5-Hydr­oxy-1,7-bis­(1H-indol-3-yl)hepta-1,4,6-trien-3-one hemihydrate

The title compound, C23H18N2O2·0.5H2O, a derivative of the biologically active compound curcumin, crystallizes with two organic mol­ecules and a solvent water mol­ecule in the asymmetric unit. Each of the two independent mol­ecules is close to being planar (the dihedral angles between the indole ring systems are approximately 9 and 12°) and each exists in the keto–enol form. There is an intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond between the keto and enol groups. In the crystal, the components interact by way of N—H⋯N, N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

3,6,8-Tribromo-7-ethyl­amino-4-methyl-2H-chromen-2-one

In the title mol­ecule, C12H10Br3NO2, the 2H-chromen ring is essentially planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.022 Å) with the ethyl­amino group oriented at 13.9 (5)° with respect to the ring. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by intra­molecular N—H⋯Br and C—H⋯Br interactions

3,6-Dibromo-7-ethyl­amino-4-methyl-2H-chromen-2-one

In title compound, C12H11Br2NO2, the coumarin ring system is almost planar, the two rings being inclined to one another by 1.40 (15)°. There are two short intra­molecular inter­actions (N—H⋯Br and C—H⋯Br) involving the Br atoms. In the crystal, mol­ecules stack along the a-axis direction via π–π inter­actions; the centroid–centroid distances vary from 3.6484 (19) to 3.7942 (19) Å

Copy Number Variation of Cytokinin Oxidase Gene Tackx4 Associated with Grain Weight and Chlorophyll Content of Flag Leaf in Common Wheat

Publisher's version/PDFAs the main pigment in photosynthesis, chlorophyll significantly affects grain filling and grain weight of crop. Cytokinin (CTK) can effectively increase chlorophyll content and chloroplast stability, but it is irreversibly inactivated by cytokinin oxidase (CKX). In this study, therefore, twenty-four pairs of primers were designed to identify variations of wheat CKX (Tackx) genes associated with flag leaf chlorophyll content after anthesis, as well as grain weight in 169 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from Triticum aestivum Jing 411 × Hongmangchun 21. Results indicated variation of Tackx4, identified by primer pair T19-20, was proven to significantly associate with chlorophyll content and grain weight in the RIL population. Here, two Tackx4 patterns were identified: one with two co-segregated fragments (Tackx4-1/Tackx4-2) containing 618 bp and 620 bp in size (as in Jing 411), and another with no PCR product. The two genotypes were designated as genotype-A and genotype-B, respectively. Grain weight and leaf chlorophyll content at 5~15 days after anthesis (DAA) were significantly higher in genotype-A lines than those in genotype-B lines. Mapping analysis indicated Tackx4 was closely linked to Xwmc169 on chromosome 3AL, as well as co-segregated with a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) for both grain weight and chlorophyll content of flag leaf at 5~15 DAA. This QTL explained 8.9~22.3% phenotypic variations of the two traits across four cropping seasons. Among 102 wheat varieties, a third genotype of Tackx4 was found and designated as genotype-C, also having two co-segregated fragments, Tackx4-2 and Tackx4-3 (615bp). The sequences of three fragments, Tackx4-1, Tackx4-2, and Tackx4-3, showed high identity (>98%). Therefore, these fragments could be considered as different copies at Tackx4 locus on chromosome 3AL. The effect of copy number variation (CNV) of Tackx4 was further validated. In general, genotype-A contains both significantly higher grain weight and flag leaf chlorophyll content at 5~15 DAA than those in genotype-B and genotype-C, among 102 varieties under various environments.This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31000705), the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-03), the Scientific Research Special Program of Agricultural Commonwealth (201203033-04), Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (1508085MC57), the Agriculture Research System of Anhui Province (AHCYTX-02), Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production (JCIC) and the introduced leading talent research team for Universities in Anhui Province. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Anti-inflammatory effects of NaB and NaPc in Acinetobacter baumannii-stimulated THP-1 cells via TLR-2/NF-κB/ROS/NLRP3 pathway

This study evaluated the anti-inflammation effect of the three main short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) on Acinetobacter baumannii-induced THP-1 cells. The three main SCFAs could inhibit A. baumannii-stimulated THP-1 cell NF-κB pathway activity and the expressions of NLRP3 inflammasome and GSDMD, and increase autophagy. The three main SCFAs, especially the sodium butyrate (NaB), had the effect of down-regulation of ROS and TLR-2 expression in THP-1 cells. NaB and sodium propionate (NaPc), but not sodium acetate (NaAc), dramatically suppressed IL-1β and IFN-γ expression. The results indicated that NaB and NaPc could significantly inhibit the inflammation of THP-1 cells induced by A. baumannii, and the inhibitory effect was in the order of NaB＞NaPc＞NaAC. NaB and NaPc may inhibit inflammation through TLR-2/NF-κB/ROS/NLRP3 signaling pathway

EFFECTS OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE WEI-WEI-KANG-GRANULE ON THE EXPRESSION OF EGFR AND NF-KB IN CHRONIC ATROPHIC GASTRITIS RATS

Wei-Wei-Kang-Granule(WWKG) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation for the treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). We examined the pathologic change and the effects of Wei-Wei-Kang-Granule (WWKG) on the expression of EGFR (epiderminal growth factor receptors) and NF-kB (nuclear transcription factor KappaB) in rats with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG), and evaluated the possible mechanisms. Ninety rats were randomly divided into control group and four experimental groups. CAG rat models were induced by repeated stimulating experiments in the experimental groups. After modeled rats were intragastrically injected (i.g.) with WWKG at 6000mg/kg (large dose WWKG group), WWKG at 3000mg/kg (small dose WWKG group), San-Jiu-Wei-Tai-Granule(SJWTG) at 1600mg/kg(SJWTG group), and normal saline(0.9%)at 20ml/kg (model group and control group), respectively, once a day for 30 days. After 30 days, all rats were sacrificed and samples were taken from the sinus ventriculi and body of stomach. The gastric specimens were prepared for microscopic view with hematoxylin and eosin (H-E). The immunohistochemistry method was used to observe the expression of protein of EGFR and NF-kB in gastric tissue. The data were analyzed in pre- and post-treatment by computer image automatic analysis system. Immunohistochemistry detection showed that the average optical density of EGFR and NF-kB in antrum was lower in large and small dose WWKG groups than the model group (