The Amino Acid Permeases AAP3 and AAP6 Are Involved in Root-Knot Nematode Parasitism of \u3cem\u3eArabidopsis\u3c/em\u3e

The root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is an obligate parasite which depends entirely on the host plant for its nutrition. Root-knot nematodes induce the formation of a highly specialized feeding site consisting of several giant cells surrounded by a network of vascular tissues. Nutrients, including amino acids and sugars, are transferred apoplastically from the vascular tissues to the feeding site. Using Arabidopsis thaliana lacking the vascular-expressed amino acid permeases (AAP) AAP3 or AAP6, we demonstrate that disruption of amino acid transport can affect nematode parasitism. Nematode infestation levels are significantly reduced on the aap3 and aap6 mutants. AAP3 and AAP6 act distinctly in the transport of amino acids to the feeding site, as demonstrated by differences in their carrying capacity profiles. Furthermore, analyses of promoter: β-glucuronidase lines show different expression patterns for AAP3 and AAP6 in infected roots. In the aap3-3 mutant, part of the decrease in infestation is connected to a defect in early infection, where juveniles enter but then leave the root. Both aap3-3 and aap6-1 produce fewer females and produce more adult male nematodes. Additionally, detrimental effects are observed in the nematodes harvested from aap3-3 and aap6-1 mutants, including decreased egg hatching and infectivity and lower levels of lipid reserves. The transport of amino acids by AAP3 and AAP6 is important for nematode infection and success of the progeny

Fostering collaborative research for rare genetic disease: The example of Niemann-Pick type C disease

Rare disease represents one of the most significant issues facing the medical community and health care providers worldwide, yet the majority of these disorders never emerge from their obscurity, drawing little attention from the medical community or the pharmaceutical industry. The challenge therefore is how best to mobilize rare disease stakeholders to enhance basic, translational and clinical research to advance understanding of pathogenesis and accelerate therapy development. Here we describe a rare, fatal brain disorder known as Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) and an innovative research collaborative known as Support of Accelerated Research for NPC (SOAR-NPC) which illustrates one pathway through which knowledge of a rare disease and its possible treatments are being successfully advanced. Use of the “SOAR” mechanism, we believe, offers a blueprint for similar advancement for many other rare disorders

CFU-S(11) activity does not localize solely with the aorta in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros region

The aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region is a potent hematopoietic site in the midgestation mouse conceptus and first contains colony-forming units-spleen day 11 (CFU-S(11)) at embryonic day 10 (E10). Because CFU-S(11) activity is present in the AGM region before the onset of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) activity, CFU-S(11) activity in the complex developing vascular and urogenital regions of the AGM was localized. From E10 onward, CFU-S(11) activity is associated with the aortic vasculature, and is found also in the urogenital ridges (UGRs). Together with data obtained from organ explant cultures, in which up to a 16-fold increase in CFU-S(11) activity was observed, it was determined that CFU-S(11) can be increased autonomously both in vascular sites and in UGRs. Furthermore, CFU-S(11) activity is present in vitelline and umbilical vessels. This, together with the presence of CFU-S(11) in the UGRs 2 days before HSC activity, suggests both temporally and spatially distinct emergent sources of CFU-S(11). (Blood. 2000;96:2902-2904

The relative impact of vision impairment and cardiovascular disease on quality of life: the example of pseudoxanthoma elasticum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To investigate the impact of pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), a rare hereditary disease of concurrent vision impairment (VI) and cardiovascular complications (CVCs), on vision-related (VRQoL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>VRQoL and HRQoL were assessed using the Impact of Vision Impairment (IVI) questionnaire and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in 107 PXE patients. Patients were stratified into four groups: A = no VI or CVC; B = CVCs only; C = VI only; and D = both VI and CVCs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Following Rasch analysis, the IVI was found to function as a vision-specific functioning and emotional well-being subscale, and the SF-36 as a health-related physical functioning and mental health subscale. The presence of VI and CVC were significant predictors of vision-specific functioning and emotional well-being (p < 0.001), with a clinically meaningful decrement in vision-specific functioning in patients with VI. No associations were found for the SF-36 Physical Functioning and Mental Health scores between any groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Vision impaired patients with PXE report significantly poorer vision-specific functioning than PXE patients without VI. In contrast, the relative impact of PXE on reported general HRQoL was much less. Our results suggest that vision impairment has the larger impact on QoL in this sample.</p

Protection by the NDI1 Gene against Neurodegeneration in a Rotenone Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease

It is widely recognized that mitochondrial dysfunction, most notably defects in the NADH-quinone oxidoreductase (complex I), is closely related to the etiology of sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). In fact, rotenone, a complex I inhibitor, has been used for establishing PD models both in vitro and in vivo. A rat model with chronic rotenone exposure seems to reproduce pathophysiological conditions of PD more closely than acute mouse models as manifested by neuronal cell death in the substantia nigra and Lewy body-like cytosolic aggregations. Using the rotenone rat model, we investigated the protective effects of alternative NADH dehydrogenase (Ndi1) which we previously demonstrated to act as a replacement for complex I both in vitro and in vivo. A single, unilateral injection of recombinant adeno-associated virus carrying the NDI1 gene into the vicinity of the substantia nigra resulted in expression of the Ndi1 protein in the entire substantia nigra of that side. It was clear that the introduction of the Ndi1 protein in the substantia nigra rendered resistance to the deleterious effects caused by rotenone exposure as assessed by the levels of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine. The presence of the Ndi1 protein also prevented cell death and oxidative damage to DNA in dopaminergic neurons observed in rotenone-treated rats. Unilateral protection also led to uni-directional rotation of the rotenone-exposed rats in the behavioral test. The present study shows, for the first time, the powerful neuroprotective effect offered by the Ndi1 enzyme in a rotenone rat model of PD

The Course of Habituation of the Proboscis Extension Reflex Can Be Predicted by Sucrose Responsiveness in Drosophila

The proboscis extension reflex (PER) is triggered when insects’ gustatory receptors contact appetitive stimuli, so it provides a behavioral readout for perceptual encoding of tastants. Research on the experience dependent modulation of PER in Drosophila has been hindered by the difficulty of obtaining reliable measures of memory-driven change in PER probability in the background of larger changes induced by physiological state. In this study, we showed that the course of PER habituation can be predicted by the degree of sucrose responsiveness in Drosophila. We assessed early response parameters, including the number of proboscis extensions and labellar movements in the first five trials, the trial to start responding, and the trial to make the first stop to quantify responsiveness, which predicted the upcoming pattern of both the short-term and 1 hour memory of PER habituation for individual flies. The cAMP signaling pathway mutant rutabaga displayed deficits in attunement of perceptual salience of sucrose to physiological demands and stimulus-driven sensitization

Prion Protein Is a Key Determinant of Alcohol Sensitivity through the Modulation of N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor (NMDAR) Activity

The prion protein (PrP) is absolutely required for the development of prion diseases; nevertheless, its physiological functions in the central nervous system remain elusive. Using a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological and biochemical approaches in transgenic mouse models, we provide strong evidence for a crucial role of PrP in alcohol sensitivity. Indeed, PrP knock out (PrP−/−) mice presented a greater sensitivity to the sedative effects of EtOH compared to wild-type (wt) control mice. Conversely, compared to wt mice, those over-expressing mouse, human or hamster PrP genes presented a relative insensitivity to ethanol-induced sedation. An acute tolerance (i.e. reversion) to ethanol inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated excitatory post-synaptic potentials in hippocampal slices developed slower in PrP−/− mice than in wt mice. We show that PrP is required to induce acute tolerance to ethanol by activating a Src-protein tyrosine kinase-dependent intracellular signaling pathway. In an attempt to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying PrP-dependent ethanol effect, we looked for changes in lipid raft features in hippocampus of ethanol-treated wt mice compared to PrP−/− mice. Ethanol induced rapid and transient changes of buoyancy of lipid raft-associated proteins in hippocampus of wt but not PrP−/− mice suggesting a possible mechanistic link for PrP-dependent signal transduction. Together, our results reveal a hitherto unknown physiological role of PrP on the regulation of NMDAR activity and highlight its crucial role in synaptic functions

The Disequilibrium of Nucleosomes Distribution along Chromosomes Plays a Functional and Evolutionarily Role in Regulating Gene Expression

To further understand the relationship between nucleosome-space occupancy (NO) and global transcriptional activity in mammals, we acquired a set of genome-wide nucleosome distribution and transcriptome data from the mouse cerebrum and testis based on ChIP (H3)-seq and RNA-seq, respectively. We identified a nearly consistent NO patterns among three mouse tissues—cerebrum, testis, and ESCs—and found, through clustering analysis for transcriptional activation, that the NO variations among chromosomes are closely associated with distinct expression levels between house-keeping (HK) genes and tissue-specific (TS) genes. Both TS and HK genes form clusters albeit the obvious majority. This feature implies that NO patterns, i.e. nucleosome binding and clustering, are coupled with gene clustering that may be functionally and evolutionarily conserved in regulating gene expression among different cell types