Tuberculosis (TB) still remains an important medical problem due to high levels of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A series of innate immune mechanisms that create a cytokine network control the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and this response has the capacity to modify the host genomic DNA structure through epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation which could constantly alter the local gene expression pattern that can modulate the metabolism of the tissues and the immune-response. Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is an important pro-inflammatory cytokine regulator of the innate immune response to TB. This study aims to determine DNA methylation patterns of INF-γ gene promoter and measure serum IFN- γ level in newly diagnosed TB patients, relapse TB patients, and healthy control, in order to study the possibility of using these as a biomarker for the prognosis of TB stages in patients. The current case-control study included 66 patients with TB and 33 healthy control subjects. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood(PB) of included subjects and modified using sodium bisulfate specific kit. DNA methylation patterns of IFN-γ gene promoter was determine by using methylation specific polymerase chain reaction(MS-PCR).Serum IFN-γ level was determined using enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay(ELISA). Results showed that percentages of DNA methylation patterns in normal controls, newly diagnostic TB patients and relapse TB patients were (63.3%, 18.2% and 21.2% respectively). Also, higher significant differences (P≤0.0001) of un-methylated IFN-γ gene promoter patterns in newly diagnostic TB patients than relapse TB patients comparison with healthy controls. The percentage of un-methylated DNA patterns in healthy controls, newly diagnostic TB patients and relapse TB patients were (9.9%, 39.4% and 51.5%, respectively). The mean of serum IFN-γ levels (pg/ml) for normal controls, newly diagnostic TB patients and relapse TB patients were (59.3± 13.8,75.8±24.3 and 69.6±18.7,respectively).In conclusion, there is a relative association between methylation of IFN-γ gene promoter and predisposing to TB progression.
Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) represents one of the major causes of chronic morbidity where, airflow limitation is caused by a mixture of small airways disease and parenchyma destruction.
Objective: to correlate the clinical characteristics of patients with COPD with imaging classification into phenotypes.
Patients and Methods: Thirty patients with stable COPD were examined by chest CT. Bronchial wall thickness is evaluated by measuring the wall area percentage by identifying the trunk of the apical bronchus of the right upper lobe, while the extent of emphysema was assessed using the percentage of lung voxels with X-ray attenuation values less than -950 HU {automatically calculated by special software}.<
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is caused coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) affecting people worldwide. The angiotensin converting enzyme2 (ACE2) represents a
receptor of SARS-CoV-2 on the infected host cell. Apelin or its receptor agonists suppress the production of
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and angiotensin II (Ang-II) and is characterized by a protective effect
against SARS-CoV-2.
Objective: The study aims to assess the serum level of Elabela biomarker as an early detector for Acute
Kidney Injury (AKI) in patients with COVID-19.
Cases and Methods: This is a case-control study which included 45 hospitalized adult patients in multiple
centers (pu
Background: Tobacco smoking and tuberculosis (TB) are two major public health problems; Associations between smoking and tuberculosis including death from tuberculosis have been reported , A reduction in smoking could be expected to have a significant impact on TB incidence and prevalence .
Objectives: to assess the effect of smoking on tuberculosis.
Methods: This study was conducted from June 2011 to June 2012 in 200 patients, adult ( aged 17 years and more), newly diagnosed patients of pulmonary tuberculosis, at the chest and Respiratory Disease Specialized Center in Baghdad. Demographic data, presenting symptoms, data on smoking, and recurrence of disease were compared. Information on smoking status, tobacco smoking was collecte
Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women worldwide, in Iraq it ranks the first among the population and the leading cause of cancer related female mortality. This study is designed to investigate the correlations between serum and tissue markers in order to clarify their role in progression or regression breast cancer. Tumor Markers are groups of substances, mainly proteins, produced from cancer cell or from other cells in the body in response to tumor. The study was carried out from April 2018 to April 2019 with total number of 60 breast cancer women. The blood samples were collected from breast cancer women in postoperative and pretherapeutic who attended teaching oncology hospital of the medical city in Baghdad and
... Show MoreBackground:
After about twelve months or maybe more, some people can’t achieve pregnancy. This might be a sign of infertility as a reproductive system disease. The following study was carried out to investigate the DAZ 1 gene methylation level and its association with azoospermia in Iraqi patients. One hundred and fifty human blood samples were collected from from different regions in Baghdad governorate, including (private medicals Labs and the high institute for infertility diagnosis assisted reproductive techniques and Kamal Al- Samara'ay IVF Hospital) from both fertile and infertile men. The control group consists of 50 samples ranging from 22 to 51 years old, while the patient (infertile group) consists of 100 samples ranging between 25 and 51 y
... Show MoreBackground: Rituximab is a chimeric IgG1 kappa immunoglobulin that has been genetically modified to incorporate human constant region sequences together with murine light- and heavy-chain variable region sequences. People use it to treat rheumatoid arthritis and certain malignancies. Objective: The study aimed to assess the potential association between the serum levels of Factor I, CD59, interleukins (IL)-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ and the response to Rituximab treatment in Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the rheumatology center at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Ninety adult patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and are receiving Rituximab intravenous i
... Show MoreBackground: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a hemodynamic and pathophysiological condition
defined as an increase in mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) ≥25 mmHg at rest as assessed by
right heart catheterization (RHC). Although there is some underestimation and overestimation of PAP
between transthoracic Doppler echo (DE) and RHC, Doppler echo remains an indispensable screening
tool for the assessment of PH.
Objective: clinical evaluation of patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) and assess
vasoreactivity testing to identify patients who may benefit from long term therapy with calcium channel
blockers (CCBs).
Patients and methods: This prospective study was performed in the cardiac catheterization
This research was designed to study the effect of water and alcoholic crude extracts of Calvatia craniiformis in vitro and in vivo On the other hand this study tested the toxic effect of both extracts in normal laboratory mice. The results showed that water and alcoholic extracts relatively have an acute toxic effect in mice in respect to LD50 (85 mg/kg, and 177mg/kg respectively). However the chronic toxicity of water extract at three different concentration (50, 75, 100 mg/kg) and alcoholic extract at concentrations of (100, 150, 200 mg/kg) was investigated in normal mice by (I.P) administration for 30 days alternatively and one drag in 48 hours . The results indicated significant effect (P ? 0.01) increasing in (MI) and (BI) of bone mar
... Show MoreSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease characterized by elevated levels of circulating anti-nuclear autoantibodies and interferon-alpha (INFs-α). Interferon regulatory factor-5 (IRF5) plays an important role in the induction of type I interferon and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and participates in the SLE pathogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the role of IRF5 gene expression levels in a sample of SLE Iraqi patients and its correlation with disease activity, and to identify its diagnostic ability as a biomarker reflecting disease activity. Blood samples were taken from 45 participants diagnosed with SLE cases classified according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. T
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