Biology subjects

Deng, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Deng, J..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Identification, Genotyping, and Pathogenicity of Trichosporon spp. Isolated from Giant Pandas

Trichosporon is the dominant genus of epidermal fungi in giant pandas and causes local and deep infections. To provide the information needed for the diagnosis and treatment of trichosporosis in giant pandas, the sequence of ITS, D1/D2, and IGS1 loci in 29 isolates of Trichosporon spp. which isolated from the body surface of giant pandas were combination to investigate interspecies identification and genotype. Morphological development was examined via slide culture. Additionally, mice were infected by skin inunction, intraperitoneal injection, and subcutaneous injection for evaluation of pathogenicity. The twenty-nine isolates of Trichosporon spp. were identified as belonging to 11 species, and Trichosporon jirovecii and T. asteroides were the commonest species. Four strains of T. laibachii and one strain of T. moniliiforme were found to be of novel genotypes, and T. jirovecii was identified to be genotype 1. T. asteroides had the same genotype which involved in disseminated trichosporosis. The morphological development processes of the Trichosporon spp. were clearly different, especially in the processes of single-spore development. Pathogenicity studies showed that 7 species damaged the liver and skin in mice, and their pathogenicity was stronger than other 4 species. T. asteroides had the strongest pathogenicity and might provoke invasive infection. The pathological characteristics of liver and skin infections caused by different Trichosporon spp. were similar. So it is necessary to identify the species of Trichosporon on the surface of giant panda. Combination of ITS, D1/D2, and IGS1 loci analysis, and morphological development process can effectively identify the genotype of Trichosporon spp.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Identification of Variable and Joining germline genes and alleles for Rhesus macaque from B-cell receptor repertoires

The Rhesus macaque is a valuable preclinical animal model to estimate vaccine effectiveness, and is also important for understanding antibody maturation and B-cell repertoire evolution responding to vaccination; however, incomplete mapping of rhesus immunoglobulin germline genes hinders the research efforts. To address this deficiency, we sequenced B-cell receptor (BCR) repertoires of 75 India Rhesus macaques. Using a bioinformatic method that has been validated with BCR repertoire analysis of three human donors, we were able to infer rhesus Variable (V) and Joint(J) germline alleles, identifying a total of 122 V and 20 J germline alleles. Importantly, 91 V and 13 J alleles were novel, and 40 V and 13 J genes were found at a novel genome region that has not been previously recorded. The novelty of these newly identified alleles was supported by two observations. Firstly, 50 V and 5 J novel alleles were observed in whole genome sequencing data of 10 Rhesus macaques. Secondly, using alignment reference including the novel alleles, the mutation rate of rearranged repertoires was significant declined in 9 other irrelevant samples, and all our identified novel V and J alleles were 100% identity mapped by rearranged repertoire data. These newly identified novel alleles, along with previous reported alleles, provide an important reference for future investigations of rhesus immune repertoire evolution, in response to vaccination or infection. In addition, the method outlined in our study offered an example to future efforts in identifying novel immunoglobulin alleles.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2017

MicroRNA-21 Regulates Metabolic Adaptation of Pathogenic TH17 cells and Controls Autoimmune Inflammation

TH17 cells exhibit great heterogeneity and variable functional states in vivo. However, metabolic reprogramming of TH17 cells in vivo and its regulation during autoimmunity and host defence is unknown. Here we report that TH17 cells derived in vivo show discrete metabolic states. Metabolic states of TH17 cells in vivo were controlled at the epigenetic level, with conserved regulatory region of key metabolic regulators show distinct chromatin accessibility as demonstrated by chromatin landscape profiling. TGF-{beta}1 signaling was further shown to be crucial for remodeling of TH17 cell chromatin states, Ahr and miR-21 were identified as essential metabolic regulators for TH17 cells. Understanding metabolic reprogramming of TH17 cells in vivo may therefore provide more defined therapeutic intervention to TH17 cell mediated autoimmune diseases and insights into TH17 cell mediated host defence.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2017

SPIN1 promotes tumorigenesis by blocking the uL18-MDM2-p53 pathway

Ribosomal proteins (RPs) play important roles in modulating the MDM2-p53 pathway. However, less is known about the upstream regulators of the RPs. Here we identify SPIN1 (Spindlin 1) as a novel binding partner of human RPL5/uL18 that is important for this pathway. SPIN1 ablation activates p53, suppresses cell growth, reduces clonogenic ability, and induces apoptosis of cancer cells by sequestering uL18 in the nucleolus, preventing it from interacting with MDM2, and thereby alleviating uL18-mediated inhibition of MDM2 ubiquitin ligase activity towards p53. SPIN1 deficiency increases ribosome-free uL18 and uL5 (human RPL11), which are required for SPIN1 depletion-induced p53 activation. Analysis of cancer genomic databases suggests that SPIN1 is highly expressed in several human cancers, and its overexpression is positively correlated with poor prognosis in cancer patients. Altogether, our findings reveal that the oncogenic property of SPIN1 is highly attributed to its negative regulation of uL18, leading to p53 inactivation.

cancer biology↗