Investigation of Vitamin D Levels in Men with Suspected Infertility.

Male infertility may be caused by an impaired sperm functionality, with insufficient vitamin D levels affecting the quantity and development of motile sperm. Given the influence of vitamin D on vital aspects of male infertility, this study aimed to investigate the correlation between vitamin D levels and male infertility, along with exploring the possible mechanism of action. A total of 306 male participants were included. Semen samples were collected and analyzed for semen parameters with demographic features. Patients were classified into two groups based on vitamin D levels of <20 ng/mL (low) and ≥20 ng/mL (high). The Super-PRED, Swiss TargetPrediction, GeneCards, and DisGeNET databases were utilized to retrieve potential molecular targets associated with both vitamin D and male infertility, while the STRING database was employed for constructing protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and conducting a functional enrichment analysis. A total of 146 patients (47.71%) showed low vitamin D levels and 160 patients (52.29%) had high vitamin D levels. Vitamin D was not strongly influenced by demographic parameters. Vitamin D demonstrated significant positive correlations with type A and B sperm motility. Conversely, it exhibited significant negative correlations with type C and D sperm motility. Hormones (thyroid-stimulating hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, estradiol) were not significantly associated with vitamin D; however, testosterone was significantly positive correlated with vitamin D. Notably, no significant correlation was found between vitamin D levels and iron, ferritin, hemoglobin, hematocrit, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus levels. The functional annotations of potential vitamin D targets associated with male infertility primarily indicated involvement in regulating infection, the immune response, forkhead box O (FOXO) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) signals in male infertility. Adequate vitamin D levels are associated with an improved reproductive health, evidenced by positive correlations with hormone levels and sperm motility. Specifically, the FOXO and HIF-1 signaling pathways may be effective in the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of vitamin D on male infertility and/or in the significant correlations identified.

The Effects of Ellagic Acid on Experimental Corrosive Esophageal Burn Injury.

This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant effect of Ellagic acid (EA) on wound healing in sodium hydroxide (NaOH)-induced corrosive esophageal burn injury. The interaction networks and functional annotations were conducted using Cytoscape software. A total of 24 Wistar albino rats were divided into control, corrosive esophageal burn (CEB) and CEB + EA groups. Burn injury was created by 20% NaOH and 30 mg/kg EA was per oral administered to rats. At the end of the 28-day experimental period, Malondialdehyde (MDA) content was measured. Esophageal tissue samples were processed for histological staining. The EA-target interaction network was revealed to be involved in regulating crucial cellular mechanisms for burn wound healing, with epidermal growth factor (EGF) identified as a central mediator. An increase in animal weight in the CEB + EA group was observed in the EA-treated group after CEB injury. Burn injury increased MDA content, but EA treatment decreased its level after CEB injury. Stenosis index, collagen degeneration, inflammation, fibrosis and necrosis levels were increased after CEB injury. EA treatment improved histopathology in the CEB + EA group compared to the CEB group. The expression of EGF was decreased in the CEB group but upregulated in the EA-treated group, suggesting a potential involvement of EA in cellular processes and tissue regeneration. EA, through its antioxidative and tissue regenerative properties, significantly contributes to alleviating the adverse effects of CEB injury, promoting wound healing.

Haplotype Analysis of Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) Gene in Breast Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of well-characterized vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms, BsmI (rs 1544410), ApaI (rs 7975232), TaqI (rs 731236), and FokI (rs 10735810) and their haplotypes in the pathogenesis of breast cancer in Turkish women. METHODS: The subjects consisted of women including 331 breast cancer patients and 345 healthy controls. After conventional DNA isolation genotyping was done by a PCR-RFLP method, haplotype analysis was performed using Haploview 4.2. RESULTS: Haplotype analysis in different combinations revealed that frequencies of Fbt, fbt, bAt, and bt haplotypes are significantly higher in breast cancer patients than controls (χ2 = 6.862, p = 0.0088; χ2 = 4.176, p = 0.041; χ2 = 4.184, p = 0.0408; χ2 = 8.409, p = 0.0037 respectively). However, no statistically significant difference between genotypes of cases and controls were found when analyzed separately. CONCLUSIONS: All these data support the hypothesis that it is crucial to evaluate VDR gene polymorphism by haplotype analysis in order to understand how changes in VDR sequence influence the function of the VDR gene and how this variability affects the risk of breast cancer.

Nigella sativa and Cancer: A Review Focusing on Breast Cancer, Inhibition of Metastasis and Enhancement of Natural Killer Cell Cytotoxicity.

BACKGROUND: In the last decade, there have been accumulating data that the use of medicinal plants could bring additional benefits to the supportive treatment of various diseases. Nigella sativa (N. sativa, family Ranunculaceae) is one of these plants that has attracted considerable interest. The extracts and seeds of N. sativa and its active component thymoquinone have been studied extensively and the results suggest that N. sativa might carry some therapeutic potential for many diseases, including cancer. METHODS: The selection criteria for references were applied through Pubmed with "N. sativa and cancer", "N. sativa and breast cancer", "N. sativa and metastasis", "N. sativa and cytotoxicity of natural killer cells". The pathway analysis was performed using the PANTHER tool by using five randomly selected N. sativa affected genes (Cyclin D1, P53, p21 protein (Cdc42/Rac) activated kinase 1 (PAK1), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) in order to elucidate further potentially affected signaling pathways. RESULTS: The aim of this review was to summarize studies regarding the effects of N. sativa in cancer generally, with a focus on breast cancer, its anti-metastatic effects, and how N. sativa modulates the cytotoxicity of Natural Killer cells that play a crucial role in tumor surveillance. CONCLUSION: In summary, the data suggest that N. sativa might be used for its anti-cancer and antimetastatic properties and as an immune system activator against cancer.

Association of the nibrin gene (NBN) variants with breast cancer.

Nibrin, encoded by the NBN gene, participates in DNA repair. Mutations in the NBN gene lead to Nijemen breakage syndrome, which may result in several types of diseases, particularly susceptibility to cancer, including breast cancer. Polymorphic variants and defective mutations occurring in the NBN gene increase the risk of breast cancer through the double-stranded break repair mechanism. The aim of the present study was to investigate a possible association between breast cancer and NBN genetic variants, NBN 924 T>C, 8360 G>C and 30537 G>C, in women with breast cancer. Locus-specific primers were designed to study 3 genetic variants in DNA samples isolated from peripheral blood samples of 101 women with breast cancer and 115 healthy controls. Subsequently, 3 polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods were performed and the obtained results were statistically analysed. The NBN gene 924 T>C variant was found to be significantly associated with breast cancer (χ2=5.722, P=0.017). There were no statistically significant differences between cases and controls in the NBN gene 8360 G>C variant (χ2=1,125, P=0.570) or the NBN gene 30537 G>C variant (χ2=4.301, P=0.116). In conclusion, the NBN gene 924 T>C variant may be a genetic risk factor for breast cancer development in women with breast cancer.