1. Epidermal growth factor and the related peptide transforming growth factor alpha have been implicated in the stimulation of gastric mucosal proliferation. We assessed the immunohistochemical distribution of these peptides and their receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor, in mucosa from the antrum and body of the stomach from 28 patients. Twenty-three of the 56 biopsies were histologically normal (12 antrum and 11 body), whereas the other 33 showed varying degrees of inflammation. 2. Epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor alpha and epidermal growth factor receptor had maximal density of distribution on the apical surfaces of the superficial epithelial cells, but were also expressed to a lesser extent on neck and body cells of the glandular tissue (P less than 0.05). We also demonstrated that epidermal growth factor expression was greater in the epithelial cells of inflamed mucosa than in those of normal mucosa (P less than 0.05). 3. We assessed mucosal proliferation by the Ki-67 labelling index. Ki-67-positive cells were found predominantly in the neck area of the glands and were more frequent in glandular antral tissue than in body glandular tissue (P less than 0.05). Expression of epidermal growth factor receptor in the neck and isthmus cells had a significant correlation with the Ki-67 labelling index (P less than 0.05). 4. We conclude that epidermal growth factor and epidermal growth factor receptor may be important in the adaptation of gastric mucosa to inflammation.
Background Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. Diabetic nephropathy is the major microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus; one of the earliest clinical signs of diabetic nephropathy is an elevated urinary albumin excretion (UAE), referred to as microalbuminuria. Fractalkine is a large cytokine protein of 373 amino acids; it contains multiple domains. Fractalkine (CX3CL1) is a unique chemokine and the only representative of the CX3C group. It exists as a membrane-bound and soluble form. It interacts with cells expressing CX3CR1, a G-coupled protein receptor. It is also commonly known by the names fractalkine (in humans) and neurotactin (in mice). Aim Our study aimed to assess fractalkine levels in type 2 Egyptian diabetic patients with and without diabetic nephropathy and its role as a marker in the development of diabetic nephropathy. Patients and methods Our study was carried out on 75 individuals: 25 controls, 25 type 2 diabetic patients without diabetic nephropathy, and 25 type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy. These patients were subjected to a full laboratory workup including fasting and postprandial blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin A1C, serum urea and creatinine, 24-h UAE, and fractalkine level. Results and conclusion Our study showed that the serum fractalkine concentration was significantly elevated in type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy (1153.14±261.1) compared with type 2 diabetic patients without nephropathy (705.78±150.59) and the control group (251.5±64) (both P=0.000). There was a significant correlation between serum fractalkine level and 24-h UAE, HBA1C, and serum creatinine. Thus, this positive correlation between serum fractalkine level and UAE could be an early predictor of microvascular complications in diabetic patients. We can conclude that serum fractalkine plays a pathogenic role in the development of diabetic nephropathy.
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