Biology and morphometric relationship of gall inducers Contarinia sp. and corresponding parasitoids for swollen galls of Nitraria sibirica pall.

Galls function as provide shelter for gall inducers, guarding them against their natural enemies. Previous research has illuminated the interactions between galls, gall inducers, and their corresponding parasitoids within various caltrop plants. However, less is known about these relationships within Nitraria sibirica, particularly regarding the efficacy of parasitism. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the morphometric relationships among the swollen galls, gall inducers, and their parasitoids. Two species of gall inducers and three species of parasitoids were obtained from the swollen galls of N. sibirica. The correlations of the parasitization indexes, the lifespan of gall inhabitants, and temperature and the morphometric relationships between the galls and their inhabitants were analyzed. The dominant gall inducer identified was Contarinia sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Furthermore, it was observed that three solitary parasitoids attacked Contarinia sp. in the swollen galls, with only Eupelmus gelechiphagus acting as an idiobiont ectoparasitoid. The dominant parasitoids were Platygaster sp. and Cheiloneurus elegans at sites 1 and 2, respectively, with Platygaster sp. displaying greater abundance than C. elegans in the swollen galls. The lifespan of the gall inhabitants shortened gradually as the temperature increased. Moreover, the optimal number of gall chambers ranged from two to four per swollen gall with maximized fitness, which can be considered the optimal population density for the gall inducer Contarinia sp. Morphometric analysis exhibited a strong linear correlation between gall size and chamber number or the number of gall inhabitants, as well as a weak correlation between gall size and body size of the primary inhabitants of swollen galls. Our results highlight the importance of the biological investigation of parasitoids and gall inducers living in closed galls with multiple chambers and may pave the way for potential application in biological control.

FLAIR-hyperintense lesions in anti-MOG-associated encephalitis with seizures overlaying anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis: a case report and literature review.

Background: FLAIR-hyperintense lesions in anti-MOG-associated encephalitis with seizures (FLAMES) has been identified increasingly frequently in recent years. However, this rare MOG antibody disease may coexist with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (anti-NMDARe), in an overlap syndrome with unknown clinical features and prognosis. Methods: We report a new case of this overlap syndrome and present a systematic review of similar cases in the literature to provide information on the clinical presentation, MRI features, EGG abnormalities, treatment, and prognosis of patients with this rare syndrome. Results: A total of 12 patients were analyzed in the study. The most common clinical manifestations of FLAMES overlaid with anti-NMDARe were epilepsy (12/12), headache (11/12), and fever (10/12). Increases in intracranial pressure (median: 262.5 mmH2O, range: 150-380 mmH2O), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leukocyte count (median: 128×106/L, range: 1-610×106/L), and protein level (median: 0.48 g/L) were also observed. The median CSF anti-NMDAR antibody titer was 1:10 (1:1-1:32), while the median serum MOG antibody titer was 1:32 (1:10-1:1024). Seven cases exhibited unilateral cortical FLAIR hyperintensity, and five cases (42%) had bilateral cortical FLAIR hyperintensity, including four cases involving the bilateral medial frontal lobes. Of the 12 patients, five showed lesions at other sites (e.g., the brainstem, corpus callosum, or frontal orbital gyrus) before or after the development of cortical encephalitis. EEG showed slow waves in four cases, spike-slow waves in two cases, an epileptiform pattern in one case, and normal waves in two cases. The median number of relapses was two. Over a mean follow-up period of 18.5 months, only one patient experienced residual visual impairment, while the remaining 11 patients had good prognoses. Conclusion: FLAMES alone is difficult to distinguish from overlap syndrome based on clinical features. However, FLAMES with bilateral medial frontal lobe involvement suggests the presence of the overlap syndrome.

Sodium butyrate increases P-gp expression in lung cancer by upregulation of STAT3 and mRNA stabilization of ABCB1.

As a new type of anticancer drug, the effect of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) in cancer clinical therapy is disappointing owing to drug resistance. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is clearly recognized as a multidrug resistance protein. However, the relationship between P-gp and sodium butyrate (SB), a kind of HDACIs, has not been investigated. In this study, we found that SB increased mRNA and protein expression of P-gp in lung cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms were elucidated. We found that SB treatment enhanced the mRNA and protein expression of STAT3 rather than that of ß-catenin, Foxo3a, PXR, or CAR, which were reported to directly regulate the transcription of ABCB1, a P-gp-encoding gene. Interestingly, inhibition of STAT3 expression obviously attenuated SB-increased P-gp expression in lung cancer cells, indicating that STAT3 played an important role in SB-mediated P-gp upregulation. Furthermore, we found that SB increased the mRNA stability of ABCB1. In summary, this study showed that SB increased P-gp expression by facilitating transcriptional activation and improving ABCB1 mRNA stability. This study indicated that we should pay more attention to HDACIs during cancer clinical therapy.

Downregulation of both EGFR and ErbB3 improves the cellular response to pemetrexed in an established pemetrexed­resistant lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and ErbB3 (HER3) play important roles in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, anti-apoptosis and chemoresistance; however, their dysregulation in pemetrexed (PEM) resistance remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to clarify the relationship between PEM resistance and gene expression of EGFR and ErbB3, by establishing the PEM-resistant lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line, A549/PEM. Compared with A549 cells, the A549/PEM cells were significantly more resistant to PEM (P=0.0024). The downregulation of S phase and arrest at G1 stage were detected in the A549/PEM cell line when compared to the A549 cells (P<0.05). The apoptosis rate of A549/PEM cells was much lower than that of the A549 cells after a 24 h continuous exposure to PEM (P<0.001). Real-time PCR and western blotting demonstrated the overexpression of EGFR and ErbB3 in A549/PEM cells. However, downregulation of EGFR or ErbB3 by lentiviral delivered shRNAs in A549/PEM cells showed no significant correlation with PEM sensitivity while silencing both EGFR and ErbB3 increased the cellular response to PEM in the A549/PEM cells and significantly decreased phosphorylation of STAT3, AKT and ERK. Together, these data suggest that either high expression of EGFR or ErbB3 plays a critical role in the cellular response to PEM in human lung adenocarcinoma cells though EGFR/ErbB3-dependent pathways.