The expression patterns of nogo-A, myelin associated glycoprotein and oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein in the retina after ocular hypertension : the expression of myelin proteins in the retina in glaucoma

Nogo-A, a major myelin inhibitory protein, inhibits axon growth and synaptic function in the central nervous system. Glaucoma is a progressive neuropathy as a result of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death. Synaptic degeneration is thought to be an early pathology of neurodegeneration in glaucoma and precedes RGC loss. Here experimental ocular hypertension model was induced in adult rats with laser coagulation of the episcleral and limbal veins. The expression of Nogo-A, myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein (OMgp) in the retina was investigated using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. We found that Nogo-A was expressed in the RGCs and upregulated after the induction of ocular hypertension. OMgp was only expressed in the inner plexiform layer. There was no MAG expression in the retina. Our data provided, for the first time, the expression patterns of three myelin proteins in the adult retina and suggested an important role of Nogo-A in the RGC death and synaptic degeneration in glaucoma. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.postprin

Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Global Warming in the Tibetan Plateau during the Last 50 Years Based on a Generalised Temperature Zone - Elevation Model

Temperature is one of the primary factors influencing the climate and ecosystem, and examining its change and fluctuation could elucidate the formation of novel climate patterns and trends. In this study, we constructed a generalised temperature zone elevation model (GTEM) to assess the trends of climate change and temporal-spatial differences in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using the annual and monthly mean temperatures from 1961-2010 at 144 meteorological stations in and near the TP. The results showed the following: (1) The TP has undergone robust warming over the study period, and the warming rate was 0.318°C/decade. The warming has accelerated during recent decades, especially in the last 20 years, and the warming has been most significant in the winter months, followed by the spring, autumn and summer seasons. (2) Spatially, the zones that became significantly smaller were the temperature zones of -6°C and -4°C, and these have decreased 499.44 and 454.26 thousand sq km from 1961 to 2010 at average rates of 25.1% and 11.7%, respectively, over every 5-year interval. These quickly shrinking zones were located in the northwestern and central TP. (3) The elevation dependency of climate warming existed in the TP during 1961-2010, but this tendency has gradually been weakening due to more rapid warming at lower elevations than in the middle and upper elevations of the TP during 1991-2010. The higher regions and some low altitude valleys of the TP were the most significantly warming regions under the same categorizing criteria. Experimental evidence shows that the GTEM is an effective method to analyse climate changes in high altitude mountainous regions

EZH2 protein: A promising immunomarker for the detection of hepatocellular carcinomas in liver needle biopsies

Background and aims: A previous study of ours indicated that enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) plays an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumorigenesis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential diagnostic utility of EZH2 in HCC. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine the expression dynamics of EZH2 in two independent surgical cohorts of HCC and non-malignant liver tissues to develop a diagnostic yield of EZH2, HSP70 and GPC3 for HCC detection. The diagnostic performances of EZH2 and a three-marker panel in HCC were re-evaluated by using an additional biopsy cohort. Results: Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated that the sensitivity and specificity of EZH2 for HCC detection was 95.8% and 97.8% in the testing cohort. Similar results were confirmed in the validation cohort. For diagnosis of well-differentiated HCCs, the sensitivity and specificity were 68.9% and 91.5% for EZH2, 62.5% and 98.5% for HSP70, 50.0% and 92.1% for GPC3, and 75.0% and 100% for a three-marker panel. In biopsies, positive cases for at least one marker increased from large regenerative nodule and hepatocellular adenoma (0/12) to focal nodular hyperplasia (2/20), dysplastic nodule (7/25), well-differentiated HCC (16/18) and moderately and poorly differentiated HCC (54/54). When at least two positive markers were considered, regardless of their identity, the positive cases were detected in 0/12 large regenerative nodules and hepatocellular adenomas, 0/20 focal nodular hyperplasias, 0/25 dysplastic nodules, 11/18 well-differentiated HCCs, 32/37 moderately differentiated HCCs and 15/17 poorly differentiated HCCs. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that EZH2 protein, as examined by immunohistochemistry, may serve as a promising diagnostic biomarker of HCCs, and the use of a three-marker panel (EZH2, HSP70 and GPC3) can improve the rate of detection of HCCs in liver biopsy tissues.published_or_final_versio

Generation of Germline-Competent Rat Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Recent progress in rat pluripotent stem cell technology has been remarkable. Particularly salient is the demonstration that embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the rat (rESCs) can contribute to germline transmission, permitting generation of gene-modified rats as is now done using mouse ESCs (mESCs) or mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs; miPSCs). However, determinations of whether rat iPSCs (riPSCs) can contribute to germ cells are not published. Here we report the germline competency of riPSCs.We generated riPSCs by transducing three mouse reprogramming factors (Oct3/4, Klf4, and Sox2) into rat somatic cells, followed by culture in the presence of exogenous rat leukemia inhibitory factor (rLIF) and small molecules that specifically inhibit GSK3, MEK, and FGF receptor tyrosine kinases. We found that, like rESCs, our riPSCs can contribute to germline transmission. Furthermore we found, by immunostaining of testis from mouse-rat interspecific chimeras with antibody against mouse vasa homolog, that riPSCs can contribute to embryonic development with chimera formation in mice (rat-mouse interspecific chimeras) and to interspecific germlines.Our data clearly demonstrate that using only three reprogramming factors (Oct3/4, Klf4, and Sox2) rat somatic cells can be reprogrammed into a ground state. Our generated riPSCs exhibited germline transmission in either rat-rat intraspecific or mouse-rat interspecific chimeras

An ES-Like Pluripotent State in FGF-Dependent Murine iPS cells

Recent data demonstrates that stem cells can exist in two morphologically, molecularly and functionally distinct pluripotent states; a naïve LIF-dependent pluripotent state which is represented by murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and an FGF-dependent primed pluripotent state represented by murine and rat epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs). We find that derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) under EpiSC culture conditions yields FGF-dependent iPSCs from hereon called FGF-iPSCs) which, unexpectedly, display naïve ES-like/ICM properties. FGF-iPSCs display X-chromosome activation, multi-lineage differentiation, teratoma competence and chimera contribution in vivo. Our findings suggest that in 129 and Bl6 mouse strains, iPSCs can dominantly adopt a naive pluripotent state regardless of culture growth factor conditions

Generation of integration-free neural progenitor cells from cells in human urine

Human neural stem cells hold great promise for research and therapy in neural disease. We describe the generation of integration-free and expandable human neural progenitor cells (NPCs). We combined an episomal system to deliver reprogramming factors with a chemically defined culture medium to reprogram epithelial-like cells from human urine into NPCs (hUiNPCs). These transgene-free hUiNPCs can self-renew and can differentiate into multiple functional neuronal subtypes and glial cells in vitro. Although functional in vivo analysis is still needed, we report that the cells survive and differentiate upon transplant into newborn rat brain.postprin

Disparities and risks of sexually transmissible infections among men who have sex with men in China: a meta-analysis and data synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including Hepatitis B and C virus, are emerging public health risks in China, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study aims to assess the magnitude and risks of STIs among Chinese MSM. METHODS: Chinese and English peer-reviewed articles were searched in five electronic databases from January 2000 to February 2013. Pooled prevalence estimates for each STI infection were calculated using meta-analysis. Infection risks of STIs in MSM, HIV-positive MSM and male sex workers (MSW) were obtained. This review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO. RESULTS: Eighty-eight articles (11 in English and 77 in Chinese) investigating 35,203 MSM in 28 provinces were included in this review. The prevalence levels of STIs among MSM were 6.3% (95% CI: 3.5-11.0%) for chlamydia, 1.5% (0.7-2.9%) for genital wart, 1.9% (1.3-2.7%) for gonorrhoea, 8.9% (7.8-10.2%) for hepatitis B (HBV), 1.2% (1.0-1.6%) for hepatitis C (HCV), 66.3% (57.4-74.1%) for human papillomavirus (HPV), 10.6% (6.2-17.6%) for herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) and 4.3% (3.2-5.8%) for Ureaplasma urealyticum. HIV-positive MSM have consistently higher odds of all these infections than the broader MSM population. As a subgroup of MSM, MSW were 2.5 (1.4-4.7), 5.7 (2.7-12.3), and 2.2 (1.4-3.7) times more likely to be infected with chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HCV than the broader MSM population, respectively. CONCLUSION: Prevalence levels of STIs among MSW were significantly higher than the broader MSM population. Co-infection of HIV and STIs were prevalent among Chinese MSM. Integration of HIV and STIs healthcare and surveillance systems is essential in providing effective HIV/STIs preventive measures and treatments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO NO: CRD42013003721

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines Derived from Equine Fibroblasts

The domesticated horse represents substantial value for the related sports and recreational fields, and holds enormous potential as a model for a range of medical conditions commonly found in humans. Most notable of these are injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have sparked tremendous hopes for future regenerative therapies of conditions that today are not possible to cure. Equine iPS (EiPS) cells, in addition to bringing promises to the veterinary field, open up the opportunity to utilize horses for the validation of stem cell based therapies before moving into the human clinical setting. In this study, we report the generation of iPS cells from equine fibroblasts using a piggyBac (PB) transposon-based method to deliver transgenes containing the reprogramming factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc, expressed in a temporally regulated fashion. The established iPS cell lines express hallmark pluripotency markers, display a stable karyotype even during long-term culture, and readily form complex teratomas containing all three embryonic germ layer derived tissues upon in vivo grafting into immunocompromised mice. Our EiPS cell lines hold the promise to enable the development of a whole new range of stem cell-based regenerative therapies in veterinary medicine, as well as aid the development of preclinical models for human applications. EiPS cell could also potentially be used to revive recently extinct or currently threatened equine species

A rough set-based association rule approach implemented on exploring beverages product spectrum

[[abstract]]When items are classified according to whether they have more or less of a characteristic, the scale used is referred to as an ordinal scale. The main characteristic of the ordinal scale is that the categories have a logical or ordered relationship to each other. Thus, the ordinal scale data processing is very common in marketing, satisfaction and attitudinal research. This study proposes a new data mining method, using a rough set-based association rule, to analyze ordinal scale data, which has the ability to handle uncertainty in the data classification/sorting process. The induction of rough-set rules is presented as method of dealing with data uncertainty, while creating predictive if—then rules that generalize data values, for the beverage market in Taiwan. Empirical evaluation reveals that the proposed Rough Set Associational Rule (RSAR), combined with rough set theory, is superior to existing methods of data classification and can more effectively address the problems associated with ordinal scale data, for exploration of a beverage product spectrum.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子

Transcriptome Sequencing and Characterization for the Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka, 1867)

Background: Sea cucumbers are a special group of marine invertebrates. They occupy a taxonomic position that is believed to be important for understanding the origin and evolution of deuterostomes. Some of them such as Apostichopus japonicus represent commercially important aquaculture species in Asian countries. Many efforts have been devoted to increasing the number of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for A. japonicus, but a comprehensive characterization of its transcriptome remains lacking. Here, we performed the large-scale transcriptome profiling and characterization by pyrosequencing diverse cDNA libraries from A. japonicus. Results: In total, 1,061,078 reads were obtained by 454 sequencing of eight cDNA libraries representing different developmental stages and adult tissues in A. japonicus. These reads were assembled into 29,666 isotigs, which were further clustered into 21,071 isogroups. Nearly 40 % of the isogroups showed significant matches to known proteins based on sequence similarity. Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analyses recovered diverse biological functions and processes. Candidate genes that were potentially involved in aestivation were identified. Transcriptome comparison with the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus revealed similar patterns of GO term representation. In addition, 4,882 putative orthologous genes were identified, of which 202 were not present in the non-echinoderm organisms. More than 700 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 54,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the A. japonicu