title: Bcl-2 and p53 expression in hepatic tissues of Egyptian patients with Chronic Hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate B-cell-lymphoma-2 and tumour protein p53 expression in hepatic tissues of human cases of Chronic Hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  The case-control study was conducted from December 2011 to February 2014 at the out-patient department of Gastroenterology Surgical Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt, and comprised healthy individuals and treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C patients who had undergone liver biopsy. Liver biopsy was taken from patients prior to antiviral therapy or any other anti-fibrotic therapy. Serum marker levels were investigated on the day of biopsy or within 5 days after it. Blood platelet count was also investigated using standard methods. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and for apoptosis detection, B-cell-lymphoma-2 and tumour protein p53 expression in tissue was investigated through immunohistochemistry. Slides were labelled with patient identification numbers and then reviewed and graded blindly by a senior pathologist. SPSS 16 was used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 140 subjects in the study, 120(85.7%) were patients with a mean age of 39±8.7 years (range: 11-64 years) and 20(14.3%) were healthy controls with a mean age of 38.6±7.4 years (range: 14-66 years). The patients had higher body mass index but the difference was not significant (p>0.05), while the difference in the levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, alpha fetoprotein and platelet count was significant (p<0.05 each). The highest expression of B-cell-lymphoma-2 was detected in chronic hepatitis C stage, while the highest expression of p53 was detected in hepatocellular carcinoma stage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The expression of both B-cell-lymphoma-2 and tumour protein p53 might play diagnostic role during the different stages of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Beni-Suef University, Faculty of Science, Zoology Department, Beni-Suef, Egypt, King Saud University, College of Science, Zoology Department, Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allam
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Research Chair, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gabr
authors.affiliation: King Saud University, College of Science, Zoology Department, Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.
authors.forename: Jamaan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ajarem
authors.affiliation: King Saud University, College of Science, Zoology Department, Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdel-Maksoud
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004534:Egypt; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
keywords: Apoptosis, Chronic hepatitis, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Cirrhosis.