Inverse Correlation of KISS1 and KISS1R Expression in Triple-negative Breast Carcinomas from African American Women.

Background/aim: The kisspeptin 1 (KISS1) gene encodes a precursor polypeptide which after proteolysis forms the kisspeptin-10 (KISS1) protein. KISS1, retains maximum physiological activity when it binds to its receptor (KISS1R), allowing KISS1 to effectively function as a suppressor of metastasis in melanomas and other types of cancer. The goal of this study was to evaluate the expression of KISS1 and KISS1R in breast carcinomas from African American (AA) women and correlate their association with clinicopathological features, including breast cancer subtypes, and outcomes.

The Association Between the Genetic SNP c.907+75C>T and Prostate Cancer Risk Is Modified by Tanning Potential.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a multifactorial disease involving complex interactions between genetic and physiological/environmental factors. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) plays a role in numerous cellular pathways and it has been suggested that VDR genetic variants influence individual susceptibility to PCa.

Materials And Methods: Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of six VDR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and factors such as tanning potential and UV sunlight exposure with PCa risk.

The Association of a Novel Identified SNP With Prostate Cancer in African American Men.

Background/aim: Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is present in numerous cellular pathways and it has been suggested that VDR genetic variants influence individual susceptibility to prostate cancer. Also, analyses of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VDR revealed ethnicity-associated polymorphisms. The aim of this study was to identify VDR SNPs in African American men with and without prostate cancer.

DHPLC Elution Patterns of PCR Products Can Predict Prostate Cancer Susceptibility in African American Men.

Background/aim: Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) is a technique that is used to detect mutations. The aim of the present study was to determine whether DHPLC elution patterns of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene PCR products can serve as indicators of susceptibility to prostate cancer (PCa) risk.

Materials And Methods: DNA samples of PCa cases and controls were screened for mutations and/or polymorphisms in coding exons of VDR gene using DHPLC analysis.

Vitamin D receptor genetic polymorphisms are associated with PSA level, Gleason score and prostate cancer risk in African-American men.

Background/aim: Several studies have revealed an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VDR gene and prostate cancer (PCa) risk in European and Asian populations. To investigate whether VDR SNPs are associated with PCa risk in African-American (AA) men, nine VDR SNPs were analyzed in a case-control study.

Materials And Methods: Multiple and binary logistic regression models were applied to analyze the clinical and genotypic data.

Antiproliferative activities of Fagara xanthoxyloides and Pseudocedrela kotschyi against prostate cancer cell lines.

Background/aim: Roots of Fagara zanthoxyloides and Pseudocedrela kotchyii are used as chewing sticks and as medicinal remedies for diarrhea, cough and fever in West Africa. Extracts of the two plants also possess anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-malarial activities. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of such extracts on the growth, proliferation and induction of apoptosis in four prostate cancer cell lines.

Preponderance of bacterial isolates in urine of HIV-positive malaria-infected pregnant women with urinary tract infection.

Introduction: This study examined HIV and malaria co-infection as a risk factor for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in pregnancy. The study group included 74 pregnant women, 20 to 42 years of age, who attended the antenatal clinic at the Specialist Hospital at Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria.

Methodology: Forty-four of the pregnant women were either HIV seropositive with malaria infection (HIV+Mal+) or HIV seropositive without malaria (HIV+Mal-).

Use of tanning potential as a predictor for prostate cancer risk in African-American men.

Background/aim: Vitamin D deficiency in African-Americans is common due to the high melanin content of the skin that reduces the absorption of UV radiation. To determine if there is a correlation between UV exposure, tanning potential and vitamin D with prostate cancer (PC) risk, we conducted a case-control study of 183 African-American men aged 40 years and older residing in the Washington, DC area.

Patients And Methods: PC status was described as a binary variable as the presence or absence of cancer and the environmental factors as continuous variables.

Inhibition of in-vitro growth of Plasmodium falciparum by Pseudocedrela kotschyi extract alone and in combination with Fagara zanthoxyloides extract.

Roots of Pseudocedrela kotschyi are commonly used as chewing sticks in West Africa. This study examined the effects of the plant extract on the in-vitro growth of Plasmodium falciparum. Ring-stage synchronised cultures of the malaria parasite were exposed to 30 and 60 microg/ml of P.

Cytotoxicity of 2,3-dichloro-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone in androgen-dependent and -independent prostate cancer cell lines.

Background: Prostate cancer ranks third worldwide in cancer incidence and sixth in cancer mortality among men. A number of 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives have been found to possess significant pharmacological effects associated with marked antimicrobial and antitumor activities. In the present study the in vitro effect of 2,3-dichloro-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (DCDMNQ) was evaluated on androgen-dependent (LNCaP, CWR-22) and androgen-independent (PC-3.

Effects of root extracts of Fagara zanthoxyloides on the in vitro growth and stage distribution of Plasmodium falciparum.

The development of resistance by Plasmodium falciparum to conventional drugs poses a threat to malaria control. There is therefore a need to find new, effective, and affordable remedies for malaria, including those derived from plants. This study demonstrates that crude, reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC)-semipurified, and RP-HPLC-purified root extracts of Fagara zanthoxyloides inhibit the growth of P.

Expression of a recombinant IRP-like Plasmodium falciparum protein that specifically binds putative plasmodial IREs.

Plasmodium falciparum iron regulatory-like protein (PfIRPa, accession AJ012289) has homology to a family of iron-responsive element (IRE)-binding proteins (IRPs) found in different species. We have previously demonstrated that erythrocyte P. falciparum PfIRPa binds a mammalian consensus IRE and that the binding activity is regulated by iron status.