Publications by authors named "Liew Fong Fong"

Recent advancements in the understanding of how sperm develop into offspring have shown complex interactions between environmental influences and genetic factors. The past decade, marked by a research surge, has not only highlighted the profound impact of paternal contributions on fertility and reproductive outcomes but also revolutionized our comprehension by unveiling how parental factors sculpt traits in successive generations through mechanisms that extend beyond traditional inheritance patterns. Studies have shown that offspring are more susceptible to environmental factors, especially during critical phases of growth.

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small vesicles that are naturally released by cells and play a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication, tissue repair and regeneration. As naturally secreted EVs are limited, liposomes with different physicochemical properties, such as 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium propane (DOTAP) and linoleic acid (LA) with modifications have been formulated to improve EVs secretion for wound healing. Various analyses, including dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were performed to monitor the successful preparation of different types of liposomes.

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In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the practice of regenerative medicine by health practitioners and direct-to-consumer businesses globally. Among different tools of regenerative medicine, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell-based therapies have received considerable attention. The use of PRP, in particular, has gained popularity due to its easy access, simple processing techniques, and regenerative potential.

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Exosomes and liposomes are vesicular nanoparticles that can encapsulate functional cargo. The chemical similarities between naturally occurring exosomes and synthetic liposomes have accelerated the development of exosome mimetics as a therapeutic drug delivery platform under physiological and pathological environments. To maximise the applications of exosomes and liposomes in the clinical setting, it is essential to look into their basic chemical properties and utilise these characteristics to optimise the preparation, loading, modification and hybridisation.

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Wound healing is an elaborated process, well-regulated via cell migration and proliferation. Although the physiological basics of wound healing have been thoroughly investigated and reported, much remains to be studied. Particularly, various studies have demonstrated the immunomodulatory roles of exosomes derived from plant cells, mammalian cells, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the healing and repairing system.

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Background: Saliva, as a complex biofluid, plays a pivotal role in maintaining oral health and tooth integrity. There has been inconsistent data available on the relationship between salivary parameters and oral health. This study aims to investigate the association between salivary statherin, acidic proline-rich proteins (aPRP), and calcium with oral hygiene status.

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In recent years, several studies have reported positive outcomes of cell-based therapies despite insufficient engraftment of transplanted cells. These findings have created a huge interest in the regenerative potential of paracrine factors released from transplanted stem or progenitor cells. Interestingly, this notion has also led scientists to question the role of proteins in the secretome produced by cells, tissues or organisms under certain conditions or at a particular time of regenerative therapy.

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DNA is an attractive molecular building block to construct nanoscale structures for a variety of applications. In addition to their structure and function, modification the DNA nanostructures by other molecules opens almost unlimited possibilities for producing functional DNA-based architectures. Among the molecules to functionalize DNA nanostructures, proteins are one of the most attractive candidates due to their vast functional variations.

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Background: Large epidemiologic studies have reported the premature onset of age-related conditions, such as ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus, in childhood cancer survivors, decades earlier than in their peers. The authors investigated whether young adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have a biologic phenotype of cellular ageing and chronic inflammation.

Methods: Plasma inflammatory cytokines were measured using a cytometric bead array in 87 asymptomatic young adult survivors of childhood ALL (median age, 25 years; age range, 18-35 years) who attended annual follow-up clinic and compared with healthy, age-matched and sex-matched controls.

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Ratiometric fluorescent sensors were constructed from RNA aptamers by generating modular ribonucleopeptide complexes. Fluorescent ribonucleopeptides containing fluorophore seminaphthorhodafluor tethered to their peptide subunit revealed a dual emission property, which permitted a ratiometric fluorescent measurement of a substrate-binding event. The strategy successfully afforded ratiometric fluorescent sensors for biologically active small ligands, tetracycline, dopamine and streptomycin.

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Ribonucleopeptide (RNP) is a new class of scaffold for modular fluorescent sensors. We report here a short RNA motif that induces an efficient communication between the structural changes associated with the ligand-binding event of RNA aptamer and an optical response of a fluorescent RNP module. An optimized short RNA motif was used as a communication module for the rational design of modular RNP sensors.

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A facile strategy of stepwise molding of a ribonucleopeptide (RNP) complex affords fluorescent RNP sensors with selective dopamine recognition. In vitro selection of a RNA-derived RNP library, a complex of the Rev peptide and its binding site Rev Responsive Element (RRE) RNA appended with random nucleotides in variable lengths, afforded RNP receptors specific for dopamine. The modular structure of the RNP receptor enables conversion of dopamine-binding RNP receptors to fluorescent dopamine sensors.

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Fluorescent biosensors to detect the bona fide events of biologically important molecules in living cells are increasingly demanded in the field of molecular cell biology. Recent advances in the development of fluorescent biosensors have made an outstanding contribution to elucidating not only the roles of individual biomolecules, but also the dynamic intracellular relationships between these molecules. However, rational design strategies of fluorescent biosensors are not as mature as they look.

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Fluorescent biosensors based on the biological macromolecule are convenient tools for investigating the event occurring in the living cell. As for one of the candidates of such biosensors, we have reported a fluorescent sensor by utilizing a ribonucleopeptide (RNP) framework. Fluorescent RNP sensors are obtained from the fluorescent RNP library constructed by the combination of the RNA subunit, a substrate recognition unit selected by in vitro selection, and a fluorophore-modified peptide subunit.

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