Chinese "democracy": "Dualism" of state and society

Bibliography: p. 211-236

Acupuncture in Treatment of Chronic Functional Constipation

Constipation is not only a symptom but is a predominant presenting symptom in many diseases. The prevalence is between 3 and 27% worldwide, and is especially prevalent in the elderly population. The aetiology is multifactorial. Laxative abuse or enema use are usually a norm in patients’ constipation. Patients tend not to seek further medical aid after several unsuccessful therapies and this can seriously affect their quality of life

Detection of mismatch repair gene germline mutation carrier among Chinese population with colorectal cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is an autosomal dominant syndrome. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has recommended the Revised Bethesda guidelines for screening HNPCC. There has been a great deal of research on the value of these tests in other countries. However, literature about the Chinese population is scarce. Our objective is to detect and study microsatellite instability (MSI) and mismatch repair (MMR) gene germline mutation carriers among a Chinese population with colorectal cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 146 prospectively recruited consecutive patients with clinically proven colorectal cancer, MSI carriers were identified by analysis of tumor tissue using multiplex fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the NCI recommended panel and classified into microsatellite instability-low (MSI-L), microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) and microsatellite stable (MSS) groups. Immunohistochemical staining for MSH2, MSH6 and MLH1 on tissue microarrays (TMAs) was performed, and methylation of the MLH1 promoter was analyzed by quantitative methylation specific PCR (MSP). Germline mutation analysis of blood samples was performed for MSH2, MSH6 and MLH1 genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-four out of the 146 colorectal cancers (CRCs, 23.2%) were MSI, including 19 MSI-H CRCs and 15 MSI-L CRCS. Negative staining for MSH2 was found in 8 CRCs, negative staining for MSH6 was found in 6 CRCs. One MSI-H CRC was negative for both MSH6 and MSH2. Seventeen CRCs stained negatively for MLH1. MLH1 promoter methylation was determined in 34 MSI CRCs. Hypermethylation of the MLH1 promoter occurred in 14 (73.7%) out of 19 MSI-H CRCs and 5 (33.3%) out of 15 MSI-L CRCs. Among the 34 MSI carriers and one MSS CRC with MLH1 negative staining, 8 had a MMR gene germline mutation, which accounted for 23.5% of all MSI colorectal cancers and 5.5% of all the colorectal cancers. Five patients harbored MSH2 germline mutations, and three patients harbored MSH6 germline mutations. None of the patients had an MLH1 mutation. Mutations were commonly located in exon 7 and 12 of MSH2 and exon 5 of MSH6. Right colonic lesions and mucinous carcinoma were not common in MSI carriers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data may imply that the characteristics of HNPCC in the Chinese population are probably different from those of Western countries. Application of NCI recommended criteria may not be effective enough to identify Chinese HNPCC families. Further studies are necessary to echo or refute our results so as to make the NCI recommendation more universally applicable.</p

Preferential regulation of miRNA targets by environmental chemicals in the human genome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>microRNAs (miRNAs) represent a class of small (typically 22 nucleotides in length) non-coding RNAs that can degrade their target mRNAs or block their translation. Recent disease research showed the exposure to some environmental chemicals (ECs) can regulate the expression patterns of miRNAs, which raises the intriguing question of how miRNAs and their targets cope with the exposure to ECs throughout the genome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the properties of genes regulated by ECs (EC-genes) and found miRNA targets were significantly enriched among the EC-genes. Compared with the non-miRNA-targets, miRNA targets were roughly twice as likely to be EC-genes. By investigating the collection methods and other properties of the EC-genes, we demonstrated that the enrichment of miRNA targets was not attributed to either the potential collection bias of EC-genes, the presence of paralogs, longer 3'UTRs or more conserved 3'UTRs. Finally, we identified 1,842 significant concurrent interactions between 407 miRNAs and 497 ECs. This association network of miRNAs-ECs was highly modular and could be separated into 14 interconnected modules. In each module, miRNAs and ECs were closely connected, providing a good method to design accurate miRNA markers for ECs in toxicology research.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our analyses indicated that miRNAs and their targets played important roles in cellular responses to ECs. Association analyses of miRNAs and ECs will help to broaden the understanding of the pathogenesis of such chemical components.</p

Serum MicroRNA profile in patients with colon adenomas or cancer

Abstract Background Colon cancer, one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths, arises from adenomatous polyps. In these years, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have attracted increasing attention as novel biomarkers for colon cancers. The dysregulated circulating miRNAs in patients with colon adenomas has not been well-understood. Methods Here, we aimed to identify miRNA profile in the serum of patients with colon adenomas or colon cancer by using microarray. Then we validated eight differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) by qRT-PCR and predicted their targets. Results We identified 26 DEMs from Adenomas versus Normal comparison (11 up-regulations and 15 down-regulations), 72 DEMs from Cancer versus Normal comparison (19 up-regulations and 53 down-regulations) and 17 DEMs from Cancer versus Adenomas comparison (4 up-regulations and 13 down-regulations). Moreover, three DEMs identified from Cancer versus Normal comparison were included in the list of DEMs identified from Cancer versus Adenomas comparison, and may be specific diagnostic biomarkers for colon cancer. Five down-regulated miRNAs identified from Cancer versus Normal comparison were included in the list of DEMs identified from Adenomas versus Normal comparison, and may be important for the development of colon polyps and cancer. Conclusions We discovered 8 circulating miRNAs associated with colon adenomas and colon cancer, and these miRNAs may potentially serve as noninvasive screening biomarkers for colon cancer. Our study is useful for expanding our understanding in the development of colon adenomas and colon cancer, and thus provide novel insights into colon cancer pathogenesis and prevention

Additional file 1: of Serum MicroRNA profile in patients with colon adenomas or cancer

Target genes of DEMs prediction method. Table S1. Primer sequences for qRT-PCR. Table S2. Predicted targets of miRNAs. Table S3. Functional analysis of target genes. (DOCX 24 kb

Replication of the 4p16 susceptibility locus in congenital heart disease in Han Chinese populations.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of congenital human birth anomalies and a leading cause of perinatal and infant mortality. Some studies including our published genome-wide association study (GWAS) of CHD have indicated that genetic variants may contribute to the risk of CHD. Recently, Cordell et al. published a GWAS of multiple CHD phenotypes in European Caucasians and identified 3 susceptibility loci (rs870142, rs16835979 and rs6824295) for ostium secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) at chromosome 4p16. However, whether these loci at 4p16 confer the predisposition to CHD in Chinese population is unclear. In the current study, we first analyzed the associations between these 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 4p16 and CHD risk by using our existing genome-wide scan data and found all of the 3 SNPs showed significant associations with ASD in the same direction as that observed in Cordell's study, but not with other subtypes- ventricular septal defect (VSD) and ASD combined VSD. As these 3 SNPs were in high linkage disequilibrium (LD) in Chinese population, we selected one SNP with the lowest P value in our GWAS scan (rs16835979) to perform a replication study with additional 1,709 CHD cases with multiple phenotypes and 1,962 controls. The significant association was also observed only within the ASD subgroup, which was heterogeneous from other disease groups. In combined GWAS and replication samples, the minor allele of rs16835979 remained significant association with the risk of ASD (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.08-1.38, P = 0.001). Our findings suggest that susceptibility loci of ASD identified from Cordell's European GWAS are generalizable to Chinese population, and such investigation may provide new insights into the roles of genetic variants in the etiology of different CHD phenotypes