Potential biomarkers for evaluating the BCG vaccination response based on humoral immunity.

Background: The current prophylactic tuberculosis vaccine Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), was derived in the 1920s, but the humoral immune responses induced by BCG vaccination have not been fully elucidated to date. In this study, our aim was to reveal the profiles of antibody responses induced by BCG vaccination in adults and identify the potential biomarkers for evaluating the BCG vaccination response.

Methods: Proteome microarrays were performed to reveal the serum profiles of antibody responses induced by BCG vaccination in adults.

SUE4, a novel PIN1-interacting membrane protein, regulates acropetal auxin transport in response to sulfur deficiency.

Sulfur (S) is an essential macronutrient for plants and a signaling molecule in abiotic stress responses. It is known that S availability modulates root system architecture; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. We previously reported an Arabidopsis gain-of-function mutant sulfate utilization efficiency4 (sue4) that could tolerate S deficiency during germination and early seedling growth with faster primary root elongation.

Tuberculosis relapse is more common than reinfection in Beijing, China.

Background: Recurrent tuberculosis (TB) is a major health problem in countries with a high TB burden. It is very necessary to elucidate the situation of recurrent TB in Beijing, capital of China.

Objective: To determine the proportion of recurrent tuberculosis (TB) cases and to identify relapsed or reinfected cases, as well as risk factors associated with recurrence in Beijing.

The auxin influx carrier, OsAUX3, regulates rice root development and responses to aluminium stress.

In rice, there are five members of the auxin carrier AUXIN1/LIKE AUX1 family; however, the biological functions of the other four members besides OsAUX1 remain unknown. Here, by using CRISPR/Cas9, we constructed two independent OsAUX3 knock-down lines, osaux3-1 and osaux3-2, in wild-type rice, Hwayoung (WT/HY) and Dongjin (WT/DJ). osaux3-1 and osaux3-2 have shorter primary roots (PRs), decreased lateral root (LR) density, and longer root hairs (RHs) compared with their WT.

Screening of Serum Biomarkers for Distinguishing between Latent and Active Tuberculosis Using Proteome Microarray.

Objective: To identify potential serum biomarkers for distinguishing between latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB).

Methods: A proteome microarray containing 4,262 antigens was used for screening serum biomarkers of 40 serum samples from patients with LTBI and active TB at the systems level. The interaction network and functional classification of differentially expressed antigens were analyzed using STRING 10.

Interleukin 8 Gene Polymorphisms Are Not Associated with Tuberculosis Susceptibility in the Chinese Population.

Interleukin 8 (IL8) is an important chemokine that elicits host immune response against tuberculosis (TB). However, whether there is an association between IL8 gene polymorphism and TB susceptibility in the Chinese population is unknown. IL8 gene was amplified and sequenced to search for nucleotide polymorphisms among the Chinese population.

Sulfur nutrient availability regulates root elongation by affecting root indole-3-acetic acid levels and the stem cell niche.

Sulfur is an essential macronutrient for plants with numerous biological functions. However, the influence of sulfur nutrient availability on the regulation of root development remains largely unknown. Here, we report the response of Arabidopsis thaliana L.

L-Cysteine inhibits root elongation through auxin/PLETHORA and SCR/SHR pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana.

L-Cysteine plays a prominent role in sulfur metabolism of plants. However, its role in root development is largely unknown. Here, we report that L-cysteine reduces primary root growth in a dosage-dependent manner.

LSCHL4 from Japonica Cultivar, which is allelic to NAL1, increases yield of indica super rice 93-11.

The basic premise of high yield in rice is to improve leaf photosynthetic efficiency and coordinate the source-sink relationship in rice plants. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to morphological traits and chlorophyll content of rice leaves were detected at the stages of heading to maturity, and a major QTL (qLSCHL4) related to flag leaf shape and chlorophyll content was detected at both stages in recombinant inbred lines constructed using the indica rice cultivar 93-11 and the japonica rice cultivar Nipponbare. Map-based cloning and expression analysis showed that LSCHL4 is allelic to NAL1, a gene previously reported in narrow leaf mutant of rice.

OsMOGS is required for N-glycan formation and auxin-mediated root development in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

N-glycosylation is a major modification of glycoproteins in eukaryotic cells. In Arabidopsis, great progress has been made in functional analysis of N-glycan production, however there are few studies in monocotyledons. Here, we characterized a rice (Oryza sativa L.

Differences in the population of genetics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis between urban migrants and local residents in Beijing, China.

Background: Currently, migration has become one of the risk factors of high burden of tuberculosis in China. This study was to explore the influence of mass migration on the dynamics of Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis in Beijing, the capital and an urban area of China.

Priming of anti-herbivore defense in tomato by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and involvement of the jasmonate pathway.

Mycorrhizas play a vital role in soil fertility, plant nutrition, and resistance to environmental stresses. However, mycorrhizal effects on plant resistance to herbivorous insects and the related mechanisms are poorly understood. This study evaluated effects of root colonization of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.

Clinical isolates of Mycobacterium abscessus in Guangzhou area most possibly from the environmental infection showed variable susceptibility.

Background: Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) can cause a variety of human infections, involving the lung, skin and soft tissues, and is generally believed to be acquired from environmental sources. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular diversity and antibiotic susceptibility of M.

[Molecular detection of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV)].

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is currently considered as one of the most devastating viruses in cultivated tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) worldwide. We reported here the development of a PCR-based method to quickly detect TYLCV using the primer pairs (TYLCV-F: 5'-ACG CAT GCC TCT AAT CCA GTG TA-3' and TYLCV-R: 5'-CCA ATA AGG CGT AAG CGT GTA GAC-3'), which was designed based on the genome sequence of TYLCV. A TYLCV-specific band of 543 bp was amplified from infected tomato plants.

[Genetic screening and analysis of suppressors of asa1-1 (soa) defective in jasmonate-mediated lateral root formation in Arabidopsis].

It has been shown that jasmonate modulates the lateral root development through crosstalk with auxin in Arabidopsis thaliana. Exogenous application of jasmonate stimulates lateral root formation in wild type but inhibits lateral root formation in asa1-1. Our previous work has demonstrated that the lateral root formation defect of asa1-1 is co-related with jasmonte effect on PIN2 protein levels.

Systemin/Jasmonate-mediated systemic defense signaling in tomato.

Wound-inducible proteinase inhibitors (PIs) in tomato plants provide a useful model system to elucidate the signal transduction pathways that regulate systemic defense response. Among the proposed intercellular signals for wound-induced PIs expression are the peptide systemin and the oxylipin-derived phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA). An increasing body of evidence indicates that systemin and JA work in the same signaling pathway to activate the expression of PIs and other defense-related genes.

[A study on the haplotype of the solute carrier family 11 member 1 gene in Tibetan patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in China].

Objective: To investigate the association of the haplotype of the solute carrier family 11 member 1 (SLC11A1) gene with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in Tibetans.

Methods: Four polymorphisms of the SLC11A1 gene [5' (GT)n, INT4, D53N, and 3' UTR] were investigated by denaturalization high performance liquid chromatography and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 140 patients (the patient group) and 139 PPD-positive healthy controls (the control group) of the Tibetan nationality from June 2004 until January 2005. The relationship between the haplotype and susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in these patients was studied by chi2 test, and the linkage disequilibrium as well as the haplotype were analyzed by the SHESIS software.

[Influences of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the levels of human acute monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 apoptosis and death].

Objective: To explore the influences of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the levels of human acute monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 apoptosis and death.

Methods: Human acute monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 were infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains H37Ra, H37Rv, or Beijing genotype (BJTB), respectively, to construct the infection models. Cell apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry.

[Purification of the heparin-binding haemagglutinin adhesin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its application in diagnosis of tuberculosis].

Objective: To investigate the application of heparin-binding haemagglutinin adhesin (HBHA) in tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis.

Methods: We prepared native HBHA from cultivated Mycobacterium Bovis Calmetta Guerin (BCG) in Suton liquid medium. After BCG grew to the stationary status, native HBHA was acquired by specific CL-6B chromatography column binding heparin.

[Detection of streptomycin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography and DNA sequencing].

Objective: To determine the rpsL and rrs gene mutation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) and compare the consistency between the results of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and those of DNA sequencing.

Methods: The values of streptomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against 215 M.

[A study on the mechanisms of mycobacterial clearance induced by CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides in mice].

Objective: To investigate the possible mechanisms of mycobacterial clearance induced by CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) in mice.

Methods: Eight-week-old female BALB/c mice were treated with intraperitoneal CpG-ODN (30 microg), while the control mice with normal saline. After 2 weeks, the control mice and the CpG-treated mice were infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (1 x 10(6) colony-forming units, H(37)Rv strain) through the tail vein.

[Rapid testing on drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with nitrate reducrase assay].

Objective: To establish a rapid method for testing drug sussceptibility on Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Methods: Taking absolute Concentration method for drug susceptibility testing of M. tuberculosis as the "gold standard", we examined the drug-resistant of M.