Cytotoxicity and Radiosensitizing Potentials of Pilosulin-3, a Recombinant Ant Venom, in Breast Cancer Cells.

Venom peptides are promising agents in the development of unconventional anticancer therapeutic agents. This study explored the potential of Pilosulin-3, a recombinant peptide from the venom of the Australian jack jumper ant "", as a cytotoxic and radiosensitizing agent in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer (BC) cell lines. Pilosulin-3's cytotoxicity was evaluated across a wide range of concentrations using a proliferation assay.

Multivariate piecewise linear regression model to predict radiosensitivity using the association with the genome-wide copy number variation.

Introduction: The search for biomarkers to predict radiosensitivity is important not only to individualize radiotherapy of cancer patients but also to forecast radiation exposure risks. The aim of this study was to devise a machine-learning method to stratify radiosensitivity and to investigate its association with genome-wide copy number variations (CNVs) as markers of sensitivity to ionizing radiation.

Methods: We used the Affymetrix CytoScan HD microarrays to survey common CNVs in 129 fibroblast cell strains.

Effect of gamma irradiation on filtering facepiece respirators and SARS-CoV-2 detection.

To cope with the shortage of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare institutions were forced to reuse FFRs after applying different decontamination methods including gamma-irradiation (GIR). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of GIR on the filtration efficiency (FE) of FFRs and on SARS-CoV-2 detection. The FE of 2 FFRs types (KN95 and N95-3 M masks) was assessed at different particle sizes (0.

Establishing a Reference Dose-Response Calibration Curve for Dicentric Chromosome Aberrations to Assess Accidental Radiation Exposure in Saudi Arabia.

In cases of nuclear and radiological accidents, public health and emergency response need to assess the magnitude of radiation exposure regardless of whether they arise from disaster, negligence, or deliberate act. Here we report the establishment of a national reference dose-response calibration curve (DRCC) for dicentric chromosome (DC), prerequisite to assess radiation doses received in accidental exposures. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 10 volunteers (aged 20-40 years, median = 29 years) of both sexes (three females and seven males).

Automated SARS-COV-2 RNA extraction from patient nasopharyngeal samples using a modified DNA extraction kit for high throughput testing.

Background: The pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) has prompted a need for mass testing to identify patients with viral infection. The high demand has created a global bottleneck in testing capacity, which prompted us to modify available resources to extract viral RNA and perform reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to detect SARS-COV-2.

Objectives: Report on the use of a DNA extraction kit, after modifications, to extract viral RNA that could then be detected using an FDA-approved SARS-COV-2 RT-qPCR assay.

Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection and the Association with Survival in Saudi Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) shows wide disparities, association with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and prognosis. We aimed at determining HPV prevalence, and its prognostic association with overall survival (OS) in Saudi HNSCC patients. The study included 285 oropharyngeal and oral-cavity HNSCC patients.

Genetic Predisposition to Cervical Cancer and the Association With XRCC1 and TGFB1 Polymorphisms.

Objective: Cervical carcinoma (CC), a multifactorial cancer, is assumed to have a host genetic predisposition component that modulates its susceptibility in various populations. We investigated the association between CC risk in Saudi women and 6 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in hypothesis-driven candidate genes.

Methods: A total of 545 females were included, comprising 232 CC patients and 313 age-/sex-matched control subjects.

Reduced rate of human papillomavirus infection and genetic overtransmission of TP53 72C polymorphic variant lower cervical cancer incidence.

Background: Cervical cancer is a predominantly human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven disease worldwide. However, its incidence is unexplainably low in western Asia, including Saudi Arabia. Using this paradigm, we investigated the role of HPV infection rate and host genetic predisposition in TP53 G72C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) presumed to affect cancer incidence.

Gender bias in individual radiosensitivity and the association with genetic polymorphic variations.

Purpose: To assess the extent of variation in radiosensitivity between individuals, gender-related dissimilarity and impact on the association with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Materials And Methods: Survival curves of 152 fibroblast cell strains derived from both gender were generated. Individual radiosensitivity was characterized by the surviving fraction at 2Gy (SF2).