Anatomy and transcript profiling of gynoecium development in female sterile Brassica napus mediated by one alien chromosome from Orychophragmus violaceus.

BACKGROUND: The gynoecium is one of the most complex organs of angiosperms specialized for seed production and dispersal, but only several genes important for ovule or embryo sac development were identified by using female sterile mutants. The female sterility in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) was before found to be related with one alien chromosome from another crucifer Orychophragmus violaceus. Herein, the developmental anatomy and comparative transcript profiling (RNA-seq) for the female sterility were performed to reveal the genes and possible metabolic pathways behind the formation of the damaged gynoecium. RESULTS: The ovules in the female sterile Brassica napus with two copies of the alien chromosomes (S1) initiated only one short integument primordium which underwent no further development and the female gametophyte development was blocked after the tetrad stage but before megagametogenesis initiation. Using Brassica_ 95k_ unigene as the reference genome, a total of 28,065 and 27,653 unigenes were identified to be transcribed in S1 and donor B. napus (H3), respectively. Further comparison of the transcript abundance between S1 and H3 revealed that 4540 unigenes showed more than two fold expression differences. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis of the Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) showed that a number of important genes and metabolism pathways were involved in the development of gynoecium, embryo sac, ovule, integuments as well as the interactions between pollen and pistil. CONCLUSIONS: DEGs for the ovule development were detected to function in the metabolism pathways regulating brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis, adaxial/abaxial axis specification, auxin transport and signaling. A model was proposed to show the possible roles and interactions of these pathways for the sterile gynoecium development. The results provided new information for the molecular mechanisms behind the gynoecium development at early stage in B. napus.

[Analysis of the clinical effect of percutaneous pedicle screw fixation combined with transpedicular bone grafting in the treatment of thoracolumbar fracture].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of percutaneous screw fixation combined with minimally invasive transpedicular bone grafting and non-bone grafting in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures. METHODS: From Janury 2021 to June 2022, 40 patients with thoracolumbar fracture were divided into the experimental group and the control group. There were 26 patients in the experimental group, including 21 males and 5 females with an aberage age of (47.3±12.3) years old, who underwent percutaneous pedicle screw fixation combined with transpedicular autogenous bone grafting. In the control group, 14 patients received percutaneous pedicle screw fixation only. including 7 makes and 7 females with an average age of (50.2±11.2) years old. The operative time, intraoperative blood loss, anterior height ratio of injured vertebrae, Cobb angle, visual analogue score (VAS), MacNab scores, loosening or broken of the implants. were compared and analyzed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, VAS and anterior height ratio of injured vertebrae between the two groups. Compared with the preoperative results, VAS and anterior height ratio of injured vertebrae were improved statistically(P<0.05). For Cobb angle of injured vertebra, there was no significant difference between the two groups before surgery (P=0.766). While at 1 week, 3 months and 12 months after surgery, there were statistically differences between the two groups (P values were 0.042, 0.007 and 0.039, respectively). The Cobb angle of injured vertebrae one year after operation was statistically decreased in both groups compared with that before surgery (P<0.001). One year after surgery, the excellent and good rate of Macnab scores was 96.15% in the experimental group and 92.86% in the control group, and there was no statistical differences between the two groups (P=0.648). There was one patient in the control group suffering superficial wound infection on the third day, which was cured by dressing change and anti-infection treatment. There were no postoperative screw loosening and broken in both groups. CONCLUSION: The two surgical methods have the advantages of less trauma, less pain and quicker recovery, which can restore the height of the injured vertebra, reconstruct the spinal sequence and reduce the fracture of the vertebral body. Transpedicular autogenous bone grafting can increase the stability of the fractured vertebra and maintain the height of the vertebra better after surgery, thus reducing the possibility of complications such as kyphosis, screw loosening and broken.

Minimally invasive treatment of unstable pelvic ring injuries with modified pedicle screw-rod fixator.

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of the minimally invasive modified pedicle screw-rod fixator for unstable pelvic ring injuries, including its feasibility, merits, and limitations. Methods Twenty-three patients (13 males, 10 females; average age, 36.3 years) with unstable pelvic ring injuries underwent anterior fixation using a modified pedicle screw-rod fixator with or without posterior fixation using a transiliac internal fixator. The clinical findings were assessed using Majeed scores. The quality of reduction was evaluated using the Matta criteria. Results Clinical results at 1 year postoperatively were excellent in 14 patients, good in 7, and fair in 2. The two patients with fair results had intermittent pain at the sacroiliac joint because of the posterior implant. One woman complained of persistent pain at the pubic tubercle during sexual intercourse. Iatrogenic neuropraxia of the unilateral lateral femoral cutaneous nerve occurred in three patients. Unilateral femoral nerve palsy occurred in one patient. The quality of fracture reduction was excellent in 12 patients, good in 8, and fair in 3. Heterotopic ossification occurred in eight patients; all were asymptomatic. Conclusions Minimally invasive modified pedicle screw-rod fixation is an effective alternative treatment for pelvic ring injuries.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 antagonizes lumbar disc degeneration through enhanced autophagy.

Autophagy has been shown to antagonize the development of Lumbar disc degeneration (LDD), whereas the molecular regulation of autophagy is unknown. We recently reported a potential role of Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R)/phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3k)/Akt signaling in the initiation and progression of LDD. Here, we studied the effects of IGF1R signaling on disc cell autophagy. We showed a correction of activation of IGF1R and disc cell autophagy in the resected discs in LDD patients. In vitro, activation of IGF1R signaling antagonized the decreases in cell viability of human disc cells, HNPSV, through suppression of apoptosis and enhancement of autophagy. Suppression of IGF1R signaling or inhibition of autophagy abolished the effects of activation of IGF1R signaling on disc cell survival upon compression. Together, our data suggest that activation of IGF1R may antagonize LDD, at least partially through enhanced autophagy.

Regulation of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor signaling by microRNA-4458 in the development of lumbar disc degeneration.

A potential role of Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) receptor/phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3k)/Akt signaling in the initiation and progression of Lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) has been recently reported. However, the regulation of IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) at post-transcriptional levels in the development of LDD remains unknown. Here, we studied the effects of microRNA-4458 on the expression of IGF1R. We examined the IGF1R levels and microRNA-4458 (miR-4458) levels in the resected LDD discs, compared with the traumatized, non-LDD discs. We analyzed the binding of miR-4458 to the 3'-UTR of IGF1R mRNA and its effects on IGF1R translation by bioinformatics analysis and by luciferase-reporter assay, respectively. We modified miR-4458 levels in a human nucleus pulposus SV40 cell line (HNPSV), and examined the effects of miR-4458 on the expression of IGF1R and Akt, as well as their phosphorylation. We found that the levels of miR-4458 were significantly higher and the levels of IGF1R were significantly lower in LDD discs, compared with the control non-LDD discs. The levels of IGF1R inversely correlated with the levels of miR-4458 in LDD discs. Moreover, miR-4458 was found to bind to the 3'-UTR of IGF1R mRNA to prevent its translation. In miR-4458-modified HNPSV cells, we found that miR-4458 decreased both total IGF1R and phosphorylated IGF1R, resulting in deceases in phosphorylated Akt. Thus, these data suggest that miR-4458 may suppress PI3k/Akt signaling pathway through 3'-UTR-inhibtion of IGF1R mRNA to promote development of LDD.