Neuropsychiatric manifestations of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis in a 14-year-old female: A case report.

Key Clinical Message: This case underscores the critical importance of timely recognition and management of NMDAR encephalitis in adolescents to mitigate potential long-term sequelae. If a pediatric patient presents with suspected viral encephalitis, autoimmune etiology must be excluded via cerebrospinal fluid antibody assay to guide appropriate immunosuppressive therapy, and improve patient outcomes. Abstract: Autoimmune encephalitis particularly involving the n-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is recognized as a rare cause of acute encephalopathy in pediatric patients. The following case is of a 14-year-old female diagnosed with anti-NMDAR encephalitis who initially presented with fever, episodic convulsions, and loss of consciousness. She subsequently developed right-sided body weakness, expressive aphasia, and visual hallucinations. Clinical examination revealed prominent neuropsychiatric manifestations such as altered sensorium, motor deficits, hallucinations, and visual disturbances. Cerebello-bulbar signs were not appreciable in this particular case. She was treated for viral encephalitis but showed no improvement. Laboratory investigations revealed the presence of NMDAR antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid confirming the diagnosis of autoimmune etiology. The patient demonstrated notable improvement following immunosuppressive treatment.

Determination of Self-(In)compatibility and Inter-(In)compatibility Relationships in Citrus Using Manual Pollination, Microscopy, and S-Genotype Analyses.

Citrus uses S-RNase-based self-incompatibility to reject self-pollen and, therefore, requires nearby pollinizer trees for successful pollination and fertilization. However, identifying suitable varieties to serve as pollinizers is a time-consuming process. To solve this problem, we have developed a rapid method for identifying pollination-compatible citrus cultivars that utilizes agarose gel electrophoresis and aniline blue staining. Pollen compatibility is determined based on the identification of S genotypes by extracting total DNA and performing PCR-based genotyping assays with specific primers. Additionally, styles are collected 3-4 days after manual pollination, and aniline blue staining is performed. Finally, the growth status of the pollen tubes is observed with a fluorescence microscope. Pollen compatibility and incompatibility can be established by observing whether the pollen tube growth is normal or suppressed, respectively. Due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, this method is an effective tool for determining the pollen compatibility and incompatibility of different citrus varieties to establish incompatibility groups and incompatibility relationships between different cultivars. This method provides information essential for the successful selection of suitable pollinizer trees and, thus, facilitates the establishment of new orchards and the selection of appropriate parents for breeding programs.

LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics approach identified novel antioxidant flavonoids associated with drought tolerance in citrus species.

Citrus fruits are cultivated around the world, and they face drought stress frequently during their growth and development. Previous studies showed that citrus plants biosynthesized flavonoid compounds in response to abiotic stress. In this study, we have quantified 37 flavonoid compounds from the leaves of three distinct citrus species including sour orange (drought-tolerant), pummelo 'Majia you pummelo' (drought-sensitive), and lemon (drought-sensitive). The 37 flavonoids consisted of 12 flavones, 10 flavonols, 6 flavanones, 5 isoflavanones, and 1 each for chalcone, flavanol, flavanonol, and flavone glycoside. Drought stress differentially altered the flavonoid metabolism in drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive citrus species. The kaempferol 3-neohesperidoside was 17-fold higher in sour orange (124.41 nmol/L) after 18 days of drought stress than lemon (7.33 nmol/L). In sour orange, neohesperidin (69.49 nmol/L) was 1,407- and 37-fold higher than pummelo and lemon, respectively. In sour orange, some flavonoids were significantly increased, such as vitexin, neohesperidin, cynaroside, hyperoside, genistin, kaempferol 3-neohesperidoside, eriocitrin, and luteolin, in response to drought stress, whereas in lemon, these flavonoids were significantly decreased or not altered significantly in response to drought stress. Moreover, the total contents of flavonoids and antioxidant activity were increased in sour orange as compared with pummelo and lemon. The genes associated with flavonoid biosynthesis (PAL, CHI, FLS, GT1, F3H, F3'M, C4H, 4CL, FLS, FG2, FG3, and CYP81E1) were more highly expressed in sour orange leaves than in pummelo and lemon after drought stress. These outcomes showed that pummelo and lemon failed to biosynthesize antioxidant flavonoids to cope with the prolonged drought stress, whereas the sour orange biosynthesized fortified flavonoid compounds with increased antioxidant activity to detoxify the harmful effects of reactive oxygen species produced during drought stress.

Downregulated expression of S2-RNase attenuates self-incompatibility in "Guiyou No. 1" pummelo.

Self-incompatibility (SI) substantially restricts the yield and quality of citrus. Therefore, breeding and analyzing self-compatible germplasm is of great theoretical and practical significance for citrus. Here, we focus on the mechanism of a self-compatibility mutation in 'Guiyou No. 1' pummelo (Citrus maxima), which is a spontaneous mutant of 'Shatian' pummelo (Citrus maxima, self-incompatibility). The rate of fruit set and the growth of pollen tubes in the pistil confirmed that a spontaneous mutation in the pistil is responsible for the self-compatibility of 'Guiyou No. 1'. Segregation ratios of the S genotype in F1 progeny, expression analysis, and western blotting validated that the reduced levels of S2-RNase mRNA contribute to the loss of SI in 'Guiyou No. 1'. Furthermore, we report a phased assembly of the 'Guiyou No. 1' pummelo genome and obtained two complete and well-annotated S haplotypes. Coupled with an analysis of SV variations, methylation levels, and gene expression, we identified a candidate gene (CgHB40), that may influence the regulation of the S2-RNase promoter. Our data provide evidence that a mutation that affects the pistil led to the loss of SI in 'Guiyou No. 1' by influencing a poorly understood mechanism that affects transcriptional regulation. This work significantly advances our understanding of the genetic basis of the SI system in citrus and provides information on the regulation of S-RNase genes.