Corrigendum: Advances and potential of omics studies for understanding the development of food allergy

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2023.1149008.].

lncRNA SEMA3B-AS1 Inhibits miR-513c-5p to Regulate the Progression of Triple-negative Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIM

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most malignant breast cancer subtype with a short survival time and high morality. There is an urgent need for effective indicators able to predict tumor progression and provide reference for adjusting the therapeutic strategy of TNBC. lncRNA semaphorin 3B antisense RNA1-AS1 (SEMA3B-AS1) was previously identified to be correlated with the stemness and autophagy of breast cancer. SEMA3B-AS1's role in TNBC was investigated in the present study, aiming to explore a novel biomarker for the development and prognosis of TNBC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

SEMA3B-AS1 expression was detected in tissue samples from 113 TNBC patients using PCR. The clinical significance of SEMA3B-AS1 was assessed by the Chi-square test and Cox analysis. The in vitro function of SEMA3B-AS1 was investigated by CCK8 and Transwell assay. Study of molecular mechanism, correlation analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay were employed to assess the correlation of SEMA3B-AS1 with miR-513c-5p.

RESULTS

A significant down-regulation of SEMA3B-AS1 was observed in TNBC, which was related to patient TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and Ki67 levels. SEMA3B-AS1 down-regulation indicated patients' adverse prognoses and served as an independent prognostic factor. In vitro, SEMA3B-AS1 suppressed the stemness, proliferation, and metastasis of TNBC cells. Moreover, SEMA3B-AS1 negatively regulated miR-513c-5p, which could reverse the inhibitory effects of SEMA3B-AS1 on TNBC cells.

CONCLUSION

SEM3B-AS1 indicates the severity of TNBC patients and regulates tumor progression via modulating miR-513c-5p.

First Report of Sclerotinia Rot Caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on Artemisia capillaris in China

Artemisia capillaris (Asteraceae) is an annual herb found in ˃10 provinces in China. It is cultivated on ˃670 ha, with annual production around 2,500 tons. Its shoot is used in traditional Chinese medicine (Liu et al. 2021). From April to May 2023, Sclerotinia rot symptoms were seen at the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (40.04°N, 116.28°E), Beijing, China. Disease incidence was up to 10% in the field through investigation of 300 plants. Initial symptoms were irregular tan-brown lesions (0.5 to 5.0 mm) that expended to circumferential necrosis on the roots and basal stem, aerial mycelia and sclerotia were developed on them. The leaves and stem tips were withered and droopy in severe cases. Twelve symptomatic primary roots of 12 plants from two sites were cut into 5 × 5 mm pieces, surface sterilized with 75% ethanol for 30 s and 5% NaClO for 60 s, rinsed with distilled water for three times, dried with sterile filter paper, put on potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated at 25°C in the dark for 2 days. Two Sclerotinia-like isolates were obtained using the hyphaltip method. White aerial mycelia were sparse and appressed for isolate YC1-3 and dense for isolate YC1-7. After incubated at 25°C in the dark for 15 days, 10 to 25 sclerotia were developed near the colony margin. Sclerotia of isolate YC1-3 were 1.0 to 3.9 × 1.2 to 4.5 (mean 1.8 × 2.2) mm (n = 60), ovoid or arc-shaped. Sclerotia of isolate YC1-7 were 1.5 to 3.4 × 2.7 to 9.2 (mean 2.3 × 4.3) mm (n = 60), ovoid, dumbbell shaped or curved. The isolates were identified as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum based on morphology (Maas 1998). To further identify the pathogens, molecular identification was performed with isolates YC1-3 and YC1-7. DNA of the two isolates were extracted by the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method. Polymerase chain reaction was performed with primers ITS1/ITS4 for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (Choi et al. 2020; White et al. 1990) and primers G3PDHfor/G3PDHrev for the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) gene (Garfinkel. 2021). BLAST search analysis revealed that the ITS sequence (GenBank OR229758 and OR229762) was ≥99% similar to S. sclerotiorum (MN099281, MZ379265, KX781301, etc.), and the G3PDH sequence (OR778388 and OR761975) was too (MZ493894, JQ036048, OQ790148, etc.). Phylogenetic trees were computed with ITS and G3PDH sequences using the Maximum Likelihood in MEGA 11. Nine two-month-old seedlings of A. capillaris were used to test pathogenicity. The epidermis layer of each primary root was slightly wounded (2 × 2 mm, 1 mm deep) using a sterile dissecting blade. Three plants were inoculated with mycelial plugs (5 mm in diameter) of YC1-3 and YC1-7 that cultured on PDA for 7 days. Control plants were inoculated with sterile PDA plugs. All seedlings were then incubated at 25oC and 90% relative humidity. After isolate YC1-7 inoculation 3 days and isolate YC1-3 inoculation 5 days, inoculated roots had symptoms like those in the field, controls had no symptoms. S. sclerotiorum was consistently re-isolated from diseased roots, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Diseases caused by S. sclerotiorum have been reported threatens several important economical crops (Marin and Peres 2020; Guan et al. 2022). To our knowledge, this is the first report of S. sclerotiorum causes Sclerotinia rot on A. capillaris. To avoid of significant economic losses, it is urgent to establish an effective disease-management strategy.

The Exploitation of Microbial Antagonists against Postharvest Plant Pathogens

Postharvest disease management is vital to increase the quality and productivity of crops. As part of crop disease protection, people used different agrochemicals and agricultural practices to manage postharvest diseases. However, the widespread use of agrochemicals in pest and disease control has detrimental effects on consumer health, the environment, and fruit quality. To date, different approaches are being used to manage postharvest diseases. The use of microorganisms to control postharvest disease is becoming an eco-friendly and environmentally sounds approach. There are many known and reported biocontrol agents, including bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. Nevertheless, despite the abundance of publications on biocontrol agents, the use of biocontrol in sustainable agriculture requires substantial research, effective adoption, and comprehension of the interactions between plants, pathogens, and the environment. To accomplish this, this review made an effort to locate and summarize earlier publications on the function of microbial biocontrol agents against postharvest crop diseases. Additionally, this review aims to investigate biocontrol mechanisms, their modes of operation, potential future applications for bioagents, as well as difficulties encountered during the commercialization process.

Advances and potential of omics studies for understanding the development of food allergy

The prevalence of food allergy continues to rise globally, carrying with it substantial safety, economic, and emotional burdens. Although preventative strategies do exist, the heterogeneity of allergy trajectories and clinical phenotypes has made it difficult to identify patients who would benefit from these strategies. Therefore, further studies investigating the molecular mechanisms that differentiate these trajectories are needed. Large-scale omics studies have identified key insights into the molecular mechanisms for many different diseases, however the application of these technologies to uncover the drivers of food allergy development is in its infancy. Here we review the use of omics approaches in food allergy and highlight key gaps in knowledge for applying these technologies for the characterization of food allergy development.

Downregulated Circulating Long Non-coding RNA GAS6-AS1 Screens and Predicts Acute Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND

Acute myocardial infarction seriously threatens human health and life quality, which needs novel biomarkers to improve its early detection and development prediction. This study aimed to assess the potential of long non-coding RNA GAS6-AS1 in discriminating acute myocardial infarction patients and predicting patients' outcomes.

METHODS

The circulating expression of GAS6-AS1 in 83 acute myocardial infarction patients and 62 healthy individuals was evaluated using polymerase chain reaction. The value of GAS6-AS1 in the distinguishing acute myocardial infarction patients was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic analysis, and its prognosis predictive potential was assessed by Kaplan-Meier and Cox analysis. Additionally, the correlation of GAS6-AS1 with patients' critical features was evaluated by Spearman's correlation analysis.

RESULTS

Significant downregulation of GAS6-AS1 was observed in the plasma of acute myocardial infarction patients relative to healthy individuals. Reduced GAS6-AS1 could discriminate acute myocardial infarction patients from healthy controls and indicate patients' unoptimistic prognosis. Moreover, GAS6-AS1 was found to be negatively cor-related with the levels of creatine kinase, creatine kinasemyocardial bland, lactic dehy-drogenase, hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, troponin T, and positively correlated with the ejection fraction of acute myocardial infarction patients.

CONCLUSION

Changes in circulating GAS6-AS1 in acute myocardial infarction served as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of acute myocardial infarction.

Spore-Trapping Device: An Efficient Tool to Manage Fungal Diseases in Winter Wheat Crops

Leaf airborne diseases cause major shortfalls in agricultural crops. The introduction of technical means can significantly improve early-warning systems for plant diseases as well as provide timely and accurate forecasts. In this paper, we aim to evaluate the possibilities of detecting a phytopathogenic infection using a spore-catching device developed at the Federal Research Center of Biological Plant Protection (FRCBPP) on winter wheat varieties of different levels of susceptibility to major economically important leaf diseases, taking into account climatic conditions. The device captures spores in the surface layer of air among crop plants. We conducted research in the experimental fields of FRCBPP in 2019-2021. The objects of the study were four cultivars of winter wheat. They were selected according to the degree of resistance to various leaf diseases. We studied the progress of wheat diseases according to generally accepted international scales the onset of the first manifestations to their maximum development. We studied the aerogenic infection in wheat crops using the FRCBPP developed portable device for determining the infestation of plants. Sampling was carried out in the same period as the visual assessment. The samples were taken in the crops of each variety at five points. The sampling time was one minute. As a result of research on experimental crops of four varieties of winter wheat, we observed the development of such diseases as powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis), yellow spot (Pyrenophora tritici-repentis), septoria leaf spot (Septoria tritici), yellow (Puccinia striiformis) and brown rust (Puccinia triticina). In a laboratory study of samples under a light microscope, all of the listed pathogens were found except for septoria leaf spot. Two-way analysis of variance confirmed the statistically significant separate and cumulative influence of the cultivar and year factor on winter wheat diseases. A generalized correlation analysis for three growing seasons (2019-2021) showed that an average statistically significant correlation coefficient (0.5-0.6) remains for the total groups for powdery mildew, yellow and brown rust. This indicator for the causative agent of yellow spot was equal to 0.4 with a high level of statistical significance. Thus, we conclude that by using a spore-catching device, it is possible to identify spores of economically significant pathogens in winter wheat crops and predict the further development of pathogens, taking into account the cultivar and annual climate factors.

[Association of Abnormal Disulfide Bond Formation with Disease Development and Progression]

As intermolecular and intramolecular disulfide bridges in proteins play a vital role in the stability of the final protein structure, the disruption of disulfide bridges in proteins may lead to disease development and progression. Therefore, understanding the association of abnormal protein disulfide bond formation with disease development and progression can be useful for developing novel drugs for various diseases. Considering that disulfide-linked protein folding involves redox reactions in the endoplasmic reticulum, this process may be affected by oxidative stress. We hypothesized that oxidative stress-related diseases may be induced by abnormal protein disulfide bond formation. This review introduces the association of abnormal protein disulfide bond formation with disease development and progression.

lncRNA LINC01315 promotes malignancy of triple-negative breast cancer and predicts poor outcomes by modulating microRNA-876-5p/GRK5

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a malignant tumor that threatens women’s health. Exploring novel development-associated biomarkers could help improve the survival rate of TNBC. This study evaluated the significance and mechanism of LINC01315 in TNBC progression aiming to identify a potential biomarker. There were 103 TNBC patients that provided clinical tissues in this study. The expression of LINC01315 was assessed by PCR and its association with clinical data was evaluated by statistical analyses. The in vitro cell experiments were conducted to estimate the biological effect of LINC01315 and its molecular mechanism. A significant upregulation of LINC01315 was observed in TNBC, which was associated with disease development and severity of patients. The upregulation of LINC01315 could be a symptom of the poor prognosis of patients. The knockdown of LINC01315 suppressed the main cellular processes of TNBC progression. Additionally, miR-876-5p was demonstrated to be a target of LINC01315 and regulate the expression of GRK5, through which LINC01315 modulated the progression of TNBC. Upregulated LINC01315 in TNBC indicated the malignant development and poor survival rate of patients. Inhibition of LINC01315 might be a potential therapeutic strategy of TNBC.

miR-1306 Promotes Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression and Predicts Clinical Prognosis of Patients

Purpose

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is one of the major subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with high mortality. Identification of novel biomarkers of the development of LUSC could provide basis for clinical treatment and improve patients’ prognosis. The function of miR-1306 in the development of LUSC was investigated.

Patients and Methods

A total of 103 paired LUSC and normal tissues were collected from LUSC patients. The expression of miR-1306 in collected tissues and cultured cells was evaluated by PCR. The clinical significance of miR-1306 was assessed by a series of statistical analyses, and the biological effect of miR-1306 was also estimated with the CCK8 and Transwell assay.

Results

The significant upregulation of miR-1306 was observed in LUSC, which was associated with positive lymph node metastasis and advanced TNM stage of patients. miR-1306 was also identified as an independent prognostic factor negatively associated with the prognosis of patients. Additionally, the upregulation of miR-1306 was found to promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of LUSC cells, indicating its tumor enhancer role in the development of LUSC. While miR-1306 was also found to regulate RBM3, which was speculated to be the mechanism underlying the function of miR-1306.

Conclusion

miR-1306 functions as a prognostic indicator and tumor promoter of LUSC through targeting RBM3, which provides a potential therapeutic target of LUSC.

Growth, Sporulation, and Pathogenicity of the Raspberry Pathogen Phytophthora rubi Under Different Temperature and Moisture Regimes

Phytophthora root rot of raspberry, which is mostly caused by Phytophthora rubi, is a significant issue for the Washington State red raspberry industry. Considered a cool weather pathogen, it is often assumed that it is most active and infective during the cool, wet winters of the region when soil temperatures range from 5 to 10°C; however, there are little data to support this view. More recent research has found that symptoms of root disease during late summer were strongly associated with P. rubi. Therefore, experiments were conducted at four temperatures from 5 to 20°C to evaluate the effects of temperature on P. rubi mycelial growth and sporulation and the effects of both temperature and soil moisture on the pathogenicity of P. rubi on red raspberry. At 20°C, P. rubi grew fastest and sporulated the most heavily. However, disease was most severe at both 15 and 20°C. The soil moisture parameters tested did not affect the pathogenicity results. These results show that P. rubi is more likely to infect during the spring and summer months (from May through September), when soil temperatures are consistently in the range of 15 to 20°C.

Grapevine vein clearing virus Is Prevalent and Genetically Variable in Grape Aphid (Aphis illinoisensis Shimer) Populations

Grapevine vein clearing virus (GVCV) causes severe stunting and death of cultivated grapevines and is prevalent in native Vitis spp. and Ampelopsis cordata in the Midwest region of the United States. GVCV can be transmitted from wild A. cordata to Vitis spp. by grape aphid (Aphis illinoisensis) under greenhouse conditions, but its prevalence, genetic composition, and genome number in native grape aphids are unknown. In this study, we collected grape aphids from native Vitaceae across the state of Missouri in 2018 and 2019, and conducted diagnostic, genetic, and quantitative analyses. GVCV was detected in 91 of the 105 randomly sampled communities on 71 Vitaceae plants (87%). It was present in 211 of 525 single grape aphids (40%). Diverse GVCV variants from aphids were present on both GVCV-negative and GVCV-positive plants. Identical GVCV variants were found in grape aphids sampled from wild and cultivated Vitaceae, indicating that viruliferous aphids likely migrate and disperse GVCV variants among wild and cultivated Vitaceae. In addition, we found that the number of GVCV genomes varies largely in the stylet and body of individual aphids. Our study provides a snapshot of GVCV epidemics and genetic structure in its mobile vector and sessile hosts. This presents a good model for studying the epidemiology, ecology, and evolution of a plant virus.

Premix Fungicides That Reduce Development of Fruiting Bodies But Not Leaf Lesions by Stagonosporopsis citrulli on Watermelon Leaves in the Field

Fungicide applications are the main method to manage gummy stem blight on watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and other cucurbits, but it is unknown whether fungicides affect development of leaf lesions or fruiting bodies by Stagonosporopsis citrulli. Cyprodinil plus fludioxonil (Switch), cyprodinil plus difenoconazole (Inspire Super), cyprodinil (Vangard), fludioxonil (Cannonball), and difenoconazole (Inspire) were applied to watermelon in rotation with chlorothalonil (Bravo) in fall 2017, 2018, and 2019. Water and chlorothalonil applied weekly served as control treatments. All fungicides reduced disease severity (percentage of leaf area diseased) and area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) in field plots compared with water. Cyprodinil plus fludioxonil and cyprodinil plus difenoconazole reduced disease severity and AUDPC more than chlorothalonil. Fungicides did not affect the number, diameter, expansion, or area of lesions. All fungicides reduced the number of lesions with fruiting bodies of S. citrulli compared with water (P < 0.05). Cyprodinil plus fludioxonil and cyprodinil plus difenoconazole reduced the percentage of leaf lesions with fruiting bodies, and the diameter and area of the portions of leaf lesions covered with fruiting bodies, compared with water and chlorothalonil. Premix fungicides containing cyprodinil reduced fruiting body formation by S. citrulli, which may partially explain their efficacy in managing gummy stem blight.

Share to Seek: The Effects of Disease Complexity on Health Information-Seeking Behavior

Background

Web-based question and answer (Q&A) sites have emerged as an alternative source for serving individuals’ health information needs. Although a number of studies have analyzed user-generated content in web-based Q&A sites, there is insufficient understanding of the effect of disease complexity on information-seeking needs and the types of information shared, and little research has been devoted to the questions concerning multimorbidity.

Objective

This study aims to investigate seeking of health information in Q&A sites at different levels of disease complexity. Specifically, this study investigates the effects of disease complexity on information-seeking needs, types of information shared, and stages of disease development.

Methods

First, we selected a random sample of 400 questions separately from each of the Q&A sites: Yahoo Answers and WebMD Answers. The data cleaning resulted in a final set of 624 questions from the two sites. We used a mixed methods approach, including qualitative content analysis and quantitative statistical analysis.

Results

The one-way results of ANOVA showed significant effects of disease complexity (single vs multimorbid disease questions) on two information-seeking needs: diagnosis (F_1,622=5.08; P=.02) and treatment (F_1,622=4.82; P=.02). There were also significant differences between the two levels of disease complexity in two stages of disease development: the general health stage (F_1,622=48.02; P<.001) and the chronic stage (F_1,622=54.01; P<.001). In addition, our results showed significant effects of disease complexity across all types of shared information: demographic information (F_1,622=32.24; P<.001), medical diagnosis (F_1,622=11.04; P<.001), and treatment and prevention (F_1,622=14.55; P<.001).

Conclusions

Our findings present implications for the design of web-based Q&A sites to better support health information seeking. Future studies should be conducted to validate the generality of these findings and apply them to improve the effectiveness of health information in Q&A sites.

The interaction between gut microbiome and nutrients on development of human disease through epigenetic mechanisms

Early environmental exposure is recognized as a key factor for long-term health based on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis. It considers that early-life nutrition is now being recognized as a major contributor that may permanently program change of organ structure and function toward the development of diseases, in which epigenetic mechanisms are involved. Recent researches indicate early-life environmental factors modulate the microbiome development and the microbiome might be mediate diet-epigenetic interaction. This review aims to define which nutrients involve microbiome development during the critical window of susceptibility to disease, and how microbiome modulation regulates epigenetic changes and influences human health and future prevention strategies.

Phomopsis longanae Chi-Induced Change in ROS Metabolism and Its Relation to Pericarp Browning and Disease Development of Harvested Longan Fruit

Phomopsis longanae Chi is a major pathogenic fungus that infects harvested longan fruit. This study aimed to investigate the effects of P. longanae on reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism and its relation to the pericarp browning and disease development of harvested longan fruit during storage at 28°C and 90% relative humidity. Results showed that compared to the control longans, P. longanae-inoculated longans displayed higher indexes of pericarp browning and fruit disease, higher O2 -. generation rate, higher accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA), lower contents of glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AsA), lower 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging ability and reducing power in pericarp. In addition, P. longanae-infected longans exhibited higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in the first 2 days of storage, and lower activities of SOD, CAT, and APX during storage day 2-5 than those in the control longans. These findings indicated that pericarp browning and disease development of P. longanae-infected longan fruit might be the result of the reducing ROS scavenging ability and the increasing O2 -. generation rate, which might lead to the peroxidation of membrane lipid, the loss of compartmentalization in longan pericarp cells, and subsequently cause polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) to contact with phenolic substrates which result in enzymatic browning of longan pericarp, as well as cause the decrease of disease resistance to P. longanae and stimulate disease development of harvested longan fruit.

Phomopsis longanae Chi-Induced Disease Development and Pericarp Browning of Harvested Longan Fruit in Association With Energy Metabolism

Longan fruit is a popular subtropical fruit with a relatively short shelf life at room temperature mainly due to pericarp browning and fungal infection. This study aimed to investigate the infection of Phomopsis longanae Chi in longan fruit and its effects on the storability and shelf life of longan fruit. The relationship between the energy metabolism of harvested longan fruit and disease development and pericarp browning was elucidated. Results show that P. longanae-inoculation accelerated the deterioration of longan fruit and caused pericarp browning. It also led to the energy deficit in pericarp of longan fruit, which was reflected as lower contents of ATP and ADP, higher AMP content, and lower energy charge as compared to the control samples. Additionally, P. longanae-infection reduced the activities of H⁺-ATPase, Ca²⁺-ATPase, and Mg²⁺-ATPase in plasma, vacuolar, and mitochondrial membranes during the storage period. The results demonstrate that P. longanae-infection led to disease development and pericarp browning in harvested longan fruit, which were due to the infection-induced energy deficit and low ATPase activity that caused disorders of ion transport and distribution, and damaged the structure and function of vacuole, mitochondria, and eventually the whole cells of fruit tissues.

Phomopsis longanae Chi-Induced Changes in Activities of Cell Wall-Degrading Enzymes and Contents of Cell Wall Components in Pericarp of Harvested Longan Fruit and Its Relation to Disease Development

The main goal of this study was to investigate the influences of Phomopsis longanae Chi infection on activities of cell wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs), and contents of cell wall components in pericarp of harvested “Fuyan” longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour. cv. Fuyan) fruit and its relation to disease development. The results showed that, compared with the control samples, P. longanae-inoculated longans showed higher fruit disease index, lower content of pericarp cell wall materials (CWMs), as well as lower contents of pericarp cell wall components (chelate-soluble pectin (CSP), sodium carbonate-soluble pectin, hemicelluloses, and cellulose), but higher content of pericarp water-soluble pectin (WSP). In addition, the inoculation treatment with P. longanae significantly promoted the activities of CWDEs including pectinesterase, polygalacturonase, β-galactosidase, and cellulase. The results suggested that the P. longanae stimulated-disease development of harvested longans was due to increase in activities of pericarp CWDEs, which might accelerate the disassembly of pericarp cell wall components. In turn, resulting in the degradation of pericarp cell wall, reduction of pericarp mechanical strength, and subsequently leading to the breakdown of longan pericarp tissues. Eventually resulting in development of disease development and fruit decay in harvested longans during storage at 28°C.

Longitudinal changes in the antecedent and early manifest course of bipolar disorder-A narrative review of prospective studies

OBJECTIVE

Prospective study designs ideally allow patients to be followed from the first manifestations of the illness or even from an at-risk stage. It can thus provide data on the predictive value of changes in clinical symptomatology, cognition or further biological markers to broaden our understanding of the etiopathology and symptomatic trajectory of bipolar disorders. The scope of this narrative review is to summarize evidence from prospectively collected data on psychopathological and other clinical and biological changes in the early developmental course of bipolar disorders.

METHODS

The narrative review was based on a literature search conducted in February 2016 within the PubMed library for prospective study data of persons in antecedent and early manifest stages of manifest bipolar disorder published within the last 15 years.

RESULTS

A total of 19 prospective studies were included. Regarding psychopathological features; personality, temperament and character traits as well as changes in sleep and circadian rhythm, the evidence suggests that risk factors for the development of bipolar disorder can already be described and should be studied further to understand their interaction, mediation with other factors and timing in the developmental process of bipolar disorder. Apart from the positive family history, childhood anxiety, sleep problems, subthreshold (hypo)manic symptoms and certain character traits/emotionality should be identified and monitored already in clinical practice as their presence likely increases risk of bipolar disorder. Up to date no substantiated evidence was found from prospective studies addressing cognitive features, life events, immunological parameters and morphological central nervous system changes as potential risk factors for bipolar disorder.

CONCLUSION

For an improved understanding of episodic disorders, longitudinal data collection is essential. Since the etiology of bipolar disorders is complex, a number of potential risk factors have been proposed. Prospective studies addressing this spectrum and resilience factors are critical and will be best conducted within multi-site research networks or initiatives.

LTP3 contributes to disease susceptibility in Arabidopsis by enhancing abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis

Several plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) act positively in plant disease resistance. Here, we show that LTP3 (At5g59320), a pathogen and abscisic acid (ABA)-induced gene, negatively regulates plant immunity in Arabidopsis. The overexpression of LTP3 (LTP3-OX) led to an enhanced susceptibility to virulent bacteria and compromised resistance to avirulent bacteria. On infection of LTP3-OX plants with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, genes involved in ABA biosynthesis, NCED3 and AAO3, were highly induced, whereas salicylic acid (SA)-related genes, ICS1 and PR1, were down-regulated. Accordingly, in LTP3-OX plants, we observed increased ABA levels and decreased SA levels relative to the wild-type. We also showed that the LTP3 overexpression-mediated enhanced susceptibility was partially dependent on AAO3. Interestingly, loss of function of LTP3 (ltp3-1) did not affect ABA pathways, but resulted in PR1 gene induction and elevated SA levels, suggesting that LTP3 can negatively regulate SA in an ABA-independent manner. However, a double mutant consisting of ltp3-1 and silent LTP4 (ltp3/ltp4) showed reduced susceptibility to Pseudomonas and down-regulation of ABA biosynthesis genes, suggesting that LTP3 acts in a redundant manner with its closest homologue LTP4 by modulating the ABA pathway. Taken together, our data show that LTP3 is a novel negative regulator of plant immunity which acts through the manipulation of the ABA-SA balance.

LTP3 contributes to disease susceptibility in Arabidopsis by enhancing abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis

Several plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) act positively in plant disease resistance. Here, we show that LTP3 (At5g59320), a pathogen and abscisic acid (ABA)-induced gene, negatively regulates plant immunity in Arabidopsis. The overexpression of LTP3 (LTP3-OX) led to an enhanced susceptibility to virulent bacteria and compromised resistance to avirulent bacteria. On infection of LTP3-OX plants with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, genes involved in ABA biosynthesis, NCED3 and AAO3, were highly induced, whereas salicylic acid (SA)-related genes, ICS1 and PR1, were down-regulated. Accordingly, in LTP3-OX plants, we observed increased ABA levels and decreased SA levels relative to the wild-type. We also showed that the LTP3 overexpression-mediated enhanced susceptibility was partially dependent on AAO3. Interestingly, loss of function of LTP3 (ltp3-1) did not affect ABA pathways, but resulted in PR1 gene induction and elevated SA levels, suggesting that LTP3 can negatively regulate SA in an ABA-independent manner. However, a double mutant consisting of ltp3-1 and silent LTP4 (ltp3/ltp4) showed reduced susceptibility to Pseudomonas and down-regulation of ABA biosynthesis genes, suggesting that LTP3 acts in a redundant manner with its closest homologue LTP4 by modulating the ABA pathway. Taken together, our data show that LTP3 is a novel negative regulator of plant immunity which acts through the manipulation of the ABA-SA balance.

Chronochemistry in neurodegeneration

The problem of distinguishing causes from effects is not a trivial one, as illustrated by the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov in a novel dedicated to an imaginary compound with surprising “chronochemistry” properties. The problem is particularly important when trying to establish the etiology of diseases. Here, we discuss how the problem reflects on our understanding of disease using two specific examples: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA). We show how the fibrillar aggregates observed in AD were first denied any interest, then to assume a central focus, and to finally recess to be considered the dead-end point of the aggregation pathway. This current view is that the soluble aggregates formed along the aggregation pathway rather than the mature amyliod fiber are the causes of disease, Similarly, we illustrate how the identification of causes and and effects have been important in the study of FRDA. This disease has alternatively been considered as the consequence of oxidative stress, iron precipitation or reduction of iron–sulfur cluster protein context. We illustrate how new tools have recently been established which allow us to follow the development of the disease. We hope that this review may inspire similar studies in other scientific disciplines.

The impact of pulmonary Acinetobacter baumannii infection on the prognosis of inpatients in a neurological intensive care unit

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of pulmonary Acinetobacter baumannii infection on the prognosis of patients in a Chinese neurological intensive care unit (NICU).

METHODS

Patients with pulmonary infection and positive sputum culture findings were retrospectively enrolled. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors influencing prognosis. Neurological disease improvement/nonimprovement and mortality rates were assessed.

RESULTS

The study included 374 NICU patients with pulmonary infection (110 [29.4%] with A. baumannii, 264 [70.6%] with other micro-organisms). A. baumannii infection (OR = 2.987) and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR = 16.898) were independent factors in disease prognosis. A. baumannii infection was associated with longer NICU stay, fewer improved patients and increased mortality rate compared with other pulmonary infections.

CONCLUSIONS

A. baumannii infection prolongs the duration of the NICU stay and negatively impacts on prognosis. Prognosis of NICU patients could be improved by controlling A. baumannii infection.

Effects of Cover Crop Residue and Preplant Herbicide on Early Leaf Spot of Peanut

Epidemics of early leaf spot, caused by Cercospora arachidicola, of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) are delayed in strip-tilled compared to conventionally tilled fields. This effect may be due to applications of glyphosate used to kill the winter cover crop in strip-tilled fields and/or the presence of cover crop residue at the soil surface of strip-tilled fields. Preplant herbicide (no herbicide, glyphosate, and paraquat), reciprocal residue (plus residue in conventionally tilled plots and minus residue in strip-tilled plots), and added straw mulch were evaluated to determine their effects on early leaf spot epidemics (AUDPC based on incidence and severity, and final percent defoliation) in conventionally tilled and strip-tilled plots. Additional experiments were conducted to characterize the effects of mulch (straw, fumigated straw, and plastic straw [Textraw]) treatments on disease, and to study tillage effects on disease in nonrotated peanut fields. Glyphosate and paraquat had no effect on AUDPC values or defoliation. The addition of straw to conventionally tilled plots significantly reduced disease levels. Cover crop and straw treatments had no significant effect on disease in the strip-tilled plots. AUDPC values were highest in the bare soil plots, lowest in the straw and fumigated straw plots, and intermediate in the plots with Textraw. Fewer initial infections were detected in the Textraw plots compared to the bare soil plots based on results of a trap leaf experiment. Strip-tillage did not consistently suppress early leaf spot epidemics in nonrotated fields. These results show that the presence of cover crop residue is partly responsible for the early leaf spot suppression observed in strip-tilled fields. Cover crop residue may interfere with the dispersal of primary inoculum from overwintering stroma in the soil to the plant tissues.

Differential activation of the immune system by virulent Streptococcus pneumoniae strains determines recovery or death of the host

Streptococcus pneumoniae infection may result in asymptomatic carriage, mucosal or invasive disease. We hypothesize that self-limiting or fatal disease outcome follows infection with S. pneumoniae differential activation of the host immune response. BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were inoculated intranasally with S. pneumoniae serotype 3 strain WU2 and serotype 14 strain DW14 and mortality, bacterial load, pathological changes in the lungs and cytokines mRNA levels in the spleen were analysed. No differences between the C57BL/6 and the BALB/c inbred mice were observed except for the severity of their lung pathology and IL-4 expression. Infection of the two mouse strains with S. pneumoniae WU2 resulted in sepsis and death that occurred within 4 days post-inoculation. This death was preceded, in both mouse strains, in an increase over time of the lung bacterial load and bacteraemia. The lung pathology was characterized by diffuse pneumonia with marked congestion of the lungs. Analysis of mRNA expression of cytokines in the spleen revealed no alterations in tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon (IFN)-gamma and induction of IL-10 and IL-4. The two strains of mice survived infection with S. pneumoniae DW14. This was accompanied by a reduction over time of lung bacterial load and bacteraemia. The lung pathology was characterized by focal lymphocyte infiltration and preserved architecture of the organ. Analysis of mRNA expression of cytokines in the spleen revealed a significant decrease in the levels of TNF-alpha, TGF-beta, IL-12 and IFN-gamma mRNA expression, which usually precedes cytokine protein expression. Interestingly, a significant increase in the levels of IL-4 mRNA expression was found in BALB/c mice only. This study suggests that differential activation or evasion of cytokine expression by S. pneumoniae virulent strains determines disease outcome regardless of the host's immunogenetic background.