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Biomedical subjects

Lin Li

Publications and source records attributed to Lin Li.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Sorption, degradation and mobility of microcystins in Chinese agriculture soils: Risk assessment for groundwater protection.

In the present paper, sorption, persistence, and leaching behavior of three microcystin variants in Chinese agriculture soils were examined. Based on this study, the values of capacity factor and slope for three MCs variants in three soils ranged from 0.69 to 6.00, and 1.01 to 1.54, respectively. The adsorption of MCs in the soils decreased in the following order: RR > Dha7 LR > LR. Furthermore, for each MC variant in the three soils, the adsorption rate in the soils decreased in the following order: soil A > soil C > soil B. The calculated half-time ranged between 7.9 and 17.8 days for MC-RR, 6.0-17.1 days for MC-LR, and 7.1-10.2 days for MC-Dha7 LR. Results from leaching experiments demonstrated that recoveries of toxins in leachates ranged from 0-16.7% for RR, 73.2-88.9% for LR, and 8.9-73.1% for Dha7 LR. The GUS value ranged from 1.48 to 2.06 for RR, 1.82-2.88 for LR, and 1.76-2.09 for Dha7 LR. Results demonstrated the use of cyanobacterial collections as plant fertilizer is likely to be unsafe in soils.

Adsorption↗

[Detection of expression of p53, p16, and cyclooxygenase 2 in pancreatic cancer by tissue microarray and correlation among these three genes].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression of tumor suppressor protein p53, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16, and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in pancreatic cancer by tissue microarray and investigate the correlation among these three genes. METHODS: 104 specimens of tissues, including pancreatic cancer tissue, non-cancer tissues not more than 1.5 cm from the cancer, and normal tissues, underwent microarray examination and immunohistochemistry to detect the expression of p53, p16, and COX-2. The correlation among these 3 genes was analyzed. RESULTS: p53, p16, and COX-2 were all significantly highly expressed in the cancerous tissues in comparison with other tissues. P53 and p16 were both significantly correlated with COX-2 (both P < 0.05), however, there was not a correlation between p53 and p16 (P > 0.05). There was a reciprocal relationship between p53 and COX-2 (P < 0.05, OR = 19.686) influencing the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer. CONCLUSION: Tissue microarray technique is effective method to detect multiple gene protein expression. Pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer is associated with p53, p16, and COX-2.

Adolescent↗

Effects of electromagnetic field on the batch cultivation and nutritional composition of Spirulina platensis in an air-lift photobioreactor.

Spirulina platensis was batch cultivated in a novel 3.5l magnetic air-lift photobioreactor with external-loop on which 0-0.55 T electromagnetic field (EMF) was imposed to investigate the EMF effects on the algal growth and nutrition composition. At the same time, the correlative mechanism was discussed mainly based on C, N, P uptake. It was found that, EMF has double-side effects on S. platensis cultivation depend on EMF intensity. 0.25 T EMF stress was found to be suitable for the algal cultivation enhancement increasing the maximum cell dry weight by 22% in a time period two days less than that of the control at 35 degrees C and 252 micromol photonsm(-2)S(-1). In addition, the nutritional composition of S. platensis was improved in both essential amino acids such as histidine and trace elements Ni, Sr, Cu, Mg, Fe, Mn, Ca, Co and V. It was suggested it was possible to optimize the cultivation process of S. platensis by imposing suitable weak EMF which may enhance the nutrition assimilation e.g. C, N, P and minerals by S. platensis.

Amino Acids↗

Geopolymeric adsorbents from fly ash for dye removal from aqueous solution.

Adsorbents from coal fly ash treated by a solid-state fusion method using NaOH were prepared. It was found that amorphous aluminosilicate geopolymers would be formed. These fly ash-derived inorganic polymers were assessed as potential adsorbents for removal of some basic dyes, methylene blue and crystal violet, from aqueous solution. It was found that the adsorption capacity of the synthesised adsorbents depends on the preparation conditions such as NaOH:fly-ash ratio and fusion temperature with the optimal conditions being at 1.2:1 weight ratio of Na:fly-ash at 250-350 degrees C. The synthesised materials exhibit much higher adsorption capacity than fly ash itself and natural zeolite. The adsorption isotherm can be fitted by Langmuir and Freundlich models while the two-site Langmuir model producing the best results. It was also found that the fly ash derived geopolymeric adsorbents show higher adsorption capacity for crystal violet than methylene blue and the adsorption temperature influences the adsorption capacity. Kinetic studies show that the adsorption process follows the pseudo second-order kinetics.

Adsorption↗

Reversal of MDR1 gene-dependent multidrug resistance using low concentration of endonuclease-prepared small interference RNA.

Multidrug resistance following initial chemotherapy is commonly associated with MDR1 gene encoding for P-glycoprotein (P-gp). RNA interference of MDR1 gene expression was used as a strategy to reverse MDR1-mediated multidrug resistance phenotypes. Here we report that endonuclease-prepared small interfering RNA (esiRNA) at concentrations as low as 10 ng/ml (about 0.7 nM) can decrease MDR1 expression and increase chemosensitivity in the Adriamycin-induced resistant MCF-7/R cells. When MCF-7/R cells were transiently transfected with esiRNA of MDR1 (esiMDR1), the MDR1 mRNA was reduced by about 50%, drug accumulation increased by about 30%, and the IC50 for daunorubicin was reduced from 4.5 to 1.2 microM. These results provide evidence that esiRNA of MDR1 could be an alternative to P-gp inhibitors with the advantage of avoiding non-specific suppression with a lower effective dosage than using a single siRNA duplex, offering a potential therapeutic application of siRNA.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Sun exposure related methylation in malignant and non-malignant skin lesions.

We investigated the aberrant promoter methylation status of 12 genes in skin lesions, both malignant (basal cell carcinomas (BCCs), n=68 and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), n=35) and non-malignant (tags, n=58) skin lesions and compared the results of lesions from sun exposed (SE) and sun protected (SP) regions. Methylation was studied using a methylation specific PCR (MSP) and methylation of CDH1 was also measured using a semi-quantitative fluorescence based real-time MSP method. The methylation index (MI) was calculated as the methylated fraction of the genes examined. In this report, we found high frequencies of methylation of several known or suspected tumor suppressor genes in tags and skin cancers. Among the 12 genes, for the cadherin genes CDH1 and CDH3 and for two of the laminin 5 encoding genes LAMA3 and LAMC2 methylation frequencies greater than 30% were noted in one or more specimen types. We investigated whether methylation was tumor related. Surprisingly, the differences in the methylation profile of genes among the three specimen types were modest, and the MI, indicators of overall methylation frequencies, was nearly identical. However, significant differences were noted in the frequencies of methylation among the three specimen types for the genes RASSF1A (P=0.002), CDH1 (P=0.007) and one or more of three CAD genes (P=0.02). Methylation was highly significantly related to sun exposure, and sun protected specimens had little or no methylation. As methylation of CDH1 was completely SE specific we analyzed all the skin samples using a semi-quantitative real-time PCR assay for the CDH1 gene. The concordance between standard MSP and real-time MSP for all the samples (n=161) was 75% (P<0.0001). While weak signals were detected in the SP samples by real time PCR, the differences between SE and SP specimens were 148 fold for tags and 390 fold for BCCs. These differences were highly significant (P<0.0001). These findings suggest that methylation commences in UV exposed skin at a relatively early age and occurs in skin prior to the onset of recognizable preneoplastic changes.

Aged↗

Reduced TCOF1 mRNA level in a rhesus macaque with Treacher Collins-like syndrome: further evidence for haploinsufficiency of treacle as the cause of disease.

Mutations in the human gene TCOF1 cause a mandibulofacial dysostosis known as Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS). An infant rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) that displayed the TCS phenotype was identified at the California National Primate Research Center. The TCOF1 coding region was cloned from a normal rhesus macaque and sequenced. The rhesus macaque homolog of TCOF1 is 91.6% identical in cDNA sequence and 93.8% identical in translated protein sequence compared to human TCOF1. Sequencing of TCOF1 in the TCS-affected rhesus macaque showed no mutations within the coding region or splice sites; however, real-time quantitative PCR showed an 87% reduction of spleen TCOF1 mRNA level in the TCS affected macaque when compared with normal macaque spleen.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Optimization of an effective extraction procedure for the analysis of microcystins in soils and lake sediments.

Microcystin analysis in sediments and soils is considered very difficult due to low recovery for extraction. This is the primary limiting factor for understanding the fate of toxins in the interface between water and sediment in both the aquatic ecosystem as well as in soils. In the present study, a wide range of extraction solvents were evaluated over a wide range of pH, extraction approaches and equilibration time to optimize an effective extraction procedure for the analysis of microcystins in soils and lake sediments. The number of extractions required and acids in extraction solutions were also studied. In this procedure, EDTA-sodium pyrophosphate solution was selected as an extraction solvent based on the adsorption mechanism study. The optimized procedure proved to be highly efficient and achieved over 90% recovery. Finally, the developed procedure was applied to field soil and sediment sample collected from Chinese lakes during bloom seasons and microcystins were determined in six of ten samples.

Bacterial Toxins↗

Improvement of the performance of an immunoaffinity extraction method via region-specific immobilization of IgG.

Using papaverine as a model target, an immunoaffinity column of high selectivity and binding capacity was prepared by utilizing covalent linkage between the Fc portion of IgG and the surface of Sepharose 4B support. Compared with the commonly used random coupling method, the binding capacity of the region-specific immobilized antibodies was increased from 0.04 to 0.2 mol of antigens/mol of antibodies and a much larger concentration factor was thus achieved. The obtained immunoaffinity column has been successfully used in pretreatment of pericarpium papaveris samples. The method offers an improved approach to immunoaffinity extraction that should be useful for purification and concentration of other targeted compounds in highly complex mixture.

Chromatography, Affinity↗

Salt effects on aggregation of O-carboxymethylchitosan in aqueous solution.

The effects of salt with different valences (NaCl, CaCl2 and CrCl3) on the aggregation of O-carboxylmethylchitosan (OCMCS) in dilute aqueous solution were investigated using viscometry, dynamic laser light scattering (DLS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). With increasing OCMCS concentration beyond a critical aggregation concentration (cac) of approximately 0.045 g/l, the aggregation of OCMCS appears in solution. The driving forces of the OCMCS aggregation are intermolecular hydrogen bond, hydrophobic interaction and electrostatic repulsion. The OCMCS aggregation behavior strongly depends on the valence of salt. When NaCl is added, the aggregate size increases with NaCl concentration. When CaCl2 or CrCl3 is added to a given OCMCS concentration, there exists a critical concentration each of Ca2+ and Cr3+. Before the critical concentration, the aggregates decrease in size with increasing salt concentration due to the intra-aggregate complexation; while after the critical concentration, the size of the aggregates increases with salt concentration due to the inter-aggregate complexation. Moreover, the effect of Cr3+ on the OCMCS aggregation is greater than that of Ca2+. The formation of the intra-aggregate complexation is found to be a kinetic process and the aggregate size decreases with time; the formation of the inter-aggregate complexation is also kinetic where the aggregate size increases with time. The aggregates dominated by the intra-aggregate complexation are small, compact and spherical, while the aggregates dominated by the inter-aggregate complexation show the big, compact and spherical morphology.

Calcium Chloride↗

Association between Pro12Ala polymorphism of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma 2 and myocardial infarction in the Chinese Han population.

BACKGROUND: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma 2 (PPAR-gamma 2) is a nuclear receptor that plays an important role in adipocyte differentiation, energy metabolism, and homeostasis. The Pro12Ala polymorphism of PPAR-gamma 2 is associated with decreased risk of diabetes mellitus. Presumably, it may have a protective effect on myocardial infarction (MI). HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of the study was to explore the association between the Pro12Ala polymorphism and the risk of MI in the Chinese population. METHODS: The Pro12Ala polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism among 844 subjects, including 218 patients with MI and 626 controls. Clinical parameters such as fasting serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, and plasma glucose were detected by autoanalyzer assay. Waist circumference, weight, height, and blood pressure (BP) were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. RESULTS: The frequencies of the Ala allele in the MI and control groups were 0.053 and 0.032, respectively. There was a significant difference in genotype and allele frequency distribution between the two groups (after adjustment for age, gender, BP, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and smoking, odds ratio [OR] = 2.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.26-5.00, p = 0.009). In the group with MI, the difference in frequency of the Ala allele in women (0.241) compared with that of men (0.056) was significant (OR = 4.29, 95% CI: 1.96-9.37, p < 0.001). There was no relationship between the Pro12Ala polymorphism and waist circumference, weight, BMI, BP, or triglycerides (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that Pro12Ala polymorphism is associated with increased risk of MI.

Aged↗

Use of polylactic acid/polytrimethylene carbonate blends membrane to prevent postoperative adhesions.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of a novel biodegradable membrane on the prevention of postoperative adhesion formation. The membrane was prepared by blending 50% PLA (polylactic acid) with 50% PTMC (polytrimethylene carbonate). The prepared blends polymer membrane was more flexible than pure PLA membrane, as measured by glass-transition temperature and tensile study. Cytotoxicity study revealed that PLA/PTMC blends membrane showed good biocompatibility. The membrane elicited slight tissue reaction based on the results of histological study. Thirty adult Japanese rabbits were used for the intestine adhesion model. The treatment group had PLA/PTMC membrane, the control group had chitosan, and the blank control group was not operated. The animals were housed for two weeks and sacrificed to investigate adhesion of intestine. Compared with the blank control group, the treatment group and the control group lowered the extent of adhesions (p < 0.01), but the treatment group was better than the control group (p < 0.05). The in-vivo studies confirmed that PLA/PTMC blends membrane could prevent postoperative adhesions.

Animals↗

Effects of Yizhi Capsule on learning and memory disorder and beta-amyloid peptide induced neurotoxicity in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of Yizhi Capsule (YZC) on learning and memory disorder and beta-amyloid peptide induced neurotoxicity in rats. METHODS: Various doses of YZC were administered to Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for 8 consecutive days, twice a day. On the 8th day of the experiment, scopolamine hydrobromide was intraperitoneally injected to every rat and Morris water maze test and shuttle dark avoidance test were carried out respectively to explore the changes of learning and memory capacities in the rats. Besides, after the cerebral cortical neurons of newborn SD rats aged within 3 days were cultured in vitro for 7 days, drug serum containing YZC was added to the cultured neurons before or after beta amyloid peptide(25 - 35) (Abeta(25 - 35)) intoxication to observe the protective effect of YZC on neurotoxicity by MTT assay and to determine the LDH content in the supernatant. RESULTS: Compared with those untreated with YZC, the rats having received YZC treatment got superiority in shorter time of platform seeking in Morris water maze test, as well as elongated latent period and less times of error in shuttle dark avoidance test. On the cultured neurons, YZC drug serum could effectively increase the survival rate of Abeta(25 - 35) intoxicated neurons and reduce the LDH contents in cultured supernatant. CONCLUSION: YZC has an action of improving learning and memory disorder, and good protective effect on Abeta(25 - 35) induced neurotoxicity in SD rats.

Alpinia↗

Coordinate activation of intracellular signaling pathways by insulin-like growth factor-1 and platelet-derived growth factor in rat hepatic stellate cells.

Proliferation of activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC) is an important event in the development of hepatic fibrosis. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) has been shown to be mitogenic for HSC, but the intracellular signaling pathways involved have not been fully characterized. Thus, the aims of the current study were to examine the roles of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) and p70-S6 kinase (p70-S6-K) signaling pathways in IGF-1- and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced mitogenic signaling of HSC and to examine the potential crosstalk between these pathways. Both IGF-1 and PDGF increased ERK, PI3-K and p70-S6-K activity. When evaluating potential crosstalk between these signaling pathways, we observed that PI3-K is required for p70-S6-K activation by IGF-1 and PDGF, and is partially responsible for PDGF-induced ERK activation. PDGF and IGF-1 also increased the levels of cyclin D1 and phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3beta. Coordinate activation of ERK, PI3-K and p70-S6-K is important for perpetuating the activated state of HSC during fibrogenesis.

Animals↗

Improving QTL mapping resolution based on genotypic sampling--a case using a RIL population.

The QTL mapping results were compared with the genotypically selected and random samples of the same size on the base of a RIL population. The results demonstrated that there were no obvious differences in the trait distribution and marker segregation distortion between the genotypically selected and random samples with the same population size. However, a significant increase in QTL detection power, sensitivity, specificity, and QTL resolution in the genotypically selected samples were observed. Moreover, the highly significant effect was detected in small size of genotypically selected samples. In QTL mapping, phenotyping is a more sensitive limiting factor than genotyping so that the selection of samples could be an attractive strategy for increasing genome-wide QTL mapping resolution. The efficient selection of samples should be more helpful for QTL maker assistant selection, fine mapping, and QTL cloning.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Alkaloids from the leaves of Daphniphyllum longeracemosum.

Two new C-21 Daphniphyllum alkaloids, longeracinphyllins A (1) and B (2), have been isolated from the leaves of Daphniphyllum longeracemosum. Longeracinphyllin A (1) is a new daphnilongeranin B type alkaloid with a rearranged alpha,beta-unsaturated ketone group, and the structure is supported by X-ray crystal data. Longeracinphyllin B (2) is a new seco-10,17-daphnilongeranin B type alkaloid.

Alkaloids↗

Salusins protect neonatal rat cardiomyocytes from serum deprivation-induced cell death through upregulation of GRP78.

Salusin-alpha and salusin-beta are newly identified bioactive peptides with hemodynamic and mitogenic activities. Recent studies have shown that salusins improve calcium uptake and protein synthesis in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, suggesting that salusins may be regulatory factors for myocardial growth and hypertrophy. In this study, we investigated whether salusins improve the survival of cardiomyocytes after serum deprivation. Cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes were treated with or without salusins (salusin-alpha or salusin-beta) at a concentration range of 10 to 10 mol/L for 24 h under serum deprivation conditions. Cardiomyocytes viability was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazonium bromide assay. Cell death or apoptosis rate was identified by flow cytometry analysis. Compared to serum deprivation-only groups, cardiomyocyte viability was significantly increased in salusin-alpha or salusin-beta groups. Cell death rate was decreased after administration of 10 mol/L salusin-alpha or salusin-beta. Salusin-beta was able to decrease the apoptotic rate. Salusins also increased the expression of cardiomyocyte glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) as estimated by Western blot. Furthermore, antisense oligodeoxynucleotide specifically against GRP78 attenuated or abrogated antiapoptosis or survival effects of salusin-beta. These findings suggest that salusin-alpha and salusin-beta may be a potential survival factor against serum deprivation-induced myocardial cell death and that this cardioprotective effect may involve an upregulation of GRP78 expression in cardiomyocytes.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗