DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF MICRORNAs IN LUNG CANCER: A REVIEW ARTICLE

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules of approximately 16-24 nucleotide length. The miRNA biogenesis is a 2 step cleavage process mediated by Dorsha and Dicer. The nuclear cleavage by Dorsha / DiGeorge syndrome critical region 8 (DGCR8) generates 60-70 nucleotide long precursor microRNA (pre-miRNA). Furthermore, the pre-miRNA is exported to the cytoplasm by exportin 5 to be cleaved by Dicer. This resultant miRNA is further processed to generate a mature miRNA and get assembled into a RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Hence leading to transcriptional repression of the target mRNAs. It has been reported that one miRNA may target many genes accounting from a few to as many as thousands. Lung cancer (LC) ranks third worldwide and is marked by poor prognosis. The early staged LC patients usually exhibit no symptoms and the condition worsens till the time of first diagnosis. Therefore, studies are required to outline good early detecting and surveillance biomarkers for LC. Several evidences support the role of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of LC. They show differential expression pattern i.e. may be either upregulated or downregulated. The oncogenic miRNAs remain upregulated while the tummor suppressive miRNAs remain downregulated. In LC miRNAs are the important factors for tumour initiation, differentiation, apoptosis, proliferation as well as tumor progression. Thus, this review article focuses on the diagnostic significance of miRNAs in LC

Evaluation of the antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities of marine invertebrates-derived fungi

The present study focuses on the evaluation of the cytotoxicity and antiproliferative activities of the organic extracts of 70 fungal strains associated with twelve Red Sea marine invertebrates. The fungal strains were obtained 10 sponges, one tunicate and one soft coral. Three different media including Sabouraud dextrose agar, malt extract agar and Czapek-Dox agar were used for the purification of the fungal isolates. The purified fungal isolates were cultured in their corresponding media [Sabouraud dextrose broth, Malt extract broth and Czapek-Dox broth] on shaker for 14 days at 26[degree]C. After that, the cultures were lyophilized and the dried cultures were extracted with methanol. The methanolic extracts of these cultures were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity and antiproliferative activities against three human cancer cell lines including breast adenocarcinoma [MCF-7], liver hepatocellular carcinoma [HepG2] and colorectal carcinoma [HCT-116]. Nine extracts displayed potent and selective activity against MCF-7 with IC[50] 4.96-8.28 micro g/mL without any significant effect on the other two cell lines. In addition, six extracts showed strong and selective activity against MCF-7 with IC[50] 11.37-15.53 micro g/mL. On the other hand, most of the fungal extracts were inactive or weakly active against HepG2 and HCT-116

Patients with gastrointestinal comlains due to enteric parasites, with reference to entamoeba hidtolytica/dispar as dected by Elisa E. histolytica adhesion in stool

A total of 210 patients with gastrointestinal troubles, of both sex and a mean age of 32 +/- 6.1 years, selected from the outpatient's clinics of Al-Azhar University Hospitals. 115 [54.76%] had dysentery, 95 [45.23%] did not have dysentery, 15 [14%] suffered flatulence, 20 [9.52%] had epi-gastric pain, 19 [9.05%] had vague abdominal pain, 5 vomiting [5.2%] and 10 [4.9%] had fever. Two symptoms were in 29 [13.81%] patients and three symptoms in 12 [5.7 1%]. Of the 210 patients, 20 [9.9%] had helminthes infection, 121 [57.6%] had intestinal protozoa and 69 [32.9%] had no parasitic infection. Of these parasite-free patients, 16 had Shigella sp. and nine had Campylobacter sp. Of the patients with intestinal protozoa, 34 [16.2%] had E. histolytica/ dispar by stool examination of stained smears. By using ELISA for detection of E. histolytica adhesion in stool samples of 115 with diarrhea only 18 had true E. histolytica infection and of 3 without diarrhea only one had E. histolytica infection. Mean-while, ELISA did not cross-reacted E. coli, Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium parvum, Endolimax nana or Blastocystis hominis. So, ELISA for detection of E. histoltica adhesion in stool samples was more specific than microscopy and safe direction to the E. histolytica treatment. Apart from intestinal protozoan and bacteria, helminthes were seen in stool analysis. These were Schistosoma mansoni [0.95%], Capillaria sp. [0.95%], Enterobius vermicularis [1.90%] macroscopically, Hymenolepis nana [4.3%] and Ascaris lumbricoides [1.43%]

Impotence, lead and oxidative stress: do they form a serious triangle? II: a histopathological ultrastructural study of cavernous tissue

This study was conducted to elucidate the histopathological and the ultrastructural changes induced by lead in the cavernous tissue of impotent subjects. For this purpose, the study included 49 male subjects who were categorized into two main groups. Group I [n=34] included impotent males who underwent surgery for penile implants. They were further subdivided according to the blood lead level into 2 subgroups: Subgroup 1 [n=18] with acceptable lead level and who suffered of diabetes mellitus and subgroup 2 [n=16] with high lead level. Group II [n=15] included potent males who underwent surgery for penile cancer. Two small samples of cavernous tissue were taken during the operation. One piece was preserved in absolute alcohol to stain lead by the Mallory-Parker stain. The other piece was fixed and stained for electron microscopic study

Impotence, lead and oxidative sress: do they form a serious triangle? I: a Comparative toxicological biochemical study of cavernous tissue versus peripheral blood

This study was set out to assess the possible hazardous effects of lead on the endogenous antioxidant status of erectile tissues. The study included 49 male subjects categorized into two main groups. Group I [n=34] included impotent males, who underwent surgery for penile implants and further subdivided according to the blood lead into two subgroups; subgroup I [n=18] with acceptable lead level who suffered of diabetes mellitus and subgroup II [n=16] with high lead level. Group II [n=15] included potent males who underwent surgery for penile cancer. Blood and cavernous tissue samples were taken from each subject and in which lead concentration was estimated. In addition, nitric oxide [NO] and hydrogen peroxide [H2O2] were detected as representatives of free radicals, malondialdehyde [MDA] as a product of lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase, glutathione peroxidase [GPx], selenium, vitamin C and vitamin E as indicators of the endogenous antioxidant status

Sevoflurane versus propofol for ambulatory anesthesia: a comparison of induction, maintenance and recovery profiles

The induction, maintenance and recovery characteristics of sevoflurane were compared with propofol when administered to 60 healthy outpatient females undergoing ambulatory diagnostic laparoscopy. Induction and tracheal intubation times were significantly shorter with propofol than with sevoflurane. Airway excitement was more prevalent during induction with sevoflurane as compared to propofol, however the use of propofol for induction was associated with a higher incidence of apnea and pain on injection. Mean arterial pressure [MAP] after induction with propofol was lower than that with sevoflurane, but the use of sevoflurane for induction was associated with slower heart rates in the immediate post induction period than propofol. HR and MAP were similar during the maintenance period. The recovery times were significantly shorter in the sevoflurane group compared with the propofol group. The use of sevoflurane for induction and maintenance was associated with a higher incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting compared with propofol