Optimization of antibacterial activity by Gold-Thread (Coptidis Rhizoma Franch) against Streptococcus mutans using evolutionary operation-factorial design technique

This study was conducted to find the optimum extraction condition of Gold-Thread for antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans using The evolutionary operation-factorial design technique. Higher antibacterial activity was achieved in a higher extraction temperature (R2 = -0.79) and in a longer extraction time (R2 = -0.71). Antibacterial activity was not affected by differentiation of the ethanol concentration in the extraction solvent (R2 = -0.12). The maximum antibacterial activity of clove against S. mutans determined by the EVOP-factorial technique was obtained at 80 degrees C extraction temperature, 26 h extraction time, and 50% ethanol concentration. The population of S. mutans decreased from 6.110 logCFU/ml in the initial set to 4.125 logCFU/ml in the third set.     

Mouse strain-dependent osteoclastogenesis in response to lipopolysaccharide

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a potent stimulator of bone resorption in periodontitis. Co-culture systems of mouse calvaria-derived osteoblasts and bone marrow-derived preosteoclasts were used as an in vitro osteoclast differentiation. This study revealed that co-cultures using ddY or ICR mouse strain responded differently to LPS while responded equally to 1alpha,25(OH)2D3. Thus, the different response to LPS indicates dissimilarity of two mouse stains in their capacity for generating osteoclasts while the two mouse strains share the similarity in response to 1alpha,25(OH)2D3. To identify which cells between osteoblasts and preosteoclasts in the co-culture are responsible for the dissimilarity, the reciprocal co-cultures were performed between ddY and ICR mouse strains. The treatment of 1,25(OH)2D3 to ddY/ICR (osteoblasts from ddY/preosteoclasts from ICR) and ICR/ddY reciprocal co-cultures also showed the similarity. In case of LPS treatment, the results of ddY/ICR were similar to ddY/ddY and the results of the other reciprocal co-culture, ICR/ddY combination, were consistent with those of ICR/ICR. It suggests that the dissimilarity between the two mouse strains may resident in osteoblasts but not in preosteoclasts. Therefore, the osteoblast is responsible for mouse strain-dependent osteoclastogenesis in response to LPS. Although mouse models will continue to provide insights into molecular mechanisms of osteoclastogenesis, caution should be exercised when using different mouse strains, especially ddY and ICR strains as models for osteoclast differentiation.     

Effect of maternal restraint stress on fetal development of ICR mice.

The present study was conducted to elucidate the susceptibility of embryos and fetuses at different gestational stages to the maternal stress in mice. Groups of pregnant ICR mice were subjected to daily 12-h restraint stress, taped in the supine position on a plastic board, on gestational days (GD) 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16, respectively. Caesarean sections were performed on gestational day 18, and the fetuses were weighed and examined for morphological defects. During the daily restraint for 4 days, the maternal body weights markedly decreased. Although the body weights recovered gradually after termination of the stress, the recovery was not full until the final stage of pregnancy. Interestingly, restraint stress caused growth retardation of the fetuses, leading to a significant decrease in their body weights, and increased early and late resorptions of embryos and fetuses according to the stress periods. Although the preceding (GD1-4) and concurrent (GD5-8) stresses did not affect embryonic implantation, restraint stress on GD9-12 caused cleft palate. Whereas vertebral abnormalities, mainly bipartite ossification, were observed only in animals stressed on GD5-8, abnormalities of sternebrae, exhibiting asymmetric or bipartite ossification, were enhanced by the stress at all of the gestational stages. On the other hand, the incidence of other malformations including renal malposition and costal abnormalities was not increased by stress at any of the 4 stages. Taken together, the results suggest that intensive restraint stress influences the maternal body weight resulting in growth retardation and increased mortality of embryos and fetuses, in addition to gestational stage-specific ventricular dilatation, cleft palate and sternal abnormalities.     

Alkaloid accumulation in Catharanthus roseus cell suspension cultures fed with stemmadenine

Feeding stemmadenine to Catharanthus roseus cell suspension culture resulted in the accumulation of catharanthine, tabersonine and condylocarpine. Condylocarpine is not an intermediate in the pathway to catharanthine or tabersonine when it is fed to the cultures. The results support the hypothesis that stemmadenine is an intermediate in the pathway to catharanthine and tabersonine.     

Plant regeneration from hairy-root cultures transformed by infection with<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Agrobacterium rhizogenes</Emphasis> in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Catharanthus roseus</Emphasis>

Hypocotyl explants of Catharanthus roseus produced hairy roots when cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium after infection by Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Explants gave rise to adventitious shoots at a frequency of up to 80% when cultured on MS medium supplemented with 31.1 M 6-benzyladenine and 5.4 M -naphthaleneacetic acid. There was a significant difference in the frequency of adventitious shoot formation for each hairy-root line derived from a different cultivar. Plants derived from hairy roots exhibited prolific rooting and had shortened internodes. Approximately half of the plants had wrinkled leaves and an abundant root mass with extensive lateral branching, but otherwise appeared morphologically normal. Plants with hairy roots that were derived from the cultivar Cooler Apricot developed flowers with petals that were white in the proximal region, whereas the wild-type flower petals are red. PCR and Southern blot analyses revealed that plants derived from hairy roots retained the Ri TL-DNA.Abbreviations BA 6-Benzyladenine - MS Murashige and Skoog medium - NAA -Naphthaleneacetic acid - SH Schenk and Hildebrandt mediumCommunicated by I.S. Chung     

A 2600-locus chromosome bin map of wheat homoeologous group 2 reveals interstitial gene-rich islands and colinearity with rice

The complex hexaploid wheat genome offers many challenges for genomics research. Expressed sequence tags facilitate the analysis of gene-coding regions and provide a rich source of molecular markers for mapping and comparison with model organisms. The objectives of this study were to construct a high-density EST chromosome bin map of wheat homoeologous group 2 chromosomes to determine the distribution of ESTs, construct a consensus map of group 2 ESTs, investigate synteny, examine patterns of duplication, and assess the colinearity with rice of ESTs assigned to the group 2 consensus bin map. A total of 2600 loci generated from 1110 ESTs were mapped to group 2 chromosomes by Southern hybridization onto wheat aneuploid chromosome and deletion stocks. A consensus map was constructed of 552 ESTs mapping to more than one group 2 chromosome. Regions of high gene density in distal bins and low gene density in proximal bins were found. Two interstitial gene-rich islands flanked by relatively gene-poor regions on both the short and long arms and having good synteny with rice were discovered. The map locations of two ESTs indicated the possible presence of a small pericentric inversion on chromosome 2B. Wheat chromosome group 2 was shown to share syntenous blocks with rice chromosomes 4 and 7.     

2,6-Dithienyl-4-furyl pyridines: Synthesis,topoisomerase I and II inhibition,cytotoxicity, structure–activity relationship,and docking study

For the development of novel antitumor agents, 2,6-dithienyl-4-furyl pyridine derivatives were prepared and evaluated for their topoisomerase I and II inhibitory activity as well as cytotoxicity against several human cancer cell lines. Among the 21 prepared compounds, compound 24 exhibited strong topoisomerase I inhibitory activity. In addition, a docking study with topoisomerase I and compound 24 was performed.     

Crystal structure of a stress inducible protein from Mycoplasma pneumoniae at 2.85 Å resolution

Journal of Structural and Functional Genomics -