[Risk factors for iron deficiency anemia in infants aged 6 to 12 months and its effects on neuropsychological development].

Objective: To study the risk factors for moderate and severe iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in infants aged 6-12 months, and to preliminarily investigate the effects of IDA on the neuromotor development and temperament characteristics of infants.

Methods: A total of 326 infants aged 6-12 months with IDA were classified into three groups: mild IDA (n=176), moderate IDA (n=111), and severe IDA (n=39) according to the severity of anemia. The risk factors for moderate or severe IDA were investigated by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

DNA hypermethylation and X chromosome inactivation are major determinants of phenotypic variation in women heterozygous for G6PD mutations.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is an X-linked incompletely dominant enzyme deficiency that results from G6PD gene mutations. Women heterozygous for G6PD mutations exhibit variation in the loss of enzyme activity but the cause of this phenotypic variation is unclear. We determined DNA methylation and X-inactivation patterns in 71 G6PD-deficient female heterozygotes and 68 G6PD non-deficient controls with the same missense mutations (G6PD Canton c.

[Relationship between G6PD deficiency and hand-foot-mouth disease induced by enterovirus 71].

Objective: To study the influence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency on hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) induced by enterovirus 71 (EV71) , and possible mechanisms.

Methods: A total of 220 boys with HFMD induced by EV71 were classified into two groups based on disease severity: mild/moderate (n=145) and severe HFMD groups (n=75), and 132 healthy boys were selected as the control group. The activity of G6PD and levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and malonaldehyde (MDA) in blood were measured using the automatic biochemical analyzer.

Reliable detection of paternal SNPs within deletion breakpoints for non-invasive prenatal exclusion of homozygous α-thalassemia in maternal plasma.

Reliable detection of large deletions from cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma is challenging, especially when both parents have the same deletion owing to a lack of specific markers for fetal genotyping. In order to evaluate the efficacy of a non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) test to exclude α-thalassemia major that uses SNPs linked to the normal paternal α-globin allele, we established a novel protocol to reliably detect paternal SNPs within the (--(SEA)) breakpoints and performed evaluation of the diagnostic potential of the protocol in a total of 67 pregnancies, in whom plasma samples were collected prior to invasive obstetrics procedures in southern China. A group of nine SNPs identified within the deletion breakpoints were scanned to select the informative SNPs in each of the 67 couples DNA by multiplex PCR based mini-sequencing technique.

Molecular epidemiology investigation of beta-thalassemia in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.

Beta-THAlassemia (beta-thal) is one of the most common genetic diseases in southern China. In order to obtain detailed epidemiology data to be used for primary prevention programs, we have analyzed 2,055 independent subjects living in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China (P.R.

[Matrine-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells is associated with activation of the apoptotic pathway].

Objective: To observe matrine-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells in relation to activation of the apoptotic pathway in vitro.

Methods: K562 cells were cultured in the presence or absence of matrine at different concentrations for 4 days, and the morphological and ultramicrostructural changes of the cells were observed using inverted microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The expression of apoptosis-related protein p27kip1 was detected by immunocytochemistry.

[Matrine-induced gamma-globin synthesis in K562 cells].

Objective: To study the effects of matrine on gamma-globin synthesis in K562 cells in vitro.

Methods: Benzidine staining was used to study the dose- and time-dependent effects of matrine on hemoglobin synthesis in K562 cells, and Western blotting was performed to determine the level of hemoglobin F(alpha(2)gamma(2)).

Results: Benzidine staining showed that K562 cells treated with matrine of 0.