Microtubule organization defects in Arabidopsis thaliana

Microtubules (MT) are critical cytoskeletal filaments that have several functions in cell morphogenesis, cell division, vesicle transport and cytoplasmic separation in the spatiotemporal regulation of eukaryotic cells. Formation of MT requires the co-interaction of MT nucleation and α-β-tubulins, as well as MT-associated proteins (MAP). Many key MAP contributing to MT nucleation and elongation are essential for MT nucleation and regulation of MT dynamics, and are conserved in the plant kingdom. Therefore, the deletion or decrease of γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC) components and related MAP, such as the augmin complex, NEDD1, MZT1, EB1, MAP65, etc., in Arabidopsis thaliana results in MT organizational defects in the spindle and phragmoplast MT, as well as in chromosome defects. In addition, similar defects in MT organization and chromosome structure have been observed in plants under abiotic stress conditions, such as under high UV-B radiation. The MT can sense the signal from UV-B radiation, resulting in abnormal MT arrangement. Further studies are required to determine whether the abnormal chromosomes induced by UV-B radiation can be attributed to the involvement of abnormal MT arrays in chromosome migration after DNA damage.

One Case of Soil and Groundwater Environmental Forensics Caused by Illegal Landfill Waste

Abstract

Grape-seed polyphenols inhibit AAA in mice via regulation of macrophage polarization

AIM

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is characterized by macrophage polarization, and at present, no drug therapy is available. Although grape-seed polyphenols (GSP) showed an anti-AAA effect, the role of GSP in the phenotype shift in macrophages remains unknown.

METHOD

The main phenolic compounds in GSP were determined by LC-MS. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four equal groups, namely sham group, CaPO4 group, CaPO4+GSP low-dose group, and CaPO4+GSP high-dose group. GSP was administered intragastrically after CaPO4 application. Molecular expressions were histologically evaluated and analyzed by various staining assays and FACS.

RESULTS

GSP administration inhibited CaPO4-induced AAA formation, which correlated with a decrease in macrophage infiltration and retainment of vascular smooth muscle layer as compared to those in the CaPO4 group. FACS assay showed that the GSP administration dose-dependently decreased the CD54 expression (low-dose group: 11.4 ± 2.1 % and high-dose group: 4.8 ± 1.4 % vs 23.2 ± 3.6 %; p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) and increased the CD206 expression of F4/80-positive cells in GSP-administered groups as compared with that in CaPO4-injured aortas in the CaPO4 group (low-dose group: 22.4 ± 3.3 % and high-dose group: 26.7 ± 4.2 % vs 8.1 ± 1.3 %; p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

GSP could be a pharmacologically potent agent in the treatment of AAA (Tab. 1, Fig. 3,Ref. 20). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: grape-seed polyphenols, abdominal aortic aneurysm, macrophage, inflammatory, polarization.

Immunorelated gene polymorphisms associated with acute myeloid leukemia

Although the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still unknown, accumulating evidence has revealed that immune response plays a vital part in the pathogenesis. Here, we investigated the involvement of 21 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of immunorelated genes, including cytokines [interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-9, IL-12A, IL-22, interferon (IFN-α) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1], transcriptional regulatory genes (TBX21, STAT1, STAT3, STAT5B, STAT6, GATA3, FOXP3 and IRF4) and others (IL2RA, IL6R, NFKBIA) in 269 AML in-patients and 200 healthy controls. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationship between the SNPs and clinical characteristics. Immunorelated SNP genotyping was performed on the Sequenom MassARRAY iPLEX platform. All the SNPs in healthy controls were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. All final P-values were adjusted by Bonferroni multiple testing. Our results showed that IL-22 (rs2227491) was significantly associated with the white blood cell (WBC) counts. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5B (STAT-5B) (rs6503691) showed a close relationship with the recurrent genetic abnormalities in patients with AML. We verified the negatively independent effect of age and risk of cytogenetics on overall survival (OS). More importantly, the GG genotype of IL-12A (rs6887695) showed a negative impact on AML prognosis independently. Furthermore, the relative expression of IL-12 was decreased in GG genotype, no matter under a co-dominant or recessive model. However, no correlation was observed between the SNPs mentioned above and disease susceptibility, risk stratification and survival. Our findings suggest that immunorelated gene polymorphisms are associated with prognosis in AML, which may perform as novel inspection targets for AML patients.

Formation and Development of Environmental Forensics System in China

With the growing attention on ecological environment problems and gradual realization of ecological environment value, environmental damage has jumped from administrative penalty to a new stage, judicial penalty, and environmental damage appraisal has provided a legal weapon to safeguard ecological security. As a new forensic category of China with high comprehensiveness and technical difficulty, environmental damage appraisal involves diversified and complex subjects, fields and appraisal objects, and is still in an early stage in terms of theory and practice. This study aims to provide an important reference for the improvement of the Chinese environmental damage appraisal system of environmental damage by summarizing advanced international experience in areas such as laws and regulations, working mechanism and technical system, and putting forward targeted countermeasures and suggestions based on the problems existing in the development and practice of environmental damage appraisal in China.

Long-term follow-up of owned, free-roaming dogs in South Africa naturally exposed to Babesia rossi

Babesia rossi is an important, tick-borne intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite; however, its natural history and epidemiology is poorly understood. Babesia rossi is the most virulent Babesia sp. in domestic dogs and is generally considered to cause severe babesiosis, which is fatal if left untreated. However, subclinical infections and mild disease from B. rossi have been reported, although the clinical progression of these cases was not reported. Therefore, to better understand B. rossi under field conditions, we evaluated its clinical progression and seroprevalence in an owned, free-roaming dog population in Zenzele, South Africa, where the parasite is endemic and prevention is not routine. The entire dog population in Zenzele was monitored intensively at the individual level from March 2008 until April 2014, primarily for a longitudinal study on rabies control. Subsequent evaluation of B. rossi comprised analyses of clinical and laboratory data collected from the Zenzele dog population during the 6 year study period. A substantial proportion (31% (n = 34)) of 109 dogs (randomly selected from every available dog in February/March 2010 older than ~6-8 weeks (n = 246)) tested by Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test had seroconverted strongly to B. rossi. All 34 dogs were generally consistently healthy adults, determined from regular clinical examinations between March 2008 and April 2014. Blood smear examinations at multiple time points between July 2009 and February 2011 were also undertaken for almost all of these (34) seropositive dogs and all those tested were consistently negative for Babesia spp. Subclinical infections and mild disease were also the main findings for a separate group of 18 dogs positive for Babesia spp. on blood smear examination and confirmed to be infected with B. rossi by Polymerase Chain Reaction - Reverse Line Blot. Almost all of these dogs were positive at only one time point from repeat blood smear examinations between July 2009 and February 2011. We suggest that these observations are consistent with immunity acquired from repeated, low-level exposure to the parasite, generating transient subclinical infections or mild disease. Should this be the case, the use of tick control, particularly in adult dogs in free-roaming populations in B. rossi endemic regions, should be carefully considered.

Randomized clinical trial of intraoperative dexmedetomidine to prevent delirium in the elderly undergoing major non-cardiac surgery

Background

Delirium is common in elderly patients after surgery and is associated with poor outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of intraoperative dexmedetomidine on the incidence of delirium in elderly patients undergoing major surgery.

Methods

This was a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Elderly patients (aged 60 years or more) scheduled to undergo major non-cardiac surgery were randomized into two groups. Patients in the intervention group received a loading dose of dexmedetomidine 0·6 μg/kg 10 min before induction of anaesthesia followed by a continuous infusion (0·5 μg per kg per h) until 1 h before the end of surgery. Patients in the control group received volume-matched normal saline in the same schedule. The primary outcome was the incidence of delirium during the first 5 days after surgery. Delirium was assessed with the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) for non-ventilated patients and CAM for the Intensive Care Unit for ventilated patients.

Results

In total, 309 patients who received dexmedetomidine and 310 control patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The incidence of delirium within 5 days of surgery was lower with dexmedetomidine treatment: 5·5 per cent (17 of 309) versus 10·3 per cent (32 of 310) in the control group (relative risk (RR) 0·53, 95 per cent c.i. 0·30 to 0·94; P = 0·026). The overall incidence of complications at 30 days was also lower after dexmedetomidine (19·4 per cent (60 of 309) versus 26·1 per cent (81 of 310) for controls; RR 0·74, 0·55 to 0·99, P = 0·047).

Conclusion

Intraoperative dexmedetomidine halved the risk of delirium in the elderly after major non-cardiac surgery. Registration number: ChiCTR-IPR-15007654 (www.chictr.org.cn).

Demographic and Clinical Differences Between Bipolar Disorder Patients With and Without Alcohol Use Disorders

BACKGROUND

Bipolar disorder (BD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are two major independent causes of psychopathology in the general population. The prevalence of AUD in BD is high. Identifying the clinical and demographic features of patients with BD who may develop AUD could help with early identification and intervention.

METHODS

Data from 238 patients diagnosed with BD were gathered on alcohol use, social demographics, longitudinal course of BD, clinical features of the most severe lifetime manic and depressive episodes, comorbid physical diseases, anxiety disorders, and other substance use disorders.

RESULTS

We found that 74 of 238 BD patients had AUD (67 with alcohol dependence and 7 with alcohol abuse). Bivariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis found that the best predictors of AUD in patients with BD were being male (OR = 2.086, 95% CI = 1.094-3.979, p = 0.001), younger (OR = 0.965, 95% CI = 0.935-0.996, p = 0.026), and comorbidity with other unclassified substance dependence (OR = 10.817, 95% CI = 1.238-94.550, p = 0.031).

CONCLUSIONS

Male, younger current age, and having other substance use disorders were independently associated with AUD.

Beneficial effects of xenon inhalation on behavioral changes in a valproic acid-induced model of autism in rats

BACKGROUND

Xenon (Xe) is a noble gas that has been used for the last several decades as an anesthetic during surgery. Its antagonistic effect on glutamate subtype of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors resulted in evaluation of this gas for treatment of CNS pathologies, including psychoemotional disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the behavioral effects of acute inhalation of subanesthetic concentrations of Xe and to study the outcomes of Xe exposure in valproic acid (VPA)-induced rodent model of autism.

METHODS

We have conducted two series of experiments with a battery of behavioral tests aimed to evaluate locomotion, anxiety- and depression-like behavior, and social behavior in healthy, VPA-treated and Xe-exposed young rats.

RESULTS

We have shown that in healthy animals Xe exposure resulted in acute and delayed decrease of exploratory motivation, partial decrease in risk-taking and depressive-like behavior as well as improved sensorimotor integration during the negative geotaxis test. Acute inhalations of Xe in VPA-exposed animals led to improvement in social behavior, decrease in exploratory motivation, and normalization of behavior in forced-swim test.

CONCLUSION

Behavioral modulatory effects of Xe are probably related to its generalized action on excitatory/inhibitory balance within the CNS. Our data suggest that subanesthetic short-term exposures to Xe have beneficial effect on several behavioral modalities and deserves further investigation.

Apoptotic and Proteolytic Attributes and Metabolomic Changes in Postmortem Muscles from Pigs Subjected to Post-Weaning Transport at Different Seasons

ObjectivesPost-weaning transport of pigs was commonly practiced in the swine industry, however, adversely impact animal growth and well-being due to concurrent stress from weaning and transport. Further, our recent study found that post-weaning transport may have long-term effects on final pork quality attributes in terms of inferior texture and water-holding capacity. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are anti-apoptotic chaperone proteins, protecting against apoptosis under a variety of cell death stimuli including postmortem muscle conversion process. While a potential role of apoptosis in meat tenderization has been proposed, how early life stress influences apoptotic/proteolytic process and metabolism of postmortem muscles is largely unknown. Thus, the study objective was to evaluate apoptotic and proteolytic attributes and metabolomic changes in postmortem muscles of market weight pigs exposed to early life transport/weaning stress at two seasons.Materials and MethodsTwo repetitions of newly weaned pigs (N = 480) were transported for 12 h in a trailer truck during July 2016 (SUMMER) and April 2017 (SPRING) in north-central Indiana. Upon reaching market weight, 10 animals were randomly chosen from each season and slaughtered in January 2017 and September 2017, respectively. Pairs of longissimus dorsi and psoas major muscles from each carcass were separated at 1d and 7d postmortem. Proteolytic and apoptotic factors including desmin, troponin T, calpain 1, HSP27, and aβ-crystallin were quantified using Western-blot assays, and mitochondria membrane permeability (MMP) was evaluated. Metabolome profiles of 1d samples were analyzed using the GC-TOF-MS/MS platform. Multivariate analyses PCA and PLS-DA were used to determine changes of metabolites. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS to compare the traits across season, muscle, and aging effects.ResultsPreviously, SUMMER pigs were reported showing decreased body weight, muscling, and fat deposition, as well as increased shear force and water loss during aging. In the present study, SPRING muscles exhibited increases in calpain 1 autolysis and structural protein degradation, coincided with accelerated apoptosis shown as higher MMP compared to the SUMMER counterparts (P < 0.05). Moreover, PCA and PLS-DA clustering indicated distinct metabolome profiles affected by season and muscle. Seasonal effect mainly altered lipid, glucose, and nitrogen metabolism. A group of 16C to 18C fatty acids were increased in SPRING, probably due to increased lipid anabolism during warm growing/finishing season. Changes of urea, ornithine, aspartic acid, and 5’methylthioadenosine suggested increased amino acid catabolism in SUMMER, corroborating the decreased lean and fat accretion. Seasonal changes of key metabolites related to stress response, including histidine, GABA, and ascorbic acid, suggested increased stress defense in SUMMER pigs, which implied the suppression of apoptotic and proteolytic activities.ConclusionTaken together, SUMMER pigs showed suppressed onset of apoptosis with compromised growth and meat quality, possibly due to alternations in seasonal metabolic response. This may in turn affect the proteolytic potential of early postmortem muscles. Further studies elucidating the involvement of apoptotic process in proteolytic activities in postmortem muscles should be warranted.

H19 promotes the proliferation of osteocytes by inhibiting p53 during fracture healing

OBJECTIVE

We explored the possible mechanism underlying the expression change of H19 during fracture healing.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 18 male SD mice aged from 6-8 weeks old (18.5-24.6 g) were selected to establish tibial fracture models. The left tibia undergoing sham surgery was considered as the control group, and the right tibia undergoing sawing treatment was considered as the experimental group. The control tibia and fracture tibia from three mice were harvested at six time points after operation, respectively. QRT-PCR was utilized to detect the changes of H19 and p53 mRNA expression.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, the expression of H19 in the experimental group was significantly increased at 4, 8, and 12 d. However, there was no significant difference in the expression of H19 between the experimental group and the control group at 16, 20, and 24 d. The proliferation of chondrocytes and osteoblasts from mouse and human was significantly inhibited, and the apoptosis was significantly increased after interference of H19. As p19 plays important roles in diverse biological process, we detected the expression level of p19 after inference of H19. In addition, knockdown of H19 significantly up-regulated the expression of p53 in osteoblast cell lines, while the down-regulation of p53 expression reversed the proliferation of osteoblasts.

CONCLUSIONS

H19, as a molecular marker for promoting fracture healing, promote the proliferation of osteocytes by inhibiting the expression of p53.