ß-Catenin and SOX2 Interaction Regulate Visual Experience-Dependent Cell Homeostasis in the Developing Xenopus Thalamus.

In the vertebrate brain, sensory experience plays a crucial role in shaping thalamocortical connections for visual processing. However, it is still not clear how visual experience influences tissue homeostasis and neurogenesis in the developing thalamus. Here, we reported that the majority of SOX2-positive cells in the thalamus are differentiated neurons that receive visual inputs as early as stage 47 Xenopus. Visual deprivation (VD) for 2 days shifts the neurogenic balance toward proliferation at the expense of differentiation, which is accompanied by a reduction in nuclear-accumulated ß-catenin in SOX2-positive neurons. The knockdown of ß-catenin decreases the expression of SOX2 and increases the number of progenitor cells. Coimmunoprecipitation studies reveal the evolutionary conservation of strong interactions between ß-catenin and SOX2. These findings indicate that ß-catenin interacts with SOX2 to maintain homeostatic neurogenesis during thalamus development.

Combination of Compound Kushen Injection and cisplatin shows synergistic antitumor activity in p53-R273H/P309S mutant colorectal cancer cells through inducing apoptosis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one type of worldwide popular and refractory tumors. Compound Kushen Injection (CKI) is a frequently applied traditional Chinese medicine formula as an adjuvant drug for the chemotherapy of CRC. P53 is the most commonly mutated gene in CRC, accounting for the development, malignant and prognosis progression of CRC. However, effect of CKI on the therapeutic efficacy of p53-mutant CRC remains understood. Besides, the combined efficacy of different chemotherapeutics drugs in combination with CKI for CRC treatment is rarely concerned. AIM OF STUDY: To investigate the combined efficacy of the CKI-derived combination strategies in the p53-mutant CRC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two CRC cell lines HCT116 and SW480 cells, which respectively harbor wild-type p53 and p53-R273H/P309S mutant, were applied. Cisplatin (Cis) and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) were combined chemotherapeutics drugs of CKI-derived combination strategies in this article. In vitro antitumor activity was detected by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay and colony formation assay. Combenefit soft was applied to evaluate the synergetic/antagonistic effect of drug combination. Lentivirus-mediated overexpression method was used to generate a set of p53-mutant and wild-type CRC cell lines harboring identical genomes. Transcriptomics and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were applied to predicate the underlying mechanism of synergetic interaction between drug combination. Western blot was performed to verify predicated pathways contributing to the synergy of drug combination. RESULTS: CKI preferentially combined with Cis but not 5FU, to produce a synergistical antitumor efficiency for p53-R273H/P309S mutant, rather than wild-type p53 harboring CRC cells. The combination of CKI and Cis strongly reprogrammed the transcriptional profiles of SW480 cells. Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway was a key pathway involved in cooperativity between CKI and Cis in SW480 cells. Mechanistically, compared to that Cis individually triggered necroptosis, the co-treatment of CKI and Cis reinforced the cell death of SW480 cells in a possible synergistic manner by inducing extrinsic apoptosis pathway. CONCLUSION: This article provides a novel perspective into the precision clinical application of CKI-derived combination therapy programs of CRC based on genetic variation and the classes of chemotherapeutics drugs.

Effect of seed treatment by cold plasma on the resistance of tomato to Ralstonia solanacearum (Bacterial Wilt).

This study investigated the effect of cold plasma seed treatment on tomato bacterial wilt, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum (R. solanacearum), and the regulation of resistance mechanisms. The effect of cold plasma of 80W on seed germination, plant growth, nutrient uptake, disease severity, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration and activities of peroxidase (POD; EC 1.11.1.7), polyphenol oxidase (PPO; EC 1.10.3.2) and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL; EC 4.3.1.5) were examined in tomato plants. Plasma treatment increased tomato resistance to R. solanacearum with an efficacy of 25.0%. Plasma treatment significantly increased both germination and plant growth in comparison with the control treatment, and plasma-treated plants absorbed more calcium and boron than the controls. In addition, H2O2 levels in treated plants rose faster and reached a higher peak, at 2.579 µM gFW-1, 140% greater than that of the control. Activities of POD (421.3 U gFW-1), PPO (508.8 U gFW-1) and PAL (707.3 U gFW-1) were also greater in the treated plants than in the controls (103.0 U gFW-1, 166.0 U gFW-1 and 309.4 U gFW-1, respectively). These results suggest that plasma treatment affects the regulation of plant growth, H2O2 concentration, and POD, PPO and PAL activity in tomato, resulting in an improved resistance to R. solanacearum. Consequently, cold plasma seed treatment has the potential to control tomato bacterial wilt caused by R. solanacearum.