Effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms in SEPS1 and SEPP1 on expression in the protein level in metabolic syndrome in subjects with cardiovascular disease

Molecular Biology Reports - Metabolic syndrome (MetS) results from the interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Several previous studies considered the role of selenium in developing...     

Salicylic acid improves podophyllotoxin production in cell cultures of Linum album by increasing the expression of genes related with its biosynthesis

Treatment of Linum album cell cultures with 10 μM salicylic acid (SA) for 3 days improved podophyllotoxin (PTOX) production up to 333 μg/g dry weight (DW): over three times that of the control cultures. qPCR analyses showed that in SA-treated cells, the expression of the genes coding for phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR) and cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD), all involved in the first steps of PTOX biosynthesis, also increased reaching a peak 8–12 h after the treatment. Expression of the pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase gene (PLR), which is involved in one of the last biosynthetic steps, was not affected by SA. The selective action of SA on these genes can be applied to control the biotechnological production of this anticancer agent.     

OCC-1D regulates Wnt signaling pathway: potential role of long noncoding RNA in colorectal cancer

Molecular Biology Reports - Aberrant activation of the Wnt signaling pathway is observed in most colorectal cancers (CRC). OCC-1D is a splice variant of OCC-1 gene which is considered as a long...     

Modification of catalase and MAPK in Vicia faba cultivated in soil with high natural radioactivity and treated with a static magnetic field

The effects of a static magnetic field (SMF) and high natural radioactivity (HR) on catalase and MAPK genes in Vicia faba were investigated. Soil samples with high natural radioactivity were collected from Ramsar in north Iran where the annual radiation absorbed dose from background radiation is higher than 20 mSv/year. The specific activity of the radionuclides of ²³²Th, ²³⁶Ra, and ⁴⁰K was measured using gamma spectrometry. The seeds were planted either in the soil with high natural radioactivity or in the control soils and were then exposed to a SMF of 30 mT for 8 days; 8 h/day. Levels of expression of catalase and MAPK genes, catalase activity and H₂O₂ content were evaluated. The results demonstrated significant differences in the expression of catalase and MAPK genes in SMF- and HR-treated plants compared to the controls. An increase in catalase activity was accompanied by increased expression of its gene and accumulation of H₂O₂. Relative expression of the MAPK gene in treated plants, however, was lower than those of the controls. The results suggest that the response of V. faba plants to SMF and HR may be mediated by modification of catalase and MAPK.     

An in vitro study of the impact of 4mT static magnetic field to modify the differentiation rate of rat bone marrow stem cells into primordial germ cells

This investigation was performed to evaluate the differentiation capacity and alteration in genes expression patterns during in vitro differentiation of bone marrow stem cells into primordial germ cells using static magnetic field (4 mT) and BMP-4 (25 ng/ml). The rate of differentiation was investigated using the Real Time-PCR method for tracing expression of differentiation markers (Oct-4, Nanog, C-Myc, Fragilis, Mvh and Stella). Then, immunocytochemical reaction was carried out for detection of marker proteins (Oct4 and Mvh). Increasing of the exposure time of the 4 mT SMF (24 and 48 h) and treatment time with 25 ng/ml BMP4 (48 and 96 h) indicated a marked decrease in expression of pluripotency genes (Oct-4, Nanog and C-Myc) and Oct4 protein and increase in primordial germ cell-specific genes (Fragilis, Mvh and Stella) and Mvh protein compared with the control group. Final results showed that in a synergistic manner, the combination of SMF with BMP4 exaggerates the differentiation potential of BMSCs to PGCs by activating the MAPK pathway and altering the Ca²⁺ concentration.     

miRNA-375 promotes beta pancreatic differentiation in human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells

Islet transplantation is considered as an ultimate option for the treatment of type I diabetes. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have raised the possibility that patient-specific insulin-secreting cells might be derived from somatic cells through cell fate reprogramming. However, current protocols mostly rely on the use of several cytokines and inhibitors for directing differentiation towards pancreatic fate. Given the high manufacturing cost of these recombinant proteins, this approach is prohibitive for clinical applications. Knowing that microRNAs (miRNAs) are key players in various stages of pancreatic development, we present a novel and cost-effective strategy in which over-expression of miR-375 promotes pancreatic differentiation in hiPSCs in the absence of any other stimulator. We used a polycistronic viral vector expressing Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc, and Oct4 to drive hiPSCs from human foreskin fibroblasts. The established hiPSCs are similar to human embryonic stem cells in many aspects including morphology, passaging, surface and pluripotency markers, and gene expression. For differentiation induction, miR-375 was lentivirally overexpressed in these hiPSCs. Morphological assessment, immunocytochemistry, and expression analysis of islet marker genes confirmed that islet like cells were obtained in miR-375 transduced cells compared to controls. Our differentiated clusters secreted insulin in a glucose-dependant manner, showing in vitro functionality. We demonstrated for the first time that miRNAs might be ideal substitutes to induce pancreatic differentiation in hiPSCs. This work provides a new approach to study the role of miRNAs in pancreatic specification and increase the feasibility of using patient-specific iPSCs for beta cell replacement therapy for type I diabetes.     

Central Role of Salicylic Acid in Resistance of Wheat Against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium graminearum</Emphasis>

Head blight caused by Fusarium graminearum (F. graminearum) is one of the major threats to wheat and barley around the world. The importance of this disease is due to a reduction in both grain yield and quality in infected plants. Currently, there is limited knowledge about the physiological mechanisms involved in plant resistance against this pathogen. To reveal the physiological mechanisms underlying the resistance to F. graminearum, spikes of resistant (Sumai3) and susceptible (Falat) wheat cultivars were analyzed 4 days after inoculation, as the first symptoms of pathogen infection appeared. F. graminearum inoculation resulted in a greater induction level and activity of salicylic acid (SA), callose, phenolic compounds, peroxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), and polyphenol oxidase in resistant versus susceptible cultivars. Soil drench application to spikes of SA, 24 h before inoculation with F. graminearum alleviated Fusarium head blight symptoms in both resistant and susceptible cultivars. SA treated plants showed a significant increment in hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production, lipid peroxidation, SA, and callose content. SA-induced H₂O₂ level seems to be related to increased superoxide dismutase and decreased catalase activities. In addition, real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that SA pretreatment induced expression of PAL genes in both infected and non-infected head tissues of the susceptible and resistant cultivars. Our data showed that soil drench application of SA activates antioxidant defense responses and may subsequently induce systemic acquired resistance, which may contribute to the resistance against F. graminearum. These results provide novel insights about the physiological and molecular role of SA in plant resistance against hemi-biotrophic pathogen infection.     

Time-course changes in fungal elicitor-induced lignan synthesis and expression of the relevant genes in cell cultures of Linum album

Linum album has been shown to accumulate anti-tumor podophyllotoxin (PTOX) and its related lignans. In the present study, we examined the effects of five fungal extracts on the production of lignans in L. album cell cultures. Fusarium graminearum extract induced the highest increase of PTOX [140μgg(-1) dry weight (DW) of the L. album cell culture] which is seven-fold greater than the untreated control, while Rhizopus stolonifer extract enhanced the accumulation of lariciresinol, instead of PTOX, up to 365μgg(-1) DW, which was 8.8-fold greater than the control. Quantitative PCR analyses showed that expression of the enzyme genes responsible for the PTOX biosynthesis cascade, such as pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase (PLR), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR) and cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) genes, were also up-regulated in a fungal extract-selective fashion. These results provide evidence that the fungal extracts used in this study differentially increase the production of PTOX or larisiresinol via the up-regulation of the genes in lignan biosynthesis in L. album cell cultures, and suggest that such selective actions of fungal elicitors on the lignan synthesis will lead to more efficient metabolic engineering-based production of PTOX and other beneficial lignans using L. album cell cultures.