Xenograft of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac lineage cells on zebrafish embryo heart.

Cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are a promising cell source for regenerative medicine and drug discovery. However, the use of animal models for studying human cardiomyocytes derived from hiPSCs in vivo is limited and challenging. Given the shared properties between humans and zebrafish, their ethical advantages over mammalian models, and their immature immune system that is rejection-free against xenografted human cells, zebrafish provide a suitable alternative model for xenograft studies.

Greb1 Transiently Accelerates Pancreatic β-Cell Proliferation in Diabetic Mice Exposed to Estradiol.

Decrease of pancreatic β cells leads to diabetes. In an inducible cAMP early suppressor (ICER-Iγ) transgenic mouse model of severe type 2 diabetes with reduced insulin production and depleted β cells, supplementation with high concentrations of 17β-estradiol (E2) markedly enhances β-cell proliferation and normalizes glucose levels. The current study explored the underlying mechanisms leading to a dynamic increase of β cells and pathologic changes in diabetic mice exposed to E2.

Isolation and Genomic Analysis of 3-Chlorobenzoate-Degrading Bacteria from Soil.

The compound 3-chlorobenzoate (3-CBA) is a hazardous industrial waste product that can harm human health and the environment. This study investigates the physiological and genetic potential for 3-chlorobenzoate (3-CBA) degradation. Six 3-CBA Gram-negative degraders with different degradation properties belonging to the genera , and were isolated from the soil.

Bullet-shaped magnetosomes and metagenomic-based magnetosome gene profiles in a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney.

Magnetosome-producing microorganisms can sense and move toward the redox gradient and have been extensively studied in terrestrial and shallow marine sediment environments. However, given the difficulty of sampling, magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are poorly explored in deep-sea hydrothermal fields. In this study, a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney from the Southern Mariana Trough was collected using a remotely operated submersible.

Screening of placenta accreta spectrum disorder using maternal serum biomarkers and clinical indicators: a case-control study.

Background: Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorder is a major cause of postpartum hemorrhage-associated maternal and fetal death, and novel methods for PAS screening are urgently needed for clinical application.

Methods: The purpose of this study was to develop new methods for PAS screening using serum biomarkers and clinical indicators. A total of 95 PAS cases and 137 controls were enrolled in a case-control study as cohort one, and 44 PAS cases and 35 controls in a prospective nested case-control study were enrolled as cohort two.

Derivation of embryonic stem cells from wild-derived mouse strains by nuclear transfer using peripheral blood cells.

Wild-derived mouse strains have been extensively used in biomedical research because of the high level of inter-strain polymorphisms and phenotypic variations. However, they often show poor reproductive performance and are difficult to maintain by conventional in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. In this study, we examined the technical feasibility of derivation of nuclear transfer embryonic stem cells (ntESCs) from wild-derived mouse strains for their safe genetic preservation.

Restoring tumor immunogenicity with dendritic cell reprogramming.

Decreased antigen presentation contributes to the ability of cancer cells to evade the immune system. We used the minimal gene regulatory network of type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1) to reprogram cancer cells into professional antigen-presenting cells (tumor-APCs). Enforced expression of the transcription factors PU.

Tumor-infiltrating Leukocyte Profiling Defines Three Immune Subtypes of NSCLC with Distinct Signaling Pathways and Genetic Alterations.

Unlabelled: Resistance to immune checkpoint blockade remains challenging in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tumor-infiltrating leukocyte (TIL) quantity, composition, and activation status profoundly influence responsiveness to cancer immunotherapy. This study examined the immune landscape in the NSCLC tumor microenvironment by analyzing TIL profiles of 281 fresh resected NSCLC tissues.

sp. nov. and sp. nov., two novel halophilic actinobacteria isolated from halophytes.

A polyphasic approach was used to describe two halophilic actinobacterial strains, designated LSu2-4 and RSe5-2, which were isolated from halophytes [ (L.) Dum. and (L.

Symbiosis of Carpenter Bees with Uncharacterized Lactic Acid Bacteria Showing NAD Auxotrophy.

Eusocial bees (such as honey bees and bumble bees) harbor core gut microbiomes that are transmitted through social interaction between nestmates. Carpenter bees are not eusocial; however, recent microbiome analyses found that species harbor distinctive core gut microbiomes. In this study, we analyzed the gut microbiomes of three species in Japan between 2016 and 2021 by V1 to V2 region-based 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, and 14 candidate novel species were detected based on the full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences.

Transconjugant range of PromA plasmids in microbial communities is predicted by sequence similarity with the bacterial host chromosome.

Nucleotide sequence similarity, including -mer plasmid composition, has been used for prediction of plasmid evolutionary host range, representing the hosts in which a plasmid has replicated at some point during its evolutionary history. However, the relationships between the bacterial taxa of experimentally identified transconjugants and the predicted evolutionary host ranges are poorly understood. Here, four different PromA group plasmids showing different -mer compositions were used as model plasmids.

SINE RNA of the imprinted miRNA clusters mediates constitutive type III interferon expression and antiviral protection in hemochorial placentas.

Hemochorial placentas have evolved defense mechanisms to prevent the vertical transmission of viruses to the immunologically underdeveloped fetus. Unlike somatic cells that require pathogen-associated molecular patterns to stimulate interferon production, placental trophoblasts constitutively produce type III interferons (IFNL) through an unknown mechanism. We demonstrate that transcripts of short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) embedded in miRNA clusters within the placenta trigger a viral mimicry response that induces IFNL and confers antiviral protection.

Effect of substituting glutamine with lysine on structural and biological properties of antimicrobial peptide Polybia-MP1.

The natural antimicrobial peptide Polybia-MP1 is a promising candidate for developing new treatment therapy for infection and cancer. It showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial and anticancer activity with high safety on healthy cells. However, previous sequence modification usually resulted in at least one of two consequences: a notable increase in hemolytic activity or a considerable decrease in activity against Gram-negative bacteria and cancer cells.

sp. nov., an endophytic actinobacterium isolated from the root tissue of .

An endophytic actinobacterium, designated strain PLAI 1-29, was isolated from the root tissue of collected from Pathum Thani province, Thailand. Strain PLAI 1-29 was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. It typically exhibited morphological and chemotaxonomic properties of the genus .

Strigolactones in Rhizosphere Communication: Multiple Molecules With Diverse Functions.

Strigolactones (SLs) are root-secreted small molecules that influence organisms living in the rhizosphere. While SLs are known as germination stimulants for root parasitic plants and as hyphal branching factors for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, recent studies have also identified them as chemoattractants for parasitic plants, sensors of neighboring plants and key players in shaping the microbiome community. Furthermore, the discovery of structurally diverged SLs, including so-called canonical and non-canonical SLs in various plant species, raises the question of whether the same SLs are responsible for their diverse functions 'in planta' and the rhizosphere or whether different molecules play different roles.

Streptomyces antimicrobicus sp. nov., a novel clay soil-derived actinobacterium producing antimicrobials against drug-resistant bacteria.

A novel actinobacterium, designated strain SMC 277T, was isolated from the clay soil in paddy field of Chonburi Province, Thailand, and characterized using polyphasic taxonomy. Strain SMC 277T formed straight chains of nonmotile cylindrical spores with smooth surface developed on aerial mycelia. The typical chemotaxonomic properties of members of the genus Streptomyces were observed in strain SMC 277T, e.

sp. nov. and sp. nov.: two new endophytic actinobacteria isolated from the roots of Lindl.

Two endophytic actinobacteria, designated as strains 7R015 and 7R016, were isolated from the roots of collected in Thailand. The morphological characteristics and results of chemotaxonomic studies and 16S rRNA gene analysis indicated that both strains represented members of the genus . They contained ll-diaminopimelic acid in the peptidoglycan.

Assessment of metagenomic workflows using a newly constructed human gut microbiome mock community.

To quantify the biases introduced during human gut microbiome studies, analyzing an artificial mock community as the reference microbiome is indispensable. However, there are still limited resources for a mock community which well represents the human gut microbiome. Here, we constructed a novel mock community comprising the type strains of 18 major bacterial species in the human gut and assessed the influence of experimental and bioinformatics procedures on the 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing.

The shh limb enhancer is activated in patterned limb regeneration but not in hypomorphic limb regeneration in Xenopus laevis.

Xenopus young tadpoles regenerate a limb with the anteroposterior (AP) pattern, but metamorphosed froglets regenerate a hypomorphic limb after amputation. The key gene for AP patterning, shh, is expressed in a regenerating limb of the tadpole but not in that of the froglet. Genomic DNA in the shh limb-specific enhancer, MFCS1 (ZRS), is hypermethylated in froglets but hypomethylated in tadpoles: shh expression may be controlled by epigenetic regulation of MFCS1.

UHRF1 is essential for proper cytoplasmic architecture and function of mouse oocytes and derived embryos.

Ubiquitin-like with PHD and RING finger domains 1 (UHRF1) is a protein essential for the maintenance of DNA methylation in somatic cells. However, UHRF1 is predominantly localized in the cytoplasm of mouse oocytes and preimplantation embryos, where it may play a role unrelated to the nuclear function. We herein report that oocyte-specific KO results in impaired chromosome segregation, abnormal cleavage division, and preimplantation lethality of derived embryos.

Associations between IGFBP1 gene polymorphisms and the risk of preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction.

IGFBP1 plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE), but the association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IGFBP1 gene and PE susceptibility has not yet been determined. In our study, 229 women with PE and 361 healthy pregnant (non-PE) women were enrolled to investigate its association via TaqMan genotyping assay. In addition, the protein levels of IGFBP1 under different genotypes were explored by ELISA and IHC.