Tag Archives: serum
Angiotensin, vascular endothelial growth factor and caspase-3 levels in blood serum of smoking students
I. A. A. K. Al-Samarai1, A. J. Al Samer1, H. N. Mohammed2
1Department of Applied Chemistry, College of Applied Science,
University of Samarra, Saleh Aden, Iraq;
2Department of Biotechnology, College of Applied Science,
University of Samarra, Saleh Aden, Iraq;
e-mail: israa.a@uosamarra.edu.iq
Received: 18 July 2025; Revised: 18 September 2025;
Accepted: 28 November 2025; Available on-line: 23 December 2025
Smoking cigarettes is currently considered a widespread behavioral habit among university students due to psychological, social, and behavioral factors. Smoking is believed to impair renin-angiotensin system, blood pressure regulation, endothelial function, and cells viability, particularly in the lungs or blood vessels. The study aimed to assess the level of angiotensin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), caspase-3 and the activity of antioxidants glutathione S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the blood serum of students at Samarra University (Iraq). The study lasted from 20/2 /2025 to 20/4/ 2025 and involved 100 male students aged 18-28 years. The first group consisted of 30 nonsmoker students and the second included 70 smoker students, whose daily cigarette consumption ranged between 60-100 cigarettes. The results showed a significant increase in angiotensin, VEGF and caspase-3 levels, measured by ELISA, and a significant decrease in GST and SOD activity in the blood serum of smoker students compared to nonsmokers. A high negative correlation between angiotensin, GST and SOD activity in both smokers and nonsmokers, and a positive correlation between angiotensin and caspase-3 levels in smokers were observed, indicating the promising use of studied parameters as indicators of adverse effects caused by smoking.
Isolation, characterization and antioxidant activity of fibrinogen-like protein-1 from serum and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Abdulsattar J. Abdullah, Zahraa M. A. Hamodat*
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Mosul, Iraq;
*e-mail: zahraahamodat@uomosul.edu.iq
Received: 20 April 2025; Revised: 01 June 2025;
Accepted: 11 June 2025; Available on-line: 07 July 2025
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Fibrinogen-like protein-1 (FGL1) has been implicated in immune regulation, but its antioxidant role under inflammatory conditions remains underexplored. This study aimed to isolate and purify FGL1 from the serum of healthy controls and from the serum and synovial fluid from inflamed joints of RA patients, and to assess its antioxidant capacity. Purification included ammonium sulfate precipitation (65%), dialysis, and gel filtration chromatography (Sephadex G-75), SDS-PAGE and HPLC. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging and IC50 calculation. SDS-PAGE and HPLC analysis confirmed the successful isolation, identity and high purity of FGL1 from all samples, the protein molecular weight ranged from 68 to 70 kDa. The DPPH assay showed that FGL1 isolated from synovial fluid of RA patients had the highest antioxidant activity (IC50 = 2.124 ng/ml), followed by RA serum (2.172 ng/ml) and control serum (2.798 ng/ml). These results indicate the dual role of FGL1 protein in immune response and oxidative balance, making it a promising biomarker and potential therapeutic target in rheumatoid arthritis.
Non-coding RNA NEAT-1 and interleukin-6 as diagnostic indicators for vitiligo
Mai M. Sharabi1*, Amr A. Zahra1, Azza M. Elamir1,
Talal A. Abd El Raheem2, Nesreen M. Aboraia2
1Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt;
2Department of Dermatology, STDs Andrology, Faculty of Medicine,
Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt;
*e-mail: mmm29@fayoum.edu.eg
Received: 15 March 2024; Revised: 23 April 2024;
Accepted: 31 May 2024; Available on-line: 17 June 2024
Vitiligo belongs to chronic autoimmune diseases and results in a loss of functioning melanocytes and skin depigmentation. Nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT-1) is a long non-coding RNA that has a vital role in the diagnostics and treatment of certain autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It is suggested that NEAT-1 can increase the pro-inflammatory cytokine level via regulatory network. The aim of the work was to measure the serum level of NEAT-1 and IL-6 in vitiligo patients compared with healthy controls and to estimate its relation to disease activity. In the study, 60 individuals were enrolled subdivided into 40 vitiligo patients and 20 healthy controls of similar age and gender. NEAT-1 expression was detected by Quantitative real-time PCR, and IL-6 level was measured by ELISA. To assess the severity of the disease Vitiligo area scoring index (VASI) was calculated. Results showed that there was a significant increase in both NEAT-1 and IL-6 levels in vitiligo patients compared with the control group. A positive correlation between NEAT-1 and IL-6 levels and a negative correlation between NEAT-1 level and VASI score was revealed. The elevated serum levels of NEAT-1 and IL-6 suggest that these circulating biomarkers have promise as diagnostic indicators for vitiligo and possible targets for therapeutic interventions.
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase level and oxidative stress parameters in the serum of patients with chronic renal failure
F. M. Y. Saeed, R. F. Jasim*
College of Education for Girls, Department of Chemistry, University of Mosul, Iraq;
*e-mail: ra.fadhel@uomosul.edu.iq
Received: 13 April 2023; Revised: 02 June 2023;
Accepted: 07 September 2023; Available on-line: 12 September 2023
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is a tryptophan-degrading enzyme belonging to the kynurenine pathway. IDO activity has been suggested as a biomarker for diagnosis of chronic kidney disease. The aim of the study was to estimate the level of IDO, urea, creatinine, uric acid, phosphate, calcium, albumin, MDA, GSH, and activity of peroxidase, catalase, arylesterase in the serum of chronic renal failure (CRF) patients treated with dialysis compared to the healthy control group. The results showed a significant increment in IDO level in patients compared with the control. Linear regression analysis using the Pearson correlation coefficient showed that increased IDO level correlates positively with urea, creatinine, uric acid, phosphate, MDA level and peroxidase activity whereas negatively with albumin, calcium, glutathione level, catalase activity and glomerular filtration rate. We concluded that IDO level might be a possible marker of oxidative stress and inflammation in patients with CRF.