Project description:PPARgamma null (PpargΔ/Δ) mice and AZIP mice present a generalized lipodystrophy, accompanied by strong hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia. Both mouse model develop progressive nephropathy. To shed ligh on the molecular mechanisms underlying the early kidney damage induced by lipodystrophy, we used microarrays to detail the global program of gene expression in whole kidney of PpargΔ/Δ mice and AZIP mice with their respective control mice at 3 weeks of age.
Project description:Keratins 5 and 14 are critical for cytoskeletal integrity, as shown by missense mutations in these genes, which cause the severe skin fragility disorder epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS). The complexity of the pathomechanisms in EBS is not fully understood and no effective management exists. In addition to fragility, EBS keratinocytes are characterized by aggregates of misfolded keratin. Here, we tested the chemical chaperone 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA) as a putative novel therapy, using keratinocytes from patients with severe generalized EBS due to distinct KRT5 and KRT14 mutations.
Project description:Congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by defective adipose tissue, extreme insulin resistance, and early onset of diabetes. There are four types of congenital generalized lipodystrophy based on the causative genetic alterations. The symptoms and the degrees of disease progression are varied among all affected individuals, which might be due to unknown genetic modifiers. To identify potential predictive biomarkers associated with the disease progressions, we recruited 7 patients (cgl2_p1,cgl2_p2,cgl2_p3,cgl2_p4,cgl2_p5,cgl2_p6,cgl2_p7),as well as gender/aged-matched controls (cgl2_c1,cgl2_c2,cgl2_c3,cgl2_c4,cgl2_c5,cgl2_c6,cgl2_c7).The total RNA samples were extracted from the participants' peripheral blood mononuclear cells, followed by RNA-Seq. To find the molecular signatures that might be associated with disease progression, patients were further categorized into sub-groups based on the results of biochemical analysis and their clinical symptoms (e.g. diabetes, metabolic syndrome and metal retardation). DEGs were identified for each sub-groups of patients, and pathway analysis was performed to explore the underlying dysregulated mechanisms.
Project description:This is a cross-sectional case-control study. Study subjects of generalized myopic patients in preparation for small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery were recruited and divided into low and high myopia subgroups.
Project description:This study aims to under the characteristics and diversitification of Dengue speicific immunoglobulin repertoires after different immunization strategies in mouse. We propose two different immunization strategies in dengue vaccine development, one is repeated strategy, which DENV1 virus and administrated three times. The other one is epitope-decreased sequential strategy, which sequetially administrated DENV1 virus, DENV1 E protein and DENV1 E protein domain III subunit.