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ABSTRACT. Previous studies have suggested that an association exists between the proline dehydrogenase gene (PRODH) and increased schizophrenia risk. We examined the prevalence of the PRODH 757C/T (Arg185Trp), 1766A/G (Gly521Arg), and 1852G/A (intronic mutation) polymorphisms in 175 patients with schizophrenia and 185 control subjects. All subjects were of Iranian ancestry. The PRODH 757TT, 1852AA, and 1766GG genotypes were associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia (odds ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence interval: 0.88-2.16, P = 0.001, P = 0.001, respectively). The activity alleles in the PRODH genotype combinations were associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia (haplotype analysis, TAG genotype P = 0.007). Our findings support a major role for the PRODH 757TT, 1766GG, and 1852AA genotypes alone and in combination for schizophrenia susceptibility.

ABSTRACT. Human cancer cells resemble stem cells in expression signatures leading them to share some features, most notably, selfrenewal. A complex network of transcription factors and signaling molecules are required for continuation of this trait. ZNF797 (SALL4) is a zinc finger transcriptional activator crucial for maintenance of self-renewal in stem cells; however, its expression level has not yet been elucidated in gastric tumor cells. Its expression was analyzed to determine this level and probable clinicopathological consequences. SALL4 expression in fresh tumor and distant tumor-free tissues from 46 colorectal samples was compared by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Greater than a 2-fold increase in SALL4 expression was detected in 89.5% of tumors vs normal related tissues. SALL4 expression was significantly correlated with tumor cell metastasis to lymph nodes, especially in moderately differentiated tumor samples (P < 0.05). Furthermore, higher levels of SALL4 mRNA expression were significantly associated with younger patients with tumor cells in stages I and II (P < 0.05). These results indicate a relationship between SALL4 expression and tumor cell metastasis to lymph nodes and consequent progression of tumors to advanced stages III and IV. Along with the promising evidence of its role in self-renewal in various cancers, SALL4 is introduced as a potentially interesting therapeutic target to reverse a number of aberrations that promote gastric tumor development and maintenance. This result may lead to new approaches for cancer therapy.

Schizophrenia is a highly heritable mental disorder which can be occurred as a result of mutations or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in various genes. Proline dehydrogenase (ProdH) gene is one of the most important genes which can be associated with increased risk of schizophrenia in several populations. Here, we considered the effect of PRODH gene polymorphisms on the incidence of schizophrenia in Iranian populations. This study was done using the analysis of 3 SNPs markers, including g1496a, g758a and c1482T. Molecular analysis was performed on 263 schizophrenic patients and 278 healthy individuals (control group). These examinations were executed by Pcr-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (rFlP) technique. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software (16.0). Our findings showed that G1496A and C1482T polymorphisms in patients were significantly higher than controls and there were meaningful correlations between the occurrence of these polymorphisms and schizophrenia in the population (P < 0.001). However , there was no significant relationship between G758A in the PRODH gene and schizophrenia. Haplotype analysis showed that AAT, AAc and gAT blocks (variation alleles are bold) had significant correlations with schizophrenia. ProdH gene can be considered as one of the important genes involved in schizophrenia development among the Iranian population.