Microtubule organization defects in Arabidopsis thaliana

Microtubules (MT) are critical cytoskeletal filaments that have several functions in cell morphogenesis, cell division, vesicle transport and cytoplasmic separation in the spatiotemporal regulation of eukaryotic cells. Formation of MT requires the co-interaction of MT nucleation and α-β-tubulins, as well as MT-associated proteins (MAP). Many key MAP contributing to MT nucleation and elongation are essential for MT nucleation and regulation of MT dynamics, and are conserved in the plant kingdom. Therefore, the deletion or decrease of γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC) components and related MAP, such as the augmin complex, NEDD1, MZT1, EB1, MAP65, etc., in Arabidopsis thaliana results in MT organizational defects in the spindle and phragmoplast MT, as well as in chromosome defects. In addition, similar defects in MT organization and chromosome structure have been observed in plants under abiotic stress conditions, such as under high UV-B radiation. The MT can sense the signal from UV-B radiation, resulting in abnormal MT arrangement. Further studies are required to determine whether the abnormal chromosomes induced by UV-B radiation can be attributed to the involvement of abnormal MT arrays in chromosome migration after DNA damage.

MYB134-RNAi poplar plants show reduced tannin synthesis in leaves but not roots, and increased susceptibility to oxidative stress

The importance of the poplar MYB134 gene in controlling condensed tannin (CT) biosynthesis was tested by suppressing its expression using RNA interference (RNAi). MYB134-RNAi plants grew normally but showed reduced accumulation of stress-induced CTs in leaves. RNA-seq analysis indicated that flavonoid- and CT-related genes, as well as additional CT regulators, were strongly and specifically down-regulated by MYB134 suppression. This confirmed that the primary MYB134 target is the leaf flavonoid and CT pathway. Root CT accumulation was not impacted by MYB suppression, suggesting that additional CT regulators are active in roots and emphasizing the complexity of the regulation of CTs in poplar. To test the effect of CT down-regulation on oxidative stress resistance, leaves of MYB134-RNAi and control plants were exposed to the reactive oxygen species generator methyl viologen. MYB134-RNAi leaves sustained significantly more photosystem II damage, as seen in reduced chlorophyll fluorescence, compared with wild-type leaves. MYB134-RNAi leaves also contained more hydrogen peroxide, a reactive oxygen species, compared with the wild type. Our data thus corroborate the hypothesis that CT can act as an antioxidant in vivo and protect against oxidative stress. Overall, MYB134 was shown to be a central player in the regulation of CT synthesis in leaves.

One Case of Soil and Groundwater Environmental Forensics Caused by Illegal Landfill Waste

Abstract

Small-molecule PD-L1 inhibitor BMS1166 abrogates the function of PD-L1 by blocking its ER export

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against the PD-L1/PD-1 (programmed death ligand-1/programmed cell death protein-1) axis have achieved great successes in cancer treatments, but the development of small-molecule immunomodulators of the pathway has lagged far behind. We established a cellular coculture assay with two stable transfectant cell lines, a PD-L1-expressing tumor cell line PC9/PD-L1 and a PD-1-expressing T cell line Jurkat/PD-1. Western blotting analyses were used to monitor the PD-L1/PD-1 interaction and signaling. We analyzed PD-L1 glycosylation by lectin binding assay and glycosidase digestion, and examined subcellular localization of PD-L1 by immunocytochemical staining. Luciferase assay and real-time PCR were used to evaluate T cell activation in the coculture experiments. We found that coculturing of the PC9/PD-L1 cells with the Jurkat/PD-1 cells induced a lysosomal degradation of PD-1. A small-molecule PD-L1 inhibitor BMS1166 developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb inhibited the coculture-induced PD-1 degradation through a unique mechanism. BMS1166 specifically affected PD-L1 glycosylation and prevented transporting of the under-glycosylated form of PD-L1 from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to Golgi, leading to accumulation of PD-L1 in ER. In doing so, BMS1166 blocked PD-L1/PD-1 signaling. Coculturing PD-L1-expressing cells with PD-1-expressing cells induced degradation of PD-1, which could be used as a readout to identify inhibitors of PD-L1/PD-1 signaling. The small-molecule PD-L1 inhibitor BMS1166 abolished the glycosylation and maturation of PD-L1 by blocking its exporting from ER to Golgi. Our study discovered a new strategy to identify inhibitors of the PD-L1/PD-1 signaling pathway and to develop new drugs for the treatment of cancer.

Grape-seed polyphenols inhibit AAA in mice via regulation of macrophage polarization

AIM

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is characterized by macrophage polarization, and at present, no drug therapy is available. Although grape-seed polyphenols (GSP) showed an anti-AAA effect, the role of GSP in the phenotype shift in macrophages remains unknown.

METHOD

The main phenolic compounds in GSP were determined by LC-MS. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four equal groups, namely sham group, CaPO4 group, CaPO4+GSP low-dose group, and CaPO4+GSP high-dose group. GSP was administered intragastrically after CaPO4 application. Molecular expressions were histologically evaluated and analyzed by various staining assays and FACS.

RESULTS

GSP administration inhibited CaPO4-induced AAA formation, which correlated with a decrease in macrophage infiltration and retainment of vascular smooth muscle layer as compared to those in the CaPO4 group. FACS assay showed that the GSP administration dose-dependently decreased the CD54 expression (low-dose group: 11.4 ± 2.1 % and high-dose group: 4.8 ± 1.4 % vs 23.2 ± 3.6 %; p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) and increased the CD206 expression of F4/80-positive cells in GSP-administered groups as compared with that in CaPO4-injured aortas in the CaPO4 group (low-dose group: 22.4 ± 3.3 % and high-dose group: 26.7 ± 4.2 % vs 8.1 ± 1.3 %; p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

GSP could be a pharmacologically potent agent in the treatment of AAA (Tab. 1, Fig. 3,Ref. 20). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: grape-seed polyphenols, abdominal aortic aneurysm, macrophage, inflammatory, polarization.

Immunorelated gene polymorphisms associated with acute myeloid leukemia

Although the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still unknown, accumulating evidence has revealed that immune response plays a vital part in the pathogenesis. Here, we investigated the involvement of 21 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of immunorelated genes, including cytokines [interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-9, IL-12A, IL-22, interferon (IFN-α) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1], transcriptional regulatory genes (TBX21, STAT1, STAT3, STAT5B, STAT6, GATA3, FOXP3 and IRF4) and others (IL2RA, IL6R, NFKBIA) in 269 AML in-patients and 200 healthy controls. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationship between the SNPs and clinical characteristics. Immunorelated SNP genotyping was performed on the Sequenom MassARRAY iPLEX platform. All the SNPs in healthy controls were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. All final P-values were adjusted by Bonferroni multiple testing. Our results showed that IL-22 (rs2227491) was significantly associated with the white blood cell (WBC) counts. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5B (STAT-5B) (rs6503691) showed a close relationship with the recurrent genetic abnormalities in patients with AML. We verified the negatively independent effect of age and risk of cytogenetics on overall survival (OS). More importantly, the GG genotype of IL-12A (rs6887695) showed a negative impact on AML prognosis independently. Furthermore, the relative expression of IL-12 was decreased in GG genotype, no matter under a co-dominant or recessive model. However, no correlation was observed between the SNPs mentioned above and disease susceptibility, risk stratification and survival. Our findings suggest that immunorelated gene polymorphisms are associated with prognosis in AML, which may perform as novel inspection targets for AML patients.

Formation and Development of Environmental Forensics System in China

With the growing attention on ecological environment problems and gradual realization of ecological environment value, environmental damage has jumped from administrative penalty to a new stage, judicial penalty, and environmental damage appraisal has provided a legal weapon to safeguard ecological security. As a new forensic category of China with high comprehensiveness and technical difficulty, environmental damage appraisal involves diversified and complex subjects, fields and appraisal objects, and is still in an early stage in terms of theory and practice. This study aims to provide an important reference for the improvement of the Chinese environmental damage appraisal system of environmental damage by summarizing advanced international experience in areas such as laws and regulations, working mechanism and technical system, and putting forward targeted countermeasures and suggestions based on the problems existing in the development and practice of environmental damage appraisal in China.

Long-term follow-up of owned, free-roaming dogs in South Africa naturally exposed to Babesia rossi

Babesia rossi is an important, tick-borne intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite; however, its natural history and epidemiology is poorly understood. Babesia rossi is the most virulent Babesia sp. in domestic dogs and is generally considered to cause severe babesiosis, which is fatal if left untreated. However, subclinical infections and mild disease from B. rossi have been reported, although the clinical progression of these cases was not reported. Therefore, to better understand B. rossi under field conditions, we evaluated its clinical progression and seroprevalence in an owned, free-roaming dog population in Zenzele, South Africa, where the parasite is endemic and prevention is not routine. The entire dog population in Zenzele was monitored intensively at the individual level from March 2008 until April 2014, primarily for a longitudinal study on rabies control. Subsequent evaluation of B. rossi comprised analyses of clinical and laboratory data collected from the Zenzele dog population during the 6 year study period. A substantial proportion (31% (n = 34)) of 109 dogs (randomly selected from every available dog in February/March 2010 older than ~6-8 weeks (n = 246)) tested by Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test had seroconverted strongly to B. rossi. All 34 dogs were generally consistently healthy adults, determined from regular clinical examinations between March 2008 and April 2014. Blood smear examinations at multiple time points between July 2009 and February 2011 were also undertaken for almost all of these (34) seropositive dogs and all those tested were consistently negative for Babesia spp. Subclinical infections and mild disease were also the main findings for a separate group of 18 dogs positive for Babesia spp. on blood smear examination and confirmed to be infected with B. rossi by Polymerase Chain Reaction - Reverse Line Blot. Almost all of these dogs were positive at only one time point from repeat blood smear examinations between July 2009 and February 2011. We suggest that these observations are consistent with immunity acquired from repeated, low-level exposure to the parasite, generating transient subclinical infections or mild disease. Should this be the case, the use of tick control, particularly in adult dogs in free-roaming populations in B. rossi endemic regions, should be carefully considered.

Randomized clinical trial of intraoperative dexmedetomidine to prevent delirium in the elderly undergoing major non-cardiac surgery

Background

Delirium is common in elderly patients after surgery and is associated with poor outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of intraoperative dexmedetomidine on the incidence of delirium in elderly patients undergoing major surgery.

Methods

This was a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Elderly patients (aged 60 years or more) scheduled to undergo major non-cardiac surgery were randomized into two groups. Patients in the intervention group received a loading dose of dexmedetomidine 0·6 μg/kg 10 min before induction of anaesthesia followed by a continuous infusion (0·5 μg per kg per h) until 1 h before the end of surgery. Patients in the control group received volume-matched normal saline in the same schedule. The primary outcome was the incidence of delirium during the first 5 days after surgery. Delirium was assessed with the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) for non-ventilated patients and CAM for the Intensive Care Unit for ventilated patients.

Results

In total, 309 patients who received dexmedetomidine and 310 control patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The incidence of delirium within 5 days of surgery was lower with dexmedetomidine treatment: 5·5 per cent (17 of 309) versus 10·3 per cent (32 of 310) in the control group (relative risk (RR) 0·53, 95 per cent c.i. 0·30 to 0·94; P = 0·026). The overall incidence of complications at 30 days was also lower after dexmedetomidine (19·4 per cent (60 of 309) versus 26·1 per cent (81 of 310) for controls; RR 0·74, 0·55 to 0·99, P = 0·047).

Conclusion

Intraoperative dexmedetomidine halved the risk of delirium in the elderly after major non-cardiac surgery. Registration number: ChiCTR-IPR-15007654 (www.chictr.org.cn).

Pre-miR-27a rs895819 polymorphism and risk of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Background

Recently, several studies have investigated the relationship between Pre‐miR‐27a rs895819 polymorphism and risk of various cancers. However, the relationship between rs895819 and diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has not been well known.

Methods

In this study, we conducted a case‐control study to explore the role of Pre‐miR‐27a rs895819 in risk of DLBCL. The PCR‐TaqMan and luciferase assays and in vitro experiments were used to evaluate polymorphism function.

Results

As a result, we found subjects carrying with rs895819 AG/GG genotype had a significantly decreased risk when compared with those carrying the AA genotype. Further qPCR assay showed that the DLBCL patients carrying AG/GG genotypes showed a lower level of mature miR‐27a when compared with patients carrying AA genotype. Moreover, miR‐27a levels were upregulated in DLBCL tissues compared with normal lymphoid tissues. Further in vitro experiments showed that miR‐27a might function as an oncogene through target TGFBR1. In addition, TGFBR1 overexpression rescues effects of miR‐27a inhibitor on DLBCL cells phenotypes.

Conclusions

In conclusion, these findings indicate that rs895819 A > G might reduce the expression of mature miR‐27a, and leading a higher level of TGFBR1, ultimately inhibiting the development of DLBCL.

Beneficial effects of xenon inhalation on behavioral changes in a valproic acid-induced model of autism in rats

BACKGROUND

Xenon (Xe) is a noble gas that has been used for the last several decades as an anesthetic during surgery. Its antagonistic effect on glutamate subtype of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors resulted in evaluation of this gas for treatment of CNS pathologies, including psychoemotional disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the behavioral effects of acute inhalation of subanesthetic concentrations of Xe and to study the outcomes of Xe exposure in valproic acid (VPA)-induced rodent model of autism.

METHODS

We have conducted two series of experiments with a battery of behavioral tests aimed to evaluate locomotion, anxiety- and depression-like behavior, and social behavior in healthy, VPA-treated and Xe-exposed young rats.

RESULTS

We have shown that in healthy animals Xe exposure resulted in acute and delayed decrease of exploratory motivation, partial decrease in risk-taking and depressive-like behavior as well as improved sensorimotor integration during the negative geotaxis test. Acute inhalations of Xe in VPA-exposed animals led to improvement in social behavior, decrease in exploratory motivation, and normalization of behavior in forced-swim test.

CONCLUSION

Behavioral modulatory effects of Xe are probably related to its generalized action on excitatory/inhibitory balance within the CNS. Our data suggest that subanesthetic short-term exposures to Xe have beneficial effect on several behavioral modalities and deserves further investigation.