Identification of key genes and pathways of BMP-9-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells by integrated bioinformatics analysis.

Background: The purpose of present study was to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with BMP-9-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by using bioinformatics methods.

Methods: Gene expression profiles of BMP-9-induced MSCs were compared between with GFP-induced MSCs and BMP-9-induced MSCs. GSE48882 containing two groups of gene expression profiles, 3 GFP-induced MSC samples and 3 from BMP-9-induced MSCs, was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database.

[Mutation analysis and prenatal diagnosis of FBN1 gene mutations for four patients with Marfan syndrome].

Objective: To screen for mutations of fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene in 4 patients with Marfan syndrome in order to provide prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling.

Methods: Potential mutations of the FBN1 gene in the probands were detected with PCR and DNA sequencing. Subsequently, genomic DNA was extracted from amniotic fluid sampled between 18 to 20 weeks gestation.

Dominant contribution of northern chinese to the paternal genetic structure of Chaoshanese in South China.

We investigated the Y chromosome of various Chinese populations to determine the patrilineal origin of the Chaoshanese population. Admixture analysis of six specific Y short tandem repeat (STR) loci in 6,292 individual samples taken from 51 populations, including Chaoshanese and Minnanese of our earlier studies, showed that over 85% of the Chaoshanese Y chromosomes were derived from the Central China Han (M (RH): 0.8614; M (BE): 1.