PATHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF CDH1/E-CADHERIN GERMLINE SEQUENCE VARIANTS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

BACKGROUND

Germline alterations of the CDH1 (E-cadherin) tumor suppressor gene have been reported in several epithelial malignancies like hereditary diffuse gastric cancer and lobular breast cancer. E-cadherin plays a central role in proliferation, maintenance of cell-to-cell adhesion, polarity, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of tissue cells. It is necessary to analyze the impact of the CDH1 germline sequence variants on protein and predict its clinical significance in breast cancer (BC) progression. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact and association of CDH1 gene potentially pathogenic variants/likely pathogenic variants (PVs/LPVs) with the initiation and progression of BC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, the clinical data of 200 BC patients have been analyzed based on the type of BC, age, grade, stage, hormonal status, and risk factors. Blood samples from 50 healthy donors were used as a control. Furthermore, CDH1 gene molecular analysis, along with in silico analysis, was provided to assess the invasiveness and progression of BC caused by the E-cadherin protein.

RESULTS

Four variants were identified by genetic screening within the CDH1 gene that included variations in exons 7, 8, 10, 11, and 13. Exon 10 had splice site mutation at position c.1337C>A, affecting the protein structure. In exon 11, there was an insertion of T base at position 1669, resulting in truncated protein compared to a normal one that can lead to the disease-causing non- sense-mediated decay and exon 13 variant c.2076T>C has already known polymorphism. In silico analysis of CDH1 showed the presence of the different variants that indicated the overall disruption of protein structure and function.

CONCLUSIONS

The further functional analysis of these variants and their association with BC can be ensured by increasing the sample size and in vivo studies using mouse models.

Interactive effects of hydrogen sulphide and silicon enhance drought and heat tolerance by modulating hormones, antioxidant defence enzymes and redox status in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Recent changes in climate have reduced crop productivity throughout much of the world. Drought and heat stress, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, have seriously affected barley production. This study explored the separate and interactive effects of silicon (Si) and hydrogen sulphide (H₂ S) on plant growth and mitigation of the adverse effects of heat stress (DS) and drought stress (HS) in a barley pot experiment. The impacts of simultaneous DS + HS were more severe than individual stresses due to increased ROS production, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and higher electrolyte leakage (EL), thereby leading to reduced water, protein and photosynthetic pigment content. Exogenously applied Si and H₂ S alleviated the DS-, HS- and DS + HS-induced effects on barley by reducing ROS production, MDA and EL. A single application of H₂ S or Si + H₂ S increased plant biomass under all stress conditions, which can be ascribed to higher Si accumulation in barley shoots. A single application of Si or H₂ S significantly increased plant biomass. However, Si + H₂ S was the most effective treatment for metabolite accumulation and elevating activity of antioxidant enzymes to prevent toxicity from oxidative stress. This treatment also modulated osmolyte content, enhanced antioxidant activity and regulated the stress signalling-related endogenous hormones, abscisic acid (ABA) and indole acetic acid (IAA). Exogenous treatments regulated endogenous H₂ S and Si and resulted in higher tolerance to individual and combined drought and heat stress in barley.

The first two months epidimiological study of COVID-19, related public health preparedness, and response to the ongoing epidemic in Pakistan

As an underdeveloped country, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has posed a major risk to the health and economy of Pakistan. The SIR (susceptible-infected-recovered) model of epidemiologic analysis predicts that there should have been more cases since late March 2020 in Pakistan. We therefore sought to investigate COVID-19's prevalence and epidemiologic trends in Pakistan. Research for COVID-19 is still in its early stages, so data were collected from official websites and research journals, then analyzed for the disease's prevalence, epidemiology, mortality and recoveries. The results indicated that a rapid increase had indeed occurred in the number of COVID-19 infections in Pakistan, with the first case reported on 25 February, 2020. From 25 February 25 to April, 2020, COVID-19 infected 11,155 people in Pakistan, with 237 deaths (2.12%) and 2527 recoveries (19.96%). We found a statistically significant positive correlation between the prevalence of COVID-19 and the mortality ratio (r = 0.983, r 2 = 0.966; p ≤ 0.05). We concluded that proper management must be undertaken to improve the quarantine system, and the World Health Organization guidelines must be closely followed to cope with COVID-19. There is no vaccine for COVID-19, so antiviral drugs (interferon alfa, ribavirin) may be useful to prevent COVID-19; however, severe control measures implemented in China have significantly mitigated the spread of COVID-19. Suspected and confirmed cases must be treated in separate rooms. Staying home and social distancing are the safe way to proceed.

Application of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems to estimate digestible critical amino acid requirements in young broiler chicks

This study aimed to find the digestible lysine (d.Lys), digestible sulfur amino acids (d.SAA), and digestible threonine (d.Thr) requirements to optimize body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) via adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) using either the Genetic algorithm (ANFIS-GA) or Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (ANFIS-PSO) in Cobb-500 chicks from 1 to 10 d of age. The range of amino acids was 90 to 115% of the recommendations for male Cobb-500 chicks. The estimated dietary d.Lys, d.SAA, and d.Thr requirements by ANFIS-GA and ANFIS-PSO to optimize BWG were the same and were 12.10, 8.98, and 7.89 g/kg, respectively. The optimum BWG predicted by ANFIS-GA and ANFIS-PSO were 270 and 266 g, respectively for the 1 to 10 d period. The estimated dietary requirements of d.Lys, d.SAA, and d.Thr to minimize FCR at 0.995 by ANFIS-GA were 12.10, 8.98, and 7.89 g/kg, respectively. Although the estimated d.Lys and d.SAA requirements by ANFIS-PSO and ANFIS-GA were identical, the predicted d.Thr requirement by ANFIS-PSO was 0.01 g/kg higher than by ANFIS-GA to minimize FCR at 0.963. Comparison of goodness of fit in term of root mean square error revealed that the ANFIS-GA prediction was more accurate than ANFIS-PSO. This study demonstrates that the hybrid methodology of ANFIS-GA is as an effective and accurate approach to modeling and optimizing nutrient requirements.

Adult lumbar scoliosis: underreported on lumbar MR scans

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Adult lumbar scoliosis is an increasingly recognized entity that may contribute to back pain. We investigated the epidemiology of lumbar scoliosis and the rate at which it is unreported on lumbar MR images.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The coronal and sagittal sequences of lumbar spine MR imaging scans of 1299 adult patients, seeking care for low back pain, were reviewed to assess for and measure the degree of scoliosis and spondylolisthesis. Findings were compared with previously transcribed reports by subspecialty trained neuroradiologists. Inter- and intraobserver reliability was calculated.

RESULTS

The prevalence of adult lumbar scoliosis on MR imaging was 19.9%, with higher rates in ages >60 years (38.9%, P < .001) and in females (22.6%, P = .002). Of scoliotic cases, 66.9% went unreported, particularly when the scoliotic angle was <20 degrees (73.9%, P < .001); 10.5% of moderate to severe cases were not reported. Spondylolisthesis was present in 15.3% (199/1299) of cases, demonstrating increased rates in scoliotic patients (32.4%, P < .001), and it was reported in 99.5% of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Adult lumbar scoliosis is a prevalent condition with particularly higher rates among older individuals and females but is underreported on spine MR images. This can possibly result in delayed 1) identification of a potential cause of low back pain, 2) referral to specialized professionals for targeted evaluation and management, and 3) provision of health care. The coronal "scout images" should be reviewed as part of the complete lumbar spine evaluation if dedicated coronal sequences are not already part of the spine protocol.

Structure and neurotoxicity of novel amyloids derived from the BRI gene

A number of human neurodegenerative diseases involve aggregated amyloid proteins in the brain, e.g. Alzheimer's disease (beta-amyloid) and Parkinson's disease (alpha-synuclein). Other examples are rare familial dementias which involve the BRI gene. In a British family, mutation of the termination codon extends the reading frame of BRI to yield a furin-processed 34-residue peptide (Abri; British dementia peptide), 11 residues longer than the wild-type (WT). In a Danish family, a ten-base insertion also yields a 34-residue peptide (Adan; Danish dementia peptide). To explore the roles of Abri and Adan in neurodegeneration, we synthesized Abri and Adan in oxidized and reduced forms and generated transgenic mice colonies expressing the WT and mutated forms of BRI. We have generated transgenic mice colonies bearing the genes coding for WT-BRI, Adan and Abri under the control of the Thy1 promoter. Whereas WT-BRI transgenic mice express full-length WT-BRI protein in their brains, Adan protein is fully processed to small peptides.

Identification of a pharmacogenetic effect by linkage disequilibrium mapping

A practical limitation to the identification of genetic profiles predictive of drug-induced adverse events is the number of patients with the adverse event that can be tolerated before the drug is withdrawn. Whole genome screening for regions of linkage disequilibrium (LD) associated with a particular phenotype may provide the mechanism to rapidly discover specific and sensitive profiles. We have used data from a large phase III clinical trial of tranilast and typed 76 SNPs over a 2.7 megabase region flanking the uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltranserferase 1A1 gene. Three SNPs within one LD block showed strong association with tranilast-induced hyperbilirubinemia (P<10(-13)). Our data illustrated that a genome-wide LD scan of 100,000-200,000 SNPs is sufficient to identify a pharmacogenetic association with a drug-induced adverse event.

Epidemic dengue transmission in southern Sumatra, Indonesia

An outbreak of dengue fever (DF), dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) in the city of Palembang, south Sumatra, Indonesia was investigated to (i) validate epidemic occurrence, (ii) confirm dengue virus aetiology and associated serotype(s), (iii) provide a demonstrable measure of community impact, and (iv) identify causative relationship (if any) with climatic El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences. Trend analysis based on a 6-year retrospective review of hospital records demonstrates a 3-fold increase in clinical cases for the outbreak period (January-April 1998), relative to historical records. In the 2 hospitals surveyed, the monthly mean number of outbreak-related dengue cases over 4 months was 833 (range 650-995 cases/month); the mean monthly value for the previous 72 months was 107 (range 14-779 cases/month). An apparent trend in epidemic transmission was observed, evolving from a 5-year cyclic phenomenon to an annual occurrence, often indistinguishable from one year to the next. The proportional distribution of clinical outbreak cases into DF, DHF and DSS diagnostic categories was 24%, 66%, and 10%, respectively. The population aged 10-19 years accounted for the largest (35%) proportion of hospitalized DHF cases, followed by children aged 5-9 years (25%) and children aged 4 years (16%). Serum samples obtained during acute illness from 221 hospitalized patients were examined using serology, RT-PCR, and virus isolation in cell culture: 59% of samples had laboratory evidence of a dengue infection. All 4 dengue virus serotypes (DEN 1-4) were identified in epidemic circulation, with DEN 3 predominating (43%). DEN 1 was the principal serotype associated with less severe dengue illness, suggesting that virulence may be, in part, a function of infecting serotype. The climatic influence of ENSO on rainfall and temperature in the months leading up to and during the outbreak was dramatic, and is likely to contribute to favourable outbreak conditions.

Intestinal lymphatic pressure increases during intravenous infusions in awake sheep

Intravenous fluid infusions cause increased venous pressure and increased lymph flow throughout the body. Together the increased lymph flow and increased venous pressure (the outflow pressure to the lymphatic system) should increase the pressure within the postnodal intestinal lymphatics. To test this, we measured the pressure in postnodal intestinal lymphatics and the neck vein pressure in five awake sheep. At baseline, the neck vein pressure was 1.2 +/- 1.5 (SD) cmH2O and the lymphatic pressure was 12.5 +/- 1.7 cmH2O. When we infused Ringer solution intravenously (10% body weight in approximately 50 min), the neck vein pressure increased to 17.3 +/- 0.9 cmH2O and the lymphatic pressure increased to 24.6 +/- 3.8 cmH2O (both P < 0.05). In two additional sheep, the thoracic duct lymph flow rate increased from 0.8 +/- 0.4 ml/min at baseline to 5.5 +/- 2.0 ml/min during the infusions. Our results show that postnodal intestinal lymphatic pressure may increase substantially during intravenous fluid infusions. This is important because increases in postnodal lymphatic pressure may slow lymph flow from the intestine.