Synthesis of the southern FGHI ring system of azaspiracid-1 and investigation into the controlling elements of C28- and C36-ketalization.
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Marine Toxins↗
Biomedical subjects
Liang Lu
Publications and source records attributed to Liang Lu.
Carboxyethylpyrrole oxidative protein modifications stimulate neovascularization: Implications for age-related macular degeneration.
Choroidal neovascularization (CNV), the advanced stage of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), accounts for >80% of vision loss in AMD. Carboxyethylpyrrole (CEP) protein modifications, uniquely generated from oxidation of docosahexaenoate-containing lipids, are more abundant in Bruch's membrane from AMD eyes. We tested the hypothesis that CEP protein adducts stimulate angiogenesis and possibly contribute to CNV in AMD. Human serum albumin (HSA) or acetyl-Gly-Lys-O-methyl ester (dipeptide) were chemically modified to yield CEP-modified HSA (CEP-HSA) or CEP-dipeptide. The in vivo angiogenic properties of CEP-HSA and CEP-dipeptide were demonstrated by using the chick chorioallantoic membrane and rat corneal micropocket assays. Low picomole amounts of CEP-HSA and CEP-dipeptide stimulated neovascularization. Monoclonal anti-CEP antibody neutralized limbal vessel growth stimulated by CEP-HSA, whereas anti-VEGF antibody was found to only partially neutralize vessel growth. Subretinal injections of CEP-modified mouse serum albumin exacerbated laser-induced CNV in mice. In vitro treatments of human retinal pigment epithelial cells with CEP-dipeptide or CEP-HSA did not induce increased VEGF secretion. Overall, these results suggest that CEP-induced angiogenesis utilizes VEGF-independent pathways and that anti-CEP therapeutic modalities might be of value in limiting CNV in AMD.
Aged, 80 and over↗
Repetitive nerve stimulation of facial muscles in MuSK antibody-positive myasthenia gravis.
To better define electrophysiological abnormalities in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients with muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibodies (Ab), we compared electrophysiological features of 14 MuSK Ab-positive, 73 acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR Ab)-positive, and 22 MuSK and AChR Ab-negative (seronegative) patients with generalized disease. Repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) abnormalities were observed in 86% of MuSK Ab-positive and 82% of AChR Ab-positive patients but in only 55% of seronegative patients. RNS decrements in the orbicularis oculi were more common and severe in the MuSK Ab-positive patients than the other two groups. Single-fiber electromyography (SFEMG) of the extensor digitorum communis was abnormal in 90% of MuSK Ab-positive patients. The high frequency of RNS abnormalities in facial muscles in the MuSK Ab-positive population reflects the propensity for facial muscle involvement in this form of MG and emphasizes the importance of including facial muscles in RNS protocols when evaluating these patients.
Action Potentials↗
Molecular cloning and characterization of CD9 cDNA from cartilaginous fish, red stingray, Dasyatis akajei.
CD9 is a glycoprotein of the transmembrane 4 superfamily (TM4SF) and is involved in various cellular processes. In this study, we describe the isolation of the full-length cDNA encoding for CD9 molecule (daCD9) of red stingray, Dasyatis akajei. This 1252 bp cDNA was isolated from leukocyte cDNA library and contains 681 bp open reading frame encoding 226 amino acid residues. Amino acid sequences analysis and structure prediction display approximately 50% identity to higher vertebrates with the presence of conserved structures, including the four transmembrane domains and certain characteristic residues. Southern blot analysis shows that daCD9 exists as a single copy gene. Northern blot analysis reveals that daCD9 is highly expressed in gill and spleen although its expression can be found in other tissues suggesting daCD9 might play an important role in immune defense in this fish.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Cys74 and Cys163 are necessary for IL-18 to elicit IFN-gamma production from peripheral blood lymphoid mononuclear cells.
There are four cysteines (Cys74, Cys104, Cys112 and Cys163) in mature human IL-18 (hIL-18). These cysteines are highly conserved in IL-18s of 11 species cloned so far, suggesting that one or more of the cysteines may be important for hIL-18 function. In this study, each cysteine residue was individually replaced with serine by site-directed mutagenesis. The wild type and mutant IL-18s were expressed in Escherichia coli and renatured by two renaturing methods. The purified wild type and mutant rhIL-18s were assayed for their capacity of inducing IFN-gamma and activating NF-kappaB from ConA-stimulated PBMC. DNA binding activity of NF-kappaB was performed by electrophoretic mobility-shift analysis. Our results showed that the mutant rhIL-18C74S and C163S induced much less amount of IFN-gamma from PBMC and the decrement of NF-kappaB DNA binding activity was also observed from C74S and C163S treated PBMC. These results indicate that functional hIL-18 has an absolute requirement for residues Cys74 and Cys163.
Base Sequence↗
Detection of hepatitis D virus by cDNA microarray method.
BACKGROUND: Viral hepatitis is considered a major public health problem in most areas of the world. In acute and chronic infections, hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection often leads to a more severe disease. This study was designed to prepare microarrays for HDV detection. METHODS: The specific primers of PCR were designed according to the conserved region of HDV. The cDNA microarrays were prepared by spotting PCR products onto the surface of glass slides by robotics. Restriction display PCR (RD-PCR) was used to label the samples. RESULTS: Sequences were aligned, and the results showed that the products of PCR amplification were the specific gene fragments of HDV. Hybridizing signals on gene chip showed the specificity and sensitivity in detecting HDV were satisfactory. CONCLUSION: Using PCR amplified products to construct gene chips for clinical diagnosis of HDV is a quick, simple and effective method.
Base Sequence↗
Molecular profile of the unique species of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese seahorse (Hippocampus kuda Bleeker).
A cDNA library of male Chinese seahorse (Hippocampus kuda Bleeker) was constructed to investigate the molecular profile of seahorse as one of the most famous traditional Chinese medicine materials, and to reveal immunological and physiological mechanisms of seahorse as one of the most primitive vertebrates at molecular level. A total of 3372 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) consisting of 1911 unique genes (345 clusters and 1566 singletons) were examined in the present study. Identification of the genes related to immune system, paternal brooding and physiological regulation provides not only valuable insights into the molecular mechanism of immune system in teleost fish but also plausible explanations for pharmacological activities of Chinese seahorse. Furthermore, the occurrence of high prevalent C-type lectins suggested that a lectin-complement pathway might exert a more dominant function in the innate immune system of teleost than mammal. Carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) without a collagen-like region in the lectins of seahorse was likely an ancient characteristic of lectins similar to invertebrates.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Identification of important amino acid residues for human IL-18 function by mutant construction.
To study the structure-function relationship of IL-18, two IL-18 mutants, N- and C-terminal mutant (Delta NC) and IL-1 signature-like sequence mutant S(154)A/Y(156)F/E(157)P/C(163)T (S), were constructed by PCR. The wild type and mutant recombinant human interleukin-18 (rhIL-18) were expressed in E.coli, purified by Sephadex G-75 chromatography and renatured by stepwise dilution. The purity of the recombinant proteins was over 95%. The activities of wild type and mutant rhIL-18s were defined as the ability to induce interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production and NF-kappa B activation from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Our results showed that the two mutants induced significantly less amount of IFN-gamma from PBMC (13%, 48% of wild type rhIL-18 for Delta NC, S, respectively), and the activation of NF-kappa B also lower than wild type rhIL-18(69.7%, 89.8% of wild type rhIL-18 respectively), indicating that the deleted or mutated amino acids might be important for IL-18 function.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
[Clinical significance of the function of adrenal cortex in refractory congestive heart failure].
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the function of adrenal cortex in refractory congestive heart failure and to testify the hypothesis that glucocorticosteroid can improve the effectiveness of medicine on this disease. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with refractory congestive heart failure (men 23 and women 15) were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into two groups, control group and treatment group. The cardiac index and ejection fraction were applied to evaluate the cardiac function and the level of blood cortisol was used to estimate the adrenal cortex function. RESULTS: The level of blood cortisol was low at the time of hospitalization in all studied patients. Moreover, the digoxin, diuretic and vasodilating had little effective ness in those patients. However, the glucocorticosteroid at a low dosage was able to improve the effectiveness of those medicines on congestive heart failure. The cardiac index, left ventricular ejection fraction and urine output dramatically increased after glucocorticosteroid treatment. There was a significant difference between the treatment group and control group (23.8 percent vs. 70.6 percent, P<0.01). In addition, the mortality in treatment group was also lower than that in control group (38.1 percent vs. 58.8 percent, P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Glucocorticosteroid at a low dosage obviously improved the effectiveness of medicines on congestive heart failure, and increased the survival rate in the patients.
Adrenal Cortex↗
Cloning, High Level Expression and Purification of Rat betaB2-crystallin.
beta-crystallins are the largest group of lens structural proteins, which are necessary for both the high refractive index and the transparency of the eye lens, and have been implicated in various kinds of cataracts. To obtain abundant betaB2-crystallin for the study of the mechanism of their oligomerization, a bacterial expression system for betaB2-crystallin and a rapid method for its purification were developed. cDNA encoding rat betaB2-crystallin was cloned using RT-PCR. After the induction of recA promoter with nalidixic acid, abundant protein was produced in E. coli. betaB2-crystallin comprised about 30% of the total bacterial proteins and it is water-soluble. After anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE cellulose and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100, the protein was obtained pure as judged by SDS-PAGE. The high level expression and rapid purification of recombinant betaB2-crystallin will facilitate the further study of structure-function relationship of betaB2-crystallin.
Journal Article↗