Gentle reduction of SBA-15 silica to its silicon replica with retention of morphology

Transformation of mesoporous SBA-15 SiO₂ to its silicon replica is achieved by employing mild displacement reactions with Mg intermetallics as the source of Mg vapor at low partial pressure.

Tailoring porosity in carbon nanospheres for lithium-sulfur battery cathodes

Porous hollow carbon spheres with different tailored pore structures have been designed as conducting frameworks for lithium-sulfur battery cathode materials that exhibit stable cycling capacity. By deliberately creating shell porosity and utilizing the interior void volume of the carbon spheres, sufficient space for sulfur storage as well as electrolyte pathways is guaranteed. The effect of different approaches to develop shell porosity is examined and compared in this study. The most highly optimized sulfur-porous carbon nanosphere composite, created using pore-formers to tailor shell porosity, exhibits excellent cycling performance and rate capability. Sulfur is primarily confined in 4-5 nm mesopores in the carbon shell and inner lining of the shells, which is beneficial for enhancing charge transfer and accommodating volume expansion of sulfur during redox cycling. Little capacity degradation (∼0.1% /cycle) is observed over 100 cycles for the optimized material.

Mutations in KCNJ11 are associated with the development of autosomal dominant, early-onset type 2 diabetes

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

More than 90% of Chinese familial early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus is genetically unexplained. To investigate the molecular aetiology, we identified and characterised whether mutations in the KCNJ11 gene are responsible for these families.

METHODS

KCNJ11 mutations were screened for 96 familial early-onset type 2 diabetic probands and their families. Functional significance of the identified mutations was confirmed by physiological analysis, molecular modelling and population survey.

RESULTS

Three novel KCNJ11 mutations, R27H, R192H and S116F117del, were identified in three families with early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus. Mutated KCNJ11 with R27H or R192H markedly reduced ATP sensitivity (E23K>R27H>C42R>R192H>R201H), but no ATP-sensitive potassium channel currents were detected in the loss-of-function S116F117del channel in vitro. Molecular modelling indicated that R192H had a larger effect on the channel ATP-binding pocket than R27H, which may qualitatively explain why the ATP sensitivity of the R192H mutation is seven times less than R27H. The shape of the S116F117del channel may be compressed, which may explain why the mutated channel had no currents. Discontinuation of insulin and implementation of sulfonylureas for R27H or R192H carriers and continuation/switch to insulin therapy for S116F117del carriers resulted in good glycaemic control.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Our results suggest that genetic diagnosis for the KCNJ11 mutations in familial early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus may help in understanding the molecular aetiology and in providing more personalised treatment for these specific forms of diabetes in Chinese and other Asian patients.

Selective neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells induced by nanosecond microplasma agitation

An essential step for therapeutic and research applications of stem cells is their ability to differentiate into specific cell types. Neuronal cells are of great interest for medical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic injuries of central nervous system (CNS), but efforts to produce these cells have been met with only modest success. In an attempt of finding new approaches, atmospheric-pressure room-temperature microplasma jets (MPJs) are shown to effectively direct in vitro differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) predominantly into neuronal lineage. Murine neural stem cells (C17.2-NSCs) treated with MPJs exhibit rapid proliferation and differentiation with longer neurites and cell bodies eventually forming neuronal networks. MPJs regulate ~75% of NSCs to differentiate into neurons, which is a higher efficiency compared to common protein- and growth factors-based differentiation. NSCs exposure to quantized and transient (~150 ns) micro-plasma bullets up-regulates expression of different cell lineage markers as β-Tubulin III (for neurons) and O4 (for oligodendrocytes), while the expression of GFAP (for astrocytes) remains unchanged, as evidenced by quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence microscopy and Western Blot assay. It is shown that the plasma-increased nitric oxide (NO) production is a factor in the fate choice and differentiation of NSCs followed by axonal growth. The differentiated NSC cells matured and produced mostly cholinergic and motor neuronal progeny. It is also demonstrated that exposure of primary rat NSCs to the microplasma leads to quite similar differentiation effects. This suggests that the observed effect may potentially be generic and applicable to other types of neural progenitor cells. The application of this new in vitro strategy to selectively differentiate NSCs into neurons represents a step towards reproducible and efficient production of the desired NSC derivatives.

Recruitment of trimeric proliferating cell nuclear antigen by G1-phase cyclin-dependent kinases following DNA damage with platinum-based antitumour agents

BACKGROUND

In cycling tumour cells, the binary cyclin-dependent kinase Cdk4/cyclin D or Cdk2/cyclin E complex is inhibited by p21 following DNA damage to induce G1 cell-cycle arrest. However, it is not known whether other proteins are also recruited within Cdk complexes, or their role, and this was investigated.

METHODS

Ovarian A2780 tumour cells were exposed to the platinum-based antitumour agent 1R,2R-diaminocyclohexane(trans-diacetato)(dichloro)platinum(IV) (DAP), which preferentially induces G1 arrest in a p21-dependent manner. The Cdk complexes were analysed by gel filtration chromatography, immunoblot and mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

The active forms of Cdk4 and Cdk2 complexes in control tumour cells have a molecular size of ~140 kDa, which increased to ~290 kDa when inhibited following G1 checkpoint activation by DAP. Proteomic analysis identified Cdk, cyclin, p21 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the inhibited complex, and biochemical studies provided unequivocal evidence that the increase in ~150 kDa of the inhibited complex is consistent with p21-dependent recruitment of PCNA as a trimer, likely bound to three molecules of p21. Although p21 alone was sufficient to inhibit the Cdk complex, PCNA was critical for stabilising p21.

CONCLUSION

G1 Cdk complexes inhibited by p21 also recruit PCNA, which inhibits degradation and, thereby, prolongs activity of p21 within the complex.

Fast energy relaxation of hot carriers near the Dirac point of graphene

We investigate energy relaxation of hot carriers in monolayer and bilayer graphene devices, demonstrating that the relaxation rate increases significantly as the Dirac point is approached from either the conduction or valence band. This counterintuitive behavior appears consistent with ideas of charge puddling under disorder, suggesting that it becomes very difficult to excite carriers out of these localized regions. These results therefore demonstrate how the peculiar properties of graphene extend also to the behavior of its nonequilibrium carriers.

A role for c-Abl in cell senescence and spontaneous immortalization

c-Abl is a proto-oncogene that is essential for mouse development and tissue homeostasis. Misregulation of c-Abl, as seen in the constitutively active BCR-ABL, is the leading cause of human chronic myeloid leukemia. However, how the Abl proteins execute their functions still remains largely unknown. Here, we report an important role for c-Abl in replicative senescence and immortalization by regulating the expression of two tumor suppressors that induce cellular senescence, p53 and p16(INK4a). Using primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), we show that c-Abl (-/-) cells were more resistant to immortalization than wildtype cells using a standard 3T3 or 3T9 protocol. We could only immortalize three out of nine c-Abl (-/-) MEF cultures even when we increased the number of starting cells. This resistance was attributed to premature senescence and reduced survival in senescent c-Abl (-/-) cells due to an increase in p16(INK4a) and p53 expression. Deleting p53 allows c-Abl (-/-) p53 (-/-) MEFs to bypass senescence to be spontaneously immortalized. Cell immortalization, but not senescence, was generally accompanied by mutations in p53 in both wildtype and c-Abl (-/-) MEFs, although the spectrum is different from that of human tumors. The role for c-Abl in regulating cell senescence and immortalization might explain some of the developmental defects in c-Abl (-/-) mice and how BCR-ABL transforms cells.

Topographical distribution pattern of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia across the cervix

OBJECTIVE

The distribution of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions across the cervix was determined.

METHODS

A total of 575 women whose pathological diagnosis after cervical conization was confirmed as CIN were studied; 146 had low-grade CIN and 429 had high-grade CIN. CIN lesion location on the cervix was recorded using 12-h clock face notation.

RESULTS

In both groups, 12 o'clock was the most common and 2 o'clock the least common lesion location. The most severe lesions were most often located at 8 o'clock and 7 o'clock, in the low- and high-grade groups, respectively. The 2 o'clock site was the least frequent site for the most severe lesion in both groups. Lesions were found more frequently on the posterior lip of the cervix than on the anterior lip, and on the right side of the cervix than on the left side, in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The distribution of CIN lesions is not randomly distributed across the cervix. The 12, 8 and 7 o'clock sites, and the posterior lip and right side of the cervix, should be targeted during colposcopy-directed biopsy of patients with CIN lesions as this may improve diagnostic accuracy.

Metabolomic analysis reveals metabolic disturbance in the cortex and hippocampus of subchronic MK-801 treated rats

Background

Although a number of proteins and genes relevant to schizophrenia have been identified in recent years, few are known about the exact metabolic pathway involved in this disease. Our previous proteomic study has revealed the energy metabolism abnormality in subchronic MK-801 treated rat, a well-established animal model for schizophrenia. This prompted us to further investigate metabolite levels in the same rat model to better delineate the metabolism dysfunctions and provide insights into the pathology of schizophrenia.

Methods

Metabolomics, a high-throughput investigatory strategy developed in recent years, can offer comprehensive metabolite-level insights that complement protein and genetic findings. In this study, we employed a nondestructive metabolomic approach (1H-MAS-NMR) to investigate the metabolic traits in cortex and hippocampus of MK-801 treated rats. Multivariate statistics and ingenuity pathways analyses (IPA) were applied in data processing. The result was further integrated with our previous proteomic findings by IPA analysis to obtain a systematic view on our observations.

Results

Clear distinctions between the MK-801 treated group and the control group in both cortex and hippocampus were found by OPLS-DA models (with R²X = 0.441, Q²Y = 0.413 and R²X = 0.698, Q²Y = 0.677, respectively). The change of a series of metabolites accounted for the separation, such as glutamate, glutamine, citrate and succinate. Most of these metabolites fell in a pathway characterized by down-regulated glutamate synthesis and disturbed Krebs cycle. IPA analysis further confirmed the involvement of energy metabolism abnormality induced by MK-801 treatment.

Conclusions

Our metabolomics findings reveal systematic changes in pathways of glutamate metabolism and Krebs cycle in the MK-801 treated rats’ cortex and hippocampus, which confirmed and improved our previous proteomic observation and served as a valuable reference to the etiology research of schizophrenia.

Rasgrp2 regulates the permissiveness of NIH3T3 cells to a herpes simplex virus 1 mutant with inactivated ICP34.5 gene

We have previously reported that mtHSV, a herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) mutant with an inactivated gene for β-galactosidase, can efficiently lyse tumor but not normal cells. However, the mechanism of this selective oncolytic activity is so far unclear. In this study, using the phage display screening we identified the cellular protein binding to HSV-1 mutant (mtHSV) as (Ras guanyl releasing protein 2) Rasgrp2 which regulates the Ras signaling pathway. Rasgrp2 was found to bind directly to purified mtHSV as well as to mtHSV present within infected HeLa cells where it aggregated on the cell membrane. NIH3T3 cells were found nonpermissive to mtHSV but they became permissive following transformation with the Rasgrp2 gene. This effect was linked to the activation of the Ras-PKR signaling pathway. These observations indicate a key role of Rasgrp2 in the mtHSV infection of NIH3T3 cells and are important for the potential use of mtHSV in cancer therapy.

Label-free quantitative proteomic analysis reveals dysfunction of complement pathway in peripheral blood of schizophrenia patients: evidence for the immune hypothesis of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disease caused by a combination of serial alterations in genetic and environmental factors. Although the brain is usually considered as the most relevant organ in schizophrenia, accumulated evidence suggests that peripheral tissues also contribute to this disease. In particular, abnormalities of the immune system have been identified in the peripheral blood of schizophrenia patients. To screen the serum proteomic signature of schizophrenia patients, we conducted shotgun proteomic analysis on serum samples of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. High-abundance proteins were eliminated by immunoaffinity before LC-MS/MS analysis. The multivariate statistical test partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to build models for screening out variable importance in the projection (VIP) and 27 proteins were identified as being responsible for discriminating between the proteomic profiles of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Pathway analysis based on these 27 proteins revealed that complement and coagulation cascades was the most significant pathway. ELISA-based activity analyses indicated that the alternative complement pathway was suppressed in schizophrenia patients. Ingenuity pathways analysis was used to conduct the interaction network of 27 proteins. The network exhibited common features such as, nervous system development and function, humoral immune response and inflammatory response, and highlighted some proteins with important roles in the immune system, such as hub nodes. Our findings indicate dysregulation of the alternative complement pathway in schizophrenia patients. The protein interaction network enhances the interpretation of proteomic data and provides evidence that the immune system may contribute to schizophrenia.

Recurrent deletions of ULK4 in schizophrenia: a novel gene crucial for neuritogenesis and neuronal motility

Although many pathogenic copy number variations (CNVs) are associated with neuropsychiatric diseases, few of them have been functionally characterised. Here we report multiple schizophrenia cases with CNV abnormalities specific to unc-51-like kinase 4 (ULK4), a novel serine/threonine kinase gene. Deletions spanning exons 21–34 of ULK4 were present in 4 out of 3,391 schizophrenia patients from the International Schizophrenia Consortium, but absent in 3,181 controls. Deletions removing exons 33 and 34 of the large splice variant of ULK4 also were enriched in Icelandic schizophrenia and bipolar patients compared to 98,022 controls (P=0.0007 for schizophrenia plus bipolar disorder). Combining the two cohorts gives a p value less than 0.0001 for schizophrenia, or for schizophrenia plus bipolar disorder. The expression of ULK4 is neuron-specific and developmentally regulated. ULK4 modulates multiple signalling pathways including ERK, p38, PKC, and JNK, which are involved in stress responses and implicated in schizophrenia. Knockdown of ULK4 disrupts the composition of microtubules and compromises neuritogenesis and cell motility. Targeted Ulk4 deletion causes corpus callosum agenesis in mice. Our findings indicate that ULK4 is a rare susceptibility gene for schizophrenia.

First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Leveillula taurica on Cynanchum kashgaricum in China

Cynanchum kashgaricum Liou f., belonging to the family Apocynaceae, is an endemic herbaceous perennial and extremely endangered plant species, only found in the wild in desert regions of Xinjiang, China (3), and is valuable for sand stabilization. In August 2010, a previously unknown and widespread powdery mildew disease was observed on C. kashgaricum growing in the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang, China. Disease symptoms included the appearance of a white mycelial coating on the upper surfaces of leaves, while the corresponding abaxial surfaces of infected leaves became chlorotic. As the disease progressed, the infected leaves turned yellow and necrotic. In this survey, the incidence of affected C. kashgaricum plants was 60%. On the basis of microscopic examination, the morphology of the fungus can be described as follows: the primary conidia of the fungus were lanceolate or clavate, with a pointed apex and rounded base, measuring 40.4 to 82.5 × 11.1 to 24.6 μm, with an irregular surface covered by warts; the secondary conidia varied in shape from subcylindrical to cylindrical, with rounded ends, and had lateral borders that were parallel to each other with rounded or truncate bases, measuring 40.5 to 73.5 × 11.2 to 23.9 μm. The ascomata were nearly gregarious and globe-shaped, of dust-colored appearance, and 113 to 267 μm in diameter; they were immersed in dense mycelial tomentum with numerous asci (usually 10 to 18 per ascoma). Numerous, well-developed appendages were present on the lower half of the ascomata; these appendages were irregularly branched and their length was 0.15 to 0.3 times the diameter of the ascomata. The asci were stalked, long or wide ellipsoidal in shape, and 93 to 140 × 27.6 to 52.9 μm. The asci usually contained two ellipsoidal ascospores 24.5 to 49.5 × 18.3 to 29.5 μm. On the basis of morphologic characteristics, the fungus was identified as Leveillula taurica (2). A voucher specimen of the fungus under the identifier HMTU09021 was deposited in the Mycological Herbarium of Tarim University (HMTU). To verify the identity of the fungus, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA was amplified and sequenced, and the sequences were deposited as GenBank Accession No. JN861731. Comparison with sequences in the GenBank database revealed that the ITS sequence showed 100% homology with the sequence of L. taurica on Capsicum annuum (Accession No. GQ167201) and Lepidium latifolium (Accession No. AB044349). Thus, the pathogen was identified as L. taurica on the basis of the anamorphic and teleomorphic morphological characters and the ITS sequence. To our knowledge, while L. taurica infection in plants of the family Apocynaceae has been reported around the world (1), in east Asia only a single report of C. glaucum infection in this genus has occurred, in Afghanistan (1). This is the first report of L. taurica infection of C. kashgaricum. Outbreaks of this powdery mildew could not only threaten growth of the endangered plant but also accelerate local ecological deterioration. References: (1) K. Amano. Host Range and Geographical Distribution of the Powdery Mildew Fungi, 2nd ed. Japan Scientific Societies Press, Tokyo, Japan, 1986. (2) U. Braun. A Monograph of the Erysiphales (Powdery Mildews). Nova Hedwigia Beiheft 89:1, 1987. (3) F. Ying et al. Acta Bot. Boreali-Occidentalia Sin. 23:263, 2003.

No association between the USP7 gene polymorphisms and colorectal cancer in the Chinese Han population

Colorectal cancer (CRC), now the third most common cancer across the world, is known to aggregate in families. USP7 is a very important protein with an important role in regulating the p53 pathway, which is critical for genomic stability and tumor suppression. We here genotyped eight SNPs within the USP7 gene and conducted a case-control study in 312 CRC patients and 270 healthy subjects in the Chinese Han population. No significant associations were found for any single SNP and CRC risk. Our data eliminate USP7 as a potential candidate gene towards for CRC in the Han Chinese population.

NMDA receptor hypofunction induces dysfunctions of energy metabolism and semaphorin signaling in rats: a synaptic proteome study

There is considerable evidence to suggest that aberrations of synapse connectivity contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated glutamate transmission is especially important. Administration of MK-801 ([+]-5-methyl-10, 11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo-[a, d]-cycloheptene-5, 10-iminehydrogenmaleate) induces hypofunction of NMDA receptors in rats, which are widely used as a model for schizophrenia. We investigated synaptosomal proteome expression profiling of the cerebral cortex of MK-801-treated Sprague-Dawley rats using the 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis method, and 49 differentially expression proteins were successfully identified using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight/Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry. We carried out a literature search for further confirmation of subsynaptic locations and to explore the relevance to the diseases of differentially expressed proteins. Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) was used to further examine the underlying relationship between the changed proteins. The network encompassing "cell morphology, cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, nervous system development and function" was found to be significantly altered in the MK-801-treated rats. "Energy metabolism" and "semaphorin signaling in neurons" are the most significant IPA canonical pathways to be affected by MK-801 treatment. Using western blots, we confirmed the differential expression of Camk2a, Crmp2, Crmp5, Dnm1, and Ndufs3 in both synaptosome proteins and total proteins in the cerebral cortex of the rats. Our study identified the change and/or response of the central nervous transmission system under the stress of NMDA hypofunction, underlining the importance of the synaptic function in schizophrenia.

Development and use of EST-SSR markers for assessing genetic diversity in the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål)

To assess genetic diversity in populations of the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) (Homoptera: Delphacidae), we have developed and applied microsatellite, or simple sequence repeat (SSR), markers from expressed sequence tags (ESTs). We found that the brown planthopper clusters of ESTs were rich in SSRs with unique frequencies and distributions of SSR motifs. Three hundred and fifty-one EST-SSR markers were developed and yielded clear bands from samples of four brown planthopper populations. High cross-species transferability of these markers was detected in the closely related planthopper N. muiri. The newly developed EST-SSR markers provided sufficient resolution to distinguish within and among biotypes. Analyses based on SSR data revealed host resistance-based genetic differentiation among different brown planthopper populations; the genetic diversity of populations feeding on susceptible rice varieties was lower than that of populations feeding on resistant rice varieties. This is the first large-scale development of brown planthopper SSR markers, which will be useful for future molecular genetics and genomics studies of this serious agricultural pest.

An Arg124His mutation in TGFBI associated to Avellino corneal dystrophy in a Chinese pedigree

PURPOSE

To identify the gene mutation underlying Avellino corneal dystrophy in a four-generation Chinese pedigree.

METHODS

Patients from the affected family underwent detailed clinical examination involving slit-lamp photography and confocal microscopy. Genomic DNA extracted from peripheral leukocytes was amplified using touch-down PCR for gene scanning. Two-point linkage analysis and haplotyping were performed to map the relevant chromosome region. The candidate gene in this region was sequenced to screen out the disease-causing mutation.

RESULTS

Patients in the pedigree were diagnosed with Avellino corneal dystrophy. Using linkage analysis, the responsible gene was mapped to chromosome 5q31.2 with a maximum LOD (log odds) score (Z(max)) of 3.23 at D5S479 (θ(max)=0.0). Haplotypes constructed from 11 microstallite markers identified the disease-linked chromosome region as being below D5S808. Sequencing of TGFBI (transforming growth factor-beta induced gene), a known gene in this region, revealed a heterozygous transition (c.418 G>A) in exon 4 resulting in Arg124His (R124H) being co-segregated with the disease in affected family members but not in the unaffected members or the 50 unrelated controls.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrated that a G>A transition in Arg124His of TGFBI was responsible for Avellino corneal dystrophy in a Chinese pedigree. This result further supports the importance of TGFBIp in maintaining transparency of the cornea.

Pyrosequencing the midgut transcriptome of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

The brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, is a serious pest threatening rice production across the world. To identify the main features of the gene expression and the key components of the midgut of N. lugens responsible for nutrition, xenobiotic metabolism and the immune response, we used pyrosequencing to sample the transcriptome. More than 190,000 clean sequences were generated, which led to about 30,000 unique sequences. Sequence analysis indicated that genes with abundant transcripts in the midgut of N. lugens were mainly sugar hydrolyases and transporters, proteases and detoxification-related proteins. Based on the sequence information, we cloned the candidate sucrase gene; this enzyme is likely to interact with the perimicrovillar membrane through its highly hydrophobic C-terminal region. Many proteases were identified, which supported the hypothesis that N. lugens uses the proteolysis system for digestion. Scores of detoxification genes were newly identified, including cytochrome P450s, glutathione S-transferases, caroxylesterases. A wealth of new transcripts possibly participating in the immune response were described as well. The gene encoding a peptidoglycan recognition protein was cloned. Unlike in Acyrthosiphon pisum, the immunodeficiency pathway may be present in N. lugens. This is the first global analysis of midgut transcriptome from N. lugens.

Reliability analysis of the resting state can sensitively and specifically identify the presence of Parkinson disease

Parkinson disease (PD) is characterized by a number of motor and behavioral abnormalities that could be considered deficits of a "no task" or "resting" state, including resting motor findings and defects in emerging from a resting state (e.g., resting tremor, elevated resting tone, abulia, akinesia, apathy). PET imaging, and recently, the MRI technique of continuous arterial spin labeling (CASL) have shown evidence of changes in metabolic patterns in individuals with PD. The purpose of this study was to learn if the presence of PD could be "predicted" based on resting fluctuations of the BOLD signal. Participants were 15 healthy controls, 14 subjects with PD, and 1 subject who presented as a control but later developed PD. The amplitude of the low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was used as an index of brain activity level in the resting state. Participants with PD using this index showed a reliable decrease in activity in a number of regions, including the supplementary motor cortex, the mesial prefrontal cortex, the right middle frontal gyrus, and the left cerebellum (lobule VII/VIII) as well as increased activity in the right cerebellum (lobule IV/V). Using a cross validation approach we term "Reliability Mapping of Regional Differences" (RMRD) to analyze our sample, we were able to reliably distinguish participants with PD from controls with 92% sensitivity and 87% specificity. Our "pre-diagnostic" subject segregated in our analysis with the PD group. These results suggest that resting fMRI should be considered for development as a biomarker and analytical tool for evaluation of PD.

Do shared mechanisms underlying cell cycle regulation and synaptic plasticity underlie the reduced incidence of cancer in schizophrenia?

Evidence from epidemiology suggests that the incidence of cancer is reduced in those with schizophrenia. Clues that could explain this finding have recently emerged from neuroscience--genes that were previously thought only to be involved in cell cycle regulation have additional functions in post-mitotic neurons related to neuronal migration and synaptic plasticity. This brief communication provides a concise summary of this evidence. We propose that this convergence between epidemiology and neuroscience will provide a more tractable search space for candidate genes, and provide clues for etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia.

Sequence variation and genetic diversity in the giant panda

About 336-444 bp mitochondrial D-loop region and tRNA gene were sequenced for 40 individuals of the giant panda which were collected from Mabian, Meigu, Yuexi, Baoxing, Pingwu, Qingchuan, Nanping and Baishuijiang, respectively. 9 haplotypes were found in 21 founders. The results showed that the giant panda has low genetic variations, and that there is no notable genetic isolation among geographical populations. The ancestor of the living giant panda population perhaps appeared in the late Pleistocene, and unfortunately, might have suffered bottleneck attacks. Afterwards, its genetic diversity seemed to recover to some extent.

Apathy, depression, and motor symptoms have distinct and separable resting activity patterns in idiopathic Parkinson disease

Apathy and depression are heterogeneous syndromes with symptoms that overlap clinically. This clinical overlap leads to problems with classification and diagnosis in clinical populations. No functional imaging study has attempted to separate brain regions altered in apathy from those altered in depression in a clinical population. Parkinson disease (PD) is a disorder in which apathy and depression co-exist in a single population. We evaluate the relationship between apathy, depression, and motor severity of disease in PD, focusing on the relationship between these factors and the amplitude of the low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the resting state. We first evaluated if the resting ALFF signal is a reliable measure for our clinical question. For this, we develop and introduce a cross validation approach we term the "Regional Mapping of Reliable Differences" (RMRD) method to evaluate reliability of regions of interest deemed "significant" by standard voxel-wise techniques. Using this approach, we show that the apathy score in this sample is best predicted by ALFF signal in the left supplementary motor cortex, the right orbitofrontal cortex, and the right middle frontal cortex, whereas depression score is best predicted by ALFF signal in the right subgenual cingulate. Disease severity was best predicted by ALFF signal in the right putamen. A number of additional regions are also statistically (but not reliably) correlated with our neuropsychological measures and disease severity. Our results support the use of resting fMRI as a means to evaluate neuropsychiatric states and motor disease progression in Parkinson disease, and the clinical and epidemiologic observation that apathy and depression are distinct pathological entities. Our finding that "significance" and "reliability" are dissociated properties of regions of interest identified as significant using standard voxel-wise techniques suggests that including reliability analyses may add useful scientific information in neurobehavioral research.

Somatic cell cryopreservation and protoplast regeneration of important disease-resistant wild riceOryza meyeriana Baill

Oryza meyeriana Baill is one of the three wild rice species found in Chiia.O. mcyeriana possesses valuable characteristics but is reluctant in cell culturein vitro. In a series of experiments, callus with no regeneration ability was induced from young panicle ofO. meyeriana. The callus was subcultured and propagated. Embryogenic cell clones were obtained after cryopreswation. Suspension cultures were established and protoplasts were isolated and regenerated into plants. Results of artificial inoculation ofXanthomonas campestris pv.Oryzae showed that the strong resistance did not change in the regenerated plants. The development of protoplast-to-plant system is an important progress towards utilization ofO. meyeriana via cellular engineering. The experiments demonstrated that cryopreservation of plant calli was a new way to obtain embryogenic cell line.

First Report of Powdery Mildew of Hexinia polydichotoma Caused by Leveillula lactucae-serriolae in China

Hexinia polydichotoma (Ostenf) H.L. Yang (synonym Chondrilla polydichotoma Ostenf.) is an indigenous sand-binding plant that is widely distributed only in the desert regions of Northwest China. During the summer of 2007, severe outbreaks of a previously unknown powdery mildew were observed in the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang, China. Almost 95% of the plants surveyed were affected in this area. The upper surfaces of the stem were covered with white mycelia and the corresponding abaxial surfaces of infected leaves were chlorotic. Affected young, green stems also showed extended chlorosis. As the disease progressed, the infected stems turned yellow and necrotic. Heavy infection resulted in death of the plants. The primary conidia of the fungus were lanceolate with apical pointed, rarely cylindrical or subcylindrical with attenuated apex. They measured 53 to 73 × 15 to 21 μm and had a surface with a net of irregular rides and warts. Subcylindrical or subclavate secondary conidia with rounded ends measuring 50 to 77 × 13 to 20 μm were observed. The ascomata are subgregarious to scattered, globose, and 165 to 200 μm in diameter that are immersed in the dense mycelial tomentum. Numerous and well-developed appendages on the lower half of the ascomata are irregularly branched and can be as long as up to the ascomata diameter. The appendages measure 79 to 106 × 5 to 10 μm and are aseptate, thin walled, and smooth. Asci are numerous (usually more than 20 per ascoma), stalked, clavate-ovoid to nearly cylindrical, and contain two spores (rarely one or three). Ascospores are ellipsoid, hyaline, and measure 25 to 35 × 14 to 20 μm. On the basis of these characteristics, the fungus was identified as Leveillula lactucae-serriolae (2). A voucher specimen was deposited in the Herbarium of Martin Luther University, Halle, Germany (Accession No. HAL 2439F). To confirm the identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA was amplified and sequenced, and deposited in GenBank (Accession No. HQ821500). Comparison with sequences available in the GenBank database revealed that the ITS sequence shares 99% similarity with that of L. lactucaeserriolae on Lactuca serriola from Iran (Accession No. AB044375.1) (1). Thus, the pathogen was identified as L. lactucae-serriolae based on the host plant species, anamorph morphology, and ITS sequence. Pathogenicity was confirmed through inoculation by gently pressing a diseased stem onto the stem of healthy H. polydichotoma plants. Five inoculated plants were kept under a plastic humid chamber, whereas the same number of noninoculated plants served as the control. The plants were placed under natural conditions (25 to 28°C) with 80 to 90% humidity. At 15 days after inoculation, typical symptoms of powdery mildew developed on the inoculated plants. No symptoms were seen on the control plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report of L. lactucaeserriolae in China and the first record of L. lactucae-serriolae on H. polydichotoma in the world ( http://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/index.cfm ). Because the plant is becoming widely cultivated in the Taklimakan Desert for use in sand-binding, the powdery mildew poses a serious threat to desertification control. References: (1) S. A. Khodaparast et al. Mycol Res. 105:909. 2001. (2) S. A. Khodaparast et al. Mycoscience 43:459, 2002.

Chemical-protein interactome and its application in off-target identification

Drugs exert their therapeutic and adverse effects by interacting with molecular targets. Although designed to interact with specific targets in a desirable manner, drug molecules often bind to unexpected proteins (off-targets). By activating or inhibiting off-targets and the associated biological processes and pathways, the resulting chemical-protein interactions can influence drug reaction directly or indirectly. Exploring the relationship between drug and off-targets and the downstream drug reaction can help understand the polypharmacology of the drug, hence significantly advance the drug repositioning pipeline and the application of personalized medicine in understanding and preventing adverse drug reaction. This review summarizes works on predicting off-targets via chemical-protein interactome (CPI), an interaction strength matrix of drugs across multiple human proteins aiming at exploring the unexpected drug-protein interactions, with a variety of computational strategies, including docking, chemical structure comparison and text-mining etc. Effective recall on previous knowledge, de novo prediction and subsequent experimental validation conferred us strong confidence in these methods. Such studies present prospect of large scale in silico methodologies for off-target discovery with low cost and high efficiency.

Antioxidant network expression abrogates oxidative posttranslational modifications in mice

Antioxidant enzymatic pathways form a critical network that detoxifies ROS in response to myocardial stress or injury. Genetic alteration of the expression levels of individual enzymes has yielded mixed results with regard to attenuating in vivo myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, an extreme oxidative stress. We hypothesized that overexpression of an antioxidant network (AON) composed of SOD1, SOD3, and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx)-1 would reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by limiting ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation and oxidative posttranslational modification (OPTM) of proteins. Both ex vivo and in vivo myocardial ischemia models were used to evaluate the effect of AON expression. After ischemia-reperfusion injury, infarct size was significantly reduced both ex vivo and in vivo, ROS formation, measured by dihydroethidium staining, was markedly decreased, ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation, measured by malondialdehyde production, was significantly limited, and OPTM of total myocardial proteins, including fatty acid-binding protein and sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca(²+)-ATPase (SERCA)2a, was markedly reduced in AON mice, which overexpress SOD1, SOD3, and GSHPx-1, compared with wild-type mice. These data demonstrate that concomitant SOD1, SOD3, and GSHPX-1 expression confers marked protection against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, reducing ROS, ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation, and OPTM of critical cardiac proteins, including cardiac fatty acid-binding protein and SERCA2a.

Genetic polymorphisms in the SCN8A gene are associated with suicidal behavior in psychiatric disorders in the Chinese population

OBJECTIVES

Suicidal behavior is a serious public health problem which is partly heritable. Identifying the genes and the neurobiologic pathways relevant to suicidal behavior is important for preventative strategies. One family-based study reported an association between sodium channel voltage gated type VIII alpha (SCN8A) and suicidal behavior. In the present study, we aimed to search for SCN8A polymorphisms conferring genetic susceptibility to suicide in the Chinese population.

METHODS

A total of 626 subjects was recruited for the study, including 297 suicide attempters and 329 non-attempters from Shanghai, China. We conducted a case-control association analysis of five SNPs (rs10506302, rs1601012, rs4762004, rs12581041, rs17126078) within the region of SCN8A gene.

RESULTS

we found that two genetic polymorphisms showed statistically significant differences between cases and controls (rs1601012, P=0.004; rs12581041, P=0.01). Moreover, no haplotypes were significantly associated with suicidal behavior in psychiatric disorders after the false discovery rate (FDR) correction. In the analysis of schizophrenia subgroup, three genetic polymorphisms showed statistically significant differences between cases and controls (rs10506302, P=0.024; rs1601012, P=0.004; rs12581041, P=0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that the SCN8A gene may be involved in the susceptibility to suicidal behavior among psychiatric disorder patients in the Han Chinese population.

Polymorphisms of XRCC4 are involved in reduced colorectal cancer risk in Chinese schizophrenia patients

Background

Genetic factors related to the regulation of apoptosis in schizophrenia patients may be involved in a reduced vulnerability to cancer. XRCC4 is one of the potential candidate genes associated with schizophrenia which might induce colorectal cancer resistance.

Methods

To examine the genetic association between colorectal cancer and schizophrenia, we analyzed five SNPs (rs6452526, rs2662238, rs963248, rs35268, rs2386275) covering ~205.7 kb in the region of XRCC4.

Results

We observed that two of the five genetic polymorphisms showed statistically significant differences between 312 colorectal cancer subjects without schizophrenia and 270 schizophrenia subjects (rs6452536, p = 0.004, OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.44-0.86; rs35268, p = 0.028, OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.05-2.26). Moreover, the haplotype which combined all five markers was the most significant, giving a global p = 0.0005.

Conclusions

Our data firstly indicate that XRCC4 may be a potential protective gene towards schizophrenia, conferring reduced susceptibility to colorectal cancer in the Han Chinese population.

Pigeonpea genomics initiative (PGI): an international effort to improve crop productivity of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.)

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan), an important food legume crop in the semi-arid regions of the world and the second most important pulse crop in India, has an average crop productivity of 780 kg/ha. The relatively low crop yields may be attributed to non-availability of improved cultivars, poor crop husbandry and exposure to a number of biotic and abiotic stresses in pigeonpea growing regions. Narrow genetic diversity in cultivated germplasm has further hampered the effective utilization of conventional breeding as well as development and utilization of genomic tools, resulting in pigeonpea being often referred to as an 'orphan crop legume'. To enable genomics-assisted breeding in this crop, the pigeonpea genomics initiative (PGI) was initiated in late 2006 with funding from Indian Council of Agricultural Research under the umbrella of Indo-US agricultural knowledge initiative, which was further expanded with financial support from the US National Science Foundation's Plant Genome Research Program and the Generation Challenge Program. As a result of the PGI, the last 3 years have witnessed significant progress in development of both genetic as well as genomic resources in this crop through effective collaborations and coordination of genomics activities across several institutes and countries. For instance, 25 mapping populations segregating for a number of biotic and abiotic stresses have been developed or are under development. An 11X-genome coverage bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library comprising of 69,120 clones have been developed of which 50,000 clones were end sequenced to generate 87,590 BAC-end sequences (BESs). About 10,000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from Sanger sequencing and ca. 2 million short ESTs by 454/FLX sequencing have been generated. A variety of molecular markers have been developed from BESs, microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR)-enriched libraries and mining of ESTs and genomic amplicon sequencing. Of about 21,000 SSRs identified, 6,698 SSRs are under analysis along with 670 orthologous genes using a GoldenGate SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) genotyping platform, with large scale SNP discovery using Solexa, a next generation sequencing technology, is in progress. Similarly a diversity array technology array comprising of ca. 15,000 features has been developed. In addition, >600 unique nucleotide binding site (NBS) domain containing members of the NBS-leucine rich repeat disease resistance homologs were cloned in pigeonpea; 960 BACs containing these sequences were identified by filter hybridization, BES physical maps developed using high information content fingerprinting. To enrich the genomic resources further, sequenced soybean genome is being analyzed to establish the anchor points between pigeonpea and soybean genomes. In addition, Solexa sequencing is being used to explore the feasibility of generating whole genome sequence. In summary, the collaborative efforts of several research groups under the umbrella of PGI are making significant progress in improving molecular tools in pigeonpea and should significantly benefit pigeonpea genetics and breeding. As these efforts come to fruition, and expanded (depending on funding), pigeonpea would move from an 'orphan legume crop' to one where genomics-assisted breeding approaches for a sustainable crop improvement are routine.

Pharacogenetic effects of dopamine transporter gene polymorphisms on response to chlorpromazine and clozapine and on extrapyramidal syndrome in schizophrenia

A number of studies have investigated the effectiveness of the dopamine transporter (SLC6A3) Gene as an antipsychotic target. However, the focus has mainly been on a 40-bp variable number of a tandem repeat (VNTR) in the 3'-region and results have been inconsistent. To fully evaluate SLC6A3 as a therapeutic antipshycotic target we investigated association of the gene with responses to chlorpromazine and clozapine and with chlorpromazine-induced extrapyramidal syndrome (EPS) in the Chinese schizophrenia population. Six polymorphisms across the whole region of this gene were analyzed, namely rs2652511 (T-844C) and rs2975226 (T-71A) in the 5'-regulatory region, rs2963238 (A1491C) in intron 1, a 30-bp VNTR in intron 8, rs27072 and the 40-bp VNTR in the 3'-region. We found that the polymorphic marker, rs2975226, showed significant association of allele and genotype frequencies with response to clozapine (allele-wise: adjusted p=0.00404; genotype-wise: adjusted p=0.024), and that patients with the T allele had a better response to the drug. The haplotype block constructed from the first three markers near the 5'-region showed significant association with response to clozapine (for haplotype T-T-A: p=0.0085; for haplotype C-A-C: p=0.0092). We did not identify any significant association of the six genetic variants or haplotypes with EPS after Bonferoni correction. Our findings suggest that the 5'-regulatory region of SLC6A3 plays an important role in response to clozapine and that its role in EPS needs to be replicated in a large-scale well designed study.