Sulfanilamide Regulates Flowering Time through Expression of the Circadian Clock Gene LUX.

Flowering time is an agriculturally important trait that can be manipulated by various approaches such as breeding, growth control and genetic modifications. Despite its potential advantages, including fine-tuning the regulation of flowering time, few reports have explored the use of chemical compounds to manipulate flowering. Here, we report that sulfanilamide, an inhibitor of folate biosynthesis, delays flowering by repressing the expression of florigen FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Non-esterified fatty acid-associated ability of follicular fluid to support porcine oocyte maturation and development.

Purpose: The effect of supplementing maturation medium with follicular fluid (FF) was examined according to its non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) content or with a fatty acid mixture (FA-Mix) on the developmental competence of oocytes, as well as the mitochondrial quality and quantity in the oocytes and cumulus cells.

Method: Porcine oocytes from a slaughterhouse were used.

Results: The FF or FA-Mix in maturation medium increased the lipid content in both the oocytes and the cumulus cells, but the adenosine triphosphate content was differentially affected.

Cooperative inhibitory effects of uremic toxins and other serum components on OATP1B1-mediated transport of SN-38.

Purpose: Half-life of SN-38, an active metabolite of irinotecan, remarkably increases in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), even though SN-38 is excreted in bile. Uremic toxins (UTs), which accumulate in the serum of ESKD patients, were reported to inhibit organic anion-transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1-mediated uptake of SN-38; however, the relevance of this finding in a clinical setting is unknown. This study focused on cooperative effects of serum components and UTs on OATP1B1-mediated transport of SN-38.

Relationship between the number of cells surrounding oocytes and energy states of oocytes.

Lipid content, ATP content, and histone acetylation are thought to reflect the energy state of cells. In addition, the energy state closely associates with growth and developmental ability of oocytes. Oocyte growth is accompanied by active proliferation of the surrounding granulosa cells (GCs), and GCs play a key role in the provision of energy substrates to the oocytes.

FOXO3a potentiates hTERT gene expression by activating c-MYC and extends the replicative life-span of human fibroblast.

In our previous studies, we reported that SIRT1 prevents cellular senescence in human fibroblast, and that SIRT1-induced inhibition of cellular senescence is due to enhanced hTERT gene expression. In this study, we investigate the molecular mechanisms behind SIRT1-induced potentiation of hTERT transcription and show that FOXO3a functions downstream of SIRT1 and prevents the induction of cellular senescence by enhancing hTERT gene expression. Furthermore, we found that FOXO3a-induced potentiation of hTERT gene expression is regulated in a c-MYC/E-box dependent manner.

[The investigation of understanding and comfort of patients taking Divigel(®) 1 mg].

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) given by injection or administered orally or topically can improve the QOL of patients with menopausal symptoms. Because patient comfort is influenced largely by the dosage form, pharmacists should understand the properties of each dosage form and provide appropriate information to individual patients. In this study, we investigated the understanding of medicines and diseases of patients receiving HRT and discuss the approaches pharmacists can take to improve patients' adherence.

Lipidomics analysis of mesenteric lymph after trauma and hemorrhagic shock.

Background: After trauma and hemorrhagic shock (T/HS), a variety of inflammatory mediators enter the systemic circulation through mesenteric lymph ducts, leading to acute lung injury and multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome. Recent studies have demonstrated that post-HS mesenteric lymph (PHSML) activates polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and causes vascular endothelial cell and red blood cell dysfunction. Furthermore, PHSML contains proinflammatory mediators, such as biologically active lipids.

SIRT1 prevents replicative senescence of normal human umbilical cord fibroblast through potentiating the transcription of human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene.

SIRT1, the mammalian homolog of sirtuins, has emerged as a mediator of the beneficial effects of calorie restriction. Among them, we focused on the SIRT1-induced prevention of cellular senescence, and tried to reveal the molecular mechanisms that define the effects of SIRT1. Firstly in this study, we observed that overexpression of SIRT1 resulted in the prevention of cellular senescence of normal human umbilical cord fibroblast HUC-F2 cells.

Human replicative DNA polymerase δ can bypass T-T (6-4) ultraviolet photoproducts on template strands.

DNA polymerase δ (Polδ) carries out DNA replication with extremely high accuracy. This great fidelity primarily depends on the efficient exclusion of incorrect base pairs from the active site of the polymerase domain. In addition, the 3'-5' exonuclease activity of Polδ further enhances its accuracy by eliminating misincorporated nucleotides.

Stable interaction between the human proliferating cell nuclear antigen loader complex Ctf18-replication factor C (RFC) and DNA polymerase {epsilon} is mediated by the cohesion-specific subunits, Ctf18, Dcc1, and Ctf8.

One of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen loader complexes, Ctf18-replication factor C (RFC), is involved in sister chromatid cohesion. To examine its relationship with factors involved in DNA replication, we performed a proteomics analysis of Ctf18-interacting proteins. We found that Ctf18 interacts with a replicative DNA polymerase, DNA polymerase ε (pol ε).

Casein kinase 2-dependent phosphorylation of human Rad9 mediates the interaction between human Rad9-Hus1-Rad1 complex and TopBP1.

The checkpoint clamp Rad9-Hus1-Rad1 (9-1-1) is loaded by the Rad17-RFC complex onto chromatin after DNA damage and plays a key role in the ATR-dependent checkpoint activation. Here, we demonstrate that in vitro casein kinase 2 (CK2) specifically interacts with human 9-1-1 and phosphorylates serines 341 and 387 (Ser-341 and Ser-387) in the C-terminal tail of Rad9. Interestingly, phosphorylated Ser-387 has previously been reported to be required for interacting with a checkpoint mediator TopBP1.

Identification and physiological evaluation of the components from citrus fruits as potential drugs for anti-corpulence and anticancer.

On the basis of monitoring the prevention of accumulation of lipid droplets in mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells and inhibition of the proliferation of human colon cancer HT-29 cells, effective anti-corpulence and anticancer compounds were isolated from the peel of Citrus fruits. These bioactive components were identified as polymethoxyflavones and coumarin derivatives by spectroscopic analyses. 5-Hydroxy-6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone had the greatest anti-corpulence effects and 3,5,6,7,8,3',5'-heptamethoxyflavone had the greatest anticancer effects.