Negative parenting style and depression in adolescents: A moderated mediation of self-esteem and perceived social support

BACKGROUND

Negative parenting style as a risk factors of depression has been defined in the previous researches. However, the underlying mechanism between negative parenting style and depression was still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of perceived social support in the association between negative parenting style and depression among adolescents.

METHODS

A total of 14,724 Chinese adolescents were asked to complete the questionnaires including Parenting Style scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Self-esteem scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item scale. Mediation and moderation analyses were carried out in SPSS 25.0 macro PROCESS.

RESULTS

Self-esteem mediated the relationship between negative parenting styles and adolescent depression (β = 0.113, SE = 0.004, p < 0.001). Perceived social support moderated the direct effect of negative parenting style on depression (β = -0.076, SE = 0.009, p < 0.001). Moreover, perceived social support moderated the indirect effect of negative parenting style on self-esteem (β = -0.023, SE = 0.007, p < 0.001) and the indirect effect of self-esteem on depression (β = 0.070, SE = 0.009, p < 0.001) in the moderated mediation model.

LIMITATIONS

Cross-sectional research design was used in the study. All measures were based on participant self-report.

CONCLUSION

This study reveals the underlying mechanism with regard to the influence of negative parenting style on depression through self-esteem and perceived social support. Findings provide a theoretical basis and practical implications for prevention and intervention programs to protect adolescents' mental health.

Observation of the short-term curative effect of using SuperPATH approach to treat elderly femoral neck fractures with schizophrenia

As China enters an aging society, the incidence of femoral neck fractures is increasing year by year. For some patients, total hip arthroplasty (THA) is the treatment of choice for displaced femoral neck fractures. Schizophrenia is a common combination of elderly patients with femoral neck fractures, and there are few reports on the treatment. This study describes the short-term efficacy of the supercapsular percutaneously assisted (SuperPATH) approach in the treatment of patients suffered with displaced femoral neck fractures combined with schizophrenia. A retrospective analysis of 20 elderly patients with displaced femoral neck fractures combined with schizophrenia who underwent THA using the SuperPATH approach. Record demographic data, postoperative reexamination of X-ray film to observe the position and the loosening condition of the prosthesis, the length of hospitalization, complications in the hospital and after discharge. The Harris score of hip joint function was used to evaluate postoperative hip joint function. The average age of the 20 patients was 73.1 years. All patients were followed up by outpatient clinic or telephone. The follow-up time was 3-12 months, with an average of 9.2 months. There was no incision infection, no tissue structure damage such as important nerves and blood vessels, and no complications such as early dislocation, loosening of the joint prosthesis, and deep vein thrombosis of lower extremities. The efficacy of the last follow-up was evaluated according to the Harris score of hip joint function: an average of 91 points (78-98 points); 13 cases were excellent, 5 cases were good, and 2 cases were fair. The SuperPATH approach has the advantages of less surgical damage, shorter recovery time, good surgical safety, preserving the normal tension of the muscles around the hip joint, and reducing the incidence rate of early postoperative dislocation of the joint prosthesis. The THA of the SuperPATH approach can treat patients with displaced femoral neck fractures combined with schizophrenia safely and effectively.

[Clinical observation on the efficacy and safety of dupilumab in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis]

To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of dupilumab in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in China. A small sample self-controlled study before and after treatment was conducted to retrospective analysis patients with moderate to severe AD treated with dupilumab in the department of dermatology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from July 2020 to March 2022. Dupilumab 600 mg was injected subcutaneously at week 0, and then 300 mg was injected subcutaneously every 2 weeks. The condition was evaluated by SCORAD(severity scoring of atopic dermatitis), NRS(numerical rating scale), DLQI(dermatology life quality index) and POEM(patient-oriented eczema measure). The improvement of SCORAD, NRS, DLQI and POEM was analyzed by paired t test and non-parametric paired Wilcoxon. The results showed that a total of 67 patients with moderate to severe AD received dupilumab treatment, of which 41 patients (the course of treatment was more than 6 weeks) had reduced the severity of skin lesions, improved quality of life and reduced pruritus. A total of 23 patients completed 16 weeks of treatment. At 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks, SCORAD, NRS, DLQI and POEM decreased compared with the baseline, and the differences were statistically significant. SCORAD (50.13±15.19) at baseline, SCORAD (36.08±11.96)(t=6.049,P<0.001) at week 4,SCORAD (28.04±11.10)(t=10.471,P<0.001) at week 8, SCORAD (22.93±9.72)(t=12.428,P<0.001) at week 12, SCORAD (16.84±7.82)(t=14.609,P<0.001) at week 16, NRS 7(6,8) at baseline, NRS 4(3,5)(Z=-3.861,P<0.001) at week 4, NRS 2(1,4)(Z=-4.088,P<0.001) at week 8, NRS 1(0,2)(Z=-4.206,P<0.001) at week 12, NRS 2(0,2)(Z=-4.222,P<0.001) at week 16, DLQI (13.83±5.71) at baseline, DLQI (8.00±4.02)(t=6.325,P<0.001) at week 4, DLQI (5.61±3.50)(t=8.060,P<0.001) at week 8, DLQI (3.96±1.99)(t=8.717,P<0.001) at week 12, DLQI (2.70±1.89)(t=10.355,P<0.001) at week 16, POEM (18.04±6.41) at baseline, POEM (9.70±4.70)(t=7.031,P<0.001) at week 4, POEM (7.74±3.48)(t=8.806,P<0.001) at week 8, POEM (6.35±3.33)(t=10.474,P<0.001) at week 12, POEM (4.26±2.51)(t=11.996,P<0.001) at week 16. In the 16th week, 100%(23 patients), 91.3%(21 patients), 34.8%(8 patients) and 8.7%(2 patients) of 23 patients reached SCORAD30, SCORAD50, SCORAD70, and SCORAD90 statuses, respectively. There were 82.6%(19 patients), 95.7%(22 patients) and 95.7%(22 patients) of 23 patients with NRS, DLQI and POEM improved by≥4 points compared with baseline. Twelve patients with AD who continued to receive dupilumab after 16 weeks showed further improvement in skin lesions. The adverse events were conjunctivitis and injection site reaction. In conclusion, dupilumab is an effective and safe treatment for moderate and severe AD. However, the longer-term efficacy and safety require further studies involving larger sample sizes and a longer follow-up time.

AutoBar: Automatic Barrier Coverage Formation for Danger Keep Out Applications in Smart City

Barrier coverage is a fundamental application in wireless sensor networks, which are widely used for smart cities. In applications, the sensors form a barrier for the intruders and protect an area through intrusion detection. In this paper, we study a new branch of barrier coverage, namely warning barrier coverage (WBC). Different from the classic barrier coverage, WBC has the inverse protect direction, which moves the sensors surrounding a dangerous region and protects any unexpected visitors by warning them away from the dangers. WBC holds a promising prospect in many danger keep out applications for smart cities. For example, a WBC can enclose the debris area in the sea and alarm any approaching ships in order to avoid their damaging propellers. One special feature of WBC is that the target region is usually dangerous and its boundary is previously unknown. Hence, the scattered mobile nodes need to detect the boundary and form the barrier coverage themselves. It is challenging to form these distributed sensor nodes into a barrier because a node can sense only the local information and there is no global information of the unknown region or other nodes. To this end, in response to the newly proposed issue of the formation of barrier cover, we propose a novel solution AutoBar for mobile sensor nodes to automatically form a WBC for smart cities. Notably, this is the first work to trigger the coverage problem of the alarm barrier, wherein the regional information is not pre-known. To pursue the high coverage quality, we theoretically derive the optimal distribution pattern of sensor nodes using convex theory. Based on the analysis, we design a fully distributed algorithm that enables nodes to collaboratively move toward the optimal distribution pattern. In addition, AutoBar is able to reorganize the barrier even if any node is broken. To validate the feasibility of AutoBar, we develop the prototype of the specialized mobile node, which consists of two kinds of sensors: one for boundary detection and another for visitor detection. Based on the prototype, we conduct extensive real trace-driven simulations in various smart city scenarios. Performance results demonstrate that AutoBar outperforms the existing barrier coverage strategies in terms of coverage quality, formation duration, and communication overhead.

Analysis of the factors influencing male infertility of reproductive age in Jinan

OBJECTIVE

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines infertility as a person failing to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Infertility includes female infertility and male infertility. The aim of this paper is to study the etiology of infertility and related influencing factors in men of reproductive age in Jinan.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this study, 172 male infertile patients who attended the Department of Assisted Reproduction of Shandong Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shandong, China and the Infertility Clinic of Jinan Central Hospital in Shandong, China from August 2021 to April 2022 are selected as the study population (infertility group). A convenience sampling method is used to select 257 men from couples attending the Obstetrics Department of Qilu Hospital in Shandong, China, the Obstetrics Department of the Second Hospital of Shandong University in Shandong, China, and the Obstetrics Department of Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shandong, China from October 2021 to February 2022 as the study subjects (control group). A self-designed questionnaire is used to conduct the survey, which includes basic personal information, lifestyle information, marital and family-related information, and one-way and multi-way logistic regression analyses are performed.

RESULTS

The average age of the case group and the control group are 34.03±5.13 years old and 33.61±8.18 years old; the average height is 175.80±5.91 cm and 176.78±5.25 cm; the average weight is 80.28±14.70 kg and 83.09±45.36 kg. The differences in age, height, and weight between the case group and the control group are not statistically significant by t-test. Moderate oligospermia is the predominant cause of infertility in men of reproductive age in Jinan. A multifactorial logistic regression analysis yields that academic qualifications (OR=2.518, 95% CI: 1.023 to 6.196), coffee consumption (OR=7.692, 95% CI: 1.623 to 36.460), living in a room that had been renovated within a period of time (OR=2.769, 95% CI: 1.104 to 6.949), stress level (OR=47.280, 95% CI: 23.656-94.494), quality of sexual life (OR=3.352, 95% CI: 1.331-8.442), and duration of couple separation (OR=3.851, 95% CI: 1.094-13.557) are the main risk factors for infertility in men of reproductive age in Jinan.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, a total of 6 risk factors are screened for male infertility in Jinan in the reproductive age, including high academic qualifications, coffee consumption, living in a room that has finished renovation within 3 months, high stress, poor quality of sexual life, and long spousal separation. Three factors can be controlled, avoided, or reduced through personal actions; the factors are coffee consumption, living in a room that has finished renovation within 3 months, and high stress, all of which may reduce the level of male reproductive health.

EFEMP2 upregulates PD-L1 expression via EGFR/ERK1/2/c-Jun signaling to promote the invasion of ovarian cancer cells

BACKGROUND

Fibulin-like extracellular matrix protein 2 (EFEMP2) has been reported to be related to the progression of various cancers. We have previously reported that EFEMP2 was highly expressed in ovarian cancer and was strongly associated with poor prognosis in patients. This study intends to further explore its interacting proteins and possible downstream signaling pathways.

METHOD

The expression of EFEMP2 was detected by RT-qPCR, ICC and western blot in 4 kinds of ovarian cancer cells with different migration and invasion ability. Cell models with strong or weak EFEMP2 expression were constructed by lentivirus transfection. The effects of the down-regulation and up-regulation of EFEMP2 on the biological behavior of ovarian cancer cells were studied through in-vitro and in-vivo functional tests. The phosphorylation pathway profiling array and KEGG database analyses identified the downstream EGFR/ERK1/2/c-Jun signaling pathway and the programmed death-1 (PD-L1) pathway enrichment. Additionally, the protein interaction between EFEMP2 and EGFR was detected by immunoprecipitation.

RESULT

EFEMP2 was positively correlated with the invasion ability of ovarian cancer cells, its down-regulation inhibited the migrative, invasive and cloning capacity of cancer cells in vitro and suppressed the tumor proliferation and intraperitoneal diffusion in vivo, while its up-regulation did the opposite. Moreover, EFEMP2 could bind to EGFR to induce PD-L1 regulation in ovarian cancer, which was caused by the activation of EGFR/ERK1/2/c-Jun signaling. Similar to EFEMP2, PD-L1 was also highly expressed in aggressive cells and had the ability to promote the invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, and PD-L1 upregulation was partly caused by EFEMP2 activation. Afatinib combined with trametinib had an obvious effect of inhibiting the intraperitoneal diffusion of ovarian cancer cells, especially in the group with low expression of EFEMP2, while overexpression of PD-L1 could reverse this phenomenon.

CONCLUSION

EFEMP2 could bind to EGFR to activate ERK1/2/c-Jun pathway and regulate PD-L1 expression, furthermore PD-L1 was extremely essential for EFEMP2 to promote ovarian cancer cells invasion and dissemination in vitro and in vivo. Targeted therapy against the source gene EFEMP2 is our future research direction, which may better inhibit the invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells.

Features and clinical significance of tertiary lymphoid structure in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) plays an important role in anti-tumor immunity, largely reflecting the prognosis. However, its clinical implication in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) remains unknown.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the features of TLS in cSCC and its association with clinicopathological characteristics.

METHODS

Two independent RNA-seq data of cSCC were used to investigate the tumor immune microenvironment, as well as TLS-related chemokines and cytokines. The density and location of TLSs were assessed in a total of 82 cSCC patients, and the clinicopathologic association was examined.

RESULTS

Bioinformatics analysis showed that a large amount of immune cell infiltration and significant up-regulation of TLS-related chemokines were observed in cSCC. Histologically, TLSs appeared as highly organized structures in 72 (87.8%) cases with different levels of density and maturation, among which 14 cases were in low-density group and 58 cases were in high-density group. Clinically, the presence of TLS was prominently associated with better degree of histopathological grades and higher level of sun exposure. Furthermore, the presence of intratumoral TLS was associated with lower lymphovascular invasion.

CONCLUSIONS

TLS is highly organized in cSCC, and the presence of TLS is a positive prognostic factor for cSCC, which will provide a theoretical basis for the future diagnostic and therapeutic value in cSCC.

Evidence of a shared binding site for Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac and Cry2Aa toxins in Cnaphalocrocis medinalis cadherin

Insect midgut cadherins function as receptors and play critical roles as protein receptors of insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins used as biopesticides and in Bt transgenic crops worldwide. Here, we cloned and characterized the full-length midgut cadherin (CmCad) cDNA from the rice leaffolder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis), a destructive pest of rice in many Asian countries. Expression of recombinant proteins corresponding to the extracellular domain of CmCad allowed testing binding of Cry proteins. Results from in vitro ligand blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays supported that the extracellular domain of CmCad contains regions recognized by both Cry1Ac and Cry2Aa. Molecular modelling and docking simulations indicated that binding to both Cry1Ac and Cry2Aa is localized primarily within a CmCad motif corresponding to residues T1417-D1435. A recombinant CmCad protein produced without residues T1417-D1435 lacked binding to Cry1Ac and Cry2Aa, confirmed our modelling predictions that CmCad has a shared Cry1Ac and Cry2Aa binding site. The potential existence of a shared binding region in CmCad suggests that caution should be taken when using combinations of Cry1Ac and Cry2Aa in pyramided transgenic rice, as their combined use could speed the evolution of resistance to both toxins.

Successful use of tofacitinib in epidermolysis bullosa pruriginosa

This case report describes 26-year-old woman who had multiple clusters of pale-pink lichenoid papules since childhood and the accompanying itching was intense. Skin biopsy revealed obvious fissures had formed under the epidermis. The patient was diagnosed with epidermolysis bullosa pruriginosa and was successfully treated with tofacitinib.

WRKY46 promotes ammonium tolerance in Arabidopsis by repressing NUDX9 and indole-3-acetic acid-conjugating genes and by inhibiting ammonium efflux in the root elongation zone

Ammonium (NH₄⁺ ) is toxic to root growth in most plants, even at moderate concentrations. Transcriptional regulation is one of the most important mechanisms in the response of plants to NH₄⁺ toxicity, but the nature of the involvement of transcription factors (TFs) in this regulation remains unclear. Here, RNA-seq analysis was performed on Arabidopsis roots to screen for ammonium-responsive TFs. WRKY46, the member of the WRKY transcription factor family most responsive to NH₄⁺ , was selected. We defined the role of WRKY46 using mutation and overexpression assays, and characterized the regulation of NUDX9 and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)-conjugating genes by WRKY46 via yeast one-hybrid and electrophoretic mobility shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (ChIP-qPCR). Knockout of WRKY46 increased, while overexpression of WRKY46 decreased, NH₄⁺ -suppression of the primary root. WRKY46 is shown to directly bind to the promoters of the NUDX9 and IAA-conjugating genes (GH3.1, GH3.6, UGT75D1, UGT84B2) and to inhibit their transcription, thus positively regulating free IAA content and stabilizing protein N-glycosylation, leading to an inhibition of NH₄⁺ efflux in the root elongation zone (EZ). We identify TF involvement in the regulation of NH₄⁺ efflux in the EZ, and show that WRKY46 inhibits NH₄⁺ efflux by negative regulation of NUDX9 and IAA-conjugating genes.

The association between the vaginal microenvironment and fecundability: a register-based cohort study among Chinese women

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between the vaginal microenvironment and fecundability among women.

DESIGN

Register-based nationwide cohort study.

SETTING

Chinese National Free Pre-conception Check-up Project from 2015 to 2018.

POPULATION

Our study included a total of 3 388 554 eligible women who were attempting to become pregnant.

METHOD

We assessed the vaginal microenvironment at baseline by considering four indices: vaginal pH, clue cell examination, whiff test and vaginal cleanliness grading. If any of these indicators was abnormal, the vaginal microenvironment was defined as poor. Propensity score matching was used to control for potential confounders and reduce bias. Logistic models were used to estimate the fecundability odds ratios (FORs) after adjustment for covariates.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Achievement of a pregnancy within 1 year.

RESULTS

Of the total study population, 379 718 women (11.2%) had a poor vaginal microenvironment and their pregnancy rate after 1 year was significantly lower than the group with a normal microenvironment (71.8% versus 76.1%, P < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, the women with a poor vaginal microenvironment were associated with a 9% reduction in fecundability compared with the normal microenvironment group (FOR 0.91, 95% CI 0.90-0.92). The adverse effects of a poor vaginal microenvironment were stronger among multipara (FOR 0.89, 95% CI 0.87-0.90) or women with irregular menstruation (FOR 0.86, 95% CI 0.84-0.89).

CONCLUSION

There was a negative association between a poor vaginal microenvironment and the fecundability of women. These findings highlight the significance of assessing the vaginal microenvironment during pre-pregnancy health examinations.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

Women with a poor vaginal microenvironment were associated with a reduction in fecundability.

High ammonium inhibits root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana by promoting auxin conjugation rather than inhibiting auxin biosynthesis

Ammonium (NH₄⁺) inhibits primary root (PR) growth in most plant species when present even at moderate concentrations. Previous studies have shown that transport of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is critical to maintaining root elongation under high-NH₄⁺ stress. However, the precise regulation of IAA homeostasis under high-NH₄⁺ stress (HAS) remains unclear. In this study, qRT-PCR, RNA-seq, free IAA and IAA conjugate and PR elongation measurements were conducted in genetic mutants to investigate the role of IAA biosynthesis and conjugation under HAS. Our data clearly show that HAS decreases free IAA in roots by increasing IAA inactivation but does not decrease IAA biosynthesis, and that the IAA-conjugating genes GH3.1, GH3.2, GH3.3, GH3.4, and GH3.6 function as the key genes in regulating high-NH₄⁺ sensitivity in the roots. Furthermore, the analysis of promoter::GUS staining in situ and genetic mutants reveals that HAS promotes IAA conjugation in the elongation zone (EZ), which may be responsible for the PR inhibition observed under HAS. This study provides potential new insight into the role of auxin in the improvement of tolerance to NH₄⁺.

A216 CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF LYSOSOMAL ACID LIPASE DEFICIENCY (LAL-D): THE INTERNATIONAL LAL-D REGISTRY

Background

Lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D) is a rare, autosomal recessive disease caused by pathogenic variants in the LIPA gene. Lysosomal accumulation of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides leads to cirrhosis and dyslipidemia across a clinical spectrum, and affect both infants and children/adults.

Aims

An international registry (NCT01633489; Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; 2013–ongoing) was established to better understand the natural history of lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D) and to evaluate long-term treatment outcomes.

Methods

Baseline findings for patients enrolled through July 1, 2019 are presented. Of 190 patients enrolled, 35 were excluded from this analysis (LIPA carrier, deceased at enrollment, unconfirmed LAL-D diagnosis); 155 patients with confirmed LAL-D diagnosis were included (12 infants, 143 children/adults). LAL enzyme activity analysis was performed for 145/154 patients (94%) and genetic testing for 128/154 patients (83%).

Results

Of 105 children/adults with reported LIPA mutations, 39 were homozygous and 34 were compound heterozygous for the common LIPA mutation E8SJM (c.894G&gt;A); 6 infants with reported LIPA mutations were homozygotes and 2 were compound heterozygotes. Of the 155 patients, 62% were &lt;18 years, 52% were male, and 85% were white. Median (range) age at clinical onset was 0.2 years (0.0–0.7) among infants and 6.0 years (0.0–41.3) among 133 children/adults with data; median (range) age at diagnosis was 0.2 years (−0.1 to 1.2) among infants and 10.8 years (0.2–53.6) among 135 children/adults with data. Manifestations that raised suspicion of LAL-D were reported in 149/155 patients. Infants (12 with data) presented predominantly with hepatomegaly (75%), splenomegaly (58%), nausea/vomiting (58%), and diarrhea (50%), and 50% had a known family history of LAL-D. Children/adults (n=143) presented predominantly with elevated alanine aminotransferase levels (67%), hepatomegaly (66%), and elevated aspartate aminotransferase levels (65%). Of 74 children/adults with baseline liver biopsy, 58% had microvesicular steatosis, 16% had micro- and macrovesicular steatosis, and 32% had lobular inflammation. Of the 155 patients, 6% had a medical history of cirrhosis. Analyses exploring the genotype-phenotype relationship will be presented.

Conclusions

Registry data of &gt;150 LAL-D patients demonstrate early symptom onset, variable clinical manifestations, and a significant diagnostic delay in children/adults.

Funding Agencies

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

ζ-Carotene Isomerase Suppresses Tillering in Rice through the Coordinated Biosynthesis of Strigolactone and Abscisic Acid

Rice tillering is an important agronomic trait affecting grain yield. Here, we identified a high-tillering mutant tillering20 (t20), which could be restored to the wild type by treatment with the strigolactone (SL) analog rac-GR24. T20 encodes a chloroplast ζ-carotene isomerase (Z-ISO), which is involved in the biosynthesis of carotenoids and their metabolites, SL and abscisic acid (ABA). The t20 mutant has reduced SL and ABA, raising the question of how SL and ABA biosynthesis is coordinated, and whether they have overlapping functions in tillering. We discovered that rac-GR24 stimulated T20 expression and enhanced all-trans-β-carotene biosynthesis. Importantly, rac-GR24 also stimulated expression of Oryza sativa 9-CIS-EPOXYCAROTENOID DIOXYGENASE 1 (OsNCED1) through induction of Oryza sativa HOMEOBOX12 (OsHOX12), promoting ABA biosynthesis in shoot base. On the other hand, ABA treatment significantly repressed SL biosynthesis and the ABA biosynthetic mutants displayed elevated SL biosynthesis. ABA treatment reduced the number of basal tillers in both t20 and wild-type plants. Furthermore, while ABA-deficient mutants aba1 and aba2 had the same number of basal tillers as wild type, they had more unproductive upper tillers at maturity. This work demonstrates complex interactions in the biosynthesis of carotenoid, SLs and ABA, and reveals a role for ABA in the regulation of rice tillering.

Clean 2D superconductivity in a bulk van der Waals superlattice

Advances in low-dimensional superconductivity are often realized through improvements in material quality. Apart from a small group of organic materials, there is a near absence of clean-limit two-dimensional (2D) superconductors, which presents an impediment to the pursuit of numerous long-standing predictions for exotic superconductivity with fragile pairing symmetries. We developed a bulk superlattice consisting of the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) superconductor 2H-niobium disulfide (2H-NbS2) and a commensurate block layer that yields enhanced two-dimensionality, high electronic quality, and clean-limit inorganic 2D superconductivity. The structure of this material may naturally be extended to generate a distinct family of 2D superconductors, topological insulators, and excitonic systems based on TMDs with improved material properties.

Identification of the CD200R1 promoter and the association of its polymorphisms with the risk of Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Neuroinflammation is known to be involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Abnormal activation of microglia plays a key role in this pathological process. CD200R1 is a membrane glycoprotein that is expressed primarily on myeloid cells including microglia and is involved in the maintenance of microglia in a stationary state. Our previous study reported that the regulation of CD200R1 expression is altered in PD patients. Such alteration will lead to neuroinflammation and is related to the pathogenesis of PD. The possible role of promoter polymorphisms for abnormal CD200R1 expression in PD was examined in this study.

METHOD

The UCSC database and dual-luciferase assays were used to confirm the promoter region of CD200R1. The promoter of CD200R1 was sequenced in 457 PD patients and 520 matched healthy controls from the Chinese Han population. Dual-luciferase assays were conducted to examine the promoter activity of CD200R1.

RESULTS

It was confirmed that the promoter of CD200R1 is located in the region 876-146 bp upstream of the coding DNA sequence. The frequencies of rs144721913 (P = 0.001) and rs72952157 (P = 0.022) in the promoter were significantly different between the PD group and control group. rs144721913 increases the risk of PD by approximately 14-fold and rs72952157 by 2.6-fold. The dual-luciferase assay indicated that the rs144721913 T allele and the rs72952157 G allele reduced the transcriptional activity of the CD200R1 promoter.

CONCLUSIONS

For the first time the promoter region of CD200R1 has been defined and two potential risk polymorphisms (rs144721913 and rs72952157) in the region for PD in Chinese Han populations have been reported.

TaANR1-TaBG1 and TaWabi5-TaNRT2s/NARs Link ABA Metabolism and Nitrate Acquisition in Wheat Roots

Nitrate is the preferred form of nitrogen for most plants, acting both as a nutrient and a signaling molecule. However, the components and regulatory factors governing nitrate uptake in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), one of the world's most important crop species, have remained unclear, largely due to the complexity of its hexaploid genome. Here, based on recently released whole-genome information for bread wheat, the high-affinity nitrate transporter2 (NRT2) and the nitrate-assimilation-related (NAR) gene family are characterized. We show that abscisic acid (ABA)- Glc ester deconjugation is stimulated in bread wheat roots by nitrate resupply following nitrate withdrawal, leading to enhanced root-tissue ABA accumulation, and that this enhancement, in turn, affects the expression of root-type NRT2/NAR genes. TaANR1 is shown to regulate nitrate-mediated ABA accumulation by directly activating TaBG1, while TaWabi5 is involved in ABA-mediated NO3 - induction of NRT2/NAR genes. Building on previous evidence establishing ABA involvement in the developmental response to high-nitrate stress, our study suggests that ABA also contributes to the optimization of nitrate uptake by regulating the expression of NRT2/NAR genes under limited nitrate supply, offering a new target for improvement of nitrate absorption in crops.

Genetic variants in the folate metabolic pathway genes predict cutaneous melanoma-specific survival

BACKGROUND

Folate metabolism plays an important role in DNA methylation and nucleic acid synthesis and thus may function as a regulatory factor in cancer development. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified some single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with cutaneous melanoma-specific survival (CMSS), but no SNPs were found in genes involved in the folate metabolic pathway.

OBJECTIVES

To examine associations between SNPs in folate metabolic pathway genes and CMSS.

METHODS

We comprehensively evaluated 2645 (422 genotyped and 2223 imputed) common SNPs in folate metabolic pathway genes from a published GWAS of 858 patients from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and performed the validation in another GWAS of 409 patients from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, in which 95/858 (11·1%) and 48/409 (11·7%) patients died of cutaneous melanoma, respectively.

RESULTS

We identified two independent SNPs (MTHFD1 rs1950902 G>A and ALPL rs10917006 C>T) to be associated with CMSS in both datasets, and their meta-analysis yielded an allelic hazards ratio of 1·75 (95% confidence interval 1·32-2·32, P = 9·96 × 10^-5 ) and 2·05 (1·39-3·01, P = 2·84 × 10^-4 ), respectively. The genotype-phenotype correlation analyses provided additional support for the biological plausibility of these two variants' roles in tumour progression, suggesting that variation in SNP-related mRNA expression levels is likely to be the mechanism underlying the observed associations with CMSS.

CONCLUSIONS

Two possibly functional genetic variants, MTHFD1 rs1950902 and ALPL rs10917006, were likely to be independently or jointly associated with CMSS, which may add to personalized treatment in the future, once further validated. What is already known about this topic? Existing data show that survival rates vary among patients with melanoma with similar clinical characteristics; therefore, it is necessary to identify additional complementary biomarkers for melanoma-specific prognosis. A hypothesis-driven approach, by pooling the effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a specific biological pathway as genetic risk scores, may provide a prognostic utility, and genetic variants of genes in folate metabolism have been reported to be associated with cancer risk. What does this study add? Two genetic variants in the folate metabolic pathway genes, MTHFD1 rs1950902 and ALPL rs10917006, are significantly associated with cutaneous melanoma-specific survival (CMSS). What is the translational message? The identification of genetic variants will make a risk-prediction model possible for CMSS. The SNPs in the folate metabolic pathway genes, once validated in larger studies, may be useful in the personalized management and treatment of patients with cutaneous melanoma.

P3390Relationship of thrombus healing to underlying plaque characteristics in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: an optical coherence tomography study

Background

Acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is typically characterized by an occlusive coronary thrombus propagation on a disrupted or eroded atherosclerotic plaque. A variable period of plaque instability and thrombus formation occur days or weeks old in approximately 50% of patients with STEMI. Presence of late stage (older) thrombi in aspirated coronary material is an independent predictor of 1-year and long-term mortality in STEMI patients. However, the relationship between coronary thrombus healing to underlying plaque morphology and characteristics in vivo still remains largely unknown.

Purpose

Our objective was to assess differences in thrombus healing between ruptured and eroded plaques in vivo and evaluate the impact of underlying plaque characteristics on thrombus healing using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Methods

Analyzable coronary material was obtained during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from 135 patients with STEMI within 12h of symptom onset. Thrombi were morphologically classified as either early or late stage (lytic changes or organization). Of the 135 patients, 110 were eligible for culprit lesion evaluation using OCT. Quantitative and qualitative underlying plaque characteristics were assessed by OCT.

Results

Late-stage thrombi were found in 49 of 110 (44.5%) culprit plaques. Patients with eroded plaques more frequently had late-stage thrombi compared with ruptured plaques (59.0% vs. 36.6%, p<0.001). Subgroup analysis was performed between plaque rupture, identified in 71 patients (64.5%) and plaque erosion in 39 patients (35.5%). In plaque ruptures, patients with late-stage thrombi had larger lipid core length (12.4±3.3 vs. 14.5±3.8, p=0.020), larger rupture cavity length [1.5 (1.0, 2.0) vs. 1.9 (1.5, 2.8), p=0.034] and increased residual thrombus length [7.8 (6.3, 11.2) vs. 10.3 (7.8, 13.8), p=0.021] assessed by OCT compared with early thrombus group. However, in plaque erosions, late stage thrombi were associated with decreased residual thrombus burden compared with patients with early thrombus group [16.8 (12.8, 20.4) vs. 13.4 (10.7, 14.8), p=0.012]. No significant difference was found between thrombus healing with peak creatine kinase concentration or maximum NT-pro BNP in subgroup analysis.

Conclusions

Coronary thrombi in STEMI patients exhibited diverse phases of healing, depending on the etiology of the underlying culprit plaque in vivo. These observations indicate entirely distinct mechanisms of thrombus propagation, maturation and healing between plaque rupture and erosion, illustrating an opportunity for more tailored treatment in patients with different plaque type.

Leaf-Derived Jasmonate Mediates Water Uptake from Hydrated Cotton Roots under Partial Root-Zone Irrigation

Partial root-zone irrigation (PRI), a water-saving technique, improves water uptake in hydrated roots by inducing specific responses that are thought to be regulated by signals originating from leaves; however, this signaling is poorly understood. Using a split-root system and polyethylene glycol 6000 to simulate PRI in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), we showed that increased root hydraulic conductance (L) and water uptake in the hydrated roots may be due to the elevated expression of cotton plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) genes. Jasmonate (jasmonic acid [JA] and jasmonic acid-isoleucine conjugate [JA-Ile]) content and the expression of three JA biosynthesis genes increased in the leaves of the PRI plants compared with those of the polyethylene glycol-free control. JA/JA-Ile content also increased in the hydrated roots, although the expression of the three JA genes was unaltered, compared with the control. The JA/JA-Ile contents in leaves increased after the foliar application of exogenous JA and was followed by an increase in both JA/JA-Ile content and L in the hydrated roots, whereas the silencing of the three JA genes had the opposite effect in the leaves. Ring-barking the hydrated hypocotyls increased the JA/JA-Ile content in the leaves but decreased the JA/JA-Ile content and L in the hydrated roots. These results suggested that the increased JA/JA-Ile in the hydrated roots was mostly transported from the leaves through the phloem, thus increasing L by increasing the expression of GhPIP in the hydrated roots under PRI. We believe that leaf-derived JA/JA-Ile, as a long-distance signal, positively mediates water uptake from the hydrated roots of cotton under PRI.

Association of C-peptide with diabetic vascular complications in type 2 diabetes

AIM

Fasting serum C-peptide is a biomarker of insulin production and insulin resistance, but its association with vascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has never been fully elucidated. This study aimed to investigate whether C-peptide is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODS

A total of 4793 diabetes patients were enrolled from seven communities in Shanghai, China, in 2018. CVD was defined as a self-reported combination of previous diagnoses, including coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. DR was examined using fundus photographs. Logistic regression analyses were performed, and multiple imputed data were used to obtain stabilized estimates.

RESULTS

Prevalence of CVD increased with increasing C-peptide levels (Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4: 33%, 34%, 37% and 44%, respectively; P_{for trend} < 0.001), whereas DR prevalence decreased with increasing C-peptide quartiles (Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4: 21%, 19%, 15% and 12%, respectively; P_{for trend} < 0.001). On logistic regression analysis, C-peptide levels were significantly associated with CVD prevalence (1.27, 95% CI: 1.13-1.42; P < 0.001) and C-peptide quartiles (Q1: reference; Q2: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.00-1.70; Q3: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.16-2.01; Q4: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.32-2.34; P_{for trend} < 0.001). Given the interaction between C-peptide and BMI and the association between C-peptide and CVD (P_{for interaction} = 0.015), study participants were divided into two subgroups based on BMI which revealed that the association persisted despite different BMI statuses. However, DR prevalence decreased with increasing C-peptide levels (0.73, 95% CI: 0.62-0.86; P < 0.001) and quartiles (Q1: reference; Q2: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.76-1.33; Q3: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.50-0.94; Q4: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.36-0.72; P_{for trend} < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

C-peptide was positively associated with CVD, but inversely associated with DR progression. The association between C-peptide and CVD could be due to associated metabolic risk factors.

Betulinic acid inhibits high-fat diet-induced obesity and improves energy balance by activating AMPK

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Metabolic syndromes are prevalent worldwide and result in various complications including obesity, cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. Betulinic acid (BA) is a naturally occurring triterpenoid that has anti-inflammatory properties. We hypothesized that treatment with BA may result in decreased body weight gain, adiposity and hepatic steatosis in a diet-induced mouse model of obesity.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Mice fed a high-fat diet and treated with BA showed less weight gain and tissue adiposity without any change in calorie intake. Gene expression profiling of mouse tissues and cell lines revealed that BA treatment increased expression of lipid oxidative genes and decreased that of lipogenesis-related genes. This modulation was mediated by increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, which facilitates energy expenditure, lipid oxidation and thermogenic capacity and exerts protective effects against obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Overall, BA markedly inhibited the development of obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in mice fed a high-fat diet, and AMPK activation in various tissues and enhanced thermogenesis are two possible mechanisms underlying the antiobesity and antisteatogenic effects of BA.

CONCLUSIONS

The current findings suggest that treatment with BA is a potential dietary strategy for preventing obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

[Evaluating the efficacy of fractional exhaled nitric oxide and impulse oscillometry in screening out cough variant asthma from patients with subacute cough]

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and impulse oscillometry (IOS) in screening out cough variant asthma (CVA) from patients with subacute cough. Methods: Patients with subacute cough were included from the outpatient department of Respiratory Medicine of Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University from May to October in 2016. Based on "the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of cough (2015 edition)" , patients were classified into CVA group, and non CVP group with other causes of subacute cough. Lung function, bronchial provocation test, FeNO and IOS were measured. The diagnostic efficiency and optimal cut-off points of FeNO and IOS indicators to diagnose CVA from subacute cough were respectively assessed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: A total of 85 patients with subacute cough were included. Among them, 35 patients were diagnosed with CVA (CVA group), the others are classified as non CVP group (n=50). In CVA group, the levels of FeNO and total respiratory impedance (Zrs) were significantly higher, while maximal mid expiratory flow (MMEF)%pred, and mid expiratory flow (MEF)75/50/25%pred, reactance at 5 Hz (X5) levels were significantly lower than those in non CVP group (all P<0.05). Furthermore, the FeNO had a positive correlation with Zrs and Fres (ρ=0.312, P=0.003 and ρ=0.318, P=0.003, respectively), had a negative correlation with X5 (ρ=-0.288, P=0.007). A ROC analysis indicated that the area under ROC curve (AUC) of FeNO in diagnosis of CVA was 0.786 (95% CI: 0.684-0.889), the best cut-off point of FeNO volume ratio was 24.5×10(-9). When FeNO volume ratio=24.5×10(-9,) the sensitivity of in diagnosing CVA was 77.8%, specificity was 70.0%. The AUC for Zrs and X5 were 0.679 and 0.687, respectively. The combination of FeNO and X5 had a greater AUC than other indicators (AUC: 0.817, 95% CI: 0.726-0.908), the sensitivity and specificity were 80.6% and 66.0%, respectively. Conclusion: Both FeNO level and IOS index can be used to screen CVA in patients with subacute cough, and the combination of both have better value in diagnosing CVA.

Construction, identification, and immunogenic assessments of an HSV-1 mutant vaccine with a UL18 deletion

HSV-1 is a mucosal and nerve pathogen, whose morbidity shows an increasing tendency. Although several antiviral drugs exist, there is no cure for viral latency for virtually all carriers. There is an urgent need for an HSV-1 vaccine to control infection and limit its spread and recurrence. The UL18 gene, encoding a vital component of capsids, is one of the essential genes of HSV-1. Deletion of UL18 from HSV-1 may be exploited as a new approach to develop an attenuated vaccine. The purpose of this study was to construct a DNA vaccine with a full-length UL18 gene deletion of the HSV-1 genome that can induce an effective immune response. A UL18-knockdown plasmid (BAC-HSV-1ΔUL18) was constructed using the bacterial markerless gene knockout system, consisting of the functional pREDI plasmid and BAC-HSV-1 plasmid. Mice were immunized weekly for 3 weeks, and at 1 week post immunization, blood and splenocyte samples of vaccinated and control groups of mice were prepared for immunogenicity assessment. The level of immune response was evaluated using a DTH assay, cytokine determination, and splenocyte proliferation assay. Combination of the pREDI plasmid and BAC-HSV-1 plasmid provides an effective bacterial markerless gene knockout system. Using two-step homologous recombination with the UL18 homologous recombination fragment constructed by multistep PCR amplification, BAC-HSV-1ΔUL18 plasmid vaccine was successfully constructed and was found to significantly enhance cellular immune responses.

High ambient temperature antagonizes ethylene-induced exaggerated apical hook formation in etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings

Ethylene stimulates the exaggerated hook formation in etiolated seedlings. It has been reported that other phytohormones, such as jasmonate or gibberellins, could inhibit or coordinate hook formation, respectively. However, whether any environmental factors participate in this process is unknown. Here, we show that in darkness, high ambient temperature suppresses the ethylene-triggered exaggerated hook formation in wild-type plants and reduces the hook curvatures in constitutively ethylene responsive mutants. Interestingly, high temperature does not abrogate the activity of the central transcription factor EIN3, suggesting that high temperature acts downstream of ethylene signaling. Next, we show that the natural auxin levels in the hook regions are reduced and their asymmetric distributions are disturbed upon high temperature treatment. To explore the mechanisms for reducing auxin accumulation, we monitor the transcription of several genes encoding auxin biosynthesis related enzymes and find that most YUCCA genes are transcriptionally down-regulated. Finally, we show that the currently reported plant thermo-sensory components in light-grown plants (phytochrome or PIF4) are not sufficient for thermo-sensing in etiolated seedlings. We speculate that in darkness, plants sense high ambient temperature through a distinct mechanism. Taken together, we demonstrate that high temperature suppresses ethylene-induced exaggerated hook formation via the inhibition of local auxin activities.

ZmbZIP4 Contributes to Stress Resistance in Maize by Regulating ABA Synthesis and Root Development

In plants, bZIP (basic leucine zipper) transcription factors regulate diverse processes such as development and stress responses. However, few of these transcription factors have been functionally characterized in maize (Zea mays). In this study, we characterized the bZIP transcription factor gene ZmbZIP4 from maize. ZmbZIP4 was differentially expressed in various organs of maize and was induced by high salinity, drought, heat, cold, and abscisic acid treatment in seedlings. A transactivation assay in yeast demonstrated that ZmbZIP4 functioned as a transcriptional activator. A genome-wide screen for ZmbZIP4 targets by immunoprecipitation sequencing revealed that ZmbZIP4 could positively regulate a number of stress response genes, such as ZmLEA2, ZmRD20, ZmRD21, ZmRab18, ZmNHX3, ZmGEA6, and ZmERD, and some abscisic acid synthesis-related genes, including NCED, ABA1, AAO3, and LOS5 In addition, ZmbZIP4 targets some root development-related genes, including ZmLRP1, ZmSCR, ZmIAA8, ZmIAA14, ZmARF2, and ZmARF3, and overexpression of ZmbZIP4 resulted in an increased number of lateral roots, longer primary roots, and an improved root system. Increased abscisic acid synthesis by overexpression of ZmbZIP4 also can increase the plant's ability to resist abiotic stress. Thus, ZmbZIP4 is a positive regulator of plant abiotic stress responses and is involved in root development in maize.

[Clinical study of nasopharyngeal masses with suspicion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in adult patients]

Objective: To improve the accuracy of diagnosis and to reduce the misdiagnosis rate of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by analyzing the characteristics of such masses. Methods: Clinical data from 55 patients with suspicion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed and treated between March 2016 and September 2017 were analyzed. All patients were followed up regularly. Results: With following-up of 12 to 25 months, 6 (10.9%) of 55 cases were identified as nasopharyngeal malignant tumors, including 4 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and 2 cases of lymphoma, and 49 cases (89.1%) were diagnosed with nasopharyngeal benign masses, including 29 (59.2%) cases for nasopharyngeal lymphoid proliferation, 15 (30.6%) for adenoid hypertrophy, 2 (4.1%) for nasopharyngeal cyst, 1 (2.0%) for polyp, 1 for papilloma and 1 for nasopharyngeal pharyngeal cyst. Small nasopharyngeal malignant tumor and masses with benign hyperplasia showed the overlap of images on the enhanced MRI/CT and Fibro-nasopharyngoscopy, but all 6 patients with nasopharyngeal malignant tumors presented with moderately enhanced multiple enlarged lymph nodes. Conclusions: Fibro-nasopharyngoscopy and enhanced MRI/CT have some value on evaluation of nasopharyngeal masses, but biopsy is a golden standard for diagnosis. Follow-up is necessary for the patients with negative biopsy and benign nasopharyngeal hyperplasia indicated by fibro-nasopharyngoscopy and enhanced MRI/CT.

Endosperm sugar accumulation caused by mutation of PHS8/ISA1 leads to pre-harvest sprouting in rice

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) is an unfavorable trait in cereal crops that could seriously decrease grain yield and quality. Although some PHS-associated quantitative trait loci or genes in cereals have been reported, the molecular mechanism underlying PHS remains largely elusive. Here, we characterized a rice mutant, phs8, which exhibits PHS phenotype accompanied by sugary endosperm. Map-based cloning revealed that PHS8 encodes a starch debranching enzyme named isoamylase1. Mutation in PHS8 resulted in the phytoglycogen breakdown and sugar accumulation in the endosperm. Intriguingly, with increase of sugar contents, decreased expression of OsABI3 and OsABI5 as well as reduced sensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA) were found in the phs8 mutant. Using rice suspension cell system, we confirmed that exogenous sugar is sufficient to suppress the expression of both OsABI3 and OsABI5. Furthermore, overexpression of OsABI3 or OsABI5 could partially rescue the PHS phenotype of phs8. Therefore, our study presents important evidence supporting that endosperm sugar not only acts as an essential energy source for seed germination but also determines seed dormancy and germination by affecting ABA signaling.

EFEMP1 promotes ovarian cancer cell growth, invasion and metastasis via activated the AKT pathway

EFEMP1, a kind of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, has been suggested to correlate with the development of different types of carcinoma. However, its functions in ovarian cancer remain unclear. In our study, we performed cDNA microarray analysis and identified EFEMP1 dramatically elevated in the highly invasive subclone, compared with the low invasive subclone. Lentivirus transfection experiments were constructed afterwards. The results demonstrated that knockdown of EFEMP1 significantly inhibited ovarian cancer cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest at the G1/G0 phase. We also found that decreased the activity of phospho-AKT could suppress cell invasion and metastasis. Meanwhile, the increased phospho-AKT activity induced by the overexpression of EFEMP1 had significantly enhanced the abilities of ovarian cancer cells to invade and migrate. In addition, the vivo nude mice model confirmed that EFEMP1 was tightly correlated with the development of tumor. The results of RT² Profiler EMT PCR array further indicated that decreased EFEMP1 suppressed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Collectively, by activating AKT signaling pathway, EFEMP1 contributed to ovarian cancer invasion and metastasis as a positive regulator. Overall, EFEMP1 had showed the potential use in the development of new therapeutic strategies for ovarian cancer.

ROCK inhibitor reduces Myc-induced apoptosis and mediates immortalization of human keratinocytes

The Myc/Max/Mad network plays a critical role in cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis and c-Myc is overexpressed in many cancers, including HPV-positive cervical cancer cell lines. Despite the tolerance of cervical cancer keratinocytes to high Myc expression, we found that the solitary transduction of the Myc gene into primary cervical and foreskin keratinocytes induced rapid cell death. These findings suggested that the anti-apoptotic activity of E7 in cervical cancer cells might be responsible for negating the apoptotic activity of over-expressed Myc. Indeed, our earlier in vitro studies demonstrated that Myc and E7 synergize in the immortalization of keratinocytes. Since we previously postulated that E7 and the ROCK inhibitor, Y-27632, were members of the same functional pathway in cell immortalization, we tested whether Y-27632 would inhibit apoptosis induced by the over-expression of Myc. Our findings indicate that Y-27632 rapidly inhibited Myc-induced membrane blebbing and cellular apoptosis and, more generally, functioned as an inhibitor of extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of cell death. Most important, Y-27632 cooperated with Myc to immortalize keratinocytes efficiently, indicating that apoptosis is a major barrier to Myc-induced immortalization of keratinocytes. The anti-apoptotic activity of Y-27632 correlated with a reduction in p53 serine 15 phosphorylation and the consequent reduction in the expression of downstream target genes p21 and DAPK1, two genes involved in the induction of cell death.

Mutations in the MIT3 gene encoding a caroteniod isomerase lead to increased tiller number in rice

Carotenoids not only play important roles in light harvesting and photoprotection against excess light, but also serve as precursors for apocaroteniod hormones such as abscisic acid (ABA) and strigolactones (SLs). Although light- and ABA-associated phenotypes of the carotenoid biosynthesis mutants such as albino, leaf variegation and preharvest sprouting have been studied extensively, the SLs-related branching phenotype is rarely explored. Here we characterized four allelic rice mutants named mit3, which exhibited moderately increased tiller number, semi-dwarfism and leaf variegation. Map-based cloning revealed that MIT3 encodes a carotenoid isomerase (CRTISO), the key enzyme catalyzing the conversion from prolycopene to all-trans-lycopene in carotenoid biosynthesis. Prolycopene was accumulated while all-trans-lycopene was barely detectable in the dark-grown mit3 seedlings. Accordingly, content of lutein and β-carotene, the two most abundant carotenoids, was significantly reduced. Furthermore, content of epi-5DS, a native SL, was significantly reduced in mit3. Exogenously applied GR24, a synthetic SL, could rescue the tillering phenotype of mit3. Double mutant analysis of mit3 with the SLs biosynthesis mutant d17 revealed that MIT3 controls tiller development upstream of the SLs biosynthesis pathway. Our results reveal that the tillering phenotype of mit3 is due to SL deficiency and directly link carotenoid deficiency with SL-regulated rice tillering.

MdWRKY9 overexpression confers intensive dwarfing in the M26 rootstock of apple by directly inhibiting brassinosteroid synthetase MdDWF4 expression

Dwarfing rootstocks enable high-density planting and are therefore highly desirable in modern apple (Malus domestica) production. M26 is a semi-dwarfing rootstock that is used worldwide, but identifying intensive dwarfing rootstock is a major goal of apple breeding programs. Herein, we show that MdWRKY9 mediates dwarfing by directly inhibiting the transcription of the brassinosteroid (BR) rate-limiting synthetase MdDWF4 and reducing BR production. We found that the transcriptional factor MdWRKY9 is highly expressed in all tested dwarfing rootstocks. Transgenic lines of M26 rootstock overexpressing MdWRKY9 exhibit further dwarfing, which resulted from the reduced BR levels and was reversed via exogenous brassinolide treatment. Both an in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis and an in vitro electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) indicated that MdWRKY9 binds to the promoter of MdDWF4. Furthermore, MdWRKY9 repressed MdDWF4 expression in stable transgenic apple plants as determined by quantitative PCR. In addition, RNA-interfered expression of MdWRKY9 in transiently transformed apple calli led to a significant increase of MdDWF4, suggesting MdWRKY9 plays a critical role in regulating the expression of MdDWF4. We report a novel dwarfing mechanism in perennial woody plants that involves WRKY-controlled BR production, and present a new dwarfing M26 rootstock for potential applications in apple production.

TCP Transcription Factors Regulate Shade Avoidance via Directly Mediating the Expression of Both PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORs and Auxin Biosynthetic Genes

Light quality surrounding a plant is largely determined by the density of its neighboring vegetation. Plants are able to sense shade light signals and initiate a series of adaptation responses, which is known as shade avoidance syndrome (SAS). PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) are key factors in the SAS network by regulating the biosynthesis of multiple phytohormones and the expression of cell expansion genes. Although the protein levels of PIFs were found to be acumulated in shade, the transcriptional regulation of PIFs in response to such an environmental signal remains poorly understood. Here we show that TCP17 and its two closely related homologs, TCP5 and TCP13, play an important role in mediating shade-induced hypocotyl elongation by up-regulating auxin biosynthesis via a PIF-dependent and a PIF-independent pathway. In constitutive white light, a tcp5, 13, 17 triple mutant (3tcp) showed a subtle hypocotyl defective phenotype. In shade, however, 3tcp showed a significantly reduced hypocotyl elongation phenotype, indicating a positive role of TCPs in regulating SAS. Our in-depth biochemical and genetic analyses indicated that TCP17 can be significantly accumulated in shade. TCP17 binds to the promoters of PIFs and YUCCAs to indirectly or directly up-regulate auxin levels in shade. These data provide new insights into our better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of SAS in plants.

A Tripartite Amplification Loop Involving the Transcription Factor WRKY75, Salicylic Acid, and Reactive Oxygen Species Accelerates Leaf Senescence

Leaf senescence is a highly coordinated, complicated process involving the integration of numerous internal and environmental signals. Salicylic acid (SA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are two well-defined inducers of leaf senescence whose contents progressively and interdependently increase during leaf senescence via an unknown mechanism. Here, we characterized the transcription factor WRKY75 as a positive regulator of leaf senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana. Knockdown or knockout of WRKY75 delayed age-dependent leaf senescence, while overexpression of WRKY75 accelerated this process. WRKY75 transcription is induced by age, SA, H₂O₂, and multiple plant hormones. Meanwhile, WRKY75 promotes SA production by inducing the transcription of SA INDUCTION-DEFICIENT2 (SID2) and suppresses H₂O₂ scavenging, partly by repressing the transcription of CATALASE2 (CAT2). Genetic analysis revealed that the mutation of SID2 or an increase in catalase activity rescued the precocious leaf senescence phenotype evoked by WRKY75 overexpression. Based on these results, we propose a tripartite amplification loop model in which WRKY75, SA, and ROS undergo a gradual but self-sustained rise driven by three interlinking positive feedback loops. This tripartite amplification loop provides a molecular framework connecting upstream signals, such as age and plant hormones, to the downstream regulatory network executed by SA- and H₂O₂-responsive transcription factors during leaf senescence.