A correlation between BCL-2 modifying factor,p53 and livin gene expressions in cancer colon patients

Accumulating evidence has revealed that livin gene and BCL-2 modifying factor (BMF) gene are closely associated with the initiation and progression of colon carcinoma by activating or suppressing multiple malignant processes. Those genes that can detect colon - cancer are a promising approach for cancer screening and diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate correlation between livin, BMF and p53 genes expression in colon cancer tissues of patients included in the study, and their relationship with clinicopathological features and survival outcome in those patients. In this study, 50 pathologically diagnosed early cancer colon patients included and their tissue biopsy with 50 matched adjacent normal tissue, and 50 adenoma tissue specimens were analyzed for livin gene and BMF gene expressions using real time PCR. The relationship of those genes expressions with clinicopathological features, tumor markers, Time to Progression and overall survival for those patients were correlated in cancer colon group. In this study, there was a significant a reciprocal relationship between over expression of livin gene and down regulation of BMF and p53 genes in colon cancer cells. Livin mRNA was significantly higher, while BMF and p53 mRNA were significantly lower in colorectal cancer tissue compared to benign and normal colon tissue specimens (P < 0.001), however, this finding was absent between colon adenomas and normal mucosa. There was a significant association between up regulation of livin and down regulation of BMF and p53 expressions with more aggressive tumor (advanced TNM stage), rapid progression with metastasis and decreased overall survival in cancer colon patients, hence these genes can serve as significant prognostic markers of poor outcome in colon cancer patients. This work highlights the role of livin, BMF and p53 genes in colorectal tumorigenesis and the applicability of using those genes as a diagnostic and prognostic markers in patients with colon carcinoma and as a good target for cancer colon treatment in the future.     

Biocides formulation of essential oils having antimicrobial activity

Essential oils of fennel, peppermint, caraway, eucalyptus, geranium and lemon were tested for their antimicrobial activities against some plant pathogenic micro-organisms (Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria alternate, Penicilium italicum Penicilium digitatum and Botyritus cinerea). Essential oils of fennel, peppermint, caraway were selected as an active ingredient for the formulation of biocides due to their efficiency in controlling the tested micro-organisms. Successful emulsifiable concentrates (biocides) were prepared from these oils using different emulsifiers (Emulgator B.L.M. Tween20 and Tween80) and different fixed oils (sesame, olive, cotton and soybean oils). Physico-chemical properties of the formulated biocide (spontaneous emulsification, emulsion stability test, cold stability and heat stability tests as well as viscosity, surface tension and pH) were measured. The prepared biocides were ready to be tested for application in a future work as a safe pesticide against different pathogens.     

Metagenomic insights into strategies of carbon conservation and unusual sulfur biogeochemistry in a hypersaline Antarctic lake

Organic Lake is a shallow, marine-derived hypersaline lake in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica that has the highest reported concentration of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in a natural body of water. To determine the composition and functional potential of the microbial community and learn about the unusual sulfur chemistry in Organic Lake, shotgun metagenomics was performed on size-fractionated samples collected along a depth profile. Eucaryal phytoflagellates were the main photosynthetic organisms. Bacteria were dominated by the globally distributed heterotrophic taxa Marinobacter, Roseovarius and Psychroflexus. The dominance of heterotrophic degradation, coupled with low fixation potential, indicates possible net carbon loss. However, abundant marker genes for aerobic anoxygenic phototrophy, sulfur oxidation, rhodopsins and CO oxidation were also linked to the dominant heterotrophic bacteria, and indicate the use of photo- and lithoheterotrophy as mechanisms for conserving organic carbon. Similarly, a high genetic potential for the recycling of nitrogen compounds likely functions to retain fixed nitrogen in the lake. Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) lyase genes were abundant, indicating that DMSP is a significant carbon and energy source. Unlike marine environments, DMSP demethylases were less abundant, indicating that DMSP cleavage is the likely source of high DMS concentration. DMSP cleavage, carbon mixotrophy (photoheterotrophy and lithoheterotrophy) and nitrogen remineralization by dominant Organic Lake bacteria are potentially important adaptations to nutrient constraints. In particular, carbon mixotrophy relieves the extent of carbon oxidation for energy production, allowing more carbon to be used for biosynthetic processes. The study sheds light on how the microbial community has adapted to this unique Antarctic lake environment.     

Neuroprotection by tempol in a model of iron-induced oxidative stress in acute ischemic stroke

Studies suggest iron exacerbates the damage caused by ischemic stroke. Our aim was to elucidate the effect of iron overload on infarct size after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and to evaluate the efficacy of tempol, a superoxide dismutase mimetic, as a neuroprotective agent. Rats were administered iron +/- tempol before MCAO; control rats received saline. The middle cerebral artery was occluded for 24 h, and the size of the resultant infarct was assessed and expressed as the percentage of the hemisphere infracted (%HI). Iron treatment increased infarct size compared with control (51.83 +/- 3.55 vs. 27.56 +/- 3.28%HI iron treated vs. control, P = 0.01); pretreatment with tempol reversed this (51.83 +/- 3.55 vs. 26.09 +/- 9.57%HI iron treated vs. iron + tempol treated, P = 0.02). We hypothesized that reactive oxygen species (ROS) were responsible for the iron-induced damage. We measured ROS generated by exogenous iron in brain and peripheral vasculature from rats that had not undergone MCAO. There was no increase in ROS production in the brain of iron-treated rats or in brain slices incubated with iron citrate. However, ROS generation in carotid arteries incubated with iron citrate was significantly increased. ROS generation from the brain was assessed after MCAO by dihydroethidine staining; there was a dramatic increase in the ROS generation by the brain in the iron-treated rats compared with control 30 min after MCAO. We propose that iron-induced ROS generation in the cerebral vasculature adds to oxidative stress during an ischemic episode after the disruption of the blood-brain barrier.     

A high-potassium diet reduces infarct size and improves vascular structure in hypertensive rats

High-potassium diets can improve vascular function, yet the effects of potassium supplementation on ischemic stroke have not been studied. We hypothesized that dietary potassium supplementation would reduce ischemic cerebral infarct size by reversing cerebral artery hypertrophy. Six-week-old male stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) were fed diets containing 0.79% potassium (LK) or 2.11% potassium (HK) for 6 wk; Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were fed the LK diet. The HK diet did not reduce blood pressure, as measured by telemetry, in the SHRSP. Cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. The resultant infarct was smaller in the HK-SHRSP than in the LK-SHRSP: 55.1 +/- 6.3 vs. 71.4 +/- 2.4% of the hemisphere infarcted (P < 0.05). Infarcts were smaller in WKY rats (33.5 +/- 4.8%) than in LK-SHRSP or HK-SHRSP. The vessel wall of MCAs from LK-SHRSP was hypertrophied compared with WKY rats; this was reversed in HK-SHRSP. RT-PCR analysis of the cerebral vessels showed that expression of platelet-derived growth factor receptors-alpha and -beta, epidermal growth factor receptor, and collagen I and III was increased in the vessels from LK-SHRSP compared with WKY rats and reduced in HK-SHRSP. These results suggest that potassium supplementation provides neuroprotection in a model of ischemic stroke independent of blood pressure and possibly through changes in vascular structure.     

Genetic variants in root architecture-related genes in a Glycine soja accession,a potential resource to improve cultivated soybean

Background

Root system architecture is important for water acquisition and nutrient acquisition for all crops. In soybean breeding programs, wild soybean alleles have been used successfully to enhance yield and seed composition traits, but have never been investigated to improve root system architecture. Therefore, in this study, high-density single-feature polymorphic markers and simple sequence repeats were used to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) governing root system architecture in an inter-specific soybean mapping population developed from a cross between Glycine max and Glycine soja.

Results

Wild and cultivated soybean both contributed alleles towards significant additive large effect QTLs on chromosome 6 and 7 for a longer total root length and root distribution, respectively. Epistatic effect QTLs were also identified for taproot length, average diameter, and root distribution. These root traits will influence the water and nutrient uptake in soybean. Two cell division-related genes (D type cyclin and auxin efflux carrier protein) with insertion/deletion variations might contribute to the shorter root phenotypes observed in G. soja compared with cultivated soybean. Based on the location of the QTLs and sequence information from a second G. soja accession, three genes (slow anion channel associated 1 like, Auxin responsive NEDD8-activating complex and peroxidase), each with a non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism mutation were identified, which may also contribute to changes in root architecture in the cultivated soybean. In addition, Apoptosis inhibitor 5-like on chromosome 7 and slow anion channel associated 1-like on chromosome 15 had epistatic interactions for taproot length QTLs in soybean.

Conclusion

Rare alleles from a G. soja accession are expected to enhance our understanding of the genetic components involved in root architecture traits, and could be combined to improve root system and drought adaptation in soybean.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1334-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Germination of <i>Eryngium regnellii</i>: a major species for ecological restoration of plant-pollinator interactions in the Southern Pampas (Buenos Aires,Argentina)

Eryngium regnellii Malme belongs to the largest genera in the Apiaceae family, with 250 species worldwide and 65 represented in South America. It is a herbaceous species typical of hill plant communities, which, along with remnant grassland patches, are the most relevant natural habitats for the maintenance of diversity in the Southern Pampas. Eryngium regnellii is key to the maintenance of pollination mutualisms, being a generalist (displaying a diverse assemblage of pollinators) and ubiquitous species (present in all studied sierras). However, fragmentation of the Pampean landscape due to agricultural intensification has led to the loss of natural environments. Therefore, the reintroduction of E. regnellii in strategic places would facilitate the occurrence of wild pollinators, while favoring pollination services in the agroecosystem. The germination requirements of E. regnellii were studied because a better knowledge of the reproductive biology of this species would provide information relevant to its reproduction and reintroduction into degraded areas. Germination percentages and mean time to germination were evaluated, using one control and two pre-germination treatments: chemical scarification with sulfuric acid, and mechanical scarification with sand paper. Chemical scarified seeds did not germinate. Mechanically scarified and control seed groups showed no significant differences either in germination percentages (49% and 59% respectively) or in mean germination time (13 and 14 days, respectively). Results indicate that E. regnellii shows no physical dormancy, and does not require specific pre-germination treatments for germination under the studied laboratory conditions. The high germination capacity of E. regnellii, along with its ecological attributes, make it a potential species for restoring plant-pollinator interactions in the fragmented landscapes of the Southern Pampas.