Association of a single-nucleotide polymorphism in C12orf43 region with the risk of coronary artery disease.

The genetics of organisms play a vital role in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD), with its heritability estimated at approximately 50-60%. For this purpose, we examined the relationship between CAD risk and C12orf43/rs2258287 polymorphisms in the Pakistani population. In this study based on the genetic approach to dyslipidemia, a total of 200 subjects were included from the southern Punjab. The biochemical analysis of parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein) was carried out along with molecular analysis using an ARMS-PCR-based assay for single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) C12orf43/rs2258287 to identify the genotype. Genotypes showed a substantial correlation with both family history and metabolic markers. The cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides and blood glucose levels were higher while the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was lower significantly (p<0.05) in cases than in controls. Age, pulse rate, diabetes, physical activity, smoking, family history, and dietary habits were also significantly associated (p<0.05) with CAD individuals. The SNP C12orf43/rs2258287 also showed an association with CAD in the population of southern Punjab. Based upon this study, it could be concluded that CAD is characterized by an unfavorable lipid profile in association with SNP C12orf43/rs2258287.

Biogenic Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vitro Biological Evaluation of Silver Nanoparticles Using Cleome brachycarpa.

The therapeutical attributes of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) in both conditions (in vitro and in vivo) have been investigated using different plants. This study focused on the green chemistry approach that was employed to optimize the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Cleome brachycarpa aqueous extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The characterization of obtained CB-AgNPs was undertaken using UV-visible spectroscopy, Atomic-force microscopy (AFM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Results suggest that CB-AgNPs synthesized via stirring produced small-sized particles with more even distribution. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were spherical with a 20 to 80 nm size range. In vitro studies were used to analyze antioxidant, antidiabetic, and cytotoxic potential under different conditions. The results also indicated that CB-AgNPs may have significant potential as an antidiabetic in low concentrations, but also exhibited potential antioxidant activity at different concentrations. Moreover, the anticancer activity against the breast cell line (MCF-7) with IC50 reached up to 18 µg/mL. These results suggest that green synthesized silver nanoparticles provide a promising phytomedicine for the management of diabetes and cancer therapeutics.

Role of diagnostic factors associated with antioxidative status and expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in patients with cancer therapy induced ocular disorders.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients when treated with different chemotherapeutic drugs often develop mild to severe sight threatening diseases during or after chemotherapy. The mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of ocular toxicities is poorly understood. Oxidative stress, inflammation and MMPs (angiogenic factor) are involved in the progression of chemotherapy related ocular disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The concentration of oxidative stress markers such as MDA, NO and levels of different antioxidant molecules such as SOD, CAT, GSH, GPx, GPr, VIT A, VIT E and VIT C present in the serum of chemotherapy treated patients (n = 50) and in normal persons (n = 20) were estimated by the direct spectrophotometric method while the concentration of TNF-α and MMP-9 activity were determined using human TNF-α and MMP-9 ELISA kits. RESULTS: The concentration of SOD and CAT (0.356 ±â€¯0.05 µg/dl and 1.26 ±â€¯0.01 µmol/mol of protein) was significantly lower as compared to that (1.09 ±â€¯0.03 µg/dl and 3.99 ±â€¯0.04 µmol/mol of protein) in controls. The levels of GPx (0.06 ±â€¯0.01 mmol/dl) in the cancer patients were much lower than those in the controls (0.78 ±â€¯0.06 mmol/dl). Lower level of GSH (0.96 ±â€¯0.003 µg/dl) in serum of the diseased group was observed as compared to healthy group (7.26 ±â€¯1.40 µg/dl). The level of Vit A, Vit C and Vit E was lower in systemic circulation of cancer patients (109.99 ±â€¯6.35 µg/ml, 1.26 ±â€¯0.36 µg/ml and 1.29 ±â€¯0.191 µg/ml) as compared to control subjects (166.35 ±â€¯14.26 µg/ml, 3.25 ±â€¯0.099 µg/ml and 6.354 ±â€¯2.26 µg/ml) respectively. The concentration of nitric oxide was significantly higher in the cancer patients (45.26 ±â€¯6.35 ng/ml) than that in the normal subjects (16.35 ±â€¯3.26 ng/ml). The higher concentration of MDA (8.65 ±â€¯3.26 nmol/ml) was observed in the patients than normal ones (1.254 ±â€¯0.065 nmol/ml). The quantity of TNF-α was significantly higher in chemotherapy treated patients (32.68 ±â€¯4.33 pg/ml) as compared to the control group (20.979 ±â€¯1.98 pg/ml). Significantly higher concentration of MMP-9 (40.26 ±â€¯3.26 ng/ml) was observed in the cancer patients than the controls (7.256 ±â€¯1.95 ng/ml). CONCLUSION: Lower levels of antioxidant enzymes and non-enzymatic small molecules and higher levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory clinical parameters such as NO, MDA, TNF-α and MMP-9 may be involved in the pathogenesis of systemic chemotherapy related ocular complications such as cataract, glaucoma, blepharitis, retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, pterygium and retinal degeneration.