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The importance of cardiac biomarkers in the prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome is clear. However, there are some controversies regarding measuring these cardiac biomarkers post angioplasty through percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In this study we will review the importance of increased cardiac biomarkers after elective PCI on the prognosis of patients. Also, the definition of myocardial infarction related to PCI, the mechanisms of increasing of cardiac biomarkers post PCI and its prospects have been discussed.

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Background and purpose: Acetaminophen that is used as an analgesic and antipyretic drug can induce severe hepatotoxicity in humans following accidental or intentional overdose. Taurine is one of the most abundant amino acids in the body that is not incorporated into proteins but is found as a free amino acid in the body. This study aimed at investigating the changes in plasma concentration of taurine and liver biomarkers in acute poisoning with acetaminophen. Materials and methods: We measured the taurine concentrations in plasma in 30 acutely poisoned patients with acetaminophen attending the poison department in Sina Hospital in admission time and 12 hours after admission and in 30 healthy individuals (control group) using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Also, ALT, AST, and PT as biomarkers of liver were measured by Auto-Analyzer. Data was analyzed using two-tailed unpaired student t-test and ANOVA. Results: Mean plasma taurine concentrations in the Acetaminophen -poisoned patients in admission, and 12 hours after admission were 36.91±3.449 mg/l and 27.82±4.020 mg/l, respectively. Significant differences were seen in the mean plasma taurine concentration between the patients and the control group (4.62 ± 0.451) (P<0.001). There was no significant correlation between plasma taurine concentrations and plasma ALT, AST, and PT (P>0.05). Conclusion: Taurine is released by the liver in response to a toxic insult in the first 12 hours and is increased in plasma and urine, whereas, other liver biomarkers are increased in liver 12 hours following acetaminophen overdose.

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Thyroid carcinoma is the most common endocrine neoplasia. Like other cancers, early detection of thyroid cancer plays an important role in the treatment and prevention of disease progression. In recent years many efforts have been made to detect molecular biomarkers for early prediction, diagnosis, and prognosis of different types of cancers. This article is a review on different researches about biomarkers of thyroid cancers. Original articles published (between 1996 and 2015) about biomarkers and thyroid cancers were identified by searching different databases. According to different types of thyroid cancers, the articles were reviewed in different four sections. In most cases FNA could determine the nature of thyroid nodules. However, this method is faced with some limitations especially in detection of lesions associated with follicular thyroid cells. To optimize the accuracy of diagnosis and to offer new prognostic criteria, several immunohistochemical and molecular markers have been proposed which should be verified before clinical application. In spite of large volumes of data about discovery of different biomarkers for thyroid cancers, few of them could be used in clinical applications. In many cases using each of these molecules alone may not be useful, therefore, combination of two or more biomarkers could be of great help in diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of thyroid cancer.

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Completion of the human genome project revealed that the molecular mechanisms of cellular responses to different situations cannot be predicted from the sequence of their genes. Hence, most biological researches are focused on the roles of proteins which are much more challenging tasks. Omics technologies, instead of analyzing individual components of an organism by conventional biochemical methods such as the function of a gene, protein or biochemical reaction, study all the components and their interactions within a global site. In the past two decades, omics technologies have been used as efficient and powerful tools in almost all aspects of clinical and pharmaceutical researches, including biomarker discovery, drug target discovery, evaluation of the efficacy of drugs, safety assessment, and personalized medicine. In this article, omics technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics, and their advances are reviewed and their applications in clinical and pharmaceutical researches, particularly in the areas of drug targets, biomarkers, and personalized medicine are discussed.
 

 

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancers worldwide. Despite the improved therapeutic and diagnostic strategies and screening programs, morbidity and mortality of CRC is still considerable. Currently, most common approaches for diagnosis of CRC are colonoscopy and fecal occult blood test (FOBT). Because of the invasive nature of colonoscopy and low sensitivity of FOBT, it is essential to find precise and noninvasive methods for early diagnosis, monitoring, and control of colorectal cancer. In recent years, there has been growing interest in finding sensitive and non-invasive molecular biomarkers by evaluating expression profiles of miRNAs in patients with colorectal cancer. Many studies have shown the important role of microRNAs in regulating the expression of genes involved in tumorigenesis, which has led researchers to evaluate their ability in diagnosis and treatment of various cancers such as colorectal cancer. In this regard, miR-21 was studied in many researches. miR-21 is one of the earliest identified cancer-promoting ‘oncomiRs’, targeting numerous tumor suppressor genes associated with prolifera­tion, apoptosis, and invasion. Overexpression of miR-21 is observed in colorectal cancer and some other cancers. Recent studies have focused on the diagnostic and prognostic value of miR-21 and its implication in drug resis­tance of human cancers. The present study is a review of recent findings on the role of miR-21 in the regulation of target genes involved in colorectal carcinogenesis and its potential as a diagnostic and prognosis biomarker in this cancer.
 

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Background and purpose: Identifying precancerous lesions for early detection of gastric cancer is greatly important in high risk areas for stomach cancer. In this study, we evaluated stomach biomarkers as a non-invasive method for recognition of gastric precancerous lesions.
Materials and methods: In a cross-sectional study, patients with chronic dyspeptic symptoms who were candidate for endoscopy were selected from Sari gastroenterology clinic. After endoscopic and pathological evaluations, patients were divided into three groups: those with normal endoscopic findings and pathology, patients with chronic active gastritis, and those with intestinal metaplasia. Their serum samples were evaluated for PG1, PG2, PG1/PG2 ratio, Gastrin-G17, and Helicobacter pylori serology. Data analysis was done in SPSS V21.
Results: A total of 63 patients were investigated of whom 19 were found with normal endoscopic results and pathology, 25 had chronic active gastritis, and there were 19 with intestinal metaplasia. Serum levels of PG1 and PG2 in patients with chronic active gastritis and intestinal metaplasia were higher than normal patients (p<0.05). These patients also had higher incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection compared with normal patients. (75% vs. 21%).
Conclusion: Measurement of PG1, PG2, and anti-H pylori antibody in dyspeptic patients can be helpful in identifying gastric precancerous lesions.
 

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Background and purpose: Muscular atrophy is a condition derived from different diseases and aging. Molecular study of the disease condition can help in developing diagnostic methods and treatment approaches. In this study, protein interaction network was analyzed to understand molecular events at protein levels.
Materials and methods: In this experimental study, the network was constructed and analyzed using Cytoscape and its plug-in STRING. In addition, Network Analyzer and MCODE were applied to analyze the centrality and clustering, respectively. Bingo explored the gene ontology of the determined protein complexes.
Results: The findings showed five key genes in the network of atrophy including AKT1, ALB, DMD, SMN1, and SMN2. Furthermore, six clusters of proteins were obtained from which two significant ones were considered for gene ontology analysis.
Conclusion: All the central proteins, AKT1, ALB, DMD, SMN1, and SMN2 are present in the clusters of our interests. It can be concluded that the panel of biomarkers introduced could be of great help in understanding the pathology of muscular atrophy.
 

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 Background and purpose: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) as a progressive metabolic disorder is rising very fast around the world. Diagnosis of T2DM at early stages (prediabetic) is important in reducing the mortality associated with this disease. Several studies have shown that micro-RNAs play a major role in the pathogenesis of the T2DM. Because of the high stability of these regulatory RNA in body fluids and the availability of sensitive technology, such as Real-time PCR for detecting them, they can be used as epigenetic biomarker in the early diagnosis of T2DM. In this study, for the first time, miR - 181 expression levels were investigated in patients with T2DM in Yazd province, Iran.
Materials and methods: In this experimental study, Real-time PCR was used to quantify expression levels of miR-181b in 90 individuals including T2DM patients (n=30), prediabetic (n=30), and healthy individuals (n=30).
Results: There were significant differences in miR-181b expression levels between the groups studied.
Conclusion: Reduced miR-181b expression levels in T2DM and pre-diabetic subjects compared to healthy individuals suggests that miR-181b could be used as a new epigenetic diagnostic marker for early diagnosis of T2DM.

 

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Background and purpose: T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a type of blood malignancy caused by changes in the precursors of T lymphocyte cells. The PTEN gene is one of the most common tumor suppressor genes that mutates in most human cancers, including T-ALL. Therefore, it is important to identify miRNAs that target the PTEN gene in T-ALL. For this purpose, in the present study, miRNAs targeting PTEN gene in T-ALL patients were examined.
Materials and methods: The miRNAs targeting PTEN was predicted and selected using bioinformatics. A total of 40 plasma samples were collected from T-ALL patients and healthy individuals. After RNA extraction and synthesis of cDNA, the expression levels of predicted miRNA and PTEN were assessed by Real time PCR in REST 2009. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS V16 and P<0.05 were considered significant.
Results: Bioinformatics showed that miR-1297 target the PTEN gene. Compared to healthy individuals, in T-ALL patients, the expression levels of miR-1297 and PTEN gene in the plasma significantly increased (45.93, P= 0.001) and decreased (0.191, P= 0.001), respectively.
Conclusion: The present study showed that miR-1297 is likely to target the PTEN gene. Therefore, miR-1297 could serve as a new and non-invasive biomarker in diagnosis and treatment
of T-ALL.

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 Background and purpose: Gastric adenocarcinoma is the fifth most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. Transthyretin (TTR) is a useful marker for cancer diagnosis and prediction in patients undergoing surgery. The diagnostic value of this biomarker in gastric cancer has not yet been determined conclusively. This investigation aimed at studying the diagnostic role of serum TTR in patients with gastric cancer.
Materials and methods: This case-control study, was performed in 40 patients whose gastric cancer was confirmed pathologically and 42 healthy individuals without family history of gastrointestinal and liver cancers. The sandwich prepared ELISA kit was used to determine the concentration of transthyretin protein produced in serum.
Results: The mean age of patients with gastric cancer was 63 ± 13 years and the mean age of the control group was 64 ± 16 years (P= 0.681). The mean serum concentrations of transthyretin in patients and healthy people were 138.45 ± 49.64 pg/mL and 113.53 ± 60.12 pg/mL, respectively. Findings showed a significant difference in serum transthyretin levels between the two groups (P= 0.045). Therefore, TTR could be used as a diagnostic marker.
Conclusion: In this study, serum levels of transthyretin were significantly higher in patients with gastric cancer than healthy individuals.

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Background and purpose: Metals are widely influenced in environmental pollution and disease development in humans. Since children are exposed to chemicals in the environment more than adults, risk assessment should be taken into consideration. Therefore, the investigation of the difference in children's contact levels in environments with different pollution and monitoring the concentration of metals through tissue sampling are essential for identifying and preventing such effects.
Materials and methods: Teeth were collected according to the inclusion criteria from dental clinics in Sari and Tehran. The samples were completely turned into powder by a grinder and prepared using an acid dissolution process to determine the concentration of metals by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Moreover, the maximum, minimum, mean, median and standard deviation values of the data were calculated. The normality of the data was determined by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS statistical software (v. 16).
Results: The average concentration of Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Al, Mn, Ba and Sr in two cities had a significant difference (P<0.05). In the case of the As, this difference was not significant (P>0.05). Additionally, in terms of tooth type a significant difference was observed among all these elements except Ba (P<0.05).
Conclusion: It was concluded that the concentration of metals in deciduous teeth in Tehran was higher than in Sari, which can indicate its relation with more contact of children with metals in environments with higher pollution and harmful effects on human health.

 

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 Background and purpose: Recent studies suggest that HDL-C may not serve as a useful biomarker in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). The present study aimed to improve the prediction of CAD in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with nephropathy by substituting the activity of paraoxonase 1 (PON1) for HDL-C.  
Materials and methods: This study examined 48 T2D patients who underwent coronary angiographic examination. The subjects were divided into two groups: non-CAD and CAD. For measuring PON1 activity, the initial rate of substrate hydrolysis (phenylacetate) was spectrophotometrically assayed at 270 nm. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to compare the predictive performance of the study biomarkers.
Results: The area under the ROC curve showed increases in the diagnostic performance of the study atherogenic ratios by replacing HDL-C with the PON1 in T2D patients with nephropathy. LDL-C/PON1 (AUC=0.72, P=0.048) and log (TG/PON1) (AUC=0.81, P=0.005) had higher predictive powers compared with LDL-C/HDL-C (AUC=0.56, P=0.276) and log (TG/HDL-C) (AUC=0.67, p=0.038) for CAD risk assessment.
Conclusion: The ratios of LDL-C/PON1 and log (TG/PON1) improve the prediction of CAD in T2D patients with nephropathy. Our findings support efforts to practically use HDL function instead of HDL-C levels for CAD diagnosis.
 

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Background and purpose: Breast cancer is the 1st most common cancer in the female population and the third leading cause of cancer mortality in Ladies. Given the importance of early detection of cancer, it is necessary to find biomarkers related to this disease that are essential for the prognosis and early diagnosis of breast cancer. The estrogen receptor gene for beta, whose full name is Estrogen Receptor-β (ESRβ). Our main aim in this study was to investigate the expression changes of this gene in cancer tissue tumor samples compared to normal tissue samples to obtain a biomarker to predict the risk of cancer.
Materials and methods: In this research, in 2023 samples were obtained from 30 patients diagnosed with breast cancer who underwent surgery at Omid Hospital in Mashhad. Both tumor tissue and adjacent healthy tissue were collected from each patient. The diagnosis of breast cancer was confirmed by a specialist doctor, and none of the patients had received any prior treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Tissue samples were collected immediately after surgery and stored at -70°C. RNA extraction and synthesis were performed, followed by analysis of the expression of the ESR gene along with the GAPDH gene as an internal control, using real-time PCR.
Results: In this study, 30 cancer patients were examined, with ages ranging from 32 to 62 years old and a mean age of 47.5 ± 9.38. Among them, one person had tumor grade 1, 16 had grade 2 tumors, and 8 had grade 3 tumors. Metastasis was observed in 11 patients (36.7%), while 19 patients (63.3%) had no metastasis. Regarding tumor size distribution, 5 patients (16.7%) had tumors smaller than 1 cm, and 25 patients (83.3%) had tumors sized between 1 and 2 cm. The study focused on changes in the expression of the ESRβ gene in both tumor and adjacent healthy tissues of breast cancer patients. It was found that the gene expression was higher in tumor samples compared to the adjacent healthy tissues. Using SPSS software, the analysis revealed a significant relationship between gene expression intensity and tumor grade across all three groups. Additionally, a significant difference was observed between patients with and without tumor metastasis.
Conclusion: Overall, the findings of this study indicate a significant correlation between gene expression intensity and tumor grade across all three groups. Moreover, there is a significant distinction between patients with and without tumor metastasis. Notably, a considerable expression difference was observed between healthy and tumor samples. Hence, this gene could serve as a potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis.
 

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Background and purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks fourth and second among all types of cancer in terms of incidence and mortality rates, respectively. Although colorectal cancer screening has been effective in improving the prevention and treatment of this disease, many obstacles, including colorectal cancer metastasis, have severely hampered the prognosis of this disease. Long non-coding RNAs are a type of RNAi molecule that is classified into several functional groups and participates in some important cellular pathways. LncRNA-RNA interactions control mRNA translation and degradation or act as microRNA (miRNA) silencing sponges. LncRNA-protein interaction regulates protein activity in transcriptional activation and silencing. LncRNA guide, decoy, and scaffold transcriptional regulators regulate the enhancer or repressor region of coding genes to alter expression. Non-coding RNAs have attracted increasing attention from researchers due to their key role in regulating gene expression and potential effects on cell signaling pathways. These RNAs, as biomarkers, play an important role in the diagnosis, progression, and prognosis of colorectal cancer. This study investigated the change in the expression level of non-coding RNA LINC01139 in colorectal cancer compared to healthy tissue.
Materials and methods: and Methods: In this study, the expression change of the LncRNA LINC01139 gene from two databases, UALCAN and Gepia2, was investigated in colon adenocarcinoma tumor tissues compared to healthy tissue. Then, total RNA was extracted from 41 colorectal cancer tumor tissue samples and 41 healthy tissue samples adjacent to the tumor, and after qualitative and quantitative analysis of the extracted RNA, cDNA synthesis was performed using the kit. Then, by designing and synthesizing a specific primer, the expression level of LINC01139 non-coding RNA was measured in two tumor and healthy tissues using the Real-time RT-PCR technique. In the end, considering the Gapdh gene as a housekeeping gene, the resulting data were analyzed by Graph pad prism software.
Results: Data analysis of this study based on bioinformatics analysis showed that the expression of non-coding RNA LINC01139 is decreased in colorectal tumors. This is even though the expression of this gene increases significantly in tumor tissues (both metastatic and non-metastatic) compared to the adjacent normal tissue, regardless of gender(P<0.0001). However, It was also shown that increased expression of LINC01139 non-coding RNA in tumor tissues can serve as a biomarker in identifying tumor tissues from healthy colorectal tissues(AUC=0.81, P<0.0001). as no significant expression difference between non-metastatic and metastatic samples (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Considering the known role of LINC01139 lncRNA in the HIF1α signaling pathway as a scaffold, the oncogenic function of LINC01139 lncRNA in liver cancer through the miR-30/MYBL2 axis and the strong Linc01139-PIP3 LncRNA interaction and the effect on the PIP3-AKT pathway. It seems that increased expression of cytoplasmic lncRNA LINC01139 and its function as an oncogene may be involved in colorectal carcinogenesis through signaling pathways.