Arch Med Sci
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Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have the characteristics of cancer stem cells and play an important role in the recurrence and metastasis of tumors. CD44 is a surface marker molecule for gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs) and can be used to identify and isolate GCSCs. Here, we investigated the effect of CD44 protein expression, circulating tumor cells, and CD44-positive CTCs on the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). ⋯ The detection of stem cell characteristics of GC CTCs can provide more prognostic information than simply detecting GC CTCs and GC CD44 expression.
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There is an urgent need to find novel stable cell-free fetal (cff-) RNA in the maternal circulation to facilitate the advance of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) to more effectively avoid birth defects. ⋯ We demonstrated the presence of cff-circRNA in the maternal circulation, which may shed new light on the development of NIPT.
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Elevated hemoglobin (Hb) A2 is an important diagnostic marker for β-thalassemia carriers. However, diagnosis of cases with borderline Hb A2 may be problematic. We described the molecular characteristics found in a large cohort of Thai subjects with borderline Hb A2. ⋯ A large proportion of subjects with borderline Hb A2 are not β-thalassemia carriers and for those with β-thalassemia, only mild β+-thalassemia mutations were detected. Evaluation of the patients using Hb A2, Hb F and MCV values will help in selecting cases for further molecular analysis. The results should explain the unusual phenotype of the cases and facilitate a thalassemia screening program in the region.
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The objective of the study was to characterize the baseline intra-individual and inter-individual variability of immune cell subsets within abdominoplasty skin specimens. ⋯ Our data highlight the importance of including multiple patients and multiple patient samples when designing dermatological studies that utilise abdominoplasty skin.
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The current study was designed to analyze whether polymorphisms of miR-146a and miR-155 are related to Behçet's disease (BD) in the Egyptian population. ⋯ miR-146a (rs2910164) and miR-155 (rs767649) are likely to play an important role in the Egyptian population in development of BD and also influence disease severity.