Biomedical subjects

Lin Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Lin Zhang.

330 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Maintained salivary function after brachytherapy in patients with head and neck carcinomas--evaluation using quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not salivary gland dysfunction occurs within the first three months after brachytherapy in patients with head and neck carcinoma. Of the 20 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma included in this study, 11 were treated with brachytherapy and the remaining 9 patients received external irradiation. All the patients underwent a salivary gland scintigraphy before and after radiotherapy. The scintigraphic parameters of each major salivary gland were then compared before and after the radiotherapy. In the brachytherapy group, none of the scintigraphic functional parameters showed a significant change before and after the radiotherapy. In contrast, all of the parameters with the exception of the uptake ratio (UR) of the submandibular glands significantly decreased after external irradiation. This observation was to be expected owing to the different irradiation doses administered by the two techniques. The scintigraphic technique used to evaluate salivary gland function should be used in future intensity-modulated radiation therapy salivary-gland-sparing studies in order to evaluate both the acute and chronic effects of irradiation in head and neck cancer patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

TAD: a web interface and database for tissue microarrays.

Tissue microarrays are increasingly important tools that bring high-throughput technology to traditional pathology laboratories. In many cases, each spot on a tissue microarray is scored by a skilled pathologist and recorded manually. TAD consists of an Active Server Page web interface to a relational database that automates recording scores and linking them with clinical data for future interpretation. TAD is an open source application that can be installed locally.

Computational Biology↗

PubMed2001

Design and performance of ESRF high-power undulator front-end components.

A new high-power front-end has been developed and installed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The new design consists of the replacement of the X-ray absorber and the filtering system. An upstream pre-slit and a compact high-heat-load absorber have replaced the X-ray absorber. A chemical-vapour-deposition diamond window has replaced the beryllium window and graphite filters usually employed. Commissioning has been successfully performed on the ID23 test front-end equipped with three U34 undulators producing synchrotron radiation with a total power of 11 kW and a peak power density of 1200 W mm(-2) at normal incidence.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of garage employment and tobacco smoking on breathing-zone concentrations of carbonyl compounds.

Exposure to carbonyl compounds may cause adverse health effects. The present study examined whether working in a garage and smoking can significantly affect personal "daily" exposure to a number of important carbonyl compounds. The study was carried out on 37 subjects including 22 garage workers (9 smokers and 13 nonsmokers) and 15 nongarage workers or so-called controls (4 smokers and 11 nonsmokers). Daily exposure was estimated using 48-hour integrated measurement of breathing-zone concentrations. The measurement involved the use of a passive carbonyl sampler and high performance liquid chromatography/fluorescence analysis technique. Each subject was measured for up to three measurement sessions. A wide range of breathing-zone concentrations (unit: microgram per cubic meter) was observed for each of the following carbonyls: formaldehyde (14.1-80.1); acetaldehyde (8.41-80.3); acetone (0.65-1096); acrolein (<0.14-3.71); propionaldehyde (1.08-14.6); crotonaldehyde (<0.13-2.80); benzaldehyde (1.79-9.91); and hexaldehyde (0.122-22.4). Statistical significance of smoking effects and working in a garage effects were assessed using SAS mixed models. The results show that the garage workers had significantly higher levels of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde than the controls, and that the smokers had significantly higher levels of acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and hexaldehyde, than the nonsmokers (P<.10). Garage employment and smoking appeared to increase breathing-zone concentrations of crotonaldehyde. In general, within-subject variations were smaller than between-subject variations on 48-hour averaged breathing-zone concentrations of carbonyl compounds.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Letal, A tumor-associated NKG2D immunoreceptor ligand, induces activation and expansion of effector immune cells.

NKG2D serves as one of the most potent activating receptors for effector lymphocytes. in peripheral tissues. Here we report the characterization of Letal, the first human trans-membrane NKG2D ligand lacking an immunoglobulin-like alpha-3 ectodomain. Letal is constitutively expressed by a variety of normal tissues, and is upregulated in tumor cells of different origins. Unlike other NKG2D ligands, Letal mRNA expression progressively decreased after treatment of tumor cells with retinoic acid. Simultaneous T-cell receptor activation and engagement of Letal stimulated proliferation of CD8(+) cells and dramatically increased IL-2 and IFNgamma secretion. In addition, Letal induced the killing of cancer cells by CD8(+) and NK cells. These results suggest that Letal delivers activating signals to NK cells and promotes tumor immune surveillance by inducing the expansion of anti-tumor cytotoxic lymphocytes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Differential apoptotic response to the proteasome inhibitor Bortezomib [VELCADE, PS-341] in Bax-deficient and p21-deficient colon cancer cells.

Targeting the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway has emerged as a promising approach for treating cancer. Bortezomib (VELCADE, formerly known as PS-341), a potent and reversible proteasome inhibitor, is being evaluated in clinical trials for treating multiple myeloma, and various other types of hematologic and solid tumors. Proteasome inhibitors are known to induce apoptosis in human cancer cells. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of apoptosis induced by proteasome inhibitors remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of p53 and its downstream targets in bortezomib-induced apoptosis in HCT116 human colon cancer cells. We demonstrated that bortezomib induced p53, and activated its downstream genes p21, PUMA and Bax in a p53-dependent fashion. However, apoptotic response to bortezomib was not affected by the deletion of p53. Surprisingly, we found that bortezomib-induced apoptosis was markedly enhanced in the p21-knockout cells, while significantly decreased in the BAX-knockout cells. Furthermore, in the cells deficient for both Bax and p21, apoptosis was restored to the level in the parental or the p53-deficient cells. The opposite effects of Bax and p21 were unrelated to the extent of proteasome inhibition, and were also observed in cells treated with different proteasome inhibitors. These results indicate that p53 downstream targets can collectively modulate apoptotic response to bortezomib and other proteasome inhibitors.

Acetylcysteine↗