Altered resting-state functional connectivity between subregions in the thalamus and cortex in migraine without aura.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Migraine is a complex and disabling neurological disorder, the exact neurological mechanisms of which remain unclear. The thalamus is considered to be the hub of the central processing and integration of nociceptive information, as well as the modulation of these processes. METHODS: A total of 48 migraineurs without aura (MWoAs) during the interictal phase and 48 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. We utilized masked independent component analysis and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) to investigate whether MWoAs exhibited abnormal FC between subregions in the thalamus and the cortex regions. RESULTS: The MWoAs showed significantly weaker FC between the anterior dorsal thalamic nucleus and left precuneus. Additionally, MWoAs exhibited significantly reduced FC between the ventral posterior nucleus (VPN) and left precuneus, right inferior parietal lobule (R-IPL) and right middle frontal gyrus. Furthermore, the FC Z-scores between the VPN and R-IPL were negatively correlated with pain intensity in MWoAs. The disease duration of patients was negatively correlated with the FC Z-scores between the VPN and R-IPL. CONCLUSION: These altered thalamocortical connectivity patterns may contribute to multisensory integration abnormalities, deficits in pain attention, cognitive evaluation and pain modulation. Pain sensitivity and disease duration are closely tied to abnormal FC between the VPN and R-IPL. Remarkably, recurrent headache attacks might contribute to this maladaptive functional plasticity closely related to pain intensity.

Cloning and characterization of the nicotianamine synthase gene in Eruca vesicaria subsp sativa.

Nicotianamine (NA) is a ubiquitous metabolite in plants that bind heavy metals, is crucial for metal homeostasis, and is also an important metal chelator that facilitates long-distance metal transport and sequestration. NA synthesis is catalyzed by the enzyme nicotianamine synthase (NAS). Eruca vesicaria subsp sativa is highly tolerant to Ni, Pb, and Zn. In this study, a gene encoding EvNAS was cloned and characterized in E. vesicaria subsp sativa. The full-length EvNAS cDNA sequence contained a 111-bp 5'-untranslated region (UTR), a 155-bp 3'-UTR, and a 966-bp open reading frame encoding 322-amino acid residues. The EvNAS genomic sequence contained no introns, which is similar to previously reported NAS genes. The deduced translation of EvNAS contained a well-conserved NAS domain (1-279 amino acids) and an LIKI-CGEAEG box identical to some Brassica NAS and to the LIRL-box in most plant NAS, which is essential for DNA binding. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that EvNAS was most closely related to Brassica rapa NAS3 within the Cruciferae, followed by Thlaspi NAS1, Camelina NAS3, and Arabidopsis NAS3. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction indicated that EvNAS expression was greatest in the leaves, followed by the flower buds and hypocotyls. EvNAS was moderately expressed in the roots.

[Quantitative analysis of muscone in shexiang baoxin pills by gas chromatography].

By using benzene as the extraction solvent and the method of internal standard, Shexiang Baoxin Pills was directly analyzed for muscone by GC. The method showed very good stability and linearity. The rate of recovery was 101.4%.