Search

Autophagy plays an important role in the development of Parkinson disease (PD). Previous studies showed that autophagy could protect cells from α-synuclein toxicity and promote functional coupling of mitochondria. But it is still a question whether modulating autophagy can be used to treat PD. In traditional Chinese medicine, a specific Chinese herbal complex called Bu Shen Jie Du Fang (BSJDF) has a long history of treating motor impairments similar to Parkinson disease, while its mechanism is still unclear. As a pilot study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and its mechanism of Bu Shen Jie Du Fang in an MPP+-induced cell model of Parkinson's disease. And the phase contrast microscope (PCM) revealed that the BSJDF group had the greatest surviving cell counts compared with all other treated cell groups except the normal group. And Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK8) assays showed a similar result. In BSJDF group, 3.7 ×107 cells/dish was identified by hemocytometer counts, which was significantly higher than other groups except the normal cells (p<0.05). In the BSJDF group, autophagy can be observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Protein expression of Atg12 and LC3 in the BSJDF group was upregulated compared to the PD model group (p<0.05). Atg12 mRNA expression was also upregulated in the BSJDF group (p<0.05). In conclusion, our study indicated that the therapeutic mechanisms of BSJDF may be mediated by stimulating autophagy, and modulating autophagy can be used to treat PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Heat shock proteins (Hsps) play an important role in plant stress tolerance. We previously reported that expression of OsHsp17.0 and OsHsp23.7 could be enhanced by heat shock treatment and/or other abiotic stresses. In this paper, stress tolerance assays of transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsHsp17.0 and OsHsp23.7 have been carried out. Both OsHsp17.0-OE and OsHsp23.7-OE transgenic lines demonstrated higher germination ability compared to wild-type (WT) plants when subjected to mannitol and NaCl. Phenotypic analysis showed that transgenic rice lines displayed a higher tolerance to drought and salt stress compared to WT plants. In addition, transgenic rice lines showed significantly lower REC, lower MDA content and higher free proline content than WT under drought and salt stresses. These results suggest that OsHsp17.0 and OsHsp23.7 play an important role in rice acclimation to salt and drought stresses and are useful for engineering drought and salt tolerance rice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, we focused on the estimation of the global critical current density, super-current path, grain connectivity and their relationships with the faults volume fraction in the MgB2 bulks prepared by a modified PIT (powder in tube) method. Campbell's method was applied for the purpose of acquiring the penetrating AC magnetic flux profile and the characteristic of AC magnetic field vs. penetration depth from the specimen's surface. A computer simulation on the penetrating AC flux profile in MgB2 bulks with certain amount of randomly distributed voids, oxidized grains and other faults was also carried out. The global critical current density obtained by Campbell's method turned out to be smaller than that obtained from the SQUID measurement, implying that the global super-current was reduced by the existence of various kinds of faults and the lack of the electrical connectivity between grains. It was verified that the relationship between the global critical current characteristics and the faults contained in MgB2 specimens can be quantitatively clarified by comparing the simulated critical current densities and other factors with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic DNA of eukaryotic cells is hierarchically packaged into chromatin by histones. The dynamic organization of chromatin fibers plays a critical role in the regulation of gene transcription and other DNA-associated biological processes. Recently, numerous approaches have been developed to map the chromatin organization by characterizing chromatin accessibilities in genome-wide. However, reliable methods to quantitatively map chromatin accessibility are not well-established, especially not on a genome-wide scale. Here, we developed a modified MNase-seq for mouse embryonic fibroblasts, wherein chromatin was partially digested at multiple digestion times using micrococcal nuclease (MNase), allowing quantitative analysis of local yet genome-wide chromatin compaction. Our results provide strong evidence that the chromatin accessibility at promoter regions are positively correlated with gene activity. In conclusion, our assay is an ideal tool for the quantitative study of gene regulation in the perspective of chromatin accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we focused on the estimation of the global critical current density, super-current path, grain connectivity and their relationships with the faults volume fraction in the MgB2 bulks prepared by a modified PIT (powder in tube) method. Campbell's method was applied for the purpose of acquiring the penetrating AC magnetic flux profile and the characteristic of AC magnetic field vs. penetration depth from the specimen's surface. A computer simulation on the penetrating AC flux profile in MgB2 bulks with certain amount of randomly distributed voids, oxidized grains and other faults was also carried out. The global critical current density obtained by Campbell's method turned out to be smaller than that obtained from the SQUID measurement, implying that the global super-current was reduced by the existence of various kinds of faults and the lack of the electrical connectivity between grains. It was verified that the relationship between the global critical current characteristics and the faults contained in MgB2 specimens can be quantitatively clarified by comparing the simulated critical current densities and other factors with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eukaryotic chromosomes contain compartments of various functions, which are marked by and enriched with specific histone modifications. However, the molecular mechanisms by which these histone marks function in chromosome compartmentalization are poorly understood. Constitutive heterochromatin is a largely silent chromosome compartment characterized in part by H3K9me2 and 3. Here, we show that heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), an H3K9me2 and 3 "reader," interacts with SUV39H1, an H3K9me2 and 3 "writer," and with TRIM28, an abundant HP1 scaffolding protein, to form complexes with increased multivalent engagement of H3K9me2 and 3-modified chromatin. H3K9me2 and 3-marked nucleosomal arrays and associated complexes undergo phase separation to form macromolecule-enriched liquid droplets. The droplets are reminiscent of heterochromatin as they are highly dense chromatin-containing structures that are resistant to DNase and exclude the general transcription factor TFIIB. Our data suggest a general mechanism by which histone marks regulate chromosome compartmentalization by promoting phase separation. • HP1, SUV39H1, and TRIM28 constitute heterochromatic H3K9me3 recognition complexes • These complexes contain multiple H3K9me3 reader chromodomains • Multivalent H3K9me3-chromodomain engagement triggers liquid-liquid phase separation • Histone modifications regulate chromatin compartmentalization via phase separation H3K9 methylation marks constitutive heterochromatin in eukaryotes. Wang et al. demonstrate that multivalent engagement of H3K9me3 by its recognition complexes drives liquid-liquid phase separation, through which constitutive heterochromatin is compartmentalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) complicated by lung cancer has been increasing yearly worldwide. The overlapping effects of these two diseases leads to difficulties in clinical treatment and care. Single-care modalities fail to meet the clinical-care requirements of these complex diseases for both psychological and physical treatment., Objective: The study intended to evaluate the clinical efficacy of integrated nursing plus a psychological intervention for patients with TB complicated by lung cancer., Design: The research team conducted a randomized controlled study., Setting: The study took place at the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University in Baoding, Hebei, China., Participants: Participants were 60 patients with pulmonary TB complicated by lung cancer who received treatment at the hospital between January 2022 and December 2022., Interventions: The research team randomly assigned participants to one of two groups, each with 30 participants: (1) the control group, who received integrated nursing and (2) the intervention group who received integrated nursing plus a psychological intervention., Outcome Measures: The research team evaluated: (1) short-term clinical efficacy; (2) quality of life, using the Medical Outcomes Study's (MOS') 36-item Short-form Health Survey (SF-36); (3) levels of anxiety and depression, using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), respectively; and (4) nursing satisfaction., Results: No significant differences existed between the groups in demographic or clinical characteristics at baseline (P > .05). Compared to the control group, the intervention group's; (1) short-term clinical efficacy was significantly higher (P = .035); (2) scores on the SF-36 were significantly higher (all P < .001; (3) scores on the SAS and SDS were significantly lower (both P < .001); and (4) nursing satisfaction was significantly higher (P = .000)., Conclusions: Integrated nursing plus psychological intervention can improve the quality of life of patients with TB complicated by lung cancer, alleviate their negative emotions, and enhance nursing satisfaction, thereby promoting patients' recoveries.

The differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) begins with the transition from the naive to the primed state. The formative state was recently established as a critical intermediate between the two states. Here, we demonstrate the role of the histone chaperone FACT in regulating the naive-to-formative transition. We found that the Q265K mutation in the FACT subunit SSRP1 increased the binding of FACT to histone H3-H4, impaired nucleosome disassembly in vitro , and reduced the turnover of FACT on chromatin in vivo . Strikingly, mouse ESCs harboring this mutation showed elevated naive-to-formative transition. Mechanistically, the SSRP1-Q265K mutation enriched FACT at the enhancers of formative-specific genes to increase targeted gene expression. Together, these findings suggest that the turnover of FACT on chromatin is crucial for regulating the enhancers of formative-specific genes, thereby mediating the naive-to-formative transition. This study highlights the significance of FACT in fine-tuning cell fate transition during early development., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Post-translational modifications (PTMs), such as ubiquitination, are critically important in regulating genetic expressions by adjusting the nucleosome stability. A fast and label-free technology inspecting dynamic nucleosome structures can facilitate the interrogation of PTMs effects. Here we leverage the advantages of mechanically stable solid-state nanopores and detect the effect of a ubiquitinated histone on mononucleosomes at the single-molecule level. By comparing the translocation dynamics of natural and cross-linked mononucleosomes, we verified that the nucleosomal DNA unravelled from histones in natural mononucleosomes. Furthermore, we found that a turning point of voltage corresponds to the onset of nucleosome rupture. More importantly, we reveal that ubH2A stabilizes the nucleosome by shifting the turning point to a larger value and investigated the effect of ubiquitination on different histones (ubH2A and ubH2B). These findings open promising possibilities for developing a miniaturized and portable device for the fast screening of PTMs on nucleosomes.

In eukaryotic cells, chromatin plays an important role in gene regulation by controlling the access of the transcription machinery to DNA. In this chapter, we will describe methods for generating different chromatin templates to investigate the impact of histone variants and chromatin structure on histone methyltransferase activities. For this purpose, we take Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) as an example and investigate how its activity on H3K27me3 is regulated by the histone variants H3.3 and H2A.Z and higher-order chromatin structure., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The candidate anticancer drug curaxins can insert into DNA base pairs and efficiently inhibit the growth of various cancers. However, how curaxins alter the genomic DNA structure and affect the DNA binding property of key proteins remains to be clarified. Here, we first showed that curaxin CBL0137 strongly stabilizes the interaction between the double strands of DNA and reduces DNA bending and twist rigidity simultaneously, by single-molecule magnetic tweezers. More importantly, we found that CBL0137 greatly impairs the binding of CTCF but facilitates trapping FACT on DNA. We revealed that CBL0137 clamps the DNA double helix that may induce a huge barrier for DNA unzipping during replication and transcription and causes the distinct binding response of CTCF and FACT on DNA. Our work provides a novel mechanical insight into CBL0137's anticancer mechanisms at the nucleic acid level.

Monoubiquitination at lysine 119 of histone H2A (ubH2A) is a prevalent post-translational modification that is associated with gene repression in the context of chromatin. However, the direct function of ubH2A on nucleosome is poorly understood. Here we identified the effect of ubH2A on nucleosome using single-molecule magnetic tweezers. We revealed that ubH2A stabilizes the nucleosome by blocking the peeling of DNA from the histone octamer. Each ubH2A reinforces one-half of the outer wrap and introduces a robust asymmetry for nucleosome unfolding. Furthermore, a real-time deubiquitination process confirmed that ubH2A-nucleosome is sequentially deubiquitinated and restored to the unmodified nucleosome state. These results provide a novel mechanism to understand the repression of the passage of RNA or DNA polymerases through the ubH2A-nucleosome barrier during gene transcription or replication.

Autophagy plays an important role in the development of Parkinson disease (PD). Previous studies showed that autophagy could protect cells from α -synuclein toxicity and promote functional coupling of mitochondria. But it is still a question whether modulating autophagy can be used to treat PD. In traditional Chinese medicine, a specific Chinese herbal complex called Bu Shen Jie Du Fang (BSJDF) has a long history of treating motor impairments similar to Parkinson disease, while its mechanism is still unclear. As a pilot study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and its mechanism of Bu Shen Jie Du Fang in an MPP + -induced cell model of Parkinson's disease. And the phase contrast microscope (PCM) revealed that the BSJDF group had the greatest surviving cell counts compared with all other treated cell groups except the normal group. And Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK8) assays showed a similar result. In BSJDF group, 3.7 ×10 7 cells/dish was identified by hemocytometer counts, which was significantly higher than other groups except the normal cells (p<0.05). In the BSJDF group, autophagy can be observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Protein expression of Atg12 and LC3 in the BSJDF group was upregulated compared to the PD model group (p<0.05). Atg12 mRNA expression was also upregulated in the BSJDF group (p<0.05). In conclusion, our study indicated that the therapeutic mechanisms of BSJDF may be mediated by stimulating autophagy, and modulating autophagy can be used to treat PD.

The rules and patterns of thermal losses of tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) in palm oil (PO) and its effect on the qualities of PO were investigated by oven heating method. Volatilization and transformation products of TBHQ in PO were also studied in detail under heating treatment. Results showed that at low temperature (< 135°C), TBHQ had better antioxidative properties, while its antioxidative potency to PO was significantly weakened at high temperature (≥ 135°C). In addition, as heating temperatures increased and heating time prolonged, losses of TBHQ significantly increased in PO. Volatilization was the major pathway for losses of TBHQ in PO under heating treatment. Meanwhile, a small portion of TBHQ was transformed and the major transformation product was 2-tertbutyl-1,4- benzoquinone (TQ). Moreover, TQ and several decomposition products of PO were also observed in the volatilization products of TBHQ.