Aysegul Bayramoglu

The association of MMP-9 enzyme activity, MMP-9 C1562T polymorphism, and MMP-2 and -9 and TIMP-1, -2, -3, and -4 gene expression in lung cancer.

AIM To investigate the association of gene expression of MMP-2 and -9, and TIMP-1, -2, -3, and -4 and polymorphism frequencies of MMP-9 C1562T and plasma MMP-9 enzyme activity in lung cancer patients. METHODS In this study, DNA and RNA samples were extracted from peripheral blood of 300 subjects (200 lung cancer patients and 100 controls). MMP-9 C1562T polymorphism was determined using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method, and expression of MMP-2 and -9, TIMP-1, -2, -3, and -4 was determined using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Plasma MMP-9 enzyme activity levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION The frequencies of C1562T genotypes were found to be CC 67%, CT 30%, and TT 3% in the control group and CC 75%, CT 24%, and TT 1% in the patient group. It was determined that CC genotype frequency increases significantly in patients according to control group. Plasma MMP-9 enzyme activity levels increased in patients with lung cancer compared to the control group. The cut-off value of MMP-9 enzyme activity was determined as 7.76 ng/mL by receiver operating characteristics curve analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 77%, 51%, 75.9%, and 52.6%, respectively. The expression of MMP-2 and TIMP-1 was found to be higher in lung cancer patients. Finally, we claim that determination of MMP-9 enzyme levels and expression of MMP-2 and -9 and TIMP-1 can be used as a marker in lung cancer.

Determination of the Relationship Between rs4986790 and rs4986791 Variants of TLR4 Gene and Lung Cancer

Chronic inflammation triggers DNA damage and oncogenic mutations and causes tumor formation and tumor progression. One of the important components of the inflammatory response is Toll-like receptor (TLR) family. The objective of our study is to determine the relationship between rs4986790(+896A/G) and rs4986791(+1196C/T) gene polymorphisms and lung cancer risk. PCR-RFLP technique was carried out to identify the genotypes in 100 control individuals and 160 lung cancer patients. DNA extracted from peripheral blood samples were amplified and digested with NcoI and HinfI then visualized. We did not find any difference between genotype frequencies between controls and patients (p > 0.05) in rs4986790. But a significant difference between control group and patients with lung cancer as for genotype frequencies (χ2 = 4.19, p = 0.041) in rs4986791 variants was found. Our data indicate that any correlation was not found between rs4986790 polymorphism and lung cancer, while a correlation between rs4986791 and lung cancer has been determined and found to be associated with lung cancer risk.

Lycopene Partially Reverses Symptoms of Diabetes in Rats with Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

In the present study, we describe the effects of lycopene on the symptoms of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. Lycopene at the dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day was orally administered to STZ-induced diabetic rats for a period of 7 days after onset of diabetes. At the same time, food-water intake and body weight change were recorded daily. Upon sacrifice, biochemical parameters, such as the serum glucose, insulin, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), were measured in all experimental groups. Administration of lycopene at the dose of 2.5 mg/kg bw per day significantly reduced serum glucose, TC, TG, ALT, and AST levels, and increased serum insulin levels, but there were no improvements in food-water intake and body weight change parameters in lycopene-treated diabetic rats. The results suggest that orally administrated lycopene exhibits a potent hypoglycemic effect in STZ-induced diabetic rats and that lycopene may be useful for the management of diabetes mellitus.

Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 and Susceptibility to Lung Cancer: A Population Genetics Perspective

AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the polymorphism frequency of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) (rs1799889) 4G/5G in patients with lung cancer. METHODS In this study, 286 genomic DNAs (154 lung cancer patients+132 subjects without lung cancer) were analyzed. Polymorphisms were determined by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, with 4G and 5G allele-specific primers. PCR products were assessed by a charge-coupled device camera and exposed to 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS The frequencies of the PAI-1 gene 4G/5G genotypes were found to be 21% 4G/4G, 16% 4G/5G, and 62% 5G/5G in the control group and 31.4% 4G/4G, 30.8% 4G/5G, and 37.8% 5G/5G in the patient group. It was determined that the 5G/5G genotype frequency was high in patients in comparison with other genotypes. CONCLUSIONS This study found a statistically significant difference between the groups with respect to genotype distribution. Consequently, we can say that the PAI-1 gene 4G/5G polymorphism is associated with lung cancer in Turkey.