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SUMMARY Breast cancer (BC) is one of the primary health problems worldwide. As the most common cancer in women in the world and in Brasil, behind only non-melanoma skin cancer, this neoplasm corresponds to approximately 28% of new cases per year in the country. BC also affects men, although the incidence corresponds to only 1% of total cases. Currently, most of the chemotherapeutic agents used in BC treatment are extremely toxic and cause long-term side effects. There is also a need to obtain earlier diagnoses, more accurate prognoses and make new therapies available that are more selective and effective in order to improve the current scenario. Therefore, this work sought to evaluate the importance of the biomarker survivin (Sur) in relation to BC, through the detailing of the role of Sur as a biomarker, the correlation between this protein and the prognosis of BC patients, and a summary of therapeutic strategies that target Sur for the development of new anticancer therapies.

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IntroductionDiabetic nephropathy (DN) is a disease that progresses with the slow and progressive decline of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR); the installation of this pathology is silent and one of the major causes of death in patients with diabetes.AimsTo identify new molecular biomarkers for early identification of the onset of DN in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (DM2). We studied the expression profile of the genes; suppressor of mothers against decapentaplegic type 1 (SMAD1), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and type IV collagen (COLIV1A) in peripheral blood and urine sediment samples.MethodsNinety volunteers, 51 with DM2 and 39 healthy, were recruited from the Faculdade de Medicina do ABC outpatient clinic. We conducted an interview and collected anthropometric data, as well as blood and urine samples for biochemical evaluation and real-time PCR amplification of the genes of interest.ResultsGene expression data: peripheral blood NGAL (DM2 0.09758±0.1914 vs CTL 0.02293±0.04578), SMAD1 (blood: DM2 0.01102±0.04059* vs CTL 0.0001317±0.0003609; urine: DM2 0.7195±2.344* vs CTL 0.09812±0.4755), there was no significant expression of COLIV1A. These genes demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity in the receiving operating characteristic curve evaluation.ConclusionOur data suggest the potential use of NGAL and SMAD1 gene expression in peripheral blood and urine samples as early biomarkers of DN.

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INTRODUÇÃOAs lavouras de soja ocupam 15 milhões de hectares de terra no Brasil, que produzem, em média, 40 milhões de toneladas de soja anualmente (Conab, 2002). Em termos mundiais, o Brasil é o segundo produtor de soja, estando atrás do EUA e à frente da Argentina. (Conab, 2002). Os orientais, no entanto, são os maiores consumidores de produtos derivados de soja, observando-se relação inversa entre o consumo das isoflavonas e a incidência de doenças cardiovasculares na população japonesa (Fukutake et al., 1996). Vários estudos têm demonstrado que o consumo de soja reduz o risco de várias doenças, como câncer de mama e próstata, osteoporose, doenças cardiovasculares e os sintomas da menopausa (Messina, 1999;Tikkanen, Adlercreutz, 2000). Os estudos dos efeitos benéficos da soja culminaram com a recomendação do FDA (Food and Drug Administration-USA, 1999) do uso de 25 g/dia de proteína da soja para a prevenção de doenças cardiovasculares. Porém, ainda não está elucidado quais componentes da soja são responsáveis pelos seus efeitos antiaterogênicos. A proteína da soja, as saponinas e as isoflavonas têm sido considerados como os componentes mais eficientes, porém, atenção especial tem sido dada às isoflavonas.

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We investigated the potential of a panel of 22 biomarkers to predict the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) patients. The study enrolled 96 DM2 patients with (n = 75) and without (n = 21) evidence of CAD. We assessed a biochemical profile that included 22 biomarkers: total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, LDL/HDL, triglycerides, glucose, glycated hemoglobin, fructosamine, homocysteine, cysteine, methionine, reduced glutathione, oxidized glutathione, reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione, L-arginine, asymmetric dimethyl-L-arginine, symmetric dimethyl-L-arginine, asymmetric dimethyl-L-arginine/L-arginine, nitrate plus nitrite, S-nitrosothiols, nitrotyrosine, and n-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase. Prediction models were built using logistic regression models. We found that eight biomarkers (methionine, nitratate plus nitrite, n-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase, BMI, LDL, HDL, reduced glutathione, and L-arginine/asymmetric dimethyl-L-arginine) along with gender and BMI were significantly associated with the odds of CAD in DM2. These preliminary findings support the notion that emerging biochemical markers might be used for CAD prediction in patients with DM2. Our findings warrant further investigation with large, well-designed studies.