Radial growth of Korshinsk peashrub and its response to drought in different sub-arid climate regions of northwest China.

The increased frequency and intensity of droughts have seriously affected the stability of plantation ecosystems in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Caragana korshinskii Kom. was the dominant afforested shrub species in this region. Evaluating the radial growth of C. korshinskii and its response to drought can provide valuable information for sustainable management of plantations in the context of climate change. In this study, based on 237 shrub C. korshinskii annual ring samples from nine sites in different climate regions, we investigated the response of C. korshinskii radial growth to climate (temperature, precipitation, and monthly resolved standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI_01)), and evaluated the differences between them using calculated indices of drought resistance, recovery, and resilience. The results demonstrate that the radial growth of C. korshinskii was mainly limited by drought stress in the previous September in arid regions and in March and June in semi-arid regions, whereas C. korshinskii in semi-humid regions was less influenced by drought stress. Recovery after drought decreased with increasing resistance, and resilience increased significantly with increasing resistance and recovery. Differences in precipitation were found to be the main factor generating variations in shrub resilience; with an increase in precipitation, the recovery and resilience after drought gradually increased. For plantation management, this study suggests that efficient utilization of precipitation resources and site-specific afforestation in different climate and site conditions may help to enhance resilience and improve the ecological service function of plantation forests in the Loess Plateau.

Kinase SnRK1.1 regulates nitrate channel SLAH3 engaged in nitrate-dependent alleviation of ammonium toxicity.

Nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) are major inorganic nitrogen (N) supplies for plants, but NH4+ as the sole or dominant N source causes growth inhibition in many plants, known as ammonium toxicity. Small amounts of NO3- can significantly mitigate ammonium toxicity, and the anion channel SLAC1 homolog 3 (SLAH3) is involved in this process, but the mechanistic detail of how SLAH3 regulates nitrate-dependent alleviation of ammonium toxicity is still largely unknown. In this study, we identified SnRK1.1, a central regulator involved in energy homeostasis, and various stress responses, as a SLAH3 interactor in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Our results suggest that SNF1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1.1) functions as a negative regulator of SLAH3. Kinase assays indicate SnRK1.1 strongly phosphorylates the C-terminal of SLAH3 at the site S601. Under high-NH4+/low-pH condition, phospho-mimetic and phospho-dead mutations in SLAH3 S601 result in barely rescued phenotypes and fully complemented phenotypes in slah3. Furthermore, SnRK1.1 migrates from cytoplasm to nucleus under high-NH4+/low-pH conditions. The translocation of SnRK1.1 from cytosol to nucleus under high-ammonium stress releases the inhibition on SLAH3, which allows SLAH3-mediated NO3- efflux leading to alleviation of high-NH4+/low-pH stress. Our study reveals that the C-terminal phosphorylation also plays important role in SLAH3 regulation and provides additional insights into nitrate-dependent alleviation of ammonium toxicity in plants.

Hyaluronic acid-coated, prodrug-based nanostructured lipid carriers for enhanced pancreatic cancer therapy.

CONTEXT: Gemcitabine (GEM) and Baicalein (BCL) are reported to have anti-tumor effects including pancreatic cancer. Hyaluronic acid (HA) can bind to over-expressed receptors in various kinds of cancer cells. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to develop prodrugs containing HA, BCL and GEM, and construct nanomedicine incorporate GEM and BCL in the core and HA on the surface. This system could target the cancer cells and co-deliver the drugs. METHODS: GEM-stearic acid lipid prodrug (GEM-SA) and hyaluronic acid-amino acid-baicalein prodrug (HA-AA-BCL) were synthesized. Then, GEM and BCL prodrug-based targeted nanostructured lipid carriers (HA-GEM-BCL NLCs) were prepared by the nanoprecipitation technique. The in vitro cytotoxicity studies of the NLCs were evaluated on AsPC1 pancreatic cancer cell line. In vivo anti-tumor effects were observed on the murine-bearing pancreatic cancer model. RESULTS: HA-GEM-BCL NLCs were effective in entering pancreatic cancer cells over-expressing HA receptors, and showed cytotoxicity of tumor cells in vitro. In vivo study revealed significant tumor growth inhibition ability of HA-GEM-BCL NLCs in murine pancreatic cancer model. CONCLUSION: It could be concluded that HA-GEM-BCL NLCs could be featured as promising co-delivery, tumor-targeted nanomedicine for the treatment of cancers.

The Characteristics of Radial Growth and Ecological Response of Caragana korshinskii Kom. Under Different Precipitation Gradient in the Western Loess Plateau, China.

Understanding the temporal-spatial variability of tree radial growth and ecological response is the basis for assessing forest vulnerability in sight of climate change. We studied stands of the shrub Caragana korshinskii Kom. at four sampling sites (natural forest CL and plantation forests XZJ, CK and TPX) that spanned the different precipitation gradient (180-415 mm) across China's western Loess Plateau, and demonstrated its radial growth dynamics and ecological response. We found that the growth of natural C. korshinskii in arid regions have adapted and cope with regional environmental changes and radial growth was less affected by drought stress. However, the growth of planted C. korshinskii was significantly affected by drought stress in arid and semi-arid regions, especially during the growing season (from June to September). Variations in radial growth rates and growth indicators such as shrub height, canopy area are consistent with the climate-growth relationship. With increase of precipitation, the limiting of drought on the growth of planted C. korshinskii gradually decreased and the amount of radial growth variation explained by drought decreased from 53.8 to 34.2% and 22.3% from 270 to 399 and 415 mm of precipitation, respectively. The age-related radial growth trend shows that radial growth increased until 4 years of age, then decreased rapidly until 12-14 years of age, and then eventually tend to stabilized. In the context of climate warming and humidification, increased precipitation and regular branch coppicing management at around 12 years old will help to mitigate the limitation of drought on the growth of C. korshinskii. Moreover, the initial planting density should be tailored to local precipitation conditions (below 5,000 shrubs per hectare). The above results have important practical significance for the maintenance of the stability and sustainable management of plantation forests in the western Loess Plateau.

Quantification of nardosinone in rat plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and its pharmacokinetics application.

A rapid, sensitive and high-throughput liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method was established and validated to assay the concentration of nardosinone, a main active compound isolated from Nardostachys chinensis, in rat plasma. Plasma samples were processed by protein precipitation with acetonitrile and separated on a Venusil MP-C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm, 5 µm) at an isocratic flow rate of 0.6 mL/min using methanol-0.1% formic acid in water (55 : 45, v/v) as mobile phase, and total run time was 2.5 min. MS-MS detection was accomplished in selected reaction monitoring mode with positive electrospray ionization. The calibration curve was linear over the concentration range of 9.60-320 ng/mL with lower limit of quantification of 9.60 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precisions were below 12.3% in terms of relative standard deviation, and the accuracy was within ±9.0% in terms of relative error. Extraction recovery, matrix effect and stability were also satisfactory in rat plasma. The developed method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of nardosinone following an intravenous injection at a dose of 1.04 mg/kg to Sprague-Dawley rats.