Direct androgen receptor control of sexually dimorphic gene expression in the mammalian kidney.

Mammalian organs exhibit distinct physiology, disease susceptibility, and injury responses between the sexes. In the mouse kidney, sexually dimorphic gene activity maps predominantly to proximal tubule (PT) segments. Bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data demonstrated that sex differences were established from 4 and 8 weeks after birth under gonadal control.

Direct androgen receptor regulation of sexually dimorphic gene expression in the mammalian kidney.

Mammalian organs exhibit distinct physiology, disease susceptibility and injury responses between the sexes. In the mouse kidney, sexually dimorphic gene activity maps predominantly to proximal tubule (PT) segments. Bulk RNA-seq data demonstrated sex differences were established from 4 and 8 weeks after birth under gonadal control.

Proteomics of protein trafficking by in vivo tissue-specific labeling.

Conventional approaches to identify secreted factors that regulate homeostasis are limited in their abilities to identify the tissues/cells of origin and destination. We established a platform to identify secreted protein trafficking between organs using an engineered biotin ligase (BirA*G3) that biotinylates, promiscuously, proteins in a subcellular compartment of one tissue. Subsequently, biotinylated proteins are affinity-enriched and identified from distal organs using quantitative mass spectrometry.

A novel distal convoluted tubule-specific Cre-recombinase driven by the NaCl cotransporter gene.

Cre-lox technology has revolutionized research in renal physiology by allowing site-specific genetic recombination in individual nephron segments. The distal convoluted tubule (DCT), consisting of distinct early (DCT1) and late (DCT2) segments, plays a central role in Na and K homeostasis. The only established Cre line targeting the DCT is -Cre, which is limited by noninducibility, activity along DCT1 only, and activity in neurons.

Single-Cell Profiling Reveals Sex, Lineage, and Regional Diversity in the Mouse Kidney.

Chronic kidney disease affects 10% of the population with notable differences in ethnic and sex-related susceptibility to kidney injury and disease. Kidney dysfunction leads to significant morbidity and mortality and chronic disease in other organ systems. A mouse-organ-centered understanding underlies rapid progress in human disease modeling and cellular approaches to repair damaged systems.

[Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Scenarios of Beijing Subsidiary Administrative Center Based on Road Traffic Flow].

In this study, the scenario analysis method was used to establish motor vehicle exhaust emission inventories based on road-traffic-flow information of the Beijing subsidiary administrative center under different scenarios, with a base year of 2015. The pollutant emissions in 2020 and 2025 were forecast by calculating the motor vehicle pollutant emission inventories of future road-traffic-flow information and various scenarios. The results showed that the kilometers travelled via motor vehicles and the road network density of the Beijing subsidiary administrative center both will increase continuously over the next 10 years.

[Methods for Determining and Applications of High-Resolution Vehicle Emission Inventory at County Scale].

This study proposes a method for high-resolution vehicle emission inventories at county scale based on field investigations and Google Earth satellite images, using the Tongzhou district of Beijing as an example for data analysis. VKT and the corresponding emissions of each pollutant were calculated using the number of registered vehicles and the real-time traffic volumes, respectively. The results showed that the mileage calculated based on the method using registered vehicles is about 37% less than that based on real-time traffic volumes, with the latter method providing data closer to the actual situation.

[Evaluation on the Effectiveness of Vehicle Exhaust Emission Control Measures During the APEC Conference in Beijing].

Vehicle emission is one of the primary factors affecting the quality of atmospheric environment in Beijing. In order to improve the air quality during APEC conference, strict control measures including vehicle emission control were taken in Beijing during APEC meeting. Based on the activity level data of traffic volume, vehicle speed and vehicle types, the inventory of motor vehicle emissions in Beijing was developed following bottom-up methodology to assess the effectiveness of the control measures.

Multichannel optical filters with an ultranarrow bandwidth based on sampled Brillouin dynamic gratings.

We first propose a multichannel optical filter with an ultra-narrow 3-dB bandwidth based on sampled Brillouin dynamic gratings (SBDGs). The multichannel optical filter is generated when an optical pulse interfaces with an optical pulse train based on an ordinary stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) process in a birefringent optical fiber. Multichannel optical filter based on SBDG is generated with a 3-dB bandwidth from 12.

Retinoid signaling in progenitors controls specification and regeneration of the urothelium.

The urothelium is a multilayered epithelium that serves as a barrier between the urinary tract and blood, preventing the exchange of water and toxic substances. It consists of superficial cells specialized for synthesis and transport of uroplakins that assemble into a tough apical plaque, one or more layers of intermediate cells, and keratin 5-expressing basal cells (K5-BCs), which are considered to be progenitors in the urothelium and other specialized epithelia. Fate mapping, however, reveals that intermediate cells rather than K5-BCs are progenitors in the adult regenerating urothelium, that P cells, a transient population, are progenitors in the embryo, and that retinoids are critical in P cells and intermediate cells, respectively, for their specification during development and regeneration.

Six2 and Wnt regulate self-renewal and commitment of nephron progenitors through shared gene regulatory networks.

A balance between Six2-dependent self-renewal and canonical Wnt signaling-directed commitment regulates mammalian nephrogenesis. Intersectional studies using chromatin immunoprecipitation and transcriptional profiling identified direct target genes shared by each pathway within nephron progenitors. Wnt4 and Fgf8 are essential for progenitor commitment; cis-regulatory modules flanking each gene are cobound by Six2 and β-catenin and are dependent on conserved Lef/Tcf binding sites for activity.

Identification of molecular compartments and genetic circuitry in the developing mammalian kidney.

Lengthy developmental programs generate cell diversity within an organotypic framework, enabling the later physiological actions of each organ system. Cell identity, cell diversity and cell function are determined by cell type-specific transcriptional programs; consequently, transcriptional regulatory factors are useful markers of emerging cellular complexity, and their expression patterns provide insights into the regulatory mechanisms at play. We performed a comprehensive genome-scale in situ expression screen of 921 transcriptional regulators in the developing mammalian urogenital system.

Temporal differences in granulosa cell specification in the ovary reflect distinct follicle fates in mice.

The embryonic origins of ovarian granulosa cells have been a subject of debate for decades. By tamoxifen-induced lineage tracing of Foxl2-expressing cells, we show that descendants of the bipotential supporting cell precursors in the early gonad contribute granulosa cells to a specific population of follicles in the medulla of the ovary that begin to grow immediately after birth. These precursor cells arise from the proliferative ovarian surface epithelium and enter mitotic arrest prior to upregulating Foxl2.

Sequence analysis of human cytomegalovirus US28 gene in low-passage clinical isolates from children and AIDS patients.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is often a dangerous opportunistic pathogen that causes significant morbidity and mortality in newborn children and immunocompromised patients. The different symptoms and tissue tropisms of HCMV infection may result from genetic polymorphism. This study investigated the sequence variability of the HCMV US28 ORF, which shows sequence homology to the G protein-coupled receptor.

Polymorphisms of human cytomegalovirus UL148A, UL148B, UL148C, UL148D genes in clinical strains.

Background: Clinical isolates of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) display polymorphisms in multiple genes. Some authors have suggested that polymorphisms are implicated in HCMV-induced immunopathogenesis, as well as in strain-specific behaviors, such as tissue-tropism and the ability to establish persistent or latent infections.

Objective: To describe the features of HCMV UL148A, UL148B, UL148C and UL148D open reading frames (ORFs) and the variable sites within the frames in clinical strains.

[Polymorphisms of HCMV US28 gene of the clinical isolates from children].

Background: To study the polymorphism of human cytomegalovirus US28 gene in children and investigate the relationship between the polymorphism and pathogenesis.

Methods: The FQ-PCR was carried out to determine the DNA quantity of clinical isolate and then the segmental PCR and HMA-SSCP were performed to test the mutation of US28 gene. The typical isolates from different diseases were selected to clone and sequence, then the results were analyzed.