Structural and Functional Changes of Immune System in Aging Mouse Induced by D-Galactose

Objective To investigate the role of D-galactose, especially in the structural and functional changes of the immune system in aging. Methods Serum levels of advanced glycation end-products （AGE） were determined by ELISA method. Ultra-structures of thymus and spleen were detected by transmission electron microscopy. MTT method was used to determine the lymphocyte proliferation. IL-2 activity was determined by bioassay. Northern blot was used to detect the IL-2 mRNA levels. Results Serum AGE levels of D-galactose- （P〈0.01） and AGE-treated （P〈0.05） mice （n=8） were increased significantly. The ultra-structures of thymus and spleen in D-galactose- and AGE-treated mice showed regressive changes similar to those in the aged control group. The lymphocyte mitogenesis and IL-2 activity of spleen were also decreased significantly （P〈0.01, n=8）. The change of IL-2 activity shown by Northern blot resulted from the change of mRNA expression. The AGE plus aminoguanidine group, however, showed no significant change in these parameters in comparison with the young control group （P〈0.01 or P〈0.05, n=8）. Conclusion D-galactose and AGE lead to a mimic regression change of aging in the immune system in vivo.

Characteristics of dental morphology in the Xinjiang Uyghurs and correlation with the EDARV370A variant

Teeth are one of the most important materials for anthropological studies because they are likely to be preserved in ancient remains.While the frequencies of dental characteristics can provide clues to the phylogeny of populations,genetic studies at the individual level can further reveal the biological mechanisms and evolutionary context of dental characteristics.In this study,by analyzing 38 dental characteristics of 242 Xinjiang Uyghur individuals,we found that(i)the dental characteristics of the Uyghurs showed evidence of admixture between European and East Asian populations.The admixture proportions were in line with those previously reported in population genetic studies;(ii)the Xinjiang Uyghur dental characteristics formed three clusters in pairwise correlation analysis.One of the main clusters consisted of characteristics including incisor shoveling,double shoveling and mesial ridge;and(iii)all the characteristics in this cluster were significantly correlated with the genetic variant EDARV370A.The extracted composite phenotypic factor was also significantly associated with EDARV370A,which explained 18%of the total phenotypic variance.This indicated a pleiotropic effect,i.e.,the same genetic factor affects a number of dental characteristics at the same time.Our results confirmed that EDARV370A,a genetic variant that first originated in East Asia about 30000 years ago,played an important role in incisor shoveling in East Asia.This finding suggested that incisor shoveling in modern humans in East Asia is likely to have appeared after the late Pleistocene.

Genome-wide variants of Eurasian facial shape differentiation and a prospective model of DNA based face prediction

It is a long-standing question as to which genes define the characteristic facial features among different ethnic groups. In this study, we use Uyghurs, an ancient admixed population to query the genetic bases why Europeans and Han Chinese look different. Facial traits were analyzed based on high-dense 3D facial images; numerous biometric spaces were examined for divergent facial features between European and Han Chinese, ranging from inter-landmark distances to dense shape geometrics, Genome-wide associ- ation studies （GWAS） were conducted on a discovery panel of Uyghurs, Six significant loci were iden- tified, four of which, rs1868752, rs118078182, rs60159418 at or near UBASH3B, COL23A1, PCDH7 and rs17868256 were replicated in independent cohorts of Uyghurs or Southern Han Chinese. A prospective model was also developed to predict 3D faces based on top GWAS signals and tested in hypothetic forensic scenarios.

Large-scale genome-wide scans do not support petaloid toenail as a Mendelian trait

Petaloid toenail, or accessory nail of the fifth toe, is a physical trait characterized by the presence of an additional tiny toenail on the small toe. Since it can occasionally cause disfigurement and tenderness while wearing tight shoes or walking, standard surgical matricectomy is often carried out to repair the petaloid toenail （Chi and Wang, 2004）. Chinese legends recorded petaloid toenails as a trait unique to Han Chinese （Gao, 2010）, but population- based studies are largely absent.

Genetic polymorphism analyses of a novel panel of 19 X-STR loci in the Chinese Uygur ethnic minority

The population genetic data and forensic parameters of 19 X-chromosome short tandem repeat （X-STR） loci in Chinese Uygur ethnic minority are presented. These loci were detected in a sample of 233 （94 males and 139 females） unrelated healthy individuals. We observed 238 alleles at the 19 X-STR loci, with the corresponding gene frequencies spanning the range from 0.0021 to 0.5644. After Bonferroni correction （P〉0.0026）, there were no signif- icant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The cumulative power of discrimination in females and males, and the probability of exclusion of the 19 X-STR loci were 0.999 999 999 999 999 999 998 091,0.999 999 999 999 966, and 0.999 999 986 35, respectively. The cumulative mean exclusion chance was 0.999 999 992 849 in deficiency cases, 0.999 999 999 999 628 in normal trios, and 0.999 999 998 722 in duo cases. The high value of the forensic parameters mentioned above revealed that the novel panel of 19 loci had important values for forensic applications in the LJygur group.