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We investigated the effects of Baicalin and Octreotide on the levels of endotoxin and TNF-α in blood and the effects of apoptotic changes in multiple organs of SAP rats, and explored the underlying therapeutic mechanisms of Baicalin and Octreotide. In this study, 135 SAP rats were randomly divided into model control, Baicalin treated and Octreotide treated group ( n = 45), respectively, the same number of normal rats were included in sham-operated group ( n = 45). The above-mentioned groups were further subdivided into 3, 6 and 12 h subgroups, respectively (15 rats in each subgroup). At 3, 6 and 12 h after operation, the mortality rate of rats, endotoxin and TNF-α levels in blood as well as the pathological severity scores, expression levels of Bax protein and apoptosis indexes in multiple organs were determined. Compared to model control group (1),both drugs can relieve the pathological injuries of multiple organs and decrease significantly the levels of endotoxin and TNF-α in blood and the mortality rate of rats in treated groups ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01); (2) the expression of Bax protein was upregulated in pancreas, lung, intestinal mucosa ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) but downregulated in spleen and lymph nodes ( P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively) in Baicalin treated group; The apoptosis indexes significantly increased in pancreas, intestinal mucosa, lymph nodes and spleen ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). (3) the expression of Bax protein was upregulated in pancreas and lung but downregulated in spleen and lymph nodes ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) in Octreotide treated group; The apoptosis indexes significantly increased in lymph nodes and spleen in Octreotide treated group ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Baicalin and Octreotide share a similar therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of SAP via a mechanism that is associated with inhibiting the levels of TNF-α in blood and induce apoptosis in multiple organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flowering represents a crucial transition from a vegetative to a reproductive phase of the plant life cycle. Despite extensive studies, the molecular mechanisms controlling flowering remain elusive. Although the enzymes involved are unknown, methylation of histone H3 K9 and K27 correlates with repression of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), an essential transcriptional repressor involved in flowering time control in Arabidopsis thaliana; in contrast, methylation of H3K4 correlates with FLC activation. Here we show that loss-of-function of SET DOMAIN GROUP 8 (SDG 8), which encodes a homologue of the yeast SET2 histone methyltransferase, results in reduced dimethylation of histone H3K36, particularly in chromatin associated with the FLC promoter and the first intron, regions that contain essential cis-elements for transcription. sdg8 mutants display reduced FLC expression and flower early, establishing SDG8-mediated H3K36 methylation as a novel epigenetic memory code required for FLC expression in preventing early flowering. This is the first demonstrated role of H3K36 methylation in eukaryote development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]