Mechanical homeostasis imbalance in hepatic stellate cells activation and hepatic fibrosis.

Chronic liver disease or repeated damage to hepatocytes can give rise to hepatic fibrosis. Hepatic fibrosis (HF) is a pathological process of excessive sedimentation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins such as collagens, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans (PGs) in the hepatic parenchyma. Changes in the composition of the ECM lead to the stiffness of the matrix that destroys its inherent mechanical homeostasis, and a mechanical homeostasis imbalance activates hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) into myofibroblasts, which can overproliferate and secrete large amounts of ECM proteins. Excessive ECM proteins are gradually deposited in the Disse gap, and matrix regeneration fails, which further leads to changes in ECM components and an increase in stiffness, forming a vicious cycle. These processes promote the occurrence and development of hepatic fibrosis. In this review, the dynamic process of ECM remodeling of HF and the activation of HSCs into mechanotransduction signaling pathways for myofibroblasts to participate in HF are discussed. These mechanotransduction signaling pathways may have potential therapeutic targets for repairing or reversing fibrosis.

Fungal Diversity in the Soil of the Oxytropis glacialis Root System on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Because of swainonine-producing endophytic fungal, Oxytropis glacialis is one of the main poisonous weeds in the alpine grassland and desert grassland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). It has a severe impact on grassland degradation on the QTP. In this manuscript, the Internally Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of fungal communities in the soil of the O. glacialis root system was sequenced by high-throughput sequencing and analyzed by bioinformatics methods. The physical and chemical properties of the soil samples were analyzed in combination with the fungal diversity and its relationship with the soil physical and chemical factors. The results showed that the soil fungal community in the O. glacialis root system are rich in diversity in different ecological environments and are most affected by the soil pH value and organic matter. The swainonine-producing fungal Embellisia oxytropis was first detected in the soil of the O. glacialis root system. This finding provides data to support the next step in demonstrating the horizontal spread of swainone-producing fungal from O. glacialis to soil. In addition, a stable network of core flora has a facilitating effect on the formation of O. glacialis as a dominant species in alpine ecosystems.

Genome wide analysis of kinesin gene family in Citrullus lanatus reveals an essential role in early fruit development.

BACKGROUND: Kinesin (KIN) as a motor protein is a versatile nano-machine and involved in diverse essential processes in plant growth and development. However, the kinesin gene family has not been identified in watermelon, a valued and nutritious fruit, and yet their functions have not been characterized. Especially, their involvement in early fruit development, which directly determines the size, shape, yield and quality of the watermelon fruit, remains unclear. RESULTS: In this study, we performed a whole-genome investigation and comprehensive analysis of kinesin genes in C. lanatus. In total, 48 kinesins were identified and categorized into 10 kinesin subfamilies groups based on phylogenetic analysis. Their uneven distribution on 11 chromosomes was revealed by distribution analysis. Conserved motif analysis showed that the ATP-binding motif of kinesins was conserved within all subfamilies, but not the microtubule-binding motif. 10 segmental duplication pairs genes were detected by the syntenic and phylogenetic approaches, which showed the expansion of the kinesin gene family in C. lanatus genome during evolution. Moreover, 5 ClKINs genes are specifically and abundantly expressed in early fruit developmental stages according to comprehensive expression profile analysis, implying their critical regulatory roles during early fruit development. Our data also demonstrated that the majority of kinesin genes were responsive to plant hormones, revealing their potential involvement in the signaling pathways of plant hormones. CONCLUSIONS: Kinesin gene family in watermelon was comprehensively analyzed in this study, which establishes a foundation for further functional investigation of C. lanatus kinesin genes and provides novel insights into their biological functions. In addition, these results also provide useful information for understanding the relationship between plant hormone and kinesin genes in C. lanatus.