A database of annotated tentative orthologs from crop abiotic stress transcripts

A minimal requirement to initiate a comparative genomics study on plant responses to abiotic stresses is a dataset of orthologous sequences. The availability of a large amount of sequence information, including those derived from stress cDNA libraries allow for the identification of stress related genes and orthologs associated with the stress response. Orthologous sequences serve as tools to explore genes and their relationships across species. For this purpose, ESTs from stress cDNA libraries across 16 crop species including 6 important cereal crops and 10 dicots were systematically collated and subjected to bioinformatics analysis such as clustering, grouping of tentative orthologous sets, identification of protein motifs/patterns in the predicted protein sequence, and annotation with stress conditions, tissue/library source and putative function. All data are available to the scientific community at http://intranet.icrisat.org/gt1/tog/homepage.htm. We believe that the availability of annotated plant abiotic stress ortholog sets will be a valuable resource for researchers studying the biology of environmental stresses in plant systems, molecular evolution and genomics

Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells Hook into Biocoral Scaffold Forming an Engineered Biocomplex

The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavior of human Dental Pulp Stem Cells (DPSCs), as well as human osteoblasts, when challenged on a Biocoral scaffold, which is a porous natural hydroxyapatite. For this purpose, human DPSCs were seeded onto a three-dimensional (3D) Biocoral scaffold or on flask surface (control). Either normal or rotative (3D) cultures were performed. Scanning electron microscopic analyses, at 8, 24 and 48 h of culture showed that cells did not adhere on the external surface, but moved into the cavities inside the Biocoral structure. After 7, 15 and 30 days of culture, morphological and molecular analyses suggested that the Biocoral scaffold leads DPSCs to hook into the cavities where these cells quickly start to secrete the extra cellular matrix (ECM) and differentiate into osteoblasts. Control human osteoblasts also moved into the internal cavities where they secreted the ECM. Histological sections revealed a diffuse bone formation inside the Biocoral samples seeded with DPSCs or human osteoblasts, where the original scaffold and the new secreted biomaterial were completely integrated and cells were found within the remaining cavities. In addition, RT-PCR analyses showed a significant increase of osteoblast-related gene expression and, above all, of those genes highly expressed in mineralized tissues, including osteocalcin, OPN and BSP. Furthermore, the effects on the interaction between osteogenesis and angiogenesis were observed and substantiated by ELISA assays. Taken together, our results provide clear evidence that DPSCs differentiated into osteoblasts, forming a biocomplex made of Biocoral, ECM and differentiated cells

Biological response to pre-mineralized starch based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

It is known that calcium-phosphate (Ca-P) coatings are able not only to improve the bone bonding behaviour of polymeric materials, but at the same time play a positive role on enhancing cell adhesion and inducing the differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells. Recently an innovative biomimetic methodology, in which a sodium silicate gel was used as a nucleative agent, was proposed as an alternative to the currently available biomimetic coating methodologies. This methodology is especially adequate for coating biodegradable porous scaffolds. In the present work we evaluated the influence of the referred to treatment on the mechanical properties of 50/50 (wt%) blend of corn starch/ethylene-vinyl alcohol (SEVA-C) based scaffolds. These Ca-P coated scaffolds presented a compressive modulus of 224.6 ± 20.6 and a compressive strength of 24.2 ± 2.20. Cytotoxicity evaluation was performed according ISO/EN 10993 part 5 guidelines and showed that the biomimetic treatment did not have any deleterious effect on L929 cells and did not inhibit cell growth. Direct contact assays were done by using a cell line of human osteoblast like cells (SaOS-2). 3 × 105 cells were seeded per scaffold and allowed to grow for two weeks at 37 ◦C in a humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO2. Total protein quantification and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation showed that cells were able to grow in the pre-mineralized scaffolds. Furthermore cell viability assays (MTS test) also show that cells remain viable after two weeks in culture. Finally, protein expression studies showed that after two weeks osteopontin and collagen type I were being expressed by SaOS-2 cells seeded on the pre-mineralized scaffolds. Moreover, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was higher in the supernatants collected from the pre-mineralized samples, when compared to the control samples (non Ca-P coated). This may indicate that a faster mineralization of the ECM produced on the pre-mineralized samples was occurring. Consequently, biomimetic pre-mineralization of starch based scaffolds can be a useful route for applying these materials on bone tissue engineering

Exploratory study of ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation and age of onset of bipolar disorder

Background: Sunlight contains ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation that triggers the production of vitamin D by skin. Vitamin D has widespread effects on brain function in both developing and adult brains. However, many people live at latitudes (about > 40 N or S) that do not receive enough UVB in winter to produce vitamin D. This exploratory study investigated the association between the age of onset of bipolar I disorder and the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production in a large global sample. Methods: Data for 6972 patients with bipolar I disorder were obtained at 75 collection sites in 41 countries in both hemispheres. The best model to assess the relation between the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production and age of onset included 1 or more months below the threshold, family history of mood disorders, and birth cohort. All coefficients estimated at P ≤ 0.001. Results: The 6972 patients had an onset in 582 locations in 70 countries, with a mean age of onset of 25.6 years. Of the onset locations, 34.0% had at least 1 month below the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production. The age of onset at locations with 1 or more months of less than or equal to the threshold for UVB was 1.66 years younger. Conclusion: UVB and vitamin D may have an important influence on the development of bipolar disorder. Study limitations included a lack of data on patient vitamin D levels, lifestyles, or supplement use. More study of the impacts of UVB and vitamin D in bipolar disorder is needed to evaluate this supposition

Variations in seasonal solar insolation are associated with a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder

Background: Bipolar disorder is associated with circadian disruption and a high risk of suicidal behavior. In a previous exploratory study of patients with bipolar I disorder, we found that a history of suicide attempts was associated with differences between winter and summer levels of solar insolation. The purpose of this study was to confirm this finding using international data from 42% more collection sites and 25% more countries. Methods: Data analyzed were from 71 prior and new collection sites in 40 countries at a wide range of latitudes. The analysis included 4876 patients with bipolar I disorder, 45% more data than previously analyzed. Of the patients, 1496 (30.7%) had a history of suicide attempt. Solar insolation data, the amount of the sun’s electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, was obtained for each onset location (479 locations in 64 countries). Results: This analysis confirmed the results of the exploratory study with the same best model and slightly better statistical significance. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempts and the ratio of mean winter insolation to mean summer insolation (mean winter insolation/mean summer insolation). This ratio is largest near the equator which has little change in solar insolation over the year, and smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. Other variables in the model associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts were a history of alcohol or substance abuse, female gender, and younger birth cohort. The winter/summer insolation ratio was also replaced with the ratio of minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation to accommodate insolation patterns in the tropics, and nearly identical results were found. All estimated coefficients were significant at p < 0.01. Conclusion: A large change in solar insolation, both between winter and summer and between the minimum and maximum monthly values, may increase the risk of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. With frequent circadian rhythm dysfunction and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder, greater understanding of the optimal roles of daylight and electric lighting in circadian entrainment is needed

The influence of Bone Morphogenic Protein-2 on the consolidation phase in a distraction osteogenesis model.

We asked whether locally applied recombinant-Bone Morphogenic Protein-2 (rh-BMP-2) with an absorbable Type I collagen sponge (ACS) carrier could enhance the consolidation phase in a callotasis model. We performed unilateral transverse osteotomy of the tibia in 21 immature male rabbits. After a latency period of 7 days, a 3-weeks distraction was begun at a rate of 0.5mm/12h. At the end of the distraction period (Day 28) animals were randomly divided into three groups and underwent a second surgical procedure: 6 rabbits in Group I (Control group; the callus was exposed and nothing was added), 6 rabbits in Group II (ACS group; receiving the absorbable collagen sponge soaked with saline) and 9 rabbits in Group III (rh-BMP-2/ACS group; receiving the ACS soaked with 100μg/kg of rh-BMP-2, Inductos(®), Medtronic). Starting at Day 28 we assessed quantitative and qualitative radiographic parameters as well as densitometric parameters every two weeks (Days 28, 42, 56, 70 and 84). Animals were sacrificed after 8 weeks of consolidation (Day 84). Qualitative radiographic evaluation revealed hypertrophic calluses in the Group III animals. The rh-BMP-2/ACS also influenced the development of the cortex of the calluses as shown by the modified radiographic patterns in Group III when compared to Groups I and II. Densitometric analysis revealed the bone mineral content (BMC) was significantly higher in the rh-BMP-2/ACS treated animals (Group III)

A comparative study of tissue-engineered constructs from Acropora and Porites coral in a large animal bone defect model

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De novo reconstruction of functional bone by tissue engineering in the metatarsal sheep model

Large bone defects are still a challenge to orthopedic surgeons. In this study, a massive bone defect with a clinically relevant volume was efficiently reconstructed by transplanting an engineered bone in which mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) expanded in autologous serum (AS) were combined with a porous scaffold. In the first step, we established that the way in which the MSCs are distributed over the scaffold affects the ultimate bone-forming ability of the transplant: constructs consisting of a natural coral scaffold and a pseudo-periosteal layer of MSCs surrounding the implant (coral-MSC3D) formed significantly more bone than constructs in which the MSCs were distributed throughout the implant (p = 0.01). However, bone healing occurred in only one sheep, owing to the high resorption rate of natural coral scaffold. To overcome this problem, constructs in which MSCs were combined with a porous coralline-based hydroxyapatite (CHA) scaffold having the same architecture as natural coral but a lower resorption rate were prepared. After their implantation, these constructs were found to have the same osteogenic potential as autologous bone grafts in terms of the amount of newly formed bone present at 4 months (p = 0.89) and to have been completely replaced by newly formed, structurally competent bone within 14 months. Nevertheless, although the rate of bone healing was strikingly improved when CHA-MSC3D constructs were used (five of seven animals healed) as compared with the coral-MSC3D construct (one of seven healed), it was still less satisfactory than that obtained with autografts (five of five healed)