High percentages of peripheral blood T-cell activation in childhood Hodgkin's lymphoma are associated with inferior outcome.

The aims of this study were to investigate the activation of T lymphocytes in peripheral blood from children with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and explore their roles for prognosis in HL. A cohort of 52 newly diagnosed children with HL during the past 10 years was enrolled for analysis in this study. Peripheral blood samples of the patients were acquired before treatment in our hospital, and T-cell subsets were detected by a four-color flow cytometer.

Author Correction: Transient Scute activation via a self-stimulatory loop directs enteroendocrine cell pair specification from self-renewing intestinal stem cells.

In the version of this Article originally published, the author had misnumbered the reference citations in the Methods, using numbers 1-14 instead of 46-59. These errors have now been corrected in all online versions of the Article.

Transient Scute activation via a self-stimulatory loop directs enteroendocrine cell pair specification from self-renewing intestinal stem cells.

The process through which multiple types of cell-lineage-restricted progenitor cells are specified from multipotent stem cells is unclear. Here we show that, in intestinal stem cell lineages in adult Drosophila, in which the Delta-Notch-signalling-guided progenitor cell differentiation into enterocytes is the default mode, the specification of enteroendocrine cells (EEs) is initiated by transient Scute activation in a process driven by transcriptional self-stimulation combined with a negative feedback regulation between Scute and Notch targets. Scute activation induces asymmetric intestinal stem cell divisions that generate EE progenitor cells.

The Mitochondrial DNA Polymerase Promotes Elimination of Paternal Mitochondrial Genomes.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is typically inherited from only one parent [1-3]. In animals, this is usually the mother. Maternal inheritance is often presented as the passive outcome of the difference in cytoplasmic content of egg and sperm; however, active programs enforce uniparental inheritance at two levels, eliminating paternal mitochondrial genomes or destroying mitochondria delivered to the zygote by the sperm [4-13].

Epigenetics and Cellular Metabolism.

Living eukaryotic systems evolve delicate cellular mechanisms for responding to various environmental signals. Among them, epigenetic machinery (DNA methylation, histone modifications, microRNAs, etc.) is the hub in transducing external stimuli into transcriptional response.

Histone chaperone CAF-1: essential roles in multi-cellular organism development.

More and more studies have shown chromatin remodelers and histone modifiers play essential roles in regulating developmental patterns by organizing specific chromosomal architecture to establish programmed transcriptional profiles, with implications that histone chaperones execute a coordinating role in these processes. Chromatin assembly factor-1 (CAF-1), an evolutionarily conserved three-subunit protein complex, was identified as a histone chaperone coupled with DNA replication and repair in cultured mammalian cells and yeasts. Interestingly, recent findings indicate CAF-1 may have important regulatory roles during development by interacting with specific transcription factors and epigenetic regulators.

E(y)1/TAF9 mediates the transcriptional output of Notch signaling in Drosophila.

Transcriptional activation of Notch signaling targets requires the formation of a ternary complex that involves the intracellular domain of the Notch receptor (NICD), DNA-binding protein Suppressor of Hairless [Su(H), RPBJ in mammals] and coactivator Mastermind (Mam). Here, we report that E(y)1/TAF9, a component of the transcription factor TFIID complex, interacts specifically with the NICD-Su(H)-Mam complex to facilitate the transcriptional output of Notch signaling. We identified E(y)1/TAF9 in a large-scale in vivo RNA interference (RNAi) screen for genes that are involved in a Notch-dependent mitotic-to-endocycle transition in Drosophila follicle cells.

Various applications of TALEN- and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination to modify the Drosophila genome.

Modifying the genomes of many organisms is becoming as easy as manipulating DNA in test tubes, which is made possible by two recently developed techniques based on either the customizable DNA binding protein, TALEN, or the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Here, we describe a series of efficient applications derived from these two technologies, in combination with various homologous donor DNA plasmids, to manipulate the Drosophila genome: (1) to precisely generate genomic deletions; (2) to make genomic replacement of a DNA fragment at single nucleotide resolution; and (3) to generate precise insertions to tag target proteins for tracing their endogenous expressions. For more convenient genomic manipulations, we established an easy-to-screen platform by knocking in a white marker through homologous recombination.

Study of the distributed thermal lens of LD end pumped rectangular gain.

In the LD end pumped rectangular laser gain medium, the thermal induced refractive index is not only non-uniformly transversely, but also non-uniformly and distributed along the pumping beam propagation, the effect of thermal lens is a distributed not a lumped lens effect as previously considered. In this paper, the effect of a distributed thermal lens is analyzed.

CAF-1 promotes Notch signaling through epigenetic control of target gene expression during Drosophila development.

The histone chaperone CAF-1 is known for its role in DNA replication-coupled histone deposition. However, loss of function causes lethality only in higher multicellular organisms such as mice and flies, but not in unicellular organisms such as yeasts, suggesting that CAF-1 has other important functions than histone deposition during animal development. Emerging evidence indicates that CAF-1 also has a role in higher order chromatin organization and heterochromatin-mediated gene expression; it remains unclear whether CAF-1 has a role in specific signaling cascades to promote gene expression during development.

Highly efficient genome modifications mediated by CRISPR/Cas9 in Drosophila.

We report that Cas9/gRNA mediates efficient genetic modifications in Drosophila. Through targeting seven loci, we achieved a germline efficiency of up to 100%. Genes in both heterochromatin and euchromatin can be modified efficiently.

TALEN or Cas9 - rapid, efficient and specific choices for genome modifications.

Precise modifications of complex genomes at the single nucleotide level have been one of the big goals for scientists working in basic and applied genetics, including biotechnology, drug development, gene therapy and synthetic biology. However, the relevant techniques for making these manipulations in model organisms and human cells have been lagging behind the rapid high throughput studies in the post-genomic era with a bottleneck of low efficiency, time consuming and laborious manipulation, and off-targeting problems. Recent discoveries of TALEs (transcription activator-like effectors) coding system and CRISPR (clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) immune system in bacteria have enabled the development of customized TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases) and CRISPR/Cas9 to rapidly edit genomic DNA in a variety of cell types, including human cells, and different model organisms at a very high efficiency and specificity.

Efficient and specific modifications of the Drosophila genome by means of an easy TALEN strategy.

Technology development has always been one of the forces driving breakthroughs in biomedical research. Since the time of Thomas Morgan, Drosophilists have, step by step, developed powerful genetic tools for manipulating and functionally dissecting the Drosophila genome, but room for improving these technologies and developing new techniques is still large, especially today as biologists start to study systematically the functional genomics of different model organisms, including humans, in a high-throughput manner. Here, we report, for the first time in Drosophila, a rapid, easy, and highly specific method for modifying the Drosophila genome at a very high efficiency by means of an improved transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) strategy.

Regulation of gap junctional communication by astrocytic mitochondrial K(ATP) channels following neurotoxin administration in in vitro and in vivo models.

It is known that neuronal ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels and astrocytic gap junctions (GJs) are involved in the mechanism underlying neurodisorders. The K(ATP) channels exist also in glial cells, and the objective of this study was to determine whether the astrocytic K(ATP) channels exert their effect on neurotoxin-induced neurodysfunction through regulating the astrocytic GJ function. The results showed that diazoxide, a selective mitochondrial K(ATP) (mitoK(ATP)) channel opener, enhanced the GJ coupling, but 5-hydroxydecanoate, a selective mitoK(ATP) channel blocker that significantly inhibits GJ coupling in vitro did not.

Drosophila RecQ5 is required for efficient SSA repair and suppression of LOH in vivo.

RecQ5 in mammalian cells has been suggested to suppress inappropriate homologous recombination. However, the specific pathway(s) in which it is involved and the underlining mechanism(s) remain poorly understood. We took advantage of genetic tools in Drosophila to investigate how Drosophila RecQ5 (dRecQ5) functions in vivo in homologous recombination-mediated double strand break (DSB) repair.

Drosophila CAF-1 regulates HP1-mediated epigenetic silencing and pericentric heterochromatin stability.

Chromatin assembly factor 1 (CAF-1) was initially characterized as a histone deliver in the process of DNA-replication-coupled chromatin assembly in eukaryotic cells. Here, we report that CAF-1 p180, the largest subunit of Drosophila CAF-1, participates in the process of heterochromatin formation and functions to maintain pericentric heterochromatin stability. We provide evidence that Drosophila CAF-1 p180 plays a role in both classes of position effect variegation (PEV) and in the expression of heterochromatic genes.

Deletion analysis of SMN1 and NAIP genes in Southern Chinese children with spinal muscular atrophy.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a disorder characterized by degeneration of lower motor neurons and occasionally bulbar motor neurons leading to progressive limb and trunk paralysis as well as muscular atrophy. Three types of SMA are recognized depending on the age of onset, the maximum muscular activity achieved, and survivorship: SMA1, SMA2, and SMA3. The survival of motor neuron (SMN) gene has been identified as an SMA determining gene, whereas the neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) gene is considered to be a modifying factor of the severity of SMA.

The pattern of ATP-sensitive K+ channel subunits, Kir6.2 and SUR1 mRNA expressions in DG region is different from those in CA1-3 regions of chronic epilepsy induced by picrotoxin in rats.

ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channel's function is a key determinant of both excitability and viability of neurons. In the present report, in situ hybridization histochemistry and Western blot were used to examine whether picrotoxin (PTX)-kindling convulsions involved the changes in distribution of K(ATP) channels. The data demonstrated that the formation of kindling state was associated with a decreased amount of Kir6.

[Association between clinical manifestations of infants with human cytomegalovirus infection and glycoprotein B genotype].

Objective: To investigate the association between the clinical manifestations of infants with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection and glycoprotein B (gB) genotype.

Methods: Urine samples were obtained from 107 symptomatic infants with HCMV infection confirmed by fluorescence quantitative PCR, 70 male and 37 female, aged 5 d-8 months, and 25 asymptomatic infants with HCMV infection, 16 male and 9 female, aged 21 d-7 months. A fragment of glycoprotein B gene was amplified by nested PCR (nPCR).

[Correlation between infection of different glycoprotein B genotypes of human cytomegalovirus and human chronic periodontitis].

Objective: To investigate the correlation between infection of different human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) glycoprotein B (gB) genotypes and human chronic periodontitis.

Methods: A nested-polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) was employed to detect HCMV gB gene in the subgingival plaque samples from 65 chronic periodontitis patients and in the gingival crevicular fluid samples from 24 periodontally healthy control. The amplification fragments of gB gene were further genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).

Effects of IGF-II on promoting proliferation and regulating nitric oxide synthase gene expression in mouse osteoblast-like cell.

Objective: To investigate the effects of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) on promoting cell proliferation, regulating levels of cellular nitric oxide (NO) and mRNA transcriptions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS) in mouse osteoblast-like cells.

Methods: Mouse osteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1 was selected as the effective cell of IGF-II. After the cells were treated with IGF-II at different concentrations for different time duration, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay was used to examine cell proliferation, and nitrate reductase method was applied to detect NO concentrations in cell culture supernatants and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed to determine transcription levels of cellular iNOS and eNOS mRNAs.

[Early arterial atherosclerosis and level of plasma homocysteine in simply obese children].

Objective: To understand whether hyperhomocysteinemia and early arterial atherosclerosis exist in simply obese children.

Methods: Totally 68 simply obese children (age 6-14 years, mean 10.8 +/- 2.

[Determination of six major human herpes viruses in cerebrospinal fluid and blood of children with consensus primers].

Objective: To identify 6 major human herpesviruses with consensus primers and to explore its clinical application.

Methods: Based on the highly-homogeneous regions of DNA polymerase gene in human herpesviruses,Two pairs of primer were synthesized. One pair was designed to amplify herpes simplex virus type 1, type 2, Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus; and another was used to amplify varicella-zoster virus or human herpesvirus 6.

[Anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation effects of recombinant human superoxide dismutase on acute lung injury induced by meconium aspiration in infant rats].

Objective: To investigate the anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation effects of recombinant human CuZn superoxide dismutase(rhSOD) on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by meconium aspiration in rats.

Methods: 1 ml/kg of 20% human newborn meconium suspension was intratracheally (IT) administrated to induce the model of ALI in 32 male Sprage-Dawley rats, and the animals were then randomized to 4 groups: 3 treatment groups with IT administration of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg rhSOD dissolved in 1 ml/kg saline and the control group with IT administration of 1 ml/kg saline. The animals were killed after 24 h of treatments.