Iron is an essential element for plant growth and development. Iron homeostasis in plants is tightly regulated at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional level. Several bHLH transcription factors involved in iron...Iron is an essential element for plant growth and development. Iron homeostasis in plants is tightly regulated at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional level. Several bHLH transcription factors involved in iron homeostasis have been identified recently. However, their regulatory mechanisms remain unknown. In this work, we demonstrate that the transcription factor FIT interacted with AtbHLH38 and AtbHLH39 and directly conferred the expression regulation of iron uptake genes for iron homeostasis in Arabidopsis. Yeast two-hybrid analysis and transient expression in Arabidopsis protoplasts showed that AtbHLH38 or AtbHLH39 interacted with FIT, a central transcription factor involved in iron homeostasis in Arabidopsis. Expression of FIT/AtbHLH38 or FIT/AtbHLH39 in yeast cells activated GUS expression driven by ferric chelate reductase （FRO2） and ferrous transporter （IRT1） promoters. Overexpression of FITwith either AtbHLH38 or AtbHLH39 in plants converted the expression of the iron uptake genes FRO2 and IRT1 from induced to constitutive. Further analysis revealed that FRO2 and IRT1 were not regulated at the posttranscriptional level in these plants because IRT1 protein accumulation and high ferric chelate reductase activity were detected in the overexpression plants under both iron deficiency and iron sufficiency. The double overexpression plants accumulated more iron in their shoots than wild type or the plants overexpressing either AtbHLH38, AtbHLH39 or FIT. Our data support that ferric-chelate reductase FRO2 and ferrous-transporter IRT1 are the targets of the three transcription factors and the transcription of FRO2 and IRT1 is directly regulated by a complex of FIT/AtbHLH38 or FIT/AtbHLH39.展开更多
There is currently no effective medical treatment for temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis(TMJ-OA) due to a limited understanding of its pathogenesis. This study was undertaken to investigate the key role of transfo...There is currently no effective medical treatment for temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis(TMJ-OA) due to a limited understanding of its pathogenesis. This study was undertaken to investigate the key role of transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)signalling in the cartilage and subchondral bone of the TMJ using a temporomandibular joint disorder(TMD) rat model, an ageing mouse model and a Camurati–Engelmann disease(CED) mouse model. In the three animal models, the subchondral bone phenotypes in the mandibular condyles were evaluated by μCT, and changes in TMJ condyles were examined by TRAP staining and immunohistochemical analysis of Osterix and p-Smad2/3. Condyle degradation was confirmed by Safranin O staining, the Mankin and OARSI scoring systems and type X collagen(Col X), p-Smad2/3 a and Osterix immunohistochemical analyses. We found apparent histological phenotypes of TMJ-OA in the TMD, ageing and CED animal models, with abnormal activation of TGF-βsignalling in the condylar cartilage and subchondral bone. Moreover, inhibition of TGF-β receptor I attenuated TMJ-OA progression in the TMD models. Therefore, aberrant activation of TGF-β signalling could be a key player in TMJ-OA development.展开更多
Objective： Salmonella enterica remains a major cause of food-borne disease in humans, and Salmonella Typhimurium （ST） contamination of poultry products is a worldwide problem. Since macrophages play an essential ro...Objective： Salmonella enterica remains a major cause of food-borne disease in humans, and Salmonella Typhimurium （ST） contamination of poultry products is a worldwide problem. Since macrophages play an essential role in controlling Salmonella infection, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of glycyrrhizic acid （GA） on immune function of chicken HD11 macrophages. Methods： Chicken HD11 macrophages were treated with GA （0, 12.5 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, or 800 pg/ml） and lipopolysaccharide （LPS, 500 ng/ml） for 3, 6, 12, 24, or 48 h. Evaluated responses included phagocytosis, bacteria-killing, gene expression of cell surface molecules （cluster of differentiation 40 （CD40）, CD80, CD83, and CD197） and antimicrobial effectors （inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS）, NADPH oxidase-1 （NOX-1）, interferon-γ （IFN-γ）, LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α factor （LITAF）, interleukin-6 （IL-6） and IL-IO）, and production of nitric oxide （NO） and hydrogen peroxide （H202）. Results： GA increased the internalization of both fiuorescein isothiocyanate （FITC）-dextran and ST by HD11 cells and markedly decreased the intracellular survival of ST. We found that the messenger RNA （mRNA） expression of cell surface molecules （CD40, CDSO, CD83, and CD197） and cytokines （IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-10） of HD11 cells was up-regulated following GA exposure. The expression of iNOS and NOX-1 was induced by GA and thereby the productions of NO and H202 in HD11 cells were enhanced. Notably, it was verified that nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） and c-Jun N-terminal kinase （JNK） pathways were responsible for GA-induced synthesis of NO and IFN-γ gene expression. Conclusions： Taken together, these results suggested that GA exhibits a potent immune regulatory effect to activate chicken macrophages and enhances Salmonella-killing capacity.展开更多
Background：Glehnia littoralis,as a traditional herbal medicine to heal various health ailments in East Asia,displays various therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects.However,neuroprotective effects of G.l...Background：Glehnia littoralis,as a traditional herbal medicine to heal various health ailments in East Asia,displays various therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects.However,neuroprotective effects of G.littoralis against cerebral ischemic insults have not yet been addressed.Therefore,in this study,we first examined its neuroprotective effects in the hippocampus using a gerbil model of transient global cerebral ischemia （TGCI）.Methods：Gerbils were subjected to TGCI for 5 min.G.littoralis extract （GLE;100 and 200 mg/kg） was administrated orally once daily for 7 days before ischemic surgery.Neuroprotection was examined by neuronal nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry and Fluoro-Jade B histofluorescence staining.Gliosis was observed by immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1.For neuroprotective mechanisms,immunohistochemistry for superoxide dismutase （SOD） 1 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） was done.Results：Pretreatment with 200 mg/kg of GLE protected pyramidal neurons in the cornu ammonis 1 （CA1） area from ischemic insult area （F=29.770,P 〈 0.05） and significantly inhibited activationsof astrocytes （F =22.959,P 〈 0.05） and microglia （F =44.135,P 〈 0.05） in the ischemic CA1 area.In addition,pretreatment with GLE significantly increased expressions of SOD1 （F =28.561,P 〈 0.05） and BDNF （F =55.298,P 〈 0.05） in CA1 pyramidal neurons of the sham-and ischemia-operated groups.Conclusions：Our findings indicate that pretreatment with GLE can protect neurons from ischemic insults,and we suggest that its neuroprotective mechanism may be closely associated with increases of SOD 1 and BDNF expressions as well as attenuation ofglial activation.展开更多
Nitrogen is widely used to prevent the spontaneous combustion of coal in underground coal mines. A spontaneous combustion-prone coal seam was studied to investigate the restraining effect of nitrogen on coal oxidation...Nitrogen is widely used to prevent the spontaneous combustion of coal in underground coal mines. A spontaneous combustion-prone coal seam was studied to investigate the restraining effect of nitrogen on coal oxidation in different oxidation stages, based on non-isothermal thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry(TG-DSC) and electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR) experiments. We found that the key feature temperatures grow steadily with increasing nitrogen in the oxidation environment,resulting in longer oxidation stages. The most significant finding is that there is a stagnation of the inhibitory effect of nitrogen on coal oxidation in the range of 85.0–95.0% nitrogen in the slow and the rapid oxidation stages, owing to the competitive adsorption of coal by nitrogen and oxygen. However, the restraining effect cannot be reflected by the kinetic parameters of the coal before it reaches the thermal decomposition and combustion stage. Nitrogen can also affect free radical types and free radical concentrations during coal oxidation: the higher the concentration of nitrogen in the oxidation environment, the greater the number of free radical types and the lower the free radical concentration. This experimental study improves the understanding of the restraining effect of nitrogen on coal oxidation in different oxidation stages and provides an important reference for coal fire prevention in spontaneous combustionprone coal seams.展开更多
基金The authors thank ProfMary Lou Guerinot （Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire） for providing IRT1 peptide antibody and for the critical reading of the manuscript. We are also grateful to Drs Zhentao Lin and Yongfu Fu （Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing） for providing the BiFC assay system and technical supporting. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant nos, 30530460 and 30521001） and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China （Grant nos, 2005cb20904 and 2006AA 10A 105） and Chinese Academy of Sciences （Grant no. KSCX2-YW-N- 001） as well as by the Harvest Plus-China Program.
文摘Iron is an essential element for plant growth and development. Iron homeostasis in plants is tightly regulated at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional level. Several bHLH transcription factors involved in iron homeostasis have been identified recently. However, their regulatory mechanisms remain unknown. In this work, we demonstrate that the transcription factor FIT interacted with AtbHLH38 and AtbHLH39 and directly conferred the expression regulation of iron uptake genes for iron homeostasis in Arabidopsis. Yeast two-hybrid analysis and transient expression in Arabidopsis protoplasts showed that AtbHLH38 or AtbHLH39 interacted with FIT, a central transcription factor involved in iron homeostasis in Arabidopsis. Expression of FIT/AtbHLH38 or FIT/AtbHLH39 in yeast cells activated GUS expression driven by ferric chelate reductase （FRO2） and ferrous transporter （IRT1） promoters. Overexpression of FITwith either AtbHLH38 or AtbHLH39 in plants converted the expression of the iron uptake genes FRO2 and IRT1 from induced to constitutive. Further analysis revealed that FRO2 and IRT1 were not regulated at the posttranscriptional level in these plants because IRT1 protein accumulation and high ferric chelate reductase activity were detected in the overexpression plants under both iron deficiency and iron sufficiency. The double overexpression plants accumulated more iron in their shoots than wild type or the plants overexpressing either AtbHLH38, AtbHLH39 or FIT. Our data support that ferric-chelate reductase FRO2 and ferrous-transporter IRT1 are the targets of the three transcription factors and the transcription of FRO2 and IRT1 is directly regulated by a complex of FIT/AtbHLH38 or FIT/AtbHLH39.
基金supported by 2016JQ0054 and NSFC grants 81470711 to L.Z.National Key Research and Development Program of China 2016YFC1102700 to X.Z.
文摘There is currently no effective medical treatment for temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis(TMJ-OA) due to a limited understanding of its pathogenesis. This study was undertaken to investigate the key role of transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)signalling in the cartilage and subchondral bone of the TMJ using a temporomandibular joint disorder(TMD) rat model, an ageing mouse model and a Camurati–Engelmann disease(CED) mouse model. In the three animal models, the subchondral bone phenotypes in the mandibular condyles were evaluated by μCT, and changes in TMJ condyles were examined by TRAP staining and immunohistochemical analysis of Osterix and p-Smad2/3. Condyle degradation was confirmed by Safranin O staining, the Mankin and OARSI scoring systems and type X collagen(Col X), p-Smad2/3 a and Osterix immunohistochemical analyses. We found apparent histological phenotypes of TMJ-OA in the TMD, ageing and CED animal models, with abnormal activation of TGF-βsignalling in the condylar cartilage and subchondral bone. Moreover, inhibition of TGF-β receptor I attenuated TMJ-OA progression in the TMD models. Therefore, aberrant activation of TGF-β signalling could be a key player in TMJ-OA development.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31472128)
文摘Objective： Salmonella enterica remains a major cause of food-borne disease in humans, and Salmonella Typhimurium （ST） contamination of poultry products is a worldwide problem. Since macrophages play an essential role in controlling Salmonella infection, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of glycyrrhizic acid （GA） on immune function of chicken HD11 macrophages. Methods： Chicken HD11 macrophages were treated with GA （0, 12.5 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, or 800 pg/ml） and lipopolysaccharide （LPS, 500 ng/ml） for 3, 6, 12, 24, or 48 h. Evaluated responses included phagocytosis, bacteria-killing, gene expression of cell surface molecules （cluster of differentiation 40 （CD40）, CD80, CD83, and CD197） and antimicrobial effectors （inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS）, NADPH oxidase-1 （NOX-1）, interferon-γ （IFN-γ）, LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α factor （LITAF）, interleukin-6 （IL-6） and IL-IO）, and production of nitric oxide （NO） and hydrogen peroxide （H202）. Results： GA increased the internalization of both fiuorescein isothiocyanate （FITC）-dextran and ST by HD11 cells and markedly decreased the intracellular survival of ST. We found that the messenger RNA （mRNA） expression of cell surface molecules （CD40, CDSO, CD83, and CD197） and cytokines （IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-10） of HD11 cells was up-regulated following GA exposure. The expression of iNOS and NOX-1 was induced by GA and thereby the productions of NO and H202 in HD11 cells were enhanced. Notably, it was verified that nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） and c-Jun N-terminal kinase （JNK） pathways were responsible for GA-induced synthesis of NO and IFN-γ gene expression. Conclusions： Taken together, these results suggested that GA exhibits a potent immune regulatory effect to activate chicken macrophages and enhances Salmonella-killing capacity.
基金This research was supported by the grants from the Bio ＆ Medical Technology Development Program of the NRF funded by the Korean government, MSIP （No. NRF-2015M3A9B6066835）, and by the Bio-Synergy Research Project （No. NRF-2015M3A9C4076322） of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, through the National Research Foundation, and by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China （No. BK20140494）.
文摘Background：Glehnia littoralis,as a traditional herbal medicine to heal various health ailments in East Asia,displays various therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects.However,neuroprotective effects of G.littoralis against cerebral ischemic insults have not yet been addressed.Therefore,in this study,we first examined its neuroprotective effects in the hippocampus using a gerbil model of transient global cerebral ischemia （TGCI）.Methods：Gerbils were subjected to TGCI for 5 min.G.littoralis extract （GLE;100 and 200 mg/kg） was administrated orally once daily for 7 days before ischemic surgery.Neuroprotection was examined by neuronal nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry and Fluoro-Jade B histofluorescence staining.Gliosis was observed by immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1.For neuroprotective mechanisms,immunohistochemistry for superoxide dismutase （SOD） 1 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） was done.Results：Pretreatment with 200 mg/kg of GLE protected pyramidal neurons in the cornu ammonis 1 （CA1） area from ischemic insult area （F=29.770,P 〈 0.05） and significantly inhibited activationsof astrocytes （F =22.959,P 〈 0.05） and microglia （F =44.135,P 〈 0.05） in the ischemic CA1 area.In addition,pretreatment with GLE significantly increased expressions of SOD1 （F =28.561,P 〈 0.05） and BDNF （F =55.298,P 〈 0.05） in CA1 pyramidal neurons of the sham-and ischemia-operated groups.Conclusions：Our findings indicate that pretreatment with GLE can protect neurons from ischemic insults,and we suggest that its neuroprotective mechanism may be closely associated with increases of SOD 1 and BDNF expressions as well as attenuation ofglial activation.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC0807900)“Double First Rate” Independent Innovation Project of CUMT (2018ZZCX05)
文摘Nitrogen is widely used to prevent the spontaneous combustion of coal in underground coal mines. A spontaneous combustion-prone coal seam was studied to investigate the restraining effect of nitrogen on coal oxidation in different oxidation stages, based on non-isothermal thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry(TG-DSC) and electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR) experiments. We found that the key feature temperatures grow steadily with increasing nitrogen in the oxidation environment,resulting in longer oxidation stages. The most significant finding is that there is a stagnation of the inhibitory effect of nitrogen on coal oxidation in the range of 85.0–95.0% nitrogen in the slow and the rapid oxidation stages, owing to the competitive adsorption of coal by nitrogen and oxygen. However, the restraining effect cannot be reflected by the kinetic parameters of the coal before it reaches the thermal decomposition and combustion stage. Nitrogen can also affect free radical types and free radical concentrations during coal oxidation: the higher the concentration of nitrogen in the oxidation environment, the greater the number of free radical types and the lower the free radical concentration. This experimental study improves the understanding of the restraining effect of nitrogen on coal oxidation in different oxidation stages and provides an important reference for coal fire prevention in spontaneous combustionprone coal seams.
