Model Based on Alkaline Phosphatase and Gamma-Glutamyltransferase for Gallbladder Cancer Prognosis

Xu, Xin-Sen,Miao, Run-Chen,Zhang, Ling-Qiang,Wang, Rui-Tao,Qu, Kai,Pang, Qing,Liu, Chang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.15

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic value of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) in gallbladder cancer (GBC). Materials and Methods: Serum ALP and GGT levels and clinicopathological parameters were retrospectively evaluated in 199 GBC patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine the cut-off values of ALP and GGT. Then, associations with overall survival were assessed by multivariate analysis. Based on the significant factors, a prognostic score model was established. Results: By ROC curve analysis, $ALP{\geq}210U/L$ and $GGT{\geq}43U/L$ were considered elevated. Overall survival for patients with elevated ALP and GGT was significantly worse than for patients within the normal range. Multivariate analysis showed that the elevated ALP, GGT and tumor stage were independent prognostic factors. Giving each positive factor a score of 1, we established a preoperative prognostic score model. Varied outcomes would be significantly distinguished by the different score groups. By further ROC curve analysis, the simple score showed great superiority compared with the widely used TNM staging, each of the ALP or GGT alone, or traditional tumor markers such as CEA, AFP, CA125 and CA199. Conclusions: Elevated ALP and GGT levels were risk predictors in GBC patients. Our prognostic model provides infomration on varied outcomes of patients from different score groups.

Reports : IGF1 potentiates BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation in mesenchymal stem cells through the enhancement of BMP/Smad signaling

( Liang Chen ),( Xiang Zou ),( Ran-xi Zhang ),( Chang-jun Pi ),( Nian Wu ),( Liang-jun Yin ),( Zhong-liang Deng ) 생화학분자생물학회(구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2016 BMB Reports Vol.49 No.2

Engineered bone tissue is thought to be the ideal alternative for bone grafts in the treatment of related bone diseases. BMP9 has been demonstrated as one of the most osteogenic factors, and enhancement of BMP9-induced osteogenesis will greatly accelerate the development of bone tissue engineering. Here, we investigated the effect of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) on BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation, and unveiled a possible molecular mechanism underling this process. We found that IGF1 and BMP9 are both detectable in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Exogenous expression of IGF1 potentiates BMP9-induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP), matrix mineralization, and ectopic bone formation. Similarly, IGF1 enhances BMP9-induced endochondral ossification. Mechanistically, we found that IGF1 increases BMP9-induced activation of BMP/Smad signaling in MSCs. Our findings demonstrate that IGF1 can enhance BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation in MSCs, and that this effect may be mediated by the enhancement of the BMP/Smad signaling transduction triggered by BMP9. [BMB Reports 2016; 49(2): 122-127]

FoxM1 as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Cancer Drug Therapy

Xu, Xin-Sen,Miao, Run-Chen,Wan, Yong,Zhang, Ling-Qiang,Qu, Kai,Liu, Chang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.1

Background: Current cancer therapy mainly focuses on identifying novel targets crucial for tumorigenesis. The FoxM1 is of preference as an anticancer target, due to its significance in execution of mitosis, cell cycle progression, as well as other signal pathways leading to tumorigenesis. FoxM1 is partially regulated by oncoproteins or tumor suppressors, which are often mutated, lost, or overexpressed in human cancer. Since sustaining proliferating signaling is an important hallmark of cancer, FoxM1 is overexpressed in a series of human malignancies. Alarge-scale gene expression analysis also identified FoxM1 as a differentially-expressed gene in most solid tumors. Furthermore, overexpressed FoxM1 is correlated with the prognosis of cancer patients, as verified in a series of malignancies by Cox regression analysis. Thus, extensive studies have been conducted to explore the roles of FoxM1 in tumorigenesis, making it an attractive target for anticancer therapy. Several antitumor drugs have been reported to target or inhibit FoxM1 expression in different cancers, and down-regulation of FoxM1 also abrogates drug resistance in some cancer cell lines, highlighting a promising future for FoxM1 application in the clinic.

Short Low Concentration Cisplatin Treatment Leads to an Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition-like Response in DU145 Prostate Cancer Cells

Liu, Yi-Qing,Zhang, Guo-An,Zhang, Bing-Chang,Wang, Yong,Liu, Zheng,Jiao, Yu-Lian,Liu, Ning,Zhao, Yue-Ran Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.3

Background: Prostate cancer is one of the main causes of cancer death, and drug resistance is the leading reason for therapy failure. However, how this occurs is largely unknown. We therrfore aimed to study the response of DU145 cells to cisplatin. Materials and Methods: Du145 prostate cancer cells were treated with a low dose of cisplatin for 24 h and cell viability and number were determined by MTT assay and trypan blue exclusion assay, respectively. The real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to assess responses to cisplatin treatment. Results: After 24h $2{\mu}g/ml$ treatment did not result in significant reduction in cell viability or number. However, it led to enhanced cancer cell invasiveness. E-cadherin mRNA was reduced, and vimentin, Snail, Slug, metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) mRNA expression increased significantly, a feature of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Conclusions: Short time low concentration cisplatin treatment leads to elevated invasiveness of DU145 cancer cells and this is possibly due to EMT.

Fundamental period estimation of steel frames equipped with steel panel walls

Liqiang Jiang,Xingshuo Zhang,Lizhong Jiang,Chang He,Jihong Ye,Yu Ran 국제구조공학회 2021 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.78 No.6

Steel frames equipped with beam-only-connected steel panel wall (SPWF) system is one type of lateral resisting systems. The fundamental period is necessary to calculate the lateral force for seismic design, however, almost no investigations have been reported for the period estimation of SPWF structures, both in theoretically and in codes. This paper proposes a simple theoretical method to predict the fundamental periods of the SPWF structures based on the basic theory of engineering mechanics. The proposed method estimates the SPWF structures as a shear system of steel frames and a shear-flexure system of SPWs separately, and calculates the fundamental periods of the SPWF structures according to the integration of lateral stiffness of the steel frames and the SPWs along the height. Finite element method (FEM) is used to analyze the periods of 45 case steel frames or SPWF buildings with different configurations, and the FEM is validated by the test results of four specimens. The errors cannot be ignored between FEM and theoretical results due to the simplifications. Thus the finial formula is proposed by correcting the theoretical equations. The relative errors between the periods predicted from the final proposed formula and the results of FEM are no more than 4.6%. The proposed formula could be reliably used for fundamental period estimation of new, existing and damaged SPWF buildings.

Two-Step Reset in the Resistance Switching of the Al/TiO_<i>x</i>/Cu Structure

Shao, Xing L.,Zhao, Jin S.,Zhang, Kai L.,Chen, Ran,Sun, Kuo,Chen, Chang J.,Liu, Kai,Zhou, Li W.,Wang, Jian Y.,Ma, Chen M.,Yoon, Kyung J.,Hwang, Cheol S. American Chemical Society 2013 ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES Vol.5 No.21

<P>Two-step reset behaviors in the resistance switching properties of the top Al/TiO<SUB><I>x</I></SUB>/bottom Cu structure were studied. During the electroforming and set steps, two types of conducting filaments composed of Cu and oxygen vacancies (Cu-CF and V<SUB>O</SUB>-CF) were simultaneously (or sequentially) formed when Al was negatively biased. In the subsequent reset step with the opposite bias polarity, the Cu-CFs ruptured first at ∼0.5 V, and formed an intermediate state. The trap-filled V<SUB>O</SUB>-CFs were transformed into a trap-empty state, resulting in a high-resistance state at ∼1 V. Matrix phase in the electrochemical metallization cell can play an active role in resistance switching.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/aamick/2013/aamick.2013.5.issue-21/am403498q/production/images/medium/am-2013-03498q_0007.gif'></P>

Identification of drug target candidates of the swine pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae by construction of protein–protein interaction network

Siqi Li,Zhipeng Su,Chengjun Zhang,Zhuofei Xu,Xiaoping Chang,Jiawen Zhu,Ran Xiao,Lu Li,Rui Zhou 한국유전학회 2018 Genes & Genomics Vol.40 No.8

Porcine pleuropneumonia caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae has led to severe economic losses in the pig industry worldwide. A. pleuropneumoniae displays various levels of antimicrobial resistance, leading to the dire need to identify new drug targets. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network can aid the identification of drug targets by discovering essential proteins during the life of bacteria. The aim of this study is to identify drug target candidates of A. pleuropneumoniae from essential proteins in PPI network. The homologous protein mapping method (HPM) was utilized to construct A. pleuropneumoniae PPI network. Afterwards, the subnetwork centered with H-NS was selected to verify the PPI network using bacterial two-hybrid assays. Drug target candidates were identified from the hub proteins by analyzing the topology of the network using interaction degree and homologous comparison with the pig proteome. An A. pleuropneumoniae PPI network containing 2737 non-redundant interaction pairs among 533 proteins was constructed. These proteins were distributed in 21 COG functional categories and 28 KEGG metabolic pathways. The A. pleuropneumoniae PPI network was scale free and the similar topological tendencies were found when compared with other bacteria PPI network. Furthermore, 56.3% of the H-NS subnetwork interactions were validated. 57 highly connected proteins (hub proteins) were identified from the A. pleuropneumoniae PPI network. Finally, 9 potential drug targets were identified from the hub proteins, with no homologs in swine. This study provides drug target candidates, which are promising for further investigations to explore lead compounds against A. pleuropneumoniae.

Genome constitution and evolution of Elymus atratus (Poaceae: Triticeae) inferred from cytogenetic and phylogenetic analysis

Tan Lu,Wu Dan-Dan,Zhang Chang-Bing,Cheng Yi-Ran,Sha Li-Na,Fan Xing,Kang Hou-Yang,Wang Yi,Zhang Hai-Qin,Escudero Marcial,Zhou Yong-Hong 한국유전학회 2024 Genes & Genomics Vol.46 No.5

Background Elymus atratus (Nevski) Hand.-Mazz. is perennial hexaploid wheatgrass. It was assigned to the genus Elymus L. sensu stricto based on morphological characters. Its genome constitution has not been disentangled yet. Objective To identify the genome constitution and origin of E. atratus. Methods In this study, genomic in situ hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization, and phylogenetic analysis based on the Acc1, DMC1 and matK sequences were performed. Results Genomic in situ hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization results reveal that E. atratus 2n = 6x = 42 is composed of 14 St genome chromosomes, 14 H genome chromosomes, and 14 Y genome chromosomes including two H-Y type translocation chromosomes, suggesting that the genome formula of E. atratus is StStYYHH. The phylogenetic analysis based on Acc1 and DMC1 sequences not only shows that the Y genome originated in a separate diploid, but also suggests that Pseudoroegneria (St), Hordeum (H), and a diploid species with Y genome were the potential donors of E. atratus. Data from chloroplast DNA showed that the maternal donor of E. atratus contains the St genome. Conclusion Elymus atratus is an allohexaploid species with StYH genome, which may have originated through the hybridization between an allotetraploid Roegneria (StY) species as the maternal donor and a diploid Hordeum (H) species as the paternal donor. Background Elymus atratus (Nevski) Hand.-Mazz. is perennial hexaploid wheatgrass. It was assigned to the genus Elymus L. sensu stricto based on morphological characters. Its genome constitution has not been disentangled yet. Objective To identify the genome constitution and origin of E. atratus. Methods In this study, genomic in situ hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization, and phylogenetic analysis based on the Acc1, DMC1 and matK sequences were performed. Results Genomic in situ hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization results reveal that E. atratus 2n = 6x = 42 is composed of 14 St genome chromosomes, 14 H genome chromosomes, and 14 Y genome chromosomes including two H-Y type translocation chromosomes, suggesting that the genome formula of E. atratus is StStYYHH. The phylogenetic analysis based on Acc1 and DMC1 sequences not only shows that the Y genome originated in a separate diploid, but also suggests that Pseudoroegneria (St), Hordeum (H), and a diploid species with Y genome were the potential donors of E. atratus. Data from chloroplast DNA showed that the maternal donor of E. atratus contains the St genome. Conclusion Elymus atratus is an allohexaploid species with StYH genome, which may have originated through the hybridization between an allotetraploid Roegneria (StY) species as the maternal donor and a diploid Hordeum (H) species as the paternal donor.

The mitochondrial genome of red-necked phalarope Phalaropus lobatus (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae) and phylogeny analysis among Scolopacidae

Wei Liu,Chaochao Hu,Wenli Xie,Peng Chen,Yi Zhang,Ran Yao,Kexin Li,Qing Chang 한국유전학회 2018 Genes & Genomics Vol.40 No.5

The red-necked phalarope is a wonderful species with specific morphological characters and lifestyles. Mitochondrial genomes, encoding necessary proteins involved in the system of energy metabolism, are important for the evolution and adaption of species. In this study, we determined the complete mitogenome sequence of Phalaropus lobatus (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae). The circular genome is 16714 bp in size, containing 13 PCGs, two ribosomal RNAs and 22 tRNAs and a high AT-rich control region. The AT skew and GC skew of major strand is positive and negative respectively. Most of PCGs are biased towards A-rich except ND1. A codon usage analysis shows that 3 start codons (ATG, GTG and ATA), 4 stop codons (TAA, TAG, AGG, AGA) and two incomplete terminate codons (T–). Twenty two transfer RNAs have the typical cloverleaf structure, and a total of ten base pairs are mismatched throughout the nine tRNA genes. The phylogenetic tree based on 13 PCGs and 2 rRNA genes indicates that monophyly of the family and genus Phalaropus is close to genus Xenus plus Tringa. The analysis of selective pressure shows 13 protein-coding genes are evolving under the purifying selection and P. lobatus is different from other Scolopacidae species on the selective pressure of gene ND4. This study helps us know the inherent mechanism of mitochondrial structure and natural selection.

Evaluation of Galactomannan Enzyme Immunoassay and Quantitative Real-Time PCR for the Diagnosis of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in a Rat Model

( Jian Cong Lin ),( Yan Li Xing ),( Wen Ming Xu ),( Ming Li ),( Pang Bo ),( Yuan Yuan Niu ),( Chang Ran Zhang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2014 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.24 No.8

Since there is no consensus about the most reliable assays to detect invasive aspergillosis from samples obtained by minimally invasive or noninvasive methods, we compared the efficacy of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for galactomannan (GM) detection and quantitative real-time PCR assay (qRT-PCR) for the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Neutropenic, male Sprague-Dawley rats (specific pathogen free; 8 weeks old; weight, 200 ± 20 g) were immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide and infected with Aspergillus fumigatus intratracheally. Tissue and whole blood samples were harvested on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 post-infection and examined with GM ELISA and qRT-PCR. The A. fumigatus DNA detection sequence was detected in the following number of samples from 12 immunosuppressed, infected rats examined on the scheduled days: day 1 (0/12), day 3 (0/12), day 5 (6/12), and day 7 (8/12) post-infection. The sensitivity and specificity of the qRT-PCR assay was 29.2% and 100%, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis indicated a Ct (cycle threshold) cut-off value of 15.35, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.627. The GM assay detected antigen in sera obtained on day 1 (5/12), day 3 (9/12), day 5 (12/12), and day 7 (12/12) post-infection, and thus had a sensitivity of 79.2% and a specificity of 100%. The ROC of the GM assay indicated that the optimal Ct cut-off value was 1.40 (AUC, 0.919). The GM assay was more sensitive than the qRT-PCR assay in diagnosing invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in rats.