1.Expression and purification of nine nucleocapsid proteins from coronaviruses
Huiwen XU ; Yanbin WANG ; Chao WU ; Jianwei WANG ; Tao HUNG
Basic & Clinical Medicine 2006;0(05):-
Objective To define laboratory technology for expression and purification of nucleocapsid proteins of human coronaviruses SARS-CoV,HCoV-229E,HCoV-OC43,HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU1,animal coronaviruses bovine coronavirus,murine hepatitis virus,feline infectious peritonitis virus,and infectious bronchitis virus.MethodsThe pET-30a-based recombinant plasmids containing full length nucleocapsid(N) protein of coronaviruses were transformed into E.coil BL21(DE3) competent cells and were induced to express N proteins by IPTG.The expression products were purified by ion exchange chromatography and Ni2+ affinity chromatography,and were verified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot.Results Nine coronavirus nucleocapsid proteins with correct Mr were solubly expressed and highly purified with purity over 90%.Conclusion Successfully expressed nine recombinant nucleocapsid proteins with high purity in E.Coli,which provides materials to study the function of these coronavirus N proteins.
7.The Effects of Environmental Toxins on Allergic Inflammation.
San Nan YANG ; Chong Chao HSIEH ; Hsuan Fu KUO ; Min Sheng LEE ; Ming Yii HUANG ; Chang Hung KUO ; Chih Hsing HUNG
Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research 2014;6(6):478-484
The prevalence of asthma and allergic disease has increased worldwide over the last few decades. Many common environmental factors are associated with this increase. Several theories have been proposed to account for this trend, especially those concerning the impact of environmental toxicants. The development of the immune system, particularly in the prenatal period, has far-reaching consequences for health during early childhood, and throughout adult life. One underlying mechanism for the increased levels of allergic responses, secondary to exposure, appears to be an imbalance in the T-helper function caused by exposure to the toxicants. Exposure to environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals can result in dramatic changes in cytokine production, the activity of the immune system, the overall Th1 and Th2 balance, and in mediators of type 1 hypersensitivity mediators, such as IgE. Passive exposure to tobacco smoke is a common risk factor for wheezing and asthma in children. People living in urban areas and close to roads with a high volume of traffic, and high levels of diesel exhaust fumes, have the highest exposure to environmental compounds, and these people are strongly linked with type 1 hypersensitivity disorders and enhanced Th2 responses. These data are consistent with epidemiological research that has consistently detected increased incidences of allergies and asthma in people living in these locations. During recent decades more than 100,000 new chemicals have been used in common consumer products and are released into the everyday environment. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the environmental effects on allergies of indoor and outside exposure.
Adult
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Asthma
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Child
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Humans
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Hypersensitivity
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Immune System
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Immunoglobulin E
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Incidence
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Inflammation*
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Prevalence
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Respiratory Sounds
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Risk Factors
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Smoke
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Smoking
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Tobacco
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Vehicle Emissions
8.Epigenetic regulation in allergic diseases and related studies
Chang Hung KUO ; Chong Chao HSIEH ; Min Sheng LEE ; Kai Ting CHANG ; Hsuan Fu KUO ; Chih Hsing HUNG
Asia Pacific Allergy 2014;4(1):14-18
Asthma, a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airway, has features of both heritability as well as environmental influences which can be introduced in utero exposures and modified through aging, and the features may attribute to epigenetic regulation. Epigenetic regulation explains the association between early prenatal maternal smoking and later asthma-related outcomes. Epigenetic marks (DNA methylation, modifications of histone tails or noncoding RNAs) work with other components of the cellular regulatory machinery to control the levels of expressed genes, and several allergy- and asthma-related genes have been found to be susceptible to epigenetic regulation, including genes important to T-effector pathways (IFN-γ, interleukin [IL] 4, IL-13, IL-17) and T-regulatory pathways (FoxP3). Therefore, the mechanism by which epigenetic regulation contributes to allergic diseases is a critical issue. In the past most published experimental work, with few exceptions, has only comprised small observational studies and models in cell systems and animals. However, very recently exciting and elegant experimental studies and novel translational research works were published with new and advanced technologies investigating epigenetic mark on a genomic scale and comprehensive approaches to data analysis. Interestingly, a potential link between exposure to environmental pollutants and the occurrence of allergic diseases is revealed recently, particular in developed and industrialized countries, and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as environmental hormone may play a key role. This review addresses the important question of how EDCs (nonylphenol, 4 octylphenol, and phthalates) influences on asthma-related gene expression via epigenetic regulation in immune cells, and how anti-asthmatic agents prohibit expression of inflammatory genes via epigenetic modification. The discovery and validation of epigenetic biomarkers linking exposure to allergic diseases might lead to better epigenotyping of risk, prognosis, treatment prediction, and development of novel therapies.
Acetylation
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Aging
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Animals
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Anti-Asthmatic Agents
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Asthma
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Biomarkers
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Developed Countries
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Endocrine Disruptors
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Environmental Pollutants
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Epigenomics
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Gene Expression
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Histones
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Hypersensitivity
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Interleukin-13
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Interleukins
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Methylation
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Prognosis
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Smoke
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Smoking
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Statistics as Topic
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Tail
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Translational Medical Research
9.Development of ceftazidime resistance in Burkhoderia pseudomallei in a patient experiencing melioidosis with mediastinal lymphadenitis.
Chia Te KUNG ; Chen Hsiang LEE ; Chao Jui LI ; Hung I LU ; Sheung Fat KO ; Jien Wei LIU
Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore 2010;39(12):945-943
Anti-Bacterial Agents
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pharmacology
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therapeutic use
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Burkholderia pseudomallei
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drug effects
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isolation & purification
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Ceftazidime
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pharmacology
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therapeutic use
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Comorbidity
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Drug Resistance, Bacterial
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Humans
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Lymphadenitis
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physiopathology
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Male
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Mediastinal Diseases
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physiopathology
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Melioidosis
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etiology
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physiopathology
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Middle Aged
10.Echocardiographic parameters and indices in 23 healthy Maltese dogs
Chih-Hung TSAI ; Chao-Chun HUANG ; Chia-Chi HO ; Marta CLARETTI
Journal of Veterinary Science 2021;22(5):e60-
Background:
Echocardiography is a primary tool used by veterinarians to evaluate heart diseases. In recent years, various studies have targeted standard echocardiographic values for different breeds. Reference data are currently lacking in Maltese dogs and it is important to fill this gap as this breed is predisposed to myxomatous mitral valve disease, which is a volume overload disease.
Objectives:
To establish the normal echocardiographic parameters for Maltese dogs.
Methods:
In total, 23 healthy Maltese dogs were involved in this study. Blood pressure measurements, thoracic radiography, and complete transthoracic echocardiography were performed. The effects of body weight, age and sex were evaluated, and the correlations between weight and linear and volumetric dimensions were calculated by regression analysis.
Results:
The mean vertebral heart size was 9.1 ± 0.4. Aside from the ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and the left atrial to aorta root ratio, all the other echocardiographic parameters were significantly correlated with weight.
Conclusion
This study describes normal echocardiographic parameters that may be useful in the echocardiographic evaluation of Maltese dogs.