Background: The study of human leukocytes (HLA) alleles, and haplotype frequencies within populations provide an important source of information for anthropological investigation, organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as well as disease association, certain diseases showed association with specific alleles specially those of known or suspected hereditary origin or immunological basis, whether simple renal cyst is congenital or acquired is still unclear and need to be investigated.Objectives: To study the genetic aspect of simple renal cysts by detecting the gene frequency and the haplotype of HLA class I of patients with simple renal cysts, and to find the presence of these cysts in other family members.Method: Thirty patient

Inhaled corticosteroids are the most effective controllers of asthma, although asthmatics vary in their response. FKBP51 is a major component of the glucocorticoid receptor which regulates its responses to corticosteroids. Therefore, the present study aims to identify the role of FKBP5 gene polymorphism in asthma susceptibility and corticosteroid resistance.

Background Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) and trinucleotide repeat-containing 9 (TNRC9) gene polymorphisms have been associated with some cancers. We aimed to assess the association of FGFR2 rs2981582 and TNRC9 rs12443621 polymorphisms with hepatocellular cancer risk. Methods One hundred patients with HCV-induced HCC, 100 patients with chronic HCV infection, and 100 controls were genotyped for FGFR2 rs2981582 and TNRC9 rs12443621 using allele-specific Real-Time PCR analysis. Results FGFR2 rs2981582 genotype TT was associated with increased risk of HCC when compared to controls (OR = 3.09, 95% CI = 1.24–7.68). However, it was significantly associated with a lower risk of HCC when using HCV patients as controls (OR =

Chitinase-3-like 1 protein (YKL-40) is a glycoprotein primarily produced in the arthritic joint and plays a crucial role in inflammatory processes. The aim of the study is to establish the role of YKL-40 as a biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to proinflammatory biomarkers and disease activity. The study included 58 patients and 18 control. Diseases activity score (DAS-28) and clinical disease activity index (CDAI) were measured. Serum level of YKL-40, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1B (IL-1β), erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), and anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) were assessed. The results showed that the median serum YKL-40 level which was 5.42 

Background: Genetic factors play an important role in susceptibility to Guillain Barre' syndrome. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) as part of immune system has a role in the disease process.Aim of the study: to assess the relationship between HLA-A alleles with Guillain Barre' syndrome (GBS) compared with a healthy control group using PCR-SSOP method.Type of the study: Cross-sectional study.Patients and methods:Patient's group consisted of 30 Iraqi Arab Muslims patients with Guillain Barre' syndrome that consulted the Neurological department in Neurosciences Hospital between January-2013 to January- 2014 were genotyped for HLA-A alleles. A control group consisted of 30 healthy volunteers among the staff of AL-Kindi College of Medicine that

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is an autoimmune, and inflammatory disease that is closely related to the destruction of cartilage and bone. DC-SIGN are important types of C-type lectin receptors (CLRs), expressed on dendritic cells and macrophages, and have a central role in regulating innate and adaptive immunity, function as pattern recognition receptors, and as cell adhesion molecules. Recent evidence has demonstrated that DC-SIGN is involved in the pathophysiological of chronic inflammation, so DC-SIGN has been linked to several autoimmune and may play an essential indicator in the pathogenesis and progression of RA. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the serum level of DC-SIGN in RA patients, as well as the level of DC

Background: Zinc is involved in a variety of
metabolic processes and it has a well known
antioxidant activity, so the measurement of its serum
level can have a special value in several diseases.
Objectives: The study is designed to determine the
serum zinc level in heart failure patients and to
compare it with that of healthy individuals and to
study the significance of the results obtained.
Methods: Atomic absorption spectrometer
technique was used to determine serum zinc level in
fifty heart failure patients and fifty healthy individuals
who were age and sex matched.
Results: The mean serum zinc level in healthy
individuals was about 45.5% greater than that of heart
failure patients. This diffe

It was aimed to understand the interleukin-4 (IL-4) role in etio-pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Two approaches were adopted. In the first one, a quantitative expression of IL4 gene was assessed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and such findings were correlated with some demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters, which included gender, duration of disease, disease activity score (DAS-28), rheumatoid factors (RFs), C-reactive protein (CRP) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (ACCP) antibodies. In the second approach, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL4 gene (rs2243250) was inspected by DNA sequencing using specific primers. Fifty-one Iraqi RA patients (22 males and 29 fem