NOD2 and inflammation: current insights

The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD) protein, NOD2, belonging to the intracellular NOD-like receptor family, detects conserved motifs in bacterial peptidoglycan and promotes their clearance through activation of a proinflammatory transcriptional program and other innate immune pathways, including autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress. An inactive form due to mutations or a constitutive high expression of NOD2 is associated with several inflammatory diseases, suggesting that balanced NOD2 signaling is critical for the maintenance of immune homeostasis. In this review, we discuss recent developments about the pathway and mechanisms of regulation of NOD2 and illustrate the principal functions of the gene, with particular emphasis on its central role in maintaining the equilibrium between intestinal microbiota and host immune responses to control inflammation. Furthermore, we survey recent studies illustrating the role of NOD2 in several inflammatory diseases, in particular, inflammatory bowel disease, of which it is the main susceptibility gene

The Odyssey of Masked Hypertension in the HOMERUS Trial

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Body Mass Index and Risk of Future Hypertension in Women

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Flooding tolerance in plants

Global warming is associated with an increase in flooding events, making many ecosystems worldwide vulnerable to submergence. Water submersion can severely affect crop production, since it drastically reduces oxygen availability necessary for plants' respiration, thus survival. Plants tolerant to flooding evolved morphological, physiological and biochemical adaptations to oxygen deficiency. Recently, considerable progress has been made in terms of understanding the molecular aspects governing these responses. However, the upstream stress-sensing mechanism of oxygen shortage has not yet been fully understood and many of the systems described in bacteria, fungi and animals have been excluded for plants. Many studies on oxygen deprivation stress have focused on rice (Oryza sativa), since it is one of the crops better adapted to a flooded environment. Beside being able to germinate under submergence, rice varieties display different mechanisms for a successful survival. Agronomically, the study of rice strategies to survive flooding in ecotypes adapted to extreme environments shows big potential in the context of climate change and the worldwide increasing need for food