Identification of the new allele ptc1-2 and analysis of the regulatory role of PTC1 gene in rice anther development.

Anther development involves a series of important biological events that are precisely regulated by many genes. Although several important genes involved in rice anther development have been identified, the regulatory network involved in tapetal development and pollen wall formation is still largely unclear. PERSISTENT TAPETAL CELL 1 (PTC1) encodes a PHD-Finger protein, which plays a critical role in the regulation of tapetal cell death and pollen development in rice.

α-Synuclein disrupts microglial autophagy through STAT1-dependent suppression of Ulk1 transcription.

Background: Autophagy dysfunction in glial cells is implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). The previous study reported that α-synuclein (α-Syn) disrupted autophagy in cultured microglia. However, the mechanism of microglial autophagy dysregulation is poorly understood.

Circadian disruption promotes the neurotoxicity of oligomeric alpha-synuclein in mice.

Circadian disruption often arises prior to the onset of typical motor deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). It remains unclear whether such a prevalent non-motor manifestation would contribute to the progression of PD. Diffusible oligomeric alpha-synuclein (O-αSyn) is perceived as the most toxic and rapid-transmitted species in the early stages of PD.

Safety and effectiveness of remdesivir in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and severe renal impairment: experience at a large medical center.

Background: Literature on the safety of remdesivir in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with severe renal impairment is limited. We aimed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of remdesivir in this population.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult hospitalized COVID-19 patients who received remdesivir between April 2022 and October 2022.

LRRK2 G2019S promotes astrocytic inflammation induced by oligomeric α-synuclein through NF-κB pathway.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the irreversible loss of dopaminergic neurons and the accumulation of α-synuclein in Lewy bodies. The oligomeric α-synuclein (O-αS) is the most toxic form of α-synuclein species, and it has been reported to be a robust inflammatory mediator. Mutations in () are also genetically linked to PD and neuroinflammation.

Cystathionine β-Synthase Suppresses NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation Redox Regulation in Microglia.

Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) is essential for homocysteine (Hcy) transsulfuration, yielding cysteine as a common precursor of hydrogen sulfide (HS), glutathione (GSH), and other sulfur molecules, which produce neuroprotective effects in neurological conditions. We previously reported a disruption of microglial CBS/HS signaling in a Parkinson's disease (PD) mouse model. Yet, it remains unclear whether CBS affects nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain, leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activity and other pathologies in PD.

Roles of microglial mitophagy in neurological disorders.

Microglia are the resident innate immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS) that serve as the first line innate immunity in response to pathogen invasion, ischemia and other pathological stimuli. Once activated, they rapidly release a variety of inflammatory cytokines and phagocytose pathogens or cell debris (termed neuroinflammation), which is beneficial for maintaining brain homeostasis if appropriately activated. However, excessive or uncontrolled neuroinflammation may damage neurons and exacerbate the pathologies in neurological disorders.

Pramipexole inhibits astrocytic NLRP3 inflammasome activation via Drd3-dependent autophagy in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

Inflammation is one of the pathogenic processes in Parkinson's disease (PD). Dopamine receptor agonist pramipexole (PPX) is extensively used for PD treatment in clinics. A number of studies show that PPX exerts neuroprotection on dopaminergic (DA) neurons, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effects of PPX on DA neurons are not fully elucidated.

Pemphigus Vulgaris Aggravated: Rifampicin Found at the Scene of the Crime.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a rare life-threatening condition of the pemphigus group of autoimmune blistering diseases. Systemic glucocorticoids are the cornerstone of management for PV, but complications can arise from their long-term use. We report a case of recurrence of a well-controlled case of PV that could not be alleviated by a combination of steroids, mycophenolate mofetil, and high-dose intravenous immune proteins.

H1-Antihistamines Reduce the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, or Dual Hepatitis B Virus-Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

Purpose: H1-antihistamines (AHs) may exert protective effects against cancer. This study investigated the association of AH use with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), or dual HBV-HCV virus infection.

Materials And Methods: Patients with HBV, HCV, or dual HBV-HCV infection were enrolled from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database and examined for the period from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2015.

α-synuclein suppresses microglial autophagy and promotes neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

The cell-to-cell transfer of α-synuclein (α-Syn) greatly contributes to Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis and underlies the spread of α-Syn pathology. During this process, extracellular α-Syn can activate microglia and neuroinflammation, which plays an important role in PD. However, the effect of extracellular α-Syn on microglia autophagy is poorly understood.

AMPK S-sulfuration contributes to HS donors-induced AMPK phosphorylation and autophagy activation in dopaminergic cells.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) serves as a neuromodulator and regulator of neuroinflammation. It is reported to be therapeutic for Parkinson's disease (PD) animal and cellular models. However, whether it affects α-synuclein accumulation in dopaminergic cells, the key pathological feature in PD, is poorly understood.

Expression of autophagy related genes in peripheral blood cells in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and affects dopaminergic neurons. Autophagy often shows a circadian rhythm pattern under physiological conditions across 24 h. Abnormal autophagy and circadian dysfunction are two characteristics of PD.

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a nationwide population-based study.

Objective: To compare Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) risk between patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) and the general population METHODS: We identified patients with ARD recorded in the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan from 2002 to 2015 and randomly selected a comparison cohort from the general population matched for age and sex. We analyzed PJP risk stratified by sex, age, comorbidities, and medications using Cox proportional hazard model.

Results: We enrolled 103,117 patients with ARD.

Insights into the Mechanism of Thiol-Triggered COS/HS Release from -Dithiasuccinoyl Amines.

The hydrolysis of carbonyl sulfide (COS) to form HS by carbonic anhydrase has been demonstrated to be a viable strategy to deliver HS in a biological system. Herein, we describe -dithiasuccinoyl amines as thiol-triggered COS/HS donors. Notably, thiol species especially GSH and homocysteine can trigger the release of both COS and HS directly from several specific analogues via an unexpected mechanism.

BMAL1 regulation of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease mouse model.

Dysfunction of the circadian rhythm is one of most common nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the molecular role of the circadian rhythm in PD is unclear. We here showed that inactivation of brain and muscle ARNT-like 1 (BMAL1) in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,4,5-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated mice resulted in obvious motor functional deficit, loss of dopaminergic neurons (DANs) in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), decrease of dopamine (DA) transmitter, and increased activation of microglia and astrocytes in the striatum. Time on the rotarod or calorie consumption, and food and water intake were reduced in the Bmal1 mice after MPTP treatment, suggesting that absence of Bmal1 may exacerbate circadian and PD motor function.

Epigenetic Regulation of Autophagy.

Epigenetics refers to reversible and hereditary changes in gene expression without alterations in DNA sequences, such as DNA methylation, histone modification and chromatin remodelling. It was first proposed by Waddington in the book Introduction to Modern Genetics in 1939. Autophagy includes at least four processes: autophagy induction, autophagosome formation, autophagosome fusion with lysosomes and lysosomal degradation of cytoplasmic components.

Nicotine improved the olfactory impairment in MPTP-induced mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

Olfactory impairment is an early feature of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Retrospective epidemiological studies reported lower scores on the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) in non-smokers than smokers with PD and showed an inverse correlation between susceptibility to PD and a person's history of smoking. But the mechanisms by which cigarettes affect olfaction in PD are not fully understood.

Comprehensive metabolomic, proteomic and physiological analyses of grain yield reduction in rice under abrupt drought-flood alternation stress.

Abrupt drought-flood alternation (T1) is a meteorological disaster that frequently occurs during summer in southern China and the Yangtze river basin, often causing a significant loss of rice production. In this study, the response mechanism of yield decline under abrupt drought-flood alternation stress at the panicle differentiation stage was analyzed by looking at the metabolome, proteome as well as yield and physiological and biochemical indexes. The results showed that drought and flood stress caused a decrease in the yield of rice at the panicle differentiation stage, and abrupt drought-flood alternation stress created a synergistic effect for the reduction of yield.

A Critical Role of Autophagy in Regulating Microglia Polarization in Neurodegeneration.

Neuroinflammation and autophagy dysfunction are closely related to the development of neurodegeneration such as Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the role of autophagy in microglia polarization and neuroinflammation is poorly understood. TNF-α, which is highly toxic to dopaminergic neurons, is implicated as a major mediator of neuroinflammation in PD.