Publications by authors named "Ming-wei Chen"

Article Synopsis
  • * Evidence shows that the invasion process involves manipulating RBC calcium signaling, particularly through the interaction between RH5 and basigin, which leads to increased cAMP and calcium influx in RBCs.
  • * The research highlights a conserved signaling pathway in host RBCs critical for parasite invasion and suggests new targets for therapeutic interventions against merozoite invasion.
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Objectives: To reveal the association between a sedentary lifestyle and the prevalence of primary osteoporosis (POP).

Design: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted.

Setting: This study was conducted in communities in Hefei city, Anhui province, China.

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Objective: To investigate the application effect and imaging changes of metal cushion block combined with Jumbo cup in the reconstruction of acetabular bone defect after revision of artificial hip joint.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was made on the clinical data of 83 patients who underwent revision acetabular bone defect reconstruction of the artificial hip joint in our hospital from September 2019 to October 2021. They were divided into group A and group B according to different surgical methods.

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  • Drug repurposing is being explored as a promising method to expedite drug discovery for cancer treatment.
  • The study found that combining Tranylcypromine (TCP) with the NRF2 inhibitor ML385 had synergistic effects, significantly reducing tumor growth compared to using either drug alone.
  • Further research is required to fully understand how this combination works and to assess any potential side effects, but the findings indicate a strong potential for effective cancer therapies.
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  • Granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis are important for ovum energy supply and are linked to ovarian disorders like PCOS, with increased expression of miR-4433a-3p observed in PCOS patients.
  • miR-4433a-3p promotes apoptosis in granulosa-like tumor cells while negatively impacting growth, and interacts with PPAR-α, which is a target of this miRNA and shows decreased expression in PCOS patients.
  • The study suggests a new pathway involving miR-4433a-3p, PPAR-α, and immune cell infiltration may affect granulosa cell function in the context of PCOS.
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EMERGING-CTONG 1103 showed improved progression-free survival (PFS) with neoadjuvant erlotinib vs. chemotherapy for patients harbouring EGFR sensibility mutations and R0 resected stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (NCT01407822). Herein, we report the final results.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, countries around the world are switching toward vaccinations and boosters to combat the pandemic. However, waning immunity against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type (WT) and variants have been widely reported. Booster vaccinations have shown to be able to increase immunological protection against new variants; however, the protection observed appears to decrease quickly over time suggesting a second booster shot may be appropriate.

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Background: Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) prevent pathogens from infecting host cells. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 NAbs is critical to evaluate herd immunity and monitor vaccine efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. All currently available NAb tests are lab-based and time-intensive.

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There is clinical need for a quantifiable point-of-care (PoC) SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody (nAb) test that is adaptable with the pandemic's changing landscape. Here, we present a rapid and semi-quantitative nAb test that uses finger stick or venous blood to assess the nAb response of vaccinated population against wild-type (WT), alpha, beta, gamma, and delta variant RBDs. It captures a clinically relevant range of nAb levels, and effectively differentiates prevaccination, post first dose, and post second dose vaccination samples within 10 min.

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The rapid increase in camping activities and campsites has had negative environmental impacts in mountainous areas. Tourism policies may be an important factor in changing recreational behavior and increasing campsites. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of tourism policies on campsite-related landscape changes in Taiwan.

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Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infection is critical for controlling the current pandemic. Antigen rapid tests (ARTs) provide a means for surveillance. Available lateral flow assay format ARTs rely heavily on nitrocellulose paper, raising challenges in supply shortage.

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A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with ThromboSpondin motif (ADAMTS) 5 functions as an anti-angiogenic and anti-cancer protein independent of its metalloproteinase activity. Both full-length ADAMTS5 and TS5-p45, the autocatalytically cleaved C-terminal 45 kDa truncate of ADAMTS5, inhibits angiogenesis, and induces endothelial cell (EC) apoptosis. However, how ADAMTS5 triggers EC apoptosis remains unclear.

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The prevalence of infection is high worldwide, while numerous research has focused on unraveling the relationship between infection and extragastric diseases. Although infection has been associated with thyroid diseases, including thyroid nodule (TN), the relationship has mainly focused on potential physiological mechanisms and has not been validated by large population epidemiological investigations. Therefore, we thus designed a case-control study comprising participants who received regular health examination between 2017 and 2019.

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Pancreatic cancer is usually asymptomatic in the early stages; the 5-y survival rate is around 9%; and there is a lack of effective treatment. Here we show that SSEA-4 is more expressed in all pancreatic cancer cell lines examined but not detectable in normal pancreatic cells; and high expression of SSEA-4 or the key enzymes + associated with SSEA-4 biosynthesis significantly lowers the overall survival rate. To evaluate potential new treatments for pancreatic cancer, homogeneous antibodies with a well-defined Fc glycan for optimal effector functions and CAR-T cells with scFv construct designed to target SSEA-4 were shown highly effective against pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo.

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The increasing demand for energy storage is calling for improvements in cathode performance. In traditional layered cathodes, the higher energy of the metal 3d over the O 2p orbital results in one-band cationic redox; capacity solely from cations cannot meet the needs for higher energy density. Emerging anionic redox chemistry is promising to access higher capacity.

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Here we report a molecular docking-based approach to identify small molecules that can target the β-catenin (β-cat)-TCF4 protein-protein interaction (PPI), a key effector complex for nuclear Wnt signaling activity. Specifically, we developed and optimized a computational model of β-cat using publicly available β-cat protein crystal structures, and existing β-cat-TCF4 interaction inhibitors as the training set. Using our computational model to an screen predicted 27 compounds as good binders to β-cat, of which 3 were identified to be effective against a Wnt-responsive luciferase reporter.

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The Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide shows a high affinity for αβ integrin, which is overexpressed in new tumor blood vessels and many types of tumor cells. The radiolabeled RGD peptide has been studied for cancer imaging and radionuclide therapy. We have developed a long-term tumor-targeting peptide DOTA-EB-cRGDfK, which combines a DOTA chelator, a truncated Evans blue dye (EB), a modified linker, and cRGDfK peptide.

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Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the oncogenesis, development and transformation of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). miR-665 is clinically significant and acts as a pivotal function in some cancers. Nevertheless, the effects and the potential mechanisms of miR-665 in human LUSC are still unknown.

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Selected vibronic bands of the B̃ ← X̃ laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectra of jet-cooled 2-pentoxy and 2-hexoxy, including the origin and CO-stretch bands, have been measured with rotational resolution and analyzed using (1) an effective Hamiltonian that comprises a rotational part and a spin-rotation (SR) part (the "isolated-states model") and (2) a recently developed Hamiltonian in which the nearly degenerate à and X̃ states are treated together (the "coupled-states model") (see Liu, J., , , 124112). The observed rotational and fine structures of the strongest vibronic bands have first been simulated using a genetic algorithm with the isolated-states model.

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Article Synopsis
  • Chemical proteomics can identify novel protein targets for small molecules, but validating these targets can be difficult due to the sheer number generated.
  • This study integrated various methods, including cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) and mass spectrometry, to identify 74 protein targets of the environmental toxicant monoethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP).
  • The findings suggest that MEHP induces cell cycle dysregulation, specifically causing hepatocytes to arrest at the G1 stage, and identified key regulatory proteins (CPEB4, ANAPC5, and SPOUT1) as significant targets.
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Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus responsible for chikungunya fever. Nonstructural protein 2 (nsP2), a multifunctional protein essential for viral replication, has an N-terminal helicase region (nsP2h), which has both nucleotide triphosphatase and RNA triphosphatase activities, as well as a C-terminal cysteine protease region (nsP2p), which is responsible for nonstructural polyprotein processing. The two functional units are connected through a linker of 14 residues.

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Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Since its emergence in 2012, nosocomial amplifications have led to its high epidemic potential and mortality rate of 34.5%.

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  • The study investigated how levels of specific inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-17, TNF-α, TNF-β) relate to anxiety and depression in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
  • A total of 44 DPN patients and 37 individuals with type 2 diabetes but no neuropathy were assessed using various methods, including electromyography and anxiety/depression scales.
  • Results indicated that patients with DPN had higher anxiety levels and inflammatory cytokines, with IL-17 showing a strong independent correlation with DPN severity and diagnostic potential.
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The stringent response, regulated by the bifunctional (p)ppGpp synthetase/hydrolase Rel in mycobacteria, is critical for long-term survival of the drug-tolerant dormant state of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. During amino acid starvation, MtRel senses a drop in amino acid concentration and synthesizes the messengers pppGpp and ppGpp, collectively called (p)ppGpp. Here, we investigate the role of the regulatory 'Aspartokinase, Chorismate mutase and TyrA' (ACT) domain in MtRel.

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  • Triptolide, a compound from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii, shows potential as an anticancer agent in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by inducing apoptosis.
  • The study found that triptolide reduces NSCLC cell viability in a dose-dependent manner and activates the CaMKKβ/AMPK signaling pathway by influencing intracellular calcium levels.
  • Blockers of CaMKKβ and AMPK diminished triptolide's apoptosis-inducing effects, suggesting the pathway's crucial role in its anticancer mechanism, highlighting triptolide’s potential for NSCLC treatment.
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