Dendrobium shixingense sp. nov. (Orchidaceae) from Guangdong,China

Dendrobium shixingense Z.‐L. Chen, S.‐J. Zeng et J. Duan sp. nov. (Orchidaceae), is described and illustrated from Guangdong, China; it is compared with its nearest allies, D. scoriarum, D. flexicaule and D. officinale.     

Effect of storage conditions on the survival of two potential biocontrol agents of nematodes,the fungi Paecilomyces lilacinus and Pochonia chlamydosporia

The nematophagous fungi Paecilomyces lilacinus and Pochonia chlamydosporia have been extensively studied as biological control agents for plant-parasitic nematodes. This study describes the formulation of alginate pellets containing mycelia of these fungi and also describes the effect of storage conditions on shelf-life of the pellets. The shelf-lives of P. lilacinus and P. chlamydosporia, which were measured monthly for 6 months, were significantly improved at low temperatures and low water activity (a _w) values (<0.33). Vacuum did not affect the viability of the formulated P. lilacinus but increased the viability of P. chlamydosporia. Carbon dioxide reduced the activity of P. lilacinus as compared to ambient air but increased the activity of P. chlamydosporia. Nitrogen, however, significantly improved the viability of both fungi. The optimal parameters of each factor for our formulation of P. lilacinus and P. chlamydosporia included a temperature range of 4 to ?20°C, a _w=0.12, and a nitrogen-filled atmosphere.     

Umbilical Cord Wharton’s Jelly Repeated Culture System: A New Device and Method for Obtaining Abundant Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Bone Tissue Engineering

To date, various types of cells for seeding regenerative scaffolds have been used for bone tissue engineering. Among seed cells, the mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly (hUCMSCs) represent a promising candidate and hold potential for bone tissue engineering due to the the lack of ethical controversies, accessibility, sourced by non-invasive procedures for donors, a reduced risk of contamination, osteogenic differentiation capacities, and higher immunomodulatory capacity. However, the current culture methods are somewhat complicated and inefficient and often fail to make the best use of the umbilical cord (UC) tissues. Moreover, these culture processes cannot be performed on a large scale and under strict quality control. As a result, only a small quantity of cells can be harvested using the current culture methods. To solve these problems, we designed and evaluated an UC Wharton’s jelly repeated culture device. Using this device, hUCMSCs were obtained from the repeated cultures and their quantities and biological characteristics were compared. We found that using our culture device, which retained all tissue blocks on the bottom of the dish, the total number of obtained cells increased 15–20 times, and the time required for the primary passage was reduced. Moreover, cells harvested from the repeated cultures exhibited no significant difference in their immunophenotype, potential for multilineage differentiation, or proliferative, osteoinductive capacities, and final osteogenesis. The application of the repeated culture frame (RCF) not only made full use of the Wharton’s jelly but also simplified and specified the culture process, and thus, the culture efficiency was significantly improved. In summary, abundant hUCMSCs of dependable quality can be acquired using the RCF.     

Circular RNA circ-VANGL1 as a competing endogenous RNA contributes to bladder cancer progression by regulating miR-605-3p/VANGL1 pathway

Increasing reports indicate that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are very important regulators in human diseases, including cancers. In bladder cancer (BC), several circRNAs have been reported to be involved in tumor progressions, such as circ-ITCH and circTCF25. However, the functions of most circRNAs in BC still remains largely unknown. In this study, we identified a novel circRNA termed as circ-VANGL1 by bioinformatics analysis. We found that circ-VANGL1 was highly expressed in BC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. Furthermore, we showed that circ-VANGL1 could serve as a prognostic marker for patients with BC. Through functional experiments, we found that circ-VANGL1 knockdown significantly suppressed BC cell proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and invasion in vitro. Besides, circ-VANGL1 silence inhibited BC cell propagation in vivo. Mechanistically, we identified circ-VANGL1 as a sponge of miR-605-3p which targeted VANGL1 in BC cells. Through repressing miR-605-3p availability, circ-VANGL1 contributes to VANGL1 expression, consequently leading to BC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Taken together, our study demonstrated circ-VANGL1/miR-605-3p/VANGL1 as a novel essential signaling pathway involved in BC progression.     

CEACAM1 inhibits cell-matrix adhesion and promotes cell migration through regulating the expression of N-cadherin

Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is a member of the immunoglobulin super family and has been observed to have two paradoxical functions: tumor suppression and the promotion of tumor invasion. In the present study, we discovered that CEACAM1 functions as an adhesion inhibitor and a migration promoter. The CEACAM1 transfected cells, either 293-CEACAM1 or LOVO/trans-CEACAM1, was proved to have lower adhesion rate. Furthermore, HT29/siRNA-CEACAM1 cells had a higher adhesion rate than HT29 cells. These results indicated that CEACAM1 was an inhibitor of cell-matrix adhesion. Additionally, 293-CEACAM1 LOVO/trans-CEACAM1 cells exhibited better motility in a trans-well migration assay. N-cadherin expression levels were positively correlated with CEACAM1 in 293-CEACAM1, LOVO/trans-CEACAM1 and HT29/siRNA-CEACAM1 cells. When blocked by a GC-4 antibody, the adhesive capacities of 293-CEACAM1 and LOVO/trans-CEACAM1 were recovered and the motilities of them were suppressed, which suggested that CEACAM1 functioned through N-cadherin.     

Effects of pyriproxyfen on ovarian development and fecundity ofRhagoletis pomonella flies

Three-day old female apple maggot flies,Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), were topically exposed to different doses (0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μg per fly) of a juvenile hormone mimic, pyriproxyfen, in the laboratory. Pyriproxyfen had little lethal effect on females except at the extremely high dose of 100 μg. It also had no significant effect on egg viability of treated females. A non-lethal dose of 1 μg per fly did, however, enhance significantly the fecundity (egg production) as well as the ovarian development (number of eggs in ovaries and length of egg folicles) of treated flies. We conclude that pyriproxyfen could be a useful aid in exploring endocrine regulation of feeding and reproductive physiology behavior inR. pomonella, about which current knowledge is scant.     

Lin28B regulates the fate of grafted mesenchymal stem cells and enhances their protective effects against Alzheimer's disease by upregulating IGF-2

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation has emerged as a potential therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the poor proliferation capacity and low survival rate of engrafted MSCs in the hostile microenvironment of AD limit their therapeutic efficiency. Lin28B is a conserved RNA-binding protein associated with cell self-renewal and survival. The purpose of the present study was to explore whether lin28B might influence the functions of implanted MSCs and strengthen their neuroprotective potential in AD. A gain-of-function assay was used to upregulate lin28B expression in MSCs by lentiviral transfection. Our in vitro results indicated that lin28B promoted MSCs proliferation and migration, and protected MSCs against Aβ1–42-induced cell death by upregulating insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF-2). Blockage of IGF-2 partially abrogated the above effects of lin28B. After intracerebroventricular injection into amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1 mice, implanted MSCs were monitored using bioluminescence imaging. We observed that administration of MSCs transfected with lin28B significantly stimulated their proliferation and prolonged cell retention after delivery. Moreover, administration of the transfected MSCs markedly mitigated cognitive deficits, promoted amyloid plaque clearance, decreased the activation of microglia, and reduced neuronal cell death. The data above confirmed our hypothesis that lin28B is a crucial modulator determining the fate of transplanted MSCs by regulating IGF-2-associated pathways and thereby enhancing their protective effects against AD.     

Formation Mechanism and Occurrence Law of Pod Shattering in Soybean: A Review

Seed shattering refers to the phenomenon in which the pods split along the abdominal and back sutures before the crop is received, so that the seeds are spread. Seed shattering is vital to the reproduction of their offspring in wild plants, but it is also the main cause of crop yield loss reason. Pod-explosion resistance is a complex process of physical and physiological and biochemical reactions. Soybean seed shattering phenomenon is widespread, which severely restricts the development of soybean industry. Seed shattering (pod cracking or fruit dropping) is essential for the reproduction of its offspring in wild plants, but it is also the main cause of crop yield loss. This article analyzes the morphology and structure of pods related to seed shattering from the morphology of pods. On the basis of the regularity of the occurrence of seed shattering and the summary of phenotypic index identification methods, physiologically introduced the regulation mechanism of key enzymes and endogenous hormones on seed shattering. The localization, labeling and cloning of seed shattering genes are introduced in molecular biology. The study focused on reviewing the latest advances in the research on soybean seed shattering characteristics, and discussed with the research results of related crops. Finally, the research and application of soybean seed shattering resistance were prospected for several aspects.