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Coix seed is a functional food in the Chinese diet that possesses the ability to alleviate ulcerative colitis clinically. However, the underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of the Coix seed diet on experimental colitis mice. The mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, model group, Coix seed feed group, and positive control group. The maintenance feed of the mice was replaced with Coix seed feed 10 days before orally administering the mice 5% (w/v) dextran sulfate sodium drink. As a result, the Coix seed feed alleviated colitis symptoms, maintained the complete blood count at a normal level, reduced the pathological score, relieved inflammatory cytokine secretion, and alleviated oxidative stress. Network pharmacology analysis was used for further exploration of the targets of Coix seed feed. The results showed that T-cell regulation is one of the targets of Coix seed feed, and the analysis of the T-lymphocyte subset and innate immune cell distribution of the colon tissue supported the network pharmacology results. In conclusion, Coix seed, as a staple food, can alleviate experimental colitis, and the mechanism may be related to the immune regulation effect of Coix seeds.

Tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside (TSG) is a unique component of the bone-reinforcing herb Radix Polygoni Multiflori Preparata (RPMP). It has the ability to promote bone formation and protect osteoblasts. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. To better understand its biological function, we determined TSG&rsquo, s effect on murine pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells by the MTT assay, flow cytometry, FQ-PCR, Western blot, and ELISA. The results showed that TSG caused an elevation of the MC3T3-E1 cell number, the number of cells in the S phase, and the mRNA levels of the runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx2), osterix (Osx), and collagen type I &alpha, 1 (Col1a1). In addition, the osteoprotegerin (OPG) mRNA level was up-regulated, while the nuclear factor-&kappa, B ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) mRNA levels were down-regulated by TSG. Furthermore, TSG activated the phosphoinosmde-3-kinase/protein kinase B (also known as PI3K/Akt) pathway, and blocking this pathway by the inhibitor LY-294002 could impair TSG&rsquo, s functions in relation to the MC3T3-E1 cells. In conclusion, TSG could activate the PI3K/Akt pathway and thus promote MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation and differentiation, and influence OPG/RANKL/M-CSF expression. TSG merits further investigation as a potential therapeutic agent for osteoporosis treatment.

In pectin regulation, polygalacturonases (PGs) and pectin methylesterases (PMEs) are critical components in the transformation, disassembly network, and remodeling of plant primary cell walls. In the current study, we identified 36 PG and 47 PME genes using the available genomic resources of grapevine. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview of PGs and PMEs, including phylogenetic and collinearity relationships, motif and gene structure compositions, gene duplications, principal component analysis, and expression profiling during developmental stages. Phylogenetic analysis of PGs and PMEs revealed similar domain composition patterns with Arabidopsis. The collinearity analysis showed high conservation and gene duplications with purifying selection. The type of duplications also varied in terms of gene numbers in PGs (10 dispersed, 1 proximal, 12 tandem, and 13 segmental, respectively) and PMEs (23 dispersed, 1 proximal, 16 tandem, and 7 segmental, respectively). The tissue-specific response of PG and PME genes based on the reported transcriptomic data exhibited diverged expression patterns in various organs during different developmental stages. Among PGs, VvPG8, VvPG10, VvPG13, VvPG17, VvPG18, VvPG19, VvPG20, VvPG22, and VvPG23 showed tissue- or organ-specific expression in majority of the tissues during development. Similarly, in PMEs, VvPME3, VvPME4, VvPME5, VvPME6, VvPME19, VvPME21, VvPME23, VvPME29, VvPME31, and VvPME32 suggested high tissue-specific response. The gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomics (KEGG) enrichment, and cis-elements prediction analysis also suggested the putative functions of PGs and PMEs in plant development, such as pectin and carbohydrate metabolism, and stress activities. Moreover, qRT-PCR validation of 32 PG and PME genes revealed their role in various organs of grapevines (i.e., root, stem, tendril, inflorescence, flesh, skins, and leaves). Therefore, these findings will lead to novel insights and encourage cutting-edge research on functional characterization of PGs and PMEs in fruit crop species.

Phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs), as the basic helix&ndash, loop&ndash, helix (bHLH) transcription factors, are the primary signaling partners for phytochromes (PHY) that play a key role in PHY-mediated light signal transduction. At present, there are few studies on PIFs in fruit trees. In order to clarify the status of PIFs in grapevines, we identified members of the grape PIFs family and conducted phylogenetic and expression analysis. We identified PIF1, PIF3, PIF4, and PIF7 in PIFs families of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), which were distributed on four different chromosomes with similar gene structures. Except for the closer relationship with PIF1 of citrus, PIFs of grape were distant from the other fruit species such as apple, pear, peach, and strawberry. The VvPIFs (except VvPIF4) were located in the syntenic block with those from Arabidopsis thaliana, Solanum lycopersicum, or Citrus sinensis. In addition to PIF1, all PIFs in grapevines have conserved active PHYB binding (APB) sequences. VvPIF1 has a conserved PIF1-specific active PHYA binding (APA) sequence, while amino acid mutations occurred in the specific APA sequence in VvPIF3. Interestingly, two specific motifs were found in the PIF4 amino acid sequence. The photoreceptor-related elements in the VvPIFs promoter region were the most abundant. PIF1, LONG HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) and PIF3, PIF4, GIBBERELLIC ACID INSENSITIVE 1 (GAI1) may interact with each other and participate together in light signal transduction. The relative expression levels of the VvPIFs showed diverse patterns in the various organs at different developmental stages, of which PIF4 was most highly expressed. Prior to maturation, the expression of PIF4 and PIF7 in the skin of the different cultivars increased, while the expression of all PIFs in the flesh decreased. The transcription level of PIFs in grape leaves was sensitive to changes in lighting and shading. Shading treatment was beneficial for enhancing the transcription level of VvPIFs, but the effect on VvPIF3 and VvPIF4 was time-controlled. We concluded that PIFs in grapevines are both conservative and species-specific. The identification and analysis of grape PIFs could provide a theoretical foundation for the further construction of grape light regulation networks.