Binding of B‐cell maturation antigen to B‐cell activating factor induces survival of multiple myeloma cells by activating Akt and JNK signaling pathways

B‐cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is expressed on normal and malignant plasma cells and represents a potential target for therapeutic intervention. In this study, we characterized the mechanism underlying the protein kinase B (Akt) and c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) pathways and BCMA interactions in regulating multiple myeloma (MM) cell survival. It was found that the expression levels of B cell‐activating factor (BAFF) and BCMA were increased in MM cells as compared with those in normal controls. The proliferation of U266 cells was induced by recombinant human BAFF (rhBAFF) and could also be decreased by BCMA siRNA. The expression of Bcl‐2 protein was up‐regulated, and Bax protein was down‐regulated after rhBAFF treatment, which could be reversed by BCMA siRNA. Similarly, the protein p‐JNK and p‐Akt were activated by rhBAFF and could be changed by BCMA siRNA. In addition, the BCMA mRNA and protein expression levels were decreased after treatment with Akt and JNK pathway inhibitors. These results suggest that Akt and JNK pathways are involved in the regulation of BCMA. A novel BAFF/BCMA signalling pathway in MM may be a new therapeutic target for MM. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pollen size-number trade-off and pollen-pistil relationships in Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae)

Current patterns of floral design in Pedicularis must have undergone an evolutionary process of interacting among components of floral traits, and then formed internal relationships among these traits. To detect such correlations, which may provide insight to understand flower evolution, 40 Pedicularis species representing all corolla types of the genus were studied. Results show that, interspecifically, pollen size correlates negatively with pollen number, but positively with pistil length. This suggests that plants evolve an optimal pollen size, which balances the advantages of large pollen size for gametophytic competition against the fecundity disadvantages of fewer pollen grains. In contrast to sex allocation theory, this study does not find a trade-off, but an interspecific positive correlation between pollen and ovule number. This is consistent with the hypothesis that genetic variation for resource acquisition may in part be responsible for the lack of negative correlation between male and female function.This work was supported by the State Key Basic Research and Development Plan, China (Grant No. G2000046804) to YHG. The authors would like to thank Peter K. Endress and two anonymous reviewers for providing critical comments and helpful suggestions, Qing-Feng Wang, Jing-Yuan Wang and Jin-Ming Chen for their helpful suggestions. Shi-Guo Sun, Jing Xia, and Qian Yu are thanked for their assistance in both the field work and laboratory phases of the project.     

Corolla wilting facilitates delayed autonomous self-pollination in Pedicularis dunniana (Orobanchaceae)

Structural changes associated with corolla wilting may serve as a mechanism for effecting self-pollination. Low pollinator visitation, high seed production and a corolla that persists after anthesis indicates that Pedicularis dunniana is autogamous. Delayed autonomous self-pollination is facilitated by corolla wilting. Wilting of the upper lip (galea) brought the pollen laden anthers into contact with the stigma resulting in the deposition of self pollen on the stigma. The seed set of flowers either emasculated, or with restrained galeae thus preventing anthers brushing against the stigma, was significantly lower than that of open-pollinated flowers. This demonstrates that autogamy occurs in this species through corolla wilting. Germination experiments indicated that outcross seedlings were more vigorous than selfed seedlings as a result of inbreeding depression. It is likely that autogamy provides reproductive assurance for P. dunniana under conditions of pollinator scarcity.     

Functional analysis of a miRNA‐like small RNA derived from Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus

Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCPV) is a major pathogen of the economic insect silkworm, Bombyx mori. Virus‐encoded microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proven to play important roles in host–pathogen interactions. In this study we identified a BmCPV‐derived miRNA‐like 21 nt small RNA, BmCPV‐miR‐1, from the small RNA deep sequencing of BmCPV‐infected silkworm larvae by stem‐loop quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) and investigated its functions with qPCR and lentiviral expression systems. Bombyx mori inhibitor of apoptosis protein (BmIAP) gene was predicted by both target prediction software miRanda and Targetscan to be one of its target genes with a binding site for BmCPV‐miR‐1 at the 5′ untranslated region. It was found that the expression of BmCPV‐miR‐1 and its target gene BmIAP were both up‐regulated in BmCPV‐infected larvae. At the same time, it was confirmed that BmCPV‐miR‐1 could up‐regulate the expression of BmIAP gene in HEK293T cells with lentiviral expression systems and in BmN cells by transfecting mimics. Furthermore, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could up‐regulate the expression level of BmIAP gene in midgut and fat body in the silkworm. In the midgut of BmCPV‐infected larvae, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could be further up‐regulated and inhibitors could lower the virus‐mediated expression of BmIAP gene. With the viral genomic RNA segments S1 and S10 as indicators, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could up‐regulate and inhibitors down‐regulate their replication in the infected silkworm. These results implied that BmCPV‐miR‐1 could inhibit cell apoptosis in the infected silkworm through up‐regulating BmIAP expression, providing the virus with a better cell circumstance for its replication.     

Prenatal diagnosis of Pallister-Killian syndrome and literature review

Pallister-Killian syndrome (PKS) is a rare sporadic genetic disorder usually caused by mosaicism of an extra isochromosome of 12p (i(12p)). This retrospective study analysed the prenatal ultrasound manifestations and molecular and cytogenetic results of five PKS foetuses. Samples of amniotic fluid and/or cord blood, skin biopsy and placenta were collected. Conventional karyotyping and single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP array) were performed on all the amniotic fluid or cord blood samples. Copy number variants sequencing (CNV-seq) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were also used for the validation for one foetus. All the five foetuses were from pregnancies with advanced parental age. Two foetuses involved structural abnormalities and one foetus had only soft markers, all of which included increased nuchal translucency. The rest two foetuses had normal ultrasounds in the second trimester, which has rarely been reported before. The karyotype revealed typical i(12p) in four cases and a small supernumerary marker chromosome consisting of 12p and 20p in the remaining one case. The proportion of cells with i(12p) ranged from 0 to 100% in cultural cells, while SNP array results suggested 2−4 copies of 12p. For one foetus, metaphase FISH showed normal results, but the interphase FISH suggested cell lines with two, three and four copies of 12p in the amniotic fluid. Advanced parental age may be an important risk factor for PKS, and there were no typical ultrasound manifestations related to PKS. A combination of karyotype analysis and molecular diagnosis is an effective method for the diagnosis of PKS.     

DIA-Based Proteomics Identifies IDH2 as a Targetable Regulator of Acquired Drug Resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Drug resistance is a critical obstacle to effective treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. To understand the underlying resistance mechanisms in response to imatinib mesylate (IMA) and adriamycin (ADR), the parental K562 cells were treated with low doses of IMA or ADR for 2 months to generate derivative cells with mild, intermediate, and severe resistance to the drugs as defined by their increasing resistance index. PulseDIA-based (DIA [data-independent acquisition]) quantitative proteomics was then employed to reveal the proteome changes in these resistant cells. In total, 7082 proteins from 98,232 peptides were identified and quantified from the dataset using four DIA software tools including OpenSWATH, Spectronaut, DIA-NN, and EncyclopeDIA. Sirtuin signaling pathway was found to be significantly enriched in both ADR-resistant and IMA-resistant K562 cells. In particular, isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2 was identified as a potential drug target correlated with the drug resistance phenotype, and its inhibition by the antagonist AGI-6780 reversed the acquired resistance in K562 cells to either ADR or IMA. Together, our study has implicated isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2 as a potential target that can be therapeutically leveraged to alleviate the drug resistance in K562 cells when treated with IMA and ADR.     

光诱导角膜交联及检测技术的研究进展

由于圆锥角膜疾病导致越来越多的人患有近视,常见的矫正方法有佩戴近视眼镜、隐形眼镜等.随着科技的进步,利用光对近视等眼科疾病进行屈光矫正已经成为当前临床中常用的方法.使用光诱导角膜胶原蛋白发生交联,从而达到治疗圆锥角膜疾病、提高患者视力水平的目的,这是一种新型的光治疗眼睛疾病的方法.同时这种方法由于无侵入性、对操作者能力依赖性小等优势成为新的研究热点.本文阐述光诱导角膜交联的基本原理,并介绍其发展历程,分析现有的各种交联方法和角膜检测技术的原理,并对现有交联方法和检测方法的优缺点进行讨论.最后,本文对光诱导角膜交联和检测技术的最新进展进行系统的论述,并对未来的发展趋势进行展望.     

Integrated species delimitation and conservation implications of an endangered weevil Pachyrhynchus sonani (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Green and Orchid Islands of Taiwan

Oceanic islands are productive habitats for generating new species and high endemism, which is primarily due to their geographical isolation, smaller population sizes and local adaptation. However, the short divergence times and subtle morphological or ecological divergence of insular organisms may obscure species identity, so the cryptic endemism on islands may be underestimated. The endangered weevil Pachyrhynchus sonani Kôno (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Pachyrhynchini) is endemic to Green Island and Orchid Island of the Taiwan‐Luzon Archipelago and displays widespread variation in coloration and host range, thus raising questions regarding its species boundaries and degree of cryptic diversity. We tested the species boundaries of P. sonani using an integrated approach that combined morphological (body size and shape, genital shape, coloration and cuticular scale), genetic (four genes and restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing, RAD‐seq) and ecological (host range and distribution) diversity. The results indicated that all the morphological datasets for male P. sonani, except for the colour spectrum, reveal overlapping but statistically significant differences between islands. In contrast, the morphology of the female P. sonani showed minimum divergence between island populations. The populations of P. sonani on the two islands were significantly different in their host ranges, and the genetic clustering and phylogenies of P. sonani established two valid evolutionary species. Integrated species delimitation combining morphological, molecular and ecological characters supported two distinct species of P. sonani from Green Island and Orchid Island. The Green Island population was described as P. jitanasaius sp.n. Chen & Lin, and it is recommended that its threatened conservation status be recognized. Our findings suggest that the inter‐island speciation of endemic organisms inhabiting both islands may be more common than previously thought, and they highlight the possibility that the cryptic diversity of small oceanic islands may still be largely underestimated.