Structures, stability and DNA-binding properties have been established for archaeal histones from mesophiles, thermophiles and hyperthermophiles. Most archaeal histones are simply histone folds that are stabilized by dimer formation. Archaeal histones and the histone folds of the eukaryotic nucleosome core histones share a common ancestry and bind and wrap DNA similarly using conserved residues. The histone-fold residues that stabilize dimer-dimer interactions within an archaeal histone core contribute to determining archaeal histone-DNA affinity.

ABSTRACT. Genetic polymorphisms (C677T and A1298C) in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) were shown to be related to prostate cancer risk in previous studies; however, the results are controversial. We performed a meta-analysis of previous studies and quantitatively estimated these associations. Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library Database were searched for published case-control studies evaluating the association between C677T (or A1298C) and prostate cancer risk. Pooled associations were presented as odds ratios (ORs) along with their 95% confidence intervals. Twenty-one case control studies were identified for meta-analysis that included 21,581 participants. 19191-19202 (2015) No significant associations were found between the MTHFR polymorphisms C677T or A1298C and prostate cancer risk in our meta-analysis. However, in subgroup analyses, the C677T CT polymorphism was associated with increased prostate cancer risk in East Asians (CT vs CC+TT: OR = 1.324, P = 0.03). The A1298C CC polymorphism in MTHFR was also linked to slightly reduced prostate cancer risk in European residents (CC vs AC+AA: OR = 0.751, P = 0.004; CC vs AA: OR = 0.768, P = 0.011), whereas it was associated with a significantly increased prostate cancer risk in Asian residents (CC vs AA: OR = 1.862, P = 0.006). The C677T CT polymorphism of MTHFR may be a risk factor for prostate cancer in East Asians. The association between the MTHFR A1298C CC genotype and prostate cancer risk may vary within different populations. Large-scale well-designed studies are required to confirm these associations.

Breast cancer suppressor candidate-1 (BCSC-1) is a newly identified candidate tumor suppressor gene. BCSC-1 shows decreased levels in a variety of cancer types. In this study, we investigated the association between BCSC-1 and human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). BCSC-1 expression was detected in ESCC and normal tissues adjacent to tumor tissues by Western blot analysis and real-time PCR  as well as immunohistochemistry of paraffin sections. The relationships between BCSC-1 expression and various clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. Western blot analysis and real-time PCR showed that levels of BCSC-1 protein and mRNA expression in ESCC significantly decreased compared with those in adjacent normal tissues.  Immunohistochemistry exhibited marked reduction of BCSC-1 in 38 of 105 ESCC specimens. Moreover, downregulation of BCSC-1 was associated with the grade of tumor cellular differentiation (P<0.05). These findings indicate that BCSC-1 downregulation in ESCC is associated with carcinogenesis and may play important roles during the process of ESCC cancer development.

The MODS assay offers a simple, rapid, economical and feasible method for the detection of M. tuberculosis resistance to first- and second-line drugs in resource-limited settings.