ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Controversy surrounds regarding the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in oral precancerous and cancerous lesions in India where smokeless, tobacco consumption is rampant. AIMS: The present study was carried out with an aim to investigate the presence and type of HPV infection in oropharyngeal leukoplakia and to determine the association of HPV positivity with various patient and lesion characteristics. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Prospective case series. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of fifty confirmed cases of oral leukoplakia (OL), aged 18– 55 years were enrolled in the study. Specimens were obtained from the site of lesion. All the specimens were subjected to histopathological analysis and HPV‑16, 18 detection was done using real‑time polymerase chain reaction technique. RESULTS: Mean age of patients was 34.00 ± 8.85. Majority were males (62%), from middle social class (78%) and were educated up to graduation or above (54%). All the patients had one or more adverse habits (betel, chewing tobacco, smoking and alcohol) with mean duration of disease was 3.53 ± 3.05 years. Five patients (10%) had diabetes. Burning sensation (86%) and trismus (36%) were the reported complaints. Maximum were Stage II (50%), sized 2–4 cm2 (60%), homogenous (70%). Floor of mouth and tongue were most commonly involved sites (50%). Majority had mild dysplasia (58%). Acanthosis (66%), hyperplasia (62%), koliocytosis (40%), and keratosis (98%) were quite common. HPV (16/18) could not be detected in any specimen. CONCLUSIONS: The present study highlighted the fact that association of HPV with oral leukoplakia seems to be overestimated and needs to be reexamined with consensus Human papilloma virus (HPV) primers to detect HPV types with more valid empirical relationships.
ABSTRACT
Age-related cataract has globally emerged as the leading cause visual impairment leading to blindness. Glutathione S-Transferases and their genetic variantsplay an important role in pathogenesis of cataract. This case-control study was carried out to investigate possible association of GSTT1/M1 polymorphism with Cataract risk in North Indians. Our study included 221 individuals, 132 as Cataract cases (70 with and 62 without hypertension) and 89 age and ethnicity matched controls. Genetic polymorphism in GST gene (GSTT1/M1 polymorphism) wasevaluated by multiplexPolymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique.The frequencies of the GSTM1-positive and GSTT1-positive in hypertensive cataract cases were 55.71%, 92.86%; while they were 61.29% and 95.16% in cataract cases without hypertension and; 46.07% and 97.75% in healthy controls respectively. The frequencies of GSTM1-null and GSTT1-null in hypertensive cataract cases were 44.29% and 7.14% %; while they were 38.71% and 4.84% in cataract cases without hypertension and; 53.93% and 2.25% in healthy controls respectively. The frequency of GSTT1/M1 positive wild type genotype was 48.57% in hypertensive and 56.45% in normotensive cataract cases while it was 43.82% in control subjects. Our study found no association between GSTT1/M1 polymorphism with cataract but a nearly significant relationship was observed in GSTM1 positive and GSTM1 null genotypes (p=0.065) with cataract in subjects without hypertension. The study needs furtherinvestigation due to limited sample size.
ABSTRACT
The discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) is among the most significant biomedical breakthroughs in recent history. Multiple classes of small RNA, including small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and micro-RNA (miRNA) play important roles in many fundamental biological and disease processes. RNA interference, triggered by double-stranded RNA molecules, was initially recognized as a handy tool to reduce gene expression but now it is recognized as a mechanism for cellular protection and cleansing. It defends the genome against molecular parasites such as viruses and transposons, while removing abundant but aberrant nonfunctional messenger RNAs. Nonetheless, these new pools of knowledge have opened up avenues for unraveling the finer details of the small RNA mediated pathways. In this paper, we discuss the molecular aspects in biomedical research of RNA interference and its applications.