Confirmation of a Phenotypic Entity for TSPEAR Variants in Egyptian Ectodermal Dysplasia Patients and Role of Ethnicity

Ectodermal dysplasia (ED) are hereditary disorders characterized by the disturbance of the ectodermal development of at least two of four ectodermal tissues: teeth, hair, nails and sweat glands. Clinical classification of ED is challenged by overlapping features, variable expressivity, and low number of patients, hindering full phenotypic spectrum identification. Disease-causing variants in elements of major developmental pathways, e.g., Ectodysplasin/NFκB, Wnt, and Tp63 pathways, have been identified in fewer than half of ED phenotypes. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed for ten Egyptian ED patients presenting with tooth agenesis, normal sweating, scalp hypotrichosis, and sharing characteristic facial features. WES was followed by in silico analysis of the effects of novel detected genetic variants on mRNA and protein structure. The study identified four novel rare pathogenic and likely pathogenic TSPEAR variants, a gene which was recently found to be involved in ectodermal organogenesis. A novel in-frame deletion recurred in eight patients from six unrelated families. Comparing our cohort to previously reported TSPEAR cohorts highlighted the influence of ethnicity on TSPEAR phenotypic affection. Our study expands the clinical and mutational spectrum of the growing TSPEAR associated phenotypes, and pinpoints the influence of WES and in silico tools on identification of rare disease-causing variants.

The natural isoflavone Biochanin-A synergizes 5-fluorouracil anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo in Ehrlich solid-phase carcinoma model

Isoflavones are considered one of the most extensively studied plant-derived phytoestrogenic compounds. Of these, Biochanin A (Bio-A), a natural isoflavone abundant in cabbage, alfalfa, and red clover, has drawn a lot of attention. As reported in multiple studies, Bio-A possesses a promising anticancer activity against estrogen receptor-positive (ER+)  breast cancer. The current study investigated the working hypothesis that Bio-A could synergistically enhance the potency of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in ER+ breast cancer. The hypothesis was tested both in vitro on hormone receptor-positive (MCF-7) and triple-negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB231). Additionally, in vivo studies were performed in the Ehrlich solid-phase carcinoma mouse model. The in vitro cytotoxicity studies revealed that Bio-A synergistically increased the potency of 5-FU in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 cell lines. The synergistic effect of 5-FU/Bio-A combination was verified in vivo. The combination therapy (where 5-FU was used at one fourth its full dose) led to a significant 75% reduction in tumor volume after two treatment cycles. This was in addition to producing a significant 2.1-fold increase in tumor necrosis area% compared to mock-treated control. In conclusion, the current study presents the first preclinical evidence for the potential merit of 5-FU/Bio-A combination for the treatment of ER+ breast cancer. The synergistic antitumor effect of Bio-A/ 5-FU combination can be, at least partly, attributed to Bio-A-mediated suppression of ER-α/Akt axis and the augmentation of 5-FU-mediated proapoptotic effects. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ROLE OF T REGULATORY CELLS IN CHRONIC HCV INFECTED EGYPTIAN PATIENTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE RESPONSE TO PEGYLATED INTERFERON THERAPY

Treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C with the current standard pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin achieves overall response (SVR) rates of ~55%. A role of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells (Treg cells) has been proposed as they can suppress HCV-specific T cells in HCV-infected patients. Patients with chronic HCV legible for PEG-IFN plus ribavirin treatment, were classified according to their response to treatment into two groups (responders and non-responders, 32 and 27 patients respectively). Blood and plasma samples were collected at the start of treatment and at 12 and 24 weeks during treatment. Immunophenotyping by flow cytometry for Treg cells, the FOXP-3 expression using real-time PCR and measurement of IL-10, TGF-β CXCL-9 and CXCL-10 were performed. Increased expression of Treg cells was detected in patients who didn't respond to treatment before and during treatment. Also, the levels of IL-10, TGF-β, CXCL-9 and CXCL-10 revealed significant increase.in non-responders all through compared to responders group. Evaluation of Treg cells, cytokines (IL-10 & TGF-β) and chemokines (CXCL-9 & CXCL-10) before starting the treatment could be a predictor of response to treatment with PEG-IFN plus ribavirin. The optimum levels which would differentiate between responders and non-responders are needed to be defined before-hand.