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.

Dynamic network of transcription and pathway crosstalk to reveal molecular mechanism of MGd-treated human lung cancer cells.

Recent research has revealed various molecular markers in lung cancer. However, the organizational principles underlying their genetic regulatory networks still await investigation. Here we performed Network Component Analysis (NCA) and Pathway Crosstalk Analysis (PCA) to construct a regulatory network in human lung cancer (A549) cells which were treated with 50 uM motexafin gadolinium (MGd), a metal cation-containing chemotherapeutic drug for 4, 12, and 24 hours.

A pharmacogenetic study of risperidone on histamine H3 receptor gene (HRH3) in Chinese Han schizophrenia patients.

Evidence suggests that the human histamine H3 receptor (HRH3) may be involved in the pharmacodynamics of risperidone and influence clinical efficacy. More information on the pharmacogenetics of this receptor may therefore be useful in developing individualized therapy. However, to our knowledge, no study has been reported in this area.

Systematic screening for polymorphisms within the UGT1A6 gene in three Chinese populations and function prediction through structural modeling.

Aims: To date, there have been relatively few studies on the UGT1A6 gene in the Chinese population. The present study was designed to determine the allele frequencies and haplotypes of this gene in the population and predict the candidate functional mutations.

Materials & Methods: We carried out the first systematic screening of polymorphisms of the gene in an SNP analysis involving 1074 Chinese subjects from three ethnic groups, namely Han, Dong and She, using direct sequencing.

An association study of the SLC26A4 gene in children with mental retardation.

It is generally considered that iodine deficiency is the single most common cause of preventable mental retardation (MR) and brain damage. The SLC26A4 gene is expressed at the apical surface of thyrocytes and its product forms an efficient iodide-trapping mechanism. To investigate whether variability in the SLC26A4 gene influences the risk of iodine-deficiency based MR, we undertook an association study between SLC26A4 and MR.