Gastric cancer (GC) is considered lethal aggressive cancer. In Egypt, GC has a low incidence but unfortunately, it is mostly diagnosed at an advanced stage with a poor prognosis. Assessment of novel markers that can be used in the early detection of GC is an urgent need. The present study was performed to assess the association of the Pleckstrin homology domain-containing S1 (PLEKHS1)، arylacetamide deacetylase (AADAC, and Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 3 (CDKN3) genes with GC and to correlate their gene expression levels with tumor stage, grade, and other clinicopathological features. The current work was performed on forty gastric tissue samples; twenty in Group 1 with GC tissues at different stages, and grades and twenty in Group 2 (control group) with non-tumorous tissue. PLEKHS1, AADAC, and CDKN3 gene expression were assessed by RT-qPCR. AADAC, CDKN3 genes were significantly (p<0.001) upregulated, while PLEKHS1 gene was significantly (p<0.001) downregulated in the GC group than the control group. AADAC gene expression exhibited a high significant (p<0.001) positive correlation with the tumor grades and the tumor stages. A high significant negative correlation between AADAC, and CDKN3 gene expression (r = -.760, p<0.001) was found. The three studied parameters showed high significant sensitivity and specificity in the prediction of the presence of GC. PLEKHS1, AADAC, and CDKN3 gene expressions were suggested to be used as diagnostic and predictive biomarkers of GC, additionally, AADAC may be used as a prognostic marker in these patients for further future confirming studies.

Background Fetuin-A is a hepatic secretory protein that binds to insulin receptors and inhibits insulin resistance (IR) kinase activity as well as IR autophosphorylation in vivo and in vitro. Aim This study aimed to investigate fetuin-A levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and their relation to microvascular complications. Patients and methods This descriptive study was conducted on 160 patients. Group 1 included (n=40) diabetic patients without microvascular complications, group 2 (n=40) included diabetic patients with nephropathy, group 3 (n=40) included diabetic patients with retinopathy, and group 4 represented (n=40) healthy control. Serum fetuin-A and insulin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Glucose was measured, and homeostasis model assessment for IR (HOMA-IR) was estimated. Results Fetuin-A levels were significantly higher in all T2DM groups compared with controls. There was a significant positive correlation between fetuin-A, insulin, and HOMA-IR in all studied groups. There was a significant positive correlation between fetuin-A and some of metabolic syndrome criteria in all diabetic patients. There were high significant increases in the mean levels of fetuin-A, insulin, and HOMA-IR in the diabetic patients with nephropathy group than other groups. There was a nonsignificant increase in fetuin-A levels in diabetic patients with retinopathy than the diabetics without microvascular complications. Conclusion Fetuin-A may be used as a marker for microvascular complications in T2DM, especially the diabetic nephropathy. Antifetuin drugs may be invented to delay diabetic microvascular complications.

Background: Medications to prevent the development of NSAID-induced gastric ulcers have a large range of unpleasant side effects. Recent efforts have been focused on determining safer alternative nontoxic and natural forms of anti-ulcer treatments. Methods: Twenty-four male rats were divided into 4 groups: 1: control group that received no treatment; 2: the indomethacin-treated group that received 20 mg/kg of indomethacin for 2 days to induce the development of gastric ulcers; 3: quercetin-treated group that in addition to the indomethacin treatment, received 50 mg/kg of quercetin 6 hours after and then daily for 14 days and; 4: the melatonin-treated group which received 20 mg/kg of melatonin 6 hours after each indomethacin treatment and then daily for 14 days. All drugs were administered orally. The following parameters were assessed in each group: mean ulcer index of gastric tissue, gastric acid volume and pH, oxidative stress markers: malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH), inflammatory markers: PGE-2, TNF-α, and IL-10, nitric oxide (NO) levels and the relative gene expression of BAX, BCL-2 and COX-2 by real time PCR. Results: Our findings revealed that the indomethacin-treated group had a significantly increased (p< 0.05) ulcer index, gastric acid volume, and elevated levels of stress, inflammatory, and apoptotic markers compared to controls. In the groups that received quercetin or melatonin, these factors were all significantly decreased (p< 0.05). Between quercetin and melatonin, there was no significant difference in their gastroprotective effect. Conclusions: Both quercetin and melatonin had protective antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic activity against indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers.

Background. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered a major global public health problem. Recently, there are great advances in HCV therapy, but there are some limitations that are creating an urgent need for assessment of some cytokines that have a potent antiviral effect in the immune system and anti-inflammatory effects to provide a potential novel immunotherapeutic target in HCV infection. Objective. This study was directed to assess the serum levels and gene expression levels of Galectin-4 (LEG4), Interleukin-27 (IL-27), and Complement-7 (C-7) and their correlation with the viral load in HCV infection. Subjects and Methods. This work was conducted on 80 subjects, Group 1 ( n = 40 ) early detected HCV patients and Group 2 ( n = 40 ) healthy controls. LEG4, IL-27, and C-7 were assessed at the protein levels by ELISA, and their gene expression was assessed by RT-qPCR. The viral load was measured by PCR. Results. There were significant elevations in the mean levels of gene expression and serum levels of all studied parameters LEG4, IL-27, and C-7 in the HCV group compared to the control group. Significant negative correlations between the viral load and each of the serum proteins and gene expressions of both LEG4 and IL-27 in HCV patients were found. The gene expression levels of LEG4, IL-27, and C-7 were positively correlated with their corresponding serum proteins in HCV patients.Conclusion. LEG4 and IL-27 showed significant negative correlations with the viral load, which could be an immune response to the control of the extent of hepatic inflammation, thus creating a potential novel immunotherapeutic approach in HCV infection for further studies or therapeutic clinical trials.

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