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Background: Lynch syndrome (LS) is one of the commonest genetic cancer syndromes, with an incidence rate of 1 per 250–1000 population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of MMR deficiency in endometrial cancer in Iranian women. Methods: One hundred endometrial carcinoma cases who referred to the gynecological oncology clinic of Imam Hossein Medical Center located in Tehran, Iran, from 2018 to 2020 were included in the study. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) evaluation was performed mainly on the hysterectomy specimens of all endometrial cancer (EC) patients to assess MMR proteins (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2) expression. Results: A total of 23 out of 100 (23%) cases were identified through IHC screening to be MMR-deficient. The most common types were loss of MLH1/PMS2 (17.4%) and solitary MSH2 (17.4%) expressions followed by PMS2/MSH2 loss (13%). MMR deficiency (dMMR) histopathology was significantly overrepresented in patients with family history of cancer or Lynch syndrome (LS) associated cancers (p-values of 0.016 and 0.005, respectively). The rate of myometrial invasion and lower uterine segment involvement were also significantly higher in dMMR EC patients compared to MMR-intact EC (p-value of 0.021 and 0.018, respectively). Conclusion: MMR deficiency, observed in 23% of endometrial cancer cases, was associated with higher rates of poor prognostic factors including myometrial invasion and lower uterine segment involvement. The presence of positive family history of cancer and family history of LS-associated cancer increased the probability of MMR-deficiency in endometrioid endometrial cancer to 47% and 70%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background/Aims Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 is a key molecule in cellular invasion and metastasis. Mitochondrial ROS has been established as a mediator of MMP activity. Coenzyme Q10 contributes to intracellular ROS regulation. Coenzyme Q10 beneficial effects on cancer are still in controversy but there are indications of Coenzyme Q10 complementing effect on tamoxifen receiving breast cancer patients. Methods In this study we aimed to investigate the correlation of the effects of co-incubation of coenzyme Q10 and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) on intracellular H2O2 content and Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) activity in MCF-7 cell line. Results and Discussion Our experiment was designed to assess the effect in a time and dose related manner. Gelatin zymography and Flowcytometric measurement of H2O2 by 2'7',-dichlorofluorescin-diacetate probe were employed. The results showed that both coenzyme Q10 and N-acetyl-L-cysteine reduce MMP-2 activity along with the pro-oxidant capacity of the MCF-7 cell in a dose proportionate manner. Conclusions Collectively, the present study highlights the significance of Coenzyme Q10 effect on the cell invasion/metastasis effecter molecules.

Objective: Bipolar I disorder is a common disorder with a complex etiology. A genetic approach is gaining increasing importance in this disorder. The dysbindin gene, located at 6p22.3 is considered a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. Certain genotypes of dysbindin are thought to be associated with other psychoses such as bipolar disorders. This study intends to assess the association in previously implicated dysbindin genotypes and haplotypes with bipolar I disorder in an Iranian population. Methods: We genotyped four previously reported SNPs: rs2619522, rs1018381, 2743852 and rs2619538. Their haplotypes were analyzed in a population of 124 patients that consisted of 44 confirmed bipolar I disorder patients and 80 control subjects. We used multiple allele-specific PCR method for genotyping, which was verified by direct sequencing. Results: In concordance with previous reports in other populations our findings showed no association between the single SNPs and bipolar I disorder. Furthermore, none of the alleles showed a significant association with the disorder. In contrast to previous reports, haplotype analysis did not reveal any statistically significant associations with bipolar I disorder. Conclusion: Considering reports of previous studies regarding the implication of these dysbindin genotypes in bipolar I disorder, it is probable that allelic heterogeneity along with lack of an established causal variant in the dysbindin gene can be main factors for this discordance. With regards to ethnicities in other studies, population variation can also be considered an important factor in the observed variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The trace element copper has been identified as a highly toxic element for sperm. It is known to affect sperm motility in humans, and experimental implantation of copper in the epididymis, vas deferens, and scrotum of mammals has been demonstrated to affect fertility detrimentally. Objective: Sperm concentration, motility, vitality and morphology are parameters used to evaluate potential male fertility. Since, copper is believed to be important for spermatogenesis; we conducted a study to investigate the correlation between seminal plasma copper concentration and human semen parameters in 232 males. Materials and Methods: We selected 232 subfertile or infertile men who referred to Omid Fertility Clinic, randomly. Samples were categorized into normospermic (n=32), oligozospermic (n=73), asthenozospermic (n=111) and azospermic (n=16) groups according to their spermiogrames. Total seminal plasma copper concentration was determined by furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results: The results showed that seminal plasma copper concentrations in oligozospermic, asthenozospermic and azospermic groups are significantly higher than normozospermic group (p<0.01). Also, negative correlations were found between seminal plasma copper concentration and sperm count (p<0.05), sperm motility (p<0.01), sperm vitality (p<0.01), normal morphology (p<0.01) and pH (p<0.01) in all groups. Conclusion: It was suggested that excess copper in seminal plasma was detrimental for male reproductive capacity by reducing sperm count, motility, vitality and morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding the heterogeneity of a population at risk is an important step in the early detection of gastric cancer. We aimed to cluster demographic, hematological, and biochemical markers of gastric cancer in a heterogeneous sample of patients., Methods: Data of 695 adult patients (50.0% women) who were diagnosed with histologically confirmed gastric cancer, benign gastric disease, or identified as healthy individuals (December 2018 to August 2019, Hangzhou, China) were analyzed. We conducted hierarchical clustering using a factorial analysis of mixed data. To assess the clustering scheme, we also developed a machine-learning classification model using the Extreme Gradient Boosting algorithm and subsequently ranked the variables for differentiating patient phenotypes., Results: Three clusters were identified using patient characteristics. The classification model showed high performance (multi-class AUC = 0.921) for recognizing the clusters. The top five important variables in differentiating the clusters were sex, hemoglobin, albumin, creatinine, and high-density lipoprotein (all ANOVA P <0.001) in decreasing order of importance. The prevalence of gastric cancer in clusters I, II, and III was 95.8%, 53.8%, and 34%, respectively [χ 2 (2) = 164.050, P <0.001]. Cluster I (N = 167) predominantly had an inflammatory profile, Cluster II (N = 240) showed metabolic disturbances, and Cluster III (N = 288) presented a relatively favorable metabolic and inflammatory profile., Conclusion: There were distinct clinical phenotypes in the population, each with varying prevalence of gastric cancer. A combination of routine clinical data outperformed carbohydrate or carcinoembryonic antigens in capturing the heterogeneity of the population regarding gastric pathologies., (Copyright © 2025 Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Lynch syndrome (LS) is one of the commonest genetic cancer syndromes, with an incidence rate of 1 per 250-1000 population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of MMR deficiency in endometrial cancer in Iranian women., Methods: One hundred endometrial carcinoma cases who referred to the gynecological oncology clinic of Imam Hossein Medical Center located in Tehran, Iran, from 2018 to 2020 were included in the study. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) evaluation was performed mainly on the hysterectomy specimens of all endometrial cancer (EC) patients to assess MMR proteins (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2) expression., Results: A total of 23 out of 100 (23%) cases were identified through IHC screening to be MMR-deficient. The most common types were loss of MLH1/PMS2 (17.4%) and solitary MSH2 (17.4%) expressions followed by PMS2/MSH2 loss (13%). MMR deficiency (dMMR) histopathology was significantly overrepresented in patients with family history of cancer or Lynch syndrome (LS) associated cancers (p-values of 0.016 and 0.005, respectively). The rate of myometrial invasion and lower uterine segment involvement were also significantly higher in dMMR EC patients compared to MMR-intact EC (p-value of 0.021 and 0.018, respectively)., Conclusion: MMR deficiency, observed in 23% of endometrial cancer cases, was associated with higher rates of poor prognostic factors including myometrial invasion and lower uterine segment involvement. The presence of positive family history of cancer and family history of LS-associated cancer increased the probability of MMR-deficiency in endometrioid endometrial cancer to 47% and 70%, respectively., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.