ABSTRACT
Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder and the criteria are specified by common complex genetic hyperandrogenism, oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea and polycystic ovary morphology. It is a leading cause of female infertility. The prevelance of PCOS among reproductive age women has been estimated to be 4-12%. The association between PCOS and FSH receptor (FSHR) polymorphism attracts wide attention. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether polymorphism of FSHR at Ala307Thr codon is associated with PCOS and with clinical features of PCOS patients in Egypt. Results: PCOS patients (n=64) and control subjects (n=65) in the reproductive age were recruited from the outpatient clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Mansoura University, Egypt. The Ala307Thr polymorphism in FSHR, and the frequency of respective genotypes was studied and statistical analysis was performed. We found that the heterozygote Ala/Thr genotype was associated with PCOS (64.1%, OR=2.68, CI=0.97, P= 0.033) compared with controls. Conclusion: The variant of Ala307Thr polymorphism of FSHR was associated with PCOS but it may be related to high total testosterone levels. In addition the FSHR polymorphism was not associated with either luteinizing hormone or follicular stimulating hormone. The present study suggests that the variant of the FSHR gene may act as a causative factor of PCOS in Egyptian women.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the presence of bcl-2 protein in the serum of patients with viral hepatitis and to find out if there is any correlation between bcl-2 protein levels and cellular oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of viral hepatitis. METHODS: This study was carried out on 130 patients with viral hepatitis, 70 with chronic hepatitis, 30 with liver cirrhosis and 30 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in addition to 20 healthy persons as the control. Serum bcl-2 protein was estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, serum malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and antioxidant enzymes (GSH, GSH-px, GR and SOD) were measured using spectrophotometric analysis. RESULTS: bcl-2 protein level was significantly elevated in the serum of HCC, cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis groups as compared to control group. There were significant positive correlations between higher bcl-2 protein level and viral hepatitis markers (HBsAg, anti-HCV antibodies) in HCC and cirrhotic patients as compared to chronic hepatitis group. An increase in oxidative stress markers (MDA, NO) and a decrease in antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, GSH and GSH-px) were observed. However, there was a negative correlation between bcl-2 levels and GR in all studied patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: The release of oxidative free radicals, deficiency in antioxidant enzymes and the expression of bcl-2 protein might play a role in the pathogenesis of viral hepatitis. The ability to measure bcl-2 protein in the serum could be useful as a prognostic marker of cancer patients.