ACTH (Acthar Gel) Reduces Toxic SOD1 Protein Linked to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Transgenic Mice: A Novel Observation

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a complex etiology and pathology that makes the development of new therapies difficult. ACTH has neurotrophic and myotrophic effects, but has not been tested in an ALS mouse model. The G93A-SOD1 mouse model of ALS was used to test the ability of this drug to delay ALS-like symptoms. We showed that within a specific dose range, ACTH significantly postponed the disease onset and paralysis in the mouse model. To our surprise and of greater significance is that ACTH significantly reduced the levels of soluble SOD1 in the spinal cord and CNS tissues of G93A-SOD1 treated mice as well as cultured fibroblasts.     

Organocatalyzed Domino Synthesis of New Thiazole‐Based Decahydroacridine‐1,8‐diones and Dihydropyrido[2,3‐d : 6,5‐d′]‐ dipyrimidines in Water as Antimicrobial Agents

Organopromoter, 2‐aminoethanesulfonic acid was used to catalyze the synthesis of a series of structurally intriguing new hybrids thiazolyl acridine‐1,8(2H,5H)‐diones and dihydropyrido[2,3‐d : 6,5‐d′]dipyrimidine‐2,4,6,8(1H,3H,5H,7H)‐tetraones for the first time. 2‐Aminoethanesulfonic acid is a biobased organopromoter, used to generate four new bonds for the synthesis of new coupled thiazole‐based decahydroacridine‐1,8‐diones. Superior green credentials, operational simplicity, easy work‐up and recyclability of the catalyst are the key strengths of this method. The broad substrate scope, mild reaction conditions, short reaction time, cost effectiveness, high atom economy and good to excellent yields make the present method a distinct improvement over existing methods. Spectral (IR, ¹H‐NMR,¹³C‐NMR, Mass) data and elemental analyses confirmed the structures of the titled products. A series of thiazolyl acridine‐1,8(2H,5H)‐diones and dihydropyrido[2,3‐d : 6,5‐d′]dipyrimidine‐2,4,6,8(1H,3H,5H,7H)‐tetraones were screened for their antimicrobial activity against four bacterial and three fungal strains.     

Extinction threat to neglected Plinia edulis exacerbated by climate change,yet likely mitigated by conservation through sustainable use

Forecasting the impacts of climate change on species distribution has several implications for conservation. Plinia edulis is a rare and threatened tree species from Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. In this study, we assessed the impact of global climate change on the distribution of P. edulis. Additionally, we evaluated the efficacy of the Brazilian protected network to conserve this species. Ecological niche models were built using the maximum entropy method based on occurrence records and environmental predictors. Models predicted a reduction of climatically suitable areas for P. edulis in all evaluated scenarios in the coming years. Furthermore, we observed that Brazilian protected areas (PAs) are ineffective to conserve this species. Given the fact that P. edulis is a promising tree species rarely found within Brazilian PAs and threatened by global climate change, we strongly recommend the cultivation of this multipurpose species in agroforestry systems, landscaping and homegardens in order to promote its conservation through sustainable use.     

Combined therapeutic efficacy of carvacrol and X-radiation against 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine-induced experimental rat colon carcinogenesis

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Colon cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers, and is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. The objective of the present...     

Physiological and morphological adaptations of herbaceous perennial legumes allow differential access to sources of varyingly soluble phosphate

The aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of three perennial legume species to access sources of varyingly soluble phosphorus (P) and their associated morphological and physiological adaptations. Two Australian native legumes with pasture potential (Cullen australasicum and Kennedia prostrata) and Medicago sativa cv. SARDI 10 were grown in sand under two P levels (6 and 40 µg P g^?1) supplied as Ca(H₂PO₄)₂·H₂O (Ca‐P, highly soluble, used in many fertilizers) or as one of three sparingly soluble forms: Ca₁₀(OH)₂(PO₄)₆ (apatite‐P, found in relatively young soils; major constituent of rock phosphate), C₆H₆O₂₄P₆Na₁₂ (inositol‐P, the most common form of organic P in soil) and FePO₄ (Fe‐P, a poorly‐available inorganic source of P). All species grew well with soluble P. When 6 µg P g^?1 was supplied as sparingly soluble P, plant dry weight (DW) and P uptake were very low for C. australasicum and M. sativa (0.1–0.4 g DW) with the exception of M. sativa supplied with apatite‐P (1.5 g). In contrast, K. prostrata grew well with inositol‐P (1.0 g) and Fe‐P (0.7 g), and even better with apatite‐P (1.7 g), similar to that with Ca‐P (1.9 g). Phosphorus uptake at 6 µg P g^?1 was highly correlated with total root length, total rhizosphere carboxylate content and total rhizosphere acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2) activity. These findings provide strong indications that there are opportunities to utilize local Australian legumes in low P pasture systems to access sparingly soluble soil P and increase perennial legume productivity, diversity and sustainability.     

Poorly formed chloroplasts are barriers to successful interspecific hybridization in chickpea following in vitro embryo rescue

Albinism is viewed as a major experimental bottleneck during wide hybridization in several species; the phenomenon is also widely reported in androgenesis and doubled haploid cultures. In this study, when chickpea (Cicer arietinum) was crossed with distant wild relatives, C. judaicum and C. pinnatifidum, the only hybrid embryos that survived were those rescued using in vitro techniques. Fourteen to 21-day-old embryos were incubated in ML6 medium with 90 g l⁻¹ sucrose, 1 mg l⁻¹ zeatin and 0.25 mg l⁻¹ indole acetic acid. Germinating embryos were dissected from the ovule and transferred to fresh medium without growth regulators. Later, shoots were micropropagated on solid MS medium, supplemented with B5 vitamins, 30 g l⁻¹ sucrose, 0.1 mg l⁻¹ 6-benzyladenine and 0.01 mg l⁻¹ naphthaleneacetic acid. Although some post-hybridization barriers were overcome by rescue in vitro, regenerated hybrid plantlets failed to thrive in culture and few survived transfer to soil. Here we report findings from characterization of this valuable breeding material, as a step towards a better understanding of albinism in chickpea wide hybrids and other plant tissue cultures. Following proliferation, hybrids were phenotyped as green, pale green and albino. Genotype affected pod set, regeneration and albinism. Plastid ultrastructure studies using transmission electron microscopy revealed that thylakoid membranes were well-formed in green hybrids but not in albinos. Spectrophotometric analysis of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total carotenoids revealed that chlorophyll content was three to fourfold lower in albino compared to green hybrids; moreover green hybrids had two to threefold lower total chlorophyll content than in vitro-grown plantlets of their parents. In contrast, carotenoids were higher in some albino phenotypes and lower in others; however overall differences in carotenoids were less marked between all genotypes compared to chlorophyll pigments. Genetic variability between different wide crosses provides an opportunity to select certain chickpea parents and wild species which give rise to more frequent green hybrid regenerants. In future, only these hybrids will be maintained and multiplied for transfer to the glasshouse in our program.