Biomedical subjects

Gang Hou

Publications and source records attributed to Gang Hou.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Application of new tissue microarrayer-ZM-1 without recipient paraffin block.

The ZM-1 tissue microarrayer designed by our groups is manufactured in stainless steel and brass and contains many features that make TMA (tissue microarray) paraffin blocks construction faster and more convenient. By means of ZM-1 tissue microarrayer, biopsy needles are used to punch the donor tissue specimens respectively. All the needles with the punched specimen cylinders are arrayed into the array-board, with an array of small holes dug to fit the needles. All the specimen cylinders arraying and the TMA paraffin block shaping are finished in only one step so that the specimen cylinders and the paraffin of the TMA block can very easily be incorporated and the recipient paraffin blocks need not be made in advance, and the paraffin used is the same as that for conventional pathology purpose. ZM-1 tissue microarrayer is easy to be manufactured, does not need any precision location system, and so is much cheaper than the currently used instrument. Our method's relatively cheap and simple ZM-1 tissue microarrayer technique of constructing TMA paraffin block may facilitate popularization of the TMA technology.

Biopsy, Needle↗

PubMed2005

[Effects of mast cell infiltration on the development and metastasis of gastric carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between mast cell infiltration and the development and metastasis of gastric carcinoma. METHODS: Alcian blue-Safranin O staining and image analysis system were employed to observe, classify and quantify the mast cells in 74 gastric carcinoma specimens. RESULTS: Mast cells resided predominantly in the marginal area of the tumor and most of them were mature type, active and capable of discharging granules into the cytoplasm. The mast cells in the marginal area of the tumor were significantly more numerous than those in the matrix of the tumor (P<0.01) and there was a positive correlation between them (r=0.303, P<0.01). The density of the mast cells was inversely correlated to the depth of tumor invasion and the number of lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Mast cell infiltration in the matrix of the tumor plays an important role in preventing the invasion and metastasis of gastric carcinoma possibly by release of heparin and other bioactive substances. Mast cell quantity in the marginal area of the tumor may serve as an indicator for prognostic assessment of gastric carcinoma.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[Development of ZM-1 tissue microarrayer].

ZM-1 tissue microarrayer designed by our group is manufactured in stainless steel and brass. It features an easier and faster preparation for tissue microarrays. By means of it, a group of biopsy needles are used to punch the donor tissue specimens respectively, and all the needles with the punched specimen cylinders are arranged into the array-board, where small holes have been digged to fit the needles. All the specimen cylinders arraying and the tissue microarray block's shaping are finished simultaneously. ZM-1 tissue microarrayer with a lower cost of manufacture, is capable of preparing the tissue microarrays conveniently, efficiently and quality-controllably.

Equipment Design↗

PubMed2003

[Association of -2548G/A functional polymorphism in the promoter region of leptin gene with antipsychotic agent-induced weight gain].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the -2548G/A functional polymorphism in promoter region of leptin gene influencing weight gain following antipsychotic agents (APS) acute treatment in schizophrenic patients. METHODS: 128 Chinese Han untreated patients with schizophrenia (male 61, female 67) with an age and gender matched health controls (n = 38) were recruited. The polymorphism of leptin gene was determined with PCR-RFLP technique. MRI determined abdominal body fat in 22 controls and 30 patients on admission and after 10 weeks treatment with risperidone or chlorpromazine. Body mass index (BMI) was measured on admission and every week subsequently (for patients). RESULTS: There were average increases in (6.2 +/- 5.7)% of baseline weight and in (38.5 +/- 42)% of baseline abdominal subcutaneous fat (SUB) and in (40.0 +/- 41.2)% of baseline intra-abdominal fat (IAF) 10 weeks after treatment. There were no significant differences in the distribution of allele and genotypes either between the patients and controls or between gender groups. It was found significantly increased weight gain in the patient with the -2548AA genotype (chi(2) = 7.529, df = 1, P = 0.006; OR = 1.941; 95% CI: 1.175 - 3.207); The genotypes had no influence on the baseline weight indicators both in patients and controls. However, as compared with the patients with G allele, the patients with AA genotype had significant increase in BMI (P = 0.003) and SUB (P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: The finding identify that the -2548G/A polymorphism in promoter region of leptin gene associated with APS-induced weight gain and abdominal fat deposition and distribution. -2548AA may be a genetic risk factor for the development of weight gain and body fat deposition in Chinese Han schizophrenic patients during APS acute treatment.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed2003

Interaction between polymorphisms of the dopamine D3 receptor and manganese superoxide dismutase genes in susceptibility to tardive dyskinesia.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the influence of a functional polymorphism of the dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3), and assess its interaction with a Mn superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) polymorphism, in contributing to tardive dyskinesia in a chronic inpatient population with schizophrenia. METHODS: Chinese Han patients with schizophrenia were assessed for abnormal involuntary movements, and subgroups of 42 patients with persistent tardive dyskinesia and 59 consistently without dyskinesias were assessed for the DRD3 ser9gly and the MnSOD ala-9val polymorphisms. RESULTS: A higher, but not significant, frequency of DRD3 ser/gly heterozygotes was observed in the tardive dyskinesia group (0.52 versus 0.33, chi2=5, degrees of freedom=2, P=0.08). However, assessment of the combined influence of the two polymorphisms demonstrated a significant effect (chi2=8.09, degrees of freedom=3, P=0.04), whereby the combination of the MnSOD -9val and DRD3 9ser alleles was associated with tardive dyskinesia. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a possible synergistic effect of genetic factors influencing mitochondrial free radical scavenging and dopamine receptor function on the susceptibility to tardive dyskinesia.

Age of Onset↗

PubMed2003

No association of antipsychotic agent-induced weight gain with a DA receptor gene polymorphism and therapeutic response.

AIM: To investigate whether there is an association of antipsychotic agent-induced weight gain with the TaqI A polymorphism of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene and therapeutic response to antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia. METHODS: Genotyping was performed using the PCR-RFLP techniques in a total of 117 first-episode Chinese Han schizophrenic patients (mean age 26+/-8 a; 58 male, 59 female). Moreover, the measurements were finished either for baseline weight and body mass index (BMI) or for changed weight and BMI 10 weeks after antipsychotic treatment. The Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) was used for the evaluation of the improvement of clinical psychotic symptoms. RESULTS: There was an average increase in body weight of (3+/-3) kg or (6+/-6) % of baseline weight with a changed range of -7 kg - 12 kg or -7.8 % - 32.4 % 10 weeks after treatment, and the change in the BMI was associated with the baseline BMI and patients' age (P=0.0001; P=0.03; respectively). However, there was no significant difference in distribution of allelic frequencies (X2=0.65, v1, P>0.05) and genotype (x2=1.47, v2, P>0.05) between the subgroups, and the change in BMI was not associated with genotypes of DRD2. Furthermore, there was no relationship of the therapeutic response to antipsychotic treatment with changed BMI in the patients (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The TaqI A polymorphism of DRD2 gene is therefore unlikely to play an important role in antipsychotic agent-induced weight gain, a side effect of antipsychotic treatment. Furthermore, increase in body weight is unlikely to be prediction of therapeutic response to antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

[Pharmacogenetic assessment of antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesia: contribution of 5-hydroxytryptamine 2C receptor gene and of a combination of dopamine D3 variant allele (Gly) and MnSOD wild allele (Val)].

OBJECTIVE: To further investigate whether the functional polymorphisms of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) and dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) genes associate with the development of tardive dyskinesia (TD) in schizophrenia, and whether the interactive effects of DRD2, DRD3, 5-hydroxytryptamine 2C receptor (HTR2C) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) genes contribute to the severity of TD. METHODS: The patients with schizophrenia were assessed for TD by the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). Eventually, 42 schizophrenics with persistent TD were in the TD group, and 59 schizophrenics without TD were in the non-TD group. The polymorphism of each candidate gene was analyzed using a polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. RESULTS: The genotype distributions of the candidate genes in the groups were all consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Allele frequencies for -759C/T and -697G/C polymorphisms in HTR2C gene showed a significant excess of -697 variant (P<0.05) in the patients with TD, compared against those in patients without TD. There were no differences in the distributions of the allelic frequencies and genotypes of Taq I. A polymorphism in DRD2 gene, of Ser/Gly polymorphism in DRD3 gene, and of Ala-9Val polymorphism in MnSOD gene between the TD group and non-TD group (P>0.05). Interestingly, as compared with the other joint allelic types, a significant excess of carrying both DRD3 variant allele (Gly) and MnSOD wild allele (Val) was found in the TD group (P<0.05). However, neither the allele and genotypes nor the clinical demographic characteristics contributed to the higher total AIMS scores in the patients of the TD group. There were no significant differences in any of the clinical demographic characteristics between the subgroups of any genotype in TD and non-TD groups. CONCLUSION: The excess of -697 variant in the promoter regulation region of the HTR2C gene may be a risk factor for the susceptibility to the occurrence of TD in Chinese male patients with schizophrenia. A combination of DRD3 variant allele (Gly) and MnSOD wild allele (Val) may increase the susceptibility to the development of TD.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

[Association of antipsychotic agent-induced weight gain with a polymorphism of the promotor region of the 5-HT2C receptor gene].

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether 5-hydroxytryptamine 2C (5-HT2C) receptor gene 759C/T polymorphism influences the weight gain following antipsychotic agents (APS) treatment in patient with schizophrenia. METHODS: DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of 117 Chinese first-episode patients of Han nationality with schizophrenia diagnosed according to CCMD-II-R criteria. PCR-RELP technique was used to analyse the frequencies of 5-HTR2C receptor gene 759C/T hemizygote (male) and genotype (female). Monotherapy with APS (chlorpromazine or rispperidone) was given for 10 weeks. The body weight was taken and body mass index (BMI) was calculated on admission and every week subsequently for each patient. The correlation of hemizygote or genotype and the BMI was analyzed. RESULTS: Ten weeks after treatment, there was an average increase in body weight of (3.2 +/- 3.5) kg or (5.7 +/- 6.2)% of the baseline weight with a range of -7 kg approximately 12 kg or -7.8% approximately 32%. The frequency of mutant hemizygote was 58% among the 58 male subjects; the frequency of mutant homozygote was 0%, and the frequency of mutant heterozygote was 27.0% among the 59 female subjects. The body weight gain > 7% occurred in 53% of wild type hemizygote males and 47% of wild type homozygote females; and only 18% of mutant hemizygote males and 13% of mutant heterozygote females. The proportions of 759T hemizygote males or heterozygote females in those with body weight gain > 7% and those with body weight < 7% were significantly different (chi(2) = 22.35, v1, P = 0.000 1; chi(2) = 12.36, v1, P = 0.000 1). Patients without mutant allele were five to six times more likely to develop substantial weight gain (OR = 5.11, 6.68). CONCLUSION: The 5-HT2C-receptor gene -759C/T polymorphism is associated with APS-induced weight gain. 759C-->T may be a protective factor for the development of weight gain in Chinese schizophrenic patients of Han nationality.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

BioMOL: a computer-assisted biological modeling tool for complex chemical mixtures and biological processes at the molecular level.

A chemical engineering approach for the rigorous construction, solution, and optimization of detailed kinetic models for biological processes is described. This modeling capability addresses the required technical components of detailed kinetic modeling, namely, the modeling of reactant structure and composition, the building of the reaction network, the organization of model parameters, the solution of the kinetic model, and the optimization of the model. Even though this modeling approach has enjoyed successful application in the petroleum industry, its application to biomedical research has just begun. We propose to expand the horizons on classic pharmacokinetics and physiologically based pharmacokinetics (PBPK), where human or animal bodies were often described by a few compartments, by integrating PBPK with reaction network modeling described in this article. If one draws a parallel between an oil refinery, where the application of this modeling approach has been very successful, and a human body, the individual processing units in the oil refinery may be considered equivalent to the vital organs of the human body. Even though the cell or organ may be much more complicated, the complex biochemical reaction networks in each organ may be similarly modeled and linked in much the same way as the modeling of the entire oil refinery through linkage of the individual processing units. The integrated chemical engineering software package described in this article, BioMOL, denotes the biological application of molecular-oriented lumping. BioMOL can build a detailed model in 1-1,000 CPU sec using standard desktop hardware. The models solve and optimize using standard and widely available hardware and software and can be presented in the context of a user-friendly interface. We believe this is an engineering tool with great promise in its application to complex biological reaction networks.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

[Significance of cytokeratin gene (CK-20 mRNA) expression in metastatic lymph nodes in colon carcinoma patients].

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the significance of detecting cytokeratin gene (CK-20 mRNA) expression in metastatic lymph nodes of colon carcinoma patients. METHODS: The expression of CK-20 mRNA was detected in 342 lymph nodes by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 49 colon carcinoma patients. Its incidence was compared with that by routine pathologic examination. RESULTS: The positive rates of detecting metastasis in the lymph nodes were 21.9% by RT-PCR and 11.1% by routine pathologic examination. CONCLUSION: The detection of cancer metastasis in the lymph nodes in colon carcinoma is almost doubled (21.9% vs 11.1%) by CK-20 mRNA, which may provide a guiding significance in staging, treatment planning and prognosis in the prognostic estimation of colon carcinoma patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

[Study on the correlation of the biochemical indexes in flouride workers].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation among some biochemical indexes in the fluoride workers. METHODS: The activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and the level of calcitonin (CT), parathyroid hormone (PTH), IgG, IgA, IgM, Cu2+, Zn2+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Se2+, F- in serum and in urine were measured in fifty male fluoride workers and fifty controls. RESULTS: The levels of F-, CT, PTH, AKP and GSH-Px in serum and F- in urine in exposed group were significantly different from that in control group. Correlation analysis indicated that F- in urine and CAT(r = 0.3133, P < 0.05), CT and PTH(r = 0.5173, P < 0.01), Se2+ and CAT(r = 0.4354, P < 0.05) were positively correlated. There were significantly negative correlation between F- in serum and GSH-Px (r = -0.5202, P < 0.01) and positive correlation among Cu2+, Zn2+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ in serum. CONCLUSION: (1) Excess of fluoride may affect secretion of calcium adjusting hormone (CT, PTH); (2) Changes of AKP and GSH-Px may be regarded as health monitoring indexes; (3) The correlation of biochemical indexes plays an important role in studying the mechanism and the early prevention and treatment of industrial fluorosis.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The increased activity of plasma manganese superoxide dismutase in tardive dyskinesia is unrelated to the Ala-9Val polymorphism.

That tardive dyskinesia (TD) may have its origins in free-radical toxicity has stimulated investigations into one enzyme important in the control of oxidative free radicals: superoxide dismutase (SOD). The manganese-containing form of this enzyme (MnSOD) is the major superoxide scavenger in mitochondria; a weak association between a functional genetic polymorphism (Ala-9Val) in the mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) of this enzyme and TD has been reported in a Japanese population. We have undertaken to determine both the plasma activity of MnSOD and the association of the Ala-9Val polymorphism in a well-matched series of male Chinese schizophrenic patients with (n=42) and without (n=59) TD, and normal male controls (n=50). MnSOD activity was elevated in the TD subjects over those without TD (P<0.05) and normal controls (P<0.05), an effect that was independent of age, age at first antipsychotic treatment, drug dosage and duration of illness. A significant positive correlation between total AIMS score and MnSOD activity was also observed (P<0.0001). No significant reduction in the frequency of the Ala allele was observed in the TD group (0.14) below non-TD (0.18) or control subjects (0.17); nor was there any relationship between MnSOD activity and the polymorphism. There was no difference between the mean AIMS scores for the two genotypes (V/V and A/V) in the TD group. We conclude that while we have further evidence of a disturbance in the mechanisms regulating oxidative free radicals in TD, this effect is not under the control of the genetic polymorphism investigated here.

Adolescent↗