Gastric cancer (GC) is considered lethal aggressive cancer. In Egypt, GC has a low incidence but unfortunately, it is mostly diagnosed at an advanced stage with a poor prognosis. Assessment of novel markers that can be used in the early detection of GC is an urgent need. The present study was performed to assess the association of the Pleckstrin homology domain-containing S1 (PLEKHS1)، arylacetamide deacetylase (AADAC, and Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 3 (CDKN3) genes with GC and to correlate their gene expression levels with tumor stage, grade, and other clinicopathological features. The current work was performed on forty gastric tissue samples; twenty in Group 1 with GC tissues at different stages, and grades and twenty in Group 2 (control group) with non-tumorous tissue. PLEKHS1, AADAC, and CDKN3 gene expression were assessed by RT-qPCR. AADAC, CDKN3 genes were significantly (p<0.001) upregulated, while PLEKHS1 gene was significantly (p<0.001) downregulated in the GC group than the control group. AADAC gene expression exhibited a high significant (p<0.001) positive correlation with the tumor grades and the tumor stages. A high significant negative correlation between AADAC, and CDKN3 gene expression (r = -.760, p<0.001) was found. The three studied parameters showed high significant sensitivity and specificity in the prediction of the presence of GC. PLEKHS1, AADAC, and CDKN3 gene expressions were suggested to be used as diagnostic and predictive biomarkers of GC, additionally, AADAC may be used as a prognostic marker in these patients for further future confirming studies.
Valproic acid (VPA) is one of the most used anti-epileptic drugs inspite of its many adverse effects as anemia, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, and liver toxicity. The hepatoprotective effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) was confirmed. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to detect the protective effect of ALA against the adverse effects of VPA. Materials& Methods: Thirty white albino Wistar male rats were divided into 4 groups. Group (1) was the control group; Group (2) included rats that received ALA (100mg/kg/day) orally for 14 days; Group (3) and Group (4) included rats that received VPA (500 mg/kg/day) for 15 days intraperitoneal, but group 4 rats received ALA (100mg/kg/day) orally for 14 days prior to VPA. Blood samples were collected and livers were excised from rats for colorimetric analysis and rt-PCR. Results: Rats that received VPA showed leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, a significant decrease of SOD, glutathione, Nrf2, and Sirt1, besides a significant increase of MDA and TNF alpha. Prior treatment with ALA prevented all these results. Conclusion: ALA protected against VPA-induced liver damage and hematological disturbance via anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
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