The functional study of a novel MKRN3 missense mutation associated with familial central precocious puberty.

Central precocious puberty (CPP) refers to a syndrome of early puberty initiation with a characteristic increase in the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH); therefore, it is also called GnRH-related precocious puberty. About a quarter of idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) may be familial. Studies suggest that mutations of makorin ring finger protein 3 (MKRN3) can cause familial central precocious puberty (FCPP). In this report, we describe a Chinese female patient carrying a novel MKRN3 variant (c.980G>A/p.Arg327His) and presenting the CPP phenotype. This novel variant attenuated its own ubiquitination, degradation, and inhibition on the transcriptional and translational activity of GNRH1, which was verified through functional tests. We can consider this variant as a loss-of-function mutation, which subsides the inhibition of GnRH1-related signaling and gives rise to GnRH-related precocious puberty.

Effectiveness of potato late blight (Phytophthora infestans) forecast by meteorological estimation in mountainous terrain based on CARAH rules.

Potato late blight (PLB) caused by Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary, its incidence and development are highly dependent on meteorological conditions. To solve the problem of PLB in mountainous terrain under the condition of limited meteorological monitoring capability, the air temperature and humidity was estimated based on the basic meteorological datasets, the forecast effect of the onset period and infection cycle of PLB based on CARAH rules was evaluated. The average MAE, RMSE and CI of the estimated air temperature and observations were 1.17 °C, 1.52 °C and 0.95, respectively. The average MAE, RMSE and CI of the estimated relative humidity and observations were 8.0 %, 10.7 % and 0.53, respectively. The curve of the infection cycle of PLB at different locations were estimated from the basic meteorological datasets based on the CARAH rules, and the false alarm and missing ratios were 8.8 % and 4.6 % respectively. It may be delayed by 1 or 2 fungal generations compared to the observations, and then the protective fungicide should be adjusted to a systemic fungicide. The false alarm of the infection cycle of PLB may increase in dry air conditions, and the missing report may occur in humid condition.

Characteristics of Gut Microbiome and Its Metabolites, Short-Chain Fatty Acids, in Children With Idiopathic Short Stature.

Background: The gut microbiome is important for host nutrition and metabolism. Whether the gut microbiome under normal diet regulate human height remains to be addressed. Our study explored the possible relationship between gut microbiota, its metabolic products and the pathogenesis of idiopathic short stature disease (ISS) by comparing the gut microbiota between children with ISS and of normal height, and also the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by the gut microbiota. Methods: The subjects of this study were 32 prepubescent children aged 4-8 years. The fecal microbial structure of the subjects was analyzed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology. The concentrations of SCFAs in feces were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: The richness of gut microbiota in ISS group was decreased, and the composition of gut microbiota was significantly different between ISS group and control group. The relative abundance of nine species including family Ruminococcaceae and genera Faecalibacterium and Eubacterium, in ISS group was significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.05). The relative abundance of 10 species, such as those belonging to genus Parabacteroides and genus Clostridium, in ISS group was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05). The concentration of total SCFAs and butyrate in ISS group was significantly lower than that in control group. The correlation analysis among different species, clinical indicators, and SCFAs showed that the relative abundance of family Ruminococcaceae and genera Faecalibacterium and Eubacterium was positively correlated with the standard deviation score of height. Furthermore, the concentrations of total SCFAs and butyrate were positively correlated with serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)-SDS. Disease prediction model constructed based on the bacteria who abundance differed between healthy children and ISS children exhibited high diagnostic value (AUC: 0.88). Conclusions: The composition of gut microbiota and the change in its metabolite levels may be related to ISS pathogenesis. Strains with increased or decreased specificity could be used as biomarkers to diagnose ISS.

ERp29 inhibits tumorigenicity by suppressing epithelial mesenchymal transition in gastric cancer.

ERp29 is a novel endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein that plays an important role in protein unfolding and secretion. Recently, it has been reported to be widely implicated in control of tumorigenesis in some tumors. However, the potential function of ERp29 in gastric cancer remains poorly understood. In this study, we found that the positive rate of ERp29 in gastric cancer tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent non-tumor tissues. And tumor with high ERp29 expression had inclinations towards smaller tumor size and earlier TNM stage. The in vitro experiments indicated that over-expression of ERp29 in gastric cancer cells significantly suppressed the proliferation and migration of tumor cells, which is consistent with the result of the in vivo animal experiments. Furthermore, our mechanistic investigations revealed that ERp29 reversed EMT process in gastric carcinoma, and its effect was related to the inactivation of ERK1/2 and AKT phosphorylation. Thus, we conclude that ERp29 acts as a tumor suppressor gene in gastric cancer, and is expected to become a novel target of the treatment of GC.

[Mathematical simulation of stomatal regulation involving root-sourced signaling ABA under soil drought condition].

A stomatal conduction model consisting of root water uptake model and stomatal control model under the participation of root-sourced signal ABA was developed in this paper, which considered the root water uptake effect function and root length density distribution function during root-sourced signal production. This model was used to simulate the course of maize stomatal conduction controlled by the root-sourced signal in field. The results showed that owing to the considering of the influence of root water uptake effect function and root length density distribution in soil profile, this model could more accurately depict the intensity of root water uptake, the ABA concentration produced in root system, the root ABA concentration in different soil layers and in xylem, and the controlling process of plant stomatal regulation by root-sourced ABA.

[Mechanism of stomatal regulation by root sourced signaling and its agricultural signficance].

Under soil drought condition, root sourced signal abcisic acid (ABA) plays an important role in the long distance signaling process, and can be a measurement of soil water availability. ABA is also an effective stomatal closing agent, and acts to reduce transpiration and canopy water loss. This paper briefly introduced the physiological mechanism and theoretical model about the stomatal regulation by root sourced signaling, and indicated that the combination of this model with root water absorption model and stomatal conductance model could be more effective in depicting the response of plant to soil drying and atmospheric drought. In addition, some effective irrigation approaches, such as regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), partial root-zone drying (PRD) and controlled alternative irrigation (CAI) were profited from the mechanism of plant water use regulation by the root sourced signaling. These irrigation measures favored to reasonably distribute available soil water in root-zone. Root signaling system also played important role in regulating root growth and its development, retarding shoot growth to adjusting root shoot ratio, and optimizing assimilation allocation to favor to improve reproductive development. These processes hold substantial promise for enhancing crop water use efficiency.