The effects of exercise and mitochondrial transplantation alone or in combination against Doxorubicin-induced skeletal muscle atrophy.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a chemotherapy drug used to treat various types of cancer, but it is associated with significant side effects such as skeletal muscle atrophy. Exercise has been found to prevent skeletal muscle atrophy through the modulation of mitochondrial pathways. Mitochondrial transplantation (MT) may mitigate toxicity, neurological disorders, kidney and liver injury, and skeletal muscle atrophy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of MT, exercise, and MT with exercise on DOX-induced skeletal muscle atrophy. Male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to the following groups: control, DOX, MT with DOX, exercise with DOX, and exercise with MT and DOX. A 10-day treadmill running exercise and MT (6.5 µg/100 µL) to tibialis anterior (TA) muscle were administered prior to a single injection of DOX (20 mg/kg). Our data showed that exercise and MT with exercise led to an increase in cross-sectional area of the TA muscle. Exercise, MT and MT with exercise reduced inflammation and maintained mitochondrial enzyme activity. Additionally, exercise and MT have been shown to regulate mitochondrial fusion/fission. Our findings revealed that exercise and MT with exercise prevented oxidative damage. Furthermore, MT and MT with exercise decreased apoptosis and MT with exercise triggered mitochondrial biogenesis. These findings demonstrate the importance of exercise in the prevention of skeletal muscle atrophy and emphasize the significant benefits of MT with exercise. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the therapeutic effects of MT with exercise in DOX-induced skeletal muscle atrophy.

Post-radiotherapy cribriform-morular thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: According to the new 2022 World Health Organization classification of endocrine tumors, thyroid malignancy, formerly known as the cribriform-morular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma, is now categorized as differentiated thyroid malignancy; it is, at present, called cribriform-morular thyroid carcinoma and classified as a tumor of unknown histogenesis. CASE REPORT: In this case report, we report on a 15-year-old patient who underwent external radiotherapy to the neck for Hodgkin's disease and developed cribriform-morular thyroid carcinoma 5 years after radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that cribriform-morular thyroid carcinoma with diffuse nuclear beta-catenin expression has exciting and unresolved uncertainties that may affect disease prognosis and follow-up for cytopathologists and endocrinologists.

Pre-operative neutrophil/lymphocyte and platelet/lymphocyte ratios are effective in predicting complicated acute cholecystitis

BACKGROUND: Acute cholecystitis is a severe disease that requires urgent operation in some cases. To select suitable patients for a conservative approach, there is a need for an affordable and reliable marker for determining complication risk. Evaluation of systemic inflammatory markers in combination with other parameters such as white blood cell and the C-reactive protein might help to decide the appropriate treatment option. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and thrombocyte-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in determining the risk of complicated acute cholecystitis and to compare with intraoperative and pathological findings. METHODS: A total of 229 patients operated on for acute cholecystitis were included in this study. Intraoperative and pathologically complicated acute cholecystitis in 78 cases and controls group was 151 cases. The two groups were compared in terms of inflammation markers. Then, we used the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to determine the optimal value for NLR and PLR concerning the severity of cholecystitis. Then, the differences in clinical symptoms were investigated according to the cutoff value for NLR and PLR. RESULTS: The NLR and PLR levels were found to be significantly higher in the complicated group (4.18±4.53 vs. 15.23±20.99, 145.34±87.58, and 251.92±245.93, respectively, p<0.01). The best cutoff value for NLR and PLR was 5.5 and 146.90, respectively. Sensitivity for NLR was 80% and specificity was 80.1%. Sensitivity for PLR was 66.7% and specificity was 66.2%. CONCLUSION: Systemic inflammation markers can be used to predict the risk of complicated acute cholecystitis. They are inex-pensive tools that can be used to make surgical decisions, especially in resource scarce environments.

Predictive Value of Preoperative Neutrophil-Lymphocyte and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio in Determining the Stage of Colon Tumors.

Introduction Biomarkers such as the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are associated with the colon tumor stage and prognosis. Therefore, in our study, we investigated whether these biomarkers are important in determining the colon cancer stage. Materials and methods The outcomes in 268 patients operated on with the diagnosis of colon cancer between January 2011 and March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The relationship of the stage of the patients with the NLR or PLR was evaluated. In addition, according to the stage of colorectal tumors, stage I and other stages (stages II, III, and IV) were compared in terms of NLR and PLR. Groups that had lymph node (LN) metastasis were compared with those that did not. Finally, groups with and without metastasis were also compared. Results In our cohort, 144 patients (57.6%) were male, and 84 (42.4%) were female. The mean age was found to be 68.28 ±12.71 years. The patients were evaluated according to their stages: 26 patients were stage I, 78 patients were stage II, 75 patients were stage III, and 19 patients were stage IV. There was a significant difference in NLR values between the groups (p: 0.05). Also, 104 patients were LN-negative (stages I-II), and 94 patients were LN-positive (stages III-IV). When PLR was compared between the two groups, no significant difference was found between tumor stages and these values (p: 0.099). However, there was a significant difference in NLR values (p: 0.034). Conclusion  Based on our findings, it has been concluded that increased PLR may not be associated with the colon cancer stage. However, the increase in NLR was found to be correlated with tumor stage and LN metastasis.

Chemoresistance in Malignant Intracranial Tumors: Longer Survival with Negative MDR1 Expression.

AIM: To analyze the Glutathione S-transferase (GST)-P, GST-M, cytochrome p450 (CYP)1-A1, CYP1-B1, and multidrug resistance (MDR)-1 expressions in malignant intracranial tumor (ICT)s, and to elicit their role on patient survival. MATERIAL AND METHODS: GST-P, GST-M, CYP1-A1, CYP1-B1, and MDR-1 expressions were analyzed using immunostaining in 149 samples from 141 patients with preoperative ICT diagnosis. The case characteristics were reviewed, and the enzyme expressions were equated based on the age, gender, and tumor type. Then, 77 of 141 patients with malignant ICT and complete medical records postoperative were also investigated in detail for the relationship between the diagnosis, enzyme expression, and overall survival. RESULTS: The average age was 49.44 years, with 83 (58.45%) male patients. Among the 77 malignant ICTs, 38 (49.3%) and 29 were glial tumors and metastases, respectively, with a 13.35-month overall survival. Patients with metastatic tumor have approximately threefold higher GSTP level than those with glial tumors. MDR-1 expression was approximately twofold higher in > 60-year-old patients. No statistically significant association was found between patients? smoking behaviors, alcohol consumption, and overall survival. Only MDR-1 expression was correlated with overall survival. Better overall survival was observed in patients with a negative MDR-1 expression than those with a positive one. CONCLUSION: MDR-1 is an important indicator of survival in malignant intracranial tumor patients. Longer survival is associated with negative MDR-1 expression.

The Effect of Disulfiram in the Prevention of Postoperative Adhesion Formation in an Experimental Rat Uterine Horn Model.

Postoperative adhesions can cause serious complications, including intestinal obstruction, chronic abdominopelvic pain, and infertility in women. Here we investigate the effects of disulfiram on the postoperative adhesion model. Female Wistar rats were used (n = 72). The animals were separated into six groups (12 rats per group): group 1 (control), group 2 (300 mg/kg disulfiram administered for 3 days preoperatively), group 3 (50 mg/kg disulfiram administered for 3 days preoperatively and 14 days postoperatively), group 4 (300 mg/kg disulfiram administered for 3 days preoperatively and 14 days postoperatively), group 5 (50 mg/kg disulfiram administered 14 days postoperatively only), and group 6 (300 mg/kg disulfiram administered 14 days postoperatively only). A histopathologic examination was performed. Immunohistochemical stainings for matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9 (MMP-2, and MMP-9) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were evaluated. The macroscopic adhesion scores were significantly lower in the disulfiram groups (groups 3, 4, and 6) compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Inflammation scores were lower in all groups receiving disulfiram, but only reached statistical significance in group 4 (p < 0.05). In the immunohistochemical evaluation of the groups, MMP-9 was significantly lower in group 5 than group 4 (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups for MMP-2 and VEGF. We found that disulfiram reduced postoperative adhesion formation. Disulfiram becomes more effective (by directly reducing inflammation) when initiated during the preoperative period at high doses.

Impact of Curcumin on Ovarian Reserve After Tubal Ligation: an Experimental Study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of tubal ligation (TL) via modified Pomeroy method on ovarian reserve and to determine the role of curcumin (Curcuma longa [Indian saffron]) against ovarian reserve decrement after TL. Forty-eight albino Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: (1) Control group: a sham operation was performed (n = 12), (2) Tubal ligation group: TL was performed (n = 12), (3) TL+DMSO group: 1 mL/day dimethyl sulfoxide was used for 50 days after TL, (4) TL+Curc group: 100 mg/kg/day curcumin dissolved in DMSO was administrated for 50 days after TL. Pre-operatively and on post-operative day 50, blood samples were collected for AMH evaluation, and oophorectomy was performed for histological and immunohistochemical examinations of ovaries in all groups. No difference in the basal AMH levels was found among the groups (p = 0.249). Compared to the basal, AMH levels were lower in the control, TL, and TL+DMSO groups (p = 0.003, p = 0.004, and p < 0.001, respectively) but not different in the TL+Curc group (p = 0.503) on post-operative day 50. No significant differences in the number of primary, preantral, antral, atretic follicles, and corpus luteum among the groups (p > 0.05) were found. The percentage of granulosa cells stained for caspase-3 in antral follicles and the corpus luteum was higher in the TL+Curc group than in the control and TL groups ([antral follicles; p < 0.01 for both groups], [corpus leteum; p = 0.009 and 0.002 for the control and TL groups, respectively]). It seems that TL does not decrease ovarian reserve and curcumin might have a positive effect on ovarian reserve in the setting of TL.

Dyshidrotic eczema and seborrheic dermatitis-like eczematous eruption following intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is increasingly used for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Although skin reactions to IVIg therapy are usually minor, rare, and not life-threatening, dermatologists need to recognize the nature of these adverse reactions. We describe a 33-year-old man suffering from demyelinating polyneuropathy who developed dyshidrotic eczema on the palms and flaky grayish-white scales on an erythematous base on his face after the administration of IVIg.

Survivin expression starts before hepatocellular cancer development in the liver of chronic hepatitis B patients: a pilot, cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Survivin expression is well known feature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, there is no information about survivin expression in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). AIM: Investigating survivin expression in the liver of CHB patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a single-centre, cross-sectional study. Seventy-five CHB patients and eight control patients were enrolled into the study between 2008 and 2018. Immunohistochemical study was performed by using anti-survivin antibody to evaluate survivin immunoreactivity. RESULTS: Survivin immunoreactivity was significantly higher in CHB patients compared to controls (p = 0.008). Also, the degree of survivin immunoreactivity was significantly higher in CHB patients (p = 0.027). Between the anti-survivin-positive and anti-survivin-negative groups, baseline laboratory parameters and initial pathology features were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study evaluating survivin expression in CHB patients. Understanding the possible relationship between survivin expression and HCC development in this population can promote new studies in terms of new therapies and treatment timing.

Surgical and Immunohistochemical Outcomes of Scleral Reconstruction with Autogenic, Allogenic and Xenogenic Grafts: An Experimental Rabbit Model.

Purpose: Choukroun's platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), a second-generation platelet concentrate, has unique morphological and chemical features and may be considered as a scaffold for scleral reinforcement and regeneration. The purpose of this study was to compare the use of xenogenic human-derived amniotic membrane (HAM), allogenic sclera, and autogenic PRF in rabbit lamellar scleral defect model with respect to both anatomical and immunohistochemical improvement. Methods: A total of 45 adult New Zealand rabbits were randomized into five groups: normal control; without surgical procedure, negative control; scleral defect model (SDM), xenogenic HAM; SDM+HAM graft, allogenic sclera; SDM+allogenic sclera graft, autogenic PRF; SDM+autogenic PRF graft. Clinical findings, Hematoxylin&Eozin (HE), Masson Trichrome, Verhoeff Acid Fuchsin, Transforming Growth Factor ß Receptor 1, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2, collagen type 1, aggrecan, and Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 were evaluated. Results: Ocular surface inflammation was significantly lower in normal control and autogenic PRF groups (p < .001). Graft was avascular and not integrated to scleral wound area in 25% rabbits of allogenic sclera group (p = .02), was out of the scleral wound in 33.3% rabbits of xenogenic HAM group (p > .05), all the grafts were at the normal location and viable in autogenic PRF group. The inflammation and vascularization in autogenic PRF group was significantly lower than negative control and xenogenic HAM groups in HE (p < .001). The collagen score of negative control and xenogenic HAM groups were significantly lower than normal control (p < .001) and autogenic PRF (p < .001) groups. There were insignificant differences between allogenic sclera and autogenic PRF groups (p > .05). For immunohistochemistry, the closest values to normal control group were detected in autogenic PRF group for all immunomarkers. Conclusion: Autogenic PRF showed superior features via its excellent anatomical and chemical composition for scleral regeneration when compared to single-layered xenogenic HAM and allogenic sclera grafts.

Expressions of glutathione S-transferase alpha, mu, pi, and theta in the skin samples of patients with acne rosacea.

BACKGROUND: Data point to the importance of oxidative stress in rosacea. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) have substantial roles in a wide variety of oxidative stress-related conditions. AIM: To evaluate the immunohistochemical staining characteristics of GST alpha (GSTA), mu (GSTM), pi (GSTP), and theta (GSTT) in patients with rosacea. PATIENTS/METHODS: The study included 23 women and 7 men with rosacea (mean ± SD age 49 ± 11 year) and 15 healthy control subjects (10 women, 5 men; mean ± SD age 47.86 ± 10.88 year). For each patient, the average disease duration, disease subtype, ocular involvement, and severity score were recorded. A 3-mm punch biopsy was taken from the facial skin of each patient and control. Expression of GST isoenzymes was analyzed immunohistochemically. RESULTS: Expressions of GSTM1, GSTP1, and GSTT1 were significantly elevated in patients with rosacea compared to those in the control group (P = .0001, P = .0002, P < .0001, respectively). In the rosacea group, GSTT1 expression was significantly stronger than GSTP1 and GSTA1 expressions (P = .019, P < .0001, respectively). There were no significant associations between expressions of GST isoenzymes and gender, age, average duration of illness, disease subtype, ocular involvement, or severity score in the patient group (all P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: In rosacea, the significant increase of GSTT1, GSTP1, and GSTM1 expressions might result from activation of GST as an outcome of extreme free radical generation from triggered neutrophils or ultraviolet vulnerability. These findings support the relevance of oxidant stress in the pathogenesis of rosacea.

SATB1 Expression of Colorectal Adenomatous Polyps is Higher than that of Colorectal Carcinomas.

"Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein-1" (SATB1) is a global genome organizer and is found to have effects on carcinogenesis and progression of various malignancies including colorectal carcinoma (CRC). We aimed to investigate the expression of SATB1 in CRC and colorectal adenomatous polyps (CAP), the correlation between clinicopathologic parameters, and overall survival. We examined 227 CRCs and 129 CAPs. SATB1 protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. We found higher SATB1 expression in adenomatous epithelium than in CRC tissues (55.0% vs. 42.7%, respectively) (P<0.05). None of the adjacent normal colorectal mucosa stained positive in CRC cases, and only one of the adjacent normal mucosa of the CAP cases was positive. SATB1 expression of left-sided CRC was higher than that of right-sided CRC (46.3% vs. 28.6%, respectively) (P<0.05), and SATB1 expression of conventional adenocarcinomas was higher than that of mucinous carcinomas (45.5% vs. 6.3%, respectively) (P<0.05). SATB1 expression was higher in CAPs consisting of high-grade dysplasia than in polyps with low-grade dysplasia (77.8% vs. 51.4%) (P<0.05). SATB1 expression did not correlate with patients' overall survival. In conclusion, due to the higher expression of SATB1 in CAP than in CRC, we think SATB1 may have a role in the early stages of carcinogenesis of CRCs. This is the first study investigating SATB1 expression in CAPs. Besides this is the first report that shows different SATB1 expressions in conventional colorectal adenocarcinoma and mucinous carcinoma, and also in right-sided and left-sided CRC. Our results, with supporting new studies, can provide SATB1 as a possible candidate for targeted therapy for CRC patients.

Effects of Different Doses of Systemic Isotretinoin on Eyes: A Histopathological and Immunohistochemical Study in Rats.

PURPOSE: To evaluate ocular side effects associated with systemic isotretinoin histopathologically. METHODS: In this multicenter study, a total of 15 male and 15 female rats were randomly divided into 3 equal groups according to the oral dose of isotretinoin they were administered: 0 mg/kg/d (group A), 7.5 mg/kg/d (group B), and 15 mg/kg/d (group C). Biopsy specimens were taken from the globe conjunctiva, cornea, and eyelid conjunctiva. Expression levels of human beta-defensin-1, human beta-defensin-2, toll-like receptor (TLR)-2, and TLR-4 were evaluated by immunohistochemical methods. RESULTS: The number of goblet cells in eyelid conjunctiva was significantly lower in group B than that in group A and group C (P = 0.002). The sizes of meibomian gland acini were significantly smaller in group B and group C than those in group A (P < 0.001). Fibrosis of eyelid conjunctiva was significantly higher in group C and group B than that in group A (P = 0.002). The levels of staining of TLR-4 in the cornea with group B were significantly lower compared with group C (P = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that isotretinoin in the early period affects eyelid conjunctiva and meibomian glands without affecting the globe conjunctiva and cornea. Occurrence of the initial symptoms of isotretinoin on the eyelids, especially on the meibomian glands, suggests that the symptoms of patients occur because of evaporative dry eye.

The importance of complete blood count parameters in the screening of gastric cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Gastric cancer is ranked fourth among all cancers in the world and second in cancer-related deaths. Gastritis leads to the activation of neutrophils, lymphocytes, macrophages, and platelets. Long-term inflammation leads to multistage histopathologic changes called Correa tract, which includes gastritis, atrophy, intestinal metaplasia (IM), dysplasia, and cancer stages. AIM: To determine if there is any difference in haematological parameters between gastric cancer (GC) patients, patients with IM, and healthy controls (HC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy-three GC patients, 79 patients with IM, and 70 HCs were included in the study. Demographics and laboratory parameters of complete blood count were extracted from the hospital medical database records. RESULTS: The mean Hb levels were statistically significant between all three groups. Mean red cell distribution width (RDW), white blood cells (WBC), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte-to-lymphocyte (MLR) levels were statistically significantly different between gastric cancer and healthy controls. Mean RDW, MPV, and PDW levels were statistically significantly different between the IM and healthy control groups. Mean WBC, NLR, PLR, and MLR levels were statistically significantly different between the gastric cancer and IM groups. CONCLUSIONS: RDW, platelet count, NLR, MLR, and PLR have diagnostic value and can help to distinguish patients with GC from those with IM. These parameters are accessible easily, the cost is not high, and it may help patients not to delay endoscopic screening.

Changes in Conjunctiva Morphology Using Impression Cytology in Patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis without Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy

OBJECTIVE: To compare the conjunctival morphological changes in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) without thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) and controls using impression cytology technique. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We included 25 HT patients and 33 healthy controls who did not have TAO findings or dry eye. For both groups, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free T4(FT4), and anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) were measured. Thyroid ultrasonography was performed, together with all routine eye check-ups and the Schirmer's test. Also, conjunctival impression cytology (CIC) test was performed to analyze the conjunctival morphology. RESULTS: When the CIC of HT patients was observed; 12% had grade 0, 40% had grade 1, 28% had grade 2 and 20% had grade 3. While patients with squamous metaplasia made up 48% of the HT group, this was observed at 6.1% in the control group (p < 0,001). In the regression model formulated, it was observed that obesity (OR=7.500; p=0.017) and anti TPO levels (OR=1.370, p=0,007) were independent stipulations for the squamous metaplasia. CONCLUSION: Conjunctival squamous metaplasia was more frequently seen in HT than controls and serum Anti-TPO level and obesity were detected as independent predictors of the worsening at the conjunctival impression cytology.

Mitochondrial DNA deletions in patients with esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus, esophageal adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer globally. Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) and esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) are the two major types of esophageal cancer with poor prognosis. The mechanisms of the progression of normal esophagus to Barrett's esophagus (BE) and EA are not fully understood. Mitochondria play a central role in generating energy, apoptosis and cell proliferation. Mutations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been identified in many diseases including cancers. Mutations of mtDNA were investigated as a part of carcinogenesis. OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to study whether the 5 kb and 7.4 kb mtDNA deletions are important in the progression of normal esophagus to BE and EA. METHOD: In this study, the frequency of the 5 kb and 7.4 kb deletions in mtDNA were studied in specimens ranging from normal esophageal tissue to BE and EA and also from ESCC. Seventy six paraffin-embedded tissue samples were studied. Four couple primers were used. RESULTS: Seventy-six tissue samples were analyzed total. The negative control and the positive control PCR product were detected in all analyzed samples. The fusion PCR products, which represent the presence of the deletions, were not detected in any of the samples. CONCLUSION: We can say that, these deletions are not associated with progression of normal esophagus to BE and EA and they do not have an important role in detecting esophagitis, BE, EA, and ESSC.

Clinical Significance of Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor, Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha, and Progranulin Levels in Patients with Gastric Cancer and Gastric Precancerous Lesions.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to evaluate serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and progranulin in patients with gastric cancer (GC) and precancerous lesions (PCL) and to determine the usefulness of these markers as diagnostic biomarkers in these diseases. METHOD: A total of 32 GC patients, 35 PCL patients, and 23 healthy controls participated in the study. The serum levels of VEGF, PEDF, TNF-α, and progranulin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The mean serum VEGF levels were 30.6 ± 12.98 pg/mL in GC, 18.2 ± 5.72 pg/mL in PCL, and 17.5 ± 5.59 pg/mL in controls. GC VEGF levels were significantly higher than both PCL and control groups (p < 0.001). The mean serum PEDF levels were 1516.1 ± 993.8 pg/mL in GC, 1039.1 ± 1002.3 pg/mL in PCL, and 767.5 ± 661.5 pg/mL in controls. The serum PEDF level in the GC group was significantly higher than that in both PCL and control groups (p = 0.004 and p = 0.038, respectively). The mean serum TNF-α levels were 46.7 ± 14.82 pg/mL in GC, 38.4 ± 11.89 pg/mL in PCL, and 33.8 ± 12.77 pg/mL in controls. There was a significant difference between GC and controls (p = 0.022) in TNF-α levels. The mean serum progranulin levels in GC were 2496.6 ± 737.8 pg/mL, 2332.0 ± 482.1 pg/mL in PCL, and 1288.7 ± 830.9 pg/mL in controls. Progranulin levels in both GC and PCL groups were significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.001 for both). CONCLUSION: There were significant differences among patients with GC and PCL and healthy controls in terms of serum VEGF, PEDF, TNF-α, and progranulin levels.

Expression of Sigma-Class Glutathione-S-Transferase in Fetal and Pediatric Filum Terminale Samples: A Comparative Study.

Background and objectives: The pathophysiology of tethered cord syndrome (TCS) in children is not well elucidated. An inelastic filum terminale (FT) is the main factor underlying the stretching of the spinal cord in TCS. Our study aimed to investigate the expression of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) in children and fetal FT samples in order to understand the relationship between this enzyme expression and the development of TCS. Materials and Methods: FT samples were obtained from ten children with TCS (Group 1) and histological and immunohistochemical examinations were performed. For comparison, FT samples from fifteen normal human fetuses (Group 2) were also analyzed using the same techniques. Statistical comparison was made using a Chi-square test. Results: Positive GST-sigma expression was detected in eight (80%) of 10 samples in Group 1. The positive GST-sigma expression was less frequent in nine (60%) of 15 samples from Group 2. No statistically significant difference was detected between the two groups (p = 0.197). Conclusions: Decreased FT elasticity in TCS may be associated with increased GST expression in FT. More prospective studies are needed to clarify the mechanism of the GST-TCS relationship in children.

The Relationship Between Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and Conjunctival Impression Cytology.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine whether obesity causes the development of metaplasia in conjunctival epithelial cells. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A total of 61 volunteer participants who had no previous history of illness or drug use were involved in this study. Of those, 20 were obese, and 41 were of normal weight. We measured the glucose and insulin values of all volunteers. We also measured the Body Mass Index (BMI) and Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA IR). The impression cytology method was used to analyze the conjunctival epithelium cells, and to classify them between Grades 0 to 3 according to the Nelson criteria. RESULTS: There was a certain level of loss of goblet cells on the 90% level as well as squamous metaplasia (Grade 2-3) in 80% of the obese participants and impression cytology was found to be normal in only two patients. The expected results were observed in 56.1% of the control group where the squamous metaplasia rate was nearly 17% (p < 0.001). 90.9% of the grade 3 patients were obese. The variables as independent predictors were found to indicate the existence of abnormal cytology in the conjunctiva at various levels; BMI (OR: 1.24; p=0.002) and HOMA IR (OR= 28.6; p= 0.001) in a Model I multivariable regression model, and the existence of obesity (OR: 11.91; p=0.002) and HOMA IR (OR= 15.08; p < 0.001) in a Model II multivariable regression model. CONCLUSION: Obesity was found to be a disorder that causes metaplasia in the conjunctival epithelium cells for the first time.

Glutathione S-Transferases and Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Expression in Patients with Intracranial Tumors: Preliminary Report of 55 Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Intracranial tumors are one of the most frightening and difficult-to-treat tumor types. In addition to surgery, protocols such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy also take place in the treatment. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are prominent drug-metabolizing enzymes in the human body. The aim of this study is to show the expression of GSTP1, GSTM1, CYP1A1, and CYP1B1 in different types of brain tumors and compare our results with those in the literature. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The expression of GSTP1, GSTM1, CYP1A1, and CYP1B1 was analyzed using immunostaining in 55 patients with intracranial tumors in 2016-2017. For GST and CYP expression in normal brain tissue, samples of a portion of surrounding normal brain tissue as well as a matched far neighbor of tumor tissue were used. The demographic features of the patients were documented and the expression results compared. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 46.72 years; 29 patients were female and 26 were male. Fifty-seven specimens were obtained from 55 patients. Among them, meningioma was diagnosed in 12, metastases in 12, glioblastoma in 9, and pituitary adenoma in 5. The highest GSTP1, GSTM1, and CYP-1A1 expressions were observed in pituitary adenomas. The lowest GSTP1 expression was detected in glioblastomas and the lowest CYP1B1 expression in pituitary adenomas. CONCLUSION: GSTP1 and CYP expression is increased in intracranial tumors. These results should be confirmed with a larger series and different enzyme subtypes.