Recent studies indicate an ectopic upregulation of the human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) in tumor cells that may favor their escape from antitumor immune responses. The role of HLA-G in breast cancer has not been defined. Other studies showed that HLA-G transcription may be silenced by epigenetic mechanisms or activated by stress. This work aimed to clarify the expression of HLA-G protein, estimate the possible prognostic role of HLA-G expression and identify if this expression is linked to the DNA index (DI) and S phase fraction (SPF) in breast cancer. HLA-G protein expression and the DNA parameters were studied by flow cytometry and serum secreted HLA-G (sHLA-G) levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 45 breast cancer patients and 40 female blood donors as healthy donors. Surface HLA-G was expressed on 40% and the cytoplasmic pattern with no membrane association in 24.4% of the malignant specimens. There was an increased serum sHLA-G level in patients as compared with controls. There were negative correlations between cytoplasmic HLA-G and both DI and SPF and between preoperative sHLA-G and SPF with no relations with patients' clinical outcome. We cannot establish that HLA-G protein can be a useful prognostic marker, but sHLA-G may be used as a tumor marker in breast cancer patients

Recent studies indicate an ectopic upregulation of the human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) in tumor cells that may favor their escape from antitumor immune responses. The role of HLA-G in breast cancer has not been defined. Other studies showed that HLA-G transcription may be silenced by epigenetic mechanisms or activated by stress. This work aimed to clarify the expression of HLA-G protein, estimate the possible prognostic role of HLA-G expression and identify if this expression is linked to the DNA index (DI) and S phase fraction (SPF) in breast cancer. HLA-G protein expression and the DNA parameters were studied by flow cytometry and serum secreted HLA-G (sHLA-G) levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 45 breast cancer patients and 40 female blood donors as healthy donors. Surface HLA-G was expressed on 40% and the cytoplasmic pattern with no membrane association in 24.4% of the malignant specimens. There was an increased serum sHLA-G level in patients as compared with controls. There were negative correlations between cytoplasmic HLA-G and both DI and SPF and between preoperative sHLA-G and SPF with no relations with patients' clinical outcome. We cannot establish that HLA-G protein can be a useful prognostic marker, but sHLA-G may be used as a tumor marker in breast cancer patients

A prospective study in three Egyptian villages (A, B and C) having a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection examined incidence of community-acquired HCV infection in children; 2852 uninfected infants were prospectively followed from birth for up to 5.5 years. Fifteen seroconverted for either HCV antibodies and/or HCV-RNA (incidence of 0.53%). Ten had both anti-HCV and HCV-RNA; four had only anti-HCV; and one had HCV-RNA in the absence of antibody. The incidence rate at all ages was 2.7/1000 person-years (PY). It was 3.8/1000 PY during infancy and 2.0/1000 PY for the 1-5-years age group. Hospitalization and low birth weight increased the risk of infection; while living in village B, the family having a higher socioeconomic status, and advanced maternal education were protective. Six of eight HCV-infected infants reported iatrogenic exposures (e.g. hospitalization, therapeutic injections, ear piercing) prior to infection whereas only 2/7 children older than 1 year reported these exposures. Having an HCV-positive mother was the only other reported risk in two of these older children. The virus cleared in six (40%) children by the end of follow-up. Health education targeting iatrogenic exposures and focusing on risk factors could reduce HCV infection in children in high-risk populations.

Many charitable organizations conduct overseas missions to correct cleft lip and palate where surgical care is hard to obtain. However, little is known about genetic backgrounds, cultural and societal attitudes regarding the cleft deformity. A questionnaire has been designed to elicit these attitudes. The questionnaire was administered to 50 families of children with cleft lip seeking care at Operation Smile missions in each of 2 disparate rural communities, one in the state of Gujarat in India and the other in the upper Nile valley in Egypt. Saliva and blood samples were collected from all patients to investigate MSX1, IRF6, PVRL1, MHC class I chain related (MICA), TP73L, MTHFR, TGF-beta3, and RAR alpha genes, within a proposed multinational genetic research project for cleft causation using micro-array and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. All patients had been operated and experienced good results through the follow-up period, which was ranging from 3-24 months. Demographic data defined literacy and educational level; answers established the degree of social isolation, the impact on the family, and the expectations of what surgery would accomplish for the child. Beliefs concerning the causation of the cleft were explored in detail. Knowledge of these issues is important for the more complete care of children in an unfamiliar cultural environment.

Many charitable organizations conduct overseas missions to correct cleft lip and palate where surgical care is hard to obtain. However, little is known about genetic backgrounds, cultural and societal attitudes regarding the cleft deformity. A questionnaire has been designed to elicit these attitudes. The questionnaire was administered to 50 families of children with cleft lip seeking care at Operation Smile missions in each of 2 disparate rural communities, one in the state of Gujarat in India and the other in the upper Nile valley in Egypt. Saliva and blood samples were collected from all patients to investigate MSX1, IRF6, PVRL1, MHC class I chain related (MICA), TP73L, MTHFR, TGF-beta3, and RAR alpha genes, within a proposed multinational genetic research project for cleft causation using micro-array and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. All patients had been operated and experienced good results through the follow-up period, which was ranging from 3-24 months. Demographic data defined literacy and educational level; answers established the degree of social isolation, the impact on the family, and the expectations of what surgery would accomplish for the child. Beliefs concerning the causation of the cleft were explored in detail. Knowledge of these issues is important for the more complete care of children in an unfamiliar cultural environment.

Many charitable organizations conduct overseas missions to correct cleft lip and palate where surgical care is hard to obtain. However, little is known about genetic backgrounds, cultural and societal attitudes regarding the cleft deformity. A questionnaire has been designed to elicit these attitudes. The questionnaire was administered to 50 families of children with cleft lip seeking care at Operation Smile missions in each of 2 disparate rural communities, one in the state of Gujarat in India and the other in the upper Nile valley in Egypt. Saliva and blood samples were collected from all patients to investigate MSX1, IRF6, PVRL1, MHC class I chain related (MICA), TP73L, MTHFR, TGF-beta3, and RAR alpha genes, within a proposed multinational genetic research project for cleft causation using micro-array and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. All patients had been operated and experienced good results through the follow-up period, which was ranging from 3-24 months. Demographic data defined literacy and educational level; answers established the degree of social isolation, the impact on the family, and the expectations of what surgery would accomplish for the child. Beliefs concerning the causation of the cleft were explored in detail. Knowledge of these issues is important for the more complete care of children in an unfamiliar cultural environment.

Many charitable organizations conduct overseas missions to correct cleft lip and palate where surgical care is hard to obtain. However, little is known about genetic backgrounds, cultural and societal attitudes regarding the cleft deformity. A questionnaire has been designed to elicit these attitudes. The questionnaire was administered to 50 families of children with cleft lip seeking care at Operation Smile missions in each of 2 disparate rural communities, one in the state of Gujarat in India and the other in the upper Nile valley in Egypt. Saliva and blood samples were collected from all patients to investigate MSX1, IRF6, PVRL1, MHC class I chain related (MICA), TP73L, MTHFR, TGF-beta3, and RAR alpha genes, within a proposed multinational genetic research project for cleft causation using micro-array and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. All patients had been operated and experienced good results through the follow-up period, which was ranging from 3-24 months. Demographic data defined literacy and educational level; answers established the degree of social isolation, the impact on the family, and the expectations of what surgery would accomplish for the child. Beliefs concerning the causation of the cleft were explored in detail. Knowledge of these issues is important for the more complete care of children in an unfamiliar cultural environment.

Overexpression of histone deacetylases has been reported in various human malignancies; however, the expression of histone deacetylases in endometrial tissue is not fully understood. In the present study, the expression of histone deacetylase 1, histone deacetylase 2, and Ki-67 was examined immunohistochemically in 30 normal and 66 malignant endometrial tissue samples. The results were expressed as a positivity index and compared with the positivity index for Ki-67 and rates of patient survival. The effect of 2 histone deacetylase inhibitors, trichostatin A and apicidine, on cell proliferation and the expression of cell cycle regulators such as cyclins (D1, E, and A), p21, p27, and p16 were investigated using 6 endometrial carcinoma cell lines. The positivity index for histone deacetylase 1 (79.8 +/- 33.0, mean +/- SD) and histone deacetylase 2 (106.3 +/- 41.9) was higher in endometrial carcinoma than the normal endometrium, with a significant difference for histone deacetylase 2. The positivity index for histone deacetylase 2 was significantly increased in higher-grade carcinomas (positivity index for grade 3, 124.9 +/- 28.4) compared with grade 1 tumors (86.0 +/- 41.0) and was positively correlated with that for Ki-67. In addition, patients with histone deacetylase 2-positive carcinomas had a poor prognosis compared with those with histone deacetylase 2-negative carcinoma (P = .048). Treatment with trichostatin A or apicidine suppressed the proliferation in all cell lines examined, in association with increased expression of p21 and down-regulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin A expression. These results indicated that increased histone deacetylase 2 expression is involved in the acquisition of aggressive behavior by endometrial carcinoma and suggest histone deacetylase inhibitor to be a promising anticancer drug for this carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the attitudes of Egyptian patients regarding their participation in research and with the collection, storage and future use of blood samples for research purposes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. STUDY POPULATION: Adult Egyptian patients (n=600) at rural and urban hospitals and clinics. RESULTS: Less than half of the study population (44.3%) felt that informed consent forms should provide research participants the option to have their blood samples stored for future research. Of these participants, 39.9% thought that consent forms should include the option that future research be restricted to the illness being studied. A slight majority (66.2%) would donate their samples for future genetic research. Respondents were more favourable towards having their blood samples exported to other Arab countries (62.0%) compared with countries in Europe (41.8%, p0.001) and to the USA (37.2%, p0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that many individuals do not favour the donation of a blood sample for future research. Of those who do approve of such future research, many favour a consent model that includes an option restricting the future research to the illness being studied. Also, many Egyptians were hesitant to have their blood samples donated for genetic research or exported out of the Arab region to the USA and European countries. Further qualitative research should be performed to determine the underlying reasons for many of our results.

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between tumor consistency and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values is controversial. We evaluated the role of the ADC using an advanced diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) technique. We employed periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) DWI acquired on a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to assess the consistency of pituitary adenomas and examined the relationship between the ADC and the hormone secretion status of the tumors and their MIB-1 labeling index (MIB-1 LI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study protocol was approved by our institutional review board. We retrospectively studied 24 operated patients with pituitary adenomas who had undergone PROPELLER DWI on a 3-T MRI scanner. Conventional MRI findings were expressed as the ratio of the signal intensity (SI) in the lesions to the SI of the normal white matter and the degree of contrast enhancement. Minimum-, mean-, and maximum ADC (ADC(min), ADC(mean), ADC(max)) values were calculated. The consistency of the tumors was determined by neurosurgeons. All surgical specimens were submitted for histological study to calculate the MIB-1 LI and the percent collagen content. Preoperative MRI-, intraoperative-, and histological findings were analyzed by a statistician. RESULTS: Our study included 15 soft-, 5 fibrous-, and 4 hard tumors. Tumor consistency was strongly associated with the percent collagen content. However, neither the tumor consistency nor the percent collagen content was correlated with MRI findings or ADC values. The SI of growth hormone-producing adenomas on T2-WI was lower than of the other pituitary adenomas studied (p0.01); no other significant difference was found in the ADC or on conventional MRI between pituitary adenomas with different secretory functions. The MIB-1 LI of pituitary adenomas was not correlated with their appearance on conventional MRI or their ADC values. CONCLUSION: Using the PROPELLER DWI technique we confirmed that the ADC was not correlated with the consistency of pituitary adenomas. We also demonstrate that the ADC was not associated with the hormone-secreting status or the MIB-1 LI of pituitary adenomas.