scholarly journals miRNAs as Biomarkers in Disease: Latest Findings Regarding Their Role in Diagnosis and Prognosis

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Elena Condrat ◽  
Dana Claudia Thompson ◽  
Madalina Gabriela Barbu ◽  
Oana Larisa Bugnar ◽  
Andreea Boboc ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Specificity ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Diagnosis And Prognosis ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
Patient Profiles ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Made In

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a class of small, non-coding RNAs with the main roles of regulating mRNA through its degradation and adjusting protein levels. In recent years, extraordinary progress has been made in terms of identifying the origin and exact functions of miRNA, focusing on their potential use in both the research and the clinical field. This review aims at improving the current understanding of these molecules and their applicability in the medical field. A thorough analysis of the literature consulting resources available in online databases such as NCBI, PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, and UpToDate was performed. There is promising evidence that in spite of the lack of standardized protocols regarding the use of miRNAs in current clinical practice, they constitute a reliable tool for future use. These molecules meet most of the required criteria for being an ideal biomarker, such as accessibility, high specificity, and sensitivity. Despite present limitations, miRNAs as biomarkers for various conditions remain an impressive research field. As current techniques evolve, we anticipate that miRNAs will become a routine approach in the development of personalized patient profiles, thus permitting more specific therapeutic interventions.

When biology supports clinical diagnosis: review of techniques to diagnose ocular toxoplasmosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (7) ◽  
pp. 1008-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin Greigert ◽  
Elsa Di Foggia ◽  
Denis Filisetti ◽  
Odile Villard ◽  
Alexander W Pfaff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Algorithm ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Posterior Uveitis ◽  
Ocular Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Tremendous Progress ◽  
Associated Symptoms ◽  
Fast Procedure ◽  
Common Infection ◽  
Made In

Toxoplasmosis is a common infection whose worldwide prevalence is estimated at 30%, with large disparities across the world. Among infected subjects, the prevalence of ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) is, however, limited to about 2% in Europe and 17% in South America. In France, it is estimated that about 1 000 000 patients present either active OT or subsequent chorioretinal scars. Toxoplasmagondii is the first cause of posterior uveitis worldwide, responsible for retinochoroiditis, at times associated with anterior uveitis. To date, there is no consensus yet on how to diagnose OT, which is often based only on clinical presentation. Nevertheless, OT-associated symptoms are often atypical and misleading. Over the last 20 years, tremendous progress has been made in biological tools, enabling parasitologists to confirm the diagnosis in most suspected cases of OT. Using anterior chamber puncture, a safe and fast procedure, ophthalmologists sample aqueous humour for analysis using multiple techniques in order to reach high specificity and sensitivity in OT diagnosis. In this article, we present the different techniques available for the biological diagnosis of OT, along with their characteristics, and propose a diagnostic algorithm designed to select the best of these techniques if clinical examination is not sufficient to ascertain the diagnosis.

scholarly journals Lysenin Channels as Sensors for Ions and Molecules

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 6099
Author(s):  
Andrew Bogard ◽  
Gamid Abatchev ◽  
Zoe Hutchinson ◽  
Jason Ward ◽  
Pangaea W. Finn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Membranes ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Ionic Currents ◽  
Multivalent Ions ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Sensing Platforms ◽  
Conducting Pathway ◽  
Regulation Mechanisms ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
Potential Use

Lysenin is a pore-forming protein extracted from the earthworm Eisenia fetida, which inserts large conductance pores in artificial and natural lipid membranes containing sphingomyelin. Its cytolytic and hemolytic activity is rather indicative of a pore-forming toxin; however, lysenin channels present intricate regulatory features manifested as a reduction in conductance upon exposure to multivalent ions. Lysenin pores also present a large unobstructed channel, which enables the translocation of analytes, such as short DNA and peptide molecules, driven by electrochemical gradients. These important features of lysenin channels provide opportunities for using them as sensors for a large variety of applications. In this respect, this literature review is focused on investigations aimed at the potential use of lysenin channels as analytical tools. The described explorations include interactions with multivalent inorganic and organic cations, analyses on the reversibility of such interactions, insights into the regulation mechanisms of lysenin channels, interactions with purines, stochastic sensing of peptides and DNA molecules, and evidence of molecular translocation. Lysenin channels present themselves as versatile sensing platforms that exploit either intrinsic regulatory features or the changes in ionic currents elicited when molecules thread the conducting pathway, which may be further developed into analytical tools of high specificity and sensitivity or exploited for other scientific biotechnological applications.

scholarly journals Transmembrane and Tetratricopeptide Repeat Containing 4 Is a Novel Diagnostic Marker for Prostate Cancer with High Specificity and Sensitivity

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1029
Author(s):  
Rania Makboul ◽  
Islam F. Abdelkawi ◽  
Dalia M. Badary ◽  
Mahmoud R. A. Hussein ◽  
Johng S. Rhim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Sensitivity And Specificity ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Normal Prostate ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Prostate Epithelial Cells ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Histopathologic Diagnosis ◽  
Tissue Specimens

The histopathologic diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) from biopsies is a current challenge if double or triple staining is needed. Therefore, there is an urgent need for development of a new reliable biomarker to diagnose PCa patients. We aimed to explore and compare the expression of TMTC4 in PCa cells and tissue specimens and evaluate its sensitivity and specificity. The expression of TMTC4 in PCa and normal prostate epithelial cells was determined by real-time PCR and Western blot analyses. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of TMTC4 was performed on tissues collected from PCa and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Our results show a high expression of TMTC4 on mRNA and protein levels in PCa versus BPH1 and normal cells (p < 0.05). IHC results show strong cytoplasmic expressions in PCa cases (p < 0.001) as compared to BPH cases. The overall accuracy as measured by the AUC was 1.0 (p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of the protein were 100% and 96.6%, respectively. Taken together, we report a high TMTC4 expression in PCa cells and tissues and its ability to differentiate between PCa and BPH with high sensitivity and specificity. This finding can be carried over to clinical practice after its confirmation by further studies.

scholarly journals The Potential Use of Blood, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Saliva and Urine as Biological Samples for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 26-41
Author(s):  
Adnan Awn Algarni ◽  
Abdulhadi I. Bima ◽  
Ayman Z. Elsamanoudy
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Biological Samples ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Clinical Criteria ◽  
Diagnosis And Prognosis ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Potential Use

Background and Aim: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. 80% of all dementia is due to AD. Diagnosis of AD is a difficult task, as the accurate diagnosis requires post-mortem examination of brain autopsy samples. Diagnosis of AD in living individuals can be aided by the establishment of the clinical criteria, positron emission tomography (PET) examination, and biomarkers. The study of biomarkers for diagnosis of AD could help clinicians to evaluate individuals at risk, and confirm the occurrence as well as the progression of AD in a non-invasive manner. High sensitivity and high specificity of the used markers are mandatory criteria for these biomarkers to trusted for AD diagnosis and prognosis. So, this review article aims to focus on the potential use of body fluids as a source of the biomarkers that are used for investigating patients with AD. Methodology: In the current study, we reviewed scientific articles that discuss AD pathogenesis and diagnosis of Google Scholar database, Pubmed, Pubmed Central, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), MEDLINE, and MedlinePlus with no time limitation. Moreover, we discussed the use of recently discovered biomarkers that are detected in blood, CSF, saliva, and urine. Conclusion: In the current review, it could be concluded that in addition to the blood and cerebrospinal fluid as common biological samples for the diagnosis of AD, saliva and urine are useful potential biological samples. Moreover, both are noninvasive samples that give them priority to be used.

scholarly journals The Uprising of Mitochondrial DNA Biomarker in Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Siti Zulaikha Nashwa Mohd Khair ◽  
Siti Muslihah Abd Radzak ◽  
Abdul Aziz Mohamed Yusoff
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Cross Talk ◽  
Nuclear Genome ◽  
Cancer Therapeutics ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Epigenetic Alterations ◽  
Clinical Practices ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity

Cancer is a heterogeneous group of diseases, the progression of which demands an accumulation of genetic mutations and epigenetic alterations of the human nuclear genome or possibly in the mitochondrial genome as well. Despite modern diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to battle cancer, there are still serious concerns about the increase in death from cancer globally. Recently, a growing number of researchers have extensively focused on the burgeoning area of biomarkers development research, especially in noninvasive early cancer detection. Intergenomic cross talk has triggered researchers to expand their studies from nuclear genome-based cancer researches, shifting into the mitochondria-mediated associations with carcinogenesis. Thus, it leads to the discoveries of established and potential mitochondrial biomarkers with high specificity and sensitivity. The research field of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) biomarkers has the great potential to confer vast benefits for cancer therapeutics and patients in the future. This review seeks to summarize the comprehensive insights of nuclear genome cancer biomarkers and their usage in clinical practices, the intergenomic cross talk researches that linked mitochondrial dysfunction to carcinogenesis, and the current progress of mitochondrial cancer biomarker studies and development.

Morphologic differences between abdominal and inguinal testes in stallions

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 820-821
Author(s):  
F. Al-Bagdadi ◽  
D. Hoyt ◽  
P. Karns ◽  
G. Martin ◽  
M. Memon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carcinoma Cells ◽  
Genital System ◽  
Diagnosis And Prognosis ◽  
Male Genital System ◽  
Morphological Differences ◽  
Hormone Imbalance ◽  
Made In ◽  
Male Genital

The most frequently occuring abnormality of the male genital system in mammals is the failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum. The reasons for abdominal or inguinal retention of testes could be anatomic malformation, faulty development or hormone imbalance.Cryptorchidism has been associated with either greatly reduced or absent spermatogenesis (Kaueakami et al, 1984), and being a source of neoplasia. According to Stick (1980), germinal carcinoma cells have been believed to be the cause of teratomas in equine cryptorchid testicles. Neoplasia has been reported in descended testes of unilateral cryptorchid patients (Martin et al, 1981).No distinction has been made in relating the problem of cryptorchid testes to inguinal or abdominal retention. The purpose of this study is to record the morphological differences between inguinal and abdominal cryptorchid testes as an aid in diagnosis and prognosis.

Inflammatory Markers Associated With Diabetes Mellitus – Old and New Players

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emir Muzurović ◽  
Zoja Stanković ◽  
Zlata Kovačević ◽  
Benida Šahmanović Škrijelj ◽  
Dimitri P Mikhailidis
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Inflammatory Markers ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Type 2 Dm ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Made In

: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic and complex metabolic disorder, and also an important cause of cardiovascular (CV) diseases (CVDs). Subclinical inflammation, observed in patients with type 2 DM (T2DM), cannot be considered the sole or primary cause of T2DM in the absence of classical risk factors, but it represents an important mechanism that serves as a bridge between primary causes of T2DM and its manifestation. Progress has been made in the identification of effective strategies to prevent or delay the onset of T2DM. It is important to identify those at increased risk for DM by using specific biomarkers. Inflammatory markers correlate with insulin resistance (IR) and glycoregulation in patients with DM. Also, several inflammatory markers have been shown to be useful in assessing the risk of developing DM and its complications. However, the intertwining of pathophysiological processes and the not-quite-specificity of inflammatory markers for certain clinical entities limits their practical use. In this review we consider the advantages and disadvantages of various inflammatory biomarkers of DM that have been investigated to date as well as possible future directions. Key features of such biomarkers should be high specificity, non-invasiveness and cost-effectiveness.

Prospective Application of Aptamer-based Assays and Therapeutics in Bloodstream Infections

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 831-840
Author(s):  
Weibin Li
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Genetic Diagnosis ◽  
Bloodstream Infections ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Peptide Sequence ◽  
High Morbidity ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Prospective Application ◽  
Small Molecule Therapeutics

Sepsis is still a severe health problem worldwide with high morbidity and mortality. Blood bacterial culture remains the gold standard for the detection of pathogenic bacteria in bloodstream infections, but it is time-consuming, and both the sophisticated equipment and well-trained personnel are required. Immunoassays and genetic diagnosis are expensive and limited to specificity and sensitivity. Aptamers are single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (ssDNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) oligonucleotide or peptide sequence generated in vitro based on the binding affinity of aptamer-target by a process known as Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX). By taking several advantages over monoclonal antibodies and other conventional small-molecule therapeutics, such as high specificity and affinity, negligible batch-to-batch variation, flexible modification and production, thermal stability, low immunogenicity and lack of toxicity, aptamers are presently becoming promising novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents. This review describes the prospective application of aptamerbased laboratory diagnostic assays and therapeutics for pathogenic bacteria and toxins in bloodstream infections.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody and neutralization assays reveal the wide range of the humoral immune response to virus

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikail Dogan ◽  
Lina Kozhaya ◽  
Lindsey Placek ◽  
Courtney Gunter ◽  
Mesut Yigit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Specific Antibody ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Spike Protein ◽  
Humoral Immune ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Specific Igg ◽  
Negative Controls

AbstractDevelopment of antibody protection during SARS-CoV-2 infection is a pressing question for public health and for vaccine development. We developed highly sensitive SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody and neutralization assays. SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein or Nucleocapsid protein specific IgG antibodies at titers more than 1:100,000 were detectable in all PCR+ subjects (n = 115) and were absent in the negative controls. Other isotype antibodies (IgA, IgG1-4) were also detected. SARS-CoV-2 neutralization was determined in COVID-19 and convalescent plasma at up to 10,000-fold dilution, using Spike protein pseudotyped lentiviruses, which were also blocked by neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). Hospitalized patients had up to 3000-fold higher antibody and neutralization titers compared to outpatients or convalescent plasma donors. Interestingly, some COVID-19 patients also possessed NAbs against SARS-CoV Spike protein pseudovirus. Together these results demonstrate the high specificity and sensitivity of our assays, which may impact understanding the quality or duration of the antibody response during COVID-19 and in determining the effectiveness of potential vaccines.

scholarly journals Highly Sensitive Fluorescent Detection of Acetylcholine Based on the Enhanced Peroxidase-Like Activity of Histidine Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1207
Author(s):  
Hong Jae Cheon ◽  
Quynh Huong Nguyen ◽  
Moon Il Kim
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Nanoparticles ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Choline Oxidase ◽  
Fluorescent Detection ◽  
One Pot ◽  
Site Structure ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Peroxidase Mimics

Inspired by the active site structure of natural horseradish peroxidase having iron as a pivotal element with coordinated histidine residues, we have developed histidine coated magnetic nanoparticles (His@MNPs) with relatively uniform and small sizes (less than 10 nm) through one-pot heat treatment. In comparison to pristine MNPs and other amino acid coated MNPs, His@MNPs exhibited a considerably enhanced peroxidase-imitating activity, approaching 10-fold higher in catalytic reactions. With the high activity, His@MNPs then were exploited to detect the important neurotransmitter acetylcholine. By coupling choline oxidase and acetylcholine esterase with His@MNPs as peroxidase mimics, target choline and acetylcholine were successfully detected via fluorescent mode with high specificity and sensitivity with the limits of detection down to 200 and 100 nM, respectively. The diagnostic capability of the method is demonstrated by analyzing acetylcholine in human blood serum. This study thus demonstrates the potential of utilizing His@MNPs as peroxidase-mimicking nanozymes for detecting important biological and clinical targets with high sensitivity and reliability.

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