Recognition of HLA-DPB1 alleles and their associated HLA haplotypes in 55 randomized unrelated Taiwanese individuals.

Objectives: Here, we report the distribution of HLA-DPB1 alleles studied in a cohort of 55 randomly collected blood samples from unrelated Taiwanese individuals and the deduced most likely HLA haplotypes associated with the defined DPB1 alleles in the cohort. Our aim is to reveal the unprecedented data on the distribution of HLA-DPB1 alleles in the Taiwanese population and to find out the most probable HLA haplotypes associated with the HLA-DPB1 alleles detected.

Materials And Methods: The material for this study was blood samples, preserved in KEDTA and/or acid citrate dextrose anticoagulants.

Targeting by lnc-CYP3A43-2/miR-29b-2-5p to Reduce β Amyloid Plaque Formation and Improve Cognition Function.

() is a crucial subunit within the γ-secretase complex and regulates β-amyloid (Aβ) production. Accumulated evidence indicates that n-butylidenephthalide (BP) acts effectively to reduce Aβ levels in neuronal cells that are derived from trisomy 21 (Ts21) induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). However, the mechanism underlying this effect remains unclear.

Passive limb movement test facilitates subthalamic deep brain stimulation under general anesthesia without influencing awareness.

Objectives: We have shown that neuronal activity in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients with Parkinson's disease can be accurately recorded during deep brain stimulation (DBS) with general anesthesia (GA). However, a vigorous passive range of motion (PROM) test might exert awakening effects on patients who are lightly anesthetized. We will explore the effects of PROM on the heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) during microelectrode recording (MER) and confirm whether it facilitates identifying the sensory motor portion of the STN under GA.

Potential therapeutic effects of N-butylidenephthalide from Radix Angelica Sinensis (Danggui) in human bladder cancer cells.

Background: N-butylidenephthalide (BP) isolated from Radix Angelica Sinensis (Danggui) exhibits anti-tumorigenic effect in various cancer cells both in vivo and in vitro. The effect of BP in bladder cancer treatment is still unclear and worth for further investigate.

Methods: Changes of patients with bladder cancer after Angelica Sinensis exposure were evaluated by analysis of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) database.

The Role of Intermittent Hypoxia on the Proliferative Inhibition of Rat Cerebellar Astrocytes.

Sleep apnea syndrome, characterized by intermittent hypoxia (IH), is linked with increased oxidative stress. This study investigates the mechanisms underlying IH and the effects of IH-induced oxidative stress on cerebellar astrocytes. Rat primary cerebellar astrocytes were kept in an incubator with an oscillating O2 concentration between 20% and 5% every 30 min for 1-4 days.

The gene mutation in a Taiwanese family with X-linked retinoschisis.

X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) is one of the leading causes of macular degeneration in male children. The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical characteristics of a Taiwanese family with X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) and to investigate the genetic mutation in the retinoschisin 1 (RS1) gene. A total of four participants in this XLRS family were analyzed.

Potential therapeutic roles of tanshinone IIA in human bladder cancer cells.

Tanshinone IIA (Tan-IIA), one of the major lipophilic components isolated from the root of Salviae Miltiorrhizae, has been found to exhibit anticancer activity in various cancer cells. We have demonstrated that Tan-IIA induces apoptosis in several human cancer cells through caspase- and mitochondria-dependent pathways. Here we explored the anticancer effect of Tan-IIA in human bladder cancer cell lines.

A novel gene mutation in a family with X-linked retinoschisis.

Background/purpose: To describe the clinical characteristics of a Taiwanese family with X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) and to investigate the molecular genetics of a novel mutation in the retinoschisin 1 (RS1) gene.

Methods: A total of 15 participants in this XLRS family were analyzed. Complete ophthalmic examinations and fundus photography were performed on 15 family members.

Vision improvement in a Taiwanese (Han Chinese) family with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy.

In this report, we describe a Taiwanese (Han Chinese) family with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. The family carried a mitochondrial DNA mutation (mtDNA m.14484T>C) associated with spontaneous visual improvement.

β-catenin and K-ras mutations and RASSF1A promoter methylation in Taiwanese colorectal cancer patients.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of β-catenin mutations, K-ras mutations, methylations of the RASSF1A promoter, and the survival of Taiwanese colorectal cancer (CRC) subjects who received 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) adjuvant chemotherapy.

Results: The complete coding region of the K-ras gene and exon 3 and exon 4 of the β-catenin gene isolated from tumor tissues and adjacent normal colon tissues from 117 CRC subjects were sequenced, respectively. Methylations in the RASSF1A promoter region were also investigated.

Food supplement 20070721-GX may increase CD34+ stem cells and telomerase activity.

Few rejuvenation and antiaging markers are used to evaluate food supplements. We measured three markers in peripheral blood to evaluate the antiaging effects of a food supplement containing placental extract. Samples were evaluated for CD34(+) cells, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), and telomerase activity, which are all markers related to aging.

Human adipose-derived stem cells for the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage in rats via femoral intravenous injection.

Human adipose-derived stem cells (huADSC) were generated from fat tissue of a 65-year-old male donor. Flow cytometry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses indicated that the huADSC express neural cell proteins (MAP2, GFAP, nestin and β-III tubulin), neurotrophic growth factors (BDNF and GDNF), and the chemotactic factor CXCR4 and its corresponding ligand CXCL12. In addition, huADSC expressed the characteristic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) markers CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105 and HLA class I.

Induction of apoptosis coupled to endoplasmic reticulum stress in human prostate cancer cells by n-butylidenephthalide.

Background: N-butylidenephthalide (BP) exhibits antitumor effect in a variety of cancer cell lines. The objective of this study was to obtain additional insights into the mechanisms involved in BP induced cell death in human prostate cancer cells.

Methods/principal Findings: Two human prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and LNCaP, were treated with BP, and subsequently evaluated for their viability and cell cycle profiles.

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase plays an important role in intermittent hypoxia-induced cell death in rat cerebellar granule cells.

Background: Episodic cessation of airflow during sleep in patients with sleep apnea syndrome results in intermittent hypoxia (IH). Our aim was to investigate the effects of IH on cerebellar granule cells and to identify the mechanism of IH-induced cell death.

Methods: Cerebellar granule cells were freshly prepared from neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats.

Angiotensin converting enzyme DD genotype is associated with acute coronary syndrome severity and sudden cardiac death in Taiwan: a case-control emergency room study.

Background: Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphisms have been associated with acute coronary syndrome (ACS); however, several controversial results have also been found in different studied populations. This hospital-based, emergency room, case-control study in Taiwan retrospectively investigated 111 ACS patients, and 195 non-coronary subjects as a control group, to study the effects of ACE I/D polymorphism in the most urgent ACS patients. ACE I/D polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-based assays and their associations with ACS risk, severity, and sudden cardiac death were determined.

Subthalamic deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease under different anesthetic modalities: a comparative cohort study.

Background: The efficacy and feasibility of bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD) under general anesthesia (GA) has not been evaluated.

Objective: We compared the outcome of patients under GA with those who were operated on under local anesthesia (LA).

Material And Methods: Thirty-three patients were assigned to the GA group (desflurane) and 19 patients were assigned to the LA group.

Butylidenephthalide suppresses human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) in human glioblastomas.

Background: Telomerase is widely expressed in most human cancers, but is almost undetectable in normal somatic cells and is therefore a potential drug target. Using the human telomerase promoter platform, the naturally occurring compound butylidenephthalide (BP) was selected for subsequent investigation of antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: We treated human glioblastoma cells with BP and found a dose-dependent decrease in human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA expression and a concomitant increase in p16 and p21 expression.

Activation of NAG-1 via JNK signaling revealed an isochaihulactone-triggered cell death in human LNCaP prostate cancer cells.

Background: We explored the mechanisms of cell death induced by isochaihulactone treatment in LNCaP cells.

Methods: LNCaP cells were treated with isochaihulactone and growth inhibition was assessed. Cell cycle profiles after isochaihulactone treatment were determined by flow cytometry.

High-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes and linkage disequilibrium of HLA-B and -C and HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 alleles in a Taiwanese population.

Using the maximum-likelihood method with the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm of PYPOP, high-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) three-locus haplotypes (HLA-A, -B, and -C; HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1) and four-locus haplotypes (HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1) were determined. Linkage disequilibrium of high-resolution HLA-B and -C alleles and HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 alleles was also calculated. Comparison of the Taiwanese haplotypes and haplotypes from donors in the Chinese Han population, the Asia Pacific Islander ethnic category of the NMDP (National Marrow Donor Program), and the Taiwanese cord blood units demonstrated similarities and dissimilarities among the four populations.

The association of methylation in the promoter of APC and MGMT and the prognosis of Taiwanese CRC patients.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of methylation in the promoter regions of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) and O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) and the survival of Taiwanese colorectal cancer (CRC) subjects who received 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) adjuvant chemotherapy.

Results: DNA isolated from tumor tissue of 117 CRC subjects was analyzed for the existence of methylation in the promoter regions of APC and MGMT by methylation-specific PCR. Various characteristics of the 117 subjects were recorded and used in the Cox proportional-hazard model analyses.

Prognostic significance of interaction between somatic APC mutations and 5-fluorouracil adjuvant chemotherapy in Taiwanese colorectal cancer subjects.

Objective: The correlations between adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) adjuvant chemotherapy and colorectal cancer (CRC) patients' prognosis are not well known. We performed an exploratory study to investigate the association between APC mutations and the survival of Taiwanese CRC subjects who received 5-FU adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: Full-length APC gene isolated from tumor tissue and adjacent normal colon tissue from 117 CRC subjects was sequenced.

The induction of orphan nuclear receptor Nur77 expression by n-butylenephthalide as pharmaceuticals on hepatocellular carcinoma cell therapy.

N-butylidenephthalide (BP), isolated from the chloroform extract of Angelica sinensis, has been examined for its antitumor effects on glioblastoma multiforme brain tumors; however, little is known about its antitumor effects on hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Two hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, HepG2 and J5, were treated with either N-butylidenephthalide or a vehicle, and cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated. Apoptosis-related mRNA and proteins expressed, including orphan receptor family Nurr1, NOR-1, and Nur77, were evaluated as well as the effect of N-butylidenephthalide in an in vivo xenograft model.

Orphan nuclear receptor, Nurr-77 was a possible target gene of butylidenephthalide chemotherapy on glioblastoma multiform brain tumor.

The natural compound n-butylidenephthalide (BP), which is isolated from the chloroform extract of Angelica sinensis, has been investigated for its antitumoral effects on glioblastoma multiform (GBM) brain tumors both in vitro and in vivo. To determine the mechanism of BP-induced growth arrest and apoptosis, we examined BP-induced changes in gene expression by microarray screening using human GBM brain tumor cells. This analysis identified several BP-inducible genes, including the nuclear receptors NOR-1, Nurr1, and Nur77.

Activation of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-activated gene-1 via extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase revealed a isochaihulactone-triggered apoptotic pathway in human lung cancer A549 cells.

The novel lignan isochaihulactone inhibits cell proliferation and is an effective inducer of apoptosis in a variety of carcinoma cell lines. To determine the mechanisms underlying these effects, we examined isochaihulactone-induced changes in gene expression using oligodeoxynucleotide-based microarray screening of a human lung carcinoma cell line, A549. Isochaihulactone-inducible genes included the early growth response gene-1 (EGR-1) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-activated gene (NAG-1).