Involvement of and Interaction between WNT10A and EDA Mutations in Tooth Agenesis Cases in the Chinese Population

Background

Dental agenesis is the most common, often heritable, developmental anomaly in humans. Although WNT10A gene mutations are known to cause rare syndromes associated with tooth agenesis, including onycho-odontodermal dysplasia (OODD), Schöpf-Schulz-Passarge syndrome (SSPS), hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED), and more than half of the cases of isolated oligodontia recently, the genotype-phenotype correlations and the mode of inheritance of WNT10A mutations remain unclear. The phenotypic expression with WNT10A mutations shows a high degree of variability, suggesting that other genes might function with WNT10A in regulating ectodermal organ development. Moreover, the involvement of mutations in other genes, such as EDA, which is also associated with HED and isolated tooth agenesis, is not clear. Therefore, we hypothesized that EDA mutations interact with WNT10A mutations to play a role in tooth agenesis. Additionally, EDA, EDAR, and EDARADD encode signaling molecules in the Eda/Edar/NF-κB signaling pathways, we also checked EDAR and EDARADD in this study.

Methods

WNT10A, EDA, EDAR and EDARADD were sequenced in 88 patients with isolated oligodontia and 26 patients with syndromic tooth agenesis. The structure of two mutated WNT10A and two mutated EDA proteins was analyzed.

Results

Digenic mutations of both WNT10A and EDA were identified in 2 of 88 (2.27%) isolated oligodontia cases and 4 of 26 (15.38%) syndromic tooth agenesis cases. No mutation in EDAR or EDARADD gene was found.

Conclusions

WNT10A and EDA digenic mutations could result in oligodontia and syndromic tooth agenesis in the Chinese population. Moreover, our results will greatly expand the genotypic spectrum of tooth agenesis.     

Fatty acid synthase causes drug resistance by inhibiting TNF-α and ceramide production

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is a key enzyme in the synthesis of palmitate, the precursor of major nutritional, energetic, and signaling lipids. FASN expression is upregulated in many human cancers and appears to be important for cancer cell survival. Overexpression of FASN has also been found to associate with poor prognosis and higher risk of recurrence of human cancers. Indeed, elevated FASN expression has been shown to contribute to drug resistance. However, the mechanism of FASN-mediated drug resistance is currently unknown. In this study, we show that FASN overexpression causes resistance to multiple anticancer drugs via inhibiting drug-induced ceramide production, caspase 8 activation, and apoptosis. We also show that FASN overexpression suppresses tumor necrosis factor-α production and nuclear factor-κB activation as well as drug-induced activation of neutral sphingomyelinase. Thus, TNF-α may play an important role in mediating FASN function in drug resistance.     

Metabolic Activation of the HOG MAP Kinase Pathway by Snf1/AMPK Regulates Lipid Signaling at the Golgi

Phosphatidylinositol‐4‐phosphate (PI(4)P) is an important regulator of Golgi function. Metabolic regulation of Golgi PI(4)P requires the lipid phosphatase Sac1 that translocates between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi membranes. Localization of Sac1 responds to changes in glucose levels, yet the upstream signaling pathways that regulate Sac1 traffic are unknown. Here, we report that mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) Hog1 transmits glucose signals to the Golgi and regulates localization of Sac1. We find that Hog1 is rapidly activated by both glucose starvation and glucose stimulation, which is independent of the well‐characterized response to osmotic stress but requires the upstream element Ssk1 and is controlled by Snf1, the yeast homolog of AMP‐activated kinase (AMPK). Elimination of either Hog1 or Snf1 slows glucose‐induced translocation of Sac1 lipid phosphatase from the Golgi to the ER and thus delays PI(4)P accumulation at the Golgi. We conclude that a novel cross‐talk between the HOG pathway and Snf1/AMPK is required for the metabolic control of lipid signaling at the Golgi.     

超临界CO_2流体萃取苦丁茶多糖的工艺优化

为了探讨超临界CO_2萃取广西苦丁茶中多糖的工艺条件,该研究采用超临界CO_2流体萃取技术分离苦丁茶多糖,利用苯酚-硫酸法对苦丁茶多糖含量进行测定,并考察不同萃取温度(35、40、45、50、55、60℃)、萃取压力(20、25、30、35、40、45、50 MPa)、萃取时间(30、60、90、120、150 min)、夹带剂(甲醇、95%甲醇、50%甲醇、无水乙醇、95%乙醇、50%乙醇)以及夹带剂(95%乙醇)用量(2.0、2.5、3、3.5、4.0、4.5、5.0 mL·min~(-1))对多糖得率的影响,通过设计正交实验方案,对超临界CO_2萃取广西苦丁茶多糖的提取工艺进行优化。结果表明:通过单因素和正交实验考察了苦丁茶多糖提取的主要影响因素,得到的最佳萃取工艺条件为萃取温度50℃,萃取压力40 MPa,夹带剂流量3.5 mL·min~(-1),萃取时间150 min;采用苯酚-硫酸法对苦丁茶多糖含量进行测定。在最优萃取条件下得到的苦丁茶多糖的提取率为7.05%。由此可知,采用超临界CO_2流体萃取,具有提取温度低、萃取率高、萃取周期短、低耗以及污染小等优点,适用于苦丁茶多糖的提取。     

青藏高原东部地区田鼠物种的分子鉴定

以线粒体细胞色素b基因序列（Cyt b）为分子标记,结合系统发育分析（最大似然法和贝叶斯法）和遗传距离统计（JC遗传距离模型）等方法,分析青藏高原东部地区田鼠类动物的物种组成和地理分布特征。从16个样点共采集到189个田鼠样品,成功获得所有个体的Cyt b全序列,长度为1 143 bp,共检测到248个变异位点和65个单倍型。系统发育分析显示,最大似然树和贝叶斯树的结构基本一致,将65个单倍型分为三组（G1-G3）,分别与已知的柴达木根田鼠（Microtus limnophilus）、青海松田鼠（Neodon fuscus）和高原松田鼠（N. irene）聚为单系群,支持率都为100%。遗传距离统计显示,G1、G2、G3组内两两单倍型之间的遗传距离范围分别为0.09%~3.04%、0.09%~0.70%、0.18%~1.95%;同时,G1与柴达木根田鼠参考序列之间、G2与青海松田鼠参考序列之间、G3与高原松田鼠参考序列之间遗传距离范围分别为0.61%-2.49%、0.53%-0.97%、1.77%-2.22%。结合系统发育和遗传距离分析结果,本研究中采集到的田鼠个体可以鉴定为3个物种：柴达木根田鼠（n = 135）、青海松田鼠（n = 30）和高原松田鼠（n = 24）。其中,柴达木根田鼠分布最广（10个地点）,青海松田鼠（4个地点）和高原松田鼠（3个地点）的分布区则相对狭小;3种动物在分布区上重叠度很小,仅河南县同时发现有柴达木根田鼠和青海松田鼠分布。研究表明,青藏高原东部地区至少有3种田鼠分布,种间遗传界限清晰,空间分布具有一定规律性。研究结果为了解青藏高原东部地区田鼠类动物的物种分布提供可靠的基础资料,同时,为这一地区的田鼠类动物的分子鉴定方法提供参考。