Publications by authors named "Judy Yuet-Wa Chan"

Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability characterised by the impairment of social interaction and communication ability. The alarming increase in its prevalence in children urged researchers to obtain a better understanding of the causes of this disease. Genetic factors are considered to be crucial, as ASD has a tendency to run in families.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pneumoconiosis, a common occupational disease in China, includes conditions like coal workers' pneumoconiosis, silicosis, and asbestosis, with genetic factors potentially influencing individual susceptibility based on ethnicity.
  • A comprehensive review analyzed 45 studies focusing on genetic variations linked to pneumoconiosis risk, highlighting the importance of genes related to inflammatory cytokines and gene-environment interactions.
  • The findings suggest that genetic screening could help identify high-risk individuals and that strategies to reduce dust exposure may be critical for preventing pneumoconiosis in the Chinese workforce.
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Tamoxifen is commonly prescribed for preventing recurrence in patients with breast cancer. However, the responses of the patients on tamoxifen treatment are variable. Cytochrome P450 genetic variants have been reported to have a significant impact on the clinical outcomes of tamoxifen treatment but no tangible conclusion can be made up till now.

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High prevalence rates of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and lack of effective antibacterial treatments urge discovery of alternative therapeutic modalities. The advent of antibacterial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is a promising alternative, composing rapid, nonselective cell destruction without generating resistance. We used a panel of clinically relevant MRSA to evaluate hypericin (Hy) and pheophobide a (Pa)-mediated PDT with clinically approved methylene blue (MB).

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Patients with heart failure (HF) often present with signs and symptoms that are often nonspecific and with a wide differential diagnosis, making diagnosis and prognosis of HF by clinical presentation alone challenging. Our knowledge on genetic diversity is rapidly evolving with high-throughput DNA sequencing technology, which makes a great potential for genetic biomarker development. The present review attempts to provide a comprehensive review on the modification of major genetic components in HF patients and to explore the potential application of these components as clinical biomarkers in the diagnosis and in monitoring the progress of HF.

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Childhood eczema is common but its prevalence is variable in different regions of the world. In this study, we explore the associations of various risk factors such as the microbiome, environment, lifestyle, diet and maternal stress with the development of eczema among infants in Hong Kong. Upon enrolment in the study, the infants' parents provided demographic data by self-reporting.

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Eczema is a multifactorial skin disease that affects 20% of children worldwide and has a complex relationship with microbial, nutritional, parental and environmental factors. In this study, we investigated the potential association of eczema with the gut microbiome and environmental factors. One hundred and fifty-two newborn subjects and their mothers were recruited within 10 days postnatally at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, China and asked to complete questionnaires on allergies, maternal diet and environmental assessment at enrolment.

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Background: Eczema is a relapsing and persistent inflammatory skin disease affecting about one-fifth of children worldwide. As in other developed countries, the prevalence of this chronic disease in Hong Kong is approximately 30%. Moreover, the number of local cases reported has been on a rising trend since 1995.

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Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in females and disease recurrence remains a significant problem. To prevent recurrence, tamoxifen is prescribed for at least 5 years. However, among patients who receive tamoxifen, individual responses are highly variable.

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Previous epidemiological studies had provided evidence for a link between the microbial dysbiosis and cancer, particularly colorectal cancer (CRC), yet the molecular basis of this link remains elusive. Recently, the association between plasma levels of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), an oxidised form of trimethylamine (TMA), and risks of various cancers was demonstrated. The discovery could potentially provide an alternative explanation for the aforementioned link, as TMA production is attributed to intestinal bacteria.

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Silicosis is an incurable lung disease affecting millions of workers in hazardous occupations. It is caused by chronic exposure to the dust that contains free crystalline silica. Silica-induced lung damage occurs by several main mechanisms including cell death by apoptosis, fibrosis and production of cytokines.

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Palythoa caribaeorum (class Anthozoa) is a zoanthid that together jellyfishes, hydra, and sea anemones, which are venomous and predatory, belongs to the Phyllum Cnidaria. The distinguished feature in these marine animals is the cnidocytes in the body tissues, responsible for toxin production and injection that are used majorly for prey capture and defense. With exception for other anthozoans, the toxin cocktails of zoanthids have been scarcely studied and are poorly known.

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Despite being a potent hypolipidemic drug, atorvastatin (AS) possesses certain adverse effects. Using AS and an herbal formula (Danshen and Gegen, DG) in combination may achieve potentiated hypolipidemic effects and also reduce its adverse effects. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of an AS and DG combination on high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia.

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Crotamine is defensin-like cationic peptide from rattlesnake venom that possesses anticancer, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties. Despite these promising biological activities, toxicity is a major concern associated with the development of venom-derived peptides as therapeutic agents. In the present study, we used zebrafish as a system model to evaluate the toxicity of rhodamine B-conjugated (RhoB) crotamine derivative.

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The aim of this study is to investigate the anti-angiogenic properties of andrographolide derivatives AGP-26a (12β-isomer), AGP-26b (12α-isomer) and AGP-26 (4 : 1 mixture of AGP-26a and AGP-26b) in vitro and in vivo. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and the Tg(fli-1a:EGFP)y1 zebrafish model were used to identify the anti-angiogenic activities of AGP-26, AGP-26a, and AGP-26b. The results showed that AGP-26b exhibits the strongest inhibitory effect on VEGF-induced proliferation, migration, invasion and formation of capillary-like structures in HUVECs.

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A new cycloartane-type triterpenoid, named 22-hydroxy-cyclolaudenol (1), together with two known cycloartane-type triterpenoids were isolated from the roots of Dianella ensifolia. Their structures were determined based on spectroscopic methods, including UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, NMR and X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 displayed cytotoxic effects against cancer cell lines B16-F10, A549 and MDA-MB-231.

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Curcumin and fenretinide are 2 well-known and promising chemotherapeutic compounds via various molecular mechanisms. However, the anticancer capacity of either curcumin or fenretinide is limited. This prompted us to examine the combined anticancer effects of curcumin and fenretinide.

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Andrographolide is among the most promising anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic components in Andrographis paniculata but its poor bioavailability and limited efficacy pose difficulties for its therapeutic development. Therefore, improving its pharmaceutical features and potency, by modifying its chemical structure, is desirable. In the present study, a new andrographolide derivative (AGP-40) was synthesized and characterized for its anti-angiogenic properties.

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Cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) has recently attracted increasing attention in pharmaceutical sciences due to its great potential in improving the physicochemical properties and bioactivity of drug molecules. Herein, we have investigated the influence of CB[7]'s complexation on the solubility, antimycobacterial activity, and cardiotoxicity of a model anti-tuberculosis drug, clofazimine (CFZ), that has poor water-solubility and inherent cardiotoxicity. In our study, CFZ was found to be complexed by CB[7], in a 1 : 1 binding mode with a relatively strong binding affinity (in the order of magnitude of 10(4)-10(5) M(-1)), as determined by the phase solubility method via HPLC-UV analysis and (1)H NMR titration, as well as UV-visible spectroscopic titration, and further confirmed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).

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The mitochondrial respiratory chain, including mitochondrial complex II, has emerged as a potential target for cancer therapy. In the present study, a novel conjugate of danshensu (DSS) and tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), DT-010, was synthesized. Our results showed that DT-010 is more potent than its parental compounds separately or in combination, in inhibiting the proliferation of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells by inducing cytotoxicity and promoting cell cycle arrest.

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Doxorubicin (Dox) is an anthracycline antibiotic widely used in clinics as an anticancer agent. However, the use of Dox is limited by its cardiotoxicity. We have previously shown that a Danshensu (DSS) derivative, ADTM, displayed strong cardioprotective effects.

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Five new cucurbitacins, kuguacins II-VI (1-5), along with five known analogues (6-10), were obtained from the fruit of Momordica charantia. Structures of the new compounds were elucidated as 5β,19-epoxycucurbit-23-en-7-on-3β,25-diol (1), 5β,19-epoxycucurbit-7,23-dion-3β,25-diol (2), 5β,19-epoxycucurbit-6-en-19,23-dion-3β,25-diol (3), 5β,19-epoxy-23,24,25,26,27-pentanorcucurbit-6-en-7,19-dion-3β,22-diol (4), and cucurbit-5-en-7,23-dion-3β,19,25-triol (5) by extensive spectroscopic and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. Some cucurbitane compounds from this species were screened for their potential antidiabetic properties in terms of antigluconeogenic activity.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: With the prevalent use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for AIDS patients since 1996, the mortality of HIV/AIDS patients has been remarkably decreased. With long-term use of HAART, drug resistance and side effects of antiretrovirals have been frequently reported, which not only reduce the efficacy, but also decreases the tolerance of patients. Traditional herbal medicine has become more popular among HIV/AIDS patients as adjuvant therapy to reduce these adverse effects of HAART.

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