Significance of cancer testis-associated antigens (SPAG9 and FBXO39) in colon cancer.

Background: Cancer testis antigens (CTA) are normally expressed in immune privileged tissues such as the testis. They are considered tumor-associated antigens because they are specifically expressed in different cancers. Their distinct nature rendered them appealing targets for cancer diagnosis, prognosis. and immunotherapy. We aimed to identify the association of two CTA genes with colon cancer (CC) in a cohort of Egyptian patients. Methods: We measured the relative gene expression levels of two CTAs: SPAG9 and FBXO39 in colonic tumor tissue and adjacent normal-appearing mucosa in 50 newly diagnosed colon cancer patients by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Gene expression was also studied in relation to demographic and pathological criteria. Results: SPAG9 and FBXO39 were overexpressed in 22% and 40% of cases, respectively. Overexpression of both genes was evident in 14% of cases. We report the significant expression of FBXO39 (P < 0.01) in tumor tissue compared to normal tissue. SPAG9 was significantly increased in large sized tumors compared to smaller sized tumors. Otherwise, there was no significant association between gene expression and the evaluated clinicopathological features (P > 0.05). Conclusions: SPAG9 and FBXO39 are possible CC diagnostic biomarkers. Further studies are warranted to validate our findings.

Study of gut microbiome in Egyptian patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases.

BACKGROUND: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and Graves' disease (GD) are the most prevalent forms of autoimmune thyroid disorders (ATD). A pathogenic link with gut microbial dysbiosis has been described in different autoimmune disorders but not yet fully elucidated in patients with ATD. AIM OF THE WORK: The present study aimed to elucidate changes in gut microbiome in Egyptian patients with ATD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The gut bacterial composition of 20 patients with ATD and 30 age, sex, and BMI-matched healthy subjects as controls was analysed using Quantitative SYBR Green Real-Time PCR technique targeting 16S rRNA of selected bacterial genera and/or species. RESULTS: Compared with controls; the Firmictus/Bacteroidetes ratio (known to be representative for healthy status) was significantly decreased in patients with ATD (P < .001), without a significant difference between GD and HT patients. Also, the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria associated with the gut barrier and anti-inflammatory state; A. mucinophilia, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and F. prausnitzii, were decreased in ATD patients. TRAb in GD patients and anti-TPO in HT patients showed a significant positive correlation with Bacteroidetes (P = .001) and (P = .018), respectively. CONCLUSION: Egyptian patients with ATD show dysbiosis of the gut microbiome that can be related to the pathogenesis of ATD. This hopefully points to the potential therapeutic benefits of manipulating the composition of the gut microbiome in the management or even protection from ATD.