Publications

Basal progenitor cells are critical for the establishment and maintenance of the tracheal epithelium.

Peripheral enhanced complement activation has long been considered as one of the major pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenia.

Colon tumours are hierarchically organized and contain multipotent self-renewing cells, called Cancer Stem Cells<

Coxsackieviruses of group B (CVB) are well-known causes of acute and chronic myocarditis. Chronic myocarditis can evolve into dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) characterized by fibrosis and cardiac remodeling. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) plays a decisive role in the induction of the inflammatory response as a consequence of viral replication.

Converging evidence suggests that deficits in somatostatin (SST)-expressing neuron signaling contributes to major depressive disorder.

Oligodendrocyte (OL) pathology is increasingly implicated in neurodegenerative diseases as OLs both myelinate and provide metabolic support to axons. In multiple sclerosis (MS), demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS) thus leads to neurodegeneration, but the severity of MS between patients is very variable. Disability does not correlate well with the extent of demyelination1, suggesting that other factors contribute to this variability. One such factor may be OL heterogeneity.

Small-for-size liver grafts (SFSG) in adult transplant recipients have elevated risk of graft dysfunction and graft failure, limiting its application in clinical liver transplantation. Relevant preclinical model of SFSG for deceased-donor split liver transplant is lacking. In this study, we present our initial characterization of SFSG model using monosegments of a discarded deceased-donor human liver.

The development of neural circuits relies on axon projections establishing diverse, yet well-defined, connections between areas of the nervous system. Each projection is formed by growth cones-subcellular specializations at the tips of growing axons, encompassing sets of molecules that control projection-specific growth, guidance, and target selection1.

Curing HIV infection has been thwarted by the persistent reservoir of latently-infected CD4+ T cells, which reinitiate systemic infection after antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption. To evaluate reservoir-depletion strategies, we developed a novel pre-clinical in vivo model consisting of immunodeficient mice intrasplenically injected with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from long-term ART-suppressed HIV-infected donors.

The western corn rootworm (WCR, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera) gene, dvssj1, is a putative homolog of the Drosophila melanogaster gene, snakeskin (ssk). This gene encodes a membrane protein associated with the smooth septate junction (SSJ) which is required for the proper barrier function of the epithelial lining of insect intestines. Disruption of DVSSJ integrity by RNAi technique has been shown previously to be an effective approach for corn rootworm control, by apparent suppression of production of DVSSJ1 protein leading to growth inhibition and mortality.