Genome-wide association analysis identified splicing single nucleotide polymorphism in CFLAR predictive of triptolide chemo-sensitivity.

Background: Triptolide is a therapeutic diterpenoid derived from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. Triptolide has been shown to induce apoptosis by activation of pro-apoptotic proteins, inhibiting NFkB and c-KIT pathways, suppressing the Jak2 transcription, activating MAPK8/JNK signaling and modulating the heat shock responses.

Results: In the present study, we used lymphoblast cell lines (LCLs) derived from 55 unrelated Caucasian subjects to identify genetic markers predictive of cellular sensitivity to triptolide using genome wide association study.

Genetic variants in cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase II are associated with its expression and cytarabine sensitivity in HapMap cell lines and in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase II (NT5C2) is involved in the development of 1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) resistance and has been associated with clinical outcome in patients receiving ara-C-based chemotherapy. NT5C2 inactivates ara-C by dephosphorylating ara-C monophosphate to ara-C. In this study, we sequenced NT5C2 in genomic DNA samples from International HapMap project panels with European [Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEU); n = 90] or African [Yoruba people in Ibadan, Nigeria (YRI); n = 90] ancestry.

The real estate of myoblast cardiac transplantation: negative remodeling is associated with location.

Background: Skeletal myoblast transplantation has been proposed as a therapy for ischemic cardiomyopathy owing to its possible role in myogenesis. The relative safety and efficacy based on location within scar is not known. We hypothesized that skeletal myoblasts transplanted into peripheral scar (compared with central scar) would more effectively attenuate negative left ventricular (LV) remodeling but at the risk of arrhythmia.