Enhancement of Innate and Adaptive Immune Functions by Multiple Echinacea Species

Zili Zhai,Yi Liu,Lankun Wu,David S. Senchina,Eve S. Wurtele,Patricia A. Murphy,Marian L. Kohut,Joan E. Cunnick 한국식품영양과학회 2007 Journal of medicinal food Vol.10 No.3

Echinaceapreparations are commonly used as nonspecific immunomodulatory agents. Alcohol extracts fromthree widely used Echinaceaspecies, Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida, and Echinacea purpurea, were investigatedfor immunomodulating properties. The three Echinaceaspecies demonstrated a broad difference in concentrations of indi-vidual lipophilic amides and hydrophilic caffeic acid derivatives. Mice were gavaged once a day (for 7 days) with one of theEchinaceaextracts (130 mg/kg) or vehicle and immunized with sheep red blood cells (sRBC) 4 days prior to collection ofimmune cells for multiple immunological assays. The three herb extracts induced similar, but differential, changes in the per-centage of immune cell populations and their biological functions, including increased percentages of CD49. and CD19.lymphocytes in spleen and natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Antibody response to sRBC was significantly increased equally byextracts of all three Echinacea species. Concanavalin A-stimulated splenocytes from E. angustifolia- and E. pallida-treatedmice demonstrated significantly higher T cell proliferation. In addition, the Echinaceatreatment significantly altered the cy-tokine production by mitogen-stimulated splenic cells. The three herbal extracts significantly increased interferon-. produc-tion, but inhibited the release of tumor necrosis factor-. and interleukin (IL)-1.. Only E. angustifolia- and E. pallida-treatedmice demonstrated significantly higher production of IL-4 and increased IL-10 production. Taken together, these findingsdemonstrated that Echinaceais a wide-spectrum immunomodulator that modulates both innate and adaptive immune responses.In particular, E. angustifoliaor E. pallidamay have more anti-inflammatory potential.

Electrical detection of germination of viable model <i>Bacillus anthracis</i> spores in microfluidic biochips

Liu, Yi-Shao,Walter, T. M.,Chang, Woo-Jin,Lim, Kwan-Seop,Yang, Liju,Lee, S. W.,Aronson, A.,Bashir, R. Royal Society of Chemistry 2007 Lab on a chip Vol.7 No.5

<P>In this paper, we present a new impedance-based method to detect viable spores by electrically detecting their germination in real time within microfluidic biochips. We used <I>Bacillus anthracis</I> Sterne spores as the model organism. During germination, the spores release polar and ionic chemicals, such as dipicolinic acid (DPA), calcium ions, phosphate ions, and amino acids, which correspondingly increase the electrical conductivity of the medium in which the spores are suspended. We first present macro-scale measurements demonstrating that the germination of spores can be electrically detected at a concentration of 10<SUP>9</SUP> spores ml<SUP>−1</SUP> in sample volumes of 5 ml, by monitoring changes in the solution conductivity. Germination was induced by introducing an optimized germinant solution consisting of 10 mM <SMALL>L</SMALL>-alanine and 2 mM inosine. We then translated these results to a micro-fluidic biochip, which was a three-layer device: one layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with valves, a second layer of PDMS with micro-fluidic channels and chambers, and the third layer with metal electrodes deposited on a pyrex substrate. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) was used to trap and concentrate the spores at the electrodes with greater than 90% efficiency, at a solution flow rate of 0.2 μl min<SUP>−1</SUP> with concentration factors between 107–109 spores ml<SUP>−1</SUP>, from sample volumes of 1–5 μl. The spores were captured by DEP in deionized water within 1 min (total volume used ranged from 0.02 μl to 0.2 μl), and then germinant solution was introduced to the flow stream. The detection sensitivity was demonstrated to be as low as about a hundred spores in 0.1 nl, which is equivalent to a macroscale detection limit of approximately 10<SUP>9</SUP> spores ml<SUP>−1</SUP>. We believe that this is the first demonstration of this application in microfluidic and BioMEMS devices.</P> <P>Graphic Abstract</P><P>We present an impedance based electrical method to detect germination of viable spores in microfluidic devices. <IMG SRC='http://pubs.rsc.org/services/images/RSCpubs.ePlatform.Service.FreeContent.ImageService.svc/ImageService/image/GA?id=b702408h'> </P>

TRPS1 expression in non-melanocytic cutaneous neoplasms: an immunohistochemical analysis of 200 cases

Yi A. Liu,Phyu P. Aung,Yunyi Wang,Jing Ning,Priyadharsini Nagarajan,Jonathan L. Curry,Carlos A. Torres-Cabala,Doina Ivan,Victor G. Prieto,Qingqing Ding,조우철 대한병리학회 2024 Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine Vol.58 No.2

Background: Although trichorhinophalangeal syndrome type 1 (TRPS1) was initially thought to be highly sensitive and specific for carcinomas and mesenchymal tumors of mammary origin, more recent data suggest its expression is not limited to breast neoplasms but also can be seen in other cutaneous neoplasms, such as extramammary Paget disease and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in situ. Methods: Two-hundred cases of non-melanocytic cutaneous neoplasm, including basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) (n = 41), SCCs (n = 35), Merkel cell carcinomas (MCCs) (n = 25), and adnexal neoplasms (n = 99), were tested for TRPS1 expression using a monoclonal anti-TRPS1 rabbit anti-human antibody. Results: TRPS1 expression was present in almost all cases of SCC (94%), with a median H-score of 200, while it was either absent or only focally present in most BCCs (90%), with a median H-score of 5. The difference between BCCs and SCCs in H-score was significant (p < .001). All MCCs (100%) lacked TRPS1 expression. TRPS1 expression was frequently seen in most adnexal neoplasms, benign and malignant, in variable intensity and proportion but was consistently absent in apocrine carcinomas. All endocrine mucin-producing sweat gland carcinomas (EMPSGCs) (100%, 6/6) showed diffuse and strong TRPS1 immunoreactivity, with a median H-score of 300, which was significantly different (p < .001) than that of BCCs. Conclusions: Our study shows that TRPS1 may be an effective discriminatory marker for BCCs and SCCs. It also has a role in distinguishing BCCs from EMPSGCs.

Towards utility-optimal random access without message passing

Liu, J.,Yi, Y.,Proutiere, A.,Chiang, M.,Poor, H. V. John Wiley Sons, Ltd. 2010 WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS AND MOBILE COMPUTING Vol.10 No.1

<P>It has been recently suggested by Jiang and Walrand that adaptive carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) can achieve optimal utility without any message passing in wireless networks. In this paper, after a survey of recent work on random access, a generalization of this algorithm is considered. In the continuous-time model, a proof is presented of the convergence of these adaptive CSMA algorithms to be arbitrarily close to utility optimality, without assuming that the network dynamics converge to an equilibrium in between consecutive CSMA parameter updates. In the more realistic, slotted-time model, the impact of collisions on the utility achieved is characterized, and the tradeoff between optimality and short-term fairness is quantified. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.</P> <B>Graphic Abstract</B> <P>This paper shows how random access without message passing can approach utility optimality via adaptive CSMA. After a survey of recent work on distributed scheduling, a utility-optimal CSMA is considered, together with a proof of its convergence in a continuous-time model without assuming timescale separation. The impact of collisions is studied in the more realistic slotted-time model, together with the tradeoff between optimality and short-term fairness. <img src='wiley_img/15308669-2010-10-1-WCM897-gra001.gif' alt='wiley_img/15308669-2010-10-1-WCM897-gra001'> </P>

Gene Expression Profiles of HeLa Cells Impacted by Hepatitis C Virus Non-structural Protein NS4B

( Yi Zheng ),( Lin Bai Ye ),( Jing Liu ),( Wei Jing ),( Khalid A. Timani ),( Xiao Jun Yang ),( Fan Yang ),( Wei Wang ),( Bo Gao ),( Zhen Hui Wu ) 생화학분자생물학회 2005 BMB Reports Vol.38 No.2

By a cDNA array representing 2308 signal transductionrelated genes, we studied the expression profiles of HeLa cells stably transfected by Hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 4B (HCV-NS4B). The alterations of the expression of four genes were confirmed by real-time quantitative RT PCR; and the aldo-keto reductase family 1, member Cl (AKR1C1) enzyme activity was detected in HCV-NS4B transiently transfected HeLa cells and Huh-7, a human hepatoma cell line. Of the 2,308 genes we examined, 34 were up-regulated and 56 were down-regulated. These 90 genes involved oncogenes, tumor suppressors, cell receptors, complements, adhesions, transcription and translation, cytoskeletion and cellular stress. The expression profiling suggested that multiple regulatory pathways were affected by HCV-NS4B directly or indirectly. And since these genes are related to carcinogenesis, host defense system and cell homeostatic mechanism, we can conclude that HCV-NS4B could play some important roles in the pathogenesis mechanism of HCV.

High-throughput double emulsion-based microfluidic production of hydrogel microspheres with tunable chemical functionalities toward biomolecular conjugation

Liu, Eric Y.,Jung, Sukwon,Weitz, David A.,Yi, Hyunmin,Choi, Chang-Hyung The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018 Lab on a chip Vol.18 No.2

<P>Chemically functional hydrogel microspheres hold significant potential in a range of applications including biosensing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering due to their high degree of flexibility in imparting a range of functions. In this work, we present a simple, efficient, and high-throughput capillary microfluidic approach for controlled fabrication of monodisperse and chemically functional hydrogel microspheres <I>via</I> formation of double emulsion drops with an ultra-thin oil shell as a sacrificial template. This method utilizes spontaneous dewetting of the oil phase upon polymerization and transfer into aqueous solution, resulting in poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based microspheres containing primary amines (chitosan, CS) or carboxylates (acrylic acid, AA) for chemical functionality. Simple fluorescent labelling of the as-prepared microspheres shows the presence of abundant, uniformly distributed and readily tunable functional groups throughout the microspheres. Furthermore, we show the utility of chitosan's primary amine as an efficient conjugation handle at physiological pH due to its low pKa by direct comparison with other primary amines. We also report the utility of these microspheres in biomolecular conjugation using model fluorescent proteins, R-phycoerythrin (R-PE) and green fluorescent protein (GFPuv), <I>via</I> tetrazine-<I>trans</I>-cyclooctene (Tz-TCO) ligation for CS-PEG microspheres and carbodiimide chemistry for AA-PEG microspheres, respectively. The results show rapid coupling of R-PE with the microspheres' functional groups with minimal non-specific adsorption. In-depth protein conjugation kinetics studies with our microspheres highlight the differences in reaction and diffusion of R-PE with CS-PEG and AA-PEG microspheres. Finally, we demonstrate orthogonal one-pot protein conjugation of R-PE and GFPuv with CS-PEG and AA-PEG microspheres <I>via</I> simple size-based encoding. Combined, these results represent a significant advancement in the rapid and reliable fabrication of monodisperse and chemically functional hydrogel microspheres with tunable properties.</P>

Divergent global precipitation changes induced by natural versus anthropogenic forcing

Liu, Jian,Wang, Bin,Cane, Mark A.,Yim, So-Young,Lee, June-Yi Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan P 2013 Nature Vol.493 No.7434

As a result of global warming, precipitation is likely to increase in high latitudes and the tropics and to decrease in already dry subtropical regions. The absolute magnitude and regional details of such changes, however, remain intensely debated. As is well known from El Niño studies, sea-surface-temperature gradients across the tropical Pacific Ocean can strongly influence global rainfall. Palaeoproxy evidence indicates that the difference between the warm west Pacific and the colder east Pacific increased in past periods when the Earth warmed as a result of increased solar radiation. In contrast, in most model projections of future greenhouse warming this gradient weakens. It has not been clear how to reconcile these two findings. Here we show in climate model simulations that the tropical Pacific sea-surface-temperature gradient increases when the warming is due to increased solar radiation and decreases when it is due to increased greenhouse-gas forcing. For the same global surface temperature increase the latter pattern produces less rainfall, notably over tropical land, which explains why in the model the late twentieth century is warmer than in the Medieval Warm Period (around ad 1000–1250) but precipitation is less. This difference is consistent with the global tropospheric energy budget, which requires a balance between the latent heat released in precipitation and radiative cooling. The tropospheric cooling is less for increased greenhouse gases, which add radiative absorbers to the troposphere, than for increased solar heating, which is concentrated at the Earth’s surface. Thus warming due to increased greenhouse gases produces a climate signature different from that of warming due to solar radiation changes.

Gene Expression Profiles of HeLa Cells Impacted by Hepatitis C Virus Non-structural Protein NS4B

Zheng, Yi,Ye, Lin-Bai,Liu, Jing,Jing, Wei,Timani, Khalid A.,Yang, Xiao-Jun,Yang, Fan,Wang, Wei,Gao, Bo,Wu, Zhen-Hui Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biol 2005 Journal of biochemistry and molecular biology Vol.38 No.2

By a cDNA array representing 2308 signal transduction related genes, we studied the expression profiles of HeLa cells stably transfected by Hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 4B (HCV-NS4B). The alterations of the expression of four genes were confirmed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR; and the aldo-keto reductase family 1, member C1 (AKR1C1) enzyme activity was detected in HCV-NS4B transiently transfected HeLa cells and Huh-7, a human hepatoma cell line. Of the 2,308 genes we examined, 34 were up-regulated and 56 were down-regulated. These 90 genes involved oncogenes, tumor suppressors, cell receptors, complements, adhesions, transcription and translation, cytoskeletion and cellular stress. The expression profiling suggested that multiple regulatory pathways were affected by HCV-NS4B directly or indirectly. And since these genes are related to carcinogenesis, host defense system and cell homeostatic mechanism, we can conclude that HCV-NS4B could play some important roles in the pathogenesis mechanism of HCV.

Elicitation of strong immune responses by a DNA vaccine expressing a secreted form of hepatitis C virus envelope protein E2 in murine and porcine animal models.

Li, Yi-Ping,Kang, Hye-Na,Babiuk, Lorne-A,Liu, Qiang WJG Press 2006 World journal of gastroenterology Vol.12 No.44

<P>To characterize the immunogenicity of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2 DNA vaccine alone or with a protein vaccine boost in murine and porcine animal models.</P>

Stability, Fairness, and Performance: A Flow-Level Study on Nonconvex and Time-Varying Rate Regions

Jiaping Liu,Proutiere, A.,Yung Yi,Mung Chiang,Poor, H.V. IEEE 2009 IEEE transactions on information theory Vol.55 No.8

<P>The flow-level stability and performance of data networks with utility-maximizing allocations are studied in this paper. Similarly to prior works on flow-level models, exogenous data arrivals with finite workloads are considered. However, to model many realistic situations, the rate region, which constrains the feasibility of resource allocation, may be either nonconvex or time-varying. When the rate region is fixed but nonconvex, sufficient and necessary conditions are characterized for stability for a class of <I>alpha</I>-fair allocation policies, which coincide when the set of allocated rate vectors have continuous contours. When the rate region is time-varying according to a Markovian stationary and ergodic process, the precise stability region is obtained. In both cases, the size of the stability region depends on the resource allocation policy, in particular, on the fairness parameter <I>alpha</I> in <I>alpha</I>-fair utility maximization. This is in sharp contrast with the substantial existing literature on stability under fixed and convex rate regions, in which the stability region coincides with the rate region for many utility-based resource allocation schemes, independent of the value of the fairness parameter. It is further shown that for networks which consist of flows from two different classes under <I>alpha</I>-fair allocations, there exists a tradeoff between the stability region and the fairness parameter <I>alpha</I>. Moreover, the impact of this fairness-stability tradeoff on the system performance, e.g., average throughput and mean flow response time, is studied, and numerical experiments that illustrate the new stability region and the performance versus fairness tradeoff are presented.</P>