Browsing by Author "Li, Meng-Ju"

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miRTarBase update 2018: a resource for experimentally validated microRNA-target interactions
(2018-01-04)
Chou, Chih-Hung
;
Shrestha, Sirjana
;
Yang, Chi-Dung
;
Chang, Nai-Wen
;
Lin, Yu-Ling
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs of similar to 22 nucleotides that are involved in negative regulation of mRNA at the post-transcriptional level. Previously, we developed miRTarBase which provides information about experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions (MTIs). Here, we describe an updated database containing 422 517 curated MTIs from 4076 miRNAs and 23 054 target genes collected from over 8500 articles. The number of MTIs curated by strong evidence has increased similar to 1.4-fold since the last update in 2016. In this updated version, target sites validated by reporter assay that are available in the literature can be downloaded. The target site sequence can extract new features for analysis via a machine learning approach which can help to evaluate the performance of miRNA-target prediction tools. Furthermore, different ways of browsing enhance user browsing specific MTIs. With these improvements, miRTarBase serves as more comprehensively annotated, experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions databases in the field of miRNA related research. miRTarBase is available at http://miRTarBase.mbc.nctu.edu.tw/.
Reference levels for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme activity in infants 7-90 days old in Taiwan
(2020-01-01)
Yang, Wen-Chien
;
Tai, Shin
;
Hsu, Chu-Ling
;
Fu, Chun-Min
;
Chou, An-Kuo
Background: Nationwide newborn screening for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency has been implemented in Taiwan since 1987 and the G6PD enzyme activity levels were applied for diagnosis confirmation. As the reference value of G6PD enzyme activity was not available for infants aged 7-90 days, this study was performed to determine the enzyme level in different genotypes. Methods: Between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017, 410 term infants aged 7-90 days old visiting National Taiwan University Hospital Hsinchu branch were enrolled. The comparisons of G6PD enzyme activities among genotype groups were performed. Results: G6PD enzyme activity was negatively correlated with age (R = -0.212, p = 0.01). For infants under 30 days of age, the G6PD enzyme activity levels were 1.4 +/- 0.9 U/g Hb in hemizygotes (n = 76), 6.5 +/- 2.0 U/g Hb in heterozygotes (n = 47), and 13.6 +/- 3.7 U/g Hb in those without G6PD mutations (n = 70). Among infants more than 30 days old, G6PD enzyme activity levels were 0.9 +/- 0.5 U/g Hb in hemizygotes (n = 46), 6.0 +/- 2.7 U/g Hb in heterozygotes (n = 23), and 11.7 +/- 3.4 U/g Hb in those without G6PD mutations (n = 148). G6PD levels differed significantly among the groups defined by genotypes. Conclusion: We determined G6PD enzyme activity levels in infants aged between 7 and 90 days in Taiwan. Completing the reference data and determining the cutoff values for different G6PD deficiency disease statuses will help pediatricians to make accurate diagnoses. Copyright (C) 2019, Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.