Background: Apoptosis is a physiological programmed cell death necessary for the development and cellular homeostasis. Dysregulation of apoptosis pathways leads to several diseases such as cancer, autoimmune and immunodeficiency diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Materials and Methods: The current study included 56 patients (29 males and 27 females), undergoing corrective heart surgery operations, categorized into 3 groups: group A included 23 patients with atrial septal defect (ASD); group B included 15 patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD), and group C included 15 patients with Fallot tetralogy. Biochemical assays of apoptotic (P53 and caspase 3) and antiapoptotic markers (Bcl-2) using colorimetric and ELISA assay kits were performed on all included patients twice, preoperative and 24 hours postoperative.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the preoperative levels of Bcl-2, Caspase-3, and P53 between the three groups. While the significant difference was found when comparing the preoperative and postoperative levels of the previous markers in the same group and between groups (p˂0.05 for all).
Conclusion: Both apoptotic and antiapoptotic pathways are activated during congenital heart corrective surgeries, increased markers directly related to the duration of anesthesia exposure.
Keywords: P53, Caspase-3, Bcl-2, Congenital Heart Surgery, Apoptosis

Background: Apoptosis is a physiological programmed cell death necessary for the development and cellular homeostasis. Dysregulation of apoptosis pathways leads to several diseases such as cancer, autoimmune and immunodeficiency diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Materials and Methods: The current study included 56 patients (29 males and 27 females), undergoing corrective heart surgery operations, categorized into 3 groups: group A included 23 patients with atrial septal defect (ASD); group B included 15 patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD), and group C included 15 patients with Fallot tetralogy. Biochemical assays of apoptotic (P53 and caspase 3) and antiapoptotic markers (Bcl-2) using colorimetric and ELISA assay kits were performed on all included patients twice, preoperative and 24 hours postoperative.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the preoperative levels of Bcl-2, Caspase-3, and P53 between the three groups. While the significant difference was found when comparing the preoperative and postoperative levels of the previous markers in the same group and between groups (p˂0.05 for all).
Conclusion: Both apoptotic and antiapoptotic pathways are activated during congenital heart corrective surgeries, increased markers directly related to the duration of anesthesia exposure.
Keywords: P53, Caspase-3, Bcl-2, Congenital Heart Surgery, Apoptosis

Background
Interleukin-18 (IL-18) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) are cytokines of crucial role in inflammation
and immune reactions. There is a growing evidence supporting important roles for IL-18 and
IFN γ in tuberculosis (TB) infection and anti-tuberculosis immunity.
Objective
To evaluate the role of polymorphisms in IL-18-607 and -137 and INF-γ +874 in susceptibility to TB infection among Egyptian patients.
Methods
A case control study was conducted to investigate the polymorphism at IL-18-607, -137 and
INF-γ+874 by sequence specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (SSP- PCR) in 105
patients with pulmonary and extra pulmonary tuberculosis and 106 controls.
Results
A significant protective effect against TB was found in homozygous CC genotype at IL-18
-137G/C, in addition to a 7-fold risk with GG and GC genotypes in the recessive model.
Apart from a decreased risk with the AC genotype, no association was detected between
the susceptibility to TB and different genotypes or alleles at the IL-18 -607A/C site. The
homozygous AA genotype in INF-γ+874 showed a significant higher risk to TB than the
homozygous TT or heterozygous AT genotypes with nearly a 2-fold risk of TB infection with
the A allele. Regarding haplotype association, the GC haplotype was strongly associated
with TB infection compared to other haplotypes