Investigation of Early Growth Response Protein (EGR) Levels in Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a soft tissue rheumatism characterized by chronic and widespread musculoskeletal pain at specific points in the body. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between Early Growth Response (EGR1, EGR2, and EGR3) protein levels in patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) and healthy controls. METHODS: In our studies, 76 FMS patient group and 78 healthy control group who were newly diagnosed with primary FMS according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology criteria for fibromyalgia in Sivas Cumhuriyet University Hospital, Physical Therapy, and Rehabilitation were used. Venous blood samples were taken from both groups for the measurement of EGR1, EGR2, and EGR3 protein plasma levels, and protein levels were determined using ELISA methods. Statistical parametric test assumptions were compared using the Independent Student's t-test. In addition, specificity, sensitivity, and AUC values were calculated with the ROC curve. RESULTS: The relationship between plasma EGR1 protein levels of FMS patients and control groups was statistically significant (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: EGR1 protein levels were found to be lower in the patient group diagnosed with FMS compared to the control group. It has been suggested that EGR1 protein levels can be important in the diagnosis of FMS disease.

In Silico and In Vitro Studies of Novel Azomethines on DNA Repair Genes in Gastric Cell Lines.

We herein report the determination of the cytotoxic activity and expression profiles of some DNA repair genes of newly synthesized azomethines in the gastric cancer cell line (AGS). The studied novel compounds were synthesized by a condensation reaction and received compounds were characterized by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy methods. Furthermore, they were applied to the AGS cell line at eight different concentrations (0.1-50 µg/mL). Anticancer activities were determined using the MTT method. Expression levels of ATR, ERCC1, TOP2A, and ABCB1 genes were determined by the RT-PCR method. Biochemical parameters were also examined. The interaction of proteins with other proteins was investigated with the String v11 program. The IC50 values of compounds 1, 2, and 3 obtained after 72 h were 23.10, 8.93, and 1.58 µg/mL, respectively. The results demonstrate that the cytotoxic activity of compound 3 on AGS cancer cells is higher in comparison with other molecules. It was determined that the expression levels of ATR, TOP2A, and ABCB1 genes in compounds 1, 2, and 3 were decreased compared to the control group. In addition, it was determined that ERCC1 gene expression increased in compound 3, decreased in compound 2, and remained unchanged in compound 1 (p < 0.001). In AGS gastric cancer cells, a 64% decrease was detected for GST levels in compound 1, while a 38% decrease in GSH levels in compound 2. In addition, compounds 1-3 were examined at the molecular level with computational techniques and the docking studies revealed 4LN0 as a target protein.