Salusin-α attenuates inflammatory responses in vascular endothelial cells

Atherosclerosis accounts for numerous cardiovascular diseases, and cytokines have a critical role in acceleration or suppression of disease. Salusin-α presents a new class of bioactive peptides that can have anti-atherogenic properties. Therefore, the effects of salusin-α on the expression of some pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and on TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were examined. The involvement of the NF-κB pathway in effects of salusin-α in HUVECs was checked using Bay 11-7082 as an NF-κB inhibitor. The mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IL-8, and IL-18 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-1Ra was assessed by real-time PCR. The protein levels of cytokines were measured by the ELISA method. Salusin-α suppressed both mRNA and protein expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and induced mRNA and protein expression of IL-1Ra in HUVECs. Salusin-α suppressed TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses in HUVECs. The down-regulatory or up-regulatory effects of salusin-α on expression of cytokines could not be influenced by Bay 11-7082 pretreatment. Our findings indicate anti-inflammatory effects of salusin-α and suggest a novel peptide-based therapeutic strategy for atherosclerosis.     

Mechanistic Understanding of Additive Reductive Degradation and SEI Formation in High-Voltage NMC811||SiOx-Containing Cells via Operando ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

The implementation of silicon (Si)-containing negative electrodes is widely discussed as an approach to increase the specific capacity of lithium-ion batteries. However, challenges caused by severe volume changes and continuous (re-)formation of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Si need to be overcome. The volume changes lead to electrolyte consumption and active lithium loss, decaying the cell performance and cycle life. Herein, the additive 2-sulfobenzoic acid anhydride (2-SBA) is utilized as an SEI-forming electrolyte additive for SiO_x-containing anodes. The addition of 2-SBA to a state-of-the-art carbonate-based electrolyte in high-voltage LiNi_0.8Mn_0.1Co_0.1O₂, NMC811||artificial graphite +20% SiO_x pouch cells leads to improved electrochemical performance, resulting in a doubled cell cycle life. The origin of the enhanced cell performance is mechanistically investigated by developing an advanced experimental technique based on operando attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The operando ATR-FTIR spectroscopy results elucidate the degradation mechanism via anhydride ring-opening reactions after electrochemical reduction on the anode surface. Additionally, ion chromatography conductivity detection mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and quantum chemistry calculations are employed to further elucidate the working mechanisms of the additive and its degradation products.     

High transmission of paternal plastid DNA in alfalfa plants demonstrated by restriction fragment polymorphic analysis

Summary A high frequency of paternal plastid transmission occurred in progeny from crosses among normal green alfalfa plants. Plastid transmission was analyzed by hybridization of radiolabeled alfalfa plastid DNA (cpDNA) probes to Southern blots of restriction digests of the progeny DNA. Each probe revealed a specific polymorphism differentiating the parental plastid genomes. Of 212 progeny, 34 were heteroplastidic, with their cpDNAs ranging from predominantly paternal to predominantly maternal. Regrowth of shoots from heteroplasmic plants following removal of top growth revealed the persistence of mixed plastids in a given plant. However, different shoots within a green heteroplasmic plant exhibited paternal, maternal, or mixed cpDNAs. Evidence of maternal nuclear genomic influence on the frequency of paternal plastid transmission was observed in some reciprocal crosses. A few tetraploid F₁ progeny were obtained from tetraploid (2n=4x=32) Medicago sativa ssp. sativa x diploid (2n=2x=16) M. sativa ssp. falcata crosses, and resulted from unreduced gametes. Here more than the maternal genome alone apparently functioned in controlling plastid transmission. Considering all crosses, only 5 of 212 progeny cpDNAs lacked evidence of a definitive paternal plastid fragment.Contribution No. 89-524-J from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Kansas State University, Manhattan     

Tamoxifen Induces Apoptosis of Leishmania major Promastigotes in Vitro

Tamoxifen is an antagonist of the estrogen receptor and currently used for the treatment of breast cancer. The current treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with pentavalent antimony compounds is not satisfactory. Therefore, in this study, due to its antileishmanial activity, effects of tamoxifen on the growth of promastigotes and amastigotes of Leishmania major Iranian strain were evaluated in vitro. Promastigotes and amastigotes were treated with different concentrations (1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 μg/ml) and time periods (24, 48, and 72 hr) of tamoxifen. After tamoxifen treatment, MTT assay (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 biphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay) was used to determine the percentage of live parasites and Graph Pad Prism software to calculate IC₅₀. Flow cytometry was applied to investigate the induction of tamoxifen-induced apoptosis in promastigotes. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of tamoxifen on promastigotes was 2.6 μg/ml after 24 hr treatment. Flow cytometry analysis showed that tamoxifen induced early and late apoptosis in Leishmania promastigotes. While after 48 hr in control group the apoptosis was 2.0%, the 50 µg/L concentration of tamoxifen increased it to 59.7%. Based on the in vitro antileishmanial effect, tamoxifen might be used for leishmaniasis treatment; however, further researches on in vivo effects of tamoxifen in animal models are needed.     

Hepatocyte differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells is modulated by stearoyl‐CoA desaturase 1 activity

Stearoyl‐CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) plays important roles in organ development, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and cancer. Here, we examined the role of SCD1 for the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells to liver cells by using drug inhibition and biochemical experiments. hiPS cells cultured in a pro‐hepatic medium were exposed to an SCD1 inhibitor at various stages throughout differentiation. Liver‐specific markers, specifically α‐fetoprotein, albumin and urea in conditioned medium, and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) and cytochrome P450 7A1 (CYP7A1) gene expressions and triglyceride in cellular extracts were analyzed at various development stages. Measures of hepatocyte‐specific function and triglyceride accumulation in later stages were strongly inhibited a minimum of −29% (P < 0.05) by SCD1 inhibitor in the early stage of hepatic differentiation and effectively reversed (>30%, P < 0.01) by the addition of oleate. The results were also reproducible with human primary mononuclear cells (hPMN). SCD1 inhibitor had no significant effect on liver‐specific markers when it was added in the hepatic maturation stage. However, it strikingly led to higher albumin (1.6‐fold, P = 0.03) and urea (1.9‐fold, P = 0.02) production, and HNF4α (1.9‐fold, P = 0.02) and CYP7A1 (1.3‐fold, P = 0.03) expression upon incubation during the lineage‐commitment stage. Hepatic differentiation from cultured hiPS cells is sensitive to SCD1 inhibition and this sensitivity is affected by the stage of cellular differentiation. Notably, findings also indicate that this notion can be extended to hPMN. The requirement for SCD1 activity in functional differentiation of hepatocytes may have relevance for human liver disease and metabolic dysregulation.     

Molecular characterization of Plasmodium vivax clinical isolates in Pakistan and Iran using pvmsp-1, pvmsp-3α and pvcsp genes as molecular markers

In this study, the diversity of Plasmodium vivax populations circulating in Pakistan and Iran has been investigated by using circumsporozoite protein (csp) and merozoite surface proteins 1 and 3α (msp-1 and msp-3α) genes as genetic markers. Infected P. vivax blood samples were collected from Pakistan (n = 187) and Iran (n = 150) during April to October 2008, and were analyzed using nested-PCR/RFLP and sequencing methods. Genotyping pvmsp-1 (variable block 5) revealed the presence of type 1, type 2 and recombinant type 3 allelic variants, with type 1 predominant, in both study areas. The sequence analysis of 33 P. vivax isolates from Pakistan and 30 from Iran identified 16 distinct alleles each, with one allele (R-8) from Iran which was not reported previously. Genotyping pvcsp gene also showed that VK210 type is predominant in both countries. Moreover, based on the size of amplified fragment of pvmsp-3α, three major types: type A (1800 bp), type B (1500 bp) and type C (1200 bp), were distinguished among the examined isolates that type A was predominant among Pakistani (72.7%) and Iranian (77.3%) parasites. PCR/RFLP products of pvmsp-3α with HhaI and AluI have detected 40 and 39 distinct variants among Pakistani and Iranian examined isolates, respectively. Based on these three studied genes, the rate of combined multiple genotypes were 30% and 24.6% for Pakistani and Iranian P. vivax isolates, respectively. These results indicate an extensive diversity in the P. vivax populations in both studies.     

The enhanced expression of heat stress-related genes in scleractinian coral ‘Porites harrisoni’ during warm episodes as an intrinsic mechanism for adaptation in ‘the Persian Gulf’

Coral Reefs - Shallow water tropical reefs are widely threatened by anthropogenic ocean warming which sometimes exceeds their thermal tolerance limit. The majority of reefs have been currently...     

Competition and overlap of Oryzaephilus surinamensis and Plodia interpunctella populations under condition of stored date fruits

Plodia interpunctella and Oryzaephilus surinamensis are found in food storehouses including dates and palm storages. The current study aimed to determine competition and overlap potentials of the two pests of date fruits. Time series models were used to study two species populations and logistic growth model to estimate the effect of density of the species. The results revealed the environmental capacities of O. surinamensis and P. interpunctella were 433 and 1610 (maximum number per 20 g), respectively, and the population growth rates (r) were 1.2 and 1.3, respectively. Ecological balances of the two species were close to each other from the first to the third week. The population of O. surinamensis decreased in the fourth week of the competition. The highest population balance of the two species was in the 14th week. The potential of exploitable ecological niches (e_ij) and the amount of non-exploited ecological niches by any species (z_ij) for O. surinamensis was higher than for P. interpunctella from the 8th week untill the end of sampling period. The overlap of ecological niches in the two species (D) ranged from 0.94 to 1, indicating a complete overlap of temporal activity in the two populations on date palm. The current results of this study can be used by integrated pest management specialists. Information over the effects of species competition on population dynamics and their coexistence can be used to predict population status and to adopt simple pest control methods.