Intrastriatal transplantation of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth reduces motor defects in Parkinsonian rats

Background

This study explored the neural differentiation and therapeutic effects of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) in a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD).

A label‐free fluorescence method for detection of ureC gene and diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection

The feasibility of using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based label‐free DNA sensor for the detection of Helicobacter pylori is investigated. In particular, H. pylori ureC gene, a specific H. pylori nucleic acid sequence, was selected as the target sequence. In the presence of ureC gene, the target DNA could be amplified to dsDNA with much higher detectable levels. After added the SYBR green I (SGI), the sensing system could show high fluorescence. Thus, the target DNA can be detected by monitoring the change of fluorescence intensity of sensing system. The clinical performance of this method was determined by comparing it with another conventional technique urea breath test (UBT). The result also showed good distinguishing ability between negative and positive patient, which was in good agreement with that obtained by the UBT. It suggests that the label‐free fluorescence‐based method is more suitable for infection confirmation test of H. pylori. This approach offers great potential for simple, sensitive and cost‐effective identification of H. pylori infection.     

Highly luminescent nitrogen‐doped carbon dots for simultaneous determination of chlortetracycline and sulfasalazine

Here, we have presented a green and facile strategy to fabricate nitrogen‐doped carbon dots (N‐CDs) and their applications for determination of chlortetracycline (CTC) and sulfasalazine (SSZ). The fluorescent N‐CDs, prepared by one‐step hydrothermal reaction of citric acid and l ‐arginine, manifested numerous excellent features containing strong blue fluorescence, good water‐solubility, narrow size distribution, and a high fluorescence quantum yield (QY) of 38.8%. Based on the fluorescence quenching effects, the as‐synthesized N‐CDs as a fluorescent nanosensor exhibited superior analytical performances for quantifying CTC and SSZ. The linear range for CTC was calculated to be from 0.85 to 20.38 μg ml^?1 with a low detection limit of 0.078 μg ml^?1. Meanwhile, the linear range for SSZ was estimated to be from 0.34 to 6.76 μg ml^?1 with a low detection limit of 0.032 μg ml^?1. Therefore, the N‐CDs hold admirable application potential for constructing a fluorescent sensor for pharmaceutical analysis.     

Validation of reference genes for gene expression analysis of response to anthocyanin induction in cell cultures of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vitis davidii</Emphasis> (Rom. Caill.) Foëx

Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is an effective method for detecting changes of gene expression in plant cell metabolic regulation. A set of 15 reference gene candidates were selected for the present study of anthocyanin biosynthesis regulation, and stability. The suitability of their expression was evaluated in eight different experimental treatments in spine grape (Vitis davidii [Rom. Caill.] Foëx.) cell cultures. The results indicated that SAND family protein (SAND) and V-type proton ATPase subunit G (VAG) were the most stable reference genes for culture duration, tubulin alpha-3/alpha-5 chain (α-tubulin) and tubulin beta-1 chain (β-tubulin) for illumination conditions, ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2-17 kDa (UBQ) and VAG for UVB treatment, VAG and 60S ribosomal protein L18-2 (60SRP) for temperature treatment, AP47, clathrin adaptor complex subunit mu (AP-2) and 60SRP for cinnamic acid treatment, α-tubulin and UBQ for chitosan treatment, actin and alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2) for kinetin treatment, and β-tubulin and elongation factor 1-α (EF1-α) for cell line. Finally, the reliability of the selected reference genes was confirmed by investigating the expression profiles of the target gene dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) in spine grape cell cultures. The results of the present study offer the most robust platform for the most precise and broad application of RT-qPCR to investigate gene expression associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis in spine grape cell cultures.     

Involvement of LIMK1/2 in actin assembly during mouse embryo development

LIMKs (LIMK1 and LIMK2) are serine/threonine protein kinases that involve in various cellular activities such as cell migration, morphogenesis and cytokinesis. However, its roles during mammalian early embryo development are still unclear. In the present study, we disrupted LIMK1/2 activity to explore the functions of LIMK1/2 during mouse early embryo development. We found that p-LIMK1/2 mainly located at the cortex of each blastomeres from 2-cell to 8-cell stage, and p-LIMK1/2 also expressed at morula and blastocyst stage in mouse embryos. Inhibition of LIMK1/2 activity by LIMKi 3 (BMS-5) at the zygote stage caused the failure of embryo early cleavage, and the disruption of LIMK1/2 activity at 8-cell stage caused the defects of embryo compaction and blastocyst formation. Fluorescence staining and intensity analysis results demonstrated that the inhibition of LIMK1/2 activity caused aberrant cortex actin expression and the decrease of phosphorylated cofilin in mouse embryos. Taken together, we identified LIMK1/2 as an important regulator for cofilin phosphorylation and actin assembly during mouse early embryo development.     

Retrospective and perspective of plant epigenetics in China

Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable changes in gene function that do not involve changes in the DNA sequence. Such effects on cellular and physiological phenotypic traits may result from external or environmental factors or be part of normal developmental program. In eukaryotes, DNA wraps on a histone octamer (two copies of H2A, H2B, H3 and H4) to form nucleosome, the fundamental unit of chromatin. The structure of chromatin is subjected to a dynamic regulation through multiple epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs), chromatin remodeling and noncoding RNAs. As conserved regulatory mechanisms in gene expression, epigenetic mechanisms participate in almost all the important biological processes ranging from basal development to environmental response. Importantly, all of the major epigenetic mechanisms in mammalians also occur in plants. Plant studies have provided numerous important contributions to the epigenetic research. For example, gene imprinting, a mechanism of parental allele-specific gene expression, was firstly observed in maize; evidence of paramutation, an epigenetic phenomenon that one allele acts in a single locus to induce a heritable change in the other allele, was firstly reported in maize and tomato. Moreover, some unique epigenetic mechanisms have been evolved in plants. For example, the 24-nt siRNA-involved RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway is plant-specific because of the involvements of two plant-specific DNA-dependent RNA polymerases, Pol IV and Pol V. A thorough study of epigenetic mechanisms is of great significance to improve crop agronomic traits and environmental adaptability. In this review, we make a brief summary of important progress achieved in plant epigenetics field in China over the past several decades and give a brief outlook on future research prospects. We focus our review on DNA methylation and histone PTMs, the two most important aspects of epigenetic mechanisms.     

Automatic quantification of microscopic heart damage in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy using optical polarization tractography

Quantification of microscopic myocardium damage in a diseased heart is important in studying disease progression and evaluating treatment outcome. However, it is challenging to use traditional histology and existing medical imaging modalities to quantify all microscopic damages in a small animal heart. Here, a method was developed for fast visualization and quantification of focal tissue damage in the mouse heart based on the fiber alignment index of the local myofiber organization obtained in optical polarization tractography (OPT). This method was tested in freshly excised hearts of the mdx4cv mouse, a commonly used mouse model for studying Duchenne cardiomyopathy. The hearts of age‐matched C57BL/6 mice were also imaged as the normal controls. The results revealed a significant amount of damage in the mdx4cv hearts. Histology comparisons confirmed the damage identified by OPT. This fast and automatic method may greatly enhance preclinical studies in murine models of heart diseases.      

Genetic dissection of wheat panicle traits using linkage analysis and a genome-wide association study

Key message

Coincident regions on chromosome 4B for GW, on 5A for SD and TSS, and on 3A for SL and GNS were detected through an integration of a linkage analysis and a genome-wide association study (GWAS). In addition, six stable QTL clusters on chromosomes 2D, 3A, 4B, 5A and 6A were identified with high PVE% on a composite map.

Abstract

The panicle traits of wheat, such as grain number per spike and 1000-grain weight, are closely correlated with grain yield. Superior and effective alleles at loci related to panicles developments play a crucial role in the progress of molecular improvement in wheat yield breeding. Here, we revealed several notable allelic variations of seven panicle-related traits through an integration of genome-wide association mapping and a linkage analysis. The linkage analysis was performed using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population (173 lines of F_8:9) with a high-density genetic map constructed with 90K SNP arrays, Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in five environments. Thirty-five additive quantitative trait loci (QTL) were discovered, including eleven stable QTLs on chromosomes 1A, 2D, 4B, 5B, 6B, and 6D. The marker interval between EX_C101685 and RAC875_C27536 on chromosome 4B exhibited pleiotropic effects for GW, SL, GNS, FSN, SSN, and TSS, with the phenotypic variation explained (PVE) ranging from 5.40 to 37.70%. In addition, an association analysis was conducted using a diverse panel of 205 elite wheat lines with a composite map (24,355 SNPs) based on the Illumina Infinium assay in four environments. A total of 73 significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) were detected for panicle traits, which were distributed across all wheat chromosomes except for 4D, 5D, and 6D. Consensus regions between RAC875_C27536_611 and Tdurum_contig4974_355 on chromosome 4B for GW in multiple environments, between QTSS5A.7-43 and BS00021805_51 on 5A for SD and TSS, and between QSD3A.2-164 and RAC875_c17479_359 on 3A for SL and GNS in multiple environments were detected through linkage analysis and a genome-wide association study (GWAS). In addition, six stable QTL clusters on chromosomes 2D, 3A, 4B, 5A, and 6A were identified with high PVE% on a composite map. This study provides potentially valuable information on the dissection of yield-component traits and valuable genetic alleles for molecular-design breeding or functional gene exploration.