MicroRNA-125a-3p, -4530, and -92a as a Potential Circulating MicroRNA Panel for Noninvasive Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis.

MicroRNA (miRNA) expression dysregulations in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have been studied widely for their diagnostic and prognostic utility. By the use of bioinformatics-based methods, in our previous study, we identified some potential miRNA panels for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer patients from noncancerous controls (the screening stage). In this report, we used 142 plasma samples from people with and without pancreatic cancer (PC) to conduct RT-qPCR differential expression analysis to assess the strength of the first previously proposed diagnostic panel (consisting of miR-125a-3p, miR-4530, and miR-92a-2-5p). As the result, we identified significant upregulation for all the three considered miRNAs in the serum of PC patients. After that, a three-miRNA panel in serum was developed. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) for the panel were 0.850, 0.910, and 0.86, respectively, indicating that it had a higher diagnostic value than individual miRNAs. Therefore, we detected a promising three-miRNA panel in the plasma for noninvasive PC diagnosis (miR-125a-3p, miR-4530, and miR-92a-2-5p).

High prevalence of SARS-Coronavirus-2 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and the role of soluble angiotensin converting Enzyme2.

Context: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were found to have the higher intestinal expression of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme2 (ACE2) that could consequently increase susceptibility to COVID-19 infection.Objective: This study reports the outcomes of COVID-19 infection in a large cohort of IBD patients. We compare levels of serum ACE and IFN-α between COVID19 patients with and without IBD. We performed a cross-sectional retrospective multicenter study.Methods: We enrolled patients with IBD screened for SARS-COV-2 in six medical centres in Iran from June to November 2020. The blood samples were drawn to measure COVID-19 IgM and IgG, and serum levels of sACE2, sACE1, and interferon-α, regardless of suspicious symptoms have done the molecular test.Results: A total of 534 IBD patients were included in the study. Of these, 109 (20.0%) cases had detectable IgG and IgM against SARS-CoV-2. sACE2 levels were higher in IBD patients than controls, whereas ACE1and IFN-α levels were similar among groups.

Introducing GATA3 as a prominent player in Crohn's disease.

AIM: This study was aimed at gene assessment of Crohn's disease (CD) through protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis to find crucial genes. BACKGROUND: CD is a major subtype of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which affects gastrointestinal tract. PPI network analysis is a suitable tool to clarify a critical gene as a drug target or diagnostic biomarker for these types of diseases. METHODS: Gene expression profile GSE126124 of 20 CD patients and 20 healthy controls was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. RNA profile of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and colon biopsy samples of the studied groups was investigated. Crucial genes were selected and analyzed via the PPI network by Cytoscape software. Gene ontology enrichment for the hubs, bottlenecks, and hub-bottlenecks was performed via CluGO plugin of Cytoscape software. RESULTS: Eighty-one differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among 250 initial DEGs were highlighted as significant by FC>2 and p-value ≤ 0.05, and 69 significant DEGs were used for PPI network construction. The network was characterized by poor connections, so 20 top neighbors were added to form a scale-free network. The main connected component included 39 query DEGs and 20 added first neighbors. Three clusters of biological processes associated with crucial genes were identified and discussed. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated that GATA3 has a key role in CD pathogenesis and could be a possible drug target or diagnostic biomarker for Crohn's disease.

Estimation the direct cost of inflammatory bowel disease in Iranian patients; the one- year follow-up.

AIM: We conducted this study to estimate the direct medical cost of Iranian IBD patients. BACKGROUND: In the economic evaluation setting, descriptive epidemiological studies can provide substantial information for health system policymakers in taking accountable decisions for diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). METHODS: To do so, we used a self-designed checklist to collect demographic and medical cost information for IBD patients. We also tried to have a national estimation of IBD costs. RESULTS: The mean annual medical cost of IBD was 18354.52 PPP$. Crohn's disease (CD) vs. ulcerative colitis (UC) and UC township patients vs. Tehran resident patients had higher medical costs (31160.79 PPP$; P<0.001) and (20840.23 PPP$, P<0.025). The largest medical cost spent in both IBD subtypes (CD/UC) was attributed to biological agents, especially in UC patients. We estimated that the mean annual cost of IBD in Iran for 2017 was 746315864 (95% CI: 602964172, 964685749) PPP$ (constant incidence) and 862776811 (95% CI: 697055402, 1115222835) PPP$ (increment incidence) respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that for management of IBD patients, policymakers should address shifting the medical costs to biological agents, the higher cost of CD, and the impact of underlying factors on the distribution of these medical costs.

Metabolic analysis of acute appendicitis by using system biology approach.

AIM: Introducing possible suitable compound as diagnostic agent in appendicitis is aim of this investigation. BACKGROUND: Appendicitis diagnosis is a difficult step in treatment of disease due to complex abdominal pain signal which may be refer to the non-appendicitis pain. METHODS: Gene expression profiles of children with non-preforated appendicitis in comparison with the samples with non- appendicitis abdominal pain are analysis via protein - protein interaction (PPI) and the critical compounds are introduced by STITCH. RESULTS: Ten compounds including including MgATP, glycerol, MgADP, calcium ions, chloride, magnesium, phosphate, sulphate, acetate, and sodium are introduced as possible biomarker panel to differentiate appendicitis from the other abdominal pains. CONCLUSION: A laboratory method such as flame photometry based on metal detection for diagnosis of appendicitis is possible, however more investigations are required.