Phospholipase D-derived phosphatidic acid promotes root hair development under phosphorus deficiency by suppressing vacuolar degradation of PIN-FORMED2.

Root hair development is crucial for phosphate absorption, but how phosphorus deficiency affects root hair initiation and elongation remains unclear. We demonstrated the roles of auxin efflux carrier PIN-FORMED2 (PIN2) and phospholipase D (PLD)-derived phosphatidic acid (PA), a key signaling molecule, in promoting root hair development in Arabidopsis thaliana under a low phosphate (LP) condition. Root hair elongation under LP conditions was greatly suppressed in pin2 mutant or under treatment with a PLDζ2-specific inhibitor, revealing that PIN2 and polar auxin transport and PLDζ2-PA are crucial in LP responses. PIN2 was accumulated and degraded in the vacuole under a normal phosphate (NP) condition, whereas its vacuolar accumulation was suppressed under the LP or NP plus PA conditions. Vacuolar accumulation of PIN2 was increased in pldζ2 mutants under LP conditions. Increased or decreased PIN2 vacuolar accumulation is not observed in sorting nexin1 (snx1) mutant, indicating that vacuolar accumulation of PIN2 is mediated by SNX1 and the relevant trafficking process. PA binds to SNX1 and promotes its accumulation at the plasma membrane, especially under LP conditions, and hence promotes root hair development by suppressing the vacuolar degradation of PIN2. We uncovered a link between PLD-derived PA and SNX1-dependent vacuolar degradation of PIN2 in regulating root hair development under phosphorus deficiency.

Downregulated serum miR-223 servers as biomarker in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by progressive memory loss and deteriorated higher cognitive functions. An economical, rapid and noninvasive biomarker for AD has not been identified. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of serum miR-223 and miR-519 in AD. The expressions of miR-223 and miR-519, with previously reported AD-associated miR-29 and miR-125b, were measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in the serum of 84 probable sporadic AD patients (age onset > 65 years) and 62 healthy control populations in China. Analyses were undertaken to assess the specificity and sensitivity of miRNAs to predict AD. In addition, the relationship between miRNAs and mini mental state examination (MMSE) scores in AD patients was also assessed. Serum miR-29, miR-125b and miR-223 were significantly decreased, but serum miR-519 was significantly increased in AD patients compared with healthy blood donors. In addition, serum miR-223 was strongly positively correlated with MMSE score in AD patients but serum miR-519 was not. Importantly, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) result of serum miR-223 for prediction of AD was 0.786, higher than those of serum miR-29 (0.734) or miR-125b (0.726). The combination of serum miR-223 and miR-125b gave improved sensitivity/specificity for AD prediction (area under the ROC curve, 0.879) than either miRNA alone. Our preliminary findings indicate that serum miR-223 might be a potential biomarker for AD evaluation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Garcinol Upregulates GABAA and GAD65 Expression, Modulates BDNF-TrkB Pathway to Reduce Seizures in Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-Induced Epilepsy.

BACKGROUND Epilepsy is the most predominant neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. Despite treatment with antiepileptic drugs, epilepsy still is a challenge to treat, due to the associated adverse effects of the drugs. Previous investigations have shown critical roles of BDNF-TrkB signalling and expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) and GABAA in the brain during epilepsy. Thus, drugs that could modulate BDNF-TrkB signal and expression of GAD65 and GABAA could aid in therapy. Recent experimental data have focussed on plant-derived compounds in treatments. Garcinol (camboginol), is a polyisoprenylated benzophenone derived from the fruit of Garcinia indica. We investigated the effects of garcinol in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced epileptic models. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seizure scores were measured in epilepsy kindled mice. Neuronal degeneration and apoptosis were assessed by Nissl staining, TUNEL assay, and Fluoro-Jade B staining. Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate cleaved caspase-3 expressions. Expression of BDNF, TrkB, GABAA, GAD65, Bad, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Bax were determined by western blots. RESULTS Significantly reduced seizure scores and mortality rates were observed with pretreatment with garcinol. Elevated expression of apoptotic proteins and caspase-3 in kindled mice were effectively downregulated by garcinol. Epileptogenic mice presented increased BDNF and TrkB with considerably decreased GABAA and GAD65 expression. Garcinol significantly enhanced GABAA and GAD65 while it suppressed BDNF and TrkB. Garcinol enhanced the performance of mice in Morris water maze tests. CONCLUSIONS Garcinol exerts neuroprotective effects via supressing apoptosis and modulating BDNF-TrkB signalling and GAD65/GABAA expressions and also enhanced cognition and memory of the mice.

Overexpression of FOXC1 correlates with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine FOXC1 expression in gastric tissues, and the clinical significance of FOXC1 in the development, progression and metastasis of gastric cancer (GC). METHODS AND RESULTS: We screened GCs for the expression of FOXC1 using the Affymetrix U133 plus 2.0 Gene Chip Array, and found that expression was significantly higher in GC tissues than in controls. Furthermore, we validated the expression levels of FOXC1 using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), and of FOXC1 using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Our study showed that expression levels of FOXC1 mRNA and FOXC1 in GC tissues were significantly higher than those in corresponding non-tumour tissues. High FOXC1 expression correlated with the degree of histological differentiation (P < 0.01), TNM stage (P < 0.001), invasive depth (P < 0.05), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05), and distant metastasis (P < 0.01). Survival analysis revealed that patients with high FOXC1 expression had shorter overall survival than those with low expression (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that high FOXC1 expression was an independent prognostic factor for GC patients (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of FOXC1 may play a key role in the progression of GC, and FOXC1 expression may serve as a useful marker for predicting the outcome of patients with GC.

[Study of ice VII structure influenced by high pressure using Raman spectrum].

Raman spectra of ice VII phase were obtained at room temperature when the pressure was from 2.5 to 23 GPa. The experimental results indicate that the oxygen atoms distance do-o of ice decreased with pressure increasing,which results in that hydrogen bond is shortened, O--H bond is lengthened,force constant is reduced, and Raman spectra are red shifted. The orientation order of proton (hydrogen atom) is first increased and then decreased with varying the pressure, which leads to the Raman intensity increasing and then decreasing, and Raman linewidth is decreased and then increased, and the linewidth is the least when the pressure is 13 GPa.

[Broad-area vertical cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers].

Based on the broad-area vertical cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOA) of 970 nm, the amplifier gain and bandwidth characteristics were experimentally investigated and analyzed in the reflection mode. For 970 nm broad-area VCSOA operated in reflective mode, the maximum gain amplification of 24.8 dB and optical bandwidth of 0.14 nm (25 GHz) were reached when the injection current was 57% of threshold current and the signal input power was 0.7 W. The experimental gain value was larger than the theoretical value, due to many modes existing in VCSOA. Each mode had relative gain amplification, so the experimental gain value was larger than the theoretical value. This kind of broad-area VCSOA was improved not only in optical gain but also in saturated input power. The authors optimized the structure design of the wide area VCSOA of 970 nm. The simulation results showed that the improvement of the gain and bandwidth of the semiconductor laser could be obtained by appropriately reducing the DBR reflectivity of the emitting laser on the vertical cavity surface.

[Study of biological molecules in water by using the resonance raman spectra in liquid-core optical fiber].

Raman spectrum is an important and effective method for the study of biological molecules in water. Measuring the Raman spectra for biological molecules in water, however, is very difficult because of the small Raman scattering cross section and the high electronic excitation energy of water molecules. In the present paper, the authors applied both technologies of liquid-core optical fiber and the resonance Raman spectra, then the intensity of Raman spectra was enhanced to a great extent. In this experiment, we chose the laser wavelength 514.5 of Ar+ ion laser as excitation laser, because we could obtain the maximal intensity of resonance Raman spectra at this wavelength. The experiment results show that, for the trace inspecting study of beta-carotene biological molecules in water, the concentration in the range of 10(-7)-10(-9) mol x L(-1) can be detected by quartz liquid-core optical fiber and the concentration in the range of 10(-9)-10(-10) mol x L(-1) by Teflon liquid-core optical fiber. The detecting utmost will be further reduced if improving the quality of optical fiber.

Autologous Blood Transfusion and Pringle Maneuver in Laparoscopic Segmental Hepatectomy for Benign Hepatic Neoplasms: A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of autologous blood transfusion (ABT) and Pringle maneuver (PM) on postoperative early liver function and short-term postoperative results following laparoscopic liver resection in patients with benign hepatic neoplasms. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data for 125 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic segmental hepatectomy from January 2015 to May 2018 (68 in the ABT group versus 57 in the PM group). We compared patients' characteristics and intra- and postoperative short-term outcomes between the groups. Results: The 2 groups were well matched regarding patients' clinical characteristics, types of liver resection, operative time, and histopathological findings (P > .05). Median blood loss was significantly lower in the PM group versus the ABT group (200 mL versus 750 mL, respectively; P < .01), and overall complication rates were similar (n = 12 [17%] versus n = 9 [16%], respectively; P > .05). The ABT group had significantly lower mean levels of total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, aspartate transaminase, and alanine aminotransferase on postoperative days 1 and 3 (P < .05). The ABT group had a shorter hospital stay compared with the PM group (5.8 days versus 7.7 days, respectively; P < .05) and lower hospitalization costs (55,400 ± 15,400 versus 667,000 ± 21,600 CN dollars, respectively; P < .05). Conclusions: Compared with Pringle's maneuver, laparoscopic hepatectomy with ABT promoted early recovery of liver function and reduced hospitalization costs in select patients with benign hepatic neoplasms.