The effect of opium on expression of some genes involved in the growth of tumor in the liver.

Objective: A few epidemiological studies suggest that continues usages of opium can be a risk factor for different types of GI cancers. This study is designed to investigate the effects of opium on expression of some genes involved in the tumor growth in GI system Materials and Methods: Forty rats were randomly divided to four groups and then, they were treated with different compounds for 36 weeks. Group 1 (positive control) received diethylnitrosamine (DEN) orally for 8 weeks and then normal saline by the end of the experiment. In group 2, the animals received DEN for 8 weeks, normal saline for 4 weeks and opium for the end of experiment the animal in group 3 treated with opium for 16 weeks and then phenobarbital for the end of the experiment. The group 4 used as negative control, just received normal saline during the experiment. At the end of the experiments 5 rats were euthanized from each group, the tissue samples were taken from the liver and stored in liquid nitrogen until analysis. The samples were analyzed for any changes in the expression of P53, CDC25, CDK2 genes using Q-PCR assay.Results: There were a significant increase (p 0.05) in the expression of all tested genes (P53, CDC25, CDK2) in group 1 and group 2, with higher expression in group1