Publications by authors named "Zhi-Qiang Xu"

Background: (HJ) is widely spread in East Asia. HJ pollen is one of the common allergens in the north of China in autumn. However, some controversy exists regarding the major allergen Hum j 1 from HJ pollen, which hamper its application in the diagnosis and treatment of HJ pollen allergy.

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Background: (HJ) pollen is a predominant autumn allergen in northern China. Two decades ago, a 10 kDa protein termed Hum j 1 was proposed as a major allergen, but its uncertainty hindered its clinical application. This study aims to investigate the clinical relevance of Hum j 1 and screen hypoallergenic peptides for potential application in molecular diagnosis and immunotherapy.

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Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) pose a significant public health challenge, as their incidence is increasing due to the effects of climate change and ecological shifts. The interplay between tick-borne pathogens and the host microbiome is an emerging area of research that may elucidate the mechanisms underlying disease susceptibility and severity. To investigate the diversity of microbial communities in ticks infected with vertebrate pathogens, we analyzed the microbiomes of 142 tick specimens.

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Myelin loss has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated the changes in myelin basic protein (MBP) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in an ageing cohort comprising 116 cognitively normal and Aβ-negative controls aged 26 to 82 years, as well as in a clinical cohort. We found that CSF MBP levels was positively correlated with age in a nonlinear pattern over the lifetime of the ageing cohort and that CSF MBP continually increased until it began to decline around age of 51 years and rose again around age 62.

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Introduction: The immune system plays a critical role in regulating amyloid-beta (Aβ) metabolism in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Both T and B lymphocytes are involved in the pathogenesis of AD. The sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator fingolimod used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, can promote lymphocyte homing, potentially reducing the infiltration of peripheral lymphocytes into the brain.

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Introduction: Dysfunction of humoral immunity has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The distribution of B lymphocyte subsets and their clinical relevance in AD remain unclear.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the distribution of peripheral blood B lymphocyte subsets and their relevance with cognition and biomarkers in AD.

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Curcumin (Cur) effectively attenuates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI). MIRI has a complex mechanism and is associated with autophagy‑dependent ferroptosis. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine whether autophagy‑dependent ferroptosis occurs in MIRI and assess the mechanism of Cur in attenuating MIRI.

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Thymoquinone (TQ), the principal active compound derived from the black seed plant, has been extensively utilized in traditional medicine for treating various ailments. Despite its widespread use, its therapeutic mechanisms in the context of cardiac hypertrophy remain insufficiently understood. The present study focused on assessing the efficacy of TQ in mitigating cardiac hypertrophy while identifying its specific protective pathways.

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Introduction: House dust mite is the primary trigger of allergic respiratory diseases worldwide, and allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is the only disease-modifying treatment in the clinic. The use of allergen molecules instead of extracts is a promising strategy in AIT. In this study, we constructed a peptide hybrid vaccine against the major mite allergen Der f 35 and verified its hypoallergenicity, making it to be a promising candidate for AIT of mite allergy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic heart condition causing abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, leading to possible heart failure or death, and is linked to the process of autophagy (AT), which helps cells recycle damaged components.
  • The study explored the impact of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) in HCM using bioinformatics and experimental methods, identifying key genes linked to myocardial hypertrophy.
  • Five genes were pinpointed as potential biomarkers for HCM diagnosis and treatment, and ten therapeutic compounds were suggested, indicating that changes in ARG levels could help in developing diagnostics and therapies for HCM.
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  • Ring-shaped DNA sliding clamps are crucial for DNA replication and maintenance, requiring clamp loader complexes (CLCs) to open and position them on DNA.
  • The study presents six detailed structures of E. coli CLC with open and closed clamps before and after DNA binding, highlighting key steps in the loading process.
  • Findings reveal that the ATP-bound CLC first 'grabs' the clamp, then opens it enough for DNA to enter, ultimately allowing the clamp to close around the DNA.
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  • The study focuses on improving the quality control of recombinant allergens, specifically Der f 2, produced by E. coli for allergy diagnostics and vaccine development.
  • Researchers optimized the expression of Der f 2, using techniques like nickel affinity chromatography for purification and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to assess IgE reactivity.
  • Results showed successful expression and monitoring of the allergen's correct folding, with one fraction exhibiting higher IgE reactivity, highlighting the effectiveness of their quality control strategy.
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Background: The objective of antiviral therapy for chronic viral hepatitis B infection (CHB) is to achieve a functional cure. An important viral marker in the serum of patients with CHB is the serum hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg). However, there is limited research on HBcrAg in juvenile patients with CHB.

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  • * Activation of PPAR-α also showed protective effects against ferroptosis (a form of cell death), evidenced by lowered levels of malondialdehyde, total iron, and reactive oxygen species in both animal models and cardiac cells.
  • * The mechanism involves PPAR-α influencing the expression of the 14-3-3η protein, with blockage of this pathway negating its cardioprotective effects, suggesting the PPAR-α/14-3-3η pathway as a potential
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  • Artemisia sieversiana pollen is a significant allergen in northern China, with seven known allergens identified, but further research is needed to discover additional allergens.
  • Researchers purified a specific enzyme, pectate lyase, from the pollen using various chromatographic techniques and studied its genetic and functional properties.
  • The study found that both natural and recombinant pectate lyase effectively bind to immunoglobulin E in allergic patients, with natural pectate lyase showing higher enzymatic activity and the ability to activate basophils, suggesting its role in allergic reactions.
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Background: This study aimed to assess the radiological and clinical outcomes of treatment using the ankle dislocation method for posterior malleolar malunion.

Method: Thirty-one patients with posterior malleolar malunion who underwent treatment using the ankle dislocation method from May 2015 to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Key outcome measures were radiographic parameters (articular step-off, tibiofibular clear space, fibular length, tibial lateral surface angle, and ankle osteoarthritis), clinical scores (American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hindfoot scale and Visual Analogue Scale), and patient satisfaction rate.

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Background: The house dust mite (HDM) is widely recognized as the most prevalent allergen in allergic diseases. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) has been successfully implemented in clinical treatment for HDM. Hypoallergenic B-cell epitope-based vaccine designed by artificial intelligence (AI) represents a significant progression of recombinant hypoallergenic allergen derivatives.

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Ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) is a serious cardiac disease with a very high mortality rate worldwide, which causes myocardial ischemia and hypoxia as the main damage. Further understanding of the underlying pathological processes of cardiomyocyte injury is key to the development of cardioprotective strategies. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death characterized by the accumulation of lipid hydroperoxides to lethal levels, resulting in oxidative damage to the cell membrane.

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Purpose: To compare the debonding time of IPS e.max CAD lithium disilicate glass-ceramic veneers in different thickness and transparency using Er:YAG laser, and evaluate the effect of Er:YAG laser on the surface topography of the veneers and the underlying tooth.

Methods: A total of twelve maxillary first premolar teeth were collected and prepared, then veneers were made by computer aided design and computer aided manufacture(CAD/CAM) system.

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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) incessantly engenders mutating strains via immune escape mechanisms, substantially escalating the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome. In this context, the urgent development of innovative and efficacious mRNA vaccines is imperative. In our study, we synthesized six unique mRNA vaccine formulations: the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) monomer vaccine, RBD dimer (2RBD) vaccine, RBD-Ferritin (RBD-Fe) vaccine, ubiquitin-modified wild-type Nucleocapsid gene (WT-N) vaccine, rearranged Nucleocapsid gene (Re-N) vaccine, and an epitope-based (COVID-19 epitope) vaccine, all encapsulated within the lipid nanoparticle SM102.

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Background: Cat-derived allergens are considered as one of the most common causes of allergic diseases worldwide. Fel d 1 is a major cat allergen and plays an important role in immunoglobulin E (IgE)-reaction diagnosis. However, the two separate chains of Fel d 1 exhibited lower IgE-reactivity than its complete molecule of an assembled form, which makes it difficult to efficiently prepare and limits the application of Fel d 1 in molecular diagnosis of cat allergy.

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Background: Platanus acerifolia is recognized as a source of allergenic pollen worldwide. Currently, five Platanus acerifolia pollen allergens belonging to different protein families have been identified, in which profilin and enolase were characterized by our group recently. Besides, we also screened and identified a novel allergen candidate as triosephosphate isomerase, which was different from already known types of pollen allergens.

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Carbon-based hole transport layer-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI ) have become one of the research focus due to low cost, easy preparation, and good optoelectronic properties. However, instability of perovskite under vacancy defects and stress-strain makes it difficult to achieve high-efficiency and stable power output. Here, a soft-structured long-chain 2D pentanamine iodide (abbreviated as "PI") is used to improve perovskite quality and interfacial mechanical compatibility.

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Article Synopsis
  • Genome duplication in E. coli faces challenges from DNA-binding proteins, which can hinder the replication process.
  • The helicase Rep helps overcome these obstacles by displacing roadblocks during DNA replication, but its exact role and interaction with the replisome are not fully understood.
  • Real-time imaging reveals that Rep continuously monitors replication activity and can effectively rescue stalled forks by removing roadblocks, with the efficiency of this process dependent on the stability of the roadblocks.
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