The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade is a highly conserved signaling transduction module that transduces extracellular stimuli into intracellular responses in plants. Early studies of ...plant MAPKs focused on their functions in model plants. Based on the results of whole-genome sequencing, many MAPKs have been identified in horticultural plants, such as tomato and apple. Recent studies revealed that the MAPK cascade also plays crucial roles in the biotic and abiotic stress responses of horticultural plants. In this review, we summarize the composition and classification of MAPK cascades in horticultural plants and recent research on this cascade in responses to abiotic stresses (such as drought, extreme temperature and high salinity) and biotic stresses (such as pathogen infection). In addition, we discuss the most advanced research themes related to plant MAPK cascades, thus facilitating research on MAPK cascade functions in horticultural plants.
Background
The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is rapidly increasing worldwide in decade when screening of colorectal cancer (CRC) is more prevalent. The clinicopathological and ...molecular characteristics of EOCRC have not yet been clarified. This study aims to evaluate clinicopathological and molecular features among EOCRC and late-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC) patients according to different tumor locations.
Methods
We identified CRC patients from a prospectively maintained CRC database between January 2015 and December 2018. The clinicopathological and molecular characteristics including dMMR, mutation of
PIK3CA
,
BRAF
and
KRAS
were compared between EOCRC and LOCRC. The relationships according to different tumor locations were assessed.
Results
Totally 4468 patients were analyzed in this study. Compared to LOCRC patients, EOCRC patients were more likely to have status of dMMR (OR, 2.52;
P
< 0.001), regardless of tumor location. EOCRC patients were more likely to be detected with mutation of
PIK3CA
(OR, 1.24;
P
= 0.041), which only tended to exist in the left-side colon (OR, 1.51;
P
= 0.06), but not in the right-side colon or rectum. No significant difference was found for
BRAF
or
KRAS
mutation, but mutation of
KRAS
was more frequently found in left-side colon (OR, 1.34;
P
= 0.04) among EOCRC patients.
Conclusion
Status of dMMR, mutat
i
on of
PI
K3
CA
,
BRAF
and
KRAS
was different between EOCRC and LOCRC patients according to different tumor locations, which implied that EOCRC might be a unique subgroup of CRC patients. Further investigations of molecular and genetic differences should be performed to help define new diagnosing and therapeutical strategies for EOCRC patients.
Essential oils (EOs) have been shown to have a diversity of beneficial human health effects.
is a large and highly diverse genus of plants with medicinal and cosmetic significance. The aim of this ...study was to analyze the composition of
EOs and to investigate their potential antifungal effects. The chemical compositions of
EOs obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 101 compounds were identified among the diverse extracts of
. EOs of leaves and pericarps from different cultivars (Hainan local wampee and chicken heart wampee) collected in Hainan (China) were classified into four clusters based on their compositions. These clusters showed different antifungal activities against five
species (
,
,
,
and
) using the disc diffusion method.
EOs of pericarps displayed noteworthy antifungal activitives against all the tested
strains with inhibition zone diameters in the range of 11.1–23.1 mm. EOs of leaves showed relatively low antifungal activities with inhibition zone diameters in the range of 6.5–22.2 mm. The rank order of antifungal activities among the four EO clusters was as follows: Cluster IV> Cluster III > Cluster I ≥ Cluster II. These results represent the first report about the correlation between chemical composition of
EOs and antifungal activity. Higher contents of β-phellandrene, β-sesquiphellandrene and β-bisabolene in EOs of pericarps were likely responsible for the high antifungal activity of Cluster IV EOs. Taken together, our results demonstrate the chemical diversity of
EOs and their potential as novel antifungal agents for candidiasis caused by
spp. Furthermore, the obtained results showing a wide spectrum of antifungal activities provide scientific evidence for the traditional use of these plants.
Current guidelines only propose the importance of perineural invasion(PNI) on prognosis in stage II colon cancer. However, the prognostic value of PNI in other stages of colorectal cancer (CRC) is ...ambiguous.
This single-center retrospective cohort study included 3485 CRC patients who underwent primary colorectal resection between January 2013 and December 2016 at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. Associations of PNI with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. In addition, interaction analyses were performed to explore the prognostic effects of PNI in different clinical subgroups.
After median follow-up of 61.9 months, we found PNI was associated with poorer OS (adjusted hazard ratio aHR, 1.290; 95% CI, 1.087-1.531) and DFS (aHR, 1.397; 95% CI, 1.207-1.617), irrespective of tumor stage. Interestingly, the weight of PNI was found second only to incomplete resection in the nomogram for risk factors of OS and DFS in stage II CRC patients. Moreover, OS and DFS were insignificantly different between stage II patients with PNI and stage III patients (both P > 0.05). PNI was found to be an independent prognostic factor of DFS in stage III CRC (aHR: 1.514; 95% CI, 1.211-1.892) as well. Finally, the adverse effect of PNI on OS was more significant in female, early-onset, and diabetes-negative patients than in their counterparts (interaction P = 0.0213, 0.0280, and 0.0186, respectively).
PNI was an important prognostic factor in CRC, more than in stage II. The survival of patients with stage II combined with perineural invasion is similar with those with stage III. PNI in stage III CRC also suggests a worse survival.
Infections caused by
(
) and increasing resistance to commonly used drugs lead to a variety of mucosal diseases and systemic infectious diseases. We previously confirmed that the essential oil of
...(Lour.) Skeels seeds (CSEO) had antifungal activity against
, but the detailed mechanism between the chemical components and antifungal activity is unclear. In this study, a quantitative analysis of five volatile components of CSEO, including sabinene,
-phellandrene,
-phellandrene, 4-terpineol, and
-caryophyllene, was carried out using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. Both the broth dilution and kinetic growth methods proved that the antifungal activity of CSEO against fluconazole-resistant
was better than that of its main components (sabinene and 4-terpineol). To further investigate the inhibitory mechanism, the transcriptional responses of
to CSEO, sabinene, and 4-terpineol treatment were determined based on RNA-seq. The Venn diagram and clustering analysis pattern of differential expression genes showed the mechanism of CSEO and 4-terpineol's anti-
activity might be similar from the perspective of the genes. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that CSEO regulated adherence-, hyphae-, and biofilm-formation-related genes, which may be CSEO's active mechanism of inhibiting the growth of fluconazole-resistant
. Overall, we preliminarily revealed the molecular mechanism between the chemical components and the antifungal activity of CSEO against
This study provides new insights to overcome the azole resistance of
and promote the development and application of
(Lour.) Skeels seeds.
The vesicular transport system is important for substance transport in plants. In recent years, the regulatory relationship between the vesicular transport system and plant disease resistance has ...received widespread attention; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. MdSYP121 is a key protein in the vesicular transport system. The overexpression of MdSYP121 decreased the B. dothidea resistance of apple, while silencing MdSYP121 resulted in the opposite phenotype. A metabolome and transcriptome dataset analysis showed that MdSYP121 regulated apple disease resistance by significantly affecting sugar metabolism. HPLC results showed that the levels of many soluble sugars were significantly higher in the MdSYP121-OE calli. Furthermore, the expression levels of genes related to sugar transport were significantly higher in the MdSYP121-OE calli after B. dothidea inoculation. In addition, the relationships between the MdSYP121 expression level, the soluble sugar content, and apple resistance to B. dothidea were verified in an F1 population derived from a cross between ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Fuji Nagafu No. 2’. In conclusion, these results suggested that MdSYP121 negatively regulated apple resistance to B. dothidea by influencing the soluble sugar content. These technologies and methods allow us to investigate the molecular mechanism of the vesicular transport system regulating apple resistance to B. dothidea.
Clausena lansium (Lour.) Skeels seeds have been shown to have diverse beneficial medical value due to their unique active components. This study analysed the composition of essential oils (EOs) of C. ...lansium seeds and investigated their potential antifungal effects against Candida strains. A total of forty-six components were identified in all samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main components were sabinene, β-phellandrene and 4-terpineol. Thirteen EOs of C. lansium seeds were classified into three clusters based on their components. Cluster analysis showed that the difference between the tropics and subtropics was the greatest. These EOs and the three main chemicals showed different antifungal activities against five Candida species (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. krusei and C. parapsilosis). The antifungal activity against C. glabrata and C. krusei was higher than that against other Candida strains. EOs of C. lansium seeds displayed noteworthy antifungal activity against both sensitive and fluconazole-resistant strains, with inhibition zone diameters in the range of 9.4-23.4 mm. Comprehensive analysis illustrated the importance of sabinene, β-phellandrene and 4-terpineol to antifungal activity, and there may be some synergistic effects with other components. These results represent the first report about the correlation between the chemical composition of EOs of C. lansium seeds and antifungal activity. Taken together, the results obtained provide scientific evidence for the traditional use of C. lansium seeds waste.
Adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) play a vital role in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression, but the mechanism remains largely unknown. Herein, we found that ADSCs isolated from CRC patients produced ...more cysteine‐rich 61 (Cyr61) than those from healthy donors, and the elevated serum Cyr61 levels were associated with advanced TNM stages. Moreover, serum Cyr61 displayed a better diagnostic value for CRC compared to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA19‐9). Mechanistically, integrin αVβ5 was identified as the functional receptor by which Cyr61 promotes CRC cell metastasis in vitro and in vivo by activating the αVβ5/FAK/NF‐κB signaling pathway. In addition, Cyr61 promotes vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation, thereby promoting tumor growth and metastasis through a αVβ5/FAK/HIF‐1α/STAT3/MMP2 signaling cascade. Histologically, xenografts and clinical samples of CRC both exhibited VM, which was correlated with HIF‐1α and MMP2 activation. Notably, we demonstrated the synergistic effect of combined anti‐VM therapy (integrin αVβ5 inhibitor) and anti‐VEGF therapy (bevacizumab) in patient‐derived xenograft models. Further investigation showed that CRC cell‐derived exosomal STAT3 promoted Cyr61 transcription in ADSCs. These findings indicate that Cyr61 derived from ADSCs plays a critical role in promoting CRC progression via integrin αVβ5 and provides a novel antitumor strategy by targeting Cyr61/αVβ5.
Cysteine‐rich 61 (Cyr61) derived from adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) promotes colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis and vasculogenic mimicry via binding to the integrin αVβ5 receptor and activating the FAK signaling pathway. In turn, CRC cell‐derived exosomal STAT3 and p‐STAT3 promote Cyr61 transcription in ADSCs. These findings suggest that targeting of Cyr61/αVβ5 may serve as a novel antitumor strategy in patients with CRC.
Spontaneous coronary artery rupture (SCAR) is an extremely rare, life-threatening entity without any previous underlying diseases. The clinical presentation may differ according to the site of the ...rupture and some patients may deteriorate early into sudden death due to the abrupt evolution of the associated cardiac tamponade and cardiogenic shock.1) The correct diagnosis of SCAR deserves a high level of suspicion. It may be confirmed as a differential diagnosis in patients with cardiac tamponade using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and computed tomography angiography (CTA) following emergency pericardiocentesis, and a definite diagnosis can be achieved by selective angiography. Although SCAR is associated with a dismal prognosis, some patients have recovered through emergency surgical operations or catheter interventions.2) We report the case of a patient presenting cardiac tamponade and cardiogenic shock due to spontaneous rupture of the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery, which was successfully isolated by bilateral ligation.
Screening for early‐stage disease is vital for reducing colorectal cancer (CRC)‐related mortality. Methylation of circulating tumor DNA has been previously used for various types of cancer screening. ...A novel cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) methylation‐based model which can improve the early detection of CRC is warranted. For our study, we collected 313 tissue and 577 plasma samples from patients with CRC, advanced adenoma (AA), non‐AA and healthy controls. After quality control, 187 tissue DNA samples (91 non‐malignant tissue from CRC patients, 26 AA and 70 CRC) and 489 plasma cfDNA samples were selected for targeted DNA methylation sequencing. We further developed a cfDNA methylation model based on 11 methylation biomarkers for CRC detection in the training cohort (area under curve AUC = 0.90 (0.85–0.94) and verified the model in the validation cohort (AUC = 0.92 0.88–0.96). The cfDNA methylation model robustly detected patients pre‐diagnosed with early‐stage CRC (AUC = 0.90 0.86–0.95) or AA (AUC = 0.85 0.78–0.91). Here we established and validated a non‐invasive cfDNA methylation model based on 11 DNA methylation biomarkers for the detection of early‐stage CRC and AA. The utilization of the model in clinical practice may contribute to the early diagnosis of CRC.
Cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) methylation is promising for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. In this study, after DNA methylation sequencing of tissue and plasma samples, we established a cfDNA methylation model based on 11 DNA methylation biomarkers for the detection of early‐stage CRC and advanced adenoma. The utilization of the model may contribute to the non‐invasive early diagnosis of CRC.
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