Biomedical subjects

Yan Shen

Publications and source records attributed to Yan Shen.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

[Diagnosis and treatment of hepatic artery thrombosis after liver transplantation].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the experience in prevention, diagnosis, and management of hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). METHODS: The clinical data of 198 patients undergoing OLT from April 1993 to September 2003 were analyzed among which 96 underwent anastomosis of hepatic artery with 7/0 prolene by running suture (group 1) and 102 by intermittent suture (group 2). Ultrasonic examination was routinely performed every day within two weeks after operation and then performed selectively afterwards. RESULTS: The incidence rate of HAT in group 2 was 1.0% (1/102), significantly lower than that in group 1 (6.3%, 6/96) (chi(2) = 4.027, P = 0.045). HAT was discovered by color ultrasonography in 6 of the 7 cases, and by exploratory laparotomy in 1 case. Out of the 7 patients with HAT, 6 received emergency thrombectomy, and 1 received conservative therapy but died from tumor recurrence eventually. Biliary complication developed in 3 out of the 6 cases after thrombectomy of whom 2 died of liver failure and one waited for retransplantation. One of the other 3 cases died of renal failure, and 2 cases survived. The mortality of patients with HAT was 57.1% (4/7). CONCLUSION: The technique of hepatic artery anastomosis is the key factor for the prevention of HAT. Routine ultrasonography is important in early detection of HAT after OLT. Biliary complication is a severe outcome secondary to HAT.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

The effect of haplotype-block definitions on inference of haplotype-block structure and htSNPs selection.

It has been recently suggested that the human genome is organized as a series of haplotype blocks, and efforts to create a genome-wide haplotype map are already underway. Several computational algorithms have been proposed to partition the genome. However, little is known about their behaviors in relation to the haplotype-block partitioning and haplotype-tagging SNPs selection. Here, we present a systematic comparison of three classes of haplotype-block partition definitions, a diversity-based method, a linkage-disequilibrium (LD)-based method, and a recombination-based method. The data used were derived from a coalescent simulation under both a uniform recombination model and one that assumes recombination hotspots. There were considerable differences in haplotype information loss in the measure of entropy when the partition methods were compared under different population-genetics scenarios. Under both recombination models, the results from the LD-based definition and the recombination-based definition were more similar to each other than were the results from the diversity-based definition. This work demonstrates that when undertaking haplotype-based association mapping, the choice of haplotype-block definition and SNP selection requires careful consideration.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2004

Intranasal delivery of chitosan-DNA vaccine generates mucosal SIgA and anti-CVB3 protection.

Coxsackievirus B3 infections are common causes of acute and chronic myocarditis with no effective prophylactic treatment available. We describe here a prophylactic strategy using chitosan-DNA intranasal immunization to induce CVB3 specific immune responses. Intranasal administration with chitosan-DNA complex prepared by votexing DNA with chitosan, a natural mucus absorption enhancer, resulted in transgenic DNA expression in mouse nasopharynx. Mice immunized with chitosan-DNA (pcDNA3-VP1) encoding VP1, major structural protein of CVB3, produced much higher levels of serum IgG and mucosal secretory IgA compared to mice treated with pcDNA3-VP1 or pcDNA3. Increased virus-specific cytotoxic activity of spleen cells derived from chitosan-DNA vaccinated mice was also determined. Chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1 intranasal immunization resulted in 42.9% protection of mice against lethal CVB3 challenge and a significant reduction of viral load after acute CVB3 infection. Meanwhile no myonecrosis or infiltrating immune cells indicating ongoing myocarditis was detected in hearts of surviving mice treated with chitosan-DNA. Together, Our data show that intranasal delivery of chitosan-DNA vaccine successfully induced mucosal SIgA secretion and might be a promising vaccine candidate to protect against CVB3 infection.

Administration, Intranasal↗

PubMed2004

[The possible causes of central pontine myelinolysis after liver transplantation].

OBJECTIVE: To sum up the clinical characteristics of patients with central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and to document the possible causes on CPM. METHODS: 142 patients' data with OLT between January 1999 to May 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. The following risk factors during preoperation were analyzed between patients with and without CPM: primary liver disease, preoperative serum sodium level, magnesium level and plasma osmolality, fluctuation degree of serum sodium concentration, and immunosuppressive drugs level etc. RESULTS: A total of 13 (9.2%) neurologic symptoms appeared in 142 patients post operation, including 5 cases (3.5%) with CPM and 8 cases (5.6%) with cerebral hemorrhage or infarct. 2 patients who developed CPM after OLT had hyponatremia history before operation (serum sodium <130 mmol/L), and the mean serum sodium level was (130.6 +/- 5.54) mmol/L. The serum sodium level was significantly lower in CPM than that of patients without neurologic complication or with cerebral hemorrhage/infarct (P <0.05). The rises of serum sodium perioperative 48 h after OLT in patients with CPM was significantly greater than that in patients with cerebral hemorrhage/infarct or no neurologic complication (19.5 +/- 6.54) mmol/L, (10.1 +/- 6.43) mmol/L, (4.5 +/- 4.34) mmol/L, respectively, (P < 0.05). Plasma osmolality increased greatly postoperatively in patients with CPM. Hypomagnesemia was noted in all patients perioperatively, but there was not significant difference among groups. The duration of operation in CPM was longer than in others (492 +/- 190.05) min (P <0.05). Cyclosporin A (CsA) levels were normal in all patients, but there was significant difference between patients with and without neurologic complication (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: CPM may be more prevalent following liver transplantation. Although the diagnosis of CPM after OLT can be made by complete neurologic evaluation including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head, the mortality is still very high. The occurrence of CPM may be associated with hyponatremia, rapid rise of serum sodium concentration, postoperative increase of plasma osmolality, the duration of operation and high CsA levels.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Possible causes of central pontine myelinolysis after liver transplantation.

AIM: To sum up the clinical characteristics of patients with central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and to document the possible causes of CPM. METHODS: Data of 142 patients undergoing OLT between January 1999 to May 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. Following risk factors during perioperation were analyzed in patients with and without CPM: primary liver disease, preoperative serum sodium level, magnesium level and plasma osmolality, fluctuation degree of serum sodium concentration, and immunosuppressive drug level, etc. RESULTS: A total of 13 (9.2%) neurologic symptoms appeared in 142 patients post-operation including 5 cases (3.5%) with CPM and 8 cases (5.6%) with cerebral hemorrhage or infarct. Two patients developing CPM after OLT had a hyponatremia history before operation (serum sodium<130 mmol/L), their mean serum sodium level was 130.6 +/- 5.54 mmol/L. The serum sodium level was significantly lower in CPM patients than in patients without neurologic complications or with cerebral hemorrhage/infarct (P<0.05). The increase in serum sodiumduring perioperative 48 h after OLT in patients with CPM was significantly greater than that in patients with cerebral hemorrhage/infarct but without neurologic complications (19.5 +/- 6.54 mmol/L, 10.1 +/- 6.43 mmol/L, 4.5 +/- 4.34 mmol/L, respectively, P<0.05). Plasma osmolality was greatly increased postoperation in patients with CPM. Hypomagnesemia was noted in all patients perioperation, but there were no significant differences between groups. The duration of operation on patients with CPM was longer than that on others (492 +/- 190.05 min, P<0.05). Cyclosporin A (CsA) levels were normal in all patients, but there were significant differences between patients with or without neurologic complications (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: CPM may be more prevalent following liver transplantation. Although the diagnosis of CPM after OLT can be made by overall neurologic evaluations including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head, the mortality is still very high. The occurance of CPM may be associated with such factors as hyponatremia, rapid rise of serum sodium concentration, plasma osmolality increase postoperation, the duration of operation, and high CsA levels.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The shortest expanded allele of the MJD1 gene in a Chinese MJD kindred with autonomic dysfunction.

Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) is the most common type of autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxia caused by an expanded CAG repeat in the MJD1 gene. Intermediate CAG alleles have been previously described, and they tend to be associated with unusual manifestations of the nervous system. Here we describe a Chinese kindred with hereditary spinocerebellar ataxia, in which the proband presented with autonomic dysfunction besides the typical features of MJD. DNA analysis confirmed the clinical diagnosis and revealed that the expanded CAG repeat number of the proband is 51, which is the shortest known causative expanded allele. These findings indicate that the clinical entity of MJD can occur with 51 trinucleotide repeats, and that the clinical features of MJD might cover a wider spectrum than previously believed. The high clinical pleomorphism and the phenomenon with the 51-CAG-repeat units caused the disease phenotype in our patient, but the normal phenotype in the individuals from another MJD family strongly supports that the MJD phenotype is modulated by modifier factors.

Alleles↗

PubMed2004

p53 polymorphism and p21WAF1/CIP1 haplotype in the intestinal gastric cancer and the precancerous lesions.

The development of intestinal gastric carcinoma involves several precancerous stages. The environmental factor plays an important role in gastric carcinogenesis, while the host's genetic makeup may influence the susceptibility to cancer. In this study we investigated correlations of the p53 variations at codon 72 and p21(WAF1/CIP1) haplotype with the risk of intestinal gastric carcinoma. Forty-eight intestinal gastric carcinoma cases (GC), 96 chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG), 96 intestinal metaplasia (IM) and 96 dysplasia (DYS) controls were enrolled in this study. The p53 codon 72 proline allele carriers were found to be more susceptible to progress to GC than to IM (OR = 2.22, 95%CI = 1.05-4.70, P = 0.038). Patients carrying homozygous p21(WAF1/CIP1) haplotype A, which contains the serine at codon 31, the cytidine at the 16th base of the second intron, and the cytidine at the 70th base of the exon 3 were more prone to develop GC than to reach the IM or DYS stage (IM versus GC, OR = 3.35, 95%CI = 1.11-10.15; DYS versus GC, OR = 3.27, 95%CI = 1.09-9.80, P = 0.035). The combination of p53 codon 72 variation with the p21(WAF1/CIP1) haplotype further distinguished the risk of GC from IM precancerous lesion (OR = 9.31, 95% CI = 1.77-48.85, P = 0.08). These results suggest that p53 and/or p21(WAF1/CIP1) genotype may influence the progression during gastric tumorigenesis.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2004

Electrochemical and electrogenerated chemiluminescence of clay nanoparticles/Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) multilayer films on ITO electrodes.

The electrochemical and electrogenerated chemiluminescence of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) immobilized in [clay/Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)](n) multilayer films by layer-by-layer assembly were investigated. The stable multilayer films of clay and Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) were assembled by alternate adsorption of negatively charged clay platelets and positively charged Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) from their aqueous dispersions. UV-vis spectroscopy, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), cyclic voltammetry, and electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) were used to monitor the immobilization of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) and the regular growth of the [clay/Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)](n) multilayer films. The multilayer films modified electrode was used for the ECL detection of tripropylamine (TPA) and oxalate. The proposed novel immobilized method exhibited good stability, reproducibility and high sensitivity for the determination of TPA and oxalate, which mainly resulted from the contributing of clay nanoparticles with appreciable surface area, special structural features and unusual intercalation properties. Detection limits were 20 and 100 nM for TPA and oxalate, respectively and the linear concentration range extended from 60 nM to 0.66 mM for TPA.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Evolution and migration history of the Chinese population inferred from Chinese Y-chromosome evidence.

Y-chromosomes from 76 Chinese men covering 33 ethnic minorities throughout China as well as the Han majority were collected as genetic material for the study of Chinese nonrecombinant Y-chromosome (NRY) phylogeny. Of the accepted worldwide NRY haplogroups, three (haplogroups D, C, O) were significant in this sample, extending previous assessments of Chinese genetic diversity. Based on geographic, linguistic, and ethnohistorical information, the 33 Chinese ethnic minorities in our survey were divided into the following four subgroups: North, Tibet, West, and South. Inferred from the distribution of the newly found immediate ancestor lineage haplogroup O*, which has M214 but not M175, we argue that the southern origin scenario of this most common Chinese Y haplogroup is not very likely. We tentatively propose a West/North-origin hypothesis, suggesting that haplogroup O originated in West/North China and mainly evolved in China and thence spread further throughout eastern Eurasia. The nested cladistic analysis revealed in detail a multilayered, multidirectional, and continuous history of ethnic admixture that has shaped the contemporary Chinese population. Our results give some new clues to the evolution and migration of the Chinese population and its subsequence moving about in this land, which are in accordance with the historical records.

Biological Evolution↗

PubMed2004

DLP, a novel Dim1 family protein implicated in pre-mRNA splicing and cell cycle progression.

In eukaryotes, primary transcripts undergo a splicing process that removes intronic sequences by a macromolecular enzyme known as the spliceosome. Both genetic and biochemical studies have revealed that essential components of the spliceosome include five small RNAs, U1, U2, U4, U5, and U6, and as many as 300 distinct proteins. Here we report the molecular cloning and functional analysis of a novel cDNA encoding for a protein of 149 amino acids. This protein has 38% amino acid sequence identity with and is evolutionally related to yeast Dim1 protein. Hence we named this protein DLP for Dim1-like protein. We showed that DLP is required for S/G(2) transition. We also demonstrated that DLP functions in cell nucleus and interacts with the U5-102-kDa protein subunit of the spliceosome, and blocking DLP protein activity led to an insufficient pre-mRNA splicing, suggesting that DLP is yet another protein component involved in pre-mRNA splicing. Collectively, our experiments indicated that DLP is implicated in not only cell cycle progression but also in a more specific molecular process such as pre-mRNA splicing.

Alternative Splicing↗

PubMed2004

[Graft versus host disease after liver transplantation: a report of 3 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To document the clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of graft-versus-host disease(GVHD) after liver transplantation. METHODS: Clinical course was followed up and laboratory examinations were done in 3 patients with orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) who developed acute GVHE. The diagnosis depended on clinical manifestations, skin biopsy, HLA typing and PCR short tandem repeat (PCR-STR). Immunosuppressive drugs were transferred and adjusted. RESULTS: Fever, shin rash, diarrhea and pancytopenia were found within 3 to 8 weeks after liver transplantation. The liver function was normal. CMV antigen (pp65) and EBV antibody (IgM) were negative. The donor's HLA was detected in the host's peripheral blood cells. One female recipient had the donor's Y chromosome microchimerism detected by PCR-STR. All 3 patients died from infection, alimentary tract bleeding, or multiple organ failure in the end. CONCLUSION: GVHD is not a rare complication easily misdiagnosed with pessimism out come after liver transplantation.

Cyclosporine↗

PubMed2004

[The long-term results of managements in 98 cases of gallbladder carcinomas].

OBJECTIVE: Carcinoma of the gallbladder is an uncommon, but patients with the disease are associated with a dismal prognosis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the characters, prognostic factors of gallbladder carcinoma and investigate the measures of diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: 98 patients admitted into our hospital from January 1992 to July 2000 were followed up, with a mean follow-up time of 478 days (1 - 2,280 days). All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS10.0 statistical package. Survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and differences among groups were tested by the log-rank test. The Cox multivariate analysis was performed to determine prognostic factors on survival. RESULTS: Among 98 patients, 31 with radical resection, 29 with palliative resection, 18 with exploration and 20 with chemo- and/or radiotherapy, The overall 5-year survival rate of the gallbladder carcinoma was 6.67%, The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rate following radical resection for gallbladder cancer was 77.29%, 34.37%, 21.48% respectively, The survival rate in radical resection group was remarkably higher than that of the others (P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor, node, metastases (TNM) stage and therapeutic interventions had significantly higher risk ratios for gallbladder cancer. CONCLUSIONS: With careful patient selection, aggressive resection may help to improve the prognosis, although the disease with ominous reputation. Resection alone is inadequate for a significant improvement in survival, so there is a need to evaluate more effective adjuvant therapy in the form of radiotherapy or newer chemotherapeutic agents. Emphasis to improve the long-term survival should be pay on early diagnosis and early management.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Lipoprotein lipase gene is in linkage with blood pressure phenotypes in Chinese pedigrees.

To elucidate the mechanism of lipid metabolism in the genesis of essential hypertension (EH), we linked blood pressure (BP) phenotypes with the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene. Variance component and sib-pair linkage models were used to test the relationship of the polymorphisms in the LPL gene region and EH in 148 Chinese hypertensive families. Linkage evidence with systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) was observed in a total population of 148 pedigrees with seven flanking microsatellite markers of the LPL gene, with a maximum two-point LOD score of 2.68 and a maximum multipoint LOD score (MLS) of 2.37 for SBP and a maximum MLS of 1.54 for DBP. Suggestive linkage results around this region were also obtained in northern and southern subsets by geographic distribution. In addition, quantitative-transmission/disequilibrium-test analyses showed that there was linkage between DBP and two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the LPL gene. This is the first report of linkage between LPL gene and DBP in the Chinese population. The LPL gene itself might explain our results or the LPL gene region might harbor some genes to explain the observed results to some degree and might contribute to the variation of BP in the Chinese population.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

[A novel DNA vaccine containing endosome-fusogenic peptide prevents CVB3-induced myocarditis in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To enhance the effect of chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1 DNA vaccine to prevent onset of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3)-induced myocarditis. METHODS: HA-pLys16 "carrier peptide" containing "endosome fusogenic peptide" and poly-Lysine was synthesized and complexed with DNA and chitosan sequentially, resulting chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1-HApLys16 vaccine. It was administrated to BALB/c mice with a total dose of 200 micro g pcDNA3-VP1. Mice were infected with 3 (LD(50) CVB3 3 weeks later to induce myocarditis. Loss of body weight, body/heart weight ratio, outlook and HE staining of heart tissues was observed and compared as an indicative of severity of myocarditis. RESULTS: chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1-HApLys16 vaccine intranasal immunization enhanced secretion of mucosal sIgA. After 3 x LD(50) CVB3 infection, pcDNA3 immunized mice groups lost their 5.75% weight following CVB3 infection, while chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1 and chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1-HApLys16 immunized mice increased their body weight by 1.75% and 5.44%. Body/heart weight ratio of chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1-HAplys16 group reached 193.77 suggesting lightened myocarditis. No myonecrosis or infiltrating immune cells existed in heart of chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1-HAplys16 immunized mice, and 1/6 of incidence and very light myocarditis were seen in chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1 immunized mice. While in pcDNA3 immunized mice 6/6 incidence and extremely severe myocarditis were observed. Heart from pcDNA3-immunized mice was bigger than normal ones and had a lot of white stripes, which were not observed in that of chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1 and chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1-HApLys16 immunized mice. CONCLUSION: Novel chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1-HApLys16 vaccine containing "endosome fusogenic peptide" could more effectively prevent CVB3-induced myocarditis than chitosan-pcDNA3-VP1 vaccine.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Lack of a genetic association between the TNXB locus and schizophrenia in a Chinese population.

A recent study demonstrated that the tenascin X (TNXB) gene was associated with schizophrenia in a British population. To replicate the initial finding, we analysed two positive single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs1009382 and rs204887 present at the TNXB locus, in a Chinese population by using PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. We recruited a total of 136 family trios consisting of fathers, mothers and affected offspring with schizophrenia. The transmission disequilibrium test did not show allelic association between these two SNPs and schizophrenia, and the rs1009382-rs204887 haplotypes were not associated with the illness either. The present results suggest that the TNXB locus does not appear to be associated with schizophrenia in the Chinese population. Because the TNXB gene is less than 100 kb away from the NOTCH4 locus that was also reported to be associated with schizophrenia, allelic and locus heterogeneity could be possible reasons for the failure to replicate the TNXB finding.

China↗

PubMed2004

Two-dimensional protein database of human pancreas.

We report here the two-dimensional protein database of human pancreas. The proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Totally, 302 proteins were identified, of which about 27% were enzymes with a broad range of catalytic activities. Several of these are specifically expressed in pancreas, such as pancreatic amylase, pancreatic stone protein, pancreatitis-associated protein, pancreatic lipase, pancreatic elastase, etc. Structural and cytoskeletal proteins are also strongly represented on the gels. Thus, the pancreatic proteome reflects the organ's function. This work paves the way for further studies on pancreatic protein expression in health and disease, such as diabetes and pancreatic cancer.

Databases, Protein↗

PubMed2004

Association of estrogen receptor alpha polymorphisms with susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Several studies have demonstrated that estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) participates in the pathogenesis of persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. To examine whether polymorphisms at the ESR1 gene locus are associated with persistent HBV infection, we resequenced ESR1 genomic region for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 27 unrelated Chinese. Two haplotype-tagged SNPs (htSNP), T29C and A252966G, were selected for genotyping in 1,277 persistent HBV-infected cases, 748 spontaneously recovered controls, and 293 nuclear families using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. We observed that the subjects bearing ESR1 29T/T genotype had an increased susceptibility to persistent HBV infection compared to those bearing at least one 29C allele (odds ratio 1.41; 95% CI, 1.17-1.71, P < .001). Consistent with the results of population-based association study, a significantly greater than expected transmission of the 29T allele (56.4%) from heterozygous parents to offspring with persistent HBV infection was observed (chi2 = 4.60, P = .033) using the transmission-disequilibrium test (TDT) in 293 nuclear families. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping analysis indicated that the T29C polymorphism contained within a LD block located from promoter region to intron 3 of ESR1, suggesting that the strong association detected with T29C in ESR1 originated from ESR1 itself. In conclusion, our results suggest that the genetic variation at the ESR1 locus influences susceptibility to persistent HBV infection in a Chinese population.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

VSD: a database for schizophrenia candidate genes focusing on variations.

Schizophrenia is a common mental disease characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and formal thought disorder. It has been demonstrated with genetic evidence that the disease is a polygenic disorder. Pharmacological, neurochemical, and clinical studies have suggested a number of schizophrenia susceptibility loci. In order to systematically search for genes with small effect in the development of schizophrenia, a database called VSD was established to provide variation data for publicly available candidate genes. Most of the genes encode neurotransmitter receptors, neurotransmitter transporters, and the enzymes involved in their metabolism. Other candidate genes extracted from published literature are also included. The variation information has been collected from publicly available mutation and polymorphism databases such as dbSNP, HGVbase, and OMIM, with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) being the most abundant form of collected variations. Reference sequences from NCBI's RefSeq database are used as references when positioning variation at transcript and protein levels. The nonsynonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) that lead to amino acid changes in the functional sites or domains of proteins are distinguished since they are more likely to affect protein function and would be target SNPs for association studies. In addition to variation data, gene descriptions, enzyme information, and other biological information for each gene locus are also included. The latest version of VSD contains 23,648 variations assigned to a total of 186 genes. Five-hundred eighty-eight domains and sites annotated in the SWISS-PROT and InterPro databases are found to contain nsSNPs. VSD may be accessed via the World Wide Web (www.chgb.org.cn/vsd.htm) and will be developed as an up-to-date and comprehensive locus-specific resource for identifying susceptibility genes for schizophrenia.

Databases, Nucleic Acid↗