Biomedical subjects

Zhuo Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Zhuo Liu.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Oxidative Stress Associated LncRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Prognosis and Immune Responses in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients.

Long-chain non-coding RNA (lncRNA) significantly influences lung squamous cell carcinoma's (LUSC) prognostic value and immune infiltration. This study aimed to demonstrate how oxidative stress-related lncRNAs impact lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset gathered transcriptome information and related clinical data for LUSC. To build a prognostic model, 10 prognostic-related genes were identified using a series of bioinformatics analyses that compared the OS gene's aberrant expression in tumor and healthy tissues, as well as its association with malignancy. Subjects were stratified into high- and low-risk groups based on the median risk score derived from the 10-gene signature. While the mathematical risk model demonstrated limited independent predictive performance in the validation cohort (AUC ~ 0.5), functional and immunological evaluations revealed significant differences in the tumor microenvironment (TME) across risk strata. Specifically, high-risk patients exhibited distinct immune infiltration profiles and altered immunological scores relative to their low-risk counterparts. Therefore, rather than serving as a direct clinical prediction tool, this oxidative stress-related lncRNA signature provides valuable biological insights into the immune landscape of LUSC and highlights potential therapeutic targets for further mechanistic investigation.

Humans↗

PubMed2025

Elevated triglyceride-glucose index and risk of thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis: a prospective analysis from the UK Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis (MG) is a clinically significant but uncommon condition, affecting up to half of thymoma patients and associated with worse outcomes than either disease alone. Reliable biomarkers for early risk stratification remain scarce. The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and triglyceride-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio are established biomarkers reflecting insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. However, their clinical associations with thymoma-associated MG remain incompletely characterized. METHODS: A total of 501,954 UK Biobank participants were included. After exclusions, 422,397 (313 cases) were analyzed for TyG index and 422,691 (314 cases) for TG/HDL-C ratio. Exposures were stratified into quartiles, and assessed continuously per unit increase. Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HRs), restricted cubic splines (RCS) assessed non-linear associations, and subgroup analyses were stratified by body mass index (BMI). Sensitivity analyses examined TyG index and MG alone. RESULTS: An elevated TyG index was associated with increased risk of thymoma-associated MG. Compared to Q1, Q4 had higher risk (HR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.20-2.31, P = 0.003); the overall HR per unit increase was 1.42 (95% CI: 1.17-1.73, P = 0.0005). TG/HDL-C ratio showed similar patterns: Q4 vs Q1 HR = 1.54 (95% CI: 1.11-2.15, P = 0.01); overall HR per unit increase was 1.06 (95% CI: 1.02-1.10, P = 0.002). Non-linear relationships were observed, with suggested inflection points at TyG index 8.7 and TG/HDL-C ratio 2.8, rather than strict thresholds. Subgroup analyses revealed stronger associations in normal-weight and obese participants, although tests for interaction were not statistically significant. Sensitivity analyses confirmed consistent associations between TyG index and MG risk, including for isolated MG. CONCLUSION: Elevated TyG index and TG/HDL-C ratio were independently associated with higher thymoma-associated MG risk in this large prospective cohort, with evidence of non-linear relationships and BMI-related heterogeneity. These findings provide novel epidemiologic evidence linking metabolic markers of insulin resistance with thymoma-associated MG, but clinical translation requires further validation.

Humans↗

PubMed2006

A study for accommodating the human crystalline lens by finite element simulation.

This paper constructs two finite element models of human crystalline lens and zonules based on published clinical data. Displacement and pressure were applied to study the mechanism of vision accommodation. The simulation results show that, in Model A, under the pull of the zonules, the thickness of the lens decreased linearly, and the lens diameter increased linearly. The optical power of the lens increased as the zonules displacement increased. Furthermore, the pressure had a remarkable influence on the shape of the lens and the optical power. The lens also became thinner and flatter as the pressure increased. The optical power increased when the pressure increased. In Model B, the lens became thicker and optical power increased as the equatorial zonules stretched. It is basically consistent with Schachar's hypothesis. The outcome of this paper proved that the analytical model presented in this paper can be used in the theoretical study of the accommodation mechanism of the lens.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed2006

Effects of sodium ferulate on amyloid-beta-induced MKK3/MKK6-p38 MAPK-Hsp27 signal pathway and apoptosis in rat hippocampus.

AIM: To observe the effects of sodium ferulate (SF) on amyloid beta (Abeta)1-40-induced p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway and the neuroprotective effects of SF. METHODS: Rats were injected intracerebroventricularly with Abeta1-40. Six hours after injection, Western blotting was used to determine the expressions of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MKK) 3/MKK6, phospho-p38 MAPK, interleukin (IL)-1beta, phospho-MAPK activating protein kinase 2 (MAPKAPK-2), the 27 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp27), procaspase-9, -3, and -7 cleavage, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage. Seven days after injection, Nissl staining was used to observe the morphological change in hippocampal CA1 regions. RESULTS: Intracerebroventricular injection of Abeta1-40 induced an increase in phosphorylated MKK3/MKK6 and p38 MAPK expressions in hippocampal tissue. These increases, in combination with enhanced interleukin (IL)-1beta protein expression and reduced phospho-MAPKAPK2 and phospho-Hsp27 expression, mediate the Abeta-induced activation of cell death events as assessed by cleavage of procaspase-9, -3, and -7 and caspase-3 substrate PARP cleavage. Pretreatment with SF (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg daily, 3 weeks) significantly prevented Abeta1-40-induced increases in phosphorylated MKK3/MKK6 and p38 MAPK expression. The Abeta1-40-induced increase in IL-1beta protein level was attenuated by pretreatment with SF. In addition, Abeta1-40-induced decreases in phosphorylated MAPKAPK2 and Hsp27 expression were abrogated by administration of SF. In parallel with these findings, Abeta1-40-induced changes in activation of caspase-9, caspase-7, and caspase-3 were inhibited by pretreatment with SF. CONCLUSION: SF prevents Abeta1-40-induced neurotoxicity through suppression of MKK3/MKK6-p38 MAPK activity and IL-1beta expression and upregulation of phospho-Hsp27 expression.

Amyloid beta-Peptides↗

PubMed2006

The role of cytoskeleton in glucose regulation.

Cytoskeleton plays an important role in glucose regulation, mainly in the following three aspects. First, cytoskeleton regulates insulin secretion by guiding intracellular transport of insulin-containing vesicles and regulating release of insulin. Second, cytoskeleton is involved in insulin action by regulating distribution of insulin receptor substrate, GLUT4 translocation, and internalization of insulin receptor. In addition, cytoskeleton directs the intracellular distribution of glucose metabolism related enzymes including glycogen synthase and many glycolysis enzymes.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

[Association analysis of 30 type 2 diabetes candidate genes in Chinese Han population].

OBJECTIVE: To identify the susceptibility genes of type 2 diabetes in Chinese Han population. METHODS: Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery, genotyping and haplotype construction were performed in 30 candidate genes. Case-control study were carried out in a population-based sample and confirmed by the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) analysis in 77 trio pedigrees. The effects of the SNP rs5210 on gene expression were studied by reporter gene technique. RESULTS: The case-control studies showed that several SNPs on KCNJ11 gene was associated with type 2 diabetes in Chinese Han population, in which the allele frequency of SNP rs5219, the genotype frequency of rs5210, rs2285676 and rs5219, and the frequency of haplotype GA combined of the rs5219 and rs5215 showed significant difference between these two groups (P < 0.05). In addition, TDT test also showed statistical significance on this haplotype GA (P < 0. 05). The reporter gene assay showed that the effect on gene expression was significantly different between two alleles of rs5210 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: KCNJII gene is one of the susceptibility genes of type 2 diabetes in Chinese Han population.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Two domains are critical for the nuclear localization of soluble adenylyl cyclase.

Soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) is a newly identified source of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP). Unlike the well-known transmembrane adenylyl cyclases (tmACs), sAC locates to the nucleus, mitochondria and microtubules. For most cAMP-signaling microdomains, there is always an AC nearby, for example tmAC. But it was until the discovery of sAC that there was not known cAMP resource in the nucleus. sAC associates with nuclear cAMP-signaling microdomains, which were once considered to depend on the diffusion of cAMP produced by tmAC. In this report, we focus on the truncated soluble adenylyl cyclase (tsAC), the most common existence form of sAC in tissues. Two domains (145-200 aa and 257-318 aa) related with sAC nuclear localization were present here. The findings provide evidence that these two domains are critical for the nuclear localization of sAC and they collocated with the catalytic domains.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

PubMed2005

High glucose upregulates pantothenate kinase 4 (PanK4) and thus affects M2-type pyruvate kinase (Pkm2).

A new Rattus norvegicus PanK gene was isolated by mRNA differential display from high concentration glucose-stimulated rat, which encodes a human PanK4-like protein with KOG2201 and KOG4584 domain. Proteins that interact with rat PanK4 were identified by the application of the yeast two-hybrid system. One of the components, Pkm2, was found to be associated with rat PanK4 and its two domains under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Immunofluorescence staining and confocal scanning experiments showed that PanK4 could transiently co-express with Pkm2 in the cytoplasm of HeLa cell and HEK293T cell. These findings suggest that PanK4 interacts with Pkm2 and thereby may modulate the glucose metabolism through regulating the activity of Pkm2.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Effect of SNPs in protein kinase C zeta gene on gene expression in the reporter gene detection system.

AIM: To investigated the effects of the SNPs (rs411021, rs436045, rs427811, rs385039 and rs809912) on gene expression and further identify the susceptibility genes of type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Ten allele fragments (49 bp each) were synthesized according to the 5 SNPs mentioned above. These fragments were cloned into luciferase reporter gene vector and then transfected into HepG2 cells. The activity of the luciferase was assayed. Effects of the SNPs on RNA splicing were analyzed by bioinformatics. RESULTS: rs427811T allele and rs809912G allele enhanced the activity of the reporter gene expression. None of the 5 SNPs affected RNA splicing. CONCLUSION: SNPs in protein kinase Cz (PKCZ) gene probably play a role in the susceptibility to type 2 diabetes by affecting the expression level of the relevant genes.

Base Sequence↗