RESUMEN
Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most commonly diagnosed internal malignancies affecting men. Due to the important roles of IL-6 in different physiological and pathophysiological processes, IL-6 polymorphisms may modulate PCa risk. IL-6 -174 G>C (rs 1800795, also designated -236 G>C) and -636 G>C (rs 1800796, also designated -572 G>C) promoter polymorphisms have been implicated in PCa susceptibility, albeit still controversial. A literature search using PubMed and Highwire databases was conducted, resulting in eight case-control studies concerning the IL-6 -174 G>C polymorphism (11,613 PCa cases and 13,992 controls) and four case-control publications regarding the IL-6 -636 G>C polymorphism (1,941 PCa cases and 3,357 controls). In order to derive a more precise estimation, a meta-analysis based upon these selected case-control studies was performed. There was no significant association between IL-6 -174 G>C polymorphism and PCa increased risk. Nevertheless, the presence of allele C and the CC genotype were statistically significantly associated with decreased PCa risk in the overall analysis for IL-6 -636 G>C polymorphism. Additional studies in larger samples and analyses of functional repercussions of these SNPs in prostate tumor cells are necessary to validate these findings.
Asunto(s)
Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad , Interleucina-6/genética , Polimorfismo de Nucleótido Simple , Regiones Promotoras Genéticas , Neoplasias de la Próstata/genética , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Humanos , Masculino , Grupos de Población/genética , Sesgo de PublicaciónRESUMEN
For several years, veterinary oncologists have been struggling with the prognosis of mammary tumours in dogs and cats. Translation of tumour characteristics into prognostic information is an invaluable tool for the use of the most appropriate therapies, as well as for planning innovative therapeutic trials. Moreover, canine and feline spontaneous mammary gland tumours are good models for the study of human breast cancer. Collecting and interpreting information regarding the prognosis of canine and feline mammary tumours is difficult due to the fact that different methods have been applied to study various components and characteristics. This review identifies some of the challenges of prognostic studies of spontaneous canine and feline mammary tumours and suggests standardized procedures to overcome these challenges and facilitate reproducibility and assessment of results.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedades de los Gatos/diagnóstico , Enfermedades de los Perros/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Mamarias Animales/diagnóstico , Guías de Práctica Clínica como Asunto , Medicina Veterinaria/métodos , Medicina Veterinaria/normas , Animales , Enfermedades de los Gatos/patología , Gatos , Enfermedades de los Perros/patología , Perros , Femenino , Neoplasias Mamarias Animales/patología , Pronóstico , Reproducibilidad de los ResultadosRESUMEN
One of the goals of gene expression experiments is the identification of differentially expressed genes among populations that could be used as markers. For this purpose, we implemented a model-free Bayesian approach in a user-friendly and freely available web-based tool called BayBoots. In spite of a common misunderstanding that Bayesian and model-free approaches are incompatible, we merged them in the BayBoots implementation using the Kernel density estimator and Rubin 's Bayesian Bootstrap. We used the Bayes error rate (BER) instead of the usual P values as an alternative statistical index to rank a class marker's discriminative potential, since it can be visualized by a simple graphical representation and has an intuitive interpretation. Subsequently, Bayesian Bootstrap was used to assess BER 's credibility. We tested BayBoots on microarray data to look for markers for Trypanosoma cruzi strains isolated from cardiac and asymptomatic patients. We found that the three most frequently used methods in microarray analysis: t-test, non-parametric Wilcoxon test and correlation methods, yielded several markers that were discarded by a time-consuming visual check. On the other hand, the BayBoots graphical output and ranking was able to automatically identify markers for which classification performance was consistent. BayBoots is available at: http://www.vision.ime.usp.br/~rvencio/BayBoots.
Asunto(s)
Humanos , Animales , Análisis de Secuencia por Matrices de Oligonucleótidos/métodos , Genes Protozoarios/genética , Modelos Genéticos , Teorema de Bayes , Trypanosoma cruzi/genética , Cardiomiopatía Chagásica/parasitología , Marcadores GenéticosRESUMEN
Xylella fastidiosa is a fastidious, xylem-limited bacterium that causes a range of economically important plant diseases. Here we report the complete genome sequence of X. fastidiosa clone 9a5c, which causes citrus variegated chlorosis--a serious disease of orange trees. The genome comprises a 52.7% GC-rich 2,679,305-base-pair (bp) circular chromosome and two plasmids of 51,158 bp and 1,285 bp. We can assign putative functions to 47% of the 2,904 predicted coding regions. Efficient metabolic functions are predicted, with sugars as the principal energy and carbon source, supporting existence in the nutrient-poor xylem sap. The mechanisms associated with pathogenicity and virulence involve toxins, antibiotics and ion sequestration systems, as well as bacterium-bacterium and bacterium-host interactions mediated by a range of proteins. Orthologues of some of these proteins have only been identified in animal and human pathogens; their presence in X. fastidiosa indicates that the molecular basis for bacterial pathogenicity is both conserved and independent of host. At least 83 genes are bacteriophage-derived and include virulence-associated genes from other bacteria, providing direct evidence of phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer.