Levels of Salivary IFN-gamma, TNF-Alfa, and TNF Receptor-2 As Prognostic Markers in (Erosive) Oral Lichen Planus

To explore the feasibility of detecting salivary levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and sTNFR-2 from erosive oral lichen planus (ELP) patients for clinical application, 20 ELP patients were enrolled in the study as were 20 age-sex-matched controls. From all subjects, saliva level of the tested biomarkers was determined by ELISA. Salivary profiles were assessed in ELP patients by ELISA after being treated with prednisone. A significantly higher level of IFN-γ (P ≤ .01), TNF-α (P ≤ .0001), and sTNFR-2 (P ≤ .01) was detected in ELP patients before treatment than in controls. Following treatment, the salivary levels of IFN-γ (P ≤ .01), TNF-α (P ≤ .05), and sTNFR-2 (P ≤ .01) decreased significantly when compared to their pretreatment levels. This study demonstrated that salivary IFN-γ, TNF-α, and sTNFR-2 can be detectable in ELP patients and decreased significantly after treatment with prednisone, which may reveal the possibility of using these disease-related biomarkers in diagnosis and monitoring

Study of microRNAs-21/221 as potential breast cancer biomarkers in Egyptian women

microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in cancer prognosis. They are small molecules, approximately 17–25 nucleotides in length, and their high stability in human serum supports their use as novel diagnostic biomarkers of cancer and other pathological conditions. In this study, we analyzed the expression patterns of miR-21 and miR-221 in the serum from a total of 100 Egyptian female subjects with breast cancer, fibroadenoma, and healthy control subjects. Using microarray-based expression profiling followed by real-time polymerase chain reaction validation, we compared the levels of the two circulating miRNAs in the serum of patients with breast cancer (n = 50), fibroadenoma (n = 25), and healthy controls (n = 25). The miRNA SNORD68 was chosen as the housekeeping endogenous control. We found that the serum levels of miR-21 and miR-221 were significantly overexpressed in breast cancer patients compared to normal controls and fibroadenoma patients. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that miR-21 has greater potential in discriminating between breast cancer patients and the control group, while miR-221 has greater potential in discriminating between breast cancer and fibroadenoma patients. Classification models using k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN), Naïve Bayes (NB), and Random Forests (RF) were developed using expression levels of both miR-21 and miR-221. Best classification performance was achieved by NB Classification models, reaching 91% of correct classification. Furthermore, relative miR-221 expression was associated with histological tumor grades. Therefore, it may be concluded that both miR-21 and miR-221 can be used to differentiate between breast cancer patients and healthy controls, but that the diagnostic accuracy of serum miR-21 is superior to miR-221 for breast cancer prediction. miR-221 has more diagnostic power in discriminating between breast cancer and fibroadenoma patients. The overexpression of miR-221 has been associated with the breast cancer grade. We also demonstrated that the combined expression of miR-21 and miR-221can be successfully applied as breast cancer biomarkers

Identification of rheumatoid arthritis biomarkers based on single nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotype blocks: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AbstractGenetics of autoimmune diseases represent a growing domain with surpassing biomarker results with rapid progress. The exact cause of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is unknown, but it is thought to have both a genetic and an environmental bases. Genetic biomarkers are capable of changing the supervision of RA by allowing not only the detection of susceptible individuals, but also early diagnosis, evaluation of disease severity, selection of therapy, and monitoring of response to therapy. This review is concerned with not only the genetic biomarkers of RA but also the methods of identifying them. Many of the identified genetic biomarkers of RA were identified in populations of European and Asian ancestries. The study of additional human populations may yield novel results. Most of the researchers in the field of identifying RA biomarkers use single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) approaches to express the significance of their results. Although, haplotype block methods are expected to play a complementary role in the future of that field

Serum Levels of Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinase 2 in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis With Duration More Than 2 Years: Correlation With Cardiac and Pulmonary Abnormalities

In this study, we measured the serum concentration of TIMP-2 in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and explored its possible correlation with cardiac and pulmonary lesions. We studied 42 patients with SSc, with duration equal to or more than 2 years. CT chest, ECG, echocardiography, and serum TIMP-2 concentration measurement using ELISA technique were performed in all patients and in 25 normal controls. The mean serum levels of TIMP-2 in patients was higher than in controls (P = .005). The mean CT score of dSSc patients with elevated TIMP-2 levels was significantly higher than dSSc patients with normal levels (P = .013). Four patients out of five with elevated TIMP-2 levels showed diastolic dysfunction (80%), compared to 2 out of 15 lSSc patients with normal levels (13.3%), with P = .014. Our research, though involving a small group of patients, points to the probable role of TIMP-2 in the development of pulmonary lesions in dSSc patients and cardiac lesions in lSSc patients with duration equal to or more than 2 years

Interleukin-33 and Osteoprotegerin Levels in Gingival Crevicular Fluid and Saliva in Chronic Periodontitis and Their Correlation to Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: This study investigates the presence of interleukin (IL)-33 and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples of patients with chronic periodontitis and whether or not they are correlated with diabetes mellitus. Methods: Sixty subjects were included in this study: 20 chronic periodontitis patients (CP), 20 diabetic chronic periodontitis patients (CPDM) and 20 systemically and periodontally healthy subjects. GCF and saliva samples were collected from all participants. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used for assaying IL-33 and OPG levels. Analysis of variance was used to compare means of the CP and CP-DM groups with the control. Correlation analyses were performed to find the value of Spearman's correlation. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to determine the cut-off values of the markers to differentiate between the groups. Areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) were compared using z-statistic. Results: IL-33, in both GCF and saliva, was significantly higher in the CP and CP-DM groups compared to the control, and significantly higher in the CP-DM group compared to the CP group in saliva. On the other hand, the level of OPG in GCF and saliva was significantly lower in the CP and CP-DM groups compared to the control, but was of no significance when comparing the CP-DM and CP groups. Conclusion: IL-33 seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease, while OPG may have a protective function. Diabetes may affect and influence the expression of IL-33. Thus, they could be utilized as diagnostic biomarkers for chronic periodontitis either in saliva or GCF

Polymorphisms of IL-17A and IL-17F in Periodontal Disease: A Case-Control Study

Background: Increased interleukin-17 (IL-17) leads to the production of proinflammatory mediators and increases local inflammation. Interleukin-17 may also promote receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) expression on gingival fibroblasts, T cells, and B cells, resulting in alveolar bone resorption. Interleukin-17A and IL-17F levels in saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), were found to be elevated in periodontitis patients. Thus, IL-17A and IL-17F polymorphisms were hypothesized to be associated with a risk of periodontitis. Methods: The present study was conducted on 60 subjects, including 20 stage II grade B periodontitis patients, 20 stage III grade C periodontitis patients, and 20 healthy controls. Blood samples were drawn from the subjects and analyzed for IL-17A G-197A and IL-17F 7488T/C genetic polymorphisms using the TaqMan assay. Results: There was a significant statistical difference between the distribution of the different genotypes and the different alleles in the three groups for IL-17A G-197A with the A allele presence indicating a risk of periodontitis. Conclusions: Interleukin-17A G-197A polymorphism is significantly associated with different clinical forms of periodontitis in the Egyptian population. The A allele could be considered a risk factor for periodontal diseases

Expression of endocan and vascular endothelial growth factor in recurrent minor aphthous ulcers

Background: Recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU) are common painful inflammatory lesions of the mucous lining of the mouth. Endocan, previously identified as endothelial cell specific molecule-1, is implicated as a vital player in the regulation of several inflammatory processes. A number of inflammatory cytokines and pro-angiogenic growth factors including VEGF upregulate endothelial cells synthesis and expression of endocan. Material and Methods: Clinical scores of pain and ulcer size as well as level of endocan and VEGF were determined in swaps from aphthous ulcer and contra lateral normal mucosa in 30 patients (nine males and twenty one females) with age ranging from 18 to 45 years and mean age is 31.5 years. Results: In the early days of ulcer development, ulcer showed statistically significantly higher mean endocan (8.2 ±5.3) and VEGF levels (1220.7 ±294.6) than control healthy mucosal site (1.1 ±0.5) and (518.6 ± 61.7) respectively. An increase in endocan is associated with an increase in pain score and vice versa. A statistically significant positive correlation were also found between endocan and VEGF levels. Conclusions: Endocan and VEGF are strongly associated with the destructive phase of minor aphthous ulcers especially Endocan which was positively correlated with pain severit

Mucin1 expression and gustatory function in postmenopausal females : a case-control observational study

Investigating possible relationship between Mucin1 expression levels in saliva, gustatory function, and taste perception in postmenopausal females. Using whole mouth taste test, twenty-five post-menopausal females (51.35 ± 5.22 years) and twenty-five p

Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphisms in rheumatoid arthritis patients: Correlation with serum osteopontin levels and disease activity

AbstractBackgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, chronic inflammatory disease with genetic predisposition. Osteopontin (OPN) is overexpressed in RA and plays a key role in the perpetuation of synovitis. Not all RA patients show the same level of response to methotrexate (MTX) suggesting genetic variations in the drug-metabolizing enzymes.Aim of the workTo detect methylene-tetra-hydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C/T and 1298A/C gene polymorphisms in RA patients treated with MTX and to investigate the relationship with serum OPN levels and disease activity.Patients and methods62 RA patients and 21 healthy controls were included. Serum OPN was measured using ELISA. Genotyping of MTHFR gene was carried out by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) and the modified health assessment questionnaire (MHAQ) were assessed.ResultsThe patients’ age was 42.7±12.7years, F:M (4.6:1) and a disease duration of 5.7±4.6years. Their DAS28 was 4.1±1.6 and the MHAQ (median 1; range 0–2.3). Serum OPN levels in RA patients (median 8.8; range 4–44.5ng/ml) were significantly higher than in control (5.6; 2.1–10.9) (p=0.002). In RA patients, serum OPN significantly correlated with the duration of morning stiffness (p=0.009), ESR (p<0.0001) and DAS28 (p<0.0001). MTHFR (677C>T) polymorphisms significantly correlated with MHAQ (p=0.012) while (1298A>C) polymorphisms significantly correlated with tender joint count (p=0.04). OPN levels were higher among patients with MTHFR (1298A/C) AC genotype (8.9; 4.1–33.9ng/ml), while in those with (677C>T) polymorphisms it was higher among those with CT genotype (8.9; 4.1–44.5).ConclusionSerum OPN level relates with the degree of rheumatoid activity