35 results on '"Cheng, He"'
Search Results
2. A Gene-Oriented Haplotype Comparison Reveals Recently Selected Genomic Regions in Temperate and Tropical Maize Germplasm.
- Author
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Cheng He, Junjie Fu, Jie Zhang, Yongxiang Li, Jun Zheng, Hongwei Zhang, Xiaohong Yang, Jianhua Wang, and Guoying Wang
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
The extensive genetic variation present in maize (Zea mays) germplasm makes it possible to detect signatures of positive artificial selection that occurred during temperate and tropical maize improvement. Here we report an analysis of 532,815 polymorphisms from a maize association panel consisting of 368 diverse temperate and tropical inbred lines. We developed a gene-oriented approach adapting exonic polymorphisms to identify recently selected alleles by comparing haplotypes across the maize genome. This analysis revealed evidence of selection for more than 1100 genomic regions during recent improvement, and included regulatory genes and key genes with visible mutant phenotypes. We find that selected candidate target genes in temperate maize are enriched in biosynthetic processes, and further examination of these candidates highlights two cases, sucrose flux and oil storage, in which multiple genes in a common pathway can be cooperatively selected. Finally, based on available parallel gene expression data, we hypothesize that some genes were selected for regulatory variations, resulting in altered gene expression.
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. Protocatechuic acid, a novel active substance against avian influenza virus H9N2 infection.
- Author
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Changbo Ou, Ningning Shi, Qunhui Yang, Yu Zhang, Zongxue Wu, Baozhong Wang, Richard W Compans, and Cheng He
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Influenza virus H9N2 subtype has triggered co-infection with other infectious agents, resulting in huge economical losses in the poultry industry. Our current study aims to evaluate the antiviral activity of protocatechuic acid (PCA) against a virulent H9N2 strain in a mouse model. 120 BALB/c mice were divided into one control group, one untreated group, one 50 mg/kg amantadine hydrochloride-treated group and three PCA groups treated 12 hours post-inoculation with 40, 20 or 10 mg/kg PCA for 7 days. All the infected animals were inoculated intranasally with 0.2 ml of a A/Chicken/Hebei/4/2008(H9N2) inoculum. A significant body weight loss was found in the 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg PCA-treated and amantadine groups as compared to the control group. The 14 day survivals were 94.4%, 100% and 95% in the PCA-treated groups and 94.4% in the amantadine hydrochloride group, compared to less than 60% in the untreated group. Virus loads were less in the PCA-treated groups compared to the amantadine-treated or the untreated groups. Neutrophil cells in BALF were significantly decreased while IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α and IL-6 decreased significantly at days 7 in the PCA-treated groups compared to the untreated group. Furthermore, a significantly decreased CD4+/CD8+ ratio and an increased proportion of CD19 cells were observed in the PCA-treated groups and amantadine-treated group compared to the untreated group. Mice administered with PCA exhibited a higher survival rate and greater viral clearance associated with an inhibition of inflammatory cytokines and activation of CD8+ T cell subsets. PCA is a promising novel agent against bird flu infection in the poultry industry.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. Using LiDAR data to measure the 3D green biomass of Beijing urban forest in China.
- Author
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Cheng He, Matteo Convertino, Zhongke Feng, and Siyu Zhang
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
The purpose of the paper is to find a new approach to measure 3D green biomass of urban forest and to testify its precision. In this study, the 3D green biomass could be acquired on basis of a remote sensing inversion model in which each standing wood was first scanned by Terrestrial Laser Scanner to catch its point cloud data, then the point cloud picture was opened in a digital mapping data acquisition system to get the elevation in an independent coordinate, and at last the individual volume captured was associated with the remote sensing image in SPOT5(System Probatoired'Observation dela Tarre)by means of such tools as SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions), GIS (Geographic Information System), RS (Remote Sensing) and spatial analysis software (FARO SCENE and Geomagic studio11). The results showed that the 3D green biomass of Beijing urban forest was 399.1295 million m(3), of which coniferous was 28.7871 million m(3) and broad-leaf was 370.3424 million m(3). The accuracy of 3D green biomass was over 85%, comparison with the values from 235 field sample data in a typical sampling way. This suggested that the precision done by the 3D forest green biomass based on the image in SPOT5 could meet requirements. This represents an improvement over the conventional method because it not only provides a basis to evalue indices of Beijing urban greenings, but also introduces a new technique to assess 3D green biomass in other cities.
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Correction: Conditionally Immortalized Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Retain Proliferative Activity without Compromising Multipotent Differentiation Potential.
- Author
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Enyi Huang, Yang Bi, Wei Jiang, Xiaoji Luo, Ke Yang, Jian-Li Gao, Yanhong Gao, Qing Luo, Qiong Shi, Stephanie H. Kim, Xing Liu, Mi Li, Ning Hu, Hong Liu, Jing Cui, Wenwen Zhang, Ruidong Li, Xiang Chen, Jikun Shen, Yuhan Kong, Jiye Zhang, Jinhua Wang, Jinyong Luo, Bai-Cheng He, Huicong Wang, Russell R. Reid, Hue H. Luu, Rex C. Haydon, Li Yang, and Tong-Chuan He
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
6. K(V)7/KCNQ channels are functionally expressed in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.
- Author
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Wei Wang, Xiao-Fei Gao, Lin Xiao, Zheng-Hua Xiang, and Cheng He
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
BACKGROUND: K(V)7/KCNQ channels are widely expressed in neurons and they have multiple important functions, including control of excitability, spike afterpotentials, adaptation, and theta resonance. Mutations in KCNQ genes have been demonstrated to associate with human neurological pathologies. However, little is known about whether K(V)7/KCNQ channels are expressed in oligodendrocyte lineage cells (OLCs) and what their functions in OLCs. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In this study, we characterized K(V)7/KCNQ channels expression in rat primary cultured OLCs by RT-PCR, immunostaining and electrophysiology. KCNQ2-5 mRNAs existed in all three developmental stages of rat primary cultured OLCs. K(V)7/KCNQ proteins were also detected in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs, early developmental stages of OLCs) of rat primary cultures and cortex slices. Voltage-clamp recording revealed that the I(M) antagonist XE991 significantly reduced K(V)7/KCNQ channel current (I(K(Q))) in OPCs but not in differentiated oligodendrocytes. In addition, inhibition of K(V)7/KCNQ channels promoted OPCs motility in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: These findings showed that K(V)7/KCNQ channels were functionally expressed in rat primary cultured OLCs and might play an important role in OPCs functioning in physiological or pathological conditions.
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
7. SHP-2 promotes the maturation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells through Akt and ERK1/2 signaling in vitro.
- Author
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Xiujie Liu, Yuanyuan Li, Yong Zhang, Yan Lu, Wei Guo, Peng Liu, Jiazhen Zhou, Zhenghua Xiang, and Cheng He
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
BACKGROUND: Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) differentiate into oligodendrocytes (OLs), which are responsible for myelination. Myelin is essential for saltatory nerve conduction in the vertebrate nervous system. However, the molecular mechanisms of maturation and myelination by oligodendrocytes remain elusive. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In the present study, we showed that maturation of oligodendrocytes was attenuated by sodium orthovanadate (a comprehensive inhibitor of tyrosine phosphatases) and PTPi IV (a specific inhibitor of SHP-2). It is also found that SHP-2 was persistently expressed during maturation process of OPCs. Down-regulation of endogenous SHP-2 led to impairment of oligodendrocytes maturation and this effect was triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) dependent. Furthermore, over-expression of SHP-2 was shown to promote maturation of oligodendrocytes. Finally, it has been identified that SHP-2 was involved in activation of Akt and extracellular-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) induced by T3 in oligodendrocytes. CONCLUSIONS: SHP-2 promotes oligodendrocytes maturation via Akt and ERK1/2 signaling in vitro.
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
8. Lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase β (LPAATβ) promotes the tumor growth of human osteosarcoma.
- Author
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Farbod Rastegar, Jian-Li Gao, Deana Shenaq, Qing Luo, Qiong Shi, Stephanie H Kim, Wei Jiang, Eric R Wagner, Enyi Huang, Yanhong Gao, Jikun Shen, Ke Yang, Bai-Cheng He, Liang Chen, Guo-Wei Zuo, Jinyong Luo, Xiaoji Luo, Yang Bi, Xing Liu, Mi Li, Ning Hu, Linyuan Wang, Gaurav Luther, Hue H Luu, Rex C Haydon, and Tong-Chuan He
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy of bone with poorly characterized molecular pathways important in its pathogenesis. Increasing evidence indicates that elevated lipid biosynthesis is a characteristic feature of cancer. We sought to investigate the role of lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase β (LPAATβ, aka, AGPAT2) in regulating the proliferation and growth of human osteosarcoma cells. LPAATβ can generate phosphatidic acid, which plays a key role in lipid biosynthesis as well as in cell proliferation and survival. Although elevated expression of LPAATβ has been reported in several types of human tumors, the role of LPAATβ in osteosarcoma progression has yet to be elucidated.Endogenous expression of LPAATβ in osteosarcoma cell lines is analyzed by using semi-quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of LPAATβ and silencing LPAATβ expression is employed to determine the effect of LPAATβ on osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration in vitro and osteosarcoma tumor growth in vivo. We have found that expression of LPAATβ is readily detected in 8 of the 10 analyzed human osteosarcoma lines. Exogenous expression of LPAATβ promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration, while silencing LPAATβ expression inhibits these cellular characteristics. We further demonstrate that exogenous expression of LPAATβ effectively promotes tumor growth, while knockdown of LPAATβ expression inhibits tumor growth in an orthotopic xenograft model of human osteosarcoma.Our results strongly suggest that LPAATβ expression may be associated with the aggressive phenotypes of human osteosarcoma and that LPAATβ may play an important role in regulating osteosarcoma cell proliferation and tumor growth. Thus, targeting LPAATβ may be exploited as a novel therapeutic strategy for the clinical management of osteosarcoma. This is especially attractive given the availability of selective pharmacological inhibitors.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
9. Retinoic acids potentiate BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells.
- Author
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Wenli Zhang, Zhong-Liang Deng, Liang Chen, Guo-Wei Zuo, Qing Luo, Qiong Shi, Bing-Qiang Zhang, Eric R Wagner, Farbod Rastegar, Stephanie H Kim, Wei Jiang, Jikun Shen, Enyi Huang, Yanhong Gao, Jian-Li Gao, Jian-Zhong Zhou, Jinyong Luo, Jiayi Huang, Xiaoji Luo, Yang Bi, Yuxi Su, Ke Yang, Hao Liu, Hue H Luu, Rex C Haydon, Tong-Chuan He, and Bai-Cheng He
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
As one of the least studied bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), BMP9 is one of the most osteogenic BMPs. Retinoic acid (RA) signaling is known to play an important role in development, differentiation and bone metabolism. In this study, we investigate the effect of RA signaling on BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs).Both primary MPCs and MPC line are used for BMP9 and RA stimulation. Recombinant adenoviruses are used to deliver BMP9, RARalpha and RXRalpha into MPCs. The in vitro osteogenic differentiation is monitored by determining the early and late osteogenic markers and matrix mineralization. Mouse perinatal limb explants and in vivo MPC implantation experiments are carried out to assess bone formation. We find that both 9CRA and ATRA effectively induce early osteogenic marker, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and late osteogenic markers, such as osteopontin (OPN) and osteocalcin (OC). BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation and mineralization is synergistically enhanced by 9CRA and ATRA in vitro. 9CRA and ATRA are shown to induce BMP9 expression and activate BMPR Smad-mediated transcription activity. Using mouse perinatal limb explants, we find that BMP9 and RAs act together to promote the expansion of hypertrophic chondrocyte zone at growth plate. Progenitor cell implantation studies reveal that co-expression of BMP9 and RXRalpha or RARalpha significantly increases trabecular bone and osteoid matrix formation.Our results strongly suggest that retinoid signaling may synergize with BMP9 activity in promoting osteogenic differentiation of MPCs. This knowledge should expand our understanding about how BMP9 cross-talks with other signaling pathways. Furthermore, a combination of BMP9 and retinoic acid (or its agonists) may be explored as effective bone regeneration therapeutics to treat large segmental bony defects, non-union fracture, and/or osteoporotic fracture.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
10. Nitrated alpha-synuclein induces the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of rats.
- Author
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Zhongwang Yu, Xiaohui Xu, Zhenghua Xiang, Jianfeng Zhou, Zhaohuan Zhang, Chun Hu, and Cheng He
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
BACKGROUND: The pathology of Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway, as well as the formation of intraneuronal inclusions known as Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in the substantia nigra. Accumulations of nitrated alpha-synuclein are demonstrated in the signature inclusions of Parkinson's disease. However, whether the nitration of alpha-synuclein is relevant to the pathogenesis of PD is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, effect of nitrated alpha-synuclein to dopaminergic (DA) neurons was determined by delivering nitrated recombinant TAT-alpha-synuclein intracellular. We provide evidence to show that the nitrated alpha-synuclein was toxic to cultured dopaminergic SHSY-5Y neurons and primary mesencephalic DA neurons to a much greater degree than unnitrated alpha-synuclein. Moreover, we show that administration of nitrated alpha-synuclein to the substantia nigra pars compacta of rats caused severe reductions in the number of DA neurons therein, and led to the down-regulation of D(2)R in the striatum in vivo. Furthermore, when administered to the substantia nigra of rats, nitrated alpha-synuclein caused PD-like motor dysfunctions, such as reduced locomotion and motor asymmetry, however unmodified alpha-synuclein had significantly less severe behavioral effects. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results provide evidence that alpha-synuclein, principally in its nitrated form, induce DA neuron death and may be a major factor in the etiology of PD.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. Reactive astrocytes in glial scar attract olfactory ensheathing cells migration by secreted TNF-alpha in spinal cord lesion of rat.
- Author
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Zhida Su, Yimin Yuan, Jingjing Chen, Li Cao, Yanling Zhu, Liang Gao, Yang Qiu, and Cheng He
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
BACKGROUND:After spinal cord injury (SCI), the formation of glial scar contributes to the failure of injured adult axons to regenerate past the lesion. Increasing evidence indicates that olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) implanted into spinal cord are found to migrate into the lesion site and induce axons regeneration beyond glial scar and resumption of functions. However, little is known about the mechanisms of OECs migrating from injection site to glial scar/lesion site. METHODS AND FINDINGS:In the present study, we identified a link between OECs migration and reactive astrocytes in glial scar that was mediated by the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Initially, the Boyden chamber migration assay showed that both glial scar tissue and reactive astrocyte-conditioned medium promoted OECs migration in vitro. Reactive astrocyte-derived TNF-alpha and its type 1 receptor TNFR1 expressed on OECs were identified to be responsible for the promoting effect on OECs migration. TNF-alpha-induced OECs migration was demonstrated depending on activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling cascades. Furthermore, TNF-alpha secreted by reactive astrocytes in glial scar was also showed to attract OECs migration in a spinal cord hemisection injury model of rat. CONCLUSIONS:These findings showed that TNF-alpha was released by reactive astrocytes in glial scar and attracted OECs migration by interacting with TNFR1 expressed on OECs via regulation of ERK signaling. This migration-attracting effect of reactive astrocytes on OECs may suggest a mechanism for guiding OECs migration into glial scar, which is crucial for OECs-mediated axons regrowth beyond the spinal cord lesion site.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
12. A Gene-Oriented Haplotype Comparison Reveals Recently Selected Genomic Regions in Temperate and Tropical Maize Germplasm
- Author
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Jie Zhang, Jianhua Wang, Guoying Wang, Jun Zheng, Junjie Fu, Cheng He, Xiaohong Yang, Yongxiang Li, and Hongwei Zhang
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Germplasm ,Sucrose ,Heredity ,Molecular biology ,Climate ,Inbred Strains ,Gene Expression ,lcsh:Medicine ,Plant Science ,Plant Genetics ,01 natural sciences ,Genome ,Linkage Disequilibrium ,Sequencing techniques ,Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ,Genes, Regulator ,Plant Genomics ,lcsh:Science ,Regulator gene ,Genetics ,Multidisciplinary ,Agriculture ,RNA sequencing ,Genomics ,Plants ,Genetic Mapping ,Experimental Organism Systems ,Genome, Plant ,Research Article ,Biotechnology ,Crops ,Biology ,Research and Analysis Methods ,Zea mays ,03 medical and health sciences ,Model Organisms ,Plant and Algal Models ,Genetic variation ,Botany ,Gene Regulation ,Grasses ,Selection, Genetic ,Allele ,Gene ,Tropical Climate ,Haplotype ,lcsh:R ,Organisms ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Paleontology ,Maize ,Genetics, Population ,Molecular biology techniques ,030104 developmental biology ,Haplotypes ,Earth Sciences ,Plant Biotechnology ,lcsh:Q ,Paleogenetics ,Crop Science ,Cereal Crops ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
The extensive genetic variation present in maize (Zea mays) germplasm makes it possible to detect signatures of positive artificial selection that occurred during temperate and tropical maize improvement. Here we report an analysis of 532,815 polymorphisms from a maize association panel consisting of 368 diverse temperate and tropical inbred lines. We developed a gene-oriented approach adapting exonic polymorphisms to identify recently selected alleles by comparing haplotypes across the maize genome. This analysis revealed evidence of selection for more than 1100 genomic regions during recent improvement, and included regulatory genes and key genes with visible mutant phenotypes. We find that selected candidate target genes in temperate maize are enriched in biosynthetic processes, and further examination of these candidates highlights two cases, sucrose flux and oil storage, in which multiple genes in a common pathway can be cooperatively selected. Finally, based on available parallel gene expression data, we hypothesize that some genes were selected for regulatory variations, resulting in altered gene expression.
- Published
- 2017
13. Construction of Recombinant HVT Expressing PmpD, and Immunological Evaluation against Chlamydia psittaci and Marek's Disease Virus
- Author
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Li Yongqing, Huang Xiufen, Jun Chu, Carolyn M. Black, Zongxue Wu, Peng Zhao, Sun Wei, Shanshan Liu, Qiang Zhang, Joseph U. Igietseme, Cheng He, and Minxin Yan
- Subjects
Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial ,animal structures ,Genetic Vectors ,lcsh:Medicine ,Lymphocyte proliferation ,Biology ,Recombinant virus ,Virus ,Microbiology ,Bacterial Proteins ,Marek Disease ,Animals ,lcsh:Science ,Herpesvirus 2, Gallid ,Poultry Diseases ,Cell Proliferation ,Chlamydia psittaci ,Marek's disease ,Multidisciplinary ,Attenuated vaccine ,Viral Vaccine ,lcsh:R ,Membrane Proteins ,Viral Vaccines ,Haplorhini ,Psittacosis ,biology.organism_classification ,Virology ,Recombinant Proteins ,Immunity, Humoral ,Bacterial vaccine ,Chlamydophila psittaci ,Microscopy, Fluorescence ,Bacterial Vaccines ,lcsh:Q ,Chickens ,Research Article - Abstract
Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci) is an obligate intracellular zoonotic pathogen that can be transmitted to humans from birds. No efficacious commercial vaccine is available for clearing chlamydial infection due to lack of potential vaccine candidates and effective delivery vehicles. Herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT) is an efficacious commercially available vaccine against Marek’s Disease virus (MDV). In this study, a recombinant HVT-delivered vaccine against C. psittaci and Marek’s disease was developed and examined. The 5'-terminus of pmpD gene (pmpD-N) encoding the N-terminal fragment of polymorphic membrane protein D of C. psittaci was inserted into a nonessential region of HVT genome using reverse genetics based on an infectious bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clone of HVT. The recombinant virus (rHVT-pmpD-N) was recovered from primary chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells by transfection of modified HVT BAC DNA containing the pmpD-N gene. The rHVT-pmpD-N construct was confirmed to express PmpD-N by immunoblot and immunofluorescence. The rHVT-pmpD-N was stable during 20 passages in vitro. The growth kinetics of rHVT-pmpD-N was comparable to that of parental HVT in vitro and in vivo. One-day-old SPF chickens inoculated subcutaneously with rHVT-pmpD-N displayed increased PmpD-specific antibody levels and a vigorous PmpD-specific lymphocyte proliferation response using HVT vector or CEF cells as control. Furthermore, the percentage of CD4+ cells was significantly elevated in rHVT-pmpD-N-immunized birds as compared to the parental HVT. All chickens vaccinated with rHVT-pmpD-N or parental HVT were protected completely against challenge with a very virulent strain of Marek’s Disease virus (MDV) RB-1B. Post challenge with C. psittaci CB7 strain, a significant decrease in respiratory distress, lesions and Chlamydia load was found in the rHVT-pmpD-N-vaccinated group compared to the parental HVT. In conclusion, our study suggests that the rHVT-pmpD-N live vaccine may be viable as a candidate dual vaccine that provides protection against both very virulent MDV and C. psittaci.
- Published
- 2015
14. Protocatechuic acid, a novel active substance against avian influenza virus H9N2 infection
- Author
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Bao-Zhong Wang, Cheng He, Ningning Shi, Zongxue Wu, Yu Zhang, Qunhui Yang, Richard W. Compans, and Changbo Ou
- Subjects
Pneumonia, Viral ,Veterinary Microbiology ,CD4-CD8 Ratio ,Amantadine Hydrochloride ,lcsh:Medicine ,Pharmacology ,medicine.disease_cause ,Antiviral Agents ,Virus ,Protocatechuic acid ,Veterinary Epidemiology ,Mice ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Orthomyxoviridae Infections ,Veterinary Pharmacology ,Hydroxybenzoates ,Influenza A Virus, H9N2 Subtype ,Influenza A virus ,Animals ,Cytotoxic T cell ,Medicine ,Lymphocyte Count ,lcsh:Science ,030304 developmental biology ,0303 health sciences ,Multidisciplinary ,030306 microbiology ,business.industry ,lcsh:R ,Amantadine ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Viral Load ,Virology ,3. Good health ,Disease Models, Animal ,Veterinary Diseases ,chemistry ,Cytokines ,Female ,Veterinary Science ,lcsh:Q ,business ,Viral load ,CD8 ,Research Article ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Influenza virus H9N2 subtype has triggered co-infection with other infectious agents, resulting in huge economical losses in the poultry industry. Our current study aims to evaluate the antiviral activity of protocatechuic acid (PCA) against a virulent H9N2 strain in a mouse model. 120 BALB/c mice were divided into one control group, one untreated group, one 50 mg/kg amantadine hydrochloride-treated group and three PCA groups treated 12 hours post-inoculation with 40, 20 or 10 mg/kg PCA for 7 days. All the infected animals were inoculated intranasally with 0.2 ml of a A/Chicken/Hebei/4/2008(H9N2) inoculum. A significant body weight loss was found in the 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg PCA-treated and amantadine groups as compared to the control group. The 14 day survivals were 94.4%, 100% and 95% in the PCA-treated groups and 94.4% in the amantadine hydrochloride group, compared to less than 60% in the untreated group. Virus loads were less in the PCA-treated groups compared to the amantadine-treated or the untreated groups. Neutrophil cells in BALF were significantly decreased while IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α and IL-6 decreased significantly at days 7 in the PCA-treated groups compared to the untreated group. Furthermore, a significantly decreased CD4+/CD8+ ratio and an increased proportion of CD19 cells were observed in the PCA-treated groups and amantadine-treated group compared to the untreated group. Mice administered with PCA exhibited a higher survival rate and greater viral clearance associated with an inhibition of inflammatory cytokines and activation of CD8+ T cell subsets. PCA is a promising novel agent against bird flu infection in the poultry industry.
- Published
- 2014
15. Using LiDAR Data to Measure the 3D Green Biomass of Beijing Urban Forest in China
- Author
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Zhongke Feng, Matteo Convertino, Cheng He, and Si-Yu Zhang
- Subjects
China ,Geographic information system ,Point cloud ,lcsh:Medicine ,Fagaceae ,Trees ,Imaging, Three-Dimensional ,Beijing ,Urban forest ,Biomass ,Cities ,lcsh:Science ,Ecosystem ,Remote sensing ,Biomass (ecology) ,Multidisciplinary ,Digital mapping ,Ecology ,business.industry ,lcsh:R ,Inversion (meteorology) ,Satellite Communications ,Tracheophyta ,Lidar ,Geographic Information Systems ,Environmental science ,lcsh:Q ,business ,Software ,Research Article - Abstract
The purpose of the paper is to find a new approach to measure 3D green biomass of urban forest and to testify its precision. In this study, the 3D green biomass could be acquired on basis of a remote sensing inversion model in which each standing wood was first scanned by Terrestrial Laser Scanner to catch its point cloud data, then the point cloud picture was opened in a digital mapping data acquisition system to get the elevation in an independent coordinate, and at last the individual volume captured was associated with the remote sensing image in SPOT5(System Probatoired'Observation dela Tarre)by means of such tools as SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions), GIS (Geographic Information System), RS (Remote Sensing) and spatial analysis software (FARO SCENE and Geomagic studio11). The results showed that the 3D green biomass of Beijing urban forest was 399.1295 million m(3), of which coniferous was 28.7871 million m(3) and broad-leaf was 370.3424 million m(3). The accuracy of 3D green biomass was over 85%, comparison with the values from 235 field sample data in a typical sampling way. This suggested that the precision done by the 3D forest green biomass based on the image in SPOT5 could meet requirements. This represents an improvement over the conventional method because it not only provides a basis to evalue indices of Beijing urban greenings, but also introduces a new technique to assess 3D green biomass in other cities.
- Published
- 2013
16. Predictive equations using regression analysis of pulmonary function for healthy children in Northeast China
- Author
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Yungling Leo Lee, Guang-Hui Dong, Ya-Dong Zhao, Miao-Miao Liu, Da Wang, Wan-Hui Ren, Qin-Cheng He, Yang Zhao, Y Liu, Jing Wang, and Ya-Nan Ma
- Subjects
Spirometry ,Male ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,China ,Health Screening ,Coefficient of determination ,Adolescent ,Pulmonology ,Clinical Research Design ,Epidemiology ,Science ,Pediatric Pulmonology ,Biostatistics ,Pulmonary function testing ,Goodness of fit ,Linear regression ,Statistics ,medicine ,Humans ,Statistical Methods ,Child ,Pediatric Epidemiology ,Lung ,Demography ,Multidisciplinary ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Linear model ,Child Health ,Reproducibility of Results ,Regression analysis ,Chinese people ,Respiratory Function Tests ,Health ,Linear Models ,Medicine ,Female ,Public Health ,business ,Mathematics ,Research Article - Abstract
BackgroundThere have been few published studies on spirometric reference values for healthy children in China. We hypothesize that there would have been changes in lung function that would not have been precisely predicted by the existing spirometric reference equations. The objective of the study was to develop more accurate predictive equations for spirometric reference values for children aged 9 to 15 years in Northeast China.Methodology/principal findingsSpirometric measurements were obtained from 3,922 children, including 1,974 boys and 1,948 girls, who were randomly selected from five cities of Liaoning province, Northeast China, using the ATS (American Thoracic Society) and ERS (European Respiratory Society) standards. The data was then randomly split into a training subset containing 2078 cases and a validation subset containing 1844 cases. Predictive equations used multiple linear regression techniques with three predictor variables: height, age and weight. Model goodness of fit was examined using the coefficient of determination or the R(2) and adjusted R(2). The predicted values were compared with those obtained from the existing spirometric reference equations. The results showed the prediction equations using linear regression analysis performed well for most spirometric parameters. Paired t-tests were used to compare the predicted values obtained from the developed and existing spirometric reference equations based on the validation subset. The t-test for males was not statistically significant (p>0.01). The predictive accuracy of the developed equations was higher than the existing equations and the predictive ability of the model was also validated.Conclusion/significanceWe developed prediction equations using linear regression analysis of spirometric parameters for children aged 9-15 years in Northeast China. These equations represent the first attempt at predicting lung function for Chinese children following the ATS/ERS Task Force 2005 guidelines on spirometry standardization.
- Published
- 2013
17. Conditionally Immortalized Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Retain Proliferative Activity without Compromising Multipotent Differentiation Potential
- Author
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Enyi Huang, Yang Bi, Wei Jiang, Xiaoji Luo, Ke Yang, Jian-Li Gao, Yanhong Gao, Qing Luo, Qiong Shi, Stephanie H. Kim, Xing Liu, Mi Li, Ning Hu, Hong Liu, Jing Cui, Wenwen Zhang, Ruidong Li, Xiang Chen, Jikun Shen, Yuhan Kong, Jiye Zhang, Jinhua Wang, Jinyong Luo, Bai-Cheng He, Huicong Wang, Russell R. Reid, Hue H. Luu, Rex C. Haydon, Li Yang, and Tong-Chuan He
- Subjects
Multidisciplinary ,Science ,lcsh:R ,lcsh:Medicine ,Correction ,Medicine ,lcsh:Q ,lcsh:Science - Published
- 2013
18. Conditionally Immortalized Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Retain Proliferative Activity without Compromising Multipotent Differentiation Potential
- Author
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Xing Liu, Li Yang, Wei Jiang, Yang Bi, Rex C. Haydon, Jinyong Luo, Huicong Wang, Stephanie H. Kim, Jiye Zhang, Jing Cui, Ke Yang, Xiang Chen, Xiaoji Luo, Mi Li, Wenwen Zhang, Jian-Li Gao, Russell R. Reid, Bai-Cheng He, Hue H. Luu, Qiong Shi, Jikun Shen, Hong Liu, Tong-Chuan He, Jinhua Wang, Ruidong Li, Ning Hu, Enyi Huang, Yanhong Gao, Qing Luo, and Yuhan Kong
- Subjects
SV40 large T antigen ,Cellular differentiation ,Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming ,Green Fluorescent Proteins ,Cell Culture Techniques ,Cre recombinase ,lcsh:Medicine ,Mice, Nude ,Bone Marrow Cells ,Biology ,Adenoviridae ,Cell Line ,Mice ,Cell Line, Tumor ,Molecular Cell Biology ,Growth Differentiation Factor 2 ,Animals ,Humans ,Cell Lineage ,Progenitor cell ,lcsh:Science ,Cells, Cultured ,Cell Proliferation ,Multidisciplinary ,Integrases ,Stem Cells ,Mesenchymal stem cell ,lcsh:R ,Cell Differentiation ,Mesenchymal Stem Cells ,Fibroblasts ,Embryonic stem cell ,Cell biology ,PPAR gamma ,Cell culture ,Immunology ,lcsh:Q ,Stem cell ,Cellular Types ,Research Article ,Biotechnology ,Developmental Biology - Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells which reside in many tissues and can give rise to multiple lineages including bone, cartilage and adipose. Although MSCs have attracted significant attention for basic and translational research, primary MSCs have limited life span in culture which hampers MSCs' broader applications. Here, we investigate if mouse mesenchymal progenitors can be conditionally immortalized with SV40 large T antigen and maintain long-term cell proliferation without compromising their multipotency. Using the system which expresses SV40 large T antigen flanked with Cre/loxP sites, we demonstrate that mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) can be efficiently immortalized by SV40 large T antigen. The conditionally immortalized MEFs (iMEFs) exhibit an enhanced proliferative activity and maintain long-term cell proliferation, which can be reversed by Cre recombinase. The iMEFs express most MSC markers and retain multipotency as they can differentiate into osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic lineages under appropriate differentiation conditions in vitro and in vivo. The removal of SV40 large T reduces the differentiation potential of iMEFs possibly due to the decreased progenitor expansion. Furthermore, the iMEFs are apparently not tumorigenic when they are subcutaneously injected into athymic nude mice. Thus, the conditionally immortalized iMEFs not only maintain long-term cell proliferation but also retain the ability to differentiate into multiple lineages. Our results suggest that the reversible immortalization strategy using SV40 large T antigen may be an efficient and safe approach to establishing long-term cell culture of primary mesenchymal progenitors for basic and translational research, as well as for potential clinical applications.
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- 2012
19. P38 and ERK1/2 MAPKs Act in Opposition to Regulate BMP9-Induced Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells
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Bai-Cheng He, Jinyong Luo, Tao Song, Juanwen He, Jin Wang, Yingze Zhao, Wenjuan Wang, Min Tang, and Ningning Wu
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Pyridines ,Cellular differentiation ,lcsh:Medicine ,Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit ,Signal transduction ,ERK signaling cascade ,p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ,Mice ,Molecular cell biology ,Osteogenesis ,Animal Cells ,Growth Differentiation Factor 2 ,Medicine and Health Sciences ,Phosphorylation ,lcsh:Science ,Cells, Cultured ,Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 ,Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ,Multidisciplinary ,Stem Cells ,Drug Information ,Imidazoles ,Signaling cascades ,Cell Differentiation ,Cell biology ,RUNX2 ,RNA Interference ,Cellular Types ,Stem cell ,Research Article ,MAPK signaling cascades ,p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases ,Blotting, Western ,Mice, Nude ,GDF2 ,Biology ,Cell Line ,Organ Culture Techniques ,Animals ,Humans ,Progenitor cell ,Pharmacology ,Skull ,Mesenchymal stem cell ,lcsh:R ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Mesenchymal Stem Cells ,Cell Biology ,HCT116 Cells ,Molecular biology ,Retraction ,Enzyme Activation ,HEK293 Cells ,Cell culture ,Culture Media, Conditioned ,lcsh:Q ,Stem Cell Transplantation ,Developmental Biology - Abstract
Although previous studies have demonstrated that BMP9 is highly capable of inducing osteogenic differentiation and bone formation, the precise molecular mechanism involved remains to be fully elucidated. In this current study, we explore the possible involvement and detail effects of p38 and ERK1/2 MAPKs on BMP9-indcued osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cell (MPCs). We find that BMP9 simultaneously stimulates the activation of p38 and ERK1/2 in MPCs. BMP9-induced early osteogenic marker, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and late osteogenic markers, such as matrix mineralization and osteocalcin (OC) are inhibited by p38 inhibitor SB203580, whereas enhanced by ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059. BMP9-induced activation of Runx2 and Smads signaling are reduced by SB203580, and yet increased by PD98059 in MPCs. The in vitro effects of inhibitors are reproduced with adenoviruses expressing siRNA targeted p38 and ERK1/2, respectively. Using mouse calvarial organ culture and subcutaneous MPCs implantation, we find that inhibition of p38 activity leads to significant decrease in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation and bone formation, however, blockage of ERK1/2 results in effective increase in BMP9-indcued osteogenic differentiation in vivo. Together, our results reveal that p38 and ERK1/2 MAPKs are activated in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MPCs. What is most noteworthy, however, is that p38 and ERK1/2 act in opposition to regulate BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MPCs.
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- 2012
20. Lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase β (LPAATβ) promotes the tumor growth of human osteosarcoma
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Yang Bi, Jikun Shen, Bai-Cheng He, Xiaoji Luo, Jian-Li Gao, Stephanie H. Kim, Xing Liu, Gaurav Luther, Tong-Chuan He, Linyuan Wang, Qing Luo, Qiong Shi, Farbod Rastegar, Ning Hu, Deana S. Shenaq, Enyi Huang, Yanhong Gao, Eric R. Wagner, Mi Li, Liang Chen, Wei Jiang, Jinyong Luo, Guo-Wei Zuo, Hue H. Luu, Ke Yang, and Rex C. Haydon
- Subjects
musculoskeletal diseases ,Cell Survival ,Oncology/Sarcomas ,Tetrazolium Salts ,lcsh:Medicine ,Bone Neoplasms ,Biology ,Lipid biosynthesis ,Cell Line, Tumor ,medicine ,Biochemistry/Cell Signaling and Trafficking Structures ,Gene silencing ,Humans ,Neoplasm Metastasis ,Surgery/Surgical Oncology ,lcsh:Science ,neoplasms ,Cell Proliferation ,Gene knockdown ,Osteosarcoma ,Multidisciplinary ,Cell growth ,Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ,lcsh:R ,Cancer ,Cell migration ,medicine.disease ,Molecular biology ,Lipids ,Pathology/Molecular Pathology ,Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ,Pathology/Pathophysiology ,Thiazoles ,Phenotype ,Oncology ,Cell culture ,Cancer research ,Disease Progression ,Gentian Violet ,Oncology/Pediatric Oncology ,lcsh:Q ,Biochemistry/Drug Discovery ,Acyltransferases ,Research Article - Abstract
Background: Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy of bone with poorly characterized molecular pathways important in its pathogenesis. Increasing evidence indicates that elevated lipid biosynthesis is a characteristic feature of cancer. We sought to investigate the role of lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase b (LPAATb, aka, AGPAT2) in regulating the proliferation and growth of human osteosarcoma cells. LPAATb can generate phosphatidic acid, which plays a key role in lipid biosynthesis as well as in cell proliferation and survival. Although elevated expression of LPAATb has been reported in several types of human tumors, the role of LPAATb in osteosarcoma progression has yet to be elucidated. Methodology/Principal Findings: Endogenous expression of LPAATb in osteosarcoma cell lines is analyzed by using semiquantitative PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of LPAATb and silencing LPAATb expression is employed to determine the effect of LPAATb on osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration in vitro and osteosarcoma tumor growth in vivo. We have found that expression of LPAATb is readily detected in 8 of the 10 analyzed human osteosarcoma lines. Exogenous expression of LPAATb promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration, while silencing LPAATb expression inhibits these cellular characteristics. We further demonstrate that exogenous expression of LPAATb effectively promotes tumor growth, while knockdown of LPAATb expression inhibits tumor growth in an orthotopic xenograft model of human osteosarcoma. Conclusions/Significance: Our results strongly suggest that LPAATb expression may be associated with the aggressive phenotypes of human osteosarcoma and that LPAATb may play an important role in regulating osteosarcoma cell proliferation and tumor growth. Thus, targeting LPAATb may be exploited as a novel therapeutic strategy for the clinical management of osteosarcoma. This is especially attractive given the availability of selective pharmacological inhibitors.
- Published
- 2010
21. Nitrated α-Synuclein Induces the Loss of Dopaminergic Neurons in the Substantia Nigra of Rats
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Zhongwang Yu, Xiao-Hui Xu, Cheng He, Chun Hu, Zhaohuan Zhang, Zhenghua Xiang, and Jianfeng Zhou
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Pathology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Programmed cell death ,Neurite ,animal diseases ,Dopamine ,lcsh:Medicine ,Down-Regulation ,Substantia nigra ,Biology ,Pathogenesis ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,medicine ,Animals ,Biochemistry/Macromolecular Chemistry ,lcsh:Science ,Cells, Cultured ,Gait Disorders, Neurologic ,Alpha-synuclein ,Neurons ,Multidisciplinary ,Nitrates ,Cell Death ,Receptors, Dopamine D2 ,Dopaminergic ,lcsh:R ,Biochemistry/Chemical Biology of the Cell ,Parkinson Disease ,Cell Biology/Cellular Death and Stress Responses ,nervous system diseases ,Rats ,Substantia Nigra ,chemistry ,nervous system ,alpha-Synuclein ,lcsh:Q ,Neuroscience/Neurobiology of Disease and Regeneration ,Immunostaining ,medicine.drug ,Research Article - Abstract
BACKGROUND: The pathology of Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway, as well as the formation of intraneuronal inclusions known as Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in the substantia nigra. Accumulations of nitrated alpha-synuclein are demonstrated in the signature inclusions of Parkinson's disease. However, whether the nitration of alpha-synuclein is relevant to the pathogenesis of PD is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, effect of nitrated alpha-synuclein to dopaminergic (DA) neurons was determined by delivering nitrated recombinant TAT-alpha-synuclein intracellular. We provide evidence to show that the nitrated alpha-synuclein was toxic to cultured dopaminergic SHSY-5Y neurons and primary mesencephalic DA neurons to a much greater degree than unnitrated alpha-synuclein. Moreover, we show that administration of nitrated alpha-synuclein to the substantia nigra pars compacta of rats caused severe reductions in the number of DA neurons therein, and led to the down-regulation of D(2)R in the striatum in vivo. Furthermore, when administered to the substantia nigra of rats, nitrated alpha-synuclein caused PD-like motor dysfunctions, such as reduced locomotion and motor asymmetry, however unmodified alpha-synuclein had significantly less severe behavioral effects. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results provide evidence that alpha-synuclein, principally in its nitrated form, induce DA neuron death and may be a major factor in the etiology of PD.
- Published
- 2010
22. Photo-Attachment of Biomolecules for Miniaturization on Wicking Si-Nanowire Platform
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Cheng, He, primary, Zheng, Han, additional, Wu, Jia Xin, additional, Xu, Wei, additional, Zhou, Lihan, additional, Leong, Kam Chew, additional, Fitzgerald, Eugene, additional, Rajagopalan, Raj, additional, Too, Heng Phon, additional, and Choi, Wee Kiong, additional
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
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23. CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells depletion may attenuate the development of silica-induced lung fibrosis in mice
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Laiyu Song, Jie Liu, Dong Weng, Qin-Cheng He, Ying Chen, Fangwei Liu, and Jie Chen
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Pulmonology ,Gene Expression ,lcsh:Medicine ,Toxicology ,T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ,Mice ,Fibrosis ,Immunotoxicology ,CTLA-4 Antigen ,Occupational lung disease ,lcsh:Science ,Lung ,Multidisciplinary ,T Cells ,Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ,FOXP3 ,Forkhead Transcription Factors ,respiratory system ,Occupational and Industrial Health ,Flow Cytometry ,Silicon Dioxide ,Disease Progression ,Medicine ,Female ,Public Health ,medicine.symptom ,medicine.drug ,Research Article ,Interleukin 2 ,Immune Cells ,Silicosis ,Inflammation ,Biology ,Interstitial Lung Diseases ,Environmental and Occupational Lung Diseases ,Interferon-gamma ,Immune system ,Th2 Cells ,Antigens, CD ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Interleukin 4 ,Pneumoconioses ,lcsh:R ,Immunity ,Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ,Pneumonia ,Th1 Cells ,medicine.disease ,Mice, Inbred C57BL ,Immunology ,Interleukin-2 ,Clinical Immunology ,lcsh:Q ,Interleukin-4 - Abstract
Background: Silicosis is an occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of silica dust characterized by lung inflammation and fibrosis. Previous study showed that Th1 and Th2 cytokines are involved in silicosis, but Th1/Th2 polarization during the development of silicosis is still a matter of debate. Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) represent a crucial role in modulation of immune homeostasis by regulating Th1/Th2 polarization, but their possible implication in silicosis remains to be explored. Methodology/Principal Findings: To evaluate the implication of Treg cells in the development of silicosis, we generated the Treg-depleted mice model by administration of anti-CD25 mAbs and mice were exposed to silica by intratracheal instillation to establish experimental model of silica-induced lung fibrosis. The pathologic examinations show that the Treg-depleted mice are susceptive to severer inflammation in the early stage, with enhanced infiltration of inflammatory cells. Also, depletion of Treg cells causes a delay of the progress of silica-induced lung fibrosis in mice model. Further study of mRNA expression of cytokines reveals that depletion of Tregs leads to the increased production of Th1-cytokines and decreased production of Th2-cytokine. The Flow Cytometry and realtime PCR study show that Treg cells exert the modulation function both directly by expressing CTLA-4 at the inflammatory stage, and indirectly by secreting increasing amount of IL-10 and TGF-b during the fibrotic stage in silica-induced lung fibrosis. Conclusion/Significance: Our study suggests that depletion of Tregs may attenuate the progress of silica-induced lung fibrosis and enhance Th1 response and decelerate Th1/Th2 balance toward a Th2 phenotype in silica-induced lung fibrosis. The regulatory function of Treg cells may depend on direct mechanism and indirect mechanism during the inflammatory stage of silicosis.
- Published
- 2010
24. Reactive astrocytes in glial scar attract olfactory ensheathing cells migration by secreted TNF-alpha in spinal cord lesion of rat
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Jingjing Chen, Li Cao, Cheng He, Yimin Yuan, Liang Gao, Yang Qiu, Yanling Zhu, and Zhida Su
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Central nervous system ,Scars ,lcsh:Medicine ,Biology ,Glial scar ,Lesion ,Rats, Sprague-Dawley ,Cicatrix ,Cell Movement ,medicine ,Animals ,lcsh:Science ,Spinal cord injury ,Multidisciplinary ,Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ,Neuroscience/Neuronal and Glial Cell Biology ,lcsh:R ,Cell migration ,Olfactory Pathways ,medicine.disease ,Spinal cord ,Cell biology ,Rats ,Enzyme Activation ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Spinal Cord ,Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I ,Astrocytes ,Culture Media, Conditioned ,Immunology ,lcsh:Q ,Olfactory ensheathing glia ,medicine.symptom ,Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ,Neuroscience/Neurobiology of Disease and Regeneration ,Research Article ,Neuroscience - Abstract
BACKGROUND After spinal cord injury (SCI), the formation of glial scar contributes to the failure of injured adult axons to regenerate past the lesion. Increasing evidence indicates that olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) implanted into spinal cord are found to migrate into the lesion site and induce axons regeneration beyond glial scar and resumption of functions. However, little is known about the mechanisms of OECs migrating from injection site to glial scar/lesion site. METHODS AND FINDINGS In the present study, we identified a link between OECs migration and reactive astrocytes in glial scar that was mediated by the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Initially, the Boyden chamber migration assay showed that both glial scar tissue and reactive astrocyte-conditioned medium promoted OECs migration in vitro. Reactive astrocyte-derived TNF-alpha and its type 1 receptor TNFR1 expressed on OECs were identified to be responsible for the promoting effect on OECs migration. TNF-alpha-induced OECs migration was demonstrated depending on activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling cascades. Furthermore, TNF-alpha secreted by reactive astrocytes in glial scar was also showed to attract OECs migration in a spinal cord hemisection injury model of rat. CONCLUSIONS These findings showed that TNF-alpha was released by reactive astrocytes in glial scar and attracted OECs migration by interacting with TNFR1 expressed on OECs via regulation of ERK signaling. This migration-attracting effect of reactive astrocytes on OECs may suggest a mechanism for guiding OECs migration into glial scar, which is crucial for OECs-mediated axons regrowth beyond the spinal cord lesion site.
- Published
- 2009
25. Interaction between Polymorphisms in Pre-MiRNA Genes and Cooking Oil Fume Exposure on the Risk of Lung Cancer in Chinese Non-Smoking Female Population
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Wei Wu, Baosen Zhou, Zhigang Cui, Yangwu Ren, Qin-Cheng He, Zhihua Yin, Xuelian Li, and Peng Guan
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Oncology ,China ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Lung Neoplasms ,Genotype ,lcsh:Medicine ,Single-nucleotide polymorphism ,Adenocarcinoma ,Biology ,Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ,Interviews as Topic ,Asian People ,Risk Factors ,Internal medicine ,Odds Ratio ,Adenocarcinoma of the lung ,medicine ,Genetic predisposition ,Humans ,Cooking ,Risk factor ,lcsh:Science ,Lung cancer ,Alleles ,Aged ,Genetics ,Multidisciplinary ,lcsh:R ,Case-control study ,Odds ratio ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,MicroRNAs ,Case-Control Studies ,Female ,lcsh:Q ,Disease Susceptibility ,Gases ,Oils ,Research Article - Abstract
Background Both genetic polymorphisms and environmental risk factors play important roles in the development of human chronic diseases including lung cancer. This is the first case-control study of interaction between polymorphisms in pre-miRNA genes and cooking oil fume exposure on the risk of lung cancer. Methods A hospital-based case-control study of 258 cases and 310 controls was conducted. Six polymorphisms in miRNAs were determined by Taqman allelic discrimination method. The gene-environment interactions were assessed on both additive and multiplicative scale. The statistical analyses were performed mostly with SPSS. Results The combination of the risk genotypes of five miRNA SNPs (miR-146a rs2910164, miR-196a2 rs11614913, miR-608 rs4919510, miR-27a rs895819 and miR-423 rs6505162) with risk factor (cooking oil fume exposure) contributed to a significantly higher risk of lung cancer, and the corresponding ORs (95% confidence intervals) were 1.91(1.04-3.52), 1.94 (1.16-3.25), 2.06 (1.22-3.49), 1.76 (1.03-2.98) and 2.13 (1.29-3.51). The individuals with both risk genotypes of miRNA SNPs and exposure to risk factor (cooking oil fumes) were in a higher risk of lung cancer than persons with only one of the two risk factors (ORs were 1.91, 1.05 and 1.41 for miR-146a rs2910164, ORs were 1.94, 1.23 and 1.34 for miR-196a2 rs11614913, ORs were 2.06, 1.41 and 1.68 for miR-608 rs4919510, ORs were 1.76, 0.82 and 1.07 for miR-27a rs895819, and ORs were 2.13, 1.15 and 1.02 for miR-423 rs6505162, respectively). All the measures of biological interaction indicate that there were not indeed biological interactions between the six SNPs of miRNAs and exposure to cooking oil fumes on an additive scale. Logistic models suggested that the gene-environment interactions were not statistically significant on a multiplicative scale. Conclusions The interactions between miRNA SNPs and cooking oil fume exposure suggested by ORs of different combination were not statistically significant.
- Published
- 2015
26. Tumor Cells Positive and Negative for the Common Cancer Stem Cell Markers Are Capable of Initiating Tumor Growth and Generating Both Progenies
- Author
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Huang, Sheng-Dong, primary, Yuan, Yang, additional, Tang, Hao, additional, Liu, Xiao-Hong, additional, Fu, Chuan-Gang, additional, Cheng, He-Zhong, additional, Bi, Jian-Wei, additional, Yu, Yong-Wei, additional, Gong, De-Jun, additional, Zhang, Wei, additional, Chen, Jie, additional, and Xu, Zhi-Yun, additional
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
27. Gender Differences and Effect of Air Pollution on Asthma in Children with and without Allergic Predisposition: Northeast Chinese Children Health Study
- Author
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Ya-Nan Ma, Ya-Dong Zhao, Guang-Hui Dong, Miao-Miao Liu, Da Wang, Wan-Hui Ren, Yungling Leo Lee, Tao Chen, and Qin-Cheng He
- Subjects
Male ,China ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Allergy ,Adolescent ,Pulmonology ,Epidemiology ,Science ,Pediatric Pulmonology ,Air pollution ,medicine.disease_cause ,Natural history of disease ,Environmental Epidemiology ,Interquartile range ,Air Pollution ,Environmental health ,Confidence Intervals ,Odds Ratio ,medicine ,Humans ,Respiratory system ,Child ,Pediatric Epidemiology ,Asthma ,Air Pollutants ,Sex Characteristics ,Multidisciplinary ,business.industry ,Child Health ,Odds ratio ,medicine.disease ,Health Surveys ,Child, Preschool ,Medicine ,Female ,Disease Susceptibility ,Public Health ,business ,Environmental Health ,Research Article ,Sex characteristics - Abstract
BackgroundMales and females exhibit different health responses to air pollution, but little is known about how exposure to air pollution affects juvenile respiratory health after analysis stratified by allergic predisposition. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between air pollutants and asthmatic symptoms in Chinese children selected from multiple sites in a heavily industrialized province of China, and investigate whether allergic predisposition modifies this relationship.Methodology/principal findings30139 Chinese children aged 3-to-12 years were selected from 25 districts of seven cities in northeast China in 2009. Information on respiratory health was obtained using a standard questionnaire from the American Thoracic Society. Routine air-pollution monitoring data was used for particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM(10)), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), nitrogen dioxides (NO(2)), ozone (O(3)) and carbon monoxide (CO). A two-stage regression approach was applied in data analyses. The effect estimates were presented as odds ratios (ORs) per interquartile changes for PM(10), SO(2), NO(2), O(3), and CO. The results showed that children with allergic predisposition were more susceptible to air pollutants than children without allergic predisposition. Amongst children without an allergic predisposition, air pollution effects on asthma were stronger in males compared to females; Current asthma prevalence was related to PM(10) (ORs = 1.36 per 31 µg/m(3); 95% CI, 1.08-1.72), SO(2) (ORs = 1.38 per 21 µg/m(3); 95%CI, 1.12-1.69) only among males. However, among children with allergic predisposition, more positively associations between air pollutants and respiratory symptoms and diseases were detected in females; An increased prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma was significantly associated with SO(2) (ORs = 1.48 per 21 µg/m(3); 95%CI, 1.21-1.80), NO(2) (ORs = 1.26 per 10 µg/m(3); 95%CI, 1.01-1.56), and current asthma with O(3) (ORs = 1.55 per 23 µg/m(3); 95%CI, 1.18-2.04) only among females.Conclusion/significanceAmbient air pollutions were more evident in males without an allergic predisposition and more associations were detected in females with allergic predisposition.
- Published
- 2011
28. KV7/KCNQ Channels Are Functionally Expressed in Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells
- Author
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Cheng He, Wei Wang, Xiao-Fei Gao, Zheng-Hua Xiang, and Lin Xiao
- Subjects
Central Nervous System ,Patch-Clamp Techniques ,Neurophysiology ,lcsh:Medicine ,Biology ,Ion Channels ,KCNQ3 Potassium Channel ,Membrane Potentials ,Rats, Sprague-Dawley ,Developmental Neuroscience ,Cell Movement ,Neuroglial Development ,Potassium Channel Blockers ,medicine ,Animals ,KCNQ2 Potassium Channel ,Patch clamp ,lcsh:Science ,Cells, Cultured ,Anthracenes ,Cerebral Cortex ,Membrane potential ,Multidisciplinary ,Neuronal Morphology ,Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ,KCNQ Potassium Channels ,Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ,Stem Cells ,lcsh:R ,Voltage-gated potassium channel ,Immunohistochemistry ,Molecular biology ,Potassium channel ,Oligodendrocyte ,Rats ,Cortex (botany) ,Oligodendroglia ,Electrophysiology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Animals, Newborn ,Cellular Neuroscience ,lcsh:Q ,Immunostaining ,Research Article ,Neuroscience - Abstract
BACKGROUND: K(V)7/KCNQ channels are widely expressed in neurons and they have multiple important functions, including control of excitability, spike afterpotentials, adaptation, and theta resonance. Mutations in KCNQ genes have been demonstrated to associate with human neurological pathologies. However, little is known about whether K(V)7/KCNQ channels are expressed in oligodendrocyte lineage cells (OLCs) and what their functions in OLCs. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In this study, we characterized K(V)7/KCNQ channels expression in rat primary cultured OLCs by RT-PCR, immunostaining and electrophysiology. KCNQ2-5 mRNAs existed in all three developmental stages of rat primary cultured OLCs. K(V)7/KCNQ proteins were also detected in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs, early developmental stages of OLCs) of rat primary cultures and cortex slices. Voltage-clamp recording revealed that the I(M) antagonist XE991 significantly reduced K(V)7/KCNQ channel current (I(K(Q))) in OPCs but not in differentiated oligodendrocytes. In addition, inhibition of K(V)7/KCNQ channels promoted OPCs motility in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: These findings showed that K(V)7/KCNQ channels were functionally expressed in rat primary cultured OLCs and might play an important role in OPCs functioning in physiological or pathological conditions.
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- 2011
29. SHP-2 Promotes the Maturation of Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells Through Akt and ERK1/2 Signaling In Vitro
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Zhenghua Xiang, Yong Zhang, Wei Guo, Yan Lu, Jiazhen Zhou, Yuanyuan Li, Peng Liu, Cheng He, and Xiujie Liu
- Subjects
Nervous system ,Cellular differentiation ,lcsh:Medicine ,Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 11 ,Signal transduction ,ERK signaling cascade ,Cell Fate Determination ,Rats, Sprague-Dawley ,Myelin ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Molecular cell biology ,Akt signaling cascade ,Tyrosine ,lcsh:Science ,Cells, Cultured ,Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 ,Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ,Multidisciplinary ,Neuronal Morphology ,Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ,Kinase ,Stem Cells ,Signaling cascades ,Cell Differentiation ,Immunohistochemistry ,Cell biology ,Oligodendroglia ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Research Article ,animal structures ,Blotting, Western ,Phosphatase ,Biology ,Signaling Pathways ,Developmental Neuroscience ,Neuroglial Development ,In Situ Nick-End Labeling ,medicine ,Animals ,Protein kinase B ,Sodium orthovanadate ,lcsh:R ,Molecular biology ,Rats ,chemistry ,Cellular Neuroscience ,lcsh:Q ,Molecular Neuroscience ,Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ,Developmental Biology ,Neuroscience - Abstract
Background Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) differentiate into oligodendrocytes (OLs), which are responsible for myelination. Myelin is essential for saltatory nerve conduction in the vertebrate nervous system. However, the molecular mechanisms of maturation and myelination by oligodendrocytes remain elusive. Methods and Findings In the present study, we showed that maturation of oligodendrocytes was attenuated by sodium orthovanadate (a comprehensive inhibitor of tyrosine phosphatases) and PTPi IV (a specific inhibitor of SHP-2). It is also found that SHP-2 was persistently expressed during maturation process of OPCs. Down-regulation of endogenous SHP-2 led to impairment of oligodendrocytes maturation and this effect was triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) dependent. Furthermore, over-expression of SHP-2 was shown to promote maturation of oligodendrocytes. Finally, it has been identified that SHP-2 was involved in activation of Akt and extracellular-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) induced by T3 in oligodendrocytes. Conclusions SHP-2 promotes oligodendrocytes maturation via Akt and ERK1/2 signaling in vitro.
- Published
- 2011
30. Gender Differences and Effect of Air Pollution on Asthma in Children with and without Allergic Predisposition: Northeast Chinese Children Health Study.
- Author
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Guang-Hui Dong, Tao Chen, Miao-Miao Liu, Da Wang, Ya-Nan Ma, Wan-Hui Ren, Yungling Leo Lee, Ya-Dong Zhao, and Qin-Cheng He
- Subjects
SEX differences (Biology) ,PHYSIOLOGICAL effects of air pollution ,ASTHMA in children ,CHINESE people ,ALLERGIES ,AERODYNAMICS ,SULFUR dioxide ,NITROGEN dioxide ,CARBON monoxide ,DISEASES - Abstract
Background: Males and females exhibit different health responses to air pollution, but little is known about how exposure to air pollution affects juvenile respiratory health after analysis stratified by allergic predisposition. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between air pollutants and asthmatic symptoms in Chinese children selected from multiple sites in a heavily industrialized province of China, and investigate whether allergic predisposition modifies this relationship. Methodology/Principal Findings: 30139 Chinese children aged 3-to-12 years were selected from 25 districts of seven cities in northeast China in 2009. Information on respiratory health was obtained using a standard questionnaire from the American Thoracic Society. Routine air-pollution monitoring data was used for particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 &mgr;m (PM
10 ), sulfur dioxide (SO2 ), nitrogen dioxides (NO2 ), ozone (O3 ) and carbon monoxide (CO). A two-stage regression approach was applied in data analyses. The effect estimates were presented as odds ratios (ORs) per interquartile changes for PM10 , SO2 , NO2 , O3 , and CO. The results showed that children with allergic predisposition were more susceptible to air pollutants than children without allergic predisposition. Amongst children without an allergic predisposition, air pollution effects on asthma were stronger in males compared to females; Current asthma prevalence was related to PM10 (ORs = 1.36 per 31 &mgr;g/m3 ; 95% CI, 1.08-1.72), SO2 (ORs = 1.38 per 21 &mgr;g/m3 ; 95%CI, 1.12-1.69) only among males. However, among children with allergic predisposition, more positively associations between air pollutants and respiratory symptoms and diseases were detected in females; An increased prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma was significantly associated with SO2 (ORs = 1.48 per 21 &mgr;g/m3 ; 95%CI, 1.21-1.80), NO2 (ORs = 1.26 per 10 &mgr;g/m3 ; 95%CI, 1.01-1.56), and current asthma with O3 (ORs = 1.55 per 23 &mgr;g/m3 ; 95%CI, 1.18-2.04) only among females. Conclusion/Significance: Ambient air pollutions were more evident in males without an allergic predisposition and more associations were detected in females with allergic predisposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
31. Lysophosphatidic Acid Acyltransferase β (LPAATβ) Promotes the Tumor Growth of Human Osteosarcoma.
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Rastegar, Farbod, Jian-Li Gao, Deana Shenaq, Qing Luo, Qiong Shi, Kim, Stephanie H., Wei Jiang, Wagner, Eric R., Enyi Huang, Yanhong Gao, Jikun Shen, Ke Yang, Bai-Cheng He, Liang Chen, Guo-Wei Zuo, Jinyong Luo, Xiaoji Luo, Yang Bi, Xing Liu, and Mi Li
- Subjects
LYSOPHOSPHOLIPIDS ,BONE cancer ,TUMOR growth ,CELL populations ,CELL proliferation ,CELL growth ,BIOCHEMICAL templates ,BIOSYNTHESIS ,CELL lines - Abstract
Background: Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy of bone with poorly characterized molecular pathways important in its pathogenesis. Increasing evidence indicates that elevated lipid biosynthesis is a characteristic feature of cancer. We sought to investigate the role of lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase β (LPAATβ, aka, AGPAT2) in regulating the proliferation and growth of human osteosarcoma cells. LPAATβ can generate phosphatidic acid, which plays a key role in lipid biosynthesis as well as in cell proliferation and survival. Although elevated expression of LPAATβ has been reported in several types of human tumors, the role of LPAATβ in osteosarcoma progression has yet to be elucidated. Methodology/Principal Findings: Endogenous expression of LPAATβ in osteosarcoma cell lines is analyzed by using semiquantitative PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of LPAATβ and silencing LPAATβ expression is employed to determine the effect of LPAATβ on osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration in vitro and osteosarcoma tumor growth in vivo. We have found that expression of LPAATβ is readily detected in 8 of the 10 analyzed human osteosarcoma lines. Exogenous expression of LPAATβ promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration, while silencing LPAATβ expression inhibits these cellular characteristics. We further demonstrate that exogenous expression of LPAATβ effectively promotes tumor growth, while knockdown of LPAATβ expression inhibits tumor growth in an orthotopic xenograft model of human osteosarcoma. Conclusions/Significance: Our results strongly suggest that LPAATβ expression may be associated with the aggressive phenotypes of human osteosarcoma and that LPAATβ may play an important role in regulating osteosarcoma cell proliferation and tumor growth. Thus, targeting LPAATβ may be exploited as a novel therapeutic strategy for the clinical management of osteosarcoma. This is especially attractive given the availability of selective pharmacological inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2010
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32. Reactive Astrocytes in Glial Scar Attract Olfactory Ensheathing Cells Migration by Secreted TNF-³ in Spinal Cord Lesion of Rat.
- Author
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Zhida Su, Yimin Yuan, Jingjing Chen, Li Cao, Yanling Zhu, Liang Gao, Yang Qiu, and Cheng He
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ASTROCYTES ,CELL migration ,CYTOKINES ,TUMOR necrosis factors ,NEURONS ,AXONS ,CENTRAL nervous system ,MEDICAL research - Abstract
Background: After spinal cord injury (SCI), the formation of glial scar contributes to the failure of injured adult axons to regenerate past the lesion. Increasing evidence indicates that olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) implanted into spinal cord are found to migrate into the lesion site and induce axons regeneration beyond glial scar and resumption of functions. However, little is known about the mechanisms of OECs migrating from injection site to glial scar/lesion site. Methods and Findings: In the present study, we identified a link between OECs migration and reactive astrocytes in glial scar that was mediated by the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Initially, the Boyden chamber migration assay showed that both glial scar tissue and reactive astrocyte-conditioned medium promoted OECs migration in vitro. Reactive astrocytederived TNF-α and its type 1 receptor TNFR1 expressed on OECs were identified to be responsible for the promoting effect on OECs migration. TNF-α-induced OECs migration was demonstrated depending on activation of the extracellular signalregulated kinase (ERK) signaling cascades. Furthermore, TNF-α secreted by reactive astrocytes in glial scar was also showed to attract OECs migration in a spinal cord hemisection injury model of rat. Conclusions: These findings showed that TNF-α was released by reactive astrocytes in glial scar and attracted OECs migration by interacting with TNFR1 expressed on OECs via regulation of ERK signaling. This migration-attracting effect of reactive astrocytes on OECs may suggest a mechanism for guiding OECs migration into glial scar, which is crucial for OECs-mediated axons regrowth beyond the spinal cord lesion site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2009
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33. Construction of Recombinant HVT Expressing PmpD, and Immunological Evaluation against Chlamydia psittaci and Marek's Disease Virus.
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Shanshan Liu, Wei Sun, Jun Chu, Xiufen Huang, Zongxue Wu, Minxin Yan, Qiang Zhang, Peng Zhao, Joseph U Igietseme, Carolyn M Black, Cheng He, and Yongqing Li
- Subjects
Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci) is an obligate intracellular zoonotic pathogen that can be transmitted to humans from birds. No efficacious commercial vaccine is available for clearing chlamydial infection due to lack of potential vaccine candidates and effective delivery vehicles. Herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT) is an efficacious commercially available vaccine against Marek's Disease virus (MDV). In this study, a recombinant HVT-delivered vaccine against C. psittaci and Marek's disease was developed and examined. The 5'-terminus of pmpD gene (pmpD-N) encoding the N-terminal fragment of polymorphic membrane protein D of C. psittaci was inserted into a nonessential region of HVT genome using reverse genetics based on an infectious bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clone of HVT. The recombinant virus (rHVT-pmpD-N) was recovered from primary chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells by transfection of modified HVT BAC DNA containing the pmpD-N gene. The rHVT-pmpD-N construct was confirmed to express PmpD-N by immunoblot and immunofluorescence. The rHVT-pmpD-N was stable during 20 passages in vitro. The growth kinetics of rHVT-pmpD-N was comparable to that of parental HVT in vitro and in vivo. One-day-old SPF chickens inoculated subcutaneously with rHVT-pmpD-N displayed increased PmpD-specific antibody levels and a vigorous PmpD-specific lymphocyte proliferation response using HVT vector or CEF cells as control. Furthermore, the percentage of CD4+ cells was significantly elevated in rHVT-pmpD-N-immunized birds as compared to the parental HVT. All chickens vaccinated with rHVT-pmpD-N or parental HVT were protected completely against challenge with a very virulent strain of Marek's Disease virus (MDV) RB-1B. Post challenge with C. psittaci CB7 strain, a significant decrease in respiratory distress, lesions and Chlamydia load was found in the rHVT-pmpD-N-vaccinated group compared to the parental HVT. In conclusion, our study suggests that the rHVT-pmpD-N live vaccine may be viable as a candidate dual vaccine that provides protection against both very virulent MDV and C. psittaci.
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- 2015
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34. Predictive equations using regression analysis of pulmonary function for healthy children in Northeast China.
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Ya-Nan Ma, Jing Wang, Guang-Hui Dong, Miao-Miao Liu, Da Wang, Yu-Qin Liu, Yang Zhao, Wan-Hui Ren, Yungling Leo Lee, Ya-Dong Zhao, and Qin-Cheng He
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
BackgroundThere have been few published studies on spirometric reference values for healthy children in China. We hypothesize that there would have been changes in lung function that would not have been precisely predicted by the existing spirometric reference equations. The objective of the study was to develop more accurate predictive equations for spirometric reference values for children aged 9 to 15 years in Northeast China.Methodology/principal findingsSpirometric measurements were obtained from 3,922 children, including 1,974 boys and 1,948 girls, who were randomly selected from five cities of Liaoning province, Northeast China, using the ATS (American Thoracic Society) and ERS (European Respiratory Society) standards. The data was then randomly split into a training subset containing 2078 cases and a validation subset containing 1844 cases. Predictive equations used multiple linear regression techniques with three predictor variables: height, age and weight. Model goodness of fit was examined using the coefficient of determination or the R(2) and adjusted R(2). The predicted values were compared with those obtained from the existing spirometric reference equations. The results showed the prediction equations using linear regression analysis performed well for most spirometric parameters. Paired t-tests were used to compare the predicted values obtained from the developed and existing spirometric reference equations based on the validation subset. The t-test for males was not statistically significant (p>0.01). The predictive accuracy of the developed equations was higher than the existing equations and the predictive ability of the model was also validated.Conclusion/significanceWe developed prediction equations using linear regression analysis of spirometric parameters for children aged 9-15 years in Northeast China. These equations represent the first attempt at predicting lung function for Chinese children following the ATS/ERS Task Force 2005 guidelines on spirometry standardization.
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- 2013
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35. Conditionally immortalized mouse embryonic fibroblasts retain proliferative activity without compromising multipotent differentiation potential.
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Enyi Huang, Yang Bi, Wei Jiang, Xiaoji Luo, Ke Yang, Jian-Li Gao, Yanhong Gao, Qing Luo, Qiong Shi, Stephanie H Kim, Xing Liu, Mi Li, Ning Hu, Hong Liu, Jing Cui, Wenwen Zhang, Ruidong Li, Xiang Chen, Jikun Shen, Yuhan Kong, Jiye Zhang, Jinhua Wang, Jinyong Luo, Bai-Cheng He, Huicong Wang, Russell R Reid, Hue H Luu, Rex C Haydon, Li Yang, and Tong-Chuan He
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells which reside in many tissues and can give rise to multiple lineages including bone, cartilage and adipose. Although MSCs have attracted significant attention for basic and translational research, primary MSCs have limited life span in culture which hampers MSCs' broader applications. Here, we investigate if mouse mesenchymal progenitors can be conditionally immortalized with SV40 large T antigen and maintain long-term cell proliferation without compromising their multipotency. Using the system which expresses SV40 large T antigen flanked with Cre/loxP sites, we demonstrate that mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) can be efficiently immortalized by SV40 large T antigen. The conditionally immortalized MEFs (iMEFs) exhibit an enhanced proliferative activity and maintain long-term cell proliferation, which can be reversed by Cre recombinase. The iMEFs express most MSC markers and retain multipotency as they can differentiate into osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic lineages under appropriate differentiation conditions in vitro and in vivo. The removal of SV40 large T reduces the differentiation potential of iMEFs possibly due to the decreased progenitor expansion. Furthermore, the iMEFs are apparently not tumorigenic when they are subcutaneously injected into athymic nude mice. Thus, the conditionally immortalized iMEFs not only maintain long-term cell proliferation but also retain the ability to differentiate into multiple lineages. Our results suggest that the reversible immortalization strategy using SV40 large T antigen may be an efficient and safe approach to establishing long-term cell culture of primary mesenchymal progenitors for basic and translational research, as well as for potential clinical applications.
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- 2012
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