AIM Measurement of HbA1c provides an excellent measure of glycaemic control for diabetic patients. However, haemoglobin (Hb) variants are known to interfere with HbA1c analysis. In our laboratory HbA1c measurement is performed by Variant II turbo 2.0. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of HbE trait on HbA1c analysis. METHODS Haemoglobin variants were identified by HbA1c ana...

BACKGROUND Arsenic is well-established as a human carcinogen, but the molecular mechanisms leading to arsenic-induced carcinogenesis are complex and elusive. It is not been determined if the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stem cell-like properties contribute in causing to carcinogen-induced malignant transformation and subsequent tumor formation. METHODS To investigate the molecu...

Cigarette smoking is a primary risk factor for the development of lung cancer, which is regarded as the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The process of malignant transformation of cells, however, is complex and elusive. The present study investigated the roles of an lncRNA, CCAT1, and a transcriptional factor, c-Myc, in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cell transformation induced by ciga...

Electrophysiological and histological correlation was documented in 2 cases of complete heart block (CHB). Case 1 (77 yrs. female): CHB continued for 1.5 years with normal QRS in axis and duration. The His bundle electrogram (HBE) showed A-H block with normal H-V interval (40 msec). Ten months later she died of bronchopneumonia and paralytic ileus. Histological study of the conduction system re...

OBJECTIVE The capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a new system that utilizes the principle of electrokinetic separation of molecules in eight electrolyte buffer-filled silica capillaries. In this study, we established the normal ranges of haemoglobin A2 (HbA2) and haemoglobin F (HbF) levels for normal individuals using this system and also the HbA2 level in beta thalassaemia and haemoglobin E (Hb...

Rationale: Airway epithelial cells (AECs) are critical regulators of inflammatory, immune and injury responses to allergens that contribute to asthma pathogenesis. The response of AECs to allergens requires an integrated-complex, extracellular receptors and intracellular organelle interaction to achieve secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitoc...

In many Asian populations, the commonest form of severe thalassemia results from the coinheritance of HbE and beta thalassemia. The management of this disease is particularly difficult because of its extreme clinical diversity; although some genetic and adaptive factors have been identified as phenotypic modifiers, the reasons remain unclear. Because the role of the environment in the course of...

The present study aimed to investigate the toxicity of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and to explore the mechanism of MC-LR-induced apoptosis in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells. HBE cells were treated with MC-LR (1, 10, 20, 30 and 40 µg/ml) alone or with MC-LR (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 µg/ml) and Z-VAD-FMK (0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140 µM), which is a caspase inhibitor, for 24 and 48 h. Cell ...

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and hemoglobin E (HbE, β26 Glu-Lys) are two common red cell disorders in Southeast Asia. G6PD deficiency produces hemolytic anemia, which can be triggered by certain drugs or infections. HbE is asymptomatic or is manifested as microcytic, minimally hemolytic anemia. The association between G6PD deficiency and HbE is little understood. This stu...