Role of neuromedin B and its receptor in the innate immune responses against influenza A virus infection in vitro and in vivo

International audienceAbstractThe peptide neuromedin B (NMB) and its receptor (NMBR) represent a system (NMB/NMBR) of neuromodulation. Here, it was demonstrated that the expression of NMBR in cells or murine lung tissues was clearly upregulated in response to H1N1/PR8 influenza A virus infection. Furthermore, the in vitro and in vivo activities of NMB/NMBR during PR8 infection were investigated. It was observed that A549 cells lacking endogenous NMBR were more susceptible to virus infection than control cells, as evidenced by the increased virus production in the cells. Interestingly, a significant decrease in IFN-α and increased IL-6 expression were observed in these cells. The role of this system in innate immunity against PR8 infection was probed by treating mice with NMB. The NMB-treated mice were less susceptible to virus challenge, as evidenced by increased survival, increased body weight, and decreased viral NP expression compared with the control animals. Additionally, the results showed that exogenous NMB not only enhanced IFN-α expression but also appeared to inhibit the expression of NP and IL-6 in PR8-infected cells and animals. As expected, opposing effects were observed in the NMBR antagonist-treated cells and mice, which further confirmed the effects of NMB. Together, these data suggest that NMB/NMBR may be an important component of the host defence against influenza A virus infection. Thus, these proteins may serve as promising candidates for the development of novel antiviral drugs

A low-mass line-rich core found in Massive Star-forming Region IRAS 16351-4722

We present ALMA sub-arcsecond-resolution observations of both continuum and molecular lines at 345 GHz towards the massive star-forming region IRAS 16351-4722 (hereafter I16351). A total of 12 dust cores were detected based on high spatial resolution observations of the continuum. Among them, a high-mass core (11.6 Msun) and a low-mass core (1.7 Msun) show abundant molecular line emissions. 164 molecular transitions from 29 species and 104 molecular transitions from 25 species are identified in the high-mass and low-mass cores, respectively. Complex organic molecules (COMs) such as CH3OH, CH3OCHO, CH3OCH3, C2H5OH, and C2H5CN are detected in the two cores. Under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), rotational temperatures and column densities of the COMs are derived with the XCLASS software. The maximum rotation temperature values in the low-mass core and the high-mass core were found to be approximately 130 K and 198 K, respectively. Additionally, the line widths in the high-mass core are larger than those in the low-mass one. Abundant complex organic molecular line transitions, high gas temperatures, and smaller line widths indicate the presence of a low-mass line-rich core in the massive star formation region for the first time, while the high-mass line-rich core shows hot core property. When comparing the molecular abundances of CH3OH, CH3OCHO, CH3OCH3 and C2H5OH of the two cores with other hot cores and hot corinos reported in the literature, we further confirm that both a hot core and a low-mass line-rich core are simultaneously detected in I16351.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, 70 references, accepted by Ap

Identification of the GRAS gene family in the Brassica juncea genome provides insight into its role in stem swelling in stem mustard

GRAS transcription factors are known to play important roles in plant signal transduction and development. A comprehensive study was conducted to explore the GRAS family in the Brassica juncea genome. A total of 88 GRAS genes were identified which were categorized into nine groups according to the phylogenetic analysis. Gene structure analysis showed a high group-specificity, which corroborated the gene grouping results. The chromosome distribution and sequence analysis suggested that gene duplication events are vital for the expansion of GRAS genes in the B. juncea genome. The changes in evolution rates and amino acid properties among groups might be responsible for their functional divergence. Interaction networks and cis-regulatory elements were analyzed including DELLA and eight interaction proteins (including four GID1, two SLY1, and two PIF3 proteins) that are primarily involved in light and hormone signaling. To understand their regulatory role in growth and development, the expression profiles of BjuGRASs and interaction genes were examined based on transcriptome data and qRT-PCR, and selected genes (BjuGRAS3, 5, 7, 8, 10, BjuB006276, BjuB037910, and BjuA021658) had distinct temporal expression patterns during stem swelling, indicating that they possessed diverse regulatory functions during the developmental process. These results contribute to our understanding on the GRAS gene family and provide the basis for further investigations on the evolution and functional characterization of GRAS genes

A Dielectric Metasurface Optical Chip for the Generation of Cold Atoms

Compact and robust cold atom sources are increasingly important for quantum research, especially for transferring cutting-edge quantum science into practical applications. In this letter, we report on a novel scheme that utilizes a metasurface optical chip to replace the conventional bulky optical elements used to produce a cold atomic ensemble with a single incident laser beam, which is split by the metasurface into multiple beams of the desired polarization states. Atom numbers $~10^7$ and temperatures (about 35 ${\mu}$K) of relevance to quantum sensing are achieved in a compact and robust fashion. Our work highlights the substantial progress towards fully integrated cold atom quantum devices by exploiting metasurface optical chips, which may have great potential in quantum sensing, quantum computing and other areas

An effective method for establishing a regeneration and genetic transformation system for Actinidia arguta

The all-red A. arguta (Actinidia arguta) is an anthocyanin-rich and excellent hardy fruit. Many studies have focused on the green-fleshed A. arguta, and fewer studies have been conducted on the all-red A. arguta. Here we reported a regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol by using leaves of all-red A. arguta as explants. Aseptic seedling leaves of A. arguta were used as callus-inducing materials. MS medium supplemented with 0.3 mg·L-1 2,4-D and 1.0 mg·L-1 BA was the optimal medium for callus induction of leaves, and medium supplemented with 3 mg·L-1 tZ and 0.5 mg·L-1 IAA was optimal for adventitious shoot regeneration. The best proliferation medium for adventitious buds was MS + 1.0 mg·L-1 BA + 0.3 mg·L-1 NAA. The best rooting medium was 1/2MS + 0.7 mg·L-1 IBA with a 100% rooting rate. For the red flesh hardy kiwi variety ‘Purpurna Saduwa’ (A. arguta var. purpurea), leaves are receptors for Agrobacterium (EHA105)-mediated transformation. The orthogonal experiment was used for the optimization of each genetic transformation parameter and the genetic transformation of the leaves was 21% under optimal conditions. Our study provides technical parameters for applying genetic resources and molecular breeding of kiwifruit with red flesh

CRAFTS for Fast Radio Bursts : extending the dispersion-fluence relation with new FRBs detected by FAST

We report three new FRBs discovered by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), namely FRB 181017.J0036+11, FRB 181118, and FRB 181130, through the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey (CRAFTS). Together with FRB 181123, which was reported earlier, all four FAST-discovered FRBs share the same characteristics of low fluence (1000 pc cm(-3)), consistent with the anticorrelation between DM and fluence of the entire FRB population. FRB 181118 and FRB 181130 exhibit band-limited features. FRB 181130 is prominently scattered (tau(s) 8 ms) at 1.25 GHz. FRB 181017.J0036+11 has full-bandwidth emission with a fluence of 0.042 Jy ms, which is one of the faintest FRB sources detected so far. CRAFTS has started to build a new sample of FRBs that fills the region for more distant and fainter FRBs in the fluence-DME diagram, previously out of reach of other surveys. The implied all-sky event rate of FRBs is 1.24(-0.90)(+1.94) x 5 sky(-1) day(-1) at the 95% confidence interval above 0.0146 Jy ms. We also demonstrate here that the probability density function of CRAFTS FRB detections is sensitive to the assumed intrinsic FRB luminosity function and cosmological evolution, which may be further constrained with more discoveries