Vegetative growth after flowering through gibberellin biosynthesis regulates pod setting rate in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.).

Pod setting rate in soybean is an important trait that determines pod number, which is highly correlated with seed yield. Using two soybean cultivars with different pod setting rates, we examined the relationship between plant growth regulation by gibberellin (GA) and pod setting rate. Plant growth rate (PGR) after flowering was significantly higher in 'Fukuyutaka' (low pod setting rate) than in 'Kariyutaka' (high pod setting rate); this difference was caused by increasing of GA biosynthesis-related genes expression. Additionally, pod setting rate in 'Fukuyutaka' was lower than that in 'Kariyutaka'. Furthermore, when 'Kariyutaka' was treated with GA after flowering, the PGR increased and pod setting rate decreased. These results suggest that pod setting rate in soybean is regulated by vegetative growth after flowering through GA biosynthesis.

Targeting colon cancer stem cells with novel blood cholesterol drug pitavastatin.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of stem cells in human cancer, including colon cancer. Pitavastatin is approved for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and has also been shown to inhibit stem cell proliferation in preliminary in vitro studies. This study was done to investigate the effects of pitavastatin on human colon carcinoma stem cells (coCSCs) in vitro and in mouse tumor xenografts in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines, SW480 and SW620, were cultured to the spheroid formation. The effects of pitavastatin on colon cancer stem cells were studied using the colorimetric MTT cell proliferation assay; quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the expression of cell cycle genes, OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG; Western blots were performed to measure MDR1. Mice were injected subcutaneously with SW480 cells; the growth of these tumor xenografts was studied using volumetric analysis following pitavastatin treatment. RESULTS: Specific cell culture medium provided conditions that resulted in the expression of colon cancer stem cell markers when compared with normal cultured cells. Colon cancer stem cells were inhibited by pitavastatin treatment. Pitavastatin reduced the expression of stem cell markers of colon cancer stem cells and induced the cell apoptosis. Pitavastatin inhibited the growth of mouse tumor xenografts. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this preliminary study have demonstrated a potential role for pitavastatin in the inhibition of stem cell proliferation in colon carcinoma. Further studies are recommended to determine the mechanism of these effects on colon carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo.

Genetic profile of tuberculosis among the migrant population in Fujian Province, China.

SETTING: The Fujian District in China has a high migrant worker population. Although tuberculosis (TB) among migrants is a serious threat to public health in Fujian, little is known about the molecular characteristics of TB isolates in this population. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the genetic profile of TB among the migrant population in Fujian. RESULTS: Our study enrolled 243 pulmonary TB patients registered in Fujian. Our data demonstrated that the Beijing genotype was the most common genotype in Fujian, and that the proportion of migrants with the Beijing genotype was significantly higher than that of permanent residents. Furthermore, the population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in Fujian was diverse, with no difference in the distribution of mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number of tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) subgroups between the migrant and permanent populations. In addition, the discriminatory power of MIRU-VNTR in this study was higher than that found in other regions of China, possibly due to the high percentage of migrants in Fujian. CONCLUSION: The Beijing genotype was the predominant genotype in Fujian. TB strains isolated from this migrant population revealed a genetic profile similar to that of the permanent population. Improvement in public medical and insurance programmes for migrants might be crucial in the effective control of TB in Fujian.

Endothelial dysfunction in normotensive salt-sensitive subjects.

Salt-sensitivity is associated with a more severe target organ injury and higher mortality, even in normotensive subjects. As endothelial dysfunction is predictive for future cardiovascular events, we evaluated whether normotensive salt-sensitive (NSS) subjects have more pronounced endothelial dysfunction compared with normotensive salt-resistant (NSR) subjects. Normotensive subjects (n=99, aged 25-50 years) were selected from a rural community in northern China. Salt sensitivity was assigned if mean BP increased by ≥10% from a 1-week high salt (18 g/day, NaCl) to low-salt diet (3 g/day, NaCl). Endothelial function was assessed by testing the flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery using high-resolution ultrasound, as well as nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels, in plasma and urine at baseline. Blood pressure at baseline was similar between NSS and NSR subjects, but diverged during salt intervention. Furthermore, FMD was significantly lower in 17 NSS subjects (10.2±2.5 vs 14.5±1.6%, P=0.037) compared with NSR subjects. In addition, average plasma NOx levels were lower in NSS subjects than NSR subjects (61.2±3.23 µM vs 82.5±1.61 µM, P=0.034). Moreover, Both FMD and plasma NOx levels were negatively correlated with the degree of salt sensitivity (r=-0.435 and r=-0.459, respectively, P<0.01). However, there was no difference in urine NOx between the two groups. Our study indicates that endothelial dysfunction could contribute to the long-term higher levels of target organ injury and higher mortality observed in NSS subjects.

Interdependent effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme and platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase gene polymorphisms on the progression of immunoglobulin A nephropathy.

In order to investigate the interdependent action of the insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene and polymorphism in exon 11 (C1136-->T; Ala379Val) of the platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) gene, which encodes a functional antagonist of PAF, on the progression of immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, we analysed both polymorphisms in patients with primary IgA nephropathy, who were followed-up for longer than 3 years. During the follow-up (87.3 +/- 50.0 months), the disease progressed in 38 of the 191 patients (19.9%). The D allele of the ACE gene in the absence of the T allele of the PAF-AH gene did not affect the prognosis [odds ratio (OR), 3.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.8-16.4] and neither did the T allele in the absence of the D allele (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 0.4-24.2). However, the presence of both was a significant prognostic factor (OR, 6.6; 95% CI, 1.4-31.3). After adjusting for other risk factors, the presence of both proved to be an independent risk factor (OR, 4.5; 95% CI, 1.6-12.7). These results suggest that the interdependent effects of ACE and PAF-AH polymorphisms on the progression of IgA nephropathy might be more important than the effect of the individual polymorphisms.