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Due to its unique location, the endothelial surface glycocalyx (ESG) at the luminal side of the microvessel wall may serve as a mechano-sensor and transducer of blood flow and thus regulate endothelial functions. To examine this role of the ESG, we used fluorescence microscopy to measure nitric oxide (NO) production in post-capillary venules and arterioles of rat mesentery under reduced (low) and normal (high) flow conditions, with and without enzyme pretreatment to remove heparan sulfate (HS) of the ESG and in the presence of an endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) inhibitor, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). Rats (SD, 250–300g) were anesthetized. The mesentery was gently taken out from the abdominal cavity and arranged on the surface of a glass coverslip for the measurement. An individual post-capillary venule or arteriole was cannulated and loaded for 45 min with 5 μM 4, 5-Diaminofluorescein diacetate, a membrane permeable fluorescent indictor for NO, then the NO production was measured for ~10 min under a low flow (~300 μm/s) and for ~60 min under a high flow (~1000 μm/s). In the 15 min after switching to the high flow, DAF-2-NO fluorescence intensity increased to 1.27-fold of its baseline, DAF-2-NO continuously increased under the high flow, to 1.53-fold of its baseline in 60 min. Inhibition of eNOS by 1 mM L-NMMA attenuated the flow-induced NO production to 1.13-fold in 15 min and 1.30-fold of its baseline in 60 min, respectively. In contrast, no significant increase in NO production was observed after switching to the high flow for 60 min when 1 h pretreatment with 50 mU/mL heparanase III to degrade the ESG was applied. Similar NO production was observed in arterioles under low and high flows and under eNOS inhibition. Our results suggest that ESG participates in endothelial cell mechanosensing and transduction through its heparan sulfate to activate eNOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether fatigue induced by an intermittent motor task in patients with cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is more central or peripheral. Methods: Ten patients with CRF who were off chemo and radiation therapies and 14 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Participants completed a Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) and performed a fatigue task consisting of intermittent elbow-flexion contractions at submaximal (40% maximal voluntary contraction) intensity till self-perceived exhaustion. Twitch force was elicited by an electrical stimulation applied to the biceps brachii muscle. The relative degree of peripheral (muscle) vs. central contribution to fatigue induced by the intermittent motor task (IMT) was assessed using twitch force ratio (TFratio) defined as post IMT twitch force to pre IMT twitch force. The total number of trials (intermittent contractions) and total duration of all trials performed by each subject were also quantified. Results: BFI scores were higher (p<0.001) in CRF than controls, indicating greater feeling of fatigue in CRF patients than controls. A significantly smaller number of trials and shorter total duration of the trials (p<0.05) were observed in CRF than control participants. The TFratio (0.81±0.05) in CRF was higher (p<0.05) compared with that of controls (0.62±0.05), suggesting CRF patients experienced a significantly lower degree of muscle (peripheral) fatigue at the time of perceived exhaustion. Conclusion: Consistent with prior findings for fatigue under submaximal sustained contraction, our results indicate that motor fatigue in CRF is more of central than peripheral origin during IMT. Significant central fatigue in CRF patients limits their ability to prolong motor performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: 70 years ago, it was put forward that the diseased liver was not a favorable soil for metastatic tumor cells. In addition, a few studies have demonstrated that rare occurrence of colorectal liver metastases among patients with fatty liver, cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B and C virus infection. We performed a meta-analysis to verify the association between the incidences of colorectal liver metastases with chronically diseased livers. Methods: Relevant studies were identified by a search of electronic database PubMed, Cochrane Library, OVID, Web of Science and CNKI (up to February 24, 2014). Pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using random- or fixed-effect models when appropriate. Meta-analysis and publication bias (Bgger's test) was evaluated with STATA 12.0. Results: A total of 10,349 colorectal cancer patients from 10 studies were included. The meta-analysis result showed there was a significant difference in the incidences of colorectal liver metastases between patients with normal and chronically diseased livers (OR = 0.32; 95% CI 95%: 0.26–0.38, P = 0.000 fixed-effects model). The result of Begg's test (Pr>|z| = 0.089; P>0.05) revealed no publication bias. Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis demonstrated that patients with chronically diseased livers had significantly lower incidences of colorectal liver metastases than those with normal livers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of novel genes relevant to plant cell wall (PCW) biosynthesis in Populus is a highly important and challenging problem. We surveyed candidate Populus cell wall genes using a non-targeted approach. First, a genome-wide Populus gene co-expression network (PGCN) was constructed using microarray data available in the public domain. Module detection was then performed, followed by gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, to assign the functional category to these modules. Based on GO annotation, the modules involved in PCW biosynthesis were then selected and analyzed in detail to annotate the candidate PCW genes in these modules, including gene annotation, expression of genes in different tissues, and so on. We examined the overrepresented cis-regulatory elements (CREs) in the gene promoters to understand the possible transcriptionally co-regulated relationships among the genes within the functional modules of cell wall biosynthesis. PGCN contains 6,854 nodes (genes) with 324,238 edges. The topological properties of the network indicate scale-free and modular behavior. A total of 435 modules were identified; among which, 67 modules were identified by overrepresented GO terms. Six modules involved in cell wall biosynthesis were identified. Module 9 was mainly involved in cellular polysaccharide metabolic process in the primary cell wall, whereas Module 4 comprises genes involved in secondary cell wall biogenesis. In addition, we predicted and analyzed 10 putative CREs in the promoters of the genes in Module 4 and Module 9. The non-targeted approach of gene network analysis and the data presented here can help further identify and characterize cell wall related genes in Populus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event with a limited hope for recovery and represents an enormous public health issue. It is crucial to understand the disturbances in the metabolic network after SCI to identify injury mechanisms and opportunities for treatment intervention. Through plasma 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) screening, we identified 15 metabolites that made up an “Eigen-metabolome” capable of distinguishing rats with severe SCI from healthy control rats. Forty enzymes regulated these 15 metabolites in the metabolic network. We also found that 16 metabolites regulated by 130 enzymes in the metabolic network impacted neurobehavioral recovery. Using the Eigen-metabolome, we established a linear discrimination model to cluster rats with severe and mild SCI and control rats into separate groups and identify the interactive relationships between metabolic biomarkers in the global metabolic network. We identified 10 clusters in the global metabolic network and defined them as distinct metabolic disturbance domains of SCI. Metabolic paths such as retinal, glycerophospholipid, arachidonic acid metabolism; NAD–NADPH conversion process, tyrosine metabolism, and cadaverine and putrescine metabolism were included. In summary, we presented a novel interdisciplinary method that integrates metabolomics and global metabolic network analysis to visualize metabolic network disturbances after SCI. Our study demonstrated the systems biological study paradigm that integration of 1H-NMR, metabolomics, and global metabolic network analysis is useful to visualize complex metabolic disturbances after severe SCI. Furthermore, our findings may provide a new quantitative injury severity evaluation model for clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are molecular switches that bind Ca2+, ATP, and protein substrates, acting as sensor relays and responders that convert Ca2+ signals, created by developmental processes and environmental stresses, into phosphorylation events. The precise functions of the CDPKs in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) are largely unknown. We therefore investigated the phylogenetic relationships and expression profiles of the 17 CDPK genes identified in the 12x grapevine genome sequence, resolving them into four subfamilies based on phylogenetic tree topology and gene structures. The origins of the CDPKs during grapevine evolution were characterized, involving 13 expansion events. Transcriptomic analysis using 54 tissues and developmental stages revealed three types of CDPK gene expression profiles: constitutive (housekeeping CDPKs), partitioned functions, and prevalent in pollen/stamen. We identified two duplicated CDPK genes that had evolved from housekeeping to pollen-prevalent functions and whose origin correlated with that of seed plants, suggesting neofunctionalization with an important role in pollen development and also potential value in the breeding of seedless varieties. We also found that CDPKs were involved in three abiotic stress signaling pathways and could therefore be used to investigate the crosstalk between stress responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]