Immobilization of HIV-1 TAT peptide on gold nanoparticles: A feasible approach for siRNA delivery

RNA interference is one of the prosperous approaches for cancer treatment. However, small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery to cancer cells has been faced with various challenges restricting their clinical application over the decades. Since ROR1 is an onco-embryonic gene overexpressed in many malignancies, suppression of ROR1 by siRNA can potentially fight cancer. Herein, a delivery system for ROR1 siRNA based on HIV-1 TAT peptide-capped gold nanoparticles (GNPs) was developed to treat breast cancer. Besides, we introduced a new feasible method for conjugating the peptide to the nanoparticles. Since the GNPs have high affinity to the sulfur, the findings demonstrated the peptide successfully conjugated to the nanoparticles via Au–S bonds. As positively charged nanoparticles showed high cellular uptake, we could use a low concentration of nanoparticles led to high efficient gene transfection with negligible cytotoxicity that was confirmed by flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, gel retardation, and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Following transfection, downregulation of ROR1 and its targeted gene, CCND1, induced apoptosis in cancer cells. In conclusion, the reported capped GNPs could be potentially utilized for delivering negatively charged therapeutic agents in particular genes.     

The relation of omentin gene expression and glucose homeostasis of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues in non-diabetic adults

Molecular Biology Reports - Adipose tissue (AT) is a passive reservoir for energy storage and an active endocrine organ responsible for synthesizing bioactive molecules called...     

Success of classical biocontrol agent Torymus sinensis within its expanding range in Europe

Torymus sinensis Kamijo (Hymenoptera, Torymidae), a classical biocontrol agent of chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae), was released in Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary in 2015. Following the introduction, the research of parasitism rates and population genetic indices on 40 different sites was performed to monitor and evaluate the success of establishment. The observed parasitism rates were unexpectedly high and negatively correlated with the distance from westernmost locality, while population genetic indices showed that populations of T. sinensis did not suffer from bottleneck‐induced founder effect phenomenon. Moreover, lack of genetic differentiation demonstrates that all populations share similar genetic structure, which could be shaped only by high levels of gene flow. We conclude that T. sinensis established viable and genetically diverse populations and successfully spread naturally from Italy across Slovenia to Croatia and Hungary.     

Host Niches and Defensive Extended Phenotypes Structure Parasitoid Wasp Communities

Oak galls are spectacular extended phenotypes of gallwasp genes in host oak tissues and have evolved complex morphologies that serve, in part, to exclude parasitoid natural enemies.Parasitoids and their insect herbivore hosts have coevolved to produce diverse communities comprising about a third of all animal species. The factors structuring these communities, however, remain poorly understood. An emerging theme in community ecology is the need to consider the effects of host traits, shaped by both natural selection and phylogenetic history, on associated communities of natural enemies. Here we examine the impact of host traits and phylogenetic relatedness on 48 ecologically closed and species-rich communities of parasitoids attacking gall-inducing wasps on oaks. Gallwasps induce the development of spectacular and structurally complex galls whose species- and generation-specific morphologies are the extended phenotypes of gallwasp genes. All the associated natural enemies attack their concealed hosts through gall tissues, and several structural gall traits have been shown to enhance defence against parasitoid attack. Here we explore the significance of these and other host traits in predicting variation in parasitoid community structure across gallwasp species. In particular, we test the “Enemy Hypothesis,” which predicts that galls with similar morphology will exclude similar sets of parasitoids and therefore have similar parasitoid communities. Having controlled for phylogenetic patterning in host traits and communities, we found significant correlations between parasitoid community structure and several gall structural traits (toughness, hairiness, stickiness), supporting the Enemy Hypothesis. Parasitoid community structure was also consistently predicted by components of the hosts'' spatiotemporal niche, particularly host oak taxonomy and gall location (e.g., leaf versus bud versus seed). The combined explanatory power of structural and spatiotemporal traits on community structure can be high, reaching 62% in one analysis. The observed patterns derive mainly from partial niche specialisation of highly generalist parasitoids with broad host ranges (>20 hosts), rather than strict separation of enemies with narrower host ranges, and so may contribute to maintenance of the richness of generalist parasitoids in gallwasp communities. Though evolutionary escape from parasitoids might most effectively be achieved via changes in host oak taxon, extreme conservatism in this trait for gallwasps suggests that selection is more likely to have acted on gall morphology and location. Any escape from parasitoids associated with evolutionary shifts in these traits has probably only been transient, however, due to subsequent recruitment of parasitoid species already attacking other host galls with similar trait combinations.     

Community impacts of anthropogenic disturbance: natural enemies exploit multiple routes in pursuit of invading herbivore hosts

Background  

Biological invasions provide a window on the process of community assembly. In particular, tracking natural enemy recruitment to invading hosts can reveal the relative roles of co-evolution (including local adaptation) and ecological sorting. We use molecular data to examine colonisation of northern Europe by the parasitoid Megastigmus stigmatizans following invasions of its herbivorous oak gallwasp hosts from the Balkans. Local host adaptation predicts that invading gallwasp populations will have been tracked primarily by sympatric Balkan populations of M. stigmatizans (Host Pursuit Hypothesis). Alternatively, ecological sorting allows parasitoid recruitment from geographically distinct populations with no recent experience of the invading hosts (Host Shift Hypothesis). Finally, we test for long-term persistence of parasitoids introduced via human trade of their hosts' galls (Introduction Hypothesis).     

A likelihood-based comparison of population histories in a parasitoid guild

Little is known about the stability of trophic relationships in complex natural communities over evolutionary timescales. Here, we use sequence data from 18 nuclear loci to reconstruct and compare the intraspecific histories of major Pleistocene refugial populations in the Middle East, the Balkans and Iberia in a guild of four Chalcid parasitoids (Cecidostiba fungosa, Cecidostiba semifascia, Hobbya stenonota and Mesopolobus amaenus) all attacking Cynipid oak galls. We develop a likelihood method to numerically estimate models of divergence between three populations from multilocus data. We investigate the power of this framework on simulated data, and—using triplet alignments of intronic loci—quantify the support for all possible divergence relationships between refugial populations in the four parasitoids. Although an East to West order of population divergence has highest support in all but one species, we cannot rule out alternative population tree topologies. Comparing the estimated times of population splits between species, we find that one species, M. amaenus, has a significantly older history than the rest of the guild and must have arrived in central Europe at least one glacial cycle prior to other guild members. This suggests that although all four species may share a common origin in the East, they expanded westwards into Europe at different times.     

Gall-inducing insects provide insights into plant systematic relationships

Field surveys of cynipid gall-inducer occurrences on Quercus species were conducted in Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, USA. All cynipids demonstrated strong host species and organ fidelity. One result of this specialization is effective niche partitioning among cynipids. The host-association patterns of these specialist herbivores should reflect similarities among oaks, thus we clustered oak species according to their cynipid distributions. Cynipids distinguished small differences among their hosts. A dendrogram of oak species based on cynipid distributions was largely congruent with botanical arrangernents. Cynipid occurrences offer information helpful to resolving some aspects of oak systematics. Collaborative efforts between taxonomic botanists and entomologists will be useful in resolving a variety of plant and insect systematic problems.     

Hormonal Signaling in the Gut

The gut is anatomically positioned to play a critical role in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis, providing negative feedback via nutrient sensing and local hormonal signaling. Gut hormones, such as cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), are released following a meal and act on local receptors to regulate glycemia via a neuronal gut-brain axis. Additionally, jejunal nutrient sensing and leptin action are demonstrated to suppress glucose production, and both are required for the rapid antidiabetic effect of duodenal jejunal bypass surgery. Strategies aimed at targeting local gut hormonal signaling pathways may prove to be efficacious therapeutic options to improve glucose control in diabetes.     

High prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum by perfusion in naturally exposed water buffalo in a region of the Philippines endemic for human schistosomiasis

In the past decade, ecological surveys emphasized rats and dogs as the most significant animal reservoirs for Schistosoma japonicum (S.j) in the Philippines. However, recent studies demonstrated 51–91% prevalence of schistosomiasis among water buffalo using qPCR in the Sj endemic regions in the Philippines. In order to resolve the inconsistency of reported surveys regarding Sj endemicity among carabao, a domestic water buffalo that is the most important draught animal, we introduced 42 schistosome negative water buffalo to Macanip, Jaro municipality, Leyte, the Philippines, a subsistence rice-farming village that has been the focus of schistosomiasis japonica studies of our group for the past 20 years. We conducted perfusion to the remaining 34 buffalo that survived 10 months of nature exposure and Typhoon Haiyan. Thirty-three water buffalo were found to be positive with at least 1 pair of worms from the mesenteric vein. The infection rate is 97%, with the worm burden of 94 (95% confidence interval, 49–138 worms) worms. To our knowledge, this is the first report about S. japonicum worm burden in naturally infected water buffalo in the Philippines. The fact that with less than one-year of exposure, in this human schistosomiasis endemic area, only 1 out of 34 water buffalo was uninfected is striking. Urgent attention is needed for a cost-effective technique for monitoring Sj infection in animals and humans. Meanwhile, intervention implementation, including water buffalo treatment and vaccination, should be taken into consideration.