ZmGA3ox2, a candidate gene for a major QTL,qPH3.1, for plant height in maize

Maize plant height is closely associated with biomass, lodging resistance and grain yield. Determining the genetic basis of plant height by characterizing and cloning plant height genes will guide the genetic improvement of crops. In this study, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for plant height, qPH3.1, was identified on chromosome 3 using populations derived from a cross between Zong3 and its chromosome segment substitution line, SL15. The plant height of the two lines was obviously different, and application of exogenous gibberellin A₃ removed this difference. QTL mapping placed qPH3.1 within a 4.0 cM interval, explaining 32.3% of the phenotypic variance. Furthermore, eight homozygous segmental isolines (SILs) developed from two larger F₂ populations further narrowed down qPH3.1 to within a 12.6 kb interval. ZmGA3ox2, an ortholog of OsGA3ox2, which encodes a GA3 β‐hydroxylase, was positionally cloned. Association mapping identified two polymorphisms in ZmGA3ox2 that were significantly associated with plant height across two experiments. Quantitative RT‐PCR showed that SL15 had higher ZmGA3ox2 expression relative to Zong3. The resultant higher GA₁ accumulation led to longer internodes in SL15 because of increased cell lengths. Moreover, a large deletion in the coding region of ZmGA3ox2 is responsible for the dwarf mutant d1‐6016. The successfully isolated qPH3.1 enriches our knowledge on the genetic basis of plant height in maize, and provides an opportunity for improvement of plant architecture in maize breeding.     

Alg-g-PEI/pVEGF复合物体内促血管生成作用

研究氧化海藻酸——低分子量聚乙烯亚胺两性刷型共聚物 (Algin-a-te-graft-PEI, Alg-g-PEI) 与血管内皮生长因子质粒 (pVEGF) 复合后对体内血管生成的影响。采用细胞和斑马鱼实验检测了Alg-g-PEI/pVEGF复合物的毒性;通过凝胶电泳实验评价了Alg-g-PEI对DNA的保护作用;利用鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜 (CAM) 和斑马鱼模型,选用PEI 25K/pVEGF作为阳性对照、生理盐水为空白对照,观察复合物对血管新生的促进作用。结果发现：Alg-g-PEI对质粒有较好的保护作用;Alg-g-PEI/pVEGF复合物具有较低的细胞、斑马鱼毒性,能显著促进CAM和斑马鱼的血管生成,且具有剂量依赖性,当pVEGF用量等于2.4 μg/CAM时,复合物对CAM血管生成的促进作用最明显,血管面积和CAM面积比 (VA/CAM) 为44.04％,高于阳性对照组 (35.90％) 和空白对照组 (24.03％) (**P＜0.01)。复合物对斑马鱼血管新生的促进作用随氮磷比 (N/P) 的增加而增强,其中N/P=110时,血管新生最明显：肠下血管总长度和面积分别为1.11 mm和1.70×103像素,高于空白对照组 (0.69 mm和0.95×103像素) (**P＜0.01) 和阳性对照组 (0.82 mm和1.11×103像素) (**P＜0.01) 。综上所述,Alg-g-PEI/pVEGF能于体内促进血管生成,该载体有望用于临床缺血性疾病的治疗。     

表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯对高脂饮食大鼠脂肪组织TNF-α表达的影响及意义

目的 探讨表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯（EGCG）对高脂饮食大鼠脂肪组织中肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）表达的影响及其与胰岛素敏感性的相关性.方法 将30只SPF级雄性SD大鼠随机分为正常饮食组（ND组,n=10）和高脂饮食组（HFD组,n=20）.喂养16w,当两组大鼠体质量出现显著差异后（P〈0.05）,将HFD组按随机区组原则分为单纯高脂组（HFD组,n=10）和EGCG干预组（HFD＋0.32%EGCG,EGCG组,n=10）.干预16w.留取血清及附睾周脂肪组织.检测每组大鼠空腹血糖（FBG）、胰岛素水平（FINS）及游离脂肪酸（FFAs）,并计算胰岛素抵抗指数（HOMA-IR）;应用Real-time PCR及Western blot方法检测附睾周脂肪组织中TNF-α表达水平.结果 （1）与HFD组相比,EGCG组FINS水平显著下降[分别为（13.83±0.79）mIU/l vs.（31.71±3.61）mIU/l,P〈0.05];HOMA-IR值下降[分别为（3.36±0.31） vs.（7.59±0.99）,P〈0.05];FFAs值亦明显下降[分别为（0.38±0.08）mmol/l vs.（0.81±0.11）mmol/l,P〈0.05];三组大鼠FBG水平无明显统计学差异（P〉0.05）.（2）与ND组相比,HFD组脂肪组织中TNF-αmRNA水平显著升高[分别为（0.0033±0.00070）vs.（0.0010±0.00008）,P〈0.01];而EGCG组较HFD组则明显下降[分别为（0.0018±0.00037）vs.（0.0033±0.00070）,P〈0.05];同时,EGCG组TNF-α蛋白表达量低于HFD组[分别为（0.42±0.09）vs.（0.67±0.09）,P〈0.05];（3）EGCG组与ND组无明显差异（P〉0.05）.结论 EGCG改善高脂饮食大鼠胰岛素敏感性可能与减轻脂肪组织TNF-α介导的炎症状态相关.     

大鼠诱发型肝癌发生发展过程中SonicHedgehog、Ptc和Gli1表达的改变

目的 观察大鼠诱发肝癌过程中Sonic Hedgehog（Shh）信号通路相关基因的表达变化,探讨其在肝癌发生发展过程中的作用.方法 雄性Wistar大鼠48只,随机分成4组,利用二乙基亚硝胺（DEN）制备诱发性大鼠肝癌模型,应用原位核酸杂交技术检测Shh、Ptc、Gli1 mRNA在对照组、模型组（6w）、模型组（14w）、模型组（22w）大鼠肝脏癌变过程中的表达变化.结果 在模型组（6w）大鼠肝脏的肝小叶周边可见嗜酸性、气球样变性等肝细胞损伤的表现,模型组（14w）大鼠肝脏中可见肝假小叶和非典型增生结节,模型组（22w）大鼠肝脏中可见到高分化的肝细胞癌结节.Shh、Ptc、Gli1 mRNA阳性表达细胞主要分布在大鼠肝脏中的肝细胞损伤区、增生结节、癌结节、小叶间胆管上皮和癌旁组织中,Shh、Ptc、Gli1 mRNA在模型组的大鼠肝组织中表达的平均光密度值均高于对照组.结论 Shh信号通路在诱癌过程中异常激活,可能促进肝损伤后的正常修复、异常增殖及肝细胞癌变过程.     

Construction of novel chimeric proteins through the truncation of SEC2 and Sak from Staphylococcus aureus

It is an usual clinical phenomenon that cancer patients are prone to thrombosis. Until now, there have been no efficient methods or appropriate drugs to prevent and cure tumor thrombus. Therefore, the construction of a bifunctional chimeric protein for the treatment of cancer, complicated with thrombosis, is of great significance. Utilizing the superantigenic activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin C2 (SEC2) and the thrombolytic activity of staphylokinase (Sak), Sak-linker-SEC2 and SEC2-linker-Sak were constructed which had good anti-tumor and thrombolytic activities at the same time. Due to the intrinsic emetic activity of SEC2 and high molecular weight (MW) of chimeric proteins (44?kDa), their clinical applications will be restricted. In this study, novel chimeric proteins including ΔSEC2–ΔSak and ΔSak–ΔSEC2 were constructed through the truncation of SEC2 and Sak without 9-Ala linker and His-tag. Compared with the former, both the truncated proteins preserved nearly the same anti-tumor and thrombolytic activities. In addition, their MWs were only 29?kDa and their immunoreactivities were slightly lower than that of Sak-linker-SEC2 and SEC2-linker-Sak, respectively. Therefore, the novel chimeric proteins possessed merits and characteristics, such as low MS, low immunogenicity, and difunctionality which the former had not. It will be of great interest if the above-mentioned proteins can be used to cure Trousseau syndrome in clinic.     

Androgen Inhibits Abdominal Fat Accumulation and Negatively Regulates the PCK1 Gene in Male Chickens

Capons are male chickens whose testes have been surgically incised. Capons show a significant increase in fat accumulation compared to intact male chickens. However, while caponization leads to a significant reduction in androgen levels in roosters, little is known about the molecular mechanisms through which androgen status affects lipogenesis in avian species. Therefore, investigation of the influence of androgens on fat accumulation in the chicken will provide insights into this process. In this study, Affymetrix microarray technology was used to analyze the gene expression profiles of livers from capons and intact male chickens because the liver is the major site of lipogenesis in avian species. Through gene ontology, we found that genes involved in hepatic lipogenic biosynthesis were the most highly enriched. Interestingly, among the upregulated genes, the cytosolic form of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK1) gene showed the greatest fold change. Additionally, in conjunction with quantitative real-time PCR data, our results suggested that androgen status negatively regulated the PCK1 gene in male chickens.     

Overexpressed MicroRNA-182 Promotes Proliferation and Invasion in Prostate Cancer PC-3 Cells by Down-Regulating N-myc Downstream Regulated Gene 1 (NDRG1)

MicroRNAs, non-coding 20–22 nucleotide single-stranded RNAs, result in translational repression or degradation and gene silencing of their target genes, and significantly contribute to the regulation of gene expression. In the current study, we report that miR-182 expression was significantly upregulated in prostate cancer tissues and four cell lines, compared to benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues and normal prostatic epithelial (RWPE-1) cells. Ectopic overexpression of miR-182 significantly promotes the proliferation, increases the invasion, promotes the G1/S cell cycle transition and reduces early apotosis of PC-3 cells, while suppression of miR-182 decreased the proliferation and invasion, inhibits the G1/S cell cycle transition and increase early apotosis of PC-3 cells. Additionally, we demonstrated that miR-182 could downregulate expression of NDRG1 by directly targeting the NDRG1 3′-untranslated region. In conclusion, our results suggest that miR-182 plays an important role in the proliferation of human prostate cancer cells by directly suppressing the tumor supressor gene NDRG1. We uncovered a new epigenetic regulation of NDRG1.     

Intraplaque Stretch in Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque – an Effective Biomechanical Predictor for Subsequent Cerebrovascular Ischemic Events

Background

Stretch is a mechanical parameter, which has been proposed previously to affect the biological activities in different tissues. This study explored its utility in determining plaque vulnerability.

Methods

One hundred and six patients with mild to moderate carotid stenosis were recruited in this study (53 symptomatic and 53 asymptomatic). High resolution, multi-sequence magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed to delineate various plaque components. Finite element method was used to predict high stretch concentration within the plaque.

Results

During a two-year follow-up, 11 patients in symptomatic group and 3 in asymptomatic group experienced recurrent cerebrovascular events. Plaque stretch at systole and stretch variation during one cardiac cycle was greater in symptomatic group than those in the asymptomatic. Within the symptomatic group, a similar trend was observed in patients with recurrent events compared to those without.

Conclusion

Plaques with high stretch concentration and large stretch variation are associated with increased risk of future cerebrovascular events.     

The Influence of Hepatitis B Viral Load and Pre-S Deletion Mutations on Post-Operative Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and the Tertiary Preventive Effects by Anti-Viral Therapy

Background

Whether or not hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes, mutations, and viral loads determine outcomes for patients with HBV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial.

Aims

To study the influence of HBV viral factors on prognoses for patients with HBV-induced HCC after resection surgery and investigate if antiviral therapy could counteract the adverse effects of viral factors.

Methods

A total of 333 HBV-related HCC patients who underwent tumor resection were enrolled retrospectively. Serum HBV DNA levels, mutations, anti-viral therapy, and other clinical variables were analyzed for their association with post-operative recurrence.

Results

After a median follow-up of 45.9 months, 208 patients had HCC recurrence after resection. The 5-year overall survival and recurrence-free survival rates were 55.4% and 35.3%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed indocyanine green retention rate at 15 minutes >10%, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) level >60 U/L, macroscopic and microscopic venous invasion, and the absence of anti-viral therapy were significant risk factors for recurrence. Anti-viral therapy could decrease recurrence in patients with early stage HCC, but the effect was less apparent in those with the Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer stage C HCC. For patients without antiviral therapy after resection, serum HBV DNA levels >10⁶ copies/mL, GGT >60 U/L, and macroscopic and microscopic venous invasion were significant risk factors predicting recurrence. Among the 216 patients without anti-viral therapy but with complete HBV surface gene mapping data, 73 were with pre-S deletion mutants. Among patients with higher serum HBV DNA levels, those with pre-S deletion had significantly higher rates of recurrence. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed multi-nodularity, macroscopic venous invasion, cirrhosis, advanced tumor cell differentiation, and pre-S deletion were significant risk factors predictive of recurrence.

Conclusions

Ongoing HBV viral replication and pre-S deletion are crucial for determining post-operative tumor recurrence. Anti-viral therapy can help reduce recurrence and improve prognosis, especially for those with early stage HCC.