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Acta Pharmaceutica (Zagreb, Croatia) Jun 2024The principal function of skin is to form an effective barrier between the human body and its environment. Impaired barrier function represents a precondition for the... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
The principal function of skin is to form an effective barrier between the human body and its environment. Impaired barrier function represents a precondition for the development of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis (AD), which is the most common inflammatory skin disease characterized by skin barrier dysfunction. AD significantly affects patients' quality of life, thus, there is a growing interest in the development of novel delivery systems that would improve therapeutic outcomes. Herein, eight novel lyotropic liquid crystals (LCCs) were investigated for the first time in a double-blind, interventional, before-after, single-group trial with healthy adult subjects and a twice-daily application regimen. LCCs consisted of constituents with skin regenerative properties and exhibited lamellar micro-structure, especially suitable for dermal application. The short- and long-term effects of LCCs on TEWL, SC hydration, erythema index, melanin index, and tolerability were determined and compared with baseline. LCCs with the highest oil content and lecithin/Tween 80 mixture stood out by providing a remarkable 2-fold reduction in TEWL values and showing the most distinctive decrease in skin erythema levels in both the short- and long-term exposure. Therefore, they exhibit great potential for clinical use as novel delivery systems for AD treatment, capable of repairing skin barrier function.
Topics: Humans; Liquid Crystals; Double-Blind Method; Adult; Male; Female; Administration, Cutaneous; Skin; Dermatitis, Atopic; Linseed Oil; Young Adult; Erythema; Cannabis; Middle Aged; Drug Delivery Systems; Plant Extracts
PubMed: 38815204
DOI: 10.2478/acph-2024-0014 -
MBio May 2024is a typical necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungus which can deliberately acidify host tissues and trigger oxidative bursts therein to facilitate its virulence. The...
is a typical necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungus which can deliberately acidify host tissues and trigger oxidative bursts therein to facilitate its virulence. The white collar complex (WCC), consisting of BcWCL1 and BcWCL2, is recognized as the primary light receptor in . Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms through which the WCC components, particularly BcWCL2 as a GATA transcription factor, control virulence are not yet fully understood. This study demonstrates that deletion of BcWCL2 results in the loss of light-sensitive phenotypic characteristics. Additionally, the Δ strain exhibits reduced secretion of citrate, delayed infection cushion development, weaker hyphal penetration, and decreased virulence. The application of exogenous citric acid was found to restore infection cushion formation, hyphal penetration, and virulence of the Δ strain. Transcriptome analysis at 48 h post-inoculation revealed that two citrate synthases, putative citrate transporters, hydrolytic enzymes, and reactive oxygen species scavenging-related genes were down-regulated in Δ, whereas exogenous citric acid application restored the expression of the above genes involved in the early infection process of Δ. Moreover, the expression of , a known regulator of citrate secretion, tissue acidification, and secondary metabolism, was down-regulated in Δ but not in Δ. ChIP-qPCR and electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that BcWCL2 can bind to the promoter sequences of . Overexpressing in Δ was found to rescue the mutant defects. Collectively, our findings indicate that BcWCL2 regulates the expression of the global regulator to influence citrate secretion, tissue acidification, redox homeostasis, and virulence of .IMPORTANCEThis study illustrated the significance of the fungal blue light receptor component BcWCL2 protein in regulating citrate secretion in . Unlike BcWCL1, BcWCL2 may contribute to redox homeostasis maintenance during infection cushion formation, ultimately proving to be essential for full virulence. It is also demonstrated that BcWCL2 can regulate the expression of to influence host tissue acidification, citrate secretion, infection cushion development, and virulence. While the role of organic acids secreted by plant pathogenic fungi in fungus-host interactions has been recognized, this paper revealed the importance, regulatory mechanisms, and key transcription factors that control organic acid secretion. These understanding of the pathogenetic mechanism of plant pathogens can provide valuable insights for developing effective prevention and treatment strategies against fungal diseases.
PubMed: 38814088
DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00133-24 -
Heliyon May 2024APAP (Acetaminophen)-induced hepatic injury is a major public health threat that requires continuous searching for new effective therapeutics. KSG...
APAP (Acetaminophen)-induced hepatic injury is a major public health threat that requires continuous searching for new effective therapeutics. KSG (Kaempferol-3-sophoroside-7-glucoside) is a kaempferol derivative that was separated from plant species belonging to different genera. This study explored the protective effects of KSG on ALI (acute liver injury) caused by APAP overdose in mice and elucidated its possible mechanisms. The results showed that KSG pretreatment alleviated APAP-induced hepatic damage as it reduced hepatic pathological lesions as well as the serum parameters of liver injury. Moreover, KSG opposed APAP-associated oxidative stress and augmented hepatic antioxidants. KSG suppressed the inflammatory response as it decreased the genetic and protein expression as well as the levels of inflammatory cytokines. Meanwhile, KSG enhanced the mRNA expression and level of anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10 (interleukin-10). KSG repressed the activation of NF-κB (nuclear-factor kappa-B), besides it promoted the activation of Nrf2 signaling. Additionally, KSG markedly hindered the elevation of ASK-1 (apoptosis-signal regulating-kinase-1) and JNK (c-Jun-N-terminal kinase). Furthermore, KSG suppressed APAP-induced apoptosis as it decreased the level and expression of Bax (BCL2-associated X-protein), and caspase-3 concurrent with an enhancement of anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl2 in the liver. More thoroughly, Computational studies reveal indispensable binding affinities between KSG and Keap1 (Kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1), ASK1 (apoptosis signal-regulating kinase-1), and JNK1 (c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase-1) with distinctive tendencies for selective inhibition. Taken together, our data showed the hepatoprotective capacity of KSG against APAP-produced ALI via modulation of Nrf2/NF-κB and JNK/ASK-1/caspase-3 signaling. Henceforth, KSG could be a promising hepatoprotective candidate for ALI.
PubMed: 38813141
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31448 -
Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences 2023T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a form of leukemia characterized by the proliferation of immature T lymphocytes. NOTCH1 is one of the most frequently...
BACKGROUND/AIM
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a form of leukemia characterized by the proliferation of immature T lymphocytes. NOTCH1 is one of the most frequently mutated genes in T-ALL. NOTCH1 expression in T-cell development depends on plant homeodomain finger protein 6 (PHF6), which plays a tumor suppressor role in T-ALL. Several studies have shown that PHF6 expression is essential for NOTCH1 expression. Therefore, whether posttranslational modification of PHF6 plays a role in the regulation of NOTCH1 expression and T-ALL cell line proliferation was investigated herein.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The amino acid sequence of PHF6 was analyzed and it was found that a putative protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation motif RDRS199 was conserved in several vertebrate species and the S199 site was expected to be phosphorylated according to the PhosphoSite database. Therefore, an eukaryotic expression vector of human PHF6 was constructed, and the codon 199 was changed to the codon encoding the nonphosphorylatable alanine and the phosphorylation-mimicking aspartic acid via site-directed mutagenesis. After confirming the ectopic expressions of the PHF6 vectors by western blot analysis, the effects of these proteins were identified on the NOTCH1 expression using western blot analysis, leukemic cell proliferation using MTT assay, and expressions of the cell surface markers of T-cells using flow cytometry.
RESULTS
The ectopic expression of wild-type PHF6 stimulated the formation of CD4 + T-cells. While the expression of the wild-type PHF6 suppressed the growth of the leukemic cell line, this effect was diminished in both the alanine and aspartic acid mutants of PHF6. In addition, both mutants also seemed to negatively affect the NOTCH1 expression, although the effect of the alanine mutant was more severe.
CONCLUSION
Taken together, the different biological activities exerted by the conserved S199 phosphorylation-site mutants shown in this study implicate that signaling pathway(s) leading to differential phosphorylation of this residue may have a substantial effect on the activity of PHF6, and thus may constitute a potential therapeutic target in T-ALL.
Topics: Humans; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Receptor, Notch1; Repressor Proteins; Cell Proliferation; Phosphorylation; Mutation; Cell Line, Tumor
PubMed: 38812997
DOI: 10.55730/1300-0144.5689 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2024
PubMed: 38812736
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1413659 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2024The application of autonomous navigation technology of electric crawler tractors is an important link in the development of intelligent greenhouses. Aiming at the...
The application of autonomous navigation technology of electric crawler tractors is an important link in the development of intelligent greenhouses. Aiming at the characteristics of enclosed and narrow space and uneven ground potholes in greenhouse planting, to improve the intelligence level of greenhouse electric crawler tractors, this paper develops a navigation system of electric crawler tractors for the greenhouse planting environment based on LiDAR technology. The navigation hardware system consists of five modules: the information perception module, the control module, the communication module, the motion module, and the power module. The software system is composed of three layers: the application layer, the data processing layer, and the execution layer. The developed navigation system uses LiDAR, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and wheel speed sensor to sense the greenhouse environment and the crawler tractor's information, employs the Gmapping algorithm to build the greenhouse environment map, and utilizes the adaptive Monte Carlo positioning algorithm for positioning. The simulation test of different global path planning algorithms in Matlab shows that the A* algorithm obtains the optimal overall global path. In the scene of map 5, the path planned by the A* algorithm is the most significant, and the number of inflection points is reduced by 40.00% and 87.50%, respectively; meanwhile, the path length is the same as that of the Dijkstra algorithm, but the runtime is reduced by 68.87% and 81.49%, respectively; compared with the RRT algorithm, the path length is reduced by 7.27%. Therefore, the A* algorithm and the Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) method are used for tractor navigation and obstacle avoidance, which ensures global path optimality while also achieving effective local path planning for obstacle avoidance. The test results suggest that the maximum lateral deviation of the built map is 6 cm, and the maximum longitudinal deviation is 16 cm, which meets the requirement of map accuracy. Additionally, the results of the navigation accuracy test indicate that the maximum lateral deviation of navigation is less than 13 cm, the average lateral deviation is less than 7 cm, and the standard lateral deviation is less than 8 cm. The maximum heading deviation is less than 14°, the average heading deviation is less than 7°, and the standard deviation is less than 8°. These results show that the developed navigation system meets the navigation accuracy requirements of electric crawler tractors in the greenhouse environment.
PubMed: 38812735
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1377269 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2024The large-scale planting of potatoes leads to soil degradation, thus limiting the potato yield. An effective method of improving soil quality involves the combined...
PURPOSE
The large-scale planting of potatoes leads to soil degradation, thus limiting the potato yield. An effective method of improving soil quality involves the combined application of biochar and organic fertilizer. However, the proportion of biochar and organic fertilizer at which potato yield can be improved, as well as the improvement mechanism, remain unclear.
METHODS
A combined application experiment involving biochar (B) and organic fertilizer (O) with four concentration gradients was conducted using the equal carbon ratio method. On this basis, rhizosphere soil fertility, bacterial community composition, and bacterial diversity in potato crops, as well as the potato yield difference under different combined application ratios, were investigated. Then, the direct and indirect effects of these factors on potato yield were analyzed.
RESULTS
The results suggest that soil fertility was improved by the combined application of biochar and organic fertilizer, with the best effect being achieved at a ratio of B:O=1:2. The dominant bacterial communities in the potato rhizosphere included , , , , and . When compared to the control, the relative abundance and diversity index of soil bacteria were significantly improved by the treatment at B:O=1:2, which exerted a stronger effect on improving the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria. Soil available phosphorus (AP), soil pH (SpH), and soil organic carbon (SOC) explained 47.52% of the variation in bacterial composition. Among them, the main factor was the content of soil available nutrients, while SpH generated the weakest effect. The bacterial diversity index showed a significant positive correlation with soil AP, SOC, available potassium (AK), total nitrogen (TN), and C/N ratio, and a significant negative correlation with SpH. Bacterial diversity directly affected the potato yield, while soil fertility indirectly affected potato yield by influencing the soil bacterial diversity.
CONCLUSION
The combined application of biochar and organic fertilizer elevates potato yield mainly by improving the diversity of bacterial communities in potato rhizosphere soil, especially the combined application of biochar and organic fertilizer at a 1:2 ratio (biochar 0.66 t ha+organic fertilizer 4.46 t ha), which made the largest contribution to increasing potato yield.
PubMed: 38812734
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1389864 -
Frontiers in Big Data 2024plant is a complex system that is sensible to environmental factors such as water supply, pH, temperature, light, radiation, impurities, and nutrient availability. It...
plant is a complex system that is sensible to environmental factors such as water supply, pH, temperature, light, radiation, impurities, and nutrient availability. It can be used as a biomonitor for environmental changes; however, the bioassays are time-consuming and have a strong human interference factor that might change the result depending on who is performing the analysis. We have developed computer vision models to study color variations from clone 4430 plant stamen hair cells, which can be stressed due to air pollution and soil contamination. The study introduces a novel dataset, Trad-204, comprising single-cell images from clone 4430, captured during the stamen-hair mutation bioassay (Trad-SHM). The dataset contain images from two experiments, one focusing on air pollution by particulate matter and another based on soil contaminated by diesel oil. Both experiments were carried out in Curitiba, Brazil, between 2020 and 2023. The images represent single cells with different shapes, sizes, and colors, reflecting the plant's responses to environmental stressors. An automatic classification task was developed to distinguishing between blue and pink cells, and the study explores both a baseline model and three artificial neural network (ANN) architectures, namely, TinyVGG, VGG-16, and ResNet34. revealed sensibility to both air particulate matter concentration and diesel oil in soil. The results indicate that Residual Network architecture outperforms the other models in terms of accuracy on both training and testing sets. The dataset and findings contribute to the understanding of plant cell responses to environmental stress and provide valuable resources for further research in automated image analysis of plant cells. Discussion highlights the impact of turgor pressure on cell shape and the potential implications for plant physiology. The comparison between ANN architectures aligns with previous research, emphasizing the superior performance of ResNet models in image classification tasks. Artificial intelligence identification of pink cells improves the counting accuracy, thus avoiding human errors due to different color perceptions, fatigue, or inattention, in addition to facilitating and speeding up the analysis process. Overall, the study offers insights into plant cell dynamics and provides a foundation for future investigations like cells morphology change. This research corroborates that biomonitoring should be considered as an important tool for political actions, being a relevant issue in risk assessment and the development of new public policies relating to the environment.
PubMed: 38812700
DOI: 10.3389/fdata.2024.1384240 -
Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark... May 2024DELLA protein is a crucial factor which played pivotal roles in regulating numerous intriguing biological processes in plant development and abiotic stress responses....
BACKGROUND
DELLA protein is a crucial factor which played pivotal roles in regulating numerous intriguing biological processes in plant development and abiotic stress responses. However, little is known about the function and information of DELLA protein in Chinese cabbage.
METHODS
Using 5 gene sequences in as probes, 5 genes in Chinese cabbage were identified by Blast search in Chinese cabbage database (Brassica database (BRAD)). The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), ExPaSy, SWISS-MODEL, DNAMAN, MEGA 11, PlantCARE were used to identify and analyze the gene family of Chinese cabbage. Gene expression was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The function of was verified by overexpression and phenotypic analysis of and yeast hybrid.
RESULTS
In this study, 5 homologous to were identified and cloned based on the Brassica database, namely, , , , and . All BraDELLAs contain the DELLA, TVHYNP, and GRAS conserved domains. Cis-element analysis revealed that the promoter regions of these 5 genes all contain light-responsive elements, TCT motif, I-box, G-box, and box 4, which are associated with GA signaling. Transcriptome analysis results proved that the expression of , , and in Y2 at different growth stages were lower than them in Y7, which is consistent with the phenotype that Y7 exhibited stronger stress tolerance than Y2. It is worth emphasizing that even through the overexpression of in resulted in smaller leaf size and lower fresh weight compared to the wild type (WT) Arabidopsis: Columbia, a stronger response to abiotic stresses was observed in . It indicated that can improve the stress resistance of plants by inhibiting their growth. Moreover, the yeast two-hybrid experiment confirmed that BraA10gRGL3-Y7 can interacted with BraA05gGID1a-Y7, BraA04gGID1b1, BraA09gGID1b3-Y2, and BraA06gGID1c, whereas BraA10gRGL3-Y2 cannot interact with any BraGID1.
CONCLUSIONS
Collectively, play important role in plant development and response to abiotic stress. The differences in amino acid sequences between BraA10gRGL3-Y2 and BraA10gRGL3-Y7 may result in variations in their protein binding sites, thus affecting their interaction with the BraGID1 family proteins. This systematic analysis lays the foundation for further study of the functional characteristics of genes of Chinese cabbage.
Topics: Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Plant Proteins; Arabidopsis; Brassica rapa; Stress, Physiological; Phylogeny; Arabidopsis Proteins; Gene Expression Profiling; Plants, Genetically Modified; Genes, Plant; Genome, Plant
PubMed: 38812324
DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2905198 -
Plant Methods May 2024Red raspberry fruit color is a key driver of consumer preference and a major target of breeding programs worldwide. Screening for fruit color typically involves the...
BACKGROUND
Red raspberry fruit color is a key driver of consumer preference and a major target of breeding programs worldwide. Screening for fruit color typically involves the determination of anthocyanin content and/or the assessment of color through a colorimeter. However, both procedures are time-consuming when the analyses involve hundreds or thousands of samples. The objectives of this study were to develop a high-throughput method for red raspberry puree color measurement and to test the correlations between color parameters and total anthocyanin content. Color coordinates were collected with a colorimeter on 126 puree samples contained in Petri dishes and with the Tomato Analyzer Color Test (TACT) module to assess the same samples prepared in Petri dishes and in 96-well plates. An additional 425 samples were analyzed using only 96-well plates. Total anthocyanins were extracted from all 551 samples.
RESULTS
Regression models for L*, a*, b* measured with the colorimeter and TACT using Petri dishes were all significant (p < 0.001), but very consistent only for L* (R = 0.94). Significant (p < 0.001) and very consistent regressions (R = 0.94 for L* and b*, R = 0.93 for a*) were obtained for color parameters measured with TACT using Petri dishes and TACT using plates. Of the color parameters measured with the colorimeter, only L*, a*/b*, and hue significantly correlated with total anthocyanins (p < 0.05), but, except for L* (R = - 0.79), the correlations were weak (R = - 0.23 for a*/b* and R = 0.22 for hue). Conversely, all correlations with total anthocyanins and color parameters measured with TACT were significant (p < 0.001) and moderately strong (e.g., R = - 0.69 for L* and R = 0.55 for a*/b*). These values were indicative of darker colors as total anthocyanin content increased.
CONCLUSIONS
While the colorimeter and TACT-based methods were not fully interchangeable, TACT better captured color differences among raspberry genotypes than the colorimeter. The correlations between color parameters measured with TACT and total anthocyanins were not strong enough to develop prediction models, yet the use of TACT with 96-well plates instead of Petri dishes would enable the high-throughput measurement of red raspberry puree color.
PubMed: 38812007
DOI: 10.1186/s13007-024-01197-0