Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphisms and the susceptibility to allergic rhinitis

BACKGROUND

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene I/D polymorphism might be linked to the risk of the allergic rhinitis (AR).

OBJECTIVE

In the present study, we assessed the association of ACE gene I/D polymorphisms with AR susceptibility using a meta-analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We carried out a retrieval of studies and included the eligible studies if they met the criteria. After the data extraction, the Stata software was used to analyse the genotype frequencies.

RESULTS

In total, five studies with 561 patients and 603 controls were included. However, the genotype distribution among the control of one study was not consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. After pooling all studies, the results indicated an association between ACE gene I/D polymorphism and AR risk in the overall analysis (II vs. others: OR=0.70, 95% CI=0.54-0.92, P=0.010; D vs. I: OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.08-1.54, P=0.005). In the further analysis of the East Asians, no association between ACE gene I/D polymorphism and AR risk was observed.

CONCLUSION

ACE gene I/D polymorphisms were not associated with the risk of AR in East Asians. These results need to be confirmed in the following studies.

Attentional bias modulation by reappraisal in patients with generalized anxiety disorder: an event-related potential study

Affective states influence subsequent attention allocation. We evaluated emotional negativity bias modulation by reappraisal in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) relative to normal controls. Event-related potential (ERP) recordings were obtained, and changes in P200 and P300 amplitudes in response to negative or neutral words were noted after decreasing negative emotion or establishing a neutral condition. We found that in GAD patients only, the mean P200 amplitude after negative word presentation was much higher than after the presentation of neutral words. In normal controls, after downregulation of negative emotion, the mean P300 amplitude in response to negative words was much lower than after neutral words, and this was significant in both the left and right regions. In GAD patients, the negative bias remained prominent and was not affected by reappraisal at the early stage. Reappraisal was observed to have a lateralized effect at the late stage.

Cloning and expression analysis of heat-shock transcription factor gene CaHsfA2 from pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

The heat-shock transcription factor (Hsf) gene CaHsfA2 (GenBank accession No. JX402923) was cloned from the Capsicum annuum thermotolerant line R9 by combining the techniques electron cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The gene, which is 1436 bp in length, had an open reading frame of 1089 bp that encoded 362 amino acids. There was an 831-bp intron between positions 321 and 322 of the cDNA. The deduced amino acid sequence of CaHsfA2 contained the conserved domains of Hsf, including DNA binding domain, adjacent domain with heptad hydrophobic repeats (A/B), activator motifs, nuclear localization signal, and nuclear export signal, and it had the highest E value of hypothesized annotation of HsfA2. CaHsfA2 had the nearest phylogenetic relationship with HsfA2 from Lycopersicon peruvianum and Mimulus guttatus, which was consistent with its botanical classification. After heat-shock treatment at 40°C for 2 h, the expression of CaHsfA2 was observed in different tissues of thermotolerant cultivar R9 and thermosensitive line B6; however, the expression levels of the CaHsfA2 gene were significantly different as follows: expression in B6 leaf > stem > flower > root, and expression in R9 flower > leaf > stem ≈ root.

First Report of Brown Blight Disease Caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides on Camellia sinensis in Anhui Province, China

Yellow Mountain fuzz tip, a cultivar of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, is commonly grown in the Yellow Mountain region in Anhui Province of China. During 2011 to 2012, leaf and twig blight on tea plants occurred from July to September in growing regions. Symptoms of blight on leaves of infected plants were detected in 30 to 60% of the fields visited and up to 500 ha were affected each year. Symptoms began as small, water-soaked lesions on young leaves and twigs and later became larger, dark brown, necrotic lesions, 1 to 3 mm in diameter on leaves and 2 to 5 mm long on twigs. To determine the causal agent, symptomatic leaf tissue was collected from plants in Gantang and Tangkou townships in September 2012. Small pieces of diseased tea leaves and twigs were surface-disinfested in 2% NaClO for 3 min, rinsed twice in distilled water, plated on potato dextrose agar, and incubated at 28°C for 5 days. Eleven isolates were recovered and all cultures produced white-to-gray fluffy aerial hyphae and were dark on the reverse of the plate. The hyphae were hyaline, branching, and septate. Setae were 2- to 3-septate, dark brown, acicular, and 78.0 to 115.0 μm. Conidiogenous cells were hyaline, short, branchless, cylindrical, and 11.3 to 21.5 × 4.2 to 5.3 μm. Conidia were hyaline, aseptate, guttulate, cylindrical, and 12.5 to 17.3 × 3.9 to 5.8 μm. Appresoria were ovate to obovate, dark brown, and 8.4 to 15.2 × 7.8 to 12.9 μm. DNA was amplified using the rDNA-ITS primer pair ITS4/ITS5 (3), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (GAPDH) primer pair GDF/GDR (2) and beta-tubulin 2 gene (Tub2) primer pair Btub2Fd/Btub4Rd (4). Sequences (GenBank Accession Nos. KC913203, KC913204, and KC913205) of the 11 isolates were identical and revealed 100% similarity to the ITS sequence of strain P042 of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (EF423527), 100% identity to the GAPDH of isolate C07009 of C. gloeosporioides (GU935860), and 99% similarity to Tub2 of isolate 85 of C. gloeosporioides (AJ409292), respectively. Based on the above data, the 11 isolates were identified as C. gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. & Sacc. To confirm pathogenicity, Koch's postulate was performed and 4 ml of conidial suspension (1 × 10⁵ conidia/ml) of each of the 11 isolates was sprayed on five leaves and five twigs per plant on four 12-month-old Yellow Mountain fuzz tip plants. Control plants were sprayed with distilled water. The inoculated plants were maintained at 28°C in a greenhouse with constant relative humidity of 90% and a 12-h photoperiod of fluorescent light. Brown necrotic lesions appeared on leaves and twigs after 7 days, while the control plants remained healthy. The experiments were conducted three times and the fungus was recovered and identified as C. gloeosporioides by both morphology and molecular characteristics. Tea plant blight caused by C. gloeosporioides was identified in Brazil (1), but to our knowledge, this is the first report of C. gloeosporioides causing tea leaf and twig blight on Yellow Mountain fuzz tip plants in Anhui Province of China. References: (1) M. A. S. Mendes et al. Page 555 in: Embrapa-SPI/Embrapa-Cenargen, Brasilia, 1998. (2) M. D. Templeton et al. Gene 122:225, 1992. (3) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, 1990. (4) J. H. C. Woudenberg et al. Persoonia 22:56, 2009.

PSTPIP2 dysregulation contributes to aberrant terminal differentiation in GATA-1-deficient megakaryocytes by activating LYN

GATA1 mutations are tightly associated with transient myeloproliferative disorder (TMD) and acute megakaryoblstic leukemia (AMKL) in children with Down syndrome. Numerous genes are altered in GATA-1-deficient megakaryocytes, which may contribute to the hyperproliferation and abnormal terminal differentiation of these malignant cells. In this study, we demonstrate that Pstpip2 is a GATA-1-repressed gene that controls megakaryopoiesis. Ectopic expression of PSTPIP2 impaired megakaryocytic differentiation as evidenced by a decrease of CD41 expression and reduced DNA content in K562 cells. PSTPIP2 overexpression also caused enhanced activation of Src family kinases and subsequently reduced ERK phosphorylation. Consistently, PSTPIP2 knockdown showed the opposite effect on differentiation and signaling. Moreover, the W232A mutant of PSTPIP2, defective in its interaction with PEST family phosphatases that recruit c-Src terminal kinase (CSK) to suppress Src family kinases, failed to inhibit differentiation and lost its ability to enhance Src family kinases or reduce ERK phosphorylation. In fact, the W232A mutant of PSTPIP2 promoted megakaryocyte differentiation. These observations suggest that PSTPIP2 recruiting PEST phosphatases somehow blocked CSK activity and led to enhanced activation of Src family kinases and reduced ERK phosphorylation, which ultimately repressed megakaryocyte differentiation. Supporting this idea, PSTPIP2 interacted with LYN and the expression of a dominant negative LYN (LYN DN) overwhelmed the inhibitory effect of PSTPIP2 on differentiation and ERK signaling. In addition, a constitutively active LYN (LYN CA) normalized the enhanced megakaryocyte differentiation and repressed ERK signaling in PSTPIP2 knockdown cells. Finally, we found that PSTPIP2 repressed ERK signaling, differentiation, and proliferation and verified that PSTPIP2 upregulation repressed megakaryocyte development in primary mouse bone marrow cells. Our study thus reveals a novel mechanism by which dysregulation of PSTPIP2 due to GATA-1 deficiency may contribute to abnormal megakaryocyte proliferation and differentiation in pathogenesis of related diseases.

Relationship of common expression quantitative trait loci genes to the immune system

Tissue-specific expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) are always linked to specific diseases. In this study, we focused on eQTLs common to multiple tissues and explored their functional mechanisms in disease for the first time. We found 11 common eQTL genes among multiple tissues. Five genes were validated through a genome-wide association study, 3 genes were validated using the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man database, and the others were validated through text mining. Most of these disorders were related to the systemic immune system. In functional analyses using Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, these common eQTL genes were enriched in biological processes and pathways mostly related to the immunity. Therefore, we believe that these common eQTL genes are related to immune system.

A multi-point laser Doppler vibrometer with fiber-based configuration

Laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) is a non-contact optical interferometric system to measure vibrations of structures and machines with a high precision. Normal LDV can only offer a single-point measurement. Scanning LDV is usually impractical to do measurement on transient events. In this paper, a fiber-based self-synchronized multi-point LDV is proposed. The multiple laser beams with different frequency shifts are generated from one laser source. The beams are projected onto a vibrating object, reflected and interfered with a common reference beam. The signal including vibration information of multiple spatial points is captured by one single-pixel photodetector. The optical system is mainly integrated by fiber components for flexibility in measurement. Two experiments are conducted to measure a steady-state simple harmonic vibration of a cantilever beam and a transient vibration of a beam clamped at both ends. In the first measurement, a numerical interpolation is applied to reconstruct the mode shape with increased number of data points. The vibration mode obtained is compared with that from FEM simulation. In transient vibration measurement, the first five resonant frequencies are obtained. The results show the new-reported fiber-based multipoint LDV can offer a vibration measurement on various spatial points simultaneously. With the flexibility of fiber configuration, it becomes more practical for dynamic structural evaluation in industrial areas.

First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Colletotrichum spaethianum on Peucedanum praeruptorum in China

Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is an important crop in Ningguo, China. Since 2010, leaf spot symptoms were observed yearly starting in June. Blighted leaf areas on individual plants ranged from 10 to 25% in many fields, and up to 200 ha were affected each year. Symptoms consisted of small, brown, necrotic spots uniformly distributed on the 1- to 2-week-old leaves. Small tissue pieces from the edges of lesions were disinfected in 2% NaClO for 3 min, rinsed twice in distilled water, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated at 25°C in darkness for 4 days. Single spore isolations were obtained for six strains. When inoculated on SNA media, the six strains produced typical septate mycelium, with the young hyphae hyaline and aged ones white greyish. Setae of the strains on SNA were brown, tip acute, 2- to 3-septate, and 32.5 to 85.6 μm long. Conidiogenous cells were hyaline, cylindrical, 2- to 3-septate, 6.2 to 16.5 μm in length, and 2.8 to 4.3 μm in width. The mature conidia were slightly curved, with round apex and truncate base, 1 to 5 oil globules, and were 13.3 to 23.8 μm in length and 3.0 to 3.9 μm in width, respectively. Appressoria were solitary or in loose groups, dark brown, irregular shapes, and were 6.8 to 9.2 μm in length and 4.3 to 7.1 μm in width. PCR amplification was carried out by utilizing the universal rDNA-ITS primer pair ITS4/ITS5 (1) and the actin gene primer pair ACT-512F and ACT-783R (2). The PCR products of ITS (GenBank Accession No. KC913201) and actin gene (KC913202) from six isolates were identical, respectively, and shared 100% identity to the ITS sequence of strain CBS 167.49 of Colletotrichum spaethianum (GU227807.1) and 99% similarity to the actin gene of strain CBS 167.49 of C. spaethianum (GU227905.1), which was isolated from Hosta sieboldiana in Germany (3). Based on the above, the isolates were identified as C. spaethianum. To confirm pathogenicity, conidial suspensions (10⁵ conidia ml^-1) of each of the six isolates were sprayed on four leaves per plant on five 6-month-old P. praeruptorum plants. Control plants were sprayed with water. Plants were maintained at 28°C in a greenhouse with constant humidity (RH 90%) and a 12-h photoperiod of fluorescent light. Symptoms similar to the original ones started to appear after 10 days, while the control plants remained healthy. The tests were repeated three times and the fungus was recovered and identified as C. spaethianum by both morphology and molecular characterization. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. spaethianum causing leaf spot on P. praeruptorum in China. Since the C. spaethianum infections pose a serious threat to P. praeruptorum production, this disease needs to be considered for developing effective control strategies. References: (1) I. Carbone and L. M. Kohn. Mycologia 91:553, 1999. (2) U. Damm et al. Fung. Divers. 39:45, 2009. (3) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, 1990.