The mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) gene is a potential methylation biomarker for malignancy of breast cancer

Fang-Ming Chen,Hsueh-Wei Chang,Sheau-Fang Yang,Ya-Fang Huang,Pei-Yung Nien,Yao-Tsung Yeh,Ming-Feng Hou 생화학분자생물학회 2012 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.44 No.5

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) belongs to the MAPK cascades which are central to cell proliferation and apoptosis. The carcinogenic role of MKP-1 has been reported in many types of cancer but it has rarely been investigated in breast cancer. The present study was designed to evaluate the MKP-1 mRNA expression and its possible regulation by methylation of MKP-1 promoter in the model of several breast cancer cell lines and tissues as well as controls. Our data demonstrate MKP-1mRNA expression significantly decreased in five breast cancer cell lines compared to breast controls (P <0.01). Using the methylation-specific PCR (MSP) analysis,the unmethylated reaction (U) is dominant in both normal cell lines and benign breast tumors (100% vs. 86.2%), whereas the methylated reaction (M) is dominant in both breast cancer cell lines and invasive breast tumors (100% vs. 57.2%). In terms of methylation ratio (M/M+U), methylation level in MKP-1 promoter is significantly higher in the invasive breast tumor tissues (n = 152) than in benign breast tumor tissues (n = 29)(P < 0.0001). Assessing the methylation ratio of the promoter of MKP-1 gene to diagnose the breast malignancy (invasive vs. benign), the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.809(95% CI: 0.711-0.906, P < 0.001). The best performance for this prediction has a sensitivity of 76.32% and a specificity of 82.76% at the cutoff value of 0.38. Taken together, we firstly demonstrated that the promoter methylation of MKP-1 gene is a potential breast cancer biomarker for breast malignancy.

Risk Factors for Anxiety in Major Depressive Disorder Patients

Li-Min Xin,Lin Chen,Zhen-Peng Ji,Suo-Yuan Zhang,Jun Wang,Yan-Hong Liu,Da-Fang Chen,Fu-De Yang,Gang Wang,Yi-Ru Fang,Zheng Lu,Hai-Chen Yang,Jian Hu,Zhi-Yu Chen,Yi Huang,Jing Sun,Xiao-Ping Wang,Hui-Chun 대한정신약물학회 2015 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.13 No.3

Objective: To analyze the sociodemographic and clinical factors related to anxiety in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: This study involved a secondary analysis of data obtained from the Diagnostic Assessment Service for People with Bipolar Disorders in China (DASP), which was initiated by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry (CSP) and conducted from September 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011. Based on the presence or absence of anxiety-related characteristics, 1,178 MDD patients were classified as suffering from anxious depression (n=915) or non-anxious depression (n=263), respectively. Results: Compared with the non-anxious group, the anxious-depression group had an older age at onset (t=−4.39, p<0.001), were older (t=−4.69, p<0.001), reported more lifetime depressive episodes (z=−3.24, p=0.001), were more likely to experience seasonal depressive episodes (χ2=6.896, p=0.009) and depressive episodes following stressful life events (χ2=59.350, p <0.001), and were more likely to have a family history of psychiatric disorders (χ2=6.091, p=0.014). Their positive and total scores on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and the 32-item Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32) (p<0.05) were also lower. The logistic regression analysis indicated that age (odds ratio [OR]=1.03, p<0.001), a lower total MDQ score (OR=0.94, p=0.011), depressive episodes following stressful life events (OR=3.04, p<0.001), and seasonal depressive episodes (OR=1.75, p=0.039) were significantly associated with anxious depression. Conclusion: These findings indicate that older age, fewer subclinical bipolar features, an increased number of depressive episodes following stressful life events, and seasonal depressive episodes may be risk factors for anxiety-related characteristics in patients with MDD.

Diffusion Tensor-Derived Properties of Benign Oligemia, True “at Risk” Penumbra, and Infarct Core during the First Three Hours of Stroke Onset: A Rat Model

Fang-Ying Chiu,Duen-Pang Kuo,Yung-Chieh Chen,Yu-Chieh Kao,Hsiao-Wen Chung,Cheng-Yu Chen 대한영상의학회 2018 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.19 No.6

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate diffusion tensor (DT) imaging-derived properties of benign oligemia, true “at risk” penumbra (TP), and the infarct core (IC) during the first 3 hours of stroke onset. Materials and Methods: The study was approved by the local animal care and use committee. DT imaging data were obtained from 14 rats after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) using a 7T magnetic resonance scanner (Bruker) in room air. Relative cerebral blood flow and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were generated to define oligemia, TP, IC, and normal tissue (NT) every 30 minutes up to 3 hours. Relative fractional anisotropy (rFA), pure anisotropy (rq), diffusion magnitude (rL), ADC (rADC), axial diffusivity (rAD), and radial diffusivity (rRD) values were derived by comparison with the contralateral normal brain. Results: The mean volume of oligemia was 24.7 ± 14.1 mm3, that of TP was 81.3 ± 62.6 mm3, and that of IC was 123.0 ± 85.2 mm3 at 30 minutes after pMCAO. rFA showed an initial paradoxical 10% increase in IC and TP, and declined afterward. The rq, rL, rADC, rAD, and rRD showed an initial discrepant decrease in IC (from -24% to -36%) as compared with TP (from -7% to -13%). Significant differences (p < 0.05) in metrics, except rFA, were found between tissue subtypes in the first 2.5 hours. The rq demonstrated the best overall performance in discriminating TP from IC (accuracy = 92.6%, area under curve = 0.93) and the optimal cutoff value was -33.90%. The metric values for oligemia and NT remained similar at all time points. Conclusion: Benign oligemia is small and remains microstructurally normal under pMCAO. TP and IC show a distinct evolution of DT-derived properties within the first 3 hours of stroke onset, and are thus potentially useful in predicting the fate of ischemic brain.

[Ru(phen)₂(dppz)]²⁺ Assemble on the Surface of the SDS Micelle and Its Application for the Determination of DNA

Chen, Fang,Huang, Jianping,He, Zhike Korean Chemical Society 2006 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.27 No.10

The solution of $[Ru(phen)_2(dppz)]^{2+}$ and SDS has high Resonance Light Scattering (RLS) signals due to $[Ru(phen)_2(dppz)]^{2+}$ assemble on the surface of the SDS micelle. Because of the high affinity ($KB\geq10^6\;L\;mol^{-1}$) between $[Ru(phen)_2(dppz)]^{2+}$ and DNA, the adding of DNA in the solution of $[Ru(phen)_2(dppz)]^{2+}$-SDS makes the dissociation of $[Ru(phen)_2(dppz)]^{2+}$-SDS, and results in decreasing of the RLS signals and increasing of the absorbance. Based on this, a novel method is proposed for DNA assay. Under optimum condition, good linear relationship was obtained within the concentration range of 0.018-1.26 $\mu g\;mL^{-1}$, the linear equation is $I_{RLS}$ = 504.8-348.8 c (c: $\mu g\;mL^{-1}$) and the correlation coefficient (r) is 0.9992. The detect limit for calf thymus DNA is 8.6 ng $mL^{-1}$. The proposed method was successful applied to determine the extracted colibacillus plasmid DNA.

Analysis of genetic diversity among different geographic populations of Athetis lepigone using ISSR molecular markers

Fang Chen,Tofael Ahmeda,Yu-juan Liu,Kang-lai He,Zhen-yingWang 한국응용곤충학회 2014 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.17 No.4

Athetis lepigone (Möschler) is an invasive insect pest that feeds on corn seedlings in the summer corn region ofChina. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to determine genotype of A. lepigone collectedfrom 15 geographic locations in North China. Data from seven primers resulted in a total of 183 bands thatwere scored, 174 (95.08%) of which were polymorphic. Genetic distance estimates among the 15 populationsof A. lepigone ranged from 0.0133 to 0.0595. At species level, Nei's genetic diversity index was 0.3537 andShannon information index was 0.5288. Genetic differentiation among the 15 populations was estimated at0.0747 and historical mean number of migrants (Nm) was 6.19. Clustering analysis revealed no correlationbetween genetic diversity and geographic proximity among the A. lepigone populations. This lack of significantgenetic diversity or correlation with geographic location suggests that gene flow may be high among the15 A. lepigone populations or homogenization may be a result of recent range expansion. These data provide importantpreliminary estimates of A. lepigone population dynamics which may help in evaluating local scales requiredfor control of this insect.

Ki-67 is a Valuable Prognostic Factor in Gliomas: Evidence from a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Chen, Wen-Jie,He, De-Shen,Tang, Rui-Xue,Ren, Fang-Hui,Chen, Gang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.2

Ki-67 has been widely used as an indicator of cell proliferation in gliomas. However, the role of Ki-67 as a prognostic marker is still undefined. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis of the published literatures in order to clarify the impact of Ki-67 on survival in glioma cases. Eligible studies were identified in PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Science Direct and Wiley Online Library with the last search updated on August 31, 2014. The clinical characteristics, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) together with Ki-67 expression at different time points were extracted. A total of 51 studies, covering 4,307 patients, were included in the current meta-analysis. The results showed that overexpression of Ki-67 can predict poor OS (HR=1.66, 95%CI: 1.53-1.80; Z=11.87; p=0.000) and poor PFS (HR=1.67, 95%CI: 1.47-1.91; Z=7.67; p=0.000) in gliomas. Moreover, subgroup analyses also indicated that high level of Ki-67 expression was related to poor OS and PFS in glioma patients regardless of region, pathology type, cut-off value and statistical method. In conclusion, the current meta-analysis revealed that Ki-67 expression might be a predicative factor for poor prognosis of glioma patients, emphasizing its importance as a predictor.

Development of a Molecular Marker for Fruiting Body Pattern in Auricularia auricula-judae

( Fang-jie Yao ),( Li-xin Lu ),( Peng Wang ),( Ming Fang ),( You-min Zhang ),( Ying Chen ),( Wei-tong Zhang ),( Xiang-hui Kong ),( Jia Lu ),( Yoichi Honda ) 한국균학회 2018 Mycobiology Vol.46 No.1

The fruiting body pattern is an important agronomic trait of the edible fungus Auricularia auricula-judae, and an important breeding target. There are two types of fruiting body pattern: the cluster type and the chrysanthemum type. We identified the fruiting body pattern of 26 test strains, and then constructed two different near-isogenic pools. Then, we developed sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) molecular markers associated with the fruiting body pattern based on sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. Ten different bands (189-522 bp) were amplified using 153 pairs of SRAP primers. The SCAR marker “SCL-18” consisted of a single 522-bp band amplified from the cluster-type strains, but not the chrysanthemum strains. This SCAR marker was closely associated with the cluster- type fruiting body trait of A. auricula-judae. These results lay the foundation for further research to locate and clone genes controlling the fruiting body pattern of A. auricula-judae.

A Study on Related Factors of Breastfeeding to Southeast Asian Immigrant Mothers After Delivery in Central Taiwan

Fang-Chih Yeh,Hsien-Ju Chuang,Han-Ming Chen,Li, Fang Liu,Hsien-Hung Hung 한국간호과학회 2009 한국간호과학회 학술대회 Vol.2009 No.10

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Oral Cancer: Evidence from a Meta-analysis

Chen, Fang-Chun,Zhang, Fan,Zhang, Zhi-Jiao,Meng, Si-Ying,Wang, Yang,Xiang, Xue-Rong,Wang, Chun,Tang, Yu-Ying Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.12

Numerous studies have been conducted regarding association between TNF-${\alpha}$ and oral cancer risk, but the results remain controversial. The present meta-analysis is performed to acquire a more precise estimation of relationships. Databases of Pubmed, the Cochrane library and the China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) were retrieved until August 10, 2013. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated with fixed- or random-effect models. The heterogeneity assumption was assessed by I-squared test. Among the eight included case-control studies, all were focused on TNF-${\alpha}$-308G>A and four also concerned the TNF-${\alpha}$-238G>A polymorphism. It was found that oral cancer risk were significant decreased with the TNF-${\alpha}$-308G>A polymorphism in the additive genetic model (GG vs. AA, OR=0.19, 95% CI: [0.04, 1.00], P=0.05, I2=68.9%) and the dominant genetic model (GG+GA vs. AA, OR=0.22, 95% CI: [0.06, 0.82], P=0.03, I2=52.4%); however, no significant association was observed in allele contrast (G vs. A, OR=0.70, 95% CI: [0.23, 2.16], P=0.54, I2=95.9%) and recessive genetic models (GG vs. GA+AA, OR=0.72, 95% CI: [0.33, 1.57], P=0.41, I2=93.1%). For the TNF-${\alpha}$-238G>A polymorphism, significant associations with oral cancer risk were found in the allele contrast (G vs. A, OR=2.75, 95% CI: [1.25, 6.04], P=0.01, I2=0.0%) and recessive genetic models (GG vs. GA+AA, OR=2.23, 95%CI: [1.18, 4.23], P=0.01, I2=0.0%). Conclusively, this meta-analysis indicates that TNF-${\alpha}$ polymorphisms may contribute to the risk of oral cancer. Allele G and the GG+GA genotype of TNF-${\alpha}$-308G>A may decrease the risk of oral cancer, while allele G and the GG genotype of TNF-${\alpha}$-238G>A may cause an increase.

Characteristics and heterostructure of metal-doped TiO2/ZnO nanocatalysts

Chen Wu-Jhang,Hsu Kuo-Chin,Fang Te-Hua,Chen Tao-Hsing,Li Ming-Hao 한국물리학회 2022 Current Applied Physics Vol.38 No.-

In this study, Ag or Al-doped TiO2/ZnO heterostructure nanocatalysts were prepared using a sol-gel method for photocatalysis to evaluate the degradability. The photocatalytic behavior was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. Photocatalytic studies suggested that 1 mol% Agdoped TiO2/ZnO (TiO2/ZnO = 0.75/0.25) heterostructure nanocatalysts showed higher photocatalytic activity, and that the degradation efficiency can reach 83% in 4 h, 14% higher than that for pure TiO2. Finally, the photocatalysis mechanism for the Ag-doped TiO2/ZnO heterostructure nanocatalysts is discussed.