S-adenosylmethionine induces mitochondrial dysfunction,permeability transition pore opening and redox imbalance in subcellular preparations of rat liver

Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes - S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) predominantly accumulates in tissues and biological fluids of patients affected by liver dysmethylating diseases,...     

Gibberellin reverses the negative effect of paclobutrazol but not of chlorocholine chloride on the expression of SGs/GAs biosynthesis-related genes and increases the levels of relevant metabolites in Stevia rebaudiana

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Steviol glycosides (SGs) and gibberellins (GAs) share the same molecular basis. However, the coordination of their respective biosynthetic pathways is...     

Tropical Bacillus Strains Inoculation Enhances Maize Root Surface Area,Dry Weight,Nutrient Uptake and Grain Yield

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - The rising demand for agricultural commodities in developing countries has put increasing pressure on land resources for higher yields, with associated growth...     

Microengineered systems with iPSC-derived cardiac and hepatic cells to evaluate drug adverse effects

Hepatic and cardiac drug adverse effects are among the leading causes of attrition in drug development programs, in part due to predictive failures of current animal or in vitro models. Hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold promise for predicting clinical drug effects, given their human-specific properties and their ability to harbor genetically determined characteristics that underlie inter-individual variations in drug response. Currently, the fetal-like properties and heterogeneity of hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes differentiated from iPSCs make them physiologically different from their counterparts isolated from primary tissues and limit their use for predicting clinical drug effects. To address this hurdle, there have been ongoing advances in differentiation and maturation protocols to improve the quality and use of iPSC-differentiated lineages. Among these are in vitro hepatic and cardiac cellular microsystems that can further enhance the physiology of cultured cells, can be used to better predict drug adverse effects, and investigate drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics to facilitate successful drug development. In this article, we discuss how cellular microsystems can establish microenvironments for these applications and propose how they could be used for potentially controlling the differentiation of hepatocytes or cardiomyocytes. The physiological relevance of cells is enhanced in cellular microsystems by simulating properties of tissue microenvironments, such as structural dimensionality, media flow, microfluidic control of media composition, and co-cultures with interacting cell types. Recent studies demonstrated that these properties also affect iPSC differentiations and we further elaborate on how they could control differentiation efficiency in microengineered devices. In summary, we describe recent advances in the field of cellular microsystems that can control the differentiation and maturation of hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes for drug evaluation. We also propose how future research with iPSCs within engineered microenvironments could enable their differentiation for scalable evaluations of drug effects.     

Activated p53 in the anti-apoptotic milieu of tuberous sclerosis gene mutation induced diseases leads to cell death if thioredoxin reductase is inhibited

Apoptosis - Tuberous sclerosis, angiomyolipoma and lymphangioleiomyomatosis are a group of diseases characterized by mutation in tuberous sclerosis genes (TSC 1-2). TSC mutation leads to continuous...     

Toxicity of rhizomes of the invasive Hedychium coronarium (Zingiberaceae) on aquatic species

The production and release of chemical compounds by invasive plants can affect competitors and native species overall, destabilizing ecological interactions and harming ecosystem functioning. Hedychium coronarium is an invasive macrophyte common on Brazilian riparian areas that produces a wide variety of allelochemicals, but little is known about their effect on aquatic species. Here, we identified the major chemical compounds of the aqueous extract of H. coronarium rhizomes and assessed its toxicity, evaluating the growth inhibition of one alga (Raphidocelis subcapitata) and one macrophyte (Lemna minor), and the lethality of cladoceran (Ceriodaphnia silvestrii and Daphnia similis) and Chironomidae larvae (Chironomus sancticaroli). The majoritarian compounds of H. coronarium rhizomes were Coronarin D and Coronarin D Ethyl Ether. The aqueous extract was toxic for all tested species. We observed growth inhibition in R. subcapitata, as well as reduction in biomass in L. minor. Chironomus sancticaroli and cladoceran were the most sensible species. The aqueous extract of H. coronarium rhizomes was toxic on tested conditions, suggesting that the rhizome compounds may interfere on aquatic organisms and in the dynamic of trophic webs of aquatic ecosystems on invaded areas.

     

In vitro propagation, histochemistry, and analysis of essential oil from conventionally propagated and in vitro-propagated plants of Varronia curassavica Jacq

Varronia curassavica is cultivated for the production of an essential oil useful in the pharmaceutical industry for its strong anti-inflammatory effect. Despite a growing demand, only a few studies have evaluated alternative sources of obtaining plantlets or ways to increase the yield of essential oil from this species. Therefore, this study aimed to optimize the in vitro multiplication rate and analyze the histochemistry and sesquiterpene production potential of conventionally propagated V. curassavica plants, in vitro shoots, and acclimatized plants derived from in vitro shoots. For axillary bud proliferation, Murashige and Skoog medium was supplemented with 6-benzyladenine and thidiazuron alone or in combination with naphthalene acetic acid. Axillary bud proliferation was obtained from culture of nodal or apical segments on medium containing half-strength Murashige and Skoog salts without growth regulators. After 35 d of culture, an average of five buds developed per explant. Elongation and rooting of shoots also occurred in this medium. After the transfer of rooted plants to ex vitro conditions, 100% of the plantlets survived. Histochemical analysis of leaf tissue showed the presence of lipids, acidic lipids, essential oil, phenols, and flavonoids. The essential oils from conventionally propagated and acclimatized plants were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed using gas chromatography. The essential oil from acclimatized plants had a similar profile to that from ex vitro plants, but with a higher concentration of the anti-inflammatory compound alpha-humulene.     

Masculine Men Articulate Less Clearly

In previous research, acoustic characteristics of the male voice have been shown to signal various aspects of mate quality and threat potential. But the human voice is also a medium of linguistic communication. The present study explores whether physical and vocal indicators of male mate quality and threat potential are linked to effective communicative behaviors such as vowel differentiation and use of more salient phonetic variants of consonants. We show that physical and vocal indicators of male threat potential, height and formant position, are negatively linked to vowel space size, and that height and levels of circulating testosterone are negatively linked to the use of the aspirated variant of the alveolar stop consonant /t/. Thus, taller, more masculine men display less clarity in their speech and prefer phonetic variants that may be associated with masculine attributes such as toughness. These findings suggest that vocal signals of men’s mate quality and/or dominance are not confined to the realm of voice acoustics but extend to other aspects of communicative behavior, even if this means a trade-off with speech patterns that are considered communicatively advantageous, such as clarity and indexical cues to higher social class.