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Xiao FH, Wang HT, Chen XQ, Ge MX, Yan D, Yang XL, Yang LQ, Lin R, Guo RH, Zhang W, Tang NLS, He Y, Zhou J, Cai WW, Kong QP. Hypermethylation in H3K9me3 regions characterizes the centenarian methylomes in healthy aging. Natl Sci Rev 2023; 10:nwad067. [PMID: 37181094 PMCID: PMC10171629 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwad067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fu-Hui Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
- KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases , Kunming 650201 , China
| | - Hao-Tian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
- KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases , Kunming 650201 , China
- Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Xiao-Qiong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
| | - Ming-Xia Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
- KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases , Kunming 650201 , China
- Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Dongjing Yan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199 , China
| | - Xing-Li Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
| | - Li-Qin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
- KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases , Kunming 650201 , China
| | - Rong Lin
- Department of Biology , Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199 , China
| | - Rong-Hui Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
- KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases , Kunming 650201 , China
- Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Wen Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199 , China
| | - Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases , Kunming 650201 , China
- Department of Chemical Pathology and Laboratory for Genetics of Disease Susceptibility, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong, China
| | - Yonghan He
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
| | - Jumin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology , Kunming 650201 , China
| | - Wang-Wei Cai
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199 , China
| | - Qing-Peng Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650201 , China
- KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases , Kunming 650201 , China
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Lee AWT, Ng JKW, Liao J, Luk AC, Suen AHC, Chan TTH, Cheung MY, Chu HT, Tang NLS, Zhao MP, Lian Q, Chan WY, Chan DYL, Leung TY, Chow KL, Wang W, Wang LH, Chen NCH, Yang WJ, Huang JY, Li TC, Lee TL. Single-cell RNA sequencing identifies molecular targets associated with poor in vitro maturation performance of oocytes collected from ovarian stimulation. Hum Reprod 2021; 36:1907-1921. [PMID: 34052851 DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deab100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION What is the transcriptome signature associated with poor performance of rescue IVM (rIVM) oocytes and how can we rejuvenate them? SUMMARY ANSWER The GATA-1/CREB1/WNT signalling axis was repressed in rIVM oocytes, particularly those of poor quality; restoration of this axis may produce more usable rIVM oocytes. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY rIVM aims to produce mature oocytes (MII) for IVF through IVM of immature oocytes collected from stimulated ovaries. It is not popular due to limited success rate in infertility treatment. Genetic aberrations, cellular stress and the absence of cumulus cell support in oocytes could account for the failure of rIVM. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION We applied single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to capture the transcriptomes of human in vivo oocytes (IVO) (n = 10) from 7 donors and rIVM oocytes (n = 10) from 10 donors. The effects of maternal age and ovarian responses on rIVM oocyte transcriptomes were also studied. In parallel, we studied the effect of gallic acid on the maturation rate of mouse oocytes cultured in IVM medium with (n = 84) and without (n = 85) gallic acid. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Human oocytes were collected from donors aged 28-41 years with a body mass index of <30. RNA extraction, cDNA generation, library construction and sequencing were performed in one preparation. scRNA-seq data were then processed and analysed. Selected genes in the rIVM versus IVO comparison were validated by quantitative real-time PCR. For the gallic acid study, we collected immature oocytes from 5-month-old mice and studied the effect of 10-μM gallic acid on their maturation rate. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE The transcriptome profiles of rIVM/IVO oocytes showed distinctive differences. A total of 1559 differentially expressed genes (DEGs, genes with at least 2-fold change and adjusted P < 0.05) were found to be enriched in metabolic processes, biosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation. Among these DEGs, we identified a repression of WNT/β-catenin signalling in rIVM when compared with IVO oocytes. We found that oestradiol levels exhibited a significant age-independent correlation with the IVO mature oocyte ratio (MII ratio) for each donor. rIVM oocytes from women with a high MII ratio were found to have over-represented cellular processes such as anti-apoptosis. To further identify targets that contribute to the poor clinical outcomes of rIVM, we compared oocytes collected from young donors with a high MII ratio with oocytes from donors of advanced maternal age and lower MII ratio, and revealed that CREB1 is an important regulator. Thus, our study identified that GATA-1/CREB1/WNT signalling was repressed in both rIVM oocytes versus IVO oocytes and in rIVM oocytes of lower versus higher quality. Consequently we investigated gallic acid, as a potential antioxidant substrate in human rIVM medium, and found that it increased the mouse oocyte maturation rate by 31.1%. LARGE SCALE DATA Raw data from this study can be accessed through GSE158539. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION In the rIVM oocytes of the high- and low-quality comparison, the number of samples was limited after data filtering with stringent selection criteria. For the oocyte stage identification, we were unable to predict the presence of oocyte spindle, so polar body extrusion was the only indicator. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS This study showed that GATA-1/CREB1/WNT signalling was repressed in rIVM oocytes compared with IVO oocytes and was further downregulated in low-quality rIVM oocytes, providing us the foundation of subsequent follow-up research on human oocytes and raising safety concerns about the clinical use of rescued oocytes. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work was supported by the Collaborative Research Fund, Research Grants Council, C4054-16G, and Research Committee Funding (Research Sustainability of Major RGC Funding Schemes), The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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Affiliation(s)
- A W T Lee
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - J K W Ng
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - J Liao
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - A C Luk
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - A H C Suen
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - T T H Chan
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - M Y Cheung
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - H T Chu
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - N L S Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - M P Zhao
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Q Lian
- Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - W Y Chan
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - D Y L Chan
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - T Y Leung
- Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - K L Chow
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China.,Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - W Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IVF Center, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - L H Wang
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology & Department of Medical Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - N C H Chen
- Department of Infertility and Reproductive Medicine, Taiwan IVF Group Center, Hsinchu City, Taiwan
| | - W J Yang
- Department of Infertility and Reproductive Medicine, Taiwan IVF Group Center, Hsinchu City, Taiwan
| | - J Y Huang
- Department of Infertility and Reproductive Medicine, Taiwan IVF Group Center, Hsinchu City, Taiwan
| | - T C Li
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - T L Lee
- Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, PR China
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Lee KY, Leung KS, Ma SL, So HC, Huang D, Tang NLS, Wong MH. Genome-Wide Search for SNP Interactions in GWAS Data: Algorithm, Feasibility, Replication Using Schizophrenia Datasets. Front Genet 2020; 11:1003. [PMID: 33133133 PMCID: PMC7505102 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.01003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we looked for potential gene-gene interaction in susceptibility to schizophrenia by an exhaustive searching for SNP-SNP interactions in 3 GWAS datasets (phs000021:phg000013, phs000021:phg000014, phs000167) using our recently published algorithm. The search space for SNP-SNP interaction was confined to 8 biologically plausible ways of interaction under dominant-dominant or recessive-recessive modes. First, we performed our search of all pair-wise combination of 729,454 SNPs after filtering by SNP genotype quality. All possible pairwise interactions of any 2 SNPs (5 × 1011) were exhausted to search for significant interaction which was defined by p-value of chi-square tests. Nine out the top 10 interactions, protein coding genes were partnered with non-coding RNA (ncRNA) which suggested a new alternative insight into interaction biology other than the frequently sought-after protein-protein interaction. Therefore, we extended to look for replication among the top 10,000 interaction SNP pairs and high proportion of concurrent genes forming the interaction pairs were found. The results indicated that an enrichment of signals over noise was present in the top 10,000 interactions. Then, replications of SNP-SNP interaction were confirmed for 14 SNPs-pairs in both replication datasets. Biological insight was highlighted by a potential binding between FHIT (protein coding gene) and LINC00969 (lncRNA) which showed a replicable interaction between their SNPs. Both of them were reported to have expression in brain. Our study represented an early attempt of exhaustive interaction analysis of GWAS data which also yield replicated interaction and new insight into understanding of genetic interaction in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwan-Yeung Lee
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kwong-Sak Leung
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Suk Ling Ma
- Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hon Cheong So
- Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,School of Biomedical Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,Hong Kong Branch of CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research of Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China.,Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- Hong Kong Branch of CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,Functional Genomics and Biostatistical Computing Laboratory, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
| | - Man-Hon Wong
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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Tang NLS, Hui J, Huang D, Tang MF, Wang X, Wu J, Chan IHS, Leung TF. Reference intervals of spot urine copper excretion in preschool children and potential application in pre-symptomatic screening of Wilson disease. Pathology 2020; 52:439-446. [PMID: 32276787 DOI: 10.1016/j.pathol.2020.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The objectives were to determine the reference intervals of spot urine copper excretion indexes in pre-school children and to evaluate their utility in screening for Wilson disease (WD). With spot urine collected from a control sample of preschool children (aged 3-7 years, n=153), the reference intervals of spot urine copper excretion indexes and their biological variation were defined. In order to investigate their utility performance in screening for WD in this age group, multiple spot urine samples from six WD patients who were diagnosed at presymptomatic stage were also analysed and compared. Cut-off values useful for detection of WD were defined by receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis. Biological (inter-individual) variation of spot urine copper indexes expressed as coefficient of variation (CVg) were around 60% at this age group, which was moderate and similar to other clinically useful urine tests, such as urine albumin excretion ratio. Spot urine copper excretion strongly correlated with both urine creatinine and osmolality. Linear regression against both creatinine and osmolality showed that ∼94% of data points in healthy preschool children fell within the prediction interval, suggesting that both were useful normalisation factors. ROC showed that copper to osmolality ratio was the best index with an area under curve (AUC) greater than 0.98. Cut-off values of 0.5 μmol/L, 0.1 μmol/mmol and 0.00085 μmol/mOsmol (32 μg/L, 56 μg/g creatinine and 0.054 μg/mOsmol, respectively, in conventional units) for spot urine copper concentration, copper to creatinine ratio and copper to osmolality ratio, respectively, have potential application in the differentiation of WD patients. Based on the data, a new WD screening strategy targeting preschool children is proposed. Application of a bivariate screening strategy using spot urine copper concentration and urine osmolality may be useful in a population-wide screening program for WD among preschool children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
| | - Joannie Hui
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, Hong Kong
| | - Dan Huang
- Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Man Fung Tang
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Xingyan Wang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Junyi Wu
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Iris H S Chan
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Ting Fan Leung
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Tang NLS, Wang X, Chang KC, Chan CY, Szeto NWS, Huang D, Wu J, Lui GCY, Leung CC, Hui M. Genetic susceptibility to Tuberculosis: Interaction between HLA-DQA1 and age of onset. Infect Genet Evol 2018; 68:98-104. [PMID: 30553063 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2018.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Revised: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified new single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with susceptibility to Tuberculosis (TB). However, many of them were not replicated across ethnic groups. The cause of this phenomenon of genetic heterogeneity is uncertain. Here, we attempted to replicate and evaluate the mechanism that causes genetic heterogeneity in several putative TB predisposition loci found by previous GWAS, including chromosome 18q, ASAP1, DUSP14, and HLA-DQA1. A Chinese cohort of 1200 TB patients and 1280 population controls were genotyped. The results showed that genetic predisposition to TB might operate in an age-specific manner. While no significant association was found in the whole samples, a SNP of HLA-DQA1, rs9272785, showed suggestive association within the young-onset TB subgroup (onset at 20-40 years of age, N = 396). The results provide support for the hypothesis that there are different pathogenesis mechanisms causing clinical TB disease in different age groups, and that genetics probably play a substantial role only in young-onset TB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bio-resources and Molecular Research of Common Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Xingyan Wang
- Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bio-resources and Molecular Research of Common Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kwok Chiu Chang
- Tuberculosis and Chest Service, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chiu-Yeung Chan
- Department of Microbiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Natalie Wing-Sum Szeto
- Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bio-resources and Molecular Research of Common Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Dan Huang
- Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bio-resources and Molecular Research of Common Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Junyi Wu
- Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bio-resources and Molecular Research of Common Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Grace C Y Lui
- Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chi Chiu Leung
- Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Mamie Hui
- Department of Microbiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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6
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Xiao FH, Chen XQ, Yu Q, Ye Y, Liu YW, Yan D, Yang LQ, Chen G, Lin R, Yang L, Liao X, Zhang W, Zhang W, Tang NLS, Wang XF, Zhou J, Cai WW, He YH, Kong QP. Transcriptome evidence reveals enhanced autophagy-lysosomal function in centenarians. Genome Res 2018; 28:1601-1610. [PMID: 30352807 PMCID: PMC6211641 DOI: 10.1101/gr.220780.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Centenarians (CENs) are excellent subjects to study the mechanisms of human longevity and healthy aging. Here, we analyzed the transcriptomes of 76 centenarians, 54 centenarian-children, and 41 spouses of centenarian-children by RNA sequencing and found that, among the significantly differentially expressed genes (SDEGs) exhibited by CENs, the autophagy-lysosomal pathway is significantly up-regulated. Overexpression of several genes from this pathway, CTSB, ATP6V0C, ATG4D, and WIPI1, could promote autophagy and delay senescence in cultured IMR-90 cells, while overexpression of the Drosophila homolog of WIPI1, Atg18a, extended the life span in transgenic flies. Interestingly, the enhanced autophagy-lysosomal activity could be partially passed on to their offspring, as manifested by their higher levels of both autophagy-encoding genes and serum beclin 1 (BECN1). In light of the normal age-related decline of autophagy-lysosomal functions, these findings provide a compelling explanation for achieving longevity in, at least, female CENs, given the gender bias in our collected samples, and suggest that the enhanced waste-cleaning activity via autophagy may serve as a conserved mechanism to prolong the life span from Drosophila to humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu-Hui Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, China.,Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Xiao-Qiong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, China.,Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Qin Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.,Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Yunshuang Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.,Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Yao-Wen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.,Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Dongjing Yan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199, China
| | - Li-Qin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, China.,Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Guijun Chen
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Rong Lin
- Department of Biology, Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199, China
| | - Liping Yang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Xiaoping Liao
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199, China
| | - Wen Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.,Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, China.,Department of Chemical Pathology and Laboratory for Genetics of Disease Susceptibility, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Xiao-Fan Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Jumin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Wang-Wei Cai
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199, China
| | - Yong-Han He
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, China.,Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Qing-Peng Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution/Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, China.,Kunming Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Study, Kunming 650223, China
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Zhu Z, Xu L, Leung-Sang Tang N, Qin X, Feng Z, Sun W, Zhu W, Shi B, Liu P, Mao S, Qiao J, Liu Z, Sun X, Li F, Chun-Yiu Cheng J, Qiu Y. Genome-wide association study identifies novel susceptible loci and highlights Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in the development of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Hum Mol Genet 2017; 26:1577-1583. [PMID: 28334814 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddx045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetic architecture of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) remains poorly understood. Here we present the result of a 4-stage genome-wide association study composed of 5,953 AIS patients and 8,137 controls. Overall, we identified three novel susceptible loci including rs7593846 at 2p14 near MEIS1 (Pcombined = 1.19 × 10-13, OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.10-1.32), rs7633294 at 3p14.1 near MAGI1 (Pcombined = 1.85 × 10-12, OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.09-1.32), and rs9810566 at 3q26.2 near TNIK (Pcombined = 1.14 × 10-11, OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.08-1.32). We also confirmed a recently reported region associated with AIS at 20p11.22 (Pcombined = 1.61 × 10-15, OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.12-1.34). Furthermore, we observed significantly asymmetric expression of Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in the bilateral paraspinal muscle of AIS patients, including beta-catenin, TNIK, and LBX1. This is the first study that unveils the potential role of Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in the development of AIS, and our findings may shed new light on the etiopathogenesis of AIS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zezhang Zhu
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China.,Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Leilei Xu
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China.,Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China.,Department of Chemical Pathology and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China.,Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Xiaodong Qin
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China.,Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Zhenhua Feng
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China.,Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Weixiang Sun
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China.,Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Weiguo Zhu
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China.,Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Benlong Shi
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China
| | - Peng Liu
- Department of Orthopaedics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130116, P.R. China
| | - Saihu Mao
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China.,Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Jun Qiao
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China
| | - Zhen Liu
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China
| | - Xu Sun
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China
| | - Fangcai Li
- Department of Orthopaedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310002, P.R. China
| | - Jack Chun-Yiu Cheng
- Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China.,Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
| | - Yong Qiu
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China.,Joint Scoliosis Research Center of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008 & Hong Kong 999077, P.R. China
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Xu L, Xia C, Qin X, Sun W, Tang NLS, Qiu Y, Cheng JCY, Zhu Z. Genetic variant of BNC2 gene is functionally associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in Chinese population. Mol Genet Genomics 2017; 292:789-794. [DOI: 10.1007/s00438-017-1315-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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9
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Wang Z, Fang H, Tang NLS, Deng M. VCNet: vector-based gene co-expression network construction and its application to RNA-seq data. Bioinformatics 2017; 33:2173-2181. [DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btx131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Zengmiao Wang
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Huaying Fang
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
- LMAM, School of Mathematical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Minghua Deng
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
- LMAM, School of Mathematical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
- Center for Statistical Science, Peking University, Beijing, China
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10
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Buchan JG, Alvarado DM, Haller GE, Cruchaga C, Harms MB, Zhang T, Willing MC, Grange DK, Braverman AC, Miller NH, Morcuende JA, Tang NLS, Lam TP, Ng BKW, Cheng JCY, Dobbs MB, Gurnett CA. Rare variants in FBN1 and FBN2 are associated with severe adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Hum Mol Genet 2014; 23:5271-82. [PMID: 24833718 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddu224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) causes spinal deformity in 3% of children. Despite a strong genetic basis, few genes have been associated with AIS and the pathogenesis remains poorly understood. In a genome-wide rare variant burden analysis using exome sequence data, we identified fibrillin-1 (FBN1) as the most significantly associated gene with AIS. Based on these results, FBN1 and a related gene, fibrillin-2 (FBN2), were sequenced in a total of 852 AIS cases and 669 controls. In individuals of European ancestry, rare variants in FBN1 and FBN2 were enriched in severely affected AIS cases (7.6%) compared with in-house controls (2.4%) (OR = 3.5, P = 5.46 × 10(-4)) and Exome Sequencing Project controls (2.3%) (OR = 3.5, P = 1.48 × 10(-6)). Scoliosis severity in AIS cases was associated with FBN1 and FBN2 rare variants (P = 0.0012) and replicated in an independent Han Chinese cohort (P = 0.0376), suggesting that rare variants may be useful as predictors of curve progression. Clinical evaluations revealed that the majority of AIS cases with rare FBN1 variants do not meet diagnostic criteria for Marfan syndrome, though variants are associated with tall stature (P = 0.0035) and upregulation of the transforming growth factor beta pathway. Overall, these results expand our definition of fibrillin-related disorders to include AIS and open up new strategies for diagnosing and treating severe AIS.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Alan C Braverman
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Nancy H Miller
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Colorado, Denver, CO 80202, USA
| | - Jose A Morcuende
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | | | - Tsz-Ping Lam
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China and
| | | | | | - Matthew B Dobbs
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery St. Louis Shriners Hospital for Children, St. Louis, MO 63131, USA
| | - Christina A Gurnett
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Department of Neurology Department of Pediatrics,
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Chen YC, Chien YH, Chen PW, Leung-Sang Tang N, Chiu PC, Hwu WL, Lee NC. Carnitine uptake defect (primary carnitine deficiency): risk in genotype-phenotype correlation. Hum Mutat 2013; 34:655. [PMID: 23520115 DOI: 10.1002/humu.22286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2012] [Accepted: 12/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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12
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Wang X, Tang NLS, Leung CC, Kam KM, Yew WW, Tam CM, Chan CY. Association of polymorphisms in the Chr18q11.2 locus with tuberculosis in Chinese population. Hum Genet 2013; 132:691-5. [PMID: 23456169 DOI: 10.1007/s00439-013-1282-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2012] [Accepted: 02/19/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
A GWAS study has reported that two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with predisposition to tuberculosis (TB) in African populations. These two loci represented the long-waited GWAS hits for TB susceptibility. To determine whether these two SNPs are associated with TB in Chinese population, we attempted an replication in a cohort of over one thousand Chinese TB patients and 1,280 healthy controls using melting temperature shift allele-specific genotyping analysis. We found that only SNP rs4331426 was significantly associated with TB in Chinese population (p = 0.011). However, the effect was opposite. The G allele of the SNP in Chinese population is a protective allele (OR = 0.62, 95 % CI 0.44-0.87), while it was the risk allele for African population (OR = 1.19, 95 % CI 1.12-1.26). No significance was found for SNP rs2335704. The results provided an independent support for a role in susceptibility to TB for SNP rs4331426. However, it also indicated that direct predisposition element to TB and the association effects may vary across ethnic groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyan Wang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
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13
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Lung RWM, Wang X, Tong JHM, Chau SL, Lau KM, Cheng SH, Woo JKS, Woo J, Leung PC, Ng MHL, Tang NLS, To KF. A single nucleotide polymorphism in microRNA-146a is associated with the risk for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Mol Carcinog 2012; 52 Suppl 1:E28-38. [PMID: 22711332 DOI: 10.1002/mc.21937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2012] [Revised: 04/05/2012] [Accepted: 05/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
A common GC polymorphism within miRNA-146a precursor region (rs2910164) has been associated with the risk of various cancers despite the underlying mechanism is unclear. In the current study, we aimed to examine the role of rs2910164 in the pathogenesis and predisposition to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The GC polymorphism in 233 NPC patients, 173 matched controls and 3613 healthy elderly subjects in our locality were first determined using melting temperature (T(m))-shift allele-specific genotyping method. Results in our case-control study indicated that CC genotype was associated with the risk effect of NPC (adjusted odds ratio of GC + GG vs. CC, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.35-0.69; P < 0.0001). Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, we subsequently revealed that expressions of both miR-146a and its passenger strand (miR-146a*C or miR-146a*G) were increased in NPC samples (P < 0.001), albeit expression of miR-146a was not linked to the genotype. Furthermore, miR-146a*C in NPC was significantly increased in CC genotype (CC vs. GC, P = 0.038). Finally, we demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays that all three miR-146a precursor-derived mature miRNAs interacted with Argonaute2 (Ago2) protein complex and could function as gene silencers. Taken together, our results showed that the variant C in rs2910164 was associated with the predisposition of NPC in Chinese population. This polymorphism may influence the risk of NPC by producing active mature miR-146a*C that regulate distinct set of target genes. These findings may enrich our understanding of how miRNA single nucleotide polymorphism affect NPC pathogenesis, and may have potential implications to improve NPC treatment in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond Wai-Ming Lung
- Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology at Li Ka-Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Sir Y.K. Pao Center for Cancer, State Key Laboratory in Oncology in South China, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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14
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Woo J, Tang NLS, Leung J, Kwok T. The Alu polymorphism of angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) and atherosclerosis, incident chronic diseases and mortality in an elderly Chinese population. J Nutr Health Aging 2012; 16:262-8. [PMID: 22456784 DOI: 10.1007/s12603-011-0123-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We examined the contribution of ACE I/D polymorphism in a large Chinese population to four year change in ankle-brachial index (ABI), development of cardiovascular diseases and mortality in a prospective study adjusting for many confounding factors. METHOD Data are drawn from a longitudinal study of 4000 community-living men and women aged 65 years and over, for which detailed information regarding lifestyle, chronic diseases, body mass index (BMI), ABI measurements and ACE polymorphisms were documented at baseline. During the fifth year of follow up, incident cardiovascular diseases, ABI, and mortality were documented, and related to ACE genotype adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol, dietary intake, physical activity, body mass index, and use of ACE inhibitors. RESULTS Women with the D/D genotype had the greatest reduction in mean ABI after adjusting for confounding factors. D/D genotype was also more common among women who developed hypertension or myocardial infarction. However D/D genotype was associated with mortality only in men. CONCLUSION In a Chinese elderly population, ACE polymorphism may be considered "deleterious" to longevity, the D/D genotype being associated with mortality, the atherosclerotic process, hypertension and myocardial infarction. There are gender differences in the relationship between D/D genotype and cardiovascular diseases and mortality may not be mediated by the atherosclerotic process alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Woo
- Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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15
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Tang NLS, Chan CY, Leung CC, Tam CM, Blackwell J. Tuberculosis susceptibility genes in the chemokine cluster region of chromosome 17 in Hong Kong Chinese. Hong Kong Med J 2011; 17 Suppl 6:22-25. [PMID: 22147355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- N L S Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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16
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Lee NC, Tang NLS, Chien YH, Chen CA, Lin SJ, Chiu PC, Huang AC, Hwu WL. Diagnoses of newborns and mothers with carnitine uptake defects through newborn screening. Mol Genet Metab 2010; 100:46-50. [PMID: 20074989 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2009.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2009] [Accepted: 12/23/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Carnitine uptake defect (CUD) is an autosomal recessive fatty acid oxidation defect caused by a deficiency of the high-affinity carnitine transporter OCTN2. CUD patients may present with hypoketotic hypoglycemia, hepatic encephalopathy or dilated cardiomyopathy. Tandem mass spectrometry screening of newborns can detect CUD, although transplacental transport of free carnitine from the mother may cause a higher free carnitine level and cause false negatives during newborn screening. From Jan 2001 to July 2009, newborns were screened for low free carnitine levels at the National Taiwan University Hospital screening center. Confirmation tests included dried blood spot free acylcarnitine levels and mutation analyses for both babies and their mothers. Sixteen newborns had confirmation tests for persistent low free carnitine levels; four had CUD, six had mothers with CUD, and six cases were false positives. All babies born to mothers with CUD had transient carnitine deficiency. The six mothers with CUD were put on carnitine supplementation (50-100mg/kg/day). One mother had dilated cardiomyopathy at diagnosis and her cardiac function improved after treatment. Analysis of the SLC22A5 gene revealed that p.S467C was the most common mutation in mothers with CUD, while p.R254X was the most common mutation in newborns and children with CUD. Newborn screening allows for the detection of CUD both in newborns and mothers, with an incidence in newborns of one in 67,000 (95% CI: one in 31,600-512,000) and a prevalence in mothers of one in 33,000 (95% CI: one in 18,700-169,000). Detection of CUD in mothers may prevent them from developing dilated cardiomyopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ni-Chung Lee
- Department of Medical Genetics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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Tang NLS, Woo J, Suen EWC, Liao CD, Leung JCS, Leung PC. The effect of telomere length, a marker of biological aging, on bone mineral density in elderly population. Osteoporos Int 2010; 21:89-97. [PMID: 19436937 DOI: 10.1007/s00198-009-0948-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2009] [Accepted: 03/27/2009] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Telomere length (TL), as a reflection of aging and inflammatory processes, may be associated with bone mineral density (BMD). This study examines the association between TL and BMD cross-sectionally and the rate of bone loss over a 4-year period in 1,867 Chinese elderly community living subjects. After adjusting for confounding factors, no association was observed with BMD or bone loss. The decline in BMD with aging is not reflected by corresponding changes in telomere length. INTRODUCTION Bone mineral density (BMD) is influenced by the dynamics of aging, inflammatory, and bone remodeling processes. Telomere length (TL) is a reflection of the former two processes and may also be associated with bone loss. METHODS Hip BMD was measured in 1,867 Chinese elderly community living subjects and the relationship between leukocyte TL measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and bone loss after 4 years was examined. RESULTS Women had greater bone loss than men. In women, age of menopause, menarche, estrogen treatment/replacement therapy, and history of previous fracture were also among the significant covariates. However, in multivariate analyses, TL was not associated with BMD in either sex. CONCLUSIONS TL was not associated with either baseline BMD or bone loss over 4 years and accounted for less than 1.6% of the baseline BMD.
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Affiliation(s)
- N L S Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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Li H, Wang CY, Wang JX, Tang NLS, Xie L, Gong YY, Yang Z, Xu LY, Kong QP, Zhang YP. The neck-region polymorphism of DC-SIGNR in peri-centenarian from Han Chinese population. BMC Med Genet 2009; 10:134. [PMID: 20003397 PMCID: PMC2797785 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2350-10-134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2009] [Accepted: 12/14/2009] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Background DC-SIGNR (also called CD209L) has been extensively studied on its role in host genetic predisposition to viral infection. In particular, variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) of the neck-region of DC-SIGNR is highly polymorphic and the polymorphism has been investigated for genetic predisposition to various infectious diseases, though conflicting results had been reported. As infection is a major cause of human death and a mechanism of natural selection, we hypothesized that VNTR polymorphism of DC-SIGNR might have an effect on human life span. Methods Here we collected 361 peri-centenarian individuals (age ≥94 for female and age ≥90 for male) and 342 geographically matched controls (age 22-53, mean 35.0 ± 12.0) from Han Chinese. The VNTR polymorphism of the neck region was determined by PCR and genotype was called by separating the PCR products in agarose gel. Results A total of 11 genotypes and 5 alleles were found in our population. The genotype distribution, allele frequencies and homozygote proportion did not show a significant difference between peri-centenarian and control group. As gender differences in lifespan are ubiquitously observed throughout the animal kingdom, we then stratified the samples by gender. There was more 6/7 genotypes in female peri-centenarian group than that in female control group, at a marginal level of significance (5.56 vs. 1.28%, p = 0.041). The difference was not significant after correction by Bonferroni method. It suggests a possible differential effect of DC-SIGNR VNTR genotypes between sexes. Further studies are warranted to confirm our preliminary findings and investigate the mechanisms of the underlying functions. Conclusions Our study indicated that there was absence of association between the neck region polymorphism of DC-SIGNR and longevity in Han Chinese population. But the question of whether the DC-SIGNR could affect longevity in a gender-specific pattern remains open.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, PR China.
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Tang NLS. Immunogenetic studies in SARS: developing a clinical prognostic profile for severe diseases. Hong Kong Med J 2009; 15 Suppl 8:8-10. [PMID: 20393204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- N L S Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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Tang NLS, Fan HPY, Chang KC, Ching JKL, Kong KPS, Yew WW, Kam KM, Leung CC, Tam CM, Blackwell J, Chan CY. Genetic association between a chemokine gene CXCL-10 (IP-10, interferon gamma inducible protein 10) and susceptibility to tuberculosis. Clin Chim Acta 2009; 406:98-102. [PMID: 19523460 PMCID: PMC7124215 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2009.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2009] [Revised: 05/30/2009] [Accepted: 06/01/2009] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Background Previous studies showed that activation of CXCL-10 and other chemokines were prominent in many infectious diseases. These chemokines are components of innate immune response to respiratory tract pathogens. We examined the promoter variants of CXCL-10 and their role in predisposition to tuberculosis (TB). Methods The promoter 1.8 kb of CXCL-10 was sequenced in 24 healthy Chinese individuals to identify genetic polymorphisms. Three tagging SNPs in CXCL-10 promoter (− 1447A > G, − 872G > A, − 135G > A) were selected, and genotyping were performed in 240 TB patients and 176 healthy Chinese subjects. Disease associations were examined by χ2 and Fisher exact test. Results A promoter SNP (− 135G > A) with minor allele frequency of 0.1 showed a moderate association with TB both in genotype analysis (p = 0.01) and allelic analysis (p = 0.03); other tagging SNPs (− 1447A > G, − 872G > A) were not associated with TB. The odd ratio of the protective allele − 135G > A was 0.51(C.I 0.29 − 0.91) for homozygotes and heterozygotes carriers of the A allele. Conclusion A new potential protective SNP (− 135G > A) for TB is identified in the promoter of chemokine gene, CXCL-10. Interestingly, the exact same allele has been shown to enhance IP-10 transactivation and susceptibility to Hepatitis B virus infection in a recent publication. This SNP, located at 14 bp upstream of a NF-kB binding site, might also account for the susceptibility to TB. Our results expanded the clinical significance of this SNP in CXCL-10 promoter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
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Zhang J, Li AM, Kong APS, Lai KYC, Tang NLS, Wing YK. A community-based study of insomnia in Hong Kong Chinese children: Prevalence, risk factors and familial aggregation. Sleep Med 2009; 10:1040-6. [PMID: 19410511 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2009.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2008] [Revised: 01/16/2009] [Accepted: 01/19/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES There has been limited data on familial aggregation of insomnia. We aimed to explore the prevalence, risk factors and familial aggregation of childhood insomnia with a large community-based sample. METHODS A community-based epidemiologic study of sleep disorders was conducted among primary school children. Those children with at least one reported biological parent were recruited. A total of 5695 children (mean age 9.2; SD 1.8), 4939 of their reported biological mothers (mean age 38.9; SD 4.6) and 4289 of their reported biological fathers (mean age 43.3; SD 5.5) were studied. RESULTS The rates of insomnia 3 times/week in the past 12 months were 4.0%, 12.8% and 9.7% for children, mothers and fathers, respectively. A robust familial aggregation of insomnia was found even after adjustment of the shared environmental and socio-demographic factors. There was a significant dose-response relationship among the children across their parental status from neither, fathers, mothers to both parents with insomnia [3.0%, 7.1%, 9.5% and 11.9%; with ORs (95% CIs)=2.48 (1.82-4.37) for fathers, 3.42 (2.55-4.59) for mothers and 4.42 (2.42-8.10) for both parents, respectively]. In addition, the frequency of insomniac symptoms of the parents also had a dose-response effect on the rate of insomnia of their children. CONCLUSIONS Insomnia is a common problem in both children and their parents. A significant familial aggregation of childhood onset insomnia was seen in this study even after adjustment of the co-risk factors. There was a dose-response effect of parental insomnia on the rate of insomnia of their children with a slight predilection of maternal influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihui Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based genome-wide association study revealed that markers on chromosome 17q21 were linked to childhood asthma but not atopy in Caucasians, with the strongest signal being detected for the SNP rs7216389 in the ORMDL3 gene. Such association was unknown in Chinese. This study delineated the allele and genotype frequencies of 10 SNPs at chromosome 17q21, and investigated the relationship between these SNPs and asthma and plasma IgE in southern Chinese children. METHODS Asthmatic children and non-allergic controls were recruited from pediatric clinics. Their plasma total and aeroallergen-specific IgE concentrations were measured by immunoassay. Ten SNPs on 17q21 region were genotyped by multiplex SNaPshot, and their genotype associations with asthma traits analyzed using multivariate regression. RESULTS 315 patients and 192 controls were enrolled. The allele frequency for C allele of rs7216389 varied significantly from 0.232 in our controls, 0.389 in Han Chinese to 0.536 in Caucasians. Asthma diagnosis was associated with rs11650680 and five other SNPs including rs7216389 (P = 0.019-0.034), whereas atopy was associated only with rs11650680 (P = 0.0004). Linear regression revealed the covariates for plasma total IgE to be significant for rs11650680 (P = 0.008-0.0002). Haplotypic associations were found with atopy and increased plasma total IgE, with the respective odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for TTTCCGTT haplotype to be 0.21 and 0.09-0.52 (P = 0.0002) and 0.41 and 0.18-0.90 (P = 0.025). CONCLUSION Childhood asthma and atopy are associated with chromosome 17q21 in Chinese, but such association may involve genes other than ORMDL3 in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F Leung
- Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong
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Leung TF, Li CY, Liu EKH, Tang NLS, Chan IHS, Yung E, Wong GWK, Lam CWK. Asthma and atopy are associated with DEFB1 polymorphisms in Chinese children. Genes Immun 2009; 7:59-64. [PMID: 16435024 DOI: 10.1038/sj.gene.6364279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Human beta-defensin (HBD)-1 is constitutively expressed in the airway, and hBD-1 plays crucial roles in innate immunity against respiratory pathogens. Asthma was associated with DEFB1 polymorphisms in Caucasians. This study investigates whether three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 5'-untranslated region of DEFB1 are associated with asthma phenotypes in Chinese children. Subjects aged 5-18 years were recruited from general pediatric clinics. Plasma IgE concentrations were measured by immunoassays. DEFB1 SNPs were characterized by restriction fragment length polymorphism. In all, 305 asthmatics and 156 controls were recruited. For asthma diagnosis, atopy and plasma total IgE, higher percentages of subjects with these outcomes had the minor alleles -20A and -52G (P = 0.041-0.0002). For log-transformed total IgE, the covariate was positive and significant for G-20A under recessive model (P = 0.001) and for G-52A under both recessive and codominant models (P = 0.008 and 0.035). The recessive model covariate was also positive and significant (P = 0.020) for C-44G on peripheral blood eosinophil count. The GCA haplotype of DEFB1 was significantly associated with asthma (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.64 (1.05-2.57); P = 0.029). These results suggest that DEFB1 is a candidate gene for asthma and atopy in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F Leung
- Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
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Qiu XS, Tang NLS, Yeung HY, Qiu Y, Cheng JCY. Association study between adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and the DPP9 gene which is located in the candidate region identified by linkage analysis. Postgrad Med J 2008; 84:498-501. [PMID: 18940951 DOI: 10.1136/pgmj.2007.066639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It has been recognised that genetic or hereditary factors may contribute to the aetiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Recently, two linkage analyses have identified 19p13.3 as the candidate region for AIS. The dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9) gene is located on chromosome 19p13.3. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether DPP9 gene polymorphisms are associated with the occurrence or curve severity of AIS. METHODS 571 girls with AIS and 236 normal controls were recruited. Using the Chinese data from the HapMap project, a set of tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) were defined for the DPP9 gene. Five SNPs were genotyped by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism. Statistical analysis of genotype frequencies between cases and controls was performed by the chi2 test. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare mean maximum Cobb angles with different genotypes in case-only analysis. RESULTS Genotype frequencies were comparable between cases and controls for all five polymorphisms (p>0.05). The mean maximum Cobb angles of different genotypes were similar to each other for all five polymorphisms. CONCLUSIONS The DPP9 gene is not associated with the occurrence or curve severity of AIS. It is neither a disease-predisposition nor a disease-modifying gene of AIS.
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Affiliation(s)
- X S Qiu
- Department of Orthopaedics, The Affiliated Drum Town Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China.
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Wing YK, Chen L, Fong SYY, Ng MHL, Ho CKW, Cheng SH, Tang NLS, Li AM. Narcolepsy in Southern Chinese patients: clinical characteristics, HLA typing and seasonality of birth. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2008; 79:1262-7. [PMID: 18388176 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.2007.143420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To report clinical characteristics, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing and seasonality of birth of a series of 54 Southern Chinese patients suffering from narcolepsy. METHODS All subjects underwent detailed medical and psychiatric interviews and a standardised nocturnal polysomnogram followed by a daytime Multiple Sleep Latency Test. Each subject also completed a set of sleep questionnaires. HLA typing was performed in 91% of subjects. RESULTS A total of 78% and 22% of patients were diagnosed with suffering from cataplectic and non-cataplectic narcolepsy, respectively. The majority (n = 47, 87%) of patients were referred to our sleep clinic for excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). The cataplectic narcolepsy differed from non-cataplectic narcolepsy by having more rapid eye movement (REM)-related clinical symptoms (more sleep paralysis and sleep-related hallucination) and sleep disturbances (shorter REM latency), as well as tighter association with HLA DQB1*0602. A bi-modal peak pattern was observed at 11 and 39 years old. A similar bi-modal pattern also occurred for EDS and cataplexy. Excess winter births were observed for this series of patients. 81% of patients with cataplectic narcolepsy were DQB1*0602-positive. There were no differences between early- and late-onset cases in the association with positive DQB1*0602 (71.4% vs 60%). Narcolepsy had prominent pernicious effects on various social, academic, family and mental aspects in our patients. CONCLUSIONS In our Southern Chinese narcolepsy series, bi-modal peak pattern of age of onset, excess winter birth and tight association of HLA DQB1*0602 with cataplectic narcolepsy were found.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y K Wing
- Department of Psychiatry, Shatin Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales and Shatin Hospitals, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR.
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Woo J, Tang NLS, Suen E, Leung JCS, Leung PC. Telomeres and frailty. Mech Ageing Dev 2008; 129:642-8. [PMID: 18809425 DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2008.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2008] [Revised: 07/11/2008] [Accepted: 08/15/2008] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Associations between telomere length and various chronic diseases associated with ageing have led to the suggestion that telomere length may be an ageing biomarker. At the clinical level, the suggestion of using measurements of frailty as a measure of biological ageing has also been suggested. This study examines the hypothesis that telomere shortening may form the biological basis for frailty, using data obtained from a health survey of 2000 men and women aged 65 years and over, living in the community, and followed up for 4 years to determine survival. Frailty was measured using the frailty index, a summation of deficits covering physical, psychological, and functional domains. Telomere length was measured in 976 men and 1030 women, using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Women were more frail than men but had longer telomere length. In men only, there was a negative association between telomere length and age and a positive association between frailty index and mortality after adjusting for age. There was no correlation between telomere length and frailty index in either sex. While telomere length may be a biomarker of cellular senescence, this relationship may not be extrapolated to the functional level represented by the frailty phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Woo
- Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Chan IHS, Tang NLS, Leung TF, Huang W, Lam YYO, Li CY, Wong CK, Wong GWK, Lam CWK. Study of gene-gene interactions for endophenotypic quantitative traits in Chinese asthmatic children. Allergy 2008; 63:1031-9. [PMID: 18691306 DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2008.01639.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Asthma is a complex disease resulting from interactions between multiple genes and environmental factors. Study of gene-gene interactions could provide insight into the pathophysiology of asthma. METHODS We investigated the interactions among 18 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in eight candidate genes for plasma total immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentration and peripheral blood (PB) eosinophil count in 298 Chinese asthmatic children and 175 controls. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction and generalized linear model were used to analyze gene-gene interactions for the quantitative traits. RESULTS A significant interaction was found between R130Q in IL13 and I50V in IL4RA for plasma total IgE concentration, with a cross-validation (CV) consistency of nine of 10 and a prediction error of 41.1% (P = 0.013). Plasma total IgE concentration was significantly higher in the high-risk than the low-risk groups (P < 0.0001). For PB eosinophil count, significant interaction was found between C-431T in TARC and RsaI_in2 in FCERIB, with a CV consistency of nine of 10 and a prediction error of 40.2% (P = 0.009). PB eosinophil count was significantly higher in the high-risk group than the low-risk groups (P < 0.0001). Generalized linear model also revealed significant gene-gene interaction for the above two endophenotypes with P = 0.013 for plasma total IgE concentration and P = 0.029 for PB eosinophil count respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest significant interactions between IL13 and IL4RA for plasma total IgE concentration, and this is the first report to show significant interaction between TARC and FCERIB for PB eosinophil count in Chinese asthmatic children.
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Affiliation(s)
- I H S Chan
- Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong
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Leung TF, Chan IHS, Wong GWK, Li CY, Tang NLS, Yung E, Lam CWK. Association between candidate genes and lung function growth in Chinese asthmatic children. Clin Exp Allergy 2007; 37:1480-6. [PMID: 17883727 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2007.02799.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Asthma is caused by a complex interaction between multiple candidate genes and environmental factors. The Childhood Asthma Management Program reported lung function decline in a significant proportion of Caucasian asthmatic children, but such a relation has not been studied in other populations. Our group recently reported that interleukin-13 (IL13), interleukin-4 receptor-alpha and thymus and the activation-regulated chemokine interacted to influence asthma and raised plasma total IgE. However, there has not been any study that has addressed the genetic influences for longitudinal lung function growth. OBJECTIVE We studied the longitudinal changes in spirometric variables in Chinese asthmatic children, and investigated the influence and interactions between eight different loci in six candidate genes as well as environmental factors affecting lung function growth in these children. METHODS Spirometry was performed at baseline and study completion. Genotyping was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism. Multi-factor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was used to detect any gene-gene or gene-environment interaction. RESULTS We prospectively followed 131 Chinese children, aged 9.9 (3.0) years, for 4.5 (0.8) years. Their mean (standard deviation) baseline forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) was 98.6 (20.6)% of predicted, and FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio was 77.8 (11.3)%. FEV1 and FVC increased by 210 (115) and 248 (148) mL/year during this study, and these changes were significantly larger among males (P<0.0001). Univariate analysis revealed a significant association between annual FEV1 change and C1570T of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 gene (STAT6; P=0.009). Linear regression confirmed this finding (P=0.041). Using MDR, we detected a significant 3-locus interaction between IL13 R130Q, ADRB2 R16G and STAT6 C1570T for determining change in FVC (P=0.045). CONCLUSION Our data suggest that STAT6 may influence lung function growth in asthmatic children. We also found significant interactions among several atopy-related genetic polymorphisms for influencing FVC change.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F Leung
- Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
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Hwu WL, Chien YH, Tang NLS, Law LK, Lin CY, Lee NC. Deficiency of the carnitine transporter (OCTN2) with partial N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS) deficiency. J Inherit Metab Dis 2007; 30:816. [PMID: 17703373 DOI: 10.1007/s10545-007-0594-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2007] [Revised: 07/06/2007] [Accepted: 07/09/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
A patient with recurrent episodes of hyperammonaemia (highest ammonia level recorded 229 micromol/L, normal 9-33) leading to altered levels of consciousness was diagnosed with partial N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS) deficiency (9% residual activity) at age 5 years and was treated with ammonia-conjugating agents (Ucephan 250 mg/kg per day and later sodium phenylbutyrate 200-250 mg/kg per day) for 15 years. A chronically low serum carnitine level (pretreatment plasma free carnitine 4 nmol/L, normal 37 +/- 8 nmol/L; total carnitine 8 nmol/L, normal 46 +/- 10) was assumed to be secondary and was treated with supplemental carnitine (30-50 mg/kg per day). Hypoglycaemia (blood sugar 35 mg/dl, normal 70-100), cardiomegaly, and fatty liver were also noted at diagnosis. The patient died unexpectedly at age 20 years. In retrospect, it was learned that the patient had stopped his carnitine without medical consultation several weeks prior to his death. Additional molecular investigations identified two mutations (R254X and IVS3 + 1G > A) in the patient's OCTN2 (SLC22A5) gene, consistent with a diagnosis of primary carnitine deficiency due to carnitine transporter defect. R245X is a founder mutation in Southern Chinese populations. It is unknown whether the original NAGS deficiency was primary or secondary, but molecular analysis of the NAGS gene failed to identify mutations. Urea cycle enzyme expression may be affected by fatty acid suppression of an AP-1 binding site in the promoter enhancer region of the urea cycle gene. Regardless, it is clear that the NAGS abnormality has led to delay of recognition of the OCTN2 defect, and modified the clinical course in this patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- W-L Hwu
- Department of Pediatrics and Medical Genetics, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei, 100, Taiwan.
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Tang NLS, Chan PKS, Hui DSC, To KF, Zhang W, Chan FKL, Sung JJY, Lo YMD. Lack of support for an association between CLEC4M homozygosity and protection against SARS coronavirus infection. Nat Genet 2007; 39:691-2; author reply 694-6. [PMID: 17534354 PMCID: PMC7097035 DOI: 10.1038/ng0607-691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
- Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Paul Kay-Sheung Chan
- Department of Microbiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - David Shu-Cheong Hui
- Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
- Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Ka-Fai To
- Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Weimin Zhang
- Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Francis K L Chan
- Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Joseph Jao-Yiu Sung
- Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
- Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuk Ming Dennis Lo
- Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
- Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
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Chan IHS, Tang NLS, Leung TF, Ma SL, Zhang YP, Wong GWK, Wong CK, Lam CWK. Association of prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 gene polymorphisms with asthma and atopy in Chinese children. Allergy 2007; 62:802-9. [PMID: 17573729 DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2007.01400.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) plays essential roles in inflammation. Previous studies have suggested associations between prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) polymorphisms and prostaglandins production in asthma. OBJECTIVE We have investigated the effects of Chinese tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PTGS2 on asthma traits in 299 Chinese asthmatic children and 175 controls. METHODS Plasma total and allergen-specific IgE were measured by enzyme immunoassay. PTGS2.8473T-->C in the 3'-untranslated region of exon 10 and three tag SNPs covering most of the variations in PTGS2 haplotypes in Chinese were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism. RESULTS Among the four SNPs, only PTGS2.8473 showed significant association with asthma (P = 0.034) and atopy (P = 0.005 when compared with non-atopic controls; P = 0.023 with all controls). Carriers of the C allele had a 1.5-fold (95% confidence interval: 1.01-2.30) risk of developing asthma than those homozygous for the T allele. Multivariate regression revealed significant correlations between PTGS2.8473 and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1); P = 0.002) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR; P = 0.001) with age and gender adjusted. Patients with the C allele of PTGS2.8473 had significantly lower FEV(1) (median: 90.0%vs 98.0%; P = 0.0047) and PEFR (70.0%vs 73.5%; P = 0.0065) than those homozygous for the T allele. No significant association between plasma total and allergen-specific IgE and these SNPs or with their haplotypes was found. CONCLUSIONS PTGS2.8473 polymorphism is associated with asthma, atopy and lung function but not plasma IgE in Chinese children. This may help to explore the pharmacogenetics of COX-2 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- I H S Chan
- Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong
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Loh EW, Tang NLS, Lee DTS, Liu SI, Stadlin A. Association analysis of GABA receptor subunit genes on 5q33 with heroin dependence in a Chinese male population. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2007; 144B:439-43. [PMID: 17440936 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.30429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
GABAA receptor subunit genes clustered on 5q33 play a role in the development of alcoholism and methamphetamine use disorder without psychosis. The present study explored the possible contribution of the same subunit genes to the development of heroin dependence. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the GABAA receptor subunits GABRB2, GABRA6, GABRA1, and GABRG2 were examined in 178 male Han Chinese heroin-dependent and 170 male control subjects. A significant difference in allele frequency for the SNP rs211014 in the GABAAgamma2 receptor subunit gene between cases and controls was identified (P = 0.015). A possible mechanism for the involvement of the GABA receptor subunit genes on 5q33 in the development of heroin dependence is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- E W Loh
- Division of Psychiatry and Drug Abuse Research, National Health Research Institutes at Taipei City Psychiatric Center, Sinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan
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Law LK, Tang NLS, Hui J, Ho CS, Ruiter J, Fok TF, Wanders RJA, Lam CWK. A novel functional assay for simultaneous determination of total fatty acid beta-oxidation flux and acylcarnitine profiling in human skin fibroblasts using (2)H(31)-palmitate by isotope ratio mass spectrometry and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Clin Chim Acta 2007; 382:25-30. [PMID: 17442290 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2007.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2007] [Revised: 03/07/2007] [Accepted: 03/09/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Two separate and complementary assays, total mitochondrial fatty acid beta-oxidation (FAO) flux rate and acylcarnitine profiling, have been used to establish a definitive diagnosis of FAO defects (FAOD) in cultured cells. We developed a novel functional assay for total FAO rate assay by measurement of deuterated water enrichment and to combine it with the conventional acylcarnitine profiling method into a single tracer incubation experiment. METHODS Skin fibroblasts were incubated in a medium containing universal deuterium-labeled palmitate ((2)H(31)-palmitate) and l-carnitine without glucose supplementation for 96 h. The culture medium was assayed for deuterated water enrichment using isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and acylcarnitine profiling by electrospray-ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI/MS/MS). RESULTS The medians of (2)H(2)O enrichment after 96 h of incubation of (2)H(31)-palmitate of the control, other inherited metabolic diseases and FAOD cell lines were 109.9, 102 and 23.1 ppm/mg protein/96 h, respectively. All fibroblasts with FAOD except carnitine uptake defective, multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase and short-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficient cells were well separated from the control (<60% control median, p<0.05) and could be identified by IRMS assay. Accumulations of disease-specific acylcarnitines due to blockage in the carnitine cycle and FAO spiral were also demonstrated by acylcarnitine profiling. CONCLUSIONS This novel functional assay is less time consuming and relatively simple by comparison to other published methods and can be used to investigate patients suspected to have FAO defects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lap-Kay Law
- Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT Hong Kong SAR
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Law LK, Tang NLS, Lam CWK, Tong MKH, Mak TWL, Zhang WM, Wanders RJA. Novel missense mutations in the first Chinese patient with very-long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency. Clin Chim Acta 2007; 375:173-4. [PMID: 16982043 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2006.07.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2006] [Revised: 07/31/2006] [Accepted: 07/31/2006] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Tong MKH, Lam CS, Mak TWL, Fu MYP, Ng SH, Wanders RJA, Tang NLS. Very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency presenting as acute hypercapnic respiratory failure. Eur Respir J 2006; 28:447-50. [PMID: 16880373 DOI: 10.1183/09031936.06.00139205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCAD) is a key enzyme catalysing the dehydrogenation of long-chain fatty acids in mitochondrial beta-oxidation. VLCAD deficiency is a genetic disorder that commonly presents in infancy or childhood with episodes of hypoketotic hypoglycaemia, cardiomyopathy and liver dysfunction. The present study reports an 18-yr-old Chinese female who presented with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure and rhabdomyolysis after a period of prolonged fasting and exertion. VLCAD deficiency was confirmed with decreased VLCAD activity in cultured fibroblasts. The patient completely recovered with supportive care. Pulmonary function tests after the acute episode showed evidence of chronic subclinical respiratory muscle weakness. In conclusion, this rare metabolic disorder should be considered in patients presenting with unexplained acute respiratory paralysis and failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- M K H Tong
- Dept of Medicine, Tuen Mun Hospital, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, China.
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Tang NLS, Yeung HY, Lee KM, Hung VWY, Cheung CSK, Ng BKW, Kwok R, Guo X, Qin L, Cheng JCY. A relook into the association of the estrogen receptor [alpha] gene (PvuII, XbaI) and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a study of 540 Chinese cases. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2006; 31:2463-8. [PMID: 17023856 DOI: 10.1097/01.brs.0000239179.81596.2b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN A genetic association study of estrogen receptor-[alpha] gene (ESR1) with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) in Chinese. OBJECTIVES To investigate whether: 1) PvuII and XbaI polymorphisms in ESR1 are predisposition factor for AIS and 2) these polymorphisms correlate with the severity of curvature in AIS. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA A common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in ESR1 (XbaI) was found to be associated with curve severity in Japanese AIS patients recently. The role of ESR1 as a predisposition gene using a case-control design in other ethnic groups is required to confirm the previous associations. METHODS A total of 540 Chinese AIS girls with Cobb angle above 20 degrees were recruited as cases together with 260 healthy controls. The effect of ESR1 SNPs on severity of scoliosis was analyzed in a subgroup of AIS patients (n = 364) followed up until skeletal maturity with the maximum Cobb angle recorded. Two SNPs in ESR1 were genotyped by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism in all subjects. RESULTS The allelic frequency of X allele was 23% in both case and control groups. The P allele was found at allelic frequency of 40% and 36% in the case and control groups, respectively. No association between the two ESR1 SNPs and the occurrence of AIS by both genotype and haplotype analysis could be established, suggesting that both SNPs were not predisposition alleles for AIS. AIS patients with different genotypes showed no difference in the maximum Cobb angle. No association was found between the genotype and anthropometric measurements in AIS patients. CONCLUSION The previously reported association with curve severity could not be replicated in our large series of Chinese AIS patients. The current study also did not show any association of the 2 SNPs with increased risk of having AIS.
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Luk NM, Tang WYM, Tang NLS, Chan SW, Wong JKW, Hon KLE, Lo KK. Topical 5-fluorouracil has no additional benefit in treating common warts with cryotherapy: a single-centre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Clin Exp Dermatol 2006; 31:394-7. [PMID: 16681586 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2230.2006.02105.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The role of topical 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in treating common warts is not well defined. We tried to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of combination cryotherapy and topical 5% 5-FU ointment in the treatment of common warts. The study was a single-centre, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. In the study, 80 patients with common warts were randomized into two groups and underwent two 10-second freeze/thaw cycles of cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen once every three weeks for a maximum of five treatments. Between treatments, patients applied either topical 5% 5-FU ointment (group A) or placebo aqueous cream (group B) twice daily. The mean +/- SD reduction in wart area was 58.57 +/- 0.06% in group A and 65.29 +/- 0.06% in group B. In total, 19 patients in group A and 24 patients in group B had wart size reduced by 75% or more (P = 0.50), while 12 patients in group A and 17 patients in group B had clearance of their warts (P = 0.245). Logistic regression with age, sex, smoking status, immune status, site, duration and number of warty lesions, history of previous treatment, and treatment group found that only a history of previous treatment and acral lesions were significant adverse predictors of improvement. There was no significant difference in the number of adverse events between the two groups, although there was a trend towards more pain and blistering associated with topical 5-FU. We concluded that topical 5-FU has no added benefit in treating common warts with cryotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- N M Luk
- Department of Research Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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Leung TF, Liu EKH, Tang NLS, Ko FWS, Li CY, Lam CWK, Wong GWK. Nitric oxide synthase polymorphisms and asthma phenotypes in Chinese children. Clin Exp Allergy 2006; 35:1288-94. [PMID: 16238787 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2005.02342.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nitric oxide (NO) is a key factor for balancing T-helper type 1/T-helper type 2 immunity. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) genes have been associated with atopy and exhaled NO concentrations in Caucasians. We investigated the association between asthma traits and genetic polymorphisms in neuronal NO synthase (NOS1) and endothelial NO synthase (NOS3) in Chinese children. METHODS Asthmatic children between 5 and 18 years of age and non-allergic controls were recruited. Plasma total IgE was measured by microparticle immunoassay, whereas allergen-specific IgEs were measured by fluorescent enzyme immunoassay. Fractional exhaled NO concentration (FeNO) was measured by a chemiluminescence analyser. NOS1 C5266T and NOS3 G894T were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism, and (AAT)n polymorphism in intron 20 of NOS1 was determined by GeneScan analysis. RESULTS The mean (SD) ages of 295 asthmatics and 174 controls were 11.1 (3.8) years and 11.6 (4.0) years, respectively (P=0.162). NOS1 C5266T and NOS3 G894T were not associated with asthma, atopy or FeNO. However, significantly more subjects with T/T in NOS1 C5266T had increased plasma total IgE as compared with those with C/T or C/C (P=0.017). This SNP was also associated with sensitization to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (P=0.049). Among asthmatic patients, log-transformed plasma total IgE levels were significantly higher among those homozygous for 5266T of NOS1 [mean (SD): 2.84 (0.44) for T/T, 2.68 (0.42) for C/T, 2.59 (0.69) for C/C; P=0.021]. This study found a significant inter-ethnic difference in the allele frequencies of AAT repeats, and this polymorphism was associated with high plasma total IgE levels (P=0.044) but not FeNO (P=0.158). NOS3 G894T was not associated with any asthma or atopy phenotype. CONCLUSIONS NOS1 C5266T and AAT repeats affect plasma IgE concentrations in Chinese children. On the other hand, neither NOS1 nor NOS3 SNP was associated with FeNO or the risk of having asthma.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F Leung
- Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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Tang NLS, Chan PKS, Wong CK, To KF, Wu AKL, Sung YM, Hui DSC, Sung JJY, Lam CWK. Early enhanced expression of interferon-inducible protein-10 (CXCL-10) and other chemokines predicts adverse outcome in severe acute respiratory syndrome. Clin Chem 2005; 51:2333-40. [PMID: 16195357 PMCID: PMC7108146 DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2005.054460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Background: Exaggerated activation of cytokines/chemokines has been proposed as a factor in adverse outcome of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Previous studies on chemokines have included only small numbers of patients, and the utility of plasma chemokines as prognostic indicators is unclear. Methods: We studied 255 archival plasma samples collected during the first or second week after disease onset. The chemokines interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10), monokine induced by interferon-γ (MIG), interleukin-8 (IL-8), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) were measured by cytometric bead array with a 4-color FACSCalibur flow cytometer. Reverse transcription and real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical staining were performed to analyze the production of IP-10 in lung tissue at autopsy. Conditional logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors for adverse disease outcome. Results: Increases in IP-10, MIG, and IL-8 during the first week after onset of fever were associated with adverse outcome (intensive care unit admission or death) in the univariate analysis. During the second week, only MIG concentration was associated with prognosis. After adjusting for other risk factors, plasma IP-10 concentration at the first week remained as an independent prognostic factor, with an odds ratio for adverse outcome of 1.52 (95% confidence interval, 1.05–2.55) per fold increase in plasma IP-10 concentration above the median. During the second week, chemokines provided little independent prognostic information. IP-10 was increased in lung tissue from patients who died of SARS. Conclusions: Increased plasma IP-10 during the first week of SARS symptoms is an independent predictor of outcome. Chemokine activation may be an early event in SARS, and an exaggerated host response may produce complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin.
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Leung TF, Tang NLS, Lam CWK, Li AM, Fung SLM, Chan IHS, Wong GWK. RANTES G-401A polymorphism is associated with allergen sensitization and FEV1 in Chinese children. Respir Med 2005; 99:216-9. [PMID: 15715189 DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2004.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
G-401A polymorphism in RANTES promoter was associated with near-fatal asthma and atopic dermatitis in children. We studied whether gain-of-function mutations in RANTES gene were associated with asthma and atopy-related traits in Chinese children. Plasma total and aeroallergen-specific IgE concentrations were measured using micro-particle immunoassay and fluorescent enzyme immunoassay, respectively. Restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to genotype RANTES G-401A and C-28G. One hundred and twenty-nine asthmatic children and 66 controls were recruited. Their mean logarithmic plasma total IgE concentrations were 2.53 and 1.98, respectively (P<0.0001). RANTES G-401A was not associated with physician-diagnosed asthma (P = 0.408). However, RANTES G-401A allele was significantly associated with IgE sensitization to cat (odds ratio 2.35; 95% CI 1.15-4.77; P = 0.010). Those homozygous for -401A had higher plasma cat-specific IgE levels (P = 0.034). Subjects having -401A were also more likely to have mold-specific IgE (odds ratio 3.82; 95% CI 1.24-12.14; P = 0.007). On spirometry, those with -401A/ A had lower forced expiratory volume in 1-s (FEV1; P = 0.044). RANTES C-28G was not associated with any outcome in this study. In conclusion, the gain-of-function mutation at -401 of RANTES promoter is associated with sensitization to cat and mold allergens and FEV1 in Chinese children.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F Leung
- Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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Li CK, Shing MMK, Chik KW, Tsang KS, Tang NLS, Chan PKS, Chan NK, Lee V, Ng MHL, Lin CK, Yuen PMP. Unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation in children: experience of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. Hong Kong Med J 2004; 10:89-95. [PMID: 15075428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To review the outcome of unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation in children using cord blood from the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. DESIGN Retrospective study. PATIENTS Records of eight patients who received unrelated umbilical cord blood transplants between 1999 and 2003 were reviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Engraftment of haematopoietic cells and graft-versus-host disease after transplantation. RESULTS The median age of the patients was 4.9 years (range, 1.0-9.4 years). Five patients had acute leukaemia, one had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, one had X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, and one had mucolipidosis. The infused umbilical cord blood units contained a median of 6.7 x 10(7) /kg nucleated cells and 4.0 x 10(5) /kg CD34-positive cells. Neutrophil engraftment was achieved at a median of 13 days (range, 11-19 days) and, for seven patients, platelet engraftment was achieved at a median of 39 days (range, 24-98 days). Acute graft-versus-host disease occurred in all patients (grades I to III). One of the patients died because of encephalitis; of the other seven, five developed chronic graft-versus-host disease of the skin. At a median follow-up of 2 years, the four patients with leukaemia and the one with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma remained in continuous complete remission; the patient with adrenoleukodystrophy showed stabilisation of neurological condition. CONCLUSION The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Cord Blood Bank stored cord blood units of good quality for transplantation, the outcome of which was comparable to that of bone marrow transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- C K Li
- Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
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Sung YM, Tang NLS, Lai PBS, Chan PKS, Chan FKL. Re: Hormonal markers and hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma risk: a nested case-control study among men. J Natl Cancer Inst 2003; 95:559-60. [PMID: 12671025 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/95.7.559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Abstract
We report elevated urinary excretion of 3-methylglutaconic (3MGC) and 3-methylglutaric acids (3MGR) in a patient with glycogen storage disease Ib. Combined excretion was 10-fold elevated in comparison to control during inadequate glucose maintenance, and still elevated following dietary improvement. 3MGC acid excretion correlated with plasma lactate and glucose. We speculate that imbalanced gluconeogenesis and de novo cholesterol synthesis result in secondarily increased 3MGC/3MGR production.
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Affiliation(s)
- L K Law
- Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, N.T., Hong Kong, SAR.
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Abstract
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood; it is caused by a complex interaction between genetic factors and exposure to environmental allergens and irritants. Previous studies using the candidate gene approach showed that asthma was linked to a number of susceptibility genetic loci in Caucasian subjects. There are, however, only a few studies on asthma predisposition genes in the Chinese population. We studied the distribution of allele frequencies of I50V for the interleukin-4 receptor, two polymorphisms in intron 2 and exon 7 for the high-affinity IgE receptor (Fc epsilon RI-beta), R16G and E27Q for the beta(2)-adrenoceptor,and R275Q (824G/A) for CC chemokine receptor 3 in Chinese children.Seventy-six patients, with a mean age of 10.6 years, and 70 age- and sex-matched controls, were studied. Significantly more subjects in the asthma group had specific IgE antibodies against environmental allergens (P < 0.0001; odds ratio, 9.82). Genotyping of the six genetic markers showed that none of the six polymorphisms was associated with asthma in this cohort. The allele frequencies of I50V, R16G, and E27Q in our population were similar to those published for Asian subjects but not Caucasians. The R275Q substitution was a rare finding in our study and in the published reports. Our results demonstrate ethnic differences in polymorphisms of atopy candidate genes. Additional studies involving larger samples are required to investigate the association between asthma or atopy and the genotypes studied to date in Chinese children.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F Leung
- Department of Paediatrics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Hui
- Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Tang NLS, Chung ML, Elia M, Hui E, Lum CM, Luk JKH, Jones MG, Woo J. Total daily energy expenditure in wasted chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Eur J Clin Nutr 2002; 56:282-7. [PMID: 11965503 DOI: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2001] [Revised: 06/25/2001] [Accepted: 07/02/2001] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate total daily energy expenditure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients during a rehabilitation programme. DESIGN Observational study involving a case and a control group. SUBJECTS Ten COPD patients (six with body mass index (BMI) <18.5 kg/m(2) and four with BMI >18.5 kg/m(2)) were evaluated for their energy expenditure profile. Four additional healthy age-matched volunteers were also included for methodology evaluation. INTERVENTIONS Measurements of total daily energy expenditure (TEE), resting energy expenditure (REE) and diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) and energy intake were undertaken by indirect calorimetry and bicarbonate-urea methods and dietary records. RESULTS REE in COPD patients was not significantly different from that predicted by the Harris-Benedict equation. Before the exercise day the mean TEE was 1508 kcal/day and physical activity level (PAL as calculated by TEE/REE) was 1.52. On the exercise day the TEE increased to 1568 kcal/day and PAL was 1.60, but neither of these changes were significant. The energy cost of increased physical activity during rehabilitation exercise was estimated to be 191 kcal/day. No significant change was found in DIT between the two patient groups. However, overall energy balances were found to be negative (-363 kcal/day). CONCLUSION The rehabilitation programme did not cause a significant energy demand in COPD patients. TEE in COPD patients was not greater than in free-living healthy subjects. Patients, who were underweight, did not have a higher TEE than patients with normal weight. This suggested that malnutrition in COPD patients was not due to an increased energy expenditure. On the other hand, a significant negative energy balance due to insufficient energy intake was found in seven out of 10 patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- N L S Tang
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.
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