Clinical significance of vascular endothelial growth factor and endostatin in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Despite the progress in early diagnosis of liver cancer, its prognosis remains poor. Tumor angiogenesis is critical to both growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC], and has drawn much attention in recent years. Details regarding serum levels of proangiogenic and antiangiogenic growth factors controlling this process could be obtained by studying serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] and endostatin respectively. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum levels of VEGF and endostatin in patients with HCC and their possible role in metastatic spread. The study was conducted on 25 patients with HCC and 15 age and sex matched healthy controls. The patient group was subdivided into 10 patients with metastatic spread and 15 patients with localized tumors without evidence of any metastasis. Results of the present study revealed that VEGF was significantly higher in HCC patients with and without metastasis when compared to the control group [P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively]. Furthermore, levels of VEGF were significantly higher in the metastatic group than the non- metastatic one [P<0.05]. In contrast, there was no statistical significant difference in endostatin levels between any of the studied groups [P>0.05]. Moreover, the correlation between serum levels of VEGF and endostatin did not reach statistical significance [P> 0.05]. Our data shows that serum VEGF levels in HCC patients is directly associated with metastasis and recurrence of tumors and increases gradually with the progression of disease. Therefore, the serum VEGF level in HCC patients appears to reflect the disease potential activity of vascular invasion and is a possible marker for metastasis. On the other hand, the unelevated levels of endostatin point to that the angiogenic response is more prominent than the anti-angiogenic response in liver metastasis. These findings support the rationale for anti- angiogenesis therapy in these patients. Thus the role of endostatin as anti -angiogenic factor may be preserved for therapeutic not diagnostic use. However, further investigation is required to elucidate the effectiveness of this promising tool in order to achieve anti-angiogenic properties

Molecular detection of circulating chlamydia pneumoniae DNA in patients with acute and chronic coronary heart disease: Comparison with serological assay

This study was conducted on 40 patients; 18 with acute coronary syndrome [ACS] [group 1] and 22 with chronic coronary heart disease [CHD] [group 2]. Fifteen healthy age- and sex-matched subjects were taken as controls. CPn [Chlamydia pneumoniae] DNA was detected by a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction [PCR] technique using primers derived from outer membrane protein gene [ompl]. The serological assay of CPn-IgG antibodies was determined by an indirect immunofluorescence technique. Serum homocysteine was also measured by an enzyme conversion immunoassay method. In conclusion, patients with CHD, particularly ACS, have a high prevalence of CPn infection than the healthy controls. Besides, CPn DNA detection is more sensitive than the serological tests in identifying subjects with current infection. The contribution of CPn infection in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is independent of the other conventional atherogenic risk factors

Synovial fluid respiratory gases: a laboratory approach to synovium circulatory-metabolic imbalance in rheumatoid arthritis

To investigate the impact of circulatory insufficiency relative to synovial tissue metabolism in rheumatoid arthritis [RA] and its differentiation from other causes of knee effusions and arthritis, 60 synovial fluid specimens from adult females with age ranging 18-72 years were studied. They were further subdivided into 20 patients with osteoarthritis [OA] [group-I], 25 patients with RA [group II] and 15 cases of traumatic knee effusion [group III] serving as controls. Synovial fluids were analyzed for partial pressure of oxygen [PO2], carbon dioxide [PCO2], hydrogen ion concentration [pH], glucose content, cell counts and mucin clot test. The obtained data were correlated with the severity of the clinical status. The results were presented and discussed