Hetastarch-stabilized polypyrrole with hyperthermia-enhanced release and catalytic activity for synergistic antitumor therapy.

Fenton catalytic medicine that catalyzes the production of ·OH without external energy input or oxygen as a substrate has reshaped the landscape of conventional cancer therapy in recent decades, yet potential biosafety concerns caused by non-safety-approved components restrict their clinical translation from the bench to the bedside. Herein, to overcome this dilemma, we elaborately utilizate safety-approved hetastarch, which has been extensively employed in the clinic as a plasma substitute, as a stabilizer participating in the copper chloride-initiated polymerization of pyrrole monomer before loading it with DOX. The constructed DOX-loaded hetastarch-doped Cu-based polypyrrole (HES@CuP-D) catalyzes the excess HO in tumor cells to ·OH through a Cu-mediated Fenton-like reaction, which not only causes oxidative damage to tumor cells but also leads to the structural collapse and DOX release.

TaASR1-D confers abiotic stress resistance by affecting ROS accumulation and ABA signalling in transgenic wheat.

Cultivating new crop cultivars with multiple abiotic stress tolerances is important for crop production. The abscisic acid-stress-ripening (ASR) protein has been shown to confer abiotic stress tolerance in plants. However, the mechanisms of ASR function under stress condition remain largely unclear.

A nucleoside diphosphate kinase gene OsNDPK4 is involved in root development and defense responses in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Dysfunctional mutation of OsNDPK4 resulted in severe defects in root development of rice. However, the resistance of Osndpk4 against bacterial blight was significantly enhanced. Nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDPKs) are an evolutionarily conserved family of important enzymes balancing the energy currency nucleoside triphosphates by catalyzing the transfer of their phosphate groups.

Investigation of the ASR family in foxtail millet and the role of ASR1 in drought/oxidative stress tolerance.

Six foxtail millet ASR genes were regulated by various stress-related signals. Overexpression of ASR1 increased drought and oxidative tolerance by controlling ROS homeostasis and regulating oxidation-related genes in tobacco plants. Abscisic acid stress ripening (ASR) proteins with ABA/WDS domains constituted a class of plant-specific transcription factors, playing important roles in plant development, growth and abiotic stress responses.

Expression of TaWRKY44, a wheat WRKY gene, in transgenic tobacco confers multiple abiotic stress tolerances.

The WRKY transcription factors have been reported to be involved in various plant physiological and biochemical processes. In this study, we successfully assembled 10 unigenes from expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of wheat and designated them as TaWRKY44-TaWRKY53, respectively. Among these genes, a subgroup I gene, TaWRKY44, was found to be upregulated by treatments with PEG6000, NaCl, 4°C, abscisic acid (ABA), H2O2 and gibberellin (GA).

The Brachypodium distachyon BdWRKY36 gene confers tolerance to drought stress in transgenic tobacco plants.

The expression of BdWRKY36 was upregulated by drought treatment. BdWRKY36 -overexpressing transgenic tobacco increased drought tolerance by controlling ROS homeostasis and regulating transcription of stress related genes. WRKY transcription factor plays important roles in plant growth, development and stress response.