Impaired UTP-induced relaxation in the carotid arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Uridine 5′-triphosphate (UTP) has an important role as an extracellular signaling molecule that regulates inflammation, angiogenesis, and vascular tone. While chronic hypertension has been shown to promote alterations in arterial vascular tone regulation, carotid artery responses to UTP under hypertensive conditions have remained unclear. The present study investigated carotid artery responses to UTP in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and control Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). Accordingly, our results found that although UTP promotes concentration-dependent relaxation in isolated carotid artery segments from both SHR and WKY after pretreatment with phenylephrine, SHR exhibited significantly lower arterial relaxation responses compared with WKY. Moreover, UTP-induced relaxation was substantially reduced by endothelial denudation and by the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor N^G-nitro-L-arginine in both SHR and WKY. The difference in UTP-induced relaxation between both groups was abolished by the selective P2Y₂ receptor antagonist AR-C118925XX and the cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor indomethacin but not by the thromboxane-prostanoid receptor antagonist SQ29548. Furthermore, we detected the release of PGE₂, PGF_2α, and PGI₂ in the carotid arteries of SHR and WKY, both at baseline and in response to UTP. UTP administration also increased TXA₂ levels in WKY but not SHR. Overall, our results suggest that UTP-induced relaxation in carotid arteries is impaired in SHR perhaps due to impaired P2Y₂ receptor signaling, reductions in endothelial NO, and increases in the levels of COX-derived vasoconstrictor prostanoids.

     

Effectiveness of enhanced cognitive behavior therapy for bulimia nervosa in Japan: a randomized controlled trial protocol

Although fatigue is a common and distressing symptom in cancer survivors, the mechanism of fatigue is not fully understood. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relation between the fatigue and mindfulness of breast cancer survivors using anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance as mediators. Path analysis was performed to examine direct and indirect associations between mindfulness and fatigue. Participants were breast cancer survivors who visited a breast surgery department at a university hospital in Japan for hormonal therapy or regular check-ups after treatment. The questionnaire measured cancer-related-fatigue, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected from medical records. Two-hundred and seventy-nine breast cancer survivors were registered, of which 259 answered the questionnaire. Ten respondents with incomplete questionnaire data were excluded, resulting in 249 participants for the analyses. Our final model fit the data well (goodness of fit index = .993; adjusted goodness of fit index = .966; comparative fit index = .999; root mean square error of approximation = .016). Mindfulness, anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance were related to fatigue, and mindfulness had the most influence on fatigue (β = − .52). Mindfulness affected fatigue not only directly but also indirectly through anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance. The study model helps to explain the process by which mindfulness affects fatigue. Our results suggest that mindfulness has both direct and indirect effects on the fatigue of breast cancer survivors and that mindfulness can be used to more effectively reduce their fatigue. It also suggests that health care professionals should be aware of factors such as anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance in their care for fatigue of breast cancer survivors. This study was registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN number. 000027720) on June 12, 2017.     

Impact of brood parasitism and predation on nest survival of the fan-tailed gerygone in New Caledonia

Predation and brood parasitism are common reasons for nesting failure in passerine species and the additive impact by invasive species is a major conservation concern, particularly on tropical islands. Recognising the relative contribution of the different components of nesting failure rates is important to understand co-evolutionary interactions within brood parasite–host systems. In the remote archipelago of New Caledonia, the fan-tailed gerygone Gerygone flavolateralis is the exclusive host of the brood-parasitic shining bronze-cuckoo Chalcites lucidus. Additionally, invasive rodents also possibly have an impact on breeding success. To estimate the impact of potential nest predators, we 1) video monitored nests to identify predators, 2) estimated the probability of predation based on nest visibility and predator abundance and 3) tested the possibility that the location of experimental nests and lack of odour cues decrease the predation by rodents. In addition, we estimated nest survival rates using data collected in different habitats over the course of eight breeding seasons. Nesting success of fan-tailed gerygones was relatively low and predation was the main cause of nesting failure. We recorded mainly predation by native birds, including the shining bronze-cuckoo, whereas predation by rats was rare. In open habitats predation by cuckoos was much lower than predation by other avian predators. Neither predator activity around nests nor nest visibility influenced the probability of predation. Experimental nests in more accessible locations and containing an odorous bait were more exposed to rodent predation. Apparently, the fan-tailed gerygone has either never been specifically vulnerable to predation by rats or has developed anti-predator adaptations.     

Two ANGUSTIFOLIA genes regulate gametophore and sporophyte development in Physcomitrella patens

In Arabidopsis thaliana the ANGUSTIFOLIA (AN) gene regulates the width of leaves by controlling the diffuse growth of leaf cells in the medio‐lateral direction. In the genome of the moss Physcomitrella patens, we found two normal ANs (PpAN1‐1 and 1‐2). Both PpAN1 genes complemented the A. thaliana an‐1 mutant phenotypes. An analysis of spatiotemporal promoter activity of each PpAN1 gene, using transgenic lines that contained each PpAN1‐promoter– uidA (GUS) gene, showed that both promoters are mainly active in the stems of haploid gametophores and in the middle to basal region of the young sporophyte that develops into the seta and foot. Analyses of the knockout lines for PpAN1‐1 and PpAN1‐2 genes suggested that these genes have partially redundant functions and regulate gametophore height by controlling diffuse cell growth in gametophore stems. In addition, the seta and foot were shorter and thicker in diploid sporophytes, suggesting that cell elongation was reduced in the longitudinal direction, whereas no defects were detected in tip‐growing protonemata. These results indicate that both PpAN1 genes in P. patens function in diffuse growth of the haploid and diploid generations but not in tip growth. To visualize microtubule distribution in gametophore cells of P. patens, transformed lines expressing P. patens α‐tubulin fused to sGFP were generated. Contrary to expectations, the orientation of microtubules in the tips of gametophores in the PpAN1‐1/1‐2 double‐knockout lines was unchanged. The relationships among diffuse cell growth, cortical microtubules and AN proteins are discussed.     

Different leaf carbon,nitrogen, and phosphorus stoichiometry and carbon and nitrogen isotopes among peatland plants in northeastern China

Plant and Soil - Plant carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) levels and their stoichiometry and N uptake strategies are important aspects influencing vegetation composition and C dynamics in...     

Focus: Zoonotic Disease: New Series of Imidazoles Showed Promising Growth Inhibitory and Curative Potential Against Trypanosoma Infection

The Trypanosoma spp. cause animal and human trypanosomiasis characterized with appreciable health and economic burden mostly in developing nations. There is currently no effective therapy for this parasitic disease, due to poor drug efficacy, drug resistance, and unwanted toxicity, etc. Therefore, new anti-Trypanosoma agents are urgently needed. This study explored new series of imidazoles for anti-Trypanosoma properties in vitro and in vivo. The imidazoles showed moderate to strong and specific action against growth of T. congolense. For example, the efficacy of the imidazole compounds to restrict Trypanosoma growth in vitro was ≥ 12-fold specific towards T. congolense relative to the mammalian cells. Additionally, the in vivo study revealed that the imidazoles exhibited promising anti-Trypanosoma efficacy corroborating the in vitro anti-parasite capacity. In particular, three imidazole compounds (C1, C6, and C8) not only cleared the systemic parasite burden but cured infected rats after no death was recorded. On the other hand, the remaining five imidazole compounds (C2, C3, C4, C5, and C7) drastically reduced the systemic parasite load while extending survival time of the infected rats by 14 days as compared with control. Untreated control died 3 days post-infection, while the rats treated with diminazene aceturate were cured comparable to the results obtained for C1, C6, and C8. In conclusion, this is the first study demonstrating the potential of these new series of imidazoles to clear the systemic parasite burden in infected rats. Furthermore, a high selectivity index of imidazoles towards T. congolense in vitro and the oral LD₅₀ in rats support anti-parasite specific action. Together, findings support the anti-parasitic prospects of the new series of imidazole derivatives.     

Cryo-EM structure of monomeric photosystem II at 2.78 Å resolution reveals factors important for the formation of dimer

Photosystem II (PSII) functions mainly as a dimer to catalyze the light energy conversion and water oxidation reactions. However, monomeric PSII also exists and functions in vivo in some cases. The crystal structure of monomeric PSII has been solved at 3.6 Å resolution, but it is still not clear which factors contribute to the formation of the dimer. Here, we solved the structure of PSII monomer at a resolution of 2.78 Å using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). From our cryo-EM density map, we observed apparent differences in pigments and lipids in the monomer-monomer interface between the PSII monomer and dimer. One β-carotene and two sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol (SQDG) molecules are found in the monomer-monomer interface of the dimer structure but not in the present monomer structure, although some SQDG and other lipid molecules are found in the analogous region of the low-resolution crystal structure of the monomer, or cryo-EM structure of an apo-PSII monomer lacking the extrinsic proteins from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. In the current monomer structure, a large part of the PsbO subunit was also found to be disordered. These results indicate the importance of the β-carotene, SQDG and PsbO in formation of the PSII dimer.     

Spatial variation of microtubule depolymerization in large asters

Microtubule plus-end depolymerization rate is a potentially important target of physiological regulation, but it has been challenging to measure, so its role in spatial organization is poorly understood. Here we apply a method for tracking plus ends based on time difference imaging to measure depolymerization rates in large interphase asters growing in Xenopus egg extract. We observed strong spatial regulation of depolymerization rates, which were higher in the aster interior compared with the periphery, and much less regulation of polymerization or catastrophe rates. We interpret these data in terms of a limiting component model, where aster growth results in lower levels of soluble tubulin and microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) in the interior cytosol compared with that at the periphery. The steady-state polymer fraction of tubulin was ∼30%, so tubulin is not strongly depleted in the aster interior. We propose that the limiting component for microtubule assembly is a MAP that inhibits depolymerization, and that egg asters are tuned to low microtubule density.