The lncRNAs Gas5, MALAT1 and SNHG8 as diagnostic biomarkers for epithelial malignant pleural mesothelioma in Egyptian patients.

Long noncoding RNAs have been shown to be involved in a myriad of physiological and pathological pathways. To date, malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is considered an extremely aggressive cancer. One reason for this is the late diagnosis of the disease, which can occur within 30-40 years of asbestos exposure. There is an immense need for the development of new, sensitive, inexpensive and easy methods for the early detection of this disease other than invasive methods such as biopsy. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of circulating lncRNAs in mesothelioma patient plasma to identify potential biomarkers. Ten previously identified lncRNAs that were shown to be aberrantly expressed in mesothelioma tissues were selected as candidates for subsequent validation. The expression of the ten selected candidate lncRNAs was verified via quantitative PCR (qPCR) in human plasma samples from mesothelioma patients versus healthy controls. The expression levels of circulating GAS5, SNHG8 and MALAT1 were significantly greater in plasma samples from patients than in those from controls. The ROC analysis of both MALAT1 and SNHG8 revealed 88.89% sensitivity and 66.67% specificity. The sensitivity of these markers was greater than that of GAS5 (sensitivity 72.22% and specificity 66.67%). The regression model for GAS5 was statistically significant, while that for SNHG8 and MALAT1 was not significant due to the small sample size. The area under the curve (AUC) of the three ROC curves was acceptable and significant: 0.7519 for GAS5, 0.7352 for SNHG8 and 0.7185 for MALAT1. This finding confirmed their ability to be used as markers. The three lncRNAs were not affected by age, sex or smoking status. The three lncRNAs showed great potential as independent predictive diagnostic biomarkers. Although the prediction model for MALAT1 did not significantly differ, MALAT1 was significantly expressed in patients more than in controls (p = 0.0266), and the recorded sensitivity and specificity were greater than those of GAS5.

Toll-like receptor 2 and 9 genetic polymorphisms and the susceptibility to B cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Egypt.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) entail considerable heterogeneity regarding their morphology, clinical course, etiological factors, or response to therapy. Increased incidence of NHL in immunocompromised individuals and after autoimmune diseases suggests that infections and immune dysregulation could play a role in the susceptibility to NHL. Accordingly, genetic variation in Toll-like receptor (TLR) genes might be considered as molecular risk factors for NHL. The aim of the current study was to investigate the possible association between genetic polymorphism of the TLRs genes and B cell NHL (B-NHL) risk in Egypt. The present study included 100 B-NHL patients and 100 healthy controls. Genotyping of TLR2-1350 T/C and TLR9-1237 T/C were done by polymerase chain reaction restricted fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. The frequency of TLR2-1350 T/C polymorphic genotypes in B-NHL patients was 18 % for the heteromutant genotype (TC) and 1 % for the homomutant (CC). There was no statistical difference in the distribution of TLR2-1350 T/C genotypes between B-NHL patients and controls. As for TLR9-1237 T/C, the frequency of the heteromutant genotype (TC) was 58 % and the homomutant genotype (CC) was 1 % in B-NHL patients. Calculated risk estimation revealed that TLR9-1237 (TC) heterotype conferred almost fourfold increased risk of B-NHL (odds ratio (OR) = 3.93, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 2.16-7.14), and the risk was higher in patients with indolent subtypes (OR = 6.64, 95 %CI = 2.31-9.08). In conclusion, the study revealed that TLR9-1237 T/C polymorphism can be considered as molecular risk factor for B-NHL among Egyptians.

Association of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 genetic polymorphism, hepatitis C viral infection and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: an Egyptian study.

Abstract Genetic and environmental factors are involved in the pathogenesis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The present study aimed to investigate the association between cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) genetic polymorphism, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and B-cell NHL risk in Egypt. Genotyping of CTLA-4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay for 181 adult patients with B-NHL and 200 controls. Our study revealed that CTLA-4 + 49 A/G polymorphism conferred increased risk of B-NHL (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.36-2.565). The prevalence of HCV infection in individuals harboring the mutant genotype + 49 A/G and - 318 C/T SNPs was higher in patients with B-NHL and was associated with increased risk of B-NHL (OR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.24-6.93 for + 49 A/G and OR = 3.9, 95% CI = 1.01-15.98 for - 318 C/T). In conclusion, some SNPs of CTLA-4 are genetic risk factors for B-NHL. Moreover, this study identified an association of CTLA-4 + 49 A/G and - 318 C/T promoter polymorphisms with HCV infection.