Search results for "Polymerase"
showing 10 items of 2127 documents
A polymorphism of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist plays a prominent role within the interleukin-1 gene cluster in vulvar carcinogenesis
2003
Abstract Objective . The interleukin-1 (IL-1) family, that is, IL-1α and β and the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), is known to modulate various tumorgenic and tumorcidal effects in humans. Its biological function in squamous cell carcinogenesis of various anatomical sites has been stressed. Although various studies showed a certain association between genes encoding the IL-1 family and human malignancies, no data with respect to vulvar cancer have been published to date. Methods . We ascertained four polymorphisms of the IL-1α gene ( IL1A C[−889]T), the IL-1β gene ( IL1B promoter C[-511]T and IL1B exon 5 position +3953), and the IL-1RA gene ( IL1RN intron 2) in 68 patients with surgicall…
Limited T cell receptor Vbeta-chain repertoire of liver-infiltrating T cells in autoimmune hepatitis.
1998
Abstract Background/Aims: To characterize the cellular immune reactions in autoimmune hepatitis, the T cell receptor repertoire of livre-infiltrating and circulating T cells was studied. Methods: Nucleic acids of liver-tissue and peripheral blood-derived T cells from 12 patients with untreated autoimmune hepatitis, four patients with chronic hepatitis C and three patients with toxic liver injury were extracted and analysed using a semiquantitative RT-PCR with a panel of T cell receptor Vβ family specific primers. After agarose gel electrophoresis, the distribution of T cell receptor (TCR) Vβ molecules was assessed by densitometry. Furthermore, results were compared to the TCR Vβ distributio…
Gluten affects epithelial differentiation-associated genes in small intestinal mucosa of coeliac patients
2007
Summary In coeliac disease gluten induces an immunological reaction in genetically susceptible patients, and influences on epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation in the small-bowel mucosa. Our aim was to find novel genes which operate similarly in epithelial proliferation and differentiation in an epithelial cell differentiation model and in coeliac disease patient small-bowel mucosal biopsy samples. The combination of cDNA microarray data originating from a three-dimensional T84 epithelial cell differentiation model and small-bowel mucosal biopsy samples from untreated and treated coeliac disease patients and healthy controls resulted in 30 genes whose mRNA expression was simila…
Polymorphisms in TRAIL receptor genes and risk of breast cancer in Spanish women
2007
TRAIL is a potent inducer of apoptosis in malignant but not in normal cells. TRAIL binds to the proapoptotic death receptor DR4 and DR5 as well as to the decoy receptors DcR1 and DcR2. To evaluate the involvement of TRAIL receptor genes in breast cancer, we carried out a case-control study of eight selected polymorphisms in a large sample of Spanish women. Three of the eight selected SNPs (626G/C and 1322G/A in DR4 and 2699A/G in DcR2) showed some evidence of different genotype distributions in a random selection of 535 cases and 480 controls and were therefore studied in our entire sample (1008 cases and 768 controls). For the two DR4 polymorphisms, no differences in genotype or haplotype …
Estradiol counteracts oxidized LDL-induced asymmetric dimethylarginine production by cultured human endothelial cells.
2006
Objective: Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, is a novel cardiovascular risk factor produced by endothelial cells. ADMA levels are mainly regulated by the activity of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolases (DDAH). Endothelial release of ADMA is increased in the presence of oxidized LDL cholesterol (oxLDL), whereas estrogens stimulate NO production by endothelial cells by increasing both expression and activity of NO synthase and by reducing ADMA levels. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the estradiol effects on the DDAH/ADMA/NO pathway in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) exposed to LDL. Methods…
Tyrosine hydroxylase Val-81-Met polymorphism associated with early-onset alcoholism
2005
The present study examined the association of the Tyrosine hydroxylase Val-81-Met polymorphism with alcohol dependence. One hundred and fifty-nine patients in a psychiatric unit with alcohol dependence were genotyped as well as 92 healthy volunteers. The Val allele was more frequent in patients with alcohol dependence (69.5%) than in controls (62.5%). This effect was largely due to the association with early-onset alcoholism (77.8%), whereas no difference was noted between late-onset patients and controls. Our results suggest a role for tyrosine hydroxylase in early-onset alcoholism.
Inducible nitric oxide synthase in skeletal muscle of patients with chronic heart failure
1998
Abstract Objectives. The expression and localization of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS II) was evaluated as a source of NO which has been shown to affect muscle contraction. Background. Advanced stages of chronic heart failure are associated with systemic activation of cytokines which have been shown to stimulate the expression of NOS II in various cell types, including myocytes. We hypothesized that systemic cytokine activation could lead to expression of NOS II in skeletal muscle of patients with chronic heart failure. Methods. Skeletal muscle specimens were obtained by percutaneous needle biopsy in six normal volunteers and eight patients with heart failure (New York Heart Ass…
Evaluation of saliva as a complementary technique to the diagnosis of COVID-19:a systematic review
2021
Background Infectious disease coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and it mainly affects the upper respiratory tract. The gold standard for its diagnosis is real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) performed on a nasopharyngeal swab. In contrast, testing saliva has significant advantages as a diagnostic method. Material and Methods We searched for articles evaluating saliva as a diagnostic method for COVID-19 on the PUBMED/MEDLINE, WEB OF SCIENCE, COCHRANE, and SCIELO platforms. We initially found 233 articles and 20 were selected for inclusion following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol: 18 c…
Prevalence of cervical human papillomavirus infection and types among women immigrated to Sicily, Italy.
2009
We determined the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) cervical infection and HPV genotypes among 115 women immigrating to Sicily (Italy), with regard to abnormal cytology and socio-behavioral characteristics in a cross-sectional, observational study. Information was collected with the help of cultural mediators/translators. HPV-DNA was assayed by the INNOLiPA HPV assay and a nested PCR/sequencing method. Sixty (52.2%) women came from sub-Saharan Africa and 55 (47.8%) from Eastern Europe. HPV infection was found in 55 (47.8%) women. The most frequent types were the oncogenic types HPV-16 (7.8%), HPV-18 and 51 (6.0% each), HPV-52 (5.2%), 31, 53, and 68 (4.3% each). Twenty-seven (23.5%) w…
Circulating miR-200–family micro-RNAs have altered plasma levels in patients with endometriosis and vary with blood collection time
2015
Objective To determine whether circulating micro-RNA (miR) 200a, miR-200b, and miR-141 have altered levels in patients with endometriosis compared with control individuals. Design Experimental laboratory study. Setting University. Patient(s) Patients with endometriosis (n = 61), laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis-free women (n = 35), and self-reported healthy women (n = 30) were included in the study. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Plasma miRNA levels in endometriosis patients and control subjects. Result(s) We found that the levels of studied miRNAs varied with blood collection time, being lower in the morning than in the evening. When blood collection time was taken i…