Publications by authors named "F-F Kong"

Background: Muscle stem cells (MuSCs) undergo numerous state transitions throughout life, which are critical for supporting normal muscle growth and regeneration. Epigenetic modifications in skeletal muscle play a significant role in influencing the niche and cellular states of MuSCs. Mixed-lineage leukemia 4 (Mll4) is a histone methyltransferase critical for activating the transcription of various target genes and is highly expressed in skeletal muscle.

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Background: Muscle stem cells (MuSCs) undergo numerous state transitions throughout life, which are critical for supporting normal muscle growth and regeneration. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the regulatory mechanisms governing the transition of MuSC states across different postnatal developmental stages.

Methods: To assess if myofiber-expressed Mll4 contributes to the maintenance of MuSCs, we crossed or mice to mice to generate myofiber-specific -deleted mice.

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Background: Metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEPNEN) can cause ectopic Cushing's syndrome (ECS). ECS is highly morbid and medical therapy is complex and can be ineffective. Patients unsuitable for bilateral adrenalectomy (BA) have dismal outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how multimodal apparent diffusion (MAD) weighted MRI can differentiate between malignant and benign breast lesions, as well as predict Ki-67 expression levels in breast cancer patients.
  • - In a sample of 93 patients, MAD imaging yielded significant differences in parameters between lesion types, with combined parameters showing improved diagnostic performance (AUC of 0.851 for malignancy and 0.691 for Ki-67 levels).
  • - Results suggest that MAD weighted MRI is effective for diagnosing breast lesions and predicting Ki-67 expression, which can aid in treatment planning.
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Rare-earth halide perovskites can lead to a distinctive infrared luminescence. However, achieving tunable infrared luminescence presents significant challenges. The leptons of their f-f ubiquitous forbidden ring influence the energy level splitting, and the substitution of atoms in perovskite by rare-earth ions also distorts the crystal structure.

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The magneto-optical response of chiral materials holds significant potential for applications in physics, chemistry, and biology. However, exploration of the near-infrared (NIR) magneto-optical response remains limited. Herein, we report the synthesis and strong NIR-II magneto-optical activity of three pairs of chiral 34 clusters of (Ln = Sm, Gd, and Dy).

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Background: Paraquat (PQ) -induced pulmonary fibrosis poses a significant medical challenge due to limited treatment options and high mortality rates. Consequently, there is an urgent need for early diagnosis and accurate staging to facilitate appropriate treatment strategies. In this study, we assessed the diagnostic potential of [F]F-FAPI-42 PET/CT imaging for early detection and disease staging in a rat model of PQ-induced lung fibrosis.

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Here we report on the strong magneto-chiral dichroism (MChD) detected through visible and near-infrared light absorption up to 5.0 T on {ErNi} metal clusters obtained by reaction of enantiopure chiral ligands and Ni and Er precursors. Single-crystal diffraction analysis reveals that these compounds are 34 heterometallic clusters, showing helical chirality.

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A series of chiral heterometallic Ln-Co clusters, denoted as and (Ln = Dy and Er), were synthesized by reacting the chiral chelating ligand (/)-2-(1-hydroxyethyl)pyridine (Hmpm), CoAc·4HO, and Ln(NO)·6HO. and exhibit perfect mirror images in circular dichroism within the 320-700 nm range. Notably, the and clusters display pronounced magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) responses of the hypersensitive f-f transitions I-G at 375 nm and I-H at 520 nm of Er ions.

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Objective: Liver fibrosis is a prelude to a host of end-stage liver diseases. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), switching from a quiescent state to myofibroblasts, are the major source for excessive production of extracellular matrix proteins. In the present study, we investigated the role of Suv39h1, a lysine methyltransferase, in HSC-myofibroblast transition and the implication in liver fibrosis.

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Single crystals with chiral shapes aroused the interest of chemists due to their fascinating polarization rotation properties. Although the formation of large-scale spiral structures is considered to be a potential factor in chiral crystals, the precise mechanism behind their formation remains elusive. Herein, we present a rare phenomenon involving the multitransfer and expression of chirality at micro-, meso-, and macroscopic levels, starting from chiral carbon atoms and extending to the double-helical secondary structure, ultimately resulting in the chiral geometry of crystals.

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Article Synopsis
  • Amyloid-like assembly can create new nanomaterials with special features, beyond its link to diseases.
  • Using Fmoc diphenylalanine peptide, researchers found that histidine influences its assembly and promotes enzyme-like activity that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS).
  • This effect is also seen in Aβ filaments, which are linked to neuron damage and Alzheimer's, indicating that histidine could play a key role in both nanomaterial design and understanding disease mechanisms.
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Background: The efficacy of immunosuppression in the management of immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy remains highly controversial. The study was conducted to assess the effect of immunosuppression, compared with supportive care, in the real-world setting of IgA nephropathy.

Methods: A cohort of 3946 patients with IgA nephropathy, including 1973 new users of immunosuppressive agents and 1973 propensity score-matched recipients of supportive care, in a nationwide register data from January 2019 to May 2022 in China was analyzed.

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Here, we report the molecular self-assembly of hydroxido-bridged {LnNi} ((Ln = Dy, Y) metal clusters by the reaction of enantiopure chiral ligands, namely, (/)-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl)-serine), with Ni and Ln precursors. Single-crystal diffraction analysis reveals that these compounds are isostructural sandwich-like 3d-4f heterometallic clusters showing helical chirality. Direct current magnetic measurements on {DyNi} indicates ferromagnetic coupling between Dy and Ni centers, whereas those on {YNi} denote that the Ni centers are antiferromagnetically coupled and/or magnetically anisotropic.

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Objective: β cell dedifferentiation may underlie the reversible reduction in pancreatic β cell mass and function in type 2 diabetes (T2D). We previously reported that β cell-specific Sirt3 knockout (Sirt3) mice developed impaired glucose tolerance and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion after feeding with high fat diet (HFD). RNA sequencing showed that Sirt3-deficient islets had enhanced expression of Enpp2 (Autotaxin, or ATX), a secreted lysophospholipase which produces lysophosphatidic acid (LPA).

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A compact evanescent wave detection platform (EWDP) is developed for the detection of fluorescence gold nanoclusters. The EWDP employs a simple optical system and a Si-based photodetector SOP-1000 assembly to improve the optical efficiency and detection sensitivity. A microfluidic sample cell is also used to decrease the amount of analyte to 200 μL (The volume of sample cell is really about 30 μL).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how berberine (BBR) and its metabolite, berberrubine (M1), lower blood glucose levels in obese mice, shedding light on the mechanisms behind BBR's effects on liver metabolism.
  • BBR (150 mg/kg) and M1 (50 mg/kg) demonstrated significant reductions in serum glucose, with M1 showing a more pronounced effect, modulating liver gene expression related to glucose and fat metabolism.
  • Both compounds were found to act as farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonists, influencing systemic bile acids and reducing gluconeogenesis in the liver, highlighting their potential as natural treatments for hyperglycemia and obesity.
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Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) is a protein deacetylase regulating β-cell function through inhibiting oxidative stress in obese and diabetic mice, but the detailed mechanism and potential effect of β-cell-specific SIRT3 on metabolic homeostasis, and its potential effect on other metabolic organs, are unknown. We found that glucose tolerance and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion were impaired in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed β-cell-selective knockout ( ) mice. In addition, mice had more severe hepatic steatosis than mice upon HFD feeding.

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Pyroptosis, a proinflammatory form of programmed cell death, plays important roles in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Inflammasome activation, which has been shown in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), is demonstrated to be closely associated with pyroptosis, indicating that pyroptosis may occur and perform functions in hepatic IRI. However, there is no direct evidence showing the function of pyroptosis in hepatic IRI.

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In addition to genomic mutations, RNA editing is another major mechanism creating sequence variations in proteins by introducing nucleotide changes in mRNA sequences. Deregulated RNA editing contributes to different types of human diseases, including cancers. Here we report that peptides generated as a consequence of RNA editing are indeed naturally presented by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules.

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Previous studies suggest that the lipid-lowering effect of berberine (BBR) involves actions on the low-density lipoprotein receptor and the AMP-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. However, the implication of these mechanisms is unclear because of the low bioavailability of BBR. Because the main action site of BBR is the gut and intestinal farnesoid X receptor (FXR) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of lipid metabolism, we hypothesized that the effects of BBR on intestinal FXR signaling pathway might account for its pharmacological effectiveness.

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Background And Purpose: We sought to determine whether folic acid supplementation can independently reduce the risk of first stroke associated with elevated total cholesterol levels in a subanalysis using data from the CSPPT (China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial), a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Methods: A total of 20 702 hypertensive adults without a history of major cardiovascular disease were randomly assigned to a double-blind daily treatment of an enalapril 10-mg and a folic acid 0.8-mg tablet or an enalapril 10-mg tablet alone.

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Mutation of PKD1, encoding the protein polycystin-1 (PC1), is the main cause of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The signaling pathways downstream of PC1 in ADPKD are still not fully understood. Here, we provide genetic evidence for the necessity of Gα12 (encoded by Gna12, hereafter Gα12) for renal cystogenesis induced by Pkd1 knockout.

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Ag nanoparticles are embedded in intentionally etched micro-circle p-GaN holes by means of a thermal agglomeration process to enhance the light absorption efficiency in InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well (MQW) solar cells. The Ag nanoparticles are theoretically and experimentally verified to generate the plasmon light scattering and the localized field enhancement near the MQW absorption layer. The external quantum efficiency enhancement at a target wavelength region is demonstrated by matching the plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles, resulting in a J improvement of 9.

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We demonstrate that the incorporation of one or two amino acids of phenylalanine (F) or 4-fluoro phenylalanine ((f)F) will greatly lower the background fluorescence intensities of conventional quenched probes with quenchers. This enhanced quenching effect was due to the synergetic effect of the aggregation caused quenching and the presence of a quencher. Such strategy will not greatly affect the enzyme recognition properties to the probes.

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