Publications by authors named "Weijuan Lou"

Osteoporosis (OS) and fractures are common in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and maintenance dialysis patients. However, diagnosing osteoporosis in this population is challenging. The aim of this research is to explore the common genetic profile and potential molecular mechanisms of ESRD and OS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Oncogenic mutations in the KRAS gene are very common in human cancers, resulting in cells with well-characterized selective advantages. For more than three decades, the development of effective therapeutics to inhibit KRAS-driven tumorigenesis has proved a formidable challenge and KRAS was considered 'undruggable'. Therefore, multi-targeted therapy may provide a reasonable strategy for the effective treatment of KRAS-driven cancers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF2α) antagonists are effective against clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs) that highly express HIF2α. To identify potential drug targets in HIF2α ccRCC, we constructed an epigenetic-focused single-guide RNA library and performed an in vivo CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen in BALB/c nude mice transplanted with 786-O (HIF2α) or Caki-2 (HIF2α) cells. We found that the m6A demethylase fat mass and obesity-associated () gene was indispensable to the growth of HIF2α but not HIF2α ccRCC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

HIF-2α selective inhibitor showed successful efficacy in sensitive clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) presenting higher levels of HIF-2α compared to resistant tumors with low level of HIF-2α (negative HIF-2α ccRCC). Currently, negative HIF-2α ccRCC lacks truly effective therapeutic agents to improve the outcomes. Bromodomain-containing protein 9 (BRD9) plays a critical role in human hepatocellular carcinoma, squamous cell lung cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and so on.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Context: Rosmarinic acid (RosA), a natural poly-phenolic compound isolated from a variety of Labiatae herbs, has been reported to have a range of biological effects.

Objective: To investigate the cardioprotective effects of RosA against myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

Materials And Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were given RosA (100 mg/kg) via intragastric administration.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Serum response factor (SRF) was found to be involved in the phenotypic transition and fibrosis of the peritoneal membrane during treatment with peritoneal dialysis (PD), but the exact mechanism remains unclear. SRF regulates microRNAs (miRNAs) that contain the SRF-binding consensus (CArG) element in the promoter region. Therefore, we investigated whether the miR-199a/214 gene cluster, which contains a CArG element in its promoter, is directly regulated by SRF.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Twist is overexpressed in high glucose (HG) damage of human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) in vitro. Herein, we further identified its precise function related to fibrosis of peritoneal membranes (PMs). The overexpression and activation of Twist and YB-1 (official name, YBX1) and a transformed fibroblastic phenotype of HPMCs were found to be positively related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition progress and PM fibrosis ex vivo in 93 patients who underwent continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (PD), and also in HG-induced immortal HPMCs and an animal model of PD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) induced by glucose in human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) is a major cause of peritoneal membrane (PM) fibrosis and dysfunction.

Methods: To investigate serum response factor (SRF) impacts on EMT-derived fibrosis in PM, we isolated HPMCs from the effluents of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to analyze alterations during peritoneal dialysis (PD) and observe the response of PM to SRF in a rat model.

Results: Our results demonstrated the activation and translocation of SRF into the nuclei of HPMCs under extensive periods of PD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) results in functional and structural alterations of the peritoneal membrane. Previous studies have suggested that high glucose (HG) could induce transdifferentiation of peritoneal mesothelial cells into myofibroblasts, but the molecular mechanisms of HG-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) are unclear. This study was undertaken to elucidate the effects and mechanisms of Twist on HG-induced EMT of HPMCs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Here we presented that the expression of RUNX3 was significantly decreased in 75 cases of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) tissues (p<0.05). Enforced RUNX3 expression mediated 786-O cells to exhibit inhibition of growth, G1 cell-cycle arrest and metastasis in vitro, and to lost tumorigenicity in nude mouse model in vivo.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF