Nanoparticles for active combination radio mitigating agents of zinc coumarate and zinc caffeinate in a rat model.

Zinc coumarate and zinc caffeinate nanoparticles (ZnCoNPs, ZnCaNPs) affect different biological processes. This study aimed to evaluate the mitigating action of ZnCoNPs in combination with ZnCaNPs against liver damage induced by gamma rays (γ-rays). Rats were exposed to 7 Gy of γ-rays and then injected intraperitoneally (i.p) with ZnCoNPs [2U/rat/day (5 mg/kg)] and ZnCaNPs [2U/rat/day (15 mg/kg)] for 7 consecutive days. The results showed that irradiated rats treated with ZnCoNPs (5 mg/kg/body weight) in combination with ZnCaNPs (15 mg/kg/body weight) for 7 days had a significant increases in body weight, antioxidant levels, T helper cell 4 (cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4)), and T cytotoxic cell 8 (cluster of differentiation 8 (CD8)), associated with a marked decrease in lipid peroxidation (LP), nitric oxide(NOx), total free radicals concentrate (TFRC), and DNA fragmentation. There were positive alterations in the morphological state, hematological parameters and the cell cycle phases. Additionally, the histopathological study demonstrated an improvement in the liver tissue of irradiated rats after treatment. Thus, ZnCoNPs and ZnCaNPs could be used as natural mitigating agents to reduce the hazards of ionizing radiation.

The Impact of Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and IFN-γ-Inducible Protein 10 (IP-10) Genes' Polymorphism on Risk of Hepatitis C Virus-Related Liver Cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Today there is increasing evidence concerning the association between individual genetic polymorphisms within proinflammatory cytokines and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) severity. It has been demonstrated that polymorphisms in some genes may significantly predict HCV infected patients' susceptibility to developing liver cirrhosis or their responsiveness to the treatment. AIM: We investigated the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Interferon (IFN-γ) and Interferon Gamma-Inducible Protein 10 (IP-10) genes on cirrhosis risk in HCV-infected patients and their association with response to various direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs). METHODS: IFN-γ (+874T/A, +2109A/G) and IP-10 (-135G/A, -1447A/G) genotypes were determined in 175 CHC Egyptian HCV patients (69 liver cirrhotic and 106 non-cirrhotic patients) using either single-stranded polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) or Restriction fragment length-PCR (RFLP-PCR) methods. RESULTS: IFN-γ + 874 TA, IP-10 - 135AA, and IP-10 - 1447AA and IP-10 - 1447GG genotypes are increased in patients developing liver cirrhosis compared to non-cirrhotic ones. Although, no statistical significance in their distribution was demonstrated, indicating the lack of association between these SNPs and liver cirrhosis susceptibility in HCV-infected patients. Haplotypes analysis between different loci on all selected genes showed a significant increase in AGGA and TAGA and a significant decrease in TGGA haplotypes in cirrhotic patients. Genotype frequencies at loci -135 and -1447 of IP-10 appeared to be in complete Linkage disequilibrium (LD) (D' = 0.999, r2 = 0.689). CONCLUSION: Our data support the concept that IFN-γ and IP-10 gene polymorphisms are not predictors of disease progression among Egyptian patients with HCV infection.

NPM1 gene mutation in Egyptian patients with cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Nucleophosmin1 (NPM1) protein encoded from the NPM1 gene is a ubiquitously expressed nucleolar phoshoprotein which shuttles continuously between the nucleus and cytoplasm. NPM1 protein plays an important role in cell proliferation and apoptosis. NPM1 gene mutations at exon 12 represent the hallmark of a large sub-group of cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia (CN-AML) patients worldwide. METHODS: Genomic DNA from 53 CN-AML patients were amplified by PCR and followed by fragment analysis of post-PCR products using GeneMapper software for detection of NPM1 mutations. RESULTS: NPM1 exon 12 mutations were found are 15/53 CN-AML patients (28.3%) including 3 of M1, 3 of M2, 5 of M4, 3 of M5, and 1 of M6 FAB subtypes. The NPM1 mutation was significantly associated with lower relapse rate (p < 0.05). The complete remission (CR) rate was significantly higher in the patients with high NPM1 mutation load (> 50%) than low NPM1 mutation load (< 50%) (87.5% vs. 28.6%; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the NPM1 gene exon 12 mutation in Egyptian patients with CN-AML and its relation to clinical characteristics and patient outcome and survival.