Investigation of the effects of mir-219-1 gene variants on the development of disease in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Background: Various variants of the miR-219-1 gene are one of the first genes associated with NSCLC prognosis in the literature. Objectives: We aimed to genotype two different variants of the miR-219-1 gene and to investigate to using of the result as a biomarker in the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC. Materials and Methods: The patients were chosen according to International NSCLC criteria and genomic DNA was isolated from blood (138 patients and 100 healthy individuals). Then qRT-PCR was applied to determine the rs213210 and rs421446 variants of miR-219-1 gene polymorphisms. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared using Pearson's chi-square and Fisher's exact tests test. Results: We found that TT genotype (p=0,381) in rs213210 compared with CC genotype (p=0,165) and CC genotype (p=0,823) in rs421446 compared with TT genotype (p=0,537) did not show a significantly increased risk of NSCLC. There is no relationship between polymorphisms in miR-219-1 and the outcome of NSCLC. Conclusion: miRNA single nucleotide polymorphisms can be used as genetic biomarkers to predict cancer susceptibility, early diagnosis, and prognosis. Our study has shown that two variants of miR-219-1 were not related to NSCLC in the Turkish population. The reason for this can be differences in ethnicity, regions, and background of population and these differences could lead to various outcomes.

[Resistance rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains isolated from clinical specimens]. / Klinik Örneklerden Izole Edilen Mycobacterium tuberculosis Kompleks Suslarinin Antibiyotiklere Direnç Oranlari

The aim of this study was to investigate isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin and ethambutol resistance rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains isolated from clinical specimens in the Mycobacteriology Laboratories of Karadeniz Technical University Hospital between January 2005-March 2010. A total of 212 M.tuberculosis complex strains, 152 (71.7%) of which were isolated from respiratory specimens and 60 (28.3%) from non-respiratory system specimens, were included to the study. M.tuberculosis complex strains were determined by polymerase chain reaction using primers specific for the IS6110 gene region. Single isolate of each patient were enrolled in the study. Antituberculosis drug susceptibility testing was performed by BACTEC MGIT 960 (Becton Dickinson, USA). Of the 212 isolates, 157 (74.05%) were susceptible to all of the four antimycobacterial agents while 55 (25.9%) were found resistant to one or more of the drugs. The monodrug resistance rates were found as 6.1% for isoniazid, 0.5% for rifampicin, 5.2% for streptomycin, and 2.4% for ethambutol. The number of multidrug resistant isolates characterized with resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin were 10 (4.8%). Our findings indicated that the rates of mono and multidrug resistant M.tuberculosis complex strains were significantly lower than the rates previously reported from our region and similar to the average country-base resistance rates reported by the Ministry of Health. Continuous monitoring of M.tuberculosis antimicrobial resistance at regional level would greatly aid to the success of the tuberculosis surveillance program in Turkey.