Project description:Myanmar locates in the crossroads of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, and is known for high culture diversity in different ethnic groups. It is considered to be important for understanding human evolutionary history and genetic diversity in East Eurasia. However, relatively few studies have examined the population structure and demographic history in Myanmar to date. In this study, we analyzed more than 220,000 genome-wide SNPs in 175 new samples of five ethnic groups from Myanmar and compared them with the published data. Our results showed that the Myanmar population is intricately substructured, with the main observed clusters corresponding roughly to western/northern highlanders (Chin, Naga, and Jingpo) and central/southern lowlanders (Bamar and Rakhine). The gene flow inferred from South Asia has a substantial influence (~11%) on the gene pool of central/southern lowlanders rather than western/northern highlanders. The genetic admixture is dated around 650 years ago. These findings suggest that the genome-wide variation in Myanmar was likely shaped by the linguistic, cultural, and historical changes.
Project description:Case story. A patient with massive infiltration of the visceral adipose tissue depot by BAT in a patient with a catecholamine secreting paraganglioma. BAT tissue was identified by protein expression of UCP1 (western blotting and immunostaining) The goal of the study is to identify patterns of gene expression in BAT containing visceral fat compared to the patient's own subcutanous fat which did not express BAT. For comparison a pool of mRNA isolated from visceral fat from obese subjects was used.
Project description:Case story. A patient with massive infiltration of the visceral adipose tissue depot by BAT in a patient with a catecholamine secreting paraganglioma. BAT tissue was identified by protein expression of UCP1 (western blotting and immunostaining) The goal of the study is to identify patterns of gene expression in BAT containing visceral fat compared to the patient's own subcutanous fat which did not express BAT. For comparison a pool of mRNA isolated from visceral fat from obese subjects was used. Patient Case, Gene expression array from a biopsy from the patient's visceral fat and a biopsy from the subcutaneous fat compared to one array of mRNA from the visceral depot pooled from a group of obese subjects
Project description:Evolving resistance to artemisinin-based compounds in SE Asia threatens to derail attempts to control and eliminate malaria. Resistance has been confirmed in western Cambodia, has recently emerged in western Thailand, but is absent from neighboring Laos. Artemisinin resistance results in reduced parasite clearance rates (CR) from the blood following treatment. We used a two-phase approach to identify the genes underlying this ongoing selective event. Comparison of geographical differentiation and haplotype structure at 6,969 polymorphic SNPs in 91 parasites from western Cambodia, western Thailand and Laos identified 33 strongly selected genome regions. We screened SNPs and microsatellites within these genome regions in 718 parasites from western Thailand, and identified a 35kb region of chr 13 showing strong association (P=10-6 to 10-11) with slow CR. This region contains several compelling candidate loci, such as HSP70, for assessment by transfection. These results illustrate the efficacy of targeted association for identifying the genetic basis of adaptive traits.