Exercise Training Reduces Inflammation and Fibrosis and Preserves Myocardial Function and Perfusion in a Model of Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) is caused by an inflammatory process induced by Trypanosoma cruzi, which leads to myocarditis with reactive and reparative fibrosis. CCC progresses with myocardial perfusion abnormalities and histopathological events that affect cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF).

Objectives: We evaluated the effects of aerobic physical training (APT) on myocardial perfusion and on morphological and functional impairments related with inflammation and fibrosis in Syrian hamsters with CCC.

Impact of cardiac structure and function on exercise intolerance in Chagas cardiomyopathy: Insights from CPET and echocardiography.

Introduction: Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC), the most severe clinical condition of Chagas disease, often leads to a reduction in functional capacity and the appearance of symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnea on exertion. However, its determinant factors remain unclear. We aimed to evaluate the peak oxygen consumption (VO) in patients with CCC and identify its determining factors.

Confocal Imaging of Seeds.

In flowering plants, proper seed development is achieved through the constant interplay of fertilization products, embryo and endosperm, and maternal tissues. Understanding such a complex biological process requires microscopy techniques able to unveil the seed internal morphological structure. Seed thickness and relatively low permeability make conventional tissue staining techniques impractical unless combined with time-consuming dissecting methods.

The nucellus: between cell elimination and sugar transport.

The architecture of the seed is shaped by the processes of tissue partitioning, which determines the volume ratio of maternal and zygotic tissues, and nutrient partitioning, which regulates nutrient distribution among tissues. In angiosperms, early seed development is characterized by antagonistic development of the nucellus maternal tissue and the endosperm fertilization product to become the main sugar sink. This process marked the evolution of angiosperms and outlines the most ancient seed architectures.

A TRANSPARENT TESTA Transcriptional Module Regulates Endothelium Polarity.

Seeds have greatly contributed to the successful colonization of land by plants. Compared to spores, seeds carry nutrients, rely less on water for germination, provide a higher degree of protection against biotic and abiotic stresses, and can disperse in different ways. Such advantages are, to a great extent, provided by the seed coat.

Deposition of a cutin apoplastic barrier separating seed maternal and zygotic tissues.

Background: In flowering plants, proper seed development is achieved through the constant interplay of fertilization products, embryo and endosperm, and maternal tissues. Communication between these compartments is supposed to be tightly regulated at their interfaces. Here, we characterize the deposition pattern of an apoplastic lipid barrier between the maternal inner integument and fertilization products in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds.

Seed Evolution, A 'Simpler' Story.

Seed evolution is often presented as the evolution of morphological complexity. Following the steps of Wilhelm Hofmeister, I argue that changes in the development of one tissue, the megasporangium/nucellus, can explain the origin of the seed habit. Here, I lay down a 'simpler' story that correlates seed evolution to nucellus cell fate.

Seed tissue and nutrient partitioning, a case for the nucellus.

Flowering plants display a large spectrum of seed architectures. The volume ratio of maternal versus zygotic seed tissues changes considerably among species and underlies different nutrient-storing strategies. Such diversity arose through the evolution of cell elimination programs that regulate the relative growth of one tissue over another to become the major storage compartment.

Seed coat thickness in the evolution of angiosperms.

The seed habit represents a remarkable evolutionary advance in plant sexual reproduction. Since the Paleozoic, seeds carry a seed coat that protects, nourishes and facilitates the dispersal of the fertilization product(s). The seed coat architecture evolved to adapt to different environments and reproductive strategies in part by modifying its thickness.

Developmental patterning of sub-epidermal cells in the outer integument of Arabidopsis seeds.

The seed, the reproductive unit of angiosperms, is generally protected by the seed coat. The seed coat is made of one or two integuments, each comprising two epidermal cells layers and, in some cases, extra sub-epidermal cell layers. The thickness of the seed-coat affects several aspects of seed biology such as dormancy, germination and mortality.

Growth of the Arabidopsis sub-epidermal integument cell layers might require an endosperm signal.

The seed, the reproductive unit of angiosperms, is physically protected by the seed coat. The seed coat develops from the ovule integuments after fertilization. The Arabidopsis ovule integuments are made of 5-6 cell layers of epidermal and sub-epidermal origin.

Developmental patterning of the sub-epidermal integument cell layer in seeds.

Angiosperm seed development is a paradigm of tissue cross-talk. Proper seed formation requires spatial and temporal coordination of the fertilization products - embryo and endosperm - and the surrounding seed coat maternal tissue. In early seed development, all seed integuments were thought to respond homogenously to endosperm growth.

TWS1, a Novel Small Protein, Regulates Various Aspects of Seed and Plant Development.

Small proteins have long been overlooked due to their poor annotation and the experimental challenges they pose. However, in recent years, their role in various processes has started to emerge, opening new research avenues. Here, we present the isolation and characterization of two allelic mutants, twisted seed1-1 (tws1-1) and tws1-2, which exhibit an array of developmental and biochemical phenotypes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seeds.

A Framework for Discovering, Designing, and Testing MicroProteins to Regulate Synthetic Transcriptional Modules.

Transcription factors often form protein complexes and give rise to intricate transcriptional networks. The regulation of transcription factor multimerization plays a key role in the fine-tuning of the underlying transcriptional pathways and can be exploited to modulate synthetic transcriptional modules. A novel regulation of protein complex formation is emerging: microProteins-truncated transcription factors-engage in protein-protein interactions with transcriptional complexes and modulate their transcriptional activity.

Endosperm and Nucellus Develop Antagonistically in Arabidopsis Seeds.

In angiosperms, seed architecture is shaped by the coordinated development of three genetically different components: embryo, endosperm, and maternal tissues. The relative contribution of these tissues to seed mass and nutrient storage varies considerably among species. The development of embryo, endosperm, or nucellus maternal tissue as primary storage compartments defines three main typologies of seed architecture.

microProtein Prediction Program (miP3): A Software for Predicting microProteins and Their Target Transcription Factors.

An emerging concept in transcriptional regulation is that a class of truncated transcription factors (TFs), called microProteins (miPs), engages in protein-protein interactions with TF complexes and provides feedback controls. A handful of miP examples have been described in the literature but the extent of their prevalence is unclear. Here we present an algorithm that predicts miPs and their target TFs from a sequenced genome.

Establishing a framework for the Ad/abaxial regulatory network of Arabidopsis: ascertaining targets of class III homeodomain leucine zipper and KANADI regulation.

The broadly conserved Class III homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-ZIPIII) and KANADI transcription factors have opposing and transformational effects on polarity and growth in all tissues and stages of the plant's life. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of how these factors work, we have identified transcripts that change in response to induced HD-ZIPIII or KANADI function. Additional criteria used to identify high-confidence targets among this set were presence of an adjacent HD-ZIPIII binding site, expression enriched within a subdomain of the shoot apical meristem, mutant phenotype showing defect in polar leaf and/or meristem development, physical interaction between target gene product and HD-ZIPIII protein, opposite regulation by HD-ZIPIII and KANADI, and evolutionary conservation of the regulator-target relationship.

Genetic bases of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: the MAPT tau disease.

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by supranuclear palsy, postural instability, and mild dementia. Neuropathologically, PSP is a four-repeat tauopathy, defined by the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and tufted astrocytes. Etiology remains elusive, but genetic background has a key-role in the disease pathogenesis.

A per-ARNT-sim-like sensor domain uniquely regulates the activity of the homeodomain leucine zipper transcription factor REVOLUTA in Arabidopsis.

Class III homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-ZIP III) transcription factors regulate critical developmental programs in plants; these include leaf polarity, polarity along the shoot-root axis, and stem cell specification and proliferation. One of the defining features of HD-ZIP III proteins is the presence of a Per-ARNT-Sim-like (PAS-like) MEKHLA domain at the C terminus. PAS-like domains are known to respond to a variety of chemical and physical stimuli.

New insights into biological markers of frontotemporal lobar degeneration spectrum.

In the last decade, there has been enormous progress in our understanding of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD). Published clinicopathological series have clearly demonstrated an overlap between the clinical syndromes subsumed under the term frontotemporal dementia and the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), and the Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD) syndrome. From a neuropathological point of view, two broad pathological subdivisions of FTLD are currently recognized: a) tau-positive pathology due to the accumulation of various forms of the microtubule-associated protein tau, that encompasses FTLD with Pick bodies, PSP and CBD, and b) tau-negative pathology, mainly characterized by ubiquitin/TDP-43-immunoreactive inclusions and in some cases due to Progranulin mutations.

KNOX lost the OX: the Arabidopsis KNATM gene defines a novel class of KNOX transcriptional regulators missing the homeodomain.

Three amino acid loop extension (TALE) homeodomain transcriptional regulators play a central role in plant and animal developmental programs. Plant KNOTTED1-like homeobox (KNOX) and animal Myeloid ecotropic viral integration site (MEIS) proteins share a TALE homeodomain and a MEINOX (MEIS-KNOX) domain, suggesting that an ancestral MEINOX-TALE protein predates the divergence of plants from fungi and animals. In this study, we identify and characterize the Arabidopsis thaliana KNATM gene, which encodes a MEINOX domain but not a homeodomain.

Interaction of tau protein with the dynactin complex.

Tau is an axonal microtubule-associated protein involved in microtubule assembly and stabilization. Mutations in Tau cause frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17), and tau aggregates are present in Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. The mechanisms leading from tau dysfunction to neurodegeneration are still debated.

From Gateway to MultiSite Gateway in one recombination event.

Background: Invitrogen Gateway technology exploits the integrase/att site-specific recombination system for directional cloning of PCR products and the subsequent subcloning into destination vectors. One or three DNA segments can be cloned using Gateway or MultiSite Gateway respectively. A vast number of single-site Gateway destination vectors have been created while MultiSite Gateway is limited to few destination vectors and therefore to few applications.