Metabolic profiles and treatment gaps in young-onset type 2 diabetes in Asia (the JADE programme): a cross-sectional study of a prospective cohort.

Background: The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in young adults in Asia, but little is known about metabolic control or the burden of associated complications in this population. We assessed the prevalence of young-onset versus late-onset type 2 diabetes, and associated risk factors and complication burdens, in the Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) cohort.

Methods: JADE is an ongoing prospective cohort study.

Enhancement of insulin-producing cell differentiation from embryonic stem cells using pax4-nucleofection method.

Aim: To enhance the differentiation of insulin producing cell (IPC) ability from embryonic stem (ES) cells in vitro.

Methods: Four-day embryoid body (EB)-formatted ES cells were dissociated as single cells for the followed plasmid DNA delivery. The use of Nucleofector electroporator (Amaxa biosystems, Germany) in combination with medium-contained G418 provided a high efficiency of gene delivery for advanced selection.

The immediate early 2 protein of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) mediates the apoptotic control in HCMV retinitis through up-regulation of the cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein expression.

Human CMV (HCMV) is a widespread human pathogen that causes blindness by inducing retinitis in AIDS patients. Previously, we showed that viral immediate early 2 (IE2) protein may allow HCMV to evade the immune control by killing the Fas receptor-positive T lymphocytes attracted to the infected retina with increased secretion of Fas ligand (FasL). In this study, we further demonstrate that the secreted FasL also kills uninfected Fas-rich bystander retinal cells and that IE2 simultaneously protects the infected cells from undergoing apoptotic death, in part, by activating the expression of cellular FLIP (c-FLIP), an antiapoptotic molecule that blocks the direct downstream executer caspase 8 of the FasL/Fas pathway.

Characterization of pancreatic stem cells derived from adult human pancreas ducts by fluorescence activated cell sorting.

Aim: To isolate putative pancreatic stem cells (PSCs) from human adult tissues of pancreas duct using serum-free, conditioned medium. The characterization of surface phenotype of these PSCs was analyzed by flow cytometry. The potential for pancreatic lineage and the capability of beta-cell differentiation in these PSCs were evaluated as well.

Moclobemide upregulated Bcl-2 expression and induced neural stem cell differentiation into serotoninergic neuron via extracellular-regulated kinase pathway.

1. Moclobemide (MB) is an antidepressant drug that selectively and reversibly inhibits monoamine oxidase-A. Recent studies have revealed that antidepressant drugs possess the characters of potent growth-promoting factors for the development of neurogenesis and improve the survival rate of serotonin (5-hydroxytrytamine; 5-HT) neurons.

Fluoxetine up-regulates expression of cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein and inhibits LPS-induced apoptosis in hippocampus-derived neural stem cell.

Fluoxetine is a widely used antidepressant compound which inhibits the reuptake of serotonin in the central nervous system. Recent studies have shown that fluoxetine can promote neurogenesis and improve the survival rate of neurons. However, whether fluoxetine modulates the proliferation or neuroprotection effects of neural stem cells (NSCs) needs to be elucidated.

Elevated nitric oxide levels in childhood brain tumors.

Objectives: One of the fundamental aspects of nitric oxide (NO) is the regulation of the inflammatory processes involved in neuronal apoptosis. Expressions of NO and NO synthase (NOS) are considered to be involved in brain tissue injuries and brain tumors. The purpose of our study was to investigate the roles of NO and inducible-form NOS (iNOS) in the pathogenesis of brain tumors.

Possible involvement of nitric oxide in the progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Abnormal nitric oxide (NO) synthesis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. The aim of our study was to elucidate the relationship between the stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the NO levels in aqueous humor and plasma. Using the chemiluminescence assay, we measured the concentrations of NO in aqueous humor and plasma samples obtained during intraocular surgery from 45 diabetic patients and 19 nondiabetic cataract patients.

Elevated nitric oxide level in aqueous humor of AIDS patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) retinitis is the most common ocular opportunistic infection in AIDS. It often leads to blindness if left untreated. The questions as to how HCMV infection causes retinal immunopathogenesis and visual destruction in AIDS patients have not been completely established.

Significant variation of the elevated nitric oxide levels in aqueous humor from patients with different types of glaucoma.

Though several studies have shown that the biochemical function of nitric oxide (NO) in the eye might play an important role in the regulation of intraocular pressure (IOP), local control of ocular blood flow and loss of retinal ganglion cells by apoptosis, it is unclear whether the role of NO is similar in the pathogenesis of different kinds of glaucoma: primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), chronic closed-angle glaucoma (CCAG) and neovascular glaucoma (NVG). To further explore this issue, we measured the concentrations of NO in aqueous humor and plasma samples from patients with POAG (n = 31), CCAG (n = 76), NVG (n = 8) and cataract (n = 30). All of the NVG patients suffered from severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy, while other patients were free of any other systemic disease.

Apoptosis of human retina and retinal pigment cells induced by human cytomegalovirus infection.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) retinitis is the most common ocular opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients and AIDS. It often leads to blindness if left untreated. The question as to how HCMV infection causes retinal pathogenesis and visual destruction in AIDS patients remains unresolved.