The origin and morphological character evolution of the paleotropical woody bamboos.

The woody bamboos (Bambusoideae) exhibit distinctive biological traits within Poaceae, such as highly lignified culms, rapid shoot growth, monocarpic mass flowering and nutlike or fleshy caryopses. Much of the remarkable morphological diversity across the subfamily exists within a single hexaploid clade, the paleotropical woody bamboos (PWB), making it ideal to investigate the factors underlying morphological evolution in woody bamboos. However, the origin and biogeographical history of PWB remain elusive, as does the effect of environmental factors on the evolution of their morphological characters.

BF170 hydrochloride enhances the emergence of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

Generation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) ex vivo and in vivo, especially the generation of safe therapeutic HSPCs, still remains inefficient. In this study, we have identified compound BF170 hydrochloride as a previously unreported pro-hematopoiesis molecule, using the differentiation assays of primary zebrafish blastomere cell culture and mouse embryoid bodies (EBs), and we demonstrate that BF170 hydrochloride promoted definitive hematopoiesis in vivo. During zebrafish definitive hematopoiesis, BF170 hydrochloride increases blood flow, expands hemogenic endothelium (HE) cells and promotes HSPC emergence.

Genome assemblies of 11 bamboo species highlight diversification induced by dynamic subgenome dominance.

Polyploidy (genome duplication) is a pivotal force in evolution. However, the interactions between parental genomes in a polyploid nucleus, frequently involving subgenome dominance, are poorly understood. Here we showcase analyses of a bamboo system (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) comprising a series of lineages from diploid (herbaceous) to tetraploid and hexaploid (woody), with 11 chromosome-level de novo genome assemblies and 476 transcriptome samples.

EPC1/2 regulate hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell proliferation by modulating H3 acetylation and DLST.

Enhancers of polycomb 1 (EPC1) and 2 (EPC2) are involved in multiple biological processes as components of histone acetyltransferases/deacetylase complexes and transcriptional cofactors, and their dysfunction was associated with developmental defects and diseases. However, it remains unknown how their dysfunction induces hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) defects. Here, we show that depletion of / significantly reduced the number of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in the aorta-gonad mesonephros and caudal hematopoietic tissue regions by impairing HSPC proliferation, and consistently downregulated the expression of HSPC genes in K562 cells.

Obscurin Maintains Myofiber Identity in Extraocular Muscles.

Purpose: The cytoskeleton of the extraocular muscles (EOMs) is significantly different from that of other muscles. We aimed to investigate the role of obscurin, a fundamental cytoskeletal protein, in the EOMs.

Methods: The distribution of obscurin in human and zebrafish EOMs was compared using immunohistochemistry.

Copper nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles impair lymphangiogenesis in zebrafish.

Lymphatic system distributes in almost all vertebrate tissues and organs, and plays important roles in the regulation of body fluid balance, lipid absorption and immune monitoring. Although CuNPs or AgNPs accumulation has been reported to be closely associated with delayed hatching and motor dysfunction in zebrafish embryos, their biological effects on lymphangiogenesis remain unknown. In this study, thoracic duct was observed to be partially absent in both CuNPs and AgNPs stressed zebrafish larvae.

Deficiency of copper responsive gene stmn4 induces retinal developmental defects.

As part of the central nervous system (CNS), the retina senses light and also conducts and processes visual impulses. The damaged development of the retina not only causes visual damage, but also leads to epilepsy, dementia and other brain diseases. Recently, we have reported that copper (Cu) overload induces retinal developmental defects and down-regulates microtubule (MT) genes during zebrafish embryogenesis, but whether the down-regulation of microtubule genes mediates Cu stress induced retinal developmental defects is still unknown.

Lonicera japonica protects Pelodiscus sinensis by inhibiting the biofilm formation of Aeromonas hydrophila.

Aquaculture has suffered significant financial losses as a result of the infection of zoonotic Aeromonas hydrophila, which has a high level of resistance to classic antibiotics. In this study, we isolated an A. hydrophila strain B3 from diseased soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis), which is one of the most commercially significant freshwater farmed reptiles in East Asia, and found that A.

Copper overload induces apoptosis and impaired proliferation of T cell in zebrafish.

Copper is an essential biometal for cell development and function, however, unbalanced copper homeostasis in T cell development and the underlying mechanisms are largely unexplored. Here, we use a zebrafish model to investigate the effect of copper overload in T cell development. We show that copper stressed zebrafish larvae exhibit a significant reduction in T cells with increased cell apoptosis and impaired cell proliferation.

Myofiber Type Shift in Extraocular Muscles in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Purpose: To investigate changes in myofiber composition in the global layer (GL) and orbital layer (OL) of extraocular muscles (EOMs) from terminal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) donors.

Methods: Medial recti muscles collected postmortem from spinal-onset ALS, bulbar-onset ALS, and healthy control donors were processed for immunofluorescence with antibodies against myosin heavy chain (MyHC) IIa, MyHCI, MyHCeom, laminin, neurofilaments, synaptophysin, acetylcholine receptor γ-subunit, and α-bungarotoxin.

Results: The proportion of myofibers containing MyHCIIa was significantly smaller and MyHCeom was significantly larger in the GL of spinal-onset ALS and bulbar-onset ALS donors compared to control donors.

Atp7b deficiency induces zebrafish eye developmental defects.

As a copper (Cu) transport ATPase, ATP7B plays an important role in maintaining Cu homeostasis in the body and its dysfunction is associated with retinal disease. How ATP7B dysfunction and the subsequent Cu overload induce retinal damage, however, are unknown. Here, we show that atp7b-/- homozygous zebrafish larvae are insensitive to light stimulation, with a reduction in retinal cells but normal like morphological phenotypes.

The identity of species and enumeration of (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) in China.

Three woody bamboo species collected in Hainan, China in 1940 have been described as based on vegetative specimens. However, the identity of these species has long been in doubt, largely because the vegetative phase in species of is morphologically similar to that in species of , a climbing or scrambling bamboo genus of the paleotropical woody bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) that consists of about 15 species and one variety. To determine the phylogenetic affinity of the three species from Hainan, we sampled almost all recognized Chinese species of and representative species of as well as other closely related genera, performed molecular phylogenetic analysis, and compared their morphology based on herbarium and fieldwork investigation.

Copper overload impairs hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell proliferation prompting HSF1/SP1 aggregation and the subsequently downregulating axis.

Unbalanced Cu homeostasis has been suggested to be associated with hematopoietic disease, but the roles of Cu overload in the hematopoietic system and the potential mechanisms are obscure. Here, we report a novel association and the novel potential pathways for Cu overload to induce proliferation defects in zebrafish embryonic hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) down-regulating expression of - axis, which is conserved from fish to mammals. Mechanistically, we show the direct binding of Cu to transcriptional factors HSF1 and SP1 and that Cu overload induces the cytoplasmic aggregation of proteins HSF1 and SP1.

Zebrafish ELL-associated factors Eaf1/2 modulate erythropoiesis via regulating gata1a expression and WNT signaling to facilitate hypoxia tolerance.

EAF1 and EAF2, the eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia (ELL)-associated factors which can assemble to the super elongation complex (AFF1/4, AF9/ENL, ELL, and P-TEFb), are reported to participate in RNA polymerase II to actively regulate a variety of biological processes, including leukemia and embryogenesis, but whether and how EAF1/2 function in hematopoietic system related hypoxia tolerance during embryogenesis remains unclear. Here, we unveiled that deletion of EAF1/2 (eaf1 and eaf2) caused reduction in hypoxia tolerance in zebrafish, leading to reduced erythropoiesis during hematopoietic processes. Meanwhile, eaf1 and eaf2 mutants showed significant reduction in the expression of key transcriptional regulators scl, lmo2, and gata1a in erythropoiesis at both 24 h post fertilization (hpf) and 72 hpf, with gata1a downregulated while scl and lmo2 upregulated at 14 hpf.

Zebrafish cox17 modulates primitive erythropoiesis via regulation of mitochondrial metabolism to facilitate hypoxia tolerance.

Cox17 is required in the assembly of mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS) and Cu metallization of cytochrome C oxidase (CcO) in mitochondria as well as Cu homeostasis in cells. Cox deficiency is associated with hematopoietic diseases such as tubulopathy and leukodystrophy, but whether and how cox17 functions in hematopoiesis are still unknown. Here, we report the effects of zebrafish cox17 deficiency on primitive erythropoiesis, mitochondrial metabolism, and hypoxia tolerance.

Lipid-related metabolism during zebrafish embryogenesis under unbalanced copper homeostasis.

Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element, playing an important role in lipid metabolism, and its transporters ATP7A and ATP7B, as Cu-transporting P-type ATPases, are involved in maintaining the Cu homeostasis in cells. Numerous studies in mammals have shown that Cu homeostasis and lipid metabolism are closely related, but studies on the link between the effects of excess Cu, ATP7A, and ATP7B on lipid metabolism during vertebrate embryogenesis are scarce. In this study, zebrafish disease models with Cu overload and ATP7A and ATP7B inactivation, respectively, were used to study the lipid metabolism-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) which were enriched in the models.

Aniridia-related keratopathy relevant cell signaling pathways in human fetal corneas.

We aimed to study aniridia-related keratopathy (ARK) relevant cell signaling pathways [Notch1, Wnt/β-catenin, Sonic hedgehog (SHH) and mTOR] in normal human fetal corneas compared with normal human adult corneas and ARK corneas. We found that fetal corneas at 20 weeks of gestation (wg) and normal adult corneas showed similar staining patterns for Notch1; however 10-11 wg fetal corneas showed increased presence of Notch1. Numb and Dlk1 had an enhanced presence in the fetal corneas compared with the adult corneas.

Kidney Histopathologic Spectrum and Clinical Indicators Associated with MGRS.

Background And Objectives: Patients with monoclonal gammopathy and concomitant kidney diseases are frequently found in clinical practice. Some of them are diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS) due to the presence of monoclonal Ig-related kidney injuries. This study aimed to investigate the histopathologic spectrum and clinical characteristics associated with MGRS in a large cohort of patients with monoclonal gammopathy and biopsy-proven kidney diseases from a single Chinese nephrology referral center.

Organelle Phylogenomics and Extensive Conflicting Phylogenetic Signals in the Monocot Order Poales.

The Poales is one of the largest orders of flowering plants with significant economic and ecological values. Reconstructing the phylogeny of the Poales is important for understanding its evolutionary history that forms the basis for biological studies. However, due to sparse taxon sampling and limited molecular data, previous studies have resulted in a variety of contradictory topologies.

Copper stress impairs angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis during zebrafish embryogenesis by down-regulating pERK1/2-foxm1-MMP2/9 axis and epigenetically regulating ccbe1 expression.

Molecular transport and cell circulation between tissues and organs through blood and lymphatic vessels are essential for physiological homeostasis in vertebrates. Despite the report of its association with vessel formation in solid tumors, the biological effects of Copper (Cu) accumulation on angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis during embryogenesis are still unknown. In this study, we unveiled that intersegmental blood circulation was partially blocked in Cu-stressed zebrafish embryos and cell migration and tube formation were impaired in Cu-stressed mammalian HUVECs.

Effects of parental environmental copper stress on offspring development: DNA methylation modification and responses of differentially methylated region-related genes in transcriptional expression.

Parental environmental copper (Cu) exposure is widespread, causing problems for sustainability of fish populations, and epigenetics is suggested to be fundamental during the process, but the mechanism is scarcely reported. Here, we describe the effects of parental environmental Cu exposure on zebrafish developmental abnormality in subsequent generation. This study demonstrated for the first time that: 1.

Copper ions impair zebrafish skeletal myofibrillogenesis via epigenetic regulation.

Unbalanced copper (Cu ) homeostasis is associated with the developmental defects of vertebrate myogenesis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, it was found that Cu stressed zebrafish embryos and larvae showed reduced locomotor speed as well as loose and decreased myofibrils in skeletal muscle, coupled with the downregulated expression of muscle fiber markers mylpfa and smyhc1l and the irregular arrangement of myofibril and sarcomere. Meanwhile, the Cu stressed zebrafish embryos and larvae also showed significant reduction in the expression of H3K4 methyltransferase smyd1b transcripts and H3K4me3 protein as well as in the binding enrichment of H3K4me3 on gene mylpfa promoter in skeletal muscle cells, suggesting that smyd1b-H3K4me3 axis mediates the Cu -induced myofibrils specification defects.

Pelvic Ultrasound Parameters of Long-Acting Depot Formulation of Leuprorelin in the Treatment of Idiopathic Central Precocious Puberty in Girls.

Objective: The present study was designed to compare the changes in ovarian and uterine parameters in girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) before and after gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa) treatment to determine which sensitive indexes effectively reflect the therapeutic effect.

Methods: Sixty girls diagnosed with ICPP were enrolled in the present study. Relevant data were recorded before treatment.