Publications by authors named "Xiaoshan Zhou"

Deficiency in thymidine kinase 2 (TK2) causes mitochondrial DNA depletion. Liver mitochondria are severely affected in Tk2 complete knockout models and have been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of the Tk2 knockout phenotype, characterized by loss of hypodermal fat tissue, growth retardation and reduced life span. Here we report a liver specific Tk2 knockout (KO) model to further study mechanisms contributing to the phenotypic changes associated with Tk2 deficiency.

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Coke oven emissions (COEs) contain many carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Telomere damage is an early biological marker reflecting long-term COEs-exposure. Whereas, whether the genetic variations of telomere-regulated gene TNKS have an effect on the COEs-induced telomere damage is unknown.

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Primary membranous nephropathy (PMN), is an autoimmune glomerular disease and the main reason of nephrotic syndrome in adults. Studies have confirmed that the incidence of PMN increases yearly and is related to fine air pollutants particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.

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Thymidine kinase 2 (TK2) deficiency in humans leads to a myopathic form of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deficiency. Here we present a skeletal and cardiac muscle specific TK2 knockout mouse (mTk2 KO). The mice showed dilated hearts and markedly reduced adipose tissue during week 12 to 16.

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Objective: To evaluate the interaction effects of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure and variants in genes on mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) in workers.

Methods: The mtDNAcn was determined by real-time quantitative polymerase-chain reaction in 544 PAHs-exposed workers and 238 office workers. The polymorphisms were detected by flight mass spectrometry.

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Article Synopsis
  • Membranous nephropathy (MN) is the most common form of primary nephrotic syndrome in Chinese adults, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) suggests treatment with Mahuang Fuzi and Shenzhuo Decoction (MFSD).
  • In a study, MFSD showed comparable effectiveness to glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants in treating MN in rats, significantly reducing urinary protein levels and improving kidney health.
  • The mechanism behind MFSD's effects involves around 30 active compounds, impacting renal autophagy and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which are linked to podocyte injury, indicating potential targets for MN treatment.
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We explored the association between variations in the telomere maintenance genes and change in telomere length (TL) in workers. The TL of peripheral blood leukocytes from 544 coke oven workers and 238 controls were detected using the Real-time PCR method. Variations in four genes were then detected using the PCR based restriction fragment length polymorphism.

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Objective: The study aimed to reinvestigate psychological mechanisms of the influence of construction workers' experience on hazard recognition performance, with signal detection theory (SDT) and electroencephalogram (EEG) readings.

Background: Existing evidence regarding the effect of experience on hazard recognition performance in the construction industry remains inconsistent. Behavior-wise, identification of dominant hazard recognition factors (sensitivity or response bias, or both) would help determine appropriate training strategies to improve hazard recognition.

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Monitoring brain activity is a novel development for hazard recognition in the construction industry. However, very few empirical studies have investigated the causal connections within the brain. This study aimed to explore the brain connectivity of construction workers during hazard recognition.

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Telomeres are functional complexes at the ends of linear chromosomes, and telomerase aids in their maintenance and replication. Additionally, accumulating evidence suggests that telomerase-associated protein 1 (TEP1) is a component of the telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex and is responsible for catalyzing the addition of new synthetic telomere sequences to chromosome ends. In our previous study, we found that genetic variants of the TERT gene participated in the regulation of telomere length.

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Deoxyguanosine kinase (DGUOK) deficiency causes mtDNA depletion and mitochondrial dysfunction. We reported long survival of DGUOK knockout (Dguok-/-) mice despite low (<5%) mtDNA content in liver tissue. However, the molecular mechanisms enabling the extended survival remain unknown.

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Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system produces an antibody response to its own antigens due to impaired immune tolerance. Although antibodies are derived from plasma cells differentiated by B cells, the T-B cells also contribute a lot to the immune system. In particular, the subsets of helper T (Th) cells, including the dominant subsets such as Th2, Th17, and follicular helper T (Tfh) cells and the inferior subsets such as regulatory T (Treg) cells, shape the immune imbalance of IMN and promote the incidence and development of autoimmune responses.

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Thiamine (vitamin B1) is often deficient in oncopatients, particularly those undergoing chemotherapy. However, interaction between the thiamine deficiency and anticancer action of drugs has not been characterized. A major natural thiamine derivative, thiamine diphosphate (ThDP), is a coenzyme of central metabolism, also known to affect transcriptional activity of the master metabolic regulator and genome guardian p53.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study examined the impact of genetic variations in metabolic enzymes on mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) among workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
  • The research involved 544 coke oven workers and 238 office staff, revealing that PAH exposure led to significantly lower mtDNAcn in workers compared to the control group.
  • Findings suggest that individuals with the AA genotype of the GSTP1 rs1695 variant showed reduced mtDNAcn, indicating they may have less effective detoxification of PAHs.
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Hypertensive nephropathy is the most common complication of hypertension, and is one of the main causes of end‑stage renal disease (ESRD) in numerous countries. The basic pathological feature of hypertensive nephropathy is arteriolosclerosis followed by renal parenchymal damage. The etiology of this disease is complex, and its pathogenesis is mainly associated with renal hemodynamic changes and vascular remodeling.

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Regulatory B cells (Breg) are widely regarded as immunomodulatory cells which play an immunosuppressive role. Breg inhibits pathological autoimmune response by secreting interleukin-10 (IL-10), transforming growth factor- (TGF-), and adenosine and through other ways to prevent T cells and other immune cells from expanding. Recent studies have shown that different inflammatory environments induce different types of Breg cells, and these different Breg cells have different functions.

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The carcinogenicity of coal tar pitch (CTP) to occupational workers has been confirmed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, especially for lung cancer. Herein, we explored the dynamic changes of epigenetic modifications in the malignant transformation process of CTP-induced BEAS-2B cells and also provided clues for screening early biomarkers of CTP-associated occupational lung cancer. BEAS-2B cells treated with 3.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the association between genetic variations in telomere pathway genes and the level of hydrogen peroxide (HO) in omethoate exposure workers.

Methods: A total of 180 omethoate exposure workers and 115 healthy controls were recruited. The level of HO in plasma was determined with molybdenic acid colorimetry.

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To explore the association between polymorphisms in microRNAs (miRNAs) and the cholinesterase (ChE) activity in omethoate-exposed workers, we recruited 180 omethoate-exposed workers and 115 controls to measure their ChE activity using acetylcholine and dithio-bis-(nitrobenzoic acid) and genotype susceptible SNPs in their miRNA by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. ChE activity in the exposure group was lower than that in the control group ( < 0.001).

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Objective: To explore the genetic damage caused by different tar levels in the human body.

Methods: The subjects were divided into high, medium and low (12 mg, 8 mg, 5 mg) tar groups according to the tar levels. Nonsmoking populations served as a control group.

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Genetic up-regulation of mitochondrial 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase is known to increase reactive oxygen species, being detrimental for cancer cells. Thiamine diphosphate (ThDP, cocarboxylase) is an essential activator of the enzyme and inhibits p53-DNA binding in cancer cells. We hypothesize that the pleiotropic regulator ThDP may be of importance for anticancer therapies.

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Telomere length was found to be associated with omethoate exposure and polymorphisms in certain genes among occupational workers. However, whether the polymorphisms in telomere-binding protein genes influence telomere length remains unclear. To explore the correlation between telomere length and polymorphisms in telomere-binding protein genes, telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes was determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 180 omethoate-exposed workers and 115 healthy controls.

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Telomeres are located at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes and vulnerable to exogenous chemical compounds. Exposure to coke oven emissions (COEs) leads to a dose-related telomere damage, and such chromosomal damage might trigger the cGAS/STING signaling pathway which plays an important role in immune surveillance. However, the relationship between the genetic variations in the cGAS/STING signaling pathway and telomere damage in the COEs-exposure workers has not been investigated.

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Mitochondria DNA was preferentially attacked by the exogenous carcinogens including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) relative to nuclear DNA, and nuclear gene variants may account for variability in the mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn). However, it remains unclear whether miRNA genetic variations are associated with mitochondrial DNA damage in the PAH-exposed workers. Therefore, we measured the leukocyte mtDNAcn, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHPYR), environmental PAH exposure, and miRNA genetic polymorphisms among 544 coke oven workers and 238 healthy control participants.

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