Characterization and pharmacological properties of in vitro propagated clones of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Echinacea tennesseensis</Emphasis> (Beadle) Small

Tissue culture techniques have been used to establish and maintain a repository of medicinal Echinacea. In vitro clones obtained from hypocotyls of germinated seeds, varied macroscopically, microscopically and exhibited variation in immune enhancing activity. Two in vitro produced clones of Echinacea tennesseensis (Beadle) Small (ETN 03 and ETN 11) were identified as high and low activity based on the activation of human monocytes. Phenotypic analyses of ETN 03 and ETN 11 clones were done using AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) assay. Results of the AFLP assay revealed that no mutation has occurred during in vitro multiplication, storage, and acclimatization into soil. Plants of ETN 03, ETN 11 clones were cultivated for two growing seasons. Extracts of their dry leaves and roots exhibited immune enhancing activity; however, the variation in activity noticed between clones during micropropagation diminished and was no longer statistically relevant.     

Laminin alpha5 is necessary for submandibular gland epithelial morphogenesis and influences FGFR expression through beta1 integrin signaling

Laminin alpha chains have unique spatiotemporal expression patterns during development and defining their function is necessary to understand the regulation of epithelial morphogenesis. We investigated the function of laminin alpha5 in mouse submandibular glands (SMGs). Lama5(-/-) SMGs have a striking phenotype: epithelial clefting is delayed, although proliferation occurs; there is decreased FGFR1b and FGFR2b, but no difference in Lama1 expression; later in development, epithelial cell organization and lumen formation are disrupted. In wild-type SMGs alpha5 and alpha1 are present in epithelial clefts but as branching begins alpha5 expression increases while alpha1 decreases. Lama5 siRNA decreased branching, p42 MAPK phosphorylation, and FGFR expression, and branching was rescued by FGF10. FGFR siRNA decreased Lama5 suggesting that FGFR signaling provides positive feedback for Lama5 expression. Anti-beta1 integrin antibodies decreased FGFR and Lama5 expression, suggesting that beta1 integrin signaling provides positive feedback for Lama5 and FGFR expression. Interestingly, the Itga3(-/-):Itga6(-/-) SMGs have a similar phenotype to Lama5(-/-). Our findings suggest that laminin alpha5 controls SMG epithelial morphogenesis through beta1 integrin signaling by regulating FGFR expression, which also reciprocally regulates the expression of Lama5. These data link changes in basement membrane composition during branching morphogenesis with FGFR expression and signaling.     

In vitro morphogenic response of different explants of Gentiana kurroo Royle from Western Himalayas—an endangered medicinal plant

Micropropagation offers a great potential to produce millions of clonal individuals through tissue culture via induction of morphogenesis. The aim of this work was to obtain an efficient protocol for callus regeneration for Gentiana kurroo Royle. The morphogenic response of different explants (leaves, petioles, roots) varied and responded differently for regeneration according to combinations of growth regulators. The petiole explants were best responding for callus induction and subsequently for indirect and direct regeneration. The callus induction was achieved on MS basal + 1.0 mg/l benzyladenine (BA) and 3.00 mg/l naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). MS medium supplemented with 0.10 mg/l NAA and 1.0 mg/l thidiazuron (TDZ) was recorded as the best medium for indirect regeneration. However, for direct regeneration the maximum number of shoot emergence was observed on MS basal fortified with 0.10 mg/l NAA + 0.75 mg/l TDZ. Half strength MS basal supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) 1.00 mg/l gave best response for root induction. Subsequently, the plantlets were transferred and 100 % survival rate was recorded only on autoclaved cocopeat. No morphological variations were recorded in the callus regenerated plantlets.     

On-Chip Endothelial Inflammatory Phenotyping

Atherogenesis is potentiated by metabolic abnormalities that contribute to a heightened state of systemic inflammation resulting in endothelial dysfunction. However, early functional changes in endothelium that signify an individual''s level of risk are not directly assessed clinically to help guide therapeutic strategy. Moreover, the regulation of inflammation by local hemodynamics contributes to the non-random spatial distribution of atherosclerosis, but the mechanisms are difficult to delineate in vivo. We describe a lab-on-a-chip based approach to quantitatively assay metabolic perturbation of inflammatory events in human endothelial cells (EC) and monocytes under precise flow conditions. Standard methods of soft lithography are used to microfabricate vascular mimetic microfluidic chambers (VMMC), which are bound directly to cultured EC monolayers.¹ These devices have the advantage of using small volumes of reagents while providing a platform for directly imaging the inflammatory events at the membrane of EC exposed to a well-defined shear field. We have successfully applied these devices to investigate cytokine-,² lipid-^{3, 4} and RAGE-induced⁵ inflammation in human aortic EC (HAEC). Here we document the use of the VMMC to assay monocytic cell (THP-1) rolling and arrest on HAEC monolayers that are conditioned under differential shear characteristics and activated by the inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. Studies such as these are providing mechanistic insight into atherosusceptibility under metabolic risk factors.     

Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma of the breast. A case report

BACKGROUND: Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma of the breast is associated with aggressive behavior. CASE: Fine needle aspiration cytology was performed on a breast lump in a 55-year-old woman. The aspirates showed highly pleomorphic, large cells in a dyscohesive pattern, with a tendency of few cells to aggregate in small groups. A diagnosis of ductal carcinoma was made on cytology. On histology, the paraffin sections showed features of pleomorphic lobular carcinoma of the breast. CONCLUSION: The cytologic features of pleomorphic lobular carcinoma overlap with those of infiltrating ductal carcinoma. It is very difficult to make a diagnosis of pleomorphic lobular carcinoma prospectively on cytology. However, if Indian file arrangement and cytoplasmic vacuolation are present, pleomorphic lobular carcinoma must at least be suggested for the differential diagnosis as it has different clinical implications.     

Dysregulated Hepatic Methionine Metabolism Drives Homocysteine Elevation in Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Methionine metabolism plays a central role in methylation reactions, production of glutathione and methylarginines, and modulating homocysteine levels. The mechanisms by which these are affected in NAFLD are not fully understood. The aim is to perform a metabolomic, molecular and epigenetic analyses of hepatic methionine metabolism in diet-induced NAFLD. Female 129S1/SvlmJ;C57Bl/6J mice were fed a chow (n = 6) or high-fat high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet (n = 8) for 52 weeks. Metabolomic study, enzymatic expression and DNA methylation analyses were performed. HFHC diet led to weight gain, marked steatosis and extensive fibrosis. In the methionine cycle, hepatic methionine was depleted (30%, p< 0.01) while s-adenosylmethionine (SAM)/methionine ratio (p< 0.05), s-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) (35%, p< 0.01) and homocysteine (25%, p< 0.01) were increased significantly. SAH hydrolase protein levels decreased significantly (p <0.01). Serine, a substrate for both homocysteine remethylation and transsulfuration, was depleted (45%, p< 0.01). In the transsulfuration pathway, cystathionine and cysteine trended upward while glutathione decreased significantly (p< 0.05). In the transmethylation pathway, levels of glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT), the most abundant methyltransferase in the liver, decreased. The phosphatidylcholine (PC)/ phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) ratio increased significantly (p< 0.01), indicative of increased phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase (PEMT) activity. The protein levels of protein arginine methytransferase 1 (PRMT1) increased significantly, but its products, monomethylarginine (MMA) and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), decreased significantly. Circulating ADMA increased and approached significance (p< 0.06). Protein expression of methionine adenosyltransferase 1A, cystathionine β-synthase, γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase, betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase, and methionine synthase remained unchanged. Although gene expression of the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a decreased, the global DNA methylation was unaltered. Among individual genes, only HMG-CoA reductase (Hmgcr) was hypermethylated, and no methylation changes were observed in fatty acid synthase (Fasn), nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells 1 (Nfκb1), c-Jun, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and Caspase 3. NAFLD was associated with hepatic methionine deficiency and homocysteine elevation, resulting mainly from impaired homocysteine remethylation, and aberrancy in methyltransferase reactions. Despite increased PRMT1 expression, hepatic ADMA was depleted while circulating ADMA was increased, suggesting increased export to circulation.     

Stable assembly of PsaE into cyanobacterial photosynthetic membranes is dependent on the presence of other accessory subunits of photosystem I

We studied assembly of the PsaE subunit of photosystem I into photosynthetic membranes of cyanobacterial mutant strains that lack specific photosystem I subunits. Radiolabeled PsaE was incubated with photosynthetic membranes, and their binding and assembly were assayed by resistance to removal by chaotropic agents and proteolytic digestion. PsaE incorporated into the wild-type membranes was resistant to these treatments. In the absence of PsaD, it was resistant to proteolytic digestion, but was removed by NaBr. When the membranes were isolated from a mutant strain in which the psaF and psaJ genes have been inactivated, PsaE assembled in vitro could not be removed. PsaE could associate with the membranes of the strain DF in which the psaD, psaJ and psaF genes have been mutated. However, the radiolabeled PsaE associated with these membranes was removed both by the proteolytic as well as by the chaotropic agents. Characterization of PsaE present in vivo revealed similar results. These observations suggest that PsaD and PsaF/J may interact with PsaE and stabilize it in the photosystem I complex.     

Plk1 Inhibition Causes Post-Mitotic DNA Damage and Senescence in a Range of Human Tumor Cell Lines

Plk1 is a checkpoint protein whose role spans all of mitosis and includes DNA repair, and is highly conserved in eukaryotes from yeast to man. Consistent with this wide array of functions for Plk1, the cellular consequences of Plk1 disruption are diverse, spanning delays in mitotic entry, mitotic spindle abnormalities, and transient mitotic arrest leading to mitotic slippage and failures in cytokinesis. In this work, we present the in vitro and in vivo consequences of Plk1 inhibition in cancer cells using potent, selective small-molecule Plk1 inhibitors and Plk1 genetic knock-down approaches. We demonstrate for the first time that cellular senescence is the predominant outcome of Plk1 inhibition in some cancer cell lines, whereas in other cancer cell lines the dominant outcome appears to be apoptosis, as has been reported in the literature. We also demonstrate strong induction of DNA double-strand breaks in all six lines examined (as assayed by γH2AX), which occurs either during mitotic arrest or mitotic-exit, and may be linked to the downstream induction of senescence. Taken together, our findings expand the view of Plk1 inhibition, demonstrating the occurrence of a non-apoptotic outcome in some settings. Our findings are also consistent with the possibility that mitotic arrest observed as a result of Plk1 inhibition is at least partially due to the presence of unrepaired double-strand breaks in mitosis. These novel findings may lead to alternative strategies for the development of novel therapeutic agents targeting Plk1, in the selection of biomarkers, patient populations, combination partners and dosing regimens.