Plasma and low density lipoproteins levels of fat- soluble vitamins in obese Egyptian girls

Obesity is an important health problem which is deeply rooted in human biologic system resulting in many complications namely atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. This work was designed to investigate the antioxidant status of obese Egyptian girls. Lycopene, beta- carotene and alpha-tocopherol levels were analyzed in plasma and low density lipoprotein [LDL] fraction of plasma lipids as well as the fatty acids composition of LDL as a substrate for oxidative stress. Twenty two obese girls and ten age and sex matched healthy controls were included in this work. The plasma lycopene/total lipids, beta- carotene/total lipids and alpha-tocopherol/total lipids were significantly lower in the obese girls compared to controls Moreover, the three vitamins contents in LDL fraction were significantly lower than controls, although the plasma levels of the three studied vitamins showed no statistically significant differences in obese girls compared to control In obese girls group, LDL contained more polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFA] compared to normal controls. When the peroxidizability index [PI] was calculated to estimate susceptibility of fatty acids to oxidative stress, obese girls had significantly higher PI values than normal controls. The LDL lycopene/PI, beta-carotene/PI and alpha-tocopherol/PI ratios were significantly lower in obese girls than controls. Significant negative correlations were found between the studied vitamins levels, their calculated ratios and their contents in LDL fraction when correlated to body mass index [BMI] of obese girls. The best parameters which can predict high BMI were found to be the P1 and lycopene/total lipids. These results indicate the increased susceptibility of LDL to oxidative stress in obese girls along with decreased levels of antioxidant fat-soluble vitamins. These findings may promote atherosclerosis or coronary heart disease later in their life

Plasma matrix metalloproteinase 1 [MMP1] and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 [TIMP1]: potential diagnostic markers of prostate cancer progression

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the role of plasma matrix metalloproteinase 1 [MMP1] and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 [TIMP1] in diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer patients. This study was conducted on 60 male patients [aged 48-80 years] and 20 age matched healthy individuals. Patients were classified according to clinical examination, prostate specific antigen [PSA] findings, pathological and radiological findings into : 25 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia [BPH] and 35 patients with different stages of prostate cancer [PC] divided into : [13 PC with no metastasis, 13 PC with local metastasis and 9 PC with distant metastasis]. Plasma MMP1 and TIMP1 were assayed using sandwich immunoassay technique for all subjects. Serum total prostate specific antigen [TPSA] and serum alkaline phosphatase [ALP] were measured to all patients and control group. Free PSA and PSA index were performed for patients with TPSA between 4 and 10 ng/mL. PSA index was found to be superior to TPSA in discriminating patients with prostate cancer [p < 0.001]. There was no significant difference in plasma MMPI levels between different studied groups [p > 0.05]. Serum ALP was significantly increased in PC patients with distant metastasis than those with local metastasis; ALP was additionally found to be the best predictive marker for the presence of distant bone metastasis. Using ROC, Plasma ALP showed a diagnostic sensitivity for bone metastasis in prostate cancer patients of 100% at a cutoff of 90IU/L Median levels of plasma TIMP1 were found to be increased in PC patients [n = 35] over BPH [n = 25] [1600, 180 ug/L respectively]. Additionally, plasma TIMP1 median levels showed a progressive increase with malignant progression of PC being 400 ug/L in PC with no metastasis [n = 13], 2200 ug/L in PC with local metastasis [n = 13] and 4000 ug/L in PC with distant bone metastasis [n = 9], with a statistically significant difference between groups [p < 0.001]. There was a significant negative correlation between TIMP1 and PSA index in PC patients. TIMP1 also correlated positively with ALP in the same group. Mean-while, TIMP1 proved to best discriminate PC patients with metastasis [local and distant] from those with no metastasis. Accordingly, plasma TIMP1 is accurately correlated with staging of prostate cancer and is a promising marker of malignant progression of prostate cancer. Moreover, addition of ALP can effectively detect distant bone metastasis in PC patients