ERECTA signaling controls Arabidopsis inflorescence architecture through chromatin-mediated activation of PRE1 expression.

Flowering plants display a remarkable diversity in inflorescence architecture, and pedicel length is one of the key contributors to this diversity. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the receptor-like kinase ERECTA (ER) mediated signaling pathway plays important roles in regulating inflorescence architecture by promoting cell proliferation. However, the regulating mechanism remains elusive in the pedicel.

[Expression of MCL-1 in Primary Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells and Its Clinical Significance].

Objective: To detect the expression of MCL-1 in patient with acute myeloid leukemia(AML) with normal karyotype and to investigate the relationship of its expression level with clinical parameters and prognosis.

Methods: The expression of MCL-1 in the bone marrow from 37 newly diagnosed AML patients was measured by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR(FQ RT-PCR) and Western blot, and the relationship between its expression level and clinical parameters such as the age, sex, WBC count, Hb level, Plt count, blast ratio in BM, and sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs in vitro prognosis was analyzed.

Results: The expression level of MCL-1 did not correlate with the age, sex, WBC count, Hb level, Plt count and the percentage of blast cells.

Diverse Plant-Associated Pleosporalean Fungi from Saline Areas: Ecological Tolerance and Nitrogen-Status Dependent Effects on Plant Growth.

Similar to mycorrhizal mutualists, the rhizospheric and endophytic fungi are also considered to act as active regulators of host fitness (e.g., nutrition and stress tolerance).

Doxycycline directly targets PAR1 to suppress tumor progression.

Doxycycline have been reported to exert anti-cancer activity and have been assessed as anti-cancer agents in clinical trials. However, the direct targets of doxycycline in cancer cells remain unclear. In this study, we used a chemical proteomics approach to identify the Protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) as a specific target of inhibition of doxycycline.

[Combination of Homoharringtonine with Arsenic Trioxide Induces Apoptosis of Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cell Line U937].

Objective: To investigate the effects and mechanisms of the combination of homoharringtonine (HHT) with arsenic trioxide(AsO) on human myeloid cell line U937 in vitro.

Methods: MTT method was used to determine the antiproliferating effect of different concentrations of HHT, AsO and their combination on U937 cells; the flow cytometry with Annexin-V-FITC/PI double staining was used to determine the apoptosis-induced effect of HHT and AsO alone or their combination; Western blot method was used to detect the protein expression of P-Akt,P-Akt,BCL-XL, BID,MCL-1,P-MCL-1 and so on.

Results: HHT and AsO could significantly inhibit proliferation of U937 cells and induce their apoptosis.

An individualised signature for predicting response with concordant survival benefit for lung adenocarcinoma patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy.

Background: For lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients receiving platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT), predictive signatures extracted from survival data solely are not directly associated with platinum response. Another limitation of reported signatures, commonly based on risk scores summarised from gene expressions, is that they could not be applied directly to samples measured by different laboratories due to experimental batch effects.

Methods: Using 60 samples of LUAD patients receiving platinum-based ACT in TCGA, we pre-selected gene pairs whose within-samples relative expression orderings (REOs) were significantly associated with both pathological response and 5-year survival, from which we selected an optimal signature whose within-samples REOs could identify responders with improved 5-year survival rate.

Novel Podophyllotoxin Derivatives as Partial PPARγ Agonists and their Effects on Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is recognized as a key regulator of insulin resistance. In this study, we searched for novel PPARγ agonists in a library of structurally diverse organic compounds and determined that podophyllotoxin exhibits partial agonist activity toward PPARγ. Eight novel podophyllotoxin-like derivatives were synthesized and assayed for toxicity and functional activity toward PPARγ to reduce the possible systemic toxic effects of podophyllotoxin and to maintain partial agonist activity toward PPARγ.

Microbially Mediated Plant Salt Tolerance and Microbiome-based Solutions for Saline Agriculture.

Soil salinization adversely affects plant growth and has become one of the major limiting factors for crop productivity worldwide. The conventional approach, breeding salt-tolerant plant cultivars, has often failed to efficiently alleviate the situation. In contrast, the use of a diverse array of microorganisms harbored by plants has attracted increasing attention because of the remarkable beneficial effects of microorganisms on plants.

Induction of Multidrug Resistance of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells by Cocultured Stromal Cells via Upregulation of the PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway.

This study aimed to investigate the role of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in multidrug resistance of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells induced by cocultured stromal cells. Human AML cell lines HL-60 and U937 were adhesion cocultured with human bone marrow stromal cell line HS-5 cells. Such coculturing induced HL-60 and U937 cells resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs including daunorubicin (DNR), homoharringtonine (HHT), and cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C).

Specialized Microbiome of a Halophyte and its Role in Helping Non-Host Plants to Withstand Salinity.

Root microbiota is a crucial determinant of plant productivity and stress tolerance. Here, we hypothesize that the superior halo-tolerance of seepweed Suaeda salsa is tightly linked to a specialized belowground microbiome. To test this hypothesis, we performed a phylogenetic trait-based framework analysis based on bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal nuclear rRNA internal transcribed spacer profiling.

Trivalent metal ions based on inorganic compounds with in vitro inhibitory activity of matrix metalloproteinase 13.

Collagenase-3 (MMP-13) inhibitors have attracted considerable attention in recent years and have been developed as a therapeutic target for a variety of diseases, including cancer. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) can be inhibited by a multitude of compounds, including hydroxamic acids. Studies have shown that materials and compounds containing trivalent metal ions, particularly potassium hexacyanoferrate (III) (K3[Fe(CN)6]), exhibit cdMMP-13 inhibitory potential with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 1.

Breakpoints and deleted genes identification of ring chromosome 18 in a Chinese girl by whole-genome low-coverage sequencing: a case report study.

Background: Ring chromosome 18 [r(18)] is formed by 18p- and 18q- partial deletion and generates a ring chromosome. Loss of critical genes on each arm of chromosome 18 may contribute to the specific phenotype, and the clinical spectrum varieties may heavily depend on the extent of the genomic deletion. The aim of this study is to identify the detailed breakpoints location and the deleted genes result from the r18.

Correction: Penetration of the Stigma and Style Elicits a Novel Transcriptome in Pollen Tubes, Pointing to Genes Critical for Growth in a Pistil.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.

[Brain Efficient Connectivity Analysis of Attention Based on the Granger Causality Method].

The study of brain information flow is of great significance to understand brain function in the field of neuroscience. The Granger causality is widely used functional connectivity analysis using multivariate autoregressive model based on the predicted mechanism. High resolution electroencephalogram (EEG) signals of ten healthy subjects were collected with a visual selective attention task.

Chikusetsu saponin V attenuates H2O2-induced oxidative stress in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells through Sirt1/PGC-1α/Mn-SOD signaling pathways.

Oxidative stress plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Chikusetsu saponin V (CsV), the most abundant member of saponins from Panax japonicus (SPJ), has attracted increasing attention for its potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases. However, the mechanisms are unclear.

Neutral endopeptidase and natriuretic peptide receptors participate in the regulation of C-type natriuretic peptide expression in renal interstitial fibrosis.

The initiation and progression of renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) is a complicated process in which many factors may play an activate role. Among these factors, C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is an endothelium-derived hormone and acts in a local, paracrine fashion to regulate vascular smooth muscle tone and proliferation. In this study, we established a rat model of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO).

Apigenin inhibits NF-κB and snail signaling, EMT and metastasis in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Apigenin is a naturally occurring compound with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of apigenin on migration and metastasis in experimental human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Apigenin dose-dependently inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion by PLC and Bel-7402 human HCC cells.

Vaccine adjuvant ginsenoside Rg1 enhances immune responses against hepatitis B surface antigen in mice.

The adjuvant effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on immune responses against hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in mice was investigated. Female BALB/c mice were subcutaneously injected with saline or HBsAg antigen with or without Rg1 on days 7 and 21. Samples were collected 2 weeks after the boosting for the detection of anti-HBsAg immunoglobulin G (IgG) isotypes in sera and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) produced in splenocytes.

Levels of Serum 25(OH)VD3, HIF-1α, VEGF, vWf, and IGF-1 and Their Correlation in Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Different Urine Albumin Creatinine Ratio.

Objective: To investigate changes in serum 25(OH)VD3, HIF-1α, VEGF, vWf, IGF-1, and their correlation in type 2 diabetes patients at different stages of diabetic kidney disease (DKD).

Methods: 502 type 2 diabetes patients were divided into three groups: Normoalbuminuric group (201 patients), Microalbuminuric group (171 patients), and Macroalbuminuric group (130 patients). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)VD3] was measured by chemiluminescence.

Sonic hedgehog improves ischemia-induced neovascularization by enhancing endothelial progenitor cell function in type 1 diabetes.

The Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway is downregulated in type 1 diabetes, and it has been reported that augmentation of this pathway may alleviate diabetic complications. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying these protective effects are poorly understood. Recent studies indicate that impaired function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may contribute to cardiovascular problems in diabetes.

[Valsartan inhibits angiotensin II-Notch signaling of mesangial cells induced by high glucose].

Objective: To explore the role of angiotensin II (Ang II)-Notch signaling in high glucose-induced secretion of extracellular matrix of rat mesangial cells (RMCs) and to further investigate the protective effect of valsartan (one of Ang II receptor blockers) on kidney.

Methods: Subcultured RMCs were divided into groups as follows: normal glucose group (5.5 mmol/L glucose); high glucose group (30 mmol/L glucose); high concentration of mannitol as osmotic control group (5.

Oxidative stress contributes to the impaired sonic hedgehog pathway in type 1 diabetic mice with myocardial infarction.

Our previous study demonstrated that an impaired sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway contributed to cardiac dysfunction in type 1 diabetic mice with myocardial infarction (MI). The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that oxidative stress may contribute to the impaired Shh pathway and cardiac dysfunction in type 1 diabetic mice with MI. Streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic mice (C57/Bl6, male) and rat neonatal cardiomyocytes were used in the present study.

The pineapple genome and the evolution of CAM photosynthesis.

Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) is the most economically valuable crop possessing crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), a photosynthetic carbon assimilation pathway with high water-use efficiency, and the second most important tropical fruit.

Doxycycline reverses epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of lung cancer cells.

The gelatinase inhibitor doxycycline is the prototypical antitumor antibiotic. We investigated the effects of doxycycline on the migration, invasion, and metastasis of human lung cancer cell lines and in a mouse model. We also measured the effect of doxycycline on the transcription of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, and used immunohistochemistry to determine whether EMT reversal was associated with doxycycline inhibition.