Involvement of Interferon-γ + 874A/T Polymorphism in the Pathogenesis of and Therapeutic Response to Immune Thrombocytopenia.

BACKGROUND: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disease characterized by symptoms of thrombocytopenia and bleeding due to production of autoantibodies against platelets. Recently, the occurrence of polymorphisms has been identified as one of the main causes of disease onset. METHODS: To conduct this study, we recruited 140 patients and control individuals with no history of platelet loss. After collection of specimens, the prevalence of interferon-γ polymorphism was evaluated using the allele-specific oligonucleotide-polymerase chain reaction (ASO-PCR) technique and confirmed by sequencing techniques. RESULTS: The results showed that the frequency of the AA genotype was higher in the control group, compared with patients with ITP; however, in the acute and chronic groups, the frequency of the AT genotype was higher than that of the AA genotype. We also discovered that there was no significant correlation between platelet counts before and after treatment, nor in its related parameters with interferon (IFN)-γ polymorphism. CONCLUSION: rs2430561 does not seem to have any role in ITP pathogenesis and treatment response.

Characterization of wild-type and mutated RET proto- oncogene associated with familial medullary thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess RET proto-oncogene polymorphisms in three different Iranian families with medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), and performed molecular dynamics simulations and free energy stability analysis of these mutations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study consisted of 48 patients and their first-degree relatives with MTC confirmed by pathologic diagnosis and surgery. We performed molecular dynamics simulations and free energy stability analysis of mutations, and docking evaluation of known RET proto-oncogene inhibitors, including ZD-6474 and ponatinib, with wild-type and mutant forms. RESULTS: The first family consisted of 27 people from four generations, in which nine had the C.G2901A (P.C634Y) mutation; the second family consisted of six people, of whom three had the C.G2901T (P.C634F) mutation, and the third family, who included 12 individuals from three generations, three having the C.G2251A (P.G691S) mutation. The automated 3D structure of RET protein was predicted using I-TASSER, and validated by various protein model verification programs that showed more than 96.3% of the residues in favored and allowed regions. The predicted instability indices of the mutated structures were greater than 40, which reveals that mutated RET protein is less thermo-stable compared to the wild-type form (35.4). CONCLUSIONS: Simultaneous study of the cancer mutations using both in silico and medical genetic procedures, as well as onco-protein inhibitor binding considering mutation-induced drug resistance, may help in better overcoming chemotherapy resistance and designing innovative drugs.

UGT1A1 gene mutation due to Crigler-Najjar syndrome in Iranian patients: identification of a novel mutation.

Crigler-Najjar syndrome (CNS) type I and type II are inherited as autosomal recessive conditions that are caused by mutations in the UGT1A1 gene. We present the analysis of UGT1A1 gene in 12 individuals from three different families. This analysis allowed us to identify one novel mutation, which was not previously described. In this study, three families with clinically diagnosed CNS referred from Khuzestan province, southwest Iran, were screened. After signing the informed consent, peripheral blood samples from the patients and their parents were collected in EDTA-containing tube followed by DNA extraction using a routine phenol-chloroform method. All five coding exons and the flanking intronic regions of the bilirubin-UGT were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by DNA sequencing by Sanger method. From the first family, a 9-month-old boy was homozygous for a deletion mutation of two adjacent nucleotides including one adenosine (A) and one glutamine (G) between nucleotides 238 and 239 in exon 1 (c.238_240 del AG). In the second family, there were two affected individuals, an 11-year-old girl and a fetus, found to be homozygous for the same mutation. The third family showed a mutation at nucleotide 479 in exon 1 (Val160Glu) that has been reported previously. Molecular analysis can significantly help confirm the diagnosis of CNS, without any need for the liver biopsy, and may help the therapeutic management by ruling out more harmful causes of hyperbilirubinemia.