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A major obstacle to therapy in intensive care units is sepsis caused by severe infection. In recent years gram-positive (G+) bacteria, most commonly staphylococci, are thought to be the main pathogens. Micheliolide (MCL) was demonstrated to provide a therapeutic role in rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory intestinal disease, colitis-associated cancer, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS, the main component of G− bacterial cell wall) induced septic shock. We proved here that MCL played an anti-inflammatory role in Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) induced peritonitis. It inhibited the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in macrophages and dendritic cells upon stimulation with peptidoglycan (PGN, the main cell wall composition of G+ bacteria). PI3K/Akt and NF-κB pathways account for the anti-inflammatory role of MCL after PGN stimulation. MCL reduced IL-6 secretion through down-regulating NF-κB activation and improved the survival status in mice challenged with a lethal dose of S. aureus. In MRSA infection mouse model, MCL down-regulated the expression of IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1/CCL2 and IFN-γ in sera, and ameliorated the organ damage of liver and kidney. In conclusion, MCL can help maintain immune equilibrium and decrease PGN, S. aureus and MRSA-triggered inflammatory response. These provide the rationality for the potential usage of MCL in sepsis caused by G+ bacteria (e.g., S. aureus) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (e.g., MRSA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the large-scale release of genetically modified (GM) crops, there are ecological concerns on transgene movement from GM crops to non-GM counterparts and wild relatives. In this research, we conducted greenhouse experiments to measure pollen-mediated gene flow (PGF) in the absence and presence of pollinators (Bombus ignitus, Apis mellifera and Pieris rapae) in one GM cotton (resistant to the insect Helicoverpa armigera and the herbicide glyphosate) and two non-GM lines (Shiyuan321 and Hai7124) during 2012 and 2013. Our results revealed that: (1) PGF varied depending on the pollinator species, and was highest with B. ignitus (10.83%) and lowest with P. rapae (2.71%); (2) PGF with B. ignitus depended on the distance between GM and non-GM cottons; (3) total PGF to Shiyuan321 (8.61%) was higher than to Hai7124 (4.10%). To confirm gene flow, we tested hybrids carrying transgenes for their resistance to glyphosate and H. armigera, and most hybrids showed strong resistance to the herbicide and insect. Our research confirmed that PGF depended on pollinator species, distance between plants and the receptor plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thioredoxin system, including NADPH, thioredoxin (Trx), and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), plays significant roles in maintaining intracellular redox homeostasis and protecting organisms against oxidative damage. In this study, the characteristics and functions of H. armigera HaTrx2 and HaTrxR1 were identified. Sequence analysis showed that HaTrx2 and HaTrxR1 were both highly conserved and shared high sequence identity with other insect counterparts. The mRNA of HaTrx2 was expressed the highest in 5th instar 96 h and was mainly detected in heads and epidermis. The expression of HaTrxR1 was highly concentrated in 5th instar 72 h and 96 h, and higher in malpighian tube, midgut and hemocyte than other examined tissues. HaTrx2 and HaTrxR1 were markedly induced by various types of stress. HaTrx2- or HaTrxR1-knockdown increased ROS production in hemocytes and also increased the lipid damage in NPV infected H. armigera larvae. Furthermore, interference with expression of HaTrx2 or HaTrxR1 transcripts in H. armigera larvae resulted in increased sensitivity to NPV infection and shortened LT50 values. Our findings indicated that HaTrx2 and HaTrxR1 contribute to the susceptibility of H. armigera to NPV and also provided the theoretical basis for the in-depth study of insect thioredoxin system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]