Semen dysbiosis-just a male problem?

Seminal microflora is crucial to male fertility. Dysbiosis-disturbance of quantitative ratios of individual bacteria or appearance of pathogenic species-rarely results in symptomatic disease. Inflammation results in decreased sperm production, lower motility, or morphological changes and, in the long term, can cause ejaculatory duct obstruction, leading to infertility.

The levels of sICAM-1, sELAM-1, TNFα and sTNFR1 proteins in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma in tumor and corresponding normal mucosa.

Colorectal cancer is a common malign disease of the gastrointestinal tract. The cancer survival rate depends on the stage of the disease at detection time. It is well known that several molecular mechanisms are involved in cancer and some molecules might affect or modulate cancerogenesis.

Visfatin serum concentration and hepatic mRNA expression in chronic hepatitis C.

Aim Of The Study: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a viral disease with metabolic disturbances involved in its pathogenesis. Adipokines may influence the inflammatory response and contribute to development of metabolic abnormalities in CHC. Visfatin exerts immunomodulatory and insulin-mimetic effects.

Hepatocyte growth factor and epidermal growth factor activity during later stages of rat liver regeneration upon interferon α-2b influence.

Introduction: Liver regeneration is a complex, highly coordinated process which can be disturbed by the impact of the anti-proliferative interferon α activity. In the model of partial hepatectomy (PH) in the rat the expression of HGF and EGF genes and their molecules' tissue concentrations were analyzed in the later stages of liver regeneration (48-120 h).

Material And Methods: 40 three-month-old male Wistar rats were randomized to groups of 20 animals each.

An evaluation of selected oral health indicators and cariogenic bacteria titer in patients with Helicobacter pylori.

Background: Studies based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques indicate that Helicobacter pylori can be constantly or temporarily present in the oral cavity in virulent or non-virulent form. Streptococcus mutans exerts a strong inhibitory effect on H. pylori.

Analytics of oxidative stress markers in the early diagnosis of oxygen DNA damage.

Under homeostatic conditions, an equilibrium state between amounts of free radicals formed and their scavenging is observed. Free radicals are destructive only when present in excess. Pathological changes within cells and tissues can result from a persistent excess of free radicals.

[Staphylococcus infection in a multi-profile hospital in Nowy Targ, Poland, in the years 2001-2004 - analysis of antibiotic resistance].

Introduction: Global concern is the treatment of infections caused by methicillin-resistant strains ofgenus Staphylococcus. The aim ofthis study was the analysis ofthe staphylococcal infections' incidence in a multi-profile hospital in Nowy Targ, Poland, in the years 2001- 2004 with a focus on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance among isolated strains of S. aureus and methicillin-resistant staphylococci.

The Content of Reticulocyte Hemoglobin and Serum Concentration of the Soluble Transferrin Receptor for Diagnostics of Anemia in Chronically Hemodialyzed Patients.

Background: Chronic renal disease constitutes a serious worldwide clinical problem. An important issue arising early during the treatment of renal failure is anemia. Patients in the end-stage of renal disease chronically treated with hemodialysis frequently suffer from anemia with iron deficiency.

Telomerase activity in non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: High telomerase activity has been detected in the majority of malignant neoplasms including lung cancer. The purpose of the study was to attempt to use telomerase activity as a prognostic factor in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Material And Methods: Telomerase activity was analyzed in 47 tissue specimens taken from patients with NSCLC.

Relationship of the rs1799752 polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene and the rs699 polymorphism of the angiotensinogen gene to the process of in-stent restenosis in a population of Polish patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Purpose: The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system may influence in-stent restenosis (ISR) via angiotensin II, which stimulates the production of growth factors for smooth muscle cells. The aim of this work is to assess the influence of the rs1799752 polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene and the rs699 polymorphism of the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene on the ISR in Polish patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) who underwent stent implantation.

Material/methods: Two hundred and sixty-five patients with SCAD were included in the study.

The Relationships between Polymorphisms in Genes Encoding the Growth Factors TGF-β1, PDGFB, EGF, bFGF and VEGF-A and the Restenosis Process in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease Treated with Bare Metal Stent.

Background: Neointima forming after stent implantation consists of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in 90%. Growth factors TGF-β1, PDGFB, EGF, bFGF and VEGF-A play an important role in VSMC proliferation and migration to the tunica intima after arterial wall injury. The aim of this paper was an analysis of functional polymorphisms in genes encoding TGF-β1, PDGFB, EGF, bFGF and VEGF-A in relation to in-stent restenosis (ISR).

Potential use of histone deacetylase inhibitors in cancer therapy.

Epigenetics is a branch of science that focuses on mechanisms related to control and modification of expression of genetic material without any changes to its sequences. Such mechanisms include post-translational modifications of histones. It is widely known that carcinogenesis is related to hypoacetylation of genes that influence apoptosis, the cell cycle, cell signaling, the immunologic response, angiogenesis and occurrence of metastasis.

Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from southern Poland.

In 2008-2011 ticks were collected from southern Poland. Out of 6336 individuals collected and identified as Ixodes ricinus, 768 (2 larvae, 84 nymphs, 417 females, 265 males) were included in molecular study. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and types of genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in ticks.

The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with coronary artery disease undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention and stent implantation.

Background: There is no data regarding the association between the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and long-term mortality in patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD). The aim of this study is to evaluate the utility of the pre-procedural PLR for predicting long-term, all-cause mortality in patients with SCAD undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and stent implantation.

Methods: We analyzed a total of 2959 consecutive patients with SCAD who underwent PCI (balloon angioplasty followed by stent implantation or direct stenting) between July 2006 and December 2011 at our institution.

Functional polymorphism rs710218 in the gene coding GLUT1 protein is associated with in-stent restenosis.

Aim: To analyze the association between in-stent restenosis (ISR) and polymorphisms in genes coding IGF-1, IGFBP3, ITGB3 and GLUT1, which play an important role in the smooth muscle cell proliferation and extracellular matrix synthesis - the main components of neointima.

Materials & Methods: We analyzed 265 patients who underwent bare metal stent implantation.

Results: The differences in the occurrence of ISR between genotypes of the analyzed polymorphisms in the IGF-1, IGFBP3 and ITGB3 were not statistically significant.

Selected mechanisms of molecular resistance of Candida albicans to azole drugs.

A phenomenon of increasing resistance of Candida spp. to azoles has been observed for several years now. One of the mechanisms of lack of sensitivity to azoles is associated with CDR1, CDR2, MRD1 genes (their products are active transport pumps conditioning drug efflux from pathogen's cell), and ERG11 gene (encoding lanosterol 14α-demethylase).

Hepatic chemerin and chemokine-like receptor 1 expression in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Introduction: Chemerin seems to be involved in pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Hepatic expressions of chemerin and its receptor, chemokine receptor-like 1 (CMKLR1), in CHC have not been studied so far.

Aim: To evaluate chemerin and CMKLR1 hepatic expression together with serum chemerin concentration in CHC patients and to assess their relationship with metabolic and histopathological abnormalities.

Nucleotide substitutions in the Candida albicans ERG11 gene of azole-susceptible and azole-resistant clinical isolates.

One of the mechanisms of Candida albicans resistance to azole drugs used in antifungal therapy relies on increased expression and presence of point mutations in the ERG11 gene that encodes sterol 14α demethylase (14DM), an enzyme which is the primary target for the azole class of antifungals. The aim of the study was to analyze nucleotide substitutions in the Candida albicans ERG11 gene of azole-susceptible and azole-resistant clinical isolates. The Candida albicans isolates represented a collection of 122 strains selected from 658 strains isolated from different biological materials.

Red cell distribution width is associated with long-term prognosis in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Background: Data regarding the association between red cell distribution width (RDW) values and mortality in patients with stable coronary artery disease are scarce. We aimed to investigate the link between mortality and RDW in patients with stable coronary artery disease undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: We analyzed 2550 consecutive patients with stable coronary artery disease who underwent PCI between 2007 and 2011 at our institution.

8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in colorectal adenocarcinoma--is it a result of oxidative stress?

Background: 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is one of the most abundant oxidatively modified lesions in DNA and is a marker of the oxidative stress. 8-OHdG is a mutagenic lesion and it can mispair with adenine, causing G:C→T: A transversion. Our task was to determine the 8-OHdG level in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma directly in tumor tissues and corresponding normal mucosa.

The risk of exposure to Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Babesia sp. and co-infections in Ixodes ricinus ticks on the territory of Niepołomice forest (southern Poland).

Niepołomice Forest is located about 20 kilometers east of Cracow (Malopolska province, southern Poland). Its natural and touristic values, as well as wide range of hosts occurring within indicate this to be an area of high risk of exposure to Ixodes ricinus and tick-borne diseases it transfers. I.

The activity of antioxidant enzymes in colorectal adenocarcinoma and corresponding normal mucosa.

Oxidative stress is one of several factors which contribute to the development of colorectal carcinogenesis. The aim of the study was an assessment of the activity of antioxidant enzymes in tumour and corresponding normal distal mucosa in a group of patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. Samples of tumour and corresponding normal mucosa were obtained during a resection of colorectal cancer from 47 patients aged between 26 and 82 years.

Oxidative damage and carcinogenesis.

Oxygen is an essential element to conduct life processes but some of the metabolic byproducts e.g. reactive oxygen species (ROS), are toxic for living organisms.

[The influence of oxidised cholesterol derivatives on morphology of hepatocytes in rat's liver].

Introduction: Products of oxidizing cholesterol-called oxysterols, are having different physicochemical properties and various from not-modified sterols, biological activity. Amongst characteristic effects of these connections are: stopping the activity of HMG-CoA reductase, antiproliferative action, apoptosis induction, changes in the structure and functioning of the cell membrane and influence on remodeling of the immunological system. Mechanisms of oxysterols influence on the cellular level include a broad spectrum of complicated biological activities and they haven't been examined to the end yet.

[The concentration of HSP 27 in tumour and adjacent distal mucosa in colorectal adenocarcinoma].

Objective: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) play a very important role in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. They are produced in cells constitutively or induced under stress conditions. During carcinogenesis, HSPs have been reported to show alteration of their expression levels.