ABSTRACT. Atherosclerosis is characterized by lesions, called atheroma or atheromatous plaques, in the inner layer of blood vessels, which block the vascular lumen and weaken the underlying tunica media. Several modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for the development of atherosclerosis exist. The modifiable risk factors include hypertension, smoking, obesity, high LDL and low HDL cholesterol levels, sedentary lifestyle, and stress; the non-modifiable factors include diabetes mellitus, family history of hypertension and heart disease, thrombophilia, sex, age, and genetic factors. The association of polymorphisms in GST with coronary artery disease has been studied since the polymorphisms can affect enzyme activity and contribute to the onset of atherosclerosis. We analyzed polymorphisms in GSTM1 in individuals diagnosed with atherosclerosis as well as in healthy individuals (control group). The frequency of the GSTM1 present genotype in the atherosclerosis group was 1.2 times higher than that observed in the control group. We found no sex-or alcoholconsumption-dependent differences between the occurrences of the present and null genotypes. However, the GSTM1 present genotype occurred in 52

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Many environmental agents affect the development of male germ cells at different stages. Apoptosis is common during normal spermatogenesis; it plays an important role in controlling the number of germ cells and the disposal of defective stem cells to produce functional sperm. The presence of p53 in primary spermatocytes suggests that it plays a role in the prophase of meiosis. p53 is expressed in the testis in both spermatocytes and spermatogonia. This suggests that the p53 gene (TP53) is important for apoptosis regulation during spermatogenesis, and may be associated with male infertility. The main causes of male infertility are genetic, physical, and pathological abnormalities, intense and prolonged exercise, aging, drug use, and long periods of sexual abstinence. Approximately 20% of male infertility is idiopathic. The Trp53 gene is involved in meiosis in male rats and mice suggesting that the p53 plays a critical role in spermatogenesis. We investigated the association between the TP53 polymorphism in codon 72 and idiopathic male infertility in 208 semen samples: 106 showed abnormal semen analysis results and were from infertile men, and 102 were from fertile individuals (the control group). Changes in Trp53 expression are associated with the main phase regulating meiotic progression with a peak in the pachytene stage, and Trp53-deficient mice exhibit degenerative syndrome (giant cells). The genotypic and allelic frequencies were not significantly different among the groups in this study; the results suggest that the TP53 polymorphism in codon 72 is not associated with the pathogenesis of idiopathic male infertility or failure of spermatogenesis.

ABSTRACT. The first reports about pterygium date back to Hippocrates, and this disease still threatens vision health around the world. Pterygium is a formation of fibrous tissue consisting of highly vascularized epithelial and subepithelial tissue that grows excessively and with an abnormal shape on the cornea. Many physical and biological factors are associated with the pathogenesis of pterygium, including heat, dust, and other particles in the atmosphere, and immunological mechanisms, mechanisms involving extracellular matrix reorganization, growth factors, cytokines, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to further investigate the association between polymorphisms in GSTM1 and the formation of pterygium. We collected peripheral blood samples from 90 patients diagnosed with pterygium and from 23 subjects without the disease in order to perform molecular analysis of the GSTM1 gene. Subjects with one or two copies of the GSTM1 allele had a normal genotype while those without any copies of the allele had a null genotype. The chi-square test or the Fisher exact test was performed in order to investigate possible associations between the molecular analysis and the risk of pterygium. A significant difference between the frequency of the GSTM1-null genotype in patient and control groups was identified. However, sub-group analysis found that the GSTM1-null genotype was statistically significant in men, but not in women, and in Caucasians, but not in Brown or Black groups. Furthermore, the GSTM1-null genotype was not related to any of the risk factors analyzed: cases in family, occupational exposure, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes.