Exon 33 T/T genotype of the thyroglobulin gene is a susceptibility gene for Graves' disease in Taiwanese and exon 12 C/C genotype protects against it.

This study investigates whether Tg gene polymorphisms can be associated with Graves' disease (GD) in a Taiwanese population and identifies potential polygenic susceptive genes for GD. The findings of such a study may have important implications for prognostic prediction and treatment of GD. We performed case control association studies for the 3 discovered Tg single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (E10, E12, E33) in 215 GD patients and 141 controls.

A new single nucleotide polymorphism in XRCC4 gene is associated with breast cancer susceptibility in Taiwanese patients.

Background: The DNA repair gene XRCC4, an important caretaker of the overall genome stability, is thought to play a major role in the human carcinogenesis. Some new and important polymorphic variants of XRCC4, at codon 247 (rs 3734091), G-1394T (rs 6869366), and Intron 7 (rs 28360317), and their association with breast cancer susceptibility was investigated in a Taiwanese population.

Materials And Methods: In a hospital-based case-control study, 432 female patients with breast cancer and 432 age-matched healthy controls recruited from the China Medical Hospital in Central Taiwan were genotyped.

A novel single nucleotide polymorphism in XRCC4 gene is associated with gastric cancer susceptibility in Taiwan.

Background: The DNA repair gene XRCC4, an important caretaker of the overall genome stability, is thought to play a major role in the human carcinogenesis. We investigate some novel and important polymorphic variants of XRCC4, at codon 247 (rs3734091), G-1394T (rs6869366), intron 3 (rs28360071), and intron 7 (rs28360317), of their associated with gastric cancer susceptibility.

Materials And Methods: In this hospital-based case-control study, the association of XRCC4 polymorphisms with gastric cancer risk in a Taiwanese population was investigated.

Association between a C/T polymorphism in exon 33 of the thyroglobulin gene is associated with relapse of Graves' hyperthyroidism after antithyroid withdrawal in Taiwanese.

Context: Graves' disease (GD) is an autoimmune disorder with genetic predisposition. The thyroglobulin (Tg) is a major autoantigen for GD. The human Tg gene polymorphism has specific features that make it important in GD.

Tuning the exchange bias in NiFe/Fe-oxide bilayers by way of different Fe-oxide based mixtures made with an ion-beam deposition technique.

We have investigated the structural and magnetic properties of ion-beam deposited polycrystalline NiFe (25 nm)/Fe-oxide (35 nm) bilayers. A film prepared with an assist beam O2 to Ar gas ratio of 0% during deposition had a bottom layer that consisted of pure b.c.

Genetic polymorphisms of manganese superoxide dismutase, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, glutathione S-transferase M1 and T1, and the susceptibility to drug-induced liver injury.

Background/aims: Drug metabolizing enzymes may be related to drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) are important drug metabolizing enzymes. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of these enzymes and the susceptibility to DILI.

Identification of five mouse mu-opioid receptor (MOR) gene (Oprm1) splice variants containing a newly identified alternatively spliced exon.

The mouse mu-opioid receptor gene, Oprm1, currently contains 18 recognized alternatively spliced exons [Doyle, G.A., Sheng, X.

The levels of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in paediatric patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma.

Our purpose was to determine whether numbers of CD4(+)CD25(+) T [T regulatory (T(reg))] cells and mRNA expression of functional molecules of T(reg) are related to airway allergy and disease severity in 51 paediatric patients with allergic rhinitis or bronchial asthma and 47 healthy controls. Surface markers were evaluated with flow cytometry, and mRNA was determined with real-time polymerase chain reaction. Children with allergic disease had fewer CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells (8 x 49% +/- 2 x 41% versus 9 x 58% +/- 2 x 43%, P<0 x 05) and CD4(+)CD25(hi) T cells (1 x 32% +/- 0 x 68% versus 1 x 70% +/- 0 x 68%, P<0 x 01) than control subjects.

Ligands for programmed cell death 1 gene in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To investigate the role of ligands for programmed cell death 1 (PD-L) in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: One hundred sixty-four patients with SLE and 160 healthy controls were enrolled in our study. The PD-L1 and PD-L2 polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/direct sequencing or restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-PCR.

Regulatory T cells dynamically control the primary immune response to foreign antigen.

The population dynamics that enable a small number of regulatory T (T(R)) cells to control the immune responses to foreign Ags by the much larger conventional T cell subset were investigated. During the primary immune response, the expansion and contraction of conventional and T(R) cells occurred in synchrony. Importantly, the relative accumulation of T(R) cells at peak response significantly exceeded that of conventional T cells, reflecting extensive cell division within the T(R) cell pool.

IL-1B-511 C-->T polymorphism is associated with increased host susceptibility to Helicobacter pylori infection in Chinese.

Background: The heritability of Helicobacter pylori infection from twin studies has been reported to be 0.66. However, few data were available on the host susceptibility to H.

Analytical analysis of the Pennes bioheat transfer equation with sinusoidal heat flux condition on skin surface.

This study focuses on the effect of the temperature response of a semi-infinite biological tissue due to a sinusoidal heat flux at the skin. The Pennes bioheat transfer equation such as rho(t)c(t)( partial differentialT/ partial differentialt)+W(b)c(b)(T-T(a))=k partial differential(2)T/ partial differentialx(2) with the oscillatory heat flux boundary condition such as q(0,t)=q(0)e(iomegat) was investigated. By using the Laplace transform, the analytical solution of the Pennes bioheat transfer equation with surface sinusoidal heating condition is found.

Functional polymorphisms of CD14 and toll-like receptor 4 in Taiwanese Chinese with Helicobacter pylori-related gastric malignancies.

Background/aims: Interindividual differences in degrees and extent of gastritis are responsible for the divergent outcomes after H. pylori infection. Cellular responses in gastric inflammation are mediated by lipopolysaccharide of H.

Association of a BTLA gene polymorphism with the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) is an immuno-inhibitory receptor with the ability to deliver inhibitory signal for suppressing lymphocyte activation. To test the potential association of the human BTLA gene with the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a genetic case-control association study was conducted, by using a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), C+800T SNP, in the exon 5 of the human BTLA gene for genotyping 93 RA patients and 294 normal control individuals. The results showed that there is statistically significant difference in the genotype distributions between RA and control groups (p = 0.

Polymorphism of interferon-gamma gene at position +874 and clinical characteristics of chronic hepatitis C.

A T-to-A polymorphic sequence at position +874 in the interferon (IFN)-gamma gene (+874 IFN-gamma) might be associated with disease susceptibilities. To investigate the influence of +874 IFN-gamma polymorphism on the hepatitis C virus (HCV) viral load and the severity of liver disease, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was determined in 302 histologically proved chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients [M/F: 180/122, mean age: 48.8 +/- 11.

Allergic dysregulation and hyperimmunoglobulinemia E in Foxp3 mutant mice.

Background: Regulatory T cells have been proposed to play an important role in regulating allergic inflammation. The transcription factor Foxp3 is a master switch gene that controls the development and function of natural and adaptive CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T (T(R)) cells. In human subjects loss-of-function Foxp3 mutations trigger lymphoproliferation, autoimmunity, and intense allergic inflammation in a disease termed immune dysregulation polyendocrinopathy enteropathy-X-linked syndrome.

Association of cytokine and DNA repair gene polymorphisms with hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) induces hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mainly by causing chronic necroinflammatory hepatic disease. We investigated the mechanisms underlying the inflammatory hepatocarcinogenesis by examining whether genetic variations in cytokines, antioxidant enzymes, and DNA repair genes affect the HCC risk.

Methods: We analyzed 10 polymorphisms in the genes for interleukin-1beta (IL-1B), interleukin-1-receptor antagonist (IL-1RN), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-A), glutathione S-transferase, XRCC1, hMLH1, and XPD in 577 HBV carriers with HCC and 389 HBV carrier controls.

Promoter polymorphism of the CD14 endotoxin receptor gene is associated with biliary atresia and idiopathic neonatal cholestasis.

Objective: To investigate whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter regions of endotoxin-responsive genes CD14 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are associated with biliary atresia (BA) and idiopathic neonatal cholestasis (INC).

Methods: We obtained genomic DNA from 90 patients with established diagnosis of BA and 28 patients with INC. Forty-two adult patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis and 143 healthy children served as control populations.

Polymorphisms in the interferon-gamma gene at position +874 in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with high-dose interferon-alpha and ribavirin.

To investigate the influence of the T-to-A polymorphic sequence at position +874 in the interferon (IFN)-gamma gene (+874 IFN-gamma) on the response to combination therapy with high-dose interferon and ribavirin, the single nucleotide polymorphisms were determined by using a polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers approach in 150 histologically proved chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. The distribution of genotypes for +874 IFN-gamma were T/T: 6 (4.0%), T/A: 31 (20.

The macrophage F4/80 receptor is required for the induction of antigen-specific efferent regulatory T cells in peripheral tolerance.

We show that the mouse macrophage-restricted F4/80 protein is not required for the development and distribution of tissue macrophages but is involved in the generation of antigen-specific efferent regulatory T (T reg) cells that suppress antigen-specific immunity. In the in vivo anterior chamber (a.c.

An association of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 C802T (His268Tyr) polymorphism with bladder cancer in benzidine-exposed workers in China.

UDP-Glucuronyltransferase 2B7 (UGT2B7) is involved in benzidine metabolism, as demonstrated by in vitro experiments with liver slices. To evaluate the possible association of UGT2B7 gene polymorphism with bladder cancer risk for benzidine-exposed subjects, diagnosed bladder cancer cases (n = 36) who were members of a cohort of benzidine-exposed workers in the Chinese dyestuff industry were investigated. UGT2B7 polymorphism at locus C802T (His268Tyr) was detected using a PCR-RFLP based procedure.

Cytokine gene polymorphisms in endemic pemphigus foliaceus: a possible role for IL6 variants.

Endemic pemphigus foliaceus (EPF) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of antibodies against desmoglein 1, which lead to the loss of adhesion among keratinocytes (acantholysis). Variants of HLA class II genes have been the only genetic factors found to modulate susceptibility to EPF. This study aims at investigating the influence of cytokine genetic variants in the pathogenesis of EPF, since they may affect the expression levels of these immunomodulatory molecules.

The Nowotny chimney ladder phases: following the c(pseudo) clue toward an explanation of the 14 electron rule.

We account for two empirical rules of the Nowotny chimney ladder phases (NCLs, intermetallic compounds of the form T(t)E(m); T, groups 4-9; E, groups 13-15). The first rule is that for late transition metal NCLs the total number of valence electrons per T atom is 14. The second is the appearance of a pseudoperiodicity with a spacing, c(pseudo), which is directly related to the stoichiometry, T(t)E(m), by (2t - m) c(pseudo)= c.

T allele for VEGF gene-460 polymorphism at the 5'-untranslated region: association with a higher susceptibility to endometriosis.

Objective: To investigate whether vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene 5'-UTR-460 polymorphism could be used as a marker of susceptibility to endometriosis.

Study Design: Women were divided into 2 groups, endometriosis (n = 122) and nonendometriosis (n = 131). Polymorphisms for VEGF were detected by polymerase chain reaction and BstUI (New England Biolabs, Beverly, Massachusetts) restriction enzyme analysis.

[The influence of the different components of nourishing kidney herbs on osteoporosis rats].

Objective: To observe the influent of the different components of nourishing kidney herbs on the main items of bone metabolism in osteoporosis rats induced with Dexamethasona(DXM).

Method: Models of three-month old SD female rats with osteoporosis here made by being fed with low calcium diet (containing calcium 0.2%) and distilled water, and injected with DXM 0.