Multi-Omics Revealed Peanut Root Metabolism Regulated by Exogenous Calcium under Salt Stress.

High salinity severely inhibits plant seedling root development and metabolism. Although plant salt tolerance can be improved by exogenous calcium supplementation, the metabolism molecular mechanisms involved remain unclear. In this study, we integrated three types of omics data (transcriptome, metabolome, and phytohormone absolute quantification) to analyze the metabolic profiles of peanut seedling roots as regulated by exogenous calcium under salt stress. (1) exogenous calcium supplementation enhanced the allocation of carbohydrates to the TCA cycle and plant cell wall biosynthesis rather than the shikimate pathway influenced by up-regulating the gene expression of antioxidant enzymes under salt stress; (2) exogenous calcium induced further ABA accumulation under salt stress by up-regulating the gene expression of ABA biosynthesis key enzymes AAO2 and AAO3 while down-regulating ABA glycosylation enzyme UGT71C5 expression; (3) exogenous calcium supplementation under salt stress restored the trans-zeatin absolute content to unstressed levels while inhibiting the root cis-zeatin biosynthesis.

A bacteriocyte symbiont determines whitefly sex ratio by regulating mitochondrial function.

Nutritional symbionts influence host reproduction, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unclear. We previously found that the bacteriocyte symbiont Hamiltonella impacts the sex ratio of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Hamiltonella synthesizes folate by cooperation with the whitefly. Folate deficiency by Hamiltonella elimination or whitefly gene silencing distorted whitefly sex ratio, and folate supplementation restored the sex ratio. Hamiltonella deficiency or gene silencing altered histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) level, which was restored by folate supplementation. Genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation-seq analysis of H3K9me3 indicated mitochondrial dysfunction in symbiont-deficient whiteflies. Hamiltonella deficiency compromised mitochondrial quality of whitefly ovaries. Repressing ovary mitochondrial function led to distorted whitefly sex ratio. These findings indicate that the symbiont-derived folate regulates host histone methylation modifications, which thereby impacts ovary mitochondrial function, and finally determines host sex ratio. Our study suggests that a nutritional symbiont can regulate animal reproduction in a way that differs from reproductive manipulators.

Recent Advances in the Discovery and Development of Anti-HIV Natural Products.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a serious public problem threatening global health. At present, although "cocktail therapy" has achieved significant clinical effects, HIV still cannot be completely eradicated. Furthermore, long-term antiviral treatment has caused problems such as toxic side effects, the emergence of drug-resistant viruses, and poor patient compliance. Therefore, it is highly necessary to continue to search for high-efficient, low-toxic anti-HIV drugs with new mechanisms. Natural products have the merits of diverse scaffolds, biological activities, and low toxicity that are deemed the important sources of drug discovery. Thus, finding lead compounds from natural products followed by structure optimization has become one of the important ways of modern drug discovery. Nowadays, many natural products have been found, such as berberine, gnidimacrin, betulone, and kuwanon-L, which exert effective anti-HIV activity through immune regulation, inhibition of related functional enzymes in HIV replication, and anti-oxidation. This paper reviewed these natural products, their related chemical structure optimization, and their anti-HIV mechanisms.

C. acnes qPCR-Based Antibiotics Resistance Assay (ACQUIRE) Reveals Widespread Macrolide Resistance in Acne Patients and Can Eliminate Macrolide Misuse in Acne Treatment.

Background: Macrolides have been widely used to treat moderate-to-severe acne for more than 50 years. However, the prevalent antibiotic resistance of Propionibacterium acnes, along with the absence of clinically available resistance tests, has made macrolide misuse a frequent occurrence around the globe, with serious consequences. Objective: We developed Cutibacterium acnes quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based antibiotics resistance assay (ACQUIRE) to enable fast and accurate detection of C. acnes macrolide resistance in clinical settings, representing an opportunity to administer antibiotics more wisely and improve the quality of care. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study (n = 915) was conducted to probe into the macrolide resistance of C. acnes in patients with acne. Results: The high sensitivity of ACQUIRE enabled us to reveal a much higher C. acnes 23S recombinant DNA (rDNA) point mutation rate (52%) and thus a higher macrolide resistance (75.5%) compared to previous reports. Carriage of ermX gene was discovered on 472 (53%) subjects, which concurs with previous studies. Conclusion: The macrolide resistance of C. acnes is much higher than previously reported. Integrating ACQUIRE into acne treatment modalities may eliminate macrolide misuse and achieve better clinical improvements.

Vaccarin enhances intestinal barrier function in type 2 diabetic mice.

AIMS: Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance drive intestinal barrier dysfunction in type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Vaccarin, the main active component in the semen of traditional Chinese medicine Vaccaria has a definite effect on T2DM mice. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether vaccarin can enhance the intestinal barrier function in T2DM. MAIN METHODS: The T2DM mice model was established by streptozocin and high-fat diet. Vaccarin at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day was administered. We evaluated the effects of vaccarin on gut microbiota and intestinal barrier function by 16S rRNA sequencing, Western blot, quantitative fluorescent PCR (qPCR), and morphological observation. Moreover, we constructed a single layer of the human intestinal epithelium model to determine the effect of vaccarin in vitro. RESULTS: The experimental results showed that vaccarin alleviated inflammatory mediators in serum and intestinal tissue of mice (P < 0.05), which may depend on the improvement of tight junctions and gut microbiota (P < 0.05). Activation of extracellular regulated protein kinases (Erk1/2) stimulated myosin light chain kinase (MLCK). By inhibiting ERK expression (P < 0.05), vaccarin had similar effects to ERK inhibitors. In addition, the regulation of tight junction barriers also involved the abovementioned pathways in vivo. CONCLUSION: Vaccarin could protect the intestinal barrier by inhibiting the ERK/MLCK signaling pathway and modulate the composition of the microbiota. These results suggested that vaccarin may be an effective candidate for improving intestinal barrier changes in T2DM.

[Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis at remission stage treated with acupuncture:a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the differences in the therapeutic effects on relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) at remission stage between acupuncture at acupoints and shallow needling therapy at the nearby points. METHODS: Forty-two patients of RRMS were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 21 cases in each one. In the observation group, besides the basic treatment, acupuncture was applied according to WANG Leting's empirical prescriptions as "the empirical ten needles" "thirteen needles of the governor vessel" "twelve needles of hand and foot" as well as the symptomatic points. In the control group, the basic treatment was given. Additionally, the shallow needling therapy was given at the sites 0.2 to 0.3 cun lateral to the acupoints, and the arrival of qi was not required. In the two groups, acupuncture was given once a day for 5 days a week, continuously for 2 weeks. At the intervals of 2 weeks, totally the treatment of 3 months was required. The follow-up visit was conducted for 2 years. Separately, the scores of the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) before and in follow-up after treatment, the annual recurrent rate before and after treatment and recurrent interval after treatment were observed in the patients of the two groups. RESULTS: In the observation group, EDSS scores in 3-month and 6-month follow-up were reduced as compared with those before treatment (both P<0.05) and those in the 12-month and 24-month follow-up were increased (both P<0.05). In the control group, EDSS scores were increased in tendency continuously in 3-month, 6-month, 12-month and 24-month follow-up (all P<0.05). In each time point of follow-up, the different value of EDSS scores in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05, P<0.01). The annual recurrent rates after treatment were reduced as compared with those before treatment in the two groups (both P<0.01) and the value in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.01). The recurrent interval in the observation group was longer than that in the control group[(441.56±65.37) d vs (382.78±59.33) d, P<0.01]. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture achieves the significant therapeutic effects on RRMS at the remission stage. This therapy relieves the symptoms of neural functional deficits, delays the time of occurrence and reduces the annual recurrent rate.