Genetic diversity of two Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana) populations from Guizhou and Yunnan in China based on mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequences

Li-Jing Zhong,Ming-Wang Zhang,Yong-Fang Yao,Qing-Yong Ni,Jun Mu,Chong-Qing Li,Huai-Liang Xu 한국유전학회 2013 Genes & Genomics Vol.35 No.2

Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana), an endangered species endemic to China, is categorized as a Category II species under the Chinese Wild Animal Protection Law and listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. To further assess genetic diversity and population structure within this species,populations, revealing that variations occured among populations mainly. Further analysis demonstrated that significant genetic differentiation (Fst = 0.83628, P\0.01) and poor gene flow (Nm\1) had occurred among these four populations. On the phylogenetic tree and haplotype network plot, 22 haplotypes cluster together according to their geographical origins, exhibiting an obvious phylogeographic pattern. We speculate that the significant genetic differentiation among these macaque populations might result from long-term geographic barrier and human activity. In particular,Yangtze River probably play a vital role in population differentiation of Tibetan macaques. we sequenced 477 bp of mitochondrial DNA control region in 30 Tibetan macaques from the Guizhou (GZ) and Yunnan (YN) of China and conducted population genetic analysis, along with 15 previously described haplotype sequences representing 55 individuals from Sichuan (SC)and Anhui (AH). 87 polymorphic sites were detected in the alignment of 45 sequences and defined 22 haplotypes, of which 9 were newly identified. Haplotype diversity (h),nucleotide diversity (p) and average number of nucleotide differences (K) is 0.911 ± 0.015, 0.06090 ± 0.00126 and 28.32, respectively, indicating higher genetic diversity in the whole Tibetan macaque population. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) partitioned the total variation into 83.63 % among populations and 16.37 % within populations, revealing that variations occured among populationsmainly. Further analysis demonstrated that significantgenetic differentiation (Fst = 0.83628, P\0.01) andpoor gene flow (Nm\1) had occurred among these fourpopulations. On the phylogenetic tree and haplotype networkplot, 22 haplotypes cluster together according to their geographicalorigins, exhibiting an obvious phylogeographicpattern. We speculate that the significant genetic differentiationamong these macaque populations might result fromlong-term geographic barrier and human activity. In particular,Yangtze River probably play a vital role in populationdifferentiation of Tibetan macaques.

Omalizumab Improves Quality of Life and Asthma Control in Chinese Patients With Moderate to Severe Asthma: A Randomized Phase III Study

Jing Li,Jian Kang,Changzheng Wang,Jing Yang,Linda Wang,Ioannis Kottakis,Michael Humphries,Nanshan Zhong,China Omalizumab Study Group 대한천식알레르기학회 2016 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.8 No.4

Purpose: Omalizumab is the preferred add-on therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe persistent allergic asthma and has demonstrated efficacy and safety in various ethnicities. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of omalizumab in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe allergic asthma. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, phase III study assessed lung function, quality of life, asthma control, and safety of omalizumab after 24-week therapy in Chinese patients (18-75 years of age). Results: A total of 616 patients were randomized (1:1) to omalizumab or placebo. The primary endpoint, least squares mean treatment difference (LSM-TD) in morning peak expiratory flow (PEF) (omalizumab vs placebo), at Weeks >20-24 was 8.85 L/min (Full analysis set; P=0.062). Per-protocol analysis set showed significant improvements with LSM-TD of 11.53 L/min in mean mPEF at Weeks >20-24 (P=0.022). The FEV1 % predicted was significantly improved with omalizumab vs placebo from 8 to 24 weeks (after 24-week treatment: LSM-TD=4.12%; P=0.001). At Week 24, a higher proportion of omalizumab-treated patients achieved clinically relevant improvements in standardized AQLQ (58.2% vs 39.3%; LSM=0.51 vs 0.10; P<0.001) and ACQ (49.5% vs 35.5%; LSM=-0.51 vs -0.34; P=0.002) scores vs placebo. Total and nighttime symptom scores reduced significantly with omalizumab vs placebo (LSM-TD=-0.21, P=0.048 and -0.12, P=0.011, respectively). Although the study was not powered to study differences in exacerbation rates (P=0.097), exacerbations in winter months were less frequent in the omalizumab vs placebo group (2 vs 21). Adverse event and severe adverse event rates were comparable between omalizumab and placebo. Conclusions: Omalizumab improves lung function, quality of life, and asthma control in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe persistent allergic asthma and has a good safety profile.

Varistor and dielectric properties of Cr2O3 doped SnO2eZn2SnO4 composite ceramics

Guo-Zhong Zang,Feng-Zi Zhou,Jing-Xiao Cao,Xiao-Fei Wang,Zhao-Wu Wang,Li-Ben Li,Guo-Rong Li 한국물리학회 2014 Current Applied Physics Vol.14 No.12

Cr2O3 doped SnO2eZn2SnO4 composite ceramics were prepared by traditional ceramic processing and the varistor, dielectric properties were investigated. With increasing Cr2O3 content, the breakdown electrical field EB increases from 11 to 92 V/mm and the relative dielectric constant εr measured at 1 kHz, 50 C decreases from 11,028 to 3412, respectively. The barrier height fB about 0.8e0.84 eV and the decreasing of SnO2 grain size suggest that the varistor behavior with high εr is originated from SnO2 eSnO2 or SnO2eZn2SnO4 grain boundary. In the dielectric spectra lower than 1 kHz, a dielectric peak is presented and depressed with increasing bias voltage. Similarly, at high temperature, the dielectric constant also presents a dielectric peak in the temperature spectra and the peak becomes faint with increasing frequency. The exhibition of the dielectric peak is thought to be attributed to the conduction of grain boundary since it is accompanied by the sharp increase of dielectric loss. In addition, a dielectric relaxation with the activation energy about 0.4e0.5 eV was observed in the temperature range of 20 e100 C. Based on the results, the formation mechanism of Schottky barriers at grain boundaries and the varistor behavior with high dielectric constant are well understood.

Evaluation of Several Screening Approaches for Detection of Cervical Lesions in Rural Shandong, China

Zong, Li-Ju,Zhang, You-Zhong,Yang, Xing-sheng,Jiang, Jie,Cui, Bao-Xia,Qiao, Yun-Bo,Li, Li,Jiang, Kan,Zhang, Wen-Jing,Kong, Bei-Hua,Shen, Keng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.5

Purpose: The study was designed to: (1) investigate the prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection and cervical neoplasia; and (2) evaluate clinical performance of visual inspection with acetic acid/ Lugol's iodine (VIA /VILI), Pap smear, high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) DNA test for detecting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) and (3) explore appropriate screening approach in rural areas of Shandong Province. Materials and Methods: A total of 3,763 eligible women from Yiyuan County in Yimeng mountainous areas of rural Shandong, China, were enrolled and underwent Pap smear, HR-HPV DNA testing by Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2), and VIA /VILI tests. Women positive in any test were referred to colposcopy and biopsy as indicated. Results: The prevalence of HR-HPV infection among all enrolled women was 11.1% and that in healthy women was 9.9%. In total 33 cases of CIN1, 16 cases of CIN2, 6 cases of CIN3 but none of cervical cancer were detected and the crude prevalence of CIN2+ was 0.58%. For detecting CIN2+, the sensitivity of HR-HPV DNA testing, VIA/VILI, Pap smear was 90.9%, 77.3%, 81.8%, respectively. Pap smear had the best specificity of 98.2%, followed by HR-HPV DNA testing with specificity of 89.4%, VIA/VILI had the lowest specificity of 81.2%. Colposcopy referral rate of HR-HPV DNA testing, VIA/VILI, Pap smear was 11.1%, 18.5%, 2.3%, respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that HR-HPV DNA testing alone might be appropriate for primary cervical cancer screening in rural low-resource areas of Shandong Province, China.

mRNA Expression of Ovine Angiopoietin-like Protein 4 Gene in Adipose Tissues

Zhang, Jing,Jing, Jiong-Jie,Jia, Xia-Li,Qiao, Li-Ying,Liu, Jian-Hua,Liang, Chen,Liu, Wen-Zhong Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2016 Animal Bioscience Vol.29 No.5

Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) is involved in a variety of functions, including lipoprotein metabolism and angiogenesis. To reveal the role of ANGPTL4 in fat metabolism of sheep, ovine ANGPTL4 mRNA expression was analyzed in seven adipose tissues from two breeds with distinct tail types. Forty-eight animals with the gender ratio of 1:1 for both Guangling Large Tailed (GLT) and Small Tailed Han (STH) sheep were slaughtered at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months of age, respectively. Adipose tissues were collected from greater and lesser omental, subcutaneous, retroperitoneal, perirenal, mesenteric, and tail fats. Ontogenetic mRNA expression of ANGPTL4 in these adipose tissues from GTL and STH was studied by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that ANGPTL4 mRNA expressed in all adipose tissues studied with the highest in subcutaneous and the lowest in mesenteric fat depots. Months of age, tissue and breed are the main factors that significantly influence the mRNA expression. These results provide new insights into ovine ANGPTL4 gene expression and clues for its function mechanism.

Parthenolide-Induced Apoptosis, Autophagy and Suppression of Proliferation in HepG2 Cells

Sun, Jing,Zhang, Chan,Bao, Yong-Li,Wu, Yin,Chen, Zhong-Liang,Yu, Chun-Lei,Huang, Yan-Xin,Sun, Ying,Zheng, Li-Hua,Wang, Xue,Li, Yu-Xin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.12

Purpose: To investigate the anticancer effects and underlying mechanisms of parthenolide on HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Materials and Methods: Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay and cell apoptosis through DAPI, TUNEL staining and Western blotting. Monodansylcadaverin(MDC) and AO staining were used to detect cell autophagy. Cell proliferation was assessed by Ki67 immunofluorescence staining. Results: Parthenolide induced growth inhibition in HepG2 cells. DAPI and TUNEL staining showed that parthenolide could increase the number of apoptotic nuclei, while reducing the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and elevating the expression of related proteins, like p53, Bax, cleaved caspase9 and cleaved caspase3. Parthenolide could induce autophagy in HepG2 cells and inhibited the expression of proliferation-related gene, Ki-67. Conclusions: Parthenolide can exert anti-cancer effects by inducing cell apoptosis, activating autophagy and inhibiting cell proliferation.

Ontogenetic Expression of Lpin2 and Lpin3 Genes and Their Associations with Traits in Two Breeds of Chinese Fat-tailed Sheep

Jiao, Xiao-Li,Jing, Jiong-Jie,Qiao, Li-Ying,Liu, Jian-Hua,Li, Liu-An,Zhang, Jing,Jia, Xia-Li,Liu, Wen-Zhong Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2016 Animal Bioscience Vol.29 No.3

Lipins play dual function in lipid metabolism by serving as phosphatidate phosphatase and transcriptional co-regulators of gene expression. Mammalian lipin proteins consist of lipin1, lipin2, and lipin3 and are encoded by their respective genes Lpin1, Lpin2, and Lpin3. To date, most studies are concerned with Lpin1, only a few have addressed Lpin2 and Lpin3. Ontogenetic expression of Lpin2 and Lpin3 and their associations with traits would help to explore their molecular and physiological functions in sheep. In this study, 48 animals with an equal number of males and females each for both breeds of fat-tailed sheep such as Guangling Large Tailed (GLT) and Small Tailed Han (STH) were chosen to evaluate the ontogenetic expression of Lpin2 and Lpin3 from eight different tissues and months of age by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Associations between gene expression and slaughter and tail traits were also analyzed. The results showed that Lpin2 mRNA was highly expressed in perirenal and tail fats, and was also substantially expressed in liver, kidney, reproductive organs (testis and ovary), with the lowest levels in small intestine and femoral biceps. Lpin3 mRNA was prominently expressed in liver and small intestine, and was also expressed at high levels in kidney, perirenal and tail fats as well as reproductive organs (testis and ovary), with the lowest level in femoral biceps. Global expression of Lpin2 and Lpin3 in GLT both were significantly higher than those in STH. Spatiotemporal expression showed that the highest levels of Lpin2 expression occurred at 10 months of age in two breeds of sheep, with the lowest expression at 2 months of age in STH and at 8 months of age in GLT. The greatest levels of Lpin3 expression occurred at 4 months of age in STH and at 10 months of age in GLT, with the lowest expression at 12 months of age in STH and at 8 months of age in GLT. Breed and age significantly influenced the tissue expression patterns of Lpin2 and Lpin3, respectively, and sex significantly influenced the spatiotemporal expression patterns of Lpin3. Meanwhile, Lpin2 and Lpin3 mRNA expression both showed significant correlations with slaughter and tail traits, and the associations appear to be related with the ontogenetic expression as well as the potential functions of lipin2 and lipin3 in sheep.

Identification, fine mapping and characterization of Rht-dp, a recessive wheat dwarfing (reduced height) gene derived from Triticum polonicum

Hou-Yang Kang,Li-Juan Lin,Zhi-Jian Song,Jing-Ya Yuan,Mei-Yu Zhong,Hai-Qin Zhang,Xing Fan,Li-Na Sha,Yi Wang,Li-Li Xu,Jian Zeng,Yong-Hong Zhou 한국유전학회 2012 Genes & Genomics Vol.34 No.5

Semi-dwarfism is an agronomically important trait in breeding for resistance to damage by wind and rain (lodging resistance)and for stable high yields. Dwarf Polish wheat (Triticum polonicum L., 2n = 4x = 28, AABB AS304) is a potential donor of dwarfing and other traits for common wheat improvement. A genetic analysis using an F2 population derived from a cross of AS304 and tall cultivar AS302 and derived F2:3 lines indicated that AS304 carries a recessive dwarfing gene, temporarily designated Rht-dp. Molecular markers and bulked segregant analysis were used to characterize and map the gene. Eight polymorphic SSR markers (Xwmc511, Xgwm495, Xgwm 113, Xgwm192, Xgpw7026, Xgpw3017, Xgpw1108 and Xgpw7521) on chromosome arm 4BS and two AFLP markers (M8/E5 and M4/E3) were mapped relative to the dwarfing locus. The closest linked markers, Xgpw3017 and M8/E5 at 0.5 and 3.5 cM, respectively, from Rht-dp will enable its marker assisted transfer to wheat breeding populations. Allelic tests indicated that Rht-dp was allelic to Rht-B1b; hence it may be an alternative allele at the Rht-B1 locus.

Characterization of two novel γ-gliadin genes encoded by K genome of Crithopsis delileana and evolution analysis with those from Triticeae

Zhi-Fu Guo,Li-Jun Zhang,Ming Zhong,Yu-Ming Wei,Li Zhang,Hui Ma,Hao-Ge Li,Li-Jing Chen,Jing-Wei Lin,You-Liang Zheng 한국유전학회 2010 Genes & Genomics Vol.32 No.3

By acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (A-PAGE) analysis,it was indicated that the electrophoresis mobility of gliadins from Crithopsis delileana (Schult) Roshev (2n=2x=14,KK) had obvious difference with those from common wheat in α, γ and ω region. Using homologous primers, two γ-gliadin genes (gli-Kr1 and gli-Kr2) were isolated from C. delileana,which had been deposited in the GenBank under accession numbers EU283818 and EU283821, respectively. Two γ-gliadin genes of C. delileana had the similar primary structures to the corresponding gene sequences from other wheat related species. The differences were mainly resulted from substitutions,insertions and deletions involving single amino acid residues or motifs of γ-gliadins. The repetitive domains of gli-Kr1 and gli-Kr2 from C. delileana are shorter than most of other sequences. By the alignment of γ-gliadin genes from A, B, D, Am, Au, S, Sl, Ssh, Ss and Sb genomes of Triticum and Aegilops, R genome of Secale (γ-secalin), Ee genome of Lophopyrum and K genome of Crithopsis in Triticeae, phylogenetic analysis indicated that two γ-gliadin genes of C. delileana could be clustered together with a γ-gliadin genefrom Ssh genome of Aegilops by an interior paralleled branch. It was the first time that the γ-gliadin genes encoded by K genome of C. delileana were characterized. These could offer precious information for better understanding the qualities associated with gliadins, the response in coeliac disease and studying the evolutionary relationship of gliadins in Triticeae.

Efficacy of Prophylactic Entecavir for Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization

Li, Xing,Zhong, Xiang,Chen, Zhan-Hong,Wang, Tian-Tian,Ma, Xiao-Kun,Xing, Yan-Fang,Wu, Dong-Hao,Dong, Min,Chen, Jie,Ruan, Dan-Yun,Lin, Ze-Xiao,Wen, Jing-Yun,Wei, Li,Wu, Xiang-Yuan,Lin, Qu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.18

Background and Aims: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation was reported to be induced by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinonma (HCC) patients with a high incidence. The effective strategy to reduce hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation in this specific group of patients was limited to lamivudine. This retrospective study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of prophylactic entecavir in HCC patients receiving TACE. Methods: A consecutive series of 191 HBV-related HCC patients receiving TACE were analyzed including 44 patients received prophylactic entecavir. Virologic events, defined as an increase in serum HBV DNA level to more than 1 log10 copies/ml higher than nadir the level, and hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation were the main endpoints. Results: Patients with or without prophylactic were similar in host factors and the majorities of characteristics regarding to tumor factors, HBV status, liver function and LMR. Notably, cycles of TACE were parallel between the groups. Ten (22.7%) patients receiving prophylactic entecavir reached virologic response. The patients receiving prophylactic entecavir presented significantly reduced virologic events (6.8% vs 54.4%, p=0.000) and hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation (0.0% vs 11.6%, p=0.039) compared with patients without prophylaxis. Kaplan-Meier analysis illustrated that the patients in the entecavir group presented significantly improved virologic events free survival (p=0.000) and hepatitis flare free survival (p=0.017). Female and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 2 was the only significant predictors for virological events in patients without prophylactic antiviral. Rescue antiviral therapy did not reduce the incidence of hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation. Conclusion: Prophylactic entecavir presented promising efficacy in HBV-related cancer patients receiving TACE. Lower performance status and female gender might be the predictors for HBV reactivation in these patients.