Isolation and characterization of isochorismate synthase and cinnamate 4-hydroxylase during salinity stress,wounding, and salicylic acid treatment in Carthamus tinctorius

Salicylic acid (SA) is a prominent signaling molecule during biotic and abiotic stresses in plants biosynthesized via cinnamate and isochorismate pathways. Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) and isochorismate synthase (ICS) are the main enzymes in phenylpropanoid and isochorismate pathways, respectively. To investigate the actual roles of these genes in resistance mechanism to environmental stresses, here, the coding sequences of these enzymes in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), as an oilseed industrial medicinal plant, were partially isolated and their expression profiles during salinity stress, wounding, and salicylic acid treatment were monitored. As a result, safflower ICS (CtICS) and C4H (CtC4H) were induced in early time points after wounding (3–6 h). Upon salinity stress, CtICS and CtC4H were highly expressed for the periods of 6–24 h and 3–6 h after treatment, respectively. It seems evident that ICS expression level is SA concentration dependent as if safflower treatment with 1 mM SA could induce ICS much stronger than that with 0.1 mM, while C4H is less likely to be so. Based on phylogenetic analysis, safflower ICS has maximum similarity to its ortholog in Vitis vinifera up to 69%, while C4H shows the highest similarity to its ortholog in Echinacea angustifolia up to 96%. Overall, the isolated genes of CtICS and CtC4H in safflower could be considered in plant breeding programs for salinity tolerance as well as for pathogen resistance.     

The Effect of Different Oral Doses of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Silymarin on the Blood Oxidative Stress Indicators in Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats

The effect of oral administration of different doses of hydroalcoholic extract of silymarin on body weight, glucose concentration and indicators of oxidative stress superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) was investigated in the present study. Fifty adult male Wistar rats were used. The animals were divided into five groups and oral route of administration was used in control group (0.9 %, NaCl), control group patients (0.9 %, NaCl), diabetic group (100 mg/kg, silymarin), diabetic group (125 mg/kg, silymarin), diabetic group (250 mg/kg, silymarin) for 14 days with gavage. Diabetes was induced by a single injection of streptozotocin (45 mg/kg, i.p.). Before and 3 days after injection, and at 7 and 14 days of treatment, the fasting glucose level and weight were measured. At the end of 14 days, animals were anesthetized with ether and blood samples were taken by heart puncture and were analyzed for oxidative stress indicators. The results showed that hydroalcoholic extract of silymarin can increase the average body weight and decrease glucose and, at the end of 14 days, decrease MDA level and increase the level of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GPX, CAT) in red blood cells in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the hydroalcoholic extract of silymarin has an overall beneficial effect on body weight, glucose level and oxidative stress. Therefore, silymarin may reduce oxidative stress via increasing antioxidant enzyme activity.     

Phytochemicals from the stem wood of Sorbus lanata (D. Don.) Schauer

Three new phenolic compounds, sorlanin (4-(3-(hydroxymethyl)-5-methoxy-7-phenyl-2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxin-2-yl)-2-methoxyphenol, 1), sorbanin (2-((3,5-dimethoxy-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)oxy)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propane-1,3-diol, 2) and sorbalanin (4-(3-(hydroxymethyl)-5,6-dimethoxy-2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxino[2,3-g]benzofuran-2-yl)-2-methoxyphenol, 3), together with eight known compounds, polystachyol (4), isolariciresinol (5), dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (6), tuberculatin (7), ovafolinin E (8), aucuparin (9), 2′-methoxyaucuparin (10), and tetracosyl-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)acrylate (11), were isolated from Sorbus lanata. The structures of these phytoconstituents were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic techniques, including UV, IR, 1D and 2D NMR, ESI-MS and HRESI-MS experiments. All the compounds except 9 and 10 were isolated for the first time from the genus Sorbus. The isolated compounds were also tested in DPPH radical scavenging reaction where compounds 6, 7, 10 and 11 showed significant activities with IC₅₀ values of 9.2, 11.7, 23.0 and 33.7 μM, respectively.     

Salicylic Acid Induced Photosynthetic Adaptability of Raphanus sativus to Salt Stress is Associated with Antioxidant Capacity

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Despite the plethora of published reports on ameliorative effects of exogenously applied salicylic acid (SA) to plants under salt stress, a critical role of SA...     

Fatal Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in COVID-19 Patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Iran

Mycopathologia - Although patients with severe immunodeficiency and hematological malignancies has been considered at highest risk for invasive fungal infection, patients with severe pneumonia due...     

Simultaneous impact of atorvastatin and mesenchymal stem cells for glioblastoma multiform suppression in rat glioblastoma multiform model

Glioblastoma multiform (GBM) is known as an aggressive glial neoplasm. Recently incorporation of mesenchymal stem cells with anti-tumor drugs have been used due to lack of immunological responses and their easy accessibility. In this study, we have investigated the anti-proliferative and apoptotic activity of atorvastatin (Ator) in combination of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on GBM cells in vitro and in vivo. The MSCs isolated from rats and characterized for their multi-potency features. The anti-proliferative and migration inhibition of Ator and MSCs were evaluated by MTT and scratch migration assays. The annexin/PI percentage and cell cycle arrest of treated C6 cells were evaluated until 72 h incubation. The animal model was established via injection of C6 cells in the brain of rats and subsequent injection of Ator each 3 days and single injection of MSCs until 12 days. The growth rate, migrational phenotype and cell cycle progression of C6 cells decreased and inhibited by the interplay of different factors in the presence of Ator and MSCs. The effect of Ator and MSCs on animal models displayed a significant reduction in tumor size and weight. Furthermore, histopathology evaluation proved low hypercellularity and mitosis index as well as mild invasive tumor cells for perivascular cuffing without pseudopalisading necrosis and small delicate vessels in Ator?+?MSCs condition. In summary, Ator and MSCs delivery to GBM model provides an effective strategy for targeted therapy of brain tumor.

     

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and MMP-3 gene variations affect MMP-1 and -3 serum concentration and associates with breast cancer

Molecular Biology Reports - Matrix metallopeptidases (MMPs) 1 and 3 have been shown to contribute to the initiation, and progression of different cancers, including breast cancer (BC). In this...     

Severe Disseminated Phaeohyphomycosis in an Immunocompetent Patient Caused by Veronaea botryosa

We present a severe case of disseminated phaeohyphomycosis due to Veronaea botryosa. A 32-year-old female, native from Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico, presented a chronic dermatosis which started 10 years earlier with multiple exophytic, multilobulated, soft, and pedunculated or sessile neoformations of diverse sizes from 2 to 10 cm in diameter, which became verrucose and increased in size. The patient was immunocompetent, and no hereditary or familiar precedents of importance were known. No treatment was given, and the dermatosis remained relatively stable until the patient became pregnant in 2001 and 2003. The infection then exacerbated and worsened, leading to dissemination to the extremities, trunk, and face. The initial diagnosis was chromoblastomycosis which was treated with terbinafine and itraconazole but without visible improvement. Histopathology revealed pigmented, irregular, unbranched, and septate hyphae. Veronaea botryosa was isolated (CBS 127264 = JX566723), and its identity was confirmed by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA. Therapy with posaconazole (800 mg/day) was started showing a gradual improvement of lesions with a reduction in size and flattening of the eruptions.     

Understory vegetation as an indicator of soil characteristics in the Hyrcanian area,N. Iran

The mesic Caspian (Hyrcanian) forest and ecotone communities provide a marked contrast to the arid and semiarid landscapes associated with most of the territory of Iran. To date, the ecological characteristics of these habitats, threatened and of conservation importance, have been little studied. Accordingly, ecological profiles of some important plant species of these communities have been assessed along two altitudinal gradients (300–2300 m a.s.l.). Vegetation and soils were sampled every 100 m in elevation, with the data subsequently analyzed using TWINSPAN and corrected frequency (CF) analyses. Relationships between soil variables (subdivided into three classes, the lowest, the middle and the upper third of all values) and herbaceous and shrub species (presence/absence data) were analyzed by the polythetic divisive classification method. 379 plant species and eleven soil variables – N, P, K, CaCO₃, EC, pH, organic matter, C/N ratio and percentage of sand, clay and silt – were considered. The ecological profile method was used to evaluate the affinity and significance of associations between the probability of species’ occurrence and topsoil characteristics found by the polythetic method. Five vegetation groups were identified: two groups, with Acer campestre and Quercus macranthera in the tree layer and Veronica mazanderanae and Phuopsis stylosa as herbs, were restricted to forest-steppe ecotones and the upper mountain areas. Three groups, with Acer velutinum, Ruscus hyrcanus, Carpinus betulus, Danae racemosa, Fagus orientalis and Aruncus vulgaris as indicator species, occurred in the forest itself. Of the 42 plant species assessed as being of particular importance, 13 had significant relationships with eight soil factors. Thus, certain species, including endemic plant species of restricted distribution and conservation importance, can be used as indicators of particular soil conditions in the Hyrcanian forest area.