BK Knockout by TALEN-Mediated Gene Targeting in Osteoblasts: KCNMA1 Determines the Proliferation and Differentiation of Osteoblasts

Xuemei Zhang,Hongya Hei,Jianjun Gao,Jibin Dong,Jie Tao,Lulu Tian,Wanma Pan,Hongyu Wang 한국분자세포생물학회 2016 Molecules and cells Vol.39 No.7

Large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels participate in many important physiological functions in excitable tissues such as neurons, cardiac and smooth muscles, whereas the knowledge of BK channels in bone tissues and osteoblasts remains elusive. To investigate the role of BK channels in osteoblasts, we used transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) to establish a BK knockout cell line on rat ROS17/2.8 osteoblast, and detected the proliferation and mineralization of the BK-knockout cells. Our study found that the BK-knockout cells significantly decreased the ability of proliferation and mineralization as osteoblasts, compared to the wild type cells. The overall expression of osteoblast differentiation marker genes in the BK-knockout cells was significantly lower than that in wild type osteoblast cells. The BK-knockout osteoblast cell line in our study displays a phenotype decrease in osteoblast function which can mimic the pathological state of osteoblast and thus provide a working cell line as a tool for study of osteoblast function and bone related diseases.

Effects of Crop Residues and Application Manners on Properties of Continuous Cropping Cucumber Soil in Solar Greenhouses

Yanfeng Qi,Xuemei Tian,Min Wei,Xiufeng Wang 한국원예학회 2009 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.50 No.5

Abnormal Brain Activity Changes in Patients with Migraine: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study

Ling Zha,Jixin Liu,Xuemei Yan,Wanghuan Dun,Jing Yang,Liyu Huang,Yuan Kai,Dahua Yu,Wei Qin,Tian Jie,Fanrong Liang 대한신경과학회 2014 Journal of Clinical Neurology Vol.10 No.3

Background and Purpose Whether or not migraine can cause cumulative brain alterationsdue to frequent migraine-related nociceptive input in patients is largely unclear. The aim of thisstudy was to characterize longitudinal changes in brain activity between repeated observationswithin a short time interval in a group of female migraine patients, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Methods Nineteen patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) participated in the study. Regionalhomogeneity (ReHo) and functional interregional connectivity were assessed to determine thefocal and global features of brain dysfunction in migraine. The relationship between changes inheadache parameters and longitudinal brain alterations were also investigated. Results All patients reported that their headache activity increased over time. AbnormalReHo changes in the patient group relative to the HC were found in the putamen, orbitofrontalcortex, secondary somatosensory cortex, brainstem, and thalamus. Moreover, these brain regions exhibited longitudinal ReHo changes at the 6-week follow-up examination. These headache activity changes were accompanied by disproportionately dysfunctional connectivity inthe putamen in the migraine patients, as revealed by functional connectivity analysis, suggesting that the putamen plays an important role in integrating diverse information among othermigraine-related brain regions. Conclusions The results obtained in this study suggest that progressive brain aberrations in migraine progress as a result of increased headache attacks.

Comprehensive Analysis of Gut Microbiota Alteration in the Patients and Animal Models with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Zhou Jing,Qiu Xuemei,Chen Xuejing,Ma Sihan,Chen Zhaoyang,Wang Ruzhe,Tian Ying,Jiang Yufan,Fan Li,Wang Jingjie 한국미생물학회 2023 The journal of microbiology Vol.61 No.9

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disease of endocrine–metabolic disorder, and its etiology remains largely unknown. The gut microbiota is possibly involved in PCOS, while the association remains unclear. The comprehensive analysis combining gut microbiota with PCOS typical symptoms was performed to analyze the role of gut microbiota in PCOS in this study. The clinical patients and letrozole-induced animal models were determined on PCOS indexes and gut microbiota, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was conducted. Results indicated that the animal models displayed typical PCOS symptoms, including disordered estrous cycles, elevated testosterone levels, and ovarian morphological change; meanwhile, the symptoms were improved after FMT. Furthermore, the microbial diversity exhibited disordered, and the abundance of the genus Ruminococcus and Lactobacillus showed a consistent trend in PCOS rats and patients. The microbiota diversity and several key genera were restored subjected to FMT, and correlation analysis also supported relevant conclusions. Moreover, LEfSe analysis showed that Gemmiger, Flexispira, and Eubacterium were overrepresented in PCOS groups. Overall, the results indicate the involvement of gut microbiota in PCOS and its possible alleviation of endocrinal and reproductive dysfunctions through several special bacteria taxa, which can function as the biomarker or potential target for diagnosis and treatment. These results can provide the new insights for treatment and prevention strategies of PCOS.

Characterization and development of EST-SSR markers to study the genetic diversity and populations analysis of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.)

Shipeng Yang,Qiwen Zhong,Jie Tian,Lihui Wang,Mengliang Zhao,Li Li,Xuemei Sun 한국유전학회 2018 Genes & Genomics Vol.40 No.10

In recent years, Jerusalem artichoke has received widespread attention as a novel source of sugar, biofuel, and animal feed. Currently, only few gDNA-SSRs derived from sunflower were verified in the Jerusalem artichoke; therefore, it is particularly important to develop SSR primer markers that belonged to Jerusalem artichoke resources. Using EST data to develop EST-SSR markers is simple and effective. In order to understand the general characteristics of SSR markers in Jerusalem artichoke EST sequences and accelerate the use of SSR markers in Jerusalem artichoke research. This study used 40,370 sequenced unigene fragments and MISA software to identify SSR loci. The 48 pairs of EST-SSR primers assessed for the identification of 45 varieties of Jerusalem artichoke. Cluster, genetic diversity parameters and AMOVA analysis was conducted using the genetic similarity coefficient, revealing genetic differences between 48 genetic material. A total of 1204 SSR loci were identified with 13 different types of repeats, distributed among 1020 EST sequences, of which trinucleotide repeats were the most common, accounting for 38.21% of the total SSR loci. Among the 44 repeat motifs, AG/CT, AAG/ CTT, and ATC/ATG motifs had the highest frequencies, accounting for 22.45, 14.71, and 7.84% of all motifs, respectively. From these sequences, 48 pairs of EST-SSR primers were designed, and 22 primer pairs for loci with high polymorphism were selected to analyze the genetic diversity of 45 Jerusalem artichoke germplasm sources. The results indicated that the variation range of the effective number of alleles for 22 primers ranged between 1.7502 and 4.5660. The Shannon’s information index ranged between 0.6200 and 1.6423. The variation range of PIC ranged between 0.3121 and 0.6662 with an average of 0.5184. Cluster analysis was conducted using the genetic similarity coefficient, revealing significant genetic differences between Asian and European genetic material. Cluster analysis revealed a relationship between the genotypes and geographic origins of the Jerusalem artichoke. The results of AMOVA as well as the genetic identity and genetic distance in the Jerusalem artichoke population showed that there presented certain genetic heterogeneity in Jerusalem artichoke genetic structure of 45 samples from seven different geographic populations. The Jerusalem artichoke EST-SSR marker system established in this study provides an effective molecular marker system for future research focused on Jerusalem artichoke genetic diversity and the breeding of new varieties.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO2/graphene by tailoring oxidation degrees of graphene oxide for gaseous mercury removal

Yu Guan,Tao Hu,Jiang Wu,Lili Zhao,Fengguo Tian,Wei-Guo Pan,Ping He,Xuemei Qi,Fangqin Li,Kai Xu 한국화학공학회 2019 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.36 No.1

We used a simple method of graphene oxide (GO) preparation with different oxidation levels, and control the properties of the TiO2 nanocrystals by tuning the content and oxidation degree of GO to enhance the photocatalytic performance. During the hydrothermal reaction, reduction of GO, formation of TiO2 and chemical bonds between TiO2 and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was achieved simultaneously. Characterization results showed that TiO2 properties such as crystalline grain and particle size could be tailored by the amount of functional groups, and that crystallinity was also controlled by GO degrees of oxidation. TiO2/RGO photocatalysts showed great efficiency of mercury oxidation, which reached 83.7% and 43.6% under UV and LED light irradiation, respectively. The effects of crystalline grain size and surface chemical properties on Hg0 removal under LED and UV light irradiation were analyzed. In addition, the properties of the photocatalysts before and after UV illumination were investigated, finding that part of Ti-OH on TiO2 surface transformed to Ti-O-Ti. In a nutshell, this work could provide a new insight into enhancing activity of photocatalysts and understanding the photocatalytic mechanism.

BK Knockout by TALEN-Mediated Gene Targeting in Osteoblasts: KCNMA1 Determines the Proliferation and Differentiation of Osteoblasts

Hei, Hongya,Gao, Jianjun,Dong, Jibin,Tao, Jie,Tian, Lulu,Pan, Wanma,Wang, Hongyu,Zhang, Xuemei Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2016 Molecules and cells Vol.39 No.7

Large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels participate in many important physiological functions in excitable tissues such as neurons, cardiac and smooth muscles, whereas the knowledge of BK channels in bone tissues and osteoblasts remains elusive. To investigate the role of BK channels in osteoblasts, we used transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) to establish a BK knockout cell line on rat ROS17/2.8 osteoblast, and detected the proliferation and mineralization of the BK-knockout cells. Our study found that the BKknockout cells significantly decreased the ability of proliferation and mineralization as osteoblasts, compared to the wild type cells. The overall expression of osteoblast differentiation marker genes in the BK-knockout cells was significantly lower than that in wild type osteoblast cells. The BK-knockout osteoblast cell line in our study displays a phenotype decrease in osteoblast function which can mimic the pathological state of osteoblast and thus provide a working cell line as a tool for study of osteoblast function and bone related diseases.

Prevalence of Hydatid Cysts in Livestock Animals in Xinjiang, China

Meng Qingling,Wang Guanglei,Qiao Jun,Zhu Xinquan,Liu Tianli,Song Xuemei,Zhang Jinsheng,Wang Huisheng,Cai Kuojun,Chen Chuangfu 대한기생충학열대의학회 2014 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.52 No.3