Browsing by Author "Huang, He"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Identification of potential key genes associated with severe pneumonia using mRNA-seq
    (Spandidos, 2018-08) Feng, Cong; Huang, He; Huang, Sai; Zhai, Yong-Zhi; Dong, Jing; Chen, Li; Huang, Zhi; Zhou, Xuan; Li, Bei; Wang, Li-Li; Chen, Wei; Lv, Fa-Qin; Li, Tan-Shi; Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    This study aimed to identify the potential key genes associated with severe pneumonia using mRNA-seq. Nine peripheral blood samples from patients with severe pneumonia alone (SP group, n=3) and severe pneumonia accompanied with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; CSP group, n=3), as well as volunteers without pneumonia (control group, n=3) underwent mRNA-seq. Based on the sequencing data, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by Limma package. Following the pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs, the genes that were differentially expressed in the SP and CSP groups were selected for pathway enrichment analysis and coexpression analysis. In addition, potential genes related to pneumonia were identified based on the information in the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database. In total, 645 and 528 DEGs were identified in the SP and CSP groups, respectively, compared with the normal controls. Among these DEGs, 88 upregulated genes and 80 downregulated genes were common between the two groups. The functions of the common DEGs were similar to those of the DEGs in the SP group. In the coexpression network, the commonly downregulated genes (including ND1, ND3, ND4L, and ND6) and the commonly upregulated genes (including TSPY6P and CDY10P) exhibited a higher degree. In addition, 131 DEGs (including ND1, ND3, ND6, MIR449A and TAS2R43) were predicted to be potential pneumonia-related genes. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the common DEGs may be associated with the progression of severe pneumonia.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Neurotensin-neurotensin receptor 2 signaling in adipocytes suppresses food intake through regulating ceramide metabolism
    (Springer Nature, 2025) Fu, Wei; Lai, Yuanting; Li, Kexin; Yang, Yue; Guo, Xiao; Gong, Qifan; Zhou, Xiaofeng; Zhou, Liying; Liu, Cenxi; Zhang, Zhi; So, Jisun; Zhang, Yufeng; Huang, Lin; Lu, Guangxing; Yi, Chuanyou; Wang, Qichu; Fan, Chenyu; Liu, Chao; Wang, Jiaxing; Yu, Haiyi; Zhao, Yimin; Huang, Tao; Roh, Hyun Cheol; Liu, Tiemin; Tang, Huiru; Qi, Jianping; Xu, Ming; Zheng, Yan; Huang, He; Li, Jin; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    Neurotensin (NTS) is a secretory peptide produced by lymphatic endothelial cells. Our previous study revealed that NTS suppressed the activity of brown adipose tissue via interactions with NTSR2. In the current study, we found that the depletion of Ntsr2 in white adipocytes upregulated food intake, while the local treatment of NTS suppressed food intake. Our mechanistic study revealed that suppression of NTS-NTSR2 signaling enhanced the phosphorylation of ceramide synthetase 2, increased the abundance of its products ceramides C20-C24, and downregulated the production of GDF15 in white adipose tissues, which was responsible for the elevation of food intake. We discovered a potential causal and positive correlation between serum C20-C24 ceramide levels and human food intake in four populations with different ages and ethnic backgrounds. Together, our study shows that NTS-NTSR2 signaling in white adipocytes can regulate food intake via its direct control of lipid metabolism and production of GDF15. The ceramides C20-C24 are key factors regulating food intake in mammals.