Does Auxin Play a Role in the Release of Apical Dominance by Shoot Inversion in Ipomoea nil?

According to the auxin-inhibition hypothesis of apical dominance,apically produced auxin moves down the stem and inhibits axillarybud outgrowth, either directly or indirectly. This hypothesishas been examined further by monitoring changes in basipetalauxin transport and endogenous auxin concentration in Ipomoeanil caused by shoot inversion, a stimulus that releases apicaldominance. The results indicate that inversion reduces auxintransport in the main stem. In upright shoots of intact plants,a 16-h pretreatment with [³H]IAA 4 cm below the apex resultsin downward movement of label and accumulation in nodes, especiallythe cotyledonary node. Label does not accumulate in the lateralbuds. GC-MS determinations of endogenous free auxin level inthe fourth node, where a lateral bud grows out following inversionof the upper part of the shoot, show no changes at 3 and 8 hafter inversion, the range of times for inversion-induced budrelease, or at 24 h, when bud outgrowth is continuing. However,inversion did cause a just-detectable decrease (approx. 10%)in the IAA level of the shoot's elongation region. Althoughauxin transport in segments of the main stem is partially inhibitedby inversion over a period shorter than the latent time of budrelease, thus providing a means for the expected depletion ofauxin in the fourth node, no depletion could be detected there.These results suggest that either a decrease in IAA level inthe main stem is not causal of bud release or that the decreasedIAA pool responsible for bud release is compartmented and cannotbe measured in whole-tissue extracts.Copyright 1993, 1999 AcademicPress Apical dominance, auxin content, auxin transport, axillary bud release, GC-MS, Ipomoea nil, Pharbitis nil, shoot inversion     

Chronic ethanol attenuates centrally-mediated hypotension elicited via α2-adrenergic,but not I1-imidazoline,receptor activation in female rats

AimsThis study dealt with the effect of chronic ethanol administration on hemodynamic responses elicited by α₂-adrenergic (α-methyldopa) or I₁-imidazoline (rilmenidine) receptor activation in telemetered female rats.Main methodsThe effects of α-methyldopa or rilmenidine on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and their variability were investigated in rats that received liquid diet without or with ethanol (5% w/v) for 12 weeks. To evaluate the effect of each drug on cardiovascular autonomic control (BP and HR variability) in the absence or presence of ethanol, three time-domain indices of hemodynamic variability were measured: (i) standard deviation of mean arterial pressure (SDMAP), (ii) standard deviation of beat-to-beat intervals, and (iii) root mean square of successive differences in R–R intervals.Key findingsIn liquid diet-fed control rats, i.p. rilmenidine (600 µg/kg) or α-methyldopa (100 mg/kg) reduced BP along with decreases and increases, respectively, in HR. Both drugs had no effect on HR variability but reduced BP variability (SDMAP), suggesting a reduced vasomotor sympathetic tone. Ethanol feeding attenuated reductions in BP and SDMAP evoked by α-methyldopa but not by rilmenidine.SignificanceWe conclude that chronic ethanol preferentially compromises α₂- but not I₁-receptor-mediated hypotension in female rats probably via modulation of vasomotor sympathetic activity. These findings highlight the adequacy of rilmenidine use to lower BP in hypertensive alcoholic females.     

Synthesis and evaluation of some new spiro indoline-based heterocycles as potentially active antimicrobial agents

Several new spiro indoline-based heterocycles were synthesized by prior preparation of the 4-(2'-oxo-indol-3'-ylidene)-oxazol-5-one derivatives and subsequent reaction of the produced indol-3-ylidene based heterocycles with activated nitrile reagents. The obtained products were allowed to react with hydrazine hydrate in alcoholic basic to give the target compounds. Structure of these products was confirmed on the bases of elemental as well as spectral data. Representative compounds of the hitherto synthesized products were tested and evaluated as antimicrobial agents.     

The modifying effect of beta-carotene on gamma radiation-induced elevation of oxidative reactions and genotoxicity in male rats

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the modulatory role of beta-carotene on the radiation-induced changes in certain biochemical and cytogenetic parameters. beta-Carotene was given by gavage at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight for 7 consecutive days before whole body gamma irradiation with 7 Gy (single dose). The levels of beta-carotene in plasma, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) in plasma and liver, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase in blood and liver were the selected parameters. Furthermore, the frequency of micronuclei (MN) of polychromatic erythrocytes (PCEs), normochromatic erythrocytes (NCEs), the ratio of PCEs/NCEs and the mitotic index (MI) of bone marrow cells were also evaluated. The biochemical and cytogenetic determinations were carried out 1, 24, and 72 h after radiation exposure.The results obtained revealed that administration of beta-carotene pre-irradiation significantly inhibited the decrease in plasma beta-carotene, significantly reduced the levels of TBARS in plasma and liver. Significant protection of the radiation-induced changes in the activities of SOD and catalase was also recorded in the blood and liver of beta-carotene-treated and -irradiated rats. beta-Carotene resulted in significant inhibition in the frequency of radiation-induced MN, as well as in the ratio of PCEs/NCEs and the MI of bone marrow cells. These results suggest that beta-carotene as a natural product with its antioxidant capacity and capability of quenching singlet oxygen, could play a modulatory role against the cellular damage affected by free radicals induced by whole body irradiation.     

Design of inhibitors against HIV, HTLV-I, and Plasmodium falciparum aspartic proteases

Aspartic proteases have emerged as targets for substrate-based inhibitor design due to their vital roles in the life cycles of the organisms that cause AIDS, malaria, leukemia, and other infectious diseases. Based on the concept of mimicking the substrate transition-state, we designed and synthesized a novel class of aspartic protease inhibitors containing the hydroxymethylcarbonyl (HMC) isostere. An unnatural amino acid, allophenylnorstatine [Apns; (2 S ,3 S )-3-amino-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyric acid], was incorporated at the P1 site in a series of peptidomimetic compounds that mimic the natural substrates of the HIV, HTLV-I, and malarial aspartic proteases. From extensive structure-activity relationship studies, we were able to identify a series of highly potent peptidomimetic inhibitors of HIV protease. One highly potent inhibitor of the malarial aspartic protease (plasmepsin II) was identified. Finally, a promising lead compound against the HTLV-I protease was identified.     

Polymorphic exocellular protease expression in clinical isolates of Trichophyton tonsurans

Tinea capitis continues to be an overwhelmingly prevalent disease in children. Despite the fact that it was recognized over a century ago, the factors that dictate the divergent clinical presentations seen with tinea capitis (e.g., carrier state, chronic non-inflammatory infection, acute severely-inflammatory infection) remain unknown. Given the pathogenicrole of exocellular proteases in dermatophyte infections and their potential immunogenic role, this investigation was designed to characterize strain-specific variability in fungal protease expression and activity in Trichophyton tonsurans isolates identified from children with tinea capitis. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Lansoprazole enhances the antidiabetic effect of dapagliflozin in fortified diet‐fed streptozotocin‐treated diabetic rats

Dapagliflozin (DAPA) is used for treating type 2 diabetes, whereas lansoprazole (LPZ) is used as a traditional antiulcer drug. The present study investigated the possible antidiabetic effects of LPZ on fortified diet‐fed streptozotocin (FDF/STZ)‐induced insulin‐resistant diabetic rats. On the basis of the current results, it can be concluded that LPZ could be used as an add‐on drug along with the conventional treatment for T2D as it showed beneficial effects in the current experimental model of insulin resistance.     

The forest or the trees: preference for global over local image processing is reversed by prior experience in honeybees

Traditional models of insect vision have assumed that insects are only capable of low-level analysis of local cues and are incapable of global, holistic perception. However, recent studies on honeybee (Apis mellifera) vision have refuted this view by showing that this insect also processes complex visual information by using spatial configurations or relational rules. In the light of these findings, we asked whether bees prioritize global configurations or local cues by setting these two levels of image analysis in competition. We trained individual free-flying honeybees to discriminate hierarchical visual stimuli within a Y-maze and tested bees with novel stimuli in which local and/or global cues were manipulated. We demonstrate that even when local information is accessible, bees prefer global information, thus relying mainly on the object''s spatial configuration rather than on elemental, local information. This preference can be reversed if bees are pre-trained to discriminate isolated local cues. In this case, bees prefer the hierarchical stimuli with the local elements previously primed even if they build an incorrect global configuration. Pre-training with local cues induces a generic attentional bias towards any local elements as local information is prioritized in the test, even if the local cues used in the test are different from the pre-trained ones. Our results thus underline the plasticity of visual processing in insects and provide new insights for the comparative analysis of visual recognition in humans and animals.     

New insight into HCV E1/E2 region of genotype 4a

Introduction

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome contains two envelope proteins (E1 and E2) responsible for the virus entry into the cell. There is a substantial lack of sequences covering the full length of E1/E2 region for genotype 4. Our study aims at providing new sequences as well as characterizing the genetic divergence of the E1/E2 region of HCV 4a using our new sequences along with all publicly available datasets.

Methods

The genomic segments covering the whole E1/E2 region were isolated from Egyptian HCV patients and sequenced. The resulting 36 sequences 36 were analyzed using sequence analysis techniques to study variability within and among hosts in the same time point. Furthermore, previously published HCV E1/E2 sequence datasets for genotype 4a were retrieved and categorized according to the geographical location and date of isolation and were used for further analysis of variability among Egyptian over a period of 15 years, also compared with non-Egyptian sequences to figure out region-specific variability.

Results

Phylogenetic analysis of the new sequences has shown variability within the host and among different individuals in the same time point. Analysis of the 36 sequences along with the Egyptian sequences (254 sequences in E1 in the period from 1997 to 2010 and 8 E2 sequences in the period from 2006 to 2010) has shown temporal change over time. Analysis of the new HCV sequences with the non-Egyptian sequences (182 sequences in E1 and 155 sequences in the E2) has shown region specific variability. The molecular clock rate of E1 was estimated to be 5E-3 per site per year for Egyptian and 5.38E-3 for non-Egyptian. The clock rate of E2 was estimated to be 8.48E per site per year for Egyptian and 6.3E-3 for non-Egyptian.

Conclusion

The results of this study support the high rate of evolution of the Egyptian HCV genotype 4a. It has also revealed significant level of genetic variability among sequences from different regions in the world.