Expression and functional analysis of the barley Nud gene using transgenic rice

Most cereal crops have hulless grains (naked caryopses) with a free-threshing trait, whereas the majority of barley cultivars show hulled (covered) caryopses. The naked caryopsis in barley is genetically controlled by a single locus, nod. The Nud gene (the covered caryopsis allele) encodes an ethylene response factor (ERF) family transcription factor that regulates a lipid biosynthetic pathway. For functional analysis of the barley Nud gene, we produced transgenic rice expressing Nod in the developing caryopses. All transgenic lines had caryopses that were easily dehulled at maturity, indicating that the naked caryopsis phenotype remained in spite of expression of the Nod transgene. Histochemical and lipid analyses of the transgenic rice caryopses did not show increased lipid accumulation on the surface of developing caryopses, suggesting that the Nud-mediated lipid pathway may not function in rice caryopses. The predicted rice ortholog of Nod, Os06ERF was expressed specifically in the developing caryopses. However, expression of Os06ERF ceased at an earlier developmental stage than that of the native Nod gene in barley caryopses, which was also the case for expression of the Nod transgene. This raises the alternative hypothesis that the timing of Nod expression may be critical for activating the pathway for hull-caryopsis adhesion

Disturbed hippocampal intra-network in first-episode of drug-naïve major depressive disorder

Complex networks inside the hippocampus could provide new insights into hippocampal abnormalities in various psychiatric disorders and dementia. However, evaluating intra-networks in the hippocampus using MRI is challenging. Here, we employed a high spatial resolution of conventional structural imaging and independent component analysis to investigate intra-networks structural covariance in the hippocampus. We extracted the intra-networks based on the intrinsic connectivity of each 0.9 mm isotropic voxel to every other voxel using a data-driven approach. With a total volume of 3 cc, the hippocampus contains 4115 voxels for a 0.9 mm isotropic voxel size or 375 voxels for a 2 mm isotropic voxel of high-resolution functional or diffusion tensor imaging. Therefore, the novel method presented in the current study could evaluate the hippocampal intra-networks in detail. Furthermore, we investigated the abnormality of the intra-networks in major depressive disorders. A total of 77 patients with first-episode drug-naïve major depressive disorder and 79 healthy subjects were recruited. The independent component analysis extracted seven intra-networks from hippocampal structural images, which were divided into four bilateral networks and three networks along the longitudinal axis. A significant difference was observed in the bilateral hippocampal tail network between patients with major depressive disorder and healthy subjects. In the logistic regression analysis, two bilateral networks were significant predictors of major depressive disorder, with an accuracy of 78.1%. In conclusion, we present a novel method for evaluating intra-networks in the hippocampus. One advantage of this method is that a detailed network can be estimated using conventional structural imaging. In addition, we found novel bilateral networks in the hippocampus that were disturbed in patients with major depressive disorders, and these bilateral networks could predict major depressive disorders

Validity and Reliability of the Japanese Version of the 12-item Self-administered World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 in Patients with Schizophrenia

It is necessary to assess functional impairment when treating schizophrenia. The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) has been adopted as a measure of functional disability in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. This study was a secondary analysis from a cross-sectional study of health-related behaviors among patients with schizophrenia. We examined the validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 when self-administered by such patients. Participants were 350 outpatients with schizophrenia from a psychiatric hospital. The standard six-factor structure of the WHODAS 2.0 showed a good fit for these participants. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.858, showing good internal consistency. The WHODAS 2.0 showed moderate correlations with the modified Global Assessment of Functioning and Kessler 6 scales (r=−0.434 and 0.555, respectively). The results of this study show that the Japanese version of the 12-item self-administered WHODAS 2.0 has good internal consistency and convergent validity among patients with schizophrenia. Further exploration of the usefulness of WHODAS 2.0 in clinical settings is needed

Innate immune cells express IL-17A/F in acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis and generalized pustular psoriasis

Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) and generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) are rare pustular skin disorders with systemic involvement. IL-17A/F is a proinflammatory cytokine involved in various neutrophilic inflammatory disorders. Here we show that IL-17A/F is highly expressed by innate immune cells such as neutrophils and mast cells in both AGEP and GPP

COMT Val158Met, but not BDNF Val66Met, is associated with white matter abnormalities of the temporal lobe in patients with first-episode, treatment-naïve major depressive disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study

We investigated the association between the Val158Met polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, the Val66Met polymorphism of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, and white matter changes in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy subjects using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We studied 30 patients with MDD (17 males and 13 females, with mean age ± standard deviation [SD] =44±12 years) and 30 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (17 males and 13 females, aged 44±13 years). Using DTI analysis with a tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) approach, we investigated the differences in fractional anisotropy, radial diffusivity, and axial diffusivity distribution among the three groups (patients with the COMT gene Val158Met, those with the BDNF gene Val66Met, and the healthy subjects). In a voxel-wise-based group comparison, we found significant decreases in fractional anisotropy and axial diffusivity within the temporal lobe white matter in the Met-carriers with MDD compared with the controls (P<0.05). No correlations in fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity, or radial diffusivity were observed between the MDD patients and the controls, either among those with the BDNF Val/Val genotype or among the BDNF Met-carriers. These results suggest an association between the COMT gene Val158Met and the white matter abnormalities found in the temporal lobe of patients with MDD