Displaying publications 761 - 780 of 1069 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Aloe emodin induces apoptosis in ER+-breast cancer cells; MCF-7 through IGF-1R signalling pathway
    Narimah Abdul Hamid Hasani, Siti Hamimah Sheikh Abdul Kadir, Indah Mohd Amin, Roziana Kamaludin, Rosfaiizah Siran, Mohamad Rodi Isa, et al.
    Sains Malaysiana, 2015;44:1137-1143.
    Two-third of breast cancer patients expressed estrogen receptors (ER)s and received endocrine treatment with established anti-estrogens such as tamoxifen. But the action and acquired resistance during treatment are largely unknown. In contrary, phytochemicals are more selective and less cytotoxic to normal cells. Accordingly, we found aloe emodin, an anthraquinone to inhibit the proliferation of ER+-breast cancer cells, MCF-7 with IC50 of 80 µM, but not affecting control breast cells, MCF-10A. Tamoxifen was non-selective to both cells with IC50 of 27 and 38 μM, respectively. Thus, we aimed to investigate the anti-proliferative mechanism of aloe emodin on MCF-7 and its underlying signalling compared to tamoxifen. Cells were treated separately with aloe emodin and tamoxifen at respective IC50 for 72 h. Apoptosis was determined using Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. The expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R), insulin like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-2 and B-raf gene was investigated using QuantiGene 2.0 Plex assay. Pairedstudent t-test and ANOVA test were used to compare between untreated and treated cells on the measured parameters. Each treatment was conducted in triplicate and repeated three times. Significance was set at p<0.05. The presences of early and late apoptosis in MCF-7 were seen in both treatments. All target genes were down regulated. The anti-proliferation effect of aloe emodin on MCF-7 is similar with tamoxifen which mediates inhibition of IGF-1R signalling pathway. This suggests aloe emodin as a potential anti-cancer agent to be used in combined anti-estrogen therapy to enhance its efficacy in ER+-breast cancer treatment.
  2. Ficus carica and bone health: a systematic review
    Ruszymah Idrus, Nur Qisya Afifah Veronica Sainik, Ayu Suraya Ansari, Rabiatul Adawiyah Razali, Abid Nordin, Aminuddin Saim, et al.
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:2741-2755.
    Ficus carica, a native plant to the Middle East and Western Asia, is of high value in folk medicine. The therapeutic potential
    of Ficus carica has led to the extensive studies in recent years, focusing on evaluating and validating its pharmacological
    effect. The present systematic review summarizes the effectiveness of Ficus carica on promoting bone health focusing on
    osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis via mineral contents and RANKL pathway. The search was done with Medline via
    Ebscohost, Scopus and Google Scholar databases to obtain relevant articles published between 1946 and December
    2016. The main inclusion criteria were research articles published in English that reported effect of Ficus carica on
    bone health. The literature search returned 716 potentially relevant articles, whereby 5 met the inclusion criteria. This
    systematic review concludes Ficus carica plays an important role in the promotion of bone health and can be a potential
    pharmaceutical product in the future.
  3. Kinetics of surfactin production by bacillus subtilis in a 5 L stirred-tank bioreactor
    Muhammad Qadri Effendy Mubarak, Siti Hajar Mohamad Jufri, Shikh Mohd Shahrul Nizan Shikh Zahar, Mohd Sahaid Kalil, Aidil Abdul Hamid, Mohd Hafez Mohd Isa
    Sains Malaysiana, 2017;46:1541-1548.
    A kinetic model of bacterial growth and metabolite production can adequately explain the trends and interaction of important parameters in a fermentation process. Production of surfactin by two bacterial strains, namely, Bacillus subtilis MSH1 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21322, in a 5 L bioreactor was investigated using Cooper’s media with 4% (v/v) glucose. The present kinetic study was carried out in order to determine the correlation between microbial cell growth, surfactin production and glucose consumption. Batch fermentation was performed by cultivation of each selected strain in a bioreactor at 30°C for 55 h. The experimental results showed production of surfactin in the culture medium after 5 and 10 h of incubation for B. subtilis ATCC 21332 and B. subtilis MSH1, respectively, at which the bacterial cells were at an early stage of the log phase. The maximum concentration of surfactin (Pmax) achieved by B. subtilis MSH1 and B. subtilis ATCC 21332 was 226.17 and 447.26 mg/L, respectively. The kinetic study of bacterial cell growth of both strains indicated that B. subtilis MSH1 had a specific growth rate (μmax) of 0.224 h-1 and attained a maximum biomass concentration (Xmax) as high as 2.90 g/L after 28 h of fermentation, while B. subtilis ATCC 21332, with μmax of 0.087 h-1, attained an Xmax of 2.62 g/L after 45 h of incubation. B. subtilis MSH1 showed higher growth kinetics, thus exhibited higher values of μmax and Xmax compared with B. subtilis ATCC 21332 under identical fermentation conditions. The Pmax achieved by B. subtilis ATCC 21332 was 447.26 mg/L, two times higher than that achieved by B. subtilis MSH1 (226.17 mg/L). The results obtained provide kinetics information including values of Pmax, μmax and Xmax for better understanding of interactions of bacterial cell growth and glucose consumption towards surfactin production by a commercial strain of B. subtilis ATCC 21332 and a local isolate of B. subtilis MSH1
  4. Adherence to capecitabine treatment and contributing factors among cancer patients in Malaysia
    Zahrina AK, Norsa'adah B, Hassan NB, Norazwany Y, Norhayati I, Roslan MH, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(21):9225-32.
    PMID: 25422205
    Ensuring adherence to chemotherapy is important to prevent disease progression, prolong survival and sustain good quality of life. Capecitabine is a complex chemotherapeutic agent with many side effects that might affect patient adherence to treatment. This cross sectional study aimed to determine adherence to capecitabine and its contributing factors among cancer outpatients in Malaysia. One hundred and thirteen patients on single regime capecitabine were recruited from Hospital Sultan Ismail and Hospital Kuala Lumpur from October 2013 to March 2014. Adherence was determined based on adherence score using validated Medication Compliance Questionnaire. Patient socio-demographics, disease, and treatment characteristics were obtained from medical records. Satisfaction score was measured using the validated Patient Satisfaction with Healthcare questionnaire. The mean adherence score was 96.1% (standard deviation: 3.29%). The significant contributing factors of adherence to capecitabine were Malay ethnicity [β=1.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.21, 2.43; p value=0.020], being female [β=1.8; 95%CI: 0.61, 2.99; p value=0.003]), satisfaction score [β=0.08; 95%CI: 0.06, 1.46; p value=0.035], presence of nausea or vomiting [β=2.3; 95%CI: 1.12, 3.48; p value <0.001] and other side effects [β=1.45; 95%CI: 0.24, 2.65; p value=0.019]. Adherence to capecitabine was generally high in our local population. Attention should be given to non-Malay males and patients having nausea, vomiting or other side effects. Sufficient information, proactive assessment and appropriate management of side effects would improve patient satisfaction and thus create motivation to adhere to treatment plans.
  5. Fulltext Analysis of flavone C-glycosides in the leaves of Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau by HPTLC and HPLC-UV/DAD
    Chelyn JL, Omar MH, Mohd Yousof NS, Ranggasamy R, Wasiman MI, Ismail Z
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:724267.
    PMID: 25405231 DOI: 10.1155/2014/724267
    Clinacanthus nutans (family Acanthaceae) has been used for the treatment of inflammation and herpes viral infection. Currently, there has not been any report on the qualitative and quantitative determination of the chemical markers in the leaves of C. nutans. The C-glycosidic flavones such as shaftoside, isoorientin, orientin, isovitexin, and vitexin have been found to be major flavonoids in the leaves of this plant. Therefore, we had developed a two-step method using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the rapid identification and quantification of the flavones C-glycosides in C. nutans leaves. The TLC separation of the chemical markers was achieved on silica gel 60 plate using ethyl acetate : formic acid : acetic acid : water (100 : 11 : 11 : 27 v/v/v/v) as the mobile phase. HPLC method was optimized and validated for the quantification of shaftoside, orientin, isovitexin, and vitexin and was shown to be linear in concentration range tested (0.4-200 μg/mL, r(2) ≥ 0.996), precise (RSD ≤ 4.54%), and accurate (95-105%). The concentration of shaftoside, orientin, vitexin, and isovitexin in C. nutans leave samples was 2.55-17.43, 0.00-0.86, 0.00-2.01, and 0.00-0.91 mmol/g, respectively.
  6. Fulltext Development of a decision support system for analysis and solutions of prolonged standing in the workplace
    Halim I, Arep H, Kamat SR, Abdullah R, Omar AR, Ismail AR
    Saf Health Work, 2014 Jun;5(2):97-105.
    PMID: 25180141 DOI: 10.1016/j.shaw.2014.04.002
    BACKGROUND: Prolonged standing has been hypothesized as a vital contributor to discomfort and muscle fatigue in the workplace. The objective of this study was to develop a decision support system that could provide systematic analysis and solutions to minimize the discomfort and muscle fatigue associated with prolonged standing.

    METHODS: The integration of object-oriented programming and a Model Oriented Simultaneous Engineering System were used to design the architecture of the decision support system.

    RESULTS: Validation of the decision support system was carried out in two manufacturing companies. The validation process showed that the decision support system produced reliable results.

    CONCLUSION: The decision support system is a reliable advisory tool for providing analysis and solutions to problems related to the discomfort and muscle fatigue associated with prolonged standing. Further testing of the decision support system is suggested before it is used commercially.

  7. Potential molecular signatures in epithelial ovarian cancer by genome wide expression profiling
    Wong YL, Dali AZ, Mohamed Rose I, Jamal R, Mokhtar NM
    Asia Pac J Clin Oncol, 2016 Jun;12(2):e259-68.
    PMID: 24673814 DOI: 10.1111/ajco.12182
    Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecologic cancers because of its late diagnosis and poor treatment outcomes. This study aimed to identify potential molecular signatures associated with biological processes that are implicated in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).
  8. Fulltext Current trends in water-in-diesel emulsion as a fuel
    Yahaya Khan M, Abdul Karim ZA, Hagos FY, Aziz AR, Tan IM
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:527472.
    PMID: 24563631 DOI: 10.1155/2014/527472
    Water-in-diesel emulsion (WiDE) is an alternative fuel for CI engines that can be employed with the existing engine setup with no additional engine retrofitting. It has benefits of simultaneous reduction of both NO x and particulate matters in addition to its impact in the combustion efficiency improvement, although this needs further investigation. This review paper addresses the type of emulsion, the microexplosion phenomenon, emulsion stability and physiochemical improvement, and effect of water content on the combustion and emissions of WiDE fuel. The review also covers the recent experimental methodologies used in the investigation of WiDE for both transport and stationary engine applications. In this review, the fuel injection pump and spray nozzle arrangement has been found to be the most critical components as far as the secondary atomization is concerned and further investigation of the effect of these components in the microexplosion of the emulsion is suggested to be center of focus.
  9. Fulltext The relationships between thyroid hormones and thyroid-stimulating hormone with lipid profile in euthyroid men
    Chin KY, Ima-Nirwana S, Mohamed IN, Aminuddin A, Johari MH, Ngah WZ
    Int J Med Sci, 2014;11(4):349-55.
    PMID: 24578612 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.7104
    Alteration in lipid profile is a common observation in patients with thyroid dysfunction, but the current knowledge on the relationship between lipids and thyroid hormone levels in euthyroid state is insufficient. The current study aimed to determine the association between thyroid hormones and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with lipid profile in a euthyroid male population.
  10. Fulltext Integrated analysis of copy number variation and genome-wide expression profiling in colorectal cancer tissues
    Ali Hassan NZ, Mokhtar NM, Kok Sin T, Mohamed Rose I, Sagap I, Harun R, et al.
    PLoS One, 2014;9(4):e92553.
    PMID: 24694993 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092553
    Integrative analyses of multiple genomic datasets for selected samples can provide better insight into the overall data and can enhance our knowledge of cancer. The objective of this study was to elucidate the association between copy number variation (CNV) and gene expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) samples and their corresponding non-cancerous tissues. Sixty-four paired CRC samples from the same patients were subjected to CNV profiling using the Illumina HumanOmni1-Quad assay, and validation was performed using multiplex ligation probe amplification method. Genome-wide expression profiling was performed on 15 paired samples from the same group of patients using the Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST array. Significant genes obtained from both array results were then overlapped. To identify molecular pathways, the data were mapped to the KEGG database. Whole genome CNV analysis that compared primary tumor and non-cancerous epithelium revealed gains in 1638 genes and losses in 36 genes. Significant gains were mostly found in chromosome 20 at position 20q12 with a frequency of 45.31% in tumor samples. Examples of genes that were associated at this cytoband were PTPRT, EMILIN3 and CHD6. The highest number of losses was detected at chromosome 8, position 8p23.2 with 17.19% occurrence in all tumor samples. Among the genes found at this cytoband were CSMD1 and DLC1. Genome-wide expression profiling showed 709 genes to be up-regulated and 699 genes to be down-regulated in CRC compared to non-cancerous samples. Integration of these two datasets identified 56 overlapping genes, which were located in chromosomes 8, 20 and 22. MLPA confirmed that the CRC samples had the highest gains in chromosome 20 compared to the reference samples. Interpretation of the CNV data in the context of the transcriptome via integrative analyses may provide more in-depth knowledge of the genomic landscape of CRC.
  11. Bioassay-guided isolation of a sesquiterpene lactone of deoxyelephantopin from Elephantopus scaber Linn. active on Trypanosome brucei rhodesience
    Zahari Z, Jani NA, Amanah A, Latif MN, Majid MI, Adenan MI
    Phytomedicine, 2014 Feb 15;21(3):282-5.
    PMID: 24269185 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2013.09.011
    Methanolic extracts of 70 Malaysia plants were screened for their in vitro antitrypanosomal activity using Trypanosome brucei rhodesience, strain STIB 900 and mouse skeletal cell (L-6) in cytotoxicity activity assay. Results indicated that methanol extract from Elephantopus scaber Linn. (E. scaber) possessed the highest value of antitrypanosomal activity with good selectivity index (antitrypanosomal IC50 of 0.22±0.02 μg/ml, SI value of 204.55). Based on these results, E. scaber was chosen for further study by applying bioassay guided fractionation to isolate its antiprotozoal principle. The antiprotozoal principle was isolated from the ethyl acetate partition through solvent fractionation and crystallization process. The isolated active compound 1 was identified as deoxyelephantopin on the basis of its spectral analysis (FTIR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR).
  12. Fulltext Risk factors for women attending pre-pregnancy screening in selected clinics in Selangor
    Nik Mazlina M, Ruziaton H, Nuraini DB, Izan Hairani I, Norizzati Bukhary IB, Mohamad Rodi I, et al.
    Malays Fam Physician, 2014;9(3):20-6.
    PMID: 26425301 MyJurnal
    BACKGROUND: The Ministry of Health is committed to achieve Millenium Development Goal (MDG) MDG 4 and 5 by 2015 and include pre-pregnancy care as a strategy. This study evaluates the risk factors detected during the pre-pregnancy screening at selected public primary care clinics in Selangor.
    OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine the proportion of women with risk factors receiving pre-pregnancy care in selected clinics in Selangor, their socio demographic features, the types of risk factors detected and their significance.
    METHODS: A retrospective review using secondary data was carried out from the month of March until June 2013 in four public primary care clinics in Klang and Petaling districts of Selangor. Data were obtained through non-probability sampling, using the pre-pregnancy screening form utilised in 2012, which is a standard questionnaire to determine the presence of risk factors. Women with at least one defined risk factor were considered as being at risk of an adverse obstetric outcome. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16.
    RESULTS: A total of 840 pre-pregnancy screening forms were collected. However only 614 (73.1%) were analysed and studied. The proportion of women with at least one risk factor was 68.8% (95% CI: 65.1, 72.5). The majority was Malays who had tertiary education and earned more than RM 1000. Most were in the reproductive age group of 18-35 years old (350, 82.9%). The mean age was 28.68 + 5.78 years. Most of the women were parous (259, 65.1%) and did not practice any form of contraception (308, 80.8%) despite having risks. The percentage of those not receiving any form of immunisation was small i.e. 9.8% but it was of importance and needed to be addressed prior to the conception. This study did not reveal any person with mental disorder or those who endured domestic abuse. Additionally, 3% (12) of them had unhealthy lifestyle habits, which include smoking, alcohol and substance abuse. Approximately one-third (212, 35.2%) of the women screened were overweight and obese, putting them at risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus, pregnancy induced hypertension or deep vein thrombosis. The mean body mass index (BMI) for those at risk was 25.36 + 5.94 compared to 21.06 ± 1.46 for those with no risk. This study also found a small percentage of women with raised blood pressure (3.9%), abnormal physical examination (1.5%) and anaemia (14.4%), which need to be investigated and treated prior to conception.
    CONCLUSION: More than half of the women who attended the pre-pregnancy screening were found to have at least one risk factor.
  13. Fulltext Serum osteocalcin is significantly related to indices of obesity and lipid profile in Malaysian men
    Chin KY, Ima-Nirwana S, Mohamed IN, Ahmad F, Ramli ES, Aminuddin A, et al.
    Int J Med Sci, 2014;11(2):151-7.
    PMID: 24465160 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.7152
    Recent studies revealed a possible reciprocal relationship between the skeletal system and obesity and lipid metabolism, mediated by osteocalcin, an osteoblast-specific protein. This study aimed to validate the relationship between serum osteocalcin and indices of obesity and lipid parameters in a group of Malaysian men.
  14. Contamination of food samples from Malaysia with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and estimation of human intake
    Leong YH, Chiang PN, Jaafar HJ, Gan CY, Majid MI
    Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess, 2014 Apr;31(4):711-8.
    PMID: 24392728 DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2014.880519
    A total of 126 food samples, categorised into three groups (seafood and seafood products, meat and meat products, as well as milk and dairy products) from Malaysia were analysed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The concentration of PCDD/Fs that ranged from 0.16 to 0.25 pg WHO05-TEQ g(-1) fw was found in these samples. According to the food consumption data from the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS) of the World Health Organization (WHO), the dietary exposures to PCDD/F from seafood and seafood products, meat and meat products, as well as milk and dairy products for the general population in Malaysia were 0.064, 0.183 and 0.736 pg WHO05-TEQ kg(-1) bw day(-1), respectively. However, the exposure was higher in seafood and seafood products (0.415 pg WHO05-TEQ kg(-1) bw day(-1)) and meat and meat products (0.317 pg WHO05-TEQ kg(-1) bw day(-1)) when the data were estimated using the Malaysian food consumption statistics. The lower exposure was observed in dairy products with an estimation of 0.365 pg WHO05-TEQ kg(-1) bw day(-1). Overall, these dietary exposure estimates were much lower than the tolerable daily intake (TDI) as recommended by WHO. Thus, it is suggested that the dietary exposure to PCDD/F does not represent a risk for human health in Malaysia.
  15. Drug delivery systems for prevention and treatment of osteoporotic fracture
    Shuid AN, Ibrahim N', Mohd Amin MC, Mohamed IN
    Curr Drug Targets, 2013 Dec;14(13):1558-64.
    PMID: 24200294
    Anti-osteoporotic drugs are available for treatment of osteoporosis and for preventing osteoporosis complications especially fractures. Most of the current anti-osteoporotic drugs are administered orally or parenterally to target the osteoporosis-affected bones. However, bone is a peripheral organ with limited blood supply. Therefore, the drugs delivered are exposed to various physicochemical and biological factors which affect the bioavailability of the drugs. In preclinical research, the dose of a potential anti-osteoporotic agent used in animal model may be too high for human application when administered via the conventional route of administration. The current anti-osteoporotic drugs need to be administered at higher doses to account for pharmacological interactions. However, this will expose the patients to adverse effects such as the cancer risks of postmenopausal women who took estrogen replacement therapy. There is also problem with patient compliance as anti-osteoporotic drugs may have to be taken for prolonged duration. The current deliveries of drugs need to be improved to overcome these problems. This review discussed several potential drug delivery systems which are able to contain the anti-osteoporosis drugs and release them slowly to the targeted bone. Among them are various carriers, polymers and microsponges, which may not only increase drug efficacy but also reduce adverse effects. The delivery systems allow the drugs to be administered locally at the targeted bone for longer duration, therefore reducing drug frequency and improving patient's compliance. It is hoped that these delivery systems may be applicable for the treatment of osteoporosis in the future to keep tab of the rising osteoporotic fracture incidence.
  16. Fulltext Thyroid-stimulating hormone is significantly associated with bone health status in men
    Chin KY, Ima-Nirwana S, Mohamed IN, Aminuddin A, Johari MH, Ngah WZ
    Int J Med Sci, 2013;10(7):857-63.
    PMID: 23781131 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.5870
    Recent studies revealed a novel association between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and bone health status in healthy male populations. The present study aimed to validate this association and provide new information on the relationship between TSH levels and calcaneal speed of sound (SOS) in men.
  17. The effect of mitragynine on cAMP formation and mRNA expression of mu-opioid receptors mediated by chronic morphine treatment in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell
    Jamil MF, Subki MF, Lan TM, Majid MI, Adenan MI
    J Ethnopharmacol, 2013 Jun 21;148(1):135-43.
    PMID: 23608241 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.03.078
    ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: [corrected] Mitragynine is an indole alkaloid compound of Mitragyna speciosa (M. speciosa) Korth. (Rubiaceae). This plant is native to the southern regions of Thailand and northern regions of Malaysia and is frequently used to manage the withdrawal symptoms in both countries.

    AIM OF STUDY: To investigate the effect of mitragynine after chronic morphine treatment on cyclic AMP (cAMP) level and mRNA expression of mu-opioid receptor (MOR) in human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cell.

    METHOD AND MATERIALS: Mitragynine was isolated from the Mitragyna speciosa plant using the acid-base extraction method. The cAMP level upon forskolin stimulation in the cells was determined using the Calbiochem(®) Direct Immunoassay Kit. The mRNA expression of the MOR was carried out using quantitative RT-PCR.

    RESULT: Cotreatment and pretreatment of morphine and mitragynine significantly reduced the production of cAMP level at a lower concentration of mitragynine while the higher concentration of this compound could lead to the development of tolerance and dependence as shown by the increase of the cAMP level production in foskolin stimulation. In MOR mRNA expression study, cotreatment of morphine with mitragynine significantly reduced the down-regulation of MOR mRNA expression as compared to morphine treatment only.

    CONCLUSION: These finding suggest that mitragynine could possibly avoid the tolerance and dependence on chronic morphine treatment by reducing the up-regulation of cAMP level as well as reducing the down-regulation of MOR at a lower concentration of mitragynine.

  18. Discrepancy between the quantitative ultrasound value of Malaysian men and the manufacturer's reference and the impact on classification of bone health status
    Chin KY, Soelaiman IN, Mohamed IN, Mohamed N, Shuid AN, Muhammad N, et al.
    J Clin Densitom, 2013 Apr-Jun;16(2):189-95.
    PMID: 22572528 DOI: 10.1016/j.jocd.2012.03.004
    The local normative value in quantitative ultrasound (QUS) equipment needs to be established for wider application and accurate classification of patients into respective fracture risk groups. The present study aimed to establish the calcaneal speed of sound (SOS) value for Chinese and Malay men in Malaysia and determine the difference between calcaneal SOS of the local population and the reference values provided by the manufacturer for each age group. This study will also determine the effect of using the manufacturer's young adult (20-29yr) reference or the local young adult reference to classify the subjects into the respective risk groups. Eight hundred forty Malay and Chinese men residing in central peninsular Malaysia were recruited and their calcaneal QUS value was determined using the CM-200 machine (Furuno Electric, Nishinomiya City, Japan). The results showed that the differences in SOS values between Chinese and Malay men were not significant across all the age groups studied (p>0.05). The age-dependent reduction of SOS value assumed a biphasic form, which was evident at 30-39yr and older than 60yr. The calcaneal SOS of the subject under study was significantly higher as compared with the manufacturer's reference (based on Japanese population) in all groups aged 40yr and older (p<0.05). A significant proportion of the subjects in the osteoporosis group was misclassified using the manufacturer's young adult reference as compared with using the local young adult reference (p<0.05). In conclusion, the overall normative value of SOS obtained was suitable for Chinese and Malay men in Malaysia, and a local reference value should be applied to avoid misclassification of subjects into the respective risk groups.
  19. Fulltext Molecular markers associated with nonepithelial ovarian cancer in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens by genome wide expression profiling
    Vui-Kee K, Mohd Dali AZ, Mohamed Rose I, Ghazali R, Jamal R, Mokhtar NM
    Kaohsiung J. Med. Sci., 2012 May;28(5):243-50.
    PMID: 22531302 DOI: 10.1016/j.kjms.2011.11.007
    Nonepithelial ovarian cancer (NEOC) is a rare cancer that is often misdiagnosed as other malignant tumors. Research on this cancer using fresh tissues is nearly impossible because of its limited number of samples within a limited time provided. The study is to identify potential genes and their molecular pathways related to NEOC using formalin-fixed paraffin embedded samples. Total RNA was extracted from eight archived NEOCs and seven normal ovaries. The RNA samples with RNA integrity number >2.0, purity >1.7 and cycle count value <28 cycles were hybridized to the Illumina Whole-Genome DASL assay (cDNA-mediated annealing, selection, extension, and ligation). We analyzed the results using the GeneSpring GX11.0 and FlexArray software to determine the differentially expressed genes. Microarray results were validated using an immunohistochemistry method. Statistical analysis identified 804 differentially expressed genes with 443 and 361 genes as overexpressed and underexpressed in cancer, respectively. Consistent findings were documented for the overexpression of eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1, E2F transcription factor 2, and fibroblast growth factor receptor 3, except for the down-regulated gene, early growth response 1 (EGR1). The immunopositivity staining for EGR1 was found in the majority of cancer tissues. This finding suggested that the mRNA level of a transcript did not always match with the protein expression in tissues. The current gene profile can be the platform for further exploration of the molecular mechanism of NEOC.
  20. Mitragynine inhibits the COX-2 mRNA expression and prostaglandin E₂ production induced by lipopolysaccharide in RAW264.7 macrophage cells
    Utar Z, Majid MI, Adenan MI, Jamil MF, Lan TM
    J Ethnopharmacol, 2011 Jun 14;136(1):75-82.
    PMID: 21513785 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.04.011
    ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: [corrected] Mitragyna speciosa Korth (Rubiaceae) is one of the medicinal plants used traditionally to treat various types of diseases especially in Thailand and Malaysia. Its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties in its crude form are well documented. In this study, the cellular mechanism involved in the anti-inflammatory effects of mitragynine, the major bioactive constituent, was investigated.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of mitragynine on the mRNA and protein expression of COX-1 and COX-2 and the production of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) were investigated in LPS-treated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to assess the mRNA expression of COX-1 and COX-2. Protein expression of COX-1 and COX-2 were assessed using Western blot analysis and the level of PGE(2) production was quantified using Parameter™ PGE(2) Assay (R&D Systems).

    RESULTS: Mitragynine produced a significant inhibition on the mRNA expression of COX-2 induced by LPS, in a dose dependent manner and this was followed by the reduction of PGE(2) production. On the other hand, the effects of mitragynine on COX-1 mRNA expression were found to be insignificant as compared to the control cells. However, the effect of mitragynine on COX-1 protein expression is dependent on concentration, with higher concentration of mitragynine producing a further reduction of COX-1 expression in LPS-treated cells.

    CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that mitragynine suppressed PGE(2) production by inhibiting COX-2 expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Mitragynine may be useful for the treatment of inflammatory conditions.

Related Terms
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links