Discovery of a high-altitude ecotype and ancient lineage of Arabidopsis thaliana from Tibet

Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) has long been a model species for dicotyledon study, and was the first flowering plant to get its genome completed sequenced [1]. Although most wild A. thaliana are collected in Europe, several studies have found a rapid A. thaliana west-east expansion from Central Asia [2]. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is close to Central Asia and known for its high altitude, unique environments and biodiversity [3]. However, no wild-type A. thaliana had been either discovered or sequenced from QTP. Studies on the A. thaliana populations collected under 2000 m asl have shown that the adaptive variations associated with climate and altitudinal gradients [4]. Hence a high-altitude A. thaliana provides a precious natural material to investigate the evolution and adaptation process. Here, we present the genome of a new ecotype of A. thaliana collected in the Gongga County, Tibet (4200 m asl) (Fig. 1a), to demonstrate its evolutionary history and adaptation to highaltitude regions

A Comparison Study of Chaihu Shugan San and Fluoxetine on Antidepression and Regulating Blood Rheology Effects with Chronic Restrained Stress Rats

Chaihu Shugan San (CHSGS) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula that is often used in clinical practice to treat live Qi stagnation syndrome and depression. Fluoxetine is one of the commonly used drugs for the clinical treatment of depression. This study involved a comparison of CHSGS and fluoxetine on antidepression and regulating blood rheology effects with chronic restraint stress- (CRS-) induced depression rat models. Rats were induced depression models by CRS for 4 weeks. Upon successful induction of depression in the rats, the animal was administered CHSGS at 0.6 g/kg/d, 1.2 g/kg/d, or fluoxetine 1.8 mg/kg/d to corresponding groups by gavage for 2 weeks. The changes of CRS rats were determined by behavior observations and sucrose preference test and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex (HPA) axis functional status. The changes in monoamine neurotransmitters and related indicators of blood status were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), blood rheometer, and other methods. The outcome shows that CHSGS is superior to fluoxetine in regulating the appearance and HPA axis function of model rats. In addition, CHSGS and fluoxetine have similar effects in improving blood rheology, and both can alleviate the hypercoagulable state of blood via the platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A (5-HT2A) pathway in rats of depression. It was also observed that CHSGS can improve the blood state of depressed rats by restoring liver coagulation-anticoagulation balance and endothelium-related functions

The Inhibition of miR-873 Provides Therapeutic Benefit in a Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammatory Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Background and Purpose. Alterations in cholesterol homeostasis have been reported in cell and animal models of Parkinson’s disease (PD), although there are inconsistent data about the association between serum cholesterol levels and risk of PD. Here, we investigated the effects of miR-873 on lysosomal cholesterol homeostasis and progressive dopaminergic neuron damage in a lipopolysaccharide-(LPS) induced model of PD. Experimental Approach. To evaluate the therapeutic benefit of the miR-873 sponge, rats were injected with a LV-miR-873 sponge or the control vector 3 days before the right-unilateral injection of LPS into the substantia nigra (SN) pars compacta, or 8 and 16 days after LPS injection. Normal SH-SY5Y cells or SH-SY5Y cells overexpressing α-synuclein were used to evaluate the distribution of α-synuclein and cholesterol in lysosomes and to assess the autophagic flux after miR-873 transfection or ABCA1 silencing. The inhibition of miR-873 significantly ameliorated the LPS-induced accumulation of α-synuclein and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SN at the early stage. miR-873 mediated the inhibition of ABCA1 by LPS. miR-873 transfection or ABCA1 silencing increased the lysosomal cholesterol and α-synuclein levels, and decreased the autophagic flux. The knockdown of ABCA1 or A20, which are the downstream target genes of miR-873, exacerbated the damage to LPS-induced dopaminergic neurons. Conclusion and Implications. The results suggest that the inhibition of miR-873 may play a dual protective role by improving intracellular cholesterol homeostasis and neuroinflammation in PD. The therapeutic effects of the miR-873 sponge in PD may be due to the upregulation of ABCA1 and A20