Deep rice root systems reduce methane emissions in rice paddies

Plant and Soil - Phosphorus (P) mobility depends on the availability of water in soil, both of which are limited resources for crop production. We studied the mechanisms governing tolerance to...     

Ligustrazine inhibits the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells via regulating miR-211

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a commonly diagnosed female cancer. Ligustrazine (LSZ), a natural compound, has been reported to exert anti-cancer activity, although the mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer effects are not clear. The present study investigated the impact of LSZ on cell proliferation and migration by regulating microRNA-211 (miR-211) expression using the human ovarian cancer SK-OV-3 and OVCAR-3 cell lines. OC cells were treated with 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mM LSZ, and quantitative real-time PCR was utilized to measure miR-211 levels in SK-OV-3 and OVCAR-3 cells with different treatment. Moreover, to further confirm the roles of miR-211 in LSZ induced anti-tumor effects, miR-211 expression was inhibited by transfection of miR-211 inhibitors in SK-OV-3 cells. Cell proliferation of transfected cells was evaluated using the CCK-8 and colony formation assay. The scratch assay was employed to assess cell migration and transwell assay was performed for evaluating the cell invasion. Protein levels of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers were determined by Western blotting. We found that LSZ inhibited the viability, proliferation, migration and invasion ability of SK-OV-3 and OVCAR-3 cells in a dose-dependent manner; moreover, LSZ could significantly increase the expression of miR-211 in both SK-OV-3 and OVCAR-3, and knockdown of miR-211 in SK-OV-3 cells partially abrogated the anti-tumor behavior of LSZ by promoting the viability, proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of SK-OV-3 cells. Thus, we found that LSZ can inhibit the proliferation and migration of OC cells via regulating miR-211. Our study suggests that LSZ might be a potential and effective treatment for OC.     

Fertilization effects on microbial community composition and aggregate formation in saline‐alkaline soil

Plant and Soil - Soil was sampled (0–20 cm) from a 5-year Yellow River Delta paddy field experiment: no fertilizers (Control), mineral fertilizers (NPK), and NPK plus organic...     

Screening and heterologous expression of flavone synthase and flavonol synthase to catalyze hesperetin to diosmetin

Biotechnology Letters - In this study, 44 flavone synthases (FNS) and flavonol synthases (FLS) from different origins were collected. The instability index and conserved domain of the enzymes were...     

Role of TRPV4-P2X7 Pathway in Neuropathic Pain in Rats with Chronic Compression of the Dorsal Root Ganglion

Neurochemical Research - Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) is a Ca2+-permeable non-selective cation channel that is involved in the development of neuropathic pain. P2X7 receptor...     

Rapamycin Ameliorates Cognitive Impairments and Alzheimer’s Disease-Like Pathology with Restoring Mitochondrial Abnormality in the Hippocampus of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

Neurochemical Research - Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) share common pathophysiological findings, in particular, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has been...     

Phosphorylation of Novel Interactors of Wild Soybean GsSnRK1 Protein Kinase

Plant Molecular Biology Reporter - Plant SnRK1 kinases have been reported to participate in regulating many aspects of plant biology including resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Wild...     

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Storage Roots in Cassava During Postharvest Physiological Deterioration

Plant Molecular Biology Reporter - Cassava is an important starchy and food crop; however, the commercial value of cassava is seriously constrained by postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD)....