9 research outputs found
Fasciola hepatica calcium-binding protein FhCaBP2: structure of the dynein light chain-like domain
The common liver fluke Fasciola hepatica causes an increasing burden on human and animal health, partly because of the spread of drug-resistant isolates. As a consequence, there is considerable interest in developing new drugs to combat liver fluke infections. A group of potential targets is a family of calcium-binding proteins which combine an N-terminal domain with two EF-hand motifs and a C-terminal domain with predicted similarity to dynein light chains (DLC-like domain)
Oxidative changes in the blood and serum albumin differentiate rats with monoarthritis and polyarthritis
Resonance and Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering and 1H Spin Echo NMR as Probes of the Chemistry of Living Cells
Serum Levels of Copper and Zinc in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: a Meta-analysis
Many publications with conflicting results have evaluated serum levels of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, a meta-analysis was conducted. Relevant published data were retrieved through PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) before September 20, 2014. Weighted mean difference (WMD) with a 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) was calculated using STATA 11.0. A total of 26 studies, including 1444 RA cases and 1241 healthy controls, were collected in this meta-analysis. Pooled analysis found that patients with RA had a higher serum level of Cu and a lower serum Zn level than the healthy controls (Cu (μg/dl), WMD = 31.824, 95 % CI = 20.334, 43.314; Zn (μg/dl), WMD = −12.683, 95 % CI = −19.783, −5.584). Subgroup analysis showed that ethnicity had influence on the serum level of Cu (μg/dl) (Caucasian, WMD = 43.907, 95 % CI = 35.090, 52.723, P < 0.001; Asian, WMD = 14.545, 95 % CI = −12.365, 41.455, P = 0.289) and Zn (μg/dl) (Caucasian, WMD = −11.038, 95 % CI = −23.420, 1.344, P = 0.081; Asian, WMD = −14.179, 95 % CI = −18.963, −9.394, P < 0.001) in RA and healthy controls. No evidence of publication bias was observed. This meta-analysis suggests that increased serum level of Cu and decreased serum level of Zn are generally present in RA patients.</p