Despite the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) being the largest family of signalling proteins at the surface of cells, their potential to be targeted in cancer therapy is still under-utilised. This review highlights the contribution of these receptors to the process of oncogenesis and points to some likely challenges that might be encountered in targeting them. GPCR-signalling pathways are often complex and can be tissue-specific. Cancer cells hijack these communication networks to their proliferative advantage. The role of selected GPCRs in the different hallmarks of cancer is examined to highlight the complexity of targeting these receptors for therapeutic benefit. Our increasing knowledge of the mechanisms governing the molecular functions of GPCRs may help to identify new targets to treat specific types of cancers.
BACKGROUND: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a proangiogenic factor that exerts different effects over stem cell survival growth, apoptosis, and adhesion. Its impact on leukemogenesis has been established by many studies. AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of plasma HGF activity on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients at presentation and after remission. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional prospective study of 30 newly-diagnosed, adult, and AML patients. All patients received the 7+3 treatment protocol. Patients’ clinical data were taken at presentation, and patients were followed up for 6 months to evaluate the clinical status. Plasma HGF levels were estimated by ELISA based methods in the pa
... Show MoreBackground: Radioactive iodine-131 therapy is highly effective in treating patients with hyperthyroidism. An ablative dose is preferred by a number of endocrinologists, and, a fixed dose protocol seems to be better than a calculated dose in real practice.
Objective: To check for hypothyroidism in hyperthyroid patients one year after RAI therapy, comparing between the results of high ablative versus usual dosages of RAI-131.
Methods: This study included 174 hyperthyroid patients, 101 males and 73 females, divided into 2 groups, the first consisted of 162 patients given a usual fixed dose of RAI while the second consisted of 12 patients given a high fixed ablati
... Show MoreExogenous levothyroxine dose modulation and euthyroidism achievement is a persistent challenge in clinical settings. This study strives to assess the adequacy of treatment and identify the patients’ factors that can be used to estimate the euthyroid levothyroxine dose. A secondary objective was to assess vitamin D supplementation impact on thyroid status.
A review of a prospectively collected information from 142 female patients from Baghdad Center of Nuclear Medicine from June 2019 until March 2020 who were receiving levothyroxine for different causes was done. After a follow-up period, the patients’ thyroid tests were assessed and the euthyroid doses for each cause category were statistically analyzed. Thyroid function was
... Show MoreAbstract: Recombinant Newcastle disease virus (rNDV) has shown an anticancer effect in preclinical studies, but has never been tested in a lung cancer models. In this study we explored the anticancer activity of genetically modified NDV expressing IL-2-P53 (rClone30–IL-2-P53) in lung cancer model. We have cloned IL-2 and P53 genes and inserted them in the viral genome of New Castle Disease Virus to create a genetically modified rNDV- IL-2-P53 virus and tested the anti-tumor activity of the new virus in vitro on different types of cancer cell lines by MTT assay. TheIL-2 and P53 gene were successfully cloned and inserted into the viral genome by using a Mlu I and Sfi I endonucleases, viral vector was constructed correctly and successf
... Show MoreGenetic polymorphisms of genes whose products are responsible for activities, such as xenobiotic metabolism, mutagen detoxification and DNA-repair, have been predicted to be associated with the risk of developing lung cancer (LC). The association of LC with tobacco smoking has been extensively investigated, but no studies have focused on the Arab ethnic- ity. Previously, we examined the association between genetic polymorphisms among Phase I and Phase II metabolism genes and the risk of LC. Here, we extend the data by examining the correlation of OGG1 Ser326Cys combined with CYP1A1 (Ile462Val and MspI) and GSTP1 (Ile105Val and Ala103Val) polymorphisms with the risk of LC. Polymerase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (
... Show MoreThis study aims to identify the impact of social support on breast cancer patients’ psychological rigidity using a sample in Ramallah and al-Bireh. A descriptive correlative approach was adopted to fulfill the goals of the study and a questionnaire consisted of two criteria: social support and psychological rigidity, which was adopted as a tool for data collection for the study. In order to achieve the goals of the study, the researcher selected a convenient sample that consisted of 123 female breast cancer patients in Ramallah and al-Bireh. This sample represented 50% of the original patient population. The study showed that the average estimated percentage of social support and psychological rigidity for women with breast cancer, in
... Show MoreThe study aimed to identify Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and its genotypes prevalent among Iraqi women. They collected 89 cervical swab samples from diagnosed patients at Baghdad Teaching Hospital's Early Detection Clinic. Using PCR technique on 19 samples, they found HPV16 (57.89%) and HPV6 (10.52%) genotypes, while HPV-11, 18, and 45 were absent. HPV 16 and HPV 6 were common in cervical cancer among Iraqi women. Sequencing revealed nucleic acid variants in HPV-6 (124A>C) and HPV-16 (225G>T) E6 genes, resulting in silent effects on the encoded protein. These changes didn't alter amino acid residues (p.74I= and p.L117=). Phylogenetic analysis showed substantial distances between their samples and other viral types, indicating di
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