Decreased lipid levels in adult with congenital heart disease: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic disorders were a health problem for many adults with congenital heart disease, however, the differences in metabolic syndrome-related metabolite levels in adults with congenital heart disease compared to the healthy population were unknown. METHODS: We collected 18 studies reporting metabolic syndrome-associated metabolite levels in patients with congenital heart disease. Data from different studies were combined under a random-effects model using Cohen's d values. RESULTS: The results found that the levels of total cholesterol (Cohen's d -0.68, 95% CI: -0.91 to -0.45), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Cohen's d -0.63, 95% CI: -0.89 to -0.37), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Cohen's d -0.32, 95% CI: -0.54 to -0.10) were significantly lower in congenital heart disease patients compared with controls. Congenital heart disease patients also had a lower body mass index (Cohen's d -0.27, 95% CI: -0.42 to -0.12) compared with controls. On the contrary, congenital heart disease patients had higher levels of hemoglobin A1c (Cohen's d 0.93, 95% CI: 0.17 to 1.70) than controls. Meanwhile, there were no significant differences in triglyceride (Cohen's d 0.07, 95% CI: -0.09 to 0.23), blood glucose (Cohen's d -0.12, 95% CI: -0.94 to 0.70) levels, systolic (Cohen's d 0.07, 95% CI: -0.30 to 0.45) and diastolic blood pressure (Cohen's d -0.10, 95% CI: -0.39 to 0.19) between congenital heart disease patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: The lipid levels in patients with congenital heart disease were significantly lower than those in the control group. These data will help in the health management of patients with congenital heart disease and guide clinicians. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022228156.

Small RNA profiling reveals that an ovule-specific microRNA, cja-miR5179, targets a B-class MADS-box gene in Camellia japonica.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The functional specialization of microRNA and its target genes is often an important factor in the establishment of spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression that are essential to plant development and growth. In different plant lineages, understanding the functional conservation and divergence of microRNAs remains to be explored. METHODS: To identify small regulatory RNAs underlying floral patterning, we performed a tissue-specific profiling of small RNAs in various floral organs from single and double flower varieties (flowers characterized by multiple layers of petals) in Camellia japonica. We identified cja-miR5179, which belongs to a deeply conserved microRNA family that is conserved between angiosperms and basal plants but frequently lost in eudicots. We characterized the molecular function of cja-miR5179 and its target - a B-function MADS-box gene - through gene expression analysis and transient expression assays. KEY RESULTS: We showed that cja-miR5179 is exclusively expressed in ovule tissues at the early stage of floral development. We found that cja-miR5179 targets the coding sequences of a DEFICIENS-like B-class gene (CjDEF) mRNA, which is located in the K motif of the MADS-box domain; and the target sites of miR5179/MADS-box were consistent in Camellia and orchids. Furthermore, through a petal transient-expression assay, we showed that the BASIC PENTACYSTEINE proteins bind to the GA-rich motifs in the cja-miR5179 promoter region and suppresses its expression. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that the regulation between miR5179 and a B-class MADS-box gene in C. japonica has a deep evolutionary origin before the separation of monocots and dicots. During floral development of C. japonica, cja-miR5179 is specifically expressed in the ovule, which may be required for the inhibition of CjDEF function. This work highlights the evolutionary conservation as well as functional divergence of small RNAs in floral development.

Pharmaceuticals Promoting Premature Termination Codon Readthrough: Progress in Development.

Around 11% of all known gene lesions causing human genetic diseases are nonsense mutations that introduce a premature stop codon (PTC) into the protein-coding gene sequence. Drug-induced PTC readthrough is a promising therapeutic strategy for treating hereditary diseases caused by nonsense mutations. To date, it has been found that more than 50 small-molecular compounds can promote PTC readthrough, known as translational readthrough-inducing drugs (TRIDs), and can be divided into two major categories: aminoglycosides and non-aminoglycosides. This review summarizes the pharmacodynamics and clinical application potential of the main TRIDs discovered so far, especially some newly discovered TRIDs in the past decade. The discovery of these TRIDs brings hope for treating nonsense mutations in various genetic diseases. Further research is still needed to deeply understand the mechanism of eukaryotic cell termination and drug-induced PTC readthrough so that patients can achieve the greatest benefit from the various TRID treatments.

Comprehensive analysis of LRR-RLKs and key gene identification in Pinus massoniana resistant to pine wood nematode.

Pinus massoniana is a pioneer tree widely planted for afforestation on barren hills in southern China where the total planted area is 8.04 million ha. The invasive pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) poses a serious threat to the survival of P. massoniana. Plant resistance genes encoded by leucine-rich repeat-containing transmembrane-receptor proteins play important roles in plant defense. Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs), the largest subfamily of the RLK protein family, play an important role in sensing stress signals in plants. However, the LRR-RLKs of P. massoniana have not been characterized previously, and their role in resistance to B. xylophilus is unknown. In this study, 185 members of the LRR-RLK subfamily were identified in P. massoniana and were categorized into 14 subgroups. Transcriptomic and quantitative real-time RT-PCR analyses showed that PmRLKs32 was highly expressed in the stem tissue after inoculation with B. xylophilus. The gene exhibited high homology with AtFLS2 of Arabidopsis thaliana. PmRLKs32 was localized to the plasma membrane and was significantly upregulated in nematode-resistant and nematode-susceptible individuals. The transient expression of PmRLKs32 resulted in a burst of reactive oxygen species production in P. massoniana and Nicotiana benthamiana seedlings. These results lay a foundation for further exploration of the regulatory mechanism of LRR-RLKs in response to biotic stress in P. massoniana.

Multiple channels with interconnected pores in a bioceramic scaffold promote bone tissue formation.

Insufficient nutrition exchange and limited transportation of blood supply in a porous only scaffold often hinder bone formation, even though the porous scaffold is loaded with cells or growth factors. To overcome these issues, we developed a cell- and growth factor-free approach to induce bone formation in a critical-size bone defect by using an interconnected porous beta-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP) scaffold with multiple channels. In vitro cell experimental results showed that multiple channels significantly promoted cell attachment and proliferation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, stimulated their alkaline phosphatase activity, and up-regulated the osteogenic gene expression. Multiple channels also considerably stimulated the expression of various mechanosensing markers of the cells, such as focal adhesion kinase, filamentous actin, and Yes-associated protein-1 at both static and dynamic culturing conditions. The in vivo bone defect implantation results demonstrated more bone formation inside multiple-channeled scaffolds compared to non-channeled scaffolds. Multiple channels prominently accelerated collagen type I, bone sialoprotein and osteocalcin protein expression. Fluorochrome images and angiogenic marker CD31 staining exhibited more mineral deposition and longer vasculature structures in multiple-channeled scaffolds, compared to non-channeled scaffolds. All the findings suggested that the creation of interconnected multiple channels in the porous ß-TCP scaffold is a very promising approach to promote bone tissue regeneration.

Transcriptome and Degradome Profiling Reveals a Role of miR530 in the Circadian Regulation of Gene Expression in Kalanchoë marnieriana.

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is an important photosynthetic pathway for plant adaptation to dry environments. CAM plants feature a coordinated interaction between mesophyll and epidermis functions that involves refined regulations of gene expression. Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are crucial post-transcription regulators of gene expression, however, their roles underlying the CAM pathway remain poorly investigated. Here, we present a study characterizing the expression of miRNAs in an obligate CAM species Kalanchoë marnieriana. Through sequencing of transcriptome and degradome in mesophyll and epidermal tissues under the drought treatments, we identified differentially expressed miRNAs that were potentially involved in the regulation of CAM. In total, we obtained 84 miRNA genes, and eight of them were determined to be Kalanchoë-specific miRNAs. It is widely accepted that CAM pathway is regulated by circadian clock. We showed that miR530 was substantially downregulated in epidermal peels under drought conditions; miR530 targeted two tandem zinc knuckle/PLU3 domain encoding genes (TZPs) that were potentially involved in light signaling and circadian clock pathways. Our work suggests that the miR530-TZPs module might play a role of regulating CAM-related gene expression in Kalanchoë.

CcBLH6, a bell-like homeodomain-containing transcription factor, regulates the fruit lignification pattern.

MAIN CONCLUSION: CcBLH6 is a bell-like homeodomain-containing transcription factor that plays an important role of lignin biosynthesis in the control of fruit lignification pattern in Camellia chekiangoleosa. The fruit of Camellia chekiangoleosa has a unique lignification pattern that features with a thick pericarp containing a low level of lignification. Yet the fruit lignification pattern and the regulatory network of responsible gene transcription are poorly understood. Here, we characterized a bell-like homeodomain-containing (BLH) transcription factor from C. chekiangoleosa, CcBLH6, in the control of fruit lignification. CcBLH6 expression was highly correlated with the unique lignification pattern during fruit development. The ectopic expression of CcBLH6 promoted the lignification process of stem and root in Arabidopsis. We found that expression of genes related to lignin biosynthesis and its transcriptional regulation was altered in transgenic lines. In a Camellia callus-transformation system, overexpression of CcBLH6 greatly enhanced the expression of genes related to lignin biosynthesis and its transcriptional regulation was altered in transgenic lines. In the callus-transformation system, overexpression of CcBLH6 greatly enhanced the lignification of parenchymal cells, and the regulation of several genes involved in lignin accumulation was largely consistent between Arabidopsis and Camellia. Our study reveals a positive role of CcBLH6 in the regulation of lignin biosynthesis during fruit lignification in Camellia.

The complete chloroplast genome of Camellia grijsii, an ornamental shrub with floral aroma.

Camellia grijsii is an ornamental shrub with a floral aroma, which is widely cultivated and used for landscaping in China. To obtain the genetic information of C. grijsii, we have sequenced and assembled the complete chloroplast (cp) genome based on the Illumina Hiseq platform. The total genome size is 161,078 bp in length with 37.18% GC, which contains a large single copy (LSC, 84,645 bp) region, a small single copy (SSC, 15,772 bp) region, and a pair of inverted repeat (IRs, 30,330 bp) regions. It is composed of 81 protein-coding genes, 4 ribosomal RNAs, and 43 transfer RNAs. The cp genome of C. grijsii has also been compared with other species of Camellia, and the results showed that the C. grijsii and the C. grandbibracteata are closely related. This study provides the complete cp genome of C. grijsii and has an important reference value for the evolutionary analysis.

Development of a decellularized porcine bone matrix for potential applications in bone tissue regeneration.

Aim: The objectives of this study were to develop a new decellularized bone matrix (DBM) and to investigate its effect on the in vitro cell behavior of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), compared with porous ß-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP) scaffolds. Materials & methods: Triton X-100 and deoxycholate sodium solution, combining DNase I and RNase, were used to decellularize porcine bones. The DBM were then characterized by DNA contents and matrix components. hMSCs were then seeded on the DBM and ß-TCP scaffolds to study cell behavior. Results: Results showed that most porcine cells were removed and the matrix components of the DBM were maintained. Cell culture results showed that DBM promoted cell attachment and proliferation of hMSCs but did not significantly promote the gene expression of osteogenic genes, compared with ß-TCP scaffolds. Conclusion: DBM has similar function on cell behavior to ß-TCP scaffolds that have promising potential in bone tissue regeneration.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Camellia yuhsienensis Hu, a resilient shrub with strong floral fragrance.

Camellia yuhsienensis Hu is an economically valuable species in the genus Camellia. It is widely used for breeding ornaments and oil varieties. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of C. yuhsienensis is assembled and annotated. The whole cp genome of C. yuhsienensis is 156,912 bp in size, composed of a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,296 bp and a large single copy (LSC) region of 86,560 bp, separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs, IRA: 86,561-112,588; IRB: 130,885-156,912). The overall GC content of C. yuhsienensis cp genome is 37.3%, with the base content A (31.08%), T (31.63%), C (19.02%), and G (18.27%). The phylogenetic analysis of 15 Camellia species based on 77 protein-coding genes shows that C. yuhsienensis is evolutionarily close to Camellia taliensis.