RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Lupus nephritis is associated with a six-fold increase in mortality compared with the general population. MicroRNAs studies revealed that increased MicroRNA -21 and MicroRNA -155 levels represent risk factors for active LN patients. MicroRNAs can be used as biomarkers in the diagnosis of clinical stages of LN. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to determine the level of miR-124 in patients with lupus nephritis by reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction compared to healthy control and correlate its levels with biochemical findings in those patients. METHODS: The study was a case-control study that included fifty patients with lupus nephritis in addition to fifty healthy controls. Blood samples from the participants were subjected to the determination of serological markers of SLE. Moreover, real-time PCR was used for the determination of miR-124. RESULTS: The comparison of Micro-RNA124 between patients and control subjects revealed a statistically significant decrease in Micro-RNA124 in patients (1.193 ± 0.56) compared to the control (3.36 ± 0.50, p <0.001); the comparison of the level of MicroRNA 124 in the patients with different clinical and serological findings of SLE revealed a significant decrease in the level of MicroRNA 124 in patients with muscular findings (1.02 ± 0.5) compared to the patients with negative manifestations (1.47 ± 0.5, p =0.005) Conclusion: In the present study, a comparison of MicroRNA-124 in LN patients with different stages compared to normal control showed a statistically significant decrease in Micro-RNA124 in patients with lupus nephritis p <0.001 with significant correlation to the patients' different clinical and serological findings of SLE. Therefore, it may be used as a new noninvasive therapeutic approach to monitor response to therapy, predict relapses, and identify the degree of the activity of the disease or the progression to the chronic stage.
RESUMO
Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder, categorized into various subtypes. Post-infection IBS may be attributed to the release of cytolethal distending toxin B (CdtB), which cross-reacts with the adhesion protein vinculin responsible for normal intestinal contractility. Objective: This study aims to identify anti-CdtB and anti-vinculin levels in IBS patients compared to healthy control. Subjects and methods: This retrospective case-control study was conducted on 100 patients with IBS, as determined by a questionnaire based on Rome IV criteria, recruited from the outpatient clinics of the Tropical Medicine at Mansoura University Hospital from January 2019 to January 2020. Results: Anti-vinculin and anti-CdtB levels were significantly elevated in patients with IBS (1.58±0.496ng/ml, 2.47±0.60ng/ml) when compared to control subjects (1.13±0.249ng/ml, 2.1±0.24 ng/ml), respectively with P=0.001 for both. Anti-vinculin level was significantly higher in the IBS-D subtype than the other subtypes (P=0.001) while, Anti-CdtB was significantly elevated in IBS-C, IBS-D subgroups compared to control subjects (P=0.001). Conclusion: Findings of the present study support the hypothesis that IBS results from post-infectious disorders initiated by bacterial enteritis. A hypothesis could be applied to all IBS subgroups. On the other hand. These biomarkers might reflect the post-infectious state's severity. These findings need further extensive longitudinal studies in patients with IBS.
