Genetic relationships analysis of olive cultivars grown in China.

The olive tree is an iconic tree of the Mediterranean, and is used extensively to produce high-quality olive oil. Although the China olive industry has just begun to be valued, there were also existed mislabeling and synonyms in introduced cultivars. The aim of this study was to analyze genetic similarities among olive cultivars in China using SSR and ISSR techniques. Thirty-two samples were collected from Xichang. Five of these cultivars were issued from a Chinese breeding program. Genomic DNA samples were extracted from young leaves and PCR was used to generate SSR and ISSR markers. A total of 107 polymorphic bands were detected on thirteen SSR loci, with an average of eight alleles per locus. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.785 (DCA03) to 0.990 (GAPU47), and the expected heterozygosity varied between 0.782 (DCA03) and 0.940 (GAPU103A). The discrimination power ranged from 0.57 to 0.83, while the polymorphism information content values ranged from 0.768 (DCA03) to 0.934 (GAPU103A). Nine ISSR primers generated 85 reproducible bands of which 78 (91.8%) were polymorphic. Based on our data, genetic similarity between cultivars ranged from 0.57 to 0.83. Cluster analysis revealed that 32 cultivars were clustered into six groups, which supports similar morphology such as use, oil content and fruit weight but not similar geographical origins. Our data also allow the identification of unknown cultivars and cases of synonyms.

Intravascular beta-amyloid infusion increases blood pressure: implications for a vasoactive role of beta-amyloid in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Hypertension has been recognized as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, serum beta-amyloid (A beta) levels are elevated in several mutations linked to familial AD, as well as in some sporadic AD individuals. To determine the in vivo effects of A beta on blood pressure, A beta(1-40) was infused intra-arterially into anesthetized rats. For all animals, strong correlations exist between pre-infusion mean arterial blood pressure (MA beta) and post-arterial infusion increases in blood pressure. In spontaneously hypotensive animals, A beta infusion resulted in substantial increases in MA beta compared to vehicle distilled water infusion. A beta(1-40) was also able to accelerate MA beta return from induced hypotension, but infusion of A beta(1-42), or rat amylin had no such effect. These results provide evidence that circulating A beta(1-40) can exert vasopressor actions in vivo. Moreover, they suggest a pathophysiologic role for vascular A beta in AD that precedes A beta deposition and dementia onset.

Intravascular infusions of soluble beta-amyloid compromise the blood-brain barrier, activate CNS glial cells and induce peripheral hemorrhage.

Vascular wall levels of soluble beta-amyloid1-40 (Abeta1-40) are elevated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, plasma Abeta levels are increased in familial AD, as well as in some cases of sporadic AD. To determine the histopathologic and behavioral consequences of elevated vascular Abeta levels, Abeta1-40 (50 micrograms in distilled water) or vehicle was intravenously infused twice daily into 3-month old male Sprague-Dawley rats for 2 weeks. Intravenous Abeta infusions impaired blood-brain barrier integrity, as indicated by substantial perivascular and parenchyma IgG immunostaining within the brain. Also evident in Abeta-infused animals was an increase in GFAP immunostaining around cerebral blood vessels, and an enhancement of OX-42 microglial immunostaining in brain white matter. Gross pulmonary hemorrhage was noted in most Abeta-infused animals. All the observed changes occurred in the absence of Congo red birefringence. No significant cognitive deficits were present in Abeta-infused animals during water maze acquisition and retention testing, which was conducted during the second week of treatment. These results indicate that circulating Abeta can: (1) induce vessel dysfunction/damage in both the brain and the periphery without complex Abeta fibril formation/deposition, and (2) induce an activation of brain astrocytes and microglia. Taken together, our results suggest that if circulating Abeta is elevated in AD, it is likely to have a pathophysiologic role.

Preventive actions of a synthetic antioxidant in a novel animal model of AIDS dementia.

Accumulating evidence indicates that the mechanism for causing AIDS dementia complex (ADC) involves the release of damaging inflammatory-related agents by HIV-infected microglia in the brain resulting in CNS oxidative damage. One such agent, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is consistently elevated in the brains of ADC patients compared to non-demented HIV patients. To model this aspect of ADC in rats, chronic ventricular infusions of TNF-alpha were given and found to induce several aspects of ADC, including weight loss, learning/memory impairment, enlarged lateral ventricles, and increased apoptosis. Concurrent oral treatment with the antioxidant CPI-1189 prevented all of these TNF-alpha induced effects. The results support TNF-alpha as a key toxic agent in ADC and provide the first in vivo evidence that chronic treatment with a synthetic antioxidant may protect HIV-infected patients against ADC. Our findings may also have implications in other neurological diseases where brain TNF-alpha levels are elevated and inflammation/oxidative stress is suspected to be a contributing cause, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.