ebrahim sakhinia

Aim: Behcet's disease (BD) is a vasculitis. Lines of evidence suggest miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic markers in autoimmune diseases. This study was designed to investigate the potential role of miR-21, miR-146b and miR-326 as biomarkers for diagnosis, predicting organs involvement and measuring BD activity. Patients & methods: In this cross-sectional study, the study groups consisted of 46 BD patients and 70 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. The expression rates of three miRNAs were determined by quantitative real-time PCR...

BACKGROUND: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is common in Azari-Turkish people, one of the biggest ethnic groups in Iran. In this study, we sought to investigate the mutation spectrum of the MEFV gene and any genotype-phenotype correlations. METHODS AND MATERIALS: 400 unrelated Azari-Turkish FMF patients were analyzed in this study. Mutations in exons 2, 3, 5, and 10 of the MEFV gene were investigated using direct Sanger sequencing, and their correlations with the clinical features of the patients were analyzed...

Lung cancer (LC) is the second common cancer for both women and men all over the world. Unfortunately, the number of LC deaths is increasing rapidly each year so early diagnosis of LC can be lifesaving. MicroRNAs are involved in multiple processes, such as cell differentiation, transcription, inflammation, proliferation, cell signaling, and apoptosis. In LC, microRNAs function as tumor suppressors (TS) or oncogenes depending on the targets. Changes in microRNAs expression level are related to tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous mediators of RNA interference and have key roles in the modulation of gene expression under healthy, inflamed, stimulated, carcinogenic, or other cells, and tissues of a pathological state. Many studies have proved the association between miRNAs and cancer. The role of miR-326 as a tumor suppressor miRNA in much human cancer confirmed. We will explain the history and the role of miRNAs changes, especially miR-326 in cancers and other pathological conditions. Attuned with these facts, this review highlights recent preclinical and clinical research performed on miRNAs as novel promising diagnostic biomarkers of patients at early stages, prediction of prognosis, and monitoring of the patients in response to treatment...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short (~22 nucleotides [nt]), single-stranded RNA oligonucleotides that are regulatory in nature and are often dysregulated in various diseases, including cancer. miRNAs can act as oncomiRs (miRNAs associated with cancer) or tumor suppressor miRNAs and have the potential to be a diagnostic, prognostic, noninvasive biomarker for these diseases. MicroRNA-221 (miR-221) and microRNA-222 (miR-222) are homologous miRNAs, located on the human chromosome Xp11.3, which factored significantly in impairment in the regulation of a wide range of cancers...

Various tissues and cell types are the targets of vitamin D. However, the major targets of vitamin D in the immune system are monocytes/macrophages, dendritic cells (DCs), as well as B and T cells. Vitamin D plays an important role in the immune system modulation via regulating the expression of genes that generate pro-inflammatory mediators and inhibiting the proliferation of pro-inflammatory cells, both of which have been implicated in the pathophysiology of the inflammatory diseases. Recent studies have revealed the important relations between vitamin D and Behçet's disease (BD)...

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a unique molecular alteration that is due to a defective DNA mismatch repair (MMR) system. Approximately, 15-20 % of sporadic colorectal cancers (CRC) display MSI. Determination of MSI status in CRC has prognostic and predictive implications. Additionally, detecting MSI is used diagnostically for tumor detection and classification. The present study analyzed a panel of five mononucleotide markers, BAT-25, BAT-26, NR-21, NR-22 and NR-27, amplified in a single multiplex PCR reaction to evaluate MSI status in CRC patients...

Osteoblasts are terminally differentiated cells with mesenchymal origins, known to possess pivotal roles in sustaining bone microstructure and homeostasis. These cells are implicated in the pathophysiology of various bone disorders, especially osteoporosis. Over the last few decades, strategies to impede bone resorption, principally by bisphosphonates, have been mainstay of treatment of osteoporosis; however, in recent years more attention has been drawn on bone-forming approaches for managing osteoporosis...

OBJECTIVE: Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic multi-factorial inflammatory disease with the important role of genetic in activation of its inflammatory response. Interleukin (IL)-33 is a member of the IL-1 family of cytokines that affects innate and adaptive immune systems to promote inflammatory responses. In the current study, we investigated the association of IL-33 gene rs1342326 polymorphism and expression levels of this gene in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with the susceptibility to BD in Azari population of Iran...

INTRODUCTION: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. MiR-146 and miR-155 emerged as key regulators of the immune response. This study designed to analyze the miR-146a and miR-155 expression in patients with Behcet's disease (BD) and investigated their association with the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) genes. METHODOLOGY: In a case-control study, 47 Iranian Azeri BD patients and 61 age- and sex matched healthy controls recruited to the study...

BACKGROUND: Although there are multiple treatments for lung cancer, the death rate of this cancer remains high because of metastasis in earlier stages. So a novel treatment for overcoming metastasis is urgently needed. Overexpression of high-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2), a nonhistone chromosomal protein has been observed in metastatic cancers. So, we suggested that HMGA2 upregulation may play a critical role in treating lung cancer. METHODS: The A549 cells were transfected with specific HMGA2 small interfering RNA (siRNA) using transfection reagent...

BACKGROUND: Modern genetics has offered a fresh perspective on the pathology of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). As mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations are held to be potential contributors to the complex pathobiology of MS, the present study tests the claim that mtDNA G15927A or G15928A variations, or both, are associated with MS in an Iranian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Following DNA extraction from blood samples of 100 subjects with relapsing-remitting MS, and 100 healthy unrelated control subjects, PCR-RFLP analyses was carried out by HpaII restriction enzyme reaction...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are uniquely regulated in healthy, inflamed, activated, cancerous, or other cells and tissues of a pathological state. Many studies confirm that immune dysregulation and autoimmune diseases with inflammation are correlated with various miRNA expression changes in targeted tissues and cells in innate or adaptive immunity. In this review, we will explain the history and classification of epigenetic changes. Next, we will describe the role of miRNAs changes, especially mir-326 in autoimmunity, autoinflammatory, and other pathological conditions...

BACKGROUND: IL-6 mRNA expression is significantly high in many autoimmune diseases such as Behçet's disease; this is often related with more aggressive phenotypes. Nevertheless, the essential molecular process for its high expression has not been completely realized. The aim of this study was undertaken to estimate the gene copy number variation and promoter methylation to IL-6's high expression. METHODS: This study was performed on 51 patients and 61 healthy controls...

INTRODUCTION: Epigenetic discusses to inherited changes in mitosis and meiosis in the gene expression pattern which is independent of primary DNA sequence. Since, SOCS1 hyper-methylation can activate JAK / STAT signaling pathway and activation of this pathway can directly affect the impact of different cytokines on cell function and subsequently lead to pathophysiology of diseases, in particular autoimmune diseases that interact directly with the amount of cytokines and due to the fact that the cause and pathology of Behcet's disease (BD) have not ever been completely determined...

Detecting cfDNA in plasma or serum could serve as a 'liquid biopsy', for circulating tumor DNA with aberrant methylation patterns offer a possible method for early detection of several cancers which could avoid the need for tumor tissue biopsies. Bone Morphogenetic Protein 3 (BMP3) was identified as a candidate tumor suppressor gene putatively down-regulated in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we aimed to assess the potential role of BMP3 promoter methylation changes in plasma DNA for detection of colorectal cancerous and precancerous lesions...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease that is caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Although it is one of the most common cancers worldwide, CRC would be one of the most curable cancers if it is detected in the early stages. Molecular changes that occur in colorectal cancer may be categorized into three main groups: 1) Chromosomal Instability (CIN), 2) Microsatellite Instability (MSI), and 3) CpG Island Methylator phenotype (CIMP). Microsatellites, also known as Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) are small (1-6 base pairs) repeating stretches of DNA scattered throughout the entire genome and account for approximately 3 % of the human genome...

BACKGROUND: miR-221 and miR-222 are homologous miRNAs located in tandem, within 1 kb from each other, on human x chromosome. Recent studies declared that microRNA-222 is aberrantly expressed in various malignancies. The goal of this research was to measure the expression level of has-miR-222-3P and reveal its diagnostic and prognostic importance in breast malignancy. METHODS: In this study, 40 pairs of cancerous and matched adjacent non-cancerous breast tissue were collected from patients, and real-time PCR was used to measure the relative expression of miR-222...

BACKGROUND: Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (also called CXCL12) and its receptor, CXCR4, have a key role in the pathogenesis and tumorigenesis of various cancers. The aims of the current study were to quantitatively examine the expression of CXCR4 and CXCL12 genes in colorectal cancer and to correlate their expression degree with clinicopathological features. METHODS: Tumor tissue samples were collected from 47 patients with CRC. Total RNA was isolated from resection tissues and real-time PCR analysis was performed to examine mRNA levels of CXCL12 and CXCR4 genes...

RNAi, post-transcriptional gene silencing mechanism, could be considered as one of the most important breakthroughs and rapidly growing fields in science. Researchers are trying to use this discovery in the treatment of various diseases and cancer is one of them. Multiple treatment procedures for treatments-resistance cancers remain as unsolvable problem yet. The current review summarizes both transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing mechanisms, and highlights mechanisms leading to drug-resistance such as, drug efflux, drug inactivation, drug target alteration, DNA damages repair, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, as well as the role of tumor cell heterogeneity and tumor microenvironment, involved genes in these processes...