| 31. |
- Yu, Ling-Zhu, et al.
(author)
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MEK1/2 regulates microtubule organization, spindle pole tethering and asymmetric division during mouse oocyte meiotic maturation.
- 2007
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In: Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.). - 1551-4005. ; 6:3, s. 330-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is well known that MAPK plays pivotal roles in oocyte maturation, but the function of MEK (MAPK kinase) remains unknown. We have studied the expression, subcellular localization and functional roles of MEK during meiotic maturation of mouse oocytes. Firstly, we found that MEK1/2 phoshorylation (p-MEK1/2, indicative of MEK activation) was low in GV (germinal vesicle) stage, increased 2h after GVBD (germinal vesicle breakdown), and reached the maximum at metaphase II. Secondly, we found that P-MEK1/2 was restricted in the GV prior to GVBD. In prometaphase I and metaphase I, P-MEK1/2 was mainly associated with the spindle, especially with the spindle poles. At anaphase I and telophase I, p-MEK1/2 became diffusely distributed in the region between the separating chromosomes, and then became associated with the midbody. The association of p-MEK1/2 with spindle poles was further confirmed by its colocalization with the centrosomal proteins, gamma-tubulin and NuMA. Thirdly, we have investigated the possible functional role of MEK1/2 activation by intravenous administration and intrabursal injection of a specific MEK inhibitor, U0126, and by microinjection of MEK siRNA into oocytes. All these manipulations cause disorganized spindle poles and spindle structure, misaligned chromosomes and larger than normal polar bodies. Our results suggest that MEK1/2 may function as a centrosomal protein and may have roles in microtubule organization, spindle pole tethering and asymmetric division during mouse oocyte maturation.
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| 32. |
- Yuan, Shuai, et al.
(author)
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Health effects of high serum calcium levels : Updated phenome-wide Mendelian randomisation investigation and review of Mendelian randomisation studies
- 2022
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In: EBioMedicine. - : Elsevier. - 2352-3964. ; 76
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundCalcium plays a role in a wide range of biological functions. Here we conducted a phenome-wide Mendelian randomisation (MR-PheWAS) analysis and a systematic review for MR studies to comprehensively investigate the health effects of serum calcium.MethodsOne-hundred and thirty genetic variants strongly associated with serum calcium levels were used as instrumental variables. A phenome-wide association analysis (PheWAS) was conducted to examine the associations of genetically predicted serum calcium with 1473 distinct phenotypes in the UK Biobank including 339,197 individuals. Observed associations in PheWAS were further tested for replication in two-sample MR replication analysis. A systematic review for MR studies on serum calcium was performed to synthesize the published evidence and compare with the current MR-PheWAS findings.FindingsHigher genetically predicted calcium levels were associated with decreased risk of 5 diseases in dermatologic and musculoskeletal systems and increased risk of 17 diseases in circulatory, digestive, endocrine, genitourinary and immune systems. Eight associations were replicated in two-sample MR analysis. These included decreased risk of osteoarthritis and increased risk of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, coronary atherosclerosis, hyperparathyroidism, disorder of parathyroid gland, gout, and calculus of kidney and ureter with increased serum calcium. Systematic review of 25 MR studies provided supporting evidence on five out of the eight disease outcomes, while the increased risk of gout, hyperparathyroidism and disorder of parathyroid gland were novel findings.InterpretationThis study found wide-ranged health effects of high serum calcium, which suggests that the benefits and adversities of strategies promoting calcium intake should be assessed
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| 33. |
- Yuan, Ye, et al.
(author)
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Smart Pavement: An Attention-Based Classification Model for Road Pavement Material
- 2022
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In: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies. - Singapore : Springer Nature Singapore. - 2190-3026 .- 2190-3018. ; 304 SIST, s. 133-140
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intelligent recognition of traffic road damage is essential for realizing smart vehicles and intelligent transportation systems. The classification of road material types before recognition is a challenge for traffic road damage recognition due to differences in features such as concrete and asphalt. In addition, the widely distributed roads make environmental factors a critical factor affecting the classification. In this paper, we propose a deep learning-based road material classification method that introduces an attention mechanism to deal with the influence of different environments on road material recognition. We acquired tens of thousands of road surface images for training and testing and performed practical validation in real roads. The experiments show that our method has high accuracy and recall in road material classification.
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| 34. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
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Antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in relation to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis : A Mendelian randomization study
- 2023
-
In: Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0269-2813 .- 1365-2036. ; 57:4, s. 399-408
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundEvidence for antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in relation to the risk of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) is limited and inconsistent. This mendelian randomization (MR) study aimed to examine the causal associations of circulating levels of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins with CD and UC.MethodsSingle-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with antioxidants (beta-carotene, lycopene and uric acid), minerals (copper, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium), and vitamins (folate, vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, E and K1) were employed as instrumental variables. Genetic associations with CD and UC were extracted from the UK Biobank, the FinnGen study and the International Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium. The inverse variance weighted method and sensitivity analyses were performed.ResultsGenetically predicted higher lycopene (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91–0.97), vitamins D (OR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.54–0.79) and K1 (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.90–0.97) levels were inversely associated with CD risk, whereas genetically predicted higher magnesium (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.23–1.90) levels were positively associated with CD risk. Higher levels of genetically predicted lycopene (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.88–0.95), phosphorus (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.58–0.82), selenium (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85–0.97), zinc (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.89–0.94), folate (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.56–0.92) and vitamin E (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69–0.88) were associated with reduced UC risk, whereas genetically predicted high levels of calcium (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.22–1.76) and magnesium (OR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.03–1.49) were associated with increased risk of UC.ConclusionsOur study provided evidence that circulating levels of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins might be causally linked to the development of IBD.
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| 35. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
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Bidirectional Mendelian Randomisation Analysis Provides Evidence for the Causal Involvement of Dysregulation of CXCL9, CCL11 and CASP8 in the Pathogenesis of Ulcerative Colitis
- 2023
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In: Journal of Crohn's & Colitis. - : Oxford University Press. - 1873-9946 .- 1876-4479. ; 17:5, s. 777-785
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and Aims Systemic inflammation is well recognised to be associated with ulcerative colitis [UC], but whether these effects are causal or consequential remains unclear. We aimed to define potential causal relationship of cytokine dysregulation with different tiers of evidence. Methods We first synthesised serum proteomic profiling data from two multicentred observational studies, in which a panel of systemic inflammatory proteins was analysed to examine their associations with UC risk. To further dissect observed associations, we then performed a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomisation [TSMR] analysis from both forward and reverse directions using five genome-wide association study [GWAS] summary level data for serum proteomic profiles and the largest GWAS of 28 738 European-ancestry individuals for UC risk. Results Pooled analysis of serum proteomic data identified 14 proteins to be associated with the risk of UC. Forward MR analysis using only cis-acting protein quantitative trait loci [cis-pQTLs] or trans-pQTLs further validated causal associations of two chemokines and the increased risk of UC: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 9 [CXCL9] [OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.08, 1.95, p = 0.012] and C-C motif chemokine ligand 11 [CCL11] [OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.09, 1.18, p = 3.89 x 10(-10)]. Using both cis- and trans-acting pQTLs, an association of caspase-8 [CASP8] [OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03, 1.05, p = 7.63 x 10(-19)] was additionally identified. Reverse MR did not find any influence of genetic predisposition to UC on any of these three inflammation proteins. Conclusion Pre-existing elevated levels of CXCL9, CCL11 and CASP8 may play a role in the pathogenesis of UC.
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| 36. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
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Gastrointestinal Consequences of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Glycemic Homeostasis : A Mendelian Randomization Study
- 2023
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In: Diabetes Care. - : American Diabetes Association. - 0149-5992 .- 1935-5548. ; 46:4, s. 828-835
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: We conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) study to examine the associations of type 2 diabetes and glycemic traits with gastrointestinal diseases (GDs).RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Uncorrelated genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes (n = 231), fasting insulin (n = 38), fasting glucose (n = 71), and hemoglobin A1c (n = 75) at the genome-wide significance were selected as instrument variables. Genetic associations with 23 common GDs were obtained from the FinnGen and UK Biobank studies and other large consortia.RESULTS: Genetic liability to type 2 diabetes was associated with the risk of 12 GDs. Per 1-unit increase in the log-transformed odds ratio (OR) of type 2 diabetes, the OR was 1.06 (95% CI, 1.03-1.09) for gastroesophageal reflux disease, 1.12 (95% CI, 1.07-1.17) for gastric ulcer, 1.11 (95% CI, 1.03-1.20) for acute gastritis, 1.07 (95% CI, 1.01-1.13) for chronic gastritis, 1.08 (95% CI, 1.03-1.12) for irritable bowel syndrome, 1.04 (95% CI, 1.01-1.07) for diverticular disease, 1.08 (95% CI, 1.02-1.14) for acute pancreatitis, 1.09 (95% CI, 1.05-1.12) for cholelithiasis, 1.09 (95% CI, 1.05-1.13) for cholelithiasis with cholecystitis, 1.29 (95% CI, 1.17-1.43) for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, 1.12 (95% CI, 1.03-1.21) for liver cirrhosis, and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.89-0.97) for ulcerative colitis. Genetically predicted higher levels of fasting insulin and glucose were associated with six and one GDs, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: Associations were found between genetic liability to type 2 diabetes and an increased risk of a broad range of GDs, highlighting the importance of GD prevention in patients with type 2 diabetes.
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| 37. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
-
Plasma phospholipid arachidonic acid in relation to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease : Mendelian randomization study
- 2023
-
In: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.). - : Elsevier. - 0899-9007 .- 1873-1244. ; 106
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: The role of plasma phospholipid arachidonic acid (AA) in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD), cirrhosis, and liver cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the causality of the associations of plasma phospholipid AA with NALFD, cirrhosis, and liver cancer using Mendelian ran-domization analysis.Methods: Nine independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with plasma phospholipid AA at the genome-wide significance were used as instrumental variables. Summary-level data for three outcomes were obtained from 1) a genome-wide association study for NAFLD, 2) the UK Biobank study, and 3) the Finn -Gen study. The sensitivity analysis excluding the pleiotropic variant rs174547 in the FADS1 gene was per-formed. Estimates from different sources were combined using the fixed-effects meta-analysis method.Results: Per standard deviation increase in AA levels, the combined odds ratio was 1.06 (95% confidence inter-val, 1.02-1.11; P = 0.008) for NAFLD, 1.05 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.09; P = 0.009) for cirrhosis, and 0.99 (95% confidence interval, 0.94-1.05; P = 0.765) for liver cancer. The associations remained stable in the sensitivity analysis excluding rs174547.Conclusions: This study suggests potential causal associations of high levels of plasma phospholipid AA with the risk of NAFLD and cirrhosis.
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| 38. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
-
Risk of incident cardiovascular disease among patients with gastrointestinal disorder : a prospective cohort study of 330,751 individuals.
- 2023
-
In: European Heart Journal - Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes. - 2058-5225 .- 2058-1742.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The associations between gastrointestinal diseases (GIs) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) were unclear. We conducted a prospective cohort study to explore their associations.METHODS: This study included 330 751 individuals without baseline CVD from the UK Biobank cohort. Individuals with and without GIs were followed up until the ascertainment of incident CVDs, including coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (CeVD), heart failure (HF) and peripheral artery disease (PAD). The diagnosis of diseases was confirmed with combination of the nationwide inpatient data, primary care data, and cancer registries. A multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate the associations between GIs and the risk of incident CVD.RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 11.8 years, 31 605 incident CVD cases were diagnosed. Individuals with GIs had an elevated risk of CVD (hazard ratio 1.37; 95% confidence interval 1.34-1.41, P < 0.001). Eleven out of fifteen GIs were associated with an increased risk of CVD after Bonferroni-correction, including cirrhosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, gastritis and duodenitis, irritable bowel syndrome, Barrett's esophagus, gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer, celiac disease, diverticulum, appendicitis, and biliary disease. The associations were stronger among women, individuals aged ≤ 60 years, and those with body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2.CONCLUSIONS: This large-scale prospective cohort study revealed the associations of GIs with an increased risk of incident CVD, in particular CHD and PAD. These findings support the reinforced secondary CVD prevention among patients with gastrointestinal disorders.
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| 39. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
-
Therapeutic targets for inflammatory bowel disease : proteome-wide Mendelian randomization and colocalization analyses
- 2023
-
In: EBioMedicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-3964. ; 89
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Identifying new drug targets for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is urgently needed. The proteome is a major source of therapeutic targets. We conducted a proteome-wide Mendelian randomization (MR) and colocalization analyses to identify possible targets for IBD.Methods: Summary-level data of 4907 circulating protein levels were extracted from a large-scale protein quantitative trait loci study including 35,559 individuals. Genetic associations with IBD and its subtypes were obtained from the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (25,024 cases and 34,915 controls), the FinnGen study (7206 cases and 253,199 controls), and the UK Biobank study (7045 cases and 449,282 controls). MR analysis was conducted to estimate the associations between protein and IBD risk. The colocalization analysis was used to examine whether the identified proteins and IBD shared casual variants.Findings: Genetically predicted levels of 3, and 5 circulating proteins were associated with IBD and ulcerative colitis (UC), respectively. With high supporting evidence of colocalization, genetically predicted MST1 (macrophage stim-ulating 1) and HGFAC (hepatocyte growth factor activator) levels were inversely associated with IBD risks. The as-sociations of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3), MST1, CXCL5 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 5), and ITPKA (inositol-trisphosphate 3-kinase A) with the risk of UC were supported by colocalization analysis.Interpretation: The proteome-wide MR investigation identified many proteins associated with the risk of IBD. MST1, HGFAC, STAT3, ITPKA, and CXCL5 deserve further investigation as potential therapeutic targets for IBD. 2023;89: Published https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.ebiom.2023. 104494
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| 40. |
- Chen, YZ, et al.
(author)
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Structure and function analysis of the C. elegans aminophospholipid translocase TAT-1
- 2019
-
In: Journal of cell science. - : The Company of Biologists. - 1477-9137 .- 0021-9533. ; 132:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The C. elegans aminophospholipid translocase TAT–1 maintains phosphatidylserine (PS) asymmetry in the plasma membrane and regulates endocytic transport. Despite these important functions, the structure-function relationship of this protein is poorly understood. Taking advantage of the tat-1 mutations identified by the C. elegans million mutation project, we investigated the effects of 16 single amino-acid substitutions on the two functions of the TAT–1 protein. Two substitutions that alter a highly conserved PISL motif in the fourth transmembrane domain and a highly conserved DKTGT phosphorylation motif, respectively, disrupt both functions of TAT-1, leading to a vesicular gut defect and ectopic PS exposure on cell surface, whereas most other substitutions across the TAT-1 protein, often predicted to be deleterious by bioinformatics programs, do not affect the functions of TAT-1. These results provide in vivo evidence for the importance of the PISL and DKTGT motifs in P4–type adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases) and improve our understanding of the structure-function relationship of TAT-1. Our study also provides an example of how the C. elegans million mutation project helps decipher the structure, functions, and mechanisms of action of important genes.
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