Fu Jen Catholic University

About: Fu Jen Catholic University is a education organization based out in Taipei, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 6842 authors who have published 9512 publications receiving 171005 citations. The organization is also known as: FJU & Fu Jen.

Involvement of human CD44 during Cryptococcus neoformans infection of brain microvascular endothelial cells

Abstract: Pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans causes devastating cryptococcal meningoencephalitis. Our previous studies demonstrated that C. neoformans hyaluronic acid was required for invasion into human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC), which constitute the blood-brain barrier. In this report, we demonstrate that C. neoformans hyaluronic acid interacts with CD44 on HBMEC. Our results suggest that HBMEC CD44 is a primary receptor during C. neoformans infection, based on the following observations. First, anti-CD44 neutralizing antibody treatment was able to significantly reduce C. neoformans association with HBMEC. Second, C. neoformans association was considerably impaired using either CD44-knock-down HBMEC or C. neoformans hyaluronic acid-deficient strains. Third, overexpression of CD44 in HBMEC increased their association activity towards C. neoformans. Fourth, confocal microscopic images showed that CD44 was enriched at and around the C. neoformans association sites. Fifth, upon C. neoformans and HBMEC engagement, a subpopulation of CD44 and actin translocated to the host membrane rafts. Our results highlight the interactions between C. neoformans hyaluronic acid and host CD44 and the dynamic results of these interactions, which may represent events during the adhesion and entry of C. neoformans at HBMEC membrane rafts.

Related-party transactions and corporate governance: The evidence from the Taiwan stock market

Abstract: In this study we explore how corporate governance affects the level of related-party transactions (RPTs) and how it moderates the motives of using RPTs in Taiwan, an ownership-concentrated economy. The empirical results show that good corporate governance is effective in constraining RPTs with the negative relation being sustainable across different measures of RPTs (raw, residual and industry-adjusted RPTs) and across different types of RPTs (related sales, lending and guarantee, and related borrowings). The propping-up hypothesis indicates that the level of related sales is positively correlated with the condition that firms plan to issue seasoned equity next period and the condition of a decrease in the reported earnings. The internal capital market hypothesis indicates that the level of related lending and guarantee (related borrowing) is negatively (positively) correlated with the condition of an increase in capital expenditure and an increase in net working capital. The empirical results lend partial support to the two hypotheses. More importantly, we find that corporate governance moderates the relation between the motives and the level of RPTs.