Ovarian cancer is a highly lethal gynecological cancer, and its causes remain to be understood. Using a recently identified tumor suppressor gene, GT198 (PSMC3IP), as a unique marker, we searched for the identity of GT198 mutant cells in ovarian cancer. GT198 has germ line mutations in familial and early onset breast and ovarian cancers and recurrent somatic mutations in sporadic fallopian tube...

Androgens are essential for the growth of the prostate gland and have been implicated in the development of prostate cancer. Little is known about the determinants of androgen levels in men, although observed ethnic differences suggest they may have a genetic basis. Several polymorphisms have been identified in the steroid 5 alpha-reductase type II gene (SRD5A2), which encodes an enzyme that ca...

PURPOSE Vitamin D and dihydrotestosterone pathways interact to promote the growth of prostatic tissue. The nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR) moderates the actions of vitamin D. 5alpha-Reductase type II (SRD5A2) codes for the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone in the prostate. This study tested the interactions of VDR (CDX2, FokI) and SRD5A2 (V89L, A49T) polymorphisms, and t...

Inactivating mutations in 5 alpha-reductase (SRD5A2) gene lead to steroid 5 alpha-reductase deficiency, a rare autosomal recessive condition affecting 46,XY individuals, who generally present with clinical spectrum ranging from a male phenotype with hypospadia to a female phenotype with normal wolffian structures. More than 50 different mutations responsible for this disorder have been document...

Three strains of facultatively anaerobic thermotolerant and moderately halophilic bacteria were isolated from two Jordanian hot spring locations. The novel Bacillus strains were short rods, Gram-positive, motile and spore formers. The strains were capable of anaerobic (but not aerobic) growth at 63C, moderately halophilic, able to grow at NaCl concentration range of 12 15 % and at temperatures ...

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) such as pioglitazone and rosiglitazone are widely used as insulin sensitizers in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In diabetic women with polycystic ovary syndrome, treatment with pioglitazone or rosiglitazone improves insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism, but the mechanism by which TZDs down-regulate androgen production is unknown. Androgens are synthesized in the ...

Expert’s summary: Abiraterone acetate, a small molecule inhibitor of cytochrome P17 (CYP17), inhibits 17 alpha-hydroxylase and C17, 20 lyase, both key enzymes in androgen synthesis. It was tested in 21 chemotherapy-naı̈ve men with metastatic prostate cancer that was resistant to multiple hormone therapies. Once-daily oral abiraterone acetatewas given at doses of 250 mg, 500 mg, 750 mg, 1000 mg, ...

Introduction: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the world and the most common cancer in Iranian women in terms of rate. The cytochrome P-450c17α (CYP17) gene, located on chromosome 10q24.3, encodes the enzyme cytochrome P-450c17α, which functions as a susceptibility factor in breast cancer. Material and methods: Three common polymorphisms have been described in the CYP17 gene. T...