Project description:CONTEXT Nowadays, the molecular mechanisms involved in endometrial receptivity and implantation are still not clear. OBJECTIVE The gene expression of human endometrium of patients undergoing an IVF treatment with GnRH antagonists/rec-FSH was studied. CONCLUSIONS COX-2 has been extensively studied as a crucial fertility element in both knock-out mice and human. It appears that increased expression of COX-2 and/or SCGB1D2 on the day of oocyte retrieval in GnRH antagonist/rec-FSH stimulated cycles coincides with a lower probability of achieving a clinical pregnancy in this cycle. Keywords: gene expression analysis, clinical pregnancy in IVF stimulated cycles
Project description:CONTEXT Nowadays, the molecular mechanisms involved in endometrial receptivity and implantation are still not clear. OBJECTIVE The gene expression of human endometrium of patients undergoing an IVF treatment with GnRH antagonists/rec-FSH was studied. CONCLUSIONS COX-2 has been extensively studied as a crucial fertility element in both knock-out mice and human. It appears that increased expression of COX-2 and/or SCGB1D2 on the day of oocyte retrieval in GnRH antagonist/rec-FSH stimulated cycles coincides with a lower probability of achieving a clinical pregnancy in this cycle. Keywords: gene expression analysis, clinical pregnancy in IVF stimulated cycles Endometrial biopsies taken from patients on day of oocyte retrieval in stimulated IVF cycles with 1 or 2 embryos replaced in the same cycle. Gene expression of pregnant patients (n=4) was compared with matched non-pregnant patients (n=4)
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Homo sapiens inflammatory skin diseases (whole skin biospies): Psoriasis (Pso), vs Atopic Dermatitis (AD) vs Lichen planus (Li), vs Contact Eczema (KE), vs Healthy control (KO) In recent years, different genes and proteins have been highlighted as potential biomarkers for psoriasis, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases worldwide. However, most of these markers are not psoriasis-specific but also found in other inflammatory disorders. We performed an unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression profiles in 150 psoriasis patients and other inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, contact eczema, and healthy controls). We identified a cluster of IL-17/TNFα-associated genes specifically expressed in psoriasis, among which IL-36γ was the most outstanding marker. In subsequent immunohistological analyses IL-36γ was confirmed to be expressed in psoriasis lesions only. IL-36γ peripheral blood serum levels were found to be closely associated with disease activity, and they decreased after anti-TNFα-treatment. Furthermore, IL-36γ immunohistochemistry was found to be a helpful marker in the histological differential diagnosis between psoriasis and eczema in diagnostically challenging cases. These features highlight IL-36γ as a valuable biomarker in psoriasis patients, both for diagnostic purposes and measurement of disease activity during the clinical course. Furthermore, IL-36γ might also provide a future drug target, due to its potential amplifier role in TNFα- and IL-17 pathways in psoriatic skin inflammation. In recent years, different genes and proteins have been highlighted as potential biomarkers for psoriasis, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases worldwide. However, most of these markers are not psoriasis-specific but also found in other inflammatory disorders. We performed an unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression profiles in 150 psoriasis patients and other inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, contact eczema, and healthy controls). We identified a cluster of IL-17/TNFα-associated genes specifically expressed in psoriasis, among which IL-36γ was the most outstanding marker. In subsequent immunohistological analyses IL-36γ was confirmed to be expressed in psoriasis lesions only. IL-36γ peripheral blood serum levels were found to be closely associated with disease activity, and they decreased after anti-TNFα-treatment. Furthermore, IL-36γ immunohistochemistry was found to be a helpful marker in the histological differential diagnosis between psoriasis and eczema in diagnostically challenging cases. These features highlight IL-36γ as a valuable biomarker in psoriasis patients, both for diagnostic purposes and measurement of disease activity during the clinical course. Furthermore, IL-36γ might also provide a future drug target, due to its potential amplifier role in TNFα- and IL-17 pathways in psoriatic skin inflammation.
Project description:After more than 40 years, IVF technology has made rapid progress. However, the clinical pregnancy rate remained around 33.8-42.7%. After the implementation of blastocyst transplantation, the clinical pregnancy rate increased to 60.4%. One of the key factors affecting the pregnancy rate of IVF is the RIF, actually the poor endometrial receptivity is the main reason for the decrease of pregnancy possibility in RIF patients. In our study, the endometriumof IVF-ET patients during WOI was collected and divided into RIF group and pregnant controls group according to pregnancy outcomes. Specific proteins related to endometrial receptivity were screened by iTRAQ-2D LC-MS/MS.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.