Objective and design Type 2 diabetes is a pandemic disease characterized by hyperglycemia, ineffective insulin use, and insulin resistance and affecting 1 in 11 people worldwide. Inflammation-related insulin resistance is thought to play an important role in the etiology of the disease. TLR4 is the central receptor of the natural immune system and has an important role as a trigger of the inflammatory response. The IRAK1 and TIRAP are members of the TLR4 pathway and involved in the TLR4-mediated inflammatory response. Genetic variants in the TLR4 gene or in the IRAK1 and TIRAP genes may have an important role in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes by disrupting the inflammatory response. In this direction, we aimed to investigate the relationship among TLR4 and IRAK1, TIRAP gene variants, and type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, and investigate how these variants affect inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, and IL-1β). Subjects and methods In our study, a total of seven variations on the genes of TLR4 (rs4986790, rs4986791), IRAK1 (rs1059703, rs3027898, rs7061789), and TIRAP (rs8177374, rs8177400) were genotyped by the MassARRAY ® Iplex GOLD SNP genotyping in 100 type 2 diabetic patients and 100 non-diabetic individual. The TLR4 rs4986790 and rs4986791 variation was confirmed by PCR-RFLP method also. The serum IL1-β, IL6, MCP-1, and TNF-α levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Results and conclusionAs a result of our study, no correlation was found among TLR4, IRAK1, and TIRAP gene variants and the risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. However, TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, and IL-1β levels were also associated with diabetes and insulin resistance (p > 0.05). Although the gene variants were not significant in type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance groups, IRAK1, TLR4, and TIRAP gene variants were found to be associated with TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, and IL-1β levels.

Cynara scolymus is a pharmacologically important medicinal plant containing phenolic acids and flavonoids. Experimental studies indicate antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of C. scolymus but there have been no studies about therapeutic effects of liver diseases yet. In the present study, hepatocurative effects of C. scolymus leaf extract on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced oxidative stress and hepatic injury in rats were investigated by serum hepatic enzyme levels, oxidative stress indicator (malondialdehyde-MDA), endogenous antioxidants, DNA fragmentation, p53, caspase 3 and histopathology. Animals were divided into six groups: control, olive oil, CCl4, C. scolymus leaf extract, recovery and curative. CCl4 was administered at a dose of 0.2 mL/kg twice daily on CCl4, recovery and curative groups. Cynara scolymus extract was given orally for 2 weeks at a dose of 1.5 g/kg after CCl4 application on the curative group. Significant decrease of serum alanine-aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate-aminotransferase (AST) levels were determined in the curative group. MDA levels were significantly lower in the curative group. Significant increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity in the curative group was determined. In the curative group, C. scolymus leaf extract application caused the DNA % fragmentation, p53 and caspase 3 levels of liver tissues towards the normal range. Our results indicated that C. scolymus leaf extract has hepatocurative effects of on CCl4-induced oxidative stress and hepatic injury by reducing lipid peroxidation, providing affected antioxidant systems towards the normal range. It also had positive effects on the pathway of the regulatory mechanism allowing repair of DNA damage on CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity.

Hypertension is a multifactorial disease, in which genetic factors play an important role. This study was carried out to determine angiotensin-converting enzyme levels and angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism in Turkish hypertensive patients, and to establish whether there is an association of angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism with clinical and echocardiographic parameters. We have investigated the association among the allelic distribution of the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene identified by polymerase chain reaction, angiotensin-converting enzyme activity determined spectrophotometrically, cardiac morphology and function assessed by means of echocardiography. Distribution of angiotensin-converting enzyme gene I/D polymorphism and allele frequencies in hypertensive patients was not significantly different from controls. D allele frequency was 51.7% in hypertensives vs. 51.9% in controls and I allele 48.3 vs. 48.1%, respectively. The level of angiotensin-converting enzyme activity was significantly higher in the patients homozygotes for D allele (DD = 59.93 U/l) than in heterozygotes (ID = 39.49) and in homozygotes for I allele (II = 40.28 U/l). In addition to these, the level of angiotensin-converting enzyme activity was significantly lower in the ID and especially II patients receiving ACE inhibitors than the others. Also, it was determined that left atrium diameter was larger in the patients homozygotes for I allele than the others.

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Inflammation has an important role in many diseases such as cystic fibrosis, allergies and cancer. The free radicals produced during inflammation, can induce gene mutations and posttranslational modifications of cancer related proteins. Nigella sativa L. (N. sativa) is herbaceous plant and commonly used as a natural food. It has many pharmacological effects including antibacterial, antifungal, antitumor, analgesic, antipyretic activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatuar and anti-oxidant activity of N. sativa in acute inflammation. Thus we used the experimental lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced model. Intraperitoneal LPS 1 mg/kg was administered to groups. N. sativa (500 mg/kg) and essential oil (5 ml/kg) were given orally to treatment groups, after 24-h of intraperitoneal LPS-injection. To determine the lung inflammation, 18F-fluoro-deoxy-D-glucose (0.8 ml/kg) was administrated under the anesthesia before the 1 h of PET-scanning. After the FDG-PET, samples were collected. Lung and liver 18F-FDG-uptake was calculated. Serum AST, ALT, LDH and hcCRP levels were determined and liver, lung and erythrocyte SOD, MDA and CAT levels were measured. Liver and lung NO and DNA fragmentation levels were determined. MDA levels were decreased in treated inflammation groups whereas increased in untreated inflammation group. SOD and CAT activities in untreated inflammation group were significantly lower. According to the control group, increased AST and ALT levels were found in untreated inflammation group. 18F-FDG uptake of inflammation groups were increased when compare the control group. We found increased 18F-FDG uptake, DNA fragmentation and NO levels in LPS-induced inflammation groups. We conclude that, in LPS-induced inflammation, N. sativa have therapeutic and anti-oxidant effects.

We aimed to investigate the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism, ACE activity and their associations with diabetic complications in Turkish patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A total of 143 patients and 133 controls were screened for ACE gene I/D polymorphism by using polymerase chain reaction. Serum ACE activities were determined spectrophotometrically. There was no significant difference in the distribution of ACE I/D genotypes between patients and controls. The patients with DD genotype had a higher ACE activity than those with ID and II. Hypertensive diabetic patients with DD genotype had higher ACE activities than those with ID and II. There was no significant difference in the distribution of ACE I/D genotypes between patients with and without nephropathy, retinopathy and hypertension except for patients with and without neuropathy. In patients with DD genotype, creatinine clearance correlated with duration of diabetes. The grade of retinopathy was correlated with duration of diabetes in DD and ID genotypes. The highest ACE activity was measured in hypertensive diabetics with DD genotype. ID genotype was suggested to be a risk factor and II was suggested to be protective for diabetic neuropathy. The DD and ID genotypes might be a predictor for the development of retinopathy in relation to duration of diabetes.

According to our data, the rs5743336 variant of the NOD1/CARD4 gene may influence the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, whereas the rs2066847 variant of the NOD2/CARD15 gene is not associated with lung cancer risk in the Turkish population.

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between anti-inflammatory effects of the natural polyphenolic compound tannic acid (CAS number: 1401-55-4) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme activity in paw edema model. Thirty-five female rats were divided into five groups. The paws of rats were injected subcutaneously in the plantar surface with formalin except for the control group. Indomethacin and tannic acid were intraperitoneally administered 1 h after formalin injection. The paws volume was measured by using vernier caliper. MPO enzyme activity was determined using 4-aminoantipyrine–phenol solution as the substrate for MPO-mediated oxidation by H2O2. About 17% and 13% edema inhibition has detected in the indomethacin-applied group, at the measurements run every other hour right after the treatment. An inhibition of 16% was found at the group treated with 25 mg/kg tannic acid. However, in the group treated with 50 mg/kg tannic acid, 15% and 7% of the edema inhibition was observed. Serum and paw tissue MPO activities were decreased in treated groups with indomethacin and tannic acid according to formalin control group. Our study results suggest that tannic acid may contribute to the treatment of inflammation by decreasing MPO enzyme activity, but the molecular mechanism is still not clear.