Use of Lactoperoxidase Inhibitory Effects to Extend the Shelf Life of Meat and Meat Products.

Lactoperoxidase (LP) is an important enzyme of the salivary and mammary glands. It has been proven to increase the shelf life of raw milk by inhibiting the growth of bacteria, especially , , , and spp. The aim of this work was to verify the use of LP to extend the shelf life of meat products.

The FUT2 secretor variant p.Trp154Ter influences serum vitamin B12 concentration via holo-haptocorrin, but not holo-transcobalamin, and is associated with haptocorrin glycosylation.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in older individuals. Circulating vitamin B12 concentration can be used to diagnose deficiency, but this test has substantial false positive and false negative rates. We conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in which we resolved total serum vitamin B12 into the fractions bound to transcobalamin and haptocorrin: two carrier proteins with very different biological properties.

A Common Polymorphism in HIBCH Influences Methylmalonic Acid Concentrations in Blood Independently of Cobalamin.

Methylmalonic acid (MMA) is a by-product of propionic acid metabolism through the vitamin B12 (cobalamin)-dependent enzyme methylmalonyl CoA mutase. Elevated MMA concentrations are a hallmark of several inborn errors of metabolism and indicators of cobalamin deficiency in older persons. In a genome-wide analysis of 2,210 healthy young Irish adults (median age 22 years) we identified a strong association of plasma MMA with SNPs in 3-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA hydrolase (HIBCH, p = 8.

Association of a transcobalamin II genetic variant with falsely low results for the holotranscobalamin immunoassay.

Background: The clinical use of holotranscobalamin (holoTC) testing to evaluate vitamin B12 status has increased in recent years. We present two patients (African Caribbean and Indian heritage), in which the holoTC assay indicated severe B12 deficiency (< 5 pmol/L). Additional clinical tests revealed that these patients had normal levels of total vitamin B12 in blood and unremarkable levels of two other markers of vitamin B12 status, homocysteine and methylmalonic acid.

BRCA1 Circos: a visualisation resource for functional analysis of missense variants.

Background: Inactivating germline mutations in the tumour suppressor gene BRCA1 are associated with a significantly increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. A large number (>1500) of unique BRCA1 variants have been identified in the population and can be classified as pathogenic, non-pathogenic or as variants of unknown significance (VUS). Many VUS are rare missense variants leading to single amino acid changes.

Interleukin-17 producing T cells could be a marker for patients with allergic rhinitis.

Background: Interleukin-17A (I-17A)-producing CD4+T helper cells have been implicated in allergic inflammation; however, the role of IL-17A in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients with different degrees of atopy and airway reactivity to methacholine (Mch) has not been examined.

Objectives: To explore IL-17A-producing CD3+CD4+T cells in peripheral blood of patients with persistent AR and assess the degree of atopy, eosinophil count (Eo count), and bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) to methacholine.

Methods: The study involved 61 patients and 30 controls.

Probing structure-function relationships in missense variants in the carboxy-terminal region of BRCA1.

Germline inactivating variants in BRCA1 lead to a significantly increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers in carriers. While the functional effect of many variants can be inferred from the DNA sequence, determining the effect of missense variants present a significant challenge. A series of biochemical and cell biological assays have been successfully used to explore the impact of these variants on the function of BRCA1, which contribute to assessing their likelihood of pathogenicity.

IL-17 producing T cells correlate with polysensitization but not with bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Background: Th2-type T cell response has a considerable role in atopic diseases. The involvement of Th17 and IL-17 in atopy process provided new understanding of allergic diseases. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness is quite common in allergic rhinitis.

Molecular characterization of the hetero-assembly of β-amyloid peptide with islet amyloid polypeptide.

Increasing amounts of evidence suggest that Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are linked to each other. We have recently identified in vitro a high affinity interaction between β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) of AD and islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) of T2D which results in the formation of non-fibrillar and non-cytotoxic Aβ-IAPP hetero-oligomers. The Aβ-IAPP interaction delays cytotoxic self-association of both polypeptides albeit it is unable to block it.

Identification and molecular characterization of a new ovarian cancer susceptibility locus at 17q21.31.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has a heritable component that remains to be fully characterized. Most identified common susceptibility variants lie in non-protein-coding sequences. We hypothesized that variants in the 3' untranslated region at putative microRNA (miRNA)-binding sites represent functional targets that influence EOC susceptibility.

A guide for functional analysis of BRCA1 variants of uncertain significance.

Germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1 confer an estimated lifetime risk of 56-80% for breast cancer and 15-60% for ovarian cancer. Since the mid 1990s when BRCA1 was identified, genetic testing has revealed over 1,500 unique germline variants. However, for a significant number of these variants, the effect on protein function is unknown making it difficult to infer the consequences on risks of breast and ovarian cancers.

[Significance of umbilical position for the operative approach in minimally invasive hysterectomy].

Unlabelled: Umbilicus is a main reference point for insufflation of CO2 in the peritoneal cavity.

Aim: Proposing of individualization of trocar placement, based on the type of surgery and the anthropometric parameters of patient.

Material And Methods: Several distances on the anterior abdominal wall were measured in 61 patients of the Oncogynecology Clinic - Pleven with a view to determination of the location of umbilicus.

Identification of Filamin A as a BRCA1-interacting protein required for efficient DNA repair.

The product of the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 has been implicated in several aspects of the DNA damage response but its biochemical function in these processes has remained elusive. In order to probe BRCA1 function we conducted a yeast two-hybrid screening to identify interacting partners to a conserved motif (Motif 6) in the central region of BRCA1. Here we report the identification of the actin-binding protein Filamin A (FLNA) as BRCA1 partner and demonstrate that FLNA is required for efficient regulation of early stages of DNA repair processes.

Distant metastasis after radical treatment of breast cancer: risk factors and their prognostic relevance in 378 consecutive patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic significance of 16 clinical, pathomorphological and immunohistochemical features for predicting distant metastasis (DM) and 5-year overall survival (OS) in breast cancer (BC) patients.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective study of 378 patients with invasive BC (T1-3N0-3M0), who were operated between 2000 and 2003 at our Institution, was carried out. Almost 80% had undergone modified radical mastectomy (MRM).

Can the status of the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene 1 product (BRCA1) predict response to taxane-based cancer therapy?

Taxanes (paclitaxel and docetaxel) are currently used to treat ovarian, breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. Despite its clinical success taxane-based treatment could be significantly improved by identifying those patients whose tumors are more likely to present a clinical response. In this mini-review we discuss the accumulating evidence indicating that the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene product BRCA1 mediates cellular response to taxanes.

Ectopic expression of histone H2AX mutants reveals a role for its post-translational modifications.

Recent evidence from a wide variety of biological systems has indicated important regulatory roles for post-translation histone modifications in cellular processes such as regulation of gene expression, DNA damage response and recombination. Phosphorylation of histone H2AX at serine 139 is a critical event in the response to DNA damage, but the functional implications of this modification are not yet clear. To investigate the role of H2AX phosphorylation we ectopically expressed epitope-tagged H2AX or mutants at the phosphorylation site.

Comparison of the global genomic and transcription-coupled repair rates of different lesions in human cells.

There are two subclasses of nucleotide excision repair (NER). One is the global genomic repair (GGR) which removes lesions throughout the genome regardless of whether any specific sequence is transcribed or not. The other is the transcription-coupled repair (TCR), which removes lesions only from the transcribed DNA sequences.

Subdermal laterocranial mapping of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer as an alternative to the peritumoral mapping.

Purpose: Peritumoral injection of blue dye is standard method of sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) biopsy in breast cancer. Applying the marker to different locations will be of great benefit in cases in which the peritumoral mapping is difficult to implement. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the subdermal laterocranial (SLC) mapping with a dye has similar diagnostic reliability to the peritumoral mapping and is applicable for clinical use.

[Early diagnosis of hip joint dysplasia in neonatal age--clinical or ultrasound methods].

Hip joint dysplasia is the commonest disorder of the musculo-skeletal system in childhood. The overall success of treatment is highly dependant on the early diagnosis. Clinical tests and ultrasound are the most popular methods for early diagnosis.

[Comparison and analysis of pain profiles of women with endometriosis and pelvic congestion syndrome--part I].

Unlabelled: Pain is a general symptom in the clinical evolution of endometriosis /E/, particularly of adenomyosis /A/, and pelvic congestion syndrome /PCS/-conditions with different incidence and contingent of women with specific characteristics.

Purpose Of The Study: To build up and compare the pain profiles of patients with E, A, and PCS by the use of quantitative and qualitative characteristics.

Materials And Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the Clinic of Gynaecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medical University-Pleven in the period 01.