The prognostic role of ACSL4 in postoperative adjuvant TACE-treated HCC: implications for therapeutic response and mechanistic insights.

Background: The response of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment and its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. This study investigates the role of enzymes involved in fatty acid activation, specifically Acyl-CoA synthetase long chain 4 (ACSL4), in HCC patients treated with postoperative adjuvant TACE (PA-TACE) and in nutrient-deprived HCC cells.

Methods: We examined the expression of ACSL4 and its family members in HCC clinical samples and cell lines.

OsPIPK-FAB, A Negative Regulator in Rice Immunity Unveiled by OsMBL1 Inhibition.

Phosphatidylinositol signaling system plays a crucial role in plant physiology and development, phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinases (PIPKs) are one of the essential enzymes responsible for catalyzing the synthesis of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2) within this signaling pathway. However, its mechanism of signal transduction remains poorly exploited in plants. OsMBL1, a jacalin-related mannose-binding lectin in rice, plays a crucial role in plant defense mechanisms, acting as a key component of the pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) pathway.

Near complete assembly of Pyricularia penniseti infecting Cenchrus grass identified its eight core chromosomes.

Fungi from the Pyricularia genus cause blast disease in many economically important crops and grasses, such as wheat, rice, and Cenchrus grass JUJUNCAO. Structure variation associated with the gain and loss of effectors contributes largely to the adaptive evolution of this fungus towards diverse host plants. A telomere-to-telomere genome assembly would facilitate the identification of genome-wide structural variations through comparative genomics.

Positive association between constipation and mild cognitive impairment in elders: A cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to examine the association between constipation and mild cognitive impairment (MCI); and further elucidate the possible mechanisms involved. A cross-sectional study was conducted among community-dwelling elders (N = 789) in Nanning, China. Trained research staffs collected detailed information through questionnaires and physical examinations.

A Spatiotemporal Transcriptome Reveals Stalk Development in Pearl Millet.

Pearl millet is a major cereal crop that feeds more than 90 million people worldwide in arid and semi-arid regions. The stalk phenotypes of Poaceous grasses are critical for their productivity and stress tolerance; however, the molecular mechanisms governing stalk development in pearl millet remain to be deciphered. In this study, we spatiotemporally measured 19 transcriptomes for stalk internodes of four different early developmental stages.

Whole genome regulatory effect of and consequences for the evolution of the rice plant pathogenic fungus .

Isw2 proteins, ubiquitous across eukaryotes, exhibit a propensity for DNA binding and exert dynamic influences on local chromosome condensation in an ATP-dependent fashion, thereby modulating the accessibility of neighboring genes to transcriptional machinery. Here, we report the deletion of a putative MoISW2 gene, yielding substantial ramifications on plant pathogenicity. Subsequent gene complementation and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) analyses were conducted to delineate binding sites.

Glycopolymeric Micellar Nanoparticles for Platelet-Mediated Tumor-Targeted Delivery of Docetaxel for Cancer Therapy.

The high level of accumulation of therapeutic agents in tumors is crucial for cancer treatment. Compared to the passive tumor-targeting effect, active tumor-targeting delivery systems, primarily mediated by peptides with high production costs and reduced circulation time, are highly desired. Platelet-driven technologies have opened new avenues for targeted drug delivery prevalently through a membrane coating strategy that involves intricate manufacturing procedures or the fucoidan-mediated hitchhiking method with limited platelet affinity.

A novel Pik allele confers extended resistance to rice blast.

In the ongoing arms race between rice and Magnaporthe oryzae, the pathogen employs effectors to evade the immune response, while the host develops resistance genes to recognise these effectors and confer resistance. In this study, we identified a novel Pik allele, Pik-W25, from wild rice WR25 through bulked-segregant analysis, creating the Pik-W25 NIL (Near-isogenic Lines) named G9. Pik-W25 conferred resistance to isolates expressing AvrPik-C/D/E alleles.

A mechanistic analysis of metformin's biphasic effects on lifespan and healthspan in C. elegans: Elixir in youth, poison in elder.

Aging, a complex biological process influenced by genetic, environmental, and pharmacological factors, presents a significant challenge in understanding its underlying mechanisms. In this study, we explored the divergent impacts of metformin treatment on the lifespan and healthspan of young and old C. elegans, demonstrating a intriguing "elixir in youth, poison in elder" phenomenon.

A combined nanotherapeutic approach targeting farnesoid X receptor, ferroptosis, and fibrosis for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis treatment.

Obeticholic acid (OCA), a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist with favorable effects on fatty and glucose metabolism, has been considered the leading candidate drug for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatment. However, its limited effectiveness in resolving liver fibrosis and lipotoxicity-induced cell death remains a major drawback. Ferroptosis, a newly recognized form of cell death characterized by uncontrolled lipid peroxidation, is involved in the progression of NASH.

Effector AvrPik-D Targets Rice Rubisco Small Subunit OsRBCS4 to Suppress Immunity.

Rice blast, caused by the fungal pathogen (), is a highly destructive disease that significantly impacts rice yield and quality. During the infection, secretes effector proteins to subvert the host immune response. However, the interaction between the effector protein AvrPik-D and its target proteins in rice, and the mechanism by which AvrPik-D exacerbates disease severity to facilitate infection, remains poorly understood.

Targeting EFHD2 inhibits interferon-γ signaling and ameliorates non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Background & Aims: The precise pathomechanisms underlying the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH, also known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis [MASH]) remain incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the potential role of EF-hand domain family member D2 (EFHD2), a novel molecule specific to immune cells, in the pathogenesis of NASH.

Methods: Hepatic EFHD2 expression was characterized in patients with NASH and two diet-induced NASH mouse models.

Sulfated glyco-based hydrogels as self-healing, adhesive, and anti-inflammatory dressings for wound healing.

Hydrogels have emerged as a new type of wound dressing materials that involved in different stages of the healing processes. However, most of the existing wound dressings mainly offer a protective and moisturizing layer to prevent cross-infection, while the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties are frequently induced by extra addition of other bioactive molecules. Here, a novel type of sulfated glyco-functionalized hydrogels for wound dressing was prepared through the hybrid supramolecular co-assembly of carbohydrate segments (FG, FGS and FG3S), fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-diphenylalanine (Fmoc-FF), and diphenylalanine-dopamine (FFD).

Phosphorylation of Mad1 at serine 18 by Mps1 is required for the full virulence of rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae.

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) proteins are conserved among eukaryotes safeguarding chromosome segregation fidelity during mitosis. However, their biological functions in plant-pathogenic fungi remain largely unknown. In this study, we found that the SAC protein MoMad1 in rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe oryzae) localizes on the nuclear envelope and is dispensable for M.

Comprehensive Analysis of Autophagy-Related Genes in Rice Immunity against .

Rice blast disease, caused by the fungus , is a significant threat to rice production. Resistant cultivars can effectively resist the invasion of . Thus, the identification of disease-resistant genes is of utmost importance for improving rice production.

sCD155 as a potential marker for diagnosing the vascular invasion in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.

Background: Alveolar Echinococcosis (AE) is a malignant zoonotic disease caused by Echinococcus multilocularis infection. Considering whether the lesion is accompanied by vascular invasion (VI) is crucial for treatment strategies. A cost-effective and convenient clinical diagnostic method is urgently needed to supplement current techniques.

Transposable elements impact the population divergence of rice blast fungus .

Unlabelled: Dynamic transposition of transposable elements (TEs) in fungal pathogens has significant impact on genome stability, gene expression, and virulence to the host. In , genome plasticity resulting from TE insertion is a major driving force leading to the rapid evolution and diversification of this fungus. Despite their importance in population evolution and divergence, our understanding of TEs in this context remains limited.

Reconstructing Complex Shaped Clothing from a Single Image with Feature Stable Unsigned Distance Fields.

Single-view clothing reconstruction usually relies on topologically fixed clothing templates to reduce the problem complexity, but this strategy also makes the reconstructed clothing shape contours simple and lack diversity. In this paper, we propose a novel clothing reconstruction method to generate complex shape contours and open clothing mesh from a single image. At the heart of our work is an implicit unsigned distance field condition on clothing-oriented and pose-stable spatial shape features to represent the clothing from the image.

Fitness difference between two synonymous mutations of Phytophthora infestans ATP6 gene.

Background: Sequence variation produced by mutation provides the ultimate source of natural selection for species adaptation. Unlike nonsynonymous mutation, synonymous mutations are generally considered to be selectively neutral but accumulating evidence suggests they also contribute to species adaptation by regulating the flow of genetic information and the development of functional traits. In this study, we analysed sequence characteristics of ATP6, a housekeeping gene from 139 Phytophthora infestans isolates, and compared the fitness components including metabolic rate, temperature sensitivity, aggressiveness, and fungicide tolerance among synonymous mutations.

Pharmacological approaches for targeting lysosomes to induce ferroptotic cell death in cancer.

Lysosomes are crucial organelles responsible for the degradation of cytosolic materials and bulky organelles, thereby facilitating nutrient recycling and cell survival. However, lysosome also acts as an executioner of cell death, including ferroptosis, a distinctive form of regulated cell death that hinges on iron-dependent phospholipid peroxidation. The initiation of ferroptosis necessitates three key components: substrates (membrane phospholipids enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids), triggers (redox-active irons), and compromised defence mechanisms (GPX4-dependent and -independent antioxidant systems).

FvKex2 is required for development, virulence, and mycotoxin production in Fusarium verticillioides.

Fusarium verticillioides is one of the most important fungal pathogens causing maize ear and stalk rots, thereby undermining global food security. Infected seeds are usually unhealthy for consumption due to contamination with fumonisin B1 (FB1) mycotoxin produced by the fungus as a virulence factor. Unveiling the molecular factors that determine fungal development and pathogenesis will help in the control and management of the diseases.