Knocking down 10-formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase increased oxidative stress and impeded zebrafish embryogenesis by obstructing morphogenetic movement

[[incitationindex]]SC

Metabolomics demonstrates divergent responses of two Eucalyptus species to water stress

Past studies of water stress in Eucalyptus spp. generally highlighted the role of fewer than five “important” metabolites, whereas recent metabolomic studies on other genera have shown tens of compounds are affected. There are currently no metabolite profiling data for responses of stress-tolerant species to water stress. We used GC–MS metabolite profiling to examine the response of leaf metabolites to a long (2 month) and severe (Ψpredawn < −2 MPa) water stress in two species of the perennial tree genus Eucalyptus (the mesic Eucalyptus pauciflora and the semi-arid Eucalyptus dumosa). Polar metabolites in leaves were analysed by GC–MS and inorganic ions by capillary electrophoresis. Pressure–volume curves and metabolite measurements showed that water stress led to more negative osmotic potential and increased total osmotically active solutes in leaves of both species. Water stress affected around 30–40% of measured metabolites in E. dumosa and 10–15% in E. pauciflora. There were many metabolites that were affected in E. dumosa but not E. pauciflora, and some that had opposite responses in the two species. For example, in E. dumosa there were increases in five acyclic sugar alcohols and four low-abundance carbohydrates that were unaffected by water stress in E. pauciflora. Re-watering increased osmotic potential and decreased total osmotically active solutes in E. pauciflora, whereas in E. dumosa re-watering led to further decreases in osmotic potential and increases in total osmotically active solutes. This experiment has added several extra dimensions to previous targeted analyses of water stress responses in Eucalyptus, and highlights that even species that are closely related (e.g. congeners) may respond differently to water stress and re-waterin

Retroperitoneal Castleman's tumor and paraneoplastic pemphigus: report of a case and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Castleman's disease is a rare lymphoproliferative syndrome. Its etiology and pathogenesis are unclear. The disease can be occasionally associated with a paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP), an autoimmune mucocutaneous disorder commonly seen in neoplasms of lymphocytic origin. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 63-year old male patient who was referred for surgical treatment of a lately diagnosed retroperitoneal pelvic mass. The patient had been already treated for two years due to progressive diffuse cutaneous lesions histologically consistent with lichen ruber verucosus and pemphigus vulgaris. Intraoperatively a highly vascularized solid mass occupying the small pelvis was resected after meticulous vascular ligation and hemostasis. After surgery and following immunosuppressive treatment a clear remission of the skin lesions was observed. CONCLUSION: Castleman's tumor should be always suspected when a retroperitoneal mass is combined with PNP. In a review of the literature we found 37 additional cases. Complete surgical resection of the tumor can be curative in most of the cases

Action potentials in abscisic acid-deficient tomato mutant generated spontaneously and evoked by electrical stimulation

Action potentials generated spontaneously (SAPs) and evoked by electrical stimulation (APs) in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cv. Micro-Tom ABA-deficient mutants (sitiens—MTsit) and its wild type (MTwt) were characterized by continuous monitoring of electrical activity for 66 h and by application of an electrical stimulation supplied extracellularly. MTsit generated SAPs which spread along the stem, including petioles and roots with an amplitude of 44.6 ± 4.4 mV, half-time (t½) of 33.1 ± 2.9 s and velocity of 5.4 ± 1.0 cm min−1. Amplitude and velocity were 43 and 108 % higher in MTsit than in MTwt, respectively. The largest number of SAPs was registered in the early morning in both genotypes. MTsit was less responsive to electrical stimuli. The excitation threshold and the refractory period were greater in MTsit than in MTwt. After current application, APs were generated in the MTwt with 21.2 ± 2.4 mV amplitude and propagated with 5.6 ± 0.5 cm min−1 velocity. Lower intensity stimuli did not trigger APs in these plants. In MTsit APs were measured with amplitude of 26.8 ± 4.8 mV and propagated with velocity of 8.5 ± 0.1 cm min−1

Long Tract of Untranslated CAG Repeats Is Deleterious in Transgenic Mice

The most frequent trinucleotide repeat found in human disorders is the CAG sequence. Expansion of CAG repeats is mostly found in coding regions and is thought to cause diseases through a protein mechanism. Recently, expanded CAG repeats were shown to induce toxicity at the RNA level in Drosophila and C. elegans. These findings raise the possibility that CAG repeats may trigger RNA-mediated pathogenesis in mammals. Here, we demonstrate that transgenic mice expressing EGFP transcripts with long CAG repeats in the 3′ untranslated region develop pathogenic features. Expression of the transgene was directed to the muscle in order to compare the resulting phenotype to that caused by the CUG expansion, as occurs in myotonic dystrophy. Transgenic mice expressing 200, but not those expressing 0 or 23 CAG repeats, showed alterations in muscle morphology, histochemistry and electrophysiology, as well as abnormal behavioral phenotypes. Expression of the expanded CAG repeats in testes resulted in reduced fertility due to defective sperm motility. The production of EGFP protein was significantly reduced by the 200 CAG repeats, and no polyglutamine-containing product was detected, which argues against a protein mechanism. Moreover, nuclear RNA foci were detected for the long CAG repeats. These data support the notion that expanded CAG repeat RNA can cause deleterious effects in mammals. They also suggest the possible involvement of an RNA mechanism in human diseases with long CAG repeats

Haptic Edge Detection Through Shear

Most tactile sensors are based on the assumption that touch depends on measuring pressure. However, the pressure distribution at the surface of a tactile sensor cannot be acquired directly and must be inferred from the deformation field induced by the touched object in the sensor medium. Currently, there is no consensus as to which components of strain are most informative for tactile sensing. Here, we propose that shape-related tactile information is more suitably recovered from shear strain than normal strain. Based on a contact mechanics analysis, we demonstrate that the elastic behavior of a haptic probe provides a robust edge detection mechanism when shear strain is sensed. We used a jamming-based robot gripper as a tactile sensor to empirically validate that shear strain processing gives accurate edge information that is invariant to changes in pressure, as predicted by the contact mechanics study. This result has implications for the design of effective tactile sensors as well as for the understanding of the early somatosensory processing in mammals

Betel nut chewing and incidence of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus in Taiwan.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Betel nut chewing is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a recent prevalence study in Taiwan. The present study further investigated its link with the incidence of newly diagnosed T2DM during the years 1992-1996.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Population-based datasets of a sample of 93,484 out of 256,036 diabetic patients from 66 medical settings using the National Health Insurance scheme covering > 96% of the population, published population prevalence of betel nut chewing and the governmental census of national population were used for calculation of odds ratios, incidence rates and incidence rate ratios between chewers and never-chewers in the male population for the year 1992 to 1996.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ever chewers among the diabetic patients were younger, more obese and had higher prevalence of parental diabetes than never-chewers (all <it>p </it>values < 0.001). Odds ratios for T2DM for ever chewers vs. never-chewers in the age of < 40, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and ≥70 years were 1.06 (0.92-1.23), 1.60 (1.45-1.76), 2.12 (1.88-2.39), 3.58 (3.10-4.13) and 7.14 (5.47-9.31), respectively. In 1996, incidence rates (per 100,000 population) in the respective age groups were 19.1, 251.5, 567.3, 721.7 and 971.4 for never-chewers; and were 30.2, 520.9, 2566.9, 11672.8 and 630.3 for ever chewers. The respective incidence rate ratios were 1.58, 2.07, 4.52, 16.17 and 0.65. The age-specific incidence rates and rate ratios were relatively consistent from 1992 to 1996. The differences in obesity and parental diabetes between ever chewers and never-chewers were mostly not statistically significant after age stratification, suggesting the link could not be attributed to these two factors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Chewing betel nut is associated with newly diagnosed T2DM, supporting the suggestion that the habit is diabetogenic.</p

Far-Infrared Therapy Induces the Nuclear Translocation of PLZF Which Inhibits VEGF-Induced Proliferation in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Many studies suggest that far-infrared (FIR) therapy can reduce the frequency of some vascular-related diseases. The non-thermal effect of FIR was recently found to play a role in the long-term protective effect on vascular function, but its molecular mechanism is still unknown. In the present study, we evaluated the biological effect of FIR on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced proliferation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). We found that FIR ranging 3∼10 µm significantly inhibited VEGF-induced proliferation in HUVECs. According to intensity and time course analyses, the inhibitory effect of FIR peaked at an effective intensity of 0.13 mW/cm2 at 30 min. On the other hand, a thermal effect did not inhibit VEGF-induced proliferation in HUVECs. FIR exposure also inhibited the VEGF-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases in HUVECs. FIR exposure further induced the phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) and NO generation in VEGF-treated HUVECs. Both VEGF-induced NO and reactive oxygen species generation was involved in the inhibitory effect of FIR. Nitrotyrosine formation significantly increased in HUVECs treated with VEGF and FIR together. Inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) by wortmannin abolished the FIR-induced phosphorylation of eNOS and Akt in HUVECs. FIR exposure upregulated the expression of PI3K p85 at the transcriptional level. We further found that FIR exposure induced the nuclear translocation of promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein (PLZF) in HUVECs. This induction was independent of a thermal effect. The small interfering RNA transfection of PLZF blocked FIR-increased PI3K levels and the inhibitory effect of FIR. These data suggest that FIR induces the nuclear translocation of PLZF which inhibits VEGF-induced proliferation in HUVECs