Apoptosis dysregulation in human gastric carcinomas: relationship to anti- and pro-apoptotic protein expression.

Apoptosis and the genes regulating this process have recently become a focus of interest in the study of cancer development and progression. Both Bcl-2 and Bax are transcriptional targets for the tumor supressor protein, p53, which induces cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in response to DNA damage. The coordinate performance of these molecules is crucial for controlling life or death of a cell. Correlations between apoptosis and protein expression of genes controlling this process including Bcl-2, Bax and p53 in gastric cancer were here investigated with gastric tumor samples of forty patients . DNA ploidy pattern was analyzed using flow cytometry and Bcl-2, Bax, and p53 were immunohistochemically localized using specific monoclonal antibodies. In addition, serum Bcl-2 protein was estimated by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). The obtained data showed that the mean serum Bcl-2 protein concentration demonstrated a significant increase (P<0.0001) in positive cases (61.5+/-11.0 unit/ml) compared to the negative ones (47.5+/-3.5 unit/ml). Serum Bcl-2 protein positivity was detected in 13/40 of gastric cancer patients. Immunohistochemical positivity for Bcl-2, Bax, and p53 was shown in 45%, 68%, and 63% of samples, respectively. Positive Bcl-2 and p53 immunostaining was significantly linked with the histological grade (P<0.02 and P<0.009 respectively) and lymph duct invasion (P<0.02 and P<0.001 ). On the other hand, Bax was significantly differed with lymph duct invasion and the ploidy pattern (P<0.03 and P<0.002). In conclusion, the apoptosis-related genes p53, Bcl-2, and Bax are all linked to the occurrence of gastric cancer. Therefore, analysis of their expressions may add useful information concerning tumor behavior.

Schistosoma mansoni major egg antigen Smp40: molecular modeling and potential immunoreactivity for anti-pathology vaccine development

The pathogenesis of Schistosoma mansoni infection is largely determined by host T-cell mediated immune responses such as the granulomatous response to tissue deposited eggs and subsequent fibrosis. The major egg antigens have a valuable role in desensitizing the CD4+ Th cells that mediate granuloma formation, which may prevent or ameliorate clinical signs of schistosomiasis.S. mansoni major egg antigen Smp40 was expressed and completely purified. It was found that the expressed Smp40 reacts specifically with anti-Smp40 monoclonal antibody in Western blotting. Three-dimensional structure was elucidated based on the similarity of Smp40 with the small heat shock protein coded in the protein database as 1SHS as a template in the molecular modeling. It was figured out that the C-terminal of the Smp40 protein (residues 130 onward) contains two alpha crystallin domains. The fold consists of eight beta strands sandwiched in two sheets forming Greek key. The purified Smp40 was used for in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients infected with S. mansoni using phytohemagglutinin mitogen as a positive control. The obtained results showed that there is no statistical difference in interferon-g, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 levels obtained with Smp40 stimulation compared with the control group (P > 0.05 for each). On the other hand, there were significant differences after Smp40 stimulation in IL-5 (P = 0.006) and IL-10 levels (P < 0.001) compared with the control group. Gaining the knowledge by reviewing the literature, it was found that the overall pattern of cytokine profile obtained with Smp40 stimulation is reported to be associated with reduced collagen deposition, decreased fibrosis, and granuloma formation inhibition. This may reflect its future prospect as a leading anti-pathology schistosomal vaccine candidate.

Granulocyte macrophage - colony stimulating factor [GM - CSF] and granulocyte colony stimulating factor [G-CSF] in patients with schistosomiasis

The present study was conducted on 81 subjects; 10 normal control and 71 patients with schistosomiasis. According to clinical examination and laboratory investigations, patients were classified into the following group:- Group 0: Patients with early active schistosomiasis [20 cases]. Group I: Patients with hepatomegaly [18 cases]. Group II: Patients with hepatosplenomegaly [12 cases]. Group III: Patients with liver fibrosis [10 cases] Group IV: Patients with liver cell failure [11]. All patients and control have passed through medical and laboratory examination in the form of urine and stool analysis, rectal snip biopsy, hematological investigations, liver functions tests, serological detection of hepatitis B and C and assessment of G-CSF and GM-CSF level in the serum. Results were discussed