Effect of instant surgery compared with traditional management on paediatric complicated acute appendicitis post-surgery wound: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis study to assess the influence of instant surgery (IS) compared with conservative therapy (CT) on paediatric complicated acute appendicitis (CAA) post-surgery wounds. A comprehensive literature examination until January 2023 was implemented, and 2098 linked studies were appraised. The picked studies contained 66 674 subjects with paediatric CAA post-surgery wounds in the picked studies' baseline; 64 643 of them were using IS, and 2031 were using CT. The odds ratio (OR) in addition to 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to calculate the consequence of the IS compared with the CT on paediatric CAA post-surgery wounds using the dichotomous and continuous styles and a fixed or random model. The IS had a significantly higher wound infection (OR, 4.97; 95% CI, 2.35-10.54, P < .001) with moderate heterogeneity (I2  = 57%) compared with the CT in a paediatric CAA post-surgery wound. However, no significant difference was found between IS and CT in total antibiotic duration (MD, -5.34; 95% CI,-12.67 to -1.98, P = .15) with high heterogeneity (I2  = 95%) in paediatric CAA post-surgery wounds. The IS had a significantly higher wound infection; however, no significant difference was found in total antibiotic duration compared with the CT in paediatric CAA post-surgery wounds. Although precautions should be taken when commerce with the consequences because most of the studies picked for this meta-analysis had low sample sizes.

Identification and Characterization of the Homeobox Gene Family in Fusarium pseudograminearum Reveal Their Roles in Pathogenicity.

Homeobox transcription factors have been implicated in filamentous growth, conidia formation and virulence in fungal pathogens. However, the presence of the homeobox gene family and their potential influence on pathogenesis in Fusarium pseudograminearum have not been investigated. F. pseudograminearum is an important plant pathogen that causes wheat and barley crown rot. In this study, we performed a genome-wide survey for F. pseudograminearum homeobox genes, and 11 FpHtfs were identified and characterized. Domain analyses revealed that all of these proteins contain a complete homeobox domain that contains three helices. Expression profiles of FpHtf genes at different pathogen stages showed that six FpHtf genes were induced during infection. Further, we generated and characterized FpHtf3 deletion mutants in F. pseudograminearum, showing it was essential for virulence. These results indicated that members of the homeobox gene family are likely involved in F. pseudograminearum pathogenicity. Our work also provides a useful foundation for further studies on the complexity and function of the homeobox gene family in F. pseudograminearum.

The bZIP transcription factor FpAda1 is essential for fungal growth and conidiation in Fusarium pseudograminearum.

Fusarium pseudograminearum is an important pathogen of Fusarium crown rot and Fusarium head blight, which is able to infect wheat and barley worldwide, causing great economic losses. Transcription factors (TFs) of the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) protein family control important processes in all eukaryotes. In this study, we identified a gene, designated FpAda1, encoding a bZIP TF in F. pseudograminearum. The homolog of FpAda1 is also known to affect hyphal growth in Neurospora crassa. Deletion of FpAda1 in F. pseudograminearum resulted in defects in hyphal growth, mycelial branching and conidia formation. Pathogenicity assays showed that virulence of the Δfpada1 mutant was dramatically decreased on wheat coleoptiles and barley leaves. However, wheat coleoptile inoculation assay showed that Δfpada1 could penetrate and proliferate in wheat cells. Moreover, the FpAda1 was required for abnormal nuclear morphology in conidia and transcription of FpCdc2 and FpCdc42. Taken together, these results indicate that FpAda1 is an important transcription factor involved in growth and development in F. pseudograminearum.

The ER Lumenal Hsp70 Protein FpLhs1 Is Important for Conidiation and Plant Infection in Fusarium pseudograminearum.

Heat shock protein 70s (Hsp70s) are a class of molecular chaperones that are highly conserved and ubiquitous in organisms ranging from microorganisms to plants and humans. Hsp70s play key roles in cellular development and protecting living organisms from environmental stresses such as heat, drought, salinity, acidity, and cold. However, their functions in pathogenic fungi are largely unknown. Here, a total of 14 FpHsp70 genes were identified in Fusarium pseudograminearum, including 3 in the mitochondria, 7 in the cytoplasm, 2 in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), 1 in the nucleus, and 1 in the plastid. However, the exon-intron boundaries and protein motifs of the FpHsp70 have no consistency in the same subfamily. Expression analysis revealed that most FpHsp70 genes were up-regulated during infection, implying that FpHsp70 genes may play important roles in F. pseudograminearum pathogenicity. Furthermore, knockout of an ER lumenal Hsp70 homolog FpLhs1 gene reduced growth, conidiation, and pathogenicity in F. pseudograminearum. These mutants also showed a defect in secretion of some proteins. Together, FpHsp70s might play essential roles in F. pseudograminearum and FpLhs1 is likely to act on the development and virulence by regulating protein secretion.

Network and role analysis of autophagy in Phytophthora sojae.

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism in eukaryotes with roles in development and the virulence of plant fungal pathogens. However, few reports on autophagy in oomycete species have been published. Here, we identified 26 autophagy-related genes (ATGs) belonging to 20 different groups in Phytophthora sojae using a genome-wide survey, and core ATGs in oomycetes were used to construct a preliminary autophagy pathway model. Expression profile analysis revealed that these ATGs are broadly expressed and that the majority of them significantly increase during infection stages, suggesting a central role for autophagy in virulence. Autophagy in P. sojae was detected using a GFP-PsAtg8 fusion protein and the fluorescent dye MDC during rapamycin and starvation treatment. In addition, autophagy was significantly induced during sporangium formation and cyst germination. Silencing PsAtg6a in P. sojae significantly reduced sporulation and pathogenicity. Furthermore, a PsAtg6a-silenced strain showed haustorial formation defects. These results suggested that autophagy might play essential roles in both the development and infection mechanism of P. sojae.

[Wnt3a combined with bone morphogenetic protein 9 induce C3H10T1/2 cells differentiation into cardiomyocyte-like cells in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Wnt3a alone and combined with bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) on the differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells. METHODS: Recombinant adenovirus GFP, BMP9 and Wnt3a were amplified with human embryo kidney 293 cell line (HEK293 cells) and transferred into C3H10T1/2 cells. Three weeks after transfection, the cell morphology and the expression of green fluorescent protein in cells transfected with GFP, BMP9 and Wnt3a were observed by an inverted microscope and a fluorescence microscope. Flow cytometry was performed to detect cell transfection efficiency. The expressions of cardiac-specific proteins connexin 43 (Cx43), cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and genes GATA binding protein 4 (GATA4), myocyte enhancer factor 2C (MEF2C) were analyzed by Western blotting, immunofluorescence and real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: High-titer recombinant adenovirus was generated with HEK293 cells. The expressions of Cx43, cTnT, GATA4 and MEF2C were similar among Wnt3a group, GFP group and control group, but they significantly increased in cells when co-induced by Wnt3a and BMP9 for 3 weeks. The expressions of Cx43, cTnT, GATA4 and MEF2C showed no significant difference between BMP9 group and Wnt3a and BMP9 co-induction group. CONCLUSION: Wnt3a can not promote the differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells by itself, but co-induction by Wnt3a and BMP9 can promote the differentiation.

[Involvement of ERK5 and JNK in the BMP9-induced differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the roles of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in the differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells induced by bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9). METHODS: BMP9 gene was imported into C3H10T1/2 cells by recombinant adenovirus. Western blotting was used to detect the actived levels of ERK5 and JNK after cultivated with BMP9 and different concentrations of ERK5 specific inhibitor BIX02189 or JNK specific inhibitor SP600125; real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to analyze the expressions of myocardium specific genes GATA binding protein 4 (GATA4), myocyte enhancer factor 2C (MEF2C) after one week induced by BMP9; Western blotting was conducted to measure the expressions of myocardium specific proteins connexin 43 (CX43), cardiac troponin T (cTnT) after three weeks induced by BMP9, and immunofluorescence to observe the positions of CX43 and cTnT in the cells. RESULTS: In the case of transfection efficiency up to 50%, BMP9 exceedingly activated ERK5 and JNK, and significantly increased their phosphorylation level (P<0.05). After BIX02189 inhibited the activity of ERK5, the expression levels of myocardial differentiation markers MEF2C, GATA4, CX43, cTnT of C3H10T1/2 cells were significantly suppressed (P<0.05); JNK specific inhibitor SP600125 also inhibited the expression levels of MEF2C, GATA4, CX43, cTnT, but the inhibition on MEF2C and GATA4 was not as notable as that of BIX02189 (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The excessive activation of ERK5 and JNK plays an important role in the differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells induced by BMP9.