Molecular analysis and anticancer properties of two identified isolates, Fusarium solani and Emericella nidulans isolated from Wady El-Natron soil in Egypt against Caco-2 (ATCC) cell line

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To characterize, identify and investigate the anticancer properties of two new soil fungal isolates, Emericella nidulans and Fusarium solani isolated from Wady El-Natron in Egypt against colon cancer Caco-2 (ATCC) cell line.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Soil sample was cultured and two strains were chosen for morphological and phenotypical characterization. Partial sequences of the 18s rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer region ITS of the two isolates were amplified by PCR. Phylogenetic tree construction and analysis of the resulted multiple sequences from the two fugal isolates were also carried out. In vitro anticancer activity of the two strains was done against colon Caco-2 cancer cell line. Reverse transcription - PCR was carried out to detect level of expression of p53 in Caco-2 cell line.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>HF.1 displayed morphological and genotypic characteristics most similar to that of Fusarium solani while HF.2 was most similar to Emericella nidulans with high similarity of 99% and 97% respectively. The multiple sequence alignment of the two fungal isolates showed that, the maximum identical conserved domains in the 18s rRNA genes were identified with the nucleotide regions of 51st to 399th base pairs, 88th to 525th base pairs respectively. While those in the ITS genes were identified with the nucleotide regions of 88th to 463rd and 51st to 274th. The two isolates showed IC50 value with (6.24±5.21) and (9.84±0.36) µg/mL) concentrations respectively at 28h. Reverse transcription - PCR indicated that these cells showed high level of expression for p53 mRNA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The morphology and molecular analysis identified HF.1 and HF.2 to be Fusarium solani and Emericella nidulans; new isolates of anticancer producing fungi from Wady El-Natroon city in Egypt. Treatment with the two isolates caused P53 expression in Caco-2 cell line. These two isolates can be used as an anticancer agents.</p>

Pattern and outcome of neonatal admissions due to respiratory distress in the neonatal unit of Suez canal university hospital

To determine the prevalence, disease pattern and outcome of admitted newborns presented with respiratory distress to Neonatal unit of Suez Canal University Hospital [SCUH], Ismailia, Egypt. This descriptive study was conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit [NICU] of Suez Canal University Hospital. Data of all neonatal admissions during the period from January 2007 to December 2007 was recorded and analyzed for age, weight at the time of admission, sex, and reason for admission [diagnosis], duration of hospital stay, course during stay and final outcome of these patients. This study included 330 Neonates admitted to the Neonatal unit of S.C.U.H because of respiratory distress during a period of one year [2007]. One hundred thirty five patients were preterm [40.9%] and 195 patients [59.1%] were full term. The male to female ratio was 1.3:1. The mean postnatal age of the patients on admission was 3.2 days and their body weights ranged from 950 grams to 4560 grains with mean of 2880 grams. The most common diagnosis was respiratory distress syndrome [RDS] [40.9%] then Transient tachypnea of newborn [TTN] [24.5%]. The majority of them had mild respiratory distress [66.7%] while 17.3% had severe RD. Sixty three patients [19%] needed ventilatory support. Most of them required both of synchronized intermittent mechanical ventilation [SIMV] and continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP] [66.6%]. Regarding the outcome of these patients, it was found that 75.5% of them were discharged well while death occurred in 20.9%. The most common cause of death was RDS [30.3%]. Respiratory distress is a very common problem in the neonatal intensive care units and it is a serious condition needs efficient intervention at a proper time, Respiratory distress can be prevented by better antenatal care to reduce the incidence of prematurity, which causes respiratory distress syndrome that is the commonest cause of respiratory distress in the newborns

Efficacy of adding ipratropium bromide and budesonide to nebulized salbutamol in the managenent of acute bronchiolitis in infants

Brenchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants with considerably increased rate of its associated hospitalizations in the last years. To date there is no a single, widely practiced, evidence- driven treatment approach for bronchiolitis. Different treatment modalities have been in practice for some years, some of these therapies are specific to the virus and others are symptomatic. The bronchodilators and corticosteroids are the most commonly used drugs. Some studies found some benefit in the use of these drugs and others didn't found any beneficial effect of its use. Bronchodilators like salbutamol showed a better effect in bronchiohtis with more agreement in its use than the other drugs but also to a limited extent of efficacy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of using two different drugs [budesonide and ipratrobium bromide] in addition to salbutamol in the management of acute bronchiolitis in infants in trial to search for an effective medical treatment of this condition. This study was a randomized, double- blind controlled trial. The studied infants were divided into three groups by systematic random sample: group A received ipratrobium bromide inhalation and salbutamol, group B received budesomde and salbutamol inhalation, and group C received salbutamol alone. The primary outcome was symptom improvement and secondary outcomes i,'ere length of stay in hospital, adverse events, and report of symptoms by parents in revisit to outpatient clinic one week after discharge. As regarding to O2 saturation, there were no statistically significant differences between the studied groups. There were a significant difference in the mean length of hospital stay between groups A and B and between groups B and C, but no significant difference between groups A and C. There was no statistically significant difference in severity of respiratory symptoms which was measured by Respiratory Distress Assessment Instrument [RDAI] in the studied groups. There were a significant difference between group [A] and group [B] and between group [B] and group [C] as regarding to the presence of respiratory symptoms one week after discharge. These results demonstrate that ipratrobium bromide has no significant effect if added to salbutamol in the treatment of acute bronchiolitis in infants. Adding budesonide decreasing significantly the duration of stay in the hospital and the prevalence of symptoms one week after discharge but has no effect on other outcomes, with the conclusion that the use of budesonide with salbutamol in acute bronchiolitis is recommended to decrease the post hospitalization symptoms and the duration of hospitalization

Fetal growth and neonatal thyroid function of treated maternal hypothyrdis

This study was done to investigate if treated maternal hypothyroidism may affect fetal growth and neonatal thyroid function. An observational and analytical study was conducted over one year to compare between two groups: a study group [infants of treated hypothyroid mothers] and a control group [infants of healthy mothers]. Growth parameters [birth weight, length and head circumference], TSH and free T4 were performed for the study population. It was found that growth parameters were significantly smaller in the study group. Also, it was found that both TSH and FT4 were significantly higher in the study group. The study recommends that close monitoring of thyroid function throughout pregnancy and careful adjustment of thyroid supplementation dosage are essential for pregnant women to avoid the potential ill effects of an insufficient availability of thyroid hormone to the fetus