Earticle

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between respiratory muscle strength, diaphragm thickness (DT), and indices of sarcopenia.Methods: This study included 45 healthy elderly volunteers (21 male and 24 female) aged 65 years or older. Sarcopenia indices, including hand grip strength (HGS) and body mass index-adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM/BMI), were measured using a hand grip dynamometer and bioimpedance analysis, respectively. Calf circumference (CC) and gait speed were also measured. Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) were obtained using a spirometer, as a measure of respiratory muscle strength. DT was evaluated through ultrasonography. The association between indices of sarcopenia, respiratory muscle strength, and DT was evaluated using Spearman’s rank correlation test, and univariate and multiple regression analysis.Results: ASM/BMI (r=0.609, p<0.01), CC (r=0.499, p<0.01), HGS (r=0.759, p<0.01), and gait speed (r=0.319, p<0.05) were significantly correlated with DT. In the univariate linear regression analysis, MIP was significantly associated with age (p=0.003), DT (p<0.001), HGS (p=0.002), CC (p=0.013), and gait speed (p=0.026). MEP was significantly associated with sex (p=0.001), BMI (p=0.033), ASM/BMI (p=0.003), DT (p<0.001), HGS (p<0.001), CC (p=0.001) and gait speed (p=0.004). In the multiple linear regression analysis, age (p=0.001), DT (p<0.001), and ASM/BMI (p=0.008) showed significant association with MIP. DT (p<0.001) and gait speed (p=0.050) were associated with MEP.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that respiratory muscle strength is associated with DT and indices of sarcopenia. Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings.

MicroRNAs, a novel class of small non-coding RNAs, are key players in many cellular processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, invasion and regeneration. Tissue and circulatory microRNAs could serve as useful clinical biomarkers and deregulated expression levels have been observed in various cancers. Gene variants may alter microRNA processing and maturation. Thus, we aimed to investigate the association of MIR-196a2 rs11614913 (C/T), MIR-499a rs3746444 (A/G) polymorphisms and their combination with cancer susceptibility in an Egyptian population. Sixty five renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and 60 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and 150 controls were enrolled in the study. They were genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction technology. Both $miR-196a2^*T$ and $miR-499a*G$ were associated with RCC risk, but only $miR-196a^*T$ was associated with HCC development. Carriage of the homozygote combinations ($MIR196a2^*TT+MIR499a^*AA$) and ($MIR196a2^*CC+MIR499a^*GG$) was associated with 25 and 48 fold elevation of likelhood to develop RCC, respectively. The miR-196a2 SNP was also linked with larger tumor size in RCC and advanced tumor stage in HCC. miR-196a2 and miR-499a combined genotypes were associated with RCC and HCC. Further functional analysis of SNPs is required to confirm relationships between genotypes and phenotypes.

연구배경 : 폐암의 80-90%는 흡연과 관계가 있으나 흡연자의 일부에서만 폐암이 발생하는 현상은 개체의 유전적 소인이 폐암발생을 결정하는 주요 요인임을 시사한다. 저자들은 한국인에서 DNA 회복 유전자인 XPC 유전자의 codon 499와 codon 939 다형성 그리고 intron 9에 존재하는 poly(AT) 삽입/결손 (PAT) 다형성에 따른 폐암의 위험도를 조사하였다. 방 법 :1998년 1월부터 1998년 12월까지 경북대학교병원 내과에서 병리학적으로 폐암으로 확진된 남자 폐암환자 219명을 대상으로 하였으며 악성종양으로 진단받은 과거력이 있는 사람은 제외하였다. 대조군은 1998년 1월부터 1998년 12월까지 경북대학교병원 건강검진센터를 방문한 40세 이상의 검진자들을 대상으로 하였으며 호흡기질환이나 악성종양이 있는 경우는 제외하였다. 대상인의 나이, 성, 흡연력, 과거력 등은 면접이나 병력지를 통해 얻었으며, 시료는 전혈 5cc에서 DNA를 추출하고 PCR 혹은 PCR-RFLP법을 통해 XPC 유전자의 다형성을 조사하였다. 결 과: 조사한 3부위의 XPC 유전자의 유의한 관계가 없었으며 연령, 흡연력, 흡연 인-년등으로 구분한 경우에도 다형성에 따른 폐암의 위험도는 유의한 차이가 없었다. 폐암의 조직형을 구분하여 비교한 경우에도 XPC 유전자의 다형성과 폐암의 위험도는 유의한 관계가 없었다. XPC 유전자의 Va1499Ala, PAT, Lys939Gln 다형성은 다형성간에 연관비평형 (lingkage disequilibrium) 있었으며, 특히 PAT 다형성과 Lys939Gln 다형성은 kappa 치가 0.87로 높았다. XPC 유전자의 3부위다형성의 haplotype도 폐암과 유의한 관계가 없었으며, 연력, 흡연력, 흡연 안-년, 조직형을 구분한 경우에도 haplotype에 따른 폐암의 위험도는 유의차이가 없었다. 결 론: 한국인에서 XPC 유전자의 codon 499와 codon 939 다형성과 PAT 다형성은 폐암의 위험도를 결정하는 주요 인자는 아닌 것으로 생각된다.

Background : DNA repair plays a crucial role in protection from cancer-causing agents. Therefore, a reduced DNA repair capacity can increase the susceptibility to lung cancer. The XPC gene contains 15 exons and encodes a 940 amino acid protein that plays a central role in DNA damage recognition of the nucleotide excision repair pathway, which is a major DNA repair mechanisim removing the bulky-helix distorting DNA lesions caused by smoking. Recently several polymorphisms in the XPC gene were identified. In addition, it is possible that these polymorphisms may affect the DNA repair capacity, which modulate cancer susceptibility. The relationship between codon 499 and 939 polymorphisms, and a poly(AT) insertion/deletion polymorphism in the XPC gene, and the lung cancer risk were investigated. Materials and Methods : The genotypes were determined using either PCR or PCR-RFLP analysis in 219 male lung cancer patients and 150 healthy males controls. Results : The frequencies of the genotypes (Val499Ala, PAT and Lys939Gln) among the cases were not significantly different from those of the controls. There was no significant associantion between these polymorphi는 and the lung cancer risk when the analyses were stratified according to age, smoking status and the pack-years of smoking. Moreover, the genotypes had no apparent relationship with any of the histological types of lung cancer. There was a linkage disequilibrium among the Val499Ala, PAT and Lys939Gln polymorphisms. The PAT polymorphism had a strong linkage disequilibrium with the Lys939Gln polymorphism (kappa value=0.87). The XPC haplotypes showed no significant association with the lung cancer risk. Conclusion : These results suggest that XPC Val499Ala, PAT and Lys939Gln polymorphisms are not major contributors to the individual lung cancer susceptibility in Koreans.

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can modulate various biological processes by influencing microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis and altering target selection. Common SNPs may alter the processing of miRNA and may be associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the relationship between miR-499A>G, miR-149C>T, miR-196a2T>C, and miR-146aG>C and HCC susceptibility, examining the interaction of the miRNAs with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Methods: We evaluated the associations of miR-499A>G (rs3746444), miR-149C>T (rs2292832), miR-196a2T>C (rs11614913), and miR-146aG>C (rs2910164) with HCC susceptibility in 100 HCC patients (70 males and 30 females) and 120 healthy controls (70 males and 50 females), using the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Results: For miR-499A>G, the frequencies of the AG genotype and G allele were higher in female HCC patients than in female controls (P=0.02 and 0.045, respectively). The frequency of the A allele was higher in HBV-positive HCC patients than in controls (P=0.019). For miR-149C>T, the frequency of the CC genotype was higher in female HCC patients than in female controls (P=0.009). For miR-196a2T>C, the frequencies of the CT and CC genotypes and the C allele were higher in HBV-positive HCC patients than in controls (P<0.001, P=0.009, and P<0.001, respectively). The frequencies of miR-146aG>C polymorphisms did not differ between HCC patients and controls. Conclusions: miR-499A>G, miR-149C>T, and miR-196a2T>C were associated with the development of HCC in women and/or that of HBV-related HCC. They can be considered genetic risk factors for the development of HCC among Iranians.

Aim: Associations between polymorphisms in miR-146aG>C, miR-196a2C>T and miR-499A>G and risk of HCC, and interaction with HBV infection in a Chinese population, were the target of the present research. Methods: The duplex polymerase-chain-reaction with confronting-two-pair primers (PCR-RFLP) was performed to determine the genotypes of the miR-146aG>C, miR-196a2C>T and miR-499A>G genotypes. Associations of polymorphisms with the risk of HCC were estimated by conditional logistic regression analysis. Results: Drinking, family history of cancer, HBsAg and HCV were risk factors for HCC. Multivariate regression analyses showed that subjects carrying the miR-196a2 CC genotype had significantly increased risk of HCC, with an adjusted OR (95% CI) of 2.18 (1.23-3.80). In addition, cases carrying the miR-196a2 C allele had a 1.64-fold increase in the risk for HCC (95%CI=1.03-2.49). The miR-196a2 CT and TT genotypes greatly significantly increased the risk of HCC in subjects with HBV infection, with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 2.02 (1.12-3.68) and 2.69 (1.28-5.71), respectively. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that miR-196a2 CC genotype and C allele have an important role in HCC risk in Chinese, especially in patients with HBV infection.