Several metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurological disorders are characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction followed by dysregulation of cellular energetics. Mitochondria play an important role in ...ATP production and cell death regulation. NLRX1, a mitochondria-targeted protein, is known to negatively regulate innate immunity, and cell death responses. However, the role of this protein in cellular homeostasis following mitochondrial injury is not well-understood. To understand the mechanisms underlying the effect of acute injury in regulating NLRX1 signaling pathways, we used an
model of mitochondrial injury wherein, rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells were subjected to sodium azide treatment or glucose starvation. Both sodium azide and glucose starvation activated NF-κB and TBK1 associated innate immune response. Moreover, increased TBK1, IKK, IκB, and TRAF6 were recruited to mitochondria and interacted with NLRX1. Depletion of endogenous NLRX1 resulted in exacerbated NF-κB and TBK1 associated innate immune response and apoptosis. Our results suggest that NLRX1 participates in the regulation of innate immune response in mitochondria, and plays an important role in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis following acute mitochondrial injury. We propose that the mitochondrial recruitment of inflammatory mediators and their interaction with NLRX1 are protective responses to maintain cellular homeostasis following injury.
Molybdenum (Mo), as an essential trace element in plants, plays an essential role in abiotic stress tolerance of plants. To obtain a better understanding of drought tolerance enhanced by Mo, a ...hydroponic trial was conducted to investigate the effects of Mo on water utilization, antioxidant enzymes, non-enzymatic antioxidants, and osmotic-adjustment products in the Mo-efficient ‘97003’ and Mo-inefficient ‘97014’ under PEG simulated drought stress. Our results indicate that Mo application significantly enhanced Pn, chlorophyll, dry matter, grain yield, biomass, RWC and WUE and decreased Tr, Gs and water loss of wheat under drought stress, suggesting that Mo application improved the water utilization capacity in wheat. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and the contents of non-enzymatic antioxidants content such as ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione, carotenoid were significantly increased and malonaldehyde contents were decreased by Mo application under PEG simulated drought stress, suggesting that Mo application enhanced the ability of scavenging active oxygen species. The osmotic-adjustment products such as soluble protein, proline and soluble sugar were also increased by Mo application under PEG simulated drought stress, indicating that Mo improved the osmotic adjustment ability in wheat. It is hypothesized that Mo application might improve the drought tolerance of wheat by enhancing water utilization capability and the abilities of antioxidative defense and osmotic adjustment. Similarities and differences between the Mo-efficient and Mo-inefficient cultivars wheat in response to Mo under drought stress are discussed.
•Molybdenum application improved the drought tolerance of winter wheat.•Molybdenum application enhanced the water utilization ability of winter wheat.•Differential response to drought between two wheat cultivars under Mo deficiency.
Molybdenum (Mo) has been reported to alleviate drought stress by enhancing antioxidant defense in plants, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we hypothesized that Mo mediates nitric ...oxide (NO)-induced antioxidant defense through Mo-enzymes, particularly by nitrate reductase (NR) in wheat under drought stress. The 30-day-old wheat seedlings cultivated in -Mo (0 μM Mo) and +Mo (1 μM Mo) Hoagland solutions were detached and then pretreated with Mo-enzyme inhibitors, NO scavengers, NO donors or their combinations according to demands of complementary experiment under 10% polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG)-stimulated drought stress (PSD). Mo supplementation increased the activities and transcripts of antioxidant enzymes, decreased H
O
and MDA contents, and elevated NO production, implying that Mo-induced antioxidant defense may be related to NO signal. Complementary experiment showed that NO production was induced by Mo, while suppressed by Mo-enzyme inhibitors and NO scavengers, but restored by NO donors, suggesting that Mo-induced increase of NO production may be due to the regulation by Mo-enzymes. Further experiment indicated that the increased activities and transcripts of antioxidant enzymes induced by Mo were suppressed by Mo-enzyme inhibitors and NO scavengers, and NO donors could eliminate their suppressing effects. Moreover, Mo application increased NR activity and inhibitors of Mo-enzymes inhibited NR activity in wheat leaves under PSD, suggesting that NR might involve in the regulation of Mo-induced NO production. These results clearly indicate that NO mediates Mo-induced antioxidant defense at least partially through the regulation of NR.
•Potassium (K) fertilizer improved fruit quality in Cara Cara navel fruit.•K enhanced sugar accumulations by improving sucrose metabolism and sink strength.•K fertilizer increased citrate ...accumulations partially by promoting its synthesis.
Sugars and organic acid are key factors for sensory properties of fruit quality. Potassium (K) is an essential macroelement and is also known as quality element. This study aims to investigate how K affects quality improvement particularly sucrose, fructose, glucose and citrate accumulations in Cara Cara navel orange. K fertilizer increased fruit sucrose, fructose, glucose and citrate concentrations and the ratios of total soluble sugars and citrate, particularly the ratios increased more in the treatment of 0.50 kg/plant K fertilizer. These results showed that suitable amount of K fertilizer could improve fruit quality of Cara Cara navel orange. Further study showed that, at early stage of fruit development, K fertilizer played more important roles in degrading sucrose due to the increased activities of sucrose-degrading enzymes including invertase and sucrose synthase-cleavage activity. Conversely, at late stage of fruit development, K fertilizer played more important roles in re-synthesizing sucrose due to the higher activities of sucrose-synthesizing enzymes including sucrose synthase-synthetic activity and sucrose phosphate synthase. The above results suggested that the upregulations of sucrose-degrading and sucrose-synthesizing enzyme activities caused by K fertilizer were conducive to improving sucrose metabolism and sink strength, and then increased the concentrations of sucrose, fructose and glucose in fruit. K fertilizer increased the activities of citrate-synthesizing enzymes including citrate synthetase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, but had no significant impacts on the activities of citrate-degrading enzyme, indicating that K fertilizer increased citrate accumulations at least partially by promoting its synthesis. This study finally suggested that K fertilizer improved the accumulations of soluble sugar and citrate in Cara Cara navel orange.
Cadmium (Cd) is present in many soils and, when enter a food chain, represents a major health threat to humans. The existent large variation in grain Cd content amongst wheat genotypes opens ...prospects for genetic improvement for reduced Cd uptake in this species. However, selecting low-Cd-accumulating varieties comes with a possible caveat of affecting uptake other essential nutrients. In this work, we screened 134 wheat varieties in 3 various field studies and selected 15 high- and 15 low-Cd accumulating varieties in grains for ionomics analysis. Our results showed that high-Cd accumulating varieties also possessed an ability to accumulate mineral elements of calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron and zinc, while varieties with low Cd content were deficient in many essential nutrients and, especially, zinc (Zn). The above data was confirmed in an independent trail involving another 97 wheat varieties. Thus, selecting plants for high Zn accumulation (as a part of biofortification programs) resulted in an inadvertent increase in accumulation of the toxic Cd in wheat. Vice versa, selecting low Cd-accumulating varieties comes with a danger of reducing their Zn content, with major consequences to food quality and human health. We suggest that the above conundrum can be resolved by understanding the structure-function relations of various transporters isoforms involved in Zn and Cd transport and issue-specific mode of their operation, via cell-based phenotyping followed by molecular breeding.
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•15 high- and 15 low-Cd accumulating varieties were screened from 134 wheat varieties in 3 different Cd contaminated plots.•Ionomics analysis indicated that the concentration of Cd was significantly positively correlated with Zn in wheat grains.•The results provide new insights for the breeding and improvement of wheat varieties on Zn-enrichment and Cd-reduction.
•Tomato sugars and acids were differentially regulated by different K fertilizers.•K enhanced sugar accumulations by improving sucrose metabolism and transport in tomato.•K increased citrate ...accumulations by improving citrate synthesis and TCA cycle.•The accumulation of soluble sugar and organic acid exhibited specific K fertilizer-effect.
Soluble sugars and organic acids are mainly decisive factor of flavor quality in tomato. Potassium (K), an essential macroelement, plays key roles in regulation of plant growth, stress responses and fruit quality. However, the comparative effects of different K fertilizer on soluble sugars and organic acids accumulation and the differential mechanisms are still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate how K fertizliers (K_Cl, K_S) affect the accumulations of soluble sugars and organic acids in tomato fruits. The results indicated that K applications improved fruit flavor quality of tomato, as supported by the increased concentrations of soluble solid, titratable acid, fructose, glucose, sucrose (Suc), citric acid (CA) and malic acid (MA). Further study showed that K application increased the accumulations of soluble sugars by improving Suc metabolism, sink strength and Suc transport due to the increased expressions of Suc-metabolizing enzyme genes and SlSWEETs and SlSUTs in tomato. K applications increased the accumulations of MA and CA by improving CA synthesis and TCA cycle due to the increased expressions CA-metabolizing enzyme genes. Moreover, more Suc of leaves were transferred into fruits in K4_Cl treatment, which was supported by the lower concentrations of soluble sugars and higher expressions of SlSUT1 and SlSWEET11b in leaves. More carbohydrates were allocated to form yield and metabolic substrate in K4_S treatment, which was supported by the higher expressions of SlSUT4 and more differential metabolic pathway in fruits. Finally, the carbohydrates transports and allocations were involved in the differential mechanisms of soluble sugar accumulations in response to K_S and K_Cl in tomato.
Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) is a physiological mechanism by which pulmonary arteries constrict in hypoxic lung areas in order to redirect blood flow to areas with greater oxygen supply. ...Both oxygen sensing and the contractile response are thought to be intrinsic to pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells. Here we speculated that the ideal site for oxygen sensing might instead be at the alveolocapillary level, with subsequent retrograde propagation to upstream arterioles via connexin 40 (Cx40) endothelial gap junctions. HPV was largely attenuated by Cx40-specific and nonspecific gap junction uncouplers in the lungs of wild-type mice and in lungs from mice lacking Cx40 (Cx40-/-). In vivo, hypoxemia was more severe in Cx40-/- mice than in wild-type mice. Real-time fluorescence imaging revealed that hypoxia caused endothelial membrane depolarization in alveolar capillaries that propagated to upstream arterioles in wild-type, but not Cx40-/-, mice. Transformation of endothelial depolarization into vasoconstriction involved endothelial voltage-dependent α1G subtype Ca2+ channels, cytosolic phospholipase A2, and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids. Based on these data, we propose that HPV originates at the alveolocapillary level, from which the hypoxic signal is propagated as endothelial membrane depolarization to upstream arterioles in a Cx40-dependent manner.
is an opportunistic pathogen that causes serious infections and hospital-acquired pneumonia in immunocompromised patients.
accounts for up to 20% of all cases of hospital-acquired pneumonia, with an ...attributable mortality rate of ~30-40%. The poor clinical outcome of
-induced pneumonia is ascribed to its ability to disrupt lung barrier integrity, leading to the development of lung edema and bacteremia. Airway epithelial and endothelial cells are important architecture blocks that protect the lung from invading pathogens.
produces a number of virulence factors that can modulate barrier function, directly or indirectly, through exploiting cytoskeleton networks and intercellular junctional complexes in eukaryotic cells. This review summarizes the current knowledge on
virulence factors, their effects on the regulation of the cytoskeletal network and associated components, and molecular mechanisms regulating barrier function in airway epithelial and endothelial cells. A better understanding of these processes will help to lay the foundation for new therapeutic approaches against
-induced pneumonia.
Purpose
Soil fertility plays a key role in citrus productivity. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the effects of soil amendments on soil fertility and citrus productivity and estimate carbon ...fractions’ suitability, which response to soil fertility and citrus productivity.
Methods
A field experiment in a citrus orchard was conducted containing five treatments: local habit fertilization (LF), special fertilizer 25% lower NPK than LF, (SF), special fertilizer, and rice straw mulching 0%, 12.5%, and 25% NPK higher than LF (SFRS25, SFRS37.5, and SFRS50, respectively). Total organic carbon (TOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), permanganate oxidizable carbon (ROC), available N, P, K, fruit yield, and quality were analyzed.
Results
Straw mulching and special fertilizer significantly increased soil carbon fractions, such as MBC and ROC. Such treatments also enhanced the soil available N, P, and K, subsequently elevated the fruit yield. MBC, available K, and available P showed a significantly positive correlation with citrus yield. Redundancy analysis indicated that MBC and ROC significantly explained 61.87% of the variation for available nutrients, suggesting that the increase of organic carbon fractions and microbial biomass could accelerate nutrient cycling for the plant.
Conclusion
It proved that decrement application of special compound fertilizer with straw mulching raised fruit yield by altering soil carbon fractions to improve soil available nutrients or fertility. The MBC of soil labile carbon responded more sensitively to not only soil fertility but also citrus fruit yield.
This paper presents a fault-tolerant control scheme for the sensor fault in the acceleration process of the variable cycle engine. Firstly, an adaptive equilibrium manifold model with multiple inputs ...and multiple outputs is established. Combined with the Kalman filter bank, sensor fault diagnosis is carried out to realize the diagnosis and signal reconstruction of the engine in the case of a single sensor and double sensor faults. On this basis, isolation and group isolation are used to diagnose sensor faults and reconstruct signal in speed closed-loop control. Then, the control plan of the acceleration process is optimized based on the target shooting method, aiming to simulate the variation of various variables in the engine acceleration process more accurately, so as to verify the feasibility of the sensor fault-tolerant control scheme. Finally, a hardware-in-loop simulation platform is built based on the idea of distributed control, and the fault-tolerant control scheme of the sensor proposed previously is verified based on this platform. The results show that the proposed scheme can accurately diagnose the sensor faults and reconstruct the signal within 0.2 s, and the actual speed can rise from 67.87% to 99.9% in 4 s, ensuring the safe and rapid completion of the acceleration process.
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