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A correction to the article "Neurotoxin βN-methylamino-L-alanine induces endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated neuronal apoptosis," published in "Molecular Medicine Reports," is presented.

Background: The interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and AMF spore associated bacteria (SAB) were previously found to improve mycorrhizal symbiotic efficiency under saline stress, however, the information about the molecular basis of this interaction remain unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the response of maize plants to co-inoculation of AMF and SAB under salinity stress. Results: The co-inoculation of AMF and SAB significantly improved plant dry weight, nutrient content of shoot and root tissues under 25 or 50 mM NaCl. Importantly, co-inoculation significantly reduced the accumulation of proline in shoots and Na+ in roots. Co-inoculated maize plants also exhibited high K+/Na+ ratios in roots at 25 mM NaCl concentration. Mycorrhizal colonization significantly positively altered the expression of ZmAKT2, ZmSOS1, and ZmSKOR genes, to maintain K+ and Na+ ion homeostasis. Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) view showed that SAB were able to move and localize into inter- and intracellular spaces of maize roots and were closely associated with the spore outer hyaline layer. Conclusion: These new findings indicate that co-inoculation of AMF and SAB effectively alleviates the detrimental effects of salinity through regulation of SOS pathway gene expression and K+/Na+ homeostasis to improve maize plant growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic fertilizer application in agricultural land is known to improve soil microbial processes, fertility, and yield. In particular, the changes in soil chemical composition due to multi-year application of organic fertilizers are thought to alter the microbial community. Here, the effects of organic fertilization with oil-cake amendments (OC) on soil bacterial diversity, community profile, and enzyme activity were evaluated and compared to those amended with chemical fertilizer (NPK). Diversity indices show that the application of organic fertilizer potentially increases microbial diversity as well as the number of different microbial groups. The ordination plot distinguished and clustered both treatments, showing the differential effects of soil chemical factors on the microbial communities in each treatment. Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Bacteriodetes were significantly more abundant in OC-amended soil than in the NPK soil, indicating alterations in community structure, composition, and diversity, concurrent to the changes in the pH, Ca, and Mg contents of the soil. These shifts in bacterial community structure and composition, partially explained by differences in soil chemical factors, could be observed from the phylum to the genus level in NPK- and OC-amended soils. The OC soil contained a significantly higher abundance of predicted genes corresponding to enzymes related to biogeochemical cycling, decomposition, and plant growth promotion. Collectively, these results support the use of an unconventional organic fertilizer positively altering bacterial populations in jujube orchards. The application of an unconventional organic fertilizer improved microbial diversity and enhanced ecosystem functions related to biogeochemical cycles, mineralization, and plant growth promotion.

Reperfusion of ischaemic myocardium is accompanied by cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Although a protective role of propofol in this process has been suggested, the exact mechanism of propofol activity remains to be elucidated. Here, we report that propofol protects cardiac H9c2 cells from hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced cell death by attenuating the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and by up-regulating heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) expression levels. Treatment with 25 µM propofol significantly protected against hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced cell death, as determined by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and Western blot analysis using anti-apoptotic signal proteins, such as apoptotic protease activating factor 1 and caspase 9. Propofol furthermore suppressed the ERK signaling pathway in cardiac H9c2 cells subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation. The up-regulation of anti-oxidant enzymes such as HO-1, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and catalase is also associated with the protective effect of propofol on hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced cell death. Taken together, the results reveal a new mechanism by which propofol inhibits hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced cell death in cardiac H9c2 cells, supporting a potential application of propofol as a preemptive cardioprotectant.

Despite considerable progress in understanding the function of peroxiredoxin (Prx) in cancer, its expression patterns have not been extensively studied in response to cervical carcinogenesis. We evaluated the expression of Prx isoforms in normal tissue, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1, CIN2, and CIN3), and cervical cancer. We found strong pattern of increased Prx II and III immunostaining with increasing severity of the lesion. No difference in staining intensity by grade of lesion was observed for Prx I, and IV. Therefore, we conclude that Prx II and III are upregulated in response to the development of cervical cancer.