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Numerous studies have been conducted to elucidate the relation of tumor proximity to cancer prognosis and treatment efficacy in colorectal cancer. However, the molecular pathways and prognoses of left- and right-sided colorectal cancers are different, and this difference has not been fully investigated at the genomic level. In this study, a set of data science approaches, including six feature selection methods and three classification models, were used in predicting tumor location from gene expression profiles. Specificity, sensitivity, accuracy, and Mathew's correlation coefficient (MCC) evaluation metrics were used to evaluate the classification ability. Gene ontology enrichment analysis was applied by the Gene Ontology PANTHER Classification System. For the most significant 50 genes, protein-protein interactions and drug-gene interactions were analyzed using the GeneMANIA, CytoScape, CytoHubba, MCODE, and DGIdb databases. The highest classification accuracy (90%) is achieved with the most significant 200 genes when the ensemble-decision tree classification model is used with the ReliefF feature selection method. Molecular pathways and drug interactions are investigated for the most significant 50 genes. It is concluded that a machine-learning-based approach could be useful to discover the significant genes that may have an important role in the development of new therapies and drugs for colorectal cancer., (© 2022. International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.)

Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) is in the top three list of all dystrophies with an approximate 1:8000 incidence. It is not a life-threatening disease; however, the progression of the disease extends over being wheelchair bound. Despite some drug trials continuing, including DUX4 inhibition, TGF-ß inhibition and resokine which promote healthier muscle, there is not an applicable treatment option for FSHD today. Still, there is a need for new agents to heal, stop or at least slow down muscle wasting. Current FSHD studies involving nutraceuticals as vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, zinc, selenium, and phytochemicals as curcumin or genistein, daidzein flavonoids provide promising treatment strategies. In this review, we present the clinical and molecular nature of FSHD and focus on nutraceuticals and phytochemicals that may alleviate FSHD. In the light of the association of impaired pathophysiological FSHD pathways with nutraceuticals and phytochemicals according to the literature, we present both studied and novel approaches that can contribute to FSHD treatment., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Objective: The outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has promptly spread worldwide. This study aimed to predict mature miRNA sequences in the SARS-CoV-2 genome, their effects on protein-protein interactions in the affected cells, and gene-drug relationships to detect possible drug candidates., Methods: Viral hairpin structure prediction, classification of hairpins, mutational examination of precursor miRNA candidate sequences, Minimum Free Energy (MFE) and regional entropy analysis, mature miRNA sequences, target gene prediction, gene ontology enrichment, and Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) analysis, and gene-drug interactions were performed., Results: A total of 62 candidate hairpins were detected by VMir analysis. Three hairpin structures were classified as true precursor miRNAs by miRBoost. Five different mutations were detected in precursor miRNA sequences in 100 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes. Mutations slightly elevated MFE values and entropy in precursor miRNAs. Gene ontology terms associated with fibrotic pathways and immune system were found to be enriched in PANTHER, KEGG and Wiki pathway analysis. PPI analysis showed a network between 60 genes. CytoHubba analysis showed SMAD1 as a hub gene in the network. The targets of the predicted miRNAs, FAM214A, PPM1E, NUFIP2 and FAT4, were downregulated in SARS-CoV-2 infected A549 cells., Conclusion: miRNAs in the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome may contribute to the emergence of the Covid-19 infection by activating pathways associated with fibrosis in the cells infected by the virus and modulating the innate immune system. The hub protein between these pathways may be the SMAD1, which has an effective role in TGF signal transduction., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Purpose: In our study, it was aimed to investigate the preventive effect of milrinone on renal damage in experimental controlled non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) model., Materials and Methods: Sixteen rats randomly divided into 2 groups, 8 rats in each were used. Group 1 was control, group 2 was milrinone group. Group 1 rats received 1.25 ml 0.09% NaCl intraperitoneally equivalent to the milrinone diluted volume. Group 2 rats were administered intraperitoneally with 0.5 mg/kg of milrinone 2 hours before cardiac arrest. After the cardiac arrest, left nephrectomy was applied to the rats. Malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities, Caspase-3 (apoptotic index) and histopathological evaluation were performed in the tissues., Results: In the milrinone group, the total injury score was significantly lower relative to the control group (p = 0.001). Caspase-3 staining was moderately strong in the control group but weaker in the milrinone group. Apoptotic index was significantly lower in the milrinone group compared to the control group (p = 0.001). In comparison between groups, SOD and GPx in the milrinone group was significantly higher than the control group (p = 0.008, p = 0.006)., Conclusions: Milrinone has been shown to be effective in the prevention of tissue damage due to oxidative stress and inflammatory process in the renal of warm ischemia in the experimental NHBDs model and in protecting the renal. Milrinone increases antioxidant activity while reducing apoptosis. Systemic administration of milrinone prior to cardiac arrest may be beneficial. Administration of milrinone to the recipient in the perioperative period may contribute to donor function.