Biomedical subjects

Xueqian Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Xueqian Zhang.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Frequency division multiplexed multichannel high-speed fluorescence confocal microscope.

In this article, we report a new type of fluorescence confocal microscope: frequency division multiplexed multichannel fluorescence confocal microscope, in which we encode the spatial location information into the frequency domain. In this microscope, the exciting laser beam is first split into multiple beams and each beam is modulated at a different frequency. These multiple beams are focused at different locations of the target to form multiple focal points, which further generate multiple fluorescent emission spots. The fluorescent emissions from different focal points are also modulated at different frequencies, because the exciting beams are modulated at different frequencies (or difference carrier frequency). Then, all the fluorescent emissions (modulated at different frequencies) are collected together and detected by a highly sensitive, large-dynamic-range photomultiplier tube. By demodulating the detected signal (i.e., via the Fourier transform), we can distinguish the fluorescent light emitted from the different locations by the corresponding carrier frequencies. The major advantage of this unique fluorescence confocal microscope is that it not only has a high sensitivity because of the use of photomultiplier tube but also can get multiple-point data simultaneously, which is crucial to study the dynamic behavior of many biological process. As an initial step, to verify the feasibility of the proposed multichannel confocal microscope, we have developed a two-channel confocal fluorescence microscope and applied it to study the dynamic behavior of the changes of the calcium ion concentration during the single cardiac myocyte contraction. Our preliminary experimental results demonstrated that we could indeed realize multichannel confocal fluorescence microscopy by utilizing the frequency division multiplexed microscope, which could become an effective tool to study the dynamic behavior of many biological processes.

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PubMed2006

Activation of signaling pathways and regulatory mechanisms of mRNA translation following myocardial ischemia-reperfusion.

Protein expression in the heart is altered following periods of myocardial ischemia. The changes in protein expression are associated with increased cell size that can be maladaptive. There is little information regarding the regulation of protein expression through the process of mRNA translation during ischemia and reperfusion in the heart. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify changes in signaling pathways and downstream regulatory mechanisms of mRNA translation in an in vivo model of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. Hearts were collected from rats whose left main coronary arteries had either been occluded for 25 min or reversibly occluded for 25 min and subsequently reperfused for 15 min. Following reperfusion, both the phosphoinositide 3-kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways were activated, as evidenced by increased phosphorylation of Akt (PKB), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Activation of Akt stimulated signaling through the protein kinase mammalian target of rapamycin, as evidenced by increased phosphorylation of two of its effectors, the ribosomal protein S6 kinase and the eukaryotic initiation factor eIF4E binding protein 1. Ischemia and reperfusion also resulted in increased phosphorylation of eIF2 and eIF2B. These changes in protein phosphorylation suggest that control of mRNA translation following ischemia and reperfusion is modulated through a number of signaling pathways and regulatory mechanisms.

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PubMed2004

Measuring single cardiac myocyte contractile force via moving a magnetic bead.

One of the biggest problems of heart failure is the heart's inability to effectively pump blood to meet the body's demands, which may be caused by disease-induced alterations in contraction properties (such as contractile force and Young's modulus). Thus, it is very important to measure contractile properties at single cardiac myocyte level that can lay the foundation for quantitatively understanding the mechanism of heart failure and understanding molecular alterations in diseased heart cells. In this article, we report a novel single cardiac myocyte contractile force measurement technique based on moving a magnetic bead. The measuring system is mainly composed of 1), a high-power inverted microscope with video output and edge detection; and 2), a moving magnetic bead based magnetic force loading module. The main measurement procedures are as follows: 1), record maximal displacement of single cardiac myocyte during contraction; 2), attach a magnetic bead on one end of the myocyte that will move with myocyte during the contraction; 3), repeat step 1 and record contraction processes under different magnitudes of magnetic force loading by adjusting the magnetic field applied on the magnetic bead; and 4), derive the myocyte contractile force base on the maximal displacement of cell contraction and magnetic loading force. The major advantages of this unique approach are: 1), measuring the force without direct connections to the cell specimen (i.e., "remote sensing", a noninvasive/minimally invasive approach); 2), high sensitivity and large dynamic range (force measurement range: from pico Newton to micro Newton); 3), a convenient and cost-effective approach; and 4), more importantly, it can be used to study the contractile properties of heart cells under different levels of external loading forces by adjusting the magnitude of applied magnetic field, which is very important for studying disease induced alterations in contraction properties. Experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of proposed approach.

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