instruction:
In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
question:
Context: Alternative splicing is important for increasing the complexity of the human proteome from a limited genome. Previous studies have shown that for some autoantigens, there is differential immunogenicity among alternatively spliced isoforms.', 'Herein, we tested the hypothesis that alternative splicing is a common feature for transcripts of autologous proteins that are autoantigens. The corollary hypothesis tested was that nonautoantigen transcripts have a lower frequency of alternative splicing.', 'The extent of alternative splicing within 45 randomly selected self-proteins associated with autoimmune diseases was compared with 9554 randomly selected proteins in the human genome by using bioinformatics analyses. Isoform-specific regions that resulted from alternative splicing were studied for their potential to be epitopes for antibodies or T-cell receptors.', 'Alternative splicing occurred in 100% of the autoantigen transcripts. This was significantly higher than the approximately 42% rate of alternative splicing observed in the 9554 randomly selected human gene transcripts ( P < .001). Within the isoform-specific regions of the autoantigens, 92% and 88% encoded MHC class I and class II-restricted T-cell antigen epitopes, respectively, and 70% encoded antibody binding domains. Furthermore, 80% of the autoantigen transcripts underwent noncanonical alternative splicing, which is also significantly higher than the less than 1% rate in randomly selected gene transcripts ( P < .001).\Question: Does increased noncanonical splicing of autoantigen transcripts provide the structural basis for expression of untolerized epitopes?
answer:
These studies suggest that noncanonical alternative splicing may be an important mechanism for the generation of untolerized epitopes that may lead to autoimmunity. Furthermore, the product of a transcript that does not undergo alternative splicing is unlikely to be a target antigen in autoimmunity.


question:
Context: To determine whether cancer antigen-125 (CA-125) levels are increased in women with endometriosis, especially in those with endometriomas (OMAs), deep infiltrating lesions (DIE), and superficial endometriosis (SUP) compared with controls without endometriosis in a large cohort of operated women.', 'Cross-sectional study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).', 'Tertiary-care university hospital.', 'Four hundred six women with histologically proven endometriosis and 279 women without endometriosis.', 'Surgical examination of the abdomino-pelvic cavity.', 'Preoperative serum CA-125 antigen levels were evaluated by electrochemoluminescence immunoassay in women with endometriosis and controls. Correlations between serum CA-125 levels and clinical and anatomical characteristics of disease severity were examined. Women with endometriosis displayed higher mean serum CA-125 levels compared with disease-free controls (50.1\xa0±\xa062.4 U/mL vs 22.5\xa0±\xa025.2 U/mL; p\xa0≤\xa0.001). CA-125 levels were significantly increased in women with OMA (60.8\xa0±\xa063.5 U/mL) and DIE (55.2\xa0±\xa068.7 U/mL) compared with women with SUP (23.2\xa0±\xa024.5 U/mL) and controls (22.5\xa0±\xa025.2 U/mL). There was no difference in CA-125 levels between patients with SUP and controls and between patients with OMA and DIE. CA-125 serum levels were correlated with DIE severity: the mean number of DIE lesions and worst DIE lesion.\Question: Is increased serum cancer antigen-125 a marker for severity of deep endometriosis?
answer:
Serum CA-125 levels were significantly increased in women with severe forms of endometriosis, OMA, and DIE lesions. In addition, elevated serum Ca-125 levels were associated with more severe and extended DIE lesions. In women with superficial peritoneal lesions, CA-125 levels were not different from women without endometriosis.


question:
Context: WHO guidelines recommend zinc supplementation as a key adjunct therapy for childhood diarrhea in developing countries, however zinc's anti-diarrheal effects remain only partially understood. Recently, it has been recognized that low-grade inflammation may influence stunting. In this study, we examined whether oral zinc supplementation could improve weight, intestinal inflammation, and diarrhea in undernourished weanling rats.", 'Rats were undernourished using a northeastern Brazil regional diet (RBD) for two weeks, followed by oral gavage with a saturated lactose solution (30 g/kg) in the last 7 days to induce osmotic diarrhea. Animals were checked for diarrhea daily after lactose intake. Blood was drawn in order to measure serum zinc levels by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Rats were euthanized to harvest jejunal tissue for histology and cytokine profiles by ELISA. In a subset of animals, spleen samples were harvested under aseptic conditions to quantify bacterial translocation.', 'Oral zinc supplementation increased serum zinc levels following lactose-induced osmotic diarrhea. In undernourished rats, zinc improved weight gain following osmotic diarrhea and significantly reduced diarrheal scores by the third day of lactose intake (p < 0.05), with improved jejunum histology (p < 0.0001). Zinc supplementation diminished bacterial translocation only in lactose-challenged undernourished rats (p = 0.03) compared with the untreated challenged controls and reduced intestinal IL-1β and TNF-α cytokines to control levels.\Question: Does zinc treatment ameliorate diarrhea and intestinal inflammation in undernourished rats?
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Altogether our findings provide novel mechanisms of zinc action in the setting of diarrhea and undernutrition and support the use of zinc to prevent the vicious cycle of malnutrition and diarrhea.