Search

Purpose: Many types of cancer have infectious origins. Gastric cancer patients can demonstrate high seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). The aim of the present study was to assess the expression of SMOX gene in the group of Polish patients with gastric cancer. SMOX is believed to promote H. pylori-induced carcinogenesis via inflammation, DNA damage and activation of β-catenin signaling. We also assessed the mRNA expression of selected pro-inflammatory cytokines, i.e. IL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and antimicrobial peptide, cathelicidin., Materials/methods: The study material consisted of gastric tissue samples collected during total gastrectomy from three different places in stomach: from primary tumor, 3 ​cm away from the primary lesion, and from the wall opposite to the primary tumor. After RNA isolation, qPCR reactions were performed for the relevant genes., Results: The obtained results confirmed an increased level of SMOX expression in gastric cancer patients with the history of H. pylori infection. And, as far as we know, this is the first study on SMOX gene expression conducted on tissue taken from a patient, not on a cell line. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, i.e. IL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α, were also increased, thus indicating their contribution to the specific inflammatory microenvironment of the tumor. Interestingly, the levels of CAMP, encoding antimicrobial peptide, were reduced in all tissue types., Conclusions: The findings confirm that SMOX plays a role in gastric carcinogenesis. However, further research is needed on the role of inflammatory and other factors involved in this process to identify targets for cancer immunotherapy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although previous cases of ethyl alcohol production by microorganisms present in the intestines, referred to as auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), have been reported, a recent case in our practice was characterized by the production of alcohol in the oral cavity. Our research indicates that legally significant levels of ethyl alcohol can be detected in exhaled air in cases where there has been no alcohol consumption but where the subject has oral candidiasis. In such cases, following the consumption of foods containing carbohydrates, a fermentation process occurs in the mouth, the first stage of which is glycolysis, proceeding according to the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway, which is typical in eukaryotes. The main organic substrate in this case is glucose, which is formed in the oral cavity from disaccharides (maltose, sucrose) by the activity of α-amylase. Some mutated fungal strains of the genus Candida acquire the ability to break down sucrose and produce glucoamylase. Glucose is converted into glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and then into pyruvate. The next stage of fermentation is the decarboxylation of pyruvate into acetaldehyde, a reaction catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase. The final stage is the reduction of acetaldehyde to ethanol by alcohol dehydrogenase. Such endogenous production of alcohol can be confused with its consumption, which can cause not only legal, but also social and medical problems., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)