The lncRNAs UCA1 and CRNDE target miR-145/TLR4/NF-қB/TNF-α axis in acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis model: The beneficial role of 3,3-Diindolylmethane.

Introduction: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic disease that alters the colonic and rectal mucosa. The high prevalence rates of UC make it a worldwide healthcare problem. However, its underlying molecular mechanisms remain vague.

LncRNA NEAT1 and MALAT1 are involved in polycystic ovary syndrome pathogenesis by functioning as competing endogenous RNAs to control the expression of PCOS-related target genes.

Accumulating evidence has shown an abnormal expression of several non-coding RNAs in ovarian tissues which might be closely linked with the pathogenesis of PCOS. The aim of this study was to identify competing endogenous (ce) RNA network: long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA (miRNA) and their target genes: androgen receptor (AR), follistatin (FST) and insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS-2), which are relevant to PCOS, to underline the molecular pathogenesis of PCOS and assist in early diagnosis and treatment. Bioinformatic analysis was performed to retrieve a ceRNA network: [lncRNA (NEAT1 and MALAT1) - miRNA (miR-30a-5p and miR-30d-5p) - mRNA (AR, FST and IRS-2)] linked to PCOS.

MAGI2-AS3 and miR-374b-5p as Putative Regulators of Multiple Sclerosis via Modulating the PTEN/AKT/IRF-3/IFN-β Axis: New Clinical Insights.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease and one of the leading causes of disability in young adults. The current study aims to investigate the pathogenesis of MS via studying the regulatory role of novel lncRNA MAGI2-AS3 in miR-374b-5p and their downstream targets PTEN/AKT/IRF-3/IFN-β and the relationship of this pathway with disease severity. Moreover, it aims to assess the role of MAGI2-AS3/miR-374b-5p as diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers for MS.

Association of MALAT1 and PVT1 Variants, Expression Profiles and Target miRNA-101 and miRNA-186 with Colorectal Cancer: Correlation with Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition.

The influence of and variants on colorectal cancer (CRC) susceptibility and their impact on //epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and //EMT axes in CRC are unknown. We investigated the influence of and on the risk of CRC and adenomatous polyps (AP), their impact on the long noncoding RNAs and expression and their target , /E-cadherin pathways, along with their potential as early CRC biomarkers. Overall, 280 individuals were recruited: 140 patients with CRC, 40 patients with AP, and 100 healthy volunteers.

Effect of Spectral Contrast Enhancement on Speech-on-Speech Intelligibility and Voice Cue Sensitivity in Cochlear Implant Users.

Objectives: Speech intelligibility in the presence of a competing talker (speech-on-speech; SoS) presents more difficulties for cochlear implant (CI) users compared with normal-hearing listeners. A recent study implied that these difficulties may be related to CI users' low sensitivity to two fundamental voice cues, namely, the fundamental frequency (F0) and the vocal tract length (VTL) of the speaker. Because of the limited spectral resolution in the implant, important spectral cues carrying F0 and VTL information are expected to be distorted.

Omeprazole and Spirulina Platensis Ameliorate Steatohepatitis in Experimental Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a leading cause of liver damage, and it affects about 24% of the population worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the effect of omeprazole and Spirulina platensis on hepatic and serum biochemical alterations in NAFLD induced by high-fat diet (HFD). Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups; one served as a normal control.

Esculetin and idebenone ameliorate galactose-induced cataract in a rat model.

Cataract is the principal cause of blindness. The enzyme, aldose reductase (AR) is a key player in polyol pathway. Buildup of polyols and oxidative stress are the main causes of cataractogenesis.

Evaluation of circulating miRNA-208a-3p, miRNA-155-5p and miRNA-637 as potential non-invasive biomarkers and the possible mechanistic insights into pre- and postmenopausal osteoporotic females.

Background And Aim: Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder that increases bone fragility and the risk of fractures. Recent studies have shown that miRNAs possess a pivotal role in osteoporosis development. This study aimed to evaluate the expression profiles of sera miRNA-208a-3p, miRNA-155-5p, and miRNA-637, to examine relation to osteoporosis and suggest the possible mechanisms of action to be used as innovative biomarkers for the diagnosis of osteoporosis among pre- and postmenopausal females.

Impact of betanin against paracetamol and diclofenac induced hepato-renal damage in rats.

Paracetamol (PAR) and diclofenac (DF) are the most popular consumed analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications. This study aimed to explore the protective effect of betanin (Bet) against PAR or DF induced hepato-renal damage in rats. Rats were randomly divided into five groups: Normal control (NC) group rats were given saline only.

Protective effects of betanin against paracetamol and diclofenac induced neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption in rats.

Overconsumption of paracetamol (PAR) and diclofenac (DF) have been reported to induce neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption. The current study was designed to explore the protective potential of betanin against PAR and DF inducing neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption in a rat model. Forty rats were equally divided into five groups: group I served as control, group II received PAR (400 mg/kg), group III received PAR plus betanin (25 mg/kg), group IV received DF (10 mg/kg) and group V received DF plus betanin orally for 28 consecutive days.

Role of Serum miR-181b, Proinflammatory Cytokine, and Adhesion Molecules in Behçet's Disease.

Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic multi-systemic inflammatory disease of uncertain pathogenesis and with no definitive diagnostic test. The aims of this study were to investigate serum levels of miR-181b in BD patients and to correlate this candidate biomarker with disease activity, cytokines, and adhesion molecules to identify new markers that can be used as a diagnostic tool for BD. Blood samples were collected from 96 participants who were classified according to their BD current activity form into 3 groups: healthy control, active BD, and inactive BD patients.

Does good perception of vocal characteristics relate to better speech-on-speech intelligibility for cochlear implant users?

Differences in voice pitch (F0) and vocal tract length (VTL) improve intelligibility of speech masked by a background talker (speech-on-speech; SoS) for normal-hearing (NH) listeners. Cochlear implant (CI) users, who are less sensitive to these two voice cues compared to NH listeners, experience difficulties in SoS perception. Three research questions were addressed: (1) whether increasing the F0 and VTL difference (ΔF0; ΔVTL) between two competing talkers benefits CI users in SoS intelligibility and comprehension, (2) whether this benefit is related to their F0 and VTL sensitivity, and (3) whether their overall SoS intelligibility and comprehension are related to their F0 and VTL sensitivity.

Association between endoglin/transforming growth factor beta receptors 1, 2 gene polymorphisms and the level of soluble endoglin with preeclampsia in Egyptian women.

Introduction: Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disease whose etiopathogenesis remains unclear.

Objectives: This study was designed to assess association between PE and 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): ENG(G/A) rs11792480, TGFβR1(A/C) rs10739778 and TGFβR2(G/A) rs6550005, beside circulating soluble endoglin (sENG), oxidative stress biomarkers and nitric oxide (NO) in Egyptian women.

Methods: The study included 75 preeclamptic women stratified into 4 clinical subgroups and 50 normotensive pregnant women.

Effect of frequency mismatch and band partitioning on vocal tract length perception in vocoder simulations of cochlear implant processing.

The vocal tract length (VTL) of a speaker is an important voice cue that aids speech intelligibility in multi-talker situations. However, cochlear implant (CI) users demonstrate poor VTL sensitivity. This may be partially caused by the mismatch between frequencies received by the implant and those corresponding to places of stimulation along the cochlea.

Association of MiRNA-146a, MiRNA-499, IRAK1 and PADI4 Polymorphisms with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Egyptian Population.

Background/aims: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease affecting up to 1% of the population worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether miRNA-146a rs2910164, miRNA-499 rs3746444, IRAK1 rs3027898 and PADI4 rs1748033 polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to RA in Egyptians and whether they influence disease severity and activity.

Methods: The study was performed on 104 unrelated RA patients and 112 healthy subjects.

Bidirectional Association Between Psoriasis and Obesity: Benefits and Risks.

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease that is associated with several comorbidities such as obesity. This study was designed to estimate the possibility of utilizing psoriasin, nestin, keratin-16 (Krt16), and interleukin-21 (IL-21) as biochemical markers of psoriasis, to correlate these candidate psoriatic markers with biomarkers of obesity [body mass index (BMI), leptin, and resistin], and to elucidate the bidirectional association between obesity and psoriasis. Blood samples were collected from all participants (n = 108) who were classified according to their BMI into 4 groups: healthy control, obese, psoriatic, and obese psoriatic group.

Resveratrol and Montelukast Alleviate Paraquat-Induced Hepatic Injury in Mice: Modulation of Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Apoptosis.

Paraquat (PQ) is one of the most used herbicide worldwide. Its cytotoxicity is attributed to reactive radical generation. Resveratrol (Res) and montelukast (MK) have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

A neural-based vocoder implementation for evaluating cochlear implant coding strategies.

Most simulations of cochlear implant (CI) coding strategies rely on standard vocoders that are based on purely signal processing techniques. However, these models neither account for various biophysical phenomena, such as neural stochasticity and refractoriness, nor for effects of electrical stimulation, such as spectral smearing as a function of stimulus intensity. In this paper, a neural model that accounts for stochastic firing, parasitic spread of excitation across neuron populations, and neuronal refractoriness, was developed and augmented as a preprocessing stage for a standard 22-channel noise-band vocoder.

Evaluation and screening of mRNA S100A genes as serological biomarkers in different stages of bladder cancer in Egypt.

Calcium-binding proteins S100A are multifunctional proteins that show altered expression in various diseases and cancers. This study aimed at validating an easier and less time-consuming technique to evaluate the value of combined use of messenger RNA (mRNA) S100A genes in comparison and combination with voided urine cytology in detection of bladder cancer patients. Blood and urine specimens were collected from patients (n = 120) with histologically confirmed bladder carcinoma who are classified according to bladder cancer stage into four groups and from healthy volunteers (n = 30).

Comparative study of the effects of PEGylated interferon-α2a versus 5-fluorouracil on cancer stem cells in a rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) possess tumor-initiating, metastatic, and drug resistance properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of PEGylated interferon-α2a (PEG-IFN-α2a) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on the expression of CSC markers and on specific pathways that contribute to the propagation of CSCs in HCC. HCC was initiated in rats using a single intraperitoneal dose of diethylnitrosamine (DENA) (200 mg/kg) and promoted by weekly subcutaneous injections of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for 6 weeks.

Effect of simvastatin and naringenin coadministration on rat liver DNA fragmentation and cytochrome P450 activity: an in vivo and in vitro study.

This study was designed to assess the effect of naringenin (NRG) on simvastatin (SV)-induced hepatic damage in rat and to investigate the effects of these drugs on cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2E1 and 3A1/2 isoforms in order to evaluate the possibility of their coadministration. Hepatic damage in rat was induced by SV (20 and 40 mg/kg/day, po for 30 days). The protective effect of NRG (50 mg/kg/day, po) was identified by estimating liver functions and oxidative stress markers such as lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, glutathion s-transferase, and catalase as well as protein profile.

Increased cardiac endothelin-1 and nitric oxide in adriamycin-induced acute cardiotoxicity: protective effect of Ginkgo biloba extract.

Cardiotoxicity and congestive heart failure are the major factors that limit the use of anti-neoplastic drug adriamycin (ADR). There is increasing experimental evidence that endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) are vasoactive mediators that regulate cardiac performance. The present study was undertaken to investigate the role of ET-1 and NO in ADR-induced acute cardiotoxicity and to evaluate the protective effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761) in rats.

Protective effect of ellagic acid and pumpkin seed oil against methotrexate-induced small intestine damage in rats.

Gastrointestinal toxicity is one of the most serious side effects in the methotrexate (MTX) treatment. This study was designed to investigate whether ellagic acid (EA) and/or pumpkin seed oil (PSO) had a protective effect on MTX-induced small intestine damage. Forty albino rats were randomized into five groups of 8 rats each.

Evaluation of oxidative stress markers and vascular risk factors in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common diabetic chronic complications. The pathogenesis of DPN is complex and involves an intertwined array of mechanisms. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the association of oxidative stress and vascular risk factors with the prevalence of DPN and to determine the role of these biochemical parameters in the prognosis of DPN.