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16S rRNA sequencing showed a decrease abundance of Akkermansia and Bilophila in Elf4-/- mice. In conclusion, intestinal ELF4 is an important host protective factor in maintaining gut homeostasis and alleviating alcohol exposure-induced hepatic steatosis and injury.Heracleum moellendorffii Hance is a non-woody forest plant widely used in China, Korea, and Japan because of its various therapeutic properties. However, the genetic details of the carotenoid pathway (CP), xanthophyll pathway (XP), and apocarotenoid pathway (AP) genes have not been studied. Thus, the CP, XP, and AP genes of H. moellendorffii were detected and analyzed. A total of fifteen genes were identified, of which eight, four, and three belonged to CP, XP, and AP, respectively. All identified genes possessed full open reading frames. Phylogenetic characterization of the identified gene sequences showed the highest similarity with other higher plants. Multiple alignments and 3D dimensional structures showed several diverse conserved motifs, such as the carotene-binding motif, dinucleotide-binding motif, and aspartate or glutamate residues. The results of real-time PCR showed that the CP, XP, and AP genes were highly expressed in leaves, followed by the stems and roots. Delanzomib Proteasome inhibitor In total, eight different individual carotenoids were identified using HPLC analysis. The highest individual and total carotenoid content were achieved in the leaves, followed by the stems and roots. This study will provide more information on the gene structure of the CP, XP, and AP genes, which may help to increase the accumulation of carotenoids in H. moellendorffii through genetic engineering. These results could be helpful for further molecular and functional studies of CP, XP, and AP genes.Tomato leaf mold disease caused by Cladosporium fulvum (C. fulvum) is one of the most common diseases affecting greenhouse tomato production. Cf proteins can recognize corresponding AVR proteins produced by C. fulvum, and Cf genes are associated with leaf mold resistance. Given that there are many physiological races of C. fulvum and that these races rapidly mutate, resistance to common Cf genes (such as Cf-2, Cf-4, Cf-5, and Cf-9) has decreased. In the field, Ont7813 plants (carrying the Cf-13 gene) show effective resistance to C. fulvum; thus, these plants could be used as new, disease-resistant materials. To explore the mechanism of the Cf-13-mediated resistance response, transcriptome sequencing was performed on three replicates each of Ont7813 (Cf-13) and Moneymaker (MM; carrying the Cf-0 gene) at 0, 9, and 15 days after inoculation (dai) for a total of 18 samples. In total, 943 genes were differentially expressed, specifically in the Ont7813 response process as compared to the Moneymaker response process. Gene ontology (GO) classification of these 943 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) showed that GO terms, including "hydrogen peroxide metabolic process (GO_Process)", "secondary active transmembrane transporter activity (GO_Function)", and "mismatch repair complex (GO_Component)", which were the same as 11 other GO terms, were significantly enriched. An analysis of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) revealed that many key regulatory genes of the Cf-13-mediated resistance response processes were involved in the "plant hormone signal transduction" pathway, the "plant-pathogen interaction" pathway, and the "MAPK signaling pathway-plant" pathway. Moreover, during C. fulvum infection, jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) contents significantly increased in Ont7813 at the early stage. These results lay a vital foundation for further understanding the molecular mechanism of the Cf-13 gene in response to C. fulvum infection.An increased life span and accompanying nutritional affluency have led to a rapid increase in diseases associated with aging, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, imposing a tremendous economic and health burden on society. Pancreatic β-cells are crucial for controlling glucose homeostasis by properly producing and secreting the glucose-lowering hormone insulin, and the dysfunction of β-cells determines the outcomes for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. As the native structure of insulin is formed within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), ER homeostasis should be appropriately maintained to allow for the proper metabolic homeostasis and functioning of β-cells. Recent studies have found that cellular senescence is critically linked with cellular stresses, including ER stress, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial stress. These studies implied that β-cell senescence is caused by ER stress and other cellular stresses and contributes to β-cells' dysfunction and the impairment of glucose homeostasis. This review documents and discusses the current understanding of cellular senescence, β-cell function, ER stress, its associated signaling mechanism (unfolded protein response), and the effect of ER stress on β-cell senescence and dysfunction.Cholesterol plays a crucial role in the brain, where its metabolism is particularly regulated by astrocytic activity. Indeed, adult neurons suppress their own cholesterol biosynthesis and import this sterol through ApoE-rich particles secreted from astrocytes. Recent evidence suggests that nerve growth factor (NGF) may exert neurotrophic activity by influencing cell metabolism. Nevertheless, the effect of NGF on glial cholesterol homeostasis has still not been elucidated. Thus, the aim of this project is to assess whether NGF could influence cholesterol metabolism in glial cells. To reach this objective, the U373 astrocyte-derived cell line was used as an experimental model. Immunoblot and ELISA analysis showed that proteins and enzymes belonging to the cholesterol metabolism network were increased upon NGF treatment in glial cells. Furthermore, NGF significantly increased ApoE secretion and the amount of extracellular cholesterol in the culture medium. Co-culture and U373-conditioned medium experiments demonstrated that NGF treatment efficiently counteracted rotenone-mediated cytotoxicity in N1E-115 neuronal cells. Conversely, neuroprotection mediated by NGF treatment was suppressed when N1E-115 were co-cultured with ApoE-silenced U373 cells. Taken together, these data suggest that NGF controls cholesterol homeostasis in glial cells. More importantly, NGF exerts neuroprotection against oxidative stress, which is likely associated with the induction of glial ApoE secretion.Biliary atresia is a severe obliterative cholangiopathy in early infancy that is by far the most common cause of surgical jaundice and the most common indicator for liver transplantation in children. With the advanced knowledge gained from different clinical trials and the development of research models, a more precise clinical classification of BA (i.e., isolated BA (IBA), cystic BA (CBA), syndromic BA (SBA), and cytomegalovirus-associated BA (CMVBA)) is proposed. Different BA subtypes have similar yet distinguishable clinical manifestations. The clinical and etiological heterogeneity leads to dramatically different prognoses; hence, treatment needs to be specific. In this study, we reviewed the clinical characteristics of different BA subtypes and revealed the molecular mechanisms of their developmental contributors. We aimed to highlight the differences among these various subtypes of BA which ultimately contribute to the development of a specific management protocol for each subtype.As integral parts of pathological arterial thrombi, platelets are the targets of pharmacological regimens designed to treat and prevent thrombosis. A detailed understanding of platelet biology and function is thus key to design treatments that prevent thrombotic cardiovascular disease without significant disruption of the haemostatic balance. Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are a group of lipid kinases critical to various aspects of platelet biology. There are eight PI3K isoforms, grouped into three classes. Our understanding of PI3K biology has recently progressed with the targeting of specific isoforms emerging as an attractive therapeutic strategy in various human diseases, including for thrombosis. This review will focus on the role of PI3K subtypes in platelet function and subsequent thrombus formation. Understanding the mechanisms by which platelet function is regulated by the various PI3Ks edges us closer toward targeting specific PI3K isoforms for anti-thrombotic therapy.A timely and efficient seed germination is critical for plantlets' establishment and robustness as well as plant development and plant performance in both natural ecosystems and agrosystems [...].Asthma is a heterogeneous disease in terms of both phenotype and response to therapy. Therefore, there is a great need for clinically applicable tools allowing for improved patient classification, and selection for specific management approaches. Some interventions are highly helpful in selected patients (e.g., allergen immunotherapy or aspirin desensitization), but they are costly and/or difficult to implement. Currently available biomarkers measurable in peripheral blood or exhaled air display many limitations for asthma phenotyping and cannot identify properly the specific triggers of the disease (e.g., aeroallergens or NSAID). The united airway concept illustrates the relevant epidemiological and pathophysiological links between the upper and lower airways. This concept has been largely applied to patient management and treatment, but its diagnostic implications have been less often explored. Of note, a recent document by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology proposes the use of nasal allergen challenge to confirm the diagnosis of allergic asthma. Similarly, the nasal challenge with lysine acetylsalicylate (L-ASA) can be used to identify aspirin-sensitive asthma patients. In this review, we will summarize the main features of allergic asthma and aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease and will discuss the methodology of nasal allergen and L-ASA challenges with a focus on their capacity to phenotype the inflammatory disease affecting both the upper and lower airways.The skin is the largest organ in the human body, comprising the main barrier against the environment. When the skin loses its integrity, it is critical to replace it to prevent water loss and the proliferation of opportunistic infections. For more than 40 years, tissue-engineered skin grafts have been based on the in vitro culture of keratinocytes over different scaffolds, requiring between 3 to 4 weeks of tissue culture before being used clinically. In this study, we describe the development of a polymerizable skin hydrogel consisting of keratinocytes and fibroblast entrapped within a fibrin scaffold. We histologically characterized the construct and evaluated its use on an in vivo wound healing model of skin damage. Our results indicate that the proposed methodology can be used to effectively regenerate skin wounds, avoiding the secondary in vitro culture steps and thus, shortening the time needed until transplantation in comparison with other bilayer skin models. This is achievable due to the instant polymerization of the keratinocytes and fibroblast combination that allows a direct application on the wound. We suggest that the polymerizable skin hydrogel is an inexpensive, easy and rapid treatment that could be transferred into clinical practice in order to improve the treatment of skin wounds.