No abstract

No abstract

Introduction: Uterine Leiomyoma is a highly morbid condition with an increasing incidence in the Asian Indian ethnicity. The pathogenesis is multifactorial and not clearly delineated, making non-surgical treatment of limited success, thus making surgical intervention prevalent. Derangement of endocrinological parameters is the most evident aspect and cause of this condition. But the root genetic cause of this hormonal imbalance has seldom been explored in Indian women suffering from uterine leiomyoma. Aim: To explore the association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) rs3020449, rs4986938 and rs743572 of ER alpha, ER beta and CYP17 genes respectively in women having uterine fibroid visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India. Materials and Methods: Hundred patients diagnosed with uterine leiomyoma were selected from Gynaecology Out Patient Department (OPD) of a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India and equal age matched healthy women were taken as controls randomly, with a condition that they have no close blood relative with uterine leiomyoma. The blood was collected for DNA extraction and RFLP based polymorphism detection. Bands were visualised in agarose gel for Estrogen Receptor alpha (ER alpha), ER beta and CYP17 genes. Statistical analysis was performed using Graph Pad Prism 6.0. Hardy Weinberg equilibrium was tested using Chi-square goodness of fit test. Nominal variables were analysed using Fisher-exact test. Data is presented as Mean±SEM and p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Early age at menarche (cases vs control 11.51±0.19 year vs 12.04±0.12, p=0.03) and less number of previous pregnancies (cases vs control 1.06±0.09 vs 1.41±0.12, p=0.01), which are known risk factors for the uterine fibroids, was reconfirmed in this study. The genotype distribution of all subjects studied in above genes followed Hardy Weinberg equilibrium and there was no significant difference in genotype frequencies between cases and controls [ER alpha rs9322331 C allele (cases vs controls; 62% vs 64%), T allele (38% vs 36%); ER beta rs4986938 G allele (64% vs 59%), A allele (36% vs 41%); CYP17 rs743572 T allele (44.95% vs 46.53%), C allele (55.05% vs 53.47%) p-value not significant in any]. However, there was an increased propensity of TC genotype of CYP17 rs743572 towards obesity (p<0.05). Conclusion: The allelic frequencies of all the three SNPs were similar in cases and controls indicating that they do not affect susceptibility to disease. However, the association of TC allele of CYP17 SNP with higher BMI needs further analysis.

Aquatic environment contamination with a high concentration of noxious heavy metals rises as an alarming condition and arises as a severe threat to all living organisms. Consequently, there is an urgent need to focus on advanced approaches for the remediation of aquatic systems. The present study aims to test the capacity of consortium biomass of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis for the sorption of cadmium ions from the polluted aqueous media. The optimum environment for the maximum sorption (84.22 %) of Cd was achieved after 80 minutes of time interval at pH 6, biomass 0.2 g and 20 mg/L of cadmium metal concentration. The adsorption data were well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm for cadmium adsorption (R2= 0.9956) than the Freundlich isotherm (R2= 0.9772), though the rate kinetics data were calculated by pseudo irst and second order models. The highest adsorption capability attained by consortium biomass for Cd ions was found about 55.86 mg/g. Thus, the present work implied that consortium biomass of Pseudomonas fluorescens andBacillus subtilis could be utilized as an efficient biosorbent for eliminating cadmium ions from aqueous solutions.

Antimicrobial-peptides are important molecules of constitutive innate immunity. Though patients with diabetes mellitus are generally prone to infections, there is limited information on their antimicrobialpeptide status. We assessed the circulating LL-37 antimicrobial peptide (also referred as cathelicidin) levels in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and its relation with their glycemic status. The LL-37 mRNAexpression was assessed in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by quantitative RTPCR using ß-actin and cytochrome-C1 as the reference genes in 154 subjects (Type 1 diabetes, n=111 and healthy subjects, n=43). Serum LL-37 was quantified using sandwich-ELISA. Average HbA1c over last 2 years and current HbA1c were used to determine long-term and short-term glycemic status. LL-37 mRNAexpression and serum LL-37 levels were correlated with the glycemic status. The LL-37 mRNA copies were comparable between type 1 diabetes and healthy subjects [median (IQR) = 6.7 (1.8–15.28) vs. 7.2 (2.23–21.86), respectively, P = 0.42]. There was no significant difference in serum LL-37 levels between the two groups [median (IQR) = 3.9 (2.88–7.52) vs. 5.0 (3.19–9.05) ng/ml, respectively, P = 0.52]. The LL-37 mRNA and its protein concentration showed no significant correlation with the average or current HbA1c values. The constitutive circulating antimicrobial peptide LL-37 status is not significantly altered in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and also not affected by their glycemic status.