SMALLER TRICHOMES WITH VARIABLE BRANCHES (SVB) and its homolog SVBL act downstream of transcription factor NAC089 and function redundantly in Arabidopsis unfolded protein response.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a cellular mechanism that alleviates endoplasmic reticulum stress to maintain protein homeostasis. Although SMALLER TRICHOMES WITH VARIABLE BRANCHES (SVB) is characterized as an emerging UPR factor downstream of the IRE-bZIP60 pathway, whether its homologs participate in the plant UPR remains unknown. Here, we showed that an SVB homolog, SVB-like (SVBL), functions redundantly with SVB in endoplasmic reticulum stress tolerance.

A lipid viewpoint on the plant endoplasmic reticulum stress response.

Organisms, including humans, seem to be constantly exposed to various changes, which often have undesirable effects, referred to as stress. To keep up with these changes, eukaryotic cells may have evolved a number of relevant cellular processes, such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. Owing to presumably intimate links between human diseases and the ER function, the ER stress response has been extensively investigated in various organisms for a few decades.

What's unique? The unfolded protein response in plants.

The investigation of a phenomenon called the unfolded protein response (UPR) started approximately three decades ago, and we now know that the UPR is involved in a number of cellular events among metazoans, higher plants, and algae. The relevance of the UPR in human diseases featuring protein folding defects, such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases, has drawn much attention to the response in medical research to date. While metazoans and plants share similar molecular mechanisms of the UPR, recent studies shed light on the uniqueness of the plant UPR, with plant-specific protein families appearing to play pivotal roles.

A pair of DUF538 domain-containing proteins modulates plant growth and trichome development through the transcriptional regulation of GLABRA1 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

SMALLER TRICHOMES WITH VARIABLE BRANCHES (SVB) is an emerging plant growth regulator in trichome development, endoplasmic reticulum stress response, and phosphoinositide signaling, and belongs to the land plant-specific DUF538 domain-containing protein family. Despite its multifaceted roles, the functions of this protein family are poorly understood in plant growth and development. Here, we report that SVB-like (SVBL), the closest homolog of SVB, modulates plant growth and trichome development with SVB in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The Unfolded Protein Response Modulates a Phosphoinositide-Binding Protein through the IRE1-bZIP60 Pathway.

Phosphoinositides function as lipid signals in plant development and stress tolerance by binding with partner proteins. We previously reported that Arabidopsis () phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C2 functions in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of how phosphoinositides act in the ER stress response remain elusive.

Transforming growth factor alpha promotes tumorigenesis and regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition modulation in colon cancer.

Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in the developed countries. The association between transforming growth factor TGFα and human cancer incidence has been suggested, yet, the regulatory roles of TGFα and the molecular mechanisms remain unknown, especially in colon cancer. We aim to investigate the functional regulations of TGFα in colon cancer progression.

Membrane glycerolipid equilibrium under endoplasmic reticulum stress in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an indispensable organelle for secretory protein synthesis as well as metabolism of phospholipids and their derivatives in eukaryotic cells. Various external and internal factors may cause an accumulation of aberrant proteins in the ER, which causes ER stress and activates cellular ER stress responses to cope with the stress. In animal research, molecular mechanisms for protein quality control upon ER stress are well documented; however, how cells maintain lipid homeostasis under ER stress is an emerging issue.

Arabidopsis dolichol kinase AtDOK1 is involved in flowering time control.

Dolichols are a class of isoprenoids that consist of highly polymerized and unsaturated long-chain isoprenes. They play crucial roles in protein glycosylation including N-glycosylation, because the oligosaccharide is assembled on a lipid carrier, dolichyl diphosphate. Arabidopsis DOLICHOL KINASE 1, AtDOK1 (At3g45040), encodes a functional dolichol kinase that is involved in plant reproductive processes.

Arabidopsis AtPLC2 Is a Primary Phosphoinositide-Specific Phospholipase C in Phosphoinositide Metabolism and the Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response.

Phosphoinositides represent important lipid signals in the plant development and stress response. However, multiple isoforms of the phosphoinositide biosynthetic genes hamper our understanding of the pivotal enzymes in each step of the pathway as well as their roles in plant growth and development. Here, we report that phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C2 (AtPLC2) is the primary phospholipase in phosphoinositide metabolism and is involved in seedling growth and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Heterotrimeric G protein subunits differentially respond to endoplasmic reticulum stress in Arabidopsis.

Canonical heterotrimeric G proteins in eukaryotes are major components that localize at plasma membrane and transmit extracellular stimuli into the cell. Genome of a seed plant Arabidopsis thaliana encodes at least one Gα (GPA1), one Gβ (AGB1), and 3 Gγ (AGG1, AGG2 and AGG3) subunits. The loss-of-function mutations of G protein subunit(s) cause multiple defects in development as well as biotic and abiotic stress responses.

The antimicrobial peptide pardaxin exerts potent anti-tumor activity against canine perianal gland adenoma.

Pardaxin is an antimicrobial peptide of 33 amino acids, originally isolated from marine fish. We previously demonstrated that pardaxin has anti-tumor activity against murine fibrosarcoma, both in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we examined the anti-tumor activity, toxicity profile, and maximally-tolerated dose of pardaxin treatment in dogs with different types of refractory tumor.

Arabidopsis DOK1 encodes a functional dolichol kinase involved in reproduction.

Dolichol phosphate (Dol-P) serves as a carrier of complex polysaccharides during protein glycosylation. Dol-P is synthesized by the phosphorylation of dolichol or the monodephosphorylation of dolichol pyrophosphate (Dol-PP); however, the enzymes that catalyze these reactions remain unidentified in Arabidopsis thaliana. We performed a genome-wide search for cytidylyltransferase motif-containing proteins in Arabidopsis, and found that At3g45040 encodes a protein homologous with Sec59p, a dolichol kinase (DOK) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Rutin, a flavonoid and principal component of saussurea involucrata, attenuates physical fatigue in a forced swimming mouse model.

This study investigated the antifatigue effects of rutin, a flavonoid extracted from the ethyl acetate extract of S. involucrata. Mice were subjected to a weight-loaded forced swim test (WFST) on alternate days for 3 wk.

3,4-Dihydroxytoluene, a metabolite of rutin, inhibits inflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages by reducing the activation of NF-κB signaling.

Background: Saussurea involucrata (Kar. et Kir.) (S.

Potential Therapeutic Role of Hispidulin in Gastric Cancer through Induction of Apoptosis via NAG-1 Signaling.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant cancers due to poor prognoses and high mortality rates worldwide. However, an effective chemotherapeutic drug without side effects remains lacking. Saussurea involucrata (SI) Kar.

Novel cationic antimicrobial peptide GW-H1 induced caspase-dependent apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.

Due to its malignancy, the development of effective therapeutic strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is of urgent needs. Natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also known as host defense peptides (HDPs), not only act as direct antimicrobial agents, but also represent important regulators of the innate immune system. It has been reported that cationic AMPs may exhibit cancer-selective toxicity.

Antimicrobial peptides of an anti-lipopolysaccharide factor, epinecidin-1, and hepcidin reduce the lethality of Riemerella anatipestifer sepsis in ducks.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effective against a wide range of microbes, but still no research results have reported their use in duck disease therapy. Riemerella anatipestifer (RA) is a Gram-negative bacterium which infects ducks and causes very significant economic losses. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of epinecidin-1 for the tested RA strains ranged 6.