Isolation and Identification of Pathogens Causing Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) Black Spot in Beijing,China

Black spot leads to great marigold losses worldwide. The disease is characterized by black spots on leaves and stems in its early stages, and the whole plant has black rot at the advanced stage. In this report, 6 of 217 Alternaria strains isolated from lesions of marigold plants in Beijing were randomly selected. The morphological characteristics and a pathogenic tree based on two protein‐coding genes (gpd and alt a 1) indicated that Alternaria tagetica is the causal agent of marigold black spot in Beijing. All six Alternaria strains could successfully re‐infect marigold, but they could not infect carrot or zinnia by either spore spray in a greenhouse or planting experiments in the epidemic area. This is the first report of the A. tagetica pathogen being isolated from marigold in Beijing.     

Periplocymarin alleviates pathological cardiac hypertrophy via inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway

Pathological cardiac hypertrophy is the most important risk factor for developing chronic heart failure. Therefore, the discovery of novel agents for treating pathological cardiac hypertrophy remains urgent. In the present study, we examined the therapeutic effect and mechanism of periplocymarin (PM)‐mediated protection against pathological cardiac hypertrophy using angiotensinII (AngII)‐stimulated cardiac hypertrophy in H9c2 cells and transverse aortic constriction (TAC)‐induced cardiac hypertrophy in mice. In vitro, PM treatment significantly reduced the surface area of H9c2 cells and expressions of hypertrophy‐related proteins. Meanwhile, PM markedly down‐regulated AngII‐induced translocation of p‐STAT3 into the nuclei and enhanced the phosphorylation levels of JAK2 and STAT3 proteins. The STAT3 specific inhibitor S3I‐201 or siRNA‐mediated depleted expression could alleviate AngII‐induced cardiac hypertrophy in H9c2 cells following PM treatment; however, PM failed to reduce the expressions of hypertrophy‐related proteins and phosphorylated STAT3 in STAT3‐overexpressing cells, indicating that PM protected against AngII‐induced cardiac hypertrophy by modulating STAT3 signalling. In vivo, PM reversed TAC‐induced cardiac hypertrophy, as determined by down‐regulating ratios of heart weight to body weight (HW/BW), heart weight to tibial length (HW/TL) and expressions of hypertrophy‐related proteins accompanied by the inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. These results revealed that PM could effectively protect the cardiac structure and function in experimental models of pathological cardiac hypertrophy by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway. PM is expected to be a potential lead compound of the novel agents for treating pathological cardiac hypertrophy.     

The novel type II toxin–antitoxin PacTA modulates Pseudomonas aeruginosa iron homeostasis by obstructing the DNA-binding activity of Fur

Type II toxin–antitoxin (TA) systems are widely distributed in bacterial and archaeal genomes and are involved in diverse critical cellular functions such as defense against phages, biofilm formation, persistence, and virulence. GCN5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) toxin, with an acetyltransferase activity-dependent mechanism of translation inhibition, represents a relatively new and expanding family of type II TA toxins. We here describe a group of GNAT-Xre TA modules widely distributed among Pseudomonas species. We investigated PacTA (one of its members encoded by PA3270/PA3269) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and demonstrated that the PacT toxin positively regulates iron acquisition in P. aeruginosa. Notably, other than arresting translation through acetylating aminoacyl-tRNAs, PacT can directly bind to Fur, a key ferric uptake regulator, to attenuate its DNA-binding affinity and thus permit the expression of downstream iron-acquisition-related genes. We further showed that the expression of the pacTA locus is upregulated in response to iron starvation and the absence of PacT causes biofilm formation defect, thereby attenuating pathogenesis. Overall, these findings reveal a novel regulatory mechanism of GNAT toxin that controls iron-uptake-related genes and contributes to bacterial virulence.     

Flavonoid genistein protects bone marrow sinusoidal blood vessels from damage by methotrexate therapy in rats

Cancer chemotherapy can cause significant damage to the bone marrow (BM) microvascular (sinusoidal) system. Investigations must now address whether and how BM sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) can be protected during chemotherapy. Herein we examined the potential protective effects of genistein, a soy-derived flavonoid, against BM sinusoidal damage caused by treatment with methotrexate (MTX). The groups of young adult rats were gavaged daily with genistein (20 mg/kg) or placebo. After 1 week, rats also received daily injections of MTX (0.75 mg/kg) or saline for 5 days and were killed after a further 4 days. Histological analyses showed that BM sinusoids were markedly dilated ( p < 0.001) in the MTX-alone group but were unaffected or less dilated in the genistein+MTX group. In control rats, genistein significantly enhanced expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF; p < 0.01), particularly in osteoblasts, and angiogenesis marker CD31 ( p < 0.001) in bone. In MTX-treated rats, genistein suppressed MTX-induced apoptosis of BM SECs ( p < 0.001 vs MTX alone group) and tended to increase expression of CD31 and VEGF ( p < 0.05). Our in vitro studies showed that genistein in certain concentrations protected cultured SECs from MTX cytotoxic effects. Genistein enhanced tube formation of cultured SECs, which is associated with its ability to induce expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and production of nitric oxide. These data suggest that genistein can protect BM sinusoids during MTX therapy, which is associated, at least partially, with its indirect effect of promoting VEGF expression in osteoblasts and its direct effect of enhancing nitric oxide production in SECs.     

In vitro and in vivo effects of hydrolysates from conglycinin on intestinal microbial community of mice after Escherichia coli infection

AIMS: To detect the effect of pepsin-hydrolysate conglycinin (PTC) on the growth of Escherichia coli O(138)in vitro, and investigate the effect of PTC on intestinal microbial community of mice after E. coli infection. METHODS AND RESULTS: Serial dilution method was used to detect the antibacterial activity of PTC in 96-well cell-cultivated plates. Fifty-five KM mice were randomly assigned to five groups: normal, feeding-E. coli control, HCl-full hydrolysis of conglycinin, conglycinin and PTC. Orally administrated with hydrolysates from conglycinin for 21 days, each mouse was fed with 2 x 10(8) CFU ml(-1) of E. coli O(138) on the 22nd day. The mice activities were monitored and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to analyse the microbial community in mice faeces. The results showed that PTC could inhibit growth of E. coli O(138) at nitrogen concentrations of more than 520 mg l(-1). There was high similarity of intestinal microbial community in mice between PTC and normal groups. CONCLUSION: PTC inhibits growth of E. coli O(138), keeps mice healthy following oral administration of E. coli infection and maintains a balanced active microbial community in their gastrointestinal tract. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study demonstrated the antibacterial activity of PTC against E. coli and its ability to maintain healthy intestinal microbial community in mice even after they were infected with E. coli. This observation is significant in the application of PTC to prevent gastrointestinal diseases caused by E. coli and unbalanced intestinal microflora.     

植物D型细胞周期蛋白

D型细胞周期蛋白(cyclinD,CycD)调控着细胞周期G1/S的转换,基本过程为CycD在外界环境刺激下积累,并与周期蛋白依赖激酶(cyclin-dependentkinase,CDK)形成有活性的激酶,促进成视网膜细胞瘤蛋白(retinoblastoma,Rb)磷酸化,使E2F因子释放,由此促使G1/S转换,这一调控系统在高等真核生物中具有很高的保守性。CycD与其他细胞周期蛋白表达有所不同,其受到生长因子的强烈诱导,去掉生长因子后,表达水平迅速下降,导致细胞被抑制在G1期。大量研究表明,CycD是细胞周期中一个关键的“感受因子”,CycD基因的表达是细胞周期进程中的限速因子,影响着植物的生长发育。现对植物CycD的特征以及在细胞周期中的功能进行综述,并探讨了其在植物生长发育中的作用。     

Influence of bite force on jaw muscle activity ratios in subject-controlled unilateral isometric biting

Ratios of muscle activities in unilateral isometric biting are assumed to provide information on strategies of muscle activation independently from bite force. If valid, this assumption would facilitate experiments as it would justify subject-control instead of transducer-based force control in biting studies. As force independence of ratios is controversial, we tested whether activity ratios are associated with bite force and whether this could affect findings based on subject-controlled force. In 52 subjects, bite force and bilateral masseter and temporalis electromyograms were recorded during unilateral biting on a transducer with varying force levels and with uniform subject-controlled force. Working/balancing and temporalis/masseter ratios of activity peaks were related to bite force peaks. Activity ratios were significantly but weakly correlated with the bite force. The subject-controlled force varied within ±25% around the prescribed force in 95% of all bites. This scatter could cause a variation of group mean activity ratios of at most ±6% because of the weak correlation between bite force and ratios. As this small variation is negligible in most cases, subject-control of bite force can be considered an appropriate method to obtain group means of relative muscle activation in particular when force control with transducers is not feasible.     

Tim-3 ligand galectin-9 reduces IL-17 level and accelerates Klebsiella pneumoniae infection

T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain (Tim)-3 is expressed on activated CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells. Identification of galectin-9 as a ligand for Tim-3 has now firmly established the Tim-3/galectin-9 pathway, which results in apoptosis of effector CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells. Moreover, Th17 cells are a recently discovered CD4⁺ effector T cell, which are important in antimicrobial immunity. Whether the Tim-3/galectin-9 pathway affects Th17 immunity has not been elucidated. Here, we demonstrated expression of Tim-3 on Th17 cells by flow cytometry. Th17-skewed cells were sensitive to galectin-9-induced apoptosis. In vitro administration of galectin-9 decreased stimulated Th17 cells and inhibited production of IL-17. Interestingly, Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) infection led to enhanced IL-17 levels. Recombinant galectin-9 significantly decreased IL-17 in vivo, which resulted in reduced bacterial clearance and high mortality. These observations suggest that the Tim-3/galectin-9 pathway plays an important role in termination of Th17-immune responses, and could be a therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases.     

IL35 attenuated LPS-induced acute lung injury by regulating macrophage polarization

Molecular Biology Reports - Interleukin 35 (IL35) has been reported to play a role in acute lung injury (ALI); however, the current results regarding the relationship between IL35 and ALI are...     

Synthesis and evaluation of 7-chloro-4-(piperazin-1-yl)quinoline-sulfonamide as hybrid antiprotozoal agents

A new series of 4-aminochloroquinoline based sulfonamides were synthesized and evaluated for antiamoebic and antimalarial activities. Out of the eleven compounds evaluated (F1–F11), two of them (F3 and F10) showed good activity against Entamoeba histolytica (IC₅₀ <5 μM). Three of the compounds (F5, F7 and F8) also displayed antimalarial activity against the chloroquine-resistant (FCR-3) strain of Plasmodium falciparum with IC₅₀ values of 2 μM. Compound F7, whose crystal structure was also determined, inhibited β-haematin formation more potently than quinine. To further understand the action of hybrid molecules F7 and F8, molecular docking was carried out against the homology model of P. falciparum enzyme dihydropteroate synthase (PfDHPS). The complexes showed that the inhibitors place themselves nicely into the active site of the enzyme and exhibit interaction energy which is in accordance with our activity profile data. Application of Lipinski ‘rule of five’ on all the compounds (F1–F11) suggested high drug likeness of F7 and F8, similar to quinine.