Wei-Chung Vivian Yang

Taipei Medical University | TMU · The PhD Program for Translational Medicine

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a highly heterogeneous disorder. Untangling this variability could lead to personalized treatments and improve participant recruitment for clinical trials. We investigated the cognitive subgroups by using a data-driven clustering technique in an AD cohort. People with mild–moderate probable AD from Taiwan was included. N...

Objective: What is the more efficient and safer protocol during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) for early-stage breast cancer patients seeking emergency fertility preservation before adjuvant chemo/radiotherapy? Materials and methods: This retrospective, case-series study involved two early-stage (Ia) breast cancer patients that reques...

Background: Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is frequently associated with endometriosis. Since serum levels of cancer antigen 125 (CA125) have limited diagnostic and prognostic value in this malignancy, there is an unmet need for reliable and specific biomarkers. Previous findings indicated that alpha 1-antitrypsin isoforms (isoAAT) are signif...

Recurrence and poorly differentiated (grade 3 and above) and atypical cell type endometrial cancer (EC) have poor prognosis outcome. The mechanisms and characteristics of recurrence and distal metastasis of EC remain unclear. The extracellular matrix (ECM) of the reproductive tract in women undergoes extensive structural remodelling changes every m...

This study aimed to investigate the effect of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) treatment on the expression of neuritin 1 (NRN1) in women with ovarian endometriosis. We collected tissues and serum from women with endometriosis treated with (n = 45) or without (n = 37) GnRHa. NRN1 mRNA and protein levels were measured using qPCR and Wes...

We are pleased to read the recent letter to editor by Barra and Ferrero who have been interested in our recent publication in AOGS. In that report, we demonstrated the decreased expression of Tensin 1 (TNS1) in tissue and serum of women with endometriosis after receiving gonadotropin‐releasing‐hormone agonist (GnRHa) treatment. In our study, we onl...

Introduction: Many cell-migration-related molecules are associated with endometriosis. Tensin 1 (TNS1), which has been implicated in cell migration, may play a role in endometriosis. The study goal was to evaluate the TNS1 expression in endometrial tissue and serum from women with endometriosis treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (...

Introduction Dry-eye syndrome (DES) is a general eye disease. Eye drops are the common ophthalmological medication. However, the ocular barrier makes it difficult to attain high drug bioavailability. Nanomedicine is a promising alternative treatment for ocular diseases and may increase drug content in the affected eye. Methods To explore this pote...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether long-term use of Benzodiazepines (BZDs) is associated with breast cancer risk through the combination of population-based observational and gene expression profiling evidence. We conducted a population-based case-control study by using 1998 to 2009 year Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Datab...

Hyperglycemia is the most prominent sign that characterizes diabetes. Hyperglycemia favors malignant cell growth by providing energy to cancer cells. Clinical studies also showed an increased risk of diabetes being associated with different types of cancers. In addition, poorly regulated glucose metabolism in diabetic patients is often found with i...

The invention relates to a method of preparing a composite or porous composite used as a biodegradable scaffold, the composite prepared therefrom and the use of the composite. In particular, the composite is a calcium sulfate-polylactic acid composite or porous composite and the composite can be especially used as an in situ pore forming scaffold.

We previously reported that the increased level of perlecan with altered glycosaminoglycan (GAG) substitution was present in the placenta with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and in the trophoblasts cultured under hyperglycemic condition. Trophoblast is the first cell lineage to differentiate, invasive, and migrate into the vessel tissues of pl...

Sulforaphane (SFN) has been indicated for the prevention and suppression of tumorigenesis in solid tumors. Herein, we evaluated SFN's effects on imatinib (IM)-resistant leukemia stem cells (LSCs). CD34(+)/CD38(-) and CD34(+)/CD38(+) LSCs were isolated from KU812 cell line flowcytometrically. Isolated LSCs showed high expression of Oct4, CD133, β-ca...

We present a bio-electrospinning technique for preparing cell-containing, oriented tubular scaffold intended for use as a nerve guide conduit (NGC). With a coaxial spinneret, solutions of PC-12 cells and poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) were delivered to the core and shell parts of the spinneret, respectively. When electrostatic field was applied, core/s...

Magnetic cryopreservation has been successfully used for tooth banking with satisfactory implantation outcomes, suggesting that the method preserves human periodontal ligament cells and dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). Therefore, magnetic cryopreservation may be applied for the preservation of DPSCs; however, this method has not been evaluated yet....

Dental pulp, covered with dental hard tissue, is a promising source of mesenchymal stem cells and osteoprogenitor cells for regenerative medicine. Our previous studies showed that 73% of dental pulp cells isolated from magnetically cryopreserved teeth where their viability, morphology, and expression of stem cell surface markers were similar to the...

Unlike other deep cancers, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which occurs in the oral cavity, is more easily monitored, and specimens for diagnosis are easier to collect. However, identifying reliable and sensitive markers for the early diagnosis and markers for identification of the recurrence of OSCC remains a challenge. This article mainly fo...

Sensitive and reliable early diagnostic markers for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unavailable. Early identification of recurrence for OSCC is also a challenge. Unlike the other deep cancers, OSCC is located in oral cavity. The DNA, RNA, and protein derived from the living cancer cells and inflammatory cells then can be conveniently obt...

This study uses a nationwide population-based dataset to explore factors and patterns associated with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) usage among schizophrenia patients. A retrospective population-based study. Administrative claims data obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database covering the periods 1996-2004 was used t...

Reactive gliosis caused by post-traumatic injury often results in marked expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG), which inhibits neurite outgrowth and regeneration. Methylprednisolone (MP), a synthetic glucocorticoid, has been shown to have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury (SC...

Calcium sulfate has been used for bone regeneration in oral medicine. Osteopontin, a marker molecule of osteoblasts, plays multiple roles in bone formation. However, the effect of calcium sulfate on osteopontin expression in osteoblasts remains unclear. In this study, U-2 osteosarcoma (U-2OS) osteoblast-like cells were cultured in medium containing...

Impaired glucose metabolism with diabetes may alter the expressions of proteoglycans (PGs), which may impair the biological functions of placenta. In this study, we investigated the expression of PGs and their conjugated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composition in the placentas of mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and trophoblasts culture...

Emerging evidence indicates that fibrin clotting is regulated by different external factors. We demonstrated recently that decorin, a regulator of collagen fibrillogenesis and transforming growth factor-beta activity, binds to the D regions of fibrinogen (Dugan, T.A., Yang, V. W.-C., McQuillan, D.J., and Höök, M. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 13655-13...

The proteoglycan perlecan is involved in cell signaling, regulation of growth factor activity, and maintenance of basement membranes. This study aims to investigate the expression of perlecan during placental development and whether hyperglycemia of gestational diabetes mellitus induces the alteration of perlecan expression in placenta. Immunohisto...

Ovarian granulosa cells are known to play a key role in regulating ovarian physiology. Age increases apoptosis in follicular granulosa cells and subsequently decreases ovarian fecundity. The aging ovary also contains fewer follicles that possess fewer granulosa cells. The viability of follicular granulosa cells may be essential for development of t...

The physiological changes in endometriosis involving multiple steps of matrix remodeling include abnormal tissue growth, invasion, and adhesion formation. Endometriosis-associated abnormal matrix remodeling is affected by several molecular factors including proteolytic enzymes and their inhibitors, which mediate tissue turnover throughout the repro...

Endometriosis is a benign but aggressive disease. It occurs when shed endometrium from the female reproductive tract grows at a site outside the uterus. The physiological changes in endometriosis-abnormal tissue growth, invasion, and adhesion phenomena-are similar to those seen in tumorous tissues. Although the etiology of endometriosis is not well...

We have previously shown that decorin, a member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan family of extracellular matrix proteoglycans/glycoproteins is a Zn(2+) metalloprotein at physiological Zn(2+) concentrations (Yang, V. W-C., LaBrenz, S. R., Rosenberg, L. C., McQuillan, D., and Höök, M. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 12454-12460). We now report that...

Most mammalian cells and some pathogenic bacteria are capable of adhering to collagenous substrates in processes mediated by specific cell surface adherence molecules. Crystal structures of collagen-binding regions of the human integrin α2β1 and a Staphylococcus aureus adhesin reveal a “trench” on the surface of both of these proteins. This trench...

Decorin is ubiquitously distributed in the extracellular matrix of mammals and a member of the proteoglycan family characterized by a core protein dominated by leucine-rich repeat motifs. We show here that decorin extracted from bovine tissues under denaturing conditions or produced in recombinant “native” form by cultured mammalian cells has a hig...

Decorin, a dermatan/chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, is ubiquitously distributed in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of mammals. Decorin belongs to the small leucine rich proteoglycan (SLRP) family, a proteoglycan family characterized by a core protein dominated by Leucine Rich Repeat motifs. The decorin core protein appears to mediate the binding o...