Global expression profiling of transcription factor genes provides new insights into pathogenicity and stress responses in the rice blast fungus.

Because most efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms underpinning fungal pathogenicity have focused on studying the function and role of individual genes, relatively little is known about how transcriptional machineries globally regulate and coordinate the expression of a large group of genes involved in pathogenesis. Using quantitative real-time PCR, we analyzed the expression patterns of 206 transcription factor (TF) genes in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae under 32 conditions, including multiple infection-related developmental stages and various abiotic stresses. The resulting data, which are publicly available via an online platform, provided new insights into how these TFs are regulated and potentially work together to control cellular responses to a diverse array of stimuli. High degrees of differential TF expression were observed under the conditions tested. More than 50% of the 206 TF genes were up-regulated during conidiation and/or in conidia. Mutations in ten conidiation-specific TF genes caused defects in conidiation. Expression patterns in planta were similar to those under oxidative stress conditions. Mutants of in planta inducible genes not only exhibited sensitive to oxidative stress but also failed to infect rice. These experimental validations clearly demonstrated the value of TF expression patterns in predicting the function of individual TF genes. The regulatory network of TF genes revealed by this study provides a solid foundation for elucidating how M. oryzae regulates its pathogenesis, development, and stress responses.

Lipid-lowering treatment practice patterns in korea: comparison with the data obtained from the CEPHEUS Pan-Asian study.

AIM: The Pan-Asian CEPHEUS study assessed low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal attainment among patients under lipid-lowering therapy. We compared Korean and other Asian data in order to investigate international variations in clinical practice in the field of cardiology. METHODS: Hypercholesterolemic patients ≥18 years of age who had been on lipid-lowering treatment for ≥3 months were recruited from eight Asian countries. The lipid concentrations were measured, and demographic and other relevant data were collected. In addition, the cardiovascular risk was determined using criteria established in the updated 2004 NCEP guidelines. RESULTS: In Korea, 92 cardiologists enrolled 1,584 patients. The data of these patients were compared with those for 2,060 patients enrolled by 135 cardiologists from other Asian countries in the CEPHEUS study. The proportion of high-risk patients, frequency of use of more potent LDL-C-lowering regimens and rate of LDL-C goal attainment were significantly greater in the Korean subjects than those observed in the other Asian populations. In addition, the Korean patients were more likely to achieve the LDL-C target (odds ratio=1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.11-1.70) after adjusting for the LDL-C target level, use of potent LDL-C-lowering regimens, the baseline LDL-C level, age and systolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant difference in the goal attainment rate between Korea and the other Asian countries. Korean cardiologists appear to be relatively more aggressive with lipid-lowering treatment than other Asian cardiologists.