[The role of glucagon-like peptide-1 and its receptor in the mechanism of metabolic surgery].

At present, surgery has become one of the treatments for type 2 diabetes, but it is still unclear about the therapeutic mechanism. Many experiments has proved that the anatomical and physiological structure has been altered leading to significant changes related to the secretion of gastrointestinal hormones and neuropeptides. These molecular are related to the metabolism of glucose, functions of islet cells and sensitivity of insulin.

Tip-to-tip interaction in the crystal packing of PACSIN 2 is important in regulating tubulation activity.

The F-BAR domain containing proteins PACSINs are cytoplasmic phosphoproteins involved in various membrane deformations, such as actin reorganization, vesicle transport and microtubule movement. Our previous study shows that all PACSINs are composed of crescent shaped dimers with two wedge loops, and the wedge loop-mediated lateral interaction between neighboring dimers is important for protein packing and tubulation activity. Here, from the crystal packing of PACSIN 2, we observed a tight tip-to-tip interaction, in addition to the wedge loop-mediated lateral interaction.

HSCARG inhibits NADPH oxidase activity through regulation of the expression of p47phox.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase catalyzes the transfer of electrons from NADPH to O2, which is the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in nonphagocytic cells. Excess ROS are toxic; therefore, keeping ROS in homeostasis in cells can protect cells from oxidative damage. It is meaningful to further understand the molecular mechanism by which ROS homeostasis is mediated.

Crystallization and X-ray crystallographic analysis of the cap-binding domain of influenza A virus H1N1 polymerase subunit PB2.

PB2 is one of the subunits of the influenza virus heterotrimeric polymerase. By its cap-binding domain (PB2cap), PB2 captures the 5' cap of the host pre-mRNA to generate a capped 5' oligonucleotide primer for virus transcription. The crystal structure of influenza A virus H3N2 PB2cap with bound cap analogue m7GTP has been reported previously.

Structural and functional characterization of K339T substitution identified in the PB2 subunit cap-binding pocket of influenza A virus.

Influenza virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is a heterotrimer composed of PA, PB1, and PB2 subunits. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is required for both transcription and replication of influenza viral RNA taking place in the nucleus of infected cells. A "cap-snatching" mechanism is used to generate a 5'-capped primer for transcription in which the cap-binding domain of PB2 (PB2cap) captures the 5' cap of the host pre-mRNA.

A Bayesian Model for SNP Discovery Based on Next-Generation Sequencing Data.

A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is a single base change in the DNA sequence and is the most common polymorphism. Since some SNPs have a major influence on disease susceptibility, detecting SNPs plays an important role in biomedical research. To take fully advantage of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and detect SNP more effectively, we propose a Bayesian approach that computes a posterior probability of hidden nucleotide variations at each covered genomic position.

[Expressions of HSP 70 and NF-kappaB in the peripheral blood lymphocyte of chronic gastritis patients of different syndrome patterns].

Objective: To study the expressions of heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) in the peripheral blood lymphocyte of chronic gastritis (CG) patients of Pi-Wei hygropyrexia syndrome (PWHS) and Pi-qi deficiency syndrome (PQDS), and to explore their correlation with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection.

Methods: Recruited were totally 86 CG patients who visited at the clinics of gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, including 67 patients of PWHS (30 of predominant-dampness, 30 of equal dampness and heat, and 30 of predominant-heat) and 19 patients of PQDS. Another 12 volunteers from healthy employees and students of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were recruited as the control group.

Identification of a novel nuclear-localized adenylate kinase 6 from Arabidopsis thaliana as an essential stem growth factor.

Adenylate kinase (AK; EC 2.7.4.

An MRI study of symptomatic adhesive capsulitis.

Background: Appilication of MR imaging to diagnose Adhesive Capsulitis (AC) has previously been described. However, there is insufficient information available for the MRI analysis of AC. This study is to describe and evaluate the pathomorphology of the shoulder in Asian patients with AC compared to healthy volunteers.

Loss of zygotic NUP107 protein causes missing of pharyngeal skeleton and other tissue defects with impaired nuclear pore function in zebrafish embryos.

The Nup107-160 multiprotein subcomplex is essential for the assembly of nuclear pore complexes. The developmental functions of individual constituents of this subcomplex in vertebrates remain elusive. In particular, it is unknown whether Nup107 plays an important role in development of vertebrate embryos.

Allele loss and down-regulation of heparanase gene are associated with the progression and poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objectives: The role of heparanase (HPSE) gene in cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently controversial. This study was aimed at investigating the impact of genetic alteration and expression change of HPSE on the progression and prognosis of HCC.

Methods: The HPSE gene was studied in three different aspects: (1) loss of heterozygosity (LOH) by a custom SNP microarray and DNA copy number by real-time PCR; (2) mRNA level by qRT-PCR; and (3) protein expression by immunohistochemistry.

Rad5-dependent DNA repair functions of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae FANCM protein homolog Mph1.

Interstrand cross-links (ICLs) covalently link complementary DNA strands, block DNA replication, and transcription and must be removed to allow cell survival. Several pathways, including the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway, can faithfully repair ICLs and maintain genomic integrity; however, the precise mechanisms of most ICL repair processes remain enigmatic. In this study we genetically characterized a conserved yeast ICL repair pathway composed of the yeast homologs (Mph1, Chl1, Mhf1, Mhf2) of four FA proteins (FANCM, FANCJ, MHF1, MHF2).

Oct4GiP reporter assay to study genes that regulate mouse embryonic stem cell maintenance and self-renewal.

Pluripotency and self-renewal are two defining characteristics of embryonic stem cells (ES cells). Understanding the underlying molecular mechanism will greatly facilitate the use of ES cells for developmental biology studies, disease modeling, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine (reviewed in (1,2)). To expedite the identification and characterization of novel regulators of ES cell maintenance and self-renewal, we developed a fluorescence reporter-based assay to quantitatively measure the self-renewal status in mouse ES cells using the Oct4GiP cells (3).

[Study of Th1/Th2 balance in peripheral blood of chronic gastritis patients with Pi-Wei damp-heat syndrome].

Objective: To study the correlation between the Th1/Th2 balance in the peripheral blood and Pi-Wei damp-heat syndrome (PDS) in chronic gastritis (CG).

Methods: Fifty-one patients with CG of PDS were recruited, including 22 cases with predominant damp (PDS-D), 9 case with predominant heat (PDS-H), and 20 case with simultaneous onset of damp and Heat (PDS-DH). Besides, 10 healthy volunteers were recruited as the healthy control group.

A variant of the breast cancer type 2 susceptibility protein (BRC) repeat is essential for the RECQL5 helicase to interact with RAD51 recombinase for genome stabilization.

The BRC repeat is a structural motif in the tumor suppressor BRCA2 (breast cancer type 2 susceptibility protein), which promotes homologous recombination (HR) by regulating RAD51 recombinase activity. To date, the BRC repeat has not been observed in other proteins, so that its role in HR is inferred only in the context of BRCA2. Here, we identified a BRC repeat variant, named BRCv, in the RECQL5 helicase, which possesses anti-recombinase activity in vitro and suppresses HR and promotes cellular resistance to camptothecin-induced replication stress in vivo.

Rigidity of wedge loop in PACSIN 3 protein is a key factor in dictating diameters of tubules.

BAR (Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs) domain-containing proteins participate in cellular membrane remodeling. The F-BAR proteins normally generate low curvature tubules. However, in the PACSIN subfamily, the F-BAR domain from PACSIN 1 and 2 can induce both high and low curvature tubules.

Multiple pathways suppress telomere addition to DNA breaks in the Drosophila germline.

Telomeres protect chromosome ends from being repaired as double-strand breaks (DSBs). Just as DSB repair is suppressed at telomeres, de novo telomere addition is suppressed at the site of DSBs. To identify factors responsible for this suppression, we developed an assay to monitor de novo telomere formation in Drosophila, an organism in which telomeres can be established on chromosome ends with essentially any sequence.

Cnot1, Cnot2, and Cnot3 maintain mouse and human ESC identity and inhibit extraembryonic differentiation.

Embryonic stem cell (ESC) identity and self-renewal is maintained by extrinsic signaling pathways and intrinsic gene regulatory networks. Here, we show that three members of the Ccr4-Not complex, Cnot1, Cnot2, and Cnot3, play critical roles in maintaining mouse and human ESC identity as a protein complex and inhibit differentiation into the extraembryonic lineages. Enriched in the inner cell mass of blastocysts, these Cnot genes are highly expressed in ESC and downregulated during differentiation.

A CRM1-dependent nuclear export signal controls nucleocytoplasmic translocation of HSCARG, which regulates NF-κB activity.

HSCARG is a newly identified nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inhibitor that plays important roles in cell growth. Our previous study found that HSCARG could shuttle between the nucleus and cytoplasm by sensing the change in cellular redox states. To further investigate the mechanism of HSCARG translocation and its effect on the regulation of NF-κB activity, we identified a previously uncharacterized nuclear export signal (NES) at residues 272-278 of HSCARG that is required for its cytoplasmic translocation.

Cloning, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of mouse PACSIN 3 protein.

PACSIN-family proteins are cytoplasmic proteins that have vesicle-transport, membrane-dynamics, actin-reorganization and microtubule activities. Here, the N-terminal F-BAR domain of mouse PACSIN 3, which contains 341 amino acids, was successfully cloned, purified and crystallized. The crystal of PACSIN 3 (1-341) diffracted to 2.

[Duodenojejunal bypass in treatment for 7 cases with non-severe obese type 2 diabetes mellitus].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and feasibility of duodenojejunal bypass(DJB)on non-severe obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).

Methods: The body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose(FPG), 2h-postprandial plasma glucose(2hPG), fasting insulin(F-ins), fasting c-peptide(F-CP), glycated hemoglobin and hypoglycemic agents dose changes were tested in 7 patients with non-severe obese T2DM undergoing DJB, preoperatively and within 24 weeks after surgery during the follow-up. Data were collected and the clinical outcomes of T2DM were analyzed.

Acute depletion of Tet1-dependent 5-hydroxymethylcytosine levels impairs LIF/Stat3 signaling and results in loss of embryonic stem cell identity.

The TET family of FE(II) and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent enzymes (Tet1/2/3) promote DNA demethylation by converting 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), which they further oxidize into 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine. Tet1 is robustly expressed in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and has been implicated in mESC maintenance. Here we demonstrate that, unlike genetic deletion, RNAi-mediated depletion of Tet1 in mESCs led to a significant reduction in 5hmC and loss of mESC identity.

The crystal structure of human UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase reveals a latch effect that influences enzymatic activity.

UGPase (UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase) is highly conserved among eukaryotes. UGPase reversibly catalyses the formation of UDP-glucose and is critical in carbohydrate metabolism. Previous studies have mainly focused on the UGPases from plants, fungi and parasites, and indicate that the regulatory mechanisms responsible for the enzyme activity vary among different organisms.

Comparison of laparoscopic and open surgery for pyogenic liver abscess with biliary pathology.

Aim: To investigate the feasibility and therapeutic effect of laparoscopic surgery for pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) with biliary pathology.

Methods: From January 2004 to October 2010, 31 patients with PLA combined with biliary pathology meeting entry criteria received surgical management in our hospital. Of the 31 patients, 13 underwent laparoscopic surgery (LS group) and 18 underwent open surgery (OS group).

Quaternary organization of GPIb-IX complex and insights into Bernard-Soulier syndrome revealed by the structures of GPIbβ and a GPIbβ/GPIX chimera.

Platelet GPIb-IX receptor complex has 3 subunits GPIbα, GPIbβ, and GPIX, which assemble with a ratio of 1:2:1. Dysfunction in surface expression of the complex leads to Bernard-Soulier syndrome. We have crystallized the GPIbβ ectodomain (GPIbβ(E)) and determined the structure to show a single leucine-rich repeat with N- and C-terminal disulphide-bonded capping regions.