Effects of increased levels of atmospheric CO2 and high temperatures on rice growth and quality.

The increased atmospheric temperatures resulting from the increased concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) have had a profound influence on global rice production. China serves as an important area for producing and consuming rice. Therefore, exploring the effects of the simultaneously rising levels of atmospheric CO2 and temperatures on rice growth and quality in the future is very important. The present study was designed to measure the most important aspects of variation for rice-related physiological, ecological and quality indices in different growing periods under a simultaneous increase of CO2 and temperature, through simulation experiments in climate-controlled growth chambers, with southern rice as the study object. The results indicated that the ecological indices, rice phenology, and leaf area would decrease under a simultaneous increase of CO2 and temperature. For the physiological indices, Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels increased significantly in the seedling period. However, it showed the trend of increase and subsequent decrease in the heading and filling periods. In addition, the decomposition of soluble protein (SP) and soluble sugar (SS) accelerated in filling period. The rice quality index of the Head Rice Rate showed the decreasing trend and subsequent increase, but the Chalky Rice Rate and Protein Content indices gradually decreased while the Gel Consistency gradually increased.

Inhibitory Effects of Enterolactone on Growth and Metastasis in Human Breast Cancer.

A lignan-rich diet is associated with a lower risk of human breast cancer. Enterolactone, an active polyphenol metabolites of lignan, was reported to have an antitumor effect. We investigated the mechanism for the effect of enterolactone against human breast cancer. Cellular changes, and associated genes induced by enterolactone, were investigated in MDA-MB-231 cells. Enterolactone showed an antiproliferative effect, and its IC50 was 261.9 ± 10.5 µM for a treatment period of 48 hr. The mRNA levels of the genes related to cell proliferation, Ki67, PCNA, and FoxM1, were reduced. Enterolactone induced accumulation of cells in the S phase, and a lower expression of Cyclin E1, Cyclin A2, Cyclin B1, and Cyclin B2 genes. There were almost no changes in the transcription levels of the genes that participate in G0/G1 phase regulation, CDK4, CDK6, and Cyclin D1. Furthermore, enterolactone interfered with the cytoskeleton by downregulating phosphorylation of the FAK/paxillin pathway, inhibiting migration and invasion of cells. The results suggest that enterolactone exerts an antitumor effect by regulating the expression of genes associated with cell proliferation and the cell cycle and by blocking the FAK/paxillin signaling pathway. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms behind the antitumor effect of enterolactone.

The role of XPD in cell apoptosis and viability and its relationship with p53 and cdk2 in hepatoma cells.

We investigated the role of XPD in cell apoptosis of hepatoma and its relationship with p53 during the regulation of hepatoma bio-behavior. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression levels of XPD, p53, c-myc, and cdk2. The cell apoptosis and cell cycle were analyzed with flow cytometry. Compared with the control cells, XPD-transfected cells displayed a lower viability and higher apoptosis rate. A decreased expression of p53 gene was detected in XPD-transfected cells. In contrast, both c-myc and cdk2 showed increased expressions of mRNAs and proteins in the transfected cells. Our results indicate that XPD may play an important role in cell apoptosis of hepatoma by inducing an over-expression of p53, but suppressing expressions of c-myc and cdk2.