Divergent DNA methylation contributes to duplicated gene evolution and chilling response in tea plants

The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a thermophilic cash crop and contains a highly duplicated and repeat-rich genome. It is still unclear how DNA methylation regulates the evolution of duplicated genes and chilling stress in tea plants. We therefore generated a single-base-resolution DNA methylation map of tea plants under chilling stress. We found that, compared with other plants, the tea plant genome is highly methylated in all three sequence contexts, including CG, CHG and CHH (where H = A, T, or C), which is further proven to be correlated with its repeat content and genome size. We show that DNA methylation in the gene body negatively regulates the gene expression of tea plants, whereas non-CG methylation in the flanking region enables a positive regulation of gene expression. We demonstrate that transposable element-mediated methylation dynamics significantly drives the expression divergence of duplicated genes in tea plants. The DNA methylation and expression divergence of duplicated genes in the tea plant increases with evolutionary age and selective pressure. Moreover, we detect thousands of differentially methylated genes, some of which are functionally associated with chilling stress. We also experimentally reveal that DNA methyltransferase genes of tea plants are significantly downregulated, whereas demethylase genes are upregulated at the initial stage of chilling stress, which is in line with the significant loss of DNA methylation of three well-known cold-responsive genes at their promoter and gene body regions. Overall, our findings underscore the importance of DNA methylation regulation and offer new insights into duplicated gene evolution and chilling tolerance in tea plants.     

Stromal cell‐derived factor‐1/Exendin‐4 cotherapy facilitates the proliferation,migration and osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells in vitro and promotes periodontal bone regeneration in vivo

ObjectivesStromal cell‐derived factor‐1 (SDF‐1) actively directs endogenous cell homing. Exendin‐4 (EX‐4) promotes stem cell osteogenic differentiation. Studies revealed that EX‐4 strengthened SDF‐1‐mediated stem cell migration. However, the effects of SDF‐1 and EX‐4 on periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) and bone regeneration have not been investigated. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of SDF‐1/EX‐4 cotherapy on PDLSCs in vitro and periodontal bone regeneration in vivo.MethodsCell‐counting kit‐8 (CCK8), transwell assay, qRT‐PCR and western blot were used to determine the effects and mechanism of SDF‐1/EX‐4 cotherapy on PDLSCs in vitro. A rat periodontal bone defect model was developed to evaluate the effects of topical application of SDF‐1 and systemic injection of EX‐4 on endogenous cell recruitment, osteoclastogenesis and bone regeneration in vivo.ResultsSDF‐1/EX‐4 cotherapy had additive effects on PDLSC proliferation, migration, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, mineral deposition and osteogenesis‐related gene expression compared to SDF‐1 or EX‐4 in vitro. Pretreatment with ERK inhibitor U0126 blocked SDF‐1/EX‐4 cotherapy induced ERK signal activation and PDLSC proliferation. SDF‐1/EX‐4 cotherapy significantly promoted new bone formation, recruited more CXCR4⁺ cells and CD90⁺/CD34^‐ stromal cells to the defects, enhanced early‐stage osteoclastogenesis and osteogenesis‐related markers expression in regenerated bone compared to control, SDF‐1 or EX‐4 in vivo.ConclusionsSDF‐1/EX‐4 cotherapy synergistically regulated PDLSC activities, promoted periodontal bone formation, thereby providing a new strategy for periodontal bone regeneration.     

帝萝花‘璀璨明珠'的植株高效再生

为解决木本切花植物帝萝花‘璀璨明珠’繁殖效率低的问题,该文以帝萝花‘璀璨明珠’的幼嫩枝芽为外植体,研究了不同基本培养基对其长势的影响、不同激素种类和浓度对其增殖和生根的效果,分析了其离体繁殖的生长特点,并建立了高效的帝萝花‘璀璨明珠’组培快繁技术体系。结果表明:帝萝花‘璀璨明珠’幼嫩枝芽的消毒方法为0.1%的升汞溶液浸泡12 min,污染率为21.5%;外植体在WPM+ZT 1 mg·L~(-1)+NAA 0.1 mg·L~(-1)培养基上,侧芽萌发率为73%;增殖的最佳培养基为MS+BA 0.4 mg·L~(-1)+NAA 0.05 mg·L~(-1),增殖系数为6.63,增殖方式为侧芽增殖和植株基部丛生芽增殖;生根的适宜培养基为MS+IBA 0.75mg·L~(-1)+NAA 1 mg·L~(-1),生根率为70%;生根瓶苗移栽于珍珠岩和细草炭(体积比为0.5∶1)的基质中,光照强度为10 000～12 000 lx,空气湿度为70%～80%下培养,60 d后成活率可达72%。该研究结果为帝萝花组培种苗的商业化生产提供了技术支撑,同时促进了该高档木本切花的推广和种植及产业化。     

虾青素复合有氧运动对D-半乳糖诱导大鼠肾脏衰老的干预作用及其机制

目的: 研究虾青素复合有氧运动对D-半乳糖诱导大鼠肾脏衰老的干预作用及其机制。方法: 60只3月龄SPF级SD大鼠采用两因素两水平2×2析因设计随机分为空白对照组(C组)、急性衰老组(S组)、虾青素+急性衰老组(AS组)、有氧运动+急性衰老组(ES组)、虾青素+有氧运动+急性衰老组(AES组),每组12只。大鼠腹腔注射100 mg/(kg·d) D-半乳糖复制经典急性衰老模型,并分别以20 mg/(kg·d) 虾青素和/或强度为60%最大摄氧量的有氧运动进行干预,实验周期6周。末次训练12 h后取肾脏,光镜/电镜观察肾脏组织形态/超微结构,酶联免疫吸附法检测肾脏组织超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、γ-谷氨酸半胱氨酸合酶(γ-GCS)活性及丙二醛(MDA)含量,荧光比色法检测肾脏组织脂褐质(LDF)含量,免疫组化法检测肾脏组织核因子E2相关因子2(Nrf2)通路蛋白质表达水平。结果: 与AS、ES组比较:AES组肾脏组织形态/超微结构改善更为显著;LDF含量均显著降低(P＜0.01);SOD活性均显著升高(P＜0.01);γ-GCS活性显著高于AS组,而与ES组无显著性差异(P＞0.05);MDA含量组间无显著性差异(P＞0.05);Nrf2、磷酸化核因子E2相关因子2(p-Nrf2)蛋白质表达均显著升高(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);抗氧化酶血红素氧合酶1(HO-1)蛋白质表达显著高于ES组(P＜0.05),而与AS组无显著性差异(P＜0.05)。结论: 虾青素复合有氧运动可以延缓肾脏衰老,其作用机制可能为调控Nrf2信号通路相关蛋白质表达及下游Ⅱ相解毒酶和抗氧化酶活性,改善D-半乳糖致衰大鼠肾脏氧化应激。     

高血压的分类、症状及并发症与公众认知

高血压(hypertension,high blood pressure)是动脉血压持续偏高的慢性疾病,是人类社会最为常见的慢性医学问题.80％以上的高血压患者了解他们自身的血压状况,其中70％以上的患者服用治疗高血压药物.然而,这些认识到自身高血压状况的人中,只有48％的患者的高血压得到了充分的控制.本文系统地阐述了高血压的类型、诊断标准及治疗或控制策略,以期提高公众对高血压的认知,有利于患者对高血压的控制和管理.     

聚多巴胺的表面修饰功能在组织工程的应用进展*

聚多巴胺作为贻贝的仿生材料,可由多巴胺在碱性环境中自发形成。由于其较好的黏附特性以及组织相容性,在生命科学等领域有着广泛的应用。将聚多巴胺对材料进行表面修饰,既可以保护材料免受强氧化剂、酸碱等外界的侵蚀,也可以通过表面改性赋予材料新的功能,使其在各领域发挥更好的作用。对聚多巴胺的制备原理、生物性能,以及近年来在组织工程领域(骨组织、软骨组织、硬脑膜组织、血管组织、耳组织)的运用进行综述,以期为后续聚多巴胺作为组织工程黏附材料的研究提供参考。     

A botanical medicine dragon’s blood exhibited clinical antithrombosis efficacy similar to low molecular weight heparin

Deep vein thrombosis(DVT) is a common complication following traumatic fracture with a 0.5%–1% annual incidence. Low molecular weight heparin(LMWH) is the most commonly used anticoagulation drug for DVT prevention, but treatment with LMWH is invasive. Our aim is to compare the antithrombotic effect of dragon's blood, an oral botanical anticoagulant medicine approved by the Chinese FDA, with LMWH in patients undergoing hip fracture surgery and to explore the molecular mechanisms of anticoagulation treatment. Our study recruited patients and divided them into LMWH and dragon's blood treatment group. Coagulation index tests, Doppler ultrasound and m RNA sequencing were performed before and after anticoagulation therapy. There was no significant difference in postoperative DVT incidence between the two groups(23.1% versus 15.4%,P=0.694). D-dimer(D-D) and fibrinogen degradation product(FDP) showed significant reductions in both groups after anticoagulation treatments. We identified SLC4 A1, PROS1, PRKAR2 B and seven other genes as being differentially expressed during anticoagulation therapy in both groups. Genes correlated with coagulation indexes were also identified. Dragon's blood and LMWH showed similar effects on DVT and produced similar gene expression changes in patients undergoing hip fracture surgery, indicating that dragon's blood is a more convenient antithrombosis medicine(oral) than LMWH(hypodermic injection).     

Is oral microbiome of children able to maintain resistance and functional stability in response to short-term interference of ingesta?

Dear Editor, A series of studies had focused on the ecological stability of human microbiome (Lozupone et al.,2012;Faith et al.,2013;Moya and Ferrer,2016).Despite the continuous perturbation and the highly personalized composition within the human microbiome (Human Microbiome Project,2012),healthy adults stably maintain their microbial communities in terms of space and time (Faith et al.,2013;Moya and Ferrer,2016;Oh et al.,2016).This stability is proved to be critical for the well-being of human body (Lozupone et al.,2012).On the contrary,major shifts in microbial community composition are often related to diseases (Lynch and Pedersen,2016).