We constructed a pig F2 resource population by crossing a Meishan sow and a Duroc boar to locate economically important trait loci. The F2 generation was composed of 865 animals (450 males and 415 females) from four F1 males and 24 F1 females and was genotyped for 180 informative microsatellite markers spanning 2,263.6 cM of the whole pig genome. Results of the genome scan showed evidence for s...

BACKGROUND Testicular peritubular cells form an ill-characterized cellular compartment of the human testis, which forms a border with Sertoli cells and spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). A recently developed culture method has identified parts of the secretory repertoire of human testicular peritubular cells (HTPCs), which includes nerve growth factor. Whether peritubular cells produce glial cel...

The pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) involves complex interactions between activated fibroblasts eventually leading to fibrosis, and impaired immune tolerance characterized by a variety of circulating SSc-specific autoantibodies. The expression of autoantigens in fibroblasts, a key target tissue in SSc, may play an important role in this process. To obtain a global view of this process,...

BACKGROUND Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare and devastating disease affecting skin and internal organs. Familial aggregation of SSc and co-aggregation with other autoimmune diseases is rarely reported. METHODS We identified 23,658,577 beneficiaries registered with the National Health Insurance database in 2010, 1891 of whom had SSc. We identified 21,009,551 parent-child relationships and 17...

OBJECTIVES SSc-associated pulmonary hypertension (SSc-PH) has a worse prognosis compared with SSc without PH (SSc-nonPH). Iron deficiency (ID) was previously associated with worse clinical outcome and survival in other types of PH, but ID effects in SSc-PH are unknown. Therefore we investigated the prevalence and clinical significance of ID in systemic sclerosis patients with and without PH. ...

Pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF) has been poorly studied in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). We sought to compare clinical characteristics and survival of SSc patients with PH-HFpEF (SSc-PH-HFpEF) versus pulmonary arterial hypertension (SSc-PAH). We hypothesized that patients with SSc-PH-HFpEF have a similar poor overall prognosis co...

aim : we described two case reports of aih/ssc overlap syndrome and reviewed literatures regarding this issue.   background : aih is a chronic hepatitis of unknown aetiology characterized by continuing hepatocellular necrosis and inflammation. aih overlap syndromes have been reported with other autoimmune diseases. patients and methods : according to the classification criteria for ssc, we cond...

Small RNA duodenal libraries were constructed for Escherichia coli F18-sensitive and -resistant weaned piglets in full-sib pair groups and sequenced using Illumina Solexa high-throughput sequencing technology. The identification of differentially expressed miRNAs provides the basis for improved database information on pig miRNAs, understanding the genetic basics of differences in resistance to ...

Recognition of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc) (SSc-PAH) is very important , because SSc-PAH is highly prevalent and is a leading cause of mortality in patients with SSc. 1)2) Despite the use of novel therapeutic strategies, response to PAH-targeted therapy is still insufficient in SSc-PAH, which is associated with poor prognosis in SSc-PAH. 3) Ind...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A) in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS Biopsy specimens from proximal and distal arm skin and serum were obtained from patients with SSc and normal volunteers. To determine the expression of JAM-A on SSc dermal fibroblasts and in SSc skin, cell surface ELISAs and immunohistology were performed. An EL...