The ABCB1 gene belongs to ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes that has been previously implicated in cancer progression and drug response. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the SNP 3435 and the expression of the ABCB1 gene in lung cancer patients in the Polish population in comparison to clinicopathological parameters and treatment. 150 RNA and 47 DNA samples were isolated from 49 lung cancer cases including both tissue samples and blood taken from the same patients at three time points: diagnosis, 100 days and one year after the surgical intervention. Qualitative and real-time PCR analysis of expression were done, also genotyping by PCR-RFLP. Mutant homozygous TT and allele T are present statistically significantly more frequently in the group of patients with lung cancer. There is no difference with expression level in lung cancer tissue and blood sample taken from the same patients before surgical treatment. On the basis of blood samples analysis it was observed that the expression level of ABCB1 mRNA was growing in time. Higher levels were marked after 100 days and one year after the surgical intervention. The complementary pharmacological treatment induced higher expression levels of ABCB1. The presented data suggest an important role of ABCB1 in lung cancer, the increasing level of ABCB1 mRNA which can be connected with induction of multidrug resistance mechanism is also significant, that observation must be confirmed in further analysis.

Background: Despite the high prevalence of depression, the mechanism of the origin of this disease as well as the causes of resistance to therapy in some patients are still not fully understood. Increasingly, the possible role of genetic factors is considered. One of them is polymorphisms in the ABCB1 (MDR1) gene which encodes P-glycoprotein, responsible for the transport of xenobiotics, including antidepressant drugs, through the blood-brain barrier.

The aim of the present study was to assess whether BAY 11-7082, a nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) inhibitor, influences the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and NF-κB related signaling pathways in the liver. The animals were divided into 4 groups: I: saline; II: saline + endothelin-1 (ET-1) (1.25 μg/kg b.w., i.v.); III: saline + ET-1 (12.5 μg/kg b.w., i.v.); and IV: BAY 11-7082 (10 mg/kg b.w., i.v.) + ET-1 (12.5 μg/kg b.w., i.v.). Injection of ET-1 alone at a dose of 12.5 μg/kg b.w. showed a significant (P<0.001) increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) level and decrease (P<0.01) in GSH level (vs. control). ET-1 administration slightly downregulated gene expression of p65 of NF-κB but potently and in a dose-dependent way downregulated p21-cip gene expression in the liver. BAY 11-7082 significantly decreased TBARS (P<0.001), H₂O₂(P<0.01) and improved the redox status (P<0.05), compared to ET-1 group. The concentration of TNF-αwas increased in the presence of ET-1 (P<0.05), while BAY 11-7082 decreased TNF-αconcentration (P<0.01). Inhibition of IkBαbefore ET-1 administration downregulated gene expression of p21-cip but had no effect on p65.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common worldwide types of cancer. It is a multifactorial disease and both environmental and genetic factors play an important role in its etiology. Evaluation of the relative expression level of NFKB2 gene in two groups of patients: peptic ulcer and gastric cancer and its role in the pathomechanism of these diseases was the aim of this study. RNA was isolated from: 79 samples of peptic ulcer, 22 gastric cancer and 11 control tissue. The real-time PCR technique was used to study the expression of NFKB2 gene. The relative expression level of NFKB2 gene was a variable in all three studied groups. The relative NFKB2 gene expression depends on the type of a disease. Peptic ulcer cases showed the increased relative NFKB2 gene expression to control group (p = 0.0000). Cancer cases presented decreased relative NFKB2 gene expression to normal stomach tissue (p = 0.0183). There are statistically important differences in the investigated gene expression between peptic ulcer, where the expression level is higher comparing to gastric cancer and control tissue which confirmed that such an activation is connected with an inflammatory process. The relative expression level of NFKB2 is decreased in cancer cases as opposed to control tissue and peptic ulcer cases which could suggest that during carcinogenesis of gastric cancer inhibition of NF-kB pathway takes place which could be a promising factor for patients.

Spontaneous shoot regeneration was obtained from the hairy roots of Rehmannia glutinosa cultured in liquid woody plant medium for 4 weeks in darkness after induction by Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4. These shoots were proliferated on solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium in 300 mL glass jars and in liquid MS medium in a 5 L nutrient sprinkle bioreactor. These media were supplemented with 0.1 mg L⁻¹ of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 1.0 mg L⁻¹ of 6-benzylaminopurine. All shoots became rooted on MS agar medium containing IAA or indole-3-butyric acid within 4 weeks. The plantlets were then transferred into soil and grew in a greenhouse. The transgenic nature of the plants was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse-transcriptase PCR analyses. The pRi-regenerated transformants demonstrated a few phenotypical alterations. Production of six iridoid (catalpol, aucubin, loganin, catalposide, harpagide, harpagoside) and two phenylethanoid (verbascoside and isoverbascoside) glycosides was determined in shoots cultured in vitro and leaves and roots of 6- and 12-month-old plants by ultra high performance liquid chromatography. The shoot culture was able to synthesize low amounts of catalpol, verbascoside and isoverbascoside. Leaves and roots of pRi-regenerants accumulated similar (harpagoside, isoverbascoside), higher (catalposide, aucubin, harpagide, verbascoside) or lower (catalpol, loganin) levels of the metabolites in comparison with untransformed R. glutinosa plants and their content varied with the age of the plants and the organ analyzed. However, the increase in shoot and root biomass of transformed plants resulted in a significantly greater yield of all analyzed compounds.

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) encoded by TNFA is a key mediator in inflammation, a precursor condition for peptic ulceration. Promoter polymorphisms of TNFA that influence its transcriptional activity and TNF-α production are known. TNFA-308G>A (rs1800629) and TNFA-1031T>C (rs1799964), which are responsible for increased TNFA transcription, could influence the risk of peptic ulceration. This study aimed to investigate these polymorphisms and to evaluate their association with peptic ulcer disease and Helicobacter pylori infection in the Polish population. Gastric mucosa specimens obtained from 177 Polish peptic ulcer patients were used to conduct rapid urease tests and to assess the investigated polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Genotyping data were compared with the results obtained from healthy individuals of Polish origin. There were no significant differences in genotype and allele frequency of the investigated polymorphisms between peptic ulcer patients and healthy individuals. No associations between the frequencies of particular genotypes and alleles for both single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the presence of H. pylori infection in peptic ulcer patients and in subgroups of men and women with peptic ulcer disease were found. The investigated SNPs are not risk factors for either peptic ulcer or H. pylori infection development in the Polish population. The results require verification in a larger cohort.