Application of PLK1 and HOXA13 Gene Expression Levels in Urine in the Diagnosis of Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Bladder cancer is the most common urinary tract neoplasm, affecting many people annually. Current diagnostic and surveillance methods for bladder cancer are frequently invasive and lack sensitivity and specificity. This study aimed to develop an accurate and non-invasive urine-based gene expression assay, including fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3), homeobox A13 (HOXA13), and polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), to diagnose non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) at stages Ta and T1. The samples were acquired from 62 patients with NMIBC, 31 control individuals, and 31 patients with non-cancerous genitourinary tract diseases. The expression levels of three relevant genes were determined using quantitative RT-PCR. In addition, the sensitivity and specificity of the data for these genes were computed. Our results showed that PLK1, HOXA13, and FGFR3 expressions of genes were significantly elevated in patients compared to the control groups (p = 0.0001; p = 0.039). The sensitivity and specificity for the FGFR3 gene were 55% and 76%, respectively (p = 0.39). These parameters for HOXA13 were 100% and 93% (p = 0.0001) and for PLK1 were 100% and 86% (p = 0.0001) for diagnosing and monitoring NMIBC. HOXA13 and PLK 1 exhibited adequate specificity and sensitivity for diagnosis. The results of this research showed that despite the higher expression of these genes in urine, only HOXA13 and PLK1 had sufficient and proper specificity and sensitivity, so the urinary expression of these two genes can be used in future studies for diagnosis and monitoring in cancer bladder.

Comparison of reactive oxygen species in neat and washed semen of infertile men.

BACKGROUND: Male are involved in near 50% of cases of infertility and reactive oxygen species (ROS) playing an important role in decreasing fertility potential. Accurate measurement of ROS seems to be important in evaluation of infertile male patients. OBJECTIVE: To compare ROS measurement in neat and washed semen samples of infertile men and define the best method for evaluation of ROS in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured the level of ROS in semen samples of thirty five non-azoospermic men with infertility. The semen samples were divided into two parts and the semen parameters and ROS levels in neat and washed samples were evaluated. We also evaluated the presence of pyospermia using peroxidase test. RESULTS: The differences regarding sperm count and quick motility were significant in neat and washed semen samples. The mean ROS level was significantly higher in neat samples compared with washed spermatozoa (7.50 RLU vs. 1.20 RLU respectively). Difference in ROS levels was more significant in patients with pyospermia compared to whom with no pyospermia (378.67 RLU vs. 9.48 RLU respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study confirmed that neat or unprocessed samples are better index of normal oxidative status of semen samples. Because we do not artificially add or remove factors that may play an important role in oxidative equilibrium status.