Aberrant accumulation of ceramides in mitochondria triggers cell death by inducing autophagy in Arabidopsis.

Sphingolipids are membrane lipids and play critical roles in signal transduction. Ceramides are central components of sphingolipid metabolism that are involved in cell death. However, the mechanism of ceramides regulating cell death in plants remains unclear.

Ceramides regulate defense response by binding to RbohD in Arabidopsis.

Sphingolipids, a class of bioactive lipids, play a critical role in signal transduction. Ceramides, which are central components of sphingolipid metabolism, are involved in plant development and defense. However, the mechanistic link between ceramides and downstream signaling remains unclear.

Improving long-term stability of retinol in dried blood spots and quantification of its levels via a novel LC-MS/MS method.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major micronutrient deficiency in children. Although plasma and serum retinol levels are proposed as the key indicators of VAD, collecting and transporting plasma and serum are difficult and inconvenient in field studies. Dried blood spot (DBS) retinol has been used as an alternative to plasma retinol in several epidemiological and clinical studies.

Fatty Liver Disease Caused by High-Alcohol-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The underlying etiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is believed to be quite varied. Changes in the gut microbiota have been investigated and are believed to contribute to at least some cases of the disease, though a causal relationship remains unclear. Here, we show that high-alcohol-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (HiAlc Kpn) is associated with up to 60% of individuals with NAFLD in a Chinese cohort.

Loss of alkaline ceramidase inhibits autophagy in Arabidopsis and plays an important role during environmental stress response.

Sphingolipids, a class of bioactive lipids found in cell membranes, can modulate the biophysical properties of the membranes and play a critical role in signal transduction. Sphingolipids are involved in autophagy in humans and yeast, but their role in autophagy in plants is not well understood. In this study, we reported that the AtACER, an alkaline ceramidase that hydrolyses ceramide to long-chain base (LCB), functions in autophagy process in Arabidopsis.

Detection of metastatic cancer cells in mesentery of colorectal cancer patients.

Aim: To detect the existence of isolated cancer cells in the mesentery of colorectum (named as Metastasis V), and investigate its clinical significance in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Methods: Sixty-three CRC patients who received radical excision between January 2012 and September 2015 were included. All the patients underwent laparoscopy-assisted radical colorectomy or proctectomy [with complete mesocolic excision (CME) or total mesorectal excision (TME)] with R0 dissections at the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Orosomucoid Proteins Interact with the Small Subunit of Serine Palmitoyltransferase and Contribute to Sphingolipid Homeostasis and Stress Responses in Arabidopsis.

Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), a pyridoxyl-5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme, catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step in sphingolipid biosynthesis. In humans and yeast, orosomucoid proteins (ORMs) negatively regulate SPT and thus play an important role in maintaining sphingolipid levels. Despite the importance of sphingoid intermediates as bioactive molecules, the regulation of sphingolipid biosynthesis through SPT is not well understood in plants.

Ethylene Modulates Sphingolipid Synthesis in Arabidopsis.

Sphingolipids have essential structural and bioactive functions in membranes and in signaling. However, how plants regulate sphingolipid biosynthesis in the response to stress remains unclear. Here, we reveal that the plant hormone ethylene can modulate sphingolipid synthesis.

Association between Long Interspersed Nuclear Element-1 Methylation and Relative Telomere Length in Wilms Tumor.

Background: DNA hypomethylation of long interspersed nuclear elements-1 (LINEs-1) occurs during carcinogenesis, whereas information addressing LINE-1 methylation in Wilms tumor (WT) is limited. The main purpose of our study was to quantify LINE-1 methylation levels and evaluate their relationship with relative telomere length (TL) in WT.

Methods: We investigated LINE-1 methylation and relative TL using bisulfite-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) pyrosequencing and quantitative PCR, respectively, in 20 WT tissues, 10 normal kidney tissues and a WT cell line.

An Arabidopsis neutral ceramidase mutant ncer1 accumulates hydroxyceramides and is sensitive to oxidative stress.

Ceramidases hydrolyze ceramide into sphingosine and fatty acids and, although ceramidases function as key regulators of sphingolipid homeostasis in mammals, their roles in plants remain largely unknown. Here, we characterized the Arabidopsis thaliana ceramidase AtNCER1, a homolog of human neutral ceramidase. AtNCER1 localizes predominantly on the endoplasmic reticulum.

A systematic simulation of the effect of salicylic acid on sphingolipid metabolism.

The phytohormone salicylic acid (SA) affects plant development and defense responses. Recent studies revealed that SA also participates in the regulation of sphingolipid metabolism, but the details of this regulation remain to beexplored. Here, we use in silico Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) with published microarray data to construct a whole-cell simulation model, including 23 pathways, 259 reactions, and 172 metabolites, to predict the alterations in flux of major sphingolipid species after treatment with exogenous SA.

A novel pyrimidin-like plant activator stimulates plant disease resistance and promotes growth.

Plant activators are chemicals that induce plant defense responses to a broad spectrum of pathogens. Here, we identified a new potential plant activator, 5-(cyclopropylmethyl)-6-methyl-2-(2-pyridyl)pyrimidin-4-ol, named PPA (pyrimidin-type plant activator). Compared with benzothiadiazole S-methyl ester (BTH), a functional analog of salicylic acid (SA), PPA was fully soluble in water and increased fresh weight of rice (Oryza sativa) and Arabidopsis plants at low concentrations.

Unsaturation of very-long-chain ceramides protects plant from hypoxia-induced damages by modulating ethylene signaling in Arabidopsis.

Lipid remodeling is crucial for hypoxic tolerance in animals, whilst little is known about the hypoxia-induced lipid dynamics in plants. Here we performed a mass spectrometry-based analysis to survey the lipid profiles of Arabidopsis rosettes under various hypoxic conditions. We observed that hypoxia caused a significant increase in total amounts of phosphatidylserine, phosphatidic acid and oxidized lipids, but a decrease in phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE).

A lower pH value benefits regeneration of Trichosanthes kirilowii by somatic embryogenesis, involving rhizoid tubers (RTBs), a novel structure.

A new approach was established for the regeneration of Trichosanthes kirilowii from root, stem, and leaf explants by somatic embryogenesis (SE), involving a previously unreported SE structure, rhizoid tubers (RTBs). During SE, special rhizoids were first induced from root, stem, and leaf explants with average rhizoid numbers of 62.33, 40.

The Arabidopsis ceramidase AtACER functions in disease resistance and salt tolerance.

Ceramidases hydrolyze ceramide into sphingosine and fatty acids. In mammals, ceramidases function as key regulators of sphingolipid homeostasis, but little is known about their roles in plants. Here we characterize the Arabidopsis ceramidase AtACER, a homolog of human alkaline ceramidases.

Arabidopsis acyl-CoA-binding protein ACBP3 participates in plant response to hypoxia by modulating very-long-chain fatty acid metabolism.

In Arabidopsis thaliana, acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) are encoded by a family of six genes (ACBP1 to ACBP6), and are essential for diverse cellular activities. Recent investigations suggest that the membrane-anchored ACBPs are involved in oxygen sensing by sequestration of group VII ethylene-responsive factors under normoxia. Here, we demonstrate the involvement of Arabidopsis ACBP3 in hypoxic tolerance.

Loss of ceramide kinase in Arabidopsis impairs defenses and promotes ceramide accumulation and mitochondrial H2O2 bursts.

Arabidopsis thaliana plants that lack ceramide kinase, encoded by ACCELERATED CELL DEATH5 (ACD5), display spontaneous programmed cell death late in development and accumulate substrates of ACD5. Here, we compared ceramide accumulation kinetics, defense responses, ultrastructural features, and sites of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in wild-type and acd5 plants during development and/or Botrytis cinerea infection. Quantitative sphingolipid profiling indicated that ceramide accumulation in acd5 paralleled the appearance of spontaneous cell death, and it was accompanied by autophagy and mitochondrial ROS accumulation.

β-catenin is overexpressed in hepatic fibrosis and blockage of Wnt/β-catenin signaling inhibits hepatic stellate cell activation.

β-catenin, a core component of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, has been shown to be an important regulator of cellular proliferation and differentiation. Abnormal activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes tissue fibrogenesis. In the present study, the role of β-catenin during liver fibrogenesis was analyzed and the functional effects of β-catenin gene silencing in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) using small interfering (si)RNA were investigated.

[Clinical and genetic characteristics of glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome].

Objective: To analyze the clinical and SLC2A1 gene mutation characteristics of glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome.

Method: The detailed clinical manifestations of six cases were recorded. The laboratory tests including EEG, MRI, blood chemistry, and lumbar puncture were performed.

Decreased dietary fiber intake and structural alteration of gut microbiota in patients with advanced colorectal adenoma.

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that diet is one of the most important environmental factors involved in the progression from advanced colorectal adenoma (A-CRA) to colorectal cancer.

Objective: We evaluated the possible effects of dietary fiber on the fecal microbiota of patients with A-CRA.

Design: Patients with a diagnosis of A-CRA by pathological examination were enrolled in the A-CRA group.

[Role of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency rickets].

Objective: To study the role of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the early diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency rickets.

Methods: Concentrations of serum 25(OH)D, calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase were measured in normal control (n=73), suspected rickets (n=45) and confirmed rickets groups (n=65). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum 25(OH)D for rickets.

Changes in plasma hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide levels and their clinical significance in children with Kawasaki disease.

Background: Cardiac involvement is the most common complication of Kawasaki disease (KD); however, the underlying mechanisms are not understood. The present study was designed to investigate changes in plasma hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) and nitric oxide (NO) levels in the acute and recovery stages of KD children and to examine their clinical significance.

Methods: Thirty-five KD patients and 32 healthy children were enrolled in the study.

Inhibition of high-mobility group box 1 expression by siRNA in rat hepatic stellate cells.

Aim: To explore the role of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein during liver fibrogenesis and investigate the functional effects of HMGB1 gene silencing in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) using siRNA.

Methods: Hepatic fibrosis in rats was induced throu-gh serial subcutaneous injections of dimethylnitrosamine, and expression of HMGB1 was detected by immunohistochemistry. HMGB1 siRNAs were developed and transiently transfected into HSC-T6 cells using Lipofectamine 2000.

Unusual patterns of neural tube defects in a high risk region of northern China.

Objective: To study the prevalence of different types of neural tube defects (NTDs) in Luliang Prefecture, Shanxi province, where the prevalence of NTDs is unusually high and the correlation between NTDs prevalence and patterns.

Methods: A surveillance population-based birth defects was performed in Luliang Prefecture, Shanxi province.

Results: The results of our study showed that the prevalence of NTDs was 2-fold higher in Luliang Prefecture than in other areas of Shanxi province.