Iraqi Journal of Cancer and Medical Genetics

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a pressing global public health concern characterized by a challenging prognosis and a higher risk of local recurrence in cases of delayed diagnosis. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), especially prevalent, often manifests itself initially as oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD). Despite accessibility to the oral cavity, timely identification of OSCC remains a substantial challenge. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a subset of small noncoding RNAs, can be released in various bodily fluids, including blood, serum, tissue, and saliva. Moreover, previous research underscores the significant role of miRNAs from oral samples as biomarkers in diverse cancers. The primary objective of this research is to discern distinct salivary miRNAs in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This study aims to offer an overview of the fundamental attributes of saliva, biomarker detection methods in different salivary analyzes, and the potential of salivary biomarkers in the screening, monitoring, and analysis of the molecular pathology of patients afflicted by HNC. It intends to explore the prospective role of salivary biomarkers in screening, monitoring, and diagnosing cancers impacting the oral cavity and beyond.
In conclusion, miRNA sampling is a less invasive method than other methods, such as blood and tissue, for the early diagnosis of lesions with a potential to turn into cancer, especially oral cancer and other cancer diagnosis with reduced anxiety and pain for the patient. Moreover, it is much easier to obtain multiple samples at various times for screening and monitoring, especially potentially malignant disorders, and cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common cancer in the Iraqi population. Cancerous cells are stressed cells that express large amounts of intracellular and extracellular heat shock proteins to correct for distorted proteins. They also directly affect immune cells and produce large amounts of cytokines. This work aimed to study the association between serum levels of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), interleukin 1 (IL-1), and interleukin 10 (IL-10) in CRC patients to highlight the importance of this pathway in patients’ immune status that may affect the progression of CRC. In the current study, an enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) was performed in 20 Iraqi colorectal cancer patients and 20 healthy volunteers to measure serum levels of Hsp70, IL-1α, and IL-10. Serum levels of HSP70, IL-1α and IL-10 were significantly higher in the CRC group than in the healthy control group (38.83 ± 4.7 and 14.88 ± 1.74 ng mL-1), (141.4 ± 23.22 and 46.38 ± 4.4 ng mL-1) and (26.95 ± 10.14 and 1.4 ± 1.07 ng mL-1), respectively, (p < 0.0001). According to these findings of this study, Hsp70 can be used as a prognostic biomarker for CRC and may be useful in identifying patients with an increased risk of immune tolerance and CRC development in Iraqi patients.

Background: The relationship between cancer cell aggression induced by serum starvation and cell metastasis has been studied. Serum starvation is a typical way to induce tumor cell apoptosis, and stress may affect cell growth. Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) was discovered as a mitochondrial enzyme that plays a role both as tumor suppressor and as an oncogenic factor in promoting tumor cell growth. Glioblastoma is a deadly cancer in the 4th rank reported in the Iraqi Cancer Registry 2020. Aim of the study: The deprivation of serum from cultured media for glioblastoma cancer cell line (AMGM5) was tested after three different durations 24, 48, and 72h. Methods: Comparison of MAO gene expression between starved and non-starved glioblastoma cell lines was measured using real-time PCR. Results: The results indicated an increase in MAO gene expression in serum deprivation of cultured cells compared significantly (p<0.03) to non-starved cancer cell lines. Conclusion: the increase in MAO expression in well-established cell populations of the AMGM5 cancer cell line in a serum-containing microenvironment compared to a lower MAO level in starved cells suggests the importance of cancer therapy using deprived microenvironments.

Adversity and psychosocial stress are involved in aging through the following pathways. psychological stress enhances the nerve system to secrete endocrine mediators (hormones). Mitochondrial respiration mediates energy production stimulated by binding to these hormones to their receptors. Energy produced by mitochondria accelerates metabolism and, in its turn, leads to increases in reactive oxygen species (ROS) of free radicals. Cellular stress and accumulation of damage can result from an excess of ROS. Accumulation of damage comprises damages in telomeric and nontelomeric DNA, in addition to mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA damage plays an important role in increasing the pathway of p53/p21. The expression of the PGC-1α gene is inhibited by activation of the previous pathway that generates a decrease in mitochondrial biogenesis. The low level of mitochondrial biogenesis generates mitophagy defects and increases the level of dysfunctional mitochondria that lead to a high level of ROS production. Nuclear DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction stimulate necrosis or cell senescence. Necrotic cells enhance the inflammatory activity by which damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are continuously secreted. Senescent cells secrete high levels of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that includes tumor necrosis factor TNF-α and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as inflammatory cytokines, and MCP-2 and interleukin-8 (IL-8) as chemokines. All these processes work together to accelerate the biological aging process by causing defects related to aging such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The current study aims to identify the chromosomal changes associated with epilepsy in Iraqi patients. Chromosomal analysis was carried out for 37 epilepsy patients exclusively for cases of idiopathic epilepsy (unknown cause) after excluding symptomatic epilepsy (known causes) ranging in age from 2-51 years. Only five cases showed chromosomal changes associated with epilepsy cases; their ages ranged from 2-30 years, while the rest of the patients had normal karyotypes. Chromosomes were prepared using the GTG band, with an average of 25-30 cells examined for each person. The chromosomal changes associated with epilepsy cases ranged from several derivative chromosomes, inversion, additions, deletions, chromatid fractures, and premature centromere division (PCD). Finally, the recurrence of aberrations in some chromosomes (more than one defect associated with the same chromosome). This may indicate that these chromosomes carry more than one fragile site on the same chromosome. During the questionnaire, there were other symptoms associated with epilepsy, which have been mentioned in the study.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that can cause prolonged, inflamed, and progressive disability. MicroRNAs influence the processes of autoimmune disease through systemic consequences, including irritant activities of the immune system. Aim of the study: This research aims to evaluate the range of expression profile of the circulating miRNA155 gene as a potential diagnostic biomarker in RA patients in which specific antibodies with high sensitivity for RA are the anti-CCP antibodies. Method: The overall number comprised 36 RA patients and 14 healthy individuals with ages ranging from 20 to 60 years. All samples from patients and control are suspected of being diagnosed with the anticitrullinated protein antibodies test (ACPA) by the enzyme sorbent enzyme assay (ELISA). Relative quantification (RQ) of miRNA155 expression was performed after extraction of miRNA from serum from all participants and was estimated using RT- qPCR. Result: RA showed a significant increase in miRNA155 profile expression depending on the expression fold (11.12-fold expression ± 1.08), in comparison to healthy individuals, as significant (p ≤ 0.0001) of anti-ccp Abs in RA patients in whom they were at risk and evaluated the change in expression levels. In conclusion: The study identified upregulation in circulated miRNA155, which may serve as a prognostic form as a biomarker for the development of disease.

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a persistent inflammatory condition characterized by the immune system’s improper attack of bodily tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disorder that impacts the synovial membrane of joints, leading to an inflammatory response characterized by painful swelling. Over time, this condition can progress to the erosion of bone tissue and the development of joint deformities. Aim: characterized the primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of certain variations in the TLR5 gene (namely, rs2072493 and rs45508499) on the severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis among patients from Iraq. Materials and methods: Approximately similar samples from apparently healthy individuals are enrolled as control. The patients attended from April to June 2022 at the Baghdad teaching hospital / medical city /Baghdad / Iraq. It was based on a clinical examination . The single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs2072493 T/A, C, and rs45508499A/G) are examined using the Tetra ARAMS technique. All (SNPs) from the control person are analyzed in the Chi-square test. Results: The analysis revealed a significant association between the rs45508499 polymorphism and the trait of interest. However, no significant association was observed for the rs2072493 polymorphism. Conclusion: The current investigation showed that the presence of TLR5 polymorphism at rs4550899 was associated with RA but rs2072493 was not associated with any effect on the susceptibility to Rheumatoid arthritis.