[Mammalian DMRTs: Structure, function and relationship with cancer].

DMRT, a gene family related to sexual determination, encodes a large group of transcription factors (DMRTs) with the double-sex and mab-3 (DM) domain (except for DMRT8), which is able to bind to and regulate DNAs. Current studies have shown that the DMRT gene family plays a critical role in the development of sexual organs (such as gender differentiation, gonadal development, germ cell development, etc.) as well as extrasexual organs (such as musculocartilage development, nervous system development, etc.). Additionally, it has been suggested that DMRTs may be involved in the cancer development and progression (such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, etc.). This review summarizes the research progress about the mammalian DMRTs' structure, function and its critical role in cancer development, progression and therapy (mainly in human and mice), which suggests that DMRT gene could be a candidate gene in the study of tumor formation and therapeutic strategy.

Chromosomal-level assembly of the Leptodermis oblonga (Rubiaceae) genome and its phylogenetic implications.

Rubiaceae is the fourth largest and a taxonomically complex family of angiosperms. Many species in this family harbor low reproductive isolation and frequently exhibit inconsistent phenotypic characteristics. Therefore, taxonomic classification and their phylogenetic relationships in the Rubiaceae family is challenging, especially in the genus Leptodermis. Considering the low taxonomic confusion and wide distribution, Leptodermis oblonga is selected as a representative Leptodermis for genome sequencing. The assemblies resulted in 497 Mbp nuclear and 155,100 bp chloroplast genomes, respectively. Using the nuclear genome as a reference, SNPs were called from 37 Leptodermis species or varieties. The phylogenetic tree based on SNPs exhibited high resolution for species delimitation of the complex and well-resolved phylogenetic relationships in the genus. Moreover, 28,987 genes were predicted in the nuclear genome and used for comparative genomics study. As the first chromosomal-level genome of the subfamily Rubioideae in Rubiaceae, it will provide fruitfully evolutionary understanding in the family.

Genomic identification and characterization of MYC family genes in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

BACKGROUND: MYC transcriptional factors are members of the bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) superfamily, and play important roles in plant growth and development. Recent studies have revealed that some MYCs are involved in the crosstalk between Jasmonic acid regulatory pathway and light signaling in Arabidopsis, but such kinds of studies are rare in wheat, especially in photo-thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) wheat line. RESULTS: 27 non-redundant MYC gene copies, which belonged to 11 TaMYC genes, were identified in the whole genome of wheat (Chinese Spring). These gene copies were distributed on 13 different chromosomes, respectively. Based on the results of phylogenetic analysis, 27 TaMYC gene copies were clustered into group I, group III, and group IV. The identified TaMYC genes copies contained different numbers of light, stress, and hormone-responsive regulatory elements in their 1500 base pair promoter regions. Besides, we found that TaMYC3 was expressed highly in stem, TaMYC5 and TaMYC9 were expressed specially in glume, and the rest of TaMYC genes were expressed in all tissues (root, stem, leaf, pistil, stamen, and glume) of the PTGMS line BS366. Moreover, we found that TaMYC3, TaMYC7, TaMYC9, and TaMYC10 were highly sensitive to methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and other TaMYC genes responded at different levels. Furthermore, we confirmed the expression profiles of TaMYC family members under different light quality and plant hormone stimuli, and abiotic stresses. Finally, we predicted the wheat microRNAs that could interact with TaMYC family members, and built up a network to show their integrative relationships. CONCLUSIONS: This study analyzed the size and composition of the MYC gene family in wheat, and investigated stress-responsive and light quality induced expression profiles of each TaMYC gene in the PTGMS wheat line BS366. In conclusion, we obtained lots of important information of TaMYC family, and the results of this study was supposed to contribute novel insights and gene and microRNA resources for wheat breeding, especially for the improvement of PTGMS wheat lines.

AntDAS: Automatic Data Analysis Strategy for UPLC-QTOF-Based Nontargeted Metabolic Profiling Analysis.

High-quality data analysis methodology remains a bottleneck for metabolic profiling analysis based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The present work aims to address this problem by proposing a novel data analysis strategy wherein (1) chromatographic peaks in the UPLC-QTOF data set are automatically extracted by using an advanced multiscale Gaussian smoothing-based peak extraction strategy; (2) a peak annotation stage is used to cluster fragment ions that belong to the same compound. With the aid of high-resolution mass spectrometer, (3) a time-shift correction across the samples is efficiently performed by a new peak alignment method; (4) components are registered by using a newly developed adaptive network searching algorithm; (5) statistical methods, such as analysis of variance and hierarchical cluster analysis, are then used to identify the underlying marker compounds; finally, (6) compound identification is performed by matching the extracted peak information, involving high-precision m/z and retention time, against our compound library containing more than 500 plant metabolites. A manually designed mixture of 18 compounds is used to evaluate the performance of the method, and all compounds are detected under various concentration levels. The developed method is comprehensively evaluated by an extremely complex plant data set containing more than 2000 components. Results indicate that the performance of the developed method is comparable with the XCMS. The MATLAB GUI code is available from http://software.tobaccodb.org/software/antdas .

Depression and sarcopenia-related traits: A Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies have suggested that depression is associated with sarcopenia. However, the causal relationship between depression and sarcopenia remains unclear. AIM: To investigate the causal relationship between depression and sarcopenia. METHODS: We performed a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to identify the bidirectional relationship between depression and sarcopenia-related traits. Summary-level data and independent variants used as instrumental variables came from large genome-wide association studies of depression (414055 cases and 892299 controls), of appendicular lean mass (ALM, 450243 participants), and of hand grip strength (exposure: 360000 participants; outcome: 334925 participants). RESULTS: We identified a negative association of depression with lower ALM [odds ratio (OR): 0.932, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.889-0.979, P = 0.005]. In the reverse MR analysis, we also observed an inverse association of hand grip strength with depression (OR: 0.200, 95%CI: 0.108-0.370, P < 0.001). Similar results were obtained in sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: Depression was causally related to decreased muscle mass, and declined muscle strength might lead to a higher risk of depression.

[Effects of Cow Manure Application on Soil Microbial Community in Farmland].

Although livestock manure serves as an effective source of nutrients for agricultural purposes, it also causes an obvious risk of contamination of heavy metals and pathogens in soil. Soil microorganisms are always considered a sensitive indicator for the change in soil quality. However, knowledge of the effects of cow manure application on soil microbial community is still scarce. Therefore, the characteristics of the soil microbial community and its influencing factors in the farmland with cow manure application were studied using dilution plate counting and high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that the ß diversity of the soil microbial community exhibited a significant difference between the cow manure application site and control site. The application of cow manure increased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria but decreased the relative abundances of Actinobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes. Furthermore, the cow manure application significantly changed the relative abundances of Sphingomonas,PLTA13, MSB-4B10, Halomonas, CCD24, Gaiella, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, and Entotheonellaceae. Both the content of soil water and actinomycete numbers were the important influencing factors of soil microbial community composition in the farmland with cow manure application. The cow manure application increased the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria including Pseudomonas, Clostridium, and Streptococcus, which may have resulted in potential risks of pathogenic contamination for soil quality. The findings of this study are useful for understanding the effects of cow manure application on soil quality in farmland.

Robust W/O/W Emulsion Stabilized by Genipin-Cross-Linked Sugar Beet Pectin-Bovine Serum Albumin Nanoparticles: Co-encapsulation of Betanin and Curcumin.

Betanin and curcumin hold promise as natural colorants and antioxidants for food purposes due to their anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammation, and anti-tumor effects. However, the thermal stability and bioavailability of betanin and curcumin still need improvement. Here, we fabricated sugar beet pectin-bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (SBNPs) with a mean particle size of 180 ± 5.2 nm through a genipin cross-linking strategy to stabilize a type of Pickering water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion and co-encapsulated betanin and curcumin. First, the W1/O emulsion was homogenized with gelatin (the gelling agent) in the water phase and polyglycerol polyricinoleate (a lipophilic surfactant) in the oil phase. Later, W1/O was homogenized with another water phase containing SBNPs. The microstructure of the emulsion was regulated by the particle concentration (c) and W1/O volume fraction (Φ), especially the gel-like high internal phase emulsions were formed at the Φ up to 70%. In this case, betanin was encapsulated in the internal water phase (encapsulation efficiency = 65.3%), whereas curcumin was in the medium-chain triglyceride (encapsulation efficiency = 84.1%). Meanwhile, the shelf stability of betanin and curcumin was improved. Furthermore, the stability of bioactive compounds was potentiated by an emulsion gel in simulated gastrointestinal digestion, resulting in higher bioaccessibility. The aforementioned results suggest that SBNP-stabilized Pickering W/O/W emulsions could be a potential alternative to co-encapsulate betanin and curcumin with enhancement of shelf stability and bioaccessibility.

Making the most of fusion tags technology in structural characterization of membrane proteins.

Membrane proteins can be investigated at various structural levels, including the topological structure, the high-resolution three-dimensional structure, and the organization and assembly of membrane protein complexes. Gene fusion technology makes it possible to insert a polynucleotide encoding a protein or polypeptide tag into the gene encoding a membrane protein of interest. Resultant recombinant proteins may possess the functions of the original membrane proteins, together with the biochemical properties of the imported fusion tag, greatly enhancing functional and structural studies of membrane proteins. In this article, the latest literature is reviewed in relation to types, applications, strategies, and approaches to fusion tag technology for structural investigations of membrane proteins.

[Value of measuring ankle brachial index for diagnosing peripheral arterial disease in Chinese patients with high cardiovascular risk].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of measuring ankle brachial index (ABI) for diagnosing peripheral arterial disease(PAD) compared with conventional digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference standard. METHODS: A total of 383 consecutive inpatients (245 male, mean age 64.1 +/- 11.7 years) underwent both conventional DSA and ABI measurements. RESULTS: The rate of statin intervention was 90.9%, ACEI 69.2%, antiplatelet 96.6% and beta-blockers 67.9%. The intravascular stenosis was classified into six degrees: normal, < 30%, 30% - 49%, 50% - 69%, 70% - 89% and > or = 90%. Compared to the traditional gold standard (DSA) in diagnosis PDA, the ABI value decreased in proportion to the severity of PAD (the ABI value was 1.08 +/- 0.11, 1.05 +/- 0.16, 0.99 +/- 0.17, 0.66 +/- 0.24, 0.55 +/- 0.28 and 0.54 +/- 0.00 respectively in the six ranks). There was a significant correlation between DSA and ABI in diagnosis PAD. CONCLUSION: ABI measurement is an accurate and reliable non-invasive alternative to conventional DSA in the assessment of lower extremity arteries in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Clinical Analysis of Partial Epilepsy with Auras.

BACKGROUND: An aura is usually considered to be the initial clinical sign of a seizure. The types of abnormal neuron activities (i.e., localized and generalized firing) play an important role in the diagnosis of epilepsy. The goal of this study was to investigate the types of auras and its correlation with the localization and treatment of epilepsy. METHODS: The 426 epileptic patients with auras from a single center were reviewed with reference to International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE, 1981) classification; the clinical manifestations and incidence of auras were analyzed in this retrospective study, as well as the results of electroencephalogram (EEG), brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the treatment methods. RESULTS: Among the 426 epileptic patients, six different types of auras were defined, including autonomic auras, sensory auras, mental and affective auras, aura as vertigo, cognitive auras, and unspeakable feelings. Duration of auras ranged from 2 s to 7 min; the median duration of auras was 64.2 s. Abnormal EEG was observed in 297 (69.72%) patients. Moreover, abnormal brain MRI was observed in 125 (29.34%) patients. Nineteen (4.46%) epilepsy patients with auras underwent both surgeries and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) while others were treated only with AEDs. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that auras played an important role in the diagnosis, classification, and localization of epilepsy. Epileptic aura could help differentiate partial seizure from generalized seizure.

[Experimental study of preventing postoperative stenosis by modifying artificial esophagus in dogs].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of the modified artificial esophagus on postoperative stenosis in dogs. METHODS: The models of defected esophagus were established in dogs. The double-layered membrane tube (modifying type) was implanted in the test group (n = 10) and the esophageal stent was further inserted when the stenosis occurred. The single pattern tube (original type) was transplanted to the control group (n = 30). The dilation treatment was performed to relieve the postoperative stenosis; alternatively, the esophageal stent was implanted in the unsuccessful dogs. RESULTS: The average artificial esophagus removal time was 19.10 days in the test group, which was significantly lower than 39.07 days in the control group (t = 15.6, P = 0.000). No obstruction after removal was observed in the experimental group. The incidence of postoperative stenosis had no significant difference between these two groups. CONCLUSION: The double-layered membrane tube can make the tube removal safer by shortening the removal time.

Characterisation of the turbid particles in the extraction of sugar beet pectins.

This paper was aimed at characterising the insoluble substances (IS) responsible for the turbidity of the extract and impurity of the resulting pectins. Results showed that the IS caused a significant increase in the turbidity of the extract. The IS had bi-pyramidal shapes under the SEM observation. The observed XRD peaks for the IS were similar to those of calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD). Moreover, the IS consisted of mainly oxalate and calcium. Results from the present study indicate the IS is COD. The influence of the IS on the purity of pectin was also studied. The presence of the IS in the pectins indicated the IS can precipitate with pectins during the alcohol precipitation, thereby contaminating the resulting pectins.

Improvement of sugar analysis sensitivity using anion-exchange chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry with sheath liquid interface.

A novel interface that enables high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) to be coupled with electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) is reported. A sheath liquid consisting of 50mM NH4Ac in isopropanol with 0.05% acetic acid, infused at a flow rate of 3µL/min at the tip of the electrospray probe, requires less ESI source cleaning and promotes efficient ionization of mono- and di-carbohydrates. The results suggest that use of a sheath liquid interface rather than a T-joint allows volatile ammonium salts to replace non-volatile metal salts as modifiers for improving sugar ESI signals. The efficient ionization of mono- and di-carbohydrates in the ESI source is affected by the sheath liquid properties such as buffer concentration and type of organic solvent. HPAEC-ESI-MS was used for the analysis of monocarbohydrates in pectins, particularly co-eluted sugars, and the performance was evaluated. Addition of a make-up solution through the sheath liquid interface proved to be an efficient tool for enhancing the intensities of sugars analyzed using HPAEC-ESI-MS.

Restoration of tissue damage, and never activity after hypoxia-ischemia by implantation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Hypoxia-ischemia (HI) encephalopathy is a frequent cause of disability and mortality with limited therapeutic options. Here, we collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB-MNCs) from healthy donors and labeled them with CM-DiI before implanting these cells by tail-vein injection into rats at day 3 after hypoxia-ischemia (HI). For immune-suppression the animals received daily injections of cyclosporine throughout the experiment, commencing 24h before cell transplantation. Then we observed the PB-MNCs by fluorescent microscopy, examined motor function of rats by rotarod and cylinder tests, measured the lesion volume using image-pro plus software, and analyzed the apoptosis of neural cells in HI rats by tunnel assay. The results showed PB-MNCs could survive in the brain of hosts, migrate to the damage area and express neural marker. In addition, The HI rats that received PB-MNCs showed a reduction in motor function impairment, lesion volume and neural cell apoptosis. To better understand the mechanism of cell migration, PB-MNCs were also injected into normal rats via tail-vein. The expression of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) in the brain of normal and HI rats was measured by RT- PCR and western-blot, while the response of PB-MNCs in vitro to HI or normal brain extracts were measured by cell migration assay. Collectively these data suggest that the migration of PB-MNCs is directed to the damaged brain through an SDF-1-dependent pathway. Our results suggest that intravenous transplantation of PB-MNCs may be a feasible candidate for HI therapy.

Extraction, characterization and spontaneous emulsifying properties of pectin from sugar beet pulp.

The effects of organic acid extractants on the yield and characteristics of pectin from sugar beet pulp were investigated with citric acid, malic acid and lactic acid at different pH (1.5 and 2.0) and time (1 h and 2 h). The results demonstrated that the yields of pectins were directly correlated with the decrease of pH and reaction time, and the optimum yield of 17.2% was obtained at pH 1.5 and 2 h. Furthermore, the acid type also affected the physicochemical characteristics of pectin, especially on the esterification degree (42-71), galacturonic acid content (60.2-77.8%), emulsion activity (35.2-40.1%) and emulsion stability (62.1-79.4%), and a relatively single pectin mainly consisted of homogalacturonan could be obtained under a suitable reaction condition, which was an excellent crude material for the production of emulsion activity.

[Polymorphism of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor gene and its correlation with leukemia].

The study was purposed to investigate the polymorphism of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) gene of the patients with leukemia and to explore the correlation between the KIR gene and susceptibility of leukemia. The KIR genotype of 50 patients with leukemia and 60 healthy controls in northern. Hans were analyzed by PCR-SSP. The results indicated that the present known 18 KIR genes were detected and identified. The frequencies of KIR 3DL3, 3DL2 and 2DL4 were 100% in all subjects, with the most frequent genotype KIR 3DP1 (0.86) followed by 2DP1, 2DL3, 3DL1, 2DL1, 3DS1, 2DL5, 2DS4, 2DS2, 1D, 2DS5, 2DL2, 2DS1, 2DS3 and 3DP1v in leukemia successively. Compared with the control, the KIR 3DL1 (0.60) and 2DL1 (0.57) were significantly lower in the leukemia patient group than that in the control group (1.00) (P < 0.01). It is concluded that the polymorphism of KIR gene is associated with susceptibility of leukemia in Hans. There may be a negative correlation between pathogenesis of leukemia and KIR 3DL1, KIR 3DS1, KIR 2DL1, KIR 2DL5 genes.

[Effects of D-limonene on leukemia cells HL-60 and K562 in vitro].

To investigate the effects of D-limonene (D-L) on the cell growth and apoptosis in HL-60, K562 cells and to elucidate its mechanism, the influence of D-L on proliferation of HL-60 and K562 cells was determined by propidium iodide assay, the expression levels of mutant p53, bcl-2, bax gene were detected by cell morphological analysis, flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry staining, the D-L-inducing HL-60 and K562 cell apoptosis in vitro was observed systematically. The results showed that D-L inhibited HL-60 and K562 cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner with the IC50 of 0.75 mmol/L similarly, D-L induced apoptosis of HL-60 and K562 cells, and expression of bcl-2 gene was down regulated by D-L in a concentration-dependent manner in HL-60 cells. The bcl-2, mutant type of p53 genes were down regulated while bax gene was up regulated by D-L in a concentration-dependent manner in K562 cells. It is concluded that D-L can inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of HL-60 and K562 cells. The bcl-2, mutant type of p53 and bax may be involved in the gene regulation of D-L-induced apoptosis.