Biology subjects

Xu, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Xu, B..

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2019

Tomato spotted wilt virus manipulates the reproduction of its insect vector, western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), to facilitate transmission

BACKGROUNDTomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), one of the most devastating viruses of ornamental plants and vegetable crops worldwide, is transmitted by the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), in a persistent-propagative manner. How TSWV manipulates the reproduction of its vector to enhance transmission and whether infection with TSWV changes the mating behaviour of this thrips vector are not fully understood.\n\nRESULTSIn this study, we found that TSWV-exposed thrips, in general, had a significantly longer developmental time than did non-exposed individuals. Such an increase was predominantly seen in adults, a stage associated with dispersal and virus transmission. TSWV-exposed F. occidentalis produced substantially more progeny than did non-exposed thrips. Interestingly, most of the increase in progeny came from an increase in males, a sex with a greater dispersal and virus transmission capability. Specifically, the sex ratio of progeny shifted from female biased (2-7:1) to evenly split or male biased. Regarding mating behaviour, compared to virus-free controls, TSWV-exposed F. occidentalis had significantly longer copulation duration, were more active in males, and remated less often in females.\n\nCONCLUSIONThese combined results suggest that TSWV alters the reproductive behaviour of its insect vector, F. occidentalis, to promote virus transmission. Consequently, a monitoring program capable of earlier detection of the virus and a reduced economic threshold for vector (thrips) control should be in consideration for the long-term, sustainable management of TSWV.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Survey of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus covert infection for healthy people in Henan Province, China

BackgroundSevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a severe emerging disease, and its incidence has been increasing in recent years. A cross-sectional study was conducted for healthy people in high SFTS endemic areas of Henan province in 2016. MethodsThis study used stratified random sampling method and finally 14 natural villages were selected as the investigation site. The questionnaire survey and serum collection were carried out from April to May in 2016. All the serum samples were detected by SFTSV IgM and IgG antibodies by ELISA. Only positive samples of SFTSV IgM antibody need be tested SFTSV RNA and virus cultured. A month after the specimen collection, all persons positive for IgM antibody were followed up one by one to confirm whether he or she was recessive infection. Results1463 healthy persons were investigated in total. The average seropositive rates of SFTS virus specific IgG and IgM antibodies were 10.46% (153/1463) and 0.82% (12/1463), respectively. IgM antibody was positive in 12 individuals, and 6 of them SFTS virus RNA were also detected. In addition, 5 SFTS virus were isolated from the 6 SFTS virus RNA (+) individuals. By genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, 5 new isolates from healthy crowd all belonged to groups A, which were similar to other isolates from SFTS patients. After one month, all people with SFTS virus IgM antibody had no illness or symptoms. ConclusionsThis study confirmed there is SFTS recessive infection in human, and it is the first report about SFTS virus isolation in healthy people. Author SummarySevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), a severe emerging infectious disease, was discovered in rural areas of China. The first SFTS case was found in Henan province, which has had the largest number of SFTS cases in China every year since the disease was discovered. However, as a high incidence area of SFTS in Henan province, the serum prevalence rate of the virus in healthy people is still not clear. Therefore, a cross-sectional survey was performed in high endemic areas and epidemic seasons in 2016. The results showed that the level of specific SFTS seroprevlence was relatively higher and possibility increasing. SFTS RNA were positive and SFTS virus was isolated from the specimens of healthy people. This study confirmed there is SFTS recessive infection in human, and it is the first report about SFTS virus isolation in healthy people.

epidemiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Recapitulation and reversal of schizophrenia-related phenotypes in Setd1a-deficient mice

SETD1A, a histone methyltransferase, is a key schizophrenia susceptibility gene. Mutant mice carrying a heterozygous loss-of-function mutation of the orthologous gene exhibit alterations in axonal branching and cortical synaptic dynamics, accompanied by specific deficits in working memory that recapitulates SCZ-related alterations. We show that Setd1a targets mostly enhancers and reveal a striking overlap between Setd1a and Mef2 chromatin targets. Setd1a targets are highly expressed in pyramidal neurons and enriched for genes with postnatally-biased expression involved in synaptic structure and function. Notably, evolutionary conserved Setd1a binding sites and target genes are strongly associated with neuropsychiatric genetic risk burden. Reinstating Setd1a expression in adulthood rescues working memory deficits. We identify LSD1 as a major demethylase counteracting the effects of Setd1a methyl transferase activity and show that LSD1 antagonism in adult Setd1a-deficient mice results in a full rescue of the behavioral abnormalities and axonal branching deficits. Our findings advance our understanding of how SETD1A mutations predispose to SCZ and point to therapeutic interventions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Cyclin A2/Cdk1 is Essential for the in vivo S Phase Entry by Phosphorylating Top2a.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) plays essential roles in cell cycle regulation. However, due to the early embryonic lethality of mouse Cdk1 mutants, the in vivo role of CDK1 in regulating cell cycle and embryonic development remains unclear. Here, by generating zebrafish cdk1 mutants using CRISPR/Cas9 system, we show that cdk1-/- embryos exhibit severe microphthalmia accompanied with multiple defects in polarized cell division, S phase entry and M phase progression, cell apoptosis and cell differentiation, but not in interkinetic nuclear migration (IKNM). By informatics analysis, we identified Top2a as a potential downstream target, and Cyclin A2 and Cyclin B1 as partners of Cdk1 in cell cycle. Depletion of either Cyclin A2 or Top2a leads to decreased S phase entry and increased DNA damage response in zebrafish retinal cells, and depletion of Cyclin B1 leads to M phase arrest. Immunoprecipitation shows that Cdk1 and Cyclin A2 physically interact in vivo. Moreover, phosphorylation of Top2a on Serine 1213 (S1213) site is almost absent in either cdk1 or ccna2 mutants, but in not ccnb1 mutants. Furthermore, overexpression of TOP2AS1213, the phosphomimetic form of human TOP2A, rescues S phase entry and microphthalmia defects in cdk1-/- and ccna2-/- embryos. Taken together, our data suggests that Cdk1 interacts with Cyclin A2 to regulate S phase entry through phosphorylating Top2a, and with Cyclin B1 to regulate M phase progression in vivo.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2018

The stem rust fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici induces waves of small RNAs with opposing profiles during wheat infection

BackgroundSilencing of transposable elements (TEs) is essential for maintaining genome stability. Plants use small RNAs (sRNAs) to direct DNA methylation to TEs (RNA-directed DNA methylation; RdDM). Similar mechanisms of epigenetic silencing in the fungal kingdom have remained elusive. ResultsWe use sRNA sequencing and methylation data to gain insight into epigenetics in the dikaryotic fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), which causes the devastating stem rust disease on wheat. We use Hi-C data to define the Pgt centromeres and show that they are repeat-rich regions ([~]250 kb) that are highly diverse in sequence between haplotypes and, like in plants, are enriched for young TEs. DNA cytosine methylation is particularly active at centromeres but also associated with genome-wide control of young TE insertions. Strikingly, over 90% of Pgt sRNAs and several RNAi genes are differentially expressed during infection. Pgt induces waves of functionally diversified sRNAs during infection. The early wave sRNAs are predominantly 21 nts with a 5 uracil derived from genes. In contrast, the late wave sRNAs are mainly 22 nt sRNAs with a 5 adenine and are strongly induced from centromeric regions. TEs that overlap with late wave sRNAs are more likely to be methylated, both inside and outside the centromeres, and methylated TEs exhibit a silencing effect on nearby genes. ConclusionsWe conclude that rust fungi use an epigenetic silencing pathway that resembles RdDM in plants. The Pgt RNAi machinery and sRNAs are under tight temporal control throughout infection and might ensure genome stability during sporulation.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Bayesian phylodynamics of avian influenza virus H9N2 in Asia with time-dependent predictors of migration

Model-based phylodynamic approaches recently employed generalized linear models (GLMs) to uncover potential predictors of viral spread. Very recently some of these models have allowed both the predictors and their coefficients to be time-dependent. However, these studies mainly focused on predictors that are assumed to be constant through time. Here we inferred the phylodynamics of H9N2 viruses isolated in 12 Asian countries and regions under both discrete trait analysis (DTA) and structured coalescent (MASCOT) approaches. Using MASCOT we applied a new time-dependent GLM to uncover the underlying factors behind H9N2 spread. We curated a rich set of time-series predictors including annual international live poultry trade and national poultry production figures. This time-dependent phylodynamic prediction model was compared to commonly employed time-independent alternatives. Additionally the time-dependent MASCOT model allowed for the estimation of viral effective sub-population sizes and their changes through time and these effective population dynamics within each country were predicted by a GLM. International annual poultry trade is a strongly supported predictor of virus migration rates. There was also strong support for geographic proximity as a predictor of migration rate in all GLMs investigated. In time-dependent MASCOT models, national poultry production was also identified as a predictor of virus genetic diversity through time and this signal was obvious in mainland China and Bangladesh. Our application of a recently introduced time-dependent GLM predictors integrated rich time-series data in Bayesian phylodynamic prediction. We demonstrated the contribution of poultry trade and geographic proximity (potentially unheralded wild bird movements) to avian influenza spread in Asia. To gain a better understanding of the drivers of H9N2 spread, we suggest increased surveillance of the H9N2 virus in countries that are currently under-sampled as well as in wild bird populations in the most affected countries.\n\nAuthor summaryWhat drives the geographic dispersal and genetic diversity of H9N2 avian influenza virus in Asia? We used two model-based approaches, DTA and MASCOT, to reconstruct the phylogeographic dynamics of the virus. Further, multiple potential predictors were used to inform the virus spread and population dynamics by GLMs. Here, we maximised the power of time-series predictors in Bayesian phylodynamic prediction. For the first time, we were able to quantify the contribution of both time-series and constant predictors to both migration rates and effective population sizes in a structured population. We identified a positive association of international poultry trade and national poultry production time-series with virus migration rates and effective population sizes respectively. We also identify geographic proximity as a strongly supported driver to virus migration rates and this points to the potential role of wild bird populations in virus dispersal across countries. Our study is a practical exemplar of the use of temporal information in predictors to model heterogeneous spatial diffusion and population dynamic processes and provides direction to H9N2 control efforts in Asia.

epidemiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Large-Scale Annotation of Histopathology Images from Social Media

Pathologists are responsible for rapidly providing a diagnosis on critical health issues. Challenging cases benefit from additional opinions of pathologist colleagues. In addition to on-site colleagues, there is an active worldwide community of pathologists on social media for complementary opinions. Such access to pathologists worldwide has the capacity to improve diagnostic accuracy and generate broader consensus on next steps in patient care. From Twitter we curate 13,626 images from 6,351 tweets from 25 pathologists from 13 countries. We supplement the Twitter data with 113,161 images from 1,074,484 PubMed articles. We develop machine learning and deep learning models to (i) accurately identify histopathology stains, (ii) discriminate between tissues, and (iii) differentiate disease states. Area Under Receiver Operating Characteristic is 0.805-0.996 for these tasks. We repurpose the disease classifier to search for similar disease states given an image and clinical covariates. We report precision@k=1 = 0.7618{+/-}0.0018 (chance 0.397{+/-}0.004, mean{+/-}stdev). The classifiers find texture and tissue are important clinico-visual features of disease. Deep features trained only on natural images (e.g. cats and dogs) substantially improved search performance, while pathology-specific deep features and cell nuclei features further improved search to a lesser extent. We implement a social media bot (@pathobot on Twitter) to use the trained classifiers to aid pathologists in obtaining real-time feedback on challenging cases. If a social media post containing pathology text and images mentions the bot, the bot generates quantitative predictions of disease state (normal/artifact/infection/injury/nontumor, pre-neoplastic/benign/ low-grade-malignant-potential, or malignant) and lists similar cases across social media and PubMed. Our project has become a globally distributed expert system that facilitates pathological diagnosis and brings expertise to underserved regions or hospitals with less expertise in a particular disease. This is the first pan-tissue pan-disease (i.e. from infection to malignancy) method for prediction and search on social media, and the first pathology study prospectively tested in public on social media. We will share data through pathobotology.org. We expect our project to cultivate a more connected world of physicians and improve patient care worldwide.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2018

The Nucleome of Developing Murine Rod Photoreceptors

The nuclei of rod photoreceptors in mice and other nocturnal species have an unusual inverted chromatin structure: the heterochromatin is centrally located to help focus light and improve photosensitivity. To better understand this unique nuclear organization, we performed ultra-deep Hi-C analysis on murine retina at 3 stages of development and on purified rod photoreceptors. Predicted looping interactions from the Hi-C data were validated with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). We discovered that a subset of retinal genes that are important for retinal development, cancer, and stress response are localized to the facultative heterochromatin domain. We also used machine learning to develop an algorithm based on our chromatin Hidden Markov Modeling (chromHMM) of retinal development to predict heterochromatin domains and study their dynamics during retinogenesis. FISH data for 264 genomic loci were used to train and validate the algorithm. The integrated data were then used to identify a developmental stage- and cell type-specific core regulatory circuit super-enhancer (CRC-SE) upstream of the Vsx2 gene, which is required for bipolar neuron expression. Deletion of the Vsx2 CRC-SE in mice led to the loss of bipolar neurons in the retina.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

MYCN Amplification and ATRX Mutations are Incompatible in Neuroblastoma

Aggressive cancers often have activating mutations in growth-controlling oncogenes and inactivating mutations in tumor-suppressor genes. In neuroblastoma, amplification of the MYCN oncogene and inactivation of the ATRX tumor-suppressor gene correlate with high-risk disease and poor prognosis. Here we show that ATRX mutations and MYCN amplification are mutually exclusive across all ages and stages in neuroblastoma. Using human cell lines and mouse models, we found that elevated MYCN expression and ATRX mutations are incompatible. Elevated MYCN levels promote metabolic reprogramming, mitochondrial dysfunction, reactive-oxygen species generation, and DNA-replicative stress. The combination of replicative stress caused by defects in the ATRX-histone chaperone complex and that induced by MYCN-mediated metabolic reprogramming leads to synthetic lethality. Therefore, ATRX and MYCN represent an unusual example, where inactivation of a tumor-suppressor gene and activation of an oncogene are incompatible. This synthetic lethality may eventually be exploited to improve outcomes for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2018

The reduced prevalence of macrolide resistance in Mycoplasma pneumoniae clinical isolates from pediatric patients in Beijing in 2016

Older children especially from seven to thirteen years old are more prone to develop Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infection; in winter children are more susceptible to infect with MP. In Beijing, China in 2016 the rates of macrolide resistance of MP were 69.48% (in total children), 61.59% (in outpatients) and 79.28% (in hospitalized patients), respectively. All the macrolide resistant isolates harbored A2063G or A2064G mutation in the 23S rRNA gene. Seven isolates showed a mixed infection. Susceptibility results showed that 73 isolates with the A2063G mutation demonstrated different levels resistance to erythromycin (MIC=8 to>256g/ml), azithromycin (MIC=8 to>64g/ml) and josamycin (MIC=2 to 8g/ml). No cross-resistance was observed in the in the antibiotics of levofloxacin and tetracycline against MP.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Anxiety induced by extra-hypothalamic BDNF deficiency instigates resistance to diet-induced obesity

Anxiety disorders are associated with body weight changes in humans. However, mechanisms underlying anxiety-related weight changes remain poorly understood. Using Emx1Cre/+ mice, we deleted the gene for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cortex, hippocampus, and some parts of the amygdala. The resulting mutant mice displayed elevated anxiety levels and were markedly lean when fed either chow diet or high-fat diet (HFD). The mice showed higher levels of sympathetic activity, thermogenesis and lipolysis in both brown and white adipose tissues, and higher oxygen consumption and body temperature, compared with control mice. They were still lean at thermoneurality when fed HFD, indicating elevated basal metabolism in addition to activated thermogenesis. Anxiety induced by site-specific Bdnf deletion similarly increased energy expenditure and minimized HFD-induced weight gain. These results reveal that anxiety can stimulate adaptive thermogenesis and basal metabolism by activating sympathetic nervous system, which enhances lipolysis and limits weight gain.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Inter-institutional variation in predictive value of the ThyroSeq v2 genomic classifier for cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules

BackgroundThe ThyroSeq v2 next-generation sequencing assay (ThyroSeq) estimates the probability of malignancy in indeterminate thyroid nodules (ITN). Its diagnostic accuracy in different practice settings and patient populations is not well understood.\n\nMethodsWe analyzed 273 Bethesda III/IV ITN evaluated with ThyroSeq at 4 institutions: 2 comprehensive cancer centers (n=98 and 102), a multicenter healthcare system (n=60), and an academic medical center (n=13). The positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) of ThyroSeq, and distribution of final pathology were analyzed and compared to values predicted by Bayes Theorem.\n\nResultsAcross 4 institutions, the PPV was 35% (22-43%), and NPV was 93% (88-100%). Predictive values correlated closely with Bayes Theorem estimates (r2=.84), although PPVs were lower than expected. RAS mutations were the most frequent molecular alteration. Among 84 RAS-mutated nodules, malignancy risk was variable (25%, range 10-37%), and distribution of benign diagnoses differed across institutions (adenoma/hyperplasia 12-85%, NIFTP 5-46%).\n\nConclusionsIn a multi-institutional analysis, ThyroSeq PPVs were variable and lower than expected. This is attributable to differences in the prevalence of malignancy, and variability in pathologist interpretations of non-invasive tumors. It is important that clinicians understand ThyroSeq performance in their practice setting when evaluating these results.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Evolution analysis and expression divergence of the chitinase gene family against Leptosphaeria maculans and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection in Brassica napus

AbstractBlackleg and sclerotinia stem rot caused by Leptosphaeria maculans and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum respectively are two major diseases in rapeseed worldwide, which cause serious yield losses. Chitinases are pathogenesis-related proteins and play important roles in host resistance to various pathogens and abiotic stress responses. However, a systematic investigation of the chitinase gene family and its expression profile against L. maculans and S. sclerotiorum infection in rapeseed remains elusive. The recent release of assembled genome sequence of rapeseed allowed us to perform a genome-wide identification of the chitinase gene family. In this study, 68 chitinase genes were identified in Brassica napus genome. These genes were divided into five different classes and distributed among 15 chromosomes. Evolutionary analysis indicated that the expansion of the chitinase gene family was mainly attributed to segmental and tandem duplication. Moreover, the expression profiling of the chitinase gene family was investigated using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and the results revealed that some chitinase genes were both induced while the other members exhibit distinct expression in response to L. maculans and S. sclerotiorum infection. This study presents a comprehensive survey of the chitinase gene family in B. napus and provides valuable information for further understanding the functions of the chitinase gene family.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

High affinity Na+ transport by wheat HKT1;5 is blocked by K+

The wheat sodium transporters TmHKT1;5-A and TaHKT1;5-D are encoded by genes underlying major shoot Na+ exclusion loci Nax2 and Kna1 from Triticum monococcum (Tm) and Triticum aestivum (Ta), respectively. In contrast to HKT2 transporters that have been shown to exhibit high affinity K+-dependent Na+ transport, HKT1 proteins have, with one exception, only been shown to catalyse low affinity Na+ transport and no K+ transport. Here, using heterologous expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes we show that both TmHKT1;5-A and TaHKT1;5-D encode dual (high and low) affinity Na+-transporters with the high-affinity component being abolished when external K+ is in excess of external Na+. Based on 3-D structural modelling we propose that tighter binding of K+, compared to that of Na+ in the selectivity filter region by means of additional van der Waals forces, explains the K+ block at the molecular level. The low-affinity component for Na+ transport of TmHKT1;5-A had a lower Km than that of TaHKT1;5-D and was less sensitive to external K+. We propose that these properties underpin the improvements in shoot Na+-exclusion and crop plant salt tolerance following the introgression of TmHKT1;5-A into diverse wheat backgrounds.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Association of Arg389Gly β1-adrenergic receptor polymorphism with effective dose of β blocker in congestive heart failure among Chinese Han population

BackgroundTo investigate the relationship between {beta}1-adrenergic receptor (ADRB1) gene polymorphisms and the response to medication in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF).\n\nMethods and ResultsTwo hundred and sixty patients with CHF were enrolled. Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly polymorphisms were identified. During one-year follow-up, differences of echocardiographic parameters and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were analyzed. For Ser49Gly polymorphisms, there were no differences between AA genotype and AG/GG genotype of baseline clinical features and echocardiographic parameters as well as one-year incidence of MACE. For Arg389Gly polymorphisms, there were no significant differences in baseline clinical characteristics, LVDd and LVEF among the three genotypes. However, the increase amplitude of LVEF after one year among patients carrying GG genotype was significantly higher than those carrying CC genotype (11.7% vs 1.3%, P<0.05). The incidence of MACE among different genotypes of CC, CG and GG were 22.2%, 10.0% and 8.3%,with statistical difference (P=0.021).\n\nConclusionsThe study suggested there was no relationship between Ser49Gly polymorphisms of the ADRB1 gene and the therapeutic effect and prognosis in CHF patients under the same dosage of drugs. However, the improvement of cardiac function and prognosis in patients carrying the Gly389 allele were significantly better than those of Arg389Arg homozygous.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Membrane proteins with high N-glycosylation, high expression, and multiple interaction partners were preferred by mammalian viruses as receptors

Receptor mediated entry is the first step for viral infection. However, the relationship between viruses and receptors is still obscure. Here, by manually curating a high-quality database of 268 pairs of mammalian virus-host receptor interaction, which included 128 unique viral species or sub-species and 119 virus receptors, we found the viral receptors were structurally and functionally diverse, yet they had several common features when compared to other cell membrane proteins: more protein domains, higher level of N-glycosylation, higher ratio of self-interaction and more interaction partners, and higher expression in most tissues of the host. Additionally, the receptors used by the same virus tended to co-evolve. Further correlation analysis between viral receptors and the tissue and host specificity of the virus shows that the virus receptor similarity was a significant predictor for mammalian virus cross-species. This work could deepen our understanding towards the viral receptor selection and help evaluate the risk of viral zoonotic diseases.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Next generation CRISPR/Cas9 transcriptional activation in Drosophila using flySAM

CRISPR/Cas9-based transcriptional activation (CRISPRa) has recently emerged as a powerful and scalable technique for systematic over-expression genetic analysis in Drosophila melanogaster. We present flySAM, a potent new tool for in vivo CRISPRa, which offers a major improvement over existing strategies in terms of effectiveness, scalability, and ease-of-use. flySAM outperforms existing in vivo CRISPRa strategies, and approximates phenotypes obtained using traditional Gal4-UAS over-expression. Further, because flySAM typically only requires a single sgRNA, it dramatically improves scalability. We use flySAM to demonstrate multiplexed CRISPRa, which has not been previously shown in vivo. In addition, we have simplified the experimental usage of flySAM by creating a single vector encoding both the UAS:Cas9-activator and the sgRNA, allowing for inducible CRISPRa in a single genetic cross. flySAM will thus replace previous CRISPRa strategies as the basis of our growing genome-wide transgenic over-expression resource, TRiP-OE.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

The plasma miR-122 basal levels respond to circulating catecholamine in rats

miR-122 in circulation is a promising non-invasive biomarker as a replacement or supplement of current serum biomarkers for liver injuries. But the concept was questioned by recent studies, mainly due to its release from hepatocytes in absence of overt cellular injuries. In this study, we reported that the hepatic metabolism of circulating catecholamines resulted in the release of hepatocyte-specific miR-122. Acute stress-induced hepatocellular deformation was histopathologically different from drug-induced liver injury with significant increases of plasma miR-122 levels. The basal levels of human plasma miR-122 could be significantly altered by emotional responses. Interday variances of plasma miR-122 measurements were reduced effectively by stress-relief measures. The metabolism of basal circulating norepinephrine and epinephrine in liver might contribute to the basal levels of plasma miRNAs expressed in hepatocytes.

molecular biology↗