interventional mice exposed to HDM for 6 weeks received hesperetin plus naringenin, orange plus grapefruit juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice or water during the last 4 weeks, whereas non-asthmatic control mice consumed water. Lung tissue TNF-α and TGF-β1 expressions in supplemented groups were significantly reduced (p�<�0.0001 and p�<�0.001, respectively) compared with asthmatic controls. Hesperetin plus naringenin and orange plus grapefruit juice intake reduced expression of TGF-β1 more than grapefruit juice (p���0.02) or orange juice compared with the asthmatic control group. All supplemented groups had non-significantly higher TTF-1 expression compared with water intake groups. Orange plus grapefruit juice or hesperetin plus naringenin with down-regulation of TNF-α and TGF-β1 may ameliorate lung damage in the lung tissue of asthmatic subjects. © 2016 Elsevier Lt

MicroRNA-Based Biomarkers in Lung Cancer: Recent Advances and Potential Applications

Introduction: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) that post-transcriptionally control the expression of genes by binding and degrading their target mRNAs. miRNAs can function as possible tumor suppressors or oncogenes in various cancers. Lately, miRNAs application as a biomarker (prognosis and diagnosis) for different diseases has gained much attention. miRNAs exist in a stable form in several biological materials, including tissue, plasma, and serum. The noninvasive and easy screening of miRNAs in serum, blood, tissue, and other body fluids and acceptable stability make microRNA a noticeable factor as biomarkers in human malignancies. Materials and Methods: In this review, we searched some online databases like Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed to find eligible manuscripts up to the end of 2021. Results: Abnormal expressions of these molecules are associated with the incidence of many illnesses like cancer. Therefore, they are candidates as a molecular tool for noninvasive tumor prognosis and diagnosis. In the current study, we introduce important miRNAs that may be used as prognostic and diagnostic markers in lung cancer patients. Conclusion: We summarized the latest reports about critical miRNAs related to the diagnosis and prognosis in lung patients. © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.This study was supported by the Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran

Sex-specific association of exposure to air pollutants and Nrf2 gene expression and inflammatory biomarkers in exhaled breath of healthy adolescents

Studies investigating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) expression levels in the respiratory system of healthy subjects are scarce. Moreover, separate studies on the health-related outcomes of air pollution for each sex are limited. The current panel study investigated sex-specific Nrf2 expression levels and related oxidative stress and inflammatory responses among healthy adolescents exposed to PM2.5, PM10, O3, and PM2.5-bounded metals in a high traffic region. Forty-nine healthy nonsmoking subjects participated in the study for five consecutive months (Nov. 2019 to Feb. 2020). Each subject was asked to provide 1 mL of exhaled breath condensate (EBC). Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. The results showed that PM10, PM2.5, O3, and PM2.5-bounded metals were negatively linked to Nrf2 expression level in EBC of females with −58.3% (95% CI: 79.5, −15.4), −32.1% (95% CI: −50.3, −7.1), −76.2% (95% CI: −92.6, −23.9), and −1.9 (95% CI: −3.4, −0.4), respectively. While our results presented no significant association between the studied pollutants and Nrf2 gene expression in males, significant associations were observed between the pollutants and total nitric oxide (NOx), interleukins 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the EBC of females. In the case of males, only EBC cytokines showed a significant association with air pollutants. Overall, this study suggests that exposure to ambient air pollutants may affect the respiratory system with biologically different mechanisms in males and females. PM2.5 concentration had a positive correlation with exhaled TNF-α and IL6 values in females while positive correlation with TNF-α and negative correlation with IL6 values in males. O3 had a negative correlation with TNF-α in males. © 2023 Elsevier LtdThis work was supported by the National Institute for Medical Research Development (No. 972630 ) in Iran. This is a report on database research from a PhD thesis registered in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences as Number 60644. All authors warmly appreciate the contributions of the school office managers, the students, and their families' patience during case selection and study follow-up in this research.National Institute for Medical Research Development, NIMAD: 97263

Terminalia Catappa Extract (TCE) Reduces Proliferation Of Lung And Breast Cancer Cell By Modulating miR-21 And miR-34a Expressions

After cardiovascular illness, cancer is the one of the main and second cause of death in the worldwide. Despite significant advances in this field, low survival, drug resistance, and side effects of chemotherapy remain an unsolved problem. Due to the high mortality rate among cancer patients, finding the new substance to treatment with low side effects is important. Previous studies have been informed that positive effects of herbal medicines on cancer patients, which are very efficient in the treatment of cancer. Methods: In this study, the antitumor effect of ethanolic Terminalia catappa leaf extract (TCE) on MCF-7, MDA-231, and A549 cell lines was examined. For this reason, the effects of TCE on cell migration, gene expression, and growth were investigated by scratch, test, real-time PCR (qPCR) qPCR, and MTT tests respectively. Results: As a reported by the MTT outcomes, TCE significantly decreased the viability of A549, MCF-7, and MDA-231 cells (P < 0.05). Moreover, genes expression patterns that are related to proliferation (miR-21, miR-34a), migration (MMP-13, Vimentin), and apoptosis (Cas-3, Cas-8, Cas-9, Bcl-2, Bax) also have changed significantly after treatment with TCE. Also, in the A549 cell line, Bax (p value: 0.029), Cas-9 (p value: 0.00023), miR-34a (p value: 0.031), Bcl-2 (p value: 0.0076), MMP-13 (p value: 0.041), Cas-3 (p value: 0.00051) and in MCF-7 cell line Bax (p value: 0.0004), Cas-3 (p value: 0.0003), Cas-9(p value: 0.037), miR-34a (p value: 0.005), Bcl-2(pvalue:0.0007), mir-21(p value:0.016), MMP-13(p value: 0.011) and in MDA-231 cell line Bax(p value<0.0001), Cas-3(p value: 0.003), Cas-9(p value: 0.0004). mir-34a (p value:0.0019), Bcl-2(p value:0.0023), MMP-13(p value: 0.032) have significantly changed compare to control group. Conclusion: The outcomes of this research determined that T. Catappa might be a potential source of antitumor compounds and could be a candidate for further research. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.This study was supported by a grant from research deputy of Department of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Center, University Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

Effects of the flavanone combination hesperetin-naringenin, and orange and grapefruit juices, on airway inflammation and remodeling in a murine asthma model

We investigated whether flavanones, hesperetin-naringenin, orange, and grapefruit juices reduce airway inflammation and remodeling in murine chronic asthma model. To establish chronic asthma, mice received house dust mite (HDM) for 3days in 2weeks, followed by twice per week for 4weeks. Concurrently, during the last 4weeks, mice received hesperetin plus naringenin (HN), orange plus grapefruit juice (OGJ), orange juice (OJ), or grapefruit juice (GJ); whereas the asthmatic control (AC) group and non-asthmatic control (NC) group consumed water ad libitum. In histopathological examination, no goblet cells metaplasia was observed in the HN, OJ, and GJ groups; also, intra-alveolar macrophages decreased compared with those of the AC group. Hesperetin plus naringenin significantly decreased subepithelial fibrosis, smooth muscle hypertrophy in airways, and lung atelectasis compared with the AC group. Also, there was a reduction of subepithelial fibrosis in airways in OJ and GJ groups compared with AC group, but it was not noticed in OGJ group. In bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, macrophages numbers decreased in OJ and OGJ groups, whereas eosinophil numbers were increased in OJ group compared with NC group. Our finding revealed that hesperetin plus naringenin ameliorate airway structural remodeling more than orange juice and grapefruit juice in murine model of HDM-induced asthma. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd