Sufu defines the balance of hindbrain progenitor cells maintenance and differentiation

Suppressor of fused (Sufu) was identified as a regulator in Hedgehog signalling. Study shown that Sufu knockout mice were embryonic lethal at E9.5, exhibiting cephalic deformities, open neural tube and ventralized spinal cord resulting from ectopic Shh signalling, implying indispensable role of Sufu during development of central nervous system. Aiming to investigate the functions of Sufu in hindbrain neurogenesis, we used B2‐r4‐Cre to knock‐out Sufu in rhombomere4 (r4). We observed significant enlargement of mutant r4 size from E10.5, exhibiting more profound expansion in the dorsal region at E12.5. Accordingly, BrdU pulse labelling and sox2 staining showed region specific increased accumulation of proliferative progenitor cells, indicating differential maintenance of progenitor pools along the dorsoventral axis of r4. Tuj1 staining also showed impaired differentiation of the ectopic progenitor cells. Further analysis revealed dramatic dorsal expansion of pMN and p2 progenitor domains in mutant r4. Surprisingly, the FoxA2 positive floor plate, and the dorsal p0 domain were not severely affected, suggesting a novel domain specific regulation of neural progenitor pools by Sufu. Intriguingly, we observed spatial upregulation Gli1 and Gli2 transcription factors, selectively at the region that resides highly proliferative cells, implying that the increased cell proliferation could be caused by the changes of Gli transcription factors. Indeed, concomitant deletion of Gli2 in the Sufu mutant largely rescued the aberrant phenotypes. These findings clearly showed the requirement of Sufu to suppress Gli2 to conduct a domain specific regulation of hindbrain progenitor maintenance and differentiation. Our study demonstrates novel function of Sufu to ensure a tightly controlled progenitor pools maintenance and differentiation, mainly achieve by suppressing Gli2 activation.postprin

How might acupuncture work? A systematic review of physiologic rationales from clinical trials

BACKGROUND: Scientific interest in acupuncture has led numerous investigators to conduct clinical trials to test the efficacy of acupuncture for various conditions, but the mechanisms underlying acupuncture are poorly understood. METHODS: The author conducted a PubMed search to obtain a fair sample of acupuncture clinical trials published in English in 2005. Each article was reviewed for a physiologic rationale, as well as study objectives and outcomes, experimental and control interventions, country of origin, funding sources and journal type. RESULTS: Seventy-nine acupuncture clinical trials were identified. Twenty-six studies (33%) offered no physiologic rationale. Fifty-three studies (67%) posited a physiologic basis for acupuncture: 33 (62% of 53) proposed neurochemical mechanisms, 2 (4%) segmental nervous system effects, 6 (11%) autonomic nervous system regulation, 3 (6%) local effects, 5 (9%) effects on brain function and 5 (9%) other effects. No rationale was proposed for stroke; otherwise having a rationale was not associated with objective, positive or negative findings, means of intervention, country of origin, funding source or journal type. The dominant explanation for how acupuncture might work involves neurochemical responses and is not reported to be dependent on treatment objective, specific points, means or method of stimulation. CONCLUSION: Many acupuncture trials fail to offer a meaningful rationale, but proposing a rationale can help investigators to develop and test a causal hypothesis, choose an appropriate control and rule out placebo effects. Acupuncture may stimulate self-regulatory processes independent of the treatment objective, points, means or methods used; this would account for acupuncture's reported benefits in so many disparate pathologic conditions

Combination of rehydrated sodium caseinate aqueous solution with blackcurrant concentrate and the formation of encapsulates via spray drying and freeze drying: Alterations to the functional properties of protein

The practical applications of protein ingredients in the preservation of bioactive compounds are of research interest. In this study, an aqueous solution of sodium caseinate was combined with blackcurrant concentrate to produce novel protein ingredients using spray-drying and freeze-drying techniques. High-performance liquid chromatography results showed that both spray-drying and freeze-drying strategies effectively delivered the anthocyanins of blackcurrant concentrate. Cyanidin and delphinidin contents in spray-dried samples 71.39 ± 1.07 μg/g and 83.55 ± 1.04 μg/g, respectively, while in the freeze-dried sample, cyanidin and delphinidin contents were at 53.61 ± 0.13 μg/g and 59.55 ± 0.54 μg/g, respectively. The physical and functional properties of sodium caseinate ingredients were altered by both drying strategies and also through the addition of blackcurrant concentrate. Drying processes influenced the shape and size of particles, and ultimately altered the rehydration properties of the protein ingredients. The inclusion of blackcurrant concentrate for sodium caseinate ingredients and the spray-and freeze-drying strategies altered the physical properties (particle size distribution, bulk density, and morphology), functional properties (water-holding capacity, oil-holding capacity, foamability, and foam stability), and nutritional values of sodium caseinate ingredients, providing new options for the development and innovation of food products. Novelty impact statement: The research is novel in generating sodium caseinate-based blackcurrant concentrate encapsulates by spray-drying and freeze-drying. This research advances current understanding by illustrating the modifications in protein functional properties, while maintaining bioactivity. The research could be applied in generating novel food systems for health enhancement

Guiding of 150 keV O6+ ions through nanocapillaries in an uncoated Al2O3 membrane: special time dependence of the transmission profile width

This paper reports that the transmission of O6+ ions with energy of 150keV through capillaries in an uncoated Al2O3 membrane was measured, and agreements with previously reported results in general angular distribution of the transmitted ions and the transmission fractions as a function of the tilt angle well fitted to Gaussian-like functions were observed. Due to using an uncoated capillary membrane, our c is larger than that using a gold-coated one with a smaller value of E-p/q, which suggests a larger equilibrium charge Q(infinity) in our experiment. The observed special width variation with time and a larger width than that using a smaller E-p/q were qualitatively explained by using mean-field classical transport theory based on a classical-trajectory Monte Carlo simulation.National Natural Science Foundation of China 1077506

Defective MHC class I antigen surface expression promotes cellular survival through elevated ER stress and modulation of p53 function

10.1038/cdd.2008.55Cell Death and Differentiation1591364-1374CDDI