Biomedical subjects

Ying Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Ying Wang.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

PubMed2005

Novel amorphous functional materials for trapping nitrosamines.

Novel amorphous functional materials are designed to modify amorphous silica with alumina. They are first presented as efficient adsorbents to trap both volatile nitrosamines and bulky tobacco specific nitrosamines in the environment. Selective adsorption, temperature programmed surface reaction (TPSR), and FTIR methods are employed to study the impact of alumina modification on the ability of silica to adsorb and catalytically degrade nitrosamines. Due to the special interaction between the N-NO group of nitrosamines and the aluminum ion in the composite, nitrosamines can be very easily trapped by the composite. Moreover, this cost-efficient material first shows a remarkable adsorptive capability and catalytic activity in reduction of NNN (N-nitrosonornicotine) in the liquid phase. The new concept of designing a multifunctional trap for carcinogenic pollutants, which combines the amorphous silica's pore structure with the specific adsorbing/catalyzing features of metal ions, proves feasible.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2005

Dependence of electrochemical properties of vanadium oxide films on their nano- and microstructures.

Platelet- and fibrillar-structured V2O5 films have been prepared by solution methods, and their electrochemical Li+ intercalation properties have been studied. Platelet film consists of 20-30 nm sized V2O5 particles with random orientation, whereas fibrillar film is comprised of randomly oriented fibers though most of them protrude from the substrate surface. These platelet- and fibrillar-structured films exhibit relatively larger surface area and shorter diffusion path for Li+ intercalation than plain thin film structure. The processing methods, the discharge capacity, and cyclic performance of these films are compared with those of the conventional plain structured film.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Association between tumour necrosis factor-alpha G-308A polymorphism and risk of nephropathy in obese Chinese type 2 diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND: The G-308A polymorphism in the promoter region of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) gene has been reported to be associated with insulin resistance and obesity, both of which may increase the risk of diabetic nephropathy. We hypothesized that this polymorphism might interact with obesity to affect development of diabetic nephropathy. METHODS: A consecutive cohort of 1281 Chinese type 2 diabetic patients was enrolled for analysis. Genotyping of TNF-alpha G-308A polymorphism was performed using a PCR-based RFLP method with NcoI digestion. The mean value of the albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) of a random spot urine sample and a timed urinary collection was used to determine albuminuric status. Diabetic nephropathy was defined as serum creatinine > or =150 micromol/L and/or mean ACR > or =25 mg/mmol. Obesity was defined as body mass index > or =25 kg/m2 using Asian criteria. RESULTS: The G-308A polymorphism was not associated with either obesity or nephropathy. Clinical characteristics were similar between GG and GA/AA genotype carriers. Amongst the obese patients, GG genotype carriers had a higher median (interquartile range) urinary ACR [3.16 (0.70, 59.10) vs 1.28 (0.48, 12.28) mg/mmol; p = 0.01] and albumin excretion rate [38.7 (12.1, 620.3) vs 21.4 (8.9, 224.0) microg/min, p = 0.03] than GA/AA carriers. On multiple logistic regression analysis, compared with non-obese GA/AA carriers, obese subjects with the GG genotype had a 2.5-fold increased risk (95% CI: 1.04-6.03; P = 0.04) of nephropathy after adjustment for confounding factors. Other independent factors for diabetic nephropathy included male sex, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides (logarithmically transformed value), and the presence of cardiovascular and microvascular complications. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the GG genotype of TNF-alpha G-308A polymorphism or a genetic variant in close linkage disequilibrium may interact with obesity to increase the risk of nephropathy in Chinese Type 2 diabetic patients. Apart from the need for replication of these results, functional studies are required to clarify its significance.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Chemokine-like factor 1 is a functional ligand for CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4).

Chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1) exhibits chemotactic effects on leukocytes. Its amino acid sequence shares similarity with those of TARC/CCL17 and MDC/CCL22, the cognate ligands for CCR4. The chemotactic effects of CKLF1 for CCR4-transfected cells could be desensitized by TARC/CCL17 and markedly inhibited by PTX. CKLF1 induced a calcium flux in CCR4-transfected cells and fully desensitized a subsequent response to TARC/CCL17, and TARC/CCL17 could partly desensitize the response to CKLF1. CKLF1 caused significant receptor internalization in pCCR4-EGFP transfected cells. Taken together, CKLF1 is a novel functional ligand for CCR4.

Calcium↗

PubMed2005

Determination of oleanolic acid in human plasma and study of its pharmacokinetics in Chinese healthy male volunteers by HPLC tandem mass spectrometry.

A highly selective and sensitive HPLC-ESI-MS-MS method was developed for the determination of oleanolic acid in human plasma. The oleanolic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid (internal standard) were recovered from plasma with ethyl acetate liquid-liquid extraction. The organic extracts were dried under a stream of warm nitrogen, reconstituted in mobile phase and injected into a Zorbax-Extend ODS analytical column (150 mm x 4.6 mm i.d., 5 microm), with the mobile phase consisting of methanol-ammonium acetate (32.5 mM) (85:15, v/v) pumped at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, and 30% of the eluent was split into a MS system with electrospray ionization tandem mass (ESI-MS-MS) detection in negative ion mode. The tandem mass detection was performed on a Finnigan Surveyor LC-TSQ Quantum Ultra AM tandem mass spectrometer operated in selected reaction monitoring mode. The parent to product ion combinations of m/z 455.4-->455.4 and 469.3-->425.2 at 38 V 1.5 mTorr Ar CID were used to quantify oleanolic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid, respectively. The assay was validated in the concentration range of 0.02-30.0 ng/ml for oleacolic acid when 0.5 ml of plasma was processed. The precision of the assay (expressed as relative standard deviation, R.S.D.%) was less than 15% at all concentrations levels within the tested range and adequate accuracy, and the limit of quantification was 0.02 ng/ml. The established method was applied for the pharmacokinetics study of oleanolic acid capsules in 18 healthy male Chinese volunteers with the mean values of C(max), T(max), AUC(0-48), AUC(0-infinity), t(1/2,) CL/F, and V/F of oleanolic acid after p.o. a single 40 mg dose obtained were 12.12 +/- 6.84 ng/ml, 5.2 +/- 2.9h, 114.34 +/- 74.87 ng h/ml, 124.29 +/- 106.77 ng h/ml, 8.73 +/- 6.11 h, 555.3 +/- 347.7 L/h, and 3371.1 +/- 1,990.1 L, respectively.

Acetates↗

PubMed2005

F110I and R278C troponin T mutations that cause familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affect muscle contraction in transgenic mice and reconstituted human cardiac fibers.

We have studied the physiological effects of the troponin T (TnT) F110I and R278C mutations associated with familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC) in humans. Three to four-month-old transgenic (Tg) mice expressing F110I-TnT and R278C-TnT did not develop significant hypertrophy or ventricular fibrosis even after chronic exercise challenge. The F110I mutation impaired acute exercise tolerance, whereas R278C did not. Skinned papillary muscle fibers from transgenic mice expressing F110I-TnT demonstrated increased Ca(2+) sensitivity of force and ATPase activity, and likewise an increased Ca(2+) sensitivity of force was observed in F110I-TnT-reconstituted human cardiac muscle preparations. In contrast, no changes in force or the ATPase-pCa dependencies were observed in transgenic R278C fibers or in human fibers reconstituted with the R278C-TnT mutant. The maximal level of force development was dramatically decreased in both transgenic mice. However, the maximal ATPase was not different (R278C-TnT) or only slightly less (F110I-TnT) than that of non-Tg and WT-Tg littermates. Consequently, their ratios of ATPase/force (energy cost) at all Ca(2+) concentrations were dramatically higher compared with non-Tg and WT-Tg fibers. This increase in energy cost most likely results from a decrease in force per myosin cross-bridge, because forcing all cross-bridges into the force generating state by substitution of MgADP for MgATP in maximum contracting solutions resulted in the same increase in maximal force (15%) in all transgenic and non-transgenic preparations. The combination of increased Ca(2+) sensitivity and energy cost in the F110I hearts may be responsible for the greater severity of this phenotype compared with the R278C mutation.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed2005

Endothelin-1 expression in vascular adventitial fibroblasts.

Endothelial cells are a major source of endothelin (ET)-1, but the possibility that vascular adventitial fibroblasts generate ET-1 has not been explored. We hypothesized that aortic adventitial fibroblasts have the ability to produce ET-1, which may contribute to extracellular matrix synthesis. Vascular adventitial fibroblasts were isolated from mouse aorta and incubated with various concentrations of angiotensin II (ANG II). mRNA levels of preproET-1 and type I procollagen were detected with relative RT-PCR. ET-1 levels in culture medium were measured with ELISA. Protein levels of procollagen were detected with Western blotting. ANG II (10 and 100 nM, 1 microM) induced a time- and concentration-dependent increase in preproET-1 mRNA levels (P < 0.05). Induction of preproET-1 mRNA was accompanied by release of immunoreactive peptide ET-1 (P < 0.05). ANG II-evoked increases in preproET-1 mRNA expression and ET-1 release were blocked by losartan (100 microM), an AT1 receptor antagonist, but not PD-123319 (100 microM), an AT2 receptor antagonist. To further confirm our findings, we cloned and then sequenced vascular fibroblast preproET-1 bidirectionally with T7 and M13 reverse sequencing primers. Their nucleotide sequences were identical to preproET-1 cDNA from mouse vascular endothelial cells (accession no. AB081657). Moreover, ANG II-induced type I procollagen mRNA and protein expression were inhibited by BQ-123 (10 microM), an ET(A) receptor inhibitor, but not BQ-788 (10 microM), an ET(B) receptor inhibitor, suggesting a significant role of adventitial ET-1 in regulation of extracellular matrix synthesis. The results demonstrate that vascular adventitial fibroblasts are able to synthesize and release ET-1 in response to ANG II.

Angiotensin II↗

PubMed2005

(De)constructing the ryanodine receptor: modeling ion permeation and selectivity of the calcium release channel.

Biological ion channels are proteins that passively conduct ions across membranes that are otherwise impermeable to ions. Here, we present a model of ion permeation and selectivity through a single, open ryanodine receptor (RyR) ion channel. Combining recent mutation data with electrodiffusion of finite-sized ions, the model reproduces the current/voltage curves of cardiac RyR (RyR2) in KCl, LiCl, NaCl, RbCl, CsCl, CaCl(2), MgCl(2), and their mixtures over large concentrations and applied voltage ranges. It also reproduces the reduced K(+) conductances and Ca(2+) selectivity of two skeletal muscle RyR (RyR1) mutants (D4899N and E4900Q). The model suggests that the selectivity filter of RyR contains the negatively charged residue D4899 that dominates the permeation and selectivity properties and gives RyR a DDDD locus similar to the EEEE locus of the L-type calcium channel. In contrast to previously applied barrier models, the current model describes RyR as a multi-ion channel with approximately three monovalent cations in the selectivity filter at all times. Reasons for the contradicting occupancy predictions are discussed. In addition, the model predicted an anomalous mole fraction effect for Na(+)/Cs(+) mixtures, which was later verified by experiment. Combining these results, the binding selectivity of RyR appears to be driven by the same charge/space competition mechanism of other highly charged channels.

Calcium↗

PubMed2005

FAS expression inversely correlates with PTEN level in prostate cancer and a PI 3-kinase inhibitor synergizes with FAS siRNA to induce apoptosis.

Fatty acid synthase (FAS), a key enzyme of the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway, has been shown to be overexpressed in various types of human cancer and is, therefore, considered to be an attractive target for anticancer therapy. However, the exact mechanism of overexpression of the FAS gene in tumor cells is not well understood. In this report, we demonstrate that the expression of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN has a significant inverse correlation with FAS expression in the case of prostate cancer in the clinical setting, and inhibition of the PTEN gene leads to the overexpression of FAS in vitro. We also found that the combination of the expression status of these two genes is a better prognostic marker than either gene alone. Furthermore, our results indicate that the specific inhibition of FAS gene by siRNA leads to apoptosis of prostate tumor cells, and inhibition of PI 3-kinase pathway synergizes with FAS siRNA to enhance tumor cell death. These results provide a strong rationale for exploring the therapeutic use of an inhibitor of the PTEN signaling pathway in conjunction with the FAS siRNA to inhibit prostate tumor growth.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Driver's views and behaviors about safety in China--what do they NOT know about driving?

Driving safety has become an extremely severe problem in China due to rapid motorization. Unless more effective measures are taken, the fatality risk and the total fatalities due to road traffic accidents are expected to continue to increase. Therefore, focus group discussions were conducted to explore driver attitudes and safe driver characteristics. The results were then compared with a similar study conducted with US drivers. Although similarities were found, differences were of more importance. The Chinese drivers concentrate more on driving skills and capabilities, whereas the US drivers concentrate more on practical safe driving guidelines. Then direct field observations were conducted for the Chinese drivers to empirically investigate the issues discovered. The use of safety belts, running lights, headlights, and turn signals were observed to investigate the drivers' behaviors. Results show that the safety belt use ratio is about 64%, running light use is nearly zero during rainy and snowy weather, headlights use after sunset is substantially delayed, and only about 40% of drivers use turn signals to indicate their intention to change lanes. These findings indicate that the authorities need to take appropriate countermeasures to change the views of the Chinese drivers regarding driving safety and their unsafe driving behaviors. Improvement of training content and methods as well as police enforcement would be recommended.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2005

Ultrafast dynamics in multibranched structures with enhanced two-photon absorption.

The understanding of the mechanism of the enhanced two-photon absorption (TPA) in multibranched chromophore systems is of importance to the design of materials with the large TPA cross-sections and for future applications. In this communication, the mechanism of enhanced TPA properties is investigated. For a dendritic model system, the excited-state dynamics for both population (T1-process) and phase relaxation (T2-process) processes involved are investigated by a combination of time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. The results of time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy are compared with previous results obtained from other branched chromophore systems. It is found that the PRL-701 trimer system, which possesses the large enhancement of two-photon absorption cross-section, gives a faster anisotropy decay (fluorescence upconversion and transient absorption), a longer population relaxation time (fluorescence lifetime), and a weaker coupling to the solvent (a larger photon echo peak shift initial value). New strategies for rational design of large TPA materials can be achieved based on a better understanding of the mechanism of the enhancement.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

ZNF649, a novel Kruppel type zinc-finger protein, functions as a transcriptional suppressor.

Cardiac differentiation involves a cascade of coordinated gene expression that regulates cell proliferation and matrix protein formation in a defined temporo-spatial manner. Many of the KRAB-ZFPs are involved in cardiac development or cardiovascular diseases. Here we report the identification and characterization of a novel human zinc-finger gene named ZNF649. The cDNA of ZNF649 is 3176 bp, encoding a protein of 505 amino acids in the nuclei. Northern blot analysis indicates that ZNF649 is expressed in most of the examined human adult and embryonic tissues. ZNF649 is a transcription suppressor when fused to GAL-4 DNA-binding domain and cotransfected with VP-16. Overexpression of ZNF649 in COS-7 cells inhibits the transcriptional activities of SRE and AP-1. Deletion analysis with a series of truncated fusion proteins indicates that the KRAB motif is a basal repression domain when the truncated fusion proteins were assayed for the transcriptional activities of SRE and AP-1. These results suggest that ZNF649 protein may act as a transcriptional repressor in mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway to mediate cellular functions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

The type 1 cysteinyl leukotriene receptor triggers calcium influx and chemotaxis in mouse alpha beta- and gamma delta effector T cells.

Linker for activation of T cells (LAT) is essential for T cell activation. Mice with mutations of distinct LAT tyrosine residues (LatY136F and Lat3YF) develop lymphoproliferative disorders involving TCR alphabeta or gammadelta T cells that trigger symptoms resembling allergic inflammation. We analyzed whether these T cells share a pattern of gene expression that may account for their pathogenic properties. Both LatY136F alphabeta and Lat3YF gammadelta T cells expressed high levels of the type 1 cysteinyl leukotriene receptor (CysLT(1)). Upon binding to the 5(S)-hydroxy-6(R)-S-cysteinylglycyl-7,9-trans-11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid (LTD(4)) cysteinyl leukotriene, CysLT(1) induced Ca(2+) flux and caused chemotaxis in both LatY136F alphabeta and Lat3YF gammadelta T cells. Wild-type in vitro-activated T cells, but not resting T cells, also migrated toward LTD(4) however with a lower magnitude than T cells freshly isolated from LatY136F and Lat3YF mice. These results suggest that CysLT(1) is likely involved in the recruitment of activated alphabeta and gammadelta T cells to inflamed tissues.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed2005

Diminution of toxic copper accumulation in toxic milk mice modeling Wilson disease by embryonic hepatocyte intrasplenic transplantation.

AIM: To observe the therapeutic effect of intrasplenic transplantation with embryonic hepatocytes on amelioration of hereditary copper accumulation in toxic milk (TX) mouse modeling Wilson disease. METHODS: Donor hepatocytes were harvested from 14-d fetal liver of a pregnant homogeneous DL mouse. These cells were successively cultured, labeled with fluorescein dye Hoechst 33342 for 24 h, and sequentially infused into the spleen parenchyma of the recipient TX mice. No host immunosuppression measures were taken. Two and four weeks after transplantation, the recipients were killed for routine histologic investigation and immunohistochemistry study up to 4 wk after transplantation. The serum copper and ceruloplasmin concentrations of the recipient mice were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. RESULTS: In the following 2nd and 4th wk after transplantation, the donor hepatocytes could be visualized in the livers of 47.3% recipients. The serum ceruloplasmin and copper concentrations increased by 1.6-fold after 2 wk and 2.0-fold times after 4 wk respectively, which ultimately rose from about 30% of the normal level to nearly 60% (P<0.01). The hepatic copper concentration decreased 7.2%, 4 wk after transplantation. Pathologic examination showed that there were many actively proliferative hepatocyte precursor cells with specific embryonic hepatocyte marker AFP migrated into hepatic sinusoids of the recipients. A large number of cells carrying hepatocytes marker and albumin were observed in the recipient spleen tissues. CONCLUSION: Embryonic hepatocytes are capable of differentiating into mature hepatocytes in vivo. After transplantation, the hereditary abnormalities of copper metabolism in TX mice could be corrected partially by intrasplenic transplantation of homogeneous embryonic hepatocytes.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Distribution of Helicobacter pylori in north China.

AIM: To compare the distribution of virulence-associated genotypes of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) in two areas of north China with different gastric cancer risk and furthermore probe into the pathogenicity of the bacterium. METHODS: Gastric biopsies were taken from 355 subjects from Zhuanghe, a high risk area of gastric cancer, and 136 subjects from Shenyang, a low risk area of gastric cancer. A total of 149 H pylori strains isolated from these patients were studied by PCR for differences in the genotypes of cagA, vacA, and iceA. RESULTS: In patients with high risk for gastric cancer, higher frequencies of vacA s1 or s1m1b genotypes were found as compared to those from the low risk area. CONCLUSION: There is significantly different distribution of H pylori genotypes between Zhuanghe and Shenyang areas in north China.

China↗

PubMed2005

Mechanism of nicotine-induced pulmonary fibroblast transdifferentiation.

We tested the hypothesis that in vitro nicotine exposure disrupts specific epithelial-mesenchymal paracrine signaling pathways and results in pulmonary interstitial lipofibroblast (LIF)-to-myofibroblast (MYF) transdifferentiation, resulting in altered pulmonary development and function. Studies were done to determine whether nicotine induces LIF-to-MYF transdifferentiation and to elucidate underlying molecular mechanism(s) involved and to determine whether nicotine-induced LIF-to-MYF transdifferentiation could be prevented by stimulating specific alveolar interstitial fibroblast lipogenic pathway. WI38 cells, a human embryonic pulmonary fibroblast cell line, were treated with nicotine with or without specific agonists of alveolar fibroblast lipogenic pathway, PTHrP, DBcAMP, or the potent PPARgamma stimulant rosiglitazone (RGZ) for 7 days. Expression of key lipogenic and myogenic markers was examined by RT-PCR, Western hybridization, and immunohistochemistry. The effect of nicotine on triglyceride uptake by WI38 cells and PTHrP binding to its receptor was also determined. Finally, the effect of transfecting WI38 cells with a PPARgamma expression vector on nicotine-induced LIF-to-MYF transdifferentiation was determined. Nicotine treatment resulted in significantly decreased expression of lipogenic and increased expression of myogenic markers in a dose-dependent manner, indicating nicotine-induced LIF-to-MYF transdifferentiation. This was accompanied by decreased PTHrP receptor binding to its receptor. The nicotine-induced LIF-to-MYF transdifferentiation was completely prevented by concomitant treatment with PTHrP, DBcAMP, RGZ, and by transiently overexpressing PPARgamma. Our data suggest nicotine induces alveolar LIF-to-MYF transdifferentiation through a mechanism involving downregulation of lipogenic PTHrP-mediated, cAMP-dependent PKA signaling pathway, which can be prevented using specific molecular targets. Potential therapeutic implications of these observations against in utero nicotine-induced lung injury remain to be tested.

Biomarkers↗

PubMed2005

Effects of thermal annealing on the Li(+) intercalation properties of V(2)O(5) x nH(2)O xerogel films.

V(2)O(5) x nH(2)O xerogel films with n = 1.6, 0.6, and 0.3 have been prepared from the sol-gel route by reacting V(2)O(5) with H(2)O(2) followed by drying under ambient conditions and thermal annealing at 110 and 250 degrees C, respectively. After dehydration, V(2)O(5) crystallizes at 300-330 degrees C, as revealed by thermal gravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. Electrochemical characterization demonstrated that V(2)O(5) x 0.3H(2)O film exhibits the best Li(+) intercalation performance, with an initial capacity of 275 mAh/g and a stabilized capacity of 185 mAh/g under a high current density of 100 microA/cm(2) after 50 cycles. Under a low current density of 10 microA/cm(2), the capacity of this film can reach 390 mAh/g. Such an enhanced electrochemical property by thermal treatment is ascribed to the reduced water content, the retained interlayer spacing, and the dominant amorphous phase in the film.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Synthesis, immunological activities, and scavenging ability toward superoxide anion of (1-->3)-beta-D-pentaglucoside and its epoxyalkyl derivatives.

The epoxyalkyl (1-->3)-beta-D-pentaglucosides 2 and 3 were synthesized in order by acetylation, glycosidation, oxidation, and deacetylation of 1. The immunological activities (superoxide anion production activity, phagocytic activity, and lymphocyte proliferation) and scavenging ability toward superoxide anion of (1-->3)-beta-D-pentaglucoside (1) and its epoxyalkyl derivatives (2 and 3) were investigated. Superoxide anion released from human blood monocytes was measured by the reduction of ferricytochrome c. Phagocytosis by peritoneal macrophages was detected through a teal ingesting that measured the chicken red blood cells (CRBC). Lymphocyte proliferation was determined by the MTT method. The scavenging ability of 1, 2, and 3 toward superoxide anions was evaluated by means of chemiluminescence (CL). The results showed that 2 and 3 had a little higher immunological activity and scavenging ability toward superoxide anion than 1, which indicated that the reducing end of the oligoglucosides was quite important for maximum biological activity.

Animals↗