4 research outputs found
Vitamin D Receptor, an Important Transcription Factor Associated with Aldosterone-Producing Adenoma
<div><p>Objective</p><p>To explore the endocrine mechanisms of aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) by using the microarray expression profiles of normal and APA samples. </p> <p>Methods</p><p>The gene expression profile GSE8514 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database, including samples from normal adrenals (n = 5) and APAs (n = 10). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by samr package and endocrine DEGs were obtained according to Clinical Genome Database. Then, functional enrichment analysis of screened DEGs was performed by DAVID (Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery). Finally, a regulatory network was constructed to screen endocrine genes related with adrenal dysfunction and pathway enrichment analysis for the constructed network was performed. </p> <p>Results</p><p>A total of 2149 DEGs were identified including 379 up- and 1770 down-regulated genes. And 26 endocrine genes were filtered from the DEGs. Furthermore, the down-regulated DEGs are mainly related to protein kinase cascade, response to molecule of bacterial origin, response to lipopolysaccharide, cellular macromolecule catabolic process and macromolecule catabolic process, while the up-regulated DEGs are related with regulation of ion transport. The target genes of VDR (vitamin D receptor), one of the three endocrine genes differentially expressed in the regulatory network, were endocrine genes including CYP24A1 (25-hydroxyvitamin D-24-hydroxylase) and PTH (parathyroid hormone). Three pathways may be associated with APA pathogenesis including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, pathways in cancer and autoimmune thyroid disease. </p> <p>Conclusion</p><p>The VDR is the most significant transcription factor and related endocrine genes might play important roles in the endocrine mechanisms of APA.</p> </div
Clustering graph of the differentially expressed genes identified from 5 normal samples and 6 aldosterone producing adenoma samples.
<p>The horizontal axis is the sample names and the right vertical axis represents the genes. The left vertical axis represents the genes cluster; the top horizontal axis represents the sample cluster. The green color stands for up-regulated genes, while the red color stands for down-regulated genes. </p
The constructed differentially expressed transcription factor-target gene network without non-differentially expressed target genes.
<p>The constructed differentially expressed transcription factor-target gene network without non-differentially expressed target genes.</p
Hierarchical Self-Assembled Polyimide Microspheres Functionalized with Amidoxime Groups for Uranium-Containing Wastewater Remediation
Through molecule self-assembly and subsequent surface
functionalization,
novel uranium adsorbent AO–OB hierarchical self-assembled polyimide
microspheres (AO-OBHSPIMs) were obtained by introducing the amidoxime
groups into hierarchical self-assembled polyimide microspheres for
the efficient and selective recovery of uranium from wastewater. The
results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction
(XRD), and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm showed that
AO-OBHSPIMs were a semicrystalline polymer material with self-supporting
hierarchical structure and low pore volume, and they were equipped
with abundant amidoxime groups. Given the recognized selectivity of
amidoxime groups and their hierarchical structure, AO-OBHSPIMs exhibited
excellent selectivity to uranyl ions. Moreover, AO-OBHSPIMs exhibited
good stability and recyclability and remarkable removal percentage
within low-concentration solution (99.4%) and simulated uranium-containing
wastewater (97.3%). AO-OBHSPIMs could be applied to fixed-bed column
adsorption due to their large particle size and self-supporting hierarchical
structure that can facilitate water flow. The in-depth discussion
of the adsorption mechanism showed that the adsorption mainly depended
on the combined action of electrostatic interactions and complexation,
and the adsorption process was a spontaneous endothermic monolayer
adsorption. In summary, AO-OBHSPIMs exhibited good application prospects
in uranium-containing wastewater remediation