Hormonal regulation of fetal growth

Fetal growth is a complex process depending on the genetics of the fetus, the availability of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus, maternal nutrition and various growth factors and hormones of maternal, fetal and placental origin. Hormones play a central role in regulating fetal growth and development. They act as maturational and nutritional signals in utero and control tissue development and differentiation according to the prevailing environmental conditions in the fetus. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, and IGF-I and IGF-II in particular, plays a critical role in fetal and placental growth throughout gestation. Disruption of the IGF1, IGF2 or IGF1R gene retards fetal growth, whereas disruption of IGF2R or overexpression of IGF2 enhances fetal growth. IGF-I stimulates fetal growth when nutrients are available, thereby ensuring that fetal growth is appropriate for the nutrient supply. The production of IGF-I is particularly sensitive to undernutrition. IGF-II plays a key role in placental growth and nutrient transfer. Several key hormone genes involved in embryonic and fetal growth are imprinted. Disruption of this imprinting causes disorders involving growth defects, such as Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which is associated with fetal overgrowth, or Silver-Russell syndrome, which is associated with intrauterine growth retardation. Optimal fetal growth is essential for perinatal survival and has long-term consequences extending into adulthood. Given the high incidence of intrauterine growth retardation and the high risk of metabolic and cardiovascular complications in later life, further clinical and basic research is needed to develop accurate early diagnosis of aberrant fetal growth and novel therapeutic strategies.     

Cloning and characterization of an AtNHX2-like Na+/H+ antiporter gene from Ammopiptanthus mongolicus (Leguminosae) and its ectopic expression enhanced drought and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

An orthologue of the vacuolar Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter gene, AmNHX2, was isolated from a desert plant, Ammopiptanthus mongolicus, by RACE-PCR. It has a total length of 1,986 bp, with an open reading frame of 1,632 bp, encoding a predicted polypeptide of 543 amino acids. Sequence similarity and exon constituent analysis clearly suggested that AmNHX2 encoded an AtNHX2 (an antiporter from Arabidopsis) like vacuolar Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter. AmNHX2 could be strongly induced by both drought and salt stress. Heterologous expression in the yeast mutant nhx1 indicated that AmNHX2 was the orthologue of ScNHX1, and the complementation effect was almost the same as AtNHX1. Over-expressing AmNHX2 resulted in enhanced tolerances to both drought and salt stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. The transgenic plants accumulated lower Na⁺ content in their leaves, showing healthier root system after salt stress, and retained more water during the drought stress. Our work suggested that AmNHX2 was a salt tolerance determinant in A. mongolicus, but might not be a contributor to the difference in salt sensitivity between A. thaliana and A. mongolicus.     

Programmable in situ amplification for multiplexed imaging of mRNA expression

In situ hybridization methods enable the mapping of mRNA expression within intact biological samples. With current approaches, it is challenging to simultaneously map multiple target mRNAs within whole-mount vertebrate embryos, representing a significant limitation in attempting to study interacting regulatory elements in systems most relevant to human development and disease. Here, we report a multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization method based on orthogonal amplification with hybridization chain reactions (HCR). With this approach, RNA probes complementary to mRNA targets trigger chain reactions in which fluorophore-labeled RNA hairpins self-assemble into tethered fluorescent amplification polymers. The programmability and sequence specificity of these amplification cascades enable multiple HCR amplifiers to operate orthogonally at the same time in the same sample. Robust performance is achieved when imaging five target mRNAs simultaneously in fixed whole-mount and sectioned zebrafish embryos. HCR amplifiers exhibit deep sample penetration, high signal-to-background ratios and sharp signal localization.     

Cloning and expression analysis of a water stress-induced gene from Brassica oleracea.

Plant growth and productivity are greatly affected by water stress, such as drought and salinity. Here we report on the cloning and expression analysis of a water stress-induced gene from Brassica oleracea (designated as BoWS, GenBank accession number AY571333) by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full-length cDNA of BoWS consisted of 594 bp and contained a 285 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 95-amino-acid protein. The deduced protein had a calculated molecular mass of 10.53 kDa and an isoelectric point of 6.93. The sequence similarity and comparative analysis showed that BoWS was 84% identical to Arabidopsis thaliana putative water stress-induced protein (GenBank accession number AAM67282). Southern blot analysis indicated that BoWS was a low-copy gene. Northern blot analysis revealed that the expression of BoWS was upregulated by abscisic acid (ABA), mannitol, NaCl, drought, salicylic acid (SA) and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). Our results indicate that BoWS is extremely related to the water-deficit stress in B. oleracea.     

Phylogenetics, species boundaries and timing of resource tracking in a highly specialized group of seed beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae)

Though for a long time it was hypothesized that the extraordinary diversity of phytophagous insects was better explained by a synchronous pattern of co-diversification with plants, the results of recent studies have led to question this theory, suggesting that the diversification of insects occurred well after that of their hosts. In this study we address this issue by investigating the timing of diversification of a highly specialized group of seed beetles, which mostly feeds on legume plants from the tribe Indigofereae. To that purpose, a total of 130 specimens were sequenced for six genes and analyzed under a Bayesian phylogenetic framework. Based on the resulting trees we performed several analyses that allowed a better definition of the group boundaries and to investigate the status of several taxa through the use of molecular species delimitation analyses in combination with morphological evidences. In addition the evolution of host plant use was reconstructed and different molecular-dating approaches were carried out in order to assess the ages of several clades of interest. The resulting framework suggests a more ancient than previously thought origin for seed beetles, and a pattern of rapid host plant colonization. These findings call for further similar studies in other highly specialized groups of phytophagous insects.     

A novel carbonyl reductase from Pichia stipitis for the production of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate

An NADPH-dependent carbonyl reductase (PsCR) gene from Pichia stipitis was cloned. It contains an open reading frame of 849 bp encoding 283 amino acids whose sequence had less than 60% identity to known reductases that produce ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoates (S-CHBE). When expressed in Escherichia coli, the recombinant PsCR exhibited an activity of 27 U/mg using ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) as a substrate. Reduction of COBE to (S)-CHBE by transformants in an aqueous mono-phase system for 18 h, gave a molar yield of 94% and an optical purity of the (S)-isomer of more than 99% enantiomeric excess.     

Active versus passive anti-cytokine antibody therapy against cytokine-associated chronic diseases

Current therapeutic vaccine trials in major chronic diseases including AIDS, cancer, allergy and autoimmunity, target antigenic pathogens but not the pathogenic stromal cytokines which can be major sources of histopathologic processes. Considering that the limited efficacy of these vaccines has been ascribed to local pathogen-induced cytokine dysfunction, we propose to antagonize pathogenic cytokine(s) by high affinity neutralizing auto-Abs triggered by specific anti-cytokine vaccines. As anticipated by theoretical considerations, animal experiments and initial clinical trials showed that anti-cytokine immunization was safe, well tolerated and triggered transient high titers Abs neutralizing pathogenic cytokines but, in contrast to conventional vaccines, no relevant cellular response was observed. Advantages of active versus passive anti-cytokine Ab therapy, particularly for long-term treatments, as those required in AIDS, cancer, allergy and autoimmunity include greater ease of maintaining high Ab titers, lack of anti-antibody responses and low cost.     

The reserve proteins in the cells of mature cotyledons ofLupinus albus var.Lucky

Summary The nuclear DNA content of cotyledonary cells of two lupin seeds (L₁ and L₂) with markedly different total protein content, were investigated by scanning cytophotometry. Both seeds had polyloid nuclei with DNA levels varying between 8 C and 64 C, the majority being either 16 C or 32 C. The highest DNA levels were found in the abaxial and central cotyledonary zones of both seeds; seed L₂ had a higher ploidy level than L₁. It is shown that the volume of condensed chromatin (chromocenters) increased proportionally with the DNA content of the nucleus. A comparison was made between the distribution of protein, previously determined byLe Gal andRey (1986) and the DNA throughout the cotyledon. The L₂ seed, which has the highest total protein and the highest protein content per cell, also exhibited the greatest DNA content per cell. For both seeds, the r-value for association of DNA and protein content per cell was highly significant (0.98).