Publications by authors named "Weihua Wu"

In this study, sodium gluconate was applied as a novel carbon source for the fuel ethanol production using an engineered Escherichia coli strain KO11 in batch fermentations. Ethanol and acetic acid were produced as two major products as well as small amount of lactic acid during the fermentation. Compared to the conventional carbon source glucose, the bioconversion of sodium gluconate possessed two distinct advantages: faster utilization rate of sodium gluconate (1.

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Potassium (K(+)) influx into pollen tubes via K(+) transporters is essential for pollen tube growth; however, the mechanism by which K(+) transporters are regulated in pollen tubes remains unknown. Here, we report that Arabidopsis thaliana Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinase11 (CPK11) and CPK24 are involved in Ca(2+)-dependent regulation of the inward K(+) (K(+)in) channels in pollen tubes. Using patch-clamp analysis, we demonstrated that K(+)in currents of pollen tube protoplasts were inhibited by elevated [Ca(2+)]cyt.

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Rhabdomyolysis (RM) and subsequent myoglobin (Mb) deposition can lead to acute kidney injury. Continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) can remove Mb, but direct renal protection is unclear. We hypothesized that CVVH can improve renal mitochondrial dysfunction in its early stage.

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Direct cellobiose production from cellulose by a genetically modified fungus-Neurospora crassa, was explored in this study. A library of N. crassa sextuple beta-glucosidase (bgl) gene deletion strains was constructed.

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The Arabidopsis Di19 (Drought-induced) gene family encodes seven Cys2/His2-type zinc-finger proteins, most with unknown functions. Here, we report that Di19 functioned as a transcriptional regulator and was involved in Arabidopsis responses to drought stress through up-regulation of pathogenesis-related PR1, PR2, and PR5 gene expressions. The Di19 T-DNA insertion mutant di19 was much more sensitive to drought stress, whereas the Di19-overexpressing lines were much more tolerant to drought stress compared with wild-type plants.

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Potassium transporters and channels play crucial roles in K+ uptake and translocation in plant cells. These roles are essential for plant growth and development. AKT1 is an important K+ channel in Arabidopsis roots that is involved in K+ uptake.

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As one of the most important mineral nutrient elements, potassium (K(+)) participates in many plant physiological processes and determines the yield and quality of crop production. In this review, we summarize K(+) signaling processes and K(+) transport regulation in higher plants, especially in plant responses to K(+)-deficiency stress. Plants perceive external K(+) fluctuations and generate the initial K(+) signal in root cells.

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Metabolic changes in cancer: beyond the Warburg effect.

Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai)

January 2013

Altered metabolism is one of the hallmarks of cancer cells. The best-known metabolic abnormality in cancer cells is the Warburg effect, which demonstrates an increased glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen. However, tumor-related metabolic abnormalities are not limited to altered balance between glucose fermentation and oxidative phosphorylation.

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Objectives: The current objective is to evaluate the effect of intensive glycemic control on serum levels of both Cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Hence, we are trying to find a reasonable glucose-lowering rate associated with type 2 diabetics with and without coronary heart disease.

Methods: A total of 132 type 2 diabetes mellitus without coronary heart disease (T2DM) cases and 135 type 2 diabetes mellitus with coronary heart disease (T2DM+CHD) cases received intensive glycemic control.

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Perivalvular leaks are usually caused by suture interruption in prosthetic valves or infective endocarditis. Traumatic mitral annular dehiscence is a very uncommon event. We present a rare case of severe mitral regurgitation secondary to perivalvular abnormal communication in a 35-year-old man with a history of blunt chest trauma.

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Glutamate-induced neuronal damage is mainly caused by overactivation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Conversely, normal physiological brain function and neuronal survival require adequate activation of NMDA receptors. Studies have revealed that NMDA receptor-induced neuronal death or survival is mediated through distinct subset of NMDA receptors triggering different intracellular signaling pathways.

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Potassium (K⁺) is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development. Previous studies have demonstrated that Calcineurin B-Like Protein1 (CBL1) or CBL9 and CBL-Interacting Protein Kinase23 (CIPK23) regulate K⁺ uptake in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) roots by modulating K⁺ channel Arabidopsis K⁺ Transporter1. In this study, we show that the protein kinase CIPK9 interacts with the calcium sensor CBL3 and plays crucial roles in K⁺ homeostasis under low-K⁺ stress in Arabidopsis.

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Fun30 is a Swi2/Snf2 homolog in budding yeast that has been shown to remodel chromatin both in vitro and in vivo. We report that Fun30 plays a key role in homologous recombination, by facilitating 5'-to-3' resection of double-strand break (DSB) ends, apparently by facilitating exonuclease digestion of nucleosome-bound DNA adjacent to the DSB. Fun30 is recruited to an HO endonuclease-induced DSB and acts in both the Exo1-dependent and Sgs1-dependent resection pathways.

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Hyperglycemia clearly plays a key role in the development and progression of diabetic neuropathy. Hyperglycemia induces oxidative stress to generate reactive oxygen species in diabetic neurons resulting in neuronal damage and dysfunction. Apoptosis has been proposed as a possible mechanism for high glucose-induced neural dysfunction and neuronal cell injury.

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Background: Potassium (K+) is an important nutrient ion in plant cells and plays crucial roles in many plant physiological and developmental processes. In the natural environment, K+ deficiency is a common abiotic stress that inhibits plant growth and reduces crop productivity. Several microarray studies have been conducted on genome-wide gene expression profiles of rice during its responses to various stresses.

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The evolutionarily conserved histone variant H2A.Z has an important role in the regulation of gene expression and the establishment of a buffer to the spread of silent heterochromatin. Saccharomyces cerevisiae Swr1, a Swi2/Snf2-related ATPase, is the catalytic core of a multisubunit chromatin remodeling enzyme, called the SWR1 complex, that efficiently replaces conventional histone H2A in nucleosomes with histone H2A.

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Background: The optimal methods for glucose control and reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease are controversial. Findings from recent clinical trials have shown different viewpoints on the advantages and disadvantages of intensive lowering of glucose. We used echocardiography to explore the influence of the glucose-lowering rate on left ventricular function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

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Objective: Severe acute arsine poisoning (SAAP) complicated by multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is a critical clinical illness. The limited efficacy of conventional drug therapy prompted us to investigate the application of hybrid blood purification treatment (HBPT) to improve the prognosis in critically ill patients. The present manuscript describes a series of cases treated with HBPT.

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The conventional biochemical platform featuring enzymatic hydrolysis involves five key steps: pretreatment, cellulase production, enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and product recovery. Sugars are produced as reactive intermediates for subsequent fermentation to fuels and chemicals. Herein, an alternative biochemical route is proposed.

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Background: Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) regulates mitochondrial morphology and associated signaling pathways. However, the role of Mfn2 in kidney disease is not fully understood. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Mfn2 overexpression on high-glucose-induced cell proliferation and apoptosis.

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Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibits angiotensin II-induced proliferation of aortic smooth muscle cells via inactivation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). ERK1/2 is necessary for the degradation or down-regulation of the cell cycle inhibitor p27, and is also crucial in mediating proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Whether ERK1/2/p27 signal pathway is involved in CGRP-mediated pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension and vascular remodeling remains unknown.

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The aims of this study was to elucidate whether the expression of E-cadherin can be affected by the recombinant has-mir-373 eukaryotic expression plasmid vector through tests in vitro, and to analyze the relationship between the expression of E-cadherin and tumor growth. According to the has-mir-373 sequence in miRBase database, two template DNA sequences were designed. The has-mir-373 sequence and a control sequence were synthesized and cloned into pGenesil-1 eukaryotic expression plasmid vector.

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Antigen 5 (Ag5) has been identified as a dominant component of cyst fluid of Echinococcus granulosus and is considered as a member of serine proteases family, which in other helminth, plays an important role in the egg hatch and larva invasion. However, whether Ag5 is expressed and secreted in all life stages is unknown. In this study, according to the sequence in GenBank, we cloned and sequenced the open reading frame (ORF) of Ag5 gene from the protoscolices of E.

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A total of 140 endangered species in Hainan Island were selected as indicator species, and their spatial distribution patterns were analyzed by using mechanism habitat model. Based on the iterative operation with systematic conservation planning tool MARXAN, the priority areas of these species were identified and evaluated. The priority areas had an area of 5383.

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Objective: To study the expression of beclin1 in renal tissue of diabetic rats, and its role in diabetic nephropathy (DN).

Methods: Diabetic rat model was produced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg), it was considered to be diabetic nephropathy that 72 h blood glucose after modeling was higher than 16 mmol/L. The positive urine protein was detected by paper method at the end of 1 week.

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