1 1448 177 DIPEPTIDYL PEPTIDASE-4 INHIBITION AND NARROW-BAND ULTRAVIOLET-B LIGHT IN PSORIASIS (DINUP): STUDY PROTOCOL FOR A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: MODERATE TO SEVERE PSORIASIS IS A SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH INSULIN RESISTANCE, OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES (T2DM). SITAGLIPTIN IS A DIPEPTIDYL PEPTIDASE-4 (DPP-4) INHIBITOR THAT IMPROVES GLYCAEMIA AND HAS A MARKETING AUTHORISATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF T2DM. NON-IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE THERAPIES THAT ARE EFFECTIVE FOR PSORIASIS AND ITS ASSOCIATED COMORBIDITIES WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT ADVANCE IN THE TREATMENT OF THIS CHRONIC DISEASE. METHODS/DESIGN: THIS IS A SINGLE CENTRE, 39-WEEK, PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMISED, OPEN LABEL, CLINICAL TRIAL OF ORAL SITAGLIPTIN (JANUVIA((R))) IN PSORIASIS PATIENTS WHO ARE DUE TO UNDERGO A COURSE OF NARROW-BAND ULTRAVIOLET-B (NB-UVB) PHOTOTHERAPY. WE PLAN TO ENROL 120 PARTICIPANTS AND ALLOCATE PARTICIPANTS ON A RANDOM AND 1:1 BASIS TO RECEIVE SITAGLIPTIN 100 MG DAILY FOR 24 WEEKS COMBINED WITH NB-UVB OR NB-UVB MONOTHERAPY. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE FOLLOWED UP FOR 12 WEEKS AFTER SITAGLIPTIN THERAPY IS DISCONTINUED. THE PRIMARY ENDPOINT IS THE CHANGE IN PSORIASIS AREA AND SEVERITY INDEX (PASI) 24 WEEKS AFTER TREATMENT INITIATION. SECONDARY ENDPOINTS INCLUDE CUMULATIVE NB-UVB DOSE, NUMBER OF NB-UVB TREATMENTS REQUIRED TO CLEAR PSORIASIS, PROPORTIONS OF PARTICIPANTS WHO ACHIEVE PASI-50 (50 % REDUCTION IN PASI FROM BASELINE), PASI-75, PASI-90 AND THE PROPORTION OF PARTICIPANTS WHO RELAPSE IN EACH GROUP. WE WILL ALSO ANALYSE CHANGES IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORS, SERUM CYTOKINE AND HORMONE LEVELS AND PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR EXPRESSION OF IMMUNE PROTEINS AT 24 AND 36 WEEKS. A SUBGROUP OF PARTICIPANTS WILL HAVE SKIN BIOPSIES TAKEN AND ANALYSED FOR SKIN LEVELS AND EXPRESSION OF IMMUNE CELLS, RECEPTORS, HORMONES AND IMMUNE PROTEINS. THE GENETIC OR EPIGENETIC PROFILE THAT PREDICTS BEST RESPONSE TO DPP-4 INHIBITOR THERAPY WILL BE ANALYSED. THE SAFETY ENDPOINTS INCLUDE THE RATE AND SEVERITY OF ADVERSE EVENTS. DISCUSSION: THIS IS THE FIRST RANDOMISED CLINICAL TRIAL ASSESSING DIPEPTIDYL PEPTIDASE-4 INHIBITION THERAPY IN PSORIASIS. WE HYPOTHESISE THAT SITAGLIPTIN THERAPY IN COMBINATION WITH NB-UVB IMPROVES PSORIASIS SEVERITY COMPARED TO NB-UVB MONOTHERAPY. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER NCT02347501 (DATE OF REGISTRATION: 27 JANUARY 2015). 2016 2 5356 29 REAC-INDUCED ENDOGENOUS BIOELECTRIC CURRENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF VENOUS ULCERS: A THREE-ARM RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PROSPECTIVE STUDY. INTRODUCTION: ENDOGENOUS BIOELECTRIC FIELDS (EBFS) PLAY A FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN PROMOTING REPAIR AND REGENERATION PROCESSES, INCLUDING IN LEG VENOUS ULCERS (LVUS). UNFORTUNATELY, THE MECHANISM UNDERLYING THE PRODUCTION OF EBFS IS EASILY ALTERED BY INFECTIOUS, TRAUMATIC, AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. THIS ALTERATION IS ONE OF THE DETERMINING FACTORS FOR THE CHRONICITY OF LVUS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES HOW RADIOELECTRIC ASYMMETRIC CONVEYER (REAC) TECHNOLOGY TREATMENTS, SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO OPTIMIZE EBFS, AND IN PARTICULAR TISSUE OPTIMIZATION-REPARATIVE (TO-RPR) TREATMENT, CAN IMPROVE THE RESULTS OF STANDARD DRESSING WITH AND WITHOUT ELASTIC COMPRESSION IN LVU PATIENTS. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 30 PATIENTS WERE ENROLLED (12 MALES AND 18 FEMALES) AND RANDOMIZED INTO THREE GROUPS. ALL PATIENTS COMPLETED THE STUDY. GROUP A WAS TREATED WITH STANDARD DRESSING, ELASTIC COMPRESSION, AND REAC TO-RPR TREATMENT; GROUP B WAS TREATED WITH STANDARD DRESSING AND REAC TO-RPR TREATMENT; AND GROUP C WAS TREATED WITH STANDARD DRESSING AND ELASTIC COMPRESSION. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SHOW THAT THE COMBINATION OF REAC TREATMENT AND STANDARD DRESSING ASSOCIATED WITH ELASTIC COMPRESSION HAS THE GREATEST THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY IN PROMOTING THE HEALING PROCESS FOR ULCERS, REDUCING PERCEIVED PAIN, AND IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE PATIENTS TREATED. CONCLUSIONS: FURTHER STUDIES WILL BE USEFUL TO INVESTIGATE THESE PROSPECTIVE RESULTS. 2020 3 6835 21 [INFLUENCE OF AGE OF PATIENTS WITH BRONCHOPULMONARY PATHOLOGY ON LOW-MOLECULAR DNA CONCENTRATION IN BLOOD PLASMA.]. THE AIM OF THE WORK WAS TO DETERMINE THE CONCENTRATION OF LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT PLASMA DNA (LMDNA) IN PATIENTS WITH COPD AND CHRONIC NON-OBSTRUCTIVE BRONCHITIS (CNONB) OF TWO AGE GROUPS - 34-59 AND 60-80 YEARS. THE LEVELS OF LMDNA IN HEALTHY DONORS, PATIENTS WITH CNONB, HEALTHY RELATIVES OF PATIENTS WITH COPD DID NOT DIFFER, WHILE THE CONCENTRATION OF LMDNA IN PATIENTS WITH COPD WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER. IN COPD PATIENTS AGED 34-59 YEARS, THE LEVEL OF LMDNA WAS REDUCED BY MORE THAN 7 TIMES, AND IN COPD PATIENTS WHO SURVIVED TO 60-80 YEARS, IT WAS 3 TIMES LOWER COMPARED TO THE VALUE OF THIS BIOCHEMICAL INDICATOR IN HEALTHY DONORS OF THE SAME AGE. THE REDUCTION OF LMDNA REFLECTED A REDUCED SYSTEMIC APOPTOTIC ACTIVITY IN THE BODY OF PATIENTS WITH COPD. A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE CONCENTRATION OF LMDNA IN PATIENTS WITH COPD AND CNONB IN REMISSION CAN BE USED FOR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE PATHOLOGICAL PROCESSES. AN INCREASE IN THE LOW LEVEL OF LMDNA IN COPD PATIENTS DURING AGING MAY INDICATE THE INVOLVEMENT OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN LIFE EXTENSION. 2022 4 2761 27 EXPRESSION OF TESTIS-SPECIFIC GENES, TEX101 AND ODF4, IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA AND EVALUATION OF TEX101 IMMUNOGENICITY. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: CANCER-TESTIS (CT) ANTIGENS ARE A GROUP OF ANTIGENS WITH A RESTRICTED EXPRESSION IN NORMAL TISSUES, EXCEPT TESTIS, AND THEY HAVE ABERRANT EXPRESSION IN DIFFERENT TUMORS. THIS PATTERN OF EXPRESSION HAS MADE THEM PROMISING TARGETS FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY AND CANCER DETECTION. OUR AIM WAS TO FIND NEW MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL AS MARKERS IN THE DETECTION OF CANCER AND IMMUNOTHERAPY. DESIGN AND SETTING: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY CONDUCTED IN REFERRAL CENTERS OF TEHRAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCE FROM JANUARY 2008 TO JANUARY 2009. PATIENTS AND METHODS: WE ANALYZED THE EXPRESSION OF TWO TESTIS-SPECIFIC GENES NAMED ODF4 (OUTER DENSE FIBER OF SPERM TAILS 4) AND TEX101 (TESTIS EXPRESSED 101) IN 20 CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML) AND 20 NORMAL SAMPLES BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND SEQUENCING. IMMUNOGENICITY OF TEX101 WAS EVALUATED BY MEANS OF ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. RESULTS: THESE TWO GENES WERE EXPRESSED IN 30% OF CML PATIENTS BUT NOT IN ANY OF THE HEALTHY DONORS. HUMORAL RESPONSE AGAINST TEX101 WAS NOT DETECTED IN ANY SAMPLES. CONCLUSIONS: TEX101 AND ODF4 ARE CT GENES USEFUL FOR DETECTION OF CML. UNLIKE MANY CT GENES, OVEREXPRESSION OF TEX101 WAS NOT SHOWN TO INDUCE IMMUNOLOGIC RESPONSES IN THESE SAMPLES. ACCORDING TO THE PREVIOUS STUDIES, OVEREXPRESSION OF TEX101 LEADS TO SUPPRESSION OF CANCER INVASION AND METASTASIS; THUS, THE INDUCTION OF THE EXPRESSION OF TEX101 IN CANCER BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY BE A TREATMENT STRATEGY. 2012 5 6636 51 UNRAVELING A NEW PLAYER IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATHOGENESIS: THE RNA-BINDING PROTEIN HUR. BACKGROUND: ELAV-LIKE PROTEINS ARE A SMALL FAMILY OF RNA-BINDING PROTEINS THAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL PLAYERS IN POST-TRANSCRIPTIONAL MECHANISMS AND ARE INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF NEUROLOGIC AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. HUR, THE UBIQUITOUSLY EXPRESSED MEMBER OF THE FAMILY, IS ALSO IMPLICATED IN SUSTAINING INFLAMMATION AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, SUPPORTING THE PRODUCTION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. INFLAMMATION PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS), WHICH REPRESENTS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF PERMANENT PHYSICAL DISABILITY IN YOUNG ADULTS. MS IS A CHRONIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE AFFECTING THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, WITH A COMPLEX AETIOLOGY INVOLVING GENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. NO DATA ARE AVAILABLE ON THE POTENTIAL ENTANGLEMENT OF HUR IN MS PATHOGENESIS IN PATIENTS. IN THE PRESENT WORK, WE AIMED AT EXPLORING HUR PROTEIN LEVELS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) FROM MS PATIENTS, COMPARED TO HEALTHY CONTROLS. TO FURTHER ELUCIDATE THE POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT OF HUR IN MS, WE ALSO INVESTIGATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS SPECIFIC RNA-BINDING PROTEIN AND HSP70-2 PROTEIN, ALSO CONSIDERING THE HSP70-2 RS1061581 POLYMORPHISM, GIVEN THAT HSP70-2 MRNA HAS BEEN REPORTED AS A HUR TARGET AND THIS SPECIFIC POLYMORPHISM TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH MS RISK. METHODS: ALLELES AND GENOTYPES FOR HSP70-2 RS1061581 POLYMORPHISM WERE ASSESSED, BY USING A POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION-RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM, FOLLOWED BY DIGESTION WITH RESTRICTION ENZYME, IN MS PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS. PBMCS FROM A SUBGROUP OF PATIENTS AND CONTROLS WERE USED TO EVALUATE HUR AND HSP70-2 PROTEIN CONTENT BY WESTERN BLOT. RESULTS: PBMCS FROM 52 MS PATIENTS HAD A LOWER HUR AND HIGHER HSP70-2 PROTEIN CONTENT COMPARED TO 43 HEALTHY CONTROLS. AN INCREASE OF 100 UNITS OF HUR SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED THE RISK OF DEVELOPING MS BY 9.8% (OR: 0.902, 95% CI: 0.83-0.98), CONTROLLING FOR HSP70-2 PROTEIN EXPRESSION, HSP70-2 RS1061581 GENOTYPE, AGE AND SEX. MOREOVER, HOLDING HUR LEVELS, AN INCREASE OF 100 UNITS OF HSP70-2 PROTEIN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE MS RISK BY 18.1% (OR: 1.181, 95% CI: 1.03-1.36) AND THE GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF DEVELOPING MS FOR HSP70-2 RS1061581 GG CARRIERS IS CONFIRMED. OF INTEREST, MS PATIENTS WITH A MODERATE TO SEVERE FORM OF MS (MSSS >/= 3) SHOWED A TREND TOWARDS A REDUCTION OF HUR PROTEIN LEVELS COMPARED TO PATIENTS WITH MILD DISEASE SEVERITY (MSSS < 3). CONCLUSIONS: HUR PROTEIN LEVELS ARE REDUCED IN MS PATIENTS COMPARED TO HEALTHY SUBJECTS, AND THE PROTEIN AMOUNT MAY CONTINUE TO DECLINE WITH DISEASE PROGRESSION, SUGGESTING A PUTATIVE ROLE OF THIS RNA-BINDING PROTEIN. MOREOVER, OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT MS PATHOLOGY MAY HAVE DISRUPTED THE LINK BETWEEN HUR AND ITS TARGET TRANSCRIPT HSP70-2. IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO FURTHER EXPLORE THE EXACT ROLE OF HUR IN MS, CONSIDERING THE COMPLEX INTERPLAY WITH OTHER RNA-BINDING FACTORS AND TARGET MRNAS. 2020 6 5353 30 RE-EVALUATION OF POLIHEXANIDE USE IN WOUND ANTISEPSIS IN ORDER TO CLARIFY AMBIGUITIES OF TWO ANIMAL STUDIES. OBJECTIVE: DUE TO CLASSIFICATION OF THE AGENT POLIHEXANIDE (PHMB) IN CATEGORY 2 'MAY CAUSE CANCER' BY THE COMMITTEE FOR RISK ASSESSMENT OF THE EUROPEAN CHEMICALS AGENCY IN 2011, THE USERS OF WOUND ANTISEPTICS MAY BE HIGHLY CONFUSED. IN 2017, THIS STATEMENT WAS UPDATED, DEFINING PHMB UP TO 0.1% AS A PRESERVATIVE SAFE IN ALL COSMETIC PRODUCTS. IN THE INTEREST OF PATIENT SAFETY, A SCIENTIFIC CLARIFICATION OF THE POTENTIAL CARCINOGENICITY OF PHMB IS NECESSARY. METHODS: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM (MDT) OF MICROBIOLOGISTS, SURGEONS, DERMATOLOGISTS AND BIOCHEMISTS CONDUCTED A BENEFIT-RISK ASSESSMENT TO CLARIFY THE HAZARD OF ANTISEPTIC USE OF PHMB. RESULTS: IN TWO ANIMAL STUDIES, FROM WHICH THE ASSESSMENT OF A CARCINOGENIC RISK WAS DERIVED, PHMB WAS ADMINISTERED ORALLY OVER TWO YEARS IN EXTREMELY HIGH CONCENTRATIONS FAR ABOVE THE NO(A)EL (NO-OBSERVED-(ADVERSE-) EFFECT LEVEL) IN RATS AND MICE. FEEDING IN THE NO(A)EL RANGE RESULTED IN NO ABNORMAL EFFECTS. IN ONE MALE IN THE HIGHEST DOSE GROUP OF 4000PPM PHMB, AN ADENOCARCINOMA WAS FOUND, WHICH THE AUTHOR ATTRIBUTED TO CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OF THE COLON WITH SYSTEMIC ATYPICAL EXPOSURE. THE INCREASING INCIDENCE OF HEMANGIOSARCOMAS HIGHLY PROBABLY RESULTED FROM INCREASED ENDOTHELIAL PROLIFERATION, TRIGGERED BY THE EXCEEDINGLY HIGH DOSAGE FED, BECAUSE PHMB IS NOT GENOTOXIC AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE FOR EPIGENETIC EFFECTS. DISCUSSION: IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT PHMB IS NOT ABSORBED WHEN APPLIED TOPICALLY. CONSIDERING THE ABSENCE OF GENOTOXICITY AND EPIGENETIC EFFECTS TOGETHER WITH THE INTERPRETATION OF THE ANIMAL STUDIES, IT IS THE CONSENSUS OF THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY EXPERTS THAT A CARCINOGENIC RISK FROM PHMB-USE FOR WOUND ANTISEPSIS CAN BE RULED OUT. CONCLUSION: ON THIS BASIS AND CONSIDERING THEIR EFFECTIVENESS, TOLERABILITY AND CLINICAL EVIDENCE, THE INDICATIONS FOR PHMB BASED WOUND ANTISEPTICS ARE JUSTIFIED. 2019 7 3074 26 GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLOME AND TRANSCRIPTOME CHANGES INDUCED BY INORGANIC NANOPARTICLES IN HUMAN KIDNEY CELLS AFTER CHRONIC EXPOSURE. THE UNIQUE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES MAKE INORGANIC NANOPARTICLES (INPS) AN EXCITING TOOL IN DIAGNOSIS AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT. HOWEVER, AS INPS ARE RELATIVELY DIFFICULT TO FULLY DEGRADE AND EXCRETE, THEIR UNINTENDED ACCUMULATION IN THE TISSUE MIGHT RESULT IN ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS. HEREIN, WE PROVIDE A METHYLOME-TRANSCRIPTOME FRAMEWORK FOR CHRONIC EFFECTS OF INPS, COMMONLY USED IN BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS, IN HUMAN KIDNEY TH-1 CELLS. RENAL CLEARANCE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ROUTES OF NANOPARTICLE EXCRETION; THEREFORE, A DETAILED EVALUATION OF NANOPARTICLE-MEDIATED NEPHROTOXICITY IS AN IMPORTANT TASK. INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF METHYLOME AND TRANSCRIPTOME CHANGES INDUCED BY INPS (PEG-AUNPS, FE(3)O(4)NPS, SIO(2)NPS, AND TIO(2)NPS) REVEALED SIGNIFICANTLY DEREGULATED GENES WITH FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION IN IMMUNE RESPONSE, DNA DAMAGE, AND CANCER-RELATED PATHWAYS. ALTHOUGH MOST DEREGULATED GENES WERE UNIQUE TO INDIVIDUAL INPS, A RELATIVELY HIGH PROPORTION OF THEM ENCODED THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. INTERESTINGLY, FOS HYPERMETHYLATION INVERSELY CORRELATING WITH GENE EXPRESSION WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ALL INPS EXPOSURES. OUR STUDY EMPHASIZES THE NEED FOR A MORE COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF INPS' BIOLOGICAL SAFETY, ESPECIALLY AFTER CHRONIC EXPOSURE. 2022 8 4740 34 NOVEL GENETIC VARIANTS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE PROGRESSION. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: EGFR SLOPE HAS BEEN USED AS A SURROGATE OUTCOME FOR PROGRESSION OF CKD. HOWEVER, GENETIC MARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH EGFR SLOPE AMONG PATIENTS WITH CKD WERE UNKNOWN. WE AIMED TO IDENTIFY GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY LOCI ASSOCIATED WITH EGFR SLOPE. A TWO-PHASE GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY IDENTIFIED SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS) IN TPPP AND FAT1-LINC02374 , AND 22 OF THEM WERE USED TO DERIVE POLYGENIC RISK SCORES THAT MARK THE DECLINE OF EGFR BY DISRUPTING BINDING OF NEARBY TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. THIS WORK IS THE FIRST TO IDENTIFY THE IMPACT OF TPPP AND FAT1-LINC02374 ON CKD PROGRESSION, PROVIDING PREDICTIVE MARKERS FOR THE DECLINE OF EGFR IN PATIENTS WITH CKD. BACKGROUND: THE INCIDENCE OF CKD IS ASSOCIATED WITH GENETIC FACTORS. HOWEVER, GENETIC MARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRESSION OF CKD HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY ELUCIDATED. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY AMONG 1738 PATIENTS WITH CKD, MAINLY FROM THE KOREAN COHORT STUDY FOR OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH CKD. THE OUTCOME WAS EGFR SLOPE. WE PERFORMED A REPLICATION STUDY FOR DISCOVERED SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS) WITH P <10 -6 IN 2498 PATIENTS WITH CKD FROM THE CHRONIC RENAL INSUFFICIENCY COHORT STUDY. SEVERAL EXPRESSION QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI (EQTL) STUDIES, PATHWAY ENRICHMENT ANALYSES, EXPLORATION OF EPIGENETIC ARCHITECTURE, AND PREDICTING DISRUPTION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (TF) BINDING SITES EXPLORED POTENTIAL BIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE LOCI. WE DEVELOPED AND EVALUATED THE EFFECT OF POLYGENIC RISK SCORES (PRS) ON INCIDENT CKD OUTCOMES. RESULTS: SNPS IN TWO NOVEL LOCI, TPPP AND FAT1-LINC02374 , WERE REPLICATED (RS59402340 IN TPPP , PDISCOVERY =7.11X10 -7 , PCRIC =8.13X10 -4 , PMETA =7.23X10 -8 ; RS28629773 IN FAT1-LINC02374 , PDISCOVERY =6.08X10 -7 , PCRIC =4.33X10 -2 , PMETA =1.87X10 -7 ). THE EQTL STUDIES REVEALED THAT THE REPLICATED SNPS REGULATED THE EXPRESSION LEVEL OF NEARBY GENES ASSOCIATED WITH KIDNEY FUNCTION. FURTHERMORE, THESE SNPS WERE NEAR GENE ENHANCER REGIONS AND PREDICTED TO DISRUPT THE BINDING OF TFS. PRS BASED ON THE INDEPENDENTLY SIGNIFICANT TOP 22 SNPS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH CKD OUTCOMES. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT SNP MARKERS IN THE TPPP AND FAT1-LINC02374 LOCI COULD BE PREDICTIVE MARKERS FOR THE DECLINE OF EGFR IN PATIENTS WITH CKD. 2023 9 6351 35 THE ROLE OF EPIGENOMICS IN MAPPING POTENTIAL PRECURSORS FOR FOOT AND ANKLE TENDINOPATHY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. TENDINOPATHY OF THE FOOT AND ANKLE IS A COMMON CLINICAL PROBLEM FOR WHICH THE EXACT ETIOLOGY IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THE FIELD OF EPIGENETICS HAS BEEN A RECENT FOCUS OF THIS INVESTIGATION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO REVIEW THE GENOMIC ADVANCES IN FOOT AND ANKLE TENDINOPATHY THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED TO STRATIFY DISEASE RISK AND CREATE PREVENTATIVE OR THERAPEUTIC AGENTS. A MULTI-DATABASE SEARCH OF PUBMED, COCHRANE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, AND CLINICALTRIALS.GOV FROM JANUARY 1, 2000 TO JULY 1, 2022 WAS PERFORMED. A TOTAL OF 18 ARTICLES MET INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA FOR THIS REVIEW. THE MAJORITY OF SUCH RESEARCH UTILIZED CASE-CONTROL CANDIDATE GENE ASSOCIATION TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENT GENETIC RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC TENDINOPATHY. POLYMORPHISMS IN COLLAGEN GENES COL5A1, COL27A1, AND COL1A1 WERE NOTED AT A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER FREQUENCY IN ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY VERSUS CONTROL GROUPS. OTHER ALLELIC VARIATIONS THAT WERE OBSERVED AT AN INCREASED INCIDENCE IN ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY WERE TNC AND CASP8. THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) DEMONSTRATED MACROSCOPIC CHANGES IN ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY, INCLUDING AN INCREASE IN AGGRECAN AND BIGLYCAN MRNA EXPRESSION, AND INCREASED EXPRESSION OF MULTIPLE MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES. CYTOKINE EXPRESSION WAS ALSO INFLUENCED IN PATHOLOGY AND ABERRANTLY DEMONSTRATED DYNAMIC RESPONSE TO MECHANICAL LOAD. THE PATHOLOGIC ACCUMULATION OF ECM PROTEINS AND CYTOKINE EXPRESSION ALTERS THE ADAPTIVE RESPONSE NORMAL TENDON HAS TO PHYSIOLOGIC STRESS, FURTHER PROPAGATING THE RISK FOR TENDINOPATHY. BY IDENTIFYING AND UNDERSTANDING THE EPIGENETIC MEDIATORS THAT LEAD TO TENDINOPATHY, THERAPEUTIC AGENTS CAN BE DEVELOPED TO TARGET THE EXACT UNDERLYING ETIOLOGY AND MINIMIZE SIDE EFFECTS.LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: LEVEL IV: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LEVEL II-IV STUDIES. 2023 10 1335 37 DERMAL FIBROBLASTS CULTURED FROM DONORS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS RETAIN AN EPIGENETIC MEMORY ASSOCIATED WITH POOR WOUND HEALING RESPONSES. THE PREVALENCE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM) IS ESCALATING GLOBALLY. PATIENTS SUFFER FROM MULTIPLE COMPLICATIONS INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC WOUNDS THAT CAN LEAD TO AMPUTATION. THESE WOUNDS ARE CHARACTERISED BY AN INFLAMMATORY ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING ELEVATED TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA). DERMAL FIBROBLASTS (DF) ARE CRITICAL FOR EFFECTIVE WOUND HEALING, SO WE SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH WHETHER THERE WERE ANY DIFFERENCES IN DF CULTURED FROM T2DM DONORS OR THOSE WITHOUT DIABETES (ND-DF). ND- AND T2DM-DF WHEN CULTURED SIMILARLY IN VITRO SECRETED COMPARABLE CONCENTRATIONS OF TNF-ALPHA. FUNCTIONALLY, PRE-TREATMENT WITH TNF-ALPHA REDUCED THE PROLIFERATION OF ND-DF AND TRANSIENTLY ALTERED ND-DF MORPHOLOGY; HOWEVER, T2DM-DF WERE RESISTANT TO THESE TNF-ALPHA INDUCED CHANGES. IN CONTRAST, TNF-ALPHA INHIBITED ND- AND T2DM-DF MIGRATION AND MATRIX METALLOPROTEASE EXPRESSION TO THE SAME DEGREE, ALTHOUGH T2DM-DF EXPRESSED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER LEVELS OF TISSUE INHIBITOR OF METALLOPROTEASES (TIMP)-2. FINALLY, TNF-ALPHA SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE SECRETION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (INCLUDING CCL2, CXCL1 AND SERPINE1) IN ND-DF, WHILST THIS EFFECT IN T2DM-DF WAS BLUNTED, PRESUMABLY DUE TO THE TENDENCY TO HIGHER BASELINE PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE EXPRESSION OBSERVED IN THIS CELL TYPE. COLLECTIVELY, THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT T2DM-DF EXHIBIT A SELECTIVE LOSS OF RESPONSIVENESS TO TNF-ALPHA, PARTICULARLY REGARDING PROLIFERATIVE AND SECRETORY FUNCTIONS. THIS HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANT PHENOTYPIC CHANGES IN T2DM-DF THAT MAY EXPLAIN THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHRONIC WOUNDS IN THESE PATIENTS. 2021 11 5511 22 RIBONUCLEASES IN TUMOR GROWTH. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES DATA ON AMBIGUOUS BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF RIBONUCLEASES (RNASES) AT TUMOR GROWTH. IN SOME CASES THE RAISED LEVEL OF ENZYME ACTIVITY IN BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS CAN BE REGARDED AS AN ADDITIONAL MARKER OF MALIGNANT GROWTH (PANCREAS CANCER, CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA, ETC.). AT THE SAME TIME THE ACTIVITY OF RNASES IS OFTEN LOWERED IN TUMOR TISSUE. HIGH SUBSTRATE SPECIFICITY OF PARTICULAR RNASES PROVIDES METABOLIC BALANCE BETWEEN VARIOUS KINDS OF RNAS WITH VARIOUS HALF-TIME EXCHANGE TURN. RNASES ARE THE IMPORTANT FACTORS OF EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE ACTIVITY IN CELLS. THE ACTIVITY OF RNASES IS ADJUSTABLE BY INHIBITORS AND OTHER FACTORS, AND DEFINES TIME OF EXISTENCE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF RNAS. RNASES (THE MODIFIED VARIANTS OF RNASE A, RNASES OF SEMEN FLUID OF THE CATTLE, RNASE OF AMPHIBIA OOCYTES) CAN BE USED AS ANTI-TUMOR THERAPEUTIC AGENTS. ON THE OTHER HAND, SOME INHIBITORS OF RNASES OF NATURAL OR SYNTHETIC ORIGIN WERE DEMONSTRATED TO BE PERSPECTIVE DRUGS THAT INHIBIT TUMOR GROWTH. 2009 12 1109 22 COMMERCIAL PROCESSED SOY-BASED FOOD PRODUCT CONTAINS GLYCATED AND GLYCOXIDATED LUNASIN PROTEOFORMS. NUTRACEUTICALS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO EXERT POSITIVE EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH AND CONFER PROTECTION AGAINST MANY CHRONIC DISEASES. A MAJOR BIOACTIVE COMPONENT OF SOY-BASED FOODS IS LUNASIN PEPTIDE, WHICH HAS POTENTIAL TO EXERT A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE HEALTH OF HUMAN CONSUMERS WORLDWIDE, BUT THE BIOCHEMICAL FEATURES OF DIETARY LUNASIN STILL REMAIN POORLY CHARACTERIZED. IN THIS STUDY, LUNASIN WAS PURIFIED FROM A SOY-BASED FOOD PRODUCT VIA STRONG ANION EXCHANGE SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION AND THEN SUBJECTED TO TOP-DOWN MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS THAT REVEALED IN DETAIL THE MOLECULAR DIVERSITY OF LUNASIN IN PROCESSED SOYBEAN FOODS. WE DETECTED MULTIPLE GLYCATED PROTEOFORMS TOGETHER WITH POTENTIALLY TOXIC ADVANCED GLYCATION END PRODUCTS (AGES) DERIVED FROM LUNASIN. IN BOTH CASES, MODIFICATION SITES WERE LYS24 AND LYS29 LOCATED AT THE HELICAL REGION THAT SHOWS STRUCTURAL HOMOLOGY WITH A CONSERVED REGION OF CHROMATIN-BINDING PROTEINS. THE IDENTIFIED POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS MAY HAVE AN IMPORTANT REPERCUSSION ON LUNASIN EPIGENETIC REGULATORY CAPACITY. TAKING TOGETHER, OUR RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF COMMERCIAL PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS TO ASSESS THEIR IMPACT ON CONSUMER'S HEALTH AND RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASES. 2016 13 1622 32 DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES IN MALAR MELASMA AND THEIR MODIFICATION BY SUNSCREEN IN COMBINATION WITH 4% NIACINAMIDE, 0.05% RETINOIC ACID, OR PLACEBO. BACKGROUND: MALAR MELASMA HAS A CHRONIC AND RECURRENT CHARACTER THAT MAY BE RELATED TO EPIGENETIC CHANGES. OBJECTIVE: TO RECOGNIZE THE EXPRESSION AND DNA METHYLATION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMTS) IN MALAR MELASMA AND PERILESIONAL SKIN, AS WELL AS THE CHANGES IN DNMTS AFTER THEIR TREATMENT WITH SUNSCREEN IN COMBINATION WITH 4% NIACINAMIDE, 0.05% RETINOIC ACID, OR PLACEBO. METHODS: THIRTY FEMALE PATIENTS WERE CLINICALLY EVALUATED FOR THE EXPRESSION OF DNMT1 AND DNMT3B USING REAL-TIME PCR AND IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE. THESE INITIAL RESULTS WERE COMPARED TO RESULTS AFTER EIGHT WEEKS OF TREATMENT WITH SUNSCREEN IN COMBINATION WITH NIACINAMIDE, RETINOIC ACID, OR PLACEBO. RESULTS: THE RELATIVE EXPRESSION OF DNMT1 WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED IN MELASMA COMPARED WITH UNAFFECTED SKIN IN ALL SUBJECTS, INDICATING DNA HYPERMETHYLATION. AFTER TREATMENT, IT WAS DECREASED IN ALL GROUPS: NIACINAMIDE (7 VERSUS 1; P<0.01), RETINOIC ACID (7 VERSUS 2; P<0.05), AND PLACEBO (7 VERSUS 3; P<0.05), WHICH CORRELATES WITH CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT. DNMT3B WAS NOT OVEREXPRESSED IN LESIONAL SKIN BUT REDUCED IN ALL GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: WE FOUND DNA HYPERMETHYLATION IN MELASMA LESIONS. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SUCH AS SOLAR RADIATION MAY INDUCE CELLULAR CHANGES THAT TRIGGER HYPERPIGMENTATION THROUGH THE ACTIVATION OF PATHWAYS REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. HOWEVER, LIMITING OR DECREASING DNA METHYLATION THROUGH SUNSCREEN, NIACINAMIDE, AND RETINOIC ACID TREATMENTS THAT PROVIDE PHOTOPROTECTION AND GENETIC TRANSCRIPTION CAN COUNTERACT THIS. 2019 14 3198 26 HDAC-LINKED "PROLIFERATIVE" MIRNA EXPRESSION PATTERN IN PANCREATIC NEUROENDOCRINE TUMORS. EPIGENETIC FACTORS ARE ESSENTIALLY INVOLVED IN CARCINOGENESIS, TUMOR PROMOTION, AND CHEMORESISTANCE. TWO EPIGENETIC KEY PLAYERS ARE MIRNAS AND HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS). AS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN BY OWN THEORETICAL DATABANK ANALYSIS, THE CROSSTALK BETWEEN MIRNAS AND HDACS IS RELEVANT IN DIFFERENT HUMAN CHRONIC DISEASES AND CANCEROGENIC PATHWAYS. WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE A POTENTIAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE EXPRESSION OF A WELL-DEFINED SUBSET OF "PROLIFERATION-ASSOCIATED" MIRNAS AND THE EXPRESSION OF HDACS AS WELL AS CLINICAL PARAMETERS IN PANCREATIC NEUROENDOCRINE TUMORS (PNETS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: EXPRESSION LEVELS OF MIRNA132-3P, MIRNA145-5P, MIRNA183-5P, MIRNA34A-5P, AND MIRNA449A IN 57 PNETS RESECTED BETWEEN 1997 AND 2015 WERE MEASURED AND LINKED TO THE IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION PATTERN OF MEMBERS OF THE FOUR HDAC CLASSES ON HUMAN TISSUE MICROARRAYS. ALL PNET CASES WERE CLINICALLY AND PATHOLOGICALLY CHARACTERIZED ACCORDING TO PUBLISHED GUIDELINES. CORRELATION ANALYSIS REVEALED A SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EXPRESSION OF SPECIFIC MIRNAS AND TWO MEMBERS OF THE HDAC FAMILY (HDAC3 AND HDAC4). ADDITIONALLY, A LINKAGE BETWEEN MIRNA EXPRESSION AND CLINICO-PATHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS LIKE GRADING, TNM-STAGING, AND HORMONE ACTIVITY WAS FOUND. MOREOVER, OVERALL AND DISEASE-FREE SURVIVAL IS STATISTICALLY CORRELATED WITH THE EXPRESSION OF THE INVESTIGATED MIRNAS. OVERALL, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT SPECIFIC MIRNAS COULD BE LINKED TO HDAC EXPRESSION IN PNETS. ESPECIALLY MIRNA449A (ASSOCIATED WITH HDAC3/4) SEEMS TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PNET PROLIFERATION AND COULD BE A POTENTIAL PROGNOSTIC FACTOR FOR POOR SURVIVAL. THESE FIRST DATA COULD HELP, TO IMPROVE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS OF THE EPIGENETIC DRIVERS IN PNETS FOR FURTHER THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES. 2018 15 6484 21 TOXICOLOGIC PROFILE OF ACRYLONITRILE. ACRYLONITRILE IS A MONOMER USED EXTENSIVELY AS A RAW MATERIAL IN THE MANUFACTURING OF ACRYLIC FIBERS, PLASTICS, SYNTHETIC RUBBERS, AND ACRYLAMIDE. IT HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS A PROBABLE HUMAN CARCINOGEN ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF NUMEROUS CHRONIC RAT BIOASSAYS. THE PRESENT REPORT SUMMARIZES THE TOXICITY DATA ON ACRYLONITRILE AND REVIEWS AVAILABLE DATA CONCERNING THE MECHANISM (GENETIC VERSUS EPIGENETIC) BY WHICH ACRYLONITRILE IS CARCINOGENIC IN RATS. FROM THE EVALUATION OF THE RELEVANT TOXICITY DATA, IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT ACRYLONITRILE IS INDEED CARCINOGENIC TO RATS AFTER EITHER ORAL OR INHALATIONAL EXPOSURE. HOWEVER, INFORMATION ON OTHER MAMMALIAN SPECIES IS LACKING, AND, MOREOVER, THE EXACT MECHANISM OF THE CARCINOGENIC PROCESS IS UNCLEAR. THEREFORE, IT IS RECOMMENDED TO CONDUCT AN ADDITIONAL LONG-TERM INHALATION CARCINOGENICITY STUDY WITH ACRYLONITRILE IN MICE, AS WELL AS STUDIES INTO THE MECHANISM BY WHICH ACRYLONITRILE INDUCES (BRAIN) TUMORS IN RATS (GENETIC VERSUS EPIGENETIC). 1998 16 6036 33 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EXTRACHROMOSOMAL CIRCULAR DNA IN PATIENTS WITH END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE. BACKGROUND: END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE (ESRD) IS THE FINAL STAGE OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD). IN ADDITION TO THE STRUCTURALLY INTACT CHROMOSOME GENOMIC DNA, THERE IS A DOUBLE-STRANDED CIRCULAR DNA CALLED EXTRACHROMOSOMAL CIRCULAR DNA (ECCDNA), WHICH IS THOUGHT TO BE INVOLVED IN THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HUMAN DISEASE. HOWEVER, THE FEATURES OF ECCDNA IN ESRD PATIENTS ARE BARELY KNOWN. IN THIS STUDY, WE IDENTIFIED ECCDNA FROM ESRD PATIENTS AND HEALTHY PEOPLE, AS WELL AS REVEALED THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ECCDNA IN PATIENTS WITH ESRD. METHODS: USING THE HIGH-THROUGHPUT CIRCLE-SEQUENCING TECHNIQUE, WE EXAMINED THE ECCDNA IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) FROM HEALTHY PEOPLE (NC) (N = 12) AND ESRD PATIENTS (N = 16). WE ANALYZED THE LENGTH DISTRIBUTION, GENOME ELEMENTS, AND MOTIFS FEATURE OF ECCDNA IN ESRD PATIENTS. THEN, AFTER IDENTIFYING THE SPECIFIC ECCDNA IN ESRD PATIENTS, WE EXPLORED THE POTENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE TARGET GENES OF THE SPECIFIC ECCDNA. FINALLY, WE INVESTIGATED THE PROBABLE HUB ECCDNA USING ALGORITHMS. RESULTS: IN TOTAL, 14,431 AND 11,324 ECCDNAS WERE FOUND IN THE ESRD AND NC GROUPS, RESPECTIVELY, WITH SIZES RANGING FROM 0.01 KB TO 60 KB AT MOST. ADDITIONALLY, THE ESRD GROUP HAD A GREATER DISTRIBUTION OF ECCDNA ON CHROMOSOMES 4, 11, 13, AND 20. IN TWO GROUPS, WE ALSO DISCOVERED SEVERAL MOTIFS OF SPECIFIC ECCDNAS. FURTHERMORE, WE IDENTIFIED 13,715 SPECIFIC ECCDNAS IN THE ESRD GROUP AND 10,585 SPECIFIC ECCDNAS IN THE NC GROUP, BOTH OF WHICH WERE LARGELY ANNOTATED AS MRNA CATALOG. PATHWAY STUDIES USING GENE ONTOLOGY (GO) AND THE KYOTO ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GENES AND GENOMES (KEGG) SHOWED THAT THE SPECIFIC ECCDNA IN ESRD WAS MARKEDLY ENRICHED IN CELL JUNCTION AND COMMUNICATION PATHWAYS. FURTHERMORE, WE IDENTIFIED POTENTIALLY 20 HUB ECCDNA-TARGETING GENES FROM ALL ESRD-SPECIFIC ECCDNA-TARGETING GENES. ALSO, WE FOUND THAT 39 ECCDNA-TARGETING GENES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH ESRD, AND SOME OF THESE ECCDNAS MAY BE RELATED TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF ESRD. CONCLUSIONS: OUR FINDINGS REVEALED THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ECCDNA IN ESRD PATIENTS AND DISCOVERED POTENTIALLY HUB AND ESRD-RELEVANT ECCDNA-TARGETING GENES, SUGGESTING A NOVEL PROBABLE MECHANISM OF ESRD. 2023 17 2733 24 EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF PHYTOCOMPOUNDS FOR TARGETING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: AN IN SILICO STUDY USING SIMILARITY INDEXING. FINDING STRUCTURALLY SIMILAR COMPOUNDS IN COMPOUND DATABASES IS HIGHLY EFFICIENT AND IS WIDELY USED IN PRESENT-DAY DRUG DISCOVERY METHODOLOGY. THE MOST-TRUSTED AND -FOLLOWED SIMILARITY INDEXING METHOD IS TANIMOTO SIMILARITY INDEXING. EPIGENETIC PROTEINS LIKE HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) INHIBITORS ARE TRADITIONALLY USED TO TARGET CANCER, BUT HAVE ONLY BEEN INVESTIGATED VERY RECENTLY FOR THEIR POSSIBLE EFFECTIVENESS AGAINST RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA). THE SYNTHETIC DRUGS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND USED FOR THE INHIBITION OF HDACS INCLUDE SAHA, WHICH IS BEING USED TO INHIBIT THE ACTIVITY OF HDACS OF DIFFERENT CLASSES. SAHA WAS CHOSEN AS A COMPOUND OF HIGH IMPORTANCE AS IT IS REPORTED TO INHIBIT THE ACTIVITY OF MANY HDAC TYPES. SIMILARITY SEARCHING USING THE UNPD DATABASE AS A REFERENCE IDENTIFIED AGLAITHIODULINE FROM THE AGLAIA LEPTANTHA COMPOUND AS HAVING A ~70% SIMILARITY OF MOLECULAR FINGERPRINTS WITH SAHA, BASED ON THE TANIMOTO INDEXING METHOD USING CHEMMINER. AGLAITHIODULINE IS ABUNDANTLY PRESENT IN THE SHELL AND FRUITS OF A. LEPTANTHA. IN SILICO STUDIES WITH AGLAITHIODULINE WERE CARRIED OUT AGAINST THE HDAC8 PROTEIN TARGET AND SHOWED A BINDING AFFINITY OF -8.5 KCAL MOL. THE COMPLEX WAS FURTHER SUBJECTED TO MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION USING GROMACS. THE RMSD, RMSF, COMPACTNESS AND SASA PLOTS OF THE TARGET WITH AGLAITHIODULINE, IN COMPARISON WITH THE CO-CRYSTALLIZED LIGAND (SAHA) SYSTEM, SHOWED A VERY STABLE CONFIGURATION. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY ARE SUPPORTIVE OF THE USAGE OF A. LEPTANTHA AND A. EDULIS IN INDIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAIN-RELATED AILMENTS SIMILAR TO RA. OUR STUDY THEREFORE CALLS FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF A. LEPTANTHA AND A. EDULIS FOR THEIR POTENTIAL USE AGAINST RA BY TARGETING EPIGENETIC CHANGES, USING IN VIVO AND IN VITRO STUDIES. 2023 18 2877 20 FUNCTIONAL STATE OF NEUTROPHIC GRANULOCYTES' GENOME OF THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS C WITH CONCOMITANT DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE II. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM: TO DETERMINE CHANGES OF FSG OF NEUTROPHILIC GRANULOCYTES OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD (NGPB) OF PATIENTS WITH CHC WITH CONCOMITANT DM-2. PATIENTS AND METHODS: MATERIALS AND METHODS: WE'VE EXAMINED 180 PATIENTS WITH CHC: 160 WITH CONCOMITANT DIABETES MELLITUS AND 20 ONES WITHOUT IT. THE NGPB GENOME WAS STUDIED USING CYTOGENETIC METHOD. THERE WERE ANALYZED 100 INTERPHASE NGPB NUCLEI IN THE PREPARATION, STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS WERE EVALUATED ACCORDING TO INDICES: CHROMATIZATION (IC), NUCLEOLAR (IN), PATHOLOGICALLY ALTERED NUCLEI (PAN), MICRONUCLEI (MNI). RESULTS: RESULTS: VIOLATIONS OF FSG OF NGPBWERE FOUND ACCORDING TO ALL INDICES IN PATIENTS WITH CHC, THEY WERE MORE PRONOUNCED IN PATIENTS WITH CONCOMITANT DM-2. CONCLUSION: CONCLUSIONS: FSG NGPB IS MORE DISORDERED IN CHC WITH CONCOMITANT DM-2. THE REDUCTION OF IC IN CHC WITH CONCOMITANT DM-2 IS MORE PRONOUNCED IN MEN. REDUCTION OF IN IN PATIENTS WITH CHC WITH AND WITHOUT DM-2 IS A MARKER OF VIOLATIONS OF THE SECOND STAGE OF REALIZATION OF HEREDITARY INFORMATION. THE TENDENCY TO CHANGE THE COMPONENTS OF THE CYTOGENETIC STATUS OF ALL EXAMINED PATIENTS DUE TO THE FREQUENCY OF MNI WAS DETERMINED. 2020 19 645 27 BIRTH DEFECTS IN GAZA: PREVALENCE, TYPES, FAMILIARITY AND CORRELATION WITH ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THIS IS THE FIRST REPORT OF REGISTRATION AT BIRTH, AND OF INCIDENCE OF MAJOR STRUCTURAL BIRTH DEFECTS (BD) OBTAINED IN GAZA AT AL SHIFA HOSPITAL, WHERE 28% OF TOTAL BIRTHS IN GAZA STRIP OCCUR. DOCTORS REGISTERED 4,027 DELIVERIES, WITH A PROTOCOL COMPREHENSIVE OF CLINICAL, DEMOGRAPHIC, KIN AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS. PREVALENCE OF BD IS 14/1,000, WITHOUT ASSOCIATION WITH INTERMARRIAGE OR GENDER OF THE CHILD. PREVALENCE OF LATE MISCARRIAGES AND STILL BIRTHS ARE RESPECTIVELY 23.3/1,000 AND 7.4/1,000, AND OF PREMATURE BIRTHS 19.6/1,000. COUPLES WITH A BD CHILD HAVE ABOUT 10 TIMES HIGHER FREQUENCY OF RECURRENCE OF A BD IN THEIR PROGENY THAN THOSE WITH NORMAL CHILDREN, BUT NONE OF THEIR 694 SIBLINGS AND ONLY 10/1,000 OF THEIR 1,423 PROGENY HAD BD, SIMILAR TO THE FREQUENCY IN GENERAL POPULATION. THESE DATA SUGGEST OCCURRENCE OF NOVEL GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC EVENTS IN DETERMINATION OF BD. CHILDREN WITH BD WERE BORN WITH HIGHER FREQUENCY (P < 0 001) IN FAMILIES WHERE ONE OR BOTH PARENTS WERE UNDER "WHITE PHOSPHORUS" ATTACK, THAT IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. BOMBING OF THE FAMILY HOME AND REMOVAL OF THE RUBBLE WERE ALSO FREQUENTLY REPORTED BY COUPLES WITH BD OCCURRENCE. THESE DATA SUGGESTS A CAUSATIVE/FAVORING ROLE OF ACUTE EXPOSURE OF PARENTS TO THE WEAPONS-ASSOCIATED CONTAMINANTS, AND/OR OF THEIR CHRONIC EXPOSURE FROM THEIR PERSISTENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT ON THE EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR CHILDREN. 2012 20 3883 28 KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF CARCINOGENS AS A BASIS FOR ORGANIZING DATA ON MECHANISMS OF CARCINOGENESIS. BACKGROUND: A RECENT REVIEW BY THE INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER (IARC) UPDATED THE ASSESSMENTS OF THE > 100 AGENTS CLASSIFIED AS GROUP 1, CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS (IARC MONOGRAPHS VOLUME 100, PARTS A-F). THIS EXERCISE WAS COMPLICATED BY THE ABSENCE OF A BROADLY ACCEPTED, SYSTEMATIC METHOD FOR EVALUATING MECHANISTIC DATA TO SUPPORT CONCLUSIONS REGARDING HUMAN HAZARD FROM EXPOSURE TO CARCINOGENS. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: IARC THEREFORE CONVENED TWO WORKSHOPS IN WHICH AN INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUP OF EXPERTS IDENTIFIED 10 KEY CHARACTERISTICS, ONE OR MORE OF WHICH ARE COMMONLY EXHIBITED BY ESTABLISHED HUMAN CARCINOGENS. DISCUSSION: THESE CHARACTERISTICS PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR AN OBJECTIVE APPROACH TO IDENTIFYING AND ORGANIZING RESULTS FROM PERTINENT MECHANISTIC STUDIES. THE 10 CHARACTERISTICS ARE THE ABILITIES OF AN AGENT TO 1) ACT AS AN ELECTROPHILE EITHER DIRECTLY OR AFTER METABOLIC ACTIVATION; 2) BE GENOTOXIC; 3) ALTER DNA REPAIR OR CAUSE GENOMIC INSTABILITY; 4) INDUCE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS; 5) INDUCE OXIDATIVE STRESS; 6) INDUCE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION; 7) BE IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE; 8) MODULATE RECEPTOR-MEDIATED EFFECTS; 9) CAUSE IMMORTALIZATION; AND 10) ALTER CELL PROLIFERATION, CELL DEATH, OR NUTRIENT SUPPLY. CONCLUSION: WE DESCRIBE THE USE OF THE 10 KEY CHARACTERISTICS TO CONDUCT A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE SEARCH FOCUSED ON RELEVANT END POINTS AND CONSTRUCT A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE IDENTIFIED MECHANISTIC INFORMATION. NEXT, WE USE BENZENE AND POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS AS EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE HOW THIS APPROACH MAY WORK IN PRACTICE. THE APPROACH DESCRIBED IS SIMILAR IN MANY RESPECTS TO THOSE CURRENTLY BEING IMPLEMENTED BY THE U.S. EPA'S INTEGRATED RISK INFORMATION SYSTEM PROGRAM AND THE U.S. NATIONAL TOXICOLOGY PROGRAM. CITATION: SMITH MT, GUYTON KZ, GIBBONS CF, FRITZ JM, PORTIER CJ, RUSYN I, DEMARINI DM, CALDWELL JC, KAVLOCK RJ, LAMBERT P, HECHT SS, BUCHER JR, STEWART BW, BAAN R, COGLIANO VJ, STRAIF K. 2016. KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF CARCINOGENS AS A BASIS FOR ORGANIZING DATA ON MECHANISMS OF CARCINOGENESIS. ENVIRON HEALTH PERSPECT 124:713-721; HTTP://DX.DOI.ORG/10.1289/EHP.1509912. 2016