Exploring laccase genes from plant pathogen genomes: a bioinformatic approach

To date, research on laccases has mostly been focused on plant and fungal laccases and their current use in biotechnological applications. In contrast, little is known about laccases from plant pathogens, although recent rapid progress in whole genome sequencing of an increasing number of organisms has facilitated their identification and ascertainment of their origins. In this study, a comparative analysis was performed to elucidate the distribution of laccases among bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes, and, through comparison of their amino acids, to determine the relationships between them. We retrieved the laccase genes for the 20 publicly available plant pathogen genomes. From these, 125 laccase genes were identified in total, including seven in bacterial genomes, 101 in fungal genomes, and 17 in oomycete genomes. Most of the predicted protein models of these genes shared typical fungal laccase characteristics, possessing four conserved domains with one cysteine and ten histidine residues at these domains. Phylogenetic analysis illustrated that laccases from bacteria and oomycetes were grouped into two distinct clades, whereas fungal laccases clustered in three main clades. These results provide the theoretical groundwork regarding the role of laccases in plant pathogens and might be used to guide future research into these enzymes.

Prior rates of visual field loss and lifetime risk of blindness in glaucomatous patients undergoing trabeculectomy

PURPOSE

Trend-based analyses examining rates of visual field (VF) loss in glaucoma are useful for predicting risk of vision-related morbidity. Although patients with faster losses are likely to require treatment escalation, little is known about rates that might trigger a decision to intervene surgically. The aims of this study were to investigate prior rates of VF loss in patients attending for trabeculectomy and to estimate, in the absence of surgical intervention, lifetime risk of visual impairment, and blindness.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective analysis of 117 eyes of 86 consecutive patients with glaucoma attending for trabeculectomy, including 53 patients referred from general ophthalmology clinics and 33 patients from specialist glaucoma clinics. Rates of change in standard automated perimetry mean deviation were examined using linear regression and random coefficient models. Risk of lifetime visual impairment and blindness was calculated using life expectancy data.

RESULTS

Mean age at surgery was 71.0±9.7 years. Patients were followed for 10.7±7.5 years prior to surgery with an average of seven useable fields per eye. On average patients referred from general clinics lost 1.04 dB/year compared with 0.77 dB/year in those referred from glaucoma clinics (P=0.070). Patients referred from general clinics had more medication changes prior to surgery (3.4 and 2.6 changes, respectively; P=0.004). Given Scottish life expectancy data, untreated, 61 eyes (52%) would have passed the threshold for visual impairment, whereas 40 (34%) would have passed the threshold demarcating blindness.

CONCLUSION

Patients attending for trabeculectomy had faster average rates of field loss prior to surgery than published values for the general glaucoma population with over one-third of eyes studied predicted to have become blind without intervention. Those managed by glaucoma specialists had fewer changes in medication and tended to slower rates of VF loss, although the latter did not reach statistical significance.

Ginsenoside Rg3 attenuated omethoate-induced lung injury in rats

Organophosphorus exposure affects different organs such as the lung, gastrointestinal tract, liver, and brain. The present experiment aimed to evaluate the effect of ginsenoside Rg3 on lung injury induced by acute omethoate poisoning. Rats were administered with omethoate subcutaneously at a single dose of 60 mg/kg, followed by ginsenoside Rg3 (5, 10, or 20 mg/kg) treatment. Histopathological examination of the lung was performed at 24 h after the omethoate exposure. The antioxidative parameters in the lung were also assayed. Moreover, the activities of acetylcholinesterase, myeloperoxidase, and the content of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in the lung were determined. The results showed that ginsenoside Rg3 attenuated omethoate-induced lung injury. Ginsenoside Rg3 increased the level of glutathione in the lung ( p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). The altered activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase in the lung were also ameliorated by ginsenoside Rg3 treatment ( p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). Ginsenoside Rg3 caused significant reductions in the contents of malondialdehyde, TNF-α, and the activity of myeloperoxidase ( p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). The present study demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg3 had a protective effect against omethoate-induced lung injury in rats, and the mechanisms were related to its antioxidant potential and anti-inflammatory effect.

A population-based study of ethnicity and breast cancer stage at diagnosis in Ontario

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer stage at diagnosis is an important predictor of survival. Our goal was to compare breast cancer stage at diagnosis (by American Joint Committee on Cancer criteria) in Chinese and South Asian women with stage at diagnosis in the remaining general population in Ontario.

METHODS

We used the Ontario population-based cancer registry to identify all women diagnosed with breast cancer during 2005-2010, and we applied a validated surname algorithm to identify South Asian and Chinese women. We used logistic regression to compare, for Chinese or South Asian women and for the remaining general population, the frequency of diagnoses at stage ii compared with stage i and stages ii-iv compared with stage i.

RESULTS

The registry search identified 1304 Chinese women, 705 South Asian women, and 39,287 women in the remaining general population. The Chinese and South Asian populations were younger than the remaining population (mean: 54, 57, and 61 years respectively). Adjusted for age, South Asian women were more often diagnosed with breast cancer at stage ii than at stage i [odds ratio (or): 1.28; 95% confidence interval (ci): 1.08 to 1.51] or at stages ii-iv than at stage i (or: 1.27; 95% ci: 1.08 to 1.48); Chinese women were less likely to be diagnosed at stage ii than at stage i (or: 0.82; 95% ci: 0.72 to 0.92) or at stages ii-iv than at stage i (or: 0.73; 95% ci: 0.65 to 0.82).

CONCLUSIONS

Breast cancers were diagnosed at a later stage in South Asian women and at an earlier stage in Chinese women than in the remaining population. A more detailed analysis of ethnocultural factors influencing breast screening uptake, retention, and care-seeking behavior might be needed to help inform and evaluate tailored health promotion activities.

Expression divergence of FRUITFULL homeologs enhanced pod shatter resistance in Brassica napus

To improve pod shatter resistance in the important oilseed crop Brassica napus, the phenotypic diversity of B. napus was tested using 80 B. napus varieties for pod shatter resistance by a random impact test. Among these varieties, R1-1 was identified as resistant, while R2, 8908B was susceptible to shatter. To understand the molecular basis for this phenotypic difference based on the candidate gene approach, B. napus FRUITFULL (FUL) homologs were identified and characterized. Two FUL loci in the A and C genomes of B. napus were identified. In the susceptible variety, both BnaA.FUL and BnaC.FUL were expressed in the same tissues. However, the expression level of BnaC.FUL differed in varieties with different pod shatter resistance. In the most resistant variety, R1-1, only BnaA.FUL was expressed, while BnaC.FUL was silenced. Therefore, the functional divergence and differing expression of BnaX.FUL homeologs may significantly affect phenotypic variation, which is an important consequence of allopolyploid evolution. This expression level divergence may be useful for selecting pod shatter resistant lines through marker-assisted selection in B. napus-breeding programs.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC): advance in genomics and molecular genetics

Esophageal cancer is aggressive and has poor prognosis. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is histologically the most prevalent type of esophageal cancer and ranked as the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In recent years, cancer has been widely regarded as genetic disease, as well as epigenetic abnormalities including DNA methylation, histone deacetylation, chromatin remodeling, gene imprinting and noncoding RNA regulation. In this review, we will provide a general overview of genes, proteins and microRNAs that are involved in the development of ESCC, which aims to enhance our understanding of molecular mechanisms implicated in ESCC development and progression.

Exercise increases the binding of MEF2A to the Cpt1b promoter in mouse skeletal muscle

AIM

Muscle-type carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1b) plays an important role in skeletal muscle mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation. A myocyte-specific enhancer factor (MEF2) site that binds MEF2A in the promoter of Cpt1b has been identified. The aim of this study is to determine whether Cpt1b expression is regulated by MEF2 in response to exercise training.

METHODS

Twelve male, 14-week-old C57BL/6 mice underwent 6 weeks of treadmill exercise at 12 m min(-1), for 60 min day(-1), 5 days week(-1). Quadriceps muscles were analysed by real-time PCR, Western blot, chromatin immunoprecipitation.

RESULTS

The binding of MEF2A to the Cpt1b promoter was elevated in the quadriceps muscle of mice after 6-week aerobic exercise intervention. The repressor partner of MEF2, histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5), binding to the Cpt1b promoter was decreased by exercise training. In C2C12 myoblast, MEF2A overexpression increased the Cpt1b mRNA expression and the Cpt1b promoter transcriptional activity, which were suppressed by HDAC5. Moreover, exercise training induced MEF2A hyperacetylation, which is strongly associated with its enhanced DNA-binding ability. The binding of both HDAC5 and histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) to MEF2A was decreased by exercise training. Overexpression of HDAC5 decreased exogenous MEF2A acetylation level with an increased binding of endogenous HDAC3 to MEF2A. Finally, the phosphorylation levels of HDAC5 Ser259 and Ser498 were increased by exercise training. Exercise training decreased the abundance of HDAC5 in the nucleus while increasing its abundance in the cytoplasm.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicated that exercise-induced CPT1b expression was at least in part mediated by HDAC5/MEF2A interaction.

Short-term therapeutic drug monitoring of mycophenolic acid reduces infection: a prospective, single-center cohort study in Chinese living-related kidney transplantation

BACKGROUND

The role of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of mycophenolic acid (MPA) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) is not clear. We performed a prospective cohort study to evaluate the efficiency of MPA TDM in the Chinese population.

METHODS

A total of 183 living-related KTRs were studied; 101 KTRs received controlled-dose mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) (the CD group), and 82 patients received fixed-dose MMF (the FD group). MPA exposure was measured at days 3, 7, 14, and 30 in the CD group, and at day 30 in the FD group. The primary endpoint was treatment failure (a composite of acute rejection, graft loss, death, or MMF discontinuation) at 12 months post transplantation.

RESULTS

In the CD group, with a starting MMF dose of 2 g/day, approximately 35% of patients had high MPA levels, which were >60 mg × h/L, and mean MPA levels were 59.17 mg × h/L and 61.38 mg × h/L for the CD and FD groups, respectively (P = 0.588). After adjusting MMF dose, MPA exposures in the CD group at day 30 were lower than those in the FD group at day 30 (54.06 vs. 61.38, P = 0.004). At month 12, the CD group had fewer infections (16.8% vs. 31.7%, P = 0.018) with no difference in treatment failure, acute rejection, diarrhea, or anemia.

CONCLUSIONS

KTRs can benefit from short-term TDM of MPA in reducing infection, without increasing acute rejection.

Treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in central America: a lower-middle income countries experience

BACKGROUND

Five Asociación de Hemato-Oncología de Centroamérica (AHOPCA) countries have used an adapted BFM-based protocol for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

PROCEDURE

In the AHOPCA-ALL 2008 protocol, patients were stratified by age, white blood cell count, immunophenotype, central nervous system involvement, day 8 prednisone response, and morphologic bone marrow response to induction therapy. Patients at Standard Risk (SR) received a three-drug induction regimen, a reinduction phase, and maintenance with protracted intrathecal therapy. Those at Intermediate (IR) and High Risk (HR) received, in addition, daunorubicin during induction therapy, a consolidation phase and two or three reinduction phases respectively.

RESULTS

From August 2008 through July 2012, 1,313 patients were enrolled: 353 in SR, 548 in IR, 412 in HR. During induction therapy, 3.0% of patients died, 2.7% abandoned treatment, 1.1% had resistant ALL, and 93.2% achieved morphological complete remission (CR). Deaths and abandonment in first CR occurred in 2.7% and in 7.0% of patients, respectively. The relapse rate at a median observation time of 2.1 years was 15.0%. At 3 years, the event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS), with abandonment considered as an event, were 59.4% (SE 1.7) and 68.2% (SE 1.6). Three-year EFS was 68.5% (SE 3.0), 62.1% (SE 2.6), and 47.8% (SE 3.2) for SR, IR, and HR groups. Adolescents had a significantly higher relapse rate (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This experience shows that common international studies are feasible in lower-middle income countries. Toxic deaths, abandonment of treatment, and relapses remain major obstacles to the successful treatment. Alternative treatment strategies may be beneficial.

Cancer stem cells converted from pluripotent stem cells and the cancerous niche

Nowadays, the cancer stem cells are considered to be significantly responsible for growth, metastasis, invasion and recurrence of all cancer. Cancer stem cells are typically characterized by continuous proliferation and self-renewal as well as by differentiation potential, while stem cells are considered to differentiate into tissue- specific phenotype of mature cells under the influence of micro-environment. Cancer stem cells should be traced to the stem cells under the influence of a micro-environment, which induces malignant tumors. In this review, we propose this micro-environment as a ‘cancerous niche’ and discuss its importance on the formation and maintenance of cancer stem cells with the recent experimental results to establish cancer stem cell models from induced pluripotent stem cells. These models of cancer stem cell will provide the great advantages in cancer research and its therapeutic applications in the future.

Evaluation of bamboo genetic diversity using morphological and SRAP analyses

Bamboo is an important member of the giant grass subfamily Bambusoideae of Poaceae. In this study, 13 bamboo accessions belonging to 5 different genera were subjected to morphological evaluation and sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) analysis. Unweighted pair-group method of arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis was used to construct a dendrogram and to estimate the genetic distances among accessions. On the basis of morphological characteristics, the 13 accessions were distinctly classified into 2 major clusters; 3 varieties, PPYX, PGNK, and PLYY were grouped as cluster A, and 10 accessions were categorized under cluster B. Similarity coefficients ranging from 0.23 to 0.96 indicated abundant genetic variation among bamboo varieties. Approximately 38 SRAP primer combinations generated 186 bands, with 150 bands (80.65%) showing polymorphisms among the 13 accessions. Based on SRAP analysis, 13 bamboo accessions were grouped into 3 major clusters. Five species comprised Cluster I (PASL, PLYY, PTSC, SCNK, and BMAK), which belongs to genus Phyllostachys. Cluster II consisted of 5 varieties, PASL, PLYY, PTSC, SCNK, and BMAK; Cluster III included 3 varieties, PGNK, PLSY, and BMRS. Comparison of the results generated by morphological and SRAP analyses showed that the classification based on SRAP markers was more concordant to the taxonomic results of Gamble than that performed using morphological characters, thus suggesting that SRAP analysis is more efficient in evaluating genetic diversity in bamboos compared to morphological analysis. The SRAP technique serves as an alternative method in assessing genetic diversity within bamboo collections.

Production and repair of implant-induced microdamage in the cortical bone of goats after long-term estrogen deficiency

SUMMARY

By using an ovariectomized goat model, we found that estrogen depletion decreases bone quality and makes it susceptible to screw-induced mechanical microdamage. Both diffuse microdamage and linear cracks accumulated up to 3 weeks after screw implantation, and the microdamage was repaired gradually after 4-8 months.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to observe the effect of long-term estrogen deficiency on the creation and repair of microdamage in cortical bone adjacent to bone screw.

METHODS

Cortical bone screws were placed in the tibial diaphyses 28 months after ovariectomy (OVX) or sham operation (Sham-Op) in female goats. The goats were euthanized at 0 day, 21 days, 4 months, and 8 months after screw implantation. Microdamage morphology and repair were examined in peri-screw bone using histomorphometric method, and the nanomechanical properties of peri-screw bone were examined with nanoindentation testing.

RESULTS

Tibiae from ovariectomized goats in which screws had been placed had significantly higher levels of diffuse microdamage and significantly more linear cracks than those from sham goats, and the diffuse microdamage was more obvious than linear cracks in the region adjacent to the implant. Both diffuse microdamage and linear cracks accumulated up to day 21 and then gradually repaired at 4 and 8 months after surgery. The trend for bone remodeling in each group was consistent with changes in the level of microdamage. Nanoindentation testing showed that both elastic modulus and hardness in peri-screw bone were significantly decreased in OVX group compared to Sham-Op group. The hardness and elastic modulus also showed a downward trend up to 4 months after screw implantation and then exhibited some recovery after 8 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Estrogen depletion decreases bone quality and makes it vulnerable to screw-induced mechanical damage, which may compromise the initial stability of an orthopedic implant.

Regulatory interplay between NFIC and TGF-β1 in apical papilla-derived stem cells

While transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) can regulate odontoblast differentiation in tooth crown morphogenesis, its effects on cells including stem cells from the apical papilla (SCAPs) involved in root formation are unclear. Nuclear factor I-C (NFIC) has been implicated in the regulation of root development, and interplay with TGF-β1 signaling has been reported in some cell types. We hypothesize that NFIC and TGF-β1 are important to the behavior of SCAPs and that the interplay between these molecules controls the regulation of the odontogenic differentiation of SCAPs. TGF-β1 inhibited the proliferation of SCAPs and their mineralization. Real-time polymerase chain-reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot results showed that TGF-β1 significantly decreased osteogenic/dentinogenic gene expression. The inhibition of TGF-β/Smad signaling (SIS3) attenuated the suppressive effect of TGF-β1 on SCAPs. Importantly, overexpression of NFIC antagonized the effects of TGF-β1 on SCAPs, while knockdown of NFIC enhanced these effects, demonstrating a key regulatory role for NFIC in modulating TGF-β1 signaling in SCAPs. We conclude that this interplay between NFIC and TGF-β1 regulates SCAPs behavior and can determine the differentiation of these cells. These signaling interactions help inform the development of regenerative strategies aimed at root growth and development in immature teeth for endodontic treatment.

Effects of the histone methyltransferase inhibitor UNC0638 on histone H3K9 dimethylation of cultured ovine somatic cells and development of resulting early cloned embryos

Aberrant hypermethylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) may be involved in the developmental failure of cloned embryos. UNC0638 is a type of small molecule that can specifically inhibit the enzyme activity of histone methyltransferase EHMT2 and reduce the H3K9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) levels in cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of UNC0638 in regulating H3K9me2 and development of cloned embryos. Results showed that UNC0638 could efficiently reduce H3K9me2 levels of cultured sheep foetal fibroblast cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Cloned embryos were subsequently produced from UNC0638-treated donor cells with down-regulated H3K9me2, but their in vitro development was not improved when compared with the control. Our study suggested that revision of the single histone H3K9me2 modification may be not sufficient for rescuing the development of cloned embryos. However, because of its low cellular toxicity, UNC0638 may still be a potential chemical that could be used in regulating epigenetic modification of cloned embryos.

Infertility caused by male partners with genetic defects in Sichuan Province of China

The purpose of this study was to detect chromosomal aberrations and azoospermia factor (AZF) microdeletions in male patients with reproductive problems and to summarize related clinical features to provide reliable information for evaluating prenatal and preimplantation diagnoses. A large cohort of 5083 men with various phenotypes of male infertility was analyzed via G-banding karyotyping, and Origin 8.0 was used to analyze the prevalence of abnormalities. Additionally, patients with azoospermia, oligozoospermia, and oligoasthenozoospermia were analyzed using multiplex polymerase chain reaction to detect microdeletion in the AZF. We identified 387 patients with abnormal karyotypes, and the ratio was 7.61%. Among them were 175 patients with Klinefelter's syndrome, which was the most common numerical chromosomal abnormality and accounted for 45.22% of all chromosomal aberrations. The frequencies of increased satellites, balanced translocations, and Robertsonian translocations were 6.47, 7.00, and 3.62%, respectively. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction performed in 810 cases with azoospermia, oligozoospermia, and oligoasthenozoospermia found a ratio of AZF microdeletions of 4.94%. The finding suggests that chromosomal abnormalities and AZF deletion are main factors that result in male infertility. Detecting these common genetic variations is necessary in infertile men seeking assisted reproductive technology.

Ground penetrating detection using miniaturized radar system based on solid state microwave sensor

We propose a solid-state-sensor-based miniaturized microwave radar technique, which allows a rapid microwave phase detection for continuous wave operation using a lock-in amplifier rather than using expensive and complicated instruments such as vector network analyzers. To demonstrate the capability of this sensor-based imaging technique, the miniaturized system has been used to detect embedded targets in sand by measuring the reflection for broadband microwaves. Using the reconstruction algorithm, the imaging of the embedded target with a diameter less than 5 cm buried in the sands with a depth of 5 cm or greater is clearly detected. Therefore, the sensor-based approach emerges as an innovative and cost-effective way for ground penetrating detection.

The anti-tumoral efficacy of a docetaxel-loaded liposomal drug delivery system modified with transferrin for ovarian cancer

To reduce the toxic effect on normal cells and improve the treatment effects of docetaxel, a novel transferrin modified docetaxel-loaded long circulating liposome for ovarian tumor was established for the first time. The transferrin-modified long-circulating liposomes loaded with docetaxel (TF-LP-DOC) were prepared by the post-insertion method and exhibited excellent characteristics in terms of particle size, encapsulation efficiency and stability. We investigated the targeting efficiencies of liposomes by the cellular uptake in vitro and biodistribution in vivo, and identified the therapeutic effects using cytotoxicity experiment (in vitro)and tumor growth inhibition (in vivo) on ovarian cancer. The in vitro and in vivo results showed that TF-LP-DOC were successfully established and presented an enhanced targeting ability. With decreased side effect and improved anti-tumor efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs, TF-LP-DOC proved itself to be a very promising tumor targeted drug delivery system.

Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus re-emerges in China in winter 2013

Through a national surveillance system for unexplained pneumonia, a severe case of influenza A(H7N9) in a man in his mid-30s was identified in Zhejiang Province, China on 14 October 2013. Epidemiological and clinical findings were consistent with the patterns reported during the outbreak in spring 2013, and laboratory findings showed that the virus had 99.6% identity with earlier H7N9 viruses identified in humans in the spring except for five mutations in the NA gene.