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Chronic inflammation is believed as the main culprit of the link between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) is a pro‐inflammatory cytokine with a key role in RA pathophysiology and also correlates with joint destruction and disease activity. This study evaluates the association between IL‐6 plasma level and cardiac biomarker NT‐proBNP, HS‐CRP, CVD predictor algorithms, Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), as well as with CXCL9 and its receptor, CXCR3 in RA patients compared to the controls. Sixty RA patients (30 early and 30 late) and 30 healthy persons were included in this study. IL‐6 and NT‐proBNP plasma levels were measured by the ELISA. Also, HS‐CRP plasma levels were quantified using the immunoturbidimetric assay. The CVD risk was assessed by the FRS and SCORE. IL‐6 plasma levels were significantly higher in the early and late RA patients compared to the controls (p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between IL‐6 with DAS‐28 (p = 0.007, r = 0.346), BPS (p = 0.002, r = 0.396), BPD (p = 0.046, r = 0.259), SCORE (p < 0.001, r = 0.472), and FRS (p < 0.001, r = 0.553), and a negative association with HDL (p = 0.037, r = −0.270), in the patients. Also, IL‐6 plasma level positively correlated with HS‐CRP (p = 0.021, r = 0.297) and NT‐proBNP (p = 0.045, r = 0.260) in the patients. Furthermore, a positive association was found between IL‐6 plasma levels and CXCL9 (p = 0.002, r = 0.386), and CXCR3 (p = 0.018, r = 0.304) in the patients. Given the interesting association between IL‐6 with various variables of CVD, IL‐6 may be considered a biomarker for assessing the risk for future cardiovascular events in RA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Breast cancer (BC) is considered one of the most common malignant tumors leading to death in women, and genetic factors have a crucial role in BC pathogenesis. Zyxin (ZYX) is one of these factors that may be important in p53 level and function. Thus, the present work aimed to investigate the ZYX gene and protein expression in tumor tissue and matched margin tissue and its correlation with the p53 expression. Methods: In a present case‐control study, 30 tumors and 30 matched margin tissues were obtained from Iran Tumor Bank/Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis techniques were applied to evaluate the genes and protein expression, respectively. Results: The data showed that expression of the ZYX gene in tumor tissues significantly decreased (p = 0.0274) compared to matched margin tissues. In contrast, the p53 gene expression in tumor tissues had no significant difference with matched margin tissues. Additionally, we observed that ZYX and p53 genes expression in tumor tissues of estrogen receptor‐positive patients had significant elevation than estrogen receptor‐negative patients (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). The data of the western blot analysis technique showed that protein expression of ZYX (p = 0.0024) and P53 protein (p = 0.0218) in tumor tissues was significantly reduced compared to matched margin tissues. Additionally, our analysis showed a direct and significant correlation between the expression of ZYX and p53 proteins (r = 0.7797, p = 0.0126) and expression of ZYX and p53 genes (r = 0.3079, p = 0.0187). Conclusion: Based on our observation, ZYX might have a tumor suppressor role and is associated with p53. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]