Expression of integrin α4ß1 and α4ß7 on B cells correlates with autoimmune responses in Graves' disease.

BACKGROUND: Integrins are upregulated on endothelial cells and T-lymphocytes in autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), potentially contributing to immune response localization. The role of integrins on B-cells in AITD remains unclear. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples were collected from healthy controls (n = 56), patients with Graves' disease (GD) (n = 37) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) (n = 52). Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the thyroid was performed in patients with non-autoimmune thyroid disease (nAITD) (n = 19), GD (n = 11), and HT (n = 40). Integrins α4ß7, α4ß1, and αEß7 in B cells were measured by flow cytometry. Serum zonulin levels were quantified via ELISA. Associations of integrins on B cells with thyroid hormones, thyroid autoantibodies, AITD duration, and zonulin were analyzed. RESULTS: HT patients exhibited lower α4ß7 and higher α4ß1 expression on B cells compared to healthy controls and GD patients. While α4ß7 was predominant on circulating B cells, the dominant integrin expressed on intrathyroidal B cells varied with specific thyroid diseases. In GD patients, α4ß7 and α4ß1 expression on circulating B cells correlated positively and negatively with thyroid function and thyroid stimulating immunoglobulins (TSI) levels, respectively. Intrathyroidal α4ß1+ B cells positively correlated with TSH levels in HT patients. Additionally, serum zonulin was elevated in HT patients, and intrathyroidal α4ß7+ B cells and α4ß1+ B cells correlated negatively and positively with zonulin levels, respectively. Integrin αEß7 on B cells showed no significant association with AITD. CONCLUSION: Integrins expressed on B cells potentially play a role in the pathogenesis of AITD and might serve as immune biomarkers for the disease.

Genome-wide association study on resistance of cultivated soybean to Fusarium oxysporum root rot in Northeast China.

BACKGROUND: Fusarium oxysporum is a prevalent fungal pathogen that diminishes soybean yield through seedling disease and root rot. Preventing Fusarium oxysporum root rot (FORR) damage entails on the identification of resistance genes and developing resistant cultivars. Therefore, conducting fine mapping and marker development for FORR resistance genes is of great significance for fostering the cultivation of resistant varieties. In this study, 350 soybean germplasm accessions, mainly from Northeast China, underwent genotyping using the SoySNP50K Illumina BeadChip, which includes 52,041 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Their resistance to FORR was assessed in a greenhouse. Genome-wide association studies utilizing the general linear model, mixed linear model, compressed mixed linear model, and settlement of MLM under progressively exclusive relationship models were conducted to identify marker-trait associations while effectively controlling for population structure. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that these models effectively managed population structure. Eight SNP loci significantly associated with FORR resistance in soybean were detected, primarily located on Chromosome 6. Notably, there was a strong linkage disequilibrium between the large-effect SNPs ss715595462 and ss715595463, contributing substantially to phenotypic variation. Within the genetic interval encompassing these loci, 28 genes were present, with one gene Glyma.06G088400 encoding a protein kinase family protein containing a leucine-rich repeat domain identified as a potential candidate gene in the reference genome of Williams82. Additionally, quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis evaluated the gene expression levels between highly resistant and susceptible accessions, focusing on primary root tissues collected at different time points after F. oxysporum inoculation. Among the examined genes, only this gene emerged as the strongest candidate associated with FORR resistance. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of this candidate gene Glyma.06G088400 improves our understanding of soybean resistance to FORR and the markers strongly linked to resistance can be beneficial for molecular marker-assisted selection in breeding resistant soybean accessions against F. oxysporum.

Association of Plasma Lipids with White Matter Hyperintensities in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Purpose: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are the common marker of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Dyslipidemia plays a notable role in the pathogenesis of CSVD. However, the relationship between dyslipidemia and WMH is poorly elucidated. This study aims to investigate the association between serum lipid fractions and WMH in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Patients and Methods: A total of 901 patients with AIS were included in this study. The burden of WMH, including deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH), periventricular white matter hyperintensities (PVWMH), and total WMH load, were evaluated on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by the Fazekas scale. All the WMH burden were set as dichotomous variables. Serum levels of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) were collected. The association of serum lipid fractions with WMH burden was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: The average age of the participants was 67.6±11.6 years, and 584 cases (64.8%) were male. About 33.5% (n = 302) patients were smoker, and 23.5% (n = 212) patients had a history of alcohol consumption. The proportion of previous diabetes, ischemic cardiomyopathy and hypertension was 39.0% (n = 351), 21.2% (n = 191) and 75.9% (n = 684), respectively. The average of serum HDL-c, TC, TG, LDL-c levels for all participants were 1.26 ± 0.28 mmol/l, 4.54 ± 1.06 mmol/l, 1.67 ± 1.09 mmol/l, 3.08 ± 0.94 mmol/l. There were no statistical associations between HDL-c, TG, TC, LDL-c and each type of WMH burden (P > 0.05) in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Similar findings were found in subgroup analysis based on gender classification. Conclusion: Serum lipid levels were not associated with the presence of any type of WMH in patients with AIS.

Genome-wide association study of powdery mildew resistance in cultivated soybean from Northeast China.

Powdery mildew (PMD), caused by the pathogen Microsphaera diffusa, leads to substantial yield decreases in susceptible soybean under favorable environmental conditions. Effective prevention of soybean PMD damage can be achieved by identifying resistance genes and developing resistant cultivars. In this study, we genotyped 331 soybean germplasm accessions, primarily from Northeast China, using the SoySNP50K BeadChip, and evaluated their resistance to PMD in a greenhouse setting. To identify marker-trait associations while effectively controlling for population structure, we conducted genome-wide association studies utilizing factored spectrally transformed linear mixed models, mixed linear models, efficient mixed-model association eXpedited, and compressed mixed linear models. The results revealed seven single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci strongly associated with PMD resistance in soybean. Among these, one SNP was localized on chromosome (Chr) 14, and six SNPs with low linkage disequilibrium were localized near or in the region of previously mapped genes on Chr 16. In the reference genome of Williams82, we discovered 96 genes within the candidate region, including 17 resistance (R)-like genes, which were identified as potential candidate genes for PMD resistance. In addition, we performed quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis to evaluate the gene expression levels in highly resistant and susceptible genotypes, focusing on leaf tissues collected at different times after M. diffusa inoculation. Among the examined genes, three R-like genes, including Glyma.16G210800, Glyma.16G212300, and Glyma.16G213900, were identified as strong candidates associated with PMD resistance. This discovery can significantly enhance our understanding of soybean resistance to PMD. Furthermore, the significant SNPs strongly associated with resistance can serve as valuable markers for genetic improvement in breeding M. diffusa-resistant soybean cultivars.

Dietary regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in metabolic syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a class of ligand-activated nuclear transcription factors, members of the type nuclear receptor superfamily, with three subtypes, namely PPARα, PPARß/δ, and PPARγ, which play a key role in the metabolic syndrome. In the past decades, a large number of studies have shown that natural products can act by regulating metabolic pathways mediated by PPARs. PURPOSE: This work summarizes the physiological importance and clinical significance of PPARs and reviews the experimental evidence that natural products mediate metabolic syndrome via PPARs. METHODS: This study reviews relevant literature on clinical trials, epidemiology, animals, and cell cultures published in NCBI PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other databases from 2001 to October 2022. Search keywords were "natural product" OR "botanical" OR "phytochemical" AND "PPAR" as well as free text words. RESULTS: The modulatory involvement of PPARs in the metabolic syndrome has been supported by prior research. It has been observed that many natural products can treat metabolic syndrome by altering PPARs. The majority of currently described natural compounds are mild PPAR-selective agonists with therapeutic effects that are equivalent to synthetic medicines but less harmful adverse effects. CONCLUSION: PPAR agonists can be combined with natural products to treat and prevent metabolic syndrome. Further human investigations are required because it is unknown how natural products cause harm and how they might have negative impacts.

Major genetic locus with pleiotropism determined seed-related traits in cultivated and wild soybeans.

KEY MESSAGE: Here, a novel pleiotropic QTL qSS14 simultaneously regulating four seed size traits and two consistently detected QTLs qSW17 and qSLW02 were identified across multiple years. Seed-related traits were the key agronomic traits that have been artificially selected during the domestication of wild soybean. Identifying the genetic loci and genes that regulate seed size could clarify the genetic variations in seed-related traits and provide novel insights into high-yield soybean breeding. In this study, we used a high-density genetic map constructed by F10 RIL populations from a cross between Glycine max and Glycine soja to detect additive QTLs for seven seed-related traits over the last three years. As a result, we identified one novel pleiotropic QTL, qSS14, that simultaneously controlled four seed size traits (100-seed weight, seed length, seed width, and seed thickness) and two consistently detected QTLs, qSW17, and qSLW02, in multiple years of phenotypic data. Furthermore, we predicted two, two and three candidate genes within these three critical loci based on the parental resequencing data and gene function annotations. And the relative expression of four candidate genes GLYMA_14G155100, GLYMA_17G061000, GLYMA_02G273100, and GLYMA_02G273300 showed significant differences among parents and the extreme materials through qRT-PCR analysis. These findings could facilitate the determination of beneficial genes in wild soybean and contribute to our understanding of the soybean domestication process.

Quercetin ameliorates hepatic fat accumulation in high-fat diet-induced obese mice via PPARs.

As a natural pigment in food, quercetin possesses multiple biological activities and plays a crucial role in regulating metabolic syndrome. Herein, we aim to explore the potential mechanism of quercetin to ameliorate hepatic fat accumulation. In vivo experiments showed that quercetin significantly relieved inflammation response by decreasing the serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels and also improved high-fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis without other organ injuries. Quercetin can effectively reduce lipid aggregation and down-regulate the protein expression of PCK1 in HepG2 cells induced by oleic acid and palmitic acid, indicating that inhibiting gluconeogenesis leads to hepatic fat accumulation reduction. Furthermore, molecular docking results suggested that quercetin can bind to both PPARα and PPARγ, with an even more potent binding affinity than indeglitazar, a pan-agonist of PPARs. In conclusion, quercetin may regulate gluconeogenesis to ameliorate hepatic fat accumulation via targeting PPARα/γ.

Identification of genetic loci conferring seed coat color based on a high-density map in soybean.

Seed coat color is a typical evolutionary trait. Identification of the genetic loci that control seed coat color during the domestication of wild soybean could clarify the genetic variations between cultivated and wild soybean. We used 276 F10 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the cross between a cultivated soybean (JY47) and a wild soybean (ZYD00321) as the materials to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for seed coat color. We constructed a high-density genetic map using re-sequencing technology. The average distance between adjacent markers was 0.31 cM on this map, comprising 9,083 bin markers. We identified two stable QTLs (qSC08 and qSC11) for seed coat color using this map, which, respectively, explained 21.933 and 26.934% of the phenotypic variation. Two candidate genes (CHS3C and CHS4A) in qSC08 were identified according to the parental re-sequencing data and gene function annotations. Five genes (LOC100786658, LOC100801691, LOC100806824, LOC100795475, and LOC100787559) were predicted in the novel QTL qSC11, which, according to gene function annotations, might control seed coat color. This result could facilitate the identification of beneficial genes from wild soybean and provide useful information to clarify the genetic variations for seed coat color in cultivated and wild soybean.

Characterization of ß-Sitosterol for Potential Selective GR Modulation.

BACKGROUND: Although glucocorticoids (GCs) are characterized as powerful agents to treat inflammatory afflictions, they are accompanied by metabolic side effects which limit their usage. ß-Sitosterol, as a minor component found in extraction of vegetable oil, was reported to have anti-inflammatory effects in RAW 264.7 cells. OBJECTIVE: To test whether ß-sitosterol has an effect to dissociate transrepression from transactivation as a selective novel GR binder, this work evaluated the dissociated characteristics of ß-sitosterol. METHODS: The probable binding interaction between ß-sitosterol and GR was explored by molecular docking. The GR transcriptional activity of ß-sitosterol was assessed in the reporter gene assay. The ability of ß-sitosterol to modulate the transactivation and transrepression of GR was evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In the present study, ß-sitosterol treatment cannot induce GR-mediated transactivation. ß-Sitosterol exerted a potential to inhibited the expression of GR target transrepressed gene without activating the expression of GR transactivation dependent gene. Molecular docking demonstrated that ß-Sitosterol was able to bind the ligand binding domain of GR but unable to induce GR activation. CONCLUSION: This work offers evidence that ß-sitosterol may serve as a selective GR modulator.

Isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy from internal carotid artery dissection related to PKD-1 gene mutation.

BACKGROUND: Internal carotid artery dissection has been well recognized as a major cause of ischaemic stroke in young and middle-aged adults. However, internal carotid artery dissection induced hypoglossal nerve palsy has been seldom reported and may be difficult to diagnose in time for treatment; even angiography sometimes misses potential dissection, especially when obvious lumen geometry changing is absent. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a 42-year-old man who presented with isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy. High-resolution MRI showed the aetiological dissected internal carotid artery. In addition, a potential genetic structural defect of the arterial wall was suggested due to an exon region mutation in the polycystic-kidney-disease type 1 gene. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoglossal nerve palsy is a rare manifestations of carotid dissection. High-resolution MRI may provide useful information about the vascular wall to assist in the diagnosis of dissection. High-throughput sequencing might be useful to identify potential cerebrovascular-related gene mutation, especially in young individuals with an undetermined aetiology.

The Genetic Diversity and Geographic Differentiation of the Wild Soybean in Northeast China Based on Nuclear Microsatellite Variation.

In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure of 205 wild soybean core collections in Northeast China from nine latitude populations and nine longitude populations were evaluated using SSR markers. A total of 973 alleles were detected by 43 SSR loci, and the average number of alleles per locus was 22.628. The mean Shannon information index (I) and the mean expected heterozygosity were 2.528 and 0.879, respectively. At the population level, the regions of 42°N and 124°E had the highest genetic diversity among all latitudes and longitudes. The greater the difference in latitude was, the greater the genetic distance was, whereas a similar trend was not found in longitude populations. Three main clusters (1N, <41°N-42°N; 2N, 43°N-44°N; and 3N, 45°N->49°N) were assigned to populations. AMOVA analysis showed that the genetic differentiation among latitude and longitude populations was 0.088 and 0.058, respectively, and the majority of genetic variation occurred within populations. The Mantel test revealed that genetic distance was significantly correlated with geographical distance (r = 0.207, p < 0.05). Furthermore, spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that there was a spatial structure (ω = 119.58, p < 0.01) and the correlation coefficient (r) decreased as distance increased within a radius of 250 km.

Estrogenicity of halogenated bisphenol A: in vitro and in silico investigations.

The binding interactions of bisphenol A (BPA) and its halogenated derivatives (halogenated BPAs) to human estrogen receptor α ligand binding domain (hERα-LBD) was investigated using a combined in vitro and in silico approach. First, the recombinant hERα-LBD was prepared as a soluble protein in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)pLysS. A native fluorescent phytoestrogen, coumestrol, was employed as tracer for the fluorescence polarization assay. The results of the in vitro binding assay showed that bisphenol compounds could bind to hERα-LBD as the affinity ligands. All the tested halogenated BPAs exhibited weaker receptor binding than BPA, which might be explained by the steric effect of substituents. Molecular docking studies elucidated that the halogenated BPAs adopted different conformations in the flexible hydrophobic ligand binding pocket (LBP), which is mainly dependent on their distinct halogenation patterns. The compounds with halogen substituents on the phenolic rings and on the bridging alkyl moiety acted as agonists and antagonists for hERα, respectively. Interestingly, all the compounds in the agonist conformation of hERα formed a hydrogen bond with His524, while the compounds in the antagonist conformation formed a hydrogen bond with Thr347. These docking results suggested a pivotal role of His524/Thr347 in maintaining the hERα structure in the biologically active agonist/antagonist conformation. Comparison of the calculated binding energies vs. experimental binding affinities yielded a good correlation, which might be applicable for the structure-based design of novel bisphenol compounds with reduced toxicities and for environmental risk assessment. In addition, based on hERα-LBD as a recognition element, the proposed fluorescence polarization assay may offer an alternative to chromatographic techniques for the multi-residue determination of bisphenol compounds.

Cross-cultural adaption and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Diabetes Behavior Rating Scale: a pilot study.

Self-care behavior plays a major role in diabetic management. However, in China, a satisfactory instrument has not yet been developed to evaluate the compliance of self-care behavior for young patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The Diabetes Behavior Rating Scale (DBRS) has a potential to be the first mature instrument. The purpose of this study is to cross-culturally adapt the DBRS, and preliminarily evaluate its psychometric properties. The instrument translation included translation, back translation and culture adaptation. Psychometric properties were assessed in a sample of 116 young patients with T1DM adapting insulin injection therapy. The Chinese version of the DBRS was divided to four subscales. Cronbach's α for the total scale was 0.92. The mean inter-item and item-total correlations were 0.35 and 0.54 respectively. Test-retest reliability showed good temporal stability (r=0.81, P=0.001). Negative correlations were found between DBRS scores with the Diabetes Distress Scale scores (r=-0.32, P=0.003) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels (r=-0.36, P=0.002). Higher DBRS scores correlated with better glycemic control. The Chinese insulin injection therapy version of the DBRS is well translated and culturally adapted. It shows good overall reliability and validity and appears to be a valuable tool for assessing the diabetic self-care behaviors for young patients with T1DM.

Sequencing of the chloroplast genomes of cytoplasmic male-sterile and male-fertile lines of soybean and identification of polymorphic markers.

The RN-type cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system used to develop Hybsoy-1, the first commercial hybrid soybean, has been subsequently applied to generate nearly all released soybean hybrids. Although more than 3 years are needed to classify sterile (S) and normal male-fertile (F) cytoplasms by conventional crossing, such classifications can be performed rapidly using organellar DNA-based molecular markers. Except for fertility, the agronomic traits of CMS hybrid soybean sterile and maintainer lines are identical. Consequently, it is difficult to distinguish them by routine visual inspection in the mixture arising in the course of field planting and harvesting during breeding. In this study, we performed next-generation sequencing of chloroplast DNAs of F- and S-cytoplasmic soybeans, assembled and annotated the genomes, and identified polymorphisms distinguishing them. Chloroplast DNAs of F and S cytoplasms were very similar in size (152,215 and 152,222 base pairs) and GC contents (35.37%). Among 23 shared SNPs in gene coding regions, we identified four that could be used in conjunction with restriction endonucleases to distinguish S and F cytoplasms. Although CMS is likely associated with mitochondrial DNA, maternal transmission of mitochondrial and chloroplast DNAs allows polymorphisms in either genome to be used to classify soybean cytoplasms, aiding hybrid soybean cultivar development.

Impaired self-referential processing in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: a functional MRI study.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) presents typical symptoms of cognitive impairments and mental disorders, which is presumed to be related to impairment of self-referential processing. This study aims to investigate the alterations of self-reference in mTLE using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifty patients with unilateral mTLE (26 left- and 24 right-sided mTLE) were recruited in the present study. Traditional task paradigm of internally-cued condition vs. externally-cued condition was employed to induce self-referential activation. FMRI activation in each group of patients was compared with that of 30 healthy controls. Moreover, fMRI responses in the dorsal mesial prefrontal cortex were specifically addressed by correlating with behavioral data of reaction times and clinical data of epilepsy duration, respectively. Compared with the healthy controls, both two groups of patients showed decreased behavioral performance (reaction times) and decreased fMRI activation of self-reference in the anterior and posterior cortical midline structures. Moreover, fMRI activation was found to be negatively correlated with behavioral performance and epilepsy duration. The present findings implicate functional impairment of self-reference caused by epilepsy in mTLE. This study provided imaging evidence for functional impairments of self-referential processing and brain default-mode function in mTLE.

Asymptomatic cerebral microbleeds in adult patients with moyamoya disease: a prospective cohort study with 2 years of follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: Risk factors for cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in moyamoya disease (MMD) remain unknown, and whether the presence or distribution of CMBs is related to the subsequent hemorrhagic events needs to be confirmed. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between intracranial vascular morphology and the incidence/distribution patterns of CMBs as well as to determine the outcome in adult patients with MMD. METHODS: Eighty-five consecutive adult patients with MMD were prospectively evaluated by 3.0-tesla high-intensity susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and catheter-based digital subtraction angiography from June 2009 to January 2012. The differences in intracranial angiography (Suzuki stages, posterior cerebral artery stages, and angiographic features of the anterior choroidal and posterior communicating arteries) and clinical parameters (age, gender, hemorrhagic onset, antiplatelet treatment, systolic/diastolic blood pressure, diabetes, and plasma fibrinogen) among various CMB distribution patterns were analyzed with multinomial logistic regression. Moreover, after a median follow-up of 23 months, the relationship between CMB distribution patterns and subsequent intraventricular hemorrhage was also analyzed with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Forty-five female and 40 male patients were finally enrolled in the study with an average age of 41.4 ± 12.7 years. Thirty-one CMB foci were detected in 24 (28.2%) patients. Most of the lesions (n = 22, 71.0%) were located in the region of deep and periventricular white matter (DPWM). Dilation and extension of anterior choroidal and posterior communicating arteries (AChA-PComA) was found to be an independent risk factor associated with the CMBs located in DPWM (p = 0.045; odds ratio 3.39, 95% CI 1.03-11.19). Patients with DPWM CMBs showed a statistically higher likelihood of subsequent intraventricular hemorrhage compared to patients without CMB foci and with CMBs in other regions (p = 0.014) during the follow-up period. Multivariable analysis suggested that DPWM CMBs were independent predictors of subsequent intraventricular hemorrhage (p = 0.028; hazard ratio 5.53, 95% CI 1.20-25.41). CONCLUSIONS: Dilation and extension of AChA-PComA is a determinant of CMBs involved in DPWM. CMBs in DPWM are probably predictors of subsequent intraventricular hemorrhage.

DNA sequence polymorphism of the Rhg4 candidate gene conferring resistance to soybean cyst nematode in Chinese domesticated and wild soybeans.

Rhg4 is one of the major resistant genes conferring resistance to soybean cyst nematode races 1, 3 and 4. In order to better understand its sequence diversity among different Chinese soybean populations and the impact of human activities on it, we designed 5 primer sets based on its sequence deposited in Genbank (Genbank accession No. AF506518) to obtain the Rhg4 sequence from 104 Chinese cultivated and wild soybean genotypes, and then analyzed the DNA sequence polymorphism in different Chinese soybean populations. The alignment of Rhg4 sequence included 5,216 nucleotide base pairs. A total of 67 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including 59 single base changes and 8 DNA insertion-deletions (InDels) were identified with a SNP frequency of 1/78. Except for a 14-base InDel, there were 29 SNPs in coding regions, and among them, 13 were non-synonymous (9 in functional domains with 1 in a leucine-rich repeats region, 2 in a transmembrane region and 6 in a Ser/Thr kinase domain). The probability of substitution at each site was not the same, there were two hot spots, one was in the 5'-untranslated region between positions 124 and 804, and the other was in the region between positions 2520 and 3733. Sequence diversity analysis among 104 soybean genotypes showed π = 0.00102 and θ = 0.00218 for Rhg4. A domestication bottleneck was found because of lower sequence diversity and 58% unique SNPs loss in landraces compared with Glycine soja. Intensive selection increased the sequence diversity of cultivars, which had higher diversity and more unique SNPs than landraces. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11032-012-9703-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Resting-state brain organization revealed by functional covariance networks.

BACKGROUND: Brain network studies using techniques of intrinsic connectivity network based on fMRI time series (TS-ICN) and structural covariance network (SCN) have mapped out functional and structural organization of human brain at respective time scales. However, there lacks a meso-time-scale network to bridge the ICN and SCN and get insights of brain functional organization. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We proposed a functional covariance network (FCN) method by measuring the covariance of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in BOLD signals across subjects, and compared the patterns of ALFF-FCNs with the TS-ICNs and SCNs by mapping the brain networks of default network, task-positive network and sensory networks. We demonstrated large overlap among FCNs, ICNs and SCNs and modular nature in FCNs and ICNs by using conjunctional analysis. Most interestingly, FCN analysis showed a network dichotomy consisting of anti-correlated high-level cognitive system and low-level perceptive system, which is a novel finding different from the ICN dichotomy consisting of the default-mode network and the task-positive network. CONCLUSION: The current study proposed an ALFF-FCN approach to measure the interregional correlation of brain activity responding to short periods of state, and revealed novel organization patterns of resting-state brain activity from an intermediate time scale.

Altered functional-structural coupling of large-scale brain networks in idiopathic generalized epilepsy.

The human brain is a large-scale integrated network in the functional and structural domain. Graph theoretical analysis provides a novel framework for analysing such complex networks. While previous neuroimaging studies have uncovered abnormalities in several specific brain networks in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy characterized by tonic-clonic seizures, little is known about changes in whole-brain functional and structural connectivity networks. Regarding functional and structural connectivity, networks are intimately related and share common small-world topological features. We predict that patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy would exhibit a decoupling between functional and structural networks. In this study, 26 patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy characterized by tonic-clonic seizures and 26 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging signal correlations and diffusion tensor image tractography were used to generate functional and structural connectivity networks. Graph theoretical analysis revealed that the patients lost optimal topological organization in both functional and structural connectivity networks. Moreover, the patients showed significant increases in nodal topological characteristics in several cortical and subcortical regions, including mesial frontal cortex, putamen, thalamus and amygdala relative to controls, supporting the hypothesis that regions playing important roles in the pathogenesis of epilepsy may display abnormal hub properties in network analysis. Relative to controls, patients showed further decreases in nodal topological characteristics in areas of the default mode network, such as the posterior cingulate gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus. Most importantly, the degree of coupling between functional and structural connectivity networks was decreased, and exhibited a negative correlation with epilepsy duration in patients. Our findings suggest that the decoupling of functional and structural connectivity may reflect the progress of long-term impairment in idiopathic generalized epilepsy, and may be used as a potential biomarker to detect subtle brain abnormalities in epilepsy. Overall, our results demonstrate for the first time that idiopathic generalized epilepsy is reflected in a disrupted topological organization in large-scale brain functional and structural networks, thus providing valuable information for better understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

Gray-matter volume reduction in the thalamus and frontal lobe in epileptic patients with generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) comprise a common subsyndrome of idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). Previous studies found that patients with GTCS had structural abnormalities in a few specific brain regions. However, the underlying clinical cause leading to these abnormalities remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between changes in gray-matter (GM) volume and duration of epilepsy, based on GM volume differences observed between GTCS patients and healthy controls. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis with DARTEL (diffeomorphic anatomical registration through exponential Lie algebra) was used to investigate GM volume differences in 31 GTCS patients compared with 37 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Voxel-based correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between GM volume and duration of epilepsy in GTCS patients. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, GTCS patients showed significant decreases in GM volume in the bilateral thalami, frontal lobe, insula and cerebellum. In addition, GM volume in the bilateral thalami and left medial frontal gyrus had a negative correlation with duration of epilepsy. CONCLUSION: GM volume changes in the thalamus and frontal lobe were associated with progressive epileptic seizures. The results indicate the presence of an abnormal thalamocortical network, which may reflect an underlying pathophysiological mechanism of GTCS.