The association between the self-perception period of overactive bladder symptoms and overactive bladder symptom scores in a non-treated population and related sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.

AIMS: To investigate the association between the self-perception period of OAB symptoms (SP-OAB) and the overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS), along with related sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study comprised of 192 men aged 40 years and older who participated in a prostate examination survey between February and May 2009 and proved to have OAB. Survey questionnaires included items on the OABSS and the SP-OAB assessed by the OABSS. Various sociodemographic and lifestyle factors were also included. RESULTS: The average SP-OAB period was 24.72 ± 45.75 months and became significantly longer as the severity of OAB increased in correlation analysis (coefficient = 0.501, p < 0.001). Age, education, income, regular check-up, health maintenance and occupation were all risk factors in both OABSS and SP-OAB in univariate analysis. Body mass index (BMI), family size and SP-OAB were risk factors for OABSS in univariate analysis. Age and regular check-ups were factors in both OABSS and SP-OAB in multivariate analysis. BMI, income and SP-OAB were risk factors for OABSS. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the SP-OAB is an independent risk factor for OAB progression and that various sociodemographic and lifestyle factors affect OABSS. The self-perception period should be considered in the treatment and prevention of OAB symptoms.

Overexpression of the tobacco Tsi1 gene encoding an EREBP/AP2-type transcription factor enhances resistance against pathogen attack and osmotic stress in tobacco.

Using mRNA differential display analysis, we isolated a salt-induced transcript that showed a significant sequence homology with an EREBP/AP2 DNA binding motif from oilseed rape plants. With this cDNA fragment as a probe, cDNA clone Tsi1 (for Tobacco stress-induced gene1) was isolated from a tobacco cDNA library. RNA gel blot analysis indicated that transcripts homologous with Tsi1 were induced not only in NaCl-treated leaves but also in leaves treated with ethephon or salicylic acid. Transient expression analysis using a Tsi1::smGFP fusion gene in BY-2 cells indicated that the Tsi1 protein was targeted to the nucleus. Fusion protein of Tsi1 with GAL4 DNA binding domain strongly activated transcription in yeast, and the transactivating activity was localized to the 13 C-terminal amino acids of Tsi1. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that Tsi1 could bind specifically to the GCC and the DRE/CRT sequences, although the binding activity to the former was stronger than that to the latter. Furthermore, Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression and transgenic plants expressing Tsi1 demonstrated that overexpression of the Tsi1 gene induced expression of several pathogenesis-related genes under normal conditions, resulting in improved tolerance to salt and pathogens. These results suggest that Tsi1 might be involved as a positive trans-acting factor in two separate signal transduction pathways under abiotic and biotic stress.

Isolation of a putative tobacco host factor interacting with cucumber mosaic virus-encoded 2b protein by yeast two-hybrid screening.

The cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)-encoded 2b protein has been implicated to play a role in long distance movement of the virus through the plant's transport system. It is unknown, however, how it mediates virus movement and whether any intrinsic components of plant cells also participate in this process. To isolate a host factor that interacts with 2b, the yeast two-hybrid system was used. First, it was found that the 2b protein per se could function as a transcriptional activator in yeast. However, its two carboxyl terminal deletion mutants, 2bdelta98 and 2bdelta95, which lacked 12 and 15 amino acids from the carboxyl terminus respectively, showed complete absence of transcriptional activation in yeast. A tobacco cDNA library expressing the GAL4 activation domain fusion proteins was screened using 2bdelta98 as a bait. A clone named 2bip (2b-interacting protein) was isolated whose translation product apparently interacted with 2b. Consistent with this observation, bacterially expressed GST-2bip fusion protein bound tightly to 2bdelta95 and 2bdelta98 polypeptides in vitro, as well as to the unmodified 2b protein. Nucleotide sequencing and database searches revealed that the amino acid sequence deduced from it was similar to a prokaryotic LytB protein and an unknown protein of Arabidopsis. DNA and RNA gel blot analyses showed that 2bip-related sequences were present in the tobacco genome and that transcripts corresponding to 2bip were expressed constitutively in various plant organs and in response to CMV infection. These results suggest 2bip as a novel host factor that is capable of interacting with CMV2b.