Biomedical subjects

Weiye Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Weiye Wang.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2025

Reduction in ARGs and Mobile Genetic Elements Using 2-Bromoethane Sulfonate in an MFC-Powered Fenton System.

The integration of an MFC-powered Fenton (MFC-Fenton) system into the traditional anaerobic composting process can promote excess dewatered sludge (ES) decomposition. However, the antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) profiles in ES treated by MFC-Fenton systems remain poorly understood; in addition, the effect of adding 2-bromoethane sulfonate (BES, a methane inhibitor) during ES treatment using an MFC-Fenton system on ARG levels is largely unexplored. The present work focused on investigating the effects of BES and bioelectrochemical processes on ARG and MGE abundances and unraveling the ARG attenuation mechanism. According to our findings, adding BES promoted ARG reduction in ES in an MFC-Fenton system. The average ARG levels in the MFC-Fenton samples containing high BES contents (0.4 or 0.5 g BES/g VSS) markedly declined relative to those in samples containing lower BES levels. Moreover, macrolide transporter ATP-binding protein, macrolide-efflux protein, and macB levels markedly decreased as BES levels increased. BES supplementation and bioelectrochemical assistance were crucial for altering the ARG composition in the MFC-Fenton system. Changes in the microbial community composition had the greatest effect on the variation in ARG composition. Furthermore, the Actinobacteria and Firmicutes levels accounted for 52.8% of the overall ARG variation. Among MGEs, plasmids, insertion sequences, and integrons showed lower levels within the sludge metagenomes. Typically, sulI, sulII, tetG, and bla TEM levels were positively correlated with metal resistance genes (MRGs), and their levels markedly declined following the MFC-Fenton process. Thus, the collective evidence indicates that BES synergizes with bioelectrogenesis to reduce ARG abundance.

Sewage↗

PubMed2005

Tools and strategies for physiological genomics: the Rat Genome Database.

The broad goal of physiological genomics research is to link genes to their functions using appropriate experimental and computational techniques. Modern genomics experiments enable the generation of vast quantities of data, and interpretation of this data requires the integration of information derived from many diverse sources. Computational biology and bioinformatics offer the ability to manage and channel this information torrent. The Rat Genome Database (RGD; http://rgd.mcw.edu) has developed computational tools and strategies specifically supporting the goal of linking genes to their functional roles in rat and, using comparative genomics, to human and mouse. We present an overview of the database with a focus on these unique computational tools and describe strategies for the use of these resources in the area of physiological genomics.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

The Rat Genome Database (RGD): developments towards a phenome database.

The Rat Genome Database (RGD) (http://rgd.mcw.edu) aims to meet the needs of its community by providing genetic and genomic infrastructure while also annotating the strengths of rat research: biochemistry, nutrition, pharmacology and physiology. Here, we report on RGD's development towards creating a phenome database. Recent developments can be categorized into three groups. (i) Improved data collection and integration to match increased volume and biological scope of research. (ii) Knowledge representation augmented by the implementation of a new ontology and annotation system. (iii) The addition of quantitative trait loci data, from rat, mouse and human to our advanced comparative genomics tools, as well as the creation of new, and enhancement of existing, tools to enable users to efficiently browse and survey research data. The emphasis is on helping researchers find genes responsible for disease through the use of rat models. These improvements, combined with the genomic sequence of the rat, have led to a successful year at RGD with over two million page accesses that represent an over 4-fold increase in a year. Future plans call for increased annotation of biological information on the rat elucidated through its use as a model for human pathobiology. The continued development of toolsets will facilitate integration of these data into the context of rat genomic sequence, as well as allow comparisons of biological and genomic data with the human genomic sequence and of an increasing number of organisms.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Identification of alpha-enolase as a nuclear DNA-binding protein in the zona fasciculata but not the zona reticularis of the human adrenal cortex.

In order to establish whether there are differences in DNA-binding proteins between zona fasciculata (ZF) and zona reticularis (ZR) cells of the human adrenal cortex, we prepared nuclear extracts from separated ZF and ZR cells. The formation of DNA-protein complexes was studied using an element in the first intron of the type I and type II 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase genes (HSD3B1 and HSD3B2). Using the element in the HSD3B2 gene as a probe, a complex (C1) was formed with extracts from ZF cells but was formed only at a low level with ZR cell extracts. Another pair of complexes (C2/C3) was formed with both ZF and ZR cell extracts. The ZF-specific protein forming C1 was enriched by column chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose and carboxymethyl-Sepharose. Oligonucleotide competition analysis on the enriched fraction gave results consistent with those obtained on the unfractionated material. A further enrichment was brought about by passing the protein over an oligonucleotide affinity column based on the HSD3B2 element. The protein bound to the column was identified as alpha-enolase by mass spectrometry. Although alpha-enolase is a glycolytic enzyme, it binds to specific DNA sequences and has been found to be present in nuclei of various cell types. We performed immunohistochemistry on sections of adult human adrenal cortex and found alpha-enolase to be located in nuclei of ZF cells but to be predominantly cytoplasmic in ZR cells. Transfection of an alpha-enolase expression vector into NCI-H295R human adrenocortical cells increased HSD3B2 promoter activity, suggesting a possible functional role for this protein in regulation of HSD3B2 expression.

3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗