| 1. |
- Liu, Li, et al.
(författare)
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Cardiomyocyte-specific Loss of Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) Reproduces the Abnormalities in Lipids Found in Severe Heart Failure
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 289:43, s. 29881-29891
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Total body DGAT1 mice have no cardiac phenotype. Results: Cardiomyocyte DGAT1 knock-out mice have increased mortality and accumulation of potentially toxic lipids, which were corrected by intestinal DGAT1 deletion and GLP-1 receptor agonists. Conclusion: Cardiomyocyte DGAT1 deletion produces heart dysfunction and lipid abnormalities. Significance: Lipotoxicity in the heart can be alleviated by changes in intestinal metabolism. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) catalyzes the final step in triglyceride synthesis, the conversion of diacylglycerol (DAG) to triglyceride. Dgat1(-/-) mice exhibit a number of beneficial metabolic effects including reduced obesity and improved insulin sensitivity and no known cardiac dysfunction. In contrast, failing human hearts have severely reduced DGAT1 expression associated with accumulation of DAGs and ceramides. To test whether DGAT1 loss alone affects heart function, we created cardiomyocyte-specific DGAT1 knock-out (hDgat1(-/-)) mice. hDgat1(-/-) mouse hearts had 95% increased DAG and 85% increased ceramides compared with floxed controls. 50% of these mice died by 9 months of age. The heart failure marker brain natriuretic peptide increased 5-fold in hDgat1(-/-) hearts, and fractional shortening (FS) was reduced. This was associated with increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor and cluster of differentiation 36. We crossed hDgat1(-/-) mice with previously described enterocyte-specific Dgat1 knock-out mice (hiDgat1(-/-)). This corrected the early mortality, improved FS, and reduced cardiac ceramide and DAG content. Treatment of hDgat1(-/-) mice with the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist exenatide also improved FS and reduced heart DAG and ceramide content. Increased fatty acid uptake into hDgat1(-/-) hearts was normalized by exenatide. Reduced activation of protein kinase C (PKC), which is increased by DAG and ceramides, paralleled the reductions in these lipids. Our mouse studies show that loss of DGAT1 reproduces the lipid abnormalities seen in severe human heart failure.
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| 2. |
- Cai, Shengyun, et al.
(författare)
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Photo-stable substituted dihydroindolo[2,3-b]carbazole-based organic dyes : tuning the photovoltaic properties by optimizing the pi structure for panchromatic DSSCs
- 2014
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Ingår i: Tetrahedron. - : Elsevier BV. - 0040-4020 .- 1464-5416. ; 70:43, s. 8122-8128
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Three dihydroindolo[2,3-b]carbazole (DDC) donor based organic dyes (DDC6-DDC8) with long conjugated systems were successfully synthesized and characterized by optical, electrochemical, computational analysis, and photovoltaic methods. It was found that the elongated pi system as well as the high molar extinction coefficients (4.2-5.3 M-1 cm(-1)) sufficiently reinforced the light harvesting ability with the IPCE response of one dye DDC8 extended to 850 nm, which resulted in large J(sc) of these dyes based devices (high as 16.41 mA cm(-2)). The attached alkyl chains suppress the dark current to some extent, resulting the DDC6 and DDC7 devices in high V-oc, while DDC8 displayed low V-oc, because BTD in DDC8 could attract the iodine ion, which could accelerate the charge recombination. Among the three dyes, DDC7 displayed the best performance with an eta value 6.53% under 4 mu m thick scattering layer (condition 1+1), which was boosted to 7.49% under 8 mu m thick scattering layer (condition 1+2). The photo-stability measurements indicated that all the three dyes are fairly photo-stable.
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| 3. |
- Dancila, Dragos, et al.
(författare)
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Millimeter wave silicon micromachined waveguide probe as an aid for skin diagnosis - results of measurements on phantom material with varied water content
- 2014
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Ingår i: Skin research and technology. - : Wiley. - 0909-752X .- 1600-0846. ; 20:1, s. 116-123
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundMore than 2 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed annually in the United States, which makes it the most common form of cancer in that country. Early detection of cancer usually results in less extensive treatment and better outcome for the patient. Millimeter wave silicon micromachined waveguide probe is foreseen as an aid for skin diagnosis, which is currently based on visual inspection followed by biopsy, in cases where the macroscopical picture raises suspicion of malignancy.AimsDemonstration of the discrimination potential of tissues of different water content using a novel micromachined silicon waveguide probe. Secondarily, the silicon probe miniaturization till an inspection area of 600 x 200 m2, representing a drastic reduction by 96.3% of the probing area, in comparison with a conventional WR-10 waveguide. The high planar resolution is required for histology and early-state skin-cancer detection.Material and methodsTo evaluate the probe three phantoms with different water contents, i.e. 50%, 75% and 95%, mimicking dielectric properties of human skin were characterized in the frequency range of 95-105GHz. The complex permittivity values of the skin are obtained from the variation in frequency and amplitude of the reflection coefficient (S11), measured with a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), by comparison with finite elements simulations of the measurement set-up, using the commercially available software, HFSS. The expected frequency variation is calculated with HFSS and is based on extrapolated complex permittivities, using one relaxation Debye model from permittivity measurements obtained using the Agilent probe.ResultsMillimeter wave reflection measurements were performed using the probe in the frequency range of 95-105GHz with three phantoms materials and air. Intermediate measurement results are in good agreement with HFSS simulations, based on the extrapolated complex permittivity. The resonance frequency lowers, from the idle situation when it is probing air, respectively by 0.7, 1.2 and 4.26GHz when a phantom material of 50%, 75% and 95% water content is measured.DiscussionThe results of the measurements in our laboratory set-up with three different phantoms indicate that the probe may be able to discriminate between normal and pathological skin tissue, improving the spatial resolution in histology and on skin measurements, due to the highly reduced area of probing.ConclusionThe probe has the potential to discriminate between normal and pathological skin tissue. Further, improved information, compared to the optical histological inspection can be obtained, i.e. the complex permittivity characterization is obtained with a high resolution, due to the highly reduced measurement area of the probe tip.
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| 4. |
- Dastani, Zari, et al.
(författare)
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Novel Loci for Adiponectin Levels and Their Influence on Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Traits : A Multi-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of 45,891 Individuals
- 2012
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Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 8:3, s. e1002607-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Circulating levels of adiponectin, a hormone produced predominantly by adipocytes, are highly heritable and are inversely associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and other metabolic traits. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in 39,883 individuals of European ancestry to identify genes associated with metabolic disease. We identified 8 novel loci associated with adiponectin levels and confirmed 2 previously reported loci (P=4.5 x 10(-8)-1.2 x 10(-43)). Using a novel method to combine data across ethnicities (N = 4,232 African Americans, N = 1,776 Asians, and N = 29,347 Europeans), we identified two additional novel loci. Expression analyses of 436 human adipocyte samples revealed that mRNA levels of 18 genes at candidate regions were associated with adiponectin concentrations after accounting for multiple testing (p<3 x 10(-4)). We next developed a multi-SNP genotypic risk score to test the association of adiponectin decreasing risk alleles on metabolic traits and diseases using consortia-level meta-analytic data. This risk score was associated with increased risk of T2D (p=4.3 x 10(-3), n = 22,044), increased triglycerides (p=2.6 x 10(-14), n = 93,440), increased waist-to-hip ratio (p=1.8 x 10(-5), n = 77,167), increased glucose two hours post oral glucose tolerance testing (p=4.4 x 10(-3), n = 15,234), increased fasting insulin (p = 0.015, n = 48,238), but with lower in HDL-cholesterol concentrations (p=4.5x10(-13), n = 96,748) and decreased BMI (p= 1.4 x 10(-14), n = 121,335). These findings identify novel genetic determinants of adiponectin levels, which, taken together, influence risk of T2D and markers of insulin resistance.
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| 5. |
- Deng, Min, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association analyses in Han Chinese identify two new susceptibility loci for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 45:6, s. 697-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To identify susceptibility genes for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 506 individuals with sporadic ALS and 1,859 controls of Han Chinese ancestry. Ninety top SNPs suggested by the current GWAS and 6 SNPs identified by previous GWAS were analyzed in an independent cohort of 706 individuals with ALS and 1,777 controls of Han Chinese ancestry. We discovered two new susceptibility loci for ALS at 1q32 (CAMK1G, rs6703183, P-combined = 2.92 x 10(-8), odds ratio (OR) = 1.31) and 22p11 (CABIN1 and SUSD2, rs8141797, P-combined = 2.35 x 10(-9), OR = 1.52). These two loci explain 12.48% of the overall variance in disease risk in the Han Chinese population. We found no association evidence for the previously reported loci in the Han Chinese population, suggesting genetic heterogeneity of disease susceptibility for ALS between ancestry groups. Our study identifies two new susceptibility loci and suggests new pathogenic mechanisms of ALS.
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| 6. |
- Fang, Y., et al.
(författare)
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Concentrations and health risks of lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury in rice and edible mushrooms in China
- 2014
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Ingår i: Food Chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-8146. ; 147, s. 147-151
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, four common heavy metals, lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) in rice and edible mushrooms of China were studied to evaluate contamination level and edible safety. Ninety two (92) rice samples were collected from the main rice growing regions in China, and 38 fresh and 21 dry edible mushroom samples were collected from typical markets in Nanjing City. The analyzed metal concentrations were significantly different between rice and edible mushroom samples (p < 0.05). The results showed that Pb, Cd and As contents in 4.3%, 3.3% and 2.2% rice samples respectively, were above maximum allowable concentration (MAC). In fresh edible mushroom, Pb and Hg contents in 2.6% samples were above MAC, respectively. However, only Hg content in 4.8% dry edible mushroom samples was above its MAC. Therefore, more than 95% rice and edible mushroom samples in our test had high edible safety. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Haiman, Christopher A., et al.
(författare)
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A common variant at the TERT-CLPTM1L locus is associated with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer
- 2011
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 43:12, s. 61-1210
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer shows a higher incidence in women of African ancestry compared to women of European ancestry. In search of common risk alleles for ER-negative breast cancer, we combined genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from women of African ancestry (1,004 ER-negative cases and 2,745 controls) and European ancestry (1,718 ER-negative cases and 3,670 controls), with replication testing conducted in an additional 2,292 ER-negative cases and 16,901 controls of European ancestry. We identified a common risk variant for ER-negative breast cancer at the TERT-CLPTM1L locus on chromosome 5p15 (rs10069690: per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 1.18 per allele, P = 1.0 x 10(-10)). The variant was also significantly associated with triple-negative (ER-negative, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative and human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER2)-negative) breast cancer (OR = 1.25, P = 1.1 x 10(-9)), particularly in younger women (<50 years of age) (OR = 1.48, P = 1.9 x 10(-9)). Our results identify a genetic locus associated with estrogen receptor negative breast cancer subtypes in multiple populations.
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| 8. |
- Hu, Xin, et al.
(författare)
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65-nm CMOS Monolithically Integrated Subterahertz Transmitter
- 2011
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Ingår i: IEEE Electron Device Letters. - 0741-3106 .- 1558-0563. ; 32:9, s. 1182-1184
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This letter presents a transmitter for subterahertz radiation (up to 160 GHz), which consists of a nonlinear transmission line (NLTL) and an extremely wideband (EWB) slot antenna on a silicon substrate of low resistivity (10 Omega . cm). The fabrication was realized using a commercially available 65-nm CMOS process. On-wafer characterization of the whole transmitter, of the stand-alone EWB antenna, and of the stand-alone NLTL is presented. Reflection measurements show that the stand-alone EWB antenna has a -10-dB impedance bandwidth in the frequency bands of 75-100 GHz and 220-325 GHz, which agrees very well with the simulation results. The simulated radiation patterns of the antenna are also presented, indicating that the transmitter has an ominidirectional performance. The output power of the NLTL alone and of the transmitter is measured up to 160 GHz, from which the power gain of the on-chip antenna is derived and has a maximum value of -9.5 dBi between 90 and 120 GHz.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Tripodi, Lorenzo, et al.
(författare)
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Broadband CMOS Millimeter-Wave Frequency Multiplier With Vivaldi Antenna in 3-D Chip-Scale Packaging
- 2012
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Ingår i: IEEE transactions on microwave theory and techniques. - 0018-9480 .- 1557-9670. ; 60:12, s. 3761-3768
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper describes a frequency multiplier able to emit a broadband signal with a frequency range from 70 GHz up to at least 170 GHz. The device is composed of a nonlinear transmission line (NLTL) implemented in commercial CMOS 65-nm technology and an off-chip Vivaldi antenna. These two elements are packaged together with a 3-D chip-scale packaging technology. Characterization of the whole device and of the standalone NLTL is presented at frequencies up to 170 GHz.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Töpfer, Fritzi, et al.
(författare)
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Micromachined near-field millimeter-wave medical sensor for skin cancer diagnosis
- 2013
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Ingår i: 2013 7th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP). - New York : IEEE. - 9788890701832 ; , s. 1550-1553
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents the recent achievements in a project on micromachined millimeter-wave near-field medical sensors, in particular for skin cancer diagnosis. Micromachining enables sensor probes which achieve both hig sensitivity and high lateral resolution through a drastically miniaturized probe tip. Two different design strategies are investigated: a broad-band, non-resonating, tapered dielectric-rod probe, and a resonance slot sensor. For probe characterization micromachined silicon test and calibration samples with tailor-made permittivity were fabricated. Characterization of fabricated prototypes show that the tapered probe can clearly and reproducibly distinguish .....
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| 13. |
- Xu, D., et al.
(författare)
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DISCOVERY OF THE BROAD-LINED TYPE Ic SN 2013cq ASSOCIATED WITH THE VERY ENERGETIC GRB 130427A
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 776:2, s. 98-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) at z < 1 are found in most cases to be accompanied by bright, broadlined Type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic-BL). The highest-energy GRBs are mostly located at higher redshifts, where the associated SNe are hard to detect observationally. Here, we present early and late observations of the optical counterpart of the very energetic GRB 130427A. Despite its moderate redshift, z = 0.3399+/-0.0002, GRB 130427A is at the high end of the GRB energy distribution, with an isotropic-equivalent energy release of E-iso similar to 9.6 x 10(53) erg, more than an order of magnitude more energetic than other GRBs with spectroscopically confirmed SNe. In our dense photometric monitoring, we detect excess flux in the host-subtracted r-band light curve, consistent with that expected from an emerging SN, similar to 0.2 mag fainter than the prototypical SN 1998bw. A spectrum obtained around the time of the SN peak (16.7 days after the GRB) reveals broad undulations typical of SNe Ic-BL, confirming the presence of an SN, designated SN 2013cq. The spectral shape and early peak time are similar to those of the high expansion velocity SN 2010bh associated with GRB 100316D. Our findings demonstrate that high-energy, long-duration GRBs, commonly detected at high redshift, can also be associated with SNe Ic-BL, pointing to a common progenitor mechanism.
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| 14. |
- Zhang, Yinping, et al.
(författare)
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Ten cities cross-sectional questionnaire survey of children asthma and other allergies in China
- 2013
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Ingår i: Chinese Science Bulletin. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1001-6538 .- 1861-9541. ; 58:34, s. 4182-4189
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Asthma, rhinitis and eczema (allergic or non-allergic) have increased throughout the world during the last decades, especially among children. Changes in the indoor environment are suspected to be important causes. China has experienced a dramatic change in indoor environmental exposures during the past two decades. However, such changes and their associations with children's asthma and other health aspects have not been thoroughly studied. China, Children, Homes, Health (CCHH), Phase I, was a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 48219 children 1-8 years old in 10 Chinese cities during 2010-2012. The questionnaire includes the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) core health questions and additional questions regarding housing, life habits and outdoor environment. In health analyses, children aged 3-6 years old were included. The prevalences of doctor diagnosed asthma varied from 1.7% to 9.8% (mean 6.8%), a large increase from 0.91% in 1999 and 1.50% in 2000. The prevalence of wheeze, rhinitis and atopic eczema (last 12 months) varied from 13.9% to 23.7%, 24.0% to 50.8% and 4.8% to 15.8%, respectively. Taiyuan had the lowest prevalences of all illnesses and Shanghai the highest, except for wheezewhere the highest value was for Urumqi. We found (1) no obvious association between disease prevalences and ambient PM10 concentrations and (2) higher prevalences of disease in humid climates with hot summers and cold winters, but with no centrally heated buildings. Associations between the diseases and economic status as indexed by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) requires further study.
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| 15. |
- Zhao, Zeng-Ren, et al.
(författare)
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Nup88 mRNA overexpression in colorectal cancers and relationship with p53
- 2010
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Ingår i: CANCER BIOMARKERS. - : IOS Press. - 1574-0153. ; 8:2, s. 73-80
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: We measured nucleoporin 88 (Nup88) mRNA expression in primary colorectal cancers to investigate its relationship with clinicopathological features and p53. Methods: The primary cancer tissues, adjacent noncancerous tissues and the proximal and distant margins of normal mucosa were collected from 73 colorectal cancer patients during surgery. Nup88 mRNA expression was measured on these fresh specimens and on colon cell lines HCT-116 (P53+/+) and HCT-116 (P53-/-) by RT-PCR while p53 mRNA and beta-actin as controls. Nup88 and p53 protein expression were then immunohistochemistrically examined in other 25 colorectal cancers specimens paraffin embedded and formalin fixed. Results: Nup88 expression was higher in primary cancer tissues than in adjacent noncancerous tissues, and in the proximal and distant margins of normal mucosa. Overexpression of Nup88 mRNA was statistically associated with TNM stage (P = 0.044), lymphatic metastasis (P = 0.022), and cancer location (P = 0.036), while not related to gender, age of patients and histological type, infiltration depth, and differentiation of cancers. The expression of Nup88 mRNA in the HCT-116 (P53-/-) cell line was not significantly different from expression in the HCT-116 (P53+/+) cell line. And there was no correlation between Nup88 and p53 protein expression (r = 0.632, P = 0.368). Conclusions: Nup88 mRNA was overexpressed in colorectal cancers and the overexpression was associated with cancer development and aggressiveness. Nup88 might be regard as essential contributor to nodal metastagenicity of colorectal cancer.
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| 16. |
- Zhao, Zeng-Ren, et al.
(författare)
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Significance of mRNA and Protein Expression of MAC30 in Progression of Colorectal Cancer
- 2011
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Ingår i: Chemotherapy. - Basel : Karger AG. - 0009-3157 .- 1421-9794. ; 57:5, s. 394-401
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Meningioma-associated protein (MAC30), first described to be overexpressed in meningiomas, exhibits altered expression in certain human tumors. The aim of our study was to investigate the expression of MAC30 mRNA and its correlation with clinicopathological variables in human colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: MAC30 mRNA expression was first examined in 55 CRCs, along with the samples from the matched distant normal and adjacent noncancerous tissue by RT-PCR, further verified in 18 CRCs by quantitative RT-PCR. MAC30 protein expression was detected by Western blot in 10 CRCs, and DNA sequencing was performed in 1 case of the paired CRC and the matched noncancerous specimen. MAC30 mRNA expression in two colon cancer cell lines, HCT-116(p53-/-) and HCT-116(p53+/+), was detected by quantitative RT-PCR. Results: The mRNA expression of MAC30 was increased in CRC when compared with distant normal (p < 0.01) and adjacent noncancerous mucosa (p < 0.01). The mean value of MAC30 mRNA expression in the tumor located in the colon was higher than in the rectum (0.677 +/- 0.419 vs. 0.412 +/- 0.162, p = 0.005). As the tumor penetrated the wall of the colon/rectum, MAC30 mRNA expression notably increased in tumors with T3+T4 stage compared to tumors with T1+T2 stage (0.571 +/- 0.364 vs. 0.404 +/- 0.115, p = 0.014). MAC30 protein expression in CRCs was also remarkably elevated compared to the adjacent noncancerous mucosa. There was no mutation in the coding region of the MAC30 gene either in CRC or in the noncancerous mucosa. mRNA expression of p53 was notably decreased in HCT-116(p53-/-) compared to HCT-116(p53+/+), while MAC30 did not vary greatly. Conclusion: The overexpression of MAC30 might be involved in the development and aggressiveness of CRCs, especially in the colon.
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