Relationship between IL-17, TNF-α, IL-10, IFN-γ, and IL-18 polymorphisms with the outcome of hepatitis B virus infection in the Turkish population.

OBJECTIVE: Hepatitis B virus is a global threat that can lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. For the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus, polymorphisms might be an option for gene treatments. This study aimed to investigate the effects of IL-17, TNF-α, IL-10, IFN-γ, and IL-18 gene polymorphisms on hepatitis B virus infection in the Turkish population. METHODS: The genotypes and allele distribution of 75 patients exposed to hepatitis B virus and 50 healthy control individuals were analyzed. The real-time polymerase chain reaction method was used for identification. RESULTS: A correlation was observed between susceptibility to hepatitis B virus infection and IL-17 Exon 3/3'UTR (rs1974226) C, IL-17 Exon 3 (rs763780) A, IL-18 (-607) (rs1946518) A alleles, and IL-17 Exon 3 (rs763780) AA genotype (p=0.006, p=0.009, p=0.025, and p=0.008, respectively). Furthermore, IL-18 (-137) (rs187238) TT genotype and TNF-α-308 (rs1800629) G and A alleles, were associated with protection against hepatitis B virus infection (p=0.0351 and p=0.032, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that TNF-α (-308), IL-17 (Exon 3/3' UTR), IL-17 (Exon 3), and IL-18 (-607) polymorphisms are associated with hepatitis B virus infection. Therefore, these may serve as potential therapeutic targets for chronic viral hepatitis in the Turkish population.

Dicentric Recombinant Chromosome 18 due to Maternal Paracentric Inversion Analyzed by Array CGH.

Introduction: Chromosomal abnormalities are mostly found in 0.5-0.8% of live-born infants with developmental and morphological defects. Paracentric inversions are structural intrachromosomal rearrangements resulting in a risk of chromosomally unbalanced gametes in carriers. Case Presentation: Herein, we report a patient with dicentric rearrangement of chromosome 18 due to maternal paracentric inversion of chromosome 18. The patient was a girl, aged 3 years and 11 months. She was referred due to multiple congenital abnormalities, severe intellectual disability, and motor retardation. She had microcephaly, prominent metopic suture, synophrys, epicanthic folds, telecanthus, wide-set alae nasi, wide columella, bilateral cleft lip and palate, pectus carinatum, umbilical hernia, pes planus, and anteriorly displaced anus. She had bilateral external auditory canal stenosis and mild right-sided and moderate left-sided sensorineural hearing loss. Echocardiography showed secundum-type atrial septal defect and mild tricuspid failure. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed only thinning of posterior areas of the corpus callosum. Chromosome analysis showed 46,XX,dic rec(18) by GTG and C banding. Dicentric chromosome was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. Paternal karyotype was normal 46,XY but maternal chromosome analysis showed a paracentric inversion in chromosome 18 with 46,XX,inv(18)(q11.2?q21.3?) karyotype. Array CGH was performed on a peripheral blood sample from the patient and showed duplication at 18p11.32p11.21 and 18q11.1q11.2, and deletion at 18q21.33q23. The patient's final karyotype is arr 18p11.32p11.21(64,847_15,102,598)×3,18q11.1q11.2(18,542,074_22,666,470)×3,18q21.33q23(59,784,364_78,010,032)×1. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with dicentric chromosome 18 due to a parental paracentric inversion of chromosome 18. We present the genotype-phenotype correlation with literature review.

The miRNA content of circulating exosomes in DLBCL patients and in vitro influence of DLBCL-derived exosomes on miRNA expression of healthy B-cells from peripheral blood.

BACKGROUND: Due to the heterogeneous nature of Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), the mechanisms underlying tumor development and progression have not yet been fully elucidated. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the characteristics of plasma exosomes of DLBCL patients and healthy individuals and to evaluate the exosomal interactions between DLBCL cell lines and normal B-cells. METHODS: Exosome isolation was performed using an ultracentrifugation-based protocol from plasma of 20 patients with DLBCL and 20 controls. The expression of miRNAs from exosome samples was analyzed using a miRNA expression microarray. The presence of exosome-mediated communication between the lymphoma cells and normal B-cells was determined by the co-culture model. RESULTS: A significant increase in plasma exosome concentrations of DLBCL patients was observed. There was also a significant decrease in the expression of 33 miRNAs in plasma exosomes of DLBCL patients. It was determined that normal B-cells internalize DLBCL-derived exosomes and then miRNA expression differences observed in normal B-cells are specific to lymphoma-subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-3960, miR-6089 and miR-939-5p can be used as the miRNA signature in DLBCL diagnosis. We suppose that the exosomes changed the molecular signature of the target cells depending on the genomic characterization of the lymphoma cells they have originated.

Anti-tumor effects of bemiparin in HepG2 and MIA PaCa-2 cells.

Recent researches have demonstrated improved survival in oncologic patients treated with low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) which are anticoagulant drugs. We evaluated "second generation" LMWH bemiparin and its in vitro anti-tumor effects on HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma and MIA PaCa-2 cancer cells. The aim of the study is to investigate anti-cancer mechanism of bemiparin in HepG2 and Mia-Paca-2 cancer cells. Cytotoxic effects of bemiparin were determined by XTT assay. IC50 dose of bemiparin was found to be 200 IU/mL in the 48th hour in the MiaPaCa-2 cell line and 50 IU/mL in the 48th hour in the HepG2 cell line. CCND1 (cyclin D1), CDK4, CDK6, p21, p16, p53, caspase-3, caspase-9, caspase-8, Bcl-2, BID, DR4, DR5, FADD, TRADD, Bax, gene mRNA expressions were evaluated by Real-time PCR. Real-time PCR analysis showed that CCND1 expression was reduced in HepG2 dose the group cells when compared with the control group cells and p53, caspase-3, caspase p21, caspase-8 and expressions were increased in the dose group cells when compared with the control group cells. CCND1, CDK4 and CDK6 expressions were reduced in MIA PaCa-2 dose group cells when compared with the control group cells and p53 expression was increased in the dose group cells when compared with the control group cells. Other expressions of genes were found statistically insignificant both of cell lines. It was found that bemiparin in HepG2 and MIA PaCa-2 cells suppressed invasion, migration, and colony formation by using matrigel invasion chamber, and colony formation assay, respectively. In conclusion, it is thought that bemiparin indicates anti-tumor activity by affecting cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, invasion, migration, and colony formation on cancer cells.

Investigation of anticancer mechanism of oleuropein via cell cycle and apoptotic pathways in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.

Neuroblastoma is one of the most common types of pediatric tumors that can spread quickly in neuronal tissues. Oleuropein which is active compound of olive leaves, belongs to polyphenols group and has antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive and anti-carcinogenic effects. The aim of the study is to determine the therapeutic effects of oleuropein on cell proliferation, invasion, colony formation, cell cycle and apoptotic mechanisms in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line under in vitro conditions. The effect of oleuropein on cell viability was determined by XTT method. 84 cell cycle control and 84 apoptosis related genes were evaluated by RT-PCR. Effects of oleuropein on apoptosis were researched by TUNEL assay. Protein expressions were determined by western blot analysis. Effects of oleuropein on cell invasion, colony formation and migration were detected by matrigel-chamber, colony formation assay and wound-healing assay, respectively. IC50 value of oleuropein in SH-SY5Y cells was detected as 350 µM at 48th hours. It is determined that oleuropein causes cell cycle arrest by down-regulating of CylinD1,CylinD2,CyclinD3,CDK4,CDK6 and up-regulating of p53 and CDKN2A, CDKN2B, CDKN1A gene expressions. Oleuropein also induces apoptosis by inhibiting of Bcl-2 and activating of Bax,caspase-9 and caspase-3 gene expressions. Apoptotic cell ratio was found 36.4 ± 3.27% in oleuropein dose group. Oleuropein decreased invasion in SH-SY5Y cells and suppressed colony numbers in ratio of 53.6 ± 4.71%.Our results demonstrated that oleuropein can be a therapeutic agent in the treatment of neuroblastoma.

Extract of Calvatia gigantea inhibits proliferation of A549 human lung cancer cells.

In this study, in order to investigate the anticancer mechanism of Calvatia gigantea extract, edible mushroom species, which belong to Lycoperdaceae family, changes of CCND1, CCND2, CDK4, p21, Akt, Bax, Bcl-2, p53, caspase-3 and caspase-9 were evaluated in A549 lung cancer cells. Cytotoxic effect of C. gigantea extract was evaluated by using XTT (2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5 carboxanilide). The C. gigantea extract was treated in a time and dose dependent manner within the range 25 µg/ml-2 mg/ml to determine the IC50 dose. IC50 dose for C. gigantea extract was detected as 500 µg/ml for 72 h. According to expression results, while CCND1, CCND2, CDK4, Akt and Bcl-2 expression clearly decreased, Bax, p53, caspase-3 and caspase-9 expression clearly increased in the dose group cells (A549 cells treated with 500 µg/ml dose of C. gigantea extract for 72 h). However, there was no change in p21 expression. C. gigantea extract induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by decreasing the CCND1, CCND2, CDK4, Akt and Bcl-2 expression and by increasing Bax, p53, caspase-3 and caspase-9 expression in A549 cells. Mushrooms are eukaryotic organisms heavily used because of their supposedly anticancer effect. Many mushroom species have been used for medical purposes, as a result of also having many effects such as antibiotic, antiviral and anticancer effects. It is thought that the C. gigantea extract may be a significant agent for treatment of lung cancer as a single agent or in combination with other drugs.

Investigation of the effects of a sulfite molecule on human neuroblastoma cells via a novel oncogene URG4/URGCP.

AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the anticancer effect of sulfite on SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells in vitro conditions and elucidate underlying molecular mechanism of sulfite and explore its therapeutic activity. MAIN METHODS: In this study, cytotoxic effects of sulfite in SH-SY5Y cels were detected over time in a dose dependent manner with the IC50 doses ranging from 0.5 to 10 mM. Genotoxic effect of sulfite was shown by comet assay. IC50 doses in the SH-SY5Y cells were detected as 5 mM. Expression profiles of the target genes related to apoptosis and cell cycle control were determined by quantitative RT-PCR. Protein changes were determined by western blot analysis. KEY FINDINGS: URG4/URGCP, CCND1, CCND2, CDK4, CDK6, E2F4 and BCL-2 gene expression levels were significantly reduced and RB1, TP53, BAX, BID, CASP2, CASP3, CASP9 and DIABLO gene expressions were significantly increased in dose group cells. The mechanism of this result may be related to sulfite dependent inhibition of cell cycle at the G1 phase by down-regulating URG4/URGCP or CCND1, CDK4, CDK6 gene expression and stimulating apoptosis via the intrinsic pathway. Sulfite suppressed invasion and colony formation in SH-SY5Y cell line using matrigel invasion chamber and colony formation assay, respectively. SIGNIFICANCE: It is thought that sulfite demonstrates anticarcinogenesis activity by affecting cell cycle arrest, apoptosis s, invasion, and colony formation on SH-SY5Y cells. Sulfite may be an effective agent for treatment of neuroblastoma as a single agent or in combination with other agents.

Assessment of the anticancer mechanism of ferulic acid via cell cycle and apoptotic pathways in human prostate cancer cell lines.

Studies on genetic changes underlying prostate cancer and the possible signaling pathways are getting increased day by day, and new treatment methods are being searched for. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of ferulic acid (FA), a phenolic compound, on cell cycle, apoptosis, invasion, and colony formation in the PC-3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells. The effect of FA on cell viability was determined via a 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) method. Total RNA was isolated with Tri Reagent. Expression of 84 genes for both cell cycle and apoptosis separately was evaluated by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). Protein expressions were evaluated by Western blot analysis. Furthermore, apoptotic effects of FA were observed with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Effects of FA on cell invasion and colony formation were determined using Matrigel chamber and colony assay, respectively. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) dose of FA was found to be 300 µM in PC-3 cells and 500 µM in LNCaP cells. According to RT-PCR results, it was observed that FA inhibited cell proliferation by increasing the gene expressions of ATR, ATM, CDKN1A, CDKN1B, E2F4, RB1, and TP53 and decreasing the gene expressions of CCND1, CCND2, CCND3, CDK2, CDK4, and CDK6 in PC-3 cells. On the other hand, it was seen that FA suppressed cell proliferation by increasing in the gene expressions of CASP1, CASP2, CASP8, CYCS, FAS, FASLG, and TRADD and decreasing in the gene expressions of BCL2 and XIAP in LNCaP cells. In this study, protein expression of CDK4 and BCL2 genes significantly decreased in these cells. It could induce apoptosis in PC-3 and LNCaP cells. Also, it was observed that FA suppressed the invasion in PC-3 and LNCaP cells. Moreover, it suppressed the colony formation. In conclusion, it has been observed that FA may lead to cell cycle arrest in PC-3 cells while it may cause apoptosis in LNCaP cells.

MYD88 expression and L265P mutation in mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

BACKGROUND: Myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MYD88) is a common adaptor protein that is responsible for signaling from several receptors; mutations in this gene may play a role in the pathogenesis of lymphoma. AIM: We aimed to determine the MYD88 L265P mutation frequency, the level of MYD88 expression, and their associations with clinicopathological parameters in mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs). METHODS: A total of 68 patients were included in the study. The presence of the MYD88 L265P mutation was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. MYD88 protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using two different scoring systems. RESULTS: MYD88 L265P mutation was present in eight (18.6%) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. We also observed a significant association between the loss of MYD88 expression and advanced stage in both mature B-cell NHL and DLBCL according to the first IHC scoring systems (p=0.015 and p=0.024, respectively). An association was also seen between MYD88 overexpression and low clinical risk in both mature B-cell NHL and DLBCL according to the second IHC scoring system (p=0.027 and p=0.024, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The L265P mutation may be helpful for understanding the pathogenesis of immune-privileged site-associated DLBCLs. The presence of the mutation, together with its protein overexpression, could also be used as a prognostic marker in advanced stage DLBCLs.

Possible Role of GADD45γ Methylation in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Does It Affect the Progression and Tissue Involvement?

OBJECTIVE: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma among adults and is characterized by heterogeneous clinical, immunophenotypic, and genetic features. Different mechanisms deregulating cell cycle and apoptosis play a role in the pathogenesis of DLBCL. Growth arrest DNA damage-inducible 45 (GADD45γ) is an important gene family involved in these mechanisms. The aims of this study are to determine the frequency of GADD45γ methylation, to evaluate the correlation between GADD45γ methylation and protein expression, and to investigate the relation between methylation status and clinicopathologic parameters in DLBCL tissues and reactive lymphoid node tissues from patients with reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six tissue samples of DLBCL and 40 nonmalignant reactive lymphoid node tissues were analyzed in this study. Methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting analysis was used for the determination of GADD45γ methylation status. The GADD45γ protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: GADD45γ methylation was frequent (50.0%) in DLBCL. It was also significantly higher in advanced-stage tumors compared with early-stage (p=0.041). In contrast, unmethylated GADD45γ was associated with nodal involvement as the primary anatomical site (p=0.040). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that, in contrast to solid tumors, the frequency of GADD45γ methylation is higher and this epigenetic alteration of GADD45γ may be associated with progression in DLBCL. In addition, nodal involvement is more likely to be present in patients with unmethylated GADD45γ.

Valproic acid inhibits the proliferation of SHSY5Y neuroblastoma cancer cells by downregulating URG4/URGCP and CCND1 gene expression.

Valproic acid (VPA), used for the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder, regulates several signaling pathways in brain cells. The up-regulated gene 4 (URG4/URGCP) is a novel gene located on 7p13. URG4/URGCP stimulates cyclin D1 (CCND1) mRNA expression, and URG4/URGCP silencing diminishes CCND1 mRNA expression in HepG2 cells. This study was performed to investigate the anti-cancer mechanism of action of VPA by analyzing the expression of novel gene URG4/URGCP, CCND1, p21, p53, p65 (RelA), Bax, and Bcl-2 in SHSY5Y neuroblastoma (NB) cancer cells. Cytotoxic effects of VPA in SHSY5Y were noticed in time and dose dependent manner with the IC50 doses within the range of 0.5-10 mM. IC50 doses in the SHSY5Y were detected as 7.5 mM. Expression profiles were determined by semi quantitative RT-PCR and URG4/URGCP protein change by western blot analysis. Our results suggest that VPA induces cell cycle arrest in SHSY5Y due to the decrease in URG4/URGCP, CCND1 gene expression and the increase in p65. To conclude, VPA may be a prospective agent for the treatment of NB as a single agent or in combination with other drugs. Thus, more studies should be designed to find a safe dose with the best effects of VPA.

Utility of serum DNA and pyrosequencing for the detection of EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer.

Mutations in the EGFR gene are critical determinants of treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. DNA isolation from tumor samples usually requires surgery; therefore, we wanted to isolate DNA from circulating tumor cells by using the serum of NSCLC patients. This protocol was recently published. DNA was isolated from the serum of 52 Turkish NSCLC patients and their EGFR mutation status was examined by pyrosequencing. EGFR mutations were detected in 25 of the 52 patients (48.1%): 17 patients with delE746-A750, 2 with delE747-A750insP, and 6 with L858R. All mutations detected by pyrosequencing were confirmed by dideoxy sequencing, and the presence of the same mutations in the tumors was verified by using paraffin embedded tissues of all the patients. Mutations were detected more frequently in adenocarcinomas (24 of 36, 66.7%) than in squamous cell carcinomas (1 of 16, 6.3%) (P<0.001). These results confirm the utility of serum DNA and pyrosequencing for the detection of EGFR mutations in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Investigation of microRNA expression changes in HepG2 cell line in presence of URG4/URGCP and in absence of URG4/URGCP suppressed by RNA interference.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) originates from liver cells and is one of the most common malignant cancers in the world. microRNAs (miRNA), are single strand non-coding RNA molecules with the length of 18-25 nucleotides. miRNAs play an important role in the development of HCC, i.e., miRNAs have a significant impact on multistep hepatocellular carcinogenesis including cellular migration and invasion. URG4/URGCP (up-regulated gene-4/upregulator of cell proliferation) is up-regulated in the presence of HBxAg and has been identified and characterized by Satiroglu-Tufan et al. The full-length URG4/URGCP is 3.607 kb. Overexpression of URG4/URGCP in the presence of HBV X protein may function as a putative oncogene that significantly contributes to multi-step hepatocarcinogenesis. In this study, we aimed to investigate potential miRNA expression changes in HepG2 cell line model system in the presence of URG4/URGCP and in the absence of URG4/URGCP, which was suppressed by RNA interference. To functionally characterize URG4/URGCP, independent cultures of HepG2 cells were stably transfected with pcDNA3 or pcDNA3-URG4/URGCP. Relative quantification of whole genome miRNAs was analyzed by RT-PCR using human whole genome miRNA qPCR profiling kits. Among the 1,034 human miRNAs investigated by the arrays, 77 miRNAs were up-regulated and nine miRNAs were down-regulated in the presence of URG4/URGCP. In conclusion, we have analyzed miRNA profiles in HepG2 cells in presence or absence of URG4/URGCP gene using RNA interference. Some of these miRNAs may play roles in URG4/URGCP gene related disease development through the regulation of different signaling pathways.

The determination of relationship between "excision repair cross-complementing group 1" (ERCC1) gene T19007C and C8092A single nucleotide polymorphisms and clinicopathological parameters in non-small cell lung cancer.

DNA repair plays a key role in prevention of carcinogenesis and one of the most important DNA repair mechanisms is nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. This pathway includes a number of genes such as excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1) gene which are responsible for the 5' incision of damaged DNA. A reduced DNA repair capacity associated with ERCC1 mRNA level has been observed in lung carcinogenesis. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ERCC1 gene, T19007C (rs11615) and C8092A (rs3212986), reportedly predict to affect the mRNA of ERCC1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To examine the role of two common SNPs in ERCC1 gene further, we conducted this study where 80 cases histopatologically diagnosed as NSCLC were genotyped. Genomic DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissues and two SNPs were analyzed using real-time PCR. The distributions of TT, TC, and CC genotypes of the T19007C SNP were 40, 44 and 16%, respectively. Significantly increased frequency of the patients carrying at least one 19007C allele was observed in early stage compared to advanced stage (P=0.002). And also, the frequency of TC and CC genotypes significantly increased in younger patients compared to older patients (P=0.035). Regarding C8092A SNP, the distribution of CC, CA, and AA genotypes was 38, 51 and 11%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the genotype distribution between C8092A SNP and clinicopathological parameters. This study indicated that harboring at least one 19007C allele may have protective effect in NSCLC.

Expression of ERCC1 and its clinicopathological correlations in non-small cell lung cancer.

Excision Repair Cross-Complementing Group 1 (ERCC1) is an important DNA repair gene, playing critical role in nucleotide excision repair pathway and having a significant influence on genomic instability. Some studies support that ERCC1 might be a potential predictive and prognostic marker in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ERCC1 has also been shown to be a promising biomarker in NSCLC treated with a cisplatin-based regimen. Therefore, the determination of ERCC1 expression at DNA, mRNA and protein level in different stages of NSCLC is still an important topic in the cancer. Ninety-one formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples histopathologically diagnosed as NSCLC were examined in this study. ERCC1 expression at protein level were scored by immunohistochemistry. The gene amplification and mRNA expression levels for ERCC1 were determined by real-time quantitative PCR. There was complete concordance among the three methods in 39 tumor samples (42.9%). A strong correlation was found between DNA amplification and mRNA expression (r=0.662) while there was no correlation between mRNA and protein assessment for ERCC1 expression (r=-0.013). ERCC1 expression at mRNA and DNA level (63.1 and 84.2%, respectively) in tumors at stage III was higher than at the other stages. In contrast, the protein expression at stage II and III (56.6 and 52.6%, respectively) of NSCLC was lower than that of tumors with stage I NSCLC. These results show that the mechanism by which ERCC1 expression might play a role in tumor behavior. This study was also confirmed that the appropriate validation and qualification in methods used for ERCC1 status were needed before its clinical application and implementation.

Terminal 14q deletion with unbalanced t(Y;14)(q12;q32) translocation.

Terminal deletions of chromosome 14q are very rarely reported. Schneider et al. (2008) reviewed about 20 cases of 14q32 region deletion in a previous article and only three of the cases involved autosomal translocations; however, no sex chromosome translocations were reported. Here we report the clinical findings of a patient with terminal 14q32 deletion derivated from at (Y;14)(q12;q32) translocation.

Determination of O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase promoter methylation in non-small cell lung cancer.

Aberrant methylation of promoter CpG islands is known to be a major inactivation mechanism of the tumor-related genes including DNA repair genes. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of promoter methylation of the O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) gene as a DNA repair gene in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to analyze the correlation with clinicopathological parameters including age, gender, smoking status, histological subtype, and clinical stage. Eighty patients with NSCLC were included in this study. The analysis of DNA methylation was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lung cancer tissues. Following DNA isolation and bisulfite treatment, DNA methylation was analyzed by methylation-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction. MGMT promoter methylation was detected in 51 of 80 (64%) NSCLC patients. There was a significant correlation between MGMT methylation and tumor stage (p = 0.01). The frequencies of the promoter methylation of MGMT gene in smokers and older patients were higher than in their counterparts. In conclusion, the present study provides strong evidence for a higher frequency of promoter methylation of the MGMT gene in NSCLC, indicating that it is a common event during the carcinogenesis of NSCLC.

Prenatal diagnosis of ß-thalassemia and other hemoglobinopathies in southwestern Turkey.

Our aim was to evaluate the prenatal diagnosis of ß-thalassemia (ß-thal) and other hemoglobinopathies in a region with high frequency. After detection by premarital or antenatal screening, 312 patients underwent 420 prenatal diagnostic procedures for 407 fetuses in a 10-year period. Fetal samples were collected by chorionic villi sampling (CVS) in the first trimester and amniocentesis and cordocentesis in the second trimester. Mutation analyses of ß-globin and cytogenetic analyses were performed and the most common mutations detected were: IVS-I-110 (G>A), IVS-II-1 (G>A), IVS-I-6 (T>C) and IVS-II-745 (C>G). Hb S [ß6(A3)Glu→Val, GAG>GTG)] was the most common hemoglobin (Hb) variant with a frequency of 6.3%. Among 407 fetuses, 105 (25.8%) were diagnosed as affected, while 201 (49.4%) were carriers and 101 (24.8%) were normal. Cytogenetic analyses revealed nine fetuses (2.3%) with numerical chromosomal abnormalities as regular or mosaicism. Prenatal diagnosis of common hemoglobinopathies is safe and effective. Performing cytogenetic analysis in excess fetal material is an acceptable option.

Complete gonadal dysgenesis 46,XY (Swyer syndrome) in two sisters and their mother's maternal aunt with a female phenotype.

OBJECTIVE: To present a familial case of Swyer syndrome. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Academic medical center. PATIENT(S): Two sisters with a main complaint of primary amenorrhea and another case, their mother's maternal aunt with the same history of primary amenorrhea but married with no consanguinity and no children. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The patients were studied from clinical, endocrinologic, and genetic perspectives. RESULT(S): Chromosome analyses revealed a 46,XY male karyotype with no detectable mosaicism in both sisters and their mother's maternal aunt. Molecular studies of sex-determining region Y and molecular investigation undertaken for the two sisters revealed SRY negativity. CONCLUSION(S): Gonadal dysgenesis can also be inherited as an X-linked disorder, and evidence exists from familial studies of perhaps autosomal inheritance.