Publications by authors named "Xiao-man Yang"

Article Synopsis
  • COVID-19 and influenza are respiratory illnesses caused by different viruses but share some symptoms and clinical risk factors, yet their genetic connections remain poorly understood.
  • A study involving over 18,000 influenza cases and nearly 276,000 control subjects found no common genetic risk factors between COVID-19 and influenza, revealing specific gene variants linked only to influenza.
  • The research highlights the potential for targeting cell surface receptors involved in viral entry, showing that manipulating specific genes could lead to treatments that prevent both COVID-19 and influenza infections.
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Article Synopsis
  • * Traditional approaches to protect neurons have focused on blocking glutamate receptors, but these have not yielded many successful clinical results.
  • * Recent research highlights the significant role of non-neuronal cells (like glial cells and endothelial cells) in glutamate handling, suggesting a new perspective on developing treatments for excitotoxicity during ischemic stroke.
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adapts to the host environment by altering gene expression. Because of the complexity of the gut microbiome, current transcriptome studies have focused on microbiota-undeveloped conditions, neglecting the interaction between the host's commensal gut microbiota and . In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome of fully colonized adult mice using coated-magnetic chitin beads (vcMCB).

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A large number of transcriptome studies generate important data and information for the study of pathogenic mechanisms of pathogens, including Vibrio cholerae. V. cholerae transcriptome data include RNA-seq and microarray: microarray data mainly include clinical human and environmental samples, and RNA-seq data mainly focus on laboratory processing conditions, including different stresses and experimental animals .

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After long-term use of levodopa, Parkinson's patients almost inevitably develop dyskinesia, a kind of drug side effect manifesting as uncontrollable choreic movements and dystonia, which could be crippling yet have limited therapeutic options. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is the most widely studied non-invasive neuromodulation technology to treat levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Many studies have shown that transcranial magnetic stimulation has beneficial effects on levodopa-induced dyskinesia and is patient-tolerable, barely with reported adverse effects.

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The vasculature of the CNS is structurally and functionally distinct from that of other organ systems and is particularly prone to developmental abnormalities and hemorrhage. Although other embryonic tissues undergo primary vascularization, the developing nervous system is unique in that it is secondarily vascularized by sprouting angiogenesis from a surrounding perineural plexus. This sprouting angiogenesis requires the TGF-β and Wnt pathways because ablation of these pathways results in aberrant sprouting and hemorrhage.

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Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an acute, highly infectious and immunosuppressive disease caused by IBDV, which specifically targets destruction of B cells in the bursa of Fabricius. B-cell activating factor belonging to the TNF family (BAFF, also called BLyS, TALL-1, THANK, or zTNF4) is an important factor for B-cell proliferation and survival. Here we demonstrate that human soluble BAFF (hsBAFF) may enhance humoral immune response by elevating B lymphocyte activity of secretion of immunoglobulin (Ig) such as IgA, IgM and IgG in chickens immunized or unimmunized with an inactivated IBDV vaccine from a very virulent strain.

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Insulin resistance (IR) is a hallmark of pregnancy. Because increased visceral fat (VF) is associated with IR in nonpregnant states, we reasoned that fat accretion might be important in the development of IR during pregnancy. To determine whether VF depots increase in pregnancy and whether VF contributes to IR, we studied three groups of 6-mo-old female Sprague-Dawley rats: 1) nonpregnant sham-operated rats (Nonpreg; n = 6), 2) pregnant sham-operated rats (Preg; n = 6), and 3) pregnant rats in which VF was surgically removed 1 mo before mating (PVF-; n = 6).

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Aim: To investigate effects of hsBAFF synthesized in Escherichia coli on spleen B lymphocyte immune response and its intracellular free Ca2+ ([Ca2]i]) signaling in mice.

Methods: Twenty ICR mice, half males-half females, were chosen and randomly divided into a normal control group (n=10) and a hsBAFF treatment group (n-10). The mice in hsBAFF treatment group were given abdominal cavity injection of hsBAFF solution which was diluted with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at dosage of 0.

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Increased visceral adiposity is a pivotal component of the metabolic syndrome. Differential gene expression patterns of fat-derived peptides (FDPs) in visceral fat and subcutaneous fat have been characterized in the fasting state. Here we examined whether delivery of nutrients differentially affects the expression of FDPs in visceral fat versus subcutaneous fat (in the fed state).

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Age-dependent changes in insulin action and body fat distribution are risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes. To examine whether the accumulation of visceral fat (VF) could play a direct role in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, we monitored insulin action, glucose tolerance, and the expression of adipo-derived peptides after surgical removal of VF in aging (20-month-old) F344/Brown Norway (FBN) and in Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rats. As expected, peripheral and hepatic insulin action were markedly impaired in aging FBN rats, and extraction of VF (accounting for approximately 18% of their total body fat) was sufficient to restore peripheral and hepatic insulin action to the levels of young rats.

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Adipocytes are the exclusive or predominant source of several secreted proteins that exert profound effects on systemic carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Resistin, a 10-kDa adipose tissue specific secretory protein, has recently been implicated in exerting a negative effect on systemic insulin sensitivity. It is, however, not known how resistin mediates this insulin-desensitizing effect or what regulatory mechanisms control resistin expression.

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Leptin has been shown to modulate total body fat and visceral fat distribution and to enhance insulin action in young rats. We hypothesize that failure of leptin action may contribute to the increase in visceral fat and insulin resistance in aging. By chronic subcutaneous infusion of leptin over 7 days, we increased leptin levels in young rats to match the levels in aging ad libitum fed rats.

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Increased fat mass, abdominal adiposity, and insulin resistance are typical findings in aging mammals and are frequently associated with leptin resistance and increased plasma leptin levels. To examine whether leptin's failure in aging is due to aging per se or to changes in body fat mass or distribution, we studied aging rats that underwent calorie restriction throughout their lives, maintaining their youthful body fat pattern and metabolic profile. Leptin's action was assessed by measuring its ability to regulate food intake, fat mass and its distribution, peripheral and hepatic insulin action, and its own gene expression in fat.

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We examined whether acute in vivo increases in either plasma glucose or insulin concentrations stimulate PAI-1 gene expression in fat tissue. We studied chronically catheterized unstressed and awake, lean (approximately 300 g, n=12) and obese (approximately 450 g, n=12) Sprague-Dawley rats. Hyperglycemia (approximately 18mM) was induced for 3 h by glucose infusion during a pancreatic clamp (somatostatin inhibited endogenous insulin secretion).

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