Balraj Mittal

• M.Sc (Hons.) Ph.D.
• Professor Emeritus at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) of the myotube expressing YFP‐wild type‐α‐actin: (left) pre‐bleach and (right) twenty minutes recovery after bleach. A Fire lookup table (LUT) was applied using ImageJ to show the levels of fluorescence intensity. The cover image is based on the Research Article “Comparison of Incorporation of Wild...

The α‐actin mutation G15R in the nucleotide‐binding pocket of skeletal muscle, causes severe actin myopathy in human skeletal muscles. Expressed in cultured embryonic quail skeletal myotubes, YFP‐G15R‐α‐actin incorporates in sarcomeres in a pattern indistinguishable from wildtype YFP‐α‐actin. However, patches of YFP‐G15R‐α‐actin form, resembling th...

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), an autoinflammatory heart disease, was recently declared a global health priority by the World Health Organization. Here we report a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of RHD susceptibility in 1,163 South Asians (672 cases; 491 controls) recruited in India and Fiji. We analysed directly obtained and imputed genotype...

Background Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Several reports have linked the disease to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) locus but with negligible consistency. Methods We undertook a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of susceptibility to RHD in 1163 South Asians (672 cases; 491 contro...

Background: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most serious complication of heart that comprises inflammatory reactions in heart valves. Many studies have demonstrated the contribution of host genetic factors in susceptibility to RHD and many cytokine gene variants have been linked with susceptibility to RHD. We sought to determine the role of g...

Objectives: Obesity increases the risk of numerous chronic diseases. Obesity is classified clinically using body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, and body fat percentage. The lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene has been linked to lipoprotein metabolism and obesity. We performed a case-control study to determine the association between LPL gene poly...

RHD is an inflammatory disease resulting from interactive immune, genetic, and environmental factors. Various, epidemiological studies have shown the association of genetic variants of cytokine genes with a predisposition to RHD. However, the results from different populations are inconsistent. Therefore, we carried out a meta- analysis of twenty-t...

Background: Low-grade inflammation may play an important role in pathogenesis of functional dyspepsia (FD). Since cytokines may influence gastric mucosal inflammation, which is associated with FD, we evaluated singe nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of pro-inflammatory IL17F and anti-inflammatory IL10 cytokine genes in patients with FD and healthy s...

Background: Predictive biomarker testing is mandatory before initiating targeted therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Mutation frequencies and their association with clinicopathological features vary widely across populations. In low socioeconomic countries, appropriate selection of cases is important for biomarker testing. Methods: 110...

PurposeGallbladder cancer is a lethal malignancy of hepato-biliary system with high incidence in North India, especially along gangetic plain. The let-7 microRNAs play a key role in regulating KRAS expression and a polymorphism in 3′ untranslated region (rs61764370, T/G) of KRAS leads to its higher expression. This polymorphism is known to be assoc...

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the association of 55 SNPs in 28 genes with obesity risk in a North Indian population using a multianalytical approach. Methods: Overall, 480 subjects from the North Indian population were studied using strict inclusion/exclusion criteria. SNP Genotyping was carried out by Sequenom Mass ARRAY p...

CD44 is a well-established cancer stem cell marker playing a crucial role in tumor metastasis, recurrence and chemo-resistance. Genetic variants of CD44 have been shown to be associated with susceptibility to various cancers; however, the results are confounding. Hence, we performed a meta-analysis to clarify these associations more accurately. Ove...

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an inflammatory, autoimmune disease; occurring as a consequence of group A streptococcal infection complicated by rheumatic fever (RF).An inappropriate immune response is the central signature tune to the complex pathogenesis of RHD. However, some of those infected develop RHD, and genetic host susceptibility factor...

Mutations in sarcomeric genes are common genetic cause of cardiomyopathies. An intronic 25-bp deletion in cardiac myosin binding protein C (MYBPC3) at 3 ′ region is associated with dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathies in Southeast Asia. However, the frequency of sarcomeric gene polymorphisms and associated clinical presentation have not been e...

The ABCB1 gene encodes a permeability glycoprotein, which is one of the most extensively studied human adenosine-triphosphate (ATP)-dependent efflux transporters. Permeability glycoprotein is expressed in the apical membranes of tissues such as intestine, liver, blood–brain barrier, kidney, placenta, and testis and contributes to intracellular drug...

Background: Obesity associated with type 2 diabetes, and hypertension increased mortality and morbidity. Glutamate decarboxylase 2 (GAD2) gene is associated with obesity and it regulate food intake and insulin level. We investigated the association of GAD-2gene -243A>G (rs2236418) and +61450C>A (rs992990) polymorphisms with obesity and related phe...

Objectives: Obesity is a common disorder that has a significant impact on morbidity and mortality. Twin and adoption studies support the genetic influence on variation of obesity, and the estimates of the heritability of body mass index (BMI) is significantly high (30 to 70%). Variants in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene have been as...

Obesity is a major health problem worldwide and is associated with a risk of many chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer1. The aetiology of obesity is multi-factorial and any combination of environmental and lifestyle factors may possibly interact with multiple genetic variants to result in obesity2. In such multif...

Multiple studies have investigated the association of gene variant of Deleted in colorectal carcinoma (DCC) and Prostate Stem cell antigen (PSCA) with various cancer susceptibility; however, the results are discrepant. Since SNPs are emerging as promising biomarker of cancer susceptibility, here, we aimed to execute a meta-analysis of DCC (rs714 A...

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is infrequent but most lethal biliary tract malignancy characterized by an advanced stage diagnosis and poor survival rates attributed to absence of specific symptoms and effective treatment options. These necessitate development of early prognostic/predictive markers and novel therapeutic interventions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs)...

Cytochrome 450 (CYP450) designates a group of enzymes abundant in smooth endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes and epithelial cells of small intestines. The main function of CYP450 is oxidative catalysis of various endogenous and exogenous substances. CYP450 are implicated in phase I metabolism of 80% of drugs currently in use, including anticancer...

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common malignancy of the biliary tract with adverse prognosis and poor survival. Wnt signaling plays an important role in embryonic development and regeneration of tissues in all the species. Deregulation of expression and mutations in this pathway may lead to disease state such as cancer. In this study, we asse...

Numerous classical genetic studies have proved that genes are contributory factors for obesity. Genes are directly responsible for obesity associated disorders such as Bardet–Biedl and Prader–Willi syndromes. However, both genes as well as environment are associated with obesity in the general population. Genetic epidemiological approaches, particu...

Gallbladder cancer is the most common and a highly aggressive biliary tract malignancy with a dismal outcome. The pathogenesis of the disease is multifactorial, comprising the combined effect of multiple genetic variations of mild consequence along with numerous dietary and environmental risk factors. Previously, we demonstrated the association of...

Background: A polymorphism (C825T) in G-protein β polypeptide-3 (GNβ3) gene alters intracellular signal transduction, which may cause motor or sensory abnormalities in the gastrointestinal tract. Cholecystokinin-A receptor (CCK-AR) gene T/C polymorphism is associated with a defective splicing of the primary transcript of CCK-AR mRNA, which may mod...

Background: Prediction of response and toxicity of chemotherapy can help personalize the treatment and choose effective yet non-toxic treatment regimen for a breast cancer patient. Interplay of variations in various drug-metabolizing enzyme (DME)-encoding genes results in variable response and toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs. Generalized multi-...

Background: Obesity is an increasingly important health problem worldwide as well as in developing countries like India. Recent genetic studies suggest that obesity associated FTO and IRX3 are functionally linked and many effects due to genetic variants in FTO gene act through IRX3. Aim: To evaluate the association of FTO and IRX3 genetic varian...

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has emerged as the most important component of medical imaging in the management of oncology patients. It is a functional imaging technique in which radioactive tracer distribution in tissues is projected as a computer-generated image. The image is produced through the detection of annihilation photons emi...

miR-27a, miR-181a, and miR-570 genetic variants have been found to play an important role in many cancers, but their contribution in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) has not been explored. Therefore, we investigated the role of these micro RNA (miRNA) genetic variants in terms of GBC susceptibility, therapeutic response, toxicities associated with chemo...

Obesity is a multi-factorial disorder influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The physiological pathways associated with obesity are complex and involve several genes. The aim of this survey is to evaluate the association of genetic variants of melanocortin-4-receptor (MC4R), pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), apolipoprotein E (APOE) and agouti-...

Achalasia is known to result from degeneration of inhibitory neurons, which are mostly nitrinergic. Characteristic features of achalasia include incomplete lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation and esophageal aperistalsis. Nitric oxide (NO), produced by NO synthase (NOS), plays an important role in peristalsis and LES relaxation. Therefore, w...

The study aimed at evaluating the influence of MTHFR 677C>T and NQO1 609C>T polymorphisms in toxicity and response to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. These two genes are involved in the folate homeostasis and bioactivation of chemotherapeutic drugs, respectively. In this study, 243 patients treated with FEC/FAC/methotrexate chemotherapy reg...

Left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) with subsequent congestive heart failure (CHF) constitutes the final common pathway for a host of cardiac disorders. The impaired LV function develops in response to an ischemic insult followed by a fall in cardiac output that leads to activation of renin-angiotensin-system (RAS). Angiotensin II type I receptor (A...

Adiponectin is an abundant adipose tissue-derived protein with anti-atherogenic, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic properties. Plasma adiponectin levels are decreased in obesity, type 2 diabetes, and coronary artery disease and low adiponectin levels also predict insulin resistance (IR). Case-control study in which 642 male and female subjects wer...

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified variants in phospholipase C epsilon1 (PLCE1) as novel susceptibility markers for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Chinese population. Although few studies have replicated this findings in other populations, but results are contradictory. So, we aimed to replicate association...

Phospholipase C epsilon 1 (PLCE1) plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis and progression of several types of cancers. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, rs2274223) in PLCE1 has been identified as a novel susceptibility locus. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of three potentially functional SNPs (rs2274223A > G, rs3765524...

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short regulatory RNAs that can modulate gene expression and function as negative regulators. Common genetic variants like single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA genes may alter their expression or maturation resulting in varied functional consequences in carcinogenesis. Therefore, we evaluated the genetic...

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Purpose: Polymorphism in carcinogen detoxification enzymes, NAT2 and GSTT1, has been suggested as susceptibility factor for DNA damage and lung cancer. However, little information is available on DNA adduct burden in lung tissue and polymorphisms in NAT2 and GSTs gene. We invest...

Purpose: Dysregulations of regulatory genes in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) gene polymorphisms may lead to breast cancer cell growth, differentiation, and tumor metastasis. Methods: Polymorphisms in OCT4 (rs3130932), NANOG (rs11055786), LIN28 (rs4274112), and SOX2 (rs11915160) genes were evaluated for susceptibility in 297 breast cancer females a...

Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is characterized by epigastric pain, burning, early satiety and postprandial fullness in absence of organic or metabolic causes. Gastrointestinal (GI) motor abnormalities and altered visceral sensation have been considered as major pathophysiological mechanisms involved in FD. Gprotein beta-3 subunit gene (GNb3...

This study was aimed to assess the association of Protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor22 (PTPN22) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) susceptibility in 400 RHD patients and 300 controls. The PTPN22 polymorphisms (rs2476601, rs1217406 and rs3789609) were genotyped using Taqman probes (Applied Biosystem...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of interrelated common clinical disorders. The role of resistin in insulin sensitivity and metabolic syndrome is controversial till date. So, the aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of plasma resistin levels with markers of the metabolic syndrome in Indian subjects. In a case control s...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are a family of zinc-containing endoproteinases that degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) components. MMP have important roles in the development, physiology and pathology of cardiovascular system. Metalloproteases also play key roles in adverse cardiovascular remodeling, atherosclerotic plaque formation and plaque ins...

Background: Phospholipase C epsilon 1 (PLCE1) encodes a member of the phospholipase family of proteins that play crucial roles in carcinogenesis and progression of several cancers including esophageal cancer (EC). In two large scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP, rs2274223A>G, rs3765524C>T) in PLCE1 we...

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a violent neoplasm associated with late diagnosis, unsatisfactory treatment, and poor prognosis. The disease shows complex interplay between multiple genetic variants. We analyzed 15 polymorphisms in nine genes involved in various pathways to find out combinations of genetic variants contributing to GBC risk. The genes i...

Background: Left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) is a complex, multifactorial condition, caused by mechanical, neurohormonal, and genetic factors. We have previously observed association of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and inflammatory pathway genes with LVD. Therefore the present study was undertaken...

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most serious complication of heart that comprises inflammatory reactions in heart valves. Cytokines play a critical role in triggering inflammatory reactions and they activate the Janus Kinase/Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway. Altered signals of STATs play important...

Adiponectin and leptin both react in a reciprocal approach with increasing obesity, leptin increases while adiponectin decreases with the obesity. Therefore, in the present study we investigate the relationships of A/L ratio with insulin resistance measured by HOMA-IR. This study was a population-based cross-sectional study, only 642 (BMI 29.14±2.5...

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) involves interplay of sex steroids, including estrogen and progesterone. Since CYP17 is a key enzyme involved in estrogen and testosterone hormone biosynthesis as well as in xenobiotic metabolism, it may be a potential candidate gene in the carcinogenesis of the gallbladder. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the...

Background and purposeMigraine pathophysiology involves a complex interplay of processes wherein the hormonal, neurotransmitter and inflammatory pathways interact to influence the migraine phenotype. However, all studies pertaining to the role of genetic variants in migraine have been restricted to a specific pathway and none of the studies has loo...

Objective To study the expression, function and polymorphism of MDR-1 protein on the peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with RA following treatment with MTX and its relationship with response to therapy.MethodsRA patients naïve to MTX/DMARD- and glucocorticoid were enrolled. Expression and function of MDR-1 was carried out by flow cytometry a...

Background & objectives: CYP4F2 and γ-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) have small but significant roles in the maintenance dose of coumarinic oral anticoagulants (COAs). CYP4F2 1347 G>A and GGCX 12970 C>G polymorphisms have been used in the pharmacogenetic dosing algorithms of warfarin for Caucasians and Chinese populations. India has a large population...

Genetic variants of the melanocortin-4 receptor gene (MC4R), agouti related protein (AGRP) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) are reported to be associated with obesity. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine MC4R rs17782313, MC4R rs17700633, AGRP rs3412352 and POMCrs1042571 for any association with obesity in North Indian subjects. The variant...

Defective apoptosis is a hallmark of cancer development and progression. Death receptors (DR4, FAS) and their ligands (TRAIL, FASL) are thought to mediate the major extrinsic apoptotic pathway in the cell. SNPs in these genes may lead to defective apoptosis. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the association of functional SNPs of DR4 (rs...

Gallbladder cancer (GBC), the most common gastrointestinal and biliary tract malignancy, often coincides with gallstone disease (GSD). The genetic variants of adrenergic receptor (ADR) have been previously reported to be associated with hypomotility disorder of cardiovascular system and GSD. Since GSD may function as GBC precursor, the present stud...

Gallbladder carcinoma is a highly aggressive cancer with female predominance. Interindividual differences in the effectiveness of the activation/detoxification of environmental carcinogens and endogenous estrogens may play a crucial role in cancer susceptibility. The present study included 410 patients with carcinoma of the gallbladder (GBC) and 23...

Genotypes of Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) may contribute clinical phenotypes of amoebiasis such as amoebic liver abscess (ALA), dysentery and asymptomatic cyst passers state. Hence, we evaluated allelic variation due to short tandem repeats (STRs) in tRNA gene of E. histolytica and clinical phenotypes of amoebiasis. Asymptomatic cyst pass...

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cardiac disease in humans. Many CAD patients develop left ventricle dysfunction (LVD), leading to congestive heart failure. Mutations in several genes including those encoding sarcomeric proteins such as MYBPC3, TNNT2, and TTN are common genetic cause of hereditary cardiac myopathies. An intronic...

Background: Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and nuclear factor of kappa light chain gene enhancer in activated B cells (NF-κB) play critical role in carcinogenesis processes like tumour initiation, proliferation, migration and invasion. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in TNF-α, NF-κB and its inhibitor IκB genes were shown to be associated wit...

Introduction: Glutathione-S-transferase is involved in detoxification of xenobiotic compounds. GSTs gene polymorphisms have been considered as a potential modifier for the respiratory disease. COPD is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lungs, which progresses very slowly and the majority of patients are therefore elderly, and few study suggeste...

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease and cause of heart attacks. It has been proposed that both the susceptibility to disease and the interindividual variability in response to treatment relates in part to genetic polymorphisms, particularly those polymorphisms for neurotransmitter and drug receptors. Common functi...

CD44 is an important marker for cancer stem cells. Germline variants in CD44 gene have been associated with susceptibility to breast and nasopharyngeal carcinomas but no study in gallbladder cancer (GBC) has been done yet. The present study included 405 GBC patients and 200 healthy controls from North India. Tagger SNPs for CD44 were selected from...

Genetic variants in micro-RNAs (miRNA) have been shown to affect progression, diagnosis, and prognosis of various malignancies; however, their role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) susceptibility is controversial. Therefore, we aimed to determine role of common genetic variants in cancer related pre-miRNA in susceptibility and survival...

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified various migraine susceptibility variants. We aim to replicate 5 GWAS-associated polymorphisms (rs1835740, LRP1 rs11172113, TRPM8 rs10166942, PRDM16 rs2651899, and TGFBR2 rs7640453) in the North Indian population. Furthermore, we checked the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in strong linka...

Background and AimEsophageal cancer-related gene 1 (ECRG1) is a novel tumor suppressor gene known to affect matrix remodeling, cell growth, and differentiation. Previous studies in high incidence geographical regions of esophageal cancer (EC) have shown association of ECRG1 Arg290Gln polymorphism with risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESC...

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme is a major mediator of inflammation in periodontitis, leading to loss of gingival tissues and alveolar bone supporting the teeth. Previous studies have explored the role of COX-2 polymorphisms with the risk of periodontitis in different ethnic groups; however, findings are inconsistent. So, we aimed to investigate th...

The prevalence of KRAS mutation in colorectal cancer (CRC) ranges widely in different parts of world. Histologic characteristics of KRAS mutated CRCs are not well described. We studied KRAS mutation in CRC to know the prevalence and its correlation with clinicopathologic parameters in Indian population. Consecutive 92 cases of CRC were tested for K...