Effects of catecholamines on ovary morphology, blood concentrations of estradiol-17beta, progesterone, zinc, triglycerides and rate of ovulation in domestic hens.

The present study is an attempt to shed more light on the role of epinephrine (EP) and norepinephrine (NE) in regulating ovarian follicular development, folliculogenesis and ovulation in laying hens. Sixty Egyptian local cross females (Mandarah), 50 weeks old, were individually housed and equally divided into three treatments: control (saline, 0.9% NaCl), EP (0.15 mg epinephrine/hen/day) and NE (0.75 mg norepinephrine/hen/day) (n=20). Animals were injected intramuscularly once a day for 15 successive days. At the end of the experimental period, 10 females from each treatment were randomly chosen, weighed and killed by decapitation. Ovaries and oviducts and ovarian follicles were examined. Plasma concentrations of estradiol-17beta, progesterone, zinc and triglyceride were determined. Results indicated that the ovaries of NE- and EP-treated hens were more developed than those of control hens being heavier and containing more yellow yolk-filled follicles. EP or NE significantly increased the ovulation rate and plasma concentrations of estradiol-17beta, progesterone, zinc and triglyceride compared with control treatment. It could be concluded that catecholamines may have a part in promoting ovarian follicular development and in stimulating ovulation in laying hens at the end of their reproductive lives.

Serum metastasin mRNA is an important survival predictor in breast cancer.

This study investigates the possible prognostic role of serum metastasin messenger RNA (mRNA) in breast carcinoma as a non-invasive screening tool, and determines metastasin mRNA in the serum of breast cancer patients with high sensitivity (85%) and specificity (100%). A significant difference (P = 0.05) was observed between serum metastasin mRNA and the number of involved lymph nodes. Patients with higher expression of serum metastasin showed poor survival (six times worse) than those with lower levels. Patients negative for serum metastasin mRNA suffered recurrences, while those positive for serum metastasin mRNA suffered distant metastases. The results of this study suggest that serum metastasin mRNA represents an important survival marker in breast carcinoma.

Evaluation of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, soluble P-selectin, gamma-glutamyl transferase, glutathione S-transferase-pi and alpha-fetoprotein in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma before and during chemotherapy.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an environmentally related cancer, with both viral and chemical carcinogens involved in a multistage process. To date, it has been difficult to detect the asymptomatic precursor lesions in early HCC. Therefore, the majority of HCC patients are not amenable to therapy, as they are detected at late stages. To evaluate the significance of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), sP-selectin, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), glutathione S-transferase-pi (GST) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the diagnosis and follow up of HCC patients during chemotherapy with adriamycin, 45 subjects (15 healthy volunteers, 15 with benign liver diseases and 15 HCC patients) are studied before and during chemotherapy (three cycles of intravenous adriamycin). HCC patients had significantly higher serum levels of TNF-alpha, sP-selectin, GGT, GST and AFP Serum levels of GGT and GST were significantly higher in HCC patients with poorly differentiated tumours than in patients with well- and moderately differentiated tumours. Treatment with adriamycin for three cycles produced a significant decrease in TNF-alpha, sP-selectin and GST. Thus, it is concluded that GST is a superior diagnostic indicator and may be a prognostic marker in HCC patients.

Expression of ECM1 and MMP-2 in follicular thyroid lesions among Egyptians.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid nodules require pre-surgical cytological assessment for possible risk of malignancy. Many techniques were introduced to enhance differential diagnosis and to avoid unnecessary diagnostic surgery. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to investigate the potential use of ECM1 gene and MMP-2 protein as preoperative tumor markers in suspicious follicular thyroid lesions. METHODS: The study included 40 Egyptian cases with solitary thyroid nodules. They underwent preoperative FNAB followed by thyroidectomy. MMP-2 protein and ECM1 gene were detected using immunostaining and conventional semi-quantitative RT-PCR techniques; respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of FNAB, gene and protein expression level cutoffs was calculated by using ROC. RESULTS: Both MMP-2 protein and ECM1 gene expressions were significantly higher in malignant than benign group (P < 0.001). Both were significantly higher in higher tumor stages (PMMP-2= 0.002; PECM1 = 0.032) but only ECM1 significantly differed with tumor size (P < 0.006). The diagnostic performances of ECM1 expression scores was significantly better than that of FNAB (P = 0.049). A significant direct correlation was detected between ECM1 gene and MMP-2 protein expressions in cases of FVPC and of FC (P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: MMP-2 protein and ECM1 gene are useful preoperative markers for defining malignancy in suspicious thyroid nodules.