We aimed to describe SARS-CoV-2 strains in Iranians from nine distributed cities infected during two months expanding late 2020 and early 2021 by genotyping known informative single nucleotide in five PCR amplicons. Two variants associated with haplotype H1 (clade G) and nine additional variants associated with other haplotypes were genotyped, respectively, in RNA isolates of 244 and 85 individuals. The variants associated with the H1a (GR) and H1b (GH) haplotypes were most prevalent, indicating a significant change in infection pattern with passage of time. The most important findings were that recombinant genomes and co-infection, respectively, were surmised in 44.7% and 12.9% of the samples extensively genotyped. Partners of many of the recombinations were relatively common strains. Co-existing viruses were among those currently circulating in Iran. In addition to random mutations, co-infection with different existing strains and recombination between their genomes may significantly contribute to the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 strains.

The study aimed to investigate the effect of breastfeeding, formula feeding and mix feeding (breastfed plus formula-fed) on the expression level of obesity-predisposing genes including fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO), carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) in 5-to 6-month-old infants.Patients and Methods: A total of 150 infants participated in this case-control study. All subjects were healthy infants aged 5-6 months that divided into 3 groups: breastfed, formulafed, and mix-fed. The expression level of FTO, CPT1A, and PPAR-α genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was evaluated in each group using reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Results: Our findings showed that the current weight, height, and head circumference of infants in the formula feeding and mix feeding groups were significantly higher than those in the exclusive breastfeeding group. The expression level of FTO and CPT1A genes in formula-fed and mix-fed infants was significantly higher (p<0.001) than that in breastfed infants, while the expression level of PPAR-α gene was significantly lower (p<0.05). Conclusion: Breastfeeding showed modulatory effects on the expression level of obesitypredisposing genes and can protect against obesity and subsequent non-communicable diseases. However, more investigations are required to explain the epigenetic effects of breast milk.

Abstract. Aberrant promoter methylation of genes is a common epigenetic alteration in colorectal cancer (CRC). In the present study, spastic paraplegia 20 (SPG20) promoter-methylated DNA, as a potential diagnostic biomarker, was investigated in plasma and tumor tissue samples from patients with CRC. To the best of our knowledge, the quantification of SPG20 promoter-methylated DNA in plasma samples remains unreported. SPG20 promoter methylation was investigated in 32 paired tumor and healthy adjacent tissues, 37 plasma samples from patients with CRC, and in 37 plasma samples from a healthy control group, using the MethyLight method. The percentage of methylated reference (PMR) values was determined for each sample, and the sensitivity and specificity of this unique biomarker were evaluated. PMR values were significantly higher in plasma samples from patients with CRC compared with in those from the control group (P<0.05). Plasma specimens from patients and healthy controls exhibited median PMR values of 7.7 (95% CI, 4.15-15.28) and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.14-1.12), respectively. Notably, the median PMR values were identified as 42.39 (95% CI, 27.69-72.26) and 3.61 (95% CI, 1.07-5.29) in tumor and adjacent healthy tissues, respectively. Using receiver-operating characteristics curve analysis, the area under curve (AUC) was demonstrated to be 0.984 for plasma samples, exhibiting a sensitivity of 81.1% and a specificity of 96.9%. Furthermore, the AUC was 0.996 for tissue samples, revealing a sensitivity of 93.8% and specificity of 99.96%.Results from the present study indicate that the identification of SPG20 promoter-methylated DNA in plasma is a potential diagnostic biomarker for the detection of CRC. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a satisfactory sensitivity and specificity, indicating the importance of SPG20 methylation as a novel noninvasive biomarker. IntroductionColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, accounting for an estimated 1.3 million new cases and >500,000 mortalities/year (1). CRC is the fourth leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide, with a rapidly increasing incidence rate in the worldwide (2,3). In the Asian population, the annual prevalence rate of CRC has steadily increased over the past two decades (4). The Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran states that cancer is the third most common cause of mortality in Iran (5). Currently, the gold standard method for CRC detection is internal imaging of the colon with colonoscopy followed by a biopsy examination; however, it remains an invasive procedure with possible serious complications and limitations (6). Cancer is a multistep process resulting from a gradual accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes to the genome (7). The methylation of 5'-C-phosphate-G-3' (CpG) islands has been suggested to be associated with gene silencing, serving an important role in cancer development (8,9). The aberrant promoter methylation of genes is a primary occurrence in the process of CRC carcinogenesis, whic...

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