Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common diagnosis malignancies with different risk factors, including environmental and genetic. Several genes, called tumor suppressor genes, play an essential role in inhibiting these risk factors by preventing tumor development. One of these genes is somatostatin (SST). Somatostatin is an antiproliferative peptide with pro-apoptotic effects that enhance cell death to prevent tumor growth. This study aimed to investigate the association relationship between DNA methylation in SST promotor and colorectal cancer progression. After DNA bisulfite conversion, SST promoter methylation was examined using quantitative methylation‐specific PCR (qMSP) in 71 cases (19 metastasis CRC, 28 early-stage CRC, and 24 healthy controls). Quantitative methylation‐specific PCR (qMSP) is a real-time PCR method used to determine the unmethylated and methylated cytosine residues using a specific set of primers. The percentage of hypermethylation in SST promoter was 17%, 60%, and 79% for healthy controls, early-stage, and metastasis CRC groups. The results showed a significant association between DNA hypermethylation of SST promoter and CRC progression. P-values were 0.0364 for the early-stage group and 0.0138 for the metastasis group. The results also supported that the DNA hypermethylation block the expression of SST, which in turn induce carcinogenesis. The detection of SST promoter hypermethylation at early stage of cancer could be used as a biomarker for screening and prognosis of CRC.

The improper packaging and storage of oranges (Citrus sinensis) may result in decay it and growth of microorganisms, including Aspergillus spp. these fungi are omnipresent and growing on post-harvest fruits. Certain species of Aspergillus produce toxins that can affect humans and animals health. This study aimed to isolate Aspergillus niger from moldy oranges, test its ability to produce aflatoxin using the Saito and Machida method, and evaluation of their toxicity of some biochemical parameters in white rat males. Moreover, the inhibition efficiency of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Bacillus circulans were assessed against A. niger isolates. The outcome of screening all nine isolates by the Saito and Machida method has shown the capability of one isolate to produce aflatoxins in large amounts. The filtrate of this isolate showed an increase in the level of GPT and GOT enzymes (24.2 U/ml and 18.3 U/ml) respectively, compared to the non-producing aflatoxins isolate and the control (16.6 and 12.2 U/ml) and (8.5 and 8.2 U/ml) respectively. Glucose level was increased to (130.2 mg/dl) in the rats treated with the filtrate of aflatoxins producer isolate compared to (95 mg/dl) and (86.4 mg/dl) treated with the filtrate of the non-producer isolate and the control respectively. Additionally, the LDL-cholesterol level was reduced to 120.2 mg/dl, and 101 mg/dl with the filtrate producer and the non-producer aflatoxins isolates respectively compared to 144.3 mg/dl for the control. AgNPs have shown an inhibitory effect against A. niger growth with the largest inhibition zone of 28.38 mm at a concentration of 100μl was recorded. On the other hand, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus circulans have also shown an excellent inhibition rate (100%) at the concentration of 2 g/L of the fungus filtrate. These results exposed that AgNPs are able to inhibit A. niger, and consequently, AgNPs can be used as an antifungal candidate.

No abstract

No abstract

Background Lung carcinoma is a foremost cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Variable genetic factors are associated with the development of lung malignancy. This study was performed to evaluate the possible association between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene polymorphisms and non small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in Iraqi population. Methods DNA samples were extracted from 100 patients and 100 controls. Four PCR fragments were designed to amplify four high-frequency variants within EGFR, namely rs1050171, rs2072454, rs2227984, and rs2227983. The PCR fragments were genotyped by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method, and each genotype was exposed to direct sequencing. Results Genotyping experiments confirmed the variability of three targeted variants, and logistic regression analysis showed that two of these variants (rs1050171 and rs2227983) exhibited a significant association with NSCLC. Individuals with rs1050171:GA genotype showed a significant association with the increased risk of NSCLC (P=0.0110; OD 5.2636; Cl95% 1.4630 to 18.9371). Individuals with rs2227983:GG genotype exhibited a highly significant association with NSCLC (P=0.0037; OD 5.2683; Cl95% 1.7141 to 16.1919). Linkage disequilibrium analysis showed that the effects of the investigated variants are independent of each other. Conclusions Our collective data indicated that EGFR-rs1050171G/A and EGFR-rs2227983G/G SNPs exerted significant and independent association with the increased risk of NSCLC. This study suggests employing both rs1050171 and rs2227983 SNPs as informative diagnostic markers for the early detection of NSCLC in the study population.