Classification of rice (oryza sativa l. japonica nipponbare) immunophilins (fkbps, cyps) and expression patterns under water stress

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>FK506 binding proteins (FKBPs) and cyclophilins (CYPs) are abundant and ubiquitous proteins belonging to the peptidyl-prolyl <it>cis/trans </it>isomerase (PPIase) superfamily, which regulate much of metabolism through a chaperone or an isomerization of proline residues during protein folding. They are collectively referred to as immunophilin (IMM), being present in almost all cellular organs. In particular, a number of IMMs relate to environmental stresses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>FKBP and CYP proteins in rice (<it>Oryza sativa </it>cv. Japonica) were identified and classified, and given the appropriate name for each IMM, considering the ortholog-relation with <it>Arabidopsis </it>and <it>Chlamydomonas </it>or molecular weight of the proteins. 29 FKBP and 27 CYP genes can putatively be identified in rice; among them, a number of genes can be putatively classified as orthologs of <it>Arabidopsis </it>IMMs. However, some genes were novel, did not match with those of <it>Arabidopsis </it>and <it>Chlamydomonas</it>, and several genes were paralogs by genetic duplication. Among 56 IMMs in rice, a significant number are regulated by salt and/or desiccation stress. In addition, their expression levels responding to the water-stress have been analyzed in different tissues, and some subcellular IMMs located by means of tagging with GFP protein.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Like other green photosynthetic organisms such as <it>Arabidopsis </it>(23 FKBPs and 29 CYPs) and <it>Chlamydomonas </it>(23 FKBs and 26 CYNs), rice has the highest number of IMM genes among organisms reported so far, suggesting that the numbers relate closely to photosynthesis. Classification of the putative FKBPs and CYPs in rice provides the information about their evolutional/functional significance when comparisons are drawn with the relatively well studied genera, <it>Arabidopsis </it>and <it>Chlamydomonas</it>. In addition, many of the genes upregulated by water stress offer the possibility of manipulating the stress responses in rice.</p

Primary Cardiac Lymphoma Presenting With Atrioventricular Block

Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCL) are extremely rare. Clinical manifestations may be variable and are attributed to location. Here, we report on a case of PCL presenting with atrioventricular (AV) block. A 55 year-old male had experienced chest discomfort with unexplained dyspnea and night sweating. His initial electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed a first degree AV block. Along with worsening chest discomfort and dyspnea, his ECG changed to show second degree AV block (Mobitz type I). Computed tomography (CT) scan showed a cardiac mass (about 7 cm) and biopsy was performed. Pathologic finding confirmed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient was treated with multi-drug combination chemotherapy (R-CHOP: Rituximab, cyclophoshamide, anthracycline, vincristine, and prednisone). After treatment, ECG changed to show normal sinus rhythm with complete remission on follow-up CT scan

Neutrophilia is more predictive than increased white blood cell counts for short-term mortality after liver transplantation in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure

Background Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a life-threatening disease that requires urgent liver transplantation (LT). Accurate identification of high-risk patients is essential for predicting post-LT survival. The chronic liver failure consortium ACLF score is a widely accepted risk-stratification score that includes total white blood cell (WBC) counts as a component. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of total and differential WBC counts for short-term mortality following LT in patients with ACLF. Methods A total of 685 patients with ACLF who underwent LT between January 2008 and February 2019 were analyzed. Total and differential WBC counts were examined as a function of the model for end-stage liver disease for sodium (MELD-Na) score. The association between total and differential WBC counts and 90-day post-LT mortality was assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Results The total WBC counts and neutrophil ratio were higher in patients with ACLF than in those without ACLF. The neutrophil ratio was significantly associated with 90-day post-LT mortality after adjustment (hazard ratio [HR], 1.04; P = 0.001), whereas total WBC counts were not significantly associated with 90-day post-LT mortality in either univariate or multivariate Cox analyses. The neutrophil ratio demonstrated a relatively linear trend with an increasing MELD-Na score and HR for 90-day post-LT mortality, whereas the total WBC counts exhibited a plateaued pattern. Conclusions Neutrophilia, rather than total WBC counts, is a better prognostic indicator for short-term post-LT mortality in patients with ACLF

DNA Microarray-Based Gene Expression Profiling in Porcine Keratocytes and Corneal Endothelial Cells and Comparative Analysis Associated with Xeno-related Rejection

Porcine to rat corneal xenotransplantation resulted in severe inflammation and rejection of the corneal stroma, whereas an allograft showed mainly endothelial cell-associated rejection. We, therefore, investigated and compared the gene expression between porcine keratocytes and corneal endothelial cells. RNA was isolated from primary cultured porcine or human keratocytes and porcine corneal endothelial cells. Gene expression was comparatively analyzed after normalization with microarray method using Platinum pig 13 K oligo chip (GenoCheck Co., Ltd., Ansan, Korea). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for C1R, CCL2, CXCL6, and HLA-A in porcine keratocytes and corneal endothelial cells. As a result, upregulated expression more than 2 folds was observed in 1,162 genes of porcine keratocytes versus porcine endothelial cells. Among the immune-regulatory genes, SEMA3C, CCL2, CXCL6, F3, HLA-A, CD97, IFI30, C1R, and G1P3 were highly expressed in porcine keratocytes, compared to porcine corneal endothelial cells or human keratocytes. When measured by real-time PCR, the expression of C1R, CCL2, and HLA-A was higher in porcine keratocytes compared to that in porcine corneal endothelial cells. In conclusion, the increased expression of C1R, CCL2, and HLA-A genes in porcine keratocytes might be responsible for the stromal rejection observed in a porcine to rat corneal xenotransplantation

Breast Cancer Polygenic Risk Score and Contralateral Breast Cancer Risk.

Previous research has shown that polygenic risk scores (PRSs) can be used to stratify women according to their risk of developing primary invasive breast cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the association between a recently validated PRS of 313 germline variants (PRS313) and contralateral breast cancer (CBC) risk. We included 56,068 women of European ancestry diagnosed with first invasive breast cancer from 1990 onward with follow-up from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Metachronous CBC risk (N = 1,027) according to the distribution of PRS313 was quantified using Cox regression analyses. We assessed PRS313 interaction with age at first diagnosis, family history, morphology, ER status, PR status, and HER2 status, and (neo)adjuvant therapy. In studies of Asian women, with limited follow-up, CBC risk associated with PRS313 was assessed using logistic regression for 340 women with CBC compared with 12,133 women with unilateral breast cancer. Higher PRS313 was associated with increased CBC risk: hazard ratio per standard deviation (SD) = 1.25 (95%CI = 1.18-1.33) for Europeans, and an OR per SD = 1.15 (95%CI = 1.02-1.29) for Asians. The absolute lifetime risks of CBC, accounting for death as competing risk, were 12.4% for European women at the 10th percentile and 20.5% at the 90th percentile of PRS313. We found no evidence of confounding by or interaction with individual characteristics, characteristics of the primary tumor, or treatment. The C-index for the PRS313 alone was 0.563 (95%CI = 0.547-0.586). In conclusion, PRS313 is an independent factor associated with CBC risk and can be incorporated into CBC risk prediction models to help improve stratification and optimize surveillance and treatment strategies

Transgenic mouse expressing optical microRNA reporter for monitoring microRNA-124 action during development

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) fine-tune target protein synthesis by suppressing gene expression, temporally changing along development and possibly in pathological conditions. A method to monitor the action of miRNAs in vivo shall help understand their dynamic behavior during development. In this study, we established a transgenic mouse harboring miR-124 responsive element in their luciferase-eGFP reporter transgenes which enabled monitoring the action of miR-124 in the brain and other organs in vivo by the bioluminescence imaging. The mouse model was produced and verified by imaging ex vivo so that luminescence by luciferase shone and then reduced during development with miR-124 expression. Bioluminescence dramatically decreased in the brain between embryonic day 13 and 16 as endogenous miR-124 expression increased, which sustained into adulthood. The inverse relationship of miR-124 expression was observed with luciferase bioluminescence and activity ex vivo as well as in vivo. Taken together, one can use this microRNA-transgenic mouse to investigate the temporal changes of microRNA action in vivo in the brain as well as in other organs

Bioimaging of the unbalanced expression of microRNA9 and microRNA9* during the neuronal differentiation of P19 cells

Generally, the 3'-end of the duplex microRNA (miR) precursor (pre-miR) is known to be stable in vivo and serve as a mature form of miR. However, both the 3'-end (miR9) and 5'-end (miR9*) of a brain-specific miR9 have been shown to function biologically in brain development. In this study, real-time PCR analysis and in vitro/in vivo bioluminescent imaging demonstrated that the upstream region of a primary miR9-1 (pri-miR9-1) can be used to monitor the highly expressed pattern of endogenous pri-miR9-1 during neurogenesis, and that the Luciferase reporter gene can image the unequal expression patterns of miR9 and miR9* seen during the neuronal differentiation of P19 cells. This demonstrates that our bioimaging system can be used to study the participation of miRs in the regulation of neuronal differentiation