Publications by authors named "Bei-zhong Liu"

Article Synopsis
  • Identifying T-cell receptors (TCRs) and virus epitopes is vital due to the rapid mutations of viruses like SARS-CoV-2, necessitating the development of a cost-effective and scalable workflow for this task.
  • The study employs a tandem minigene (TMG) system and peptide-major histocompatibility complex-displaying yeasts to streamline epitope identification, avoiding the need for time-consuming peptide synthesis.
  • Results show that 75% of individuals recovered from COVID-19 have T cells targeting a specific shared epitope from the virus, suggesting that some TCRs can cross-react with mutant strains, which may help in providing lasting immune responses.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The Spike protein that mediates coronavirus entry into host cells is a major target for COVID-19 vaccines and antibody therapeutics. However, multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged, which may potentially compromise vaccine effectiveness.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study assesses the long-term durability of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 about six months after infection, focusing on memory B cells and T cells.
  • Memory B cells specific to the virus's spike protein were found in low numbers in recovered individuals, particularly in those who had asymptomatic cases.
  • T cell responses were observed in both recovered COVID-19 patients and some healthy individuals, indicating potential cross-reactive immunity.
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Article Synopsis
  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19 and is primarily diagnosed using real-time RT-PCR, which has some accuracy limitations.
  • Researchers developed a new peptide-based luminescent immunoassay that detects IgG and IgM antibodies to improve detection.
  • The immunoassay showed positive rates of 71.4% for IgG and 57.2% for IgM in confirmed patients, suggesting it could enhance COVID-19 diagnosis when used alongside RT-PCR.
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Article Synopsis
  • In December 2019, COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, with limited information on its clinical and immunological effects in children.
  • A study analyzed twelve pediatric COVID-19 patients, revealing that common symptoms were cough (75%) and fever (58.3%), while children exhibited a longer incubation period (average of 8 days) compared to adults.
  • The immune profiles indicated that children had higher levels of T cells and B cells, which may relate to their milder symptoms, and it is recommended that testing for SARS-CoV-2 be conducted for children with potential exposure, regardless of symptoms.
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Actin-like 6A (ACTL6A), a component of BAF chromatin remodeling complexes, is important for cell differentiation. Nevertheless, its role and mechanism in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has not been reported. To identify the genes that may participate in the development of APL, we analyzed data from an APL cDNA microarray (GSE12662) in the NCBI database, and found that ACTL6A was up-regulated in APL patients.

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At present, acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is the most curable form of acute myeloid leukemia and can be treated using all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide. However, the current treatment of APL is associated with some issues such as drug toxicity, resistance and relapse. Therefore, other strategies are necessary for APL treatment.

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Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by the presence of the promyelocytic leukemia (PML)-retinoic acid receptor-α (RAR-α) fusion protein. PML-RARα can be cleaved by neutrophil elastase (NE) in several positions in cells in the promyelocytic stage, nuclear location signal (NLS)-negative PML and NLS-RARα may be the products of PML-RARα by NE. The function of NLS-RARα may be affected by the addition of NLS, which would alter its localization in cells, as the role of NLS is to identify proteins for transport to the nucleus.

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Verteporfin (VP), clinically used in photodynamic therapy for neovascular macular degeneration, has recently been proven a suppressor of yes-associated protein (YAP) and has shown potential in anticancer treatment. However, its anti-human leukemia effects in NB4 cells remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of VP on proliferation and apoptosis in human leukemia NB4 cells.

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Promyelocyte leukemia‑retinoic acid receptor α (PML‑RARα) is known as a fusion gene of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Previous studies have reported that neutrophil elastase (NE) cleaves PML‑RARα in early myeloid cells, which leads to the removal of the nuclear localization signal (NLS) in PML and increases the incidence of APL. The resultant PML without the NLS is termed PML(NLS‑).

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Yes-associated protein (YAP), the nuclear effector of the Hippo pathway, is a candidate oncoprotein and participates in the progression of various malignancies. However, few reports have examined the effect of YAP inhibition in human leukemia HL-60 cells. We examined the effects of YAP knockdown or inhibition using short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or verteporfin (VP), respectively.

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Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a special subtype of acute myeloid leukemia that responds to treatment with all‑trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide. However, severe side effects and drug resistance limit the effectiveness of these treatments. Hence, new drugs for APL are required urgently.

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In the majority of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cases, translocons produce a promyelocytic leukemia protein-retinoic acid receptor α (PML-RARα) fusion gene. Studies have reported that neutrophil elastase (NE) cleaves bcr-1-derived PML-RAα in early myeloid cells, leaving only the nuclear localization signal (NLS) of PML attached to RARα. NLS-RARα promotes cell growth and inhibits differentiation in response to ATRA.

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Promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor α (PML-RARα) is a fusion protein generated by the t(15;17)(q22;q12) translocation associated with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). PML-RARα is cleaved by neutrophil elastase, an early myeloid-specific serine protease, leading to translocation of the nuclear localization signal (NLS) of the PML protein to the N-terminal of RARα, and the mutational product PML(NLS-). The present study was designed to analyze the role of the NLS in mediating PML transport into the nucleus and to evaluate the value of measuring NLS translocation in the early diagnosis of APL.

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The BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, is the front-line treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia, but the emergence of imatinib resistance has led to the search for alternative drug treatments. There is a pressing need, therefore, to develop and test novel drugs. Natural products including plants, microorganisms, and halobios provide rich resources for discovery of anticancer drugs.

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Aims: To investigate the effect of LG100268 (LG268) on cell proliferation and apoptosis in NB4 cells.

Methods: NB4 cells were treated with LG268 for 24 h or 48 h. The effect of LG268 on cell proliferation was assessed by the CCK-8 assay and colony-forming assay.

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Neutrophil elastase (NE) is a neutrophil‑derived serine proteinase with specificity for a broad range of substrates. NE has been reported to be associated with the pathogenesis of several conditions, particularly that of pulmonary diseases. Previous studies have shown that NE can cleave the pro‑myelocyte ‑ retinoic acid receptor‑alpha chimeric protein and is important for the development of acute pro‑myelocytic leukemia.

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Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). With the application of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO), APL becomes one of best prognosis of leukemia. However, ATRA and ATO are not effective against all APLs.

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Neutrophil elastase (NE) is an early myeloid-specific serine protease, which is predominantly produced by promyelocytes. A previous study demonstrated that NE has an important role in the development of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The process of APL was shown to be accelerated in animals that expressed abundant NE, whereas NE‑deficient mice were protected from APL development; thus suggesting an important role for NE in the development of APL.

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Objective: To explore the impact of extracellular acidic environment on the expression and activity of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and on the P-gp-mediated cytotoxicity of daunomycin in cancer cells by using microfluidic chip technology.

Methods: The A549 cells cultured on a microfluidic chip were divided into experiment group and control group. The experiment group was exposed to an acidic cell culture medium (pH 6.

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A unique mRNA produced in leukemic cells from a t(15;17) acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patient encodes a fusion protein between the retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) and a myeloid gene product called PML. Studies have reported that neutrophil elastase (NE) cleaves bcr-1-derived PML-RARα in early myeloid cells, leaving only the nuclear localization signal (NLS) of PML attached to RARα. The resultant NLS-RARα fusion protein mainly localizes to, and functions within, the cell nucleus.

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