Genetic and Epigenetic Marker-Based DNA Test of Stool Is a Promising Approach for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies and leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. However, it may be treated effectively by surgical removal of the cancerous tissue if detected at early stages. Conventional tools for screening CRC are either invasive or inaccurate. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a reliable screening tools for CRC to significantly reduce its morbidity. In this regard, a novel DNA markers-based detection in stool is emerging as a promising approach.

Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection of H9 Cells

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) virus causes severe defect in the immune system and affects the host cell gene expression profoundly. The gene expression pattern will be characterized by changes in cellular mRNA levels that are dependent on both the stage of infection and the biological state of the infected cells. The expression levels of 7,404 cellular RNA transcripts were assessed in H9 cells at different time points after HIV-1 IIIB infection. In total 7 time-points, 959/7,404 (13%) genes were a 2-fold or greater expressed. 387 of 959 genes (40.4%) were up-regulated, and other 572 genes (59.6%) were down-regulated. Three hundred seventeen genes were up-regulated a 2-fold or greater at 72 hr postinfection and 2 to 139 genes were up-regulated at the other time-points. In contrast, 126 to 349 genes were down-regulated a 2-fold or greater in all time-points, excepting 6 hr postinfection. Twenty-three genes were up-regulated a 2-fold or greater over at least four of seven time-points, which were mostly ribosomal proteins and MHCs. Especially, MHCs including HLA-DRA were steadily up-regulated from 24 hr postinfection. Thirty genes were down-regulated a 2-fold or greater in all the time-points, which were mainly related with synthesis and metabolism. These results show that host cell gene expression was altered by HIV-1 infection according to time-points and will provide a framework for studies on interactions between host and HIV-1 infection.