GLYCOSAMINOGLYCANS AND PROTEOGLYCANS IN PALMAR FASCIA OF PATIENTS WITH DUPUYTREN

Objective : To evaluate and compare the behavior of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in Dupuytren disease (DD). Methods : This is an experimental study with 23 patients diagnosed with DD. Tissue collected through fasciectomy with incision type Brunner or McCash were evaluated by electrophoresis for identification of GAGs. The quantification was carried out by immunofluorescence and dosage of proteins for different types of glycosaminoglycans. The results were expressed in percentage and statistically evaluated. Results : A significant increase was observed through eletrophoresis in GAGs, as compared to the control (p<0.05). Immunofluorescence of hyaluronic acid was reduced (23 times) when compared to the control (p<0.0001). Conclusion : An increase of sulfated GAGs in Dupuytren's disease, mainly dermatan sulfate, was evident from our results, as well as a pronounced decrease of hyaluronic acid in the palmar aponeurosis from the same patients. Level of Evidence III, Case-Control Study

Particle length-dependent titanium dioxide nanomaterials toxicity and bioactivity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanomaterials have considerable beneficial uses as photocatalysts and solar cells. It has been established for many years that pigment-grade TiO₂(200 nm sphere) is relatively inert when internalized into a biological model system (in vivo or in vitro). For this reason, TiO₂nanomaterials are considered an attractive alternative in applications where biological exposures will occur. Unfortunately, metal oxides on the nanoscale (one dimension < 100 nm) may or may not exhibit the same toxic potential as the original material. A further complicating issue is the effect of modifying or engineering of the nanomaterial to be structurally and geometrically different from the original material.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>TiO₂nanospheres, short (< 5 μm) and long (> 15 μm) nanobelts were synthesized, characterized and tested for biological activity using primary murine alveolar macrophages and in vivo in mice. This study demonstrates that alteration of anatase TiO₂nanomaterial into a fibre structure of greater than 15 μm creates a highly toxic particle and initiates an inflammatory response by alveolar macrophages. These fibre-shaped nanomaterials induced inflammasome activation and release of inflammatory cytokines through a cathepsin B-mediated mechanism. Consequently, long TiO₂nanobelts interact with lung macrophages in a manner very similar to asbestos or silica.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These observations suggest that any modification of a nanomaterial, resulting in a wire, fibre, belt or tube, be tested for pathogenic potential. As this study demonstrates, toxicity and pathogenic potential change dramatically as the shape of the material is altered into one that a phagocytic cell has difficulty processing, resulting in lysosomal disruption.</p

Global Assessment of Agricultural System Redesign for Sustainable Intensification

The sustainable intensification (SI) of agricultural systems offers synergistic opportunities for the co31 production of agricultural and natural capital outcomes. Efficiency and Substitution are steps towards SI, but system Redesign is essential to deliver optimum outcomes as ecological and economic conditions change. We show global progress towards SI by farms and hectares, using seven SI sub-types: integrated pest management, conservation agriculture, integrated crop and biodiversity, pasture and forage, trees, irrigation management, and small/patch systems. From 47 SI initiatives at scale (each >104 farms or hectares), we estimate 163M farms (29% of all worldwide) have crossed a redesign threshold, practising forms of SI on 453Mha of agricultural land (9% of worldwide total). Key challenges include investing to integrate more forms of SI in farming systems, creating agricultural knowledge economies, and establishing policy measures to scale SI further. We conclude that SI may be approaching a tipping point where it could be transformative

Competitive Performance of Transgenic Wheat Resistant to Powdery Mildew

Genetically modified (GM) plants offer an ideal model system to study the influence of single genes that confer constitutive resistance to pathogens on the ecological behaviour of plants. We used phytometers to study competitive interactions between GM lines of spring wheat Triticum aestivum carrying such genes and control lines. We hypothesized that competitive performance of GM lines would be reduced due to enhanced transgene expression under pathogen levels typically encountered in the field. The transgenes pm3b from wheat (resistance against powdery mildew Blumeria graminis) or chitinase and glucanase genes from barley (resistance against fungi in general) were introduced with the ubiquitin promoter from maize (pm3b and chitinase genes) or the actin promoter from rice (glucanase gene). Phytometers of 15 transgenic and non-transgenic wheat lines were transplanted as seedlings into plots sown with the same 15 lines as competitive environments and subject to two soil nutrient levels. Pm3b lines had reduced mildew incidence compared with control lines. Chitinase and chitinase/glucanase lines showed the same high resistance to mildew as their control in low-nutrient treatment and slightly lower mildew rates than the control in high-nutrient environment. Pm3b lines were weaker competitors than control lines. This resulted in reduced yield and seed number. The Pm3b line with the highest transgene expression had 53.2% lower yield than the control whereas the Pm3b line which segregated in resistance and had higher mildew rates showed only minor costs under competition. The line expressing both chitinase and glucanase genes also showed reduced yield and seed number under competition compared with its control. Our results suggest that single transgenes conferring constitutive resistance to pathogens can have ecological costs and can weaken plant competitiveness even in the presence of the pathogen. The magnitude of these costs appears related to the degree of expression of the transgenes

Modulation of the peripheral blood transcriptome by the ingestion of probiotic yoghurt and acidified milk in healthy, young men

The metabolic health benefits of fermented milks have already been investigated using clinical biomarkers but the development of transcriptomic analytics in blood offers an alternative approach that may help to sensitively characterise such effects. We aimed to assess the effects of probiotic yoghurt intake, compared to non-fermented, acidified milk intake, on clinical biomarkers and gene expression in peripheral blood. To this end, a randomised, crossover study was conducted in fourteen healthy, young men to test the two dairy products. For a subset of seven subjects, RNA sequencing was used to measure gene expression in blood collected during postprandial tests and after two weeks daily intake. We found that the postprandial response in insulin was different for probiotic yoghurt as compared to that of acidified milk. Moreover changes in several clinical biomarkers were associated with changes in the expression of genes representing six metabolic genesets. Assessment of the postprandial effects of each dairy product on gene expression by geneset enrichment analysis revealed significant, similar modulation of inflammatory and glycolytic genes after both probiotic yoghurt and acidified milk intake, although distinct kinetic characteristics of the modulation differentiated the dairy products. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor was a major contributor to the down-regulation of the inflammatory genesets and was also positively associated with changes in circulating insulin at 2h after yoghurt intake (p = 0.05). Daily intake of the dairy products showed little effect on the fasting blood transcriptome. Probiotic yoghurt and acidified milk appear to affect similar gene pathways during the postprandial phase but differences in the timing and the extent of this modulation may lead to different physiological consequences. The functional relevance of these differences in gene expression is supported by their associations with circulating biomarkers

Salivary Glucose Oxidase from Caterpillars Mediates the Induction of Rapid and Delayed-Induced Defenses in the Tomato Plant

Caterpillars produce oral secretions that may serve as cues to elicit plant defenses, but in other cases these secretions have been shown to suppress plant defenses. Ongoing work in our laboratory has focused on the salivary secretions of the tomato fruitworm, Helicoverpa zea. In previous studies we have shown that saliva and its principal component glucose oxidase acts as an effector by suppressing defenses in tobacco. In this current study, we report that saliva elicits a burst of jasmonic acid (JA) and the induction of late responding defense genes such as proteinase inhibitor 2 (Pin2). Transcripts encoding early response genes associated with the JA pathway were not affected by saliva. We also observed a delayed response to saliva with increased densities of Type VI glandular trichomes in newly emerged leaves. Proteomic analysis of saliva revealed glucose oxidase (GOX) was the most abundant protein identified and we confirmed that it plays a primary role in the induction of defenses in tomato. These results suggest that the recognition of GOX in tomato may represent a case for effector-triggered immunity. Examination of saliva from other caterpillar species indicates that saliva from the noctuids Spodoptera exigua and Heliothis virescens also induced Pin2 transcripts