ABSTRACT
A large proportion of the transcriptome is sex biased in a wide range of taxa. Sexually dimorphic genes expression is highly tissue-dependent. Although gastric cancer exhibits sex bias to some extent, sexually dimorphic gene expression in the stomach is yet to be fully understood. The aim of the present study was to compare the expression levels of 12 genes in the gastric tissue between age-matched healthy men and women of different age groups. A total of 70 human antrum gastric tissue samples were obtained by endoscopy. The difference in expression levels of the 12 intended genes between two genders was investigated using quantitative Real-Time PCR, following total RNA extraction. The results indicated that the expression levels of both the GKN2 (7.2-fold, p < 0.001) and FOXA2 (3.7-fold, p = 0.003) were significantly higher in men compared to those in women. In addition, FOXA1 gene expression was age-dependent only in women. Interestingly, the expression level of FOXA1 was significantly higher in premenopausal women compared to postmenopausal women (2.53-fold, p = 0.016). The expression levels of some of the investigated genes in this study were sex-dependent in the stomach. This sexual dimorphism in gene expression might influence the differential susceptibility to the gastric cancer between the sexes.
Subject(s)
Carrier Proteins/genetics , Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta/genetics , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Carrier Proteins/metabolism , Female , Gene Expression/genetics , Gene Expression Profiling/methods , Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alpha/genetics , Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alpha/metabolism , Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta/metabolism , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Sex Characteristics , Stomach/physiology , Stomach Neoplasms , Transcriptome/geneticsABSTRACT
Introduction: One of the most important causes of erythropoietin-resistant anemia in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients is increased levels of inflammatory cytokines. Objectives: In this study pentoxifylline, an anti-inflammatory and anti-cytokine drug, with no significant side effects was used to manage anemia in ESRD patients. Patients and Methods: Thirty-nine ESRD patients with erythropoietin-resistant anemia were assigned to two groups, the treatment and the control groups. In treatment group, 19 patients received erythropoietin, venofer and pentoxifylline for 6 months. Patients in control group received erythropoietin and venofer. Hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), albumin and quantitative C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured at the beginning of the study, monthly and at the end of the study. Results: Hb and Hct were significantly increased in the treatment group (9.33±1.25 g/dL and 28.08±3.88% at baseline; 11.22 ± 1.26 g/dL and 34.02 ± 3.72% at sixth month, P = 0.01), but not in the control group. CRP was significantly decreased in the treatment group but no significant change occurred in the control group. Conclusion: Pentoxifylline is effective in improvement of erythropoietin-resistant anemia in ESRD patients.
