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Articles by Yan Sun in JoVE
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An In Vivo Duo-color Method for Imaging Vascular Dynamics Following Contusive Spinal Cord Injury
Chen Chen1,2, Yi Ping Zhang3, Yan Sun1,4, Wenhui Xiong1, Lisa B. E. Shields3, Christopher B. Shields3,5, Xiaoming Jin1, Xiao-Ming Xu1
1Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Group, Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, and Department of Neurological Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, 2Program in Medical Neuroscience, Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, 3Norton Neuroscience Institute, Norton Healthcare, 4Department of Human Anatomy & Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, 5Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine
We introduce an in vivo imaging method using two different fluorescent dyes to track dynamic spinal vascular changes following a contusive spinal cord injury in adult Sprague-Dawley rats.
Other articles by Yan Sun on PubMed
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The MTOR Substrate S6 Kinase 1 (S6K1) Is a Negative Regulator of Axon Regeneration and a Potential Drug Target for Central Nervous System Injury
The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience.
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Pubmed ID: 28626016 The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) positively regulates axon growth in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Although axon regeneration and functional recovery from CNS injuries are typically limited, knockdown or deletion of PTEN, a negative regulator of mTOR, increases mTOR activity and induces robust axon growth and regeneration. It has been suggested that inhibition of S6 kinase 1 (S6K1, gene symbol: RPS6KB1), a prominent mTOR target, would blunt mTOR's positive effect on axon growth. In contrast to this expectation, we demonstrate that inhibition of S6K1 in CNS neurons promotes neurite outgrowth in vitro by twofold to threefold. Biochemical analysis revealed that an mTOR-dependent induction of PI3K signaling is involved in mediating this effect of S6K1 inhibition. Importantly, treating female mice in vivo with PF-4708671, a selective S6K1 inhibitor, stimulated corticospinal tract regeneration across a dorsal spinal hemisection between the cervical 5 and 6 cord segments (C5/C6), increasing axon counts for at least 3 mm beyond the injury site at 8 weeks after injury. Concomitantly, treatment with PF-4708671 produced significant locomotor recovery. Pharmacological targeting of S6K1 may therefore constitute an attractive strategy for promoting axon regeneration following CNS injury, especially given that S6K1 inhibitors are being assessed in clinical trials for nononcological indications.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Despite mTOR's well-established function in promoting axon regeneration, the role of its downstream target, S6 kinase 1 (S6K1), has been unclear. We used cellular assays with primary neurons to demonstrate that S6K1 is a negative regulator of neurite outgrowth, and a spinal cord injury model to show that it is a viable pharmacological target for inducing axon regeneration. We provide mechanistic evidence that S6K1's negative feedback to PI3K signaling is involved in axon growth inhibition, and show that phosphorylation of S6K1 is a more appropriate regeneration indicator than is S6 phosphorylation.
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Meta-analyses Identify 13 Loci Associated with Age at Menopause and Highlight DNA Repair and Immune Pathways
Nature Genetics.
Mar, 2012 |
Pubmed ID: 22267201 To newly identify loci for age at natural menopause, we carried out a meta-analysis of 22 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 38,968 women of European descent, with replication in up to 14,435 women. In addition to four known loci, we identified 13 loci newly associated with age at natural menopause (at P < 5 × 10(-8)). Candidate genes located at these newly associated loci include genes implicated in DNA repair (EXO1, HELQ, UIMC1, FAM175A, FANCI, TLK1, POLG and PRIM1) and immune function (IL11, NLRP11 and PRRC2A (also known as BAT2)). Gene-set enrichment pathway analyses using the full GWAS data set identified exoDNase, NF-κB signaling and mitochondrial dysfunction as biological processes related to timing of menopause.
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