The CCL28 levels are elevated in the serum of patients with irritable bowel syndrome and associated with the clinical symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation and inflammatory mediators have been proposed to be key players in the pathobiology of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS. The chemokine CCL28 plays a role in the trafficking of inflammatory cells into mucosal tissues. However, its levels in patients with IBS has not been yet elucidated. METHOD: In this study, the levels of CCL28 were measured in the serum of 41 patients with IBS and 41 age- and gender-matched normal individuals using Elisa. Then, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was conducted to assess the diagnostic value of CCL28. RESULTS: Our data showed that the levels of CCL28 are significantly elevated in patients with IBS compared to the control donors. Moreover, we observed that the level of CCL28 is associated with many clinical symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The area under the ROC curve was 0.71 (95% confidential interval, 0.598-0.823), the sensitivity and specificity of CCL28 for the diagnosis of IBS patients were 68.3% and 70.7%, respectively with a cut off of 278.9 ng/mL. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that CCL28 is elevated in patients with IBS and correlates with clinical findings, indicating that CCL28 might be an appropriate biomarker for the diagnosis of IBS; however, further studies are necessary.

Evaluation of trace element concentration in cancerous and non-cancerous tissues of human stomach.

Gastric cancer has a high mortality rate in west of Iran. Various environmental elements are proposed as cancer risk factors including trace elements. Trace elements can induce initiation or progression of carcinogenesis via oxidative stress and DNA injury. The aim of this study was to measure and compare some trace element concentration (Ca, Cu, Fe, As, Mg, Ni, Cd and Cr) in gastric cancer tissues and normal tissues. For this purpose, 35 patients with gastric cancer and 30 without any cancer were biopsied. Biopsies were taken from cancerous tissue and non-cancerous tissue of gastric cancer patients and gastric tissue of normal patients. The analysis of trace elements was performed using Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Data analysis was carried out using SPSS and STATA 12 software. The research found that the concentrations of Fe, Mg, and As were higher in cancerous tissues compared with non-cancerous tissues whereas Cr, Cu, Ca, and Ni concentrations were higher in non-cancerous tissues of cancerous patients. When comparisons were made for cancer and normal samples, copper was the only metal, which was significantly higher in cancerous samples (p < 0.05) and Cr mean concentration in normal tissues was significantly higher compared with cancerous tissues (P = 0.02). Chi-Square test showed that there was no significant relationship in the demographic information between cancerous and normal patients except for location with K2 = 7.604. Increased Cu and As concentration in gastric patients (both tissues) propose that these elements may have carcinogenic effects, although further study is suggested.

The chemokine receptor CXCR4 is associated with the staging of gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: CXCR4 is a cognitive receptor for stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and has been previously shown to be associated with tumor growth and invasion of many cancers. However, its expression and function in gastric cancer has not been well clarified. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Herein, we studied the expression of CXCR4 on gastric samples from patients with gastric adenocarcinoma in comparison with precancerous lesions by employing qRT-PCR. RESULTS: Our qRT-PCR data show that CXCR4 is highly expressed in tissue samples from patients with gastric cancer than precancerous lesions (2.4 times higher, P value < 0.05). When we correlated the level of CXCR4 with clinicopathological findings, we observed that CXCR4 level is associated with staging of the disease and lymphatic invasion. IN CONCLUSION: We present evidence that CXCR4 level is significantly elevated in later stages of gastric cancer. Thus, CXCR4 may play a crucial role in gastric cancer progression.

Nuclear pattern of CXCR4 expression is associated with a better overall survival in patients with gastric cancer.

Introduction. Previous studies have shown that stromal-derived factor-1 (CXCL12) and its receptor, CXCR4, play a crucial role in metastasis of various tumors. Similarly, it has been cleared that CXCR4 is expressed on the cell surface of gastric cancers. However, nuclear expression of CXCR4 and its clinical importance have not been yet studied. Materials and Methods. Herein, we studied the expression of CXCR4 in gastric samples from patients with gastric adenocarcinoma as well as human gastric carcinoma cell line, AGS, by employing RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry techniques. Results. RT-PCR data showed that CXCR4 is highly expressed on AGS cells. This was confirmed by IHC and FACS as CXCR4 was detected on cell membrane, in cytoplasm, and in nucleus of AGS cells. Moreover, we found that both cytoplasmic and nuclear CXCR4 are strongly expressed in primary gastric cancer and the cytoplasmic pattern of CXCR4 tends to be associated with a shorter overall survival than nuclear staining. In conclusion, we present evidence for the first time that both cytoplasmic and nuclear expression of CXCR4 are detectable in gastric cancer tissues. However, the role of both cytoplasmic and nuclear CXCR4 needs to be further elucidated.

Autoimmune pancreatitis mimicking carcinoma of the head of the pancreas: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: We report on a case of autoimmune pancreatitis presenting as pancreatic head cancer, which is extremely rare in Iran. Currently, on the PubMed database, no such cases exist. CASE PRESENTATION: A 70-year-old Iranian man presented with recurrent abdominal pain, jaundice and elevated bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase levels. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a heterogeneous presence in the pancreatic head as well as dilated intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts. A common bile duct stent had been inserted. Our patient was subsequently diagnosed with pancreatic head cancer.Due to his continued recurrent abdominal pain, our patient returned to the hospital. His levels of bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase and tumor markers were all normal but his immunoglobulin G4 and antinuclear antibodies were extremely high. A biopsy of the pancreatic head heterogeneity by endoscopic ultrasonography was performed.Pathologic samples showed fibrosis associated with lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and no evidence of malignancy. A diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis was confirmed, the bile duct stent removed, and an appropriate treatment plan was undertaken. CONCLUSION: Autoimmune pancreatitis should be considered in suspected cases of pancreatic cancer. In these instances, a biopsy of the pancreas will help to differentiate between the two and prevent complications due to disease progression as well as unnecessary surgery.