4 research outputs found
Vitamin D improves autoimmune diseases by inhibiting Wnt signaling pathway
Abstract Objective In this study, we investigated the development of the Wnt signaling pathway in vitamin D (VitD) to improve systemic lupus erythematosus in mice to breakthrough clinical treatment approaches. Methods Body weight changes were recorded during rearing. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA), antiādsDNA, and antiāsnRNP were detected in the mouse serum using an enzymeālinked immunosorbent assay. Apoptosis of Th1 and Th2 immune cells in mice was detected using flow cytometry. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of Tābet, GATA3, and Wnt3a mRNA in the spleens of each group. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the expression of Wnt1, pāĪ²ācatenin, Ī²ācatenin, glycogen synthase kinsase3Ī² (GSKā3Ī²), Wnt3a, cāmyc, and cyclin D1 protein in mice spleens. Ī²ācatenin in mice spleen was visualized using immunohistochemistry. Results VitD did not substantial reduce the body weight of MRL/LPR mice, whereas the inhibitor did. VitD notably decreased the concentrations of ANA, antiādoubleāstranded DNA, and antiāsnRNP in the serum of MRL/LPR mice and alleviated apoptosis of Th1 and Th2 cells. VitD markedly increased the expression of Tābet and GATA mRNA in the spleen of MRL/LPR mice and consequently increased the levels of Wnt3a and Ī²ācatenin. Western blot analysis revealed that the levels of GSKā3Ī², pāĪ²ācatenin, Wnt1, Wnt3a, cāmyc, and cyclin D1 could be reduced by VitD, compared with MRL/LPR. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the expression of Ī²ācatenin was the most pronounced in the spleen of MRL/LPR mice, and the expression level of Ī²ācatenin decreased substantially after VitD intervention. Conclusions VitD can further inhibit the nuclear translocation of Ī²ācatenin by downregulating the expression of Wnt ligands (Wnt1 and Wnt3a), which reduces the expression of the downstream target gene cyclin D1. Systemic lupus erythematosus in mice was improved by inhibiting the activation of Wnt/Ī²ācatenin signal pathway
Genome-Wide Identification of the Highly Conserved INDETERMINATE DOMAIN (IDD) Zinc Finger Gene Family in Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis)
INDETERMINATE DOMAIN (IDD) proteins, a family of transcription factors unique to plants, function in multiple developmental processes. Although the IDD gene family has been identified in many plants, little is known about it in moso bamboo. In this present study, we identified 32 PheIDD family genes in moso bamboo and randomly sequenced the full-length open reading frames (ORFs) of ten PheIDDs. All PheIDDs shared a highly conserved IDD domain that contained two canonical C2H2-ZFs, two C2HC-ZFs, and a nuclear localization signal. Collinearity analysis showed that segmental duplication events played an important role in expansion of the PheIDD gene family. Synteny analysis indicated that 30 PheIDD genes were orthologous to those of rice (Oryza sativa). Thirty PheIDDs were expressed at low levels, and most PheIDDs exhibited characteristic organ-specific expression patterns. Despite their diverse expression patterns in response to exogenous plant hormones, 8 and 22 PheIDDs responded rapidly to IAA and 6-BA treatments, respectively. The expression levels of 23 PheIDDs were closely related to the outgrowth of aboveground branches and 20 PheIDDs were closely related to the awakening of underground dormant buds. In addition, we found that the PheIDD21 gene generated two products by alternative splicing. Both isoforms interacted with PheDELLA and PheSCL3. Furthermore, both isoforms could bind to the cis-elements of three genes (PH02Gene17121, PH02Gene35441, PH02Gene11386). Taken together, our work provides valuable information for studying the molecular breeding mechanism of lateral organ development in moso bamboo
Recent progress on post-synthetic treatments of photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting
For the global energy demand and climate change challenges, seeking renewable, sustainable energy sources is of great significance. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is one of the promising
technologies for converting intermittent solar energy into storable hydrogen energy, to tackle these issues. As the core component in a PEC system, photoelectrodes have been modified by various strategies including nanostructuring, facet-engineering, elemental doping, and heterostructured engineering. Apart from these techniques, numerous effective post-synthetic treatments have also been used to facilely and powerfully boost the physicochemical properties of photoelectrodes, for the enhancement of their PEC performance. Among them, a number of post-treatments can selectively influence photoelectrode surface and subsurface areas, altering surface states that play crucial roles in
the hydrogen/oxygen evolution reaction. In virtue of such post-treatments, we summarize recently reported post-synthetic treatments for enhanced PEC applications. Post-treatment methods are classified into three sections: chemical treatments, electrochemical and irradiation-based treatments, and post-annealing treatments. In the end, a summary and outlook section regarding the utilization of post-treatments for PEC applications have been provided. This review can provide inspiration for further studies about post-treatments, not only in the PEC water splitting field, but also in other aspects, such as electrolysis