The use of serum zinc to prostate-specific antigen ratio as a biomarker in the prediction of prostate biopsy outcomes.

AIM: To generate a combination of serum zinc (Zn) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in an attempt to provide better prediction of prostate biopsy outcomes with Zn/PSA ratios. MATERIALS & METHODS: Diagnostic performances of PSA and Zn/PSA were investigated using receiver operating characteristic and the area under the curve analysis and McNemar test in 480 men. Decision curve analysis was also used to determine the net clinical benefits of the two parameters. RESULTS: The receiver operating characteristic-area under the curve analysis established a similar diagnostic performance for both parameters. Although Zn/PSA had a higher diagnostic sensitivity, PSA was superior in terms of specificity and net clinical benefits. CONCLUSION: Zn/PSA has no substantial superiority in the prediction of prostate biopsy outcomes.

Extracellular matrix protein 1 gene rs3737240 single nucleotide polymorphism is associated with ulcerative colitis in Turkish patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease are chronic inflammatory diseases. Genetic, immunologic, and microbial factors play an important role in their pathogenesis. Extracellular matrix protein 1 (ECM1), a gene related to mucosal barrier function, has been shown to be associated with UC. This study aims to determine the relationship between ECM1 gene rs3737240 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and UC in a group of Turkish patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-four UC patients and 120 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. ECM1 gene rs3737240 SNP genotyping was performed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: TT genotype was significantly more common in UC patients than in the healthy control group [p=0.034; odds ratio (OR) 2.34; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-5.25]. The presence of C allele significantly lowered the UC risk (p=0.034; OR 0.42; 95% CI 0.19-0.95). TT genotype was significantly associated with azathioprine use in UC patients (p=0.037; OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.04-8.65). The C allele significantly reduced the probability of azathioprine use in UC patients (p=0.037; OR 0.33 CI 95% 0.11-0.96). No relation was found between rs3737240 SNP genotype and the phenotypical characteristics of UC patients. CONCLUSION: The TT genotype of ECM1 gene rs3737240 SNP significantly increased susceptibility for UC and azathioprine use in UC patients in a Turkish population.

Circulating miR-221-3p as a novel marker for early prediction of acute myocardial infarction.

Recent studies have reported circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) as novel biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases including acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, stroke, and acute pulmonary embolism. The aims of this study were 1) to compare the plasma expression levels of miRNAs in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and control subjects and in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI 2) to evaluate miRNAs potential to be used as novel diagnostic biomarkers for ACS. Twenty seven consecutive patients, admitted to emergency department of a training and research hospital between January-December 2013 with acute chest pain and/or dyspnea and diagnosed with ACS, and 16 non-ACS control subjects were included in this study. miRNA profiling was performed by using real time polymerase chain reaction. Functions of dysregulated miRNAs were evaluated by computerized-pathways analysis. miR-221-3p was one of the two most dysregulated miRNAs with a fold regulation of 3.89. It was significantly positively correlated with both Troponin and GRACE and Synthax Score. Moreover, miR221-3p was found to be significantly inversely correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction. miR-221-3p was the most prominent biomarker candidate with an area under curve (AUC) level of 0.881 (95% confidence interval: 0.774-0.987; p=0.002). The present study is the first to report an increased expression levels of miR-221-3p in AMI. Since miR-221-3p has a high discriminative value and significant relations with Troponin, GRACE and Synthax score and left ventricular systolic function, it may be a potential biomarker for early prediction of AMI.

The prognostic value of circulating microRNAs in heart failure: preliminary results from a genome-wide expression study.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of microRNAs (miRNA) as biomarkers in various cardiovascular disorders. The aim of the present study was to quantitatively evaluate the expression levels of miRNAs in patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) in order to identify differential expression profiles as biomarkers with prognostic values. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The study included 20 clinically stable [New York Heart Association (NYHA) II] and 22 decompensated (NYHA III and IV) CHF patients and 15 healthy controls. miRNA profiling was performed using a microarray method. Dysregulated miRNAs were evaluated for their biomarker potential. RESULTS: Microarray profiling revealed an increase in the expression of miR-21, miR-650, miR-744, miR-516-5p, miR-1292, miR-182, miR-1228, miR-595, miR-663b, miR-1296, miR-1825, miR-299-3p, miR-662 miR-122, miR-3148 and miR-518e and a decrease in the expression of miR-129-3p, miR-3155, miR-3175, miR-583, miR-568, miR-30d, miR-200a-star, miR-1979, miR-371-3p, miR-155-star and miR-502-5p in sera of CHF patients. The prognostic value of miR-182 [area under the curve (AUC) 0.695] was found to be superior to pro-brain type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP; AUC 0.350) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (AUC 0.475) by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis. Cox regression analysis showed that miR-182 could predict cardiovascular mortality (P = 0.032). CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the increased expression levels of circulating miRNAs in CHF as compared with controls. Moreover, miR-182 was found to be a potential prognostic marker in CHF.

Low Oxalobacter Formigenes Colonization is Associated with Reduced Bone Mineral Density in Urinary Stone Forming Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Lower bone mineral density (BMD) and reduced Oxalobacter formigenes colonization are common findings in urolithiasis patients. But none of the studies conducted investigated the relationship between decreased bone mineral density and reduced Oxalobacter colonization. Here we evaluated the relation between BMD and O. formigenes colonization in urolithiasis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 50 stone formers (48.9 ± 11.9 years) and 50 control (47.2 ± 13.4 years) adult male subjects were included in the study. Alterations in O. formigenes colonization were determined as absolute O. formigenes count from fecal samples by real time polymerase chain reaction using species specific primers. BMD was evaluated from t- and z- scores calculated by using dual energy absorptiometry in the total femoral neck and lumbar spine (L2-L4). RESULTS: Low BMD was observed in 18 (36%) urinary stone forming patients and in 7 (14%) control subjects in the lumbar area (p < 0.05). The mean O. formigenes count in stone formers and control subjects were 19,257 (5,791 ± 1,117.93) and 143,850 (2,815,725 ± 3,946,044.7) (p < 0.05) respectively. We observed a correlation between decreased lumbar BMD and O. formigenes colonization and testosterone levels in stone formers. Our results indicated that diminished O. formigenes colonization in the gut of urinary stone forming subjects was associated with reduced BMD.

GSTT1 is deregulated in left colon tumors.

Our aim was to determine GSTT1 expression levels in left colon tumors and paired normal tissue in order to identify specific alterations in GSTT1 mRNA levels. Alterations in GSTT1 expression in twenty-four left- sided colon tumors and paired cancer free tissue were determined by qRT-PCR. Significant fold changes were determined with t-test. When compared with cancer free tissue, left colon cancers showed a significant decrease in GSTT1 expression. However, GSTT1 mRNA levels among different grades increased gradually in correlation with tumor grade. Our results suggest that downregulation of GSTT1 in left-sided colon cancers is an early event and is reversed with cancer progression, probably due to cellular defense mechanisms as a response to changes in the microenvironment.