Screening of 185DelAG, 1014DelGT and 3889DelAG BRCA1 mutations in breast cancer patients from North-East India

Around 1.35 million people of worldwide suffer from breast cancer each year, whereas in India, 1 in every 17 women develops the disease. Mutations of the Breast Cancer 1 (BRCA1) gene account for the majority of breast/ ovarian cancer families. The purpose of study was to provide a prevalence of BRCA1 germline mutations in the North-East Indian population. In relation to the personal and family history with the breast cancer, we found mutations in 6.25% and 12.5% respectively. Three mutations, 185DelAG, 1014DelGT and 3889DelAG, were observed in our North-East Indian patients in exons 2 and 11, resulting in truncation of the BRCA1 protein by forming stop codons individually at amino acid positions 39, 303 and 1265. Our results point to a necessity for an extensive mutation screening study of high risk breast cancer cases in our North-East Indian population, which will provide better decisive medical and surgical preventive options.

Elucidation of the Molecular Interaction between miRNAs and the HOXA9 Gene, Involved in Acute Myeloid Leukemia, by the Assistance of Argonaute Protein through a Computational Approach

Acute myeloid leukemia is a well characterized blood cancer in which the unnatural growth of immature white blood cell takes place, where several genes transcription is regulated by the micro RNAs (miRNAs). Argonaute (AGO) protein is a protein family that binds to the miRNAs and mRNA complex where a strong binding affinity is crucial for its RNA silencing function. By understanding pattern recognition between the miRNAs-mRNA complex and its binding affinity with AGO protein, one can decipher the regulation of a particular gene and develop suitable siRNA for the same in disease condition. In the current work, HOXA9 gene has been selected from literature, whose deregulation is well-established in acute myeloid leukemia. Four miRNAs (mir-145, mir-126, let-7a, and mir-196b) have been selected to target mRNA of HOXA9 (NCBI accession No. NM_152739.3). The binding interaction between mRNAs and mRNA of HOXA9 gene was studied computationally. From result, it was observed mir-145 has highest affinity for HOXA9 gene. Furthermore, the interaction between miRNAs-mRNA duplex of all chosen miRNAs are docked with AGO protein (PDB ID: 3F73, chain A) to study their interaction at molecular level through an in silico approach. The residual interaction and hydrogen bonding are inspected in Discovery Studio 3.5 suites. The current investigation throws light on understanding of AGO-assisted miRNA based gene silencing mechanism in HOXA9 gene associated in acute myeloid leukemia computationally.

Ormeloxifene - Looking beyond contraception

Aims:

This study is aimed at finding out a logical solution for perimenopausal menorrhagia in normal or bulky uterus.

Settings and Design:

The study is carried out at a tertiary care hospital at Odisha. In our setup, nearly 900 hysterectomies are done per year out of which 60% are for menorrhagia with bulky uterus.

Subjects and Methods:

There were sixty cases of menorrhagia between the ages of 40 and 55 years who completed child bearing treated with ormeloxifene. Their endometrial thickness (ET) and hemoglobin (Hb) level were determined at the start of the study and also at 6 months and compared. At 1 year from the start of treatment, patients' satisfaction and status of menstrual cycle were reassessed.

Statistical Analysis Used:

Age and parity variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and range. We used the paired samples t-test to estimate the mean, median, range, P and t value. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software version 11.5 (IBM Corp) and tests of statistical significance were two-sided and differences were taken as significant when P < 0.05.

Results:

After 1 year of follow-up, 90% of patients found to be amenorrhoic and only two out of them presented with mild irritability and vasomotor complaints which resolved with counseling and placebo therapy. There was a significant reduction (P < 0.0001) in ET and rise in Hb level (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions:

Ormeloxifene is a safe drug which can be used to treatment of perimenopausal bleeding with minimal focal pathology.

CD8dim but not CD8bright cells positive to CD56 dominantly express KIR and are cytotoxic during visceral leishmaniasis

This study reports a structural and functional heterogeneity of CD8⁺CD56⁺NKT cells, which usually decrease quantitatively during visceral leishmaniasis. Based on fluorescence intensity of CD8 receptors on CD56⁺NKT cells, two populations of CD8⁺CD56⁺NKT cells have been identified. These cells were recognized as CD8^dimCD56⁺NKT and CD8^brightCD56⁺NKT cells. We further analyzed the functional nature of CD8^dim and CD8^bright positive CD56⁺NKT cells. In comparison to CD8^brightCD56⁺NKT cells, a significantly higher percentage of CD8^dimCD56⁺NKT cells expressed KIR during VL. The percentage of CD8^dimCD56⁺NKT cells expressing KIR was found 4 fold higher in VL as compared to healthy subjects. But, the difference was insignificant in case of CD8^brightCD56⁺NKT cells. CD8⁺CD56⁺NKT cells release granzyme B to kill the infected cells. A categorical difference was also observed in the function of CD8^dimCD56⁺NKT and CD8^brightCD56⁺NKT cells during visceral leishmaniasis. The percentage of granzyme B expressing CD8^dimCD56⁺NKT cells was 2.83 fold higher in VL compared to healthy subjects. But, there was no significant difference in granzyme B expressing CD8^brightCD56⁺NKT cells in samples from healthy and VL subjects. However, within VL subject, the percentage of granzyme B expressing CD8^dimCD56⁺NKT cells was 5.7 fold higher in comparison to CD8^brightCD56⁺NKT cells. This study concludes that CD8^dimCD56⁺NKT cells are more cytotoxic than CD8^brightCD56⁺NKT cells during VL.

New Perspective of Lymphatic Filariasis-Towards Elimination

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is an important public health problem globally as well as in India. LF causes both acute and chronic morbidity with significant impediment to socio-economic development. The aim of this review was to analyze the current scenario in filariasis research. This debilitating disease which carried a serious social stigma and once thought to be difficult to treat, control, and eradicate, now could achieve significant success in its treatment and elimination globally by 2020, including from India. Achievement of success so far could be possible through series of evolution in understanding pathology of the disease, pathogenesis of the etiologic agent parasite, diagnostic tools, therapeutic and preventive approaches through new knowledge, techniques and development of investigative tools.

Leishmania-Specific Promiscuous Membrane Protein Tubulin Folding Cofactor D Divulges Th1/Th2 Polarization in the Host via ERK-1/2 and p38 MAPK Signaling Cascade

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL)-related mortality and morbidity imposes a great deal of health concern across the globe. The existing anti-leishmanial drug regimen generally fails to eliminate newly emerging resistant isolates of this dreadful parasite. In such circumstances, the development of a prophylactic strategy to impart protection against the disease is likely to take center stage. In order to develop a promising prophylactic vaccine, it is desirable to identify an adequately potential vaccine candidate. In silico analysis of Leishmania tubulin folding cofactor D protein predicted its potential to activate both B- and T-cell repertoires. Furthermore, the ELISA employing anti-peptide₂₇ (a segment of tubulin folding cofactor D) antibody revealed its proficiency in VL diagnosis and treatment monitoring. The peptide₂₇ and its cocktail with another Leishmania peptide (peptide₂₃) prompted the up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-17, etc., and the down-regulation of immune-regulatory cytokines, such as IL-10, in the immunized BALB/c mice. Coherent to the consequence of peptide-specific humoral immune response, peptide cocktail-based immunization ensued in the predominant amplification of pathogen-specific IgG2a over the IgG1 isotype, up-regulated proliferation of T lymphocytes, and enhanced production of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, etc. We also established that the peptide cocktail modulated host MAPK signaling to favor the amplification of Th₁-dominated immune response in the host. The peptide cocktail mediated the activation of the host immune armory, which was eventually translated into a significant decline in parasitic load in the visceral organs of experimental animals challenged with Leishmania donovani.

Human papillomavirus testing for suspected cervical cancer patients from Southern Assam by fast-PCR

World-wide epidemiological studies have shown that cancer of the uterine cervix is the second most common malignant disease in women. Virtually every cervical cancer (99.7%) is HPV-positive, indicating that the presence of HPV is an obligatory element in their development. The present study was conducted by Fast-PCR (within 15 min.) based diagnosis of HPV 16 and HPV 18 infection amongst patients of suspected cervical cancer, confirmed by cytological methods. Twelve women, out of a total of fifty studied cases who had positive cervical pap smears (24%) were found to be positive for HPV 16/HPV 18 infection when PCR based technique was applied. The results indicate, perhaps, a greater specificity of PCR based diagnosis, or presence of other HPV subtypes as etiological factors in the present study group confined to Southern Assam.