Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays a significant role in pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but its single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as therapy may modulate such role. Objectives: It was aimed to determine gene expression and six SNPs (rs1800796 C/G, rs7802307 A/C/T, rs7802308 A/T, rs36215814 A/G, rs184229712 A/G and rs867254801 C/G) of IL6 in etanercept-treated Iraqi Arab RA patients. Materials and methods: Fifty-one RA patients and 45 controls were enrolled, and the determinations were carried out by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Sanger's DNA sequencing. Disease activity and laboratory markers were considered in these evaluations, which were the first presentation in Iraqi patients. Results: The DCt mean of IL6 mRNA showed a significant increase in RA patients compared to control (9.084 ± 0.964 vs. 6.780 ± 2.240; p = 0.0001). In terms of a relative expression, the 2 ÀDDCt means showed no significant variations between subgroups of patients distributed by clinical and laboratory findings, with the exception of C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP-positive patients showed a lower mean compared to CRP-negative patients (0.201 ± 0.109 vs. 0.312 ± 0.131; p = 0.001). Distributing patients by gender and duration of disease also revealed significant variations between male and female patients. With respect to SNPs, allele and genotype frequencies of four SNPs (rs1800796, rs7802307, rs184229712 and rs867254801) showed variations between patients and controls, while no differences were reported for rs7802308 and rs36215814 SNPs. In addition, IL6 gene expression was significantly influenced by two SNP genotypes (rs36215814 GA and rs184229712 AG) compared to the corresponding GG genotypes. Conclusion: Gene expression of IL6 was down-regulated in RA patients, especially CRP-negative patients. Moreover, four SNPs of such cytokine may have a role in RA risk.

Fifty-one rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were enrolled to assess the gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in etanercept-treated RA patients, with some emphasis on clinical and biological markers of disease. The results revealed that the ∆Ct mean range in total, male and female RA patients and controls was 1.286 ± 1.226 -4.023 ± 0.856 and the differences were not. Laboratory and clinical findings in subgroups of patients also showed no significant variations in the distribution of 2 −∆∆Ct means, with the exception of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (ACCP) antibodies. The lowest expression was observed in moderate positive patients (1.566 ± 1.104) compared to low and high positive patients (4.061 ± 1.366 and 9.668 ± 3.518, respectively) for ACCP antibodies, and the difference was significant (p = 0.043). Inspecting the 2 −∆∆Ct means in duration of disease and gender revealed that male patients recorded a lower mean than female patients (0.827 ± 0.550 vs. 4.143 ± 1.317) at <5 years disease duration, while at >10 years duration of disease, female patients showed a lower mean than male patients (1.242 ± 0.372 vs. 5.607 ± 3.334). However, both differences were not significant. It is concluded that etanercept was effective in normalizing the TNF gene expression, but variations that were related to gender, duration of disease and some biological markers of disease, were observed.

BioBacta

Cytokines play a prominent role in etiology and pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and one of these cytokines is interleukin-1β (IL-1β). The association between IL1B gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP: rs16944) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a sample of Iraqi patients was investigated. Fifty-one RA patients (21 males and 30 females) were enrolled and their age range was 20 -63 years (44.9 ± 1.5 years). In addition to patients, 45 apparently healthy control subjects were also enrolled in the study. They matched patients for ethnicity (Iraqis), gender (14 males and 31 females) and age (41.3 ± 1.3 years). Analysis of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in RA patients and controls revealed that the IL1B genotypes were consistent with the equilibrium, and no significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed between the observed and expected genotype frequencies. Inspecting IL1B genotype and allele frequencies in RA patients and controls revealed that there were no significant variations between these frequencies, although a decreased frequency of T allele (67.7 vs. 73.3%) and an increased frequency of C allele (32.3vs. 26.7%) were observed in patients compared to controls. In conclusion, the results are in favor of no association between IL1B gene SNP (rs16944) and RA in Iraqi population.

Background: Primary infection of maternal with toxoplasmosis during gestation and this infection transmission to the fetus continue to be the cause complex disease in offspring. Objective: This study was conducted to test the utility of nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (nPCR) assay to detect recent infections with Toxoplasma in abortive women. Material and methods: Toxoplasma gondii DNA was detected by using B1 gene as a target for amplification which was highly specific for T. gondii and is well conserved among all of the tested strains. Blood from 60 abortive women and 25 apparently healthy pregnant women with no history of abortion (as control group) were taken in this current study. Results: The results revealed that nPCR was positive in 48(80%) subjects and negative in 12(20%), Chi-square- χ2 for patients and control was ( 13.82 , 15.75 ) respectively. Conclusion: It can be concluded that nPCR assay in blood has advantage in detection of recent and active toxoplasmosis.