Mini-Array of Multiple Tumor-associated Antigens (TAAs) in the Immunodiagnosis of Esophageal Cancer

Qin, Jie-Jie,Wang, Xiao-Rui,Wang, Peng,Ren, Peng-Fei,Shi, Jian-Xiang,Zhang, Hong-Fei,Xia, Jun-Fen,Wang, Kai-Juan,Song, Chun-Hua,Dai, Li-Ping,Zhang, Jian-Ying Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.6

Sera of cancer patients may contain antibodies that react with a unique group of autologous cellular antigens called tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). The present study aimed to determine whether a mini-array of multiple TAAs would enhance antibody detection and be a useful approach in esophageal cancer detection and diagnosis. Our mini-array of multiple TAAs consisted of eleven antigens, p53, pl6, Impl, CyclinB1, C-myc, RalA, p62, Survivin, Koc, CyclinD1 and CyclinE full-length recombinant proteins. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to detect autoantibodies against eleven selected TAAs in 174 sera from patients with esophageal cancer, as well as 242 sera from normal individuals. In addition, positive results of ELISA were confirmed by Western blotting. In a parallel screening trial, with the successive addition of antigen to a final total of eleven TAAs, there was a stepwise increase in positive antibody reactions. The eleven TAAs were the best parallel combination, and the sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing esophageal cancer was 75.3% and 81.0%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 74.0% and 82.0%, respectively, indicating that the parallel assay of eleven TAAs raised the diagnostic precision significantly. In addition, the levels of antibodies to seven antigens, comprising p53, Impl, C-myc, RalA, p62, Survivin, and CyclinD1, were significantly different in various stages of esophageal cancer, which showed that autoantibodies may be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of esophageal cancer. All in all, this study further supports our previous hypothesis that a combination of antibodies might acquire higher sensitivity for the diagnosis of certain types of cancer. A customized mini-array of multiple carefully-selected TAAs is able to enhance autoantibody detection in the immunodiagnosis of esophageal cancer and autoantibodies to TAAs might be reference indicators of clinical stage.

Association Between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in miRNA196a-2 and miRNA146a and Susceptibility to Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Chinese Population

Zhang, Jun,Wang, Rui,Ma, Yan-Yun,Chen, Lin-Qi,Jin, Bo-Han,Yu, Hua,Wang, Jiu-Cun,Gao, Chun-Fang,Liu, Jie Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.11

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world and deeply threatens people's health, especially in China. Techniques of early diagnosis, prevention and prediction are still being discovered, among which the approaches based on single nucleotide polymorphisms in microRNA genes (miRNA SNPs) are newly proposed and show prospective potential. In particular, the association between SNPs in miRNA196a-2 (rs11614913) and miRNA146a (rs2910164) and HCC has been investigated. However, the conclusions made were conflicting, possibly due to insufficient sample size or population stratification. Further confirmations in well-designed large samples are still required. In this study, we verified the association between these two SNPs and the susceptibility to HCC by MassARRAY assay in a 2,000 large Chinese case-control sample. Significant association between rs11614913 and HCC was confirmed. Subjects with the genotype of CT+TT or T allele in rs11614913 were more resistant to HCC (CT+TT: OR (95% CI)=0.73 (0.57-0.92), P=0.01; T allele: OR (95% CI)=0.85 (0.75-0.97), P=0.02) and HBV-related HCC (CT+TT: OR (95% CI)=0.69 (0.53-0.90), P=0.01; T allele: OR (95% CI)=0.82 (0.71-0.95), P=0.01). The affected carriers of CT or TT also tended to have lower levels of serum AFP (P=0.01). This study demonstrated a role of rs11614913 in the etiology of HCC. Further research should focus on the clinical use of this miRNA SNP, so as to facilitate conquering HCC.

TSHR Variant Screening and Phenotype Analysis in 367 Chinese Patients With Congenital Hypothyroidism

Zhang Hai-Yang,Wu Feng-Yao,Li Xue-Song,Tu Ping-Hui,Zhang Cao-Xu,Yang Rui-Meng,Cui Ren-Jie,Wu Chen-Yang,Fang Ya,Yang Liu,Song Huai-Dong,Zhao Shuang-Xia 대한진단검사의학회 2024 Annals of Laboratory Medicine Vol.44 No.4

Background: Genetic defects in the human thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor (TSHR) gene can cause congenital hypothyroidism (CH). However, the biological functions and comprehensive genotype–phenotype relationships for most TSHR variants associated with CH remain unexplored. We aimed to identify TSHR variants in Chinese patients with CH, analyze the functions of the variants, and explore the relationships between TSHR genotypes and clinical phenotypes. Methods: In total, 367 patients with CH were recruited for TSHR variant screening using whole-exome sequencing. The effects of the variants were evaluated by in-silico programs such as SIFT and polyphen2. Furthermore, these variants were transfected into 293T cells to detect their Gs/cyclic AMP and Gq/11 signaling activity. Results: Among the 367 patients with CH, 17 TSHR variants, including three novel variants, were identified in 45 patients, and 18 patients carried biallelic TSHR variants. In vitro experiments showed that 10 variants were associated with Gs/cyclic AMP and Gq/11 signaling pathway impairment to varying degrees. Patients with TSHR biallelic variants had lower serum TSH levels and higher free triiodothyronine and thyroxine levels at diagnosis than those with DUOX2 biallelic variants. Conclusions: We found a high frequency of TSHR variants in Chinese patients with CH (12.3%), and 4.9% of cases were caused by TSHR biallelic variants. Ten variants were identified as loss-of-function variants. The data suggest that the clinical phenotype of CH patients caused by TSHR biallelic variants is relatively mild. Our study expands the TSHR variant spectrum and provides further evidence for the elucidation of the genetic etiology of CH.

Association of microRNA-3144 variant with the susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma

Jun Zhang,Yi Liu,Jie Liu,Rui Wang,Min Cai,Shunji Yu,Yanyun Ma,Weihong Xu,Chunfang Gao,Jiucun Wang,Lifang Hou 한국유전학회 2014 Genes & Genomics Vol.36 No.6

Increasing studies suggest that microRNAs, anew group of small non-coding molecules, regulate theexpression of their target genes and play some roles in cancers. Thus, it is hypothesized that the genetic variants ofmicroRNAs could contribute to the susceptibility to cancers. In this study, the association between rs67106263 in microRNA-3144 and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)was explored in a large-scaled case–control population basedon MassARRAY technology. It was discovered that comparedwith the carriers of wide-type GG genotype and heterozygoteGA genotype of microRNA-3144, thesignificantly increased risk of HCC was observed in thesubjects with the homozygote variant AA (adjusted oddsratio = 1.285, 95 % confidence interval = 1.004–1.643,P = 0.046). Additionally, the variant was also associatedwith the expression of alpha fetoprotein (AFP), which is thediagnostic marker for HCC. Our findings suggest for the firsttime that rs67106263 may play some roles in the risk of HCC,expecting future molecular researches to elucidate the possiblemechanisms behind these results.

Novel HMW glutenin genes from Aegilops tauschii and their unique structures

Wen-Jie Chen,Zhong-Wei Yuan,Lian-Quan Zhang,Xing Fan,Ze-Hong Yan,Ji-Rui Wang,You-Liang Zheng,Huai-Gang Zhang,Deng-Cai Liu 한국유전학회 2012 Genes & Genomics Vol.34 No.3

A pair of novel high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) 1Dx5.3t and 1Dy12.1**t were revealed and characterized from Ae. tauschii accession PI554324. SDS-PAGE band of 1Dx5.3t was between those of 1Bx6 and 1Bx7, while 1Dy12.1**t with slightly faster migration rate than that of 1Dy12. The lengths of 1Dx5.3t and 1Dy12.1**t were 2115 bp and 1986 bp, encoding 703 and 660 amino acid residues,respectively. Their authenticity was confirmed by successful expression of the coding regions in Escherichia coli. 1Dx5.3t is the shortest of the known Dx-type alleles. 1Dy12.1**t is also a special subunit since it has an additional cysteine in the front of the central repetitive domain. This cysteine that is not existed in previously reported Dy-type genes may be useful for improving bread wheat quality. Median-joining Network analysis indicated that 1Dy12.1**t may be a key site in the genealogy of the Glu-Dy.

Mechanism Study and Geometric Parameter Optimization of the Vortex Downhole Tool

Zhao Zhang,Rui-Quan Liao,Jie Liu,Jun Ma 한국유체기계학회 2019 International journal of fluid machinery and syste Vol.12 No.4

In the present study, the mechanism of the vortex downhole tool (VDT) to improve gas well production efficiency is investigated and the optimal geometric parameter combination of VDT is obtained by an orthogonal experiment. Results show that VDT has the potential to reduce the critical gas velocity only when its helix angle is less than 63°, and the theoretical reduction will not exceed 21.5%, compared to the Turner model. Under the action of VDT, the friction factor of the gas-liquid two-phase flow is reduced, as well as the total flow pressure drop. The field testing results show that the proposed structure optimization method of VDT is feasible and the optimal VDT has greatly improved the production conditions of well A.

Novel NiCo2Se4/Mn0.5Cd0.5S photocatalyst for visible light-driven hydrogen evolution

Liu Chao,Zhang Feng-Jun,Wang Ying-Rui,Xie Wen-Jie,Ma Jie,Oh Won-Chun 한국세라믹학회 2023 한국세라믹학회지 Vol.60 No.4

The development of efficient and stable photocatalysts is one of the most important research directions to realize the practical application of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. A series of novel visible light responsive NiCo 2Se4/Mn0.5Cd0.5S composites with different NiCo 2Se4 contents were prepared by hydrothermal method. The composites were characterized using different characterization techniques such as XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, UV–Vis DRS, PL, and photoelectrochemistry. Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction was also performed using visible light (λ > 420 nm) in an aqueous solution containing Na 2S·9H2O and Na 2SO3 as sacrificial reagents. The 4% NiCo 2Se4/ Mn 0.5Cd0.5S composites exhibited the highest photocatalytic hydrogen evolution capacity, producing 20 mmol  h −1  g−1 of hydrogen, higher than pure Mn0.5Cd0.50.5S (12.2mmol h-1g-1). The tight bonding of the two materials in the NiCo 2Se4/Mn0.5Cd0.5S composites may enhance the photocatalytic activity to some extent. The possible mechanism was suggested by UV–Vis DRS and photoelectrochemical measurements. The obtained NiCo 2Se4/ Mn0.5Cd0.5S composites have excellent photocatalytic activity and good stability in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, and have potential applications in the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water using solar energy.

Effect of calcium carbonate in waste office paper on enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency and enhancement procedures

Xiusheng Wang,Jie Bao,Andong Song,Liping Li,Xiaohong Li,Rui Zhang 한국화학공학회 2011 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.28 No.2

Hydrolysis of waste office paper (WOP) into fermentable sugars is an important option of WOP utilization. In this work, the effect of major chemicals in WOP on its hydrolysis using industrial cellulase Accellerase 1000 (Genencor,Rochester, NY, USA) was investigated, and calcium carbonate (CaCO_3) was found to be the key parameter affecting the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of WOP. The pretreatment methods, acid washing and acid presoaking, were tested for the removal of CaCO_3 from WOP. It was found that the presoaking of sulfuric acid (H_2SO_4) in WOP was an effective way. The pretreating parameters of WOP were studied on maximizing the hydrolysis efficiency. The conversion yield of cellulose to glucose and cellobiose using the pretreated WOP reached 73.3% after 96 hours hydrolysis at the optimal conditions. The results provided the WOP utilization with a practical enzymatic hydrolysis method with industrial application potential.

Polysaccharides in Pinus pumila cones: Chemical composition and biological activities

Zijiang Li,Rui Xu,Wei Liu,Jie Zhang,Lei Wu,Chuanling Si 강원대학교 산림과학연구소 2019 강원대학교 산림과학연구소 학술대회 Vol.2019 No.09

The pine cones of Pinus pumila were extracted by ethanol. From the resulted residues, the polysaccharides of P. pumila cones were obtained by hot water extraction, spray drying and alcohol precipitation processes. The content of the polysaccharides was determined by phenol sulfuric acid method. The analysis of monosaccharide composition of the polysaccharide conducted by gas chromatography revealed that it was a heteropolysaccharide and consisted of L-arabinose, D-mannose, D-glucose and D-galactose in a molar ratio of 2.33:1.00:2.20:1.94, which indicated typical IR characteristics of polysaccharides. In addition, the antioxidant activity of polysaccharides was evaluated by measuring DPPH free radical and ABTS free radical scavenging capacity, as well as reducing capacity, and then the immunoregulatory activity of polysaccharides against RAW264.7 macrophages was evaluated by in vitro experiments. The results showed that pine cones polysaccharides of P. pumila exhibited significant scavenging effects on DPPH radicals, ABTS+ radicals and strong reducing power in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, polysaccharides of P. pumila cones could stimulate RAW264.7 macrophages to produce a large amount of NO, but had no effect on cell proliferation. Overall, polysaccharides from Pinus pumila cones may have potential applications in the medical and food industries.

Inhibitory effect of StCYP707A1 gene on tuberization in transgenic potato

Lu Liu,Rui-Jie Zhang,Wen-jiao Zhu,Xin-Ru Liu,Ke Shi,Min Chen,Qing Yang 한국식물생명공학회 2017 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.11 No.4

Tuber formation of potato is a complex biological process and is regulated by many factors including phytochrome, hormones, transcription factors, RNAs, microRNAs, etc. In our previous study, CYP707A1, an ABA 80-hydroxylase gene, was down-regulated in the StCOL antisense transgenic potato stolons, but its relation with potato tuberization has not been studied yet. In this study, to investigate the role of this gene in potato tuberization, we cloned a CYP707A1 gene from potato cultivar De ´sire ´e and constructed the StCYP707A1 over-expression and anti-sense potato lines by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. In total, four over-expression transgenic lines and nine anti-sense transgenic lines were confirmed by PCR analysis. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and qRTPCR analysis showed that the level of StCYP707A1 transcripts was significantly higher in the over-expression lines (A7 and A9) and lower in the anti-sense lines (F2 and F8), compared to the wild-type control. We further analyzed tuber formation in the transgenic lines and the wild-type control. The result showed that tuber yield per plant and average tuber weight were decreased in A7 and A9 and increased in F2. We also measured the content of ABA and GA3 in transgenic lines. ABA level was reduced in A7 and A9 and increased in F2. Contrariwise, the concentration of GA3 was higher in A7 and A9, and lower in F2 than in wild-type control. These results indicate that StCYP707A1 negatively affects potato tuberization through ABA regulation on gibberellic acid concentration.