Project description:To date, diagnosis of methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) is based primarily on the patient’s self-reports of drug-seeking behaviour and interviews with psychiatrists in the absence of objective biomarkers. As an effective clinical method for diagnosis of MUD is still not available, the development of potential biomarkers for more accurate diagnosis is imperative. Transcription profiling and discovery of biomarkers in the treatment and recovery periods of MUD patients can be used as scientific basis to provide a greater understanding of the disease and to facilitate decisions on whether to continue or not. In this study, RNA sequencing analysis was performed to profile transcripts from hair follicle cells of healthy controls and patients with MUD, and biomarkers were discovered at each transition states to be used to diagnose MUD. This study will present an important information to diagnose MUD using non-invasive biomarkers for human addicts and it will help to develop better pharmacological treatment of MUD in the future.
Project description:Immediate early genes (IEGs) are useful markers of neuronal activation and essential components of neuronal response. While studies of gastropods have provided many insights into the basic learning and memory mechanisms, the genome-wide assessment of IEGs has been mainly restricted to vertebrates. In this study we identified IEGs in the terrestrial snail Helix lucorum. In the absence of the genome, we conducted de novo transcriptome assembly using reads with short and intermediate lengths cumulatively covering more than 98 billion nucleotides. Based on this assembly, we identified 37 proteins corresponding to contigs differentially expressed in either the parietal ganglia or two giant interneurons located within the parietal ganglia of the snail in response to the neuronal stimulation. These proteins included homologues of well-known mammalian IEGs, such as c-jun/jund, C/EBP, c-fos/fosl2 and Egr1, as well as homologues of genes not yet implicated in the neuronal response.
Project description:Smilax glabra Roxb, a traditional Chinese herb, has been widely used for folk medicine. Previous studies have found that it has various pharmacological activities, such as cytotoxic, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidant, hepatoprotective, and cardiovascular system protective activities. However, its roles in adipogenesis are poorly understood. We hypothesized that Smilax glabra Roxb and its main component may play important roles in regulating adipocyte diffrentiation and function. To test this hypothesis, we performed RNA-Seq on 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with and without pure total flavonoids from Smilax glabra Roxb.
