Recent studies have suggested that vitamin D is an important determinant of prostate cancer risk and inherited polymorphisms in the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene are associated with the risk and progression of prostate cancer. This study was conducted to explore the association of VDR gene polymorphisms with prostate cancer risk in Japanese men who are cons...

BACKGROUND Polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene have been studied in immune-related disorders either as independent contributors or in combination with vitamin D concentration. Vitamin D and VDR have been independently linked to asthma susceptibility. We investigated whether VDR variants were associated independently or in relation to vitamin D levels with asthma in Cypriot adoles...

Background: Inherited hearing impairment affects about 1 in 1000 newborns. Up to 50 percent of all patients with autosomal recessive nonsyndromic prelingual deafness in many populations have mutations in the gene encoding the gap junction protein connexin 26 (GJB2) at locus DFNB1 (autosomal recessive nonsyndromic deafness) on chromosome 13q11-12. In East Asia, there is a common mutation (235del...

Susceptibility to tuberculosis is multifactorial. The importance of host genetic factors on the susceptibility or resistance to tuberculosis has been emphasized by many workers. Host genetic factors such as human leucocyte antigens (HLA) and non-HLA genes that are associated with the susceptibility to tuberculosis will serve as genetic markers to predispose or predetermine the development of th...

Aims: The goal of this study was to investigate possible associations of some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VDR gene (the FokI, BsmI, ApaI and TaqαI loci), and the CYP17 gene (the MspA1I locus), and variable numbers of TA repeats in the SRD5A2 gene, with prostate cancer (PCa), among Lebanese men. Materials and Methods: Blood DNA samples of 50 subjects with confirmed PCa and 79 a...

Two Borrelia isolates (CA434 and CA435) cultured from the soft tick Ornithodoros coriaceus were analyzed by contour-clamped homogeneous electric field gel electrophoresis of unrestricted and ApaI-restricted DNA, standard electrophoresis of BamHI- and HindIII-restricted DNA, Southern hybridization, restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, and amplification of...

Vitamin D plays a significant role in our health, including cancer incidence and mortality. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may affect its activity, influencing the risk of cancer. Several studies have investigated VDR SNPs, but the association with the risk of cancer is controversial. Here, we present a meta-analysis to assess the association of TaqI, ApaI, and ...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ST398, associated with livestock animals, was described in 2003 as a new lineage infecting or colonizing humans. We evaluated the prevalence and molecular characteristics of MRSA ST398 isolated in the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge from January 2000 to June 2011. Tetracycline resistant (Tet-R) MRSA isolates from single patients (pts) were s...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of dyslipidemia is rising alarmingly in elderly Han Chinese male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The genetic factors that contribute to the development of diabetic dyslipidemia remain incompletely identified. This study was conducted to assess the association between vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms and development of dyslipidemia in the Han elderl...