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As is shown in previous reports, arginine vasopressin, as one of the most important hormones within circulation in human beings, is of great clinically significance given that it could maintain the body fluid balance and vascular tone. However, the laboratory measurements arginine of vasopressin in daily clinical practice are shown to be difficult and with low accuracy. Concerning on this notion, it is unpractical to use the serum levels of arginine vasopressin in diagnosing multiple diseases. On the other hand, another key serum biomarker, copeptin, is confirmed as the C-terminal of the arginine vasopressin precursor which could be released in equal amounts with arginine vasopressin, resultantly making it as a sensitive marker of arginine vasopressin release. Notably, emerging recent evidence has demonstrated the critical function of copeptin as a clinical indicator, especially in the diagnosis and prognosis of several diseases in diverse organs, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and pulmonary disease. In addition, copeptin was recently verified to play an important role in diagnosing multiple acute diseases when combined it with other gold standard serum biomarkers, indicating that copeptin could be recognized as a vital disease marker. Herein, in the current review, the functions of copeptin as a new predictive diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of various diseases, according to the most recent studies, are well summarized. Furthermore, the importance of using copeptin as a serum bio-marker in diverse medical departments and the impact of this on improving healthcare service is also summarized in the current review.

Although electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have attracted much attention due to their claimed harm-reduction effects compared with conventional cigarettes, the adverse effects of e-cigarette aerosol exposure on human health are still unclear. In this work we compared the cytotoxic effects of combustion cigarettes with four commercially available flavored electronic cigarettes and their main components on ten cell lines. Cell injury mechanism of e-cigarette aerosol and combustible cigarette smoke was also explored using cellular models.Eleven kinds of e-cigarettes aerosol condensates (ECSCs) and cigarette smoke constituent's condensates (CSC) were collected by Cambridge filter pad, and the nicotine contents were determined by UPLC to provide an equivalent nicotine dosage. The CCK-8 assay was used to measure the cell viability differences between ECSC and CSC. Based on RNA-seq results, we compared the effects of ECSC and CSC on various cell injury pathways. Oxidative stress and inflammatory responses were further tested by Western Blot, immunofluorescence, and qRT-PCR assays.CSC was found to be more cytotoxic than flavored ECSC and their main components, and BEAS-2B cell line was the most sensitive cells by comparing the IC50 value. With prolonged exposure duration and higher doses, ECSC began to exhibit cytotoxicity at and above 72 µg/mL. The IC50 values of ECSC were 16-fold higher than that of CSC. Transcriptome analyses indicated that cell injury-related processes were enriched after the treatment of CSC. CSC could significantly induce more oxidative stress and inflammatory signals than ECSC.ECSCs and their components induced significantly less cytotoxicity than CSC under the laboratory exposure conditions, and CSC caused much severe cell injuries. Our study adds to the body of scientific evidence for a more comprehensive safety evaluation of e-cigarette products as compared to cigarettes.

Background Previous phylogenetic analyses of species within the genus Golovinomyces (Ascomycota, Erysiphales), based on ITS and 28S rDNA sequence data, revealed a co-evolutionary relationship between powdery mildew species and hosts of certain tribes of the plant family Asteraceae. Golovinomyces growing on host plants belonging to the Heliantheae formed a single lineage, comprised of a morphologically differentiated complex of species, which included G. ambrosiae, G. circumfusus, and G. spadiceus. However, the lineage also encompassed sequences retrieved from Golovinomyces specimens on other Asteraceae tribes as well as other plant families, suggesting the involvement of a plurivorous species. A multilocus phylogenetic examination of this complex, using ITS, 28S, IGS (intergenic spacer), TUB2 (beta-tubulin), and CHS1 (chitin synthase I) sequence data was carried out to clarify the discrepancies between ITS and 28S rDNA sequence data and morphological differences. Furthermore, the circumscription of species and their host ranges were emended. Results The phylogenetic and morphological analyses conducted in this study revealed three distinct species named, viz., (1) G. ambrosiae emend. (including G. spadiceus), a plurivorous species that occurs on a multitude of hosts including, Ambrosia spp., multiple species of the Heliantheae and plant species of other tribes of Asteraceae including the Asian species of Eupatorium; (2) G. latisporus comb. nov. (≡ Oidium latisporum), the closely related, but morphologically distinct species confined to hosts of the Heliantheae genera Helianthus, Zinnia, and most likely Rudbeckia; and (3) G. circumfusus confined to Eupatorium cannabinum in Europe. Conclusions The present results provide strong evidence that the combination of multi-locus phylogeny and morphological analysis is an effective way to identify species in the genus Golovinomyces.

Background Leukemia is a hematological malignancy characterized by the proliferation of early lymphoid precursors that replaces normal hematopoietic cells of the bone marrow. Nakhi (Naxi) ethnic minorities considered to be an area of low incidence. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate the expression of other genes in various biological processes. The purpose of this work is to study the molecular mechanism of miRNAs in the leukemia from Naxi. Methods Six leukemia patients (case 2 to case 7) and one healthy person (case 1) from Nakhi (Naxi) ethnic minorities were recruited. Total RNA was extracted from these samples and small RNA deep sequencing was performed. Results A list of miRNAs (1,392 known and candidate 125 novels) expressed in leukocytes were identified, and many differentially regulated targets involved in several cellular pathways, such as cancer, Rap1 signaling pathway, Ras signaling pathway, and endocytosis. Additionally, quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) results show that hsa-miR-181b-5p, hsa-miR-181a-3p, hsa-miR-181a-5p, and hsa-miR-342-3p has different expression patterns in different cancer cells, hsa-miR-450a-5p, and hsa-miR-1255a were dysregulated in all leukemia cells. Conclusions Several abnormal expressed miRNAs in leukemia patients were identified, the correlation of miRNAs dysregulation and leukemia biology demonstrates that specific miRNA can be potential therapeutic target.

Endothelial cells (ECs) are a critical component of the hematopoietic niche, and the cross-talk between ECs and leukemia was reported recently. This study aimed to determine the genes involved in the proliferation inhibition of endothelial cells in leukemia.Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were cultured alone or co-cultured with K562 cell lines. GeneChip assays were performed to identify the differentially expressed genes. The Celigo, MTT assay, and flow cytometric analysis were used to determine the effect of RNAi DIDO on cell growth and apoptosis. The differently expressed genes were verified by qRT-PCR (quantitative real-time PCR) and western-blot.In K562-HUVEC co-cultured cell lines, 323 down-regulated probes were identified and the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) signaling pathway was significantly inhibited. Among the down-regulated genes, theThe knock-down of

In the present study, we characterized the microbiomes of acute leukemia (AL) patients who achieved complete remission following remission induction chemotherapy (RIC) as outpatients, but who did not receive antimicrobials to treat or prevent febrile neutropenia. Saliva and stool samples from 9 patients with acute myeloid leukemia, 11 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 5 healthy controls were subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing at baseline and at 3 months following RIC. Only patients who achieved remission at 3 months post-treatment were included. We excluded anyone who used antimicrobials within 2 months of enrollment or at any time during the study period. At baseline, the relative abundances of species of Prevotella maculosa (P=0.001), Megasphaera micronuciformis (P=0.014), Roseburia inulinivorans (P=0.021), and Bacteroides uniformis (P=0.004) in saliva and Prevotella copri (P=0.002) in the stools of controls were significantly higher than in AL patients. Following RIC, the relative abundances of Eubacterium sp. oral clone DO008 (P=0.012), Leptotrichia sp. oral clone IK040 (P=0.002), Oribacterium sp. oral taxon 108 (P=0.029), Megasphaera micronuciformis (P=0.016), TM7 phylum sp. oral clone DR034 (P

Cigarette seriously affects human health, and electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), considered as cigarette substitutes, become popular as its contribution to quit smoking. But scientific evidence about the absolute safety of e-cigarette is insufficient. Previous studies also have indicated that different dosages of cigarette can lead to different biological effects. Thus, the impact of cigarette at toxicological dose such as IC50 compared with that of e-cigarette are highly needed. In this study, we investigated the effects of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) at toxicological dose compared with e-cigarette smoke condensate (ECSC) in equivalent nicotine level. Nicotine content of CSC and ECSC were determined by UPLC. Human lung epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) were exposed to 0–32 μg/ml of CSC and ECSC for 24 h to determine IC50 of cell viability and morphological assessment. Inflammation, apoptosis, cell cycle analysis and RNA-Seq transcriptome analysis were performed to characterize the differences between CSC and ECSC. We found that acute exposure of BEAS-2B cells to CSC at IC50 leaded to morphological change, inflammatory cytokines production and cell apoptosis, while ECSC did not exert such cell effects in equivalent nicotine level. The transcriptome analysis showed that differentially expressed genes in CSC were far more than that in ECSC, and mainly enriched in the category of cell cycle, DNA repair, cancer, and metabolic related pathways. Such cell cycle arrest was further experimentally confirmed. These results suggested that toxicological dose of ECSC might be much higher than that of CSC. Based on equivalent nicotine content, an acute exposure to CSC had significant impacts on cell effects and gene expression profile compared to ECSC. Our results provided a reference for the safety studies of conventional cigarette and e-cigarette.

Podosphaera paracurvispora, a new powdery mildew species of Podosphaera sect. Podosphaera, is described and illustrated on Pyrus ussuriensis in China. Podosphaera paracurvispora differs from P. clandestina and P. leucotricha which are common causal agents of Pyrus powdery mildew in having crescent-shaped ascospores, and from P. curvispora, endemic in Japan on Sorbus spp., in having much broader pale brown ascospores. The morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses strongly suggest that the fungus is a new, undescribed species.

Euphorbia pekinensis Rupr, the Peking spurge, is a perennial grass that is planted throughout northeast China. Its roots can be used as a Chinese medicine for diuretic or purgative purposes. Some diterpenoids isolated from Euphorbia spp. show strong antitumor, antivirus, skin-irritating, and tumor-promoting activities. Some species contain chemicals that can be used as pesticides. In September and October 2009, spurge plants were seriously infected by powdery mildew fungi in Changchun Agri-Expon, Jilin Province, China. White mildew colonies appeared in early autumn and initial colonies coalesced to cover the entire upper sides of leaves, stems, and petals 3 to 4 weeks after the disease was noticed. Until late October, chasmothecia were observed on leaves and stems and the infected areas also became dark brown. Mycelium was amphigenous, in patches, white, and persistent. Conidia with distinct fibrosin bodies were ellipsoid-cylindrical, 21.6 to 33.8 × 12 to 15.6 μm, and produced in chains. Germ tubes arose near a pole of the conidia and terminated in simple, unlobed apices. Conidiophores were 59.8 to 139.9 μm; foot cells were straight to slightly flexuous, followed by one to three cells, and 24 to 48 × 8.4 to 10.8 μm. Hyphal appressoria were papillate. Chasmothecia were 70 to 95 μm in diameter, averaging 79.4 μm, and were immersed in mycelia. Mycelioid appendages (5 to 12) occurred in the lower part of the chasmothecia and were flexuous, curved, thick walled, and strongly undulate. Appendages were long (349-) 490 to 1,000 (-1,300) μm, averaging 759.4 μm. They were often densely crowded around the chasmothecia. Asci were single, sessile or short stalked, 60 to 80 × 45 to 70 μm, and eight spored. Ascospores were ellipsoid-ovoid and 16.8 to 28.8 × 10.8 to 18 μm. The fungus was identified as Podosphaera euphorbiae-helioscopiae on the basis of morphological characteristics of the anamorphic and teleomorphic stages. An herbarium specimen was deposited in the Herbarium of Mycology of Jilin Agriculture University (CJLCC100). Genomic DNA was extracted from the chasmothecia, and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and the D1/D2 domains of the 28S rDNA were amplified and sequenced (GenBank Nos. JF795490 and JF795491). The ITS sequence has 98% identity with those of Podosphaera lini, P. macularis, and P. spiraeae, and the D1-D2 sequence of 28S rDNA has 99% identity with those of P. negeri and P. spiraeae, which indicated that this fungus belongs to the genus Podosphaera, even though there is no direct sequence evidence that it is P. euphorbiae-helioscopiae. P. euphorbiae-helioscopiae has only been previously reported in Japan (2), occurring on Euphorbia helioscopia. This species is unique because of the long and curved, thick-walled appendages, and there is no comparable species (1). P. euphorbiae-hirtae and P. euphorbiae are reported to infect Euphorbiaceae plants. Both species differ from P. euphorbiae-helioscopiae in their conspicuously shorter appendages (1,3). To our knowledge, this is the first reported occurrence of powdery mildew on E. pekinensis, and P. euphorbiae-helioscopiae is new to China. This is also the first description of the anamorph of the fungus since there is no record in the Erysiphales Database. References: (1) U. Braun. Nova Hedwigia 89:1, 1987. (2) Y. Nomura. Taxonomical Study of Erysiphaceae of Japan. Yokendo LTD, Tokyo, 1997. (3) R. Y. Zheng and Y. N. Yu. Flora Fungorum Sinicorum. Vol. 1. Erysiphales. Science Press, Beijing, 1987.

This study aimed to explore role of dendritic cells (DCs) fused with endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in inhibiting angiogenesis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) mice. EPCs were isolated from human AML bone marrow mononuclear cells and fused with DCs, which were then injected back into AML mice. Changes in leukemia cells, micro-vessel density (MVD), early EPC molecular markers vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2/KDR) and CD133 in bone marrow were measured. The results indicated that CD133 and KDR expression in EPCs was significantly higher than in epithelial cells (HUVECs). There were 46.14% ± 8.21% DCs doubly positive for VEGFR2 and CD11c, and it was 8.53% ± 1.27% in co-culture group. Fusion rate of DC/EPCs was 37.61% ± 6.94%, and 35.63% ± 6.09% in DC/ECs group. Growth rate of DC/EPCs was faster than that of EPCs (P0.05). Positive expression of CD133 and VEGFR2 in bone marrow biopsies of AML mice was significantly higher than that in control mice (P

Background This meta-analysis was performed to explore the impact of minimal residual disease (MRD) prior to transplantation on the prognosis for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library was conducted for relevant studies from database inception to March 2016. A total of 21 studies were included. Results Patients with positive MRD prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) had a significantly higher rate of relapse compared with those with negative MRD (HR = 3.26; P

Table S1. Quality assessment of included studies using the Newcastleâ Ottawa Scale (maximum score of 9). (DOCX 19 kb).

The asexual stage of a powdery mildew on Chelidonium majus has been reported from various countries, but the corresponding sexual stage of this fungus has not yet been reported. In Oct 2011, many chasmothecia of this powdery mildew was found on C. majus plants growing in the campus of Jilin Agricultrual University in Changchun, China. The morphological characteristics of the asexual and sexual stages revealed this fungus as Erysiphe macleayae. A sequence of the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region including the 5.8S rRNA gene, amplified from DNA of several chasmothecia, was 99.8–100% identical to that of E. macleayae records on GenBank. This is the first report of the teleomorph of E. macleayae on C. majus.

An obviously enantioselective strategy for the recognition of mandelic acid (MA) enantiomers in the presence of Zn(II) ions on a l -cysteine ( l -Cys) self-assembled gold electrode is described. The high recognition of MA was evaluated via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. After the modified electrode interacted with R- or S-MA solution containing Zn(II) ions for 10 min, larger electrochemical response signals were observed for R-MA. Time dependencies of the enantioselective interaction for the modified electrode with the solitary Zn(II) solution and MA enantiomers solutions containing Zn(II) were also investigated. The results showed that the enantioselective recognition was caused by the selective formation of Zn complex with l -Cys and MA enantiomers. In addition, the enantiomeric composition of R- and S-MA enantiomer mixtures could be monitored by measuring the current responses of the sample.

This work reported a comparative analysis of the amperometric responses of antigen-antibody reactions on two stable chiral surfaces which were modified with 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine enantiomers. Alpha-fetoprotein antibody and antigen (anti-AFP and AFP) were selected as model systems. First, (1R,2R)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine or (1S,2S)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine was modified on the gold surface of the electrode through amide linkage to construct chiral surfaces. Then, anti-AFP was immobilized on the chiral electrode surface by electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions. The electrochemical characteristics of the modified electrodes were studied via cyclic voltammetry. The selective current responses of antigen-antibody reactions on chiral electrode surfaces for different incubation time and varying AFP concentrations were monitored. The antigen-antibody reactions were greatly influenced by the chirality of 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine enantiomers, and the amperometric responses obtained from the (1S,2S)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine modified electrode was obviously stronger than that from the (1R,2R)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine modified electrode. Such work may not only offer valuable reference to the research of chiral drugs, but also help to comprehend the high selectivity of chiral molecular species in biosystems. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This work described an interesting phenomenon of the stereoselective adsorption behaviors of DNA on stable chiral surfaces which were modified with 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine enantiomers on gold electrodes. The modification process and electrochemical characterization of the chiral surfaces were measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The stereoselective adsorption behaviors of DNA on the two chiral surfaces were investigated via atomic force microscopy (AFM), CV, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). All results confirmed that (1R,2R)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine modified surface had stronger interaction with DNA molecules than (1S,2S)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine modified surface, and the chirality of the surfaces created an different effect on the morphology and adsorption quantity of DNA.

The novel nanocomposites were obtained by covalently linking arginine enantiomers with the sidewall of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and utilized as sensing materials for biomolecular recognition in electrochemical immunoassay. They were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD). Nano-gold and Prussian Blue were employed to amplify the analytical signal responses. Prostate specific antibody/antigen and carcinoembryonic antibody/antigen were used as model systems. The results showed that the different configurations of nanocomposites could readily facilitate chiral recognition of antibodies, and D-nanocomposites displayed a larger signal.

An interesting phenomenon of the stereoselective interaction between biological macromolecule and amino acid enantiomorphous was described. Firstly, proline enantiomer (L- and D-proline) was assembled on the glassy carbon electrode surface. Then carcinoembryonic antibody (anti-CEA) was loaded to the enantiomer surface, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to monitor the growth of amino acid film. The assembly process was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) was applied to image the chiral films. Finally, the developed electrodes had interacted with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in varying concentration solutions. The AFM and amperometric results revealed that the proline enantioner had the chiral recognition function to antibody.

The paper reported that a simple chiral selective interface constructed by (1R, 2R)-2-amino-1, 2-diphenyl ethanol had been developed to discriminate tryptophan enantiomers. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used for the characteristic analysis of the electrode. The results indicated that the interface showed stable and sensitive property to determine the tryptophan enantiomers. Moreover, it exhibited the better stereoselectivity for L-tryptophan than that for D-tryptophan. The discrimination characteristics of the chiral selective interface for discriminating tryptophan enantiomers, including the response time, the effect of tryptophan enantiomers concentration, and the stability, were investigated in detail. In addition, the chiral selective interface was used to determine the enantiomeric composition of L- and D-tryptophan enantiomer mixtures by measuring the relative change of the peak current as well as in pure enantiomeric solutions. These results suggested that the chiral selective interface has the potential for enantiomeric discrimination of tryptophan enantiomers.