Publications by authors named "Ashley Lui"

Summary: The integration of metabolomics with other omics ("multi-omics") offers complementary insights into disease biology. However, this integration remains challenging due to the fragmented landscape of current methodologies, which often require programming experience or bioinformatics expertise. Moreover, existing approaches are limited in their ability to accommodate unidentified metabolites, resulting in the exclusion of a significant portion of data from untargeted metabolomics experiments.

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Obesity promotes metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. PKCδI is a serine/threonine kinase which regulates cell growth, differentiation, and survival. Caspase-3 cleavage of PKCδI releases the C-terminal catalytic fragment (PKCδI_C), which promotes inflammation and apoptosis.

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Aims: The goal of this study was to identify mediators in peri-lymphatic adipose tissue (PLAT) that are altered in obese versus lean Zucker rats, with focus on potential sex differences MAIN METHODS: Mesenteric PLAT was analyzed with protein and lncRNA arrays. Additional RT-PCR confirmation was performed with epididymal/ovarian fat.

Key Findings: MCP-1, TCK-1, Galectin-1, Galectin-3, and neuropilin-1 were elevated in PLAT from obese rats of both sexes.

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease with no cure. Adipose tissue is a major site of systemic insulin resistance. Sortilin is a central component of the glucose transporter -Glut4 storage vesicles (GSV) which translocate to the plasma membrane to uptake glucose from circulation.

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Shifts in normal aging set stage for neurodegeneration and dementia affecting 1 in 10 adults. The study demonstrates that lncRNA GAS5 is decreased in aged and Alzheimer's disease brain. The role and targets of lncRNA GAS5 in the aging brain were elucidated using a GAS5-targeting small molecule NPC86, a frontier in lncRNA-targeting therapeutic.

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Ovarian cancer is the deadliest malignant disease in women. Protein Kinase C delta (PRKCD; PKCδ) is serine/threonine kinase extensively linked to various cancers. In humans, PKCδ is alternatively spliced to PKCδI and PKCδVIII.

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Chronic recalcitrant wounds result from delayed or slowed healing processes. Underlying inflammation is a substantial risk factor for impaired dermal wound healing and often leads to chronic wound-related sequelae. Human adipose stem cells (hASCs) have shown tremendous potential in regenerative medicine.

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The neuroprotective role of human adipose-derived stems cells (hASCs) has raised great interest in regenerative medicine due to their ability to modulate their surrounding environment. Our group has demonstrated that exosomes derived from hASC (hASCexo) are a cell-free regenerative approach to long term recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Previously, we demonstrated the efficacy of exosome treatment with intravenous delivery at 3 h post TBI in rats.

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder defined by systemic insulin resistance. Insulin resistance in adipocytes, an important regulator of glucose metabolism, results in impaired glucose uptake. The trafficking protein, sortilin, regulates major glucose transporter 4 (Glut4) movement, thereby promoting glucose uptake in adipocytes.

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Lithium chloride (LiCl) is commonly used in treatment of mood disorders; however, its usage leads to weight gain, which promotes metabolic disorders. Protein kinase C delta (PKCδ), a serine/threonine kinase, is alternatively spliced to PKCδI and PKCδII in 3T3-L1 cells. We previously demonstrated that PKCδI is the predominantly expressed isoform in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.

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The metabolic consequences and sequelae of obesity promote life-threatening morbidities. PKCδI is an important elicitor of inflammation and apoptosis in adipocytes. Here we report increased PKCδI activation via release of its catalytic domain concurrent with increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines in adipocytes from obese individuals.

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Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) are regulatory RNAs >200 nt. We previously showed that lncRNA GAS5 decreases significantly in serum of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Hence, we sought to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of GAS5 in T2DM in adipose tissue.

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