Tag: pubmed

J Genet Eng Biotechnol. 2026 Mar;24(1):100667. doi: 10.1016/j.jgeb.2026.100667. Epub 2026 Mar 9.

ABSTRACT

Type-2 diabetes (T2D) is a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC) and the incidence rate of CRC in T2D patients is significantly higher than in control patients. It may be associated with the overlapping dysregulated genetic factors. The management of CRC becomes complicated with T2D compare to without T2D due to the conflict of therapeutic priorities for both diseases.​ However, studies on overlapping dysregulated genetic factors and their therapeutic priorities during their co-incidence/existence, are very limited. This study aimed to identify those overlapping dysregulated genetic factors with their functions, pathways and regulators through which T2D may stimulate the development and progression of CRC, for exploring effective shared drug therapies (polypharmacological agents) against both diseases, since a disease specific drug may conflict with other diseases during their co-existence. In order to explore repurposable common drugs for both T2D and CRC, we identified both diseases causing top-ranked 8 sKGs (CD44, COL18A1, CLDN5, PLS3, PTK2, THBS1, CAV1, and EFEMP1) as the drug targets through transcriptomics analysis. The relationship of sKGs with T2D and CRC were also verified through the literature review, expression analysis with independent datasets, functional enrichment analysis with KEGG-pathways and GO-terms, regulatory network analysis with microRNAs and transcription factors (TFs), DNA methylation and immune infiltration analysis based on independent databases. Finally, sKGs-guided top-ordered four candidate drugs (irinotecan, leucovorincalcium, regorafenib and Fenretinide) were recommended as the shared treatments for both CRC and T2D during their co-existence. The recommended drug therapy might be effective to reduce drug burden from the patients. Therefore, the findings demand experimental and clinical validations for taking a proper treatment plan against CRC with T2D as comorbidity.

PMID:41839687 | DOI:10.1016/j.jgeb.2026.100667

J Genet Eng Biotechnol. 2026 Mar;24(1):100659. doi: 10.1016/j.jgeb.2026.100659. Epub 2026 Jan 23.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is among the most lethal malignancies worldwide and represents the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in both males and females globally. According to the Saudi Health Council (2020), colorectal cancer ranks first among Saudi males and third among Saudi females. The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of Adansonia digitata nanoparticles against colorectal cancer induced by SW620 human colorectal cancer cells in mice.

RESULTS: The findings indicate that Adansonia digitata nanoparticles may represent a potential adjunctive therapeutic strategy for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

CONCLUSIONS: Adansonia digitata nanoparticles (ADNPs), particularly the encapsulated formulation (ADNPs2), demonstrated promising therapeutic potential in colorectal cancer. Treatment with ADNPs improved colonic histoarchitecture and modulated key inflammatory and apoptotic signaling pathways. Although several molecular markers did not exhibit statistically significant changes, consistent pro-apoptotic trends, downregulation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and reduced tumor invasion were observed, indicating notable anticancer activity. These findings suggest that ADNPs2 may represent a potential adjunctive strategy for the management of colorectal cancer.

PMID:41839681 | DOI:10.1016/j.jgeb.2026.100659

J Genet Eng Biotechnol. 2026 Mar;24(1):100658. doi: 10.1016/j.jgeb.2026.100658. Epub 2026 Jan 15.

ABSTRACT

Accurate and reliable brain tumor classification from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a critical component of computer-aided diagnosis systems, directly impacting clinical decision-making and patient outcomes. This study presents ResSGA-Net, a hybrid deep learning framework that integrates a ResNet50 backbone with dual attention mechanisms (global and gated) and a Swin Transformer to capture both fine-grained local features and long-range contextual dependencies effectively. A fusion strategy is employed to unify convolutional, attention-refined, and transformer-enhanced representations into a robust feature space for multi-class classification. The proposed model is evaluated on two publicly available benchmark datasets, including a four-class and a three-class brain tumor classification task, using stratified cross-validation. Extensive quantitative analysis demonstrates that ResSGA-Net achieves state-of-the-art performance, with accuracies exceeding 98% on Dataset I and strong generalization on Dataset II (accuracy of 93.18% and macro-averaged AUC of 0.989). Comprehensive statistical significance testing confirms that the observed improvements are highly significant and not attributable to random chance. Ablation studies further validate the individual contributions of attention mechanisms and data augmentation strategies, demonstrating that performance gains arise from tumor-specific feature learning rather than artificial data diversity. Qualitative analyses, including confusion matrices, training dynamics, ROC curves, and confidence-based visualizations, confirm stable convergence, robust generalization, and reliable decision confidence across tumor classes. These results indicate that ResSGA-Net provides an accurate, stable, and clinically meaningful solution for automated brain tumor classification, with strong potential for integration into real-world diagnostic imaging workflows.

PMID:41839680 | DOI:10.1016/j.jgeb.2026.100658

J Genet Eng Biotechnol. 2026 Mar;24(1):100653. doi: 10.1016/j.jgeb.2025.100653. Epub 2026 Jan 14.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent malignancy, and a prime cause of lethality related to cancer worldwide. Genetic research, particularly on lncRNA, shows prospects for BC management. PVT1 can activate many tumorigenic pathways. This contributes to angiogenesis and pathological progression. This study examined the association between the PVT1 rs13255292 variants and serum E-cadherin levels with BC risk, hormone receptor status, and tumor grade.

METHODOLOGY: Genotyping was performed on 120 blood samples (20 controls, 100 BCE patients, 100 stratified by histological grade: G1 = 3, G2 = 74, G3 = 23) using TaqMan assays. Also, Patients were classified as luminal A (n = 79) or non-luminal A (luminal B, HER2-enriched, TNBC) (n = 21). Serum E-cadherin was evaluated by an ELISA kit.

RESULTS: Findings revealed a statistically significant association between the PVT1 rs13255292 non-risk CC genotype and luminal A subtype patients, suggesting a potential protective effect. E-cadherin levels were significantly declined in BC patients compared to controls. Based on the histological grades, a notable reduction was detected in advanced G3 compared to G2. While serum E-cadherin showed promise as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker. Also, the genotype-specific analysis indicated a trend toward higher E-cadherin expression in CC carriers’ group, though without statistical significance.

CONCLUSION: The current finding underscores that the CC genotype is associated with less aggressive luminal A tumors. It also reveals an inverse link between tumor grade and E-cadherin serum levels. These findings suggest that combining genetic screening of PVT1 variants with E-cadherin surveillance could enhance prognostic stratification in BC management. Further validation in larger cohorts is required to confirm clinical utility.

PMID:41839675 | DOI:10.1016/j.jgeb.2025.100653

J Genet Eng Biotechnol. 2026 Mar;24(1):100650. doi: 10.1016/j.jgeb.2025.100650. Epub 2025 Dec 24.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 causes mortality in a considerable number of patients with COVID-19. The association of comorbidities and gender with the expression of lncRNAs and mRNAs in COVID-19 patients is not fully understood. The purpose of the present study was to explore this association.

METHOD: We used Transcriptomics data for lncRNAs and mRNAs from the integrated Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to identify Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) using R software for statistical and data analysis. Then, we carried out Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and constructed a Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network to identify interactions between the genes.

RESULTS: In this study, we divided samples into four groups and compared Differentially Expressed lncRNAs (DEls) and DEGs. Genes enriched in immune response and cytokine pathways were identified by GO analysis. By considering the protein-protein interaction network, the hub genes were ALAS2, CCL2, AHSP, and IL5.

CONCLUSION: mRNAs and lncRNAs could be used to identify the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on defined parameters (such as gender, main comorbidities in recovery, and treatment stages). Heme/hemoglobin metabolism was enriched in groups 1, 2, and 4, with four common genes (ALAS2, AHSP, HBD, and CA1) that are associated with the immune response to infection. CCL2 was enriched in group 3 and its expression was remarkably high in patients with an unfavorable outcome compared to other cases. Also, while both IL-5 and ALAS2 were enriched in group 4, IL-5 appeared to have no significant role in COVID-19. Overall, we conducted a bioinformatics analysis to predict how mRNAs and lncRNAs interact in patients with different characteristics such as gender, underlying disease, and treatment or recovery stages. mRNAs and lncRNAs can be potential biomarkers to examine the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on defined parameters.

PMID:41839673 | DOI:10.1016/j.jgeb.2025.100650

J Infect Dis. 2026 Mar 16:jiag166. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiag166. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Microbiomes resist or facilitate pathogen invasion and modulate host immune responses and infection susceptibility. We describe nose/throat bacteriome composition and predicted functional changes associated with Candida albicans colonization, antibiotic use, and medical devices among adults receiving short-term sub-acute care in a skilled nursing facility (SNF).

METHODS: We collected combined nose/throat swabs from 301 adults every three days for up to five visits. Bacteriome composition was detected via 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and C. albicans colonization by qPCR. Functional potential was inferred using PICRUSt2. We used ADAPT software to evaluate bacteriome compositional and functional differences by C. albicans colonization adjusting for age, sex, antibiotic exposure, and medical device presence.

RESULTS: C. albicans colonization was more common among participants with devices and antibiotic use, but not statistically significantly. Participants had mean age 77 years, 63.8% female, 48.5% received antibiotics, and 20.3% had device at entry. Nose/throat bacteriome was significantly less diverse and rich in the presence of C. albicans, antibiotic exposure, and device use (p<0.05), but composition varied little during follow-up. With C. albicans, predicted bacteriome function favored acid-tolerant, biofilm-forming species (S. wiggsiae, L. fermentum; p<0.01), and depleted glycolate degradation (log10fold change -0.45; adjusted p=0.01).

CONCLUSION: Nose/throat bacteriome composition and function were significantly associated with C. albicans colonization and C. albicans colonization was strongly associated with antibiotic exposure and medical device use. These findings underline the importance of integrating fungal colonization assessment and clinical factors into microbiome studies aimed at preserving bacteriome resilience and reducing infection risk in vulnerable populations.

PMID:41839646 | DOI:10.1093/infdis/jiag166

Muscle Nerve. 2026 Mar 16. doi: 10.1002/mus.70204. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION/AIMS: .: Primary Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized frequently by sensory neuropathy (SN). Carbonic Anhydrase-6 (CA-6), Parotid Secretory Protein (PSP), and Salivary Protein-1 (SP-1) antibodies (Early Sjögren antibodies [ESA]) are found in 45% of SS patients who lack traditional antibodies (Ro/La). But there is a lack of information regarding whether ESA are associated with SN, and if there are any identifying characteristics associated with ESA in SN. Our goal was to close this knowledge gap.

METHODS: All SN patients tested for ESA from May 2023-October 2024 were retrospectively analyzed for clinical features such as sicca symptoms, onset acuity, small fiber neuropathy (SFN)-questionnaire scores, and pathological features such as length-dependence/vasculitis on skin biopsies, as well as lip biopsy confirmation of SS. Seropositive/seronegative groups were separated for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Thirty-three adult patients (73% female) with cryptogenic SN had ESA testing. Eighteen (55%) had abnormal ESA. Twelve (100%) seropositive patients had significant sicca symptoms versus four seronegative patients (29%) (p = 0.0002). There were no significant associations between ESA seropositivity and SFN-questionnaires, pathological nonlength dependence (NLD)/vasculitis, or onset acuity.

DISCUSSION: ESA may be seen in more than half of cryptogenic SN patients, but whether these patients have confirmed SS is unclear. Seropositive patients more frequently have significant sicca symptoms than seronegative patients, but no other significant identifying characteristics were seen. Further work on a larger population should be done to confirm these findings, but this study suggests the utility of checking ESA in cryptogenic SN patients with significant sicca symptoms.

PMID:41839642 | DOI:10.1002/mus.70204

Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2026 Mar;50(3):e70279. doi: 10.1111/acer.70279.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although men have historically exhibited the higher levels of alcohol use and alcohol-related harm, sex differences in alcohol consumption have narrowed in recent decades. Whether similar convergence has occurred in the proportion of substance-related acute care encounters involving alcohol remains unclear.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal cohort study using national administrative claims from the Merative MarketScan Commercial and Multi-State Medicaid databases (January 2016 to December 2023). Individuals aged 16-64 years with at least one emergency department (ED) or inpatient encounter involving a non-nicotine substance-related diagnosis (ICD-10-CM F10-F19, excluding F17) were included. Alcohol involvement was defined using multiple classifications: any alcohol-related diagnosis, alcohol-only encounters, inpatient admissions with alcohol as the primary diagnosis, and acute alcohol-related morbidity identified using CDC external cause codes. We estimated monthly sex-specific trends in the proportion of substance-related encounters involving alcohol using generalized estimating equation models with quadratic time terms.

RESULTS: The cohort comprised 1,355,161 individuals (54.7% male, 45.3% female) with 5,190,680 substance-related ED and inpatient encounters. Among individuals with substance-related encounters, alcohol involvement was more common among males than females (61.5% vs. 43.2%). Across all alcohol-related outcomes, models demonstrated accelerating convergence in the sex gap over time (all p < 0.001). From 2016 to 2023, the male-female gap in the proportion of substance-related encounters involving alcohol narrowed by 6.0 percentage points (95% CI, 4.9-7.1), 4.7 points (95% CI, 3.6-5.8) for alcohol-only encounters, and 4.9 points (95% CI, 4.0-5.8) for inpatient admissions with alcohol as the primary diagnosis. Trends in total substance-related encounter volume did not differ by sex.

CONCLUSIONS: From 2016 to 2023, alcohol accounted for an increasing proportional share of substance-related acute care encounters among women relative to men, independent of changes in overall substance-related healthcare utilization volume.

PMID:41839640 | DOI:10.1111/acer.70279

Zhonghua Xue Ye Xue Za Zhi. 2026 Feb 14;47(2):160-165. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn121090-20250723-00345.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate whether the physiological hypercoagulable state of pregnancy affects the risk and severity of bleeding in pregnant patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and severe thrombocytopenia (PLT<20×10(9)/L) , compared to non-pregnant ITP patients with a comparable degree of thrombocytopenia. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of pregnant patients with ITP who were hospitalized at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University between January 1, 2013, and April 30, 2024, excluding patients with secondary thrombocytopenia due to pathological pregnancy. Non-pregnant ITP patients were matched as a control group at a 1∶2 ratio based on three criteria (age, ITP disease duration, and nadir PLT) , after which bleeding events and severity were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 23 pregnant ITP patients with a PLT<20×10(9)/L during pregnancy were included and matched to 46 non-pregnant ITP patients. Pregnant ITP patients had significantly shorter activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) than non-pregnant ITP patients (both P<0.05) . No statistically significant differences were found between the pregnant and non-pregnant ITP groups in the incidence of bleeding events (73.9% vs 89.1% , P=0.161) or in their overall bleeding score (P=0.072) . In the pregnant ITP group, the maximum bleeding score was 5, occurring in only 2 cases, 8.7% , while 91.3% of cases had a bleeding score of ≤3. In the non-pregnant ITP group, 3 patients (6.5% ) experienced life-threatening major bleeding (maximum score: 8) , comprising 1 case of hemorrhagic shock and 2 cases of cerebral hemorrhage, one of which was fatal. Additionally, 19.6% of patients in this group had a bleeding score of 5, and 73.9% had a score of ≤3. The incidence of bleeding events with a score of ≥5 was three times higher in the non-pregnant group than in the pregnant group (26.1% vs 8.7% ) . Conclusion: Pregnant patients with ITP, even those with a PLT count <20×10(9)/L, have a lower incidence of severe bleeding compared to non-pregnant ITP patients with a comparable degree of thrombocytopenia; furthermore, they exhibit shorter APTT and PT, suggesting that the relative hypercoagulable state during pregnancy may be the potential reason for the reduced bleeding severity in these patients.

PMID:41839630 | DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn121090-20250723-00345

Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2026 Mar 12;46(3):353-360. doi: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250109-k0004. Epub 2025 Dec 25.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of Longsha Kaihe Liuqi acupuncture on primary open angle glaucoma (POAG).

METHODS: A total of 78 POAG patients were randomized into an observation group (39 cases, 4 cases eliminated) and a control group (39 cases, 1 case dropped out, 3 cases eliminated). In the control group, the eye drops for lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) were administered. In the observation group, besides the intervention as the control group, Longsha Kaihe Liuqi acupuncture was delivered. According to the 24 h intraocular pressure curve peak and in association with syndrome differentiation, 2 or 3 lesion grades were determined. Centered at Baihui (GV20), a circle with a diameter of 5 cm to 8 cm was drawn. Based on Gu‘s “three-yin, three-yang, open, close and pivot” diagram, the tender points were detected along the distribution of the affected meridians and stimulated with acupuncture. The needles were retained for 1 h and the intervention was operated once weekly. The duration of treatment was 4 weeks in the two groups. The 24 h IOP before and after treatment in the two groups, and the immediate IOP before and after acupuncture in the observation group were observed. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), visual field-related indexes such as visual field index (VFI), mean deviation (MD), and pattern standard deviation (PSD), optic disc blood flow density and TCM syndrome score were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.

RESULTS: In the observation group, the mean, peak, valley, fluctuation value of 24 h IOP, and absolute MD were all reduced after treatment when compared with those before treatment (P < 0.05), while VFI increased (P<0.05). At the time points of 0: 00, 2: 00, 5: 00, and 22: 00 after treatment, IOP was lower than that at each corresponding time point before treatment (P<0.05) in the observation group, and the immediate IOP after each acupuncture session was lower than that before acupuncture (P<0.05). After treatment, the score of each TCM syndrome (eye swelling and pain, dry eyes, headache, irritability and sleep disturbance) and the total score were reduced when compared with those before treatment in the observation group (P<0.05), and lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the differences in BCVA, PSD and optic disc blood flow density were not statistically significant between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: Longsha Kaihe Liuqi acupuncture combined with intraocular pressure-lowering eye drops can reduce IOP and regulate 24 h intraocular pressure rhythm, improve visual field and ameliorate TCM syndromes of POAG patients.

PMID:41839594 | DOI:10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250109-k0004