The Ca2+ signal is essential for the activation of plant defense responses, but downstream components of the signaling pathway are still poorly defined. Here we demonstrate that specific calmodulin ...(CaM) isoforms are activated by infection or pathogen-derived elicitors and participate in Ca2+-mediated induction of plant disease resistance responses. Soybean CaM (SCaM)-4 and SCaM-5 genes, which encode for divergent CaM isoforms, were induced within 30 min by a fungal elicitor or pathogen, whereas other SCaM genes encoding highly conserved CaM isoforms did not show such response. This pathogen-triggered induction of these genes specifically depended on the increase of intracellular Ca2+ level. Constitutive expression of SCaM-4 and SCaM-5 in transgenic tobacco plants triggered spontaneous induction of lesions and induces an array of systemic acquired resistance (SAR)-associated genes. Surprisingly, these transgenic plants have normal levels of endogenous salicylic acid (SA). Furthermore, coexpression of nahG gene did not block the induction of SAR-associated genes in these transgenic plants. indicating that SA is not involved in the SAR gene induction mediated by SCaM-4 or SCaM-5. The transgenic plants exhibit enhanced resistance to a wide spectrum of virulent and avirulent pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, and virus. These results suggest that specific CaM isoforms are components of a SA-independent signal transduction chain leading to disease resistance.
Severe asthma is characterized by high medication requirements to maintain good disease control or by persistent symptoms despite high medication use. The transfer of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal ...stem cells (BMDMSCs) to the injured lungs is a possible treatment for severe asthma. This study investigated the therapeutic effects of BMDMSCs in airway remodeling and inflammation in an experimental toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-induced asthma animal model of severe asthma.
BMDMSCs were transferred into rats after TDI inhalation. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cell profiles, histological changes including an inflammatory index and goblet cell hyperplasia, and the airway response to methacholine using plethysmography were analyzed. Smooth muscle actin (SMA) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein expression were observed in lung tissue using immunohistochemical staining. The collagen content was measured in lung tissue sections and lung extracts using Masson's trichrome staining and an immunoassay kit.
The numbers of inflammatory cells in BAL fluid, histological inflammatory index, airway response to methacholine, number of goblet cells, and amount of collagen were increased in TDI-treated rats compared with sham rats (P=0.05-0.002). BMDMSC transfer significantly reduced the TDI-induced increase in the inflammatory index and numbers of eosinophils and neutrophils in BAL fluid to levels seen in sham-treated rats (P<0.05). BMDMSC transfer significantly reduced the number of goblet cells, collagen deposition, and immune staining for SMA and PCNA with concomitant normalization of the airway response to methacholine.
The systemic transfer of BMDMSCs effectively reduced experimental TDI-induced airway inflammation and remodeling and airway hyperreactivity.
Chromosome 8p21-22 is a frequent site of allelic deletions in many types of human tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ...ligand-receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) is a cell-surface receptor involved in cell death signaling. The TRAIL-R2 gene recently has been mapped to chromosome 8p21-22. To explore the possibility that the TRAIL-R2 gene might be the relevant gene to the frequent deletion of 8p21-22 in NSCLC, we have analyzed the entire coding region and all splice sites of TRAIL-R2 for the detection of the somatic mutations in a series of 104 NSCLCs. Overall, 11 tumors (10.6%) were found to have TRAIL-R2 gene mutations in the death domain known to be involved in the transduction of an apoptotic signal. Our data indicate that somatic mutation of TRAIL-R2 may play a role in the pathogenesis of some NSCLCs and that the TRAIL-R2 gene is one of the genes relevant to the frequent loss of chromosome 8p21-22 in NSCLC.
In this paper, the effects of a time varying delay on a chaotic drive-response synchronization are considered. Using a delayed feedback proportional-derivative (PD) controller scheme, a ...delay-dependent synchronization criterion is derived for chaotic systems represented by the Lur’e system with sector and slope restricted nonlinearities. The derived criterion is a sufficient condition for the absolute stability of the error dynamics between the drive and the response systems. By the use of a convex representation of the nonlinearity and the discretized Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, stability condition is obtained via the LMI formulation. The condition represented in the terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) can be solved by the application of convex optimization algorithms. The effectiveness of the work is verified through numerical examples.
To determine the outcomes of Korean patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and to identify prognostic factors associated with improvement at 1-year follow-up.
Forty-eight patients with FM were enrolled and ...examined every 3 months for 1 year. At the time of enrollment, we interviewed all patients using a structured questionnaire that recorded socio-demographic data, current or past FM symptoms, and current use of relevant medications. Tender point counts and scores were assessed by thumb palpation. Patients were asked to complete the Korean versions of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Brief Fatigue Inventory, the SF-36, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Social Support Scale. Tender points, FIQ scores, and the use of relevant medications were recorded during one year of follow-up.
Of the 48 patients, 32 (66.7%) had improved FIQ scores 1 year after enrollment. Improved patients had higher baseline FIQ scores (68.4±13.9 vs. 48.4±20.8, p=0.001) and STAI-II scores (55.8±10.9 vs. 11.5±11.5, p=0.022). Patients treated with pregabalin were more likely to improve after 1 year, based on the FIQ scores (71.9% vs. 37.5%, p=0.031). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, a higher STAI-II score at the time of enrollment and pregabalin treatment during one year of follow-up were the predictors of improvement.
Two-thirds of our Korean FM patients experienced some clinical improvement by 1-year follow-up. A high baseline STAI-II score and treatment with pregabalin were the important predictor of improved FM.
1 Department of Microbiology and Research Institute for Translational System Biomics, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, 221 Heukseok-dong, Dongjak-ku, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
2 Korea ...Health Industry Development Institute, 57-1 Noryangjin-dong, Seoul 156-800, Republic of Korea
3 Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), PO Box 115, Yuseong, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
4 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90112, Thailand
Correspondence Wonyong Kim kimwy{at}cau.ac.kr
The taxonomic position of a Gram-positive coccus, designated strain CAU 28 T , isolated from activated sludge foam was determined by using a polyphasic approach. Based on its cellular morphology and the results of biochemical tests, strain CAU 28 T was identified tentatively as a member of the genus Lactococcus . Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that levels of similarity between strain CAU 28 T and the type strains of recognized Lactococcus species ranged from 90.4 to 97.2 %. DNA–DNA hybridization studies showed that strain CAU 28 T displayed less than 26.1 % relatedness to the type strains of recognized Lactococcus species. The rep-PCR fingerprints revealed that strain CAU 28 T was well separated from reference Lactococcus species. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data indicate that strain CAU 28 T represents a novel species of the genus Lactococcus , for which the name Lactococcus chungangensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CAU 28 T (=KCTC 13185 T =CCUG 55099 T ).
The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain CAU 28 T is EF694028 .
OCT4 plays a crucial role in pluripotency and self-renewal of embryonic stem cells. OCT4 is also expressed in testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs), suggesting the important function of OCT4 as an ...oncogenic factor in GCTs. To understand the molecular mechanism of human OCT4 (hOCT4) in tumorigenesis as well as stemness, we identified hOCT4 transactivation domains in human embryonic carcinoma cells. Context analyses of heterologous GAL4 and natural hOCT4 revealed that each N-terminal domain or C-terminal domain independently stimulated transcriptional activity, and that both domains are required for synergistic transactivation by deletion mapping analysis. Dose-dependent overexpression of exogenous hOCT4 significantly decreased the transcriptional activity of the hOCT4 promoter. This inhibition was reversed by the removal of one or both domains. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of hOCT4 is mediated by transactivation domains, and that the self-regulation of hOCT4 may be mediated via a negative feedback loop in pluripotent cells.
No studies have reported the long‐term effects of entecavir switching in patients with multidrug resistance who developed resistance after lamivudine/adefovir sequential therapy. We evaluated the ...efficacy of 96 weeks of entecavir therapy in patients with resistance to lamivudine/adefovir sequential therapy. In total, 33 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with evidence of active viral replication (HBV DNA levels ≥105 copies/mL) or a history of treatment failure to lamivudine/adefovir sequential therapy between April 2007 and July 2009 were treated with entecavir (1.0 mg daily) for at least 48 weeks. The rates of alanine transaminase (ALT) normalization and HBV DNA negativity were 66.7% (14/21) and 24.2% (8/33) at 48 weeks, respectively. The initial HBV DNA level was the only factor that was inversely associated with serum HBV DNA negativity after 48 weeks of entecavir therapy (P < 0.023). At 96 weeks, the rates of ALT normalization and HBV DNA negativity were 77.8% (7/9) and 16.7% (3/18), respectively. Viral breakthrough occurred in 21.2% (7/33) and 78.9% (15/19) of patients at 48 and 96 weeks, respectively. Patients who achieved a HBV DNA level of <4 log10 copies/mL at 48 weeks maintained a similar HBV DNA level and a normal ALT level until 96 weeks. Entecavir monotherapy for 96 weeks was not efficacious for patients with lamivudine/adefovir‐resistant HBV. The initial HBV DNA level was the only predictive factor for antiviral efficacy. However, patients who achieved a HBV DNA level of <4 log10 copies/mL with a normal ALT level at 48 weeks should maintain, rather than stop, entecavir therapy.
We study the thermodynamic and high-magnetic-field properties of the magnetic insulator Ba5CuIr3O12, which shows no magnetic order down to 2 K, consistent with a spin-liquid ground state. While the ...temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility and the specific heat shows only weak antiferromagnetic correlations, we find that the magnetization does not saturate up to a field of 59 T, leading to an apparent contradiction. We demonstrate that the paradox can be resolved, and all of the experimental data can be consistently described within the framework of random singlet states. We demonstrate a generic procedure to derive the exchange coupling distribution P(J) from the magnetization measurements and use it to show that the experimental data are consistent with the power-law form P(J)∼J−α with α≈0.6. Thus, we reveal that high-magnetic-field measurements can be essential to discern quantum spin-liquid candidates from disorder dominated states that do not exhibit long-range order.
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