Decreased serum levels of SETD1A protein in patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: SET domain-containing protein 1A (SETD1A) histone lysine N-methyltransferase may serve as a biomarker for the auxiliary diagnosis and treatment assessment of schizophrenia (SCZ). The aim of this study was to compare serum levels of SETD1A protein between patients with SCZ and health controls. METHODS: Patients with SCZ and health controls were recruited from the Sixth Hospital of Changchun and the 'Survey on Chronic Diseases and Risk Factors among Adults in Jilin Province', respectively. The quantifications of lysine N-methyltransferase in peripheral serum were conducted by the ELISA method, and data was analyzed using the R software. RESULTS: Forty patients with SCZ (mean age: 33.97 ± 5.99 years) and forty healthy controls (mean age: 39.07 ± 4.62 years) were included. There was significantly lower concentration of SETD1A protein in the SCZ group compared with the control group (P < 0.001). This significant difference still exists after stratification by sex (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that decreased levels of serum SETD1A protein may be utilized as a possible peripheral biomarker for schizophrenia.

Genetic variations of ND5 gene of mtDNA in populations of Anopheles sinensis (Diptera: Culicidae) malaria vector in China.

BACKGROUND: Anopheles sinensis is a principal vector for Plasmodium vivax malaria in most parts of China. Understanding of genetic structure and genetic differentiation of the mosquito should contribute to the vector control and malaria elimination in China. METHODS: The present study investigated the genetic structure of An. sinensis populations using a 729 bp fragment of mtDNA ND5 among 10 populations collected from seven provinces in China. RESULTS: ND5 was polymorphic by single mutations within three groups of An. sinensis that were collected from 10 different geographic populations in China. Out of 140 specimens collected from 10 representative sites, 84 haplotypes and 71 variable positions were determined. The overall level of genetic differentiation of An. sinensis varied from low to moderate across China and with a FST range of 0.00065-0.341. Genealogy analysis clustered the populations of An. sinensis into three main clusters. Each cluster shared one main haplotype. Pairwise variations within populations were higher (68.68%) than among populations (31.32%) and with high fixation index (FST = 0.313). The results of the present study support population growth and expansion in the An. sinensis populations from China. Three clusters of An. sinensis populations were detected in this study with each displaying different proportion patterns over seven Chinese provinces. No correlation between genetic and geographic distance was detected in overall populations of An. sinensis (R2 = 0.058; P = 0.301). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the ND5 gene of mtDNA is highly polymorphic in An. sinensis and has moderate genetic variability in the populations of this mosquito in China. Demographic and spatial results support evidence of expansion in An. sinensis populations.

[Expressions of collagen , matrix metalloproteases-2, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 in the posterior sclera of newborn guinea pigs with negative lens-defocused myopia].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the expressions of the collagen , matrix metalloproteases-2 (MMP-2), and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) in the posterior sclera of newborn guinea pigs with negative lens-defocused myopia. METHODS: Newborn guinea pigs were monocularly defocused by -10D lens. After 4 weeks of defocus, the eyes were removed to provide posterior scleral samples for detection. Expression of collagen was detected by immunohistochemistry on frozen sections of guinea pig sclera, and the protein levels of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 were evaluated by Western blot. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that the expressions of collagen and TIMP-2 were significantly lower and the expression of MMP-2 was significantly higher in the posterior sclera in the defocused eyes than in the contralateral eyes (all P < 0.01). However, all these indicators were not significantly different between the contralateral eyes and normal control eyes (all P > 0.05). In the defocused animals, the refraction of defocused eyes was positively correlated with the expression levels of collagen (r = 0.79, P < 0.01) and TIMP-2 (r = 0.74, P < 0.05) and was negatively correlated with the expression level of MMP-2 (r = -0.78, P < 0.01) in posterior sclera. CONCLUSION: Alteration of extracellular matrix in the posterior sclera, probably participated by MMP-2, may exist during the development of defocus-induced myopia.