Precision Medicine for Frontotemporal Dementia

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a common young-onset dementia presenting with heterogeneous and distinct syndromes. It is characterized by progressive deficits in behavior, language, and executive function. The disease may exhibit similar characteristics to many psychiatric disorders owing to its prominent behavioral features. The concept of precision medicine has recently emerged, and it involves neurodegenerative disease treatment that is personalized to match an individual's specific pattern of neuroimaging, neuropathology, and genetic variability. In this paper, the pathophysiology underlying FTD, which is characterized by the selective degeneration of the frontal and temporal cortices, is reviewed. We also discuss recent advancements in FTD research from the perspectives of clinical, imaging, molecular characterizations, and treatment. This review focuses on the approach of precision medicine to manage the clinical and biological complexities of FTD

Osteoprotective effects of Fructus Ligustri Lucidi aqueous extract in aged ovariectomized rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Fructus Ligustri Lucidi </it>(FLL) is a commonly used herb for treating bone disorders in Chinese medicine. The present study investigates the anti-osteoporotic activity of FLL aqueous extract in the model of postmenopausal bone loss in aged ovariectomized (OVX) female rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>After eight weeks of treatment of FLL or water, the lumbar spine was scanned by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). Effects of FLL water extract on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiations in rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were assessed by biochemical methods and staining.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>FLL aqueous extract significantly inhibited bone mineral density (BMD) loss in total, trabecular and cortical bones without affecting body weight and uterus wet weight. FLL extract significantly promoted osteogenesis and suppressed adipogenesis in MSCs as indicated by the elevated alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium deposition levels and decreased adipocyte number in a dose-dependent manner without cytotoxic effects. Real-time PCR analysis revealed significant increase of osteoprotegerin (OPG)-to-receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) mRNA, indicating a decrease in osteoclastogenesis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study demonstrates the osteoprotective effects of FLL aqueous extract on aged OVX rats, stimulation of osteogenesis, inhibition of adipogenesis and osteoclastogenesis in MSCs.</p

The photometric observation of the quasi-simultaneous mutual eclipse and occultation between Europa and Ganymede on 22 August 2021

Mutual events (MEs) are eclipses and occultations among planetary natural satellites. Most of the time, eclipses and occultations occur separately. However, the same satellite pair will exhibit an eclipse and an occultation quasi-simultaneously under particular orbital configurations. This kind of rare event is termed as a quasi-simultaneous mutual event (QSME). During the 2021 campaign of mutual events of jovian satellites, we observed a QSME between Europa and Ganymede. The present study aims to describe and study the event in detail. We observed the QSME with a CCD camera attached to a 300-mm telescope at the Hong Kong Space Museum Sai Kung iObservatory. We obtained the combined flux of Europa and Ganymede from aperture photometry. A geometric model was developed to explain the light curve observed. Our results are compared with theoretical predictions (O-C). We found that our simple geometric model can explain the QSME fairly accurately, and the QSME light curve is a superposition of the light curves of an eclipse and an occultation. Notably, the observed flux drops are within 2.6% of the theoretical predictions. The size of the event central time O-Cs ranges from -14.4 to 43.2 s. Both O-Cs of flux drop and timing are comparable to other studies adopting more complicated models. Given the event rarity, model simplicity and accuracy, we encourage more observations and analysis on QSMEs to improve Solar System ephemerides.Comment: 23 pages, 5 appendixes, 16 figures, 7 table

Ciprofloxacin-resistant Salmonella enterica Typhimurium and Choleraesuis from Pigs to Humans, Taiwan

We evaluated the disk susceptibility data of 671 nontyphoid Salmonella isolates collected from different parts of Taiwan from March 2001 to August 2001 and 1,261 nontyphoid Salmonella isolates from the National Taiwan University Hospital from 1996 to 2001. Overall, ciprofloxacn resistance was found in 2.7% (18/671) of all nontyphoid Salmonella isolates, in 1.4% (5/347) of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium and in 7.5% (8/107) in S. enterica serotype Choleraesuis nationwide. MICs of six newer fluoroquinolones were determined for the following isolates: 37 isolates of ciprofloxacin-resistant (human) S. enterica Typhimurium (N = 26) and Choleraesuis (N = 11), 10 isolates of ciprofloxacin-susceptible (MIC <1 μg/mL) (human) isolates of these two serotypes, and 15 swine isolates from S. enterica Choleraesuis (N = 13) and Typhmurium (N = 2) with reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (MIC >0.12 μg/mL). Sequence analysis of the gryA, gyrB, parC, parE, and acrR genes, ciprofloxacin accumulation; and genotypes generated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with three restriction enzymes (SpeI, XbaI, and BlnI) were performed. All 26 S. enterica Typhimurium isolates from humans and pigs belonged to genotype I. For S. enterica Choleraesuis isolates, 91% (10/11) of human isolates and 54% (7/13) of swine isolates belonged to genotype B. These two genotypes isolates from humans all exhibited a high-level of resistance to ciprofloxacin (MIC 16–64 μg/mL). They had two-base substitutions in the gyrA gene at codons 83 (Ser83Phe) and 87 (Asp87Gly or Asp87Asn) and in the parC gene at codon 80 (Ser80Arg, Ser80Ile, or Ser84Lys). Our investigation documented that not only did these two S. enterica isolates have a high prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance nationwide but also that some closely related ciprofloxacin-resistant strains are disseminated from pigs to humans

Polysaccharides from the root of Angelica sinensis promotes hematopoiesis and thrombopoiesis through the PI3K/AKT pathway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dozens of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulas have been used for promotion of "blood production" for centuries, and we are interested in developing novel thrombopoietic medicines from these TCMs. Our previous studies have demonstrated the hematopoietic effects of DangGui BuXue Tong (DBT), a formula composed of <it>Radix Angelicae Sinensis </it>and <it>Radix Astragali </it>in animal and cellular models. As a step further to identify and characterize the active chemical components of DBT, we tested the hematopoietic and particularly, thrombopoietic effects of polysaccharide-enriched fractions from the root of <it>Radix Angelicae Sinensis </it>(APS) in this study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A myelosuppression mouse model was treated with APS (10 mg/kg/day). Peripheral blood cells from APS, thrombopoietin and vehicle-treated samples were then counted at different time-points. Using the colony-forming unit (CFU) assays, we determined the effects of APS on the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and megakaryocytic lineages. Using a megakaryocytic cell line M-07e as model, we analyzed the cellular apoptosis progression with and without APS treatment by Annexin V, Mitochondrial Membrane Potential and Caspase 3 assays. Last, the anti-apoptotic effect of APS on cells treated with Ly294002, a Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinse inhibitor (PI3K) was also tested.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In animal models, APS significantly enhanced not only the recovery of platelets, other blood cells and their progenitor cells, but also the formation of Colony Forming Unit (CFU). In M-07e cells, we observed the anti-apoptotic effect of APS. Treatment by Ly294002 alone increased the percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis. However, addition of APS to Ly294002-treated cells significantly reduced the percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>APS promotes hematopoiesis and thrombopoiesis in the mouse model. This effect likely resulted from the anti-apoptosis activity of APS and is likely to involve the PI3K/AKT pathway.</p

GWAS meta-analysis of over 29,000 people with epilepsy identifies 26 risk loci and subtype-specific genetic architecture

Epilepsy is a highly heritable disorder affecting over 50 million people worldwide, of which about one-third are resistant to current treatments. Here we report a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study including 29,944 cases, stratified into three broad categories and seven subtypes of epilepsy, and 52,538 controls. We identify 26 genome-wide significant loci, 19 of which are specific to genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE). We implicate 29 likely causal genes underlying these 26 loci. SNP-based heritability analyses show that common variants explain between 39.6% and 90% of genetic risk for GGE and its subtypes. Subtype analysis revealed markedly different genetic architectures between focal and generalized epilepsies. Gene-set analyses of GGE signals implicate synaptic processes in both excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the brain. Prioritized candidate genes overlap with monogenic epilepsy genes and with targets of current antiseizure medications. Finally, we leverage our results to identify alternate drugs with predicted efficacy if repurposed for epilepsy treatment

Coronavirus HKU15 in respiratory tract of pigs and first discovery of coronavirus quasispecies in 5′-untranslated region

Coronavirus HKU15 is a deltacoronavirus that was discovered in fecal samples of pigs in Hong Kong in 2012. Over the past three years, Coronavirus HKU15 has been widely detected in pigs in East/Southeast Asia and North America and has been associated with fatal outbreaks. In all such epidemiological studies, the virus was generally only detected in fecal/intestinal samples. In this molecular epidemiology study, we detected Coronavirus HKU15 in 9.6% of the nasopharyngeal samples obtained from 249 pigs in Hong Kong. Samples that tested positive were mostly collected during winter. Complete genome sequencing of the Coronavirus HKU15 in two nasopharyngeal samples revealed quasispecies in one of the samples. Two of the polymorphic sites involved indels, but the other two involved transition substitutions. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the two nasopharyngeal strains in the present study were most closely related to the strains PDCoV/CHJXNI2/2015 from Jiangxi, China, and CH/Sichuan/S27/2012 from Sichuan, China. The outbreak strains in the United States possessed highly similar genome sequences and were clustered monophyletically, whereas the Asian strains were more diverse and paraphyletic. The detection of Coronavirus HKU15 in respiratory tracts of pigs implies that in addition to enteric infections, Coronavirus HKU15 may be able to cause respiratory infections in pigs and that in addition to fecal-oral transmission, the virus could possibly spread through the respiratory route. The presence of the virus in respiratory samples provides an alternative clinical sample to confirm the diagnosis of Coronavirus HKU15 infection. Quasispecies were unprecedentedly observed in the 5′-untranslated region of coronavirus genomes.Emerging Microbes & Infections (2017) 6, e53; doi:10.1038/emi.2017.37; published online 21 June 201

破校立新 : 香港的社會脈絡中做文化研究

公開研討會由嶺南大學群芳文化及研究發展部教育項目統薵吳國偉主持，討論「破校立新? : 香港的社會脈絡中做文化研究」，先由嶺南大學文化研究系陳清僑教授及許寶強教授就講題發言，然後與嘉賓進行對話及討論，及後並由聽眾提問或發表意見

Induction of Angiogenesis in Zebrafish Embryos and Proliferation of Endothelial Cells by an Active Fraction Isolated from the Root of Astragalus membranaceus using Bioassay-guided Fractionation

The objective of the study was to identify the active fraction(s) from AR aqueous extract responsible for promoting angiogenesis using bioassay-guided fractionation. The angiogenic activity was screened by monitoring the increase of sprout number in sub-intestinal vessel (SIV) of the transgenic zebrafish embryos after they were treated with 0.06-0.25 mg/ml of AR aqueous extract or its fraction(s) for 96 h. Furthermore, the angiogenic effect was evaluated in treated zebrafish embryos by measuring the gene expression of angiogenic markers (VEGFA, KDR, and Flt-1) using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and in human microvascular endothelial cell (HMEC-1) by measuring cell proliferation using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, 3H-thymidine uptake assay, and cell cycle analysis. A major active fraction (P1-1-1), which was identified as glycoproteins, was found to significantly stimulate sprout formation (2.03±0.27) at 0.125 mg/ml (P<0.001) and up-regulate the gene expression of VEGFA, KDR, and Flt-1 by 2.6-fold to 8.2-fold. Additionally, 0.031-0.125 mg/ml of P1-1-1 was demonstrated to significantly stimulate cell proliferation by increasing cell viability (from 180% to 205%), 3H-thymidine incorporation (from 126% to 133%) during DNA synthesis, and the shift of cell population to S phase of cell cycle. A major AR active fraction consisting of glycoproteins was identified, and shown to promote angiogenesis in zebrafish embryos and proliferation of endothelial cells in vitro