Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets - Immune, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders) - Volume 21, Issue 3, 2021

Background: According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer ranks second in terms of mortality and is a front-runner of newly detected cases. Conventional therapies neither eradicated cancer nor increased the life expectancy of patients obviating the need for less toxic as well as efficient therapies to treat cancer. Gene therapy alone, or in combination with conventional therapies, possesses a strong potential to co Read More

Background and objective: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a common bleeding disorder in childhood. The management of ITP in children is controversial, requiring personalized assessment of patients and therapeutic choices. Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs), eltrombopag and romiplostim, have been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of pediatric ITP. The aim of our research is to define the ro Read More

Background: Cannabis sativa L. (C. sativa) is a plant whose use as a therapeutic agent shares its origins with the first Far East’s human societies. Cannabis has been used not only for recreational purposes but as food to obtain textile fibers, to produce hemp paper, to treat many physical and mental disorders. Aim: This review aims to provide a complete assessment of the deep knowledge of the cannabis psychoactive effects Read More

Background and Objective: Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disease involving cascading release of cytokines activated by the innate and acquired immune system. The increasing prevalence rate of psoriasis demands for more appropriate therapy. The existing chemical moiety is promising for better therapeutic outcome, but the selection of a proper channel for administration has to be reviewed. Hence there is a need to select Read More

Background: Matthiola maroccana (Coss.) belongs to the Brassicaceae family and it is an endemic plant from Morocco. Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of Matthiola maroccana (Coss.) on blood glucose levels in normal and diabetic rats. Methods: The effect of single dose (6 hours) and daily oral administration for seven days of the Aerial Part Aqueous Extract (A.P.A.E) of Read More

Objective: Glucose metabolism increases ATP/ADP ratio within the β-cells and causes ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel closure and consequently insulin secretion. The enhanced activity of the channel may be a mechanism contributing to the reduced first-phase of insulin secretion observed in T2DM. There is no study to date in the Kurdish ethnic group regarding the relationship between SNP Ala1369Ser (rs757110 T/G) of SUR1 Read More

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of histology-proven Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) in an Italian area. Background: NENs are a rare and poorly known disease and the global incidence and prevalence appear to be increasing over the past decades. Objective: The objectives of this study were to estimate the incidence and trends of NENs in a 250,000-inhabitant area in the North-East Read More

Background: Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat testicular cancer that induces testicular toxicity. This study aimed to investigate the possible role of androgens, androgen receptor, and organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2) in the protective effects of curcumin on cisplatininduced testicular toxicity. Methods: Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: 1- control (normal saline, 0.5 ml ip, daily for 10 consec Read More

Background: Diabetes prevalence at Palestine was 10%, with a rising fund crisis, and diabetes healthcare problems. There was a limited research concerning diabetes healthcare dimensions including organizational factors and their predictors. Objective: This study described patient characteristics and organizational factors, and assessed relationships among organizational factors of type 2 diabetes health care in Pal Read More

Background: Gasdermin A (GSDMA) and Gasdermin B (GSDMB) have been associated with childhood and to a lesser extent with adult asthma in many populations. In this study, we investigate whether there is an association between GSDMA (rs7212938, T/G) and GSDMB (rs7216389, T/C) at locus 17q21.2 and risk of Allergic Rhinitis among Jordanians. Also, we aimed to determine if there is an association between such polym Read More

Introduction: Obesity is a disorder with low-grade chronic inflammation that plays a key role in hepatic inflammation and steatosis. Moreover, there are studies to support the role of exosomes in cellular communications, the regulation of metabolic homeostasis and immunomodulatory activity. Accordingly, we aimed to evaluate the influence of plasma circulating exosomes derived from females with normal-weight and obesity o Read More

Background: We hypothesized that the SKA2 gene can convert hemoglobin F to A leading to the maturity of the hematopoietic system by glucocorticoid hormone; so, the present study aimed to investigate the health outcome of newborns by using the effect of SKA2 gene on hematopoietic maturation. Methods: At first, 142 samples were divided into term and preterm. After sampling from the umbilical cord bl Read More

Background: Diabetes increases the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) by 2 to 3 folds. Tlymphocytes play a role in atherosclerosis, which is the main pathology behind MI. Cellular immune responses to beta-2 glycoprotein I (β2GPI) are shown in carotid atherosclerosis. Objective: To investigate the self-reactive, β2GPI-specific T-lymphocytes in patients with and without diabetes and atherosclerosis. Methods: Collectively, 164 subjects Read More

Background: sRAGE (soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products) is known to play a protective role in chronic inflammatory diseases, and has been found to be related to arterial stiffness in hypertensive or diabetic patients. This cross-sectional study was designed to study the potential association of sRAGE with arterial stiffness in systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) patients. Methods: A total of 94 female SLE patients we Read More

Background: Hypoxia (deprived oxygen in tissues) may induce molecular and genetic changes in cancer cells. Objective: To Investigate the genetic changes of glucose metabolism in breast cancer cell line (MCF7) after exposure to continuous hypoxia (10 and 20 cycles exposure of 72 hours continuously on a weekly basis). Methods: Gene expression of MCF7 cells was evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reactionarray Read More

Background: Cytokines are polypeptides that play critical roles in immune responses. Gene polymorphisms occurring in the inflammatory cytokines are taking a role in autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), which may induce inappropriate immune responses. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the allelic and genotypic frequencies of interferon gamma gene (IFN-γ) at +874A/T locus and tumor necr Read More

Background and Objective: All three isoforms of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) are targets for thyroid hormones in the cardiovascular system. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of hypo- and hyperthyroidism on inducible (iNOS), endothelial (eNOS), and neural (nNOS) NOS levels in aorta and heart tissues of male rats. Methods: Rats were divided into control, hypothyroid, and hyperthyroid groups; hypo- and hypert Read More

Background: Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN 2B) is mainly caused by M918T RET germline mutation, and characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytoma (PHEO) and non-endocrine features. However, the diagnosis and treatment are usually delayed. Methods: This study reports 5 Chinese pedigrees with 5 individuals harboring germline RETM918T, and systematically reviewed previous Read More

Aim: Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1α) is responsible in regulating oxygen homeostasis in tissues and is a central effector of the hypoxic response besides its protein overexpression has been shown to have prognostic relevance in several cancers including breast cancer. Several reports indicated that HIF-1α gene variation C1772T (Pro582Ser) is associated with increased breast susceptibility but results remained controve Read More

Background: Mixed medullary and follicular thyroid carcinoma (MMFC) displays heterogeneous morphological components and immunophenotypical features intermingled within the same lesion, which is rare and most described in the sporadic form. We report herein a Chinese patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B) harboring germline RET M918T and associated MMFC. Methods: A ca Read More