Search

Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, has an important role in cell cycle regulation. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a polypeptide hormone with wide range of biologic effects including stimulation of lipogenesis in sebaceous glands. Their overexpression in some fibrotic disorders suggests a possible implication of both IGF-I and survivin in the pathogenesis of acne and/or acne scars. The current study aimed to assess and correlate serum levels of IGF-I and survivin in patients with active acne vulgaris and postinflammatory acne scars and to evaluate their lesional expressions in comparison to healthy controls. Serum IGF-I and survivin were estimated using commercially available ELISA kits and their tissues expressions were investigated using Western blotting. Our findings suggest that IGF-I and survivin could play potential roles in the pathogenesis of active acne vulgaris and more importantly in postinflammatory acne scars with significant positive correlation coefficient between serum levels of IGF-I and survivin which support IGF-I-/PI3K-/AKT-mediated downregulation of nuclear expression of FoxO transcription factors resulting in enhanced survivin expression.

Background. Obesity is a significant public health problem that is characterized by an increase in oxidative stress and enhanced inflammatory responses associated with immune cell invasion of adipose tissues. This study assessed several biochemical abnormalities, apoptosis, oxidative stress status, and associated histological changes in the liver, duodenum, and heart brought on by high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats. It also assessed the mechanistic benefits of curcumin in reversing these inflammatory, metabolic, and histological impairments. Methods. Rats were assigned into three groups each including ten rats: the control group (CD), the high-fat diet group (HFD), and the high-fat diet + curcumin (HFDC) group. Serum glucose, insulin, and triglycerides (TAGs) were observed. In addition, apoptosis (indicated by hepatic DNA fragmentation) and oxidative stress status (indicated by hepatic MPO, GSH, and SOD) were assessed. Histopathological examinations included the GIT (liver and duodenum) and heart in addition to quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays of the adipose tissue genetic expressions for inflammatory signaling pathways (TLR4, IL-6, and TNF-α). Results. The overall findings showed that the HFD group exhibited significantly higher levels of glucose, TAGs, and insulin than the control group (P < 0.01). The histological abnormalities of the studied organs in the HFD group were paralleled by these biochemical abnormalities, which were strongly associated with increased apoptosis, increased oxidative stress, and increased expression of the inflammatory signaling markers. There were significant improvements in the HFDC group in terms of biochemical, inflammatory, and histological investigations. Conclusions. This study's findings concluded that obesity is significantly associated with biochemical and microscopic alterations in many organs. Curcumin exerted potent antitoxic, antioxidant, tissue-protective, and antiobesity effects. Curcumin is recommended to be added to various dietary regimens to prevent or delay the organs' dysfunction among obese people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a neonatal disease with its pathogenesis still not well understood, although it is hypothesized to be related to decreased perfusion of the intestinal wall. The current study aimed to evaluate the plasma lactate levels and assess the validity of plasma and urinary intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABPp and I-FABPu/Cr u respectively) in NEC. The study included 55 neonates with variable Bell's stages who were comparable with 23 matched controls. Colorimetric assays of plasma lactate and ELISA assays of I-FABP in both serum and urine of the included neonates have been performed. There were significantly higher median levels of I-FABPp, I-FABPu and lactate among cases (2.84 ng/ml, 1.74 ng/g creat. and 32.34 mg/dl, respectively) compared with controls (0.16 ng/ml, 0.60 ng/g creat. and 15.33 mg/dl, respectively) with p ˂ 0.05 for all. I-FABPp at cut-off point >3.24 ng/ml showed 90% sensitivity, 72% specificity, PPV = 52.6%, NPP = 94.7%, while for I-FABPu (at cut-off point > 2.93 ng/g creat.) those values were 90%, 92%, 81.8% and 95.8% respectively, in discriminating stage IIIA from stage II with p = 0.001. In predicting surgical NEC, I-FABPp at the cut-off point of 6.95 ng/ml revealed 75% sensitivity, 100% specificity, PPV = 100%, NPP = 95%, while for I-FABPu (cut-off point>4.13 ng/g creat.) they were 100%, 76.19%, 44.4 %and 100%, p = 0.04. s: In addition to clinical judgment, sonographic data and plasma lactate, I-FABPp was shown to be a specific marker for early identification of surgical NEC, while I-FABPu could be more useful for differentiating Bell's stage II from stage III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]