Browse publications by year: 2019

  1. Sivarajan S, Doss JG, Papageorgiou SN, Cobourne MT, Wey MC
    Angle Orthod, 2019 09;89(5):831.
    PMID: 31430196 DOI: 10.2319/0003-3219-89.5.831
    MeSH terms: Face*; Mouth*
  2. Faizal WM, Ghazali NNN, Badruddin IA, Zainon MZ, Yazid AA, Ali MAB, et al.
    Comput Methods Programs Biomed, 2019 Oct;180:105036.
    PMID: 31430594 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2019.105036
    Obstructive sleep apnea is one of the most common breathing disorders. Undiagnosed sleep apnea is a hidden health crisis to the patient and it could raise the risk of heart diseases, high blood pressure, depression and diabetes. The throat muscle (i.e., tongue and soft palate) relax narrows the airway and causes the blockage of the airway in breathing. To understand this phenomenon computational fluid dynamics method has emerged as a handy tool to conduct the modeling and analysis of airflow characteristics. The comprehensive fluid-structure interaction method provides the realistic visualization of the airflow and interaction with the throat muscle. Thus, this paper reviews the scientific work related to the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) for the evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea, using computational techniques. In total 102 articles were analyzed, each article was evaluated based on the elements related with fluid-structure interaction of sleep apnea via computational techniques. In this review, the significance of FSI for the evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea has been critically examined. Then the flow properties, boundary conditions and validation of the model are given due consideration to present a broad perspective of CFD being applied to study sleep apnea. Finally, the challenges of FSI simulation methods are also highlighted in this article.
    MeSH terms: Algorithms; Computer Simulation*; Humans; Models, Biological; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/physiopathology*; Hydrodynamics*
  3. Jaber AAS, Ibrahim B
    Health Qual Life Outcomes, 2019 Aug 16;17(1):142.
    PMID: 31420045 DOI: 10.1186/s12955-019-1211-0
    BACKGROUND: Substantial efforts are currently focused on investigating and developing new multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) drugs and diagnostic methods. In Yemen, however, the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the effect of current MDR-TB treatment on the QoL are commonly ignored. This study evaluated the HRQoL during and after treatment and identified the risk factors that are predictive of HRQoL score differences.

    METHOD: A prospective cohort study was conducted in four of the five main MDR-TB centres in Yemen. The patients confirmed with MDR-TB completed the SF-36 V2 survey at the beginning of treatment, end of treatment (continous phase) and at the 1 year follow-up after completing treatment. A total normal base score (NBS) of

    MeSH terms: Adult; Depression/complications; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life*; Surveys and Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Yemen; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/complications; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/psychology*; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/therapy; Disease Progression
  4. Ang MY, Low TY, Lee PY, Wan Mohamad Nazarie WF, Guryev V, Jamal R
    Clin Chim Acta, 2019 Nov;498:38-46.
    PMID: 31421119 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2019.08.010
    One of the best-established area within multi-omics is proteogenomics, whereby the underpinning technologies are next-generation sequencing (NGS) and mass spectrometry (MS). Proteogenomics has contributed significantly to genome (re)-annotation, whereby novel coding sequences (CDS) are identified and confirmed. By incorporating in-silico translated genome variants in protein database, single amino acid variants (SAAV) and splice proteoforms can be identified and quantified at peptide level. The application of proteogenomics in cancer research potentially enables the identification of patient-specific proteoforms, as well as the association of the efficacy or resistance of cancer therapy to different mutations. Here, we discuss how NGS/TGS data are analyzed and incorporated into the proteogenomic framework. These sequence data mainly originate from whole genome sequencing (WGS), whole exome sequencing (WES) and RNA-Seq. We explain two major strategies for sequence analysis i.e., de novo assembly and reads mapping, followed by construction of customized protein databases using such data. Besides, we also elaborate on the procedures of spectrum to peptide sequence matching in proteogenomics, and the relationship between database size on the false discovery rate (FDR). Finally, we discuss the latest development in proteogenomics-assisted precision oncology and also challenges and opportunities in proteogenomics research.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Humans; Mass Spectrometry; Proteomics/methods; Precision Medicine/methods*; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/trends; Proteogenomics/methods*; Proteogenomics/trends
  5. Rothan HA, Zhong Y, Sanborn MA, Teoh TC, Ruan J, Yusof R, et al.
    Antiviral Res, 2019 11;171:104590.
    PMID: 31421166 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2019.104590
    Two major flaviviruses, dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), cause severe health and economic burdens worldwide. Recently, genome-wide screenings have uncovered the importance of regulators of the Hrd1 ubiquitin ligase-mediated endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway for flavivirus replication in host cells. Here we report the identification of the compound Bardoxolone methyl (CDDO-me) as a potent inhibitor of the Hrd1 ubiquitin ligase-mediated ERAD, which possesses a broad-spectrum activity against both DENV and ZIKV. Cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) suggested that CDDO-me binds to grp94, a key component of the Hrd1 pathway, at a low nanomolar concentration, whereas interaction was not detected with its paralog Hsp90. CDDO-me and the grp94 inhibitor PU-WS13 substantially suppressed DENV2 replication and the cytopathic effects caused by DENV and ZIKV infection. The antiviral activities of both compounds were demonstrated for all four DENV serotypes and four ZIKV strains in multiple human cell lines. This study defines grp94 as a crucial host factor for flavivirus replication and identified CDDO-me as a potent small molecule inhibitor of flavivirus infection. Inhibition of grp94 may contribute to the antiviral activity of CDDO-me. Further investigation of grp94 inhibitors may lead to a new class of broad-spectrum anti-flaviviral medications.
    MeSH terms: Zika Virus Infection/drug therapy; Zika Virus Infection/metabolism; Zika Virus Infection/virology*; Zika Virus/drug effects*; Antiviral Agents/pharmacology*; Cell Survival; Dengue/drug therapy; Dengue/metabolism; Dengue/virology*; Dengue Virus/drug effects*; Humans; Membrane Glycoproteins/antagonists & inhibitors*; Oleanolic Acid/analogs & derivatives*; Oleanolic Acid/pharmacology; Virus Replication/drug effects
  6. Wilcox JS, Kerschner A, Hollocher H
    Infect Genet Evol, 2019 11;75:103994.
    PMID: 31421245 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2019.103994
    Plasmodium knowlesi is an important causative agent of malaria in humans of Southeast Asia. Macaques are natural hosts for this parasite, but little is conclusively known about its patterns of transmission within and between these hosts. Here, we apply a comprehensive phylogenetic approach to test for patterns of cryptic population genetic structure between P. knowlesi isolated from humans and long-tailed macaques from the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. Our approach differs from previous investigations through our exhaustive use of archival 18S Small Subunit rRNA (18S) gene sequences from Plasmodium and Hepatocystis species, our inclusion of insertion and deletion information during phylogenetic inference, and our application of Bayesian phylogenetic inference to this problem. We report distinct clades of P. knowlesi that predominantly contained sequences from either human or macaque hosts for paralogous A-type and S-type 18S gene loci. We report significant partitioning of sequence distances between host species across both types of loci, and confirmed that sequences of the same locus type showed significantly biased assortment into different clades depending on their host species. Our results support the zoonotic potential of Plasmodium knowlesi, but also suggest that humans may be preferentially infected with certain strains of this parasite. Broadly, such patterns could arise through preferential zoonotic transmission of some parasite lineages or a disposition of parasites to transmit within, rather than between, human and macaque hosts. Available data are insufficient to address these hypotheses. Our results suggest that the epidemiology of P. knowlesi may be more complicated than previously assumed, and highlight the need for renewed and more vigorous explorations of transmission patterns in the fifth human malarial parasite.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Bayes Theorem; Borneo; Humans; Macaca fascicularis/virology*; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics*; Species Specificity; DNA, Protozoan/genetics; Plasmodium knowlesi/classification*; Plasmodium knowlesi/genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA/methods*
  7. Yildirim O, Talo M, Ay B, Baloglu UB, Aydin G, Acharya UR
    Comput Biol Med, 2019 10;113:103387.
    PMID: 31421276 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2019.103387
    In this study, a deep-transfer learning approach is proposed for the automated diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM), using heart rate (HR) signals obtained from electrocardiogram (ECG) data. Recent progress in deep learning has contributed significantly to improvement in the quality of healthcare. In order for deep learning models to perform well, large datasets are required for training. However, a difficulty in the biomedical field is the lack of clinical data with expert annotation. A recent, commonly implemented technique to train deep learning models using small datasets is to transfer the weighting, developed from a large dataset, to the current model. This deep learning transfer strategy is generally employed for two-dimensional signals. Herein, the weighting of models pre-trained using two-dimensional large image data was applied to one-dimensional HR signals. The one-dimensional HR signals were then converted into frequency spectrum images, which were utilized for application to well-known pre-trained models, specifically: AlexNet, VggNet, ResNet, and DenseNet. The DenseNet pre-trained model yielded the highest classification average accuracy of 97.62%, and sensitivity of 100%, to detect DM subjects via HR signal recordings. In the future, we intend to further test this developed model by utilizing additional data along with cloud-based storage to diagnose DM via heart signal analysis.
    MeSH terms: Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted*; Electrocardiography*; Heart Rate*; Humans; Models, Cardiovascular*; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Databases, Factual*
  8. Steve Utap M, Bin Mohd Jamal MS
    Rural Remote Health, 2019 08;19(3):5163.
    PMID: 31421666 DOI: 10.22605/RRH5163
    Nycticebus spp, commonly known as the slow lorus, is a small nocturnal primate found mainly in Asia. The adult slow loris weighs between 265 g and 1150 g depending on the type of species. It has a characteristic round head with large, forward-facing eyes. Slow lorises are known for their poisonous bite and are the only venomous primates. To date, there have been two published cases of slow loris bite in humans. This case report illustrates a case of anaphylactic shock following a bite of a wild Kayan slow loris (Nycticebus kayan) to a young man at Mulu District, in a remote area of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. The patient developed dyspnoea, a feeling of suffocation, swollen lips and cramp-like sensations over both hands. He subsequently developed syncope and hypotension. The patient was clinically stable following intramuscular injection of adrenaline 0.5 mg stat dose.
    MeSH terms: Adult; Anaphylaxis/drug therapy*; Anaphylaxis/etiology*; Animals; Bites and Stings/complications*; Borneo; Epinephrine/administration & dosage*; Epinephrine/therapeutic use*; Humans; Injections, Intramuscular; Lorisidae*; Male; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult
  9. Elias N, Wahab RA, Chandren S, Abdul Razak FI, Jamalis J
    Enzyme Microb Technol, 2019 Nov;130:109367.
    PMID: 31421729 DOI: 10.1016/j.enzmictec.2019.109367
    Currently, the chemically-assisted esterification to manufacture butyl butyrate employs corrosive homogeneous acid catalyst and liberates enormous quantities of hazardous by-products which complicate downstream treatment processes. This study aimed to identify the optimized esterification conditions, and the kinetic aspects of the enzyme-assisted synthesis of butyl butyrate using immobilized Candida rugosa lipase activated by chitosan-reinforced nanocellulose derived from raw oil palm leaves (CRL/CS-NC). The best process variables that gave the maximum conversion degree of butyl butyrate by CRL/CS-NC (90.2%) in just 3 h, as compared to free CRL (62.9%) are as follows: 50 °C, 1:2 M ratio of acid/alcohol, stirring rate of 200 rpm and a 3 mg/mL enzyme load. The enzymatic esterification followed the ping pong bi-bi mechanism with substrate inhibition, revealing a ˜1.1-fold higher Ki for CRL/CS-NC (55.55 mM) over free CRL (50.68 mM). This indicated that CRL/CS-NC was less inhibited by the substrates. Butanol was preferred over butyric acid as reflected by the higher apparent Michaelis-Menten constant of CRL/CS-NC for butanol (137 mM) than butyric acid (142.7 mM). Thus, the kinetics data conclusively showed that CRL/CS-NC (Vmax 0.48 mM min-1, Keff 0.07 min-1 mM-1) was catalytically more efficient than free CRL (Vmax 0.35 mM min-1, Keff 0.06 min-1 mM-1).
    MeSH terms: Butyrates/metabolism*; Candida/enzymology*; Cellulose/chemistry*; Enzyme Stability; Enzymes, Immobilized; Esterification; Kinetics; Lipase/metabolism*; Plant Leaves/chemistry; Chitosan/chemistry*; Biocatalysis
  10. Mohamed Elias Z, Batumalai UM, Azmi ANH
    Appl Ergon, 2019 Nov;81:102879.
    PMID: 31422241 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102879
    Increasing popularity of virtual reality (VR) gaming is causing increased concern, as prolonged use induces visual adaptation effects which disturbs normal vision. Effects of VR gaming on accommodation and convergence of young adults by measuring accommodative response and phoria before and after experiencing virtual reality were measured. An increase in accommodative response and a decrease in convergence was observed after immersion in VR games. It was found that visual symptoms were apparent among the subjects post VR exposure.
    MeSH terms: Accommodation, Ocular/physiology*; Adolescent; Adult; Convergence, Ocular/physiology*; Female; Humans; Male; Video Games/psychology*; Young Adult
  11. Mohd Zaideen IM
    Mar Pollut Bull, 2019 Nov;148:3-4.
    PMID: 31422300 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.041
    The strategic location of Malaysia along the world's busiest trade waterways underscores the need to cope ballast water issues for both domestic and international shipping. The adoption of Ballast Water Management Convention 2004 (BWMC) by the International Maritime Organization is suitable for management plans intended to prevent the introduction of invasive species through ballast water discharge. Malaysia has ratified the BWMC in September 2010 and the Convention has come into force in September 2017. However up to now, the BWMC has not been fully implemented by Malaysia for ships operating in its waters. This paper analyse the headway in implementing the provisions of the BWMC in Malaysia as well as the issues and challenges encountered for the implementation. The paper concludes that Malaysian government should promulgate laws and policies to clearly communicate on ballast water issues to the shipping industry communities.
    MeSH terms: Malaysia; Water Pollution/legislation & jurisprudence; Water Pollution/prevention & control*; Water Purification/legislation & jurisprudence*; Water Purification/standards; Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence; Introduced Species*
  12. Karbalaei S, Golieskardi A, Hamzah HB, Abdulwahid S, Hanachi P, Walker TR, et al.
    Mar Pollut Bull, 2019 Nov;148:5-15.
    PMID: 31422303 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.072
    Plastic debris is widespread and ubiquitous in the marine environment and ingestion of plastic debris by marine organisms is well-documented. Viscera and gills of 110 individual marine fish from 11 commercial fish species collected from the marine fish market were examined for presence of plastic debris. Isolated particles were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, and elemental analysis was assessed using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Nine (of 11) species contained plastic debris. Out of 56 isolated particles, 76.8% were plastic polymers, 5.4% were pigments, and 17.8% were unidentified. Extracted plastic particle sizes ranged from 200 to 34,900 μm (mean = 2600 μm ±7.0 SD). Hazardous material was undetected using inorganic elemental analysis of extracted plastic debris and pigment particles. The highest number of ingested microplastics was measured in Eleutheronema tridactylum and Clarias gariepinus, suggesting their potential as indicator species to monitor and study trends of ingested marine litter.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Environmental Monitoring/methods*; Malaysia; Particle Size; Plastics/analysis; Plastics/chemistry; Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis*; Water Pollutants, Chemical/chemistry; Seafood/analysis*
  13. Lachs L, Johari NAM, Le DQ, Safuan CDM, Duprey NN, Tanaka K, et al.
    Mar Pollut Bull, 2019 Nov;148:85-96.
    PMID: 31422307 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.059
    Pulau Redang and Pulau Tioman have experienced huge tourism growth over the last two decades, but minimal sewage treatment may threaten the resilience of their coral reefs. This study uses stable isotope techniques to identify suitable bioindicators of sewage nutrients (δ15N) at these islands by measuring macroalgae (Lobophora spp.), gastropods (Drupella spp.), scleractinian coral (Acropora spp.), and leather coral (Sinularia spp.). At tourist hubs using seepage septic tank systems, enrichment of Acropora δ15N (Redang, +0.7‰) and Sinularia δ15N (Tioman, +0.4‰) compared to pristine background levels indicate enhanced sewage nutrient discharge. Carbon isotopes and survey data suggest that sedimentation did not confound these δ15N trends. Potential damaging effects of sewage discharge on the coral reef communities at both islands are highlighted by strong correlations between Acropora δ15N and regional variation in coral reef community structure, and exclusive occurrence of degraded reefs at regions of high sewage influence.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Carbon Isotopes/analysis; Environmental Monitoring*; Nitrogen Isotopes/analysis*; Sewage/chemistry*; Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis*; Geologic Sediments/chemistry; Anthozoa/classification; Anthozoa/chemistry*; Coral Reefs*
  14. Wan Zakaria WNA, Aizat WM, Goh HH, Mohd Noor N
    J Plant Res, 2019 Sep;132(5):681-694.
    PMID: 31422552 DOI: 10.1007/s10265-019-01130-w
    Carnivorous plants capture and digest insects for nutrients, allowing them to survive in soil deprived of nitrogenous nutrients. Plants from the genus Nepenthes produce unique pitchers containing secretory glands, which secrete enzymes into the digestive fluid. We performed RNA-seq analysis on the pitcher tissues and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis on the pitcher fluids of Nepenthes × ventrata to study protein expression in this carnivory organ during early days of pitcher opening. This transcriptome provides a sequence database for pitcher fluid protein identification. A total of 32 proteins of diverse functions were successfully identified in which 19 proteins can be quantified based on label-free quantitative proteomics (SWATH-MS) analysis while 16 proteins were not reported previously. Our findings show that certain proteins in the pitcher fluid were continuously secreted or replenished after pitcher opening, even without any prey or chitin induction. We also discovered a new aspartic proteinase, Nep6, secreted into pitcher fluid. This is the first SWATH-MS analysis of protein expression in Nepenthes pitcher fluid using a species-specific reference transcriptome. Taken together, our study using a gel-free shotgun proteomics informed by transcriptomics (PIT) approach showed the dynamics of endogenous protein secretion in the digestive organ of N. × ventrata and provides insights on protein regulation during early pitcher opening prior to prey capture.
    MeSH terms: Amino Acid Sequence; Phylogeny; Plant Proteins/genetics*; Plant Proteins/metabolism; Plant Proteins/chemistry; Sequence Alignment; Proteome*; Proteomics; Transcriptome*
  15. Zhang ZY, Yang WY, Dominiczak AF, Wang JG, Wu Y, Almustafa B, et al.
    Hypertension, 2019 11;74(5):1064-1067.
    PMID: 31422692 DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.13206
    MeSH terms: Adult; Antihypertensive Agents/administration & dosage*; Blood Chemical Analysis; Blood Glucose/analysis; Blood Pressure Determination/methods; Diagnosis, Differential; Drug Resistance*; Drug Therapy, Combination; Emergency Service, Hospital; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Hypertension/diagnosis*; Hypertension/drug therapy*; Hypoglycemic Agents/administration & dosage; Male; Monitoring, Physiologic/methods; Severity of Illness Index; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory/methods*; Teaching Rounds; Computed Tomography Angiography/methods
  16. Bujang MA, Kuan PX, Sapri FE, Liu WJ, Musa R
    Indian J Nephrol, 2019 8 20;29(4):235-241.
    PMID: 31423056 DOI: 10.4103/ijn.IJN_152_18
    Introduction: Clinical parameters especially co-morbidities among end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients are associated with mortality. This study aims to determine the risk factors that are associated with mortality within three years among prevalent patients with ESRD.

    Methods: This is a cohort study where prevalent ESRD patients' details were recorded between May 2012 and October 2012. Their records were matched with national death record at the end of year 2015 to identify the deceased patients within three years. Four models were formulated with two models were based on logistic regression models but with different number of predictors and two models were developed based on risk scoring technique. The preferred models were validated by using sensitivity and specificity analysis.

    Results: A total of 1332 patients were included in the study. Majority succumbed due to cardiovascular disease (48.3%) and sepsis (41.3%). The identified risk factors were mode of dialysis (P < 0.001), diabetes mellitus (P < 0.001), chronic heart disease (P < 0.001) and leg amputation (P = 0.016). The accuracy of four models was almost similar with AUC between 0.680 and 0.711. The predictive models from logistic regression model and risk scoring model were selected as the preferred models based on both accuracy and simplicity. Besides the mode of dialysis, diabetes mellitus and its complications are the important predictors for early mortality among prevalent ESRD patients.

    Conclusions: The models either based on logistic regression or risk scoring model can be used to screen high risk prevalent ESRD patients.

    MeSH terms: Amputation; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cross-Sectional Studies; Death Certificates; Diabetes Mellitus; Heart Diseases; Renal Dialysis; Humans; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Risk Factors; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; Prevalence; Logistic Models; Sepsis; Area Under Curve
  17. Tan W, Abd Ghani F, Seong Lim CT
    Indian J Nephrol, 2019 8 20;29(4):288-290.
    PMID: 31423065 DOI: 10.4103/ijn.IJN_153_18
    Acute renal cortical necrosis (ACN) is a potentially fatal renal condition. Our objective is to report a case of ACN in a young man who had developed premature atherosclerotic vascular disease and required intermittent hemodialysis support. His renal biopsy showed diffuse cortical necrosis. Subsequently, 2 weeks after the renal insult, he developed a cardioembolic stroke and was anticoagulated with low-molecular-weight heparin. Thrombophilia screen revealed elevated serum homocystein and he was treated with folate supplement and vitamin B12 injection. With these treatments, he had partial renal recovery and became dialysis independent. In conclusion, this is a rare case of ACN, which may have occurred as a complication of hyperhomocysteinemia.
    MeSH terms: Biopsy; Folic Acid; Renal Dialysis; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight; Humans; Kidney; Kidney Cortex Necrosis; Kidney Diseases; Male; Vitamin B 12; Thrombophilia; Hyperhomocysteinemia; Stroke
  18. He PY, Yip WK, Jabar MF, Mohtarrudin N, Dusa NM, Seow HF
    Oncol Lett, 2019 Aug;18(2):1949-1960.
    PMID: 31423265 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2019.10492
    The objectives of the present study were to identify the aberrant expression of microRNA (miRNA) in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) tissues from published miRNA profiling studies and to investigate the effects of the identified miRNA inhibitor and mimic miR-96-5p on CRC cell migration and invasion. The altered expression of the regulators of cytoskeleton mRNA in miR-96-5p inhibitor-transfected cells was determined. The miR-96-5p expression level in five CRC cell lines, HCT11, CaCo2, HT29, SW480 and SW620, and 26 archived paraffin-embedded CRC tissues were also investigated by reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Cell viability in response to the miR-96-5p inhibitor and mimic transfections was determined by an MTT assay. A Matrigel invasion assay was conducted to select the invasive subpopulation designated SW480-7, by using the parental cell line SW480. The effects of miR-96-5p mimic- or inhibitor-transfected SW480-7 cells on cell migration and invasion were evaluated using the Transwell and Matrigel assays, and the change in expression of the regulators of cytoskeleton mRNAs was identified by Cytoskeleton Regulators RT2-Profiler PCR array followed by validation with RT-qPCR. CRC tissues exhibited a significant increase in miR-96-5p expression, compared with their matched normal adjacent tissues, indicating an oncogenic role for miR-96-5p. The results demonstrated that the miR-96-5p inhibitor decreased the migration of SW480-7 cells, but had no effect on invasion. This may be due to the promotion of cell invasion by Matrigel, which counteracts the blockade of cell invasion by the miR-96-5p inhibitor. The miR-96-5p mimic enhanced SW480-7 cell migration and invasion, as expected. It was determined that there was a >2.5 fold increase in the expression of genes involved in cytoskeleton regulation, myosin light chain kinase 2, pleckstrin homology like domain family B member 2, cyclin A1, IQ motif containing GTPase activating protein 2, Brain-specific angiogenesisinhibitor 1-associated protein 2 and microtubule-actin crosslinking factor 1, in miR-96-5p inhibitor-transfected cells, indicating that they are negative regulators of cell migration. In conclusion, the miR-96-5p inhibitor blocked cell migration but not invasion, and the latter may be due to the counteraction of Matrigel, which has been demonstrated to stimulate cell invasion.
    MeSH terms: Blood Proteins; Brain; Cell Movement; Cell Survival; Collagen; Cytoskeleton; Drug Combinations; Humans; Laminin; Microfilament Proteins; Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase; Phosphoproteins; Proteoglycans; DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; RNA, Messenger; Transfection; Colorectal Neoplasms; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Paraffin Embedding; Caco-2 Cells; GTPase-Activating Proteins; MicroRNAs; Cyclin A1
  19. Tuang GJ, Zahedi FD, Akashah I, Lee JPH, Abidin ZAZ
    J Surg Case Rep, 2019 Aug;2019(8):rjz240.
    PMID: 31423297 DOI: 10.1093/jscr/rjz240
    The clinical presentation of a sphenoid fungal ball (FB) is often non-specific and tends to be overlooked, particularly in hosts with an intact immune status. Rarely, potentially life-threatening complications may arise, owning its anatomical characteristics with contiguous structures. Herein, we present an unusual case of sphenoid FB complicated with orbital apex syndrome in an immunocompetent patient. The diagnosis dilemma and subsequent management are further discussed.
    MeSH terms: Humans; Sphenoid Bone; Sphenoid Sinus; Syndrome
  20. Kunnath AP, Priyashini T
    Cureus, 2019 Jun 16;11(6):e4907.
    PMID: 31423385 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.4907
    Cancer is one of the greatest threats posed to society, necessitating appropriate diagnosis methods. Modern targeted therapies have greatly advanced the treatment of several solid tumors. The rational use of these agents requires optimal strategies for the rapid and accurate detection of targetable genomic alterations at the time of initial diagnosis and when acquired resistance to targeted therapies develops. Currently used techniques, such as tissue genotyping, have limitations such as difficulty in categorizing tumors, needing frequent sampling, and difficulty in obtaining samples. To overcome these issues, cost-effective and non-invasive methods are an urgent requisite, which would provide an insight into the real-time dynamics of cancers via circulating biomarkers. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), commonly termed "liquid biopsy," has emerged as a new, promising non-invasive tool to detect biomarkers in several cancers. The present review aimed to understand the biological concept of ctDNA and its potential as a biomarker in cancer studies and the clinical utility of this evolutionary diagnostic technique.
External Links