Biology subjects

Hu, W.

Publications and source records attributed to Hu, W..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Unstable Angina is a syndrome correlated to Th17 inflammatory disorder

PurposeUnstable angina is common clinical manifestation of atherosclerosis. However, the detailed pathogenesis of unstable angina is still not known. Here, I propose that unstable angina is a TH17 dominant inflammatory disorder.\n\nMethodsMicroarray dataset from unstable angina patients from Gene Expression Omnibus publicly available website is used for further analysis compared to healthy control.\n\nResultsI find out that TH17 related cytokine, cytokine receptor, chemokines, complement, immune-related transcription factors, anti-bacterial genes, Toll-like receptors, and heat shock proteins are all up-regulated in peripheral leukocytes of unstable angina. In addition, H+-ATPase, glycolytic genes, platelet and RBC related genes are also up-regulated in peripheral leukocytes of during unstable angina. Pathway analysis also supports that TH17 immunological pathway is over-represented in the unstable angina dataset.\n\nConclusionsThis finding implies that atherosclerosis is correlated to TH17 inflammatory disease. If we know the etiology of unstable angina as well as atherosclerosis better, we can have better methods to control and prevent this detrimental illness.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2018

Sirt7 regulates circadian phase coherence of hepatic circadian clock via a body temperature/Hsp70-Sirt7-Cry1 axis

The biological clock is generated in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which synchronizes peripheral oscillators to coordinate physiological and behavioral activities throughout the body. Disturbance of circadian phase coherence between the central and peripheral could disrupt rhythms and thus cause diseases and aging. Here, we identified hepatic Sirt7 as an early element responsive to light, which ensures the phase coherence in mouse liver. Loss of Sirt7 leads to advanced liver circadian phase; restricted feeding in daytime entrains hepatic clock more rapidly in Sirt7-/- mice compared to wild-types. Molecularly, a light-driven body temperature (BT) oscillation induces rhythmic expression of Hsp70, which binds to and promotes the ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of Sirt7. Sirt7 rhythmically deacetylates Cry1 on K565/579 and promotes Fbxl3-mediated degradation, thus coupling hepatic clock to the central pacemaker. Together, our data identify a novel BT/Hsp70-Sirt7-Cry1 axis, which transmits biological timing cues from the central to the peripheral and ensures circadian phase coherence in livers.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Triazole ureas covalently bind to strigolactone receptors and regulate signaling

Strigolactones (SLs), a class of plant hormones with multiple functions, mediate plant-plant and plant-microorganism communications in the rhizosphere. In this study, we developed potent strigolactone antagonists, which covalently bind to the strigolactone receptor D14, by preparing an array of triazole urea compounds. Using yeast two-hybrid assays and rice tillering assays, we identified a triazole urea compound KK094 as a potent inhibitor of strigolactone receptors. The LC-MS/MS analysis and X-ray crystallography concluded that KK094 was hydrolyzed by D14, and that a reaction product of this degradation covalently binds to the Ser residue of the catalytic triad of D14. We also identified KK052 and KK073, whose effects on D14-D53/D14-SLR1 complex formation were opposite due to a trifluoromethyl group on its benzene ring. These results demonstrate that triazole urea compounds are potentially powerful tools for agricultural application and may be useful for the elucidation of the complicated mechanism underlying SL-perception.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Central Role of Cognitive Control Networks in Weight Loss During Voluntary Calorie Restriction

Insufficient responses to hypocaloric diets have been attributed to hormonal adaptations that override self-control of food intake. We tested this hypothesis by measuring brain fMRI reactivity to food cues and circulating energy-balance hormones in 24 overweight/obese participants before, and 1 and 3 months after starting a calorie restriction diet. Increased activity in prefrontal regions at month 1 correlated with weight loss at months 1 and 3. Weight loss was also correlated with increased plasma ghrelin and decreased leptin at month 1, and these changes were associated with greater food cue reactivity in reward-related brain regions. However, the reduction in leptin did not counteract weight loss; indeed, it was correlated with further weight loss at month 3. Activation in a network of prefrontal regions associated with self-control could contribute to individual differences in weight loss and maintenance, whereas we failed to find that the hormonal adaptations play a major role.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

Secretogranin-II Plays A Critical Role In Zebrafish Neurovascular Modeling

Summary statementNeurons expressing sgIIb align with central arteries in hindbrain. We show that sgIIb is critical for neurovascular modeling the larval zebrafish mediated by MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling in vivo.\n\nAbstractSecretoneurin (SN) is a neuropeptide derived from specific proteolytic processing of the precursor secretogranin II (SgII). In zebrafish and other teleosts there are 2 paralogs we previously named sgIIa and sgIIb. Our results showed that neurons expressing sgIIb were aligned with central arteries in hindbrain, demonstrating a close neurovascular association. Both sgIIb-/- and sgIIa-/- /sgIIb-/- mutant embryos were defective in hindbrain central artery development, while artery development in sgIIa-/- mutant embryos was not affected. Hindbrain arterial and venous network identities were not affected in sgIIb-/- mutant embryos, and the mRNA levels of Notch and VEGF pathway-related genes were not altered. However, the activation of MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways were inhibited in sgIIb-/- mutant embryos. Injection of a synthetic SNb mRNA or delivery of the protein kinase activator N-arachidonoyl-L-serine could partially rescue the central artery developmental defects in the sgIIb mutants. This study provides the first in vivo evidence that sgIIb plays a critical role in neurovascular modeling the hindbrain.

developmental biology↗