Comparison of Microbial Diversity and Composition in the Jejunum and Colon of Alcohol-Dependent Rats

( Yang Fan ),( Zhao Ya-e ),( Wei Ji-dong ),( Lu Yu-fan ),( Zhang Ying ),( Sun Ya-lun ),( Ma Meng-yu ),( Zhang Rui-ling ) 한국미생물생명공학회(구 한국산업미생물학회) 2018 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.28 No.11

Alcohol dependence is a global public health problem, yet the mechanisms of alcohol dependence are incompletely understood. The traditional view has been that ethanol alters various neurotransmitters and their receptors in the brain and causes the addiction. However, an increasing amount of experimental evidence suggests that gut microbiota also influence brain functions via gut-to-brain interactions, and may therefore induce the development of alcohol use disorders. In this study, a rat model of alcohol dependence and withdrawal was employed, the gut microbiota composition was analyzed by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and the metagenome function was predicted by PICRUSt software. The results suggested that chronic alcohol consumption did not significantly alter the diversity and richness of gut microbiota in the jejunum and colon, but rather markedly changed the microbiota composition structure in the colon. The phyla Bacteroidetes and eight genera including Bacteroidales S24-7, Ruminococcaceae, Parabacteroides, Butyricimonas, et al were drastically increased, however the genus Lactobacillus and gauvreauii in the colon were significantly decreased in the alcohol dependence group compared with the withdrawal and control groups. The microbial functional prediction analysis revealed that the proportions of amino acid metabolism, polyketide sugar unit biosynthesis and peroxisome were significantly increased in the AD group. This study demonstrated that chronic alcohol consumption has a dramatic effect on the microbiota composition structure in the colon but few effects on the jejunum. Inducement of colonic microbiota dysbiosis due to alcohol abuse seems to be a factor of alcohol dependence, which suggests that modulating colonic microbiota composition might be a potentially new target for treating alcohol addiction.

PKM2 Regulates Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition and Migration upon EGFR Activation

Fan, Fang-Tian,Shen, Cun-Si,Tao, Li,Tian, Chao,Liu, Zhao-Guo,Zhu, Zhi-Jie,Liu, Yu-Ping,Pei, Chang-Song,Wu, Hong-Yan,Zhang, Lei,Wang, Ai-Yun,Zheng, Shi-Zhong,Huang, Shi-Le,Lu, Yin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.5

Pyruvate kinase isozyme type M2 (PKM2) was first found in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and its expression has been thought to correlate with prognosis. A large number of studies have demonstrated that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial event in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and associated metastasis, resulting in enhanced malignancy of HCC. However, the roles of PKM2 in HCC EMT and metastasis remain largely unknown. The present study aimed to determine the effects of PKM2 in EGF-induced HCC EMT and elucidate the molecular mechanisms in vitro. Our results showed that EGF promoted EMT in HCC cell lines as evidenced by altered morphology, expression of EMT-associated markers, and enhanced invasion capacity. Furthermore, the present study also revealed that nuclear translocation of PKM2, which is regulated by the ERK pathway, regulated ${\beta}$-catenin-TCF/LEF-1 transcriptional activity and associated EMT in HCC cell lines. These discoveries provide evidence of novel roles of PKM2 in the progression of HCC and potential therapeutic target for advanced cases.

Ten-eleven translocation 1 mediating DNA demethylation regulates the proliferation of chicken primordial germ cells through the activation of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway

Lu Yinglin,Li Ming,Cao Heng,Zhou Jing,Li Fan,Yu Debing,Yu Minli 아세아·태평양축산학회 2024 Animal Bioscience Vol.37 No.3

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the regulation relationship of Teneleven translocation 1 (Tet1) in DNA demethylation and the proliferation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in chickens. Methods: siRNA targeting Tet1 was used to transiently knockdown the expression of Tet1 in chicken PGCs, and the genomic DNA methylation status was measured. The proliferation of chicken PGCs was detected by flow cytometry analysis and cell counting kit-8 assay when activation or inhibition of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway. And the level of DNA methylation and hisotne methylation was also tested. Results: Results revealed that knockdown of Tet1 inhibited the proliferation of chicken PGCs and downregulated the mRNA expression of Cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6), as well as pluripotency-associated genes (Nanog, PouV, and Sox2). Flow cytometry analysis confirmed that the population of PGCs in Tet1 knockdown group displayed a significant decrease in the proportion of S and G2 phase cells, which meant that there were less PGCs entered the mitosis process than that of control. Furthermore, Tet1 knockdown delayed the entrance to G1/S phase and this inhibition was rescued by treated with BIO. Consistent with these findings, Wnt/β-catenin signaling was inactivated in Tet1 knockdown PGCs, leading to aberrant proliferation. Further analysis showed that the methylation of the whole genome increased significantly after Tet1 downregulation, while hydroxymethylation obviously declined. Meanwhile, the level of H3K27me3 was upregulated and H3K9me2 was downregulated in Tet1 knockdown PGCs, which was achieved by regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Conclusion: These results suggested that the self-renewal of chicken PGCs and the maintenance of their characteristics were regulated by Tet1 mediating DNA demethylation through the activation of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Short hairpin RNA targeting of fibroblast activation protein inhibits tumor growth and improves the tumor microenvironment in a mouse model

Fan Cai,Zhi Yong Li,Chun Ting Wang,Shuang Xian,Guang Chao Xu,Feng Peng,Yu Quan Wei,You Lu 생화학분자생물학회(구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2013 BMB Reports Vol.46 No.5

Simultaneous isolation of cellulose and lignin from wheat straw and catalytic conversion to valuable chemical products

Yu Bowei,Fan Guozhi,Zhao Sijiu,Lu Yuchan,He Qiao,Cheng Qunpeng,Yan Juntao,Chai Bo,Song Guangsen 한국응용생명화학회 2021 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.64 No.1

Convertible cellulose and lignin were simultaneously isolated from wheat straw using a two-stage process via simply varying temperature and H2SO4 concentration. At the first-stage, cellulose was obtained by pretreating wheat straw at lower temperature and acid concentration using an organosolv process. The purity, yield and recovery rate of cellulose reached 86.8 wt%, 55.2 and 92.8% at 150 °C with 1 wt% H2SO4. At the second stage, the residual liquid was further treated at higher temperature and acid concentration, giving 17.4% lignin yield with 86.6% recovery rate and 93.2 wt% purity at 180 °C with 1.5 wt% H2SO4. The conversion of the as-isolated cellulose and lignin into chemicals was further investigated. The total yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and glucose derived from wheat straw cellulose reached 82.5%, and 18.3% yield of monophenolic compounds from lignin were obtained, respectively. These results indicated that the two-stage process was effective for obtaining high-quality cellulose and lignin from wheat straw. Both of them displayed excellent convertible property.

Comparative Effectiveness of Risk-adapted Surveillance vs Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection in Clinical Stage I Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Testicular Cancer: A Retrospective Follow-up Study of 81 Patients

Fan, Gang,Zhang, Lin,Yi, Lu,Jiang, Zhi-Qiang,Ke, Yang,Wang, Xiao-Shan,Xiong, Ying-Ying,Han, Wei-Qin,Zhou, Xiao,Liu, Chun,Yu, Xie Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.8

Purpose: To retrospective assess the potential predictors for relapse and create an effective clinical mode for surveillance after orchidectomy in clinical stage I non-seminomatous germ cell testicular tumors (CSI-NSGCTs). Materials and Methods: We analyzed data for CSI-NSGCTs patients with non-lymphatic vascular invasion, %ECa < 50% (percentage of embryonal carcinoma < 50%), and negative or declining tumor markers to their half-life following orchidectomy (defined as low-risk patients); these patients were recruited from four Chinese centers between January 1999 and October 2013. Patients were divided into active surveillance group and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) group according to different therapeutic methods after radical orchidectomy was performed. The disease-free survival rates (DFSR) and overall survival rates (OSR) of the two groups were compared by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results: A total of 121 patients with CSI-NSGCT were collected from four centers, and 81 low-risk patients, including 54 with active surveillance and 27 with RPLND, were enrolled at last. The median follow-up duration was 66.2 (range 6-164) months in the RPLND group and 65.9 (range 8-179) months in the surveillance group. OSR was 100% in active surveillance and RPLND groups, and DFSR was 89.8% and 87.0%, respectively. No significant difference was observed between these two groups ($X_2=0.108$, P=0.743). No significant difference was observed between the patients with a low percentage of embryonal carcinoma (<50%) and those without embryonal carcinoma (87.0% and 91.9%, $X_2=0.154$, P=0.645). No treatment-related complications were observed in the active surveillance group whereas minor and major complications were observed in 13.0% and 26.1% of the RPLND group, respectively. Conclusions: Active surveillance resulted in similar DFSR and OSR compared with RPLND in our trial. Patients with low-risk CSI-NSGCTs could benefit from risk-adapted surveillance after these patients were subjected to radical orchidectomy.

Explainable radionuclide identification algorithm based on the convolutional neural network and class activation mapping

Wang Yu,Yao Qingxu,Zhang Quanhu,Zhang He,Lu Yunfeng,Fan Qimeng,Jiang Nan,Yu Wangtao 한국원자력학회 2022 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.54 No.12

Radionuclide identification is an important part of the nuclear material identification system. The development of artificial intelligence and machine learning has made nuclide identification rapid and automatic. However, many methods directly use existing deep learning models to analyze the gammaray spectrum, which lacks interpretability for researchers. This study proposes an explainable radionuclide identification algorithm based on the convolutional neural network and class activation mapping. This method shows the area of interest of the neural network on the gamma-ray spectrum by generating a class activation map. We analyzed the class activation map of the gamma-ray spectrum of different types, different gross counts, and different signal-to-noise ratios. The results show that the convolutional neural network attempted to learn the relationship between the input gamma-ray spectrum and the nuclide type, and could identify the nuclide based on the photoelectric peak and Compton edge. Furthermore, the results explain why the neural network could identify gamma-ray spectra with low counts and low signal-to-noise ratios. Thus, the findings improve researchers’ confidence in the ability of neural networks to identify nuclides and promote the application of artificial intelligence methods in the field of nuclide identification.

Family History, Tobacco Smoking, and Risk of Ischemic Stroke

Mengyu Fan,Jun Lv,Canqing Yu,Yu Guo,Zheng Bian,Songchun Yang,Ling Yang,Yiping Chen,Feifei Li,Yaoming Zhai,Ping Wang,Junshi Chen,Zhengming Chen,Lu Qi,Liming Li 대한뇌졸중학회 2019 Journal of stroke Vol.21 No.2

Background and Purpose Both genetic factors and smoking are associated with ischemic stroke (IS) risk. However, little is known about the potential interaction of these factors. We aimed to assess whether smoking and a positive family history interact to increase the risk of IS. Methods The nationwide prospective study recruited 210,000 men and 300,000 women in 2004 to 2008 at ages 30 to 79 years. During 9.7 years of follow-up, we documented 16,923 and 20,656 incident IS cases in men and women without major chronic diseases at baseline, respectively. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to examine associations between family history and IS. Likelihood ratio tests were used to test the smoking-family history interactions on IS. Results About 67.8% (n=135,168) of men ever smoked regularly compared with 2.7% (n=7,775) of women. Among men, a significant interaction between family history and smoking on IS was observed (P for interaction=0.03), with more pronounced association between family history and IS among ever-regular smokers (hazard ratio [HR], 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16 to 1.27) than among never-smokers (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.23). The association between family history and IS among ex-smokers after more than 10 years of cessation (HR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.85 to 1.20) appeared similar to that among never-smokers. Among women, a similar but not significant interaction between family history and smoking on IS was observed. Ever-regular smokers who had a family history of stroke had the highest risk of IS. Conclusions Among Chinese men, the association of family history with IS was accentuated by smoking, and such accentuation tended to be lowered by cessation.

TET2 Regulates 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine Signature and CD4+ T-Cell Balance in Allergic Rhinitis

Tan Lu,Fu Lisheng,Zheng Li,Fan Wenjun,Tan Hanyu,Tao Zezhang,Xu Yu 대한천식알레르기학회 2022 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.14 No.2

Purpose: Previous studies have shown the role of ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2) in CD4+ T cells. However, its function in CD4+ T cells under allergic inflammation is unclear. We aimed to investigate the epigenomic distribution of DNA 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and the role of TET2 in CD4+ T cells of allergic rhinitis (AR). Methods: The hMeDIP-seq was performed to identify sequences with 5hmC deposition in CD4+ T cells of AR patients. Tet2-deficient or wild type mice were stimulated with ovalbumin (OVA) to develop an AR mouse model. The histopathology in nasal mucosae, Th1/Th2/Treg/Th17 cell percentage, concentrations of Th-related cytokines, expression of Tet and differential hydroxymethylated genes (DhMG), and the global deposition of 5hmC in sorted CD4+ T cells were detected. Results: Epigenome-wide 5hmC landscape and DhMG in the CD4+ T cells of AR patients were identified. Tet2 depletion did not led to spontaneous inflammation. However, under the stimulation of allergen, OVA, loss of Tet2 resulted in the exacerbation of allergic inflammation, which was characterized by severer allergic symptoms, more inflammatory cells infiltrating the nasal lamina propria, sharper imbalances between Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 cells, and excessive secretion of OVA-specific IgE and Th2-related cytokines. Moreover, altered mRNA production of several DhMG and sharp decrease in 5hmC deposition were also observed in Tet2-deficient OVA-exposed mice. Conclusions: TET2 may regulate DNA 5hmC, DhMG expressions, and CD4+ T cell balance in AR.

The Lived Experience of First-time Mothers with Congenital Heart Disease

Liu Yu-Ting,Lu Chun-Wei,Mu Pei-Fan,Shu Ying-Mei,Chen Chi-Wen 한국간호과학회 2022 Asian Nursing Research Vol.16 No.3

Purpose: Nowadays most children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are expected to survive to adulthood. The healthcare focus needs to pay close attention to the important developmental tasks during their growth process. The women with CHD face some challenges in their critically developmental stages during pregnancy, delivery, and even motherhood. The lived experience of being a mother needs to be further concerned. This study aimed to explore the lived experience of first-time mothers with CHD. Methods: Descriptive phenomenological design was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from April to August 2018 with 11 primiparous women with CHD, who were recruited from the pediatric and adult cardiology outpatient departments at a medical center and who had a child aged between 6 months and 3 years. Giorgi's phenomenological analysis method was employed. Results: Six main themes arose from the analysis: (1) recognizing pregnancy risks, (2) performing selfcare for health, (3) building self-worth from my baby, (4) adapting to postpartum life and adjusting priorities, (5) enjoying being a first-time mother, and (6) the factors contributing to success in high-risk childbirth. Conclusions: The experiences that occurred prior to and after labor that were identified in this study can assist women with CHD to more capably prepare for and understand the process of becoming a mother, including recognition of the importance of a prepregnancy evaluation. The findings of this study can help women with CHD to better understand the path to becoming a mother and prepare themselves for the challenges that lie ahead.