The c.783delG Truncating Mutation Is Not Associated with an Increased Risk of Breast Cancer in the Polish Population.

The gene belongs to a cluster of DNA-editing enzymes on chromosome 22 and encodes an activation-induced cytidine deaminase. A large deletion of was associated with increased breast cancer risk, but the evidence is inconclusive. To investigate whether or not is a breast cancer susceptibility gene, we sequenced this gene in 617 Polish patients with hereditary breast cancer.

Biofilms preserve the transmissibility of a multi-drug resistance plasmid.

Self-transmissible multidrug resistance (MDR) plasmids are a major health concern because they can spread antibiotic resistance to pathogens. Even though most pathogens form biofilms, little is known about how MDR plasmids persist and evolve in biofilms. We hypothesize that (i) biofilms act as refugia of MDR plasmids by retaining them in the absence of antibiotics longer than well-mixed planktonic populations and that (ii) the evolutionary trajectories that account for the improvement of plasmid persistence over time differ between biofilms and planktonic populations.

Do BARD1 Mutations Confer an Elevated Risk of Prostate Cancer?

The current cancer testing gene panels tend to be comprehensive rather than site-specific. is one of the genes commonly included in the multi-cancer testing panels. Mutations in confer an increase in the risk for breast cancer, but it is not studied whether or not they predispose to prostate cancer.

PALB2 mutations and prostate cancer risk and survival.

Background: The objective of this study was to establish the contribution of PALB2 mutations to prostate cancer risk and to estimate survival among PALB2 carriers.

Methods: We genotyped 5472 unselected men with prostate cancer and 8016 controls for two Polish founder variants of PALB2 (c.509_510delGA and c.

Changes in the Vaginal Microbiome during the Pregnancy to Postpartum Transition.

Substantial changes in the composition of the vaginal microbiome occur following the end of pregnancy. To identify potential drivers of microbiome changes in individual women during the pregnancy to postpartum transition, we evaluated vaginal samples from 48 pregnant women during their first and third trimesters and postpartum. We determined the species composition of vaginal communities and the vaginal fluid levels of compounds involved in mediating changes in host physiology and the immune system at each time point.