Biomedical subjects

Jun Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Jun Wang.

At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Elevated levels of Abeta1-40 and Abeta1-42 do not alter the binding sites of nicotinic receptor subtypes in the brain of APPswe and PS1 double transgenic mice.

The binding sites of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes were measured in the parietal cortex and hippocampus of transgenic mice carrying mutant human APPswe and presenilin 1 (PS1) genes (APPswe/PS1 mice) between the ages of 3 weeks and 17 months. Soluble and insoluble beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta1-40 and Abeta1-42) levels were investigated in parallel. No significant differences in binding sites of [(3)H]cytisine (alpha4beta2 nAChRs) and [(125)I]alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha7 nAChRs) were observed in APPswe/PS1 mice and wild-type control mice at any age studied. At three weeks of age, soluble Abeta1-40 was detectable in the parietal cortex and hippocampus of APPswe/PS1 mice, whereas Abeta1-42 was detectable from 12 months of age. A pronounced increase in insoluble Abeta1-42 was observed between 3 weeks and 17 months compared with that of insoluble Abeta1-40 in both brain regions, indicating a shift that favors accumulation of Abeta1-42 in older APPswe/PS1 mice. The findings indicate that elevated Abeta levels in the brains of APPswe/PS1 mice do not alter the number of alpha4beta2 and alpha7 receptors, the two major brain nAChR subtypes.

Aging↗

PubMed2002

Enhanced immunogenicity of BCG vaccine by using a viral-based GM-CSF transgene adjuvant formulation.

The failure of current BCG vaccine in controlling the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic highlights an urgent need for improved TB vaccine formulations. In this study, we have investigated the effect of a novel adenoviral granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) transgene-based adjuvant formulation (AdGM-CSF) on BCG vaccination in a mouse strain that is genetically weak responders to BCG vaccine. BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously (s.c.) with PBS, BCG, or BCG plus AdGM-CSF or control vector Addl70-3, the immunogenicity of BCG vaccine was evaluated by type 1 IFN-gamma production from lymphocytes of various lymphoid tissues upon mycobacterial antigen stimulation ex vivo. While mycobacterial antigen-specific IFN-gamma production was slightly enhanced by co-immunization BCG with Addl70-3 as compared to BCG immunization alone, a marked increase both in the magnitude and longevity of anti-mycobacterial type 1 immunity was observed in the local draining lymph nodes and spleens by immunization with AdGM-CSF-adjuvanted BCG. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the number of mycobacterial antigen-specific IFN-gamma releasing CD4 T cells in mice immunized with AdGM-CSF-adjuvanted BCG vaccine. Consistent with these enhanced T-cell immunity and memory responses, AdGM-CSF-adjuvanted BCG vaccine significantly improved immune protection against secondary mycobacterial challenge. Our results suggest that GM-CSF transgene-based adjuvant formulation is an effective way to improve the immunogenicity of BCG vaccine.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2002

Detection of oligonucleotide hybridization at femtomolar level and sequence-specific gene analysis of the Arabidopsis thaliana leaf extract with an ultrasensitive surface plasmon resonance spectrometer.

A flow-injection (FI) device is combined, through the use of a low-volume (4 microl) flow cell, with an ultrasensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectrometer equipped with a bi-cell photodiode detector. The application of this novel FI-SPR device for sequence-specific ultratrace analysis of oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) and polydeoxynucleotides was demonstrated. Self-assembled monolayers of ODN probes are tethered onto Au films with a mercaptohexyl group at the 3' ends. The FI-SPR provides a detection level (< or =54 fM) 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than other SPR devices and compares well with several ultrasensitive detection methods for labeled DNA targets (e.g. fluorophore-tagged and radiolabeled DNA samples). The technique is also highly selective, since a 47mer ODN target with a single-base mismatch yielded a much smaller SPR signal, and a specific interaction was detected when the complementary target was present at 0.001% of the total DNA. The FI-SPR was extended to the measurement of two individual genes in a cDNA mixture transcribed from an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf mRNA pool. The greatly enhanced sensitivity not only obviates the necessity of DNA labeling, but also significantly reduces sample consumption, allowing direct quantification of low abundance mRNAs in cellular samples without amplification.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2002

Alteration of cortical EEG in mice carrying mutated human APP transgene.

Transgenic mice expressing human APPswe and PS1-A264E mutations mimic certain neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). These mice have elevated levels of the highly fibrillogenic amyloid beta1-42 peptide (Abeta42) and develop amyloid plaques around the age of 9 months. Our aim was to find whether these transgenic mice differ electrophysiologically from non-transgenic mice and whether the alteration in EEG activity progresses with the accumulation of Abeta. The APP/PS1 mice had reduced cortical theta activity and enhanced beta and gamma activity, but these changes were not age-dependent. APP single mutant mice had similar EEG alterations in theta, beta and gamma bands as APP/PS1 double mutant mice while PS1 single mutant mice did not differ from non-transgenic controls. Insoluble Abeta40 and Abeta42 levels were robustly increased in APP/PS1 double mutant mice and insoluble Abeta40 moderately increased also in APP single mutant mice. Soluble Abeta42 was found in all APP mutant mice but also in lower concentrations in PS1 single mutant mice. Plaques were deposited in 13-month-old APP/PS1 double mutant mice but not in 8-month-old double mutant or 13-month-old single mutant mice. We conclude that the alteration of EEG activity in APP/PS1 double mutant and APP single mutant mice is related to their APP genotype rather than to deposition of beta-amyloid in the brain.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2002

Alternatively spliced TCR mRNA induced by disruption of reading frame.

Nonsense codons that prematurely terminate translation generate potentially deleterious truncated proteins. Here, we show that the T cell receptor-beta (TCRbeta) gene, which acquires in-frame nonsense codons at high frequency during normal lymphocyte development, gives rise to an alternatively spliced transcript [alternative messenger RNA (alt-mRNA)] that skips the offending mutations that generate such nonsense codons. This alt-mRNA is up-regulated by a transfer RNA-dependent scanning mechanism that responds specifically to mutations that disrupt the reading frame. The finding that translation signals regulate the levels of alternatively spliced mRNAs generated in the nucleus may alter the current view of how gene expression is controlled in eukaryotic cells.

Alternative Splicing↗

PubMed2002

Acute renal failure in endotoxemia is caused by TNF acting directly on TNF receptor-1 in kidney.

Bacterial endotoxin (LPS) is responsible for much of the widespread inflammatory response seen in sepsis, a condition often accompanied by acute renal failure (ARF). In this work we report that mice deficient in TNFR1 (TNFR1(-/-)) were resistant to LPS-induced renal failure. Compared with TNFR1(+/+) controls, TNFR1(-/-) mice had less apoptosis in renal cells and fewer neutrophils infiltrating the kidney following LPS administration, supporting these as mediators of ARF. TNFR1(+/+) kidneys transplanted into TNFR1(-/-) mice sustained severe ARF after LPS injection, which was not the case with TNFR1(-/-) kidneys transplanted into TNFR1(+/+) mice. Therefore, TNF is a key mediator of LPS-induced ARF, acting through its receptor TNFR1 in the kidney.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

PubMed2002

Integrin signaling regulates blastocyst adhesion to fibronectin at implantation: intracellular calcium transients and vesicle trafficking in primary trophoblast cells.

Accumulating evidence indicates that the endometrial extracellular matrix (ECM) modulates trophoblast adhesion during mouse blastocyst implantation. In previous studies of adhesion-competent mouse blastocysts, we have demonstrated that integrin-mediated fibronectin (FN)-binding activity on the apical surface of trophoblast cells is initially low, but becomes strengthened after embryos are exposed to FN. In the present study, we have examined whether the ligand-induced upregulation of trophoblast adhesion to FN is mediated by integrin signaling. The strengthening of adhesion to FN required integrin ligation, which rapidly elevated cytoplasmic-free Ca(2+). Chelation of intracellular Ca(2+) using BAPTA-AM, or inhibition of the Ca(2+)-dependent proteins, protein kinase C or calmodulin, significantly attenuated the effect of FN on binding activity. Furthermore, direct elevation of cytoplasmic Ca(2+) levels with ionomycin upregulated FN-binding activity, demonstrating that Ca(2+) signaling is required and sufficient for strong adhesion to FN. Ca(2+) signaling may induce protein trafficking, a known requirement for ligand-induced upregulation of FN-binding activity. Indeed, intracellular vesicles accumulated in adhesion-competent blastocysts, but were absent after exposure to either FN or ionomycin. These findings suggest that, during implantation, contact between peri-implantation blastocysts and FN elevates intracellular Ca(2+), which strengthens trophoblast adhesion to ECM through protein redistribution.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Signaling via LTbetaR on the lamina propria stromal cells of the gut is required for IgA production.

Peyer's patches (PPs) and/or mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) are thought to be essential for immunoglobulin A (IgA) production. We found that the severe IgA deficiency in lymphotoxin-deficient (LT(-/-)) mice could be fully reversed by reconstitution with LT-expressing bone marrow, despite the absence of both LNs and PPs. The number of IgA precursors from LT(-/-) mice was not reduced, and they were able to migrate into the lamina propria (LP) of wild-type mice but not of LTbetaR(-/-) mice. Consistently, lymphoid tissue chemokines and adhesion molecules were reduced within the LP of LTalpha(-/-) and LTbetaR(-/-) mice. IgA deficiency in LTalpha(-/-) mice was reversed by the transplantation of a segment of RAG-1 (recombination-activating gene 1) deficient intestine, which confirmed the dispensability of the MLNs and PPs and the sufficiency of the LT-mediated gut microenvironment for IgA production.

Adoptive Transfer↗

PubMed2002

Genomic organization, transcript variants and comparative analysis of the human nucleoporin 155 (NUP155) gene.

Nucleoporin 155 (Nup155) is a major component of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) involved in cellular nucleo-cytoplasmic transport. We have acquired the complete sequence and interpreted the genomic organization of the Nup155 orthologos from human (Homo sapiens) and pufferfish (Fugu rubripes), which are approximately 80 and 8 kb in length, respectively. The human gene is ubiquitously expressed in many tissues analyzed and has two major transcript variants, resulted from an alternative usage of the 5' cryptic or consensus splice donor in intron 1 and two polyadenylation signals. We have also cloned DNA complementary to RNAs of the Nup155 orthologs from Fugu and mouse. Comparative analysis of the Nup155 orthologs in many species, including H. sapiens, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, F. rubripes, Arabidopsis thaliana, Drosophila melanogaster, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has revealed two paralogs in S. cerevisiae but only a single gene with increasing number of introns in more complex organisms. The amino acid sequences of the Nup155 orthologos are highly conserved in the evolution of eukaryotes. Different gene orders in the human and Fugu genomic regions harboring the Nup155 orthologs advocate cautious interpretation of synteny in comparative genomic analysis even within the vertebrate lineage.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed2002

Kinetic transition in model proteins with a denatured native spinodal.

The relaxation kinetics of three-dimensional lattice model proteins with Gō potential is studied. A kinetic transition from an exponential behavior to a nonexponential one with a denatured native spinodal is characterized. The transition temperatures T(k), obtained from simulations and a semiquantitative estimation, are found to be the same. The change in free energy landscape during the transition is discussed microscopically by studying the detailed folding processes of various paths. The connection of T(k) with the foldability is also studied by a Z-score-like quantity T(f)/T(k).

Kinetics↗

PubMed2002

A draft sequence of the rice genome (Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica).

We have produced a draft sequence of the rice genome for the most widely cultivated subspecies in China, Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica, by whole-genome shotgun sequencing. The genome was 466 megabases in size, with an estimated 46,022 to 55,615 genes. Functional coverage in the assembled sequences was 92.0%. About 42.2% of the genome was in exact 20-nucleotide oligomer repeats, and most of the transposons were in the intergenic regions between genes. Although 80.6% of predicted Arabidopsis thaliana genes had a homolog in rice, only 49.4% of predicted rice genes had a homolog in A. thaliana. The large proportion of rice genes with no recognizable homologs is due to a gradient in the GC content of rice coding sequences.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2002

Arsenic trioxide, retinoic acid and Ara-c regulated the expression of annexin II on the surface of APL cells, a novel co-receptor for plasminogen/tissue plasminogen activator.

Annexin II (AnnII), a high-affinity co-receptor for plasminogen/tissue plasiminogen activator, plays a central role in the primary hyperfibrinolysis in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The aberrant expression of annexin II was found on the APL cell surface in the present study. We investigated patients with APL receiving all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) or arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) treatment, contributing to the downregulation of the expression of annexin II on APL cells, and decreasing the generation of plasmin by tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA). Notably, the clinical improvement of hyperfibrinolysis paralleled the correction of plasma fibrinogen level and amelioration of bleeding. Consistent with in vivo findings, annexin II on NB(4) cell surface and its mRNA content were downregulated with 1 microM As(2)O(3) or 1 microM ATRA, while 2 microg Ara-c enhanced the expression of annexin II and the generation of cell-surface plasmin before its induction of apoptosis. Our data indicate that the inhibition of annexin II expression with ATRA is transcriptionally mediated while As(2)O(3) induces an accelerated degradation of annexin II mRNA. Western blot analysis under treatment conditions showed that both ATRA and As(2)O(3) markedly decreased the production of annexin II, reaching a level near the baseline at 5 and 7 days after treatment, respectively. Annexin II expression of APL cells may be downregulated by ATRA and As(2)O(3.) Therefore, both agents improve hyperfibrinolysis-related hemorrhage of APL, which induced APL cells to difference and apoptosis, respectively.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Grouping of residues based on their contact interactions.

Based on the concept of energy landscape a grouping method of residues for reducing the sequence complexity in proteins is presented. For the Miyazawa and Jernigan matrix, rational groupings of 20 kinds of residues with minimal mismatches, under the consideration of local minima and statistics on correlation between the residues, are studied. A hierarchical tree of groupings relating to different numbers of groups N is obtained, and a plateau around N=8-10 is found, which may represent the basic degree of freedom of the sequence complexity in proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Functional asymmetry of photosystem II D1 and D2 peripheral chlorophyll mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

The peripheral accessory chlorophylls (Chls) of the photosystem II (PSII) reaction center (RC) are coordinated by a pair of symmetry-related histidine residues (D1-H118 and D2-H117). These Chls participate in energy transfer from the proximal antennae complexes (CP43 and CP47) to the RC core chromophores. In addition, one or both of the peripheral Chls are redox-active and participate in a low-quantum-yield electron transfer cycle around PSII. We demonstrate that conservative mutations of the D2-H117 residue result in decreased Chl fluorescence quenching efficiency attributed to reduced accumulation of the peripheral accessory Chl cation, Chl(Z)(+). In contrast, identical symmetry-related mutations at residue D1-H118 had no effect on Chl fluorescence yield or quenching kinetics. Mutagenesis of the D2-H117 residue also altered the line width of the Chl(Z)(+) EPR signal, but the line shape of the D1-H118Q mutant remained unchanged. The D1-H118 and D2-H117 mutations also altered energy transfer properties in PSII RCs. Unlike wild type or the D1-H118Q mutant, D2-H117N RCs exhibited a reduced CD doublet in the red region of Chl absorbance band, indicative of reduced energetic coupling between P680 and the peripheral accessory Chl. In addition, transient absorption measurements of D2-H117N RCs, excited on the blue side of the Chl absorbance band, exhibited a ( approximately 400 fs) pheophytin Q(X) band bleach lifetime component not seen in wild-type or D1-H118Q RCs. The origin of this component may be related to delayed fast-energy equilibration of the excited state between the core pigments of this mutant.

Absorption↗

PubMed2002

Formation of water-in-CO(2) microemulsions with non-fluorous surfactant Ls-54 and solubilization of biomacromolecules.

The solubility of Ls-54 surfactant in supercritical CO(2) was determined. It was found that the surfactant was highly soluble in SC CO(2) and the water-in-CO(2) microemulsions could be formed, despite it being a non-fluorous and non-siloxane nonionic surfactant. The main reasons for the high solubility and formation of the microemulsions may be that the surfactant has four CO(2)-philic groups (propylene oxide) and five hydrophilic groups (ethylene oxide) and its molecular weight are relatively low. The results of this work provide useful information for designing CO(2)-soluble non-fluorous and non-siloxane surfactants. The phase behavior of the CO(2)/Ls-54/H(2)O system, solvatochromic probe study, and the UV spectrum of lysozyme proved the existence of water domains in the SC CO(2) microemulsions. The method of synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering was used to obtain the structural information on the Ls-54 based water-in-CO(2) reverse micelles. By using the Guinier plot (ln I(q) versus q (2)) on the data sets in a defined small q range (0.022-0.040 A(-1)), the radii of the reverse micelles were obtained at different pressures and molar ratio of water to surfactant, W(0), which were in the range of 20.4-25.2 A.

Azo Compounds↗

PubMed2002

A quality control pathway that down-regulates aberrant T-cell receptor (TCR) transcripts by a mechanism requiring UPF2 and translation.

Nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) is an RNA surveillance pathway that degrades mRNAs containing premature termination codons (PTC). T-cell receptor (TCR) and immunoglobulin (Ig) transcripts, which are encoded by genes that very frequently acquire PTCs during lymphoid ontogeny, are down-regulated much more dramatically in response to PTCs than are other known transcripts. Another feature unique to TCR, Ig, and a subset of other mRNAs is that they are down-regulated in response to nonsense codons in the nuclear fraction of cells. This is paradoxical, as the only well recognized entity that recognizes nonsense codons is the cytoplasmic translation apparatus. Therefore, we investigated whether translation is responsible for this nuclear-associated mechanism. We found that the down-regulation of TCR-beta transcripts in response to nonsense codons requires several features of translation, including an initiator ATG and the ability to scan. We also found that optimal down-regulation depends on a Kozak consensus sequence surrounding the initiator ATG and that it can be initiated by an internal ribosome entry site, neither of which has been demonstrated before for any other PTC-bearing mRNA. At least a portion of this down-regulatory response is mediated by the NMD pathway as antisense hUPF2 transcripts increased the levels of PTC-bearing TCR-beta transcripts in the nuclear fraction of cells. We conclude that a hUPF2-dependent RNA surveillance pathway with translation-like features operating in the nuclear fraction of cells prevents the expression of potentially deleterious truncated proteins encoded by non-productively rearranged TCR genes.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed2002

Global exponential stability of continuous-time interval neural networks.

This paper addresses global robust stability of a class of continuous-time interval neural networks that contain time-invariant uncertain parameters with their values being unknown but bounded in given compact sets. We first introduce the concept of diagonally constrained interval neural networks and present a necessary and sufficient condition for global exponential stability of these interval neural networks irregardless of any bounds of non-diagonal uncertain parameters in connection weight matrices. Then we extend the robust stability result to general interval neural networks by giving a sufficient condition. Simulation results illustrate the characteristics of the main results.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Diagnostic utility of bilateral bone marrow examination: significance of morphologic and ancillary technique study in malignancy.

BACKGROUND: To retrospectively evaluate the significance of morphologic examination and ancillary studies performed on bilateral bone marrow biopsy specimens, 1864 bone marrow samples were studied. METHODS: Bilateral bone marrow biopsy specimens included 883 specimens that were evaluated for involvement by non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL); 381 specimens that were evaluated for involvement by carcinoma (CA); 362 specimens that were evaluated for involvement by Hodgkin disease (HD); 94 specimens that were evaluated for involvement by sarcoma (SA); 56 specimens that were evaluated for involvement by multiple myeloma (MM); 53 specimens that were evaluated for involvement by acute and chronic leukemia, myelodysplasia, and/or myeloproliferative disorders (LEUK); and 35 specimens that were evaluated for other reasons. RESULTS: Of all 1864 specimens, 410 samples (22.0%) were positive for disease, including 77% of MM samples, 58% of LEUK samples, 29.6% of NHL samples, 14% of SA samples, 9.9% of HD samples, and 6.8% of CA samples. A discrepancy between the left and right sides was identified in 48 specimens (11.7% of positive samples). The discrepancy rate was 39% for HD samples, 29% for SA samples, 23% for CA samples, and 9.2% for NHL samples. No morphologic discrepancies between bilateral samples were found in MM samples or LEUK samples. Bilateral flow cytometric studies (n = 113 samples) were positive in 11 samples (9.7%; all morphologically positive), with two discrepancies detected between bilateral samples. Bilateral cytogenetic studies (n = 74 samples) were positive in 5 samples (7%), and there were no discrepancies. Bilateral molecular studies (n = 16 samples) were positive in 7 samples (44%), and there were 3 discrepancies. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral morphologic evaluation is useful in the evaluation of patients with NHL, HD, CA, and SA and is not indicated for patients with acute or chronic leukemia, myelodysplasia, MM, and other diseases. Bilateral flow cytometric or cytogenetic studies of bone marrow did not provide additional information in this population to justify bilateral samples. The role of bilateral molecular analysis needs to be defined further, but pooled samples for molecular studies may be adequate.

Biopsy↗