Extensively Current Activity of Transposable Elements in Natural Rice Accessions Revealed by Singleton Insertions.

Active transposable elements (TEs) have drawn more attention as they continue to create new insertions and contribute to genetic diversity of the genome. However, only a few have been discovered in rice up to now, and their activities are mostly induced by artificial treatments (e.g., tissue culture, hybridization etc.) rather than under normal growth conditions. To systematically survey the current activity of TEs in natural rice accessions and identify rice accessions carrying highly active TEs, the transposon insertion polymorphisms (TIPs) profile was used to identify singleton insertions, which were unique to a single accession and represented the new insertion of TEs in the genome. As a result, 10,924 high-confidence singletons from 251 TE families were obtained, covering all investigated TE types. The number of singletons varied substantially among different superfamilies/families, perhaps reflecting distinct current activity. Particularly, eight TE families maintained potentially higher activity in 3,000 natural rice accessions. Sixty percent of rice accessions were detected to contain singletons, indicating the extensive activity of TEs in natural rice accessions. Thirty-five TE families exhibited potentially high activity in at least one rice accession, and the majority of them showed variable activity among different rice groups/subgroups. These naturally active TEs would be ideal candidates for elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the transposition and activation of TEs, as well as investigating the interactions between TEs and the host genome.

Kainate receptor mediated presynaptic LTP in agranular insular cortex contributes to fear and anxiety in mice.

Anxiety disorders represent serious social problems worldwide. Recent neuroimaging studies have found that elevated activity and altered connectivity of the insular cortex might account for the negative emotional states in highly anxious individuals. However, the exact synaptic mechanisms of specific insular subregions have yet to be studied in detail. To assess the electrophysiological properties of agranular insular cortex (AIC) neurons, basic synaptic transmission was recorded and different protocols were used to induce presynaptic and postsynaptic long-term potentiation in mice with anxiety-related behaviors. The presynaptic membrane expression of kainate receptors (KARs) and pharmacologic manipulations were quantified to examine the role of Gluk1 subtype in anxiety-like behaviors. Fear conditioning occludes electrically induced postsynaptic-LTP in the AIC. Quantal analysis of LTP expression in this region revealed a significant presynaptic component reflected by an increase in the probability of transmitter release. A form of presynaptic-LTP that requires KARs has been characterized. Interestingly, a simple emotional anxiety stimulus resulted in selective occlusion of presynaptic-LTP, but not of postsynaptic-LTP. Finally, injecting GluK1-specific antagonists into the AIC reduced behavioral responses to fear or anxiety stimuli in the mouse. These findings suggest that activity-dependent synaptic plasticity takes place in the AIC due to exposure to fear or anxiety, and inhibiting the presynaptic KAR function may help to prevent or treat anxiety disorder.

Advance in studies on antitumor and immunomodulatory effects of wogonin / 中国中药杂志

Wogonin is a kind of natural flavonoid compound. According to findings in the latest studies, wogonin shows a wide range of antitumor effects, with the characteristics of multi-pathway, multi-link and multi-target, such as promoting tumor cell apoptosis through ROS or Ca(2+)-mediated signal paths, enhancing tumor cytotoxicity by TNF-α and TRAIL, blocking tumor cell cycle, inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and resisting cancer synergistically with chemotherapeutic drugs. Moreover, Wogonin could enhance body immune function by enhancing immune cell infiltration, regulating the immune cell phenotype and promoting relevant cytokine secretion. In this paper, the authors summarized the advance in studies on wogonin's antitumor and immunomodulatory effects.

Association of MICA gene polymorphism and serum soluble MICA level with colorectal cancer / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate whether the major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A gene (MICA) polymorphism and serum soluble MICA level were associated with the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>DNA samples from 117 colorectal cancer patients and 113 healthy individuals from Yangzhou in Jiangsu province were genotyped by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence-specific primer (SSP) method and PCR based sequencing. In addition, polymorphism at position 129 was also analyzed by PCR-SSP. Serum levels of soluble MICA were measured by a sandwich ELISA method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Neither the extracellular nor the transmembrane region polymorphisms of MICA gene were associated with the occurrence and the different stages of colorectal cancer. In contrast, the frequency of the methionine residue at position 129 was significantly decreased in the patient group. Soluble MICA levels in sera were increased in the late stages of colorectal cancer.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Although there was no genetic susceptibility attributed to MICA gene polymorphism with regard to development of colorectal cancer, serum levels of soluble MICA may be a diagnostic marker of advanced stages.</p>

Correlation of Helicobacter pylori infection with the expression of COX-2 and EGFR and VEGF in human gastric carcinoma / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the correlation of Helicobactor pylori (Hp) infection with the expression of COX-2, EGFR and VEGF in human gastric carcinoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of COX-2, EGFR and VEGF was detected by immunohistochemistry in samples of 61 gastric cancers and 20 cancer-adjacent tissues. Western blotting was performed in samples of 10 gastric cancers and corresponding cancer-adjacent tissues. Hp infection was detected in 47 patients by fast urea enzyme test and (13)C breath test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the positive expressions of COX-2, EGFR and VEGF in gastric carcinoma were 59.02%, 36.07% and 60.66%, respectively, significantly higher than that in the normal mucosa (25.00%, 0 and 30.00%, respectively). There was a positive correlation between the expression of COX-2, EGFR and VEGF and gastric carcinoma. The expression of COX-2 and EGFR was 75.76% and 45.45% in the gastric carcinomas with Hp infection, significantly higher than that in those without (28.57% and 14.29%). The protein expression of COX-2, EGFR and VEGF detected by Western blot in gastric carcinomas was also significantly higher than that in normal mucosa.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>COX-2, EGFR and VEGF are overexpressed in gastric carcinoma, and there is a positive correlation among them. Hp infection may upregulate the expression of COX-2 and EGFR in gastric cancer tissues.</p>