Search

Abstract Background In cereal crop rice, auxin is known as an important class of plant hormone that regulates a plethora of plant growth and development. Glycosylation of auxin is known to be one of the important mechanisms mediating auxin homeostasis. However, the relevant auxin glucosyltransferase (GT) in rice still remains largely unknown. Results In this study, using known auxin glucosyltransferases from other species as queries, twelve putative auxin UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) genes were cloned from rice and the one showing highest sequence similarity, named as OsIAGT1, was expressed as recombinant protein. In vitro enzymatic analysis showed that recombinant OsIAGT1 was capable of catalyzing glucosylation of IAA, IBA and other auxin analogs, and that OsIAGT1 is quite tolerant to a broad range of reaction conditions with peak activity at 30 °С and pH 8.0. OsIAGT1 showed favorite activity towards native auxins over artificially synthesized ones. Further study indicated that expression of OsIAGT1 can be upregulated by auxin in rice, and with OsIAGT1 overexpressing lines we confirmed that OsIAGT1 is indeed able to glucosylate IAA in vivo. Consistently, ectopic expression of OsIAGT1 leads to declined endogenous IAA content, as well as upregulated auxin synthesis genes and reduced expression of auxin-responsive genes, which likely leads to the reduced plant stature and root length in OsIAGT1 overexpression lines. Conclusion Our result indicated that OsIAGT1 plays an important role in mediating auxin homeostasis by catalyzing auxin glucosylation, and by which OsIAGT1 regulates growth and development in rice.

Objective: To study the mechanism of ultrasonic emulsification of soy protein isolate (SPI) and to investigate the emulsification efficiency of SPI under different ultrasonic powers. Methods: Different ultrasonic powers of 28, 47, 69, 88 and 109 W were used to treat SPI emulsions. The finite element analysis method was applied to simulate the phenomenon of acoustic streaming in the sound field and obtain the distribution of acoustic flow field under different ultrasonic powers. The distribution characteristics of the ultrasonic cavitation field were analyzed by sonochemiluminescence assay. The particle size, emulsification activity, and emulsion stability of SPI emulsions were measured. Results: The effect of ultrasonic cavitation, the cavitation enhancement of acoustic flow, the dispersion and mixing of acoustic flow were the main mechanisms for the homogeneous stabilization of ultrasonic emulsification. Ultrasonic disruption and homogenization as a result of acoustic cavitation could reduce the particle size of SPI emulsions. The acoustic flow effect caused by an increase in ultrasonic power could increase the action area of ultrasonic cavitation enhancing the cavitation effect. Meanwhile, the impact, gyration and vortex motion of acoustic flow could cause the emulsion to be fully stirred, dispersed and mixed, effectively improving the emulsification activity, emulsion stability and apparent stability. The emulsification efficiency of SPI was highest when the ultrasonic power was 88 W. Conclusion: Increased ultrasonic power can effectively improve the emulsification characteristics of SPI.

Objective To explore the function of circ-MALAT1 targeting miR-101 in the inhibition of the invasion and migration of bladder cancer cells. Methods Bladder cancer cell line SW780 was divided into si-NC group (transfection si-NC), si-circ-MALAT1 group (transfection si-circ-MALAT1), miR-NC group (transfection miR-NC), miR-101 group (transfection miR-101 mimics), si-circ-MALAT1+anti-miR-NC group(co-transfection si-circ-MALAT1 and anti-miR-NC)and si-circ-MALAT1+anti-miR-101 group(co-transfection si-circ-MALAT1 and anti-miR-101). RT-qPCR was used to examine the expression of circ-MALAT1 and miR-101; Transwell method was used to detect cell invasion and migration; The matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9),phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (p-PI3K), phosphorylated protein kinase B(p-AKT) protein expression were measured by Western blot; Dual luciferase reporter gene experiment was applied to detect the targeting relationship between circ-MALAT1 and miR-101. Results Compared with adjacent tissues, the expression of circ-MALAT1 in bladder cancer tissue was significantly increased (P＜0.05)and the expression of miR-101 was significantly decreased (P＜0.05). Compared with the si-NC group, the expression of circ-MALAT1 in the si-circ-MALAT1 group was significantly reduced(P＜0.05)and the counting number of invasion and migrating cells was significantly reduced (P＜0.05), the expression of p-PI3K and p-AKT protein was significantly reduced(P＜0.05). Compared with the miR-NC group, the expression of miR-101 in the miR-101 group was significantly increased(P＜0.05)and the number of invasion as well as migrating cells were significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Compared with the (si-circ-MALAT1+anti-miR-NC)group, the(si-circ-MALAT1+anti-miR-101)group showed more cell invasion and migration (P＜0.05), the expression of p-PI3K and p-AKT protein was significantly increased(P＜0.05). Conclusions Reduction of circ-MALAT1 expression and up-regulation miR-101 inhibit the invasion and migration of bladder cancer cells line SW780. The mechanism may be related to the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Cognitive frailty, which increases the risk of dementia, is a geriatric syndrome characterized by both physical frailty and cognitive impairment. It is associated with adverse health events such as functional disability, hospitalization, falls, all-cause mortality and the incidence of dementia, vascular dementia, neurocognitive disorders, with potential reversibility. A clear and unified operational definition of cognitive frailty in the future is of great significance for early recognition and intervention of cognitive frailty and secondary prevention of early or asymptomatic dementia.

Auxin is a class of plant hormone that plays a crucial role in the life cycle of plants, particularly in the growth response of plants to ever-changing environments. Since the auxin responses are concentration-dependent and higher auxin concentrations might often be inhibitory, the optimal endogenous auxin level must be closely controlled. However, the underlying mechanism governing auxin homeostasis remains largely unknown. In this study, a UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT76F1) was identified from Arabidopsis thaliana, which participates in the regulation of auxin homeostasis by glucosylation of indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPyA), a major precursor of the auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) biosynthesis, in the formation of IPyA glucose conjugates (IPyA-Glc). In addition, UGT76F1 was found to mediate hypocotyl growth by modulating active auxin levels in a light- and temperature-dependent manner. Moreover, the transcription of UGT76F1 was demonstrated to be directly and negatively regulated by PIF4, which is a key integrator of both light and temperature signaling pathways. This study sheds a light on the trade-off between IAA biosynthesis and IPyA-Glc formation in controlling auxin levels and reveals a regulatory mechanism for plant growth adaptation to environmental changes through glucosylation of IPyA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography (3D-CTA) as the primary diagnostic investigation in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) from anterior circulation aneurysms, and to correlate the results with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and intraoperative findings. From May 2005 to May 2007 a total of 38 consecutive patients admitted for SAH, suspicious for ruptured anterior circulation cerebral aneurysm, underwent 3D-CTA. Inclusion criteria were a SAH confirmed by a non-contrast head computed tomographic scan or by lumbar puncture. Exclusion criteria were: previous DSA, severe contrast medium allergy and severe renal failure. All patients underwent early surgical clipping of the aneurysm. The mean time between SAH onset and surgery was 43.6 h (range, 14-74 h). The 3D-CTA was performed in all cases; and in 13 out of 38 patients (34%) represented the only preoperative exam. In all patients that underwent surgery with the sole 3D-CTA, the images collected allowed a good visualisation of the morphology of aneurysms and of the anatomical relationship with the vascular structures. 3D-CTA allows accurate diagnosis with an excellent visualisation of ruptured aneurysms of the anterior circulation. Our results suggest that, in selected cases, ruptured anterior circulation aneurysms could be successfully treated on the basis of 3D-CTA alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]