Paenibacillus oryzisoli sp. nov., isolated from the rhizosphere of rice.

A novel bacterium, strain 1ZS3-15T, was isolated from rhizosphere of rice. Its taxonomic position was investigated using a polyphasic approach. The novel strain was observed to be Gram-stain positive, spore-forming, aerobic, motile and rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain 1ZS3-15T was recovered within the genus Paenibacillus. It is closely related to Paenibacillus pectinilyticus KCTC 13222T (97.9 % similarity), Paenibacillus frigoriresistens CCTCC AB 2011150T (96.8 %), Paenibacillus alginolyticus JCM 9068T (96.4 %) and Paenibacillus chondroitinus DSM 5051T (95.5 %). The fatty acid profile of strain 1ZS3-15T, which showed a predominance of anteiso-C15:0 and iso-C16:0, supported the allocation of the strain into the genus Paenibacillus. The predominant menaquinone was found to be MK-7. The polar lipids profile of strain 1ZS3-15T was found to consist of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, one unidentified lipid and two unidentified aminophospholipids. The cell wall peptidoglycan contains meso-diaminopimelic acid. Based on draft genome sequences, the DNA-DNA relatedness between strain 1ZS3-15T and the closely related species P. pectinilyticus KCTC 13222T are 24.2 ± 1.0 %, and the Average Nucleotide Identity values between the strains are 78.9 ± 0.1 %, which demonstrated that this isolate represents a new species in the genus Paenibacillus. The DNA G+C content was determined to be 45.3 mol%, which is within the range reported for Paenibacillus species. Characterisation by genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic analysis indicated that strain 1ZS3-15T represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus oryzisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 1ZS3-15T (= ACCC 19783T = JCM 30487T).

Paenibacillusoryzae sp. nov., isolated from rice roots.

A novel endophytic bacterium, strain 1DrF-4T, isolated from rice roots, was characterized on the basis of its phenotypic characteristics and genotypic information. The novel strain was Gram-positive-staining, endospore-forming, facultatively anaerobic, motile and rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain 1DrF-4T formed a monophyletic clade within the genus Paenibacillus. The most phylogenetically related species was Paenibacillus pinesoli KACC 17472T, with which strain 1DrF-4T showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 95.2 %. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities with type strains of other species of the genus Paenibacillus were less than 95 %. The predominant cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 (61.1 %) and C16 : 0 (11.1 %), which is one of the characteristic traits of the genus Paenibacillus. The quinone system contained exclusively menaquinone MK-7. The polar lipid profile contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, glycolipid and an unknown phospholipid. The DNA G+C content was 50.16 mol%, which was within the range reported for species of the genus Paenibacillus. Characterization by genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic analysis indicated that strain 1DrF-4T (=ACCC 19927T=JCM 30486T) represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillusoryzae sp. nov. is proposed.

Astragaloside IV relieves IL-1ß-induced human nucleus pulposus cells degeneration through modulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a multifactorial disease that is associated with nucleus pulposus (NP) apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) degeneration and inflammation. Astragaloside IV (AS IV) has antioxidant, free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effects. This study was to investigate whether AS IV could inhibit IL-1ß-mediated apoptosis of HNP cells and its possible signal transduction pathway. METHODS: Human nucleus pulposus cells (HNPCs) were stimulated with AS IV or LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor), followed by exposure to IL-1ß for 24 hours. CCK8, TUNEL analysis and flow cytometry, ELISA and Western blotting were used to analyze the effects of AS IV on cell proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation, ECM and PI3K/Akt pathway signaling path-related proteins in IL-1ß-induced HNPCs. RESULTS: Compared with IL-1ß-induced HNPCs, AS IV could improve the proliferation activity and the expressions of Collagen II, Aggrecan and Bcl-2 proteins, inhibit the apoptosis rate, inflammation and Bax and cleaved caspase-3 protein expression, and increase the activity of PI3K/Akt pathway. LY294002 attenuated the protective effect of AS IV against IL-1ß-induced HNPCs degeneration. CONCLUSION: AS IV can inhibit IL-1ß-induced HNPCs apoptosis inflammation and ECM degeneration by activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which can be an effective drug to reduce disc degeneration.

Effect of miR-135b inhibitor on biological characteristics of osteosarcoma cells through up-regulating PPM1A.

miR-135b is expressed abnormally in various tumors and plays an important role in the occurrence and development of tumors bydifferent pathways. The role of miR-135b in osteosarcoma (OS) and its mechanisms were uncertain. The study aimed to clarify the role of miR-135b in osteosarcoma (OS) cells and explore the effect of miR-135b inhibitor on the biological characteristics of OS cells. Firstly, Compared with adjacent bone tissues, the expression of miR-135b was increased and inversely correlated with potential target-PPM1A mRNA, while the expression of PPM1A was decreased in OS tissues. Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to verify that PPM1A was a target gene of miR-135b and RT-PCR and western blot were used to detect that miR-135b negatively regulated expression of PPM1A in MG63 and U2OS cell lines. After transfection, miR-135b inhibitor significantly inhibited cell proliferation and invasion both in MG63 and U2OS cells and blocked cell cycle in the G2/M phase and induced cells apoptosis, while PPM1A knockdown abolished the inhibition of miR-135b inhibitor on the proliferation and invasion of OS cells. In conclusion, miR-135b is up-regulated in OS cells and down regulating miR-135b expression could inhibit the proliferation and invasion of OS cells by up-regulating PPM1A. miR-135b might be a new therapeutic target of OS.

Albumin-bioinspired iridium oxide nanoplatform with high photothermal conversion efficiency for synergistic chemo-photothermal of osteosarcoma.

Protein-based nanocarriers with inherent biocompatibility have been widely served as building blocks to construct versatile therapeutic nanoplatforms. Herein, bovine serum albumin-iridium oxide nanoparticles (denoted BSA-IrO2 NPs) are successfully synthesized via one-step biomineralization approach. The BSA-IrO2 NPs exhibits uniform size (40 nm), superb biocompatibility and high drug loading capacity for doxorubicin (27.4 wt%). Under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, the as-prepared BSA-IrO2 NPs exhibited high photothermal conversion ability (54.3%) and good photostability. The in vitro drug release experiments displayed pH and NIR laser -triggered DOX release profiles, which could enhance the therapeutic anticancer effect. By utilizing this DOX loaded nanoplatform, effective synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy against human osteosarcoma can be realized, which has been systematically verified both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, in vivo pharmacokinetics studies showed that BSA-IrO2@DOX had prolonged blood circulation time due to the BSA component can improve the stealthiness of the nanoparticles during the blood circulation. Meanwhile, in vitro and in vivo toxicity studies demonstrated that the BSA-IrO2 NPs can act as biocompatible agents for drug delivery and cancer therapy. Therefore, this work presents a biomineralized iridium-based NPs with remarkable features and be used as a very potential therapeutic nanoplatform for cancer treatment.

[Correlation analysis between interleukin 6 polymorphism and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis susceptibility and bracing effectiveness].

Objective: To analyze the correlation between the polymorphism on interleukin 6 (IL-6) gene promoter region-174 locus and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), including the susceptibility, the bracing effectiveness, and the possible mechanism. Methods: The 182 AIS patients and 210 healthy controls who met the inclusion criteria between January 2013 and January 2016 were collected as research objects. The genotype of IL-6 gene promoter region-174 locus, the serum IL-6, the bone mineral density (BMD) of femoral neck and vertebrae (L 1-4), and the bone metabolism parameters, including bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), bone gla protein (BGP), tartrate resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP-5b), urine Ca, and urine Ca/Cr, were detected. All research objects were divided into the AIS group and the control group according to whether they had AIS, the GG, CG, CC groups according to their genotype, and progression-free group and progression group according to the therapeutic effectiveness of 1-year bracing treatment. Statistical analysis for the indexes were conducted respectively. Results: There were significant differences in AIS history, BMD of femoral neck and lumbar vertebrae between the AIS group and control group ( P<0.05). According to the therapeutic effecitveness of 1-year bracing treatment, 182 AIS patients were divided into progression-free group in 110 cases and progression group in 72 cases. The results of single factor analysis showed that there were significant differences in the genotype and allele distribution of IL-6 gene promoter region-174 locus, BMD of femoral neck and lumbar vertebrae, IL-6, TRACP-5b, urine Ca, and urine Ca/Cr between the progression-free group and progression group ( P<0.05). The results of multivariable analysis showed that the BMD of lumbar vertebrae, TRACP-5b, and urine Ca were the influencing factors of bracing efficacy ( P<0.05). According to the results of genotype detection, all research objects were divided into GG group in 264 cases, CG group in 104 cases, and CC group in 24 cases. The IL-6, TRACP-5b, urine Ca, and urine Ca/Cr of GG type carriers were higher and BMD of femoral neck and lumbar vertebrae were lower when compared with the CG and CC type carriers ( P<0.05). The BMD of lumbar vertebrae of CG type carriers was lower than that of CC type carriers ( P<0.05). Conclusion: The polymorphism of IL-6 genepromoter region-174 locus wasn't correlated with the AIS susceptibility, but it was correlated (not independently correlated) with the scoliosis progression under bracing treatment, and the risk for G-carried patients was higher. The mechanism may be that the polymorphism affected the IL-6 expression level and eventually affected the BMD of AIS patients through the bone metabolism.