MicroRNA-29b contributes to DNA hypomethylation of CD4+ T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus by indirectly targeting DNA methyltransferase 1.

Background: The mechanism of DNA hypomethylation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has not been fully elucidated. Recent studies showed that miR-29b could regulate DNA methylation by targeting the DNA methylation machinery. However, the role of miR-29b in T cell aberrant DNA hypomethylation of SLE still remains unclear.

Associations between aberrant DNA methylation and transcript levels of DNMT1 and MBD2 in CD4+T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background/objectives: It seems that global DNA hypomethylation in CD4+T cells is linked to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, the underlying mechanism by which SLE patients show hypomethylated DNA remains unclear. This study explored the relationship between DNA methylation patterns and expression levels of DNA methyltransferases (DNMT1) and MBD2 in CD4+T cells of SLE patients.

Transcriptional regulatory network for psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, intractable skin disease that affects approximately 2% of the world's population. Transcriptional regulation is one of the most fundamental processes in psoriasis. However, high-throughput functional analysis of multiple transcription factors and their target genes in psoriasis is still rare.

HLA-B*58:01 allele is associated with augmented risk for both mild and severe cutaneous adverse reactions induced by allopurinol in Han Chinese.

Aim: Allopurinol is widely used as an effective urate-lowering drug and is one of the most frequent causes of cutaneous adverse drug reactions (cADRs). Recently, a strong association of HLA-B*58:01 with allopurinol-induced severe cADRs was identified. This study investigated the predisposition to different types of allopurinol-cADRs conferred by HLA-B*5801 in a Han population from mainland China.

Infliximab monotherapy for Chinese patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial.

Background: Tumor necrosis factor-α is a key mediator in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Infliximab is a monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to tumor necrosis factor-α. The purpose of this study was to validate the efficacy and safety of 5 mg/kg infliximab therapy in Chinese patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Oncogenic mutations in extramammary Paget's disease and their clinical relevance.

Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare cutaneous malignant neoplasm. The genetic alterations underlying its pathogenesis have less been described. Therefore, we analyzed the possible mutations in the KRAS, HRAS, NRAS, BRAF, ARAF, RAF1, PIK3CA, AKT1, CTNNB1 and APC genes as well as methylation and expression of CDH1 in 144 EMPD cases and 42 matched normal skin tissues.

Icariside II potentiates paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in human melanoma A375 cells by inhibiting TLR4 signaling pathway.

Combination therapy of paclitaxel (taxol) with natural anti-tumor agents that are capable of inhibiting survival signals may provide a rational molecular basis for novel chemotherapeutic strategies. Our previous study showed that icariside II (IS), derived from Herba Epimedii, inhibited the proliferation of melanoma cells in vivo and in vitro through the regulation of apoptosis. In this report, the combination effects of paclitaxel and IS were investigated in human melanoma A375 cells.

Prevalence of childhood atopic dermatitis: an urban and rural community-based study in Shanghai, China.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory and chronically relapsing disorder with increasing prevalence. However, little is known about its prevalence in Shanghai, the top metropolitan of China. This study will estimate and compare the prevalence of AD in urban and rural areas in representative samples of 3 to 6-year-old children in Shanghai.

Correlation of DLC1 gene methylation with oncogenic PIK3CA mutations in extramammary Paget's disease.

Extramammary Paget's disease is a rare cutaneous malignant neoplasm. The genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying its pathology remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the expression levels, and mutation and methylation status of a common tumor suppressor gene, deleted in liver cancer 1 (DLC1), and an oncogene, PIK3CA, in tumor (n=132) and normal tissues (n=20) from unrelated patients.

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide in relation to asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in Chinese children.

Objective: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a non-invasive biomarker of airway inflammation. Our aim was to analyze the interrelationship and differentiate the predicting effects of asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), and atopic dermatitis (AD) on the FeNO levels in children from mainland China.

Methods: A case-control study with age- and gender matched 1:1 was designed based on a larger cross-sectional survey on asthma, AR, and AD in Shanghai.

Development and inter-laboratory validation of unlabeled probe melting curve analysis for detection of JAK2 V617F mutation in polycythemia vera.

Background: JAK2 V617F, a somatic point mutation that leads to constitutive JAK2 phosphorylation and kinase activation, has been incorporated into the WHO classification and diagnostic criteria of myeloid neoplasms. Although various approaches such as restriction fragment length polymorphism, amplification refractory mutation system and real-time PCR have been developed for its detection, a generic rapid closed-tube method, which can be utilized on routine genetic testing instruments with stability and cost-efficiency, has not been described.

Methodology/principal Findings: Asymmetric PCR for detection of JAK2 V617F with a 3'-blocked unlabeled probe, saturate dye and subsequent melting curve analysis was performed on a Rotor-Gene® Q real-time cycler to establish the methodology.

Protective effect of astragaloside IV against matrix metalloproteinase-1 expression in ultraviolet-irradiated human dermal fibroblasts.

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation induces skin photoaging associated with up-regulated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression. Inhibition of MMP expression is suggested to alleviate photoaging induced by UV irradiation. Astragaloside IV (As-IV), one of the main active ingredients of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch) Bge, has been reported to have various biological activities.

MYC and Breast Cancer.

MYC is a key regulator of cell growth, proliferation, metabolism, differentiation, and apoptosis. MYC deregulation contributes to breast cancer development and progression and is associated with poor outcomes. Multiple mechanisms are involved in MYC deregulation in breast cancer, including gene amplification, transcriptional regulation, and mRNA and protein stabilization, which correlate with loss of tumor suppressors and activation of oncogenic pathways.

c-Myc activates BRCA1 gene expression through distal promoter elements in breast cancer cells.

Background: The BRCA1 gene plays an important role in the maintenance of genomic stability. BRCA1 inactivation contributes to breast cancer tumorigenesis. An increasing number of transcription factors have been shown to regulate BRCA1 expression.

Analysis of associations between the patterns of global DNA hypomethylation and expression of DNA methyltransferase in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: To analyze associations between the patterns of global DNA hypomethylation and expression of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to obtain a deeper understanding of the role that epigenetic mechanism may have on SLE.

Methods: The global DNA methylation profile in T cells from 34 patients with SLE and 23 healthy controls was assessed by the specific monoclonal antibodies to 5-methylcytosine and was analyzed quantitatively by flow cytometry. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was applied to analyze DNMTs (DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B) mRNA levels in T cells from patients and controls.

Formaldehyde induces neurotoxicity to PC12 cells involving inhibition of paraoxonase-1 expression and activity.

1. Formaldehyde (FA) has been found to cause toxicity to neurons. However, its neurotoxic mechanisms have not yet been clarified.

Emergence of visual saliency from natural scenes via context-mediated probability distributions coding.

Visual saliency is the perceptual quality that makes some items in visual scenes stand out from their immediate contexts. Visual saliency plays important roles in natural vision in that saliency can direct eye movements, deploy attention, and facilitate tasks like object detection and scene understanding. A central unsolved issue is: What features should be encoded in the early visual cortex for detecting salient features in natural scenes? To explore this important issue, we propose a hypothesis that visual saliency is based on efficient encoding of the probability distributions (PDs) of visual variables in specific contexts in natural scenes, referred to as context-mediated PDs in natural scenes.

Association analyses identify six new psoriasis susceptibility loci in the Chinese population.

We extended our previous genome-wide association study for psoriasis with a multistage replication study including 8,312 individuals with psoriasis (cases) and 12,919 controls from China as well as 3,293 cases and 4,188 controls from Germany and the United States and 254 nuclear families from the United States. We identified six new susceptibility loci associated with psoriasis in the Chinese study containing the candidate genes ERAP1, PTTG1, CSMD1, GJB2, SERPINB8 and ZNF816A (combined P < 5 × 10⁻⁸) and replicated one locus, 5q33.1 (TNIP1-ANXA6), previously reported (combined P = 3.

Hydrogen sulfide antagonizes homocysteine-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells.

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) has been shown to protect neurons against oxidative stress. Lower levels of H(2)S as well as accumulation of homocysteine (Hcy), a strong risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), are reported in the brains of AD patients. The aim of present study is to explore the protection of H₂S against Hcy-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis and the molecular mechanisms underlying in PC12 cells.

Type I pityriasis rubra pilaris: upregulation of tumor necrosis factor alpha and response to adalimumab therapy.

Background: pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) has unknown etiology and is often refractory to conventional therapies.

Objective: to document a PRP patient's response to adalimumab therapy and to highlight the potential role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in the development of PRP skin lesions.

Methods: a patient received adalimumab therapy at standard dosing intervals.

Specific killing of Rb mutant cancer cells by inactivating TSC2.

The retinoblastoma (Rb) tumor suppressor is often inactivated in cancers. To identify genes that can be used to specifically target such cancers, we carried out a genetic screen in Drosophila. We identified gig (fly TSC2) and found that inactivation of rbf (fly Rb) and gig synergistically induced cell death.

Cutaneous infectious granuloma caused by Phenylobacterium in an adult with myelodysplastic syndrome: a first case report.

Painful granulomatous lesions appeared on the face of a 36-year-old man with myelodysplastic syndrome. Skin biopsy revealed chronic inflammatory granuloma. Bacterial cultures of the lesions and blood indicated the same unknown Gram-negative rod bacterium.

Inhibition of hydrogen sulfide generation contributes to 1-methy-4-phenylpyridinium ion-induced neurotoxicity.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction contributes to the neurotoxicity of 1-methy-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP(+)). Increasing studies have shown that hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) is an endogenous antioxidant gas. We have hypothesized that MPP(+)-caused neurotoxicity may involve the imbalance of proportion to this endogenous protective antioxidant gas.

Analysis of ultratrace triorganotin compounds in aquatic organisms by using capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

A microwave-assisted extraction used to extract trace triorganotin from aquatic organisms and a sensitive analytical method for the determination of ultratrace triorganotin (namely trimethyltin, triethyltin, tripropyltin and tributyltin) with capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were firstly described in this study. The extraction method is simple, effective and can be used to extract trace triorganotin in aquatic organisms within several min. The analytical method has a much lower detection limit of 0.

Total glucosides of Paeonia lactiflora Pall inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor-induced angiogenesis.

Objective: To evaluate the anti-angiogenesis effect of total glucosides of Paeonia lactiflora Pall.

Methods: In this study, we determined the effect of TGP on the proliferation of human vascular endothelial cells through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. A migration assay and a tube formation assay were used to investigate the migration properties and tube formation abilities of human vascular endothelial cells after being treated with TGP.