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Biomedical subjects

Jun Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Jun Wang.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

[Craniofacial hyperhidrosis treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility, safety and prospect application value of video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy utilized in the treatment of craniofacial hyperhidrosis. METHODS: Eighteen patients with craniofacial hyperhidrosis underwent sympathectomy from January 2003 to December 2004, including 10 cases combined with palmar hyperhidrosis. There were 17 males and 1 females with a mean age of 36.5 years (ranges, 25-42). Sympathetic chain was transected just below the stellate ganglion in pure craniofacial hyperhidrosis. Additional T(3) sympathectomy was performed in those patients combined with palmar hyperhidrosis. RESULTS: There were no surgical complication or surgical mortality cases. Seventeen patients achieved improvement of craniofacial hyperhidrosis without recurrent symptoms, but one had partial remission due to thoracic adhesion and false location of the ganglions. The effective rate was 97% (35/36). No recurrent symptoms occurred after a mean of 8.3 months of follow-up. No relapse occurred. Fifteen patients (83%) developed compensatory sweating of the trunk and lower limbs. Six patients (33%) presented palmar dry (severe hypohidrosis) and they all can tolerate the condition. All patients were satisfied with the outcomes of their operations. CONCLUSION: The initial results show that thoracoscopic sympathectomy is a safe and effective method for the treatment of craniofacial hyperhidrosis.

Adult↗

[The effects of inhaled nitric oxide on pulmonary vascular resistance in patients after total cavopulmonary connection].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of inhaled nitric oxide (NO) on pulmonary vascular resistance in patients after total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC). METHODS: Fifty-two patients after TCPC were evaluated, of them 24 patients were administered with inhaled nitric oxide in the early postoperative period. The cardiac index (CI) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) were compared before and after inhaled NO. RESULTS: In experimental group, after inhaled NO, partial pressure of oxygen in artery/fraction of inspired oxygen increased from 161 +/- 17 to 193 +/- 23 (t = 2.75, P < 0.01); CI from (2.86 +/- 0.24) L.min(-1).m(-2) to (3.13 +/- 0.22) L.min(-1).m(-2) (t = 2.25, P < 0.05); PVR decreased from (4.2 +/- 0.5) U/m(2) to (3.8 +/- 1.4) U/m(2) (t = 2.29, P < 0.05); central venous pressure (CVP) from (17.0 +/- 1.8) mm Hg to (15.0 +/- 1.1) mm Hg, decreased 11.7%. Compared with the control group, respirator time decreased from (86 +/- 27) h to (54 +/- 18) h (t = 2.29, P < 0.05); ICU time from (6 +/- 2) d to (4 +/- 2) d (t = 2.32, P < 0.05); But hydrothorax drainage and length of stay had no significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: Though inhaled NO, there is no significant long-term effects in patients after TCPC, but it may play an important role in the management of low cardiac output syndrome and high cava pressure caused by reactive elevated pulmonary vascular resistance in the early postoperative period of TCPC.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Pigs in sequence space: a 0.66X coverage pig genome survey based on shotgun sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Comparative whole genome analysis of Mammalia can benefit from the addition of more species. The pig is an obvious choice due to its economic and medical importance as well as its evolutionary position in the artiodactyls. RESULTS: We have generated approximately 3.84 million shotgun sequences (0.66X coverage) from the pig genome. The data are hereby released (NCBI Trace repository with center name "SDJVP", and project name "Sino-Danish Pig Genome Project") together with an initial evolutionary analysis. The non-repetitive fraction of the sequences was aligned to the UCSC human-mouse alignment and the resulting three-species alignments were annotated using the human genome annotation. Ultra-conserved elements and miRNAs were identified. The results show that for each of these types of orthologous data, pig is much closer to human than mouse is. Purifying selection has been more efficient in pig compared to human, but not as efficient as in mouse, and pig seems to have an isochore structure most similar to the structure in human. CONCLUSION: The addition of the pig to the set of species sequenced at low coverage adds to the understanding of selective pressures that have acted on the human genome by bisecting the evolutionary branch between human and mouse with the mouse branch being approximately 3 times as long as the human branch. Additionally, the joint alignment of the shot-gun sequences to the human-mouse alignment offers the investigator a rapid way to defining specific regions for analysis and resequencing.

Animals↗

[Transumbilical laparoscopic operation for the incarcerated oblique inguinal hernia in the infants].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical application of transumbilical double-hole laparoscopic operation for incarcerated inguinal hernia in the infants. METHODS: Forty-eight cases with incarcerated inguinal hernia (male 39, female 9) aging from 4 months to 3 years (mean 1.2 +/- 0.8 years) received the laparoscopic transumbilical double-hole operation (LTO group) during April.2003 to April.2004. Thirty cases were left side incarcerated inguinal hernia, 12 cases were right side and 6 cases were bilateral. Fifty infants of incarcerated inguinal hernias treated with traditional operation served as controls (TO group). The mean operation time, length of stay, return of bowel function and postoperative complication were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: All cases of both groups recovered without any complication. The operation time, average hospitalization and return of bowel function in LTO were (30 +/- 5) min, (7.8 +/- 0.3) h and (4.4 +/- 0.3) d, respectively, and in TO were (43 +/- 6) min, (23.3 +/- 2.4) h and (6.7 +/- 0.4) d, respectively. There was a significant difference in the two groups (P < 0.05). The patients in both groups were followed up for 3 months to one year. LTO group had no recurrence or atrophy of testis and TO group had one relapse of hernia. CONCLUSIONS: Transumbilical double-hole laparoscopic operation is safe and microinvasive. It is a useful microinvasive procedure in the treatment of incarcerated inguinal hernia for infant.

Child, Preschool↗

[Cbfal's effect on chondrogenic gene expression in fibroblast].

OBJECTIVE: Core-binding factor a1, Cbfa1, which belongs to the runt-domain gene family, is an essential transcription factor for osteoblastic differentiation and osteogenesis. To examine the effects of Cbfa1 exhibit on gene expression which involving in the chondrogenesis. METHODS: On the first, using RT-PCR method, we directly cloned Cbfa1/Runx2 full length cDNA from E13.5 days mouse embryos limb buds. Consequently Cbfa1/Runx2 was cloned into pcDNA3.1 plasmid to make a eukaryotic expression vector. All the clones were proved to be correct by enzyme cutting and sequencing analysis. On the second, we used pcDNA3.1-Cbfa1 to tansfect fibroblast. 48 hours later, we contrasted the gene transcription of Sox9, Sox5 and Sox6 between tansfected and untransfected. 72 hours later, type II collagen have also been examined by Western blotting. RESULTS: Cbfa1 overexpression in fibroblast can upregulate the expression of Sox9 and type II collagen, but it have no effect on the expression of Sox5 and Sox6. CONCLUSION: Cbfa1 may involve in the regulation of chondrogenesis.

Animals↗

Electroacupuncture suppresses surgical trauma stress-induced lymphocyte apoptosis in rats.

Cumulative evidences suggested that electroacupuncture (EA) could modulate immune function, but the mechanism needs further study. In the present study, the effect of EA on surgical trauma stress-induced lymphocyte apoptosis was investigated by using DNA gel electrophoresis, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay, and Western blot for Fas protein expression. The results showed that rats with surgical trauma stress exhibited a significant reduction in splenic cellularity. Increase in apoptotic cell death and Fas (CD95/Apo-1) expression in splenic lymphocytes was also observed. EA could suppress the increase of apoptosis and Fas protein expression in splenic lymphocytes induced by the surgical trauma stress. These results implied that EA could decrease splenic lymphocytes apoptosis via inhibiting Fas protein expression; consequently prevent deleterious immunological changes in the post-operative state.

Animals↗

Accelerated evolution of the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide precursor gene during human origin.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuropeptide abundantly expressed in the central nervous system and involved in regulating neurogenesis and neuronal signal transduction. The amino acid sequence of PACAP is extremely conserved across vertebrate species, indicating a strong functional constraint during the course of evolution. However, through comparative sequence analysis, we demonstrated that the PACAP precursor gene underwent an accelerated evolution in the human lineage since the divergence from chimpanzees, and the amino acid substitution rate in humans is at least seven times faster than that in other mammal species resulting from strong Darwinian positive selection. Eleven human-specific amino acid changes were identified in the PACAP precursors, which are conserved from murine to African apes. Protein structural analysis suggested that a putative novel neuropeptide might have originated during human evolution and functioned in the human brain. Our data suggested that the PACAP precursor gene underwent adaptive changes during human origin and may have contributed to the formation of human cognition.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

[Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in renal tissues of rats with chronic allograft nephropathy at early stage and the role thereof].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in the renal tissues of rats with chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) at early stage and its role in CAN. METHODS: Orthotopic transplantation of left kidney was performed between 10 male LEW rats and 10 male F344 rats with the formers as recipients. Small dose cyclosporin A was used to suppress acute rejection. Ten days after the operation the right kidneys of the recipients were resected. Ten LEW rats and 10 F344 rats with their single kidneys resected were used as controls. Twelve weeks after the operation the rats were harvested to take out the transplanted kidneys to undergo histologic examination. Immunochemistry was used to examine the expression of MMP-9 protein and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 . RT-PCR was used to examine the expression of MMP-mRNA in the kidney tissues. At the same time 24 h urine samples were collected to examine the urinary protein. The relationship between the expression of MMP-9 and TGF-beta1 and the quantity of SMCs and mononuclear cells. RESULTS: The 24 h urinary protein level of the experimental group was not significantly different from those of the F3244 control group and LEW control group. The serum inosine level of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the F334 control group and was not significantly different from that of the LEW control group. The degrees of pathologic change degree (Banff score) and fibrosis of kidney interstitium, and the number of inflammatory cells infiltrating into tubulointerstitium, arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in renal cortex, and SMCs in vascular wall of the experimental group were all significantly higher than those of the 2 control groups. The expressions of MMP-9 protein and TGF-beta1 in the kidney interstitium and vascular wall and the expression of MMP-9 mRNA were all significantly higher than those of the 2 control groups. The expression of MMP-9 mRNA in kidney tissues was positively correlated with the degree of infiltration of interstitial mononuclear cells. The MMP-9 mRNA expression level was positively correlated with the number of interstitial mononuclear cells. The MMP-9 protein expression level was positively correlated with the TGF-beta1 expression level in the tubulointerstitium and in the renal arterial wall. CONCLUSION: MMP-9 plays a key role in CAN at early stage. Its expression may be induced by TGF-beta1.

Animals↗

Expression of tau reduces secretion of Abeta without altering the amyloid precursor protein content in CHOsw cells.

Insoluble deposits of tau and amyloid precursor protein (APP) peptides Abeta characterize Alzheimer's disease. We studied the role of tau in the metabolism of APP in cells stably expressing APP Swedish mutation (CHOsw). Transient expression of tau in CHOsw cells caused morphological changes, bundling of microtubules and perinuclear aggregation of Golgi-derived vesicles. It also reduced the secretion of Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42) without altering the APP steady state levels. This was accompanied by a reduction in the gamma-secretase and an increase in the insulin degrading enzyme activities. Our results suggest that tau may play an inhibitory role in the amyloidogenic activity of APP.

Amyloid beta-Peptides↗

[The value of mediastinoscopy in the diagnosis of thoracic sarcoidosis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of mediastinoscopy in the diagnosis of thoracic sarcoidosis. METHODS: This study was retrospective. Mediastinoscopy was performed in a total of 30 patients who had enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes on chest CT and were clinically suspected of having sarcoidosis from November 1999 to June 2004. Biopsy tissues from peritracheal, retrosternal, subcarinal, or bilateral hilar regions were obtained for pathological study. RESULTS: All the patients had a definitive pathologic diagnosis, consisting of 24 cases of stage I and 6 stage II thoracic sarcoidosis. The diagnostic consistency between preoperation and postoperation was 40% (12/30), and the misdiagnosis rate preoperation was 60% (18/30). In this series, the initial diagnosis had been malignancy in 17 cases (57%), of whom 3 had received chemotherapy at local hospitals. The overall incidences of postoperative complication and mortality were 0. CONCLUSION: Our experience showed that mediastinoscopy is a valuable procedure which helps confirm the diagnosis of mediastinal disease. Given its safety and efficacy, it should be considered in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of thoracic sarcoidosis of stage I or II.

Adult↗

C31 enhances voltage-gated calcium channel currents in undifferentiated PC12 cells.

C31, consisting of 31 amino acid residues, is generated from the carboxyl terminal fragments (CTFs) of amyloid precursor protein (APP). It has been shown that C31 causes apoptosis in neurons and is present in brains of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. Using whole-cell patch clamp techniques, we investigated effects of C31 on voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) currents and the protective effects of beta-estradiol on PC12 cells. The results demonstrated that C31 induced a significant increase of the VGCC currents in PC12 cells, which was blocked by beta-estradiol. These results suggest that modulation of intracellular calcium levels by VGCC may in part be involved in C31 induced neuronal death associated with AD.

Animals↗

Identification of a novel mutation in the DSRAD gene in a Chinese pedigree with dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria.

Dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria (DSH) is an autosomal dominant skin disorder characterized by a mixture of hyperpigmented and hypopigmented macules distributed on the face and dorsal aspects of the extremities that appear in infancy or early childhood. The DSH locus has recently been mapped to chromosome 1q21 and then pathogenic mutations have been identified in the DSRAD gene. In the study reported here we examined the DSRAD gene mutations of a three-generation Chinese pedigree with DSH by direct sequencing. We identified a novel heterozygous nucleotide T-->C transition at position 3388 in exon 14 of the DSRAD gene which induces a C1130R change in the putative deaminase domain of DSRAD. Our study expands the database on the DSRAD gene mutations in DSH and enriches the knowledge about the function of the DSRAD gene.

Adenosine Deaminase↗

Molecular staging of cervical lymph nodes in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Clinical staging of cervical lymph nodes from patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) has only 50% accuracy compared with definitive pathologic assessment. Consequently, both clinically positive and clinically negative patients frequently undergo neck dissections that may not be necessary. To address this potential overtreatment, sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is currently being evaluated to provide better staging of the neck. However, to fully realize the potential improvement in patient care afforded by the SLN procedure, a rapid and accurate SLN analysis is necessary. We used quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (QRT-PCR) to screen 40 potential markers for their ability to detect SCCHN metastases to cervical lymph nodes. Seven markers were identified with good characteristics for identifying metastatic disease, and these were validated using a set of 26 primary tumors, 19 histologically positive lymph nodes, and 21 benign nodes from patients without cancer. Four markers discriminated between positive and benign nodes with accuracy >97% but only one marker, pemphigus vulgaris antigen (PVA), discriminated with 100% accuracy in both the observed data and a statistical bootstrap analysis. A rapid QRT-PCR assay for PVA was then developed and incorporated into a prototype instrument capable of performing fully automated RNA isolation and QRT-PCR. The automated analysis with PVA provided perfect discrimination between histologically positive and benign lymph nodes and correctly identified two lymph nodes with micrometastatic tumor deposits. These assays were completed (from tissue to result) in approximately 30 minutes, thus demonstrating the feasibility of intraoperative staging of SCCHN SLNs by QRT-PCR.

Adult↗

Novel human BTB/POZ domain-containing zinc finger protein ZNF295 is directly associated with ZFP161.

Human ZNF295 protein harbors a BTB/POZ domain and multiple krüppel (C(2)H(2)) type zinc finger domains, and thus belongs to a family of POK (POZ and krüppel) transcription factor. We have identified many transcript variants generated by the alternative splicing in 5' non-coding exons, an intra-exonic splicing in a coding region, and the use of three polyadenylation signals in the 3' UTR. The intra-exonic splicing removes 603-bp coding sequence, and thus ZNF295 gene produces two protein isoforms: ZNF295L with 1066 amino acid residues and ZNF295S with 865 amino acid residues, containing 9 and 5 zinc finger domains, respectively. ZNF295 is ubiquitously expressed in human fetal and adult tissues. Analysis of transcription activity of ZNF295 using various promoter-reporters demonstrated that ZNF295 acts as a transcription repressor, and contains two separate regions for repression activity: the BTB/POZ domain and the central region between BTB/POZ and ZF domains. Both ZNF295L and ZNF295S could interact not only with themselves and each other, but also with another POK protein ZFP161 known to function as a transcription repressor and an activator. We postulated that ZNF295 may be involved in the bi-directional control of gene expression in concert with ZFP161.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Molecular cloning and characterization of murine caspase-12 gene promoter.

The activation of caspase-12 is involved in endoplasmic reticulum-mediated apoptosis. To investigate how caspase-12 is transcriptionally and translationally regulated, we isolated and sequenced the 5'-flanking region of mouse caspase-12 gene by a PCR-mediated chromosome-walking technique, using mouse genomic DNA as a template. Two DNA fragments of 3,221 and 800 bp were isolated and cloned into pGL3 promoterless vector upstream of the luciferase gene. The small DNA fragment contains the first intron sequence located downstream of the first exon and 27 bp from the second exon, whereas the large fragment contains the small fragment and the 5'-flanking region. Reporter constructs generated from these DNA fragments showed a substantial promoter activity in mouse NIH 3T3 or human embryonic kidney 293 cells grown in the presence of 10% serum. In the absence of serum, the luciferase activity was drastically reduced. However, the luciferase mRNA was higher in serum-starved cells than in control cells, suggesting that translation of luciferase mRNA was drastically inhibited. However, Western blot analysis revealed that the quantity of procaspase-12 is actually higher in serum-starved cells relative to that cultured in the presence of 10% serum. Progressive deletion analysis of the 3,221-bp sequence revealed that the highest luciferase activity was observed with the construct containing 700 bp upstream of ATG. The transcriptional initiation site was identified by 5' RACE techniques using total RNA from NIH 3T3 cells. Our results should facilitate studies on the mechanism regulating the expression of this important gene.

Animals↗

The Genomes of Oryza sativa: a history of duplications.

We report improved whole-genome shotgun sequences for the genomes of indica and japonica rice, both with multimegabase contiguity, or almost 1,000-fold improvement over the drafts of 2002. Tested against a nonredundant collection of 19,079 full-length cDNAs, 97.7% of the genes are aligned, without fragmentation, to the mapped super-scaffolds of one or the other genome. We introduce a gene identification procedure for plants that does not rely on similarity to known genes to remove erroneous predictions resulting from transposable elements. Using the available EST data to adjust for residual errors in the predictions, the estimated gene count is at least 38,000-40,000. Only 2%-3% of the genes are unique to any one subspecies, comparable to the amount of sequence that might still be missing. Despite this lack of variation in gene content, there is enormous variation in the intergenic regions. At least a quarter of the two sequences could not be aligned, and where they could be aligned, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rates varied from as little as 3.0 SNP/kb in the coding regions to 27.6 SNP/kb in the transposable elements. A more inclusive new approach for analyzing duplication history is introduced here. It reveals an ancient whole-genome duplication, a recent segmental duplication on Chromosomes 11 and 12, and massive ongoing individual gene duplications. We find 18 distinct pairs of duplicated segments that cover 65.7% of the genome; 17 of these pairs date back to a common time before the divergence of the grasses. More important, ongoing individual gene duplications provide a never-ending source of raw material for gene genesis and are major contributors to the differences between members of the grass family.

Base Sequence↗

Caloric restriction attenuates beta-amyloid neuropathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

This study was designed to explore the possibility that caloric restriction (CR) may benefit Alzheimer's disease (AD) by preventing beta-amyloid (Abeta) neuropathology pivotal to the initiation and progression of the disease. We report that a CR dietary regimen prevents Abeta peptides generation and neuritic plaque deposition in the brain of a mouse model of AD neuropathology through mechanisms associated with promotion of anti-amyloidogenic alpha-secretase activity. Study findings support existing epidemiological evidence indicating that caloric intake may influence risk for AD and raises the possibility that CR may be used in preventative measures aimed at delaying the onset of AD amyloid neuropathology.

Adipose Tissue↗