Iranian

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There have been much speculation and debate concerning the effect of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on body systems. Various reports have implicated excessive exposure to EMF to certain forms of leukemia. It has also been reported that EMF may cause alteration in the levels of certain macro- and micro-nutrients such as copper, zinc, selenium, calcium and iron. We have undertaken this study to determine the status of these elements in workers exposed to EMF for more than 10 years and compare these levels with those of patients with leukemia and both groups to a set of matched controls. Statistical analysis revealed meaningful differences in the serum levels of the nutrients under study both in terms of comparison of workers and patients to controls and in comparison of workers to patients. Mean Zn levels in both patient (P 0.0002)and worker (P 0.006) groups were significantly higher than that of controls. However, statistical analysis of patients to workers revealed no meaningful variation. Selenium in both study groups also showed decreased levels when compared to controls. These results were statistically significant in comparison of patients to controls (P 0.0001) and workers to controls (P0.0001). Evaluation of patients to workers also resulted in a significant finding (P0.05). While we do not claim these results to be definitive, they do reflect the possibility that regular evaluation of the status of these elements in workers consistently exposed to EMF may be beneficial in terms of determining the heightened risk of these workers to development of leukemia.

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Background: Zinc (Zn) as an important trace element is essential for testicular development and spermatogenesis. Molecular mechanism of Zn action in the reproductive system may be related to metal binding low-molecular weight proteins, metallothioneins (MT). Our objective was to determine the effect of Zn on two important isoforms of MT, MT1M and MT1G genes expression on testicular sertoli cells. Methods: Cultured sertoli TM4 cells were exposed to different concentrations of Zn at different time points. Cellular uptake of Zn was tested using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The cellular viability and gene expression were assessed by MTT and real-time PCR methods, respectively. Results: The treated cells resulted in higher Zn concentration and cellular viability. The expression of MT1M and MT1G genes in the treated cells were greater than those of the untreated cells (P<0.05). In the high dosage treated group (100 and 500 μM), Zn concentration and expression of MT1M and MT1G genes increased three h after treatment MT1G gene expression increased more at sixth h. At 18th h of treatment, the expression of both genes especially MT1G, increased dramatically while Zn concentration decreased. Conclusion: Since the increase of MT1G mRNA was coincident with cellular Zn level, it seems that MT1G has a more prominent role than MT1M in the homeostasis of Zn. In addition, Zn at dosage of 50 μM (pharmacologic concentration) may protect cells by increasing the expression of MT genes at longer periods.

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Background: Prostate cancer is the second form of cancer among men worldwide. For early cancer detection, we should identify tumors in initial stages before the physical signs become visible. The present study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of cell-free DNA (cfDNA), its comparison with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in prostate cancer screening and also in patients with localized prostate cancer, metastatic form, and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods: The participants of this study were selected from 126 patients with genitourinary symptoms suspected prostate cancer, rising PSA, and/or abnormal rectal examination results and 10 healthy subjects as controls. Peripheral blood plasma before any treatment measures was considered. cfDNA was extracted using a commercial kit, and PSA levels were measured by ELISA. The ANOVA test was used to compare the average serum level of PSA and plasma concentration of cfDNA between the groups. The correlation between variables was measured by the Pearson test. Results: The subgroups consisted of 50 patients with localized prostate cancer, 26 patients with metastatic prostate cancer, 50 patients with BPH, and 10 healthy subjects; the average concentrations of cfDNA in these subgroups were 15.04, 19.62, 9.51, and 8.7 ng/μl, respectively. According to p < 0.0001 obtained from multivariate test, there was a significant difference between all the groups. Conclusion: Our findings indicated significant differences between cfDNA levels of patients with localized and metastatic prostate cancer, and differences of these two groups from BPH and healthy cases show the importance of this biomarker in non-invasive diagnostic procedures.