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Sample records for force induces gene

  1. Induced Polarization Influences the Fundamental Forces in DNA Base Flipping

    OpenAIRE

    Lemkul, Justin A.; Savelyev, Alexey; MacKerell, Alexander D.

    2014-01-01

    Base flipping in DNA is an important process involved in genomic repair and epigenetic control of gene expression. The driving forces for these processes are not fully understood, especially in the context of the underlying dynamics of the DNA and solvent effects. We studied double-stranded DNA oligomers that have been previously characterized by imino proton exchange NMR using both additive and polarizable force fields. Our results highlight the importance of induced polarization on the base...

  2. Interrelation between striction forces in dielectrics and optically induced forces in transparent media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torchigin, V P; Torchigin, A V

    2012-01-01

    Optically induced forces applied to a transparent optical medium, which is inserted in a closed plane optical resonator, are calculated by means of an analysis of the changes in the eigenfrequency and energy stored in the resonator at various positions of the medium. These forces are compared with striction forces applied to the medium considered as a dielectric placed in an alternate electrical field within the resonator. It is shown that the optically induced forces are equal to the striction forces. The results of using the classical formula for striction forces in electrostatics are considered. (paper)

  3. Orthodontic Forces Induce the Cytoprotective Enzyme Heme Oxygenase-1 in Rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suttorp, Christiaan M.; Xie, Rui; Lundvig, Ditte M. S.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie; Uijttenboogaart, Jasper Tom; Van Rheden, René; Maltha, Jaap C.; Wagener, Frank A. D. T. G.

    2016-01-01

    Orthodontic forces disturb the microenvironment of the periodontal ligament (PDL), and induce craniofacial bone remodeling which is necessary for tooth movement. Unfortunately, orthodontic tooth movement is often hampered by ischemic injury and cell death within the PDL (hyalinization) and root resorption. Large inter-individual differences in hyalinization and root resorption have been observed, and may be explained by differential protection against hyalinization. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) forms an important protective mechanism by breaking down heme into the strong anti-oxidants biliverdin/bilirubin and the signaling molecule carbon monoxide. These versatile HO-1 products protect against ischemic and inflammatory injury. We postulate that orthodontic forces induce HO-1 expression in the PDL during experimental tooth movement. Twenty-five 6-week-old male Wistar rats were used in this study. The upper three molars at one side were moved mesially using a Nickel-Titanium coil spring, providing a continuous orthodontic force of 10 cN. The contralateral side served as control. After 6, 12, 72, 96, and 120 h groups of rats were killed. On parasagittal sections immunohistochemical staining was performed for analysis of HO-1 expression and quantification of osteoclasts. Orthodontic force induced a significant time-dependent HO-1 expression in mononuclear cells within the PDL at both the apposition- and resorption side. Shortly after placement of the orthodontic appliance HO-1 expression was highly induced in PDL cells but dropped to control levels within 72 h. Some osteoclasts were also HO-1 positive but this induction was shown to be independent of time- and mechanical stress. It is tempting to speculate that differential induction of tissue protecting- and osteoclast activating genes in the PDL determine the level of bone resorption and hyalinization and, subsequently, “fast” and “slow” tooth movers during orthodontic treatment. PMID:27486402

  4. Orthodontic Forces Induce the Cytoprotective Enzyme Heme Oxygenase-1 in Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suttorp, Christiaan M; Xie, Rui; Lundvig, Ditte M S; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie; Uijttenboogaart, Jasper Tom; Van Rheden, René; Maltha, Jaap C; Wagener, Frank A D T G

    2016-01-01

    Orthodontic forces disturb the microenvironment of the periodontal ligament (PDL), and induce craniofacial bone remodeling which is necessary for tooth movement. Unfortunately, orthodontic tooth movement is often hampered by ischemic injury and cell death within the PDL (hyalinization) and root resorption. Large inter-individual differences in hyalinization and root resorption have been observed, and may be explained by differential protection against hyalinization. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) forms an important protective mechanism by breaking down heme into the strong anti-oxidants biliverdin/bilirubin and the signaling molecule carbon monoxide. These versatile HO-1 products protect against ischemic and inflammatory injury. We postulate that orthodontic forces induce HO-1 expression in the PDL during experimental tooth movement. Twenty-five 6-week-old male Wistar rats were used in this study. The upper three molars at one side were moved mesially using a Nickel-Titanium coil spring, providing a continuous orthodontic force of 10 cN. The contralateral side served as control. After 6, 12, 72, 96, and 120 h groups of rats were killed. On parasagittal sections immunohistochemical staining was performed for analysis of HO-1 expression and quantification of osteoclasts. Orthodontic force induced a significant time-dependent HO-1 expression in mononuclear cells within the PDL at both the apposition- and resorption side. Shortly after placement of the orthodontic appliance HO-1 expression was highly induced in PDL cells but dropped to control levels within 72 h. Some osteoclasts were also HO-1 positive but this induction was shown to be independent of time- and mechanical stress. It is tempting to speculate that differential induction of tissue protecting- and osteoclast activating genes in the PDL determine the level of bone resorption and hyalinization and, subsequently, "fast" and "slow" tooth movers during orthodontic treatment.

  5. Enhanced contractile force generation by artificial skeletal muscle tissues using IGF-I gene-engineered myoblast cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Masanori; Ito, Akira; Kawabe, Yoshinori; Nagamori, Eiji; Kamihira, Masamichi

    2011-09-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate whether insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I gene delivery to myoblast cells promotes the contractile force generated by hydrogel-based tissue-engineered skeletal muscles in vitro. Two retroviral vectors allowing doxycycline (Dox)-inducible expression of the IGF-I gene were transduced into mouse myoblast C2C12 cells to evaluate the effects of IGF-I gene expression on these cells. IGF-I gene expression stimulated the proliferation of C2C12 cells, and a significant increase in the growth rate was observed for IGF-I-transduced C2C12 cells with Dox addition, designated C2C12/IGF (Dox+) cells. Quantitative morphometric analyses showed that the myotubes induced from C2C12/IGF (Dox+) cells had a larger area and a greater width than control myotubes induced from normal C2C12 cells. Artificial skeletal muscle tissues were prepared from the respective cells using hydrogels composed of type I collagen and Matrigel. Western blot analyses revealed that the C2C12/IGF (Dox+) tissue constructs showed activation of a skeletal muscle hypertrophy marker (Akt) and enhanced expression of muscle-specific markers (myogenin, myosin heavy chain and tropomyosin). Moreover, the creatine kinase activity was increased in the C2C12/IGF (Dox+) tissue constructs. The C2C12/IGF (Dox+) tissue constructs contracted in response to electrical pulses, and generated a significantly higher physical force than the control C2C12 tissue constructs. These findings indicate that IGF-I gene transfer has the potential to yield functional skeletal muscle substitutes that are capable of in vivo restoration of the load-bearing function of injured muscle or acting as in vitro electrically-controlled bio-actuators. Copyright © 2011 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Induced pluripotency with endogenous and inducible genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duinsbergen, Dirk; Eriksson, Malin; Hoen, Peter A.C. 't; Frisen, Jonas; Mikkers, Harald

    2008-01-01

    The recent discovery that two partly overlapping sets of four genes induce nuclear reprogramming of mouse and even human cells has opened up new possibilities for cell replacement therapies. Although the combination of genes that induce pluripotency differs to some extent, Oct4 and Sox2 appear to be a prerequisite. The introduction of four genes, several of which been linked with cancer, using retroviral approaches is however unlikely to be suitable for future clinical applications. Towards developing a safer reprogramming protocol, we investigated whether cell types that express one of the most critical reprogramming genes endogenously are predisposed to reprogramming. We show here that three of the original four pluripotency transcription factors (Oct4, Klf4 and c-Myc or MYCER TAM ) induced reprogramming of mouse neural stem (NS) cells exploiting endogenous SoxB1 protein levels in these cells. The reprogrammed neural stem cells differentiated into cells of each germ layer in vitro and in vivo, and contributed to mouse development in vivo. Thus a combinatorial approach taking advantage of endogenously expressed genes and inducible transgenes may contribute to the development of improved reprogramming protocols

  7. Self-Induced Backaction Optical Pulling Force

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Tongtong; Cao, Yongyin; Wang, Lin; Nie, Zhongquan; Cao, Tun; Sun, Fangkui; Jiang, Zehui; Nieto-Vesperinas, Manuel; Liu, Yongmin; Qiu, Cheng-Wei; Ding, Weiqiang

    2018-03-01

    We achieve long-range and continuous optical pulling in a periodic photonic crystal background, which supports a unique Bloch mode with the self-collimation effect. Most interestingly, the pulling force reported here is mainly contributed by the intensity gradient force originating from the self-induced backaction of the object to the self-collimation mode. This force is sharply distinguished from the widely held conception of optical tractor beams based on the scattering force. Also, this pulling force is insensitive to the angle of incidence and can pull multiple objects simultaneously.

  8. Induced forces in the gravitational field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voracek, P.

    1979-01-01

    In this paper the expression for the magnitude of the so-called induced force, acting on a mass particle, is deduced. The origin of this force is causally connected to the increase of the rest mass of the particle in the gravitational field. (orig.)

  9. Force induced DNA melting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santosh, Mogurampelly; Maiti, Prabal K

    2009-01-01

    When pulled along the axis, double-strand DNA undergoes a large conformational change and elongates by roughly twice its initial contour length at a pulling force of about 70 pN. The transition to this highly overstretched form of DNA is very cooperative. Applying a force perpendicular to the DNA axis (unzipping), double-strand DNA can also be separated into two single-stranded DNA, this being a fundamental process in DNA replication. We study the DNA overstretching and unzipping transition using fully atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and argue that the conformational changes of double-strand DNA associated with either of the above mentioned processes can be viewed as force induced DNA melting. As the force at one end of the DNA is increased the DNA starts melting abruptly/smoothly above a critical force depending on the pulling direction. The critical force f m , at which DNA melts completely decreases as the temperature of the system is increased. The melting force in the case of unzipping is smaller compared to the melting force when the DNA is pulled along the helical axis. In the case of melting through unzipping, the double-strand separation has jumps which correspond to the different energy minima arising due to sequence of different base pairs. The fraction of Watson-Crick base pair hydrogen bond breaking as a function of force does not show smooth and continuous behavior and consists of plateaus followed by sharp jumps.

  10. Duplication and diversification of the hypoxia-inducible IGFBP-1 gene in zebrafish.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroyasu Kamei

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Gene duplication is the primary force of new gene evolution. Deciphering whether a pair of duplicated genes has evolved divergent functions is often challenging. The zebrafish is uniquely positioned to provide insight into the process of functional gene evolution due to its amenability to genetic and experimental manipulation and because it possess a large number of duplicated genes.We report the identification and characterization of two hypoxia-inducible genes in zebrafish that are co-ortholgs of human IGF binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1. IGFBP-1 is a secreted protein that binds to IGF and modulates IGF actions in somatic growth, development, and aging. Like their human and mouse counterparts, in adult zebrafish igfbp-1a and igfbp-1b are exclusively expressed in the liver. During embryogenesis, the two genes are expressed in overlapping spatial domains but with distinct temporal patterns. While zebrafish IGFBP-1a mRNA was easily detected throughout embryogenesis, IGFBP-1b mRNA was detectable only in advanced stages. Hypoxia induces igfbp-1a expression in early embryogenesis, but induces the igfbp-1b expression later in embryogenesis. Both IGFBP-1a and -b are capable of IGF binding, but IGFBP-1b has much lower affinities for IGF-I and -II because of greater dissociation rates. Overexpression of IGFBP-1a and -1b in zebrafish embryos caused significant decreases in growth and developmental rates. When tested in cultured zebrafish embryonic cells, IGFBP-1a and -1b both inhibited IGF-1-induced cell proliferation but the activity of IGFBP-1b was significantly weaker.These results indicate subfunction partitioning of the duplicated IGFBP-1 genes at the levels of gene expression, physiological regulation, protein structure, and biological actions. The duplicated IGFBP-1 may provide additional flexibility in fine-tuning IGF signaling activities under hypoxia and other catabolic conditions.

  11. Plant nodulation inducers enhance horizontal gene transfer of Azorhizobium caulinodans symbiosis island.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Jun; Wang, Hui; Wu, Ping; Li, Tao; Tang, Yu; Naseer, Nawar; Zheng, Huiming; Masson-Boivin, Catherine; Zhong, Zengtao; Zhu, Jun

    2016-11-29

    Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of genomic islands is a driving force of bacterial evolution. Many pathogens and symbionts use this mechanism to spread mobile genetic elements that carry genes important for interaction with their eukaryotic hosts. However, the role of the host in this process remains unclear. Here, we show that plant compounds inducing the nodulation process in the rhizobium-legume mutualistic symbiosis also enhance the transfer of symbiosis islands. We demonstrate that the symbiosis island of the Sesbania rostrata symbiont, Azorhizobium caulinodans, is an 87.6-kb integrative and conjugative element (ICE Ac ) that is able to excise, form a circular DNA, and conjugatively transfer to a specific site of gly-tRNA gene of other rhizobial genera, expanding their host range. The HGT frequency was significantly increased in the rhizosphere. An ICE Ac -located LysR-family transcriptional regulatory protein AhaR triggered the HGT process in response to plant flavonoids that induce the expression of nodulation genes through another LysR-type protein, NodD. Our study suggests that rhizobia may sense rhizosphere environments and transfer their symbiosis gene contents to other genera of rhizobia, thereby broadening rhizobial host-range specificity.

  12. Pilot investigation - Nominal crew induced forces in zero-g

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klute, Glenn K.

    1992-01-01

    This report presents pilot-study data of test subject forces induced by intravehicular activities such as push-offs and landings with both hands and feet. Five subjects participated in this investigation. Three orthogonal force axes were measured in the NASA KC-135 research aircraft's 'zero-g' environment. The largest forces were induced during vertical foot push-offs, including one of 534 newtons (120 lbs). The mean vertical foot push-off was 311 newtons (70 lbs). The vertical hand push-off forces were also relatively large, including one of 267 newtons (60 lbs) with a mean of 151 newtons (34 lbs). These force magnitudes of these forces would result in a Shuttle gravity environment of about 1 x exp 10 -4 g's.

  13. Intronic L1 retrotransposons and nested genes cause transcriptional interference by inducing intron retention, exonization and cryptic polyadenylation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristel Kaer

    Full Text Available Transcriptional interference has been recently recognized as an unexpectedly complex and mostly negative regulation of genes. Despite a relatively few studies that emerged in recent years, it has been demonstrated that a readthrough transcription derived from one gene can influence the transcription of another overlapping or nested gene. However, the molecular effects resulting from this interaction are largely unknown.Using in silico chromosome walking, we searched for prematurely terminated transcripts bearing signatures of intron retention or exonization of intronic sequence at their 3' ends upstream to human L1 retrotransposons, protein-coding and noncoding nested genes. We demonstrate that transcriptional interference induced by intronic L1s (or other repeated DNAs and nested genes could be characterized by intron retention, forced exonization and cryptic polyadenylation. These molecular effects were revealed from the analysis of endogenous transcripts derived from different cell lines and tissues and confirmed by the expression of three minigenes in cell culture. While intron retention and exonization were comparably observed in introns upstream to L1s, forced exonization was preferentially detected in nested genes. Transcriptional interference induced by L1 or nested genes was dependent on the presence or absence of cryptic splice sites, affected the inclusion or exclusion of the upstream exon and the use of cryptic polyadenylation signals.Our results suggest that transcriptional interference induced by intronic L1s and nested genes could influence the transcription of the large number of genes in normal as well as in tumor tissues. Therefore, this type of interference could have a major impact on the regulation of the host gene expression.

  14. [Behavior in the forced-swimming test and expression of BDNF and Bcl-xl genes in the rat brain].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berezova, I V; Shishkina, G T; Kalinina, T S; Dygalo, N N

    2011-01-01

    A single exposure of rats to the forced-swimming stress decreased BDNF mRNA levels in the cortex and increased Bcl-xl gene expression in the hippocampus and amygdala 24 h after the stress. The animals demonstrated a depressive-like behavior and elevated blood corticosterone level. There was a significant negative correlation between BDNF mRNA level in the cortex and immobility time during swimming. Repeated exposure to swimming stress caused the elevation of the hippocampal BDNF mRNA level assessed 24 h after the second swimming session. The data suggest that stress-induced down-regulation of cortical BDNF gene expression and behavioral despair in the forced-swimming test may be interrelated. The increase in the BDNF and Bcl-xl mRNA levels may contribute to the mechanisms protecting the brain against negative effects of stress.

  15. Inducement of radionuclides targeting therapy by gene transfection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo Quanyong

    2001-01-01

    The author presents an overview of gene transfection methods to genetically induce tumor cells to express enhanced levels of cell surface antigens and receptors to intake radiolabeled antibody and peptide targeting and thus increase their therapeutic effect in radiotherapy. The current research include inducement of radioimmunotherapy through CEA gene transfection, inducement of iodine-131 therapy by sodium iodide symporter gene transfection and inducement of MIBG therapy by noradrenaline transporter gene transfection. These studies raise the prospect that gene-therapy techniques could be used to enable the treatment of a wide range of tumors with radiopharmaceuticals of established clinical acceptability

  16. Acute Vhl gene inactivation induces cardiac HIF-dependent erythropoietin gene expression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Miró-Murillo

    Full Text Available Von Hippel Lindau (Vhl gene inactivation results in embryonic lethality. The consequences of its inactivation in adult mice, and of the ensuing activation of the hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs, have been explored mainly in a tissue-specific manner. This mid-gestation lethality can be also circumvented by using a floxed Vhl allele in combination with an ubiquitous tamoxifen-inducible recombinase Cre-ER(T2. Here, we characterize a widespread reduction in Vhl gene expression in Vhl(floxed-UBC-Cre-ER(T2 adult mice after dietary tamoxifen administration, a convenient route of administration that has yet to be fully characterized for global gene inactivation. Vhl gene inactivation rapidly resulted in a marked splenomegaly and skin erythema, accompanied by renal and hepatic induction of the erythropoietin (Epo gene, indicative of the in vivo activation of the oxygen sensing HIF pathway. We show that acute Vhl gene inactivation also induced Epo gene expression in the heart, revealing cardiac tissue to be an extra-renal source of EPO. Indeed, primary cardiomyocytes and HL-1 cardiac cells both induce Epo gene expression when exposed to low O(2 tension in a HIF-dependent manner. Thus, as well as demonstrating the potential of dietary tamoxifen administration for gene inactivation studies in UBC-Cre-ER(T2 mouse lines, this data provides evidence of a cardiac oxygen-sensing VHL/HIF/EPO pathway in adult mice.

  17. Nonconservative current-induced forces: A physical interpretation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tchavdar N. Todorov

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available We give a physical interpretation of the recently demonstrated nonconservative nature of interatomic forces in current-carrying nanostructures. We start from the analytical expression for the curl of these forces, and evaluate it for a point defect in a current-carrying system. We obtain a general definition of the capacity of electrical current flow to exert a nonconservative force, and thus do net work around closed paths, by a formal noninvasive test procedure. Second, we show that the gain in atomic kinetic energy over time, generated by nonconservative current-induced forces, is equivalent to the uncompensated stimulated emission of directional phonons. This connection with electron–phonon interactions quantifies explicitly the intuitive notion that nonconservative forces work by angular momentum transfer.

  18. Down-Regulation of Gene Expression by RNA-Induced Gene Silencing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Travella, Silvia; Keller, Beat

    Down-regulation of endogenous genes via post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) is a key to the characterization of gene function in plants. Many RNA-based silencing mechanisms such as post-transcriptional gene silencing, co-suppression, quelling, and RNA interference (RNAi) have been discovered among species of different kingdoms (plants, fungi, and animals). One of the most interesting discoveries was RNAi, a sequence-specific gene-silencing mechanism initiated by the introduction of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), homologous in sequence to the silenced gene, which triggers degradation of mRNA. Infection of plants with modified viruses can also induce RNA silencing and is referred to as virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). In contrast to insertional mutagenesis, these emerging new reverse genetic approaches represent a powerful tool for exploring gene function and for manipulating gene expression experimentally in cereal species such as barley and wheat. We examined how RNAi and VIGS have been used to assess gene function in barley and wheat, including molecular mechanisms involved in the process and available methodological elements, such as vectors, inoculation procedures, and analysis of silenced phenotypes.

  19. Sex-Specific Diurnal Immobility Induced by Forced Swim Test in Wild Type and Clock Gene Deficient Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ningyue Li

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The link between alterations in circadian rhythms and depression are well established, but the underlying mechanisms are far less elucidated. We investigated the circadian characteristics of immobility behavior in wild type (WT mice and mice with mutations in core Clock genes. Methods: All mice were tested with forced swim test (FST at 4 h intervals. Results: These experiments revealed significant diurnal rhythms associated with immobility behavior in both male and female WT mice with sex-different circadian properties. In addition, male mice showed significantly less immobility during the night phase in comparison to female mice. Female Per1Brdm1 mice also showed significant rhythmicity. However, the timing of rhythmicity was very different from that observed in female wild type mice. Male Per1Brdm1 mice showed a pattern of rhythmicity similar to that of wild type mice. Furthermore, female Per1Brdm1 mice showed higher duration of immobility in comparison to male Per1Brdm1 mice in both daytime and early night phases. Neither Per2Brdm1 nor ClockΔ19 mice showed significant rhythmicity, but both female Per2Brdm1 and ClockΔ19 mice had lower levels of immobility, compared to males. Conclusions: This study highlights the differences in the circadian characteristics of immobility induced by FST in WT, ClockΔ19, Per1, and Per2 deficient mice.

  20. Pedestrian-induced lateral forces on footbridges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ingolfsson, Einar Thor; Georgakis, Christos T.; Jönsson, Jeppe

    2012-01-01

    of the underlying pavement. An extensive experimental analysis has been carried out to determine the lateral forces generated by pedestrians when walking on a laterally moving treadmill. Two different conditions are investigated; initially the treadmill is fixed and then it is laterally driven in a sinusoidal...... motion at varying combinations of frequencies (0.33-1.07 Hz) and amplitudes (4.5-48 mm). The component of the pedestrian-induced force which is caused by the laterally moving surface is herewith quantified through equivalent velocity and acceleration proportional coefficients. It is shown that large...

  1. Pedestrian-induced lateral forces on footbridges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ingólfsson, Einar Thór; Georgakis, Christos T.; Jönsson, Jeppe

    2011-01-01

    of the underlying pavement. An extensive experimental analysis has been carried out to determine the lateral forces generated by pedestrians when walking on a laterally moving treadmill. Two different conditions are investigated; initially the treadmill is fixed and then it is laterally driven in a sinusoidal...... motion at varying combinations of frequencies (0.33-1.07 Hz) and amplitudes (4.5-48 mm). The component of the pedestrian-induced force which is caused by the laterally moving surface is herewith quantified through equivalent velocity and acceleration proportional coefficients. It is shown that large...

  2. Study on radiation-inducible genes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, Sang Yong; Kim, Dong Ho; Joe, Min Ho; Park, Hae Jun; Song, Hyu Npa

    2012-01-15

    Radiation-inducible genes of E. coli, which is a model strain for bacterial study, and Salmonella, which is a typical strain for pathogenic bacteria were compared through omic analysis. Heat shock response genes and prophage genes were induced by radiation in Salmonella, not in E. coli. Among prophage genes tested, STM2628 showed the highest activation by radiation, and approximately 1 kb promoter region was turned out to be necessary for radiation response. To screen an artificial promoter showing activation by 2 Gy, the high-throughput screening method using fluorescent MUG substrate was established. The use of bacteria as anticancer agents has attracted interest. In this study, we tried to develop tumor targeting bacteria in which the radiation-inducible promoter activate a transgene encoding a cytotoxic protein. To do this, a tumor-targeting hfq Salmonella mutant strain was constructed, and we found that its virulence decreased. For outward secretion of anticancer protein produced inside bacteria, the signal peptide of SspH1 was determined and the signal peptide was proven to be able to secrete an anticancer protein. Tumor xenograft mouse model was secured, which can be used for efficiency evaluation of bacterial tumor therapy.

  3. Study on radiation-inducible genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Sang Yong; Kim, Dong Ho; Joe, Min Ho; Park, Hae Jun; Song, Hyu Npa

    2012-01-01

    Radiation-inducible genes of E. coli, which is a model strain for bacterial study, and Salmonella, which is a typical strain for pathogenic bacteria were compared through omic analysis. Heat shock response genes and prophage genes were induced by radiation in Salmonella, not in E. coli. Among prophage genes tested, STM2628 showed the highest activation by radiation, and approximately 1 kb promoter region was turned out to be necessary for radiation response. To screen an artificial promoter showing activation by 2 Gy, the high-throughput screening method using fluorescent MUG substrate was established. The use of bacteria as anticancer agents has attracted interest. In this study, we tried to develop tumor targeting bacteria in which the radiation-inducible promoter activate a transgene encoding a cytotoxic protein. To do this, a tumor-targeting hfq Salmonella mutant strain was constructed, and we found that its virulence decreased. For outward secretion of anticancer protein produced inside bacteria, the signal peptide of SspH1 was determined and the signal peptide was proven to be able to secrete an anticancer protein. Tumor xenograft mouse model was secured, which can be used for efficiency evaluation of bacterial tumor therapy

  4. Drift forces on vacancies and interstitials in alloys with radiation-induced segregation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolfer, W.G.

    1983-01-01

    Radiation-induced segregation in alloys leads to compositional gradients around point defect sinks such as voids and dislocations. These compositional gradients in turn affect the drift forces on both interstitials and vacancies and thereby modify the bias. Linear irreversible thermodynamics is employed to derive the total drift force on interstitials and vacancies in substitutional binary alloys. The obtained results are evaluated for binary Fe-Ni alloys. It is shown that radiation-induced segregation produces new drift forces which can be of the same order of magnitude as the stress-induced drift force produced by edge dislocations in an alloy with uniform composition. Hence, segregation results in a significant modification of the bias for void nucleation and swelling. The additional drift forces on interstitials and vacancies are due to the compositional dependence of the formation and migration energies; due to the dependence of the point defect's strain energy on the local elastic properties; due to a coherency strain field caused by lattice parameter variations; and finally due to the Kirkendall force produced by the difference in tracer mobilities. Estimates of these forces given for Fe-Ni alloys indicate that the Kirkendall force is small compared to the other segregation-induced forces on interstitials. In contrast, the Kirkendall force seems to be the dominant one for vacancies. (orig.)

  5. Fluid dynamic forces acting on a circular tube bundle in cross flow. Proposals of generation condition of vortex-induced vibration and correlation equation of turbulence-induced exciting force

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inada, Fumio; Yoneda, Kimitoshi; Yasuo, Akira; Nishihara, Takashi

    2000-01-01

    In the circular tube bundle immersed in the crossflow, the exciting force induced by the turbulence and periodically discharged vortices becomes large, and it is necessary to confirm a long-term integrity to the flow induced vibration. In this report, the local fluid exciting force and the correlation length in the direction of tube axis were measured. The exciting force acting on the first row was smaller than that inside the tube bundle, and the exciting force was almost saturated at the third row. As for vortex induced vibration, there could be an influence when a dimensionless frequency was 0.4 or less. When vortex induced vibration did not affect the vibration, a correlation composed of a correlation length and power spectrum density of the local fluid exciting force were proposed, with which we could estimate the amplitude of the vibration. A computer program to estimate the vibration amplitude and maximum stress was made using the flow velocity distribution and the mode of vibration. (author)

  6. Force-Induced Unravelling of DNA Origami.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engel, Megan C; Smith, David M; Jobst, Markus A; Sajfutdinow, Martin; Liedl, Tim; Romano, Flavio; Rovigatti, Lorenzo; Louis, Ard A; Doye, Jonathan P K

    2018-05-31

    The mechanical properties of DNA nanostructures are of widespread interest as applications that exploit their stability under constant or intermittent external forces become increasingly common. We explore the force response of DNA origami in comprehensive detail by combining AFM single molecule force spectroscopy experiments with simulations using oxDNA, a coarse-grained model of DNA at the nucleotide level, to study the unravelling of an iconic origami system: the Rothemund tile. We contrast the force-induced melting of the tile with simulations of an origami 10-helix bundle. Finally, we simulate a recently-proposed origami biosensor, whose function takes advantage of origami behaviour under tension. We observe characteristic stick-slip unfolding dynamics in our force-extension curves for both the Rothemund tile and the helix bundle and reasonable agreement with experimentally observed rupture forces for these systems. Our results highlight the effect of design on force response: we observe regular, modular unfolding for the Rothemund tile that contrasts with strain-softening of the 10-helix bundle which leads to catastropic failure under monotonically increasing force. Further, unravelling occurs straightforwardly from the scaffold ends inwards for the Rothemund tile, while the helix bundle unfolds more nonlinearly. The detailed visualization of the yielding events provided by simulation allows preferred pathways through the complex unfolding free-energy landscape to be mapped, as a key factor in determining relative barrier heights is the extensional release per base pair broken. We shed light on two important questions: how stable DNA nanostructures are under external forces; and what design principles can be applied to enhance stability.

  7. Observation of aggregation triggered by Resonance Energy Transfer (RET) induced intermolecular pairing force.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Xiaoyong; Wang, Weizhi; Ke, Lin; Zhang, Nan

    2017-07-20

    In this report, we showed the existence of RET induced intermolecular pairing force by comparing their fluorescence behaviors under room illumination vs standing in dark area for either PFluAnt solution or PFluAnt&PFOBT mixture. Their prominent emission attenuation under room illumination brought out the critical role of photo, i.e. RET induced intermolecular pairing force in induction of polymer aggregation. Constant UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectra in terms of both peak shapes and maximum wavelengths implied no chemical decomposition was involved. Recoverable fluorescence intensity, fluorescence lifetime as well as NMR spectra further exclude photo induced decomposition. The controllable on/off state of RET induced intermolecular pairing force was verified by the masking effect of outside PFluAnt solution which function as filter to block the excitation of inside PFluAnt and thus off the RET induced intermolecular pairing force. Theoretical calculation suggest that magnitude of RET induced intermolecular pairing force is on the same scale as that of van der Waals interaction. Although the absolute magnitude of RET induced intermolecular pairing force was not tunable, its effect can be magnified by intentionally turn it "on", which was achieved by irradiance with 5 W desk lamp in this report.

  8. Light-induced attractive force between two metal bodies separated by a subwavelength slit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nesterov, Vladimir; Frumin, Leonid

    2011-01-01

    A novel light-induced attractive force which acts as a force with negative light pressure has been revealed. The force arises by the interaction of plasmon polaritons which are excited at the surface of metal when a transverse magnetic mode propagates through a subwavelength slit between two metal bodies. The estimation of the repulsive force acting on the metal walls of the slit in the case of subwavelength TE mode propagation along the slit is presented. The explicit analytical expressions of light-induced forces between two macroscopic metal bodies or films separated by a subwavelength slit have been derived. These forces could be used to manipulate metallic macro-, micro- and nano-objects in vacuum or in a dielectric medium. Estimations of these light-induced forces show that the forces are sufficient for measurements and practical applications

  9. Enhancement of vortex induced forces and motion through surface roughness control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernitsas, Michael M [Saline, MI; Raghavan, Kamaldev [Houston, TX

    2011-11-01

    Roughness is added to the surface of a bluff body in a relative motion with respect to a fluid. The amount, size, and distribution of roughness on the body surface is controlled passively or actively to modify the flow around the body and subsequently the Vortex Induced Forces and Motion (VIFM). The added roughness, when designed and implemented appropriately, affects in a predetermined way the boundary layer, the separation of the boundary layer, the level of turbulence, the wake, the drag and lift forces, and consequently the Vortex Induced Motion (VIM), and the fluid-structure interaction. The goal of surface roughness control is to increase Vortex Induced Forces and Motion. Enhancement is needed in such applications as harnessing of clean and renewable energy from ocean/river currents using the ocean energy converter VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibration for Aquatic Clean Energy).

  10. Screening of hypoxia-inducible genes in sporadic ALS.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Cronin, Simon

    2008-10-01

    Genetic variations in two hypoxia-inducible angiogenic genes, VEGF and ANG, have been linked with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS). Common variations in these genes may reduce the levels or functioning of their products. VEGF and ANG belong to a larger group of angiogenic genes that are up-regulated under hypoxic conditions. We hypothesized that common genetic variation across other members of this group may also predispose to sporadic ALS. To screen other hypoxia-inducible angiogenic genes for association with SALS, we selected 112 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tgSNPs) that captured the common genetic variation across 16 VEGF-like and eight ANG-like hypoxia-inducible genes. Screening for association was performed in 270 Irish individuals with typical SALS and 272 ethnically matched unrelated controls. SNPs showing association in the Irish phase were genotyped in a replication sample of 281 Swedish sporadic ALS patients and 286 Swedish controls. Seven markers showed association in the Irish. The one modest replication signal observed in the Swedish replication sample, at rs3801158 in the gene inhibin beta A, was for the opposite allele vs. the Irish cohort. We failed to detect association of common variation across 24 candidate hypoxia-inducible angiogenic genes with SALS.

  11. Force-Induced Rupture of a DNA Duplex: From Fundamentals to Force Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosayebi, Majid; Louis, Ard A; Doye, Jonathan P K; Ouldridge, Thomas E

    2015-12-22

    The rupture of double-stranded DNA under stress is a key process in biophysics and nanotechnology. In this article, we consider the shear-induced rupture of short DNA duplexes, a system that has been given new importance by recently designed force sensors and nanotechnological devices. We argue that rupture must be understood as an activated process, where the duplex state is metastable and the strands will separate in a finite time that depends on the duplex length and the force applied. Thus, the critical shearing force required to rupture a duplex depends strongly on the time scale of observation. We use simple models of DNA to show that this approach naturally captures the observed dependence of the force required to rupture a duplex within a given time on duplex length. In particular, this critical force is zero for the shortest duplexes, before rising sharply and then plateauing in the long length limit. The prevailing approach, based on identifying when the presence of each additional base pair within the duplex is thermodynamically unfavorable rather than allowing for metastability, does not predict a time-scale-dependent critical force and does not naturally incorporate a critical force of zero for the shortest duplexes. We demonstrate that our findings have important consequences for the behavior of a new force-sensing nanodevice, which operates in a mixed mode that interpolates between shearing and unzipping. At a fixed time scale and duplex length, the critical force exhibits a sigmoidal dependence on the fraction of the duplex that is subject to shearing.

  12. Force via integrins but not E-cadherin decreases Oct3/4 expression in embryonic stem cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uda, Yuhei [Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01, Aramaki-aoba, Aoba-ward, Sendai City (Japan); Poh, Yeh-Chuin; Chowdhury, Farhan; Wu, Douglas C. [Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Tanaka, Tetsuya S. [Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Sato, Masaaki [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01, Aramaki-aoba, Aoba-ward, Sendai City (Japan); Wang, Ning, E-mail: nwangrw@illinois.edu [Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

    2011-11-18

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Force via integrins or cadherins induces similar cell stiffening responses. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Force via integrins but not cadherins induces cell spreading. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Force via integrins but not cadherins induces differentiation of embryonic stem cells. -- Abstract: Increasing evidence suggests that mechanical factors play a critical role in fate decisions of stem cells. Recently we have demonstrated that a local force applied via Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptides coated magnetic beads to mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells increases cell spreading and cell stiffness and decreases Oct3/4 (Pou5f1) gene expression. However, it is not clear whether the effects of the applied stress on these functions of ES cells can be extended to natural extracellular matrix proteins or cell-cell adhesion molecules. Here we show that a local cyclic shear force applied via fibronectin or laminin to integrin receptors increased cell spreading and stiffness, downregulated Oct3/4 gene expression, and decreased cell proliferation rate. In contrast, the same cyclic force applied via cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin (Cdh1) had no effects on cell spreading, Oct3/4 gene expression, and the self-renewal of mouse ES cells, but induced significant cell stiffening. Our findings demonstrate that biological responses of ES cells to force applied via integrins are different from those to force via E-cadherin, suggesting that mechanical forces might play different roles in different force transduction pathways to shape early embryogenesis.

  13. Investigating Gene Function in Cereal Rust Fungi by Plant-Mediated Virus-Induced Gene Silencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panwar, Vinay; Bakkeren, Guus

    2017-01-01

    Cereal rust fungi are destructive pathogens, threatening grain production worldwide. Targeted breeding for resistance utilizing host resistance genes has been effective. However, breakdown of resistance occurs frequently and continued efforts are needed to understand how these fungi overcome resistance and to expand the range of available resistance genes. Whole genome sequencing, transcriptomic and proteomic studies followed by genome-wide computational and comparative analyses have identified large repertoire of genes in rust fungi among which are candidates predicted to code for pathogenicity and virulence factors. Some of these genes represent defence triggering avirulence effectors. However, functions of most genes still needs to be assessed to understand the biology of these obligate biotrophic pathogens. Since genetic manipulations such as gene deletion and genetic transformation are not yet feasible in rust fungi, performing functional gene studies is challenging. Recently, Host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) has emerged as a useful tool to characterize gene function in rust fungi while infecting and growing in host plants. We utilized Barley stripe mosaic virus-mediated virus induced gene silencing (BSMV-VIGS) to induce HIGS of candidate rust fungal genes in the wheat host to determine their role in plant-fungal interactions. Here, we describe the methods for using BSMV-VIGS in wheat for functional genomics study in cereal rust fungi.

  14. Identification of novel light-induced genes in the suprachiasmatic nucleus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piontkivska Helen

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The transmission of information about the photic environment to the circadian clock involves a complex array of neurotransmitters, receptors, and second messenger systems. Exposure of an animal to light during the subjective night initiates rapid transcription of a number of immediate-early genes in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus. Some of these genes have known roles in entraining the circadian clock, while others have unknown functions. Using laser capture microscopy, microarray analysis, and quantitative real-time PCR, we performed a comprehensive screen for changes in gene expression immediately following a 30 minute light pulse in suprachiasmatic nucleus of mice. Results The results of the microarray screen successfully identified previously known light-induced genes as well as several novel genes that may be important in the circadian clock. Newly identified light-induced genes include early growth response 2, proviral integration site 3, growth-arrest and DNA-damage-inducible 45 beta, and TCDD-inducible poly(ADP-ribose polymerase. Comparative analysis of promoter sequences revealed the presence of evolutionarily conserved CRE and associated TATA box elements in most of the light-induced genes, while other core clock genes generally lack this combination of promoter elements. Conclusion The photic signalling cascade in the suprachiasmatic nucleus activates an array of immediate-early genes, most of which have unknown functions in the circadian clock. Detected evolutionary conservation of CRE and TATA box elements in promoters of light-induced genes suggest that the functional role of these elements has likely remained the same over evolutionary time across mammalian orders.

  15. Reduction of vortex induced forces and motion through surface roughness control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernitsas, Michael M; Raghavan, Kamaldev

    2014-04-01

    Roughness is added to the surface of a bluff body in a relative motion with respect to a fluid. The amount, size, and distribution of roughness on the body surface is controlled passively or actively to modify the flow around the body and subsequently the Vortex Induced Forces and Motion (VIFM). The added roughness, when designed and implemented appropriately, affects in a predetermined way the boundary layer, the separation of the boundary layer, the level of turbulence, the wake, the drag and lift forces, and consequently the Vortex Induced Motion (VIM), and the fluid-structure interaction. The goal of surface roughness control is to decrease/suppress Vortex Induced Forces and Motion. Suppression is required when fluid-structure interaction becomes destructive as in VIM of flexible cylinders or rigid cylinders on elastic support, such as underwater pipelines, marine risers, tubes in heat exchangers, nuclear fuel rods, cooling towers, SPAR offshore platforms.

  16. Active coping of prenatally stressed rats in the forced swimming test: involvement of the Nurr1 gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montes, Pedro; Ruiz-Sánchez, Elizabeth; Calvillo, Minerva; Rojas, Patricia

    2016-09-01

    Depending on genetic predisposition, prenatal stress may result in vulnerability or resilience to develop psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Nurr1 is an immediate early gene, important in the brain for the stress response. We tested the hypothesis that prenatal stress and the decrease of hippocampal Nurr1 alter offspring behavioral responses in the forced swimming test (FST). Pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to restraint stress (45 min, thrice daily) from gestation day 14. Prenatally stressed (PS) and non-prenatally stressed (NPS) male offspring were treated bilaterally with a Nurr1 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN; or control) into the hippocampus at 97 d of age. After 1 h, the rats were exposed to the FST (acute stressor) to analyze their behavioral responses. Thirty minutes after the FST, we analyzed the gene expression of Nurr1, Bdnf and Nr3c1 (genes for Nurr1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR), respectively) in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hypothalamus. Results showed that the decrease of hippocampal Nurr1 after the antisense ODN in adult NPS rats induces immobility (indicating depressive-like behavior). The PS adult rats, including the group with decreased hippocampal Nurr1, presented low immobility in the FST. This low immobility was concordant with maintenance of Nurr1 and Bdnf expression levels in the three analyzed brain regions; Nr3c1 gene expression was also maintained in the PFC and hypothalamus. These findings suggest that Nurr1 and associated genes could participate in the brain modifications induced by prenatal stress, allowing active coping (resilience) with acute stress in adulthood.

  17. Structural analysis of γ radiation-induced chromosomal aberrations observed by atomic force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qu Shuang; Chen Ying; Ge Shili; Liu Xiulin; Zhou Pingkun; Zhang Sa; Zhang Detian

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To find a new method for the measurement of radiation-induced damage, the structures of normal chromosomes and 60 Co γ-ray-induced chromosomal aberration were analyzed by atomic force microscopy. Methods: Normal and irradiated chromosomes of human peripheral blood lymphocytes were prepared, then three-dimensional structure and height of chromosomes were analyzed by atomic force microscopy. Results: Three-dimensional structures of normal chromosomes and dicentric aberration in irradiated chromosomes were observed clearly. The data of chromosome height were helpful to recognizing the dicentric aberrations. Conclusion: Atomic force microscopy providing three-dimension image and linear measurement is a new and valuable tool for structural analysis of radiation-induced chromosomal aberrations

  18. Genomic Analysis Reveals Contrasting PIFq Contribution to Diurnal Rhythmic Gene Expression in PIF-Induced and -Repressed Genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Guiomar; Soy, Judit; Monte, Elena

    2016-01-01

    Members of the PIF quartet (PIFq; PIF1, PIF3, PIF4, and PIF5) collectively contribute to induce growth in Arabidopsis seedlings under short day (SD) conditions, specifically promoting elongation at dawn. Their action involves the direct regulation of growth-related and hormone-associated genes. However, a comprehensive definition of the PIFq-regulated transcriptome under SD is still lacking. We have recently shown that SD and free-running (LL) conditions correspond to "growth" and "no growth" conditions, respectively, correlating with greater abundance of PIF protein in SD. Here, we present a genomic analysis whereby we first define SD-regulated genes at dawn compared to LL in the wild type, followed by identification of those SD-regulated genes whose expression depends on the presence of PIFq. By using this sequential strategy, we have identified 349 PIF/SD-regulated genes, approximately 55% induced and 42% repressed by both SD and PIFq. Comparison with available databases indicates that PIF/SD-induced and PIF/SD-repressed sets are differently phased at dawn and mid-morning, respectively. In addition, we found that whereas rhythmicity of the PIF/SD-induced gene set is lost in LL, most PIF/SD-repressed genes keep their rhythmicity in LL, suggesting differential regulation of both gene sets by the circadian clock. Moreover, we also uncovered distinct overrepresented functions in the induced and repressed gene sets, in accord with previous studies in other examined PIF-regulated processes. Interestingly, promoter analyses showed that, whereas PIF/SD-induced genes are enriched in direct PIF targets, PIF/SD-repressed genes are mostly indirectly regulated by the PIFs and might be more enriched in ABA-regulated genes.

  19. Origin of current-induced forces in an atomic gold wire: A first-principles study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandbyge, Mads; Stokbro, Kurt; Taylor, Jeremy Philip

    2003-01-01

    We address the microscopic origin of the current-induced forces by analyzing results of first principles density functional calculations of atomic gold wires connected to two gold electrodes with different electrochemical potentials. We find that current induced forces are closely related...

  20. Ozone-induced gene expression occurs via ethylene-dependent and -independent signalling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimmig, Bernhard; Gonzalez-Perez, Maria N; Leubner-Metzger, Gerhard; Vögeli-Lange, Regina; Meins, Fred; Hain, Rüdiger; Penuelas, Josep; Heidenreich, Bernd; Langebartels, Christian; Ernst, Dieter; Sandermann, Heinrich

    2003-03-01

    Recent studies suggest that ethylene is involved in signalling ozone-induced gene expression. We show here that application of ozone increased glucuronidase (GUS) expression of chimeric reporter genes regulated by the promoters of the tobacco class I beta-1,3-glucanases (GLB and Gln2) and the grapevine resveratrol synthase (Vst1) genes in transgenic tobacco leaves. 5'-deletion analysis of the class I beta-1,3-glucanase promoter revealed that ozone-induced gene regulation is mainly mediated by the distal enhancer region containing the positively acting ethylene-responsive element (ERE). In addition, application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), an inhibitor of ethylene action, blocked ozone-induced class I beta-1,3-glucanase promoter activity. Enhancer activity and ethylene-responsiveness depended on the integrity of the GCC boxes, cis-acting elements present in the ERE of the class I beta-1,3-glucanase and the basic-type pathogenesis-related PR-1 protein (PRB-1b) gene promoters. The minimal PRB-1b promoter containing only the ERE with intact GCC boxes, was sufficient to confer 10-fold ozone inducibility to a GUS-reporter gene, while a substitution mutation in the GCC box abolished ozone responsiveness. The ERE region of the class I beta-1,3-glucanase promoter containing two intact GCC boxes confered strong ozone inducibility to a minimal cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S RNA promoter, whereas two single-base substitution in the GCC boxes resulted in a complete loss of ozone inducibility. Taken together, these datastrongly suggest that ethylene is signalling ozone-induced expression of class I beta-l,3-glucanase and PRB-1b genes. Promoter analysis of the stilbene synthase Vst1 gene unravelled different regions for ozone and ethylene-responsiveness. Application of 1-MCP blocked ethylene-induced Vst1 induction, but ozone induction was not affected. This shows that ozone-induced gene expression occurs via at least two different signalling mechanisms and suggests an

  1. Two-phase cross-flow-induced forces acting on a circular cylinder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hara, F.

    1982-01-01

    This paper clarifies the characteristics of unsteady flow-induced lift and drag forces acting on a circular cylinder immersed perpendicular to a two-phase bubbly air-water flow, in conjunction with Karman vortex shedding and pressure fluctuations. Experimental results presented show that Karman vortex shedding disappears over a certain value of air concentration in the two-phase flow. Related to this disappearance, flow-induced forces are rather small and periodical in low air concentration but become very large and random in higher air concentration. 7 refs

  2. Grounding-Induced Sectional Forces and Residual Strength of Grounded Ship Hulls

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paik, Jeom Kee; Pedersen, Preben Terndrup

    1996-01-01

    The aim of the present study is to determine the sectional forces induced by ship grounding and also to assess the residual strength of groundedship hulls. An analytical approach is used to estimate the grounding-induced sectional forces of ships. The extent and location of structural damage due...... to grounding is defined based on the ABS Safe Hull guide. The residual strength of damaged hulls is calculated by using a simple analytical formula. The method is applied to residual strength assessment of a damaged double hull tanker of 38,400 dwt due to grounding....

  3. Public Health and Mental Health Implications of Environmentally Induced Forced Migration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shultz, James M; Rechkemmer, Andreas; Rai, Abha; McManus, Katherine T

    2018-03-28

    ABSTRACTClimate change is increasingly forcing population displacement, better described by the phrase environmentally induced forced migration. Rising global temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, and progressive depletion of life-sustaining resources are among the drivers that stimulate population mobility. Projections forecast that current trends will rapidly accelerate. This will lead to an estimated 200 million climate migrants by the year 2050 and create dangerous tipping points for public health and security.Among the public health consequences of climate change, environmentally induced forced migration is one of the harshest and most harmful outcomes, always involving a multiplicity of profound resource and social losses and frequently exposing migrants to trauma and violence. Therefore, one particular aspect of forced migration, the effects of population displacement on mental health and psychosocial functioning, deserves dedicated focus. Multiple case examples are provided to elucidate this theme. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 7).

  4. Low doses of neutrons induce changes in gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woloschak, G.E.; Chang-Liu, C.M.; Panozzo, J.; Libertin, C.R.

    1993-01-01

    Studies were designed to identify genes induced following low-dose neutron but not following γ-ray exposure in fibroblasts. Our past work had shown differences in the expression of β-protein kinase C and c-fos genes, both being induced following γ-ray but not neutron exposure. We have identified two genes that are induced following neutron, but not γ-ray, exposure: Rp-8 (a gene induced by apoptosis) and the long terminal repeat (LTR) of the human immunodeficiency (HIV). Rp-8 mRNA induction was demonstrated in Syrian hamster embryo fibroblasts and was found to be induced in cells exposed to neutrons administered at low (0.5 cGy/min) and at high dose rate (12 cGy/min). The induction of transcription from the LTR of HIV was demonstrated in HeLa cells bearing a transfected construct of the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene driven by the HIV-LTR promoter. Measures of CAT activity and CAT transcripts following irradiation demonstrated an unresponsiveness to γ rays over a broad range of doses. Twofold induction of the HIV-LTR was detected following neutron exposure (48 cGy) administered at low (0.5 cGy/min) but not high (12 cGy/min) dose rates. Ultraviolet-mediated HIV-LTR induction was inhibited by low-dose-rate neutron exposure

  5. Functionalized nanoparticles for AMF-induced gene and drug delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biswas, Souvik

    non-toxic magnetoplexes (magnetic nanoparticle + pDNA complex) derived from dMLP deliver pDNA into mammalian cells even without external magnetic assistance. To date, dMLP is the only polymer-free magnetic gene delivery system that can deliver pDNA without any magnetic assistance. Chapter 3 of this thesis outlines the synthesis and characterization of other oxime ether lipids and details studies using derived-lipoplexes. These lipids were evaluated in pDNA and siRNA transfection studies in various mammalian cell lines. This work constitutes the first use of an oxime ether as the linking domain in cationic transfection lipids. These biocompatible oxime ether lipids can be readily assembled by click chemistry through ligation of hydrophobic aldehydes with quaternary ammonium aminooxy salts. Our studies showed that the oxime ether lipids transfected pDNA and siRNA efficiently in MCF-7, H 1792, and in PAR C10 cells comparable to and in some cases better than commercial transfection lipids. Chapter 4 describes the design and characterization of a nano-magnetic delivery system for AMF-induced drug (doxorubicin) release. In efforts to develop a magnetic formulation free from thermosensitive materials, such as hydrogels, we synthesized three nanoparticle-based doxorubicin formulations using charge interactions as the key associative force. To do so, we synthesized and characterized a novel cationic oxime ether conjugate at C-13 of doxorubicin. Our investigation indicated that the positive charge of the oxime ether drug conjugate tended to bind better to the negatively charged nanoparticle than did the other formulations prepared in stepwise manner. Our findings show that the nano-magnetic formulations remained essestially inactive at body temperature (37.5 °C) and released a majority of the cargo only when exposed to an external AMF. Our designed magnetic drug delivery platform is the first example of an AMF-inducible system that does not depend on the inclusion of

  6. Cloning and Characterizing Genes Involved in Monoterpene Induced Mammary Tumor Regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1996-10-01

    AD GRANT NUMBER DAMDI7-94-J-4041 TITLE: Cloning and Characterizing Genes Involved in Monoterpene Induced Mammary Tumor Regression PRINCIPAL...October 1996 Annual (1 Sep 95 - 31 Aug 96) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Cloning and Characterizing Genes Involved in Monoterpene Induced... Monoterpene -induced/repressed genes were identified in regressing rat mammary carcinomas treated with dietary limonene using a newly developed method

  7. Experimental identification of pedestrian-induced lateral forces on footbridges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ingólfsson, Einar Thór; Georgakis, Christos; Ricciardelli, Francesco

    2011-01-01

    combinations of frequencies (0.33-1.07 Hz) and amplitudes 4.5-48 mm). The experimental campaign involved seventy-one male and female human adults and covered approximately 55 km of walking distributed between 4954 individual tests. When walking on a laterally moving surface, motion-induced forces develop also......This paper presents a comprehensive experimental analysis of lateral forces generated by single pedestrians during continuous walking on a treadmill. Two different conditions are investigated; initially the treadmill is fixed and then it is laterally driven in a sinusoidal motion at varying...... and inter-subject variability. It is shown that the motion induced portion of the pedestrian load (on average) inputs energy into the structure in the frequency range (normalised by the average walking frequency) between approximately 0.6 and 1.2. Furthermore, it is shown that the load component in phase...

  8. Duplication and Diversification of the Hypoxia-Inducible IGFBP-1 Gene in Zebrafish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kamei, Hiroyasu; Lu, Ling; Jiao, Shuang

    2008-01-01

    Background: Gene duplication is the primary force of new gene evolution. Deciphering whether a pair of duplicated genes has evolved divergent functions is often challenging. The zebrafish is uniquely positioned to provide insight into the process of functional gene evolution due to its amenabilit...

  9. Specitic gene alterations in radiation-induced tumorigenesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Joo Mee; Kang, Chang Mo; Lee, Seung Sook; Cho, Chul Koo; Bae, Sang Woo; Lee, Su Jae; Lee, Yun Sil [Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-07-01

    To identify a set of genes involved in the development of radiation-induced tumorigenesis, we used DNA microarrays consisting of 1,176 mouse genes and compared expression profiles of radioresistant cells, designated NIH3T3-R1 and -R4. These cells were tumorigenic in a nude mouse grafting system, as compared to the parental NIH3T3 cells. Expressions of MDM2, CDK6 and CDC25B were found to increase more than 3-fold. Entactin protein levels were downregulated in NIH3T3-R1 and -R4 cells. Changes in expression genes were confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR or western blotting. When these genes were transfected to NIH3T3 cells, the CDC25B and MDM2 overexpressing NIH3T3 cells showed radioresistance, while 2 CDK6 overexpressing cells did not. In the case of entactin overexpressing NIH3T3-R1 or R-4 cells were still radioresistant. Furthermore, the CDC25B and MDM2 overexpressing cells grafted to nude mice, were tumorigenic. NIH3T3-R1 and R4 cells showed increased radiation-induced apoptosis, accompanied by faster growth rate, rather than and earlier radiation-induced G2/M phase arrest, suggesting that the radioresistance of NIH3T3-R1 and R4 cells was due to faster growth rate, rather than induction of apoptosis. In the case of MDM2 and CDC25B overexpressing cells, similar phenomena, such as increased apoptosis and faster growth rate, were shown. The above results, therefore, demonstrate involvement of CDC25B and MDM2 overexpression in radiation-induced tumorigenesis and provide novel targets for detection of radiation-induced carcinogenesis.

  10. Heisenberg equation for a nonrelativistic particle on a hypersurface: From the centripetal force to a curvature induced force

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. K. Lian

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In classical mechanics, a nonrelativistic particle constrained on an N − 1 curved hypersurface embedded in N flat space experiences the centripetal force only. In quantum mechanics, the situation is totally different for the presence of the geometric potential. We demonstrate that the motion of the quantum particle is ”driven” by not only the centripetal force, but also a curvature induced force proportional to the Laplacian of the mean curvature, which is fundamental in the interface physics, causing curvature driven interface evolution.

  11. Charge-Induced Fluctuation Forces in Graphitic Nanostructures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Drosdoff

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Charge fluctuations in nanocircuits with capacitor components are shown to give rise to a novel type of long-ranged interaction, which coexist with the regular Casimir–van der Waals force. The developed theory distinguishes between thermal and quantum mechanical effects, and it is applied to capacitors involving graphene nanostructures. The charge fluctuations mechanism is captured via the capacitance of the system with geometrical and quantum mechanical components. The dependence on the distance separation, temperature, size, and response properties of the system shows that this type of force can have a comparable and even dominant effect to the Casimir interaction. Our results strongly indicate that fluctuation-induced interactions due to various thermodynamic quantities can have important thermal and quantum mechanical contributions at the microscale and the nanoscale.

  12. Investigations on the Effects of Vortex-Induced Vibration with Different Distributions of Lorentz Forces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The control of vortex-induced vibration (VIV in shear flow with different distributions of Lorentz force is numerically investigated based on the stream function–vorticity equations in the exponential-polar coordinates exerted on moving cylinder for Re = 150. The cylinder motion equation coupled with the fluid, including the mathematical expressions of the lift force coefficient C l , is derived. The initial and boundary conditions as well as the hydrodynamic forces on the surface of cylinder are also formulated. The Lorentz force applied to suppress the VIV has no relationship with the flow field, and involves two categories, i.e., the field Lorentz force and the wall Lorentz force. With the application of symmetrical Lorentz forces, the symmetric field Lorentz force can amplify the drag, suppress the flow separation, decrease the lift fluctuation, and then suppress the VIV while the wall Lorentz force decreases the drag only. With the application of asymmetrical Lorentz forces, besides the above-mentioned effects, the field Lorentz force can increase additional lift induced by shear flow, whereas the wall Lorentz force can counteract the additional lift, which is dominated on the total effect.

  13. Light-dependent expression of flg22-induced defense genes in Arabidopsis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoshi eSano

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Chloroplasts have been reported to generate retrograde immune signals that activate defense gene expression in the nucleus. However, the roles of light and photosynthesis in plant immunity remain largely elusive. In this study, we evaluated the effects of light on the expression of defense genes induced by flg22, a peptide derived from bacterial flagellins which acts as a potent elicitor in plants. Whole-transcriptome analysis of flg22-treated Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings under light and dark conditions for 30 min revealed that a number of (30% genes strongly induced by flg22 (>4.0 require light for their rapid expression, whereas flg22-repressed genes include a significant number of genes that are down-regulated by light. Furthermore, light is responsible for the flg22-induced accumulation of salicylic acid, indicating that light is indispensable for basal defense responses in plants. To elucidate the role of photosynthesis in defense, we further examined flg22-induced defense gene expression in the presence of specific inhibitors of photosynthetic electron transport: 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU and 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-benzoquinone (DBMIB. Light-dependent expression of defense genes was largely suppressed by DBMIB, but only partially suppressed by DCMU. These findings suggest that photosynthetic electron flow plays a role in controling the light-dependent expression of flg22-inducible defense genes.

  14. Conditioned taste avoidance induced by forced and voluntary wheel running in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forristall, J R; Hookey, B L; Grant, V L

    2007-03-01

    Voluntary exercise by rats running in a freely rotating wheel (free wheel) produces conditioned taste avoidance (CTA) of a flavored solution consumed before running [e.g., Lett, B.T., Grant, V.L., 1996. Wheel running induces conditioned taste aversion in rats trained while hungry and thirsty. Physiol. Behav. 59, 699-702]. Forced exercise, swimming or running, also produces CTA in rats [e.g., Masaki, T., Nakajima, S., 2006. Taste aversion induced by forced swimming, voluntary running, forced running, and lithium chloride injection treatments. Physiol. Behav. 88, 411-416]. Energy expenditure may be the critical factor in producing such CTA. If so, forced running in a motorized running wheel should produce CTA equivalent to that produced by a similar amount of voluntary running. In two experiments, we compared forced running in a motorized wheel with voluntary running in a free wheel. Mean distance run over 30 min was equated as closely as possible in the two apparatuses. Both types of exercise produced CTA relative to sedentary, locked-wheel controls. However, voluntary running produced greater CTA than forced running. We consider differences between running in the free and motorized wheels that may account for the differences in strength of CTA.

  15. The majority of inducible DNA repair genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis are induced independently of RecA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rand, Lucinda; Hinds, Jason; Springer, Burkhard; Sander, Peter; Buxton, Roger S; Davis, Elaine O

    2003-11-01

    In many species of bacteria most inducible DNA repair genes are regulated by LexA homologues and are dependent on RecA for induction. We have shown previously by analysing the induction of recA that two mechanisms for the induction of gene expression following DNA damage exist in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Whereas one of these depends on RecA and LexA in the classical way, the other mechanism is independent of both of these proteins and induction occurs in the absence of RecA. Here we investigate the generality of each of these mechanisms by analysing the global response to DNA damage in both wild-type M. tuberculosis and a recA deletion strain of M. tuberculosis using microarrays. This revealed that the majority of the genes that were induced remained inducible in the recA mutant stain. Of particular note most of the inducible genes with known or predicted functions in DNA repair did not depend on recA for induction. Amongst these are genes involved in nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, damage reversal and recombination. Thus, it appears that this novel mechanism of gene regulation is important for DNA repair in M. tuberculosis.

  16. Identification of distinct genes associated with seawater aspiration-induced acute lung injury by gene expression profile analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wei; Pan, Lei; Zhang, Minlong; Bo, Liyan; Li, Congcong; Liu, Qingqing; Wang, Li; Jin, Faguang

    2016-01-01

    Seawater aspiration-induced acute lung injury (ALI) is a syndrome associated with a high mortality rate, which is characterized by severe hypoxemia, pulmonary edema and inflammation. The present study is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to analyze gene expression profiles from a rat model of seawater aspiration-induced ALI. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were instilled with seawater (4 ml/kg) in the seawater aspiration-induced ALI group (S group) or with distilled water (4 ml/kg) in the distilled water negative control group (D group). In the blank control group (C group) the rats' tracheae were exposed without instillation. Subsequently, lung samples were examined by histopathology; total protein concentration was detected in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); lung wet/dry weight ratios were determined; and transcript expression was detected by gene sequencing analysis. The results demonstrated that histopathological alterations, pulmonary edema and total protein concentrations in BALF were increased in the S group compared with in the D group. Analysis of differential gene expression identified up and downregulated genes in the S group compared with in the D and C groups. A gene ontology analysis of the differential gene expression revealed enrichment of genes in the functional pathways associated with neutrophil chemotaxis, immune and defense responses, and cytokine activity. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway was one of the most important pathways involved in seawater aspiration-induced ALI. In conclusion, activation of the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway may have an essential role in the progression of seawater aspiration-induced ALI, and the downregulation of tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 10 may enhance inflammation. Furthermore, IL-6 may be considered a biomarker in seawater aspiration-induced ALI. PMID:27509884

  17. Image Guidance and Assessment of Radiation Induced Gene Therapy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Pelizzari, Charles

    2004-01-01

    Image guidance and assessment techniques are being developed for combined radiation/gene therapy, which utilizes a radiation-inducible gene promoter to cause expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha...

  18. Attractive non-DLVO forces induced by adsorption of monovalent organic ions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Alexander M; Maroni, Plinio; Borkovec, Michal

    2017-12-20

    Direct force measurements between negatively charged colloidal particles were carried out using an atomic force microscope (AFM) in aqueous solutions containing monovalent organic cations, namely tetraphenylarsonium (Ph 4 As + ), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium (HMIM + ), and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium (OMIM + ). These ions adsorb to the particle surface, and induce a charge reversal. The forces become attractive at the charge neutralization point, but they are stronger than van der Waals forces. This additional and unexpected attraction decays exponentially with a decay length of a few nanometers, and is strikingly similar to the one previously observed in the presence of multivalent ions. This attractive force probably originates from coupled spontaneous charge fluctuations on the respective surfaces as initially suggested by Kirkwood and Shumaker.

  19. Tetracycline inducible gene manipulation in serotonergic neurons.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tillmann Weber

    Full Text Available The serotonergic (5-HT neuronal system has important and diverse physiological functions throughout development and adulthood. Its dysregulation during development or later in adulthood has been implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders. Transgenic animal models designed to study the contribution of serotonergic susceptibility genes to a pathological phenotype should ideally allow to study candidate gene overexpression or gene knockout selectively in serotonergic neurons at any desired time during life. For this purpose, conditional expression systems such as the tet-system are preferable. Here, we generated a transactivator (tTA mouse line (TPH2-tTA that allows temporal and spatial control of tetracycline (Ptet controlled transgene expression as well as gene deletion in 5-HT neurons. The tTA cDNA was inserted into a 196 kb PAC containing a genomic mouse Tph2 fragment (177 kb by homologous recombination in E. coli. For functional analysis of Ptet-controlled transgene expression, TPH2-tTA mice were crossed to a Ptet-regulated lacZ reporter line (Ptet-nLacZ. In adult double-transgenic TPH2-tTA/Ptet-nLacZ mice, TPH2-tTA founder line L62-20 showed strong serotonergic β-galactosidase expression which could be completely suppressed with doxycycline (Dox. Furthermore, Ptet-regulated gene expression could be reversibly activated or inactivated when Dox was either withdrawn or added to the system. For functional analysis of Ptet-controlled, Cre-mediated gene deletion, TPH2-tTA mice (L62-20 were crossed to double transgenic Ptet-Cre/R26R reporter mice to generate TPH2-tTA/Ptet-Cre/R26R mice. Without Dox, 5-HT specific recombination started at E12.5. With permanent Dox administration, Ptet-controlled Cre-mediated recombination was absent. Dox withdrawal either postnatally or during adulthood induced efficient recombination in serotonergic neurons of all raphe nuclei, respectively. In the enteric nervous system, recombination could not be detected. We

  20. Changes in gene expression linked to methamphetamine-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Tao; Tong, Liqiong; Barrett, Tanya; Yuan, Jie; Hatzidimitriou, George; McCann, Una D; Becker, Kevin G; Donovan, David M; Ricaurte, George A

    2002-01-01

    The purpose of these studies was to examine the role of gene expression in methamphetamine (METH)-induced dopamine (DA) neurotoxicity. First, the effects of the mRNA synthesis inhibitor, actinomycin-D, and the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, were examined. Both agents afforded complete protection against METH-induced DA neurotoxicity and did so independently of effects on core temperature, DA transporter function, or METH brain levels, suggesting that gene transcription and mRNA translation play a role in METH neurotoxicity. Next, microarray technology, in combination with an experimental approach designed to facilitate recognition of relevant gene expression patterns, was used to identify gene products linked to METH-induced DA neurotoxicity. This led to the identification of several genes in the ventral midbrain associated with the neurotoxic process, including genes for energy metabolism [cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1), reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 2, and phosphoglycerate mutase B], ion regulation (members of sodium/hydrogen exchanger and sodium/bile acid cotransporter family), signal transduction (adenylyl cyclase III), and cell differentiation and degeneration (N-myc downstream-regulated gene 3 and tau protein). Of these differentially expressed genes, we elected to further examine the increase in COX1 expression, because of data implicating energy utilization in METH neurotoxicity and the known role of COX1 in energy metabolism. On the basis of time course studies, Northern blot analyses, in situ hybridization results, and temperature studies, we now report that increased COX1 expression in the ventral midbrain is linked to METH-induced DA neuronal injury. The precise role of COX1 and other genes in METH neurotoxicity remains to be elucidated.

  1. JC virus induces altered patterns of cellular gene expression: Interferon-inducible genes as major transcriptional targets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verma, Saguna; Ziegler, Katja; Ananthula, Praveen; Co, Juliene K.G.; Frisque, Richard J.; Yanagihara, Richard; Nerurkar, Vivek R.

    2006-01-01

    Human polyomavirus JC (JCV) infects 80% of the population worldwide. Primary infection, typically occurring during childhood, is asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals and results in lifelong latency and persistent infection. However, among the severely immunocompromised, JCV may cause a fatal demyelinating disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Virus-host interactions influencing persistence and pathogenicity are not well understood, although significant regulation of JCV activity is thought to occur at the level of transcription. Regulation of the JCV early and late promoters during the lytic cycle is a complex event that requires participation of both viral and cellular factors. We have used cDNA microarray technology to analyze global alterations in gene expression in JCV-permissive primary human fetal glial cells (PHFG). Expression of more than 400 cellular genes was altered, including many that influence cell proliferation, cell communication and interferon (IFN)-mediated host defense responses. Genes in the latter category included signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), interferon stimulating gene 56 (ISG56), myxovirus resistance 1 (MxA), 2'5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS), and cig5. The expression of these genes was further confirmed in JCV-infected PHFG cells and the human glioblastoma cell line U87MG to ensure the specificity of JCV in inducing this strong antiviral response. Results obtained by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analyses supported the microarray data and provide temporal information related to virus-induced changes in the IFN response pathway. Our data indicate that the induction of an antiviral response may be one of the cellular factors regulating/controlling JCV replication in immunocompetent hosts and therefore constraining the development of PML

  2. Identifying Candidate Reprogramming Genes in Mouse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Fang; Li, Jingyu; Zhang, Heng; Yang, Xu; An, Tiezhu

    2017-08-01

    Factor-based induced reprogramming approaches have tremendous potential for human regenerative medicine, but the efficiencies of these approaches are still low. In this study, we analyzed the global transcriptional profiles of mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (miPSCs) and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) from seven different labs and present here the first successful clustering according to cell type, not by lab of origin. We identified 2131 different expression genes (DEs) as candidate pluripotency-associated genes by comparing mESCs/miPSCs with somatic cells and 720 DEs between miPSCs and mESCs. Interestingly, there was a significant overlap between the two DE sets. Therefore, we defined the overlap DEs as "consensus DEs" including 313 miPSC-specific genes expressed at a higher level in miPSCs versus mESCs and 184 mESC-specific genes in total and reasoned that these may contribute to the differences in pluripotency between mESCs and miPSCs. A classification of "consensus DEs" according to their different expression levels between somatic cells and mESCs/miPSCs shows that 86% of the miPSC-specific genes are more highly expressed in somatic cells, while 73% of mESC-specific genes are highly expressed in mESCs/miPSCs, indicating that the miPSCs have not efficiently silenced the expression pattern of the somatic cells from which they are derived and failed to completely induce the genes with high expression levels in mESCs. We further revealed a strong correlation between oocyte-enriched factors and insufficiently induced mESC-specific genes and identified 11 hub genes via network analysis. In light of these findings, we postulated that these key hub genes might not only drive somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) reprogramming but also augment the efficiency and quality of miPSC reprogramming.

  3. Specific gene mutations induced by heavy ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freeling, M.; Karoly, C.W.; Cheng, D.S.K.

    1980-01-01

    This report summarizes our heavy-ion research rationale, progress, and plans for the near future. The major project involves selecting a group of maize Adh1 mutants induced by heavy ions and correlating their altered behavior with altered DNA nucleotide sequences and sequence arrangements. This research requires merging the techniques of classical genetics and recombinant DNA technology. Our secondary projects involve (1) the use of the Adh gene in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a second system with which to quantify the sort of specific gene mutants induced by heavy ions as compared to x rays, and (2) the development of a maize Adh1 pollen in situ monitor for environmental mutagens

  4. Epithelial Cell Gene Expression Induced by Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xianglu Li

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available HEp-2 cell monolayers were cocultured with intracellular Staphylococcus aureus, and changes in gene expression were profiled using DNA microarrays. Intracellular S. aureus affected genes involved in cellular stress responses, signal transduction, inflammation, apoptosis, fibrosis, and cholesterol biosynthesis. Transcription of stress response and signal transduction-related genes including atf3, sgk, map2k1, map2k3, arhb, and arhe was increased. In addition, elevated transcription of proinflammatory genes was observed for tnfa, il1b, il6, il8, cxcl1, ccl20, cox2, and pai1. Genes involved in proapoptosis and fibrosis were also affected at transcriptional level by intracellular S. aureus. Notably, intracellular S. aureus induced strong transcriptional down-regulation of several cholesterol biosynthesis genes. These results suggest that epithelial cells respond to intracellular S. aureus by inducing genes affecting immunity and in repairing damage caused by the organism, and are consistent with the possibility that the organism exploits an intracellular environment to subvert host immunity and promote colonization.

  5. Candidate gene identification of ovulation-inducing genes by RNA sequencing with an in vivo assay in zebrafish.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wanlada Klangnurak

    Full Text Available We previously reported the microarray-based selection of three ovulation-related genes in zebrafish. We used a different selection method in this study, RNA sequencing analysis. An additional eight up-regulated candidates were found as specifically up-regulated genes in ovulation-induced samples. Changes in gene expression were confirmed by qPCR analysis. Furthermore, up-regulation prior to ovulation during natural spawning was verified in samples from natural pairing. Gene knock-out zebrafish strains of one of the candidates, the starmaker gene (stm, were established by CRISPR genome editing techniques. Unexpectedly, homozygous mutants were fertile and could spawn eggs. However, a high percentage of unfertilized eggs and abnormal embryos were produced from these homozygous females. The results suggest that the stm gene is necessary for fertilization. In this study, we selected additional ovulation-inducing candidate genes, and a novel function of the stm gene was investigated.

  6. Induced mutations of rust resistance genes in wheat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McIntosh, R.A.

    1983-01-01

    Induced mutations are being used as a tool to study genes for resistance in wheat. It was found that Pm1 can be separated from Lr20 and Sr15, but these two react like a single pleiotropic gene. Mutants were further examined in crosses and backmutations have been attempted. (author)

  7. Molecular Characterization of a stress-induced NAC Gene ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    lenovo

    1Cotton Research Center, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China. 2College of Life ... Running title: GhSNAC3 gene in Cotton ... Quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicated that GhSNAC3 was induced by high salinity, drought ..... simple and general method for transferring genes into plants. Science ...

  8. Concurrent synthesis and release of nod-gene-inducing flavonoids from alfalfa roots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maxwell, C.A.; Phillips, D.A.

    1990-01-01

    Flavonoid signals from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) induce transcription of nodulation (nod) genes in Rhizobium meliloti. Alfalfa roots release three major nod-gene inducers: 4',7-dihydroxyflavanone, 4',7-dihydroxyflavone, and 4,4'-dihydroxy-2'-methoxychalcone. The objective of the present study was to define temporal relationships between synthesis and exudation for those flavonoids. Requirements for concurrent flavonoid biosynthesis were assessed by treating roots of intact alfalfa seedlings with [U- 14 C]-L-phenylalanine in the presence or absence of the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase inhibitor L-2-aminoxy-3-phenylpropionic acid (AOPP). In the absence of AOPP, each of the three flavonoids in exudates contained 14 C. In the presence of AOPP, 14 C labeling and release of all the exuded nod-gene inducers were reduced significantly. AOPP inhibited labeling and release of the strongest nod-gene inducer, methoxychalcone, by more than 90%. The release process responsible for exudation of nod-gene inducers appears to be specific rather than a general phenomenon such as a sloughing off of cells during root growth

  9. Mechanochemistry Induced Using Force Exerted by a Functionalized Microscope Tip

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Yajie; Wang, Yongfeng; Lü, Jing-Tao

    2017-01-01

    Atomic-scale mechanochemistry is realized from force exerted by a C60 -functionalized scanning tunneling microscope tip. Two conformers of tin phthalocyanine can be prepared on coinage-metal surfaces. A transition between these conformers is induced on Cu(111) and Ag(100). Density...

  10. Photorhabdus luminescens genes induced upon insect infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jung Kirsten

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Photorhabdus luminescens is a Gram-negative luminescent enterobacterium and a symbiote to soil nematodes belonging to the species Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. P.luminescens is simultaneously highly pathogenic to insects. This bacterium exhibits a complex life cycle, including one symbiotic stage characterized by colonization of the upper nematode gut, and a pathogenic stage, characterized by release from the nematode into the hemocoel of insect larvae, resulting in rapid insect death caused by bacterial toxins. P. luminescens appears to sense and adapt to the novel host environment upon changing hosts, which facilitates the production of factors involved in survival within the host, host-killing, and -exploitation. Results A differential fluorescence induction (DFI approach was applied to identify genes that are up-regulated in the bacterium after infection of the insect host Galleria mellonella. For this purpose, a P. luminescens promoter-trap library utilizing the mCherry fluorophore as a reporter was constructed, and approximately 13,000 clones were screened for fluorescence induction in the presence of a G. mellonella larvae homogenate. Since P. luminescens has a variety of regulators that potentially sense chemical molecules, like hormones, the screen for up-regulated genes or operons was performed in vitro, excluding physicochemical signals like oxygen, temperature or osmolarity as variables. Clones (18 were obtained exhibiting at least 2.5-fold induced fluorescence and regarded as specific responders to insect homogenate. In combination with a bioinformatics approach, sequence motifs were identified in these DNA-fragments that are similar to 29 different promoters within the P. luminescens genome. By cloning each of the predicted promoters upstream of the reporter gene, induction was verified for 27 promoters in vitro, and for 24 promoters in viable G. mellonella larvae. Among the validated promoters are some known

  11. Fluctuation-induced forces on an atom near a photonic topological material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silveirinha, Mário G.; Gangaraj, S. Ali Hassani; Hanson, George W.; Antezza, Mauro

    2018-02-01

    We theoretically study the Casimir-Polder force on an atom in an arbitrary initial state in a rather general electromagnetic environment wherein the materials may have a nonreciprocal bianisotropic dispersive response. It is shown that under the Markov approximation the force has resonant and nonresonant contributions. We obtain explicit expressions for the optical force both in terms of the system Green function and of the electromagnetic modes. We apply the theory to the particular case wherein a two-level system interacts with a topological gyrotropic material, showing that the nonreciprocity enables exotic light-matter interactions and the opportunity to sculpt and tune the Casimir-Polder forces on the nanoscale. With a quasistatic approximation, we obtain a simple analytical expression for the optical force and unveil the crucial role of surface plasmons in fluctuation-induced forces. Finally, we derive the Green function for a gyrotropic material half-space in terms of a Sommerfeld integral.

  12. Identification of salt-stress induced differentially expressed genes in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Identification of salt-stress induced differentially expressed genes in barley leaves using the annealingcontrol- primer-based GeneFishing technique. S Lee, K Lee, K Kim, GJ Choi, SH Yoon, HC Ji, S Seo, YC Lim, N Ahsan ...

  13. Sideways fall-induced impact force and its effect on hip fracture risk: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasiri Sarvi, M; Luo, Y

    2017-10-01

    Osteoporotic hip fracture, mostly induced in falls among the elderly, is a major health burden over the world. The impact force applied to the hip is an important factor in determining the risk of hip fracture. However, biomechanical researches have yielded conflicting conclusions about whether the fall-induced impact force can be accurately predicted by the available models. It also has been debated whether or not the effect of impact force has been considered appropriately in hip fracture risk assessment tools. This study aimed to provide a state-of-the-art review of the available methods for predicting the impact force, investigate their strengths/limitations, and suggest further improvements in modeling of human body falling. We divided the effective parameters on impact force to two categories: (1) the parameters that can be determined subject-specifically and (2) the parameters that may significantly vary from fall to fall for an individual and cannot be considered subject-specifically. The parameters in the first category can be investigated in human body fall experiments. Video capture of real-life falls was reported as a valuable method to investigate the parameters in the second category that significantly affect the impact force and cannot be determined in human body fall experiments. The analysis of the gathered data revealed that there is a need to develop modified biomechanical models for more accurate prediction of the impact force and appropriately adopt them in hip fracture risk assessment tools in order to achieve a better precision in identifying high-risk patients. Graphical abstract Impact force to the hip induced in sideways falls is affected by many parameters and may remarkably vary from subject to subject.

  14. Study on radiation-inducible genes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, Sang Yong; Kim, Dong Ho; Joe, Min Ho; Song, Hyu Npa

    2012-01-15

    Transcription of previously identified radiation-inducible genes, uscA and cyoA, was examined responding to radiation. The putative promoter regions of both genes were cloned into pRS415 vector containing lacZ, and the core promoter region necessary for radiation response were determined through promoter deletion method. To investigate the role of uscA, which is assumed to be small RNA related with radiation response, a deletion mutant strain of uscA was constructed. However, uscA deletion did not affect bacterial survival against radiation exposure. The use of bacteria as anticancer agents has attracted interest. In this study, we tried to develop tumor targeting bacteria in which the radiation-inducible promoter activate a transgene encoding a cytotoxic protein. For outward secretion of anticancer protein produced inside bacteria, the N-terminal 140 amino acid of SspH1 was found to function as a secretion signal peptide. To create an attenuated tumor-targeting bacteria, Salmonella ptsI mutant strain was constructed, and we found that its virulence decreased. Finally, the tumor-targeting ability of ptsI mutant was verified by the use of in-vivo imaging analysis.

  15. Study on radiation-inducible genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Sang Yong; Kim, Dong Ho; Joe, Min Ho; Song, Hyu Npa

    2012-01-01

    Transcription of previously identified radiation-inducible genes, uscA and cyoA, was examined responding to radiation. The putative promoter regions of both genes were cloned into pRS415 vector containing lacZ, and the core promoter region necessary for radiation response were determined through promoter deletion method. To investigate the role of uscA, which is assumed to be small RNA related with radiation response, a deletion mutant strain of uscA was constructed. However, uscA deletion did not affect bacterial survival against radiation exposure. The use of bacteria as anticancer agents has attracted interest. In this study, we tried to develop tumor targeting bacteria in which the radiation-inducible promoter activate a transgene encoding a cytotoxic protein. For outward secretion of anticancer protein produced inside bacteria, the N-terminal 140 amino acid of SspH1 was found to function as a secretion signal peptide. To create an attenuated tumor-targeting bacteria, Salmonella ptsI mutant strain was constructed, and we found that its virulence decreased. Finally, the tumor-targeting ability of ptsI mutant was verified by the use of in-vivo imaging analysis

  16. Deletion of circadian gene Per1 alleviates acute ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity in mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Tao; Yang, Ping; Zhan, Yibei; Xia, Lin; Hua, Zichun; Zhang, Jianfa

    2013-01-01

    The severity of ethanol-induced liver injury is associated with oxidative stress and lipid accumulation in the liver. Core circadian clock is known to mediate antioxidative enzyme activity and lipid metabolism. However, the link between circadian clock and ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity remains unclear. Here we showed that extents of acute ethanol-induced liver injury and steatosis in mice exhibit circadian variations consistent with hepatic expression of Period (Per) genes. Mice lacking clock gene Per1 displayed less susceptible to ethanol-induced liver injury, as evidenced by lower serum transaminase activity and less severe histopathological changes. Ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation was alleviated in Per1−/− mice. However, Per1 deletion had no effect on antioxidants depletion caused by ethanol administration. Ethanol-induced triglycerides (TG) accumulation in the serum and liver was significantly decreased in Per1−/− mice compared with that in wild-type (WT) mice. Analysis of gene expression in the liver revealed peroxisome proliferators activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) and its target genes related to TG synthesis are remarkably down-regulated in Per1−/− mice. HepG2 cells were treated with ethanol at 150 mM for 3 days. Per1 overexpression augmented lipid accumulation after treatment with ethanol in HepG2 cells, but had no effect on ethanol-induced oxidative stress. Expression of genes related to lipogenesis, including PPARγ and its target genes, was up-regulated in cells overexpressing Per1. In conclusion, these results indicated that circadian rhythms of ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity are controlled by clock gene Per1, and deletion of Per1 protected mice from ethanol-induced liver injury by decreasing hepatic lipid accumulation

  17. Metabolic costs of force generation for constant-frequency and catchlike-inducing electrical stimulation in human tibialis anterior muscle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ratkevicius, Aivaras; Quistorff, Bjørn

    2002-01-01

    -frequency trains, catchlike-inducing trains produced a faster force generation and were more effective in maintaining the force--time integral as well as peak force. However, ATP costs of force generation were similar for the catchlike-inducing and constant-frequency stimulation (6.7 plus/minus 1.1 and 6.6 plus......Metabolic costs of force generation were compared for constant-frequency and catchlike-inducing electrical stimulation. Repetitive catchlike-inducing trains consisted of 2 interpulse intervals (IPIs) at 12.5 ms, 1 IPI at 25 ms, and 5 IPIs at 50 ms. Constant-frequency trains consisted of 8 IPIs...... at 37.5 ms. One train was delivered to the peroneal nerve every 2.5 s for 36 times under ischemic conditions. Anaerobic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) turnover was determined using 31-phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (P-MRS) of the human tibialis anterior muscle. Compared with constant...

  18. Microarray-based screening of differentially expressed genes in glucocorticoid-induced avascular necrosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Gangyong; Wei, Yibing; Zhao, Guanglei; Xia, Jun; Wang, Siqun; Wu, Jianguo; Chen, Feiyan; Chen, Jie; Shi, Jingshen

    2017-01-01

    The underlying mechanisms of glucocorticoid (GC)-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) have yet to be fully understood, in particular the mechanisms associated with the change of gene expression pattern. The present study aimed to identify key genes with a differential expression pattern in GC-induced ANFH. E-MEXP-2751 microarray data were downloaded from the ArrayExpress database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in 5 femoral head samples of steroid-induced ANFH rats compared with 5 placebo-treated rat samples. Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses were performed upon these DEGs. A total 93 DEGs (46 upregulated and 47 downregulated genes) were identified in GC-induced ANFH samples. These DEGs were enriched in different GO terms and pathways, including chondrocyte differentiation and detection of chemical stimuli. The enrichment map revealed that skeletal system development was interconnected with several other GO terms by gene overlap. The literature mined network analysis revealed that 5 upregulated genes were associated with femoral necrosis, including parathyroid hormone receptor 1 (PTHR1), vitamin D (1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3) receptor (VDR), collagen, type II, α1, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 6 and zinc finger protein 354C (ZFP354C). In addition, ZFP354C and VDR were identified to transcription factors. Furthermore, PTHR1 was revealed to interact with VDR, and α-2-macroglobulin (A2M) interacted with fibronectin 1 (FN1) in the PPI network. PTHR1 may be involved in GC-induced ANFH via interacting with VDR. A2M may also be involved in the development of GC-induced ANFH through interacting with FN1. An improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying GC-induced ANFH may provide novel targets for diagnostics and therapeutic treatment. PMID:28393228

  19. Microarray‑based screening of differentially expressed genes in glucocorticoid‑induced avascular necrosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Gangyong; Wei, Yibing; Zhao, Guanglei; Xia, Jun; Wang, Siqun; Wu, Jianguo; Chen, Feiyan; Chen, Jie; Shi, Jingshen

    2017-06-01

    The underlying mechanisms of glucocorticoid (GC)‑induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) have yet to be fully understood, in particular the mechanisms associated with the change of gene expression pattern. The present study aimed to identify key genes with a differential expression pattern in GC‑induced ANFH. E‑MEXP‑2751 microarray data were downloaded from the ArrayExpress database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in 5 femoral head samples of steroid‑induced ANFH rats compared with 5 placebo‑treated rat samples. Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses were performed upon these DEGs. A total 93 DEGs (46 upregulated and 47 downregulated genes) were identified in GC‑induced ANFH samples. These DEGs were enriched in different GO terms and pathways, including chondrocyte differentiation and detection of chemical stimuli. The enrichment map revealed that skeletal system development was interconnected with several other GO terms by gene overlap. The literature mined network analysis revealed that 5 upregulated genes were associated with femoral necrosis, including parathyroid hormone receptor 1 (PTHR1), vitamin D (1,25‑Dihydroxyvitamin D3) receptor (VDR), collagen, type II, α1, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 6 and zinc finger protein 354C (ZFP354C). In addition, ZFP354C and VDR were identified to transcription factors. Furthermore, PTHR1 was revealed to interact with VDR, and α‑2‑macroglobulin (A2M) interacted with fibronectin 1 (FN1) in the PPI network. PTHR1 may be involved in GC‑induced ANFH via interacting with VDR. A2M may also be involved in the development of GC‑induced ANFH through interacting with FN1. An improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying GC‑induced ANFH may provide novel targets for diagnostics and therapeutic treatment.

  20. Constraints on Stable Equilibria with Fluctuation-Induced (Casimir) Forces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahi, Sahand Jamal; Kardar, Mehran; Emig, Thorsten

    2010-01-01

    We examine whether fluctuation-induced forces can lead to stable levitation. First, we analyze a collection of classical objects at finite temperature that contain fixed and mobile charges and show that any arrangement in space is unstable to small perturbations in position. This extends Earnshaw's theorem for electrostatics by including thermal fluctuations of internal charges. Quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field are responsible for Casimir or van der Waals interactions. Neglecting permeabilities, we find that any equilibrium position of items subject to such forces is also unstable if the permittivities of all objects are higher or lower than that of the enveloping medium, the former being the generic case for ordinary materials in vacuum.

  1. Constraints on stable equilibria with fluctuation-induced (Casimir) forces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahi, Sahand Jamal; Kardar, Mehran; Emig, Thorsten

    2010-08-13

    We examine whether fluctuation-induced forces can lead to stable levitation. First, we analyze a collection of classical objects at finite temperature that contain fixed and mobile charges and show that any arrangement in space is unstable to small perturbations in position. This extends Earnshaw's theorem for electrostatics by including thermal fluctuations of internal charges. Quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field are responsible for Casimir or van der Waals interactions. Neglecting permeabilities, we find that any equilibrium position of items subject to such forces is also unstable if the permittivities of all objects are higher or lower than that of the enveloping medium, the former being the generic case for ordinary materials in vacuum.

  2. Plasticity-Related Gene Expression During Eszopiclone-Induced Sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerashchenko, Dmitry; Pasumarthi, Ravi K; Kilduff, Thomas S

    2017-07-01

    Experimental evidence suggests that restorative processes depend on synaptic plasticity changes in the brain during sleep. We used the expression of plasticity-related genes to assess synaptic plasticity changes during drug-induced sleep. We first characterized sleep induced by eszopiclone in mice during baseline conditions and during the recovery from sleep deprivation. We then compared the expression of 18 genes and two miRNAs critically involved in synaptic plasticity in these mice. Gene expression was assessed in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus by the TaqMan reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and correlated with sleep parameters. Eszopiclone reduced the latency to nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and increased NREM sleep amounts. Eszopiclone had no effect on slow wave activity (SWA) during baseline conditions but reduced the SWA increase during recovery sleep (RS) after sleep deprivation. Gene expression analyses revealed three distinct patterns: (1) four genes had higher expression either in the cortex or hippocampus in the group of mice with increased amounts of wakefulness; (2) a large proportion of plasticity-related genes (7 out of 18 genes) had higher expression during RS in the cortex but not in the hippocampus; and (3) six genes and the two miRNAs showed no significant changes across conditions. Even at a relatively high dose (20 mg/kg), eszopiclone did not reduce the expression of plasticity-related genes during RS period in the cortex. These results indicate that gene expression associated with synaptic plasticity occurs in the cortex in the presence of a hypnotic medication. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. The Agricultural Antibiotic Carbadox Induces Phage-mediated Gene Transfer in Salmonella

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bradley L. Bearson

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Antibiotics are used for disease therapeutic or preventative effects in humans and animals, as well as for enhanced feed conversion efficiency in livestock. Antibiotics can also cause undesirable effects in microbial populations, including selection for antibiotic resistance, enhanced pathogen invasion, and stimulation of horizontal gene transfer. Carbadox is a veterinary antibiotic used in the U.S. during the starter phase of swine production for improved feed efficiency and control of swine dysentery and bacterial swine enteritis. Carbadox has been shown in vitro to induce phage-encoded Shiga toxin in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and a phage-like element transferring antibiotic resistance genes in Brachyspira hyodysenteriae, but the effect of carbadox on prophages in other bacteria is unknown. This study examined carbadox exposure on prophage induction and genetic transfer in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, a human foodborne pathogen that frequently colonizes swine without causing disease. S. Typhimurium LT2 exposed to carbadox induced prophage production, resulting in bacterial cell lysis and release of virions that were visible by electron microscopy. Carbadox induction of phage-mediated gene transfer was confirmed by monitoring the transduction of a sodCIII::neo cassette in the Fels-1 prophage from LT2 to a recipient Salmonella strain. Furthermore, carbadox frequently induced generalized transducing phages in multidrug-resistant phage type DT104 and DT120 isolates, resulting in the transfer of chromosomal and plasmid DNA that included antibiotic resistance genes. Our research indicates that exposure of Salmonella to carbadox induces prophages that can transfer virulence and antibiotic resistance genes to susceptible bacterial hosts. Carbadox-induced, phage-mediated gene transfer could serve as a contributing factor in bacterial evolution during animal production, with prophages being a reservoir for bacterial fitness

  4. Host-Induced Gene Silencing of Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae Pathogenicity Genes Mediated by the Brome Mosaic Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Lin; Zhu, Jian; Liu, Zhixue; Wang, Zhengyi; Zhou, Cheng; Wang, Hong

    2017-09-26

    Magnaporthe oryzae is a devastating plant pathogen, which has a detrimental impact on rice production worldwide. Despite its agronomical importance, some newly-emerging pathotypes often overcome race-specific disease resistance rapidly. It is thus desirable to develop a novel strategy for the long-lasting resistance of rice plants to ever-changing fungal pathogens. Brome mosaic virus (BMV)-induced RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a useful tool to study host-resistance genes for rice blast protection. Planta-generated silencing of targeted genes inside biotrophic pathogens can be achieved by expression of M. oryzae -derived gene fragments in the BMV-mediated gene silencing system, a technique termed host-induced gene silencing (HIGS). In this study, the effectiveness of BMV-mediated HIGS in M. oryzae was examined by targeting three predicted pathogenicity genes, MoABC1, MoMAC1 and MoPMK1 . Systemic generation of fungal gene-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules induced by inoculation of BMV viral vectors inhibited disease development and reduced the transcription of targeted fungal genes after subsequent M. oryzae inoculation. Combined introduction of fungal gene sequences in sense and antisense orientation mediated by the BMV silencing vectors significantly enhanced the efficiency of this host-generated trans-specific RNAi, implying that these fungal genes played crucial roles in pathogenicity. Collectively, our results indicated that BMV-HIGS system was a great strategy for protecting host plants against the invasion of pathogenic fungi.

  5. Protective effects of L-selenomethionine on space radiation induced changes in gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, J; Ko, Y-H; Kennedy, A R

    2007-06-01

    Ionizing radiation can produce adverse biological effects in astronauts during space travel. Of particular concern are the types of radiation from highly energetic, heavy, charged particles known as HZE particles. The aims of our studies are to characterize HZE particle radiation induced biological effects and evaluate the effects of L-selenomethionine (SeM) on these adverse biological effects. In this study, microarray technology was used to measure HZE radiation induced changes in gene expression, as well as to evaluate modulation of these changes by SeM. Human thyroid epithelial cells (HTori-3) were irradiated (1 GeV/n iron ions) in the presence or in the absence of 5 microM SeM. At 6 h post-irradiation, all cells were harvested for RNA isolation. Gene Chip U133Av2 from Affymetrix was used for the analysis of gene expression, and ANOVA and EASE were used for a determination of the genes and biological processes whose differential expression is statistically significant. Results of this microarray study indicate that exposure to small doses of radiation from HZE particles, 10 and 20 cGy from iron ions, induces statistically significant differential expression of 196 and 610 genes, respectively. In the presence of SeM, differential expression of 77 out of 196 genes (exposure to 10 cGy) and 336 out of 610 genes (exposure to 20 cGy) is abolished. In the presence or in the absence of SeM, radiation from HZE particles induces differential expression of genes whose products have roles in the induction of G1/S arrest during the mitotic cell cycle, as well as heat shock proteins. Some of the genes, whose expressions were affected by radiation from HZE particles and were unchanged in irradiated cells treated with SeM, have been shown to have altered expression levels in cancer cells. The conclusions of this report are that radiation from HZE particles can induce differential expression of many genes, some of which are known to play roles in the same processes that have

  6. In Vivo Imaging of Local Gene Expression Induced by Magnetic Hyperthermia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olivier Sandre

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The present work aims to demonstrate that colloidal dispersions of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles stabilized with dextran macromolecules placed in an alternating magnetic field can not only produce heat, but also that these particles could be used in vivo for local and noninvasive deposition of a thermal dose sufficient to trigger thermo-induced gene expression. Iron oxide nanoparticles were first characterized in vitro on a bio-inspired setup, and then they were assayed in vivo using a transgenic mouse strain expressing the luciferase reporter gene under transcriptional control of a thermosensitive promoter. Iron oxide nanoparticles dispersions were applied topically on the mouse skin or injected subcutaneously with Matrigel™ to generate so-called pseudotumors. Temperature was monitored continuously with a feedback loop to control the power of the magnetic field generator and to avoid overheating. Thermo-induced luciferase expression was followed by bioluminescence imaging 6 h after heating. We showed that dextran-coated magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle dispersions were able to induce in vivo mild hyperthermia compatible with thermo-induced gene expression in surrounding tissues and without impairing cell viability. These data open new therapeutic perspectives for using mild magnetic hyperthermia as noninvasive modulation of tumor microenvironment by local thermo-induced gene expression or drug release.

  7. Van der Waals-like forces between hadrons induced by color confining potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gavela, M.B.; Yaouanc, A. le; Oliver, L.; Pene, O.; Raynal, J.C.; Sood, S.

    1979-01-01

    The London treatment of van der Waals forces is generalized to long-range forces induced by instantaneous confining potentials. Special attention is given to the problem of accounting for the intermediate colour-octet states. The result is in contradiciton with data on nucleon-nucleon phase shifts for any confining potential V(r) = -a(Σsub(A)lambdasup(A)lambda sup(A))rsup(α) for α > 0.1. (Auth.)

  8. Identification of novel senescence-associated genes in ionizing radiation-induced senescent carcinoma cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jae Seon; Kim, Bong Cho; Han, Na Kyung; Hong, Mi Na; Park, Su Min; Yoo, Hee Jung; Chu, In Sun; Lee, Sun Hee

    2009-01-01

    Cellular senescence is considered as a defense mechanism to prevent tumorigenesis. Ionizing radiation (IR) induces stress-induced premature senescence as well as apoptosis in various cancer cells. Senescent cells undergo functional and morphological changes including large and flattened cell shape, senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-βGal) activity, and altered gene expressions. Even with the recent findings of several gene expression profiles and supporting functional data, it is obscure that mechanism of IR-induced premature senescence in cancer cells. We performed microarray analysis to identify the common regulated genes in ionizing radiation-induced prematurely senescent human carcinoma cell lines

  9. Analysis of Disturbance Source Inducing by The Variable Speed Wind Turbine System Forced Power Oscillations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, Jin; Hu, Weihao; Wang, Xiaoru

    2015-01-01

    The main focus of forced low frequency oscillations is to analyze the disturbance source and the origin of forced oscillations. In this paper, the origin of low-frequency periodical oscillations induced by wind turbines’ mechanical power is investigated and the mechanism is studied of fluctuating...... power transfer through permanent magnet generator wind turbine system. Considering the tower shadow and the wind shear effect, the mechanical and generator coupling model is developed by PSCAD. Simulation is done to analyze the impacts on output power of operation points and mechanical fluctuation...... components. It is shown that when the oscillation frequency of tower shadow coincides with the system natural frequency, it may cause forced oscillations, whereas, the wind shear and natural wind speed fluctuation are not likely to induce forced oscillations....

  10. Orthodontic Forces Induce the Cytoprotective Enzyme Heme Oxygenase-1 in Rats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Suttorp, C.M.; Xie, R.; Lundvig, D.M.S.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.; Uijttenboogaart, J.T.; Rheden, R.E.M. van; Maltha, J.C.; Wagener, F.A.D.T.G.

    2016-01-01

    Orthodontic forces disturb the microenvironment of the periodontal ligament (PDL), and induce craniofacial bone remodeling which is necessary for tooth movement. Unfortunately, orthodontic tooth movement is often hampered by ischemic injury and cell death within the PDL (hyalinization) and root

  11. Casimir force in the Goedel space-time and its possible induced cosmological inhomogeneity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khodabakhshi, Sh. [University of Tehran, Department of Physics, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shojai, A. [University of Tehran, Department of Physics, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Foundations of Physics Group, School of Physics, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2017-07-15

    The Casimir force between two parallel plates in the Goedel universe is computed for a scalar field at finite temperature. It is observed that when the plates' separation is comparable with the scale given by the rotation of the space-time, the force becomes repulsive and then approaches zero. Since it has been shown previously that the universe may experience a Goedel phase for a small period of time, the induced inhomogeneities from the Casimir force are also studied. (orig.)

  12. Transcriptome analysis of trichothecene-induced gene expression in barley.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boddu, Jayanand; Cho, Seungho; Muehlbauer, Gary J

    2007-11-01

    Fusarium head blight, caused primarily by Fusarium graminearum, is a major disease problem on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Trichothecene mycotoxins produced by the fungus during infection increase the aggressiveness of the fungus and promote infection in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Loss-of-function mutations in the TRI5 gene in F. graminearum result in the inability to synthesize trichothecenes and in reduced virulence on wheat. We examined the impact of pathogen-derived trichothecenes on virulence and the transcriptional differences in barley spikes infected with a trichothecene-producing wild-type strain and a loss-of-function tri5 trichothecene nonproducing mutant. Disease severity, fungal biomass, and floret necrosis and bleaching were reduced in spikes inoculated with the tri5 mutant strain compared with the wild-type strain, indicating that the inability to synthesize trichothecenes results in reduced virulence in barley. We detected 63 transcripts that were induced during trichothecene accumulation, including genes encoding putative trichothecene detoxification and transport proteins, ubiquitination-related proteins, programmed cell death-related proteins, transcription factors, and cytochrome P450s. We also detected 414 gene transcripts that were designated as basal defense response genes largely independent of trichothecene accumulation. Our results show that barley exhibits a specific response to trichothecene accumulation that can be separated from the basal defense response. We propose that barley responds to trichothecene accumulation by inducing at least two general responses. One response is the induction of genes encoding trichothecene detoxification and transport activities that may reduce the impact of trichothecenes. The other response is to induce genes encoding proteins associated with ubiquitination and cell death which may promote successful establishment of the disease.

  13. Isolation and characterization of an auxin-inducible glutathione S-transferase gene of Arabidopsis thaliana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kop, D.A.M. van der; Schuyer, M.; Scheres, B.J.G.; Zaal, B.J. van der; Hooykaas, P.J.J.

    1996-01-01

    Genes homologous to the auxin-inducible Nt103 glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene of tobacco, were isolated from a genomic library of Arabidopsis thaliana. We isolated a λ clone containing an auxin-inducible gene, At103-1a, and part of a constitutively expressed gene, At103-1b. The coding regions

  14. Orthodontic forces induce the cytoprotective enzyme heme oxygenase-1 in rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christiaan M. Suttorp

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Orthodontic forces disturb the microenvironment of the periodontal ligament (PDL, and induce craniofacial bone remodeling which is necessary for tooth movement. Unfortunately, orthodontic tooth movement is often hampered by ischemic injury and cell death within the PDL (hyalinization and root resorption. Large inter-individual differences in hyalinization and root resorption have been observed, and may be explained by differential protection against hyalization. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1 forms an important protective mechanism by breaking down heme into the strong anti-oxidants biliverdin/bilirubin and the signaling molecule carbon monoxide. These versatile HO-products protect against ischemic and inflammatory injury. We postulate that orthodontic forces induce HO-1 expression in the PDL during experimental tooth movement. Twenty-five 6-week-old male Wistar rats were used in this study. The upper three molars at one side were moved mesially using a Ni-Ti 10 cN coil spring. The contralateral side served as control. After 6, 12, 72, 96 and 120 hrs rats were killed. On parasagittal sections immunohistochemical staining was performed for analysis of HO-1 expression and quantification of multinuclear osteoclasts. Orthodontic force induced a significant time-dependent HO-1 expression in the mononuclear cell population within the PDL at both the apposition- and resorption side. Shortly after appliance placement HO-1 expression was highly induced in PDL cells but dropped to control levels within 72 hours. Some osteoclasts were HO-1 positive but this induction was shown to be independent of time- and mechanical stress. It is tempting to speculate that differential induction of cytoprotective enzymes as HO-1 in the PDL determines the level of hyalinization and, subsequently, fast and slow tooth movers during orthodontic treatment.

  15. Inhibition of TRAIL-induced apoptosis and forced internalization of TRAIL receptor 1 by adenovirus proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tollefson, A E; Toth, K; Doronin, K; Kuppuswamy, M; Doronina, O A; Lichtenstein, D L; Hermiston, T W; Smith, C A; Wold, W S

    2001-10-01

    Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis through two receptors, TRAIL-R1 (also known as death receptor 4) and TRAIL-R2 (also known as death receptor 5), that are members of the TNF receptor superfamily of death domain-containing receptors. We show that human adenovirus type 5 encodes three proteins, named RID (previously named E3-10.4K/14.5K), E3-14.7K, and E1B-19K, that independently inhibit TRAIL-induced apoptosis of infected human cells. This conclusion was derived from studies using wild-type adenovirus, adenovirus replication-competent mutants that lack one or more of the RID, E3-14.7K, and E1B-19K genes, and adenovirus E1-minus replication-defective vectors that express all E3 genes, RID plus E3-14.7K only, RID only, or E3-14.7K only. RID inhibits TRAIL-induced apoptosis when cells are sensitized to TRAIL either by adenovirus infection or treatment with cycloheximide. RID induces the internalization of TRAIL-R1 from the cell surface, as shown by flow cytometry and indirect immunofluorescence for TRAIL-R1. TRAIL-R1 was internalized in distinct vesicles which are very likely to be endosomes and lysosomes. TRAIL-R1 is degraded, as indicated by the disappearance of the TRAIL-R1 immunofluorescence signal. Degradation was inhibited by bafilomycin A1, a drug that prevents acidification of vesicles and the sorting of receptors from late endosomes to lysosomes, implying that degradation occurs in lysosomes. RID was also shown previously to internalize and degrade another death domain receptor, Fas, and to prevent apoptosis through Fas and the TNF receptor. RID was shown previously to force the internalization and degradation of the epidermal growth factor receptor. E1B-19K was shown previously to block apoptosis through Fas, and both E1B-19K and E3-14.7K were found to prevent apoptosis through the TNF receptor. These findings suggest that the receptors for TRAIL, Fas ligand, and TNF play a role in limiting virus

  16. Fast and sensitive detection of indels induced by precise gene targeting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Zhang; Steentoft, Catharina; Hauge, Camilla

    2015-01-01

    The nuclease-based gene editing tools are rapidly transforming capabilities for altering the genome of cells and organisms with great precision and in high throughput studies. A major limitation in application of precise gene editing lies in lack of sensitive and fast methods to detect...... and characterize the induced DNA changes. Precise gene editing induces double-stranded DNA breaks that are repaired by error-prone non-homologous end joining leading to introduction of insertions and deletions (indels) at the target site. These indels are often small and difficult and laborious to detect...

  17. Drug-loaded nanoparticles induce gene expression in human pluripotent stem cell derivatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajbhiye, Virendra; Escalante, Leah; Chen, Guojun; Laperle, Alex; Zheng, Qifeng; Steyer, Benjamin; Gong, Shaoqin; Saha, Krishanu

    2013-12-01

    Tissue engineering and advanced manufacturing of human stem cells requires a suite of tools to control gene expression spatiotemporally in culture. Inducible gene expression systems offer cell-extrinsic control, typically through addition of small molecules, but small molecule inducers typically contain few functional groups for further chemical modification. Doxycycline (DXC), a potent small molecule inducer of tetracycline (Tet) transgene systems, was conjugated to a hyperbranched dendritic polymer (Boltorn H40) and subsequently reacted with polyethylene glycol (PEG). The resulting PEG-H40-DXC nanoparticle exhibited pH-sensitive drug release behavior and successfully controlled gene expression in stem-cell-derived fibroblasts with a Tet-On system. While free DXC inhibited fibroblast proliferation and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity, PEG-H40-DXC nanoparticles maintained higher fibroblast proliferation levels and MMP activity. The results demonstrate that the PEG-H40-DXC nanoparticle system provides an effective tool to controlling gene expression in human stem cell derivatives.Tissue engineering and advanced manufacturing of human stem cells requires a suite of tools to control gene expression spatiotemporally in culture. Inducible gene expression systems offer cell-extrinsic control, typically through addition of small molecules, but small molecule inducers typically contain few functional groups for further chemical modification. Doxycycline (DXC), a potent small molecule inducer of tetracycline (Tet) transgene systems, was conjugated to a hyperbranched dendritic polymer (Boltorn H40) and subsequently reacted with polyethylene glycol (PEG). The resulting PEG-H40-DXC nanoparticle exhibited pH-sensitive drug release behavior and successfully controlled gene expression in stem-cell-derived fibroblasts with a Tet-On system. While free DXC inhibited fibroblast proliferation and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity, PEG-H40-DXC nanoparticles maintained

  18. Radiation-induced gene expression in human subcutaneous fibroblasts is predictive of radiation-induced fibrosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rødningen, Olaug Kristin; Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Alsner, Jan

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Breast cancer patients show a large variation in normal tissue reactions after ionizing radiation (IR) therapy. One of the most common long-term adverse effects of ionizing radiotherapy is radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF), and several attempts have been made over the last...... years to develop predictive assays for RIF. Our aim was to identify basal and radiation-induced transcriptional profiles in fibroblasts from breast cancer patients that might be related to the individual risk of RIF in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fibroblast cell lines from 31 individuals......-treated fibroblasts. Transcriptional differences in basal and radiation-induced gene expression profiles were investigated using 15K cDNA microarrays, and results analyzed by both SAM and PAM. RESULTS: Sixty differentially expressed genes were identified by applying SAM on 10 patients with the highest risk of RIF...

  19. Forced wave induced by an atmospheric pressure disturbance moving towards shore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yixiang; Niu, Xiaojing

    2018-05-01

    Atmospheric pressure disturbances moving over a vast expanse of water can induce different wave patterns, which can be determined by the Froude number Fr. Generally, Fr = 1 is a critical value for the transformation of the wave pattern and the well-known Proudman resonance happens when Fr = 1. In this study, the forced wave induced by an atmospheric pressure disturbance moving over a constant slope from deep sea to shore is numerically investigated. The wave pattern evolves from a concentric-circle type into a triangular type with the increase of the Froude number, as the local water depth decreases, which is in accord with the analysis in the unbounded flat-bottom cases. However, a hysteresis effect has been observed, which implies the obvious amplification of the forced wave induced by a pressure disturbance can not be simply predicted by Fr = 1. The effects of the characteristic parameters of pressure disturbances and slope gradient have been discussed. The results show that it is not always possible to observe significant peak of the maximum water elevation before the landing of pressure disturbances, and a significant peak can be generated by a pressure disturbance with small spatial scale and fast moving velocity over a milder slope. Besides, an extremely high run-up occurs when the forced wave hits the shore, which is an essential threat to coastal security. The results also show that the maximum run-up is not monotonously varying with the increase of disturbance moving speed and spatial scale. There exists a most dangerous speed and scale which may cause disastrous nearshore surge.

  20. Liver lipid molecules induce PEPCK-C gene transcription and attenuate insulin action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Guoxun

    2007-01-01

    Cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK-C) plays key roles in gluconeogenesis, glyceroneogenesis, and cataplerosis. Experiments were designed to examine the effects of endogenous lipid molecules from rat livers on the expression of PEPCK-C gene in primary rat hepatocytes. The lipid extracts prepared from livers of Zucker fatty, lean, and Wistar rats induced the expression levels of PEPCK-C transcripts. Insulin-mediated reduction of PEPCK-C gene expression was attenuated by the same treatment. The lipid extracts induced the relative luciferase activity of reporter gene constructs that contain a 2.2-kb 5' promoter fragment of PEPCK-C gene, but not the construct that contains only the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of its mRNA. The estimated half life of PEPCK-C transcripts in the presence of the lipid extract is the same as that in the absence of it. My results demonstrate for the first time that endogenous lipid molecules induce PEPCK-C gene transcription and attenuate insulin action in liver

  1. Alcohol-induced histone acetylation reveals a gene network involved in alcohol tolerance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfredo Ghezzi

    Full Text Available Sustained or repeated exposure to sedating drugs, such as alcohol, triggers homeostatic adaptations in the brain that lead to the development of drug tolerance and dependence. These adaptations involve long-term changes in the transcription of drug-responsive genes as well as an epigenetic restructuring of chromosomal regions that is thought to signal and maintain the altered transcriptional state. Alcohol-induced epigenetic changes have been shown to be important in the long-term adaptation that leads to alcohol tolerance and dependence endophenotypes. A major constraint impeding progress is that alcohol produces a surfeit of changes in gene expression, most of which may not make any meaningful contribution to the ethanol response under study. Here we used a novel genomic epigenetic approach to find genes relevant for functional alcohol tolerance by exploiting the commonalities of two chemically distinct alcohols. In Drosophila melanogaster, ethanol and benzyl alcohol induce mutual cross-tolerance, indicating that they share a common mechanism for producing tolerance. We surveyed the genome-wide changes in histone acetylation that occur in response to these drugs. Each drug induces modifications in a large number of genes. The genes that respond similarly to either treatment, however, represent a subgroup enriched for genes important for the common tolerance response. Genes were functionally tested for behavioral tolerance to the sedative effects of ethanol and benzyl alcohol using mutant and inducible RNAi stocks. We identified a network of genes that are essential for the development of tolerance to sedation by alcohol.

  2. Gene expression profiling distinguishes between spontaneous and radiation-induced rat mammary carcinomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imaoka, Tatsuhiko; Nishimura, Mayumi; Kakinuma, Shizuko; Shimada, Yoshiya; Yamashita, Satoshi; Ushijima, Toshikazu

    2008-01-01

    The ability to distinguish between spontaneous and radiation-induced cancers in humans is expected to improve the resolution of estimated risk from low dose radiation. Mammary carcinomas were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats that were either untreated (n=45) or acutely γ-irradiated (1 Gy; n=20) at seven weeks of age. Gene expression profiles of three spontaneous and four radiation-induced carcinomas, as well as those of normal mammary glands, were analyzed by microarrays. Differential expression of identified genes of interest was then verified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Cluster analysis of global gene expression suggested that spontaneous carcinomas were distinguished from a heterogeneous population of radiation-induced carcinomas, though most gene expressions were common. We identified 50 genes that had different expression levels between spontaneous and radiogenic carcinomas. We then selected 18 genes for confirmation of the microarray data by qPCR analysis and obtained the following results: high expression of Plg, Pgr and Wnt4 was characteristic to all spontaneous carcinomas; Tnfsf11, Fgf10, Agtr1a, S100A9 and Pou3f3 showed high expression in a subset of radiation-induced carcinomas; and increased Gp2, Areg and Igf2 expression, as well as decreased expression of Ca3 and noncoding RNA Mg1, were common to all carcinomas. Thus, gene expression analysis distinguished between spontaneous and radiogenic carcinomas, suggesting possible differences in their carcinogenic mechanism. (author)

  3. Interplay between Solo and keratin filaments is crucial for mechanical force-induced stress fiber reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujiwara, Sachiko; Ohashi, Kazumasa; Mashiko, Toshiya; Kondo, Hiroshi; Mizuno, Kensaku

    2016-03-15

    Mechanical force-induced cytoskeletal reorganization is essential for cell and tissue remodeling and homeostasis; however, the underlying cellular mechanisms remain elusive. Solo (ARHGEF40) is a RhoA-targeting guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) involved in cyclical stretch-induced human endothelial cell reorientation and convergent extension cell movement in zebrafish gastrula. In this study, we show that Solo binds to keratin-8/keratin-18 (K8/K18) intermediate filaments through multiple sites. Solo overexpression promotes the formation of thick actin stress fibers and keratin bundles, whereas knockdown of Solo, expression of a GEF-inactive mutant of Solo, or inhibition of ROCK suppresses stress fiber formation and leads to disorganized keratin networks, indicating that the Solo-RhoA-ROCK pathway serves to precisely organize keratin networks, as well as to promote stress fibers. Of importance, knockdown of Solo or K18 or overexpression of GEF-inactive or deletion mutants of Solo suppresses tensile force-induced stress fiber reinforcement. Furthermore, knockdown of Solo or K18 suppresses tensile force-induced RhoA activation. These results strongly suggest that the interplay between Solo and K8/K18 filaments plays a crucial role in tensile force-induced RhoA activation and consequent actin cytoskeletal reinforcement. © 2016 Fujiwara et al. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  4. Overexpression and amplification of the c-myc gene in mouse tumors induced by chemical and radiations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Niwa, Ohtsura; Enoki, Yoshitaka; Yokoro, Kenjiro

    1989-03-01

    We examined expression of the c-myc gene by the dot blot hybridization of total cellular RNA from mouse primary tumors induced by chemicals and radiations. Expression of the c-myc gene was found to be elevated in 69 cases among 177 independently induced tumors of 12 different types. DNA from tumors overexpressing the myc gene was analyzed by Southern blotting. No case of rearrangement was detected. However, amplification of the c-myc gene was found in 7 cases of primary sarcomas. These included 4 cases out of 24 methylcholanthrene-induced sarcomas and 3 cases out of 7 /alpha/-tocopherol-induced sacromas. We also analyzed 8 cases of sarcomas induced by radiations, but could not find changes in the gene structure of the c-myc gene. Thus, our data indicate tumor type specificity and agent specificity of c-myc gene amplification. (author).

  5. Tissue specific promoters improve the localization of radiation-inducible gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hallahan, Dennis; Kataoka, Yasushi; Kuchibhotla, Jaya; Virudachalam, Subbu; Weichselbaum, Ralph

    1996-01-01

    Purpose: Site-specific activation of gene expression can be achieved by the use of a promoter that is induced by physical agents such as x-rays. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether site-specific activation of gene therapy can also be achieved within the vascular endothelium by use of radiation-inducible promoters. We studied induction of promoter-reporter gene constructs using previously identified radiation-promoters from c-jun, c-fos, Egr-1, ICAM-1, ELAM-1 after transfection into in the vascular endothelium. Methods: The following radiation-inducible genetic constructs were created: The ELAM-1 promoter fragment was cloned into pOGH to obtain the pE-sel(-587 +35)GH reporter construct. The ICAM-1 promoter fragment (-1162/+1) was cloned upstream of the CAT coding region of the pCAT-plasmid (Promega) after removal of the SV40 promoter by Bgl2/Stu1 digestion to create the pBS-CAT plasmid. The 132 to +170 bp segment of the 5' untranslated region of the c-jun promoter was cloned to the CAT reporter gene to create the -132/+170 cjun-CAT. The Egr-1 promoter fragment (-425/+75) was cloned upstream of the CAT coding region to create the pE425-CAT plasmid. Tandem repeats of the AP-1 binding site were cloned upstream of the CAT coding region (3 xTRE-CAT). Tandem repeats of the Egr binding site (EBS) were cloned upstream of the CAT coding region (EBS-CAT). Human vascular endothelial cells from both large vessel and small vessel origin (HUVEC and HMEC), as well as human tumor cell lines were transfected with plasmids -132/+170 cjun-CAT, pE425-CAT, 3 xTRE-CAT, EBS-CAT, pE-sel-GH and pBS-CAT by use of liposomes. Humor tumor cell lines included SQ20B (squamous), RIT3 (sarcoma), and HL525 (leukemia). Each plasmid was cotransfected with a plasmid containing a CMV promoter linked to the LacZ gene (1 μg). Transfected cells were treated with mock irradiation or x-rays. Cell extracts were assayed for reporter gene expression. Results: Radiation-induced gene

  6. Oleocanthal Modulates Estradiol-Induced Gene Expression Involving Estrogen Receptor α.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keiler, Annekathrin Martina; Djiogue, Sefirin; Ehrhardt, Tino; Zierau, Oliver; Skaltsounis, Leandros; Halabalaki, Maria; Vollmer, Günter

    2015-09-01

    Oleocanthal is a bioactive compound from olive oil. It has attracted considerable attention as it is anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and has been shown to possess neuroprotective properties in vitro and in vivo. Delineated from its polyphenolic structure, the aim of this study was to characterize oleocanthal towards estrogenic properties. This might contribute to partly explain the beneficial effects described for the Mediterranean diet. Estrogenic properties of oleocanthal were assessed by different methods: a) stimulation of reporter gene activity in MVLN or RNDA cells either expressing estrogen receptor α or β, b) stimulation of luciferase reporter gene activity in U2OS osteosarcoma cells expressing estrogen receptor α or β, and c) elucidation of the impact on estradiol-induced gene expression in U2OS cells transduced with both estrogen receptors. Depending on the cell line origin, oleocanthal inhibited luciferase activity (MVLN, U2OS-estrogen receptor β) or weakly induced reporter gene activity at 10 µM in U2OS-estrogen receptor α cells. However, oleocanthal inhibited stimulation of luciferase activity by estradiol from both estrogen receptors. Oleocanthal, if given alone, did not stimulate gene expression in U2OS cells, but it significantly modulated the response of estradiol. Oleocanthal enhanced the effect of estradiol on the regulation of those genes, which are believed to be regulated through heterodimeric estrogen receptors. As the estrogenic response pattern of oleocanthal is rather unique, we compared the results obtained with oleacein. Oleocanthal binds to both estrogen receptors inducing estradiol-agonistic or antiagonistic effects depending on the cell line. Regarding regulation of gene expression in U2OS-estrogen receptor α/β cells, oleocanthal and oleacein enhanced estradiol-mediated regulation of heterodimer-regulated genes. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  7. Lithium ions induce prestalk-associated gene expression and inhibit prespore gene expression in Dictyostelium discoideum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peters, Dorien J.M.; Lookeren Campagne, Michiel M. van; Haastert, Peter J.M. van; Spek, Wouter; Schaap, Pauline

    1989-01-01

    We investigated the effect of Li+ on two types of cyclic AMP-regulated gene expression and on basal and cyclic AMP-stimulated inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3) levels. Li+ effectively inhibits cyclic AMP-induced prespore gene expression, half-maximal inhibition occurring at about 2mM-LiCl.

  8. Nitrate-induced genes in tomato roots. Array analysis reveals novel genes that may play a role in nitrogen nutrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Y H; Garvin, D F; Kochian, L V

    2001-09-01

    A subtractive tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) root cDNA library enriched in genes up-regulated by changes in plant mineral status was screened with labeled mRNA from roots of both nitrate-induced and mineral nutrient-deficient (-nitrogen [N], -phosphorus, -potassium [K], -sulfur, -magnesium, -calcium, -iron, -zinc, and -copper) tomato plants. A subset of cDNAs was selected from this library based on mineral nutrient-related changes in expression. Additional cDNAs were selected from a second mineral-deficient tomato root library based on sequence homology to known genes. These selection processes yielded a set of 1,280 mineral nutrition-related cDNAs that were arrayed on nylon membranes for further analysis. These high-density arrays were hybridized with mRNA from tomato plants exposed to nitrate at different time points after N was withheld for 48 h, for plants that were grown on nitrate/ammonium for 5 weeks prior to the withholding of N. One hundred-fifteen genes were found to be up-regulated by nitrate resupply. Among these genes were several previously identified as nitrate responsive, including nitrate transporters, nitrate and nitrite reductase, and metabolic enzymes such as transaldolase, transketolase, malate dehydrogenase, asparagine synthetase, and histidine decarboxylase. We also identified 14 novel nitrate-inducible genes, including: (a) water channels, (b) root phosphate and K(+) transporters, (c) genes potentially involved in transcriptional regulation, (d) stress response genes, and (e) ribosomal protein genes. In addition, both families of nitrate transporters were also found to be inducible by phosphate, K, and iron deficiencies. The identification of these novel nitrate-inducible genes is providing avenues of research that will yield new insights into the molecular basis of plant N nutrition, as well as possible networking between the regulation of N, phosphorus, and K nutrition.

  9. GATA-dependent regulation of TPO-induced c-mpl gene expression during megakaryopoiesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunohara, Masataka; Morikawa, Shigeru; Fuse, Akira; Sato, Iwao

    2014-01-01

    Thrombopoietin (TPO) and its receptor, c-Mpl, play the crucial role during megakaryocytopoiesis. Previously, we have shown that the promoter activity of c-mpl induced by TPO is modulated by transcription through a PKC-dependent pathway and that GATA(-77) is involved as a positive regulatory element in TPO-induced c-mpl gene expression in the megakaryoblastic CMK cells. In this research, to examine participating possibility of GATA promoter element in TPO- induced c-mpl gene expression through a PKC-independent pathway, the promoter activity of site-directed mutagenesis and the effect of potein kinase C modulator were measured by a transient transfection assay system. Together with our previous results on the TPO-induced c-mpl promoter, this study indicates destruction of -77GATA in c-mpl promoter decreased the activity by 47.3% under existence of GF109203. These results suggest that GATA promoter element plays significant role in TPO-induced c-mpl gene expression through a PKC-independent pathway.

  10. Cellular adhesome screen identifies critical modulators of focal adhesion dynamics, cellular traction forces and cell migration behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fokkelman, Michiel; Balcıoğlu, Hayri E.; Klip, Janna E.; Yan, Kuan; Verbeek, Fons J.; Danen, Erik H. J.; van de Water, Bob

    2016-01-01

    Cancer cells migrate from the primary tumour into surrounding tissue in order to form metastasis. Cell migration is a highly complex process, which requires continuous remodelling and re-organization of the cytoskeleton and cell-matrix adhesions. Here, we aimed to identify genes controlling aspects of tumour cell migration, including the dynamic organization of cell-matrix adhesions and cellular traction forces. In a siRNA screen targeting most cell adhesion-related genes we identified 200+ genes that regulate size and/or dynamics of cell-matrix adhesions in MCF7 breast cancer cells. In a subsequent secondary screen, the 64 most effective genes were evaluated for growth factor-induced cell migration and validated by tertiary RNAi pool deconvolution experiments. Four validated hits showed significantly enlarged adhesions accompanied by reduced cell migration upon siRNA-mediated knockdown. Furthermore, loss of PPP1R12B, HIPK3 or RAC2 caused cells to exert higher traction forces, as determined by traction force microscopy with elastomeric micropillar post arrays, and led to considerably reduced force turnover. Altogether, we identified genes that co-regulate cell-matrix adhesion dynamics and traction force turnover, thereby modulating overall motility behaviour. PMID:27531518

  11. Differential expression of ozone-induced gene during exposures to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Differential expression of ozone-induced gene during exposures to salt stress in Polygonum sibiricum Laxm leaves, stem and underground stem. ... PcOZI-1 mRNA in untreated plants was detected at low levels in underground stem, leaves and at higher levels in stem. PcOZI-1 mRNA accumulation was transiently induced ...

  12. The progress of tumor gene-radiotherapy induced by Egr-1 promoter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Rui; Li Biao

    2010-01-01

    The promoter of early growth response gene-1 (Egr-1) is a cis-acting element of Egr-1, and its activity is regulated by inducers such as ionizing radiation, free radical. In designated gene-radiotherapy system, radiation combined with therapeutic gene (such as tumor necrosis factor-α gene, suicide gene) can spatially and temporally regulate therapeutic gene expression in the irradiated field, produced a marked effect, while little systemic toxicities were observed. The combination of radiotherapy and gene therapy is promising in tumor therapy. (authors)

  13. Interferon induced IFIT family genes in host antiviral defense.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiang; Michal, Jennifer J; Zhang, Lifan; Ding, Bo; Lunney, Joan K; Liu, Bang; Jiang, Zhihua

    2013-01-01

    Secretion of interferons (IFNs) from virus-infected cells is a hallmark of host antiviral immunity and in fact, IFNs exert their antiviral activities through the induction of antiviral proteins. The IFN-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats (IFITs) family is among hundreds of IFN-stimulated genes. This family contains a cluster of duplicated loci. Most mammals have IFIT1, IFIT2, IFIT3 and IFIT5; however, bird, marsupial, frog and fish have only IFIT5. Regardless of species, IFIT5 is always adjacent to SLC16A12. IFIT family genes are predominantly induced by type I and type III interferons and are regulated by the pattern recognition and the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. IFIT family proteins are involved in many processes in response to viral infection. However, some viruses can escape the antiviral functions of the IFIT family by suppressing IFIT family genes expression or methylation of 5' cap of viral molecules. In addition, the variants of IFIT family genes could significantly influence the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy. We believe that our current review provides a comprehensive picture for the community to understand the structure and function of IFIT family genes in response to pathogens in human, as well as in animals.

  14. Differences in gene expression profiles and signaling pathways in rhabdomyolysis-induced acute kidney injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng, Xiaodong; Wang, Yuanda; Hong, Quan; Yang, Jurong; Zheng, Wei; Zhang, Gang; Cai, Guangyan; Chen, Xiangmei; Wu, Di

    2015-01-01

    Rhabdomyolysis is a threatening syndrome because it causes the breakdown of skeletal muscle. Muscle destruction leads to the release of myoglobin, intracellular proteins, and electrolytes into the circulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in gene expression profiles and signaling pathways upon rhabdomyolysis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). In this study, we used glycerol-induced renal injury as a model of rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI. We analyzed data and relevant information from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (No: GSE44925). The gene expression data for three untreated mice were compared to data for five mice with rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI. The expression profiling of the three untreated mice and the five rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI mice was performed using microarray analysis. We examined the levels of Cyp3a13, Rela, Aldh7a1, Jun, CD14. And Cdkn1a using RT-PCR to determine the accuracy of the microarray results. The microarray analysis showed that there were 1050 downregulated and 659 upregulated genes in the rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI mice compared to the control group. The interactions of all differentially expressed genes in the Signal-Net were analyzed. Cyp3a13 and Rela had the most interactions with other genes. The data showed that Rela and Aldh7a1 were the key nodes and had important positions in the Signal-Net. The genes Jun, CD14, and Cdkn1a were also significantly upregulated. The pathway analysis classified the differentially expressed genes into 71 downregulated and 48 upregulated pathways including the PI3K/Akt, MAPK, and NF-κB signaling pathways. The results of this study indicate that the NF-κB, MAPK, PI3K/Akt, and apoptotic pathways are regulated in rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI.

  15. A silicon-nanowire memory driven by optical gradient force induced bistability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, B. [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore 117685 (Singapore); Cai, H., E-mail: caih@ime.a-star.edu.sg; Gu, Y. D.; Kwong, D. L. [Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore 117685 (Singapore); Chin, L. K.; Ng, G. I.; Ser, W. [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Huang, J. G. [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore 117685 (Singapore); School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Yang, Z. C. [School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Liu, A. Q., E-mail: eaqliu@ntu.edu.sg [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

    2015-12-28

    In this paper, a bistable optical-driven silicon-nanowire memory is demonstrated, which employs ring resonator to generate optical gradient force over a doubly clamped silicon-nanowire. Two stable deformation positions of a doubly clamped silicon-nanowire represent two memory states (“0” and “1”) and can be set/reset by modulating the light intensity (<3 mW) based on the optical force induced bistability. The time response of the optical-driven memory is less than 250 ns. It has applications in the fields of all optical communication, quantum computing, and optomechanical circuits.

  16. Effects of wave-induced forcing on a circulation model of the North Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staneva, Joanna; Alari, Victor; Breivik, Øyvind; Bidlot, Jean-Raymond; Mogensen, Kristian

    2017-04-01

    The effect of wind waves on water level and currents during two storms in the North Sea is investigated using a high-resolution NEMO model forced with fluxes and fields from a high-resolution wave model. The additional terms accounting for wave-current interaction that are considered in this study are the Stokes-Coriolis force and the sea-state dependent energy and momentum fluxes. The individual and collective role of these processes is quantified and the results are compared with a control run without wave effects as well as against current and water level measurements from coastal stations. We find a better agreement with observations when the circulation model is forced by sea-state dependent fluxes, especially in extreme events. The two extreme events, the storm Christian (25-27 October 2013), and about a month later, the storm Xaver (5-7 December 2013), induce different wave and surge conditions over the North Sea. Including the wave effects in the circulation model for the storm Xaver raises the modelled surge by more than 40 cm compared with the control run in the German Bight area. For the storm Christian, a difference of 20-30 cm in the surge level between the wave-forced and the stand-alone ocean model is found over the whole southern part of the North Sea. Moreover, the modelled vertical velocity profile fits the observations very well when the wave forcing is accounted for. The contribution of wave-induced forcing has been quantified indicating that this represents an important mechanism for improving water level and current predictions.

  17. Fundamental study on gene transfer utilizing magnetic force and jet injector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasegawa, T.; Nakagami, H.; Akiyama, Y.; Nishjima, S. [Osaka University, Osaka (Japan)

    2017-03-15

    Recently, DNA vaccination is attracting attentions as a new therapeutic method for lifestyle diseases and autoimmune diseases. However, its clinical applications are limited because a safe and efficient gene transfer method has not been established yet. In this study, a new method of gene transfer was proposed which utilizes the jet injection and the magnetic transfection. The jet injection is a method to inject medical liquid by momentary high pressure without needle. The injected liquid diffuses in the bio tissue and the endocytosis is considered to be improved by the diffusion. The magnetic transfection is a method to deliver the conjugates of plasmid DNA and magnetic particles to the desired site by external magnetic field. It is expected that jet injection of the conjugates causes slight membrane disruptions and the traction of the conjugates by magnetic field induces the efficient gene transfer. In conclusion, the possibility of improvement of the gene expression by the combination of jet injection and magnetic transfection was confirmed.

  18. Fundamental study on gene transfer utilizing magnetic force and jet injector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, T.; Nakagami, H.; Akiyama, Y.; Nishjima, S.

    2017-01-01

    Recently, DNA vaccination is attracting attentions as a new therapeutic method for lifestyle diseases and autoimmune diseases. However, its clinical applications are limited because a safe and efficient gene transfer method has not been established yet. In this study, a new method of gene transfer was proposed which utilizes the jet injection and the magnetic transfection. The jet injection is a method to inject medical liquid by momentary high pressure without needle. The injected liquid diffuses in the bio tissue and the endocytosis is considered to be improved by the diffusion. The magnetic transfection is a method to deliver the conjugates of plasmid DNA and magnetic particles to the desired site by external magnetic field. It is expected that jet injection of the conjugates causes slight membrane disruptions and the traction of the conjugates by magnetic field induces the efficient gene transfer. In conclusion, the possibility of improvement of the gene expression by the combination of jet injection and magnetic transfection was confirmed

  19. A Phenomenological Model and Validation of Shortening Induced Force Depression during Muscle Contractions

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGowan, C.P.; Neptune, R.R.; Herzog, W.

    2009-01-01

    History dependent effects on muscle force development following active changes in length have been measured in a number of experimental studies. However, few muscle models have included these properties or examined their impact on force and power output in dynamic cyclic movements. The goal of this study was to develop and validate a modified Hill-type muscle model that includes shortening induced force depression and assess its influence on locomotor performance. The magnitude of force depression was defined by empirical relationships based on muscle mechanical work. To validate the model, simulations incorporating force depression were developed to emulate single muscle in situ and whole muscle group leg extension experiments. There was excellent agreement between simulation and experimental values, with in situ force patterns closely matching the experimental data (average RMS error pedaling with and without force depression were generated. Force depression decreased maximum crank power by 20% – 40%, depending on the relationship between force depression and muscle work used. These results indicate that force depression has the potential to substantially influence muscle power output in dynamic cyclic movements. However, to fully understand the impact of this phenomenon on human movement, more research is needed to characterize the relationship between force depression and mechanical work in large muscles with different morphologies. PMID:19879585

  20. Bi-Force

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Peng; Speicher, Nora K; Röttger, Richard

    2014-01-01

    of pairwise similarities. We first evaluated the power of Bi-Force to solve dedicated bicluster editing problems by comparing Bi-Force with two existing algorithms in the BiCluE software package. We then followed a biclustering evaluation protocol in a recent review paper from Eren et al. (2013) (A...... comparative analysis of biclustering algorithms for gene expressiondata. Brief. Bioinform., 14:279-292.) and compared Bi-Force against eight existing tools: FABIA, QUBIC, Cheng and Church, Plaid, BiMax, Spectral, xMOTIFs and ISA. To this end, a suite of synthetic datasets as well as nine large gene expression...

  1. Innate immune genes including a mucin-like gene, mul-1, induced by ionizing radiation in Caenorhabditis elegans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimura, Takafumi; Takanami, Takako; Sakashita, Tetsuya; Wada, Seiichi; Kobayashi, Yasuhiko; Higashitani, Atsushi

    2012-10-01

    The effect of radiation on the intestine has been studied for more than one hundred years. It remains unclear, however, whether this organ uses specific defensive mechanisms against ionizing radiation. The infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA14) in Caenorhabditis elegans induces up-regulation of innate immune response genes. Here, we found that exposure to ionizing radiation also induces certain innate immune response genes such as F49F1.6 (termed mul-1), clec-4, clec-67, lys-1 and lys-2 in the intestine. Moreover, pre-treatment with ionizing radiation before seeding on PA14 lawn plate significantly increased survival rate in the nematode. We also studied transcription pathway of the mul-1 in response to ionizing radiation. Induction of mul-1 gene was highly dependent on the ELT-2 transcription factor and p38 MAPK. Moreover, the insulin/IGF-1 signal pathway works to enhance induction of this gene. The mul-1 gene showed a different induction pattern from the DNA damage response gene, ced-13, which implies that the expression of this gene might be triggered as an indirect effect of radiation. Silencing of the mul-1 gene led to growth retardation after treatment with ionizing radiation. We describe the cross-tolerance between the response to radiation exposure and the innate immune system.

  2. Molecular cytogenetics of radiation-induced gene mutations in Drosophila melanogaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aleksandrov, I.D.; Aleksandrova, M.V.; Lapidus, I.L.; Karpovskij, A.L.

    1996-01-01

    The classical paradigm of spatially unrelated lesions for gene mutations and chromosomal exchange breakpoints induced by ionizing radiations in eukaryotic cells was re-examined in the experiments on the mapping of gamma-ray- or neutron-induced breakpoints in and outside of white (w) and vestigial (vg) genes of Drosophila melanogaster using the in situ hybridization of the large fragments of the genes under study with the polythene chromosomes of the relevant mutants. The results for the random sample of 60 inversion and translocation breakpoints analysed to date have shown that (i) 50% of them are mapped as the hot spots within big introns of both the genes, and (ii) 21 of 60 breaks (35%) are located outside of genes. It is important to note that 26% (16/60) of the breakpoints analysed are flanked by the deletions, the sizes of which vary from the quarter to a whole of the gene. It was found that the deletions flank both the inversion and translocation breakpoints and arise more often after action of neutrons than photons. An unexpectedly high frequency of the multiple-damaged w and vg mutants that have the gene/point mutation and additional, but separate, chromosome exchange (the so-called double- or triple-site mutants) has shown that the genetic danger of ionizing radiation is higher than usually accepted on the base of single gene/point mutation assessments. 11 refs., 3 figs

  3. Radiation-induced gene amplification in rodent and human cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luecke-Huhle, C.; Gloss, B.; Herrlich, P.

    1990-01-01

    Ionizing and UV radiations induce amplification of SV40 DNA sequences integrated in the genome of Chinese hamster cells and increase amplification of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene during methotrexate selection in human skin fibroblasts of a patient with ataxia telangiectasia. Various types of external (60-Co-γ-rays, 241-Am-α-particles, UV) or internal radiation (caused by the decay of 125 I incorporated into DNA in form of I-UdR) were applied. By cell fusion experiments it could be shown that SV40 gene amplification is mediated by one or several diffusible trans-acting factors induced or activated in a dose dependent manner by all types of radiation. One of these factors binds to a 10 bp sequence within the minimal origin of replication of SV40. In vivo competition with an excess of a synthetic oligonucleotide comprising this sequence blocks radiation-induced amplification. (author) 25 refs.; 8 figs

  4. Oral Gene Application Using Chitosan-DNA Nanoparticles Induces Transferable Tolerance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ensminger, Stephan M.; Spriewald, Bernd M.

    2012-01-01

    Oral tolerance is a promising approach to induce unresponsiveness to various antigens. The development of tolerogenic vaccines could be exploited in modulating the immune response in autoimmune disease and allograft rejection. In this study, we investigated a nonviral gene transfer strategy for inducing oral tolerance via antigen-encoding chitosan-DNA nanoparticles (NP). Oral application of ovalbumin (OVA)-encoding chitosan-DNA NP (OVA-NP) suppressed the OVA-specific delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response and anti-OVA antibody formation, as well as spleen cell proliferation following OVA stimulation. Cytokine expression patterns following OVA stimulation in vitro showed a shift from a Th1 toward a Th2/Th3 response. The OVA-NP-induced tolerance was transferable from donor to naïve recipient mice via adoptive spleen cell transfer and was mediated by CD4+CD25+ T cells. These findings indicate that nonviral oral gene transfer can induce regulatory T cells for antigen-specific immune modulation. PMID:22933401

  5. Precise integration of inducible transcriptional elements (PrIITE) enables absolute control of gene expression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pinto, Rita; Hansen, Lars; Hintze, John

    2017-01-01

    to be a limitation. Here, we report that the combined use of genome editing tools and last generation Tet-On systems can resolve these issues. Our principle is based on precise integration of inducible transcriptional elements (coined PrIITE) targeted to: (i) exons of an endogenous gene of interest (GOI) and (ii......Tetracycline-based inducible systems provide powerful methods for functional studies where gene expression can be controlled. However, the lack of tight control of the inducible system, leading to leakiness and adverse effects caused by undesirable tetracycline dosage requirements, has proven......) a safe harbor locus. Using PrIITE cells harboring a GFP reporter or CDX2 transcription factor, we demonstrate discrete inducibility of gene expression with complete abrogation of leakiness. CDX2 PrIITE cells generated by this approach uncovered novel CDX2 downstream effector genes. Our results provide...

  6. Cigarette smoke modulates expression of human rhinovirus-induced airway epithelial host defense genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Proud

    Full Text Available Human rhinovirus (HRV infections trigger acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD and asthma. The human airway epithelial cell is the primary site of HRV infection and responds to infection with altered expression of multiple genes, the products of which could regulate the outcome to infection. Cigarette smoking aggravates asthma symptoms, and is also the predominant risk factor for the development and progression of COPD. We, therefore, examined whether cigarette smoke extract (CSE modulates viral responses by altering HRV-induced epithelial gene expression. Primary cultures of human bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to medium alone, CSE alone, purified HRV-16 alone or to HRV-16+ CSE. After 24 h, supernatants were collected and total cellular RNA was isolated. Gene array analysis was performed to examine mRNA expression. Additional experiments, using real-time RT-PCR, ELISA and/or western blotting, validated altered expression of selected gene products. CSE and HRV-16 each induced groups of genes that were largely independent of each other. When compared to gene expression in response to CSE alone, cells treated with HRV+CSE showed no obvious differences in CSE-induced gene expression. By contrast, compared to gene induction in response to HRV-16 alone, cells exposed to HRV+CSE showed marked suppression of expression of a number of HRV-induced genes associated with various functions, including antiviral defenses, inflammation, viral signaling and airway remodeling. These changes were not associated with altered expression of type I or type III interferons. Thus, CSE alters epithelial responses to HRV infection in a manner that may negatively impact antiviral and host defense outcomes.

  7. Evaluation of the Perceptual Characteristics of a Force Induced by Asymmetric Vibrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanabe, Takeshi; Yano, Hiroaki; Iwata, Hiroo

    2017-08-29

    This paper describes the properties of proprioceptive sensations induced by asymmetric vibration using a vibration speaker-type non-grounded haptic interface. We confirm that the vibration speaker generates a perceived force that pulls or pushes a user's hand in a particular direction when an asymmetric amplitude signal that is generated by inverting a part of a sine wave is input. In this paper, to verify the system with respect to various factors of force perception caused by asymmetric vibration, we conducted six experiments and the following results were obtained. (1) The force vector can be controlled by reversing the asymmetric waves. (2) By investigating the physical characteristics of the vibration, asymmetric vibration was confirmed. (3) The presentation of vibration in the shear direction on the finger pad is effective. (4) The point of subjective equality of the perceived force can be controlled by up to 0.43 N by changing the amplitude voltage of the input signals. (5) The minimum stimulation time required for force perception is 66.7 ms. (6) When the vibration is continuously presented for 40 to 50 s, the perceived force decreases because of adaptation. Hence, we confirmed that we can control both the direction and magnitude of the reaction force by changing the input signal of the vibration speaker.

  8. In vitro selection of mutants: Inducible gene regulation for salt tolerance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winicov, I.; Bastola, D.R.; Deutch, C.E.; Pethe, V.V.; Petrusa, L.

    2001-01-01

    Regulation of differentially expressed genes in plants may be involved in inducing tolerance to stress. Isogenic salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant alfalfa lines were investigated for molecular differences in their response to salt. The genes, which are differentially induced by salt in the salt-tolerant alfalfa cells and are also regulated by salt at the whole plant level, were cloned. Both transcriptional and post- transcriptional mechanisms influenced salt-induced product accumulation in the salt-tolerant alfalfa. The salt-tolerant plants doubled proline concentration rapidly in roots, while salt-sensitive plants showed a delayed response. To understand the regulatory system in the salt-tolerant alfalfa, two genes that are expressed in roots were studied. Alfin1 encodes a zinc-finger type putative DNA transcription factor conserved in alfalfa, rice and Arabidopsis, and MsPRP2 encodes a protein that serves as a cell wall- membrane linker in roots. Recombinant Alfin1 protein was selected, amplified, cloned and its consensus sequence was identified. The recombinant Alfin1 also bound specifically to fragments of the MsPRP2 promoter in vitro, containing the Alfin1 binding consensus sequence. The results show unambiguously binding specificity of Alfin1 DNA, supporting its role in gene regulation. Alfin1 function was tested in transformed alfalfa in vivo by over-expressing Alfin1 from 35S CaMV promoter. The transgenic plants appeared normal. However, plants harboring the anti-sense construct did not grow well in soil, indicating that Alfin1 expression was essential. Alfin1 over-expression in transgenic alfalfa led to enhanced levels of MsPRP2 transcript accumulation, demonstrating that Alfin1 functioned in vivo in gene regulation. Since MsPRP2 gene is also induced by salt, it is likely that Alfin1 is an important transcription factor for gene regulation in salt-tolerant alfalfa, and an excellent target for manipulation to improve salt tolerance. (author)

  9. FORMALDEHYDE-INDUCED GENE EXPRESSION IN F344 RAT NASAL RESPIRATORY EPITHELIUM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Formaldehyde-induced gene expression in F344 rat nasal respiratory epithelium ABSTRACTFormaldehyde, an occupational and environmental toxicant used extensively in the manufacturing of many household and personal use products, is known to induce squamous cell carci...

  10. Relationship between radiation induced activation of DNA repair genes and radiation induced apoptosis in human cell line A431

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bom, Hee Seung; Min, Jung Jun; Kim, Kyung Keun; Choi, Keun Hee

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between radiation-induced acivation of DNA repair genes and radiation induced apoptosis in A431 cell line. Five and 25 Gys of gamma radiation were given to A431 cells by a Cs-137 cell irradiator. Apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry using annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate and propidium iodide staining. The expression of DNA repair genes was evaluated by both Northern and Western blot analyses. The number of apoptotic cells increased with the increased radiation dose. It increased most significantly at 12 hours after irradiation. Expression of p53, p21, and ℎRAD50 reached the highest level at 12 hours after 5 Gy irradiation. In response to 25 Gy irradiation, ℎRAD50 and p21 were expressed maximally at 12 hours, but p53 and GADD45 genes showed the highest expression level after 12 hours. Induction of apoptosis and DNA repair by ionizing radiation were closely correlated. The peak time of inducing apoptosis and DNA repair was 12 hours in this study model. ℎRAD50, a recently discovered DNA repair gene, was also associated with radiation-induced apoptosis.=20

  11. Atomic force microscopy observation of lipopolysaccharide-induced cardiomyocyte cytoskeleton reorganization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Liqun; Chen, Tangting; Zhou, Xiang; Huang, Qiaobing; Jin, Chunhua

    2013-08-01

    We applied atomic force microscopy (AFM) to observe lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intracellular cytoskeleton reorganization in primary cardiomyocytes from neonatal mouse. The nonionic detergent Triton X-100 was used to remove the membrane, soluble proteins, and organelles from the cell. The remaining cytoskeleton can then be directly visualized by AFM. Using three-dimensional technique of AFM, we were able to quantify the changes of cytoskeleton by the "density" and total "volume" of the cytoskeleton fibers. Compared to the control group, the density of cytoskeleton was remarkably decreased and the volume of cytoskeleton was significantly increased after LPS treatment, which suggests that LPS may induce the cytoskeleton reorganization and change the cardiomyocyte morphology. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Infrequent alterations of the P53 gene in rat skin cancers induced by ionising-radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Y.; Burns, F.J.; Garte, S.J.; Hosselet, S.; New York Univ., NY

    1996-01-01

    Radiation carcinogenesis almost certainly involves multiple genetic alterations. Identification of such genetic alterations would provide information to help understand better the molecular mechanism or radiation carcinogenesis. The energy released by ionizing radiation has the potential to produce DNA strand breaks, major gene deletions or rearrangements, and other base damages. Alterations of the p53 gene, a common tumour suppressor gene altered in human cancers, were examined in radiation-induced rat skin cancers. Genomic DNA from a total of 33rat skin cancers induced by ionizing radiation was examined by Southern blot hybridization for abnormal restriction fragment patterns in the p53 gene. A abnormal p53 restriction pattern was found in one of 16 cancers induced by electron radiation and in one of nine cancers induced by neon ions. The genomic DNA from representative cancers, including the two with an abnormal restriction pattern was further examined by polymerase chain reaction amplification and direct sequencing in exons 5-8 of the p53 gene. The results showed that one restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-positive cancer induced by electron radiation had a partial gene deletion which was defined approximately between exons 2-8, while none of the other cancers showed sequence changes. Our results indicate that the alterations in the critical binding region of the p53 gene are infrequent in rat skin cancers induced by either electron or neon ion radiation. (Author)

  13. Identification of an attenuated barley stripe mosaic virus for the virus-induced gene silencing of pathogenesis-related wheat genes

    OpenAIRE

    Buhrow, Leann M.; Clark, Shawn M.; Loewen, Michele C.

    2016-01-01

    Background Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has become an emerging technology for the rapid, efficient functional genomic screening of monocot and dicot species. The barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) has been described as an effective VIGS vehicle for the evaluation of genes involved in wheat and barley phytopathogenesis; however, these studies have been obscured by BSMV-induced phenotypes and defense responses. The utility of BSMV VIGS may be improved using a BSMV genetic background which...

  14. Regulation of radiation-induced apoptosis by early growth response-1 gene in solid tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, M.

    2003-01-01

    Ionizing radiation exposure is associated with activation of certain immediate-early genes that function as transcription factors. These include members of jun or fos and early growth response (EGR) gene families. In particular, the functional role of EGR-1 in radiation-induced signaling is pivotal since the promoter of EGR-1 contains radiation-inducible CArG DNA sequences. The Egr-1 gene belongs to a family of Egr genes that includes EGR-2, EGR-3, EGR-4, EGR-α and the tumor suppressor, Wilms' tumor gene product, WT1. The Egr-1 gene product, EGR-1, is a nuclear protein that contains three zinc fingers of the C 2 H 2 subtype. The EGR-1 GC-rich consensus target sequence, 5'-GCGT/GGGGCG-3' or 5'-TCCT/ACCTCCTCC-3', has been identified in the promoter regions of transcription factors, growth factors, receptors, cell cycle regulators and pro-apoptotic genes. The gene targets mediated by Egr-1 in response to ionizing radiation include TNF-α , p53, Rb and Bax, all these are effectors of apoptosis. Based on these targets, Egr-1 is a pivotal gene that initiates early signal transduction events in response to ionizing radiation leading to either growth arrest or cell death in tumor cells. There are two potential application of Egr-1 gene in therapy of cancer. First, the Egr-1 promoter contains information for appropriate spatial and temporal expression in-vivo that can be regulated by ionizing radiation to control transcription of genes that have pro-apoptotic and suicidal function. Secondly, EGR-1 protein can eliminate 'induced-radiation resistance' by inhibiting the functions of radiation-induced pro-survival genes (NFκB activity and bcl-2 expression) and activate pro-apoptotic genes (such as bax) to confer a significant radio-sensitizing effect. Together, the reported findings from my laboratory demonstrate clearly that EGR-1 is an early central gene that confers radiation sensitivity and its pro-apoptotic functions are synergized by abrogation of induced radiation

  15. Current-Induced Forces and Hot Spots in Biased Nanojunctions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lu, Jing Tao; Christensen, Rasmus Bjerregaard; Wang, Jian-Sheng

    2015-01-01

    We investigate theoretically the interplay of current-induced forces (CIFs), Joule heating, and heat transport inside a current-carrying nanoconductor. We find that the CIFs, due to the electron-phonon coherence, can control the spatial heat dissipation in the conductor. This yields a significant...... asymmetric concentration of excess heating (hot spot) even for a symmetric conductor. When coupled to the electrode phonons, CIFs drive different phonon heat flux into the two electrodes. First-principles calculations on realistic biased nanojunctions illustrate the importance of the effect....

  16. Identification of mechanosensitive genes during embryonic bone formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niamh C Nowlan

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Although it is known that mechanical forces are needed for normal bone development, the current understanding of how biophysical stimuli are interpreted by and integrated with genetic regulatory mechanisms is limited. Mechanical forces are thought to be mediated in cells by "mechanosensitive" genes, but it is a challenge to demonstrate that the genetic regulation of the biological system is dependant on particular mechanical forces in vivo. We propose a new means of selecting candidate mechanosensitive genes by comparing in vivo gene expression patterns with patterns of biophysical stimuli, computed using finite element analysis. In this study, finite element analyses of the avian embryonic limb were performed using anatomically realistic rudiment and muscle morphologies, and patterns of biophysical stimuli were compared with the expression patterns of four candidate mechanosensitive genes integral to bone development. The expression patterns of two genes, Collagen X (ColX and Indian hedgehog (Ihh, were shown to colocalise with biophysical stimuli induced by embryonic muscle contractions, identifying them as potentially being involved in the mechanoregulation of bone formation. An altered mechanical environment was induced in the embryonic chick, where a neuromuscular blocking agent was administered in ovo to modify skeletal muscle contractions. Finite element analyses predicted dramatic changes in levels and patterns of biophysical stimuli, and a number of immobilised specimens exhibited differences in ColX and Ihh expression. The results obtained indicate that computationally derived patterns of biophysical stimuli can be used to inform a directed search for genes that may play a mechanoregulatory role in particular in vivo events or processes. Furthermore, the experimental data demonstrate that ColX and Ihh are involved in mechanoregulatory pathways and may be key mediators in translating information from the mechanical environment to the

  17. Myostatin propeptide gene delivery by gene gun ameliorates muscle atrophy in a rat model of botulinum toxin-induced nerve denervation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Sen-Wei; Tung, Yu-Tang; Chen, Hsiao-Ling; Yang, Shang-Hsun; Liu, Chia-Yi; Lu, Michelle; Pai, Hui-Jing; Lin, Chi-Chen; Chen, Chuan-Mu

    2016-02-01

    Muscle atrophy is a common symptom after nerve denervation. Myostatin propeptide, a precursor of myostatin, has been documented to improve muscle growth. However, the mechanism underlying the muscle atrophy attenuation effects of myostatin propeptide in muscles and the changes in gene expression are not well established. We investigated the possible underlying mechanisms associated with myostatin propeptide gene delivery by gene gun in a rat denervation muscle atrophy model, and evaluated gene expression patterns. In a rat botulinum toxin-induced nerve denervation muscle atrophy model, we evaluated the effects of wild-type (MSPP) and mutant-type (MSPPD75A) of myostatin propeptide gene delivery, and observed changes in gene activation associated with the neuromuscular junction, muscle and nerve. Muscle mass and muscle fiber size was moderately increased in myostatin propeptide treated muscles (pmyostatin propeptide gene delivery, especially the mutant-type of MSPPD75A, attenuates muscle atrophy through myogenic regulatory factors and acetylcholine receptor regulation. Our data concluded that myostatin propeptide gene therapy may be a promising treatment for nerve denervation induced muscle atrophy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. CAR expression and inducibility of CYP2B genes in liver of rats treated with PB-like inducers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pustylnyak, Vladimir O.; Gulyaeva, Lyudmila F.; Lyakhovich, Vyacheslav V.

    2005-01-01

    The expression of the CAR gene and inducibility of CYP2B protein in the liver of male Wistar rats treated with phenobarbital (PB) and triphenyldioxane (TPD) were investigated. To clarify the role of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation in these processes, rats were treated with inhibitors of Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent kinase II (W 7 ) or protein phosphatases PP1 and PP2A (OA) before induction. Constitutive expression of the CAR gene in livers of untreated rats was detected by multiplex RT-PCR. Treatment with W 7 resulted in a 2.8-fold induction of CAR gene expression, whereas OA led to a 2.4-fold decrease of the mRNA level. The same results were obtained for CYP2B genes expression, which were increased by W 7 treatment (two-fold) and decreased by OA (2.3-fold). PB-induction did not lead to significant alteration in the level of CAR gene expression, although CYP2B genes expression was enhanced two-fold over control values. TPD caused a two-fold increase of both CAR and CYP2B mRNA levels. Both inducers reduced the effects of inhibitors on CAR gene expression. Results of EMSA showed that PB, TPD or W 7 alone induced formation of complexes of NR1 with nuclear proteins. Appearance of the complexes correlated with an increase in CYP2B expression, and their intensities were modulated by the protein kinase inhibitors. Thus, our results demonstrate that constitutive expressions of CAR as well as CYP2B during induction are regulated by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation processes

  19. Force-induced unzipping of DNA with long-range correlated sequence

    OpenAIRE

    Allahverdyan, A. E.; Gevorkian, Zh. S.

    2002-01-01

    We consider force-induced unzipping transition for a heterogeneous DNA model with a long-range correlated base-sequence. It is shown that as compared to the uncorrelated situation, long-range correlations smear the unzipping phase-transition, change its universality class and lead to non-self-averaging: the averaged behavior strongly differs from the typical ones. Several basic scenarios for this typical behavior are revealed and explained. The results can be relevant for explaining the biolo...

  20. Evidence for non-conservative current-induced forces in the breaking of Au and Pt atomic chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabater, Carlos; Untiedt, Carlos; van Ruitenbeek, Jan M

    2015-01-01

    This experimental work aims at probing current-induced forces at the atomic scale. Specifically it addresses predictions in recent work regarding the appearance of run-away modes as a result of a combined effect of the non-conservative wind force and a 'Berry force'. The systems we consider here are atomic chains of Au and Pt atoms, for which we investigate the distribution of break down voltage values. We observe two distinct modes of breaking for Au atomic chains. The breaking at high voltage appears to behave as expected for regular break down by thermal excitation due to Joule heating. However, there is a low-voltage breaking mode that has characteristics expected for the mechanism of current-induced forces. Although a full comparison would require more detailed information on the individual atomic configurations, the systems we consider are very similar to those considered in recent model calculations and the comparison between experiment and theory is very encouraging for the interpretation we propose.

  1. DNA-dependent protein kinase inhibits AID-induced antibody gene conversion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam J L Cook

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available Affinity maturation and class switching of antibodies requires activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID-dependent hypermutation of Ig V(DJ rearrangements and Ig S regions, respectively, in activated B cells. AID deaminates deoxycytidine bases in Ig genes, converting them into deoxyuridines. In V(DJ regions, subsequent excision of the deaminated bases by uracil-DNA glycosylase, or by mismatch repair, leads to further point mutation or gene conversion, depending on the species. In Ig S regions, nicking at the abasic sites produced by AID and uracil-DNA glycosylases results in staggered double-strand breaks, whose repair by nonhomologous end joining mediates Ig class switching. We have tested whether nonhomologous end joining also plays a role in V(DJ hypermutation using chicken DT40 cells deficient for Ku70 or the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs. Inactivation of the Ku70 or DNA-PKcs genes in DT40 cells elevated the rate of AID-induced gene conversion as much as 5-fold. Furthermore, DNA-PKcs-deficiency appeared to reduce point mutation. The data provide strong evidence that double-strand DNA ends capable of recruiting the DNA-dependent protein kinase complex are important intermediates in Ig V gene conversion.

  2. Role of X-ray-inducible genes and proteins in adaptive survival responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyers, M.; Schea, R.A.; Petrowski, A.E.; Seabury, H.; McLaughlin, P.W.; Lee, I.; Lee, S.W.; Boothman, D.A.

    1992-01-01

    Certain X-ray-inducible genes and their corresponding protein products, appearing following low priming doses of ionizing radiation may subsequently give rise to an adaptive survival response, ultimately leading to increased radioresistance. Further, this adaptive radioresistance may be due to increased DNA repair (or misrepair) processes. Ultimately, the function of low-dose-induced cDNA clones within the cell is hoped to elucidate to follow the effects of specific gene turn-off on adaptive responses. Future research must determine the various functions of adaptive response gene products so that the beneficial or deleterious consequences of adaptive responses, which increases resistance to ionizing radiation, can be determined. (author). 19 refs., 1 fig

  3. Antitumor bystander effect induced by radiation-inducible target gene therapy combined with α particle irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Hui; Jin Chufeng; Wu Yican; Ge Shenfang; Wu Lijun; FDS Team

    2012-01-01

    In this work, we investigated the bystander effect of the tumor and normal cells surrounding the target region caused by radiation-inducible target gene therapy combined with α-particle irradiation. The receptor tumor cell A549 and normal cell MRC-5 were co-cultured with the donor cells irradiated to 0.5 Gy or the non-irradiated donor cells, and their survival and apoptosis fractions were evaluated. The results showed that the combined treatment of Ad-ET and particle irradiation could induce synergistic antitumor effect on A549 tumor cell, and the survival fraction of receptor cells co-cultured with the irradiated cells decreased by 6%, compared with receptor cells co-cultured with non-irradiated cells, and the apoptosis fraction increased in the same circumstance, but no difference was observed with the normal cells. This study demonstrates that Ad-ET combined with α-particle irradiation can significantly cause the bystander effect on neighboring tumor cells by inhibiting cell growth and inducing apoptosis, without obvious toxicity to normal cells. This suggests that combining radiation-inducible TRAIL gene therapy and irradiation may improve tumor treatment efficacy by specifically targeting tumor cells and even involving the neighboring tumor cells. (authors)

  4. Tetracycline-inducible gene expression system in Leishmania mexicana

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kraeva, N.; Ishemgulova, A.; Lukeš, Julius; Yurchenko, Vyacheslav

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 198, č. 1 (2014), s. 11-13 ISSN 0166-6851 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0032 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Leishmania mexicana * Gene expression * Tet-inducible system Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 1.787, year: 2014

  5. Targeted inhibition of TGF-β results in an initial improvement but long-term deficit in force production after contraction-induced skeletal muscle injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gumucio, Jonathan P; Flood, Michael D; Phan, Anthony C; Brooks, Susan V; Mendias, Christopher L

    2013-08-15

    Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a proinflammatory cytokine that regulates the response of many tissues following injury. Previous studies in our lab have shown that treating muscles with TGF-β results in a dramatic accumulation of type I collagen, substantial fiber atrophy, and a marked decrease in force production. Because TGF-β promotes atrophy and fibrosis, our objective was to investigate whether the inhibition of TGF-β after injury would enhance the recovery of muscle following injury. We hypothesized that inhibiting TGF-β after contraction-induced injury would improve the functional recovery of muscles by preventing muscle fiber atrophy and weakness, and by limiting the accumulation of fibrotic scar tissue. To test this hypothesis, we induced an injury using a series of in situ lengthening contractions to extensor digitorum longus muscles of mice treated with either a bioneutralizing antibody against TGF-β or a sham antibody. Compared with controls, muscles from mice receiving TGF-β inhibitor showed a greater recovery in force 3 days and 7 days after injury but had a decrease in force compared with controls at the 21-day time point. The early enhancement in force in the TGF-β inhibitor group was associated with an initial improvement in tissue morphology, but, at 21 days, while the control group was fully recovered, the TGF-β inhibitor group displayed an irregular extracellular matrix and an increase in atrogin-1 gene expression. These results indicate that the inhibition of TGF-β promotes the early recovery of muscle function but is detrimental overall to full muscle recovery following moderate to severe muscle injuries.

  6. Association of Forced Vital Capacity with the Developmental Gene NCOR2.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cosetta Minelli

    Full Text Available Forced Vital Capacity (FVC is an important predictor of all-cause mortality in the absence of chronic respiratory conditions. Epidemiological evidence highlights the role of early life factors on adult FVC, pointing to environmental exposures and genes affecting lung development as risk factors for low FVC later in life. Although highly heritable, a small number of genes have been found associated with FVC, and we aimed at identifying further genetic variants by focusing on lung development genes.Per-allele effects of 24,728 SNPs in 403 genes involved in lung development were tested in 7,749 adults from three studies (NFBC1966, ECRHS, EGEA. The most significant SNP for the top 25 genes was followed-up in 46,103 adults (CHARGE and SpiroMeta consortia and 5,062 children (ALSPAC. Associations were considered replicated if the replication p-value survived Bonferroni correction (p<0.002; 0.05/25, with a nominal p-value considered as suggestive evidence. For SNPs with evidence of replication, effects on the expression levels of nearby genes in lung tissue were tested in 1,111 lung samples (Lung eQTL consortium, with further functional investigation performed using public epigenomic profiling data (ENCODE.NCOR2-rs12708369 showed strong replication in children (p = 0.0002, with replication unavailable in adults due to low imputation quality. This intronic variant is in a strong transcriptional enhancer element in lung fibroblasts, but its eQTL effects could not be tested due to low imputation quality in the eQTL dataset. SERPINE2-rs6754561 replicated at nominal level in both adults (p = 0.036 and children (p = 0.045, while WNT16-rs2707469 replicated at nominal level only in adults (p = 0.026. The eQTL analyses showed association of WNT16-rs2707469 with expression levels of the nearby gene CPED1. We found no statistically significant eQTL effects for SERPINE2-rs6754561.We have identified a new gene, NCOR2, in the retinoic acid signalling pathway pointing

  7. Pregnancy-induced gene expression changes in vivo among women with rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goin, Dana E; Smed, Mette Kiel; Pachter, Lior; Purdom, Elizabeth; Nelson, J Lee; Kjærgaard, Hanne; Olsen, Jørn; Hetland, Merete Lund; Zoffmann, Vibeke; Ottesen, Bent; Jawaheer, Damini

    2017-05-25

    Little is known about gene expression changes induced by pregnancy in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy women because the few studies previously conducted did not have pre-pregnancy samples available as baseline. We have established a cohort of women with RA and healthy women followed prospectively from a pre-pregnancy baseline. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that pregnancy-induced changes in gene expression among women with RA who improve during pregnancy (pregDAS improved ) overlap substantially with changes observed among healthy women and differ from changes observed among women with RA who worsen during pregnancy (pregDAS worse ). Global gene expression profiles were generated by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) from 11 women with RA and 5 healthy women before pregnancy (T0) and at the third trimester (T3). Among the women with RA, eight showed an improvement in disease activity by T3, whereas three worsened. Differential expression analysis was used to identify genes demonstrating significant changes in expression within each of the RA and healthy groups (T3 vs T0), as well as between the groups at each time point. Gene set enrichment was assessed in terms of Gene Ontology processes and protein networks. A total of 1296 genes were differentially expressed between T3 and T0 among the 8 pregDAS improved women, with 161 genes showing at least two-fold change (FC) in expression by T3. The majority (108 of 161 genes) were also differentially expressed among healthy women (qexpression between the pregDAS improved and pregDAS worse groups, all of which were inducible by type I interferon (IFN). These IFN-inducible genes were over-expressed at T3 compared to the T0 baseline among the pregDAS improved women. In our pilot RNA-seq dataset, increased pregnancy-induced expression of type I IFN-inducible genes was observed among women with RA who improved during pregnancy, but not among women who worsened. These findings warrant further investigation into

  8. A CRISPR-Based Screen Identifies Genes Essential for West-Nile-Virus-Induced Cell Death.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Hongming; Dang, Ying; Wu, Yonggan; Jia, Gengxiang; Anaya, Edgar; Zhang, Junli; Abraham, Sojan; Choi, Jang-Gi; Shi, Guojun; Qi, Ling; Manjunath, N; Wu, Haoquan

    2015-07-28

    West Nile virus (WNV) causes an acute neurological infection attended by massive neuronal cell death. However, the mechanism(s) behind the virus-induced cell death is poorly understood. Using a library containing 77,406 sgRNAs targeting 20,121 genes, we performed a genome-wide screen followed by a second screen with a sub-library. Among the genes identified, seven genes, EMC2, EMC3, SEL1L, DERL2, UBE2G2, UBE2J1, and HRD1, stood out as having the strongest phenotype, whose knockout conferred strong protection against WNV-induced cell death with two different WNV strains and in three cell lines. Interestingly, knockout of these genes did not block WNV replication. Thus, these appear to be essential genes that link WNV replication to downstream cell death pathway(s). In addition, the fact that all of these genes belong to the ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD) pathway suggests that this might be the primary driver of WNV-induced cell death. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Fire-induced albedo change and surface radiative forcing in sub-Saharan Africa savanna ecosystems: Implications for the energy balance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dintwe, Kebonye; Okin, Gregory S.; Xue, Yongkang

    2017-06-01

    Surface albedo is a critical parameter that controls surface energy balance. In dryland ecosystems, fires play a significant role in decreasing surface albedo, resulting in positive radiative forcing. Here we investigate the long-term effect of fire on surface albedo. We devised a method to calculate short-, medium-, and long-term effect of fire-induced radiative forcing and their relative effects on energy balance. We used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in our analysis, covering different vegetation classes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Our analysis indicated that mean short-term fire-induced albedo change in SSA was -0.022, -0.035, and -0.041 for savannas, shrubland, and grasslands, respectively. At regional scale, mean fire-induced albedo change in savannas was -0.018 and -0.024 for northern sub-Saharan of Africa and the southern hemisphere Africa, respectively. The short-term mean fire-induced radiative forcing in burned areas in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was 5.41 W m-2, which contributed continental and global radiative forcings of 0.25 and 0.058 W m-2, respectively. The impact of fire in surface albedo has long-lasting effects that varies with vegetation type. The long-term energetic effects of fire-induced albedo change and associated radiative forcing were, on average, more than 19 times greater across SSA than the short-term effects, suggesting that fires exerted far more radiative forcing than previously thought. Taking into account the actual duration of fire's effect on surface albedo, we conclude that the contribution of SSA fires, globally and throughout the year, is 0.12 W m-2. These findings provide crucial information on possible impact of fire on regional climate variability.

  10. Current-induced forces: a simple derivation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Todorov, Tchavdar N; Dundas, Daniel; Lü, Jing-Tao; Brandbyge, Mads; Hedegård, Per

    2014-01-01

    We revisit the problem of forces on atoms under current in nanoscale conductors. We derive and discuss the five principal kinds of force under steady-state conditions from a simple standpoint that—with the help of background literature—should be accessible to physics undergraduates. The discussion aims at combining methodology with an emphasis on the underlying physics through examples. We discuss and compare two forces present only under current—the non-conservative electron wind force and a Lorentz-like velocity-dependent force. It is shown that in metallic nanowires both display significant features at the wire surface, making it a candidate for the nucleation of current-driven structural transformations and failure. Finally we discuss the problem of force noise and the limitations of Ehrenfest dynamics. (paper)

  11. TDP2 suppresses chromosomal translocations induced by DNA topoisomerase II during gene transcription.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Herreros, Fernando; Zagnoli-Vieira, Guido; Ntai, Ioanna; Martínez-Macías, María Isabel; Anderson, Rhona M; Herrero-Ruíz, Andrés; Caldecott, Keith W

    2017-08-10

    DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by abortive topoisomerase II (TOP2) activity are a potential source of genome instability and chromosome translocation. TOP2-induced DNA double-strand breaks are rejoined in part by tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 2 (TDP2)-dependent non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), but whether this process suppresses or promotes TOP2-induced translocations is unclear. Here, we show that TDP2 rejoins DSBs induced during transcription-dependent TOP2 activity in breast cancer cells and at the translocation 'hotspot', MLL. Moreover, we find that TDP2 suppresses chromosome rearrangements induced by TOP2 and reduces TOP2-induced chromosome translocations that arise during gene transcription. Interestingly, however, we implicate TDP2-dependent NHEJ in the formation of a rare subclass of translocations associated previously with therapy-related leukemia and characterized by junction sequences with 4-bp of perfect homology. Collectively, these data highlight the threat posed by TOP2-induced DSBs during transcription and demonstrate the importance of TDP2-dependent non-homologous end-joining in protecting both gene transcription and genome stability.DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by topoisomerase II (TOP2) are rejoined by TDP2-dependent non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) but whether this promotes or suppresses translocations is not clear. Here the authors show that TDP2 suppresses chromosome translocations from DSBs introduced during gene transcription.

  12. Numerical and experimental study of the effect of the induced electric potential in Lorentz force velocimetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández, Daniel; Boeck, Thomas; Karcher, Christian; Wondrak, Thomas

    2018-01-01

    Lorentz force velocimetry (LFV) is a contactless velocity measurement technique for electrically conducting fluids. When a liquid metal or a molten glass flows through an externally applied magnetic field, eddy currents and a flow-braking force are generated inside the liquid. This force is proportional to the velocity or flow rate of the fluid and, due to Newton’s third law, a force of the same magnitude but in opposite direction acts on the source of the applied magnetic field which in our case are permanent magnets. According to Ohm’s law for moving conductors at low magnetic Reynolds numbers, an electric potential is induced which ensures charge conservation. In this paper, we analyze the contribution of the induced electric potential to the total Lorentz force by considering two different scenarios: conducting walls of finite thickness and aspect ratio variation of the cross-section of the flow. In both the cases, the force component generated by the electric potential is always in the opposite direction to the total Lorentz force. This force component is sensitive to the electric boundary conditions of the flow of which insulating and perfectly conducting walls are the two limiting cases. In the latter case, the overall electric resistance of the system is minimized, resulting in a considerable increase in the measured Lorentz force. Additionally, this force originating from the electric potential also decays when the aspect ratio of the cross-section of the flow is changed. Hence, the sensitivity of the measurement technique is enhanced by either increasing wall conductivity or optimizing the aspect ratio of the cross-section of the flow.

  13. Transduction of Oct6 or Oct9 gene concomitant with Myc family gene induced osteoblast-like phenotypic conversion in normal human fibroblasts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mizoshiri, N.; Kishida, T.; Yamamoto, K.; Shirai, T.; Terauchi, R.; Tsuchida, S.; Mori, Y.; Ejima, A.; Sato, Y.; Arai, Y.; Fujiwara, H.; Yamamoto, T.; Kanamura, N.; Mazda, O.; Kubo, T.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Osteoblasts play essential roles in bone formation and regeneration, while they have low proliferation potential. Recently we established a procedure to directly convert human fibroblasts into osteoblasts (dOBs). Transduction of Runx2 (R), Osterix (X), Oct3/4 (O) and L-myc (L) genes followed by culturing under osteogenic conditions induced normal human fibroblasts to express osteoblast-specific genes and produce calcified bone matrix both in vitro and in vivo Intriguingly, a combination of only two factors, Oct3/4 and L-myc, significantly induced osteoblast-like phenotype in fibroblasts, but the mechanisms underlying the direct conversion remains to be unveiled. Materials and Methods: We examined which Oct family genes and Myc family genes are capable of inducing osteoblast-like phenotypic conversion. Results: As result Oct3/4, Oct6 and Oct9, among other Oct family members, had the capability, while N-myc was the most effective Myc family gene. The Oct9 plus N-myc was the best combination to induce direct conversion of human fibroblasts into osteoblast-like cells. Discussion: The present findings may greatly contribute to the elucidation of the roles of the Oct and Myc proteins in osteoblast direct reprogramming. The results may also lead to establishment of novel regenerative therapy for various bone resorption diseases. - Highlights: • Introducing L-myc in a combination with either Oct3/4, Oct6 or Oct9 enables the conversion of fibroblasts to osteoblasts. • A combination of L-myc with Oct3/4 or Oct9 can induce the cells to a phenotype closer to normal osteoblasts. • N-myc was considered the most appropriate Myc family gene for induction of osteoblast-like phenotype in fibroblasts. • The combination of Oct9 plus N-myc has the strongest capability of inducing osteoblast-like phenotype.

  14. Transduction of Oct6 or Oct9 gene concomitant with Myc family gene induced osteoblast-like phenotypic conversion in normal human fibroblasts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mizoshiri, N. [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Department of Orthopaedics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Kishida, T. [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Yamamoto, K. [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Department of Dental Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Shirai, T.; Terauchi, R.; Tsuchida, S. [Department of Orthopaedics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Mori, Y. [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Department of Orthopaedics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Ejima, A. [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Sato, Y. [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Department of Dental Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Arai, Y.; Fujiwara, H. [Department of Orthopaedics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Yamamoto, T.; Kanamura, N. [Department of Dental Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Mazda, O., E-mail: mazda@koto.kpu-m.ac.jp [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Kubo, T. [Department of Orthopaedics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan)

    2015-11-27

    Introduction: Osteoblasts play essential roles in bone formation and regeneration, while they have low proliferation potential. Recently we established a procedure to directly convert human fibroblasts into osteoblasts (dOBs). Transduction of Runx2 (R), Osterix (X), Oct3/4 (O) and L-myc (L) genes followed by culturing under osteogenic conditions induced normal human fibroblasts to express osteoblast-specific genes and produce calcified bone matrix both in vitro and in vivo Intriguingly, a combination of only two factors, Oct3/4 and L-myc, significantly induced osteoblast-like phenotype in fibroblasts, but the mechanisms underlying the direct conversion remains to be unveiled. Materials and Methods: We examined which Oct family genes and Myc family genes are capable of inducing osteoblast-like phenotypic conversion. Results: As result Oct3/4, Oct6 and Oct9, among other Oct family members, had the capability, while N-myc was the most effective Myc family gene. The Oct9 plus N-myc was the best combination to induce direct conversion of human fibroblasts into osteoblast-like cells. Discussion: The present findings may greatly contribute to the elucidation of the roles of the Oct and Myc proteins in osteoblast direct reprogramming. The results may also lead to establishment of novel regenerative therapy for various bone resorption diseases. - Highlights: • Introducing L-myc in a combination with either Oct3/4, Oct6 or Oct9 enables the conversion of fibroblasts to osteoblasts. • A combination of L-myc with Oct3/4 or Oct9 can induce the cells to a phenotype closer to normal osteoblasts. • N-myc was considered the most appropriate Myc family gene for induction of osteoblast-like phenotype in fibroblasts. • The combination of Oct9 plus N-myc has the strongest capability of inducing osteoblast-like phenotype.

  15. In vivo characterization of a reporter gene system for imaging hypoxia-induced gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlin, Sean; Pugachev, Andrei; Sun, Xiaorong; Burke, Sean; Claus, Filip; O'Donoghue, Joseph; Ling, C Clifton; Humm, John L

    2009-10-01

    To characterize a tumor model containing a hypoxia-inducible reporter gene and to demonstrate utility by comparison of reporter gene expression to the uptake and distribution of the hypoxia tracer (18)F-fluoromisonidazole ((18)F-FMISO). Three tumors derived from the rat prostate cancer cell line R3327-AT were grown in each of two rats as follows: (1) parental R3327-AT, (2) positive control R3327-AT/PC in which the HSV1-tkeGFP fusion reporter gene was expressed constitutively, (3) R3327-AT/HRE in which the reporter gene was placed under the control of a hypoxia-inducible factor-responsive promoter sequence (HRE). Animals were coadministered a hypoxia-specific marker (pimonidazole) and the reporter gene probe (124)I-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxy-1-beta-d-arabinofuranosyl-5-iodouracil ((124)I-FIAU) 3 h prior to sacrifice. Statistical analysis of the spatial association between (124)I-FIAU uptake and pimonidazole fluorescent staining intensity was then performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Utility of this system was demonstrated by assessment of reporter gene expression versus the exogenous hypoxia probe (18)F-FMISO. Two rats, each bearing a single R3327-AT/HRE tumor, were injected with (124)I-FIAU (3 h before sacrifice) and (18)F-FMISO (2 h before sacrifice). Statistical analysis of the spatial association between (18)F-FMISO and (124)I-FIAU on a pixel-by-pixel basis was performed. Correlation coefficients between (124)I-FIAU uptake and pimonidazole staining intensity were: 0.11 in R3327-AT tumors, -0.66 in R3327-AT/PC and 0.76 in R3327-AT/HRE, confirming that only in the R3327-AT/HRE tumor was HSV1-tkeGFP gene expression associated with hypoxia. Correlation coefficients between (18)F-FMISO and (124)I-FIAU uptakes in R3327-AT/HRE tumors were r=0.56, demonstrating good spatial correspondence between the two tracers. We have confirmed hypoxia-specific expression of the HSV1-tkeGFP fusion gene in the R3327-AT/HRE tumor model and demonstrated the utility of this model for the

  16. In vivo characterization of a reporter gene system for imaging hypoxia-induced gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlin, Sean; Pugachev, Andrei; Sun Xiaorong; Burke, Sean; Claus, Filip; O'Donoghue, Joseph; Ling, C. Clifton; Humm, John L.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: To characterize a tumor model containing a hypoxia-inducible reporter gene and to demonstrate utility by comparison of reporter gene expression to the uptake and distribution of the hypoxia tracer 18 F-fluoromisonidazole ( 18 F-FMISO). Methods: Three tumors derived from the rat prostate cancer cell line R3327-AT were grown in each of two rats as follows: (1) parental R3327-AT, (2) positive control R3327-AT/PC in which the HSV1-tkeGFP fusion reporter gene was expressed constitutively, (3) R3327-AT/HRE in which the reporter gene was placed under the control of a hypoxia-inducible factor-responsive promoter sequence (HRE). Animals were coadministered a hypoxia-specific marker (pimonidazole) and the reporter gene probe 124 I-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxy-1-β-D-arabinofuranosyl-5-iodouracil ( 124 I-FIAU) 3 h prior to sacrifice. Statistical analysis of the spatial association between 124 I-FIAU uptake and pimonidazole fluorescent staining intensity was then performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Utility of this system was demonstrated by assessment of reporter gene expression versus the exogenous hypoxia probe 18 F-FMISO. Two rats, each bearing a single R3327-AT/HRE tumor, were injected with 124 I-FIAU (3 h before sacrifice) and 18 F-FMISO (2 h before sacrifice). Statistical analysis of the spatial association between 18 F-FMISO and 124 I-FIAU on a pixel-by-pixel basis was performed. Results: Correlation coefficients between 124 I-FIAU uptake and pimonidazole staining intensity were: 0.11 in R3327-AT tumors, -0.66 in R3327-AT/PC and 0.76 in R3327-AT/HRE, confirming that only in the R3327-AT/HRE tumor was HSV1-tkeGFP gene expression associated with hypoxia. Correlation coefficients between 18 F-FMISO and 124 I-FIAU uptakes in R3327-AT/HRE tumors were r=0.56, demonstrating good spatial correspondence between the two tracers. Conclusions: We have confirmed hypoxia-specific expression of the HSV1-tkeGFP fusion gene in the R3327-AT/HRE tumor model and demonstrated the utility of

  17. Halobenzoquinone-Induced Alteration of Gene Expression Associated with Oxidative Stress Signaling Pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinhua; Moe, Birget; Liu, Yanming; Li, Xing-Fang

    2018-06-05

    Halobenzoquinones (HBQs) are emerging disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that effectively induce reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage in vitro. However, the impacts of HBQs on oxidative-stress-related gene expression have not been investigated. In this study, we examined alterations in the expression of 44 genes related to oxidative-stress-induced signaling pathways in human uroepithelial cells (SV-HUC-1) upon exposure to six HBQs. The results show the structure-dependent effects of HBQs on the studied gene expression. After 2 h of exposure, the expression levels of 9 to 28 genes were altered, while after 8 h of exposure, the expression levels of 29 to 31 genes were altered. Four genes ( HMOX1, NQO1, PTGS2, and TXNRD1) were significantly upregulated by all six HBQs at both exposure time points. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed that the Nrf2 pathway was significantly responsive to HBQ exposure. Other canonical pathways responsive to HBQ exposure included GSH redox reductions, superoxide radical degradation, and xenobiotic metabolism signaling. This study has demonstrated that HBQs significantly alter the gene expression of oxidative-stress-related signaling pathways and contributes to the understanding of HBQ-DBP-associated toxicity.

  18. Adventitial gene transfer of catalase attenuates angiotensin II-induced vascular remodeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Cun-Fei; Zhang, Jia; Shen, Kai; Gao, Ping-Jin; Wang, Hai-Ya; Jin, Xin; Meng, Chao; Fang, Ning-Yuan

    2015-04-01

    Vascular adventitia and adventitia‑derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to vascular remodeling following vascular injury. A previous ex vivo study in adventitial fibroblasts showed that catalase, one of most important anti‑oxide enzymes, was downregulated by angiotensin II (AngII). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether adventitial gene transfer of catalase affects AngII‑induced vascular remodeling in vivo. Adenoviruses co‑expressing catalase and enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) or expressing eGFP only were applied to the adventitial surface of common carotid arteries of Sprague‑Dawley rats. Alzet minipumps administering AngII (0.75 mg/kg/day) were then implanted subcutaneously for 14 days. Systolic blood pressure and biological parameters of vascular remodeling were measured in each group. Adventitial fibroblasts were cultured and p38 mitogen‑activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation was measured using western blot analysis. The results showed that adventitial gene transfer of catalase had no effect on AngII‑induced systolic blood pressure elevation. However, catalase adenovirus transfection significantly inhibited AngII‑induced media hypertrophy compared with that of the control virus (Padventitial α‑smooth muscle actin expression. Furthermore, catalase transfection significantly inhibited the AngII‑induced increase in p38MAPK phosphorylation. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that adventitial gene transfer of catalase significantly attenuated AngII‑induced vascular remodeling in rats via inhibition of adventitial p38MAPK phosphorylation.

  19. Translational control is a major contributor to hypoxia induced gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beucken, Twan van den; Magagnin, Michael G.; Jutten, Barry; Seigneuric, Renaud; Lambin, Philippe; Koritzinsky, Marianne; Wouters, Bradly G.

    2011-01-01

    Background and purpose: Hypoxia is a common feature of solid tumors that is associated with an aggressive phenotype, resistance to therapy and poor prognosis. Major contributors to these adverse effects are the transcriptional program activated by the HIF family of transcription factors as well as the translational response mediated by PERK-dependent phosphorylation of eIF2α and inhibition of mTORC1 activity. In this study we determined the relative contribution of both transcriptional and translational responses to changes in hypoxia induced gene expression. Material and methods: Total and efficiently translated (polysomal) mRNA was isolated from DU145 prostate carcinoma cells that were exposed for up to 24 h of hypoxia ( 2 ). Changes in transcription and translation were assessed using affymetrix microarray technology. Results: Our data reveal an unexpectedly large contribution of translation control on both induced and repressed gene expression at all hypoxic time points, particularly during acute hypoxia (2-4 h). Gene ontology analysis revealed that gene classes like transcription and signal transduction are stimulated by translational control whereas expression of genes involved in cell growth and protein metabolism are repressed during hypoxic conditions by translational control. Conclusions: Our data indicate that translation influences gene expression during hypoxia on a scale comparable to that of transcription.

  20. Three-nucleon forces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sauer, P.U.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, the role of three-nucleon forces in ab initio calculations of nuclear systems is investigated. The difference between genuine and induced many-nucleon forces is emphasized. Induced forces arise in the process of solving the nuclear many-body problem as technical intermediaries toward calculationally converged results. Genuine forces make up the Hamiltonian. They represent the chosen underlying dynamics. The hierarchy of contributions arising from genuine two-, three- and many-nucleon forces is discussed. Signals for the need of the inclusion of genuine three-nucleon forces are studied in nuclear systems, technically best under control, especially in three-nucleon and four-nucleon systems. Genuine three-nucleon forces are important for details in the description of some observables. Their contributions to observables are small on the scale set by two-nucleon forces. (author)

  1. Nucleotide Pool Depletion Induces G-Quadruplex-Dependent Perturbation of Gene Expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charikleia Papadopoulou

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Nucleotide pool imbalance has been proposed to drive genetic instability in cancer. Here, we show that slowing replication forks by depleting nucleotide pools with hydroxyurea (HU can also give rise to both transient and permanent epigenetic instability of a reporter locus, BU-1, in DT40 cells. HU induces stochastic formation of Bu-1low variants in dividing cells, which have lost the H3K4me3 present in untreated cells. This instability is potentiated by an intragenic G quadruplex, which also promotes local H2Ax phosphorylation and transient heterochromatinization. Genome-wide, gene expression changes induced by HU significantly overlap with those resulting from loss of the G4-helicases FANCJ, WRN, and BLM. Thus, the effects of global replication stress induced by nucleotide pool depletion can be focused by local replication impediments caused by G quadruplex formation to induce epigenetic instability and changes in gene expression, a mechanism that may contribute to selectable transcriptional changes in cancer.

  2. EVIDENCE FOR THE MACROPHAGE INDUCING GENE IN MYCOBACTERIUM INTRACELLULARE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Background: The Mycobacterium avium Complex (MAC) includes the species M. avium (MA), M. intracellulare (MI), and possibly others. Organisms belonging to the MAC are phylogenetically closely related, opportunistic pathogens. The macrophage inducing gene (mig) is the only well-des...

  3. The microRNA machinery regulates fasting-induced changes in gene expression and longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogure, Akiko; Uno, Masaharu; Ikeda, Takako; Nishida, Eisuke

    2017-07-07

    Intermittent fasting (IF) is a dietary restriction regimen that extends the lifespans of Caenorhabditis elegans and mammals by inducing changes in gene expression. However, how IF induces these changes and promotes longevity remains unclear. One proposed mechanism involves gene regulation by microRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs (∼22 nucleotides) that repress gene expression and whose expression can be altered by fasting. To test this proposition, we examined the role of the miRNA machinery in fasting-induced transcriptional changes and longevity in C. elegans We revealed that fasting up-regulated the expression of the miRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC) components, including Argonaute and GW182, and the miRNA-processing enzyme DRSH-1 (the ortholog of the Drosophila Drosha enzyme). Our lifespan measurements demonstrated that IF-induced longevity was suppressed by knock-out or knockdown of miRISC components and was completely inhibited by drsh-1 ablation. Remarkably, drsh-1 ablation inhibited the fasting-induced changes in the expression of the target genes of DAF-16, the insulin/IGF-1 signaling effector in C. elegans Fasting-induced transcriptome alterations were substantially and modestly suppressed in the drsh-1 null mutant and the null mutant of ain-1 , a gene encoding GW182, respectively. Moreover, miRNA array analyses revealed that the expression levels of numerous miRNAs changed after 2 days of fasting. These results indicate that components of the miRNA machinery, especially the miRNA-processing enzyme DRSH-1, play an important role in mediating IF-induced longevity via the regulation of fasting-induced changes in gene expression. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  4. Ultradian hormone stimulation induces glucocorticoid receptor-mediated pulses of gene transcription.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stavreva, Diana A; Wiench, Malgorzata; John, Sam; Conway-Campbell, Becky L; McKenna, Mervyn A; Pooley, John R; Johnson, Thomas A; Voss, Ty C; Lightman, Stafford L; Hager, Gordon L

    2009-09-01

    Studies on glucocorticoid receptor (GR) action typically assess gene responses by long-term stimulation with synthetic hormones. As corticosteroids are released from adrenal glands in a circadian and high-frequency (ultradian) mode, such treatments may not provide an accurate assessment of physiological hormone action. Here we demonstrate that ultradian hormone stimulation induces cyclic GR-mediated transcriptional regulation, or gene pulsing, both in cultured cells and in animal models. Equilibrium receptor-occupancy of regulatory elements precisely tracks the ligand pulses. Nascent RNA transcripts from GR-regulated genes are released in distinct quanta, demonstrating a profound difference between the transcriptional programs induced by ultradian and constant stimulation. Gene pulsing is driven by rapid GR exchange with response elements and by GR recycling through the chaperone machinery, which promotes GR activation and reactivation in response to the ultradian hormone release, thus coupling promoter activity to the naturally occurring fluctuations in hormone levels. The GR signalling pathway has been optimized for a prompt and timely response to fluctuations in hormone levels, indicating that biologically accurate regulation of gene targets by GR requires an ultradian mode of hormone stimulation.

  5. Biomechanical force induces the growth factor production in human periodontal ligament-derived cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichioka, Hiroaki; Yamamoto, Toshiro; Yamamoto, Kenta; Honjo, Ken-Ichi; Adachi, Tetsuya; Oseko, Fumishige; Mazda, Osam; Kanamura, Narisato; Kita, Masakazu

    2016-01-01

    Although many reports have been published on the functional roles of periodontal ligament (PDL) cells, the mechanisms involved in the maintenance and homeostasis of PDL have not been determined. We investigated the effects of biomechanical force on growth factor production, phosphorylation of MAPKs, and intracellular transduction pathways for growth factor production in human periodontal ligament (hPDL) cells using MAPK inhibitors. hPDL cells were exposed to mechanical force (6 MPa) using a hydrostatic pressure apparatus. The levels of growth factor mRNA and protein were examined by real-time RT-PCR and ELISA. The phosphorylation of MAPKs was measured using BD™ CBA Flex Set. In addition, MAPKs inhibitors were used to identify specific signal transduction pathways. Application of biomechanical force (equivalent to occlusal force) increased the synthesis of VEGF-A, FGF-2, and NGF. The application of biomechanical force increased the expression levels of phosphorylated ERK and p38, but not of JNK. Furthermore, the levels of VEGF-A and NGF expression were suppressed by ERK or p38 inhibitor. The growth factors induced by biomechanical force may play a role in the mechanisms of homeostasis of PDL.

  6. Identification and ultrastructural imaging of photodynamic therapy-induced microfilaments by atomic force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Se-Hui; Park, Jin-Young; Yoo, Je-Ok; Shin, Incheol; Kim, Young-Myeong; Ha, Kwon-Soo

    2009-01-01

    Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an emerging technique for imaging biological samples at subnanometer resolution; however, the method is not widely used for cell imaging because it is limited to analysis of surface topology. In this study, we demonstrate identification and ultrastructural imaging of microfilaments using new approaches based on AFM. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with a new chlorin-based photosensitizer DH-II-24 induced cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, and reorganization of cytoskeletons in bladder cancer J82 cells. We investigated cytoskeletal changes using confocal microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Extracellular filaments formed by PDT were analyzed with a tandem imaging approach based on confocal microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Ultrathin filaments that were not visible by confocal microscopy were identified as microfilaments by on-stage labeling/imaging using atomic force microscopy. Furthermore, ultrastructural imaging revealed that these microfilaments had a stranded helical structure. Thus, these new approaches were useful for ultrastructural imaging of microfilaments at the molecular level, and, moreover, they may help to overcome the current limitations of fluorescence-based microscopy and atomic force microscopy in cell imaging.

  7. Radiation and desiccation response motif mediates radiation induced gene expression in D. radiodurans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anaganti, Narasimha; Basu, Bhakti; Apte, Shree Kumar

    2015-01-01

    Deinococcus radiodurans is an extremophile that withstands lethal doses of several DNA damaging agents such as gamma irradiation, UV rays, desiccation and chemical mutagens. The organism responds to DNA damage by inducing expression of several DNA repair genes. At least 25 radiation inducible gene promoters harbour a 17 bp palindromic sequence known as radiation and desiccation response motif (RDRM) implicated in gamma radiation inducible gene expression. However, mechanistic details of gamma radiation-responsive up-regulation in gene expression remain enigmatic. The promoters of highly radiation induced genes ddrB (DR0070), gyrB (DR0906), gyrA (DR1913), a hypothetical gene (DR1143) and recA (DR2338) from D. radiodurans were cloned in a green fluorescence protein (GFP)-based promoter probe shuttle vector pKG and their promoter activity was assessed in both E. coli as well as in D. radiodurans. The gyrA, gyrB and DR1143 gene promoters were active in E. coli although ddrB and recA promoters showed very weak activity. In D. radiodurans, all the five promoters were induced several fold following 6 kGy gamma irradiation. Highest induction was observed for ddrB promoter (25 fold), followed by DR1143 promoter (15 fold). The induction in the activity of gyrB, gyrA and recA promoters was 5, 3 and 2 fold, respectively. To assess the role of RDRM, the 17 bp palindromic sequence was deleted from these promoters. The promoters devoid of RDRM sequence displayed increase in the basal expression activity, but the radiation-responsive induction in promoter activity was completely lost. The substitution of two conserved bases of RDRM sequence yielded decreased radiation induction of PDR0070 promoter. Deletion of 5 bases from 5'-end of PDR0070 RDRM increased basal promoter activity, but radiation induction was completely abolished. Replacement of RDRM with non specific sequence of PDR0070 resulted in loss of basal expression and radiation induction. The results demonstrate that

  8. Forced running exercise attenuates hippocampal neurogenesis impairment and the neurocognitive deficits induced by whole-brain irradiation via the BDNF-mediated pathway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ji, Jian-feng; Ji, Sheng-jun; Sun, Rui; Li, Kun; Zhang, Yuan; Zhang, Li-yuan; Tian, Ye

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: •Forced exercise can ameliorate WBI induced cognitive impairment in our rat model. •Mature BDNF plays an important role in the effects of forced exercise. •Exercise may be a possible treatment of the radiation-induced cognitive impairment. -- Abstract: Cranial radiotherapy induces progressive and debilitating cognitive deficits, particularly in long-term cancer survivors, which may in part be caused by the reduction of hippocampal neurogenesis. Previous studies suggested that voluntary exercise can reduce the cognitive impairment caused by radiation therapy. However, there is no study on the effect of forced wheel exercise and little is known about the molecular mechanisms mediating the effect of exercise. In the present study, we investigated whether the forced running exercise after irradiation had the protective effects of the radiation-induced cognitive impairment. Sixty-four Male Sprague–Dawley rats received a single dose of 20 Gy or sham whole-brain irradiation (WBI), behavioral test was evaluated using open field test and Morris water maze at 2 months after irradiation. Half of the rats accepted a 3-week forced running exercise before the behavior detection. Immunofluorescence was used to evaluate the changes in hippocampal neurogenesis and Western blotting was used to assess changes in the levels of mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), phosphorylated tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB) receptor, protein kinase B (Akt), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase (CaMKII), cAMP-calcium response element binding protein (CREB) in the BDNF–pCREB signaling. We found forced running exercise significantly prevented radiation-induced cognitive deficits, ameliorated the impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis and attenuated the down-regulation of these proteins. Moreover, exercise also increased behavioral performance, hippocampal neurogenesis and elevated BDNF–pCREB signaling in non

  9. Forced running exercise attenuates hippocampal neurogenesis impairment and the neurocognitive deficits induced by whole-brain irradiation via the BDNF-mediated pathway

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ji, Jian-feng; Ji, Sheng-jun; Sun, Rui; Li, Kun; Zhang, Yuan; Zhang, Li-yuan; Tian, Ye, E-mail: dryetian@hotmail.com

    2014-01-10

    Highlights: •Forced exercise can ameliorate WBI induced cognitive impairment in our rat model. •Mature BDNF plays an important role in the effects of forced exercise. •Exercise may be a possible treatment of the radiation-induced cognitive impairment. -- Abstract: Cranial radiotherapy induces progressive and debilitating cognitive deficits, particularly in long-term cancer survivors, which may in part be caused by the reduction of hippocampal neurogenesis. Previous studies suggested that voluntary exercise can reduce the cognitive impairment caused by radiation therapy. However, there is no study on the effect of forced wheel exercise and little is known about the molecular mechanisms mediating the effect of exercise. In the present study, we investigated whether the forced running exercise after irradiation had the protective effects of the radiation-induced cognitive impairment. Sixty-four Male Sprague–Dawley rats received a single dose of 20 Gy or sham whole-brain irradiation (WBI), behavioral test was evaluated using open field test and Morris water maze at 2 months after irradiation. Half of the rats accepted a 3-week forced running exercise before the behavior detection. Immunofluorescence was used to evaluate the changes in hippocampal neurogenesis and Western blotting was used to assess changes in the levels of mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), phosphorylated tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB) receptor, protein kinase B (Akt), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase (CaMKII), cAMP-calcium response element binding protein (CREB) in the BDNF–pCREB signaling. We found forced running exercise significantly prevented radiation-induced cognitive deficits, ameliorated the impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis and attenuated the down-regulation of these proteins. Moreover, exercise also increased behavioral performance, hippocampal neurogenesis and elevated BDNF–pCREB signaling in non

  10. Development of an anhydrotetracycline-inducible gene expression system for solvent-producing Clostridium acetobutylicum: A useful tool for strain engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Hongjun; Tao, Wenwen; Zhang, Yanping; Li, Yin

    2012-01-01

    Clostridium acetobutylicum is an important solvent (acetone-butanol-ethanol) producing bacterium. However, a stringent, effective, and convenient-to-use inducible gene expression system that can be used for regulating the gene expression strength in C. acetobutylicum is currently not available. Here, we report an anhydrotetracycline-inducible gene expression system for solvent-producing bacterium C. acetobutylicum. This system consists of a functional chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene promoter containing tet operators (tetO), Pthl promoter (thiolase gene promoter from C. acetobutylicum) controlling TetR repressor expression cassette, and the chemical inducer anhydrotetracycline (aTc). The optimized system, designated as pGusA2-2tetO1, allows gene regulation in an inducer aTc concentration-dependent way, with an inducibility of over two orders of magnitude. The stringency of TetR repression supports the introduction of the genes encoding counterselective marker into C. acetobutylicum, which can be used to increase the mutant screening efficiency. This aTc-inducible gene expression system will thus increase the genetic manipulation capability for engineering C. acetobutylicum. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. The percentage of bacterial genes on leading versus lagging strands is influenced by multiple balancing forces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Xizeng; Zhang, Han; Yin, Yanbin; Xu, Ying

    2012-01-01

    The majority of bacterial genes are located on the leading strand, and the percentage of such genes has a large variation across different bacteria. Although some explanations have been proposed, these are at most partial explanations as they cover only small percentages of the genes and do not even consider the ones biased toward the lagging strand. We have carried out a computational study on 725 bacterial genomes, aiming to elucidate other factors that may have influenced the strand location of genes in a bacterium. Our analyses suggest that (i) genes of some functional categories such as ribosome have higher preferences to be on the leading strands; (ii) genes of some functional categories such as transcription factor have higher preferences on the lagging strands; (iii) there is a balancing force that tends to keep genes from all moving to the leading and more efficient strand and (iv) the percentage of leading-strand genes in an bacterium can be accurately explained based on the numbers of genes in the functional categories outlined in (i) and (ii), genome size and gene density, indicating that these numbers implicitly contain the information about the percentage of genes on the leading versus lagging strand in a genome. PMID:22735706

  12. Stimulated Raman spectroscopy and nanoscopy of molecules using near field photon induced forces without resonant electronic enhancement gain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tamma, Venkata Ananth [CaSTL Center, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697 (United States); Huang, Fei; Kumar Wickramasinghe, H., E-mail: hkwick@uci.edu [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 142 Engineering Tower, University of California, Irvine, California 92697 (United States); Nowak, Derek [Molecular Vista, Inc., 6840 Via Del Oro, San Jose, California 95119 (United States)

    2016-06-06

    We report on stimulated Raman spectroscopy and nanoscopy of molecules, excited without resonant electronic enhancement gain, and recorded using near field photon induced forces. Photon-induced interaction forces between the sharp metal coated silicon tip of an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and a sample resulting from stimulated Raman excitation were detected. We controlled the tip to sample spacing using the higher order flexural eigenmodes of the AFM cantilever, enabling the tip to come very close to the sample. As a result, the detection sensitivity was increased compared with previous work on Raman force microscopy. Raman vibrational spectra of azobenzene thiol and l-phenylalanine were measured and found to agree well with published results. Near-field force detection eliminates the need for far-field optical spectrometer detection. Recorded images show spatial resolution far below the optical diffraction limit. Further optimization and use of ultrafast pulsed lasers could push the detection sensitivity towards the single molecule limit.

  13. Structural basis and kinetics of force-induced conformational changes of an αA domain-containing integrin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xue Xiang

    Full Text Available Integrin α(Lβ₂ (lymphocyte function-associated antigen, LFA-1 bears force upon binding to its ligand intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1 when a leukocyte adheres to vascular endothelium or an antigen presenting cell (APC during immune responses. The ligand binding propensity of LFA-1 is related to its conformations, which can be regulated by force. Three conformations of the LFA-1 αA domain, determined by the position of its α₇-helix, have been suggested to correspond to three different affinity states for ligand binding.The kinetics of the force-driven transitions between these conformations has not been defined and dynamically coupled to the force-dependent dissociation from ligand. Here we show, by steered molecular dynamics (SMD simulations, that the αA domain was successively transitioned through three distinct conformations upon pulling the C-terminus of its α₇-helix. Based on these sequential transitions, we have constructed a mathematical model to describe the coupling between the αA domain conformational changes of LFA-1 and its dissociation from ICAM-1 under force. Using this model to analyze the published data on the force-induced dissociation of single LFA-1/ICAM-1 bonds, we estimated the force-dependent kinetic rates of interstate transition from the short-lived to intermediate-lived and from intermediate-lived to long-lived states. Interestingly, force increased these transition rates; hence activation of LFA-1 was accelerated by pulling it via an engaged ICAM-1.Our study defines the structural basis for mechanical regulation of the kinetics of LFA-1 αA domain conformational changes and relates these simulation results to experimental data of force-induced dissociation of single LFA-1/ICAM-1 bonds by a new mathematical model, thus provided detailed structural and kinetic characterizations for force-stabilization of LFA-1/ICAM-1 interaction.

  14. Ethylene-induced senescence-related gene expression requires protein synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lawton, K.A.; Raghothama, K.G.; Woodson, W.R.

    1990-01-01

    We have investigated the effects of inhibiting protein synthesis on the ethylene-induced expression of 3 carnation senescence-related genes, pSR5, pSR8, and pSR12. Treatment of preclimacteric carnation petal discs with 1μg/ml of cycloheximide, a cytoplasmic protein synthesis inhibitor, for 3h inhibited protein synthesis by >80% as quantitated by the incorporation of [35S]methionine into protein. Pre-treatment of petal discs with cycloheximide prevented ethylene-induced SR transcript accumulation. Cycloheximide treatment of petal discs held in air did not result in increased levels of SR mRNA. These results indicate that ethylene does not interact with pre-formed factors but rather that the activation of SR gene expression by ethylene is mediated by labile protein factor(s) synthesized on cytoplasmic ribosomes. Experiments are currently underway to determine if cycloheximide exerts its effect at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level

  15. Changes in Gene Expression of Arabidopsis Thaliana Cell Cultures Upon Exposure to Real and Simulated Partial- g Forces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fengler, Svenja; Spirer, Ina; Neef, Maren; Ecke, Margret; Hauslage, Jens; Hampp, Rüdiger

    2016-06-01

    Cell cultures of the plant model organism Arabidopsis thaliana were exposed to partial- g forces during parabolic flight and clinostat experiments (0.16 g, 0.38 g and 0.5 g were tested). In order to investigate gravity-dependent alterations in gene expression, samples were metabolically quenched by the fixative RNA later Ⓡ to stabilize nucleic acids and used for whole-genome microarray analysis. An attempt to identify the potential threshold acceleration for the gravity-dependent response showed that the smaller the experienced g-force, the greater was the susceptibility of the cell cultures. Compared to short-term μ g during a parabolic flight, the number of differentially expressed genes under partial- g was lower. In addition, the effect on the alteration of amounts of transcripts decreased during partial- g parabolic flight due to the sequence of the different parabolas (0.38 g, 0.16 g and μ g). A time-dependent analysis under simulated 0.5 g indicates that adaptation occurs within minutes. Differentially expressed genes (at least 2-fold up- or down-regulated in expression) under real flight conditions were to some extent identical with those affected by clinorotation. The highest number of homologuous genes was detected within seconds of exposure to 0.38 g (both flight and clinorotation). To a considerable part, these genes deal with cell wall properties. Additionally, responses specific for clinorotation were observed.

  16. Gene expression profile of zeitlupe/lov kelch protein1 T-DNA insertion mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana: Downregulation of auxin-inducible genes in hypocotyls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saitoh, Aya; Takase, Tomoyuki; Kitaki, Hiroyuki; Miyazaki, Yuji; Kiyosue, Tomohiro

    2015-01-01

    Elongation of hypocotyl cells has been studied as a model for elucidating the contribution of cellular expansion to plant organ growth. ZEITLUPE (ZTL) or LOV KELCH PROTEIN1 (LKP1) is a positive regulator of warmth-induced hypocotyl elongation under white light in Arabidopsis, although the molecular mechanisms by which it promotes hypocotyl cell elongation remain unknown. Microarray analysis showed that 134 genes were upregulated and 204 genes including 15 auxin-inducible genes were downregulated in the seedlings of 2 ztl T-DNA insertion mutants grown under warm conditions with continuous white light. Application of a polar auxin transport inhibitor, an auxin antagonist or an auxin biosynthesis inhibitor inhibited hypocotyl elongation of control seedlings to the level observed with the ztl mutant. Our data suggest the involvement of auxin and auxin-inducible genes in ZTL-mediated hypocotyl elongation.

  17. Effect of genes controlling radiation sensitivity on chemically induced mutations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prakash, L.

    1976-01-01

    The effect of 16 different genes (rad) conferring radiation sensitivity on chemically induced reversion in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was determined. The site of reversion used was a well-defined chain initiation mutant mapping in the structural gene coding for iso-1-cytochrome c. High doses of EMS and HNO 2 resulted in decreased reversion of cyc1-131 in rad6, rad9 and rad15 strains compared to the normal RAD + strains. In addition, rad52 greatly decreased EMS reversion of cyc1-131 but had no effect on HNO 2 -induced reversion; rad18, on the other hand, increased HNO 2 -induced reversion but did not alter EMS-induced reversion. When NQO was used as the mutagen, every rad gene tested, except for rad18, had an effect on reversion; rad6, rad9, rad15, rad17, rad18, rad22, rev1, rev2, and rev3 lowered NQO reversion while rad1, rad2, rad3, rad4, rad10, rad12, and rad16 increased it compared to the RAD + strain. The effect of rad genes on chemical mutagenesis is discussed in terms of their effect on uv mutagenesis. It is concluded that although the nature of the repair pathways may differ for uv- and chemically-induced mutations in yeast, a functional repair system is required for the induction of mutation by the chemical agents NQO, EMS, and HNO 2

  18. Hormone-induced protection against mammary tumorigenesis is conserved in multiple rat strains and identifies a core gene expression signature induced by pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blakely, Collin M; Stoddard, Alexander J; Belka, George K; Dugan, Katherine D; Notarfrancesco, Kathleen L; Moody, Susan E; D'Cruz, Celina M; Chodosh, Lewis A

    2006-06-15

    Women who have their first child early in life have a substantially lower lifetime risk of breast cancer. The mechanism for this is unknown. Similar to humans, rats exhibit parity-induced protection against mammary tumorigenesis. To explore the basis for this phenomenon, we identified persistent pregnancy-induced changes in mammary gene expression that are tightly associated with protection against tumorigenesis in multiple inbred rat strains. Four inbred rat strains that exhibit marked differences in their intrinsic susceptibilities to carcinogen-induced mammary tumorigenesis were each shown to display significant protection against methylnitrosourea-induced mammary tumorigenesis following treatment with pregnancy levels of estradiol and progesterone. Microarray expression profiling of parous and nulliparous mammary tissue from these four strains yielded a common 70-gene signature. Examination of the genes constituting this signature implicated alterations in transforming growth factor-beta signaling, the extracellular matrix, amphiregulin expression, and the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor I axis in pregnancy-induced alterations in breast cancer risk. Notably, related molecular changes have been associated with decreased mammographic density, which itself is strongly associated with decreased breast cancer risk. Our findings show that hormone-induced protection against mammary tumorigenesis is widely conserved among divergent rat strains and define a gene expression signature that is tightly correlated with reduced mammary tumor susceptibility as a consequence of a normal developmental event. Given the conservation of this signature, these pathways may contribute to pregnancy-induced protection against breast cancer.

  19. Quadriceps force and anterior tibial force occur obviously later than vertical ground reaction force: a simulation study

    OpenAIRE

    Ueno, Ryo; Ishida, Tomoya; Yamanaka, Masanori; Taniguchi, Shohei; Ikuta, Ryohei; Samukawa, Mina; Saito, Hiroshi; Tohyama, Harukazu

    2017-01-01

    Background: Although it is well known that quadriceps force generates anterior tibial force, it has been unclear whether quadriceps force causes great anterior tibial force during the early phase of a landing task. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the quadriceps force induced great anterior tibial force during the early phase of a landing task. Methods: Fourteen young, healthy, female subjects performed a single-leg landing task. Muscle force and anterior tibial force w...

  20. Transduction of Oct6 or Oct9 gene concomitant with Myc family gene induced osteoblast-like phenotypic conversion in normal human fibroblasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizoshiri, N; Kishida, T; Yamamoto, K; Shirai, T; Terauchi, R; Tsuchida, S; Mori, Y; Ejima, A; Sato, Y; Arai, Y; Fujiwara, H; Yamamoto, T; Kanamura, N; Mazda, O; Kubo, T

    2015-11-27

    Osteoblasts play essential roles in bone formation and regeneration, while they have low proliferation potential. Recently we established a procedure to directly convert human fibroblasts into osteoblasts (dOBs). Transduction of Runx2 (R), Osterix (X), Oct3/4 (O) and L-myc (L) genes followed by culturing under osteogenic conditions induced normal human fibroblasts to express osteoblast-specific genes and produce calcified bone matrix both in vitro and in vivo Intriguingly, a combination of only two factors, Oct3/4 and L-myc, significantly induced osteoblast-like phenotype in fibroblasts, but the mechanisms underlying the direct conversion remains to be unveiled. We examined which Oct family genes and Myc family genes are capable of inducing osteoblast-like phenotypic conversion. As result Oct3/4, Oct6 and Oct9, among other Oct family members, had the capability, while N-myc was the most effective Myc family gene. The Oct9 plus N-myc was the best combination to induce direct conversion of human fibroblasts into osteoblast-like cells. The present findings may greatly contribute to the elucidation of the roles of the Oct and Myc proteins in osteoblast direct reprogramming. The results may also lead to establishment of novel regenerative therapy for various bone resorption diseases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Steered molecular dynamics simulations of a type IV pilus probe initial stages of a force-induced conformational transition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph L Baker

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Type IV pili are long, protein filaments built from a repeating subunit that protrudes from the surface of a wide variety of infectious bacteria. They are implicated in a vast array of functions, ranging from bacterial motility to microcolony formation to infection. One of the most well-studied type IV filaments is the gonococcal type IV pilus (GC-T4P from Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of gonorrhea. Cryo-electron microscopy has been used to construct a model of this filament, offering insights into the structure of type IV pili. In addition, experiments have demonstrated that GC-T4P can withstand very large tension forces, and transition to a force-induced conformation. However, the details of force-generation, and the atomic-level characteristics of the force-induced conformation, are unknown. Here, steered molecular dynamics (SMD simulation was used to exert a force in silico on an 18 subunit segment of GC-T4P to address questions regarding the nature of the interactions that lead to the extraordinary strength of bacterial pili. SMD simulations revealed that the buried pilin α1 domains maintain hydrophobic contacts with one another within the core of the filament, leading to GC-T4P's structural stability. At the filament surface, gaps between pilin globular head domains in both the native and pulled states provide water accessible routes between the external environment and the interior of the filament, allowing water to access the pilin α1 domains as reported for VC-T4P in deuterium exchange experiments. Results were also compared to the experimentally observed force-induced conformation. In particular, an exposed amino acid sequence in the experimentally stretched filament was also found to become exposed during the SMD simulations, suggesting that initial stages of the force induced transition are well captured. Furthermore, a second sequence was shown to be initially hidden in the native filament and became exposed upon

  2. Steered molecular dynamics simulations of a type IV pilus probe initial stages of a force-induced conformational transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Joseph L; Biais, Nicolas; Tama, Florence

    2013-04-01

    Type IV pili are long, protein filaments built from a repeating subunit that protrudes from the surface of a wide variety of infectious bacteria. They are implicated in a vast array of functions, ranging from bacterial motility to microcolony formation to infection. One of the most well-studied type IV filaments is the gonococcal type IV pilus (GC-T4P) from Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of gonorrhea. Cryo-electron microscopy has been used to construct a model of this filament, offering insights into the structure of type IV pili. In addition, experiments have demonstrated that GC-T4P can withstand very large tension forces, and transition to a force-induced conformation. However, the details of force-generation, and the atomic-level characteristics of the force-induced conformation, are unknown. Here, steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulation was used to exert a force in silico on an 18 subunit segment of GC-T4P to address questions regarding the nature of the interactions that lead to the extraordinary strength of bacterial pili. SMD simulations revealed that the buried pilin α1 domains maintain hydrophobic contacts with one another within the core of the filament, leading to GC-T4P's structural stability. At the filament surface, gaps between pilin globular head domains in both the native and pulled states provide water accessible routes between the external environment and the interior of the filament, allowing water to access the pilin α1 domains as reported for VC-T4P in deuterium exchange experiments. Results were also compared to the experimentally observed force-induced conformation. In particular, an exposed amino acid sequence in the experimentally stretched filament was also found to become exposed during the SMD simulations, suggesting that initial stages of the force induced transition are well captured. Furthermore, a second sequence was shown to be initially hidden in the native filament and became exposed upon stretching.

  3. A prognostic profile of hypoxia-induced genes for localised high-grade soft tissue sarcoma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aggerholm-Pedersen, Ninna; Sørensen, Brita Singers; Overgaard, Jens

    2016-01-01

    sarcoma (STS). METHODS: The hypoxia-induced gene quantification was performed by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples. The gene expression cut-points were determined in a test cohort of 55 STS patients and used to allocate each patient into a more......BACKGROUND: For decades, tumour hypoxia has been pursued as a cancer treatment target. However, prognostic and predictive biomarkers are essential for the use of this target in the clinic. This study investigates the prognostic value of a hypoxia-induced gene profile in localised soft tissue...

  4. UVB-induced gene expression in the skin of Xiphophorus maculatus Jp 163 B☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Kuan; Boswell, Mikki; Walter, Dylan J.; Downs, Kevin P.; Gaston-Pravia, Kimberly; Garcia, Tzintzuni; Shen, Yingjia; Mitchell, David L.; Walter, Ronald B.

    2014-01-01

    Xiphophorus fish and interspecies hybrids represent long-standing models to study the genetics underlying spontaneous and induced tumorigenesis. The recent release of the Xiphophorus maculatus genome sequence will allow global genetic regulation studies of genes involved in the inherited susceptibility to UVB-induced melanoma within select backcross hybrids. As a first step toward this goal, we report results of an RNA-Seq approach to identify genes and pathways showing modulated transcription within the skin of X. maculatus Jp 163 B upon UVB exposure. X. maculatus Jp 163 B were exposed to various doses of UVB followed by RNA-Seq analysis at each dose to investigate overall gene expression in each sample. A total of 357 genes with a minimum expression change of 4-fold (p-adj fish skin to UVB exposure. PMID:24556253

  5. The potential of virus-induced gene silencing for speeding up functional characterization of plant genes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Benedito, V.A.; Visser, P.B.; Angenent, G.C.; Krens, F.A.

    2004-01-01

    Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has been shown to be of great potential in plant reverse genetics. Advantages of VIGS over other approaches, such as T-DNA or transposon tagging, include the circumvention of plant transformation, methodological simplicity and robustness, and speedy results. These

  6. Gene Expression Analysis Reveals New Possible Mechanisms of Vancomycin-Induced Nephrotoxicity and Identifies Gene Markers Candidates

    OpenAIRE

    Dieterich, Christine; Puey, Angela; Lyn, Sylvia; Swezey, Robert; Furimsky, Anna; Fairchild, David; Mirsalis, Jon C.; Ng, Hanna H.

    2008-01-01

    Vancomycin, one of few effective treatments against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is nephrotoxic. The goals of this study were to (1) gain insights into molecular mechanisms of nephrotoxicity at the genomic level, (2) evaluate gene markers of vancomycin-induced kidney injury, and (3) compare gene expression responses after iv and ip administration. Groups of six female BALB/c mice were treated with seven daily iv or ip doses of vancomycin (50, 200, and 400 mg/kg) or saline, and...

  7. Introducing the "TCDD-inducible AhR-Nrf2 gene battery".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeager, Ronnie L; Reisman, Scott A; Aleksunes, Lauren M; Klaassen, Curtis D

    2009-10-01

    2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) induces genes via the transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), including Cyp1a1, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (Nqo1), UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1a6 (Ugt1a6), and glutathione S-transferase a1 (Gsta1). These genes are referred to as the "AhR gene battery." However, Nqo1 is also considered a prototypical target gene of the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). In mice, TCDD induction of Nrf2 and Nrf2 target, Nqo1, is dependent on AhR, and thus TCDD induction of drug-processing genes may be routed through an AhR-Nrf2 sequence. There has been speculation that Nrf2 may be involved in the TCDD induction of drug-processing genes; however, the data are not definitive. Therefore, to address whether TCDD induction of Nqo1, Ugts, and Gsts is dependent on Nrf2, we conducted the definitive experiment by administering TCDD (50 mug/kg, ip) to Nrf2-null and wild-type (WT) mice and collecting livers 24 h later to quantify the mRNA of drug-processing genes. TCDD induction of Cyp1a1 and Ugt1a1 was similar in WT and Nrf2-null mice, whereas TCDD induction of Ugt1a5 and 1a9 was blunted in Nrf2-null mice. TCDD induced Nqo1, Ugt1a6, 2b34, 2b35, 2b36, UDP-glucuronic acid-synthesizing gene UDP-glucose dehydrogenase, and Gsta1, m1, m2, m3, m6, p2, t2, and microsomal Gst1 in WT mice but not in Nrf2-null mice. Therefore, the present study demonstrates the novel finding that Nrf2 is required for TCDD induction of classical AhR battery genes Nqo1, Ugt1a6, and Gsta1, as well as most Ugt and Gst isoforms in livers of mice.

  8. Isolation of the alkane inducible cytochrome P450 (P450alk) gene from the yeast Candida tropicalis

    Science.gov (United States)

    The gene for the alkane-inducible cytochrome P450, P450alk, has been isolated from the yeast Candida tropicalis by immunoscreening a λgt11 library. Isolation of the gene has been identified on the basis of its inducibility and partial DNA sequence. Transcripts of this gene were i...

  9. Construction and identification of double-gene co-expression vector with radiation-inducible human TRAIL and endostatin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yanbo; Guo Caixia; Gong Pingsheng; Liu Yang; Liangshuo; Wang Hongfang; Wang Jianfeng; Gong Shouliang

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To construct a recombinant plasmid pshuttle-Egr1-shTRAIL-shES containing tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and endostatin double genes. Methods: The secretary endostatin gene (shES) fragment was amplified from the pMD19T-endostatin vector by PCR. The shES gene was ligated to pMD19Tand sequenced. Finally, using the gene recombinant technique, the recombinant plasmid pshuttle-Egr1- shTRAIL-shES with radiation-inducible Egr1 promoter, secretary TRAIL and endostatin double-gene was constructed. Results: The sequence of the shES gene was in concordance with that anticipated indicating shES gene was acquired successfully.Moreover, the results acquired by PCR and restrictive digestion identification of the recombinant plasmid pshuttle-Egr1-shTRAIL-shES and all the vectors refered to its construction confirmed that pshuttle-Egr1-shTRAIL-shES was constructed correctly. Conclusion: The radiation-inducible double-gene co-expression vector pshuttle-Egr1-shTRAIL-shES is constructed successfully, which would set the experimental foundation for further study on the anti-tumor effect of TRAIL and endostatin double-gene-radiotherapy and its related mechanisms. (authors)

  10. Induced resistance and gene expression in wheat against leaf rust ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    uvp

    2013-05-15

    May 15, 2013 ... 2Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, University of the Free State, P.O Box ... Key words: Wheat leaf rust, induced resistance, priming, gene ..... transformation: susceptibility of transgenic Nicotiana sylvestris plants.

  11. Technical advances in trigger-induced RNA interference gene silencing in the parasite Entamoeba histolytica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalil, Mohamed I; Foda, Bardees M; Suresh, Susmitha; Singh, Upinder

    2016-03-01

    Entamoeba histolytica has a robust endogenous RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. There are abundant 27 nucleotide (nt) anti-sense small RNAs (AS sRNAs) that target genes for silencing and the genome encodes many genes involved in the RNAi pathway such as Argonaute proteins. Importantly, an E. histolytica gene with numerous AS sRNAs can function as a "trigger" to induce silencing of a gene that is fused to the trigger. Thus, the amebic RNAi pathway regulates gene expression relevant to amebic biology and has additionally been harnessed as a tool for genetic manipulation. In this study we have further improved the trigger-induced gene silencing method. We demonstrate that rather than using the full-length gene, a short portion of the coding region fused to a trigger is sufficient to induce silencing; the first 537 bp of the E. histolytica rhomboid gene (EhROM1) fused in-frame to the trigger was sufficient to silence EhROM1. We also demonstrated that the trigger method could silence two amebic genes concomitantly; fusion of the coding regions of EhROM1 and transcription factor, EhMyb, in-frame to a trigger gene resulted in both genes being silenced. Alternatively, two genes can be silenced sequentially: EhROM1-silenced parasites with no drug selection plasmid were transfected with trigger-EhMyb, resulting in parasites with both EhROM1 and EhMyb silenced. With all approaches tested, the trigger-mediated silencing was substantive and silencing was maintained despite loss of the G418 selectable marker. All gene silencing was associated with generation of AS sRNAs to the silenced gene. We tested the reversibility of the trigger system using inhibitors of histone modifications but found that the silencing was highly stable. This work represents a technical advance in the trigger gene silencing method in E. histolytica. Approaches that readily silence multiple genes add significantly to the genetic toolkit available to the ameba research community. Copyright © 2016

  12. Inducing and destruction of chimeras and chimera-like states by an external harmonic force

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepelev, I. A.; Vadivasova, T. E.

    2018-03-01

    We study the phenomena of chimera destruction and inducing of chimera-like states in an ensemble of nonlocally coupled chaotic Rössler oscillators under an external harmonic force. The localized harmonic influence can lead to both destruction and changing of the spatial topology of chimeras. At the same time this influence can cause the emergence of stable chimera-like states (induced chimeras) for the regime of partial coherent chaos. Induced chimeras are also observed for the global influence. We show the possibility of controlling the chimera-like state topology by varying the parameters of localized external harmonic influence.

  13. Elicitor and fusarium-induced expression of NPR-1 like genes in banana

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Endah, R

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available NPR1 is an essential positive regulator of salicylic acid-induced PR gene expression and systemic acquired resistance. Two novel full-length NPR1-like genes; MNPR1A and MNPR1B, were isolated by application of the PCR and RACE techniques. The two...

  14. Forced eye closure-induced reflex seizure and non-ketotic hyperglycemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiras, Raziye; Mutlu, Aytul; Ozben, Serkan; Aydemir Tuba; Ozerab, Feriha

    2009-01-01

    We report an uncommon case of 53-year-old female patient with partial seizure induced by forced voluntary eye closure due to non-ketotic hyperglycemia. The initial laboratory tests showed an elevated blood glucose level of 550 mg/dL but no evidence of ketosis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was normal. When the blood glucose levels decreased slowly to about 150 mg/dL in five days, the seizures ended completely. No anticonvulsants were used. Since seizures are generally refractory to antiepileptic medication, control of blood glucose is essential. (author)

  15. Evidence for non-conservative current-induced forces in the breaking of Au and Pt atomic chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Sabater

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This experimental work aims at probing current-induced forces at the atomic scale. Specifically it addresses predictions in recent work regarding the appearance of run-away modes as a result of a combined effect of the non-conservative wind force and a ‘Berry force’. The systems we consider here are atomic chains of Au and Pt atoms, for which we investigate the distribution of break down voltage values. We observe two distinct modes of breaking for Au atomic chains. The breaking at high voltage appears to behave as expected for regular break down by thermal excitation due to Joule heating. However, there is a low-voltage breaking mode that has characteristics expected for the mechanism of current-induced forces. Although a full comparison would require more detailed information on the individual atomic configurations, the systems we consider are very similar to those considered in recent model calculations and the comparison between experiment and theory is very encouraging for the interpretation we propose.

  16. Differentially expressed genes in iron-induced prion protein conversion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Minsun; Kim, Eun-hee; Choi, Bo-Ran; Woo, Hee-Jong

    2016-01-01

    The conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrP C ) to the protease-resistant isoform is the key event in chronic neurodegenerative diseases, including transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Increased iron in prion-related disease has been observed due to the prion protein-ferritin complex. Additionally, the accumulation and conversion of recombinant PrP (rPrP) is specifically derived from Fe(III) but not Fe(II). Fe(III)-mediated PK-resistant PrP (PrP res ) conversion occurs within a complex cellular environment rather than via direct contact between rPrP and Fe(III). In this study, differentially expressed genes correlated with prion degeneration by Fe(III) were identified using Affymetrix microarrays. Following Fe(III) treatment, 97 genes were differentially expressed, including 85 upregulated genes and 12 downregulated genes (≥1.5-fold change in expression). However, Fe(II) treatment produced moderate alterations in gene expression without inducing dramatic alterations in gene expression profiles. Moreover, functional grouping of identified genes indicated that the differentially regulated genes were highly associated with cell growth, cell maintenance, and intra- and extracellular transport. These findings showed that Fe(III) may influence the expression of genes involved in PrP folding by redox mechanisms. The identification of genes with altered expression patterns in neural cells may provide insights into PrP conversion mechanisms during the development and progression of prion-related diseases. - Highlights: • Differential genes correlated with prion degeneration by Fe(III) were identified. • Genes were identified in cell proliferation and intra- and extracellular transport. • In PrP degeneration, redox related genes were suggested. • Cbr2, Rsad2, Slc40a1, Amph and Mvd were expressed significantly.

  17. Systemic virus-induced gene silencing allows functional characterization of maize genes during biotrophic interaction with Ustilago maydis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Linde, Karina; Kastner, Christine; Kumlehn, Jochen; Kahmann, Regine; Doehlemann, Gunther

    2011-01-01

    Infection of maize (Zea mays) plants with the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis leads to the formation of large tumors on the stem, leaves and inflorescences. In this biotrophic interaction, plant defense responses are actively suppressed by the pathogen, and previous transcriptome analyses of infected maize plants showed massive and stage-specific changes in host gene expression during disease progression. To identify maize genes that are functionally involved in the interaction with U. maydis, we adapted a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) system based on the brome mosaic virus (BMV) for maize. Conditions were established that allowed successful U. maydis infection of BMV-preinfected maize plants. This set-up enabled quantification of VIGS and its impact on U. maydis infection using a quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR)-based readout. In proof-of-principle experiments, an U. maydis-induced terpene synthase was shown to negatively regulate disease development while a protein involved in cell death inhibition was required for full virulence of U. maydis. The results suggest that this system is a versatile tool for the rapid identification of maize genes that determine compatibility with U. maydis. © (2010) Max Planck Society. Journal compilation © New Phytologist Trust (2010).

  18. A Foxtail mosaic virus Vector for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Maize.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Yu; Zhang, Chunquan; Kernodle, Bliss M; Hill, John H; Whitham, Steven A

    2016-06-01

    Plant viruses have been widely used as vectors for foreign gene expression and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). A limited number of viruses have been developed into viral vectors for the purposes of gene expression or VIGS in monocotyledonous plants, and among these, the tripartite viruses Brome mosaic virus and Cucumber mosaic virus have been shown to induce VIGS in maize (Zea mays). We describe here a new DNA-based VIGS system derived from Foxtail mosaic virus (FoMV), a monopartite virus that is able to establish systemic infection and silencing of endogenous maize genes homologous to gene fragments inserted into the FoMV genome. To demonstrate VIGS applications of this FoMV vector system, four genes, phytoene desaturase (functions in carotenoid biosynthesis), lesion mimic22 (encodes a key enzyme of the porphyrin pathway), iojap (functions in plastid development), and brown midrib3 (caffeic acid O-methyltransferase), were silenced and characterized in the sweet corn line Golden × Bantam. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the FoMV infectious clone establishes systemic infection in maize inbred lines, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and green foxtail (Setaria viridis), indicating the potential wide applications of this viral vector system for functional genomics studies in maize and other monocots. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  19. Hypoxia-Inducible Regulation of a Prodrug-Activating Enzyme for Tumor-Specific Gene Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toru Shibata

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have suggested that tumor hypoxia could be exploited for cancer gene therapy. Using hypoxia-responsive elements derived from the human vascular endothelial growth factor gene, we have generated vectors expressing a bacterial nitroreductase. (20NTR gene that can activate the anticancer prodrug CB1954. Stable transfectants of human HT1080 tumor cells with hypoxia-inducible vectors were established with G418 selection. Hypoxic induction of NTR protein correlated with increased sensitivity to in vitro exposure of HT 1080 cells to the prodrug. Growth delay assays were performed with established tumor xenografts derived from the same cells to detect the in vivo efficacy of CB1954 conversion to its cytotoxic form. Significant antitumor effects were achieved with intraperitoneal injections of CB1954 both in tumors that express NTR constitutively or with a hypoxia-inducible promoter. In addition, respiration of 10% O2 increased tumor hypoxia in vivo and enhanced the antitumor effects. Taken together, these results demonstrate that hypoxia-inducible vectors may be useful for tumor-selective gene therapy, although the problem of delivery of the vector to the tumors, particularly to the hypoxic cells in the tumors, is not addressed by these studies.

  20. RNAseq analysis reveals pathways and candidate genes associated with salinity tolerance in a spaceflight-induced wheat mutant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Hongchun; Guo, Huijun; Xie, Yongdun; Zhao, Linshu; Gu, Jiayu; Zhao, Shirong; Li, Junhui; Liu, Luxiang

    2017-06-02

    Salinity stress has become an increasing threat to food security worldwide and elucidation of the mechanism for salinity tolerance is of great significance. Induced mutation, especially spaceflight mutagenesis, is one important method for crop breeding. In this study, we show that a spaceflight-induced wheat mutant, named salinity tolerance 1 (st1), is a salinity-tolerant line. We report the characteristics of transcriptomic sequence variation induced by spaceflight, and show that mutations in genes associated with sodium ion transport may directly contribute to salinity tolerance in st1. Furthermore, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between salinity-treated st1 and wild type suggested that the homeostasis of oxidation-reduction process is important for salt tolerance in st1. Through KEGG pathway analysis, "Butanoate metabolism" was identified as a new pathway for salinity responses. Additionally, key genes for salinity tolerance, such as genes encoding arginine decarboxylase, polyamine oxidase, hormones-related, were not only salt-induced in st1 but also showed higher expression in salt-treated st1 compared with salt-treated WT, indicating that these genes may play important roles in salinity tolerance in st1. This study presents valuable genetic resources for studies on transcriptome variation caused by induced mutation and the identification of salt tolerance genes in crops.

  1. Optofluidic lens actuated by laser-induced solutocapillary forces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malyuk, A. Yu.; Ivanova, N. A.

    2017-06-01

    We demonstrate an adaptive liquid lens controlled by laser-induced solutocapillary forces. The liquid droplet serving as a lens is formed in a thin layer of binary liquid mixture by surface tension driven flows caused by the thermal action of laser irradiation. The shape of droplet, its aperture and the focal length are reversibly changed without hysteresis by varying the intensity of the laser beam. The focal length variation range of the droplet-lens lies in between infinity (a flat layer) to 15 mm (a curved interface). The droplet-lens is capable to adjust the in-plane lateral position in response to a displacement of the laser beam. The proposed laser controlled droplet-lens will enable to develop smart liquid optical devices, which can imitate the accommodation reflex and pupillary light reflex of the eye.

  2. Modeling fluid forces and response of a tube bundle in cross-flow induced vibrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khushnood, Shahab; Khan, Zaffar M.; Malik, M. Afzaal; Koreshi, Zafarullah; Khan, Mahmood Anwar

    2003-01-01

    Flow induced vibrations occur in process heat exchangers, condensers, boilers and nuclear steam generators. Under certain flow conditions and fluid velocities, the fluid forces result in tube vibrations and possible damage of tube, tube sheet or baffle due to fretting and fatigue. Prediction of these forces is an important consideration. The characteristics of vibration depend greatly on the fluid dynamic forces and structure of the tube bundle. It is undesirable for the tube bundles to vibrate excessively under normal operating conditions because tubes wear and eventual leakage can occur leading to costly shutdowns. In this paper modeling of fluid forces and vibration response of a tube in a heat exchanger bundle has been carried out. Experimental validation has been performed on an existing refinery heat exchanger tube bundle. The target tube has been instrumented with an accelerometer and strain gages. The bundle has been studied for pulse, sinusoidal and random excitations. Natural frequencies and damping of the tubes have also been computed. Experimental fluid forces and response shows a reasonable agreement with the predictions. (author)

  3. Shift work or food intake during the rest phase promotes metabolic disruption and desynchrony of liver genes in male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salgado-Delgado, Roberto C; Saderi, Nadia; Basualdo, María del Carmen; Guerrero-Vargas, Natali N; Escobar, Carolina; Buijs, Ruud M

    2013-01-01

    In the liver, clock genes are proposed to drive metabolic rhythms. These gene rhythms are driven by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) mainly by food intake and via autonomic and hormonal pathways. Forced activity during the normal rest phase, induces also food intake, thus neglecting the signals of the SCN, leading to conflicting time signals to target tissues of the SCN. The present study explored in a rodent model of night-work the influence of food during the normal sleep period on the synchrony of gene expression between clock genes and metabolic genes in the liver. Male Wistar rats were exposed to forced activity for 8 h either during the rest phase (day) or during the active phase (night) by using a slow rotating wheel. In this shift work model food intake shifts spontaneously to the forced activity period, therefore the influence of food alone without induced activity was tested in other groups of animals that were fed ad libitum, or fed during their rest or active phase. Rats forced to be active and/or eating during their rest phase, inverted their daily peak of Per1, Bmal1 and Clock and lost the rhythm of Per2 in the liver, moreover NAMPT and metabolic genes such as Pparα lost their rhythm and thus their synchrony with clock genes. We conclude that shift work or food intake in the rest phase leads to desynchronization within the liver, characterized by misaligned temporal patterns of clock genes and metabolic genes. This may be the cause of the development of the metabolic syndrome and obesity in individuals engaged in shift work.

  4. TIMP-1 gene deficiency increases tumour cell sensitivity to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davidsen, Marie Louise; Würts, S.Ø.; Rømer, Maria Unni Koefoed

    2006-01-01

    deficiency increases the response to chemotherapy considerably, confirming that TIMP-1 protects the cells from apoptosis. This is to our knowledge the first study investigating TIMP-1 and chemotherapy-induced apoptosis employing a powerful model system comprising TIMP-1 gene-deficient cells...... this hypothesis, we have established TIMP-1 gene-deficient and TIMP-1 wild-type fibrosarcoma cells from mouse lung tissue. We have characterised these cells with regard to TIMP-1 genotype, TIMP-1 expression, malignant transformation and sensitivity to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. We show that TIMP-1 gene...... and their genetically identical wild-type controls. For future studies, this cell system can be used to uncover the mechanisms and signalling pathways involved in the TIMP-1-mediated inhibition of apoptosis as well as to investigate the possibility of using TIMP-1 inhibitors to optimise the effect of conventional...

  5. Forced Expression of ZNF143 Restrains Cancer Cell Growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Izumi, Hiroto; Yasuniwa, Yoshihiro; Akiyama, Masaki; Yamaguchi, Takahiro; Kuma, Akihiro; Kitamura, Noriaki; Kohno, Kimitoshi

    2011-01-01

    We previously reported that the transcription factor Zinc Finger Protein 143 (ZNF143) regulates the expression of genes associated with cell cycle and cell division, and that downregulation of ZNF143 induces cell cycle arrest at G2/M. To assess the function of ZNF143 expression in the cell cycle, we established two cells with forced expression of ZNF143 derived from PC3 prostate cancer cell lines. These cell lines overexpress genes associated with cell cycle and cell division, such as polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), aurora kinase B (AURKB) and some minichromosome maintenance complex components (MCM). However, the doubling time of cells with forced expression of ZNF143 was approximately twice as long as its control counterpart cell line. Analysis following serum starvation and re-seeding showed that PC3 cells were synchronized at G1 in the cell cycle. Also, ZNF143 expression fluctuated, and was at its lowest level in G2/M. However, PC3 cells with forced expression of ZNF143 synchronized at G2/M, and showed lack of cell cycle-dependent fluctuation of nuclear expression of MCM proteins. Furthermore, G2/M population of both cisplatin-resistant PCDP6 cells over-expressing ZNF143 (derived from PC3 cells) and cells with forced expression of ZNF143 was significantly higher than that of each counterpart, and the doubling time of PCDP6 cells is about 2.5 times longer than that of PC3 cells. These data suggested that fluctuations in ZNF143 expression are required both for gene expression associated with cell cycle and for cell division

  6. Forced Expression of ZNF143 Restrains Cancer Cell Growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Izumi, Hiroto, E-mail: h-izumi@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp; Yasuniwa, Yoshihiro; Akiyama, Masaki; Yamaguchi, Takahiro; Kuma, Akihiro; Kitamura, Noriaki; Kohno, Kimitoshi [Department of Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555 (Japan)

    2011-10-19

    We previously reported that the transcription factor Zinc Finger Protein 143 (ZNF143) regulates the expression of genes associated with cell cycle and cell division, and that downregulation of ZNF143 induces cell cycle arrest at G2/M. To assess the function of ZNF143 expression in the cell cycle, we established two cells with forced expression of ZNF143 derived from PC3 prostate cancer cell lines. These cell lines overexpress genes associated with cell cycle and cell division, such as polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), aurora kinase B (AURKB) and some minichromosome maintenance complex components (MCM). However, the doubling time of cells with forced expression of ZNF143 was approximately twice as long as its control counterpart cell line. Analysis following serum starvation and re-seeding showed that PC3 cells were synchronized at G1 in the cell cycle. Also, ZNF143 expression fluctuated, and was at its lowest level in G2/M. However, PC3 cells with forced expression of ZNF143 synchronized at G2/M, and showed lack of cell cycle-dependent fluctuation of nuclear expression of MCM proteins. Furthermore, G2/M population of both cisplatin-resistant PCDP6 cells over-expressing ZNF143 (derived from PC3 cells) and cells with forced expression of ZNF143 was significantly higher than that of each counterpart, and the doubling time of PCDP6 cells is about 2.5 times longer than that of PC3 cells. These data suggested that fluctuations in ZNF143 expression are required both for gene expression associated with cell cycle and for cell division.

  7. Forced Expression of ZNF143 Restrains Cancer Cell Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimitoshi Kohno

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available We previously reported that the transcription factor Zinc Finger Protein 143 (ZNF143 regulates the expression of genes associated with cell cycle and cell division, and that downregulation of ZNF143 induces cell cycle arrest at G2/M. To assess the function of ZNF143 expression in the cell cycle, we established two cells with forced expression of ZNF143 derived from PC3 prostate cancer cell lines. These cell lines overexpress genes associated with cell cycle and cell division, such as polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1, aurora kinase B (AURKB and some minichromosome maintenance complex components (MCM. However, the doubling time of cells with forced expression of ZNF143 was approximately twice as long as its control counterpart cell line. Analysis following serum starvation and re-seeding showed that PC3 cells were synchronized at G1 in the cell cycle. Also, ZNF143 expression fluctuated, and was at its lowest level in G2/M. However, PC3 cells with forced expression of ZNF143 synchronized at G2/M, and showed lack of cell cycle-dependent fluctuation of nuclear expression of MCM proteins. Furthermore, G2/M population of both cisplatin-resistant PCDP6 cells over-expressing ZNF143 (derived from PC3 cells and cells with forced expression of ZNF143 was significantly higher than that of each counterpart, and the doubling time of PCDP6 cells is about 2.5 times longer than that of PC3 cells. These data suggested that fluctuations in ZNF143 expression are required both for gene expression associated with cell cycle and for cell division.

  8. Interferon-induced transcription of a gene encoding a 15-kDA protein depends on an upstream enhancer element

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reich, N.; Evans, B.; Levy, D.; Fahey, D.; Knight, E. Jr.; Darnell, J.E. Jr.

    1987-01-01

    A human gene encoding an interferon-induced 15-kDa protein has been isolated from a genomic library. The gene appears to be single-copy and is composed of two exons, the first of which contains the ATG translation initiation codon. In vitro nuclear run-on assays showed that the transcription rate of the gene is stimulated after interferon treatment. To analyze transcriptional regulatory sequences, the authors constructed recombinant plasmids for use in transient transfection assays of HeLa cells. Constructs containing 115 nucleotides 5' to the transcription initiation site were found to be fully inducible by interferon. Assays of deletion mutants identified a critical element for interferon induction located between -115 and -96, just upstream of the CCAAT box. Moreover, a DNA fragment including this region can confer interferon inducibility on a heterologous promoter (thymidine kinase) when cloned in either orientation upstream of the gene or downstream of the gene. These are properties characteristic of an enhancer element that is active only after treatment with interferon. This regulatory sequence may be shared by a group of interferon-induced genes, since a very similar sequence is present within the functional region near the RNA start site of another interferon-induced gene

  9. [A comparative study on behaviors of two depression models in rats induced by chronic forced swimming stress].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Ming-Fei; Gao, Dong; Sun, Xue-Li

    2010-01-01

    To compare the behaviors of rats with depressions induced by chronic forced swimming stress under two different conditions. Eighteen male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, with 6 rats in each group. The rats in the control group (C group) were not forced into swimming, while the rats in the stress groups (S1 and S2) were forced to swim for 14 consecutive days. The rats in S1 group and S2 group swam for five minutes every morning, in water with (23 +/- 1) degree C, and (10 +/- 0.5) degree C in temperature, respectively. The weight gain, food intake, open-field test and saccharin solution test were observed on the seventh day and fourteenth day. On the seventh day following chronic swim stress, the rats in the S2 group had significant lower ratio in weight gain and food intake than the controls (P forced swimming. On the fourteenth day, the rats in the S1 group still had lower ratio in weight gain, but had higher ratio in food intake and preference for saccharin solution, and greater number of crossing than the controls. Chronic forced swimming at a lower temperature could induce depression better than at a higher temperature.

  10. Lorentz force actuation of a heated atomic force microscope cantilever.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Byeonghee; Prater, Craig B; King, William P

    2012-02-10

    We report Lorentz force-induced actuation of a silicon microcantilever having an integrated resistive heater. Oscillating current through the cantilever interacts with the magnetic field around a NdFeB permanent magnet and induces a Lorentz force that deflects the cantilever. The same current induces cantilever heating. With AC currents as low as 0.2 mA, the cantilever can be oscillated as much as 80 nm at resonance with a DC temperature rise of less than 5 °C. By comparison, the AC temperature variation leads to a thermomechanical oscillation that is about 1000 times smaller than the Lorentz deflection at the cantilever resonance. The cantilever position in the nonuniform magnetic field affects the Lorentz force-induced deflection, with the magnetic field parallel to the cantilever having the largest effect on cantilever actuation. We demonstrate how the cantilever actuation can be used for imaging, and for measuring the local material softening temperature by sensing the contact resonance shift.

  11. Gene expression analysis reveals new possible mechanisms of vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity and identifies gene markers candidates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dieterich, Christine; Puey, Angela; Lin, Sylvia; Lyn, Sylvia; Swezey, Robert; Furimsky, Anna; Fairchild, David; Mirsalis, Jon C; Ng, Hanna H

    2009-01-01

    Vancomycin, one of few effective treatments against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is nephrotoxic. The goals of this study were to (1) gain insights into molecular mechanisms of nephrotoxicity at the genomic level, (2) evaluate gene markers of vancomycin-induced kidney injury, and (3) compare gene expression responses after iv and ip administration. Groups of six female BALB/c mice were treated with seven daily iv or ip doses of vancomycin (50, 200, and 400 mg/kg) or saline, and sacrificed on day 8. Clinical chemistry and histopathology demonstrated kidney injury at 400 mg/kg only. Hierarchical clustering analysis revealed that kidney gene expression profiles of all mice treated at 400 mg/kg clustered with those of mice administered 200 mg/kg iv. Transcriptional profiling might thus be more sensitive than current clinical markers for detecting kidney damage, though the profiles can differ with the route of administration. Analysis of transcripts whose expression was changed by at least twofold compared with vehicle saline after high iv and ip doses of vancomycin suggested the possibility of oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage in vancomycin-induced toxicity. In addition, our data showed changes in expression of several transcripts from the complement and inflammatory pathways. Such expression changes were confirmed by relative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Finally, our results further substantiate the use of gene markers of kidney toxicity such as KIM-1/Havcr1, as indicators of renal injury.

  12. Predator-induced defences in Daphnia pulex: Selection and evaluation of internal reference genes for gene expression studies with real-time PCR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilbert Don

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The planktonic microcrustacean Daphnia pulex is among the best-studied animals in ecological, toxicological and evolutionary research. One aspect that has sustained interest in the study system is the ability of D. pulex to develop inducible defence structures when exposed to predators, such as the phantom midge larvae Chaoborus. The available draft genome sequence for D. pulex is accelerating research to identify genes that confer plastic phenotypes that are regularly cued by environmental stimuli. Yet for quantifying gene expression levels, no experimentally validated set of internal control genes exists for the accurate normalization of qRT-PCR data. Results In this study, we tested six candidate reference genes for normalizing transcription levels of D. pulex genes; alpha tubulin (aTub, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH, TATA box binding protein (Tbp syntaxin 16 (Stx16, X-box binding protein 1 (Xbp1 and CAPON, a protein associated with the neuronal nitric oxide synthase, were selected on the basis of an earlier study and from microarray studies. One additional gene, a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP, was tested to validate its transcriptional response to Chaoborus, which was earlier observed in a microarray study. The transcription profiles of these seven genes were assessed by qRT-PCR from RNA of juvenile D. pulex that showed induced defences in comparison to untreated control animals. We tested the individual suitability of genes for expression normalization using the programs geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper. Intriguingly, Xbp1, Tbp, CAPON and Stx16 were selected as ideal reference genes. Analyses on the relative expression level using the software REST showed that both classical housekeeping candidate genes (aTub and GAPDH were significantly downregulated, whereas the MMP gene was shown to be significantly upregulated, as predicted. aTub is a particularly ill suited reference gene because five copies are

  13. Inhibitory PAS domain protein is a negative regulator of hypoxia-inducible gene expression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makino, Yuichi; Cao, Renhai; Svensson, Kristian; Bertilsson, Göran; Asman, Mikael; Tanaka, Hirotoshi; Cao, Yihai; Berkenstam, Anders; Poellinger, Lorenz

    2001-11-01

    Alteration of gene expression is a crucial component of adaptive responses to hypoxia. These responses are mediated by hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs). Here we describe an inhibitory PAS (Per/Arnt/Sim) domain protein, IPAS, which is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH)/PAS protein structurally related to HIFs. IPAS contains no endogenous transactivation function but demonstrates dominant negative regulation of HIF-mediated control of gene expression. Ectopic expression of IPAS in hepatoma cells selectively impairs induction of genes involved in adaptation to a hypoxic environment, notably the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene, and results in retarded tumour growth and tumour vascular density in vivo. In mice, IPAS was predominantly expressed in Purkinje cells of the cerebellum and in corneal epithelium of the eye. Expression of IPAS in the cornea correlates with low levels of expression of the VEGF gene under hypoxic conditions. Application of an IPAS antisense oligonucleotide to the mouse cornea induced angiogenesis under normal oxygen conditions, and demonstrated hypoxia-dependent induction of VEGF gene expression in hypoxic corneal cells. These results indicate a previously unknown mechanism for negative regulation of angiogenesis and maintenance of an avascular phenotype.

  14. Sensorimotor and neuropsychological correlates of force perturbations that induce stepping in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturnieks, Daina L; Menant, Jasmine; Vanrenterghem, Jos; Delbaere, Kim; Fitzpatrick, Richard C; Lord, Stephen R

    2012-07-01

    Inappropriate stepping in response to unexpected balance perturbations is more prevalent in older people and in those at risk of falling. This study examined responses to force-controlled waist pulls in young and older people, and sought to identify physiological and cognitive correlates of the force threshold for stepping. 242 older (79.7±4.2 years) and 15 young (29.5±5.3 years) adults underwent waist pull perturbations and assessments of physiological and neuropsychological functioning, general health and falls efficacy. Perturbation force that induced stepping, stepping strategy and number of steps were measured. The older group withstood less forceful perturbations with a feet-in-place strategy, compared to young. Likewise, older adults with high falls risk withstood less force than those with low risk. After controlling for body weight and gender, sway and lower limb strength were independent predictors of anterior stepping thresholds, reaction time was an independent predictor of posterior thresholds, and executive functioning and lower limb strength were independent predictors of the lateral thresholds. These results suggest that balance, strength and agility training, in addition to cognitive exercises may enhance the ability to withstand unexpected balance perturbations and reduce the risk of falls in older people. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Muscle Contraction Induces Acute Hydroxymethylation of the Exercise-Responsive Gene Nr4a3

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pattamaprapanont, Pattarawan; Garde, Christian; Fabre, Odile

    2016-01-01

    stimulated over time is required to determine whether contraction-induced demethylation is preceded by changes in the hydroxymethylcytosine level. Here, we established an acute skeletal muscle contraction model to mimic the effects of acute exercise on gene expression. We used this model to investigate...... promoters. Exercise induces dynamic DNA demethylation at gene promoters; however, the contribution of the demethylation precursor hydroxymethylcytosine is unknown. Given the evanescent nature of hydroxymethylcytosine, a muscle contraction model that allows for the collection of samples that are repeatedly...... the effect of muscle contraction on DNA demethylation and hydroxymethylation. First, we performed an acute exercise study in healthy humans to identify an exercise-responsive gene that we could study in culture. We identified the nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 3 (Nr4a3) gene with the highest...

  16. Regulation of endogenous human gene expression by ligand-inducible TALE transcription factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Andrew C; Gaj, Thomas; Sirk, Shannon J; Lamb, Brian M; Barbas, Carlos F

    2014-10-17

    The construction of increasingly sophisticated synthetic biological circuits is dependent on the development of extensible tools capable of providing specific control of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. Here, we describe a new class of synthetic transcription factors that activate gene expression in response to extracellular chemical stimuli. These inducible activators consist of customizable transcription activator-like effector (TALE) proteins combined with steroid hormone receptor ligand-binding domains. We demonstrate that these ligand-responsive TALE transcription factors allow for tunable and conditional control of gene activation and can be used to regulate the expression of endogenous genes in human cells. Since TALEs can be designed to recognize any contiguous DNA sequence, the conditional gene regulatory system described herein will enable the design of advanced synthetic gene networks.

  17. A programmable DNA origami nanospring that reveals force-induced adjacent binding of myosin VI heads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwaki, M; Wickham, S F; Ikezaki, K; Yanagida, T; Shih, W M

    2016-12-12

    Mechanosensitive biological nanomachines such as motor proteins and ion channels regulate diverse cellular behaviour. Combined optical trapping with single-molecule fluorescence imaging provides a powerful methodology to clearly characterize the mechanoresponse, structural dynamics and stability of such nanomachines. However, this system requires complicated experimental geometry, preparation and optics, and is limited by low data-acquisition efficiency. Here we develop a programmable DNA origami nanospring that overcomes these issues. We apply our nanospring to human myosin VI, a mechanosensory motor protein, and demonstrate nanometre-precision single-molecule fluorescence imaging of the individual motor domains (heads) under force. We observe force-induced transitions of myosin VI heads from non-adjacent to adjacent binding, which correspond to adapted roles for low-load and high-load transport, respectively. Our technique extends single-molecule studies under force and clarifies the effect of force on biological processes.

  18. Muscle spindle thixotropy affects force perception through afferent-induced facilitation of the motor pathways as revealed by the Kohnstamm effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monjo, Florian; Forestier, Nicolas

    2018-04-01

    This study was designed to explore the effects of intrafusal thixotropy, a property affecting muscle spindle sensitivity, on the sense of force. For this purpose, psychophysical measurements of force perception were performed using an isometric force matching paradigm of elbow flexors consisting of matching different force magnitudes (5, 10 and 20% of subjects' maximal voluntary force). We investigated participants' capacity to match these forces after their indicator arm had undergone voluntary isometric conditioning contractions known to alter spindle thixotropy, i.e., contractions performed at long ('hold long') or short muscle lengths ('hold short'). In parallel, their reference arm was conditioned at the intermediate muscle length ('hold-test') at which the matchings were performed. The thixotropy hypothesis predicts that estimation errors should only be observed at low force levels (up to 10% of the maximal voluntary force) with overestimation of the forces produced following 'hold short' conditioning and underestimation following 'hold long' conditioning. We found the complete opposite, especially following 'hold-short' conditioning where subjects underestimated the force they generated with similar relative error magnitudes across force levels. In a second experiment, we tested the hypothesis that estimation errors depended on the degree of afferent-induced facilitation using the Kohnstamm phenomenon as a probe of motor pathway excitability. Because the stronger post-effects were observed following 'hold-short' conditioning, it appears that the conditioning-induced excitation of spindle afferents leads to force misjudgments by introducing a decoupling between the central effort and the cortical motor outputs.

  19. Cloning and Characterization of Genes that Inhibit TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis of Breast Cancer Cells

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Shu, Hong-Bing

    2003-01-01

    ...). However, some cancer cells are resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis (3, 4, 6-13). The purpose of this proposed study is to clone and characterize such inhibitory genes of TRAIL-induced apoptosis...

  20. Repeated exposure to Lutzomyia intermedia sand fly saliva induces local expression of interferon-inducible genes both at the site of injection in mice and in human blood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinkopff, Tiffany; de Oliveira, Camila I; de Carvalho, Augusto M; Hauyon-La Torre, Yazmin; Muniz, Aline C; Miranda, Jose Carlos; Barral, Aldina; Tacchini-Cottier, Fabienne

    2014-01-01

    During a blood meal, Lutzomyia intermedia sand flies transmit Leishmania braziliensis, a parasite causing tegumentary leishmaniasis. In experimental leishmaniasis, pre-exposure to saliva of most blood-feeding sand flies results in parasite establishment in absence of any skin damages in mice challenged with dermotropic Leishmania species together with saliva. In contrast, pre-immunization with Lu. intermedia salivary gland sonicate (SGS) results in enhanced skin inflammatory exacerbation upon co-inoculation of Lu. intermedia SGS and L. braziliensis. These data highlight potential unique features of both L. braziliensis and Lu. intermedia. In this study, we investigated the genes modulated by Lu. intermedia SGS immunization to understand their potential impact on the subsequent cutaneous immune response following inoculation of both SGS and L. braziliensis. The cellular recruitment and global gene expression profile was analyzed in mice repeatedly inoculated or not with Lu. intermedia. Microarray gene analysis revealed the upregulation of a distinct set of IFN-inducible genes, an immune signature not seen to the same extent in control animals. Of note this INF-inducible gene set was not induced in SGS pre-immunized mice subsequently co-inoculated with SGS and L. braziliensis. These data suggest the parasite prevented the upregulation of this Lu. intermedia saliva-related immune signature. The presence of these IFN-inducible genes was further analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) sampled from uninfected human individuals living in a L. braziliensis-endemic region of Brazil thus regularly exposed to Lu. intermedia bites. PBMCs were cultured in presence or absence of Lu. intermedia SGS. Using qRT-PCR we established that the IFN-inducible genes induced in the skin of SGS pre-immunized mice, were also upregulated by SGS in PBMCs from human individuals regularly exposed to Lu. intermedia bites, but not in PBMCs of control subjects. These data demonstrate

  1. Force reduction induced by unidirectional transversal muscle loading is independent of local pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siebert, Tobias; Rode, Christian; Till, Olaf; Stutzig, Norman; Blickhan, Reinhard

    2016-05-03

    Transversal unidirectional compression applied to muscles via external loading affects muscle contraction dynamics in the longitudinal direction. A recent study reported decreasing longitudinal muscle forces with increasing transversal load applied with a constant contact area (i.e., leading to a simultaneous increase in local pressure). To shed light on these results, we examine whether the decrease in longitudinal force depends on the load, the local pressure, or both. To this end, we perform isometric experiments on rat M. gastrocnemius medialis without and with transversal loading (i) changing the local pressure from 1.1-3.2Ncm(-2) (n=9) at a constant transversal load (1.62N) and (ii) increasing the transversal load (1.15-3.45N) at a constant local pressure of 2.3Ncm(-2) (n=7). While we did not note changes in the decrease in longitudinal muscle force in the first experiment, the second experiment resulted in an almost-linear reduction of longitudinal force between 7.5±0.6% and 14.1±1.7%. We conclude that the observed longitudinal force reduction is not induced by local effects such as malfunction of single muscle compartments, but that similar internal stress conditions and myofilament configurations occur when the local pressure changes given a constant load. The decreased longitudinal force may be explained by increased internal pressure and a deformed myofilament lattice that is likely associated with the decomposition of cross-bridge forces on the one hand and the inhibition of cross-bridges on the other hand. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Preventive Effects of Forced Exercise against Alcohol-induced Physical Dependency and Reduction of Pain Perception Threshold

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Motaghinejad

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Treatment of postabstinence syndrome of alcohol is one of the major strategies of alcoholism treatment. Exercise can be modulated major brain pathways such as a reward system and pain perception centers. The aim of this study was to evaluation the effects of forced exercise in the management of alcohol dependence and pain perception alteration which induced by alcoholism. Methods: 72 adult male rats were divided into 2 major groups: (1 40 of them was divided into groups of positive control (alcohol dependent negative control and alcohol dependent groups under treatment by forced exercise, diazepam (0.4 mg/kg and forced exercise in combination with diazepam and alcohol withdrawal signs, and blood cortisols, were measured in this groups. (2 32 rats were divided into control, alcohol dependent (without treatment, and alcohol-dependent groups under treatment by forced exercise or indometacin (5 mg/kg and then pain perception was assessed by using writhing test, tail-flick and hot plate test. Results: Forced exercise, diazepam, and their combinations significantly attenuates withdrawal syndrome to 20 ± 2, 22 ± 1.3 and 16 ± 2 and blood cortisol level to 6.8 ± 1.3,7.9 ± 1.2 and 5.8 ± 1.1, respectively, in comparison with the positive control group (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001. In alcohol dependent animal under treatment by forced exercise, pain response significantly inhibited with 37%, 57% and 38% decreases in writhing test, hot plate, and tail-flick test, respectively, in comparison with alcohol dependent (without treatment group (P < 0.05. Conclusions: This study suggested that forced exercise can be useful as adjunct therapy in alcoholism patient and also can be effective in modulation of pain threshold reduction that was induced by alcohol dependency.

  3. Gene alterations in radiation-induced F344 rat lung tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelly, G.; Hahn, F.F.

    1994-01-01

    The p53 tumor suppressor gene is frequently altered in all major histopathologic types of human lung tumors. Reported p53 mutations include base substitutions, allelic loss, rearrangements, and deletions. Point mutations resulting in base substitutions are clustered within a highly conserved region of the gene encoding exons 508, and mutations in this region substantially extend the half-life of the p53 protein. In addition to its prominent importance in lung carcinogenesis, the p53 gene plays a critical role in the cellular response to genetic damage caused by radiation. Specifically, the protein product of p53 induces a pause or block at the G 1 to S boundary of the cell cycle following radiation-caused DNA damage. This G 1 block may allow the cell time to repair the damaged DNA prior to replication. Cells lacking a functional p53 protein fail to pause for repair and consequently accumulate mutations in the genome at an accelerated rate. p53 has also been implicated as a controlling factor in apoptosis or in programmed cell death induced by DNA-damaging agents, such as ionizing radiation. The p53 gene is mutated in approximately 50% of squamous cell carcinomas from uranium miners who inhaled high doses of radon daughters. The purpose of the present study was to determine if a similar percentage of squamous cell carcinomas with p53 mutations developed in the lungs of rats exposed to aerosols of 239 PuO 2

  4. Effect of ethylene action inhibitors upon wound-induced gene expression in tomato pericarp

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henstrand, J.M.; Handa, A.K.

    1989-01-01

    The contribution of wound-ethylene to wound-induced gene expression was investigated in unripe tomato pericarp using inhibitors of ethylene action. Wounded unripe tomato pericarp was treated with 2,5-norbornadiene or silver thiosulfate to inhibit specifically the induction of ethylene-dependent mRNA species. Poly(A) + RNAs isolated from these tissues after 12 hours of wounding were translated in vitro in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system and [ 35 S]methionine-labeled polypeptides were compared to unwounded controls after separation by one and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Results show that mechanical wounding induces a dramatic shift in gene expression (over 50 mRNA species) but expression of less than 15% of these genes is affected by the treatment with ethylene action inhibitors. A selective decrease in mRNAs coding for a 37 kilodalton doublet and 75 kilodalton polypeptides is observed in 2,5-norbornadiene and silver thiosulfate treated wounded pericarp. Levels of hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein mRNAs induced in wounded tissue were not influenced by inhibitors of ethylene action

  5. Small molecule antagonism of oxysterol-induced Epstein-Barr virus induced gene 2 (EBI2) activation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benned-Jensen, Tau; Madsen, Christian M; Arfelt, Kristine N

    2013-01-01

    The Epstein-Barr virus induced gene 2 (EBI2) was recently identified as the first oxysterol-activated 7TM receptor. EBI2 is essential for B cell trafficking within lymphoid tissues and thus the humoral immune response in general. Here we characterize the antagonism of the non-peptide molecule GSK...

  6. Bioinformatics analysis of the factors controlling type I IFN gene expression in autoimmune disease and virus-induced immunity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Di eFeng

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE and Sjögren's syndrome (SS display increased levels of type I IFN-induced genes. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs are natural interferon producing cells and considered to be a primary source of IFN-α in these two diseases. Differential expression patterns of type I IFN inducible transcripts can be found in different immune cell subsets and in patients with both active and inactive autoimmune disease. A type I IFN gene signature generally consists of three groups of IFN-induced genes - those regulated in response to virus-induced type I IFN, those regulated by the IFN-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK pathway, and those by the IFN-induced phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI-3K pathway. These three groups of type I IFN-regulated genes control important cellular processes such as apoptosis, survival, adhesion, and chemotaxis, that when dysregulated, contribute to autoimmunity. With the recent generation of large datasets in the public domain from next-generation sequencing and DNA microarray experiments, one can perform detailed analyses of cell type-specific gene signatures as well as identify distinct transcription factors that differentially regulate these gene signatures. We have performed bioinformatics analysis of data in the public domain and experimental data from our lab to gain insight into the regulation of type I IFN gene expression. We have found that the genetic landscape of the IFNA and IFNB genes are occupied by transcription factors, such as insulators CTCF and cohesin, that negatively regulate transcription, as well as IRF5 and IRF7, that positively and distinctly regulate IFNA subtypes. A detailed understanding of the factors controlling type I IFN gene transcription will significantly aid in the identification and development of new therapeutic strategies targeting the IFN pathway in autoimmune disease.

  7. Identification of an attenuated barley stripe mosaic virus for the virus-induced gene silencing of pathogenesis-related wheat genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buhrow, Leann M; Clark, Shawn M; Loewen, Michele C

    2016-01-01

    Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has become an emerging technology for the rapid, efficient functional genomic screening of monocot and dicot species. The barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) has been described as an effective VIGS vehicle for the evaluation of genes involved in wheat and barley phytopathogenesis; however, these studies have been obscured by BSMV-induced phenotypes and defense responses. The utility of BSMV VIGS may be improved using a BSMV genetic background which is more tolerable to the host plant especially upon secondary infection of highly aggressive, necrotrophic pathogens such as Fusarium graminearum. BSMV-induced VIGS in Triticum aestivum (bread wheat) cv. 'Fielder' was assessed for the study of wheat genes putatively related to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), the necrotrophism of wheat and other cereals by F. graminearum. Due to the lack of 'Fielder' spike viability and increased accumulation of Fusarium-derived deoxynivalenol contamination upon co-infection of BSMV and FHB, an attenuated BSMV construct was generated by the addition of a glycine-rich, C-terminal peptide to the BSMV γ b protein. This attenuated BSMV effectively silenced target wheat genes while limiting disease severity, deoxynivalenol contamination, and yield loss upon Fusarium co-infection compared to the original BSMV construct. The attenuated BSMV-infected tissue exhibited reduced abscisic, jasmonic, and salicylic acid defense phytohormone accumulation upon secondary Fusarium infection. Finally, the attenuated BSMV was used to investigate the role of the salicylic acid-responsive pathogenesis-related 1 in response to FHB. The use of an attenuated BSMV may be advantageous in characterizing wheat genes involved in phytopathogenesis, including Fusarium necrotrophism, where minimal viral background effects on defense are required. Additionally, the attenuated BSMV elicits reduced defense hormone accumulation, suggesting that this genotype may have applications for the

  8. Applying a pelvic corrective force induces forced use of the paretic leg and improves paretic leg EMG activities of individuals post-stroke during treadmill walking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Chao-Jung; Kim, Janis; Tang, Rongnian; Roth, Elliot J; Rymer, William Z; Wu, Ming

    2017-10-01

    To determine whether applying a mediolateral corrective force to the pelvis during treadmill walking would enhance muscle activity of the paretic leg and improve gait symmetry in individuals with post-stroke hemiparesis. Fifteen subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis participated in this study. A customized cable-driven robotic system based over a treadmill generated a mediolateral corrective force to the pelvis toward the paretic side during early stance phase. Three different amounts of corrective force were applied. Electromyographic (EMG) activity of the paretic leg, spatiotemporal gait parameters and pelvis lateral displacement were collected. Significant increases in integrated EMG of hip abductor, medial hamstrings, soleus, rectus femoris, vastus medialis and tibialis anterior were observed when pelvic corrective force was applied, with pelvic corrective force at 9% of body weight inducing greater muscle activity than 3% or 6% of body weight. Pelvis lateral displacement was more symmetric with pelvic corrective force at 9% of body weight. Applying a mediolateral pelvic corrective force toward the paretic side may enhance muscle activity of the paretic leg and improve pelvis displacement symmetry in individuals post-stroke. Forceful weight shift to the paretic side could potentially force additional use of the paretic leg and improve the walking pattern. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Alteration of BRCA1 expression affects alcohol-induced transcription of RNA Pol III-dependent genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Qian; Shi, Ganggang; Zhang, Yanmei; Lu, Lei; Levy, Daniel; Zhong, Shuping

    2015-02-01

    Emerging evidence has indicated that alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for breast cancer. Deregulation of RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcription enhances cellular Pol III gene production, leading to an increase in translational capacity to promote cell transformation and tumor formation. We have reported that alcohol intake increases Pol III gene transcription to promote cell transformation and tumor formation in vitro and in vivo. Studies revealed that tumor suppressors, pRb, p53, PTEN and Maf1 repress the transcription of Pol III genes. BRCA1 is a tumor suppressor and its mutation is tightly related to breast cancer development. However, it is not clear whether BRCA1 expression affects alcohol-induced transcription of Pol III genes. At the present studies, we report that restoring BRCA1 in HCC 1937 cells, which is a BRCA1 deficient cell line, represses Pol III gene transcription. Expressing mutant or truncated BRCA1 in these cells does not affect the ability of repression on Pol III genes. Our analysis has demonstrated that alcohol induces Pol III gene transcription. More importantly, overexpression of BRCA1 in estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer cells (MCF-7) decreases the induction of tRNA(Leu) and 5S rRNA genes by alcohol, whereas reduction of BRCA1 by its siRNA slightly increases the transcription of the class of genes. This suggests that BRCA1 is associated with alcohol-induced deregulation of Pol III genes. These studies for the first time demonstrate the role of BRCA1 in induction of Pol III genes by alcohol and uncover a novel mechanism of alcohol-associated breast cancer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Retinal Changes Induced by Epiretinal Tangential Forces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario R. Romano

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Two kinds of forces are active in vitreoretinal traction diseases: tangential and anterior-posterior forces. However, tangential forces are less characterized and classified in literature compared to the anterior-posterior ones. Tangential epiretinal forces are mainly due to anomalous posterior vitreous detachment (PVD, vitreoschisis, vitreopapillary adhesion (VPA, and epiretinal membranes (ERMs. Anomalous PVD plays a key role in the formation of the tangential vectorial forces on the retinal surface as consequence of gel liquefaction (synchysis without sufficient and fast vitreous dehiscence at the vitreoretinal interface. The anomalous and persistent adherence of the posterior hyaloid to the retina can lead to vitreomacular/vitreopapillary adhesion or to a formation of avascular fibrocellular tissue (ERM resulting from the proliferation and transdifferentiation of hyalocytes resident in the cortical vitreous remnants after vitreoschisis. The right interpretation of the forces involved in the epiretinal tangential tractions helps in a better definition of diagnosis, progression, prognosis, and surgical outcomes of vitreomacular interfaces.

  11. Ancient genes establish stress-induced mutation as a hallmark of cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cisneros, Luis; Bussey, Kimberly J; Orr, Adam J; Miočević, Milica; Lineweaver, Charles H; Davies, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Cancer is sometimes depicted as a reversion to single cell behavior in cells adapted to live in a multicellular assembly. If this is the case, one would expect that mutation in cancer disrupts functional mechanisms that suppress cell-level traits detrimental to multicellularity. Such mechanisms should have evolved with or after the emergence of multicellularity. This leads to two related, but distinct hypotheses: 1) Somatic mutations in cancer will occur in genes that are younger than the emergence of multicellularity (1000 million years [MY]); and 2) genes that are frequently mutated in cancer and whose mutations are functionally important for the emergence of the cancer phenotype evolved within the past 1000 million years, and thus would exhibit an age distribution that is skewed to younger genes. In order to investigate these hypotheses we estimated the evolutionary ages of all human genes and then studied the probability of mutation and their biological function in relation to their age and genomic location for both normal germline and cancer contexts. We observed that under a model of uniform random mutation across the genome, controlled for gene size, genes less than 500 MY were more frequently mutated in both cases. Paradoxically, causal genes, defined in the COSMIC Cancer Gene Census, were depleted in this age group. When we used functional enrichment analysis to explain this unexpected result we discovered that COSMIC genes with recessive disease phenotypes were enriched for DNA repair and cell cycle control. The non-mutated genes in these pathways are orthologous to those underlying stress-induced mutation in bacteria, which results in the clustering of single nucleotide variations. COSMIC genes were less common in regions where the probability of observing mutational clusters is high, although they are approximately 2-fold more likely to harbor mutational clusters compared to other human genes. Our results suggest this ancient mutational response to

  12. Shock wave induced sonoporation and gene transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Douglas L.

    2003-10-01

    During shockwave (SW) treatment, cavitation activity can be applied for cell killing. A bonus is that some surviving cells appear to be briefly permeabilized, or sonoporated, allowing them to take up large molecules including DNA. In vitro research has indicated that as the number of SW increased, survival declined exponentially but the number of sonoporated cells increased to better than 50% of survivors for 1000 SW. In vivo tests have demonstrated SW-induced tumor ablation could indeed be accompanied by the transfection of marker plasmids into mouse B16 melanoma tumors in vivo. With intratumor injection of plasmid DNA and air bubbles, significant results were obtained for only 400 SW. In a trial of cancer therapy, the effects of 500 SW combined with interleukin-12 immuno-gene therapy was observed on the progression of two mouse tumors, B16 melanoma and RENCA renal carcinoma. The combination of SW and IL-12 plasmid injection provided a statistically significant inhibition of tumor growth relative to SW alone for both tumor models, demonstrating feasibility for this treatment method. In the future, the development of intravenous gene delivery and improved transfection, together with image-guided ultrasound treatment, should lead to the clinical application of ultrasound enhanced gene therapy. [Work supported by NIH Grant No. EB002782.

  13. Naked gene therapy of hepatocyte growth factor for dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanbe, Takamasa; Murai, Rie; Mukoyama, Tomoyuki; Murawaki, Yoshiyuki; Hashiguchi, Ko-ichi; Yoshida, Yoko; Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki; Kurimasa, Akihiro; Harada, Ken-ichi; Yashima, Kazuo; Nishimuki, Eiji; Shabana, Noriko; Kishimoto, Yukihiro; Kojyo, Haruhiko; Miura, Kunihiko; Murawaki, Yoshikazu; Kawasaki, Hironaka; Shiota, Goshi

    2006-01-01

    Ulcerative colitis (UC) is progressive and relapsing disease. To explore the therapeutic effects of naked gene therapy of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on UC, the SRα promoter driving HGF gene was intrarectally administered to the mice in which colitis was induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Expression of the transgene was seen in surface epithelium, lamina propria, and muscularis mucosae. The HGF-treated mice showed reduced colonic mucosal damage and increased body weights, compared with control mice (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). The HGF-treated mice displayed increased number of PCNA-positive cells and decreased number of apoptotic cells than in control mice (P < 0.01, each). Phosphorylated AKT was dramatically increased after HGF gene administration, however, phosphorylated ERK1/2 was not altered. Microarray analysis revealed that HGF induced expression of proliferation- and apoptosis-associated genes. These data suggest that naked HGF gene delivery causes therapeutic effects through regulation of many downstream genes

  14. Exercise-Induced Rhabdomyolysis and Stress-Induced Malignant Hyperthermia Events, Association with Malignant Hyperthermia Susceptibility, and RYR1 Gene Sequence Variations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonella Carsana

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER and stress-induced malignant hyperthermia (MH events are syndromes that primarily afflict military recruits in basic training and athletes. Events similar to those occurring in ER and in stress-induced MH events are triggered after exposure to anesthetic agents in MH-susceptible (MHS patients. MH is an autosomal dominant hypermetabolic condition that occurs in genetically predisposed subjects during general anesthesia, induced by commonly used volatile anesthetics and/or the neuromuscular blocking agent succinylcholine. Triggering agents cause an altered intracellular calcium regulation. Mutations in RYR1 gene have been found in about 70% of MH families. The RYR1 gene encodes the skeletal muscle calcium release channel of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, commonly known as ryanodine receptor type 1 (RYR1. The present work reviews the documented cases of ER or of stress-induced MH events in which RYR1 sequence variations, associated or possibly associated to MHS status, have been identified.

  15. Keratinocyte Growth Factor Gene Electroporation into Skeletal Muscle as a Novel Gene Therapeutic Approach for Elastase-Induced Pulmonary Emphysema in Mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tobinaga, Shuichi; Matsumoto, Keitaro; Nagayasu, Takeshi; Furukawa, Katsuro; Abo, Takafumi; Yamasaki, Naoya; Tsuchiya, Tomoshi; Miyazaki, Takuro; Koji, Takehiko

    2015-01-01

    Pulmonary emphysema is a progressive disease with airspace destruction and an effective therapy is needed. Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) promotes pulmonary epithelial proliferation and has the potential to induce lung regeneration. The aim of this study was to determine the possibility of using KGF gene therapy for treatment of a mouse emphysema model induced by porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE). Eight-week-old BALB/c male mice treated with intra-tracheal PPE administration were transfected with 80 μg of a recombinant human KGF (rhKGF)-expressing FLAG-CMV14 plasmid (pKGF-FLAG gene), or with the pFLAG gene expressing plasmid as a control, into the quadriceps muscle by electroporation. In the lung, the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was augmented, and surfactant protein A (SP-A) and KGF receptor (KGFR) were co-expressed in PCNA-positive cells. Moreover, endogenous KGF and KGFR gene expression increased significantly by pKGF-FLAG gene transfection. Arterial blood gas analysis revealed that the PaO 2 level was not significantly reduced on day 14 after PPE instillation with pKGF-FLAG gene transfection compared to that of normal mice. These results indicated that KGF gene therapy with electroporation stimulated lung epithelial proliferation and protected depression of pulmonary function in a mouse emphysema model, suggesting a possible method of treating pulmonary emphysema

  16. Subchronic inhalation of soluble manganese induces expression of hypoxia-associated angiogenic genes in adult mouse lungs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bredow, Sebastian; Falgout, Melanie M.; March, Thomas H.; Yingling, Christin M.; Malkoski, Stephen P.; Aden, James; Bedrick, Edward J.; Lewis, Johnnye L.; Divine, Kevin K.

    2007-01-01

    Although the lung constitutes the major exposure route for airborne manganese (Mn), little is known about the potential pulmonary effects and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Transition metals can mimic a hypoxia-like response, activating the hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) transcription factor family. Through binding to the hypoxia-response element (HRE), these factors regulate expression of many genes, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Increases in VEGF, an important biomarker of angiogenesis, have been linked to respiratory diseases, including pulmonary hypertension. The objective of this study was to evaluate pulmonary hypoxia-associated angiogenic gene expression in response to exposure of soluble Mn(II) and to assess the genes' role as intermediaries of potential pulmonary Mn toxicity. In vitro, 0.25 mM Mn(II) altered morphology and slowed the growth of human pulmonary epithelial cell lines. Acute doses between 0.05 and 1 mM stimulated VEGF promoter activity up to 3.7-fold in transient transfection assays. Deletion of the HRE within the promoter had no effect on Mn(II)-induced VEGF expression but decreased cobalt [Co(II)]-induced activity 2-fold, suggesting that HIF-1 may not be involved in Mn(II)-induced VEGF gene transcription. Nose-only inhalation to 2 mg Mn(II)/m 3 for 5 days at 6 h/day produced no significant pulmonary inflammation but induced a 2-fold increase in pulmonary VEGF mRNA levels in adult mice and significantly altered expression of genes associated with murine angiogenesis. These findings suggest that even short-term exposures to soluble, occupationally relevant Mn(II) concentrations may alter pulmonary gene expression in pathways that ultimately could affect the lungs' susceptibility to respiratory disease

  17. Slow food: insect prey and chitin induce phytohormone accumulation and gene expression in carnivorous Nepenthes plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilamujiang, Ayufu; Reichelt, Michael; Mithöfer, Axel

    2016-08-01

    Carnivorous Nepenthes plants use modified leaves forming pitfall traps to capture and digest prey, mainly insects, for additional nutrient supply. These traps, so called pitchers, contain a plant-derived fluid composed of many hydrolytic enzymes and defence-related proteins. In this study, the prey-induced induction of corresponding genes of those proteins and a role for phytohormones in this process was analysed. Tissue from insect prey-fed, chitin- and phytohormone-challenged pitchers was harvested and analysed for selected gene expressions by a quantitative PCR technique. Phytohormone levels were determined by LC-MS/MS. Nepenthesin proteolytic activities were measured in the digestive fluid using a fluorescence substrate. Insect prey in the pitchers induced the accumulation of phytohormones such as jasmonates as well as the transcription of studied genes encoding a chitinase 3 and a protease (nepenthesin I), whereas a defence-related protein (PR-1) gene was not induced. Treatment with chitin as a component of the insects' exoskeleton triggered the accumulation of jasmonates, the expression of nepenthesin I and chitinase 3 genes similar to jasmonic acid treatment, and induced protease activity in the fluid. All detectable responses were slowly induced. The results suggest that upon insect prey catch a sequence of signals is initiated: (1) insect-derived chitin, (2) jasmonate as endogenous phytohormone signal, (3) the induction of digestive gene expression and (4) protein expression. This resembles a similar hierarchy of events as described from plant pathogen/herbivore interactions, supporting the idea that carnivory evolved from plant defences. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Characterization of Chemically Induced Liver Injuries Using Gene Co-Expression Modules

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-16

    evaluated the periportal fibrosis gene signature in the GEO dataset - GSE13747 [34]. In this dataset, liver fibrosis was induced by bile duct ...dataset, liver fibrosis was induced by bile duct ligation. Figure 10-D shows the observed correlation between log-ratios of periportal fibrosis...at 15 days of exposure obtained from TG-GATEs, and D) liver fibrosis produced by bile duct ligation obtained from GSE13747. doi:10.1371/journal.pone

  19. Tunable atomic force microscopy bias lithography on electron beam induced carbonaceous platforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Narendra Kurra

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Tunable local electrochemical and physical modifications on the carbonaceous platforms are achieved using Atomic force microscope (AFM bias lithography. These carbonaceous platforms are produced on Si substrate by the technique called electron beam induced carbonaceous deposition (EBICD. EBICD is composed of functionalized carbon species, confirmed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS analysis. AFM bias lithography in tapping mode with a positive tip bias resulted in the nucleation of attoliter water on the EBICD surface under moderate humidity conditions (45%. While the lithography in the contact mode with a negative tip bias caused the electrochemical modifications such as anodic oxidation and etching of the EBICD under moderate (45% and higher (60% humidity conditions respectively. Finally, reversible charge patterns are created on these EBICD surfaces under low (30% humidity conditions and investigated by means of electrostatic force microscopy (EFM.

  20. Chronic ultraviolet exposure-induced p53 gene alterations in sencar mouse skin carcinogenesis model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tong, Ying; Smith, M.A.; Tucker, S.B.

    1997-01-01

    Alterations of the tumor suppressor gene p53 have been found in ultraviolet radiation (UVR) related human skin cancers and in UVR-induced murine skin tumors. However, links between p53 gene alterations and the stages of carcinogenesis induced by UVR have not been clearly defined. We established a chronic UVR exposure-induced Sencar mouse skin carcinogenesis model to determine the frequency of p53 gene alterations in different stages of carcinogenesis, including UV-exposed skin, papillomas, squamous-cell carcinomas (SCCs), and malignant spindle-cell tumors (SCTs). A high incidence of SCCs and SCTs were found in this model. Positive p53 nuclear staining was found in 10137 (27%) of SCCs and 12124 (50%) of SCTs, but was not detected in normal skin or papillomas. DNA was isolated from 40 paraffin-embedded normal skin, UV-exposed skin, and tumor sections. The p53 gene (exons 5 and 6) was amplified from the sections by using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Subsequent single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) assay and sequencing analysis revealed one point mutation in exon 6 (coden 193, C → A transition) from a UV-exposed skin sample, and seven point mutations in exon 5 (codens 146, 158, 150, 165, and 161, three C → T, two C → A, one C → G, and one A → T transition, respectively) from four SCTs, two SCCs and one UV-exposed skin sample. These experimental results demonstrate that alterations in the p53 gene are frequent events in chronic UV exposure-induced SCCs and later stage SCTs in Sencar mouse skin. 40 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

  1. Isorhamnetin protects against oxidative stress by activating Nrf2 and inducing the expression of its target genes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Ji Hye; Shin, Bo Yeon; Han, Jae Yun; Kim, Mi Gwang; Wi, Ji Eun [College of Pharmacy, Chosun University, Gwangju, 501-759 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Young Woo; Cho, Il Je; Kim, Sang Chan [Medical Research Center for Globalization of Herbal Formulation, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan 712-715 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Sang Mi [College of Pharmacy, Chosun University, Gwangju, 501-759 (Korea, Republic of); Ki, Sung Hwan, E-mail: shki@chosun.ac.kr [College of Pharmacy, Chosun University, Gwangju, 501-759 (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-01-15

    Isorhamentin is a 3′-O-methylated metabolite of quercetin, and has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effects. However, the effects of isorhamnetin on Nrf2 activation and on the expressions of its downstream genes in hepatocytes have not been elucidated. Here, we investigated whether isorhamnetin has the ability to activate Nrf2 and induce phase II antioxidant enzyme expression, and to determine the protective role of isorhamnetin on oxidative injury in hepatocytes. In HepG2 cells, isorhamnetin increased the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and consistently, increased antioxidant response element (ARE) reporter gene activity and the protein levels of hemeoxygenase (HO-1) and of glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL), which resulted in intracellular GSH level increases. The specific role of Nrf2 in isorhamnetin-induced Nrf2 target gene expression was verified using an ARE-deletion mutant plasmid and Nrf2-knockout MEF cells. Deletion of the ARE in the promoter region of the sestrin2 gene, which is recently identified as the Nrf2 target gene by us, abolished the ability of isorhamnetin to increase luciferase activity. In addition, Nrf2 deficiency completely blocked the ability of isorhamnetin to induce HO-1 and GCL. Furthermore, isorhamnetin pretreatment blocked t-BHP-induced ROS production and reversed GSH depletion by t-BHP and consequently, due to reduced ROS levels, decreased t-BHP-induced cell death. In addition isorhamnetin increased ERK1/2, PKCδ and AMPK phosphorylation. Finally, we showed that Nrf2 deficiency blocked the ability of isorhamnetin to protect cells from injury induced by t-BHP. Taken together, our results demonstrate that isorhamnetin is efficacious in protecting hepatocytes against oxidative stress by Nrf2 activation and in inducing the expressions of its downstream genes. - Highlights: • We investigated the effect of isorhamnetin on Nrf2 activation. • Isorhamnetin increased Nrf2

  2. Development of a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) system for Spinacia oleracea L

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lee, Jungmin; Cao, Dang Viet; Kim, Jiwon

    2017-01-01

    Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is known as a rapid and efficient system for studying functions of interesting genes in plants. Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) is widely applied for the gene silencing of many plants. Although spinach is a TRV-susceptible plant, a TRV-based VIGS system has not yet ...

  3. Induced tubulin synthesis is caused by induced gene transcription in Tetrahymena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seyfert, H.M.; Kohle, D.; Jenovai, S.

    1987-01-01

    Tubulin synthesis and tubulin mRNA concentrations increase to variable extents during ciliary regeneration in the ciliate Tetrahymena. Experiments described here were carried out to determine whether the increased tubulin mRNa concentrations are due to induced transcription of tubulin genes or to stabilization of tubulin mRNA. In vivo labeling experiments with [ 3 H]uridine and in vitro transcription assays suggest that under conditions of increased protein and tubulin synthesis the rate of transcription is enhanced. Hybridization assays of in vitro transcribed RNA also demonstrate qualitatively that the tubulin genes are transcribed at higher rates when tubulin synthesis is stimulated during ciliary regeneration. This observation is supported by measurements of the half-life of tubulin mRNA molecules in nondeciliated cells: This is approximately 2 h. Since the concentration of tubulin mRNA in cells engaged in cilia regeneration increases from 5 to 19-fold during the first hour of the regeneration period, even a complete stabilization of the tubulin mRNA molecules could not account for an increase in tubulin mRNA concentration of this magnitude

  4. Stress-induced activation of the brainstem Bcl-xL gene expression in rats treated with fluoxetine: correlations with serotonin metabolism and depressive-like behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shishkina, Galina T; Kalinina, Tatyana S; Berezova, Inna V; Dygalo, Nikolay N

    2012-01-01

    Mechanisms underlying stress-induced depression and antidepressant drug action were shown to involve alterations in serotonergic (5-HT) neurotransmission and expression of genes coding for proteins associated with neurotrophic signaling pathways and cell-survival in the hippocampus and cortex. Expression of these genes in the brainstem containing 5-HT neurons may also be related to vulnerability or resilience to stress-related psychopathology. Here we investigated 5-HT markers and expression of genes for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and apoptotic proteins in the brainstem in relation to swim stress-induced behavioral despair. We found that anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL gene is sensitive to stress during the course of fluoxetine administration. Responsiveness of this gene to stress appeared concomitantly with an antidepressant-like effect of fluoxetine in the forced swim test. Bcl-xL transcript levels showed negative correlations with duration of immobility in the test and 5-HT turnover in the brainstem. In contrast, BDNF and pro-apoptotic protein Bax mRNA levels were unchanged by either fluoxetine or stress, suggesting specificity of Bcl-xL gene responses to these treatments. We also found that the levels of mRNAs for tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2) and 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) were significantly down-regulated following prolonged treatment with fluoxetine, but were not affected by stress. Unlike TPH2 and 5-HTT, 5-HT1A receptor mRNA levels were not altered by fluoxetine but significantly increased in response to swim stress. These data show that long-term fluoxetine treatment leads to changes in 5-HT and Bcl-xL responses to stress associated with antidepressant-like effects of the drug. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Anxiety and Depression'. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Propagation of the state change induced by external forces in local interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Jianjun; Tokinaga, Shozo

    2016-10-01

    This paper analyses the propagation of the state changes of agents that are induced by external forces applied to a plane. In addition, we propose two models for the behavior of the agents placed on a lattice plane, both of which are affected by local interactions. We first assume that agents are allowed to move to another site to maximise their satisfaction. Second, we utilise a model in which the agents choose activities on each site. The results show that the migration (activity) patterns of agents in both models achieve stability without any external forces. However, when we apply an impulsive external force to the state of the agents, we then observe the propagation of the changes in the agents' states. Using simulation studies, we show the conditions for the propagation of the state changes of the agents. We also show the propagation of the state changes of the agents allocated in scale-free networks and discuss the estimation of the agents' decisions in real state changes. Finally, we discuss the estimation of the agents' decisions in real state temporal changes using economic and social data from Japan and the United States.

  6. Estrogen induced concentration dependent differential gene expression in human breast cancer (MCF7) cells: Role of transcription factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandrasekharan, Sabarinath; Kandasamy, Krishna Kumar; Dayalan, Pavithra; Ramamurthy, Viraragavan

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Estradiol (E2) at low dose induced cell proliferation in breast cancer cells. •E2 at high concentration induced cell stress in breast cancer cells. •Estrogen receptor physically interacts only with a few transcription factors. •Differential expression of genes with Oct-1 binding sites increased under stress. •Transcription factor binding sites showed distinct spatial distribution on genes. -- Abstract: Background: Breast cancer cells respond to estrogen in a concentration dependent fashion, resulting in proliferation or apoptosis. The mechanism of this concentration dependent differential outcome is not well understood yet. Methodology: Meta-analysis of the expression data of MCF7 cells treated with low (1 nM) or high (100 nM) dose of estradiol (E2) was performed. We identified genes differentially expressed at the low or the high dose, and examined the nature of regulatory elements in the vicinity of these genes. Specifically, we looked for the difference in the presence, abundance and spatial distribution of binding sites for estrogen receptor (ER) and selected transcription factors (TFs) in the genomic region up to 25 kb upstream and downstream from the transcription start site (TSS) of these genes. Results: It was observed that at high dose E2 induced the expression of stress responsive genes, while at low dose, genes involved in cell cycle were induced. We found that the occurrence of transcription factor binding regions (TFBRs) for certain factors such as Sp1 and SREBP1 were higher on regulatory regions of genes expressed at low dose. At high concentration of E2, genes with a higher frequency of Oct-1 binding regions were predominantly involved. In addition, there were differences in the spatial distribution pattern of the TFBRs in the genomic regions among the two sets of genes. Discussion: E2 induced predominantly proliferative/metabolic response at low concentrations; but at high concentration, stress–rescue responses were induced

  7. Estrogen induced concentration dependent differential gene expression in human breast cancer (MCF7) cells: Role of transcription factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chandrasekharan, Sabarinath, E-mail: csab@bio.psgtech.ac.in [Department of Biotechnology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004 (India); Kandasamy, Krishna Kumar [Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne (Germany); Dayalan, Pavithra; Ramamurthy, Viraragavan [Department of Biotechnology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004 (India)

    2013-08-02

    Highlights: •Estradiol (E2) at low dose induced cell proliferation in breast cancer cells. •E2 at high concentration induced cell stress in breast cancer cells. •Estrogen receptor physically interacts only with a few transcription factors. •Differential expression of genes with Oct-1 binding sites increased under stress. •Transcription factor binding sites showed distinct spatial distribution on genes. -- Abstract: Background: Breast cancer cells respond to estrogen in a concentration dependent fashion, resulting in proliferation or apoptosis. The mechanism of this concentration dependent differential outcome is not well understood yet. Methodology: Meta-analysis of the expression data of MCF7 cells treated with low (1 nM) or high (100 nM) dose of estradiol (E2) was performed. We identified genes differentially expressed at the low or the high dose, and examined the nature of regulatory elements in the vicinity of these genes. Specifically, we looked for the difference in the presence, abundance and spatial distribution of binding sites for estrogen receptor (ER) and selected transcription factors (TFs) in the genomic region up to 25 kb upstream and downstream from the transcription start site (TSS) of these genes. Results: It was observed that at high dose E2 induced the expression of stress responsive genes, while at low dose, genes involved in cell cycle were induced. We found that the occurrence of transcription factor binding regions (TFBRs) for certain factors such as Sp1 and SREBP1 were higher on regulatory regions of genes expressed at low dose. At high concentration of E2, genes with a higher frequency of Oct-1 binding regions were predominantly involved. In addition, there were differences in the spatial distribution pattern of the TFBRs in the genomic regions among the two sets of genes. Discussion: E2 induced predominantly proliferative/metabolic response at low concentrations; but at high concentration, stress–rescue responses were induced

  8. Liposome-based DNA carriers may induce cellular stress response and change gene expression pattern in transfected cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background During functional studies on the rat stress-inducible Hspa1b (hsp70.1) gene we noticed that some liposome-based DNA carriers, which are used for transfection, induce its promoter activity. This observation concerned commercial liposome formulations (LA), Lipofectin and Lipofectamine 2000. This work was aimed to understand better the mechanism of this phenomenon and its potential biological and practical consequences. Results We found that a reporter gene driven by Hspa1b promoter is activated both in the case of transient transfections and in the stably transfected cells treated with LA. Using several deletion clones containing different fragments of Hspa1b promoter, we found that the regulatory elements responsible for most efficient LA-driven inducibility were located between nucleotides -269 and +85, relative to the transcription start site. Further studies showed that the induction mechanism was independent of the classical HSE-HSF interaction that is responsible for gene activation during heat stress. Using DNA microarrays we also detected significant activation of the endogenous Hspa1b gene in cells treated with Lipofectamine 2000. Several other stress genes were also induced, along with numerous genes involved in cellular metabolism, cell cycle control and pro-apoptotic pathways. Conclusions Our observations suggest that i) some cationic liposomes may not be suitable for functional studies on hsp promoters, ii) lipofection may cause unintended changes in global gene expression in the transfected cells. PMID:21663599

  9. Liposome-based DNA carriers may induce cellular stress response and change gene expression pattern in transfected cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisowska Katarzyna Marta

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background During functional studies on the rat stress-inducible Hspa1b (hsp70.1 gene we noticed that some liposome-based DNA carriers, which are used for transfection, induce its promoter activity. This observation concerned commercial liposome formulations (LA, Lipofectin and Lipofectamine 2000. This work was aimed to understand better the mechanism of this phenomenon and its potential biological and practical consequences. Results We found that a reporter gene driven by Hspa1b promoter is activated both in the case of transient transfections and in the stably transfected cells treated with LA. Using several deletion clones containing different fragments of Hspa1b promoter, we found that the regulatory elements responsible for most efficient LA-driven inducibility were located between nucleotides -269 and +85, relative to the transcription start site. Further studies showed that the induction mechanism was independent of the classical HSE-HSF interaction that is responsible for gene activation during heat stress. Using DNA microarrays we also detected significant activation of the endogenous Hspa1b gene in cells treated with Lipofectamine 2000. Several other stress genes were also induced, along with numerous genes involved in cellular metabolism, cell cycle control and pro-apoptotic pathways. Conclusions Our observations suggest that i some cationic liposomes may not be suitable for functional studies on hsp promoters, ii lipofection may cause unintended changes in global gene expression in the transfected cells.

  10. Host-Induced Silencing of Pathogenicity Genes Enhances Resistance to Fusarium oxysporum Wilt in Tomato.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bharti, Poonam; Jyoti, Poonam; Kapoor, Priya; Sharma, Vandana; Shanmugam, V; Yadav, Sudesh Kumar

    2017-08-01

    This study presents a novel approach of controlling vascular wilt in tomato by RNAi expression directed to pathogenicity genes of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Vascular wilt of tomato caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici leads to qualitative and quantitative loss of the crop. Limitation in the existing control measures necessitates the development of alternative strategies to increase resistance in the plants against pathogens. Recent findings paved way to RNAi, as a promising method for silencing of pathogenicity genes in fungus and provided effective resistance against fungal pathogens. Here, two important pathogenicity genes FOW2, a Zn(II)2Cys6 family putative transcription regulator, and chsV, a putative myosin motor and a chitin synthase domain, were used for host-induced gene silencing through hairpinRNA cassettes of these genes against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. HairpinRNAs were assembled in appropriate binary vectors and transformed into tomato plant targeting FOW2 and chsV genes, for two highly pathogenic strains of Fusarium oxysporum viz. TOFOL-IHBT and TOFOL-IVRI. Transgenic tomatoes were analyzed for possible attainment of resistance in transgenic lines against fungal infection. Eight transgenic lines expressing hairpinRNA cassettes showed trivial disease symptoms after 6-8 weeks of infection. Hence, the host-induced posttranscriptional gene silencing of pathogenicity genes in transgenic tomato plants has enhanced their resistance to vascular wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum.

  11. The forced swimming-induced behavioural immobility response involves histone H3 phospho-acetylation and c-Fos induction in dentate gyrus granule neurons via activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate/extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen- and stress-activated kinase signalling pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandramohan, Yalini; Droste, Susanne K; Arthur, J Simon C; Reul, Johannes M H M

    2008-05-01

    The hippocampus is involved in learning and memory. Previously, we have shown that the acquisition of the behavioural immobility response after a forced swim experience is associated with chromatin modifications and transcriptional induction in dentate gyrus granule neurons. Given that both N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2 signalling pathway are involved in neuroplasticity processes underlying learning and memory, we investigated in rats and mice whether these signalling pathways regulate chromatin modifications and transcriptional events participating in the acquisition of the immobility response. We found that: (i) forced swimming evoked a transient increase in the number of phospho-acetylated histone H3-positive [P(Ser10)-Ac(Lys14)-H3(+)] neurons specifically in the middle and superficial aspects of the dentate gyrus granule cell layer; (ii) antagonism of NMDA receptors and inhibition of ERK1/2 signalling blocked forced swimming-induced histone H3 phospho-acetylation and the acquisition of the behavioural immobility response; (iii) double knockout (DKO) of the histone H3 kinase mitogen- and stress-activated kinases (MSK) 1/2 in mice completely abolished the forced swimming-induced increases in histone H3 phospho-acetylation and c-Fos induction in dentate granule neurons and the behavioural immobility response; (iv) blocking mineralocorticoid receptors, known not to be involved in behavioural immobility in the forced swim test, did not affect forced swimming-evoked histone H3 phospho-acetylation in dentate neurons; and (v) the pharmacological manipulations and gene deletions did not affect behaviour in the initial forced swim test. We conclude that the forced swimming-induced behavioural immobility response requires histone H3 phospho-acetylation and c-Fos induction in distinct dentate granule neurons through recruitment of the NMDA/ERK/MSK 1/2 pathway.

  12. Low-Dose Radiation Induces Genes Promoting Cell Survival

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Shu-Zheng; Chen, Dong; Mu, Ying

    1999-01-01

    Apoptosis is an important process controlling homeostasis of the body. It is influenced by stimuli constantly arising from the external and internal environment of the organism. It is well known that radiation could induce apoptosis of cells in vitro and in vivo. However, the dose-effect relationship of apoptosis extending to the low-dose range has scarcely been studied. Here, the molecular basis of the phenomenon is explored by examining the changes in expression of some of the proapoptotic and antiapoptotic genes

  13. Modulation of surface wettability of superhydrophobic substrates using Si nanowire arrays and capillary-force-induced nanocohesion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dawood, M.K.; Zheng, H.; Kurniawan, N.A.; Leong, K.C.; Foo, Y.L.; Rajagopalan, Raj; Khan, S.A.; Choi, W.K.

    2012-01-01

    We describe a new scalable method to fabricate large-area hybrid superhydrophobic surfaces with selective adhesion properties on silicon (Si) nanowire array substrates by exploiting liquid-medium-dependent capillary-force-induced nanocohesion. Gold (Au) nanoparticles were deposited on Si by glancing

  14. Molecular characterization of a GA-inducible gene, Cvsus1, in developing watermelon seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Joonyul; Jun, Sung-Hoon; Kang, Hong-Gyu; Lee, Jinwon; An, Gynheung

    2002-10-31

    To understand the molecular mechanisms that control seed development, we isolated a seed-preferential gene from ESTs of developing watermelon seeds. The gene Cvsus1 encodes a protein that is 86% identical to the Vicia faba sucrose synthase expressed in developing seeds. RNA blot analysis showed that Cvsus1 was preferentially expressed in watermelon seeds. We also investigated gene expression levels both in pollinated seeds and in parthenocarpic seeds, which lack zygotic tissues. Whereas the transcript level of Cvsus1 was rapidly increased during normal seed development, the expression was not significantly increased in the parthenocarpic seeds. However, treating the parthenocarpic fruits with GA3 strongly induced Cvsus1 expression, up to the level accumulated in pollinated seeds. These results suggest that Cvsus1 is induced in maternal tissues via signals from the zygotic tissues, and that GA may be one of those signals.

  15. Functional analyses of cellulose synthase genes in flax (Linum usitatissimum) by virus-induced gene silencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chantreau, Maxime; Chabbert, Brigitte; Billiard, Sylvain; Hawkins, Simon; Neutelings, Godfrey

    2015-12-01

    Flax (Linum usitatissimum) bast fibres are located in the stem cortex where they play an important role in mechanical support. They contain high amounts of cellulose and so are used for linen textiles and in the composite industry. In this study, we screened the annotated flax genome and identified 14 distinct cellulose synthase (CESA) genes using orthologous sequences previously identified. Transcriptomics of 'primary cell wall' and 'secondary cell wall' flax CESA genes showed that some were preferentially expressed in different organs and stem tissues providing clues as to their biological role(s) in planta. The development for the first time in flax of a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) approach was used to functionally evaluate the biological role of different CESA genes in stem tissues. Quantification of transcript accumulation showed that in many cases, silencing not only affected targeted CESA clades, but also had an impact on other CESA genes. Whatever the targeted clade, inactivation by VIGS affected plant growth. In contrast, only clade 1- and clade 6-targeted plants showed modifications in outer-stem tissue organization and secondary cell wall formation. In these plants, bast fibre number and structure were severely impacted, suggesting that the targeted genes may play an important role in the establishment of the fibre cell wall. Our results provide new fundamental information about cellulose biosynthesis in flax that should facilitate future plant improvement/engineering. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Common changes in global gene expression induced by RNA polymerase inhibitors in Shigella flexneri.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Fu

    Full Text Available Characterization of expression profile of organisms in response to antimicrobials provides important information on the potential mechanism of action of the drugs. The special expression signature can be used to predict whether other drugs act on the same target. Here, the common response of Shigella flexneri to two inhibitors of RNA polymerase was examined using gene expression profiling. Consistent with similar effects of the two drugs, the gene expression profiles indicated that responses of the bacteria to these drugs were roughly the same, with 225 genes affected commonly. Of them, 88 were induced and 137 were repressed. Real-time PCR was performed for selected genes to verify the microarray results. Analysis of the expression data revealed that more than 30% of the plasmid-encoded genes on the array were up-regulated by the antibiotics including virF regulon, other virulence-related genes, and genes responsible for plasmid replication, maintenance, and transfer. In addition, some chromosome-encoded genes involved in virulence and genes acquired from horizontal transfer were also significantly up-regulated. However, the expression of genes encoding the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase was increased moderately. The repressed genes include those that code for products associated with the ribosome, citrate cycle, glycolysis, thiamine biosynthesis, purine metabolism, fructose metabolism, mannose metabolism, and cold shock proteins. This study demonstrates that the two antibiotics induce rapid cessation of RNA synthesis resulting in inhibition of translation components. It also indicates that the production of virulence factors involved in intercellular dissemination, tissue invasion and inflammatory destruction may be enhanced through derepressing horizontal transfer genes by the drugs.

  17. Evidence for non-conservative current-induced forces in the breaking of Au and Pt atomic chains

    OpenAIRE

    Sabater, Carlos; Untiedt, Carlos; van Ruitenbeek, Jan M

    2015-01-01

    This experimental work aims at probing current-induced forces at the atomic scale. Specifically it addresses predictions in recent work regarding the appearance of run-away modes as a result of a combined effect of the non-conservative wind force and a ‘Berry force’. The systems we consider here are atomic chains of Au and Pt atoms, for which we investigate the distribution of break down voltage values. We observe two distinct modes of breaking for Au atomic chains. The breaking at high volta...

  18. Membrane fusion inducers, chloroquine and spermidine increase lipoplex-mediated gene transfection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong-Baeza, Carlos; Bustos, Israel; Serna, Manuel; Tescucano, Alonso; Alcantara-Farfan, Veronica; Ibanez, Miguel; Montanez, Cecilia; Wong, Carlos; Baeza, Isabel

    2010-01-01

    Gene transfection into mammalian cells can be achieved with viral and non-viral vectors. Non-viral vectors, such as cationic lipids that form lipoplexes with DNA, are safer and more stable than viral vectors, but their transfection efficiencies are lower. Here we describe that the simultaneous treatment with a membrane fusion inducer (chlorpromazine or procainamide) plus the lysosomotropic agent chloroquine increases lipoplex-mediated gene transfection in human (HEK293 and C-33 A) and rat (PC12) cell lines (up to 9.2-fold), as well as in situ in BALB/c mice spleens and livers (up to 6-fold); and that the polyamine spermidine increases lipoplex-mediated gene transfection and expression in cell cultures. The use of these four drugs provides a novel, safe and relatively inexpensive way to considerably increase lipoplex-mediated gene transfection efficiency.

  19. The role of germline promoters and I exons in cytokine-induced gene-specific class switch recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunnick, Wesley A; Shi, Jian; Holden, Victoria; Fontaine, Clinton; Collins, John T

    2011-01-01

    Germline transcription precedes class switch recombination (CSR). The promoter regions and I exons of these germline transcripts include binding sites for activation- and cytokine-induced transcription factors, and the promoter regions/I exons are essential for CSR. Therefore, it is a strong hypothesis that the promoter/I exons regions are responsible for much of cytokine-regulated, gene-specific CSR. We tested this hypothesis by swapping the germline promoter and I exons for the murine γ1 and γ2a H chain genes in a transgene of the entire H chain C-region locus. We found that the promoter/I exon for γ1 germline transcripts can direct robust IL-4-induced recombination to the γ2a gene. In contrast, the promoter/I exon for the γ2a germline transcripts works poorly in the context of the γ1 H chain gene, resulting in expression of γ1 H chains that is level. Nevertheless, the small amount of recombination to the chimeric γ1 gene is induced by IFN-γ. These results suggest that cytokine regulation of CSR, but not the magnitude of CSR, is regulated by the promoter/I exons.

  20. Topographic analysis of the skull vibration-induced nystagmus test with piezoelectric accelerometers and force sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumas, Georges; Lion, Alexis; Perrin, Philippe; Ouedraogo, Evariste; Schmerber, Sébastien

    2016-03-23

    Vibration-induced nystagmus is elicited by skull or posterior cervical muscle stimulations in patients with vestibular diseases. Skull vibrations delivered by the skull vibration-induced nystagmus test are known to stimulate the inner ear structures directly. This study aimed to measure the vibration transfer at different cranium locations and posterior cervical regions to contribute toward stimulus topographic optimization (experiment 1) and to determine the force applied on the skull with a hand-held vibrator to study the test reproducibility and provide recommendations for good clinical practices (experiment 2). In experiment 1, a 100 Hz hand-held vibrator was applied on the skull (vertex, mastoids) and posterior cervical muscles in 11 healthy participants. Vibration transfer was measured by piezoelectric sensors. In experiment 2, the vibrator was applied 30 times by two experimenters with dominant and nondominant hands on a mannequin equipped to measure the force. Experiment 1 showed that after unilateral mastoid vibratory stimulation, the signal transfer was higher when recorded on the contralateral mastoid than on the vertex or posterior cervical muscles (Pskull vibration-induced nystagmus test in patients with unilateral vestibular lesions and enables a stronger stimulation of the healthy side. In clinical practice, the vibrator should be placed on the mastoid and should be held by the clinician's dominant hand.

  1. Effects of deoxycycline induced lentivirus encoding FasL gene on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abstract. Fas/Fas ligand (FasL)-mediated apoptosis plays a critical role in deletion of activated T cells. This study aimed to construct the lentivirus encoding FasL gene induced by deoxycycline and evaluate its effects on apoptosis of Th1 cells. A plasmid expression system encoding FasL was constructed through utilizing the ...

  2. Comparison of Nasal Epithelial Smoking-Induced Gene Expression on Affymetrix Exon 1.0 and Gene 1.0 ST Arrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoling Zhang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We have previously defined the impact of tobacco smoking on nasal epithelium gene expression using Affymetrix Exon 1.0 ST arrays. In this paper, we compared the performance of the Affymetrix GeneChip Human Gene 1.0 ST array with the Human Exon 1.0 ST array for detecting nasal smoking-related gene expression changes. RNA collected from the nasal epithelium of five current smokers and five never smokers was hybridized to both arrays. While the intersample correlation within each array platform was relatively higher in the Gene array than that in the Exon array, the majority of the genes most changed by smoking were tightly correlated between platforms. Although neither array dataset was powered to detect differentially expressed genes (DEGs at a false discovery rate (FDR <0.05, we identified more DEGs than expected by chance using the Gene ST array. These findings suggest that while both platforms show a high degree of correlation for detecting smoking-induced differential gene expression changes, the Gene ST array may be a more cost-effective platform in a clinical setting for gene-level genomewide expression profiling and an effective tool for exploring the host response to cigarette smoking and other inhaled toxins.

  3. Crispr-mediated Gene Targeting of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Susan M; Church, George M

    2015-01-01

    CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease systems can create double-stranded DNA breaks at specific sequences to efficiently and precisely disrupt, excise, mutate, insert, or replace genes. However, human embryonic stem or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are more difficult to transfect and less resilient to DNA damage than immortalized tumor cell lines. Here, we describe an optimized protocol for genome engineering of human iPSCs using a simple transient transfection of plasmids and/or single-stranded oligonucleotides. With this protocol, we achieve transfection efficiencies greater than 60%, with gene disruption efficiencies from 1-25% and gene insertion/replacement efficiencies from 0.5-10% without any further selection or enrichment steps. We also describe how to design and assess optimal sgRNA target sites and donor targeting vectors; cloning individual iPSC by single cell FACS sorting, and genotyping successfully edited cells.

  4. PTEN gene and phosphorylation of Akt protein expression in the LPS-induced lung fibroblast

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mao-lin HUANG

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To investigate PTEN gene expression and the Akt phosphorylation of protein expression in the LPS-induced lung fibroblast, to initially reveal the relation between PTEN gene and the Akt phosphorylated proteins to LPS-induced lung fibroblast proliferation mechanism. Methods: BrdU experiments was performed to evaluate the LPS-induced lung fibroblast proliferation,  RT-PCR and Western Blot analysis were used to analyze the PTEN gene expression and Western blot was performed to analyze Akt phosphorylated protein expression. Results: PTEN mRNA level of the experimental group were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05 with LPS simulation for 24h and 72h , and there were no significant difference between the experimental group and control group the experimental group and control group (P>0.05 . PTEN protein expression levels of the experimental group were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05 , at 72h, and PTEN mRNA levels had no significant differences between these of the experimental and control group at 6h,12h and 24h(p>0.05. Phosphorylation Akt protein level (relative to total Akt protein was significantly higer than the control group (P<0.05 at 24h and 72h, and phosphorylation Akt protein levels had no significant differences between these of the experimental and control group at 6h and 12h (P>0.05 .Conclusion: PTEN gene and phosphorylation Akt protein involve in LPS-induced lung fibroblast proliferation signal transduction pathway.

  5. BCR-ABL fusion genes are inducible by X-irradiation in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Takashi; Seyama, Toshio; Mizuno, Terumi; Hayashi, Tomonori; Nakamura, Nori; Akiyama, Mitoshi; Dohi, Kiyohiko.

    1992-01-01

    The Philadelphia chromosome consists of a reciprocal translocation between the ABL oncogene at chromosome 9q34 and the BCR gene at chromosome 22q resulting in the expression of chimeric BCR-ABL mRNAs specific to chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The presence of the fusion genes can be detected with high specificity and sensitivity by means of reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction. Using this assay, it was possible to detect BCR-ABL fusion genes induced among HL60 cells after 100 Gy of X-irradiation in vitro. A total of five fusion gene transcripts were obtained. These fusion genes contained not only CML-specific BCR-ABL rearrangements, but also other forms of BCR-ABL fusions. These latter genes had junctions of BCR exon 4/ABL exon 2 intervened by a segment of DNA of unknown origin, BCR exon 5/ABL exon 2, and BCR exon 4/ABL exon 2. The results appear to be the first evidence for the induction of the BCR-ABL fusion gene by X-irradiation. In terms of leukemogenesis, it is suggested that only those cells bearing certain CML-related BCR-ABL fusion genes are positively selected by virtue of a growth advantage in vivo. (author)

  6. [Blue-light induced expression of S-adenosy-L-homocysteine hydrolase-like gene in Mucor amphibiorum RCS1].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Ya; Wang, Shu; Fu, Mingjia; Zhong, Guolin

    2013-09-04

    To determine blue-light induced expression of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase-like (sahhl) gene in fungus Mucor amphibiorum RCS1. In the random process of PCR, a sequence of 555 bp was obtained from M. amphibiorum RCS1. The 555 bp sequence was labeled with digoxin to prepare the probe for northern hybridization. By northern hybridization, the transcription of sahhl gene was analyzed in M. amphibiorum RCS1 mycelia culture process from darkness to blue light to darkness. Simultaneously real-time PCR method was used to the sahhl gene expression analysis. Compared with the sequence of sahh gene from Homo sapiens, Mus musculus and some fungi species, a high homology of the 555 bp sequence was confirmed. Therefore, the preliminary confirmation has supported that the 555 bp sequence should be sahhl gene from M. amphibiorum RCS1. Under the dark pre-culture in 24 h, a large amounts of transcript of sahhl gene in the mycelia can be detected by northern hybridization and real-time PCR in the condition of 24 h blue light. But a large amounts of transcript of sahhl gene were not found in other detection for the dark pre-culture of 48 h, even though M. amphibiorum RCS1 mycelia were induced by blue light. Blue light can induce the expression of sahhl gene in the vigorous growth of M. amphibiorum RCS1 mycelia.

  7. Stress-induced and cue-induced craving for alcohol in heavy drinkers: Preliminary evidence of genetic moderation by the OPRM1 and CRH-BP genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ray, Lara A

    2011-01-01

    Neurobiological theories of addiction have highlighted disruption in stress pathways as a central feature of addictive disorders, and pharmacological treatments targeting stress mechanisms hold great promise. This study examines genetic determinants of stress-induced and cue-induced craving in heavy drinkers by testing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the corticotrophin-releasing hormone binding protein (CRH-BP) gene and the mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene. This study combines guided imagery stress exposure and in vivo alcohol cue exposure in a sample of 64 (23 women) non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers. Analyses, uncorrected for multiple comparisons, revealed that a tag SNP of the CRH-BP gene (rs10055255) moderated stress-induced craving in this sample. The same SNP predicted greater affective responses to the stress manipulation, including greater levels of subjective tension and negative mood. The Asp40 allele of the OPRM1 was associated with greater cue-induced alcohol craving following the neutral imagery condition. These initial results extend recent preclinical and clinical findings implicating the CRH-BP in stress-related alcoholism and confirm the role of the Asp40 allele of the OPRM1 gene in reward-driven alcohol phenotypes. Human laboratory models of stress and cue-induced craving may be useful in pharmacotherapy development targeting dysregulation of stress systems. Larger studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings, which should also be extended to clinical samples. Copyright © 2010 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  8. A Foxtail mosaic virus Vector for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Maize1[OPEN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Yu; Kernodle, Bliss M.; Hill, John H.

    2016-01-01

    Plant viruses have been widely used as vectors for foreign gene expression and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). A limited number of viruses have been developed into viral vectors for the purposes of gene expression or VIGS in monocotyledonous plants, and among these, the tripartite viruses Brome mosaic virus and Cucumber mosaic virus have been shown to induce VIGS in maize (Zea mays). We describe here a new DNA-based VIGS system derived from Foxtail mosaic virus (FoMV), a monopartite virus that is able to establish systemic infection and silencing of endogenous maize genes homologous to gene fragments inserted into the FoMV genome. To demonstrate VIGS applications of this FoMV vector system, four genes, phytoene desaturase (functions in carotenoid biosynthesis), lesion mimic22 (encodes a key enzyme of the porphyrin pathway), iojap (functions in plastid development), and brown midrib3 (caffeic acid O-methyltransferase), were silenced and characterized in the sweet corn line Golden × Bantam. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the FoMV infectious clone establishes systemic infection in maize inbred lines, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and green foxtail (Setaria viridis), indicating the potential wide applications of this viral vector system for functional genomics studies in maize and other monocots. PMID:27208311

  9. Association of angiotensin receptor 2 gene polymorphisms with pregnancy induced hypertension risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chenyang; Peng, Weijun; Zhang, Heng; Yan, Weirong

    2018-05-01

    To investigate the association of polymorphisms and haplotypes of angiotensin receptor 2 (AT2R) gene with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) in Chinese Han women. A case-control study was designed with 446 cases (gestational hypertension, GH: 124; pre-eclampsia, PE + eclampsia, E: 322) and 650 controls. rs5193, rs1403543 and rs12710567 of AT2R gene were genotyped. A logistic regression approach was applied to estimate the relationship between the polymorphisms and haplotypes of AT2Rgene with PIH risk. No relationship between AT2R gene polymorphisms and PIH was detected. The haplotype analysis also showed a negative result. rs5193, rs1403543 and rs12710567 of AT2R gene might have no effect on PIH risk among Chinese Han women.

  10. Development of radiation-inducible promoters for use in nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirst, D.G.; Worthington, J.; Adams, C.; Robson, T.; Scott, S.D.

    2003-01-01

    Full text: The free radical nitric oxide (NO) at nM concentrations performs multiple signaling roles that are essential for survival. These processes are regulated via the enzymes nNOS and eNOS, but another isoform, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is capable of generating much higher concentrations (mM) over longer periods, resulting in the generation of very toxic species such as peroxynitrite. At high concentrations NO has many of the characteristics of an ideal anticancer molecule: it is cytotoxic (pro-apoptotic via peroxynitrite), it is a potent chemical radiosensitizer, it is anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic. Thus, we see iNOS gene therapy as a strategy for targeting the generation of high concentrations of NO to tumours for therapeutic benefit. iNOS gene therapy should be used in combination with radiotherapy; so it is logical that the use of a radiation-inducible promoter should be part of the targeting strategy. We have tested several candidate promoters in vitro and in vivo. The WAF1 promoter has many of the properties desirable for therapeutic use including: rapid 3-4 fold induction at X-ray doses of 2 and 4Gy and no significant leakiness. WAF1 also has the advantage of being inducible by hypoxia and by the final product, NO. We have also tested the synthetic CArG promoter and demonstrated that, in addition to a high level of radiation inducibility, it is also inducible by NO. We have also been able to demonstrate potent radiosensitization (SER 2.0-2.5) in tumour cells in vitro and in vivo using iNOS gene transfer with constitutive or radiation-inducible promoters. We have also tested the use of iNOS gene therapy in combination with cisplatin and shown significant enhancement

  11. Association study of GABA system genes polymorphisms with amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder in a Han Chinese population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Kai; Zhao, Yan; Wang, Qingzhong; Jiang, Haifeng; Du, Jiang; Yu, Shunying; Zhao, Min

    2016-05-27

    GABA system genes have been implicated in neurotrophy and neurogenesis, which play pivotal roles in an individual's variation in vulnerability to amphetamine addiction or amphetamine-induced psychosis (AIP). We hypothesized that common genetic variants in the GABA system genes may be associated with amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder. In our study, thirty-six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the GABA system genes were genotyped in 400 amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder patients and 400 amphetamine use disorders patients (AUP) (not including those categorized as psychosis) in the Han Chinese population. In this study, 51.88% of the Han Chinese amphetamine-type substance use disorder patients met the criteria of amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder, and 79.5% amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder patients had auditory hallucinations, while 46.5% had delusions of reference. The allele frequency of rs1129647 showed nominal association with AIP in the Han Chinese population (P=0.03). Compared with AUP group patients, T allele frequency of AIP group patients was significantly increased. The adjustment for age and gender factors in the AIP and AUP patients was executed using unconditional logistic regression under five inheritance models. The genotype frequency of rs1129647 showed nominal association with AIP in the log-additive model (P=0.04). The genotype frequency of rs2290733 showed nominal association with AIP in the recessive model (P=0.04). Compared with female AIP patients, male patients were more likely to have the CC genotype of rs17545383 (P=0.04). Moreover, we determined that more male patients carried the T allele of rs2290733 in the AIP group (P=0.004). Unfortunately, the significant differences did not survive Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate correction (adjusted P>0.05). No association between the SNPs of the GABA system genes and amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder risk was identified. No haplotype of the GABA system

  12. Global gene expression in Escherichia coli biofilms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schembri, Mark; Kjærgaard, K.; Klemm, Per

    2003-01-01

    It is now apparent that microorganisms undergo significant changes during the transition from planktonic to biofilm growth. These changes result in phenotypic adaptations that allow the formation of highly organized and structured sessile communities, which possess enhanced resistance to antimicr......It is now apparent that microorganisms undergo significant changes during the transition from planktonic to biofilm growth. These changes result in phenotypic adaptations that allow the formation of highly organized and structured sessile communities, which possess enhanced resistance...... the transition to biofilm growth, and these included genes expressed under oxygen-limiting conditions, genes encoding (putative) transport proteins, putative oxidoreductases and genes associated with enhanced heavy metal resistance. Of particular interest was the observation that many of the genes altered...... in expression have no current defined function. These genes, as well as those induced by stresses relevant to biofilm growth such as oxygen and nutrient limitation, may be important factors that trigger enhanced resistance mechanisms of sessile communities to antibiotics and hydrodynamic shear forces....

  13. Expression of Aluminum-Induced Genes in Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants Can Ameliorate Aluminum Stress and/or Oxidative Stress1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ezaki, Bunichi; Gardner, Richard C.; Ezaki, Yuka; Matsumoto, Hideaki

    2000-01-01

    To examine the biological role of Al-stress-induced genes, nine genes derived from Arabidopsis, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were expressed in Arabidopsis ecotype Landsberg. Lines containing eight of these genes were phenotypically normal and were tested in root elongation assays for their sensitivity to Al, Cd, Cu, Na, Zn, and to oxidative stresses. An Arabidopsis blue-copper-binding protein gene (AtBCB), a tobacco glutathione S-transferase gene (parB), a tobacco peroxidase gene (NtPox), and a tobacco GDP-dissociation inhibitor gene (NtGDI1) conferred a degree of resistance to Al. Two of these genes, AtBCB and parB, and a peroxidase gene from Arabidopsis (AtPox) also showed increased resistance to oxidative stress induced by diamide, while parB conferred resistance to Cu and Na. Al content of Al-treated root tips was reduced in the four Al-resistant plant lines compared with wild-type Ler-0, as judged by morin staining. All four Al-resistant lines also showed reduced staining of roots with 2′,7′-dichloro fluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDA), an indicator of oxidative stress. We conclude that Al-induced genes can serve to protect against Al toxicity, and also provide genetic evidence for a link between Al stress and oxidative stress in plants. PMID:10712528

  14. Deletion of the Men1 Gene Prevents Streptozotocin-Induced Hyperglycemia in Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuqing Yang

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Diabetes ultimately results from an inadequate number of functional beta cells in the islets of Langerhans. Enhancing proliferation of functional endogenous beta cells to treat diabetes remains underexplored. Here, we report that excision of the Men1 gene, whose loss-of-function mutation leads to inherited multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1, rendered resistant to streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia in a tamoxifen-inducible and temporally controlled Men1 excision mouse model as well as in a tissue-specific Men1 excision mouse model. Men1 excision prevented mice from streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia mainly through increasing the number of functional beta cells. BrdU incorporation by beta cells, islet size, and circulating insulin levels were significantly increased in Men1-excised mice. Membrane localization of glucose transporter 2 was largely preserved in Men1-excised beta cells, but not in Men1-expressing beta cells. Our findings suggest that repression of menin, a protein encoded by the Men1 gene, might be a valuable means to maintain or increase the number of functional endogenous beta cells to prevent or ameliorate diabetes.

  15. Radio-induced genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rigaud, O.; Kazmaier, M.

    2000-01-01

    The monitoring system of the DNA integrity of an irradiated cell does not satisfy oneself to recruit the enzymes allowing the repair of detected damages. It sends an alarm signal whom transmission leads to the activation of specific genes in charge of stopping the cell cycle, the time to make the repair works, or to lead to the elimination of a too much damaged cell. Among the numerous genes participating to the monitoring of cell response to irradiation, the target genes of the mammalian P53 protein are particularly studied. Caretaker of the genome, this protein play a central part in the cell response to ionizing radiations. this response is less studied among plants. A way to tackle it is to be interested in the radioinduced genes identification in the vegetal cell, while taking advantage of knowledge got in the animal field. The knowledge of the complete genome of the arabette (arabidopsis thaliana), the model plant and the arising of new techniques allow to lead this research at a previously unknown rhythm in vegetal biology. (N.C.)

  16. Smoking-induced gene expression changes in the bronchial airway are reflected in nasal and buccal epithelium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Xiaohui

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of preventable death and a significant cause of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Prior studies have demonstrated that smoking creates a field of molecular injury throughout the airway epithelium exposed to cigarette smoke. We have previously characterized gene expression in the bronchial epithelium of never smokers and identified the gene expression changes that occur in the mainstem bronchus in response to smoking. In this study, we explored relationships in whole-genome gene expression between extrathorcic (buccal and nasal and intrathoracic (bronchial epithelium in healthy current and never smokers. Results Using genes that have been previously defined as being expressed in the bronchial airway of never smokers (the "normal airway transcriptome", we found that bronchial and nasal epithelium from non-smokers were most similar in gene expression when compared to other epithelial and nonepithelial tissues, with several antioxidant, detoxification, and structural genes being highly expressed in both the bronchus and nose. Principle component analysis of previously defined smoking-induced genes from the bronchus suggested that smoking had a similar effect on gene expression in nasal epithelium. Gene set enrichment analysis demonstrated that this set of genes was also highly enriched among the genes most altered by smoking in both nasal and buccal epithelial samples. The expression of several detoxification genes was commonly altered by smoking in all three respiratory epithelial tissues, suggesting a common airway-wide response to tobacco exposure. Conclusion Our findings support a relationship between gene expression in extra- and intrathoracic airway epithelial cells and extend the concept of a smoking-induced field of injury to epithelial cells that line the mouth and nose. This relationship could potentially be utilized to develop a non-invasive biomarker for

  17. Radiation-induced gene responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woloschak, G.E.; Paunesku, T.; Shearin-Jones, P.; Oryhon, J.

    1996-01-01

    In the process of identifying genes that are differentially regulated in cells exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UV), we identified a transcript that was repressed following the exposure of cells to a combination of UV and salicylate, a known inhibitor of NF-kappaB. Sequencing this band determined that it has identify to lactate dehydrogenase, and Northern blots confirmed the initial expression pattern. Analysis of the sequence of the LDH 5' region established the presence of NF-kappaB, Sp1, and two Ap-2 elements; two partial AP- 1; one partial RE, and two halves of E-UV elements were also found. Electromobility shift assays were then performed for the AP-1, NF- kappaB, and E-UV elements. These experiments revealed that binding to NF-kappaB was induced by UV but repressed with salicylic acid; UV did not affect AP-1 binding, but salicylic acid inhibited it alone or following UV exposure; and E-UV binding was repressed by UV, and salicylic acid had little effect. Since the binding of no single element correlated with the expression pattern of LDH, it is likely that multiple elements govern UV/salicylate-mediated expression

  18. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) as a reverse genetic tool to study development of symbiotic root nodules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjær, Gabriela Didina Constantin; Grønlund, Mette; Stougaard, Jens

    2008-01-01

    Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) can provide a shortcut to plants with altered expression of specific genes. Here, we report that VIGS of the Nodule inception gene (Nin) can alter the nodulation phenotype and Nin gene expression in Pisum sativum. PsNin was chosen as target because of the disti...

  19. Engineering an efficient and tight D-amino acid-inducible gene expression system in Rhodosporidium/Rhodotorula species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yanbin; Koh, Chong Mei John; Ngoh, Si Te; Ji, Lianghui

    2015-10-26

    Rhodosporidium and Rhodotorula are two genera of oleaginous red yeast with great potential for industrial biotechnology. To date, there is no effective method for inducible expression of proteins and RNAs in these hosts. We have developed a luciferase gene reporter assay based on a new codon-optimized LUC2 reporter gene (RtLUC2), which is flanked with CAR2 homology arms and can be integrated into the CAR2 locus in the nuclear genome at >90 % efficiency. We characterized the upstream DNA sequence of a D-amino acid oxidase gene (DAO1) from R. toruloides ATCC 10657 by nested deletions. By comparing the upstream DNA sequences of several putative DAO1 homologs of Basidiomycetous fungi, we identified a conserved DNA motif with a consensus sequence of AGGXXGXAGX11GAXGAXGG within a 0.2 kb region from the mRNA translation initiation site. Deletion of this motif led to strong mRNA transcription under non-inducing conditions. Interestingly, DAO1 promoter activity was enhanced about fivefold when the 108 bp intron 1 was included in the reporter construct. We identified a conserved CT-rich motif in the intron with a consensus sequence of TYTCCCYCTCCYCCCCACWYCCGA, deletion or point mutations of which drastically reduced promoter strength under both inducing and non-inducing conditions. Additionally, we created a selection marker-free DAO1-null mutant (∆dao1e) which displayed greatly improved inducible gene expression, particularly when both glucose and nitrogen were present in high levels. To avoid adding unwanted peptide to proteins to be expressed, we converted the original translation initiation codon to ATC and re-created a translation initiation codon at the start of exon 2. This promoter, named P DAO1-in1m1 , showed very similar luciferase activity to the wild-type promoter upon induction with D-alanine. The inducible system was tunable by adjusting the levels of inducers, carbon source and nitrogen source. The intron 1-containing DAO1 promoters coupled with a DAO1 null

  20. Force-induced bone growth and adaptation: A system theoretical approach to understanding bone mechanotransduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maldonado, Solvey; Findeisen, Rolf

    2010-01-01

    The modeling, analysis, and design of treatment therapies for bone disorders based on the paradigm of force-induced bone growth and adaptation is a challenging task. Mathematical models provide, in comparison to clinical, medical and biological approaches an structured alternative framework to understand the concurrent effects of the multiple factors involved in bone remodeling. By now, there are few mathematical models describing the appearing complex interactions. However, the resulting models are complex and difficult to analyze, due to the strong nonlinearities appearing in the equations, the wide range of variability of the states, and the uncertainties in parameters. In this work, we focus on analyzing the effects of changes in model structure and parameters/inputs variations on the overall steady state behavior using systems theoretical methods. Based on an briefly reviewed existing model that describes force-induced bone adaptation, the main objective of this work is to analyze the stationary behavior and to identify plausible treatment targets for remodeling related bone disorders. Identifying plausible targets can help in the development of optimal treatments combining both physical activity and drug-medication. Such treatments help to improve/maintain/restore bone strength, which deteriorates under bone disorder conditions, such as estrogen deficiency.

  1. Metformin induces a Senescence-associated gene Signature in Breast Cancer Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Christopher C.; Singleton, Brittany A.; Llopis, Shawn D.; Skripnikova, Elena V.

    2013-01-01

    Diabetic patients taking metformin have lower incidence of breast cancer than those taking other anti-diabetic medications. Additionally, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a form of breast cancer disproportionately afflicting premenopausal African American women, shows atypical susceptibility to metformin’s antiproliferative effect. The mechanisms involved in metformin’s function in TNBC has not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore, we sought to identify pathways regulated by metformin in using the MDA-MB-468 TNBC cell model. Metformin dose-dependently caused apoptosis, decreased cell viability, and induced cell morphology/chromatin condensation consistent with the permanent proliferative arrest. Furthermore, gene expression arrays revealed that metformin caused expression of stress markers DDIT3, CYP1A1, and GDF-15 and a concomitant reduction in PTGS1 expression. Our findings show that metformin may affect the viability and proliferative capacity of TNBC by inducing an antiproliferative gene signature, and that metformin may be effective in the treatment/prevention of TNBC. PMID:23395946

  2. An elm EST database for identifying leaf beetle egg-induced defense genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Büchel Kerstin

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Plants can defend themselves against herbivorous insects prior to the onset of larval feeding by responding to the eggs laid on their leaves. In the European field elm (Ulmus minor, egg laying by the elm leaf beetle ( Xanthogaleruca luteola activates the emission of volatiles that attract specialised egg parasitoids, which in turn kill the eggs. Little is known about the transcriptional changes that insect eggs trigger in plants and how such indirect defense mechanisms are orchestrated in the context of other biological processes. Results Here we present the first large scale study of egg-induced changes in the transcriptional profile of a tree. Five cDNA libraries were generated from leaves of (i untreated control elms, and elms treated with (ii egg laying and feeding by elm leaf beetles, (iii feeding, (iv artificial transfer of egg clutches, and (v methyl jasmonate. A total of 361,196 ESTs expressed sequence tags (ESTs were identified which clustered into 52,823 unique transcripts (Unitrans and were stored in a database with a public web interface. Among the analyzed Unitrans, 73% could be annotated by homology to known genes in the UniProt (Plant database, particularly to those from Vitis, Ricinus, Populus and Arabidopsis. Comparative in silico analysis among the different treatments revealed differences in Gene Ontology term abundances. Defense- and stress-related gene transcripts were present in high abundance in leaves after herbivore egg laying, but transcripts involved in photosynthesis showed decreased abundance. Many pathogen-related genes and genes involved in phytohormone signaling were expressed, indicative of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and activation of jasmonic acid responsive genes. Cross-comparisons between different libraries based on expression profiles allowed the identification of genes with a potential relevance in egg-induced defenses, as well as other biological processes, including signal transduction

  3. An elm EST database for identifying leaf beetle egg-induced defense genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Büchel, Kerstin; McDowell, Eric; Nelson, Will; Descour, Anne; Gershenzon, Jonathan; Hilker, Monika; Soderlund, Carol; Gang, David R; Fenning, Trevor; Meiners, Torsten

    2012-06-15

    Plants can defend themselves against herbivorous insects prior to the onset of larval feeding by responding to the eggs laid on their leaves. In the European field elm (Ulmus minor), egg laying by the elm leaf beetle ( Xanthogaleruca luteola) activates the emission of volatiles that attract specialised egg parasitoids, which in turn kill the eggs. Little is known about the transcriptional changes that insect eggs trigger in plants and how such indirect defense mechanisms are orchestrated in the context of other biological processes. Here we present the first large scale study of egg-induced changes in the transcriptional profile of a tree. Five cDNA libraries were generated from leaves of (i) untreated control elms, and elms treated with (ii) egg laying and feeding by elm leaf beetles, (iii) feeding, (iv) artificial transfer of egg clutches, and (v) methyl jasmonate. A total of 361,196 ESTs expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were identified which clustered into 52,823 unique transcripts (Unitrans) and were stored in a database with a public web interface. Among the analyzed Unitrans, 73% could be annotated by homology to known genes in the UniProt (Plant) database, particularly to those from Vitis, Ricinus, Populus and Arabidopsis. Comparative in silico analysis among the different treatments revealed differences in Gene Ontology term abundances. Defense- and stress-related gene transcripts were present in high abundance in leaves after herbivore egg laying, but transcripts involved in photosynthesis showed decreased abundance. Many pathogen-related genes and genes involved in phytohormone signaling were expressed, indicative of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and activation of jasmonic acid responsive genes. Cross-comparisons between different libraries based on expression profiles allowed the identification of genes with a potential relevance in egg-induced defenses, as well as other biological processes, including signal transduction, transport and primary metabolism

  4. Virus-induced gene silencing in diverse maize lines using the Brome Mosaic virus-based silencing vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a widely used tool for gene function studies in many plant species, though its use in monocots has been limited. Using a Brome mosaic virus (BMV) vector designed to silence the maize phytoene desaturase gene, a genetically diverse set of maize inbred lines was ...

  5. Inducible, tunable and multiplex human gene regulation using CRISPR-Cpf1-based transcription factors | Office of Cancer Genomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Targeted and inducible regulation of mammalian gene expression is a broadly important research capability that may also enable development of novel therapeutics for treating human diseases. Here we demonstrate that a catalytically inactive RNA-guided CRISPR-Cpf1 nuclease fused to transcriptional activation domains can up-regulate endogenous human gene expression. We engineered drug-inducible Cpf1-based activators and show how this system can be used to tune the regulation of endogenous gene transcription in human cells.

  6. Gene activation by induced DNA rearrangements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schnipper, L.E.; Chan, V.; Sedivy, J.; Jat, P.; Sharp, P.A.

    1989-01-01

    A murine cell line (EN/NIH) containing the retroviral vector ZIPNeoSV(x)1 that was modified by deletion of the enhancer elements in the viral long terminal repeats has been used as an assay system to detect induced DNA rearrangements that result in activation of a transcriptionally silent reporter gene encoded by the viral genome. The spontaneous frequency of G418 resistance is less than 10(-7), whereas exposure to the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) or the combination of UV irradiation plus TPA resulted in the emergence of drug resistant cell lines at a frequency of 5 per 10(6) and 67 per 10(6) cells, respectively. In several of the cell lines that were analyzed a low level of amplification of one of the two parental retroviral integrants was observed, whereas in others no alteration in the region of the viral genome was detected. To determine the effect of the SV40 large T antigen on induced DNA rearrangements, EN/NIH cells were transfected with a temperature sensitive (ts) mutant of SV40 T. Transfectants were maintained at the permissive temperature (33 degrees C) for varying periods of time (1-5 days) in order to vary SV40 T antigen exposure, after which they were shifted to 39.5 degrees C for selection in G418. The frequency of emergence of drug resistant cell clones increased with duration of exposure to large T antigen (9-52 per 10(6) cells over 1-5 days, respectively), and all cell lines analyzed demonstrated DNA rearrangements in the region of the neo gene. A novel 18-kilobase pair XbaI fragment was cloned from one cell line which revealed the presence of a 2.0-kilobase pair EcoRI segment containing an inverted duplication which hybridized to neo sequences. It is likely that the observed rearrangement was initiated by the specific binding of large T antigen to the SV40 origin of replication encoded within the viral genome

  7. Spin-motive Force Induced by Domain Wall Dynamics in the Antiferromagnetic Spin Valve

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugano, Ryoko; Ichimura, Masahiko; Takahashi, Saburo; Maekawa, Sadamichi; Crest Collaboration

    2014-03-01

    In spite of no net magnetization in antiferromagnetic (AF) textures, the local magnetic properties (Neel magnetization) can be manipulated in a similar fashion to ferromagnetic (F) ones. It is expected that, even in AF metals, spin transfer torques (STTs) lead to the domain wall (DW) motion and that the DW motion induces spin-motive force (SMF). In order to study the Neel magnetization dynamics and the resultant SMF, we treat the nano-structured F1/AF/F2 junction. The F1 and F2 leads behave as a spin current injector and a detector, respectively. Each F lead is fixed in the different magnetization direction. Torsions (DW in AF) are introduced reflecting the fixed magnetization of two F leads. We simulated the STT-induced Neel magnetization dynamics with the injecting current from F1 to F2 and evaluate induced SMF. Based on the adiabatic electron dynamics in the AF texture, Langevin simulations are performed at finite temperature. This research was supported by JST, CREST, Japan.

  8. Examination of hydrodynamic force acting on a circular cylinder in vortex-induced vibrations in synchronization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shen, Linwei; Sun, Zhilin [Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, 316021 (China); Chan, Eng-Soon, E-mail: shenlinwei@zju.edu.cn [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, No. 1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576 (Singapore)

    2017-04-15

    An immersed boundary method is employed to simulate vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of a circular cylinder in two dimensions. The Reynolds number is 150, and the cylinder mass ratios of 2 and 10 are considered. The synchronization regions for these two mass ratios are determined by the simulations. It is found that the cycle-averaged added mass is about zero at the reduced velocity of 6.1. The instantaneous frequency, which is obtained by Hilbert transformation of the cylinder oscillating displacement, exhibits an important feature whereby the cylinder oscillation in the VIV synchronization region is modulated with a frequency twice the displacement prevailing frequency. The cylinder displacement could still be well approximated by a sine function with a constant frequency and amplitude. However, the lift force acting on the cylinder cannot be estimated in the same manner. In fact, both the lift force amplitude and frequency are modulated. The suggested expression provides a better approximation of the lift force. Moreover, it reveals that the presence of the higher harmonics in the lift force is the result of the amplitude and frequency modulation. (paper)

  9. Two genes with similarity to bacterial response regulators are rapidly and specifically induced by cytokinin in Arabidopsis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandstatter, I.; Kieber, J. J.; Evans, M. L. (Principal Investigator)

    1998-01-01

    Cytokinins are central regulators of plant growth and development, but little is known about their mode of action. By using differential display, we identified a gene, IBC6 (for induced by cytokinin), from etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings, that is induced rapidly by cytokinin. The steady state level of IBC6 mRNA was elevated within 10 min by the exogenous application of cytokinin, and this induction did not require de novo protein synthesis. IBC6 was not induced by other plant hormones or by light. A second Arabidopsis gene with a sequence highly similar to IBC6 was identified. This IBC7 gene also was induced by cytokinin, although with somewhat slower kinetics and to a lesser extent. The pattern of expression of the two genes was similar, with higher expression in leaves, rachises, and flowers and lower transcript levels in roots and siliques. Sequence analysis revealed that IBC6 and IBC7 are similar to the receiver domain of bacterial two-component response regulators. This homology, coupled with previously published work on the CKI1 histidine kinase homolog, suggests that these proteins may play a role in early cytokinin signaling.

  10. Changes in myosin S1 orientation and force induced by a temperature increase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Peter J; Bagni, Maria A; Colombini, Barbara; Amenitsch, Heinz; Bernstorff, Sigrid; Ashley, Christopher C; Cecchi, Giovanni; Ameritsch, Heinz

    2002-04-16

    Force generation in myosin-based motile systems is thought to result from an angular displacement of the myosin subfragment 1 (S1) tail domain with respect to the actin filament axis. In muscle, raised temperature increases the force generated by S1, implying a greater change in tail domain angular displacement. We used time-resolved x-ray diffraction to investigate the structural corollary of this force increase by measuring M3 meridional reflection intensity during sinusoidal length oscillations. This technique allows definition of S1 orientation with respect to the myofilament axis. M3 intensity changes were approximately sinusoid at low temperatures but became increasingly distorted as temperature was elevated, with the formation of a double intensity peak at maximum shortening. This increased distortion could be accounted for by assuming a shift in orientation of the tail domain of actin-bound S1 toward the orientation at which M3 intensity is maximal, which is consistent with a tail domain rotation model of force generation in which the tail approaches a more perpendicular projection from the thin filament axis at higher temperatures. In power stroke simulations, the angle between S1 tail mean position during oscillations and the position at maximum intensity decreased by 4.7 degrees, corresponding to a mean tail displacement toward the perpendicular of 0.73 nm for a temperature-induced force increase of 0.28 P(0) from 4 to 22 degrees C. Our findings suggest that at least 62% of crossbridge compliance is associated with the tail domain.

  11. Characterization of human septic sera induced gene expression modulation in human myocytes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussein, Shaimaa; Michael, Paul; Brabant, Danielle; Omri, Abdelwahab; Narain, Ravin; Passi, Kalpdrum; Ramana, Chilakamarti V.; Parrillo, Joseph E.; Kumar, Anand; Parissenti, Amadeo; Kumar, Aseem

    2009-01-01

    To gain a better understanding of the gene expression changes that occurs during sepsis, we have performed a cDNA microarray study utilizing a tissue culture model that mimics human sepsis. This study utilized an in vitro model of cultured human fetal cardiac myocytes treated with 10% sera from septic patients or 10% sera from healthy volunteers. A 1700 cDNA expression microarray was used to compare the transcription profile from human cardiac myocytes treated with septic sera vs normal sera. Septic sera treatment of myocytes resulted in the down-regulation of 178 genes and the up-regulation of 4 genes. Our data indicate that septic sera induced cell cycle, metabolic, transcription factor and apoptotic gene expression changes in human myocytes. Identification and characterization of gene expression changes that occur during sepsis may lead to the development of novel therapeutics and diagnostics. PMID:19684886

  12. Gene expression profiling reveals multiple toxicity endpoints induced by hepatotoxicants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang Qihong; Jin Xidong; Gaillard, Elias T.; Knight, Brian L.; Pack, Franklin D.; Stoltz, James H.; Jayadev, Supriya; Blanchard, Kerry T

    2004-05-18

    Microarray technology continues to gain increased acceptance in the drug development process, particularly at the stage of toxicology and safety assessment. In the current study, microarrays were used to investigate gene expression changes associated with hepatotoxicity, the most commonly reported clinical liability with pharmaceutical agents. Acetaminophen, methotrexate, methapyrilene, furan and phenytoin were used as benchmark compounds capable of inducing specific but different types of hepatotoxicity. The goal of the work was to define gene expression profiles capable of distinguishing the different subtypes of hepatotoxicity. Sprague-Dawley rats were orally dosed with acetaminophen (single dose, 4500 mg/kg for 6, 24 and 72 h), methotrexate (1 mg/kg per day for 1, 7 and 14 days), methapyrilene (100 mg/kg per day for 3 and 7 days), furan (40 mg/kg per day for 1, 3, 7 and 14 days) or phenytoin (300 mg/kg per day for 14 days). Hepatic gene expression was assessed using toxicology-specific gene arrays containing 684 target genes or expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Principal component analysis (PCA) of gene expression data was able to provide a clear distinction of each compound, suggesting that gene expression data can be used to discern different hepatotoxic agents and toxicity endpoints. Gene expression data were applied to the multiplicity-adjusted permutation test and significantly changed genes were categorized and correlated to hepatotoxic endpoints. Repression of enzymes involved in lipid oxidation (acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, medium chain, enoyl CoA hydratase, very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase) were associated with microvesicular lipidosis. Likewise, subsets of genes associated with hepatotocellular necrosis, inflammation, hepatitis, bile duct hyperplasia and fibrosis have been identified. The current study illustrates that expression profiling can be used to: (1) distinguish different hepatotoxic endpoints; (2) predict the development of toxic endpoints; and

  13. CHD1 regulates cell fate determination by activation of differentiation-induced genes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baumgart, Simon J; Najafova, Zeynab; Hossan, Tareq

    2017-01-01

    The coordinated temporal and spatial activation of gene expression is essential for proper stem cell differentiation. The Chromodomain Helicase DNA-binding protein 1 (CHD1) is a chromatin remodeler closely associated with transcription and nucleosome turnover downstream of the transcriptional start...... site (TSS). In this study, we show that CHD1 is required for the induction of osteoblast-specific gene expression, extracellular-matrix mineralization and ectopic bone formation in vivo. Genome-wide occupancy analyses revealed increased CHD1 occupancy around the TSS of differentiation-activated genes....... Furthermore, we observed that CHD1-dependent genes are mainly induced during osteoblast differentiation and are characterized by higher levels of CHD1 occupancy around the TSS. Interestingly, CHD1 depletion resulted in increased pausing of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) and decreased H2A.Z occupancy close...

  14. Noise-induced multistability in the regulation of cancer by genes and pseudogenes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petrosyan, K. G., E-mail: pkaren@phys.sinica.edu.tw [Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan (China); Hu, Chin-Kun, E-mail: huck@phys.sinica.edu.tw [Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan (China); National Center for Theoretical Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093 (China)

    2016-07-28

    We extend a previously introduced model of stochastic gene regulation of cancer to a nonlinear case having both gene and pseudogene messenger RNAs (mRNAs) self-regulated. The model consists of stochastic Boolean genetic elements and possesses noise-induced multistability (multimodality). We obtain analytical expressions for probabilities for the case of constant but finite number of microRNA molecules which act as a noise source for the competing gene and pseudogene mRNAs. The probability distribution functions display both the global bistability regime as well as even-odd number oscillations for a certain range of model parameters. Statistical characteristics of the mRNA’s level fluctuations are evaluated. The obtained results of the extended model advance our understanding of the process of stochastic gene and pseudogene expressions that is crucial in regulation of cancer.

  15. cDNA cloning and transcriptional controlling of a novel low dose radiation-induced gene and its function analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Pingkun; Sui Jianli

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To clone a novel low dose radiation-induced gene (LRIGx) and study its function as well as its transcriptional changes after irradiation. Methods: Its cDNA was obtained by DDRT-PCR and RACE techniques. Northern blot hybridization was used to investigate the gene transcription. Bioinformatics was employed to analysis structure and function of this gene. Results: LRIGx cDNA was cloned. The sequence of LRIGx was identical to a DNA clone located in human chromosome 20 q 11.2-12 Bioinformatics analysis predicted an encoded protein with a conserved helicase domain. Northern analysis revealed a ∼8.5 kb transcript which was induced after 0.2 Gy as well as 0.02 Gy irradiation, and the transcript level was increased 5 times at 4 h after 0.2 Gy irradiation. The induced level of LRIGx transcript by 2.0 Gy high dose was lower than by 0.2 Gy. Conclusion: A novel low dose radiation-induced gene has been cloned. It encodes a protein with a conserved helicase domain that could involve in DNA metabolism in the cellular process of radiation response

  16. A finite element perturbation method for computing fluid-induced forces on a certrifugal impeller rotating and whirling in a volute casing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonker, Jan B.; van Essen, T.G.; van Essen, T.G.

    1997-01-01

    A finite element based method has been developed for computing time-averaged fluid-induced radial excitation forces and rotor dynamic forces on a two-dimensional centrifugal impeller rotating and whirling in a volute casing. In this method potential flow theory is used, which implies the assumption

  17. Silencing of the CaCP Gene Delays Salt- and Osmotic-Induced Leaf Senescence in Capsicum annuum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huai-Juan Xiao

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Cysteine proteinases have been known to participate in developmental processes and in response to stress in plants. Our present research reported that a novel CP gene, CaCP, was involved in leaf senescence in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.. The full-length CaCP cDNA is comprised of 1316 bp, contains 1044 nucleotides in open reading frame (ORF, and encodes a 347 amino acid protein. The deduced protein belongs to the papain-like cysteine proteases (CPs superfamily, containing a highly conserved ERFNIN motif, a GCNGG motif and a conserved catalytic triad. This protein localized to the vacuole of plant cells. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that the expression level of CaCP gene was dramatically higher in leaves and flowers than that in roots, stems and fruits. Moreover, CaCP transcripts were induced upon during leaf senescence. CaCP expression was upregulated by plant hormones, especially salicylic acid. CaCP was also significantly induced by abiotic and biotic stress treatments, including high salinity, mannitol and Phytophthora capsici. Loss of function of CaCP using the virus-induced gene-silencing technique in pepper plants led to enhanced tolerance to salt- and osmotic-induced stress. Taken together, these results suggest that CaCP is a senescence-associated gene, which is involved in developmental senescence and regulates salt- and osmotic-induced leaf senescence in pepper.

  18. Silencing of the CaCP Gene Delays Salt- and Osmotic-Induced Leaf Senescence in Capsicum annuum L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Huai-Juan; Yin, Yan-Xu; Chai, Wei-Guo; Gong, Zhen-Hui

    2014-01-01

    Cysteine proteinases have been known to participate in developmental processes and in response to stress in plants. Our present research reported that a novel CP gene, CaCP, was involved in leaf senescence in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). The full-length CaCP cDNA is comprised of 1316 bp, contains 1044 nucleotides in open reading frame (ORF), and encodes a 347 amino acid protein. The deduced protein belongs to the papain-like cysteine proteases (CPs) superfamily, containing a highly conserved ERFNIN motif, a GCNGG motif and a conserved catalytic triad. This protein localized to the vacuole of plant cells. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that the expression level of CaCP gene was dramatically higher in leaves and flowers than that in roots, stems and fruits. Moreover, CaCP transcripts were induced upon during leaf senescence. CaCP expression was upregulated by plant hormones, especially salicylic acid. CaCP was also significantly induced by abiotic and biotic stress treatments, including high salinity, mannitol and Phytophthora capsici. Loss of function of CaCP using the virus-induced gene-silencing technique in pepper plants led to enhanced tolerance to salt- and osmotic-induced stress. Taken together, these results suggest that CaCP is a senescence-associated gene, which is involved in developmental senescence and regulates salt- and osmotic-induced leaf senescence in pepper. PMID:24823878

  19. Directed motion of spheres induced by unbiased driving forces in viscous fluids beyond the Stokes' law regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casado-Pascual, Jesús

    2018-03-01

    The emergence of directed motion is investigated in a system consisting of a sphere immersed in a viscous fluid and subjected to time-periodic forces of zero average. The directed motion arises from the combined action of a nonlinear drag force and the applied driving forces, in the absence of any periodic substrate potential. Necessary conditions for the existence of such directed motion are obtained and an analytical expression for the average terminal velocity is derived within the adiabatic approximation. Special attention is paid to the case of two mutually perpendicular forces with sinusoidal time dependence, one with twice the period of the other. It is shown that, although neither of these two forces induces directed motion when acting separately, when added together, the resultant force generates directed motion along the direction of the force with the shortest period. The dependence of the average terminal velocity on the system parameters is analyzed numerically and compared with that obtained using the adiabatic approximation. Among other results, it is found that, for appropriate parameter values, the direction of the average terminal velocity can be reversed by varying the forcing strength. Furthermore, certain aspects of the observed phenomenology are explained by means of symmetry arguments.

  20. Collateral Effects of Antibiotics: Carbadox and Metronidazole Induce VSH-1 and Facilitate Gene Transfer among Brachyspira hyodysenteriae Strains▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanton, Thaddeus B.; Humphrey, Samuel B.; Sharma, Vijay K.; Zuerner, Richard L.

    2008-01-01

    Brachyspira hyodysenteriae is an anaerobic spirochete and the etiologic agent of swine dysentery. The genome of this spirochete contains a mitomycin C-inducible, prophage-like gene transfer agent designated VSH-1. VSH-1 particles package random 7.5-kb fragments of the B. hyodysenteriae genome and transfer genes between B. hyodysenteriae cells. The chemicals and conditions inducing VSH-1 production are largely unknown. Antibiotics used in swine management and stressors inducing traditional prophages might induce VSH-1 and thereby stimulate lateral gene transfer between B. hyodysenteriae cells. In these studies, VSH-1 induction was initially detected by a quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assay evaluating increased transcription of hvp38 (VSH-1 head protein gene). VSH-1 induction was confirmed by detecting VSH-1-associated 7.5-kb DNA and VSH-1 particles in B. hyodysenteriae cultures. Nine antibiotics (chlortetracycline, lincomycin, tylosin, tiamulin, virginiamycin, ampicillin, ceftriaxone, vancomycin, and florfenicol) at concentrations affecting B. hyodysenteriae growth did not induce VSH-1 production. By contrast, VSH-1 was detected in B. hyodysenteriae cultures treated with mitomycin C (10 μg/ml), carbadox (0.5 μg/ml), metronidazole (0.5 μg/ml), and H2O2 (300 μM). Carbadox- and metronidazole-induced VSH-1 particles transmitted tylosin and chloramphenicol resistance determinants between B. hyodysenteriae strains. The results of these studies suggest that certain antibiotics may induce the production of prophage or prophage-like elements by intestinal bacteria and thereby impact intestinal microbial ecology. PMID:18359835

  1. UV-induced changes in cell cycle and gene expression within rabbit lens epithelial cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sidjanin, D. [Northern Illinois Univ., De Kalb, IL (United States). Dept. of Biological Sciences; Grdina, D. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Woloschak, G.E. [Northern Illinois Univ., De Kalb, IL (United States). Dept. of Biological Sciences

    1994-11-01

    Damage to lens epithelial cells is a probable initiation process in cataract formation induced by ultraviolet radiation. These experiments investigated the ability of 254 nm radiation on cell cycle progression and gene expression in rabbit lens epithelial cell line N/N1003A. No changes in expression of c-fos, c-jun, alpha- tubulin, or vimentin was observed following UV exposure. Using flow cytometry, an accumulation of cells in G1/S phase of the cell cycle 1 hr following exposure. The observed changes in gene expression, especially the decreased histone transcripts reported here may play a role in UV induced inhibition of cell cycle progression.

  2. Prednisolone-induced differential gene expression in mouse liver carrying wild type or a dimerization-defective glucocorticoid receptor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dokter Wim

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Glucocorticoids (GCs control expression of a large number of genes via binding to the GC receptor (GR. Transcription may be regulated either by binding of the GR dimer to DNA regulatory elements or by protein-protein interactions of GR monomers with other transcription factors. Although the type of regulation for a number of individual target genes is known, the relative contribution of both mechanisms to the regulation of the entire transcriptional program remains elusive. To study the importance of GR dimerization in the regulation of gene expression, we performed gene expression profiling of livers of prednisolone-treated wild type (WT and mice that have lost the ability to form GR dimers (GRdim. Results The GR target genes identified in WT mice were predominantly related to glucose metabolism, the cell cycle, apoptosis and inflammation. In GRdim mice, the level of prednisolone-induced gene expression was significantly reduced compared to WT, but not completely absent. Interestingly, for a set of genes, involved in cell cycle and apoptosis processes and strongly related to Foxo3a and p53, induction by prednisolone was completely abolished in GRdim mice. In contrast, glucose metabolism-related genes were still modestly upregulated in GRdim mice upon prednisolone treatment. Finally, we identified several novel GC-inducible genes from which Fam107a, a putative histone acetyltransferase complex interacting protein, was most strongly dependent on GR dimerization. Conclusions This study on prednisolone-induced effects in livers of WT and GRdim mice identified a number of interesting candidate genes and pathways regulated by GR dimers and sheds new light onto the complex transcriptional regulation of liver function by GCs.

  3. Deformation-induced martensitic transformation in a 201 austenitic steel: The synergy of stacking fault energy and chemical driving force

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moallemi, M., E-mail: m.moallemi@ma.iut.ac.ir [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Kermanpur, A. [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Najafizadeh, A. [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Fould Institute of Technology, Fouladshahr, Isfahan, 8491663763 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rezaee, A.; Baghbadorani, H. Samaei; Nezhadfar, P. Dastranjy [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-01-20

    The present study deals with the correlation of stacking fault energy's synergy and driving force in the formation of deformation-induced martensitic transformation in a 201 austenitic stainless steel. The fraction of deformation-induced martensite was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction and magnetic induction techniques. The kinetics of the martensite formation versus applied strain was evaluated through the sigmoidal model. It was shown that the volume fraction of ά-martensite is closely related to the driving force/SFE ratio of the alloy. The results also showed that the martensite content is similar in both XRD and magnetic methods and the applied sigmoidal model was consistent with the obtained experimental data.

  4. Flow-induced vibration test of an advanced water reactor model. Pt. 1. Turbulence-induced forcing function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Au-Yang, M.K.; Brenneman, B.; Raj, D.

    1995-01-01

    A 1:9 scale model of a proposed advanced water reactor was tested for flow-induced vibration. The main objectives of this test were: (1) to derive an empirical equation for the turbulence forcing function which can be applied to the full-sized prototype; (2) to study the effect of viscosity on the turbulence; (3) to verify the ''superposition'' assumption widely used in dynamic analysis of weakly coupled fluid-shell systems; and (4) to measure the shell responses to verify methods and computer programs used in the flow-induced vibration analysis of the prototype. This paper describes objectives (1), (2), and (3); objective (4) will be discussed in a companion paper.The turbulence-induced fluctuating pressure was measured at 49 locations over the surface of a thick-walled, non-responsive scale model of the reactor vessel/core support cylinders. An empirical equation relating the fluctuating pressure, the frequency, and the distance from the inlet nozzle center line was derived to fit the test data. This equation involves only non-dimensional, fluid mechanical parameters that are postulated to represent the full-sized, geometrically similar prototype. While this postulate cannot be verified until similar measurements are taken on the full-sized unit, a similar approach using a 1:6 scale model of a commercial pressurized water reactor was verified in the mid-1970s by field measurements on the full-sized reactor. (orig.)

  5. Possible role of calcium dependent protein phosphorylation in the modulation of wound induced HRGP gene activation in potatoes after gamma irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ussuf, K.K.; Laxmi, N.H.; Nair, P.M.

    1996-01-01

    Hydroxyproline rich glycoprotein (HRGP) gene is induced in both control and gamma irradiated potato tubers after wounding. The enhanced RNA synthesis in response to wounding correlated well with the accumulation of both HRGP gene transcripts and protein. Initially, the level of HRGP gene expression in gamma irradiated potatoes in response to wounding was 30% more than the corresponding controls. After post irradiation storage of 3-5 weeks, HRGP gene expression in response to wounding was significantly lower than the unirradiated samples. This low level of HRGP gene expression in irradiated potatoes was partially retrieved by 5 mM Ca 2+ treatment. Prior treatment with trifluoperazine, a calcium channel blocker resulted in 35% reduction in wound induced HRGP gene expression in control potatoes, further providing evidence for the involvement of Ca 2+ dependency for HRGP gene activation. A comparative study on in vivo protein phosphorylation induced by wounding in control and irradiated potatoes exhibited significant differences. A good correlation was observed in the modulation of phosphorylation and HRGP gene expression by Ca 2+ in irradiated potatoes. Wound induced signal transduction system and subsequent Ca 2+ dependent protein phosphorylation for the activation of HRGP gene is affected in potatoes after gamma irradiation, thus impairing the wound healing process adversely. (author). 25 refs., 5 figs

  6. Arginine induces GH gene expression by activating NOS/NO signaling in rat isolated hemi-pituitaries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.C.F. Olinto

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The amino acid arginine (Arg is a recognized secretagogue of growth hormone (GH, and has been shown to induce GH gene expression. Arg is the natural precursor of nitric oxide (NO, which is known to mediate many of the effects of Arg, such as GH secretion. Arg was also shown to increase calcium influx in pituitary cells, which might contribute to its effects on GH secretion. Although the mechanisms involved in the effects of Arg on GH secretion are well established, little is known about them regarding the control of GH gene expression. We investigated whether the NO pathway and/or calcium are involved in the effects of Arg on GH gene expression in rat isolated pituitaries. To this end, pituitaries from approximately 170 male Wistar rats (~250 g were removed, divided into two halves, pooled (three hemi-pituitaries and incubated or not with Arg, as well as with different pharmacological agents. Arg (71 mM, the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1 and 0.1 mM and a cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP analogue (8-Br-cGMP, 1 mM increased GH mRNA expression 60 min later. The NO acceptor hemoglobin (0.3 µM blunted the effect of SNP, and the combined treatment with Arg and L-NAME (a NO synthase (NOS inhibitor, 55 mM abolished the stimulatory effect of Arg on GH gene expression. The calcium channel inhibitor nifedipine (3 µM also abolished Arg-induced GH gene expression. The present study shows that Arg directly induces GH gene expression in hemi-pituitaries isolated from rats, excluding interference from somatostatinergic neurons, which are supposed to be inhibited by Arg. Moreover, the data demonstrate that the NOS/NO signaling pathway and calcium mediate the Arg effects on GH gene expression.

  7. Arginine induces GH gene expression by activating NOS/NO signaling in rat isolated hemi-pituitaries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olinto, S.C.F. [Faculdade de Ciências Integradas do Pontal, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Ituiutaba, MG (Brazil); Adrião, M.G. [Departamento de Morfologia e Fisiologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE (Brazil); Castro-Barbosa, T.; Goulart-Silva, F.; Nunes, M.T. [Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2012-06-01

    The amino acid arginine (Arg) is a recognized secretagogue of growth hormone (GH), and has been shown to induce GH gene expression. Arg is the natural precursor of nitric oxide (NO), which is known to mediate many of the effects of Arg, such as GH secretion. Arg was also shown to increase calcium influx in pituitary cells, which might contribute to its effects on GH secretion. Although the mechanisms involved in the effects of Arg on GH secretion are well established, little is known about them regarding the control of GH gene expression. We investigated whether the NO pathway and/or calcium are involved in the effects of Arg on GH gene expression in rat isolated pituitaries. To this end, pituitaries from approximately 170 male Wistar rats (∼250 g) were removed, divided into two halves, pooled (three hemi-pituitaries) and incubated or not with Arg, as well as with different pharmacological agents. Arg (71 mM), the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1 and 0.1 mM) and a cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) analogue (8-Br-cGMP, 1 mM) increased GH mRNA expression 60 min later. The NO acceptor hemoglobin (0.3 µM) blunted the effect of SNP, and the combined treatment with Arg and L-NAME (an NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor, 55 mM) abolished the stimulatory effect of Arg on GH gene expression. The calcium channel inhibitor nifedipine (3 µM) also abolished Arg-induced GH gene expression. The present study shows that Arg directly induces GH gene expression in hemi-pituitaries isolated from rats, excluding interference from somatostatinergic neurons, which are supposed to be inhibited by Arg. Moreover, the data demonstrate that the NOS/NO signaling pathway and calcium mediate the Arg effects on GH gene expression.

  8. Arginine induces GH gene expression by activating NOS/NO signaling in rat isolated hemi-pituitaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olinto, S.C.F.; Adrião, M.G.; Castro-Barbosa, T.; Goulart-Silva, F.; Nunes, M.T.

    2012-01-01

    The amino acid arginine (Arg) is a recognized secretagogue of growth hormone (GH), and has been shown to induce GH gene expression. Arg is the natural precursor of nitric oxide (NO), which is known to mediate many of the effects of Arg, such as GH secretion. Arg was also shown to increase calcium influx in pituitary cells, which might contribute to its effects on GH secretion. Although the mechanisms involved in the effects of Arg on GH secretion are well established, little is known about them regarding the control of GH gene expression. We investigated whether the NO pathway and/or calcium are involved in the effects of Arg on GH gene expression in rat isolated pituitaries. To this end, pituitaries from approximately 170 male Wistar rats (∼250 g) were removed, divided into two halves, pooled (three hemi-pituitaries) and incubated or not with Arg, as well as with different pharmacological agents. Arg (71 mM), the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1 and 0.1 mM) and a cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) analogue (8-Br-cGMP, 1 mM) increased GH mRNA expression 60 min later. The NO acceptor hemoglobin (0.3 µM) blunted the effect of SNP, and the combined treatment with Arg and L-NAME (an NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor, 55 mM) abolished the stimulatory effect of Arg on GH gene expression. The calcium channel inhibitor nifedipine (3 µM) also abolished Arg-induced GH gene expression. The present study shows that Arg directly induces GH gene expression in hemi-pituitaries isolated from rats, excluding interference from somatostatinergic neurons, which are supposed to be inhibited by Arg. Moreover, the data demonstrate that the NOS/NO signaling pathway and calcium mediate the Arg effects on GH gene expression

  9. Differential gene expression before and after ionizing radiation of subcutaneous fibroblasts identifies breast cancer patients resistant to radiation-induced fibrosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alsner, Jan; Rødningen, Olaug K.; Overgaard, Jens

    2007-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Differentially gene expression between patients with either very low or very high risk of radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF) in patient-derived fibroblasts after irradiation has previously been reported. In the present study, we are investigating the robustness of radiation...... and changes in radiation-induced gene expression in fibroblasts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Gene expression was analysed by quantitative real-time PCR before and after a fractionated scheme with 3x3.5Gy/3 days in fibroblasts derived from 26 patients with breast cancer treated with post-mastectomy radiotherapy....... RESULTS: Robust radiation-induced changes in gene expression were observed, with differential gene expression between low and high risk patients being most pronounced for the fold induction level ('after' value divided by 'before' value for each patient). When including patients with intermediate risk...

  10. A Study of the Confinement Induced Sponge to Lamellar Phase Transformation by Direct Force Measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antelmi, David

    1996-10-01

    The interactions between two macroscopic walls immersed in an isotropic symmetric sponge phase (L_3) at different volume fractions, Φ, were studied with a surface force apparatus. The purpose of these experiments was to investigate the behaviour of the sponge phase when confined between two smooth rigid surfaces. Particular attention was given to investigating this behaviour as the bulk transition to the lamellar phase (L_α) was approached. At temperatures far from the L_3/L_α bulk transition temperature, the force-distance profile showed weak oscillations with a periodicity approximately equal to twice the characteristic length, ξ, measured for the sponge phase from small angle x-ray scattering. Furthermore, the oscillations were superimposed on an exponential attractive background that decayed with an order parameter correlation length of 2-3 times ξ The attractive background was explained by the enhancement of the sponge order in the vicinity of the rigid walls. The structural oscillations observed in the force-distance profile, although not completely understood, were discussed in terms of the packing of sponge cells (cell size ξ). The significance of the observed periodicity (2ξ) may indicate the importance of the symmetric nature of the sponge phase. By moving pairs of cells in response to an applied strain, the symmetry of the sponge structure is protected. As the temperature increased towards the L_3/L_α bulk transition temperature, an abrupt change in the force-distance profile was observed at a threshold separation labelled D*_i_n. A different force regime was observed for separations below D*_i_n which oscillated with a periodicity that was twice the reticular spacing, d, for a L_α phase of similar Φ. The force oscillations were superimposed on an attractive background that was almost linear. These observations were consistent with a first order phase transition from the sponge phase to the lamellar phase, induced by the confinement, where the

  11. Transgene-induced gene silencing is not affected by a change in ploidy level.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Pignatta

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Whole genome duplication, which results in polyploidy, is a common feature of plant populations and a recurring event in the evolution of flowering plants. Polyploidy can result in changes to gene expression and epigenetic instability. Several epigenetic phenomena, occurring at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level, have been documented in allopolyploids (polyploids derived from species hybrids of Arabidopsis thaliana, yet findings in autopolyploids (polyploids derived from the duplication of the genome of a single species are limited. Here, we tested the hypothesis that an increase in ploidy enhances transgene-induced post-transcriptional gene silencing using autopolyploids of A. thaliana. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Diploid and tetraploid individuals of four independent homozygous transgenic lines of A. thaliana transformed with chalcone synthase (CHS inverted repeat (hairpin constructs were generated. For each line diploids and tetraploids were compared for efficiency in post-transcriptional silencing of the endogenous CHS gene. The four lines differed substantially in their silencing efficiency. Yet, diploid and tetraploid plants derived from these plants and containing therefore identical transgene insertions showed no difference in the efficiency silencing CHS as assayed by visual scoring, anthocyanin assays and quantification of CHS mRNA. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results in A. thaliana indicated that there is no effect of ploidy level on transgene-induced post-transcriptional gene silencing. Our findings that post-transcriptional mechanisms were equally effective in diploids and tetraploids supports the use of transgene-driven post-transcriptional gene silencing as a useful mechanism to modify gene expression in polyploid species.

  12. Altered Gene Expression Profile in Mouse Bladder Cancers Induced by Hydroxybutyl(butylnitrosamine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruisheng Yao

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available A variety of genetic alterations and gene expression changes are involved in the pathogenesis of bladder tumor. To explore these changes, oligonucleotide array analysis was performed on RNA obtained from carcinogen-induced mouse bladder tumors and normal mouse bladder epithelia using Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA MGU74Av2 GeneChips. Analysis yielded 1164 known genes that were changed in the tumors. Certain of the upregulated genes included EGFR-Ras signaling genes, transcription factors, cell cycle-related genes, and intracellular signaling cascade genes. However, downregulated genes include mitogen-activated protein kinases, cell cycle checkpoint genes, Rab subfamily genes, Rho subfamily genes, and SH2 and SH3 domains-related genes. These genes are involved in a broad range of different pathways including control of cell proliferation, differentiation, cell cycle, signal transduction, and apoptosis. Using the pathway visualization tool GenMAPP, we found that several genes, including TbR-l, STAT1, Smad1, Smad2, Jun, NFκB, and so on, in the TGF-β signaling pathway and p115 RhoGEF, RhoGDl3, MEKK4A/MEKK4B, P13KA, and JNK in the G13 signaling pathway were differentially expressed in the tumors. In summary, we have determined the expression profiles of genes differentially expressed during mouse bladder tumorigenesis. Our results suggest that activation of the EGFR-Ras pathway, uncontrolled cell cycle, aberrant transcription factors, and G13 and TGF-β pathways are involved, and the cross-talk between these pathways seems to play important roles in mouse bladder tumorigenesis.

  13. Imidacloprid does not induce Cyp genes involved in insecticide resistance of a mutant Drosophila melanogaster line.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalajdzic, Predrag; Markaki, Maria; Oehler, Stefan; Savakis, Charalambos

    2013-10-01

    Certain xenobiotics have the capacity to induce the expression of genes involved in various biological phenomena, including insecticide resistance. The induction potential of different chemicals, among them different insecticides, has been documented for a number of insect species. In this study, we have analyzed the induction potential of Imidacloprid, a widely used member of the neonicotinoid insecticide family. Genes Cyp6g1 and Cyp6a2, known to be involved in the resistance of mutant Drosophila melanogaster line MiT[W⁻]3R2 to Imidacloprid and DDT were included in the analyzed sample. We find that Imidacloprid does not induce expression of the analyzed genes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Glyphosate-induced stiffening of HaCaT keratinocytes, a Peak Force Tapping study on living cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heu, Celine; Berquand, Alexandre; Elie-Caille, Celine; Nicod, Laurence

    2012-04-01

    The skin is the first physiological barrier, with a complex constitution, that provides defensive functions against multiple physical and chemical aggressions. Glyphosate is an extensively used herbicide that has been shown to increase the risk of cancer. Moreover there is increasing evidence suggesting that the mechanical phenotype plays an important role in malignant transformation. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged within the last decade as a powerful tool for providing a nanometer-scale resolution imaging of biological samples. Peak Force Tapping (PFT) is a newly released AFM-based investigation technique allowing extraction of chemical and mechanical properties from a wide range of samples at a relatively high speed and a high resolution. The present work uses the PFT technology to investigate HaCaT keratinocytes, a human epidermal cell line, and offers an original approach to study chemically-induced changes in the cellular mechanical properties under near-physiological conditions. These experiments indicate glyphosate induces cell membrane stiffening, and the appearance of cytoskeleton structures at a subcellular level, for low cytotoxic concentrations whereas cells exposed to IC50 (inhibitory concentration 50%) treatment exhibit control-like mechanical behavior despite obvious membrane damages. Quercetin, a well-known antioxidant, reverses the glyphosate-induced mechanical phenotype. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. The force analysis for superparamagnetic nanoparticles-based gene delivery in an oscillating magnetic field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Jiajia [State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province 710049 (China); Shi, Zongqian, E-mail: zqshi@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province 710049 (China); Jia, Shenli [State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province 710049 (China); Zhang, Pengbo [Department of Anesthesiology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No.157 West 5 Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province 710004 (China)

    2017-04-01

    Due to the peculiar magnetic properties and the ability to function in cell-level biological interaction, superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SMNP) have been being the attractive carrier for gene delivery. The superparamagnetic nanoparticles with surface-bound gene vector can be attracted to the surface of cells by the Kelvin force provided by external magnetic field. In this article, the influence of the oscillating magnetic field on the characteristics of magnetofection is studied in terms of the magnetophoretic velocity. The magnetic field of a cylindrical permanent magnet is calculated by equivalent current source (ECS) method, and the Kelvin force is derived by using the effective moment method. The results show that the static magnetic field accelerates the sedimentation of the particles, and drives the particles inward towards the axis of the magnet. Based on the investigation of the magnetophoretic velocity of the particle under horizontally oscillating magnetic field, an oscillating velocity within the amplitude of the magnet oscillation is observed. Furthermore, simulation results indicate that the oscillating amplitude plays an important role in regulating the active region, where the particles may present oscillating motion. The analysis of the magnetophoretic velocity gives us an insight into the physical mechanism of the magnetofection. It's also helpful to the optimal design of the magnetofection system. - Highlights: • We compare the results of the ECS method and FEA method with the commercial software, Ansys. • We analyze the physic mechanism of the oscillating motion of the particles in the presence of an oscillating magnet. • We discuss the influence of the oscillating amplitude of the magnet on the behavior of the particle.

  16. Environmental and chemotherapeutic agents induce breakage at genes involved in leukemia-causing gene rearrangements in human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thys, Ryan G., E-mail: rthys@wakehealth.edu [Department of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1016 (United States); Lehman, Christine E., E-mail: clehman@wakehealth.edu [Department of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1016 (United States); Pierce, Levi C.T., E-mail: Levipierce@gmail.com [Human Longevity, Inc., San Diego, California 92121 (United States); Wang, Yuh-Hwa, E-mail: yw4b@virginia.edu [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, 1340 Jefferson Park Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0733 (United States)

    2015-09-15

    Highlights: • Environmental/chemotherapeutic agents cause DNA breakage in MLL and CBFB in HSPCs. • Diethylnitrosamine-induced DNA breakage at MLL and CBFB shown for the first time. • Chemical-induced DNA breakage occurs at topoisomerase II cleavage sites. • Chemical-induced DNA breaks display a pattern similar to those in leukemia patients. • Long-term exposures suggested to generate DNA breakage at leukemia-related genes. - Abstract: Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) give rise to all of the cells that make up the hematopoietic system in the human body, making their stability and resilience especially important. Damage to these cells can severely impact cell development and has the potential to cause diseases, such as leukemia. Leukemia-causing chromosomal rearrangements have largely been studied in the context of radiation exposure and are formed by a multi-step process, including an initial DNA breakage and fusion of the free DNA ends. However, the mechanism for DNA breakage in patients without previous radiation exposure is unclear. Here, we investigate the role of non-cytotoxic levels of environmental factors, benzene, and diethylnitrosamine (DEN), and chemotherapeutic agents, etoposide, and doxorubicin, in generating DNA breakage at the patient breakpoint hotspots of the MLL and CBFB genes in human HSPCs. These conditions represent exposure to chemicals encountered daily or residual doses from chemotherapeutic drugs. Exposure of HSPCs to non-cytotoxic levels of environmental chemicals or chemotherapeutic agents causes DNA breakage at preferential sites in the human genome, including the leukemia-related genes MLL and CBFB. Though benzene, etoposide, and doxorubicin have previously been linked to leukemia formation, this is the first study to demonstrate a role for DEN in the generation of DNA breakage at leukemia-specific sites. These chemical-induced DNA breakpoints coincide with sites of predicted topoisomerase II cleavage. The

  17. Environmental and chemotherapeutic agents induce breakage at genes involved in leukemia-causing gene rearrangements in human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thys, Ryan G.; Lehman, Christine E.; Pierce, Levi C.T.; Wang, Yuh-Hwa

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Environmental/chemotherapeutic agents cause DNA breakage in MLL and CBFB in HSPCs. • Diethylnitrosamine-induced DNA breakage at MLL and CBFB shown for the first time. • Chemical-induced DNA breakage occurs at topoisomerase II cleavage sites. • Chemical-induced DNA breaks display a pattern similar to those in leukemia patients. • Long-term exposures suggested to generate DNA breakage at leukemia-related genes. - Abstract: Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) give rise to all of the cells that make up the hematopoietic system in the human body, making their stability and resilience especially important. Damage to these cells can severely impact cell development and has the potential to cause diseases, such as leukemia. Leukemia-causing chromosomal rearrangements have largely been studied in the context of radiation exposure and are formed by a multi-step process, including an initial DNA breakage and fusion of the free DNA ends. However, the mechanism for DNA breakage in patients without previous radiation exposure is unclear. Here, we investigate the role of non-cytotoxic levels of environmental factors, benzene, and diethylnitrosamine (DEN), and chemotherapeutic agents, etoposide, and doxorubicin, in generating DNA breakage at the patient breakpoint hotspots of the MLL and CBFB genes in human HSPCs. These conditions represent exposure to chemicals encountered daily or residual doses from chemotherapeutic drugs. Exposure of HSPCs to non-cytotoxic levels of environmental chemicals or chemotherapeutic agents causes DNA breakage at preferential sites in the human genome, including the leukemia-related genes MLL and CBFB. Though benzene, etoposide, and doxorubicin have previously been linked to leukemia formation, this is the first study to demonstrate a role for DEN in the generation of DNA breakage at leukemia-specific sites. These chemical-induced DNA breakpoints coincide with sites of predicted topoisomerase II cleavage. The

  18. Gastrodia elata Bl. Attenuated learning deficits induced by forced-swimming stress in the inhibitory avoidance task and Morris water maze.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Pei-Ju; Liang, Keng-Chen; Lin, Hui-Chen; Hsieh, Ching-Liang; Su, Kuan-Pin; Hung, Mei-Chu; Sheen, Lee-Yan

    2011-06-01

    This study adopted the forced-swimming paradigm to induce depressive symptoms in rats and evaluated the effects on learning and memory processing. Furthermore, the effects of the water extract of Gastrodia elata Bl., a well-known Chinese traditional medicine, on amnesia in rats subjected to the forced-swimming procedure were studied. Rats were subjected to the forced-swimming procedure, and the inhibitory avoidance task and Morris water maze were used to assess learning and memory performance. The acquisition of the two tasks was mostly impaired after the 15-minute forced-swimming procedure. Administration of the water extract of G. elata Bl. for 21 consecutive days at a dosage of 0.5 or 1.0 g/kg of body weight significantly improved retention in the inhibitory avoidance test, and the lower dose showed a better effect than the higher one and the antidepressant fluoxetine (18 mg/kg of body weight). In the Morris water maze, the lower dose of the water extract of G. elata Bl. significantly improved retention by shortening escape latency in the first test session and increasing the time in searching the target zone during the probe test. These findings suggest that water extracts of G. elata Bl. ameliorate the learning and memory deficits induced by forced swimming.

  19. Vascular wall flow-induced forces in a progressively enlarged aneurysm model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neofytou, Panagiotis; Tsangaris, Sokrates; Kyriakidis, Michalis

    2008-12-01

    The current study is focused on the numerical investigation of the flow field induced by the unsteady flow in the vicinity of an abdominal aortic aneurysm model. The computational fluid dynamics code used is based on the finite volume method, and it has already been used in various bioflow studies. For modelling the rheological behaviour of blood, the Quemada non-Newtonian model is employed, which is suitable for simulating the two-phase character of blood namely a suspension of blood cells in plasma. For examining its non-Newtonian effects a comparison with a corresponding Newtonian flow is carried out. Furthermore, the investigation is focused on the distribution of the flow-induced forces on the interior wall of the aneurysm and in order to study the development of the distribution with the gradual enlargement of the aneurysm, three different degrees of aneurysm-growth have been assumed. Finally and for examining the effect of the distribution on the aneurysm growth, a comparison is made between the pressure and wall shear-stress distributions at the wall for each growth-degree.

  20. Salt bridge interactions within the β2 integrin α7 helix mediate force-induced binding and shear resistance ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiao; Li, Linda; Li, Ning; Shu, Xinyu; Zhou, Lüwen; Lü, Shouqin; Chen, Shenbao; Mao, Debin; Long, Mian

    2018-01-01

    The functional performance of the αI domain α 7 helix in β 2 integrin activation depends on the allostery of the α 7 helix, which axially slides down; therefore, it is critical to elucidate what factors regulate the allostery. In this study, we determined that there were two conservative salt bridge interaction pairs that constrain both the upper and bottom ends of the α 7 helix. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for three β 2 integrin members, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1; α L β 2 ), macrophage-1 antigen (Mac-1; α M β 2 ) and α x β 2 , indicated that the magnitude of the salt bridge interaction is related to the stability of the αI domain and the strength of the corresponding force-induced allostery. The disruption of the salt bridge interaction, especially with double mutations in both salt bridges, significantly reduced the force-induced allostery time for all three members. The effects of salt bridge interactions of the αI domain α 7 helix on β 2 integrin conformational stability and allostery were experimentally validated using Mac-1 constructs. The results demonstrated that salt bridge mutations did not alter the conformational state of Mac-1, but they did increase the force-induced ligand binding and shear resistance ability, which was consistent with MD simulations. This study offers new insight into the importance of salt bridge interaction constraints of the αI domain α 7 helix and external force for β 2 integrin function. © 2017 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  1. Study of genes induced by ionizing radiations at Arabidopsis thaliana: identification and molecular characterization of the ATGR1 gene, a new gene encoding a protein involved in plant cell division

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deveaux, Yves

    1999-01-01

    DNA damage, that can be experimentally introduced by ionizing radiation (IR), induces complex signal transduction pathways leading to cell recovery or, alternatively to programmed cell death if damages are too severe. To identify the inducible components of the response to genotoxic stress in plants, we have screened by Differential Display for mRNAs that rapidly and strongly accumulate after IR treatment in A. thaliana cells. We have characterized ATGR1, a new single copy Arabidopsis gene encoding a PEST-box protein of unknown function. In unstressed plant organs the ATGR1 mRNA is hardly detectable, whereas the protein is present in extracts prepared from roots, shoot meristems and inflorescences, that all contain large amounts of actively dividing cells. This pattern is confirmed by immuno localisation on tissue sections that shows constitutive ATGR1 protein expression covering the root elongation zone, the shoot meristem, leaf primordial and the ovules of developing flowers. Histochemical analysis of transgenic plants expressing the GUS reporter gene under the control of the ATGR1 promoter, demonstrate that the developmental and tissue-specific profile of ATGR1 protein expression is conferred by the gene promoter. The massive, transient and dose-dependent accumulation of ATGR1 transcripts after IR treatment observed in all plant organs does not lead to significant changes in ATGR1 protein pattern. Stable ATGR1 protein overexpression, as exemplified by transgenic A. thaliana plants that contain a 35S promoter-ATGR1 gene fusion, does not induce notable changes of the overall ATGR1 protein level, but leads to male and female sterility. The cause of sterility is a lack of correct chromosome assembly and distribution at the stage metaphase II of meiosis. Taken together our results show that i) ATGR1 gene expression is associated to cell division during plant development ii) the ATGR1 protein level is regulated at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level iii

  2. Characterization of chemically induced liver injuries using gene co-expression modules.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory J Tawa

    Full Text Available Liver injuries due to ingestion or exposure to chemicals and industrial toxicants pose a serious health risk that may be hard to assess due to a lack of non-invasive diagnostic tests. Mapping chemical injuries to organ-specific damage and clinical outcomes via biomarkers or biomarker panels will provide the foundation for highly specific and robust diagnostic tests. Here, we have used DrugMatrix, a toxicogenomics database containing organ-specific gene expression data matched to dose-dependent chemical exposures and adverse clinical pathology assessments in Sprague Dawley rats, to identify groups of co-expressed genes (modules specific to injury endpoints in the liver. We identified 78 such gene co-expression modules associated with 25 diverse injury endpoints categorized from clinical pathology, organ weight changes, and histopathology. Using gene expression data associated with an injury condition, we showed that these modules exhibited different patterns of activation characteristic of each injury. We further showed that specific module genes mapped to 1 known biochemical pathways associated with liver injuries and 2 clinically used diagnostic tests for liver fibrosis. As such, the gene modules have characteristics of both generalized and specific toxic response pathways. Using these results, we proposed three gene signature sets characteristic of liver fibrosis, steatosis, and general liver injury based on genes from the co-expression modules. Out of all 92 identified genes, 18 (20% genes have well-documented relationships with liver disease, whereas the rest are novel and have not previously been associated with liver disease. In conclusion, identifying gene co-expression modules associated with chemically induced liver injuries aids in generating testable hypotheses and has the potential to identify putative biomarkers of adverse health effects.

  3. Src Induces Podoplanin Expression to Promote Cell Migration*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Yongquan; Chen, Chen-Shan; Ichikawa, Hitoshi; Goldberg, Gary S.

    2010-01-01

    Nontransformed cells can force tumor cells to assume a normal morphology and phenotype by the process of contact normalization. Transformed cells must escape this process to become invasive and malignant. However, mechanisms underlying contact normalization have not been elucidated. Here, we have identified genes that are affected by contact normalization of Src-transformed cells. Tumor cells must migrate to become invasive and malignant. Src must phosphorylate the adaptor protein Cas (Crk-associated substrate) to promote tumor cell motility. We report here that Src utilizes Cas to induce podoplanin (Pdpn) expression to promote tumor cell migration. Pdpn is a membrane-bound extracellular glycoprotein that associates with endogenous ligands to promote tumor cell migration leading to cancer invasion and metastasis. In fact, Pdpn expression accounted for a major part of the increased migration seen in Src-transformed cells. Moreover, nontransformed cells suppressed Pdpn expression in adjacent Src-transformed cells. Of >39,000 genes, Pdpn was one of only 23 genes found to be induced by transforming Src activity and suppressed by contact normalization of Src-transformed cells. In addition, we found 16 genes suppressed by Src and induced by contact normalization. These genes encode growth factor receptors, adaptor proteins, and products that have not yet been annotated and may play important roles in tumor cell growth and migration. PMID:20123990

  4. Hydrostatic force sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, M.S.; Stoughton, R.S.; Kazerooni, H.

    1994-08-01

    This paper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation of a new kind of force sensor which detects forces by measuring an induced pressure change in a material of large Poisson's ratio. In this investigation we develop mathematical expressions for the sensor's sensitivity and bandwidth, and show that its sensitivity can be much larger and its bandwidth is usually smaller than those of existing strain-gage-type sensors. This force sensor is well-suited for measuring large but slowly varying forces. It can be installed in a space smaller than that required by existing sensors

  5. Effect of ginsenoside Rg3 on tyrosine hydroxylase and related mechanisms in the forced swimming-induced fatigue rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yuxia; Zhang, Peng; Wang, Chu; Shan, Ye; Wang, Dandan; Qian, Fenglei; Sun, Mengwei; Zhu, Cuiqing

    2013-10-28

    Ginsenoside Rg3 has shown multiple pharmacological activities and been considered as one of the most promising approaches for fatigue treatment. However, little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanisms of Rg3 on anti-fatigue and the effect of Rg3 on dopaminergic system has not been reported yet. The major aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Rg3 on TH expression and the related biochemical parameters, such as PKAα, ERK1/2, Akt and α-synuclein in brain of fatigue rats. Weight-loaded forced swimming was performed to establish an animal model of fatigue. Rg3 (10mg/kg, 50mg/kg and 100mg/kg) was intragastrically administrated before swimming. The effect of Rg3 on the expression and phosphorylation of TH and TH-related proteins in fatigue rats or in SH-SY5Y cells was assessed with western blotting. HPLC was used to examine the level of DA and DOPAC in the fatigue rats tissues. TH and phosphorylated TH were decreased in different brain regions of which ventral midbrain were less affected in weight-loaded forced swimming rats. Pretreatment with Rg3 significantly suppressed fatigue-induced decrease expression of TH and TH phosphorylation. Also treatment with Rg3 reversed the decrease expression of PKAα as well as the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and Akt which were induced by weight-loaded forced swimming. Moreover, weight-loaded swimming could induce the increase expression of α-synuclein in hippocampus and midbrain, while suppressed α-synuclein expression in striatum and prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, Rg3 could induce the increase of TH expression and phosphorylation which was accompanied with elevated expression and phosphorylation of related kinase proteins in vitro, while the inhibitors of kinase proteins could suppress these effects of Rg3. In addition, HPLC results showed that Rg3 could reverse the weight-loaded swimming-induced increase of DOPAC/DA ratio. Our data suggest that fatigue can induce the decrease of DA which might partially

  6. Knockdown of the placental growth factor gene inhibits laser induced choroidal neovascularization in a murine model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nourinia, Ramin; Soheili, Zahra-Soheila; Ahmadieh, Hamid; Akrami, Hassan; Rezaei Kanavi, Mozhgan; Samiei, Shahram

    2013-01-01

    To evaluate the effect of placental growth factor (PlGF) gene knockdown in a murine model of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization. Choroidal neovascularization was induced in the left eyes of 11 mice by infrared laser. Small interfering RNA (siRNA, 20 picomoles/10 μl) corresponding to PlGF mRNA was administered intravitreally by Hamilton syringe in all subjects. One month later, fluorescein angiography and histolologic examination were performed. No leakage was apparent in the 11 eyes treated with siRNA cognate to PlGF. The results of histological evaluation were consistent with angiographic findings showing absence of choroidal neovascularization. Knockdown of the PlGF gene can inhibit the growth of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization in mice.

  7. Structure and agency in development-induced forced migration: the case of Brazil's Belo Monte Dam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randell, Heather

    2016-03-01

    This paper examines how structure and agency interact to shape forced migration outcomes. Specifically, I ask how structural factors such as compensation policies as well as social, financial, and human capital may either foster or constrain migration aspirations and capabilities. I use longitudinal, semi-structured interview data to study forced migration among farmers displaced by the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Results from baseline interviews indicate that nearly all community members aspired to purchase rural land in the region and maintain livelihoods as cacao farmers or cattle ranchers. Constraints limiting the ability to attain aspirations included strict requirements on land titles for properties, delays in receiving compensation, rising land prices, and the lack of power to negotiate for better compensation. Despite these constraints, most migrants succeeded in attaining aspirations, as they were able to mobilize resources such as social networks, financial capital, skills, and knowledge. These findings highlight the importance of considering the relationship between structure and agency within forced migration research. I conclude by discussing how the findings may inform resettlement policies for future cases of development- or environment-induced forced migration.

  8. Dopamine receptors genes polymorphisms in Parkinson patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pozhidaev, Ivan V; Alifirova, V. M.; Freidin, Maxim B.; Zhukova, I.A.; Fedorenko, Olga Yu; Osmanova, Diana Z; Mironova, Y.S.; Wilffert, Berend; Ivanova, Svetlana A.; Loonen, Antonius

    2017-01-01

    Dopamine receptors genes polymorphisms in Parkinson patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesia I. Pozhidaev(1), V.M. Alifirova(2), M.B. Freidin(3), I.A. Zhukova(2), O.Y. Fedorenko(1), D.Z. Osmanova(1), Y.S. Mironova(2), B. Wilffert(4), S.A. Ivanova(1), A.J.M. Loonen(5) (1)Mental Health Research

  9. Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants with enhanced induced mutation and altered mitotic gene conversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, E L; Kovaltzova, S V; Korolev, V G

    1989-08-01

    We have developed a method to isolate yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) mutants with enhanced induced mutagenesis based on nitrous acid-induced reversion of the ade2-42 allele. Six mutants have been isolated and designated him (high induced mutagenesis), and 4 of them were studied in more detail. The him mutants displayed enhanced reversion of the ade2-42 allele, either spontaneous or induced by nitrous acid, UV light, and the base analog 6-N-hydroxylaminopurine, but not by gamma-irradiation. It is worth noting that the him mutants turned out not to be sensitive to the lethal effects of the mutagens used. The enhancement in mutation induced by nitrous acid, UV light, and 6-N-hydroxylaminopurine has been confirmed in a forward-mutation assay (induction of mutations in the ADE1, ADE2 genes). The latter agent revealed the most apparent differences between the him mutants and the wild-type strain and was, therefore, chosen for the genetic analysis of mutants, him mutations analyzed behaved as a single Mendelian trait; complementation tests indicated 3 complementation groups (HIM1, HIM2, and HIM3), each containing 1 mutant allele. Uracil-DNA glycosylase activity was determined in crude cell extracts, and no significant differences between the wild-type and him strains were detected. Spontaneous mitotic gene conversion at the ADE2 locus is altered in him1 strains, either increased or decreased, depending on the particular heteroallelic combination. Genetic evidence strongly suggests him mutations to be involved in a process of mismatch correction of molecular heteroduplexes.

  10. Human native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation is associated with repression of inflammatory genes in THP-1 macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangel-Salazar, Rubén; Wickström-Lindholm, Marie; Aguilar-Salinas, Carlos A; Alvarado-Caudillo, Yolanda; Døssing, Kristina B V; Esteller, Manel; Labourier, Emmanuel; Lund, Gertrud; Nielsen, Finn C; Rodríguez-Ríos, Dalia; Solís-Martínez, Martha O; Wrobel, Katarzyna; Wrobel, Kazimierz; Zaina, Silvio

    2011-11-25

    We previously showed that a VLDL- and LDL-rich mix of human native lipoproteins induces a set of repressive epigenetic marks, i.e. de novo DNA methylation, histone 4 hypoacetylation and histone 4 lysine 20 (H4K20) hypermethylation in THP-1 macrophages. Here, we: 1) ask what gene expression changes accompany these epigenetic responses; 2) test the involvement of candidate factors mediating the latter. We exploited genome expression arrays to identify target genes for lipoprotein-induced silencing, in addition to RNAi and expression studies to test the involvement of candidate mediating factors. The study was conducted in human THP-1 macrophages. Native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation was associated with a general repression of various critical genes for macrophage function, including pro-inflammatory genes. Lipoproteins showed differential effects on epigenetic marks, as de novo DNA methylation was induced by VLDL and to a lesser extent by LDL, but not by HDL, and VLDL induced H4K20 hypermethylation, while HDL caused H4 deacetylation. The analysis of candidate factors mediating VLDL-induced DNA hypermethylation revealed that this response was: 1) surprisingly, mediated exclusively by the canonical maintenance DNA methyltransferase DNMT1, and 2) independent of the Dicer/micro-RNA pathway. Our work provides novel insights into epigenetic gene regulation by native lipoproteins. Furthermore, we provide an example of DNMT1 acting as a de novo DNA methyltransferase independently of canonical de novo enzymes, and show proof of principle that de novo DNA methylation can occur independently of a functional Dicer/micro-RNA pathway in mammals.

  11. Differential gene expression before and after ionizing radiation of subcutaneous fibroblasts identifies breast cancer patients resistant to radiation-induced fibrosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alsner, Jan; Rodningen, Olaug K.; Overgaard, Jens

    2007-01-01

    Background and purpose: Differentially gene expression between patients with either very low or very high risk of radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF) in patient-derived fibroblasts after irradiation has previously been reported. In the present study, we are investigating the robustness of radiation-induced changes in gene expression in fibroblasts, whether differential expression is more pronounced when looking at the fold induction levels, taking into account the differences in background expression levels between patients, and whether there is a linear correlation between individual risk of RIF and changes in radiation-induced gene expression in fibroblasts. Material and methods: Gene expression was analysed by quantitative real-time PCR before and after a fractionated scheme with 3 x 3.5 Gy/3 days in fibroblasts derived from 26 patients with breast cancer treated with post-mastectomy radiotherapy. Results: Robust radiation-induced changes in gene expression were observed, with differential gene expression between low and high risk patients being most pronounced for the fold induction level ('after' value divided by 'before' value for each patient). When including patients with intermediate risk, there was no linear correlation between individual risk of RIF and differential expression of the genes investigated. Rather, differential gene expression could divide patients into two clearly separated groups, a larger, sensitive group and a smaller resistant group. Conclusions: Differential gene expression in irradiated fibroblasts might be an important tool in the identification of differences in the genetic background between patients with variable risk of RIF, and in the identification of new targets for prevention and intervention of the fibrotic process

  12. Piper betle Induced Cytoprotective Genes and Proteins via the Nrf2/ARE Pathway in Aging Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aliahmat, Nor Syahida; Abdul Sani, Nur Fathiah; Wan Hasan, Wan Nuraini; Makpol, Suzana; Wan Ngah, Wan Zurinah; Mohd Yusof, Yasmin Anum

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study was to elucidate the underlying antioxidant mechanism of aqueous extract of Piper betle (PB) in aging rats. The nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/ARE pathway involving phase II detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes plays an important role in the antioxidant system by reducing electrophiles and reactive oxygen species through induction of phase II enzymes and proteins. Genes and proteins of phase II detoxifying antioxidant enzymes were analyzed by QuantiGenePlex 2.0 Assay and Western blot analysis. PB significantly induced genes and proteins of phase II and antioxidant enzymes, NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1, and catalase in aging mice (p < 0.05). The expression of these enzymes were stimulated via translocation of Nrf2 into the nucleus, indicating the involvement of ARE, a cis-acting motif located in the promoter region of nearly all phase II genes. PB was testified for the first time to induce cytoprotective genes through the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway, thus unraveling the antioxidant mechanism of PB during the aging process. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  13. Pregnancy-induced gene expression changes in vivo among women with rheumatoid arthritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Goin, Dana E; Smed, Mette Kiel; Pachter, Lior

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Little is known about gene expression changes induced by pregnancy in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy women because the few studies previously conducted did not have pre-pregnancy samples available as baseline. We have established a cohort of women with RA and healthy...

  14. Induced Pluripotency and Gene Editing in Disease Modelling: Perspectives and Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seah, Yu Fen Samantha; EL Farran, Chadi A.; Warrier, Tushar; Xu, Jian; Loh, Yuin-Han

    2015-01-01

    Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are chiefly characterized by their ability to self-renew and to differentiate into any cell type derived from the three main germ layers. It was demonstrated that somatic cells could be reprogrammed to form induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) via various strategies. Gene editing is a technique that can be used to make targeted changes in the genome, and the efficiency of this process has been significantly enhanced by recent advancements. The use of engineered endonucleases, such as homing endonucleases, zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and Cas9 of the CRISPR system, has significantly enhanced the efficiency of gene editing. The combination of somatic cell reprogramming with gene editing enables us to model human diseases in vitro, in a manner considered superior to animal disease models. In this review, we discuss the various strategies of reprogramming and gene targeting with an emphasis on the current advancements and challenges of using these techniques to model human diseases. PMID:26633382

  15. Induced Pluripotency and Gene Editing in Disease Modelling: Perspectives and Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Fen Samantha Seah

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Embryonic stem cells (ESCs are chiefly characterized by their ability to self-renew and to differentiate into any cell type derived from the three main germ layers. It was demonstrated that somatic cells could be reprogrammed to form induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs via various strategies. Gene editing is a technique that can be used to make targeted changes in the genome, and the efficiency of this process has been significantly enhanced by recent advancements. The use of engineered endonucleases, such as homing endonucleases, zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs and Cas9 of the CRISPR system, has significantly enhanced the efficiency of gene editing. The combination of somatic cell reprogramming with gene editing enables us to model human diseases in vitro, in a manner considered superior to animal disease models. In this review, we discuss the various strategies of reprogramming and gene targeting with an emphasis on the current advancements and challenges of using these techniques to model human diseases.

  16. Defense gene expression in root galls induced by Nacobbus aberrans in CM334 chilli plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Villar-Luna E.

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Capsicum annuum L. CM334 is susceptible to Nacobbus aberrans but highly resistant to Phy-tophthora capsici. Resistance to P. capsici is associated with the over-expression of various defense genes such as those encoding pathogenesis-related proteins. The transcriptional alterations of defense-related genes were determined in galls induced by N. aberrans (Na in CM334 chili roots. Transcripts accumulation of WRKY-a, WRKY1, POX (peroxidase, PR-1 (pathogenesis-related protein 1, and EAS (5-epiaristolochene synthase was estimated by qRT-PCR, and they were compared with those recorded in the incompatible CM334- P. capsici (Pc interaction. The levels of all studied genes were significantly (P s 0.05 lower (WRKY1, POX and PR-1 or down-regulated (WRKY-a and EAS in the presence of N. aberrans; in contrast, in the incompatible interaction, all genes were significantly up-regulated. The alterations induced by N. aberrans could be necessary to ensure the successful completion of its life cycle in CM334 chili roots.

  17. Origin of Knudsen forces on heated microbeams

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Taishan

    2010-09-09

    The presented work probes the fundamentals of Knudsen forces. Using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, the flows induced by temperature inhomogeneity within a representative configuration and the Knudsen force acting on a heated microbeam are captured as functions of Knudsen number in the entire flow regime. Both flow strength and Knudsen force peak in the transition regime and negative Knudsen force absent in experimental data is observed. The mechanisms of the thermally induced flows and Knudsen forces are studied. It has been found that thermal edge flow is the main driven source for the formation of the Knudsen force on microbeams and domain configuration plays an important role in the process.

  18. Differential effects of multiplicity of infection on Helicobacter pylori-induced signaling pathways and interleukin-8 gene transcription.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, Birgit; Kilian, Petra; Reboll, Marc Rene; Resch, Klaus; DiStefano, Johanna Kay; Frank, Ronald; Beil, Winfried; Nourbakhsh, Mahtab

    2011-02-01

    Interleukin-8 (IL-8) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection. We used four different H. pylori strains isolated from patients with gastritis or duodenal ulcer disease to examine their differential effects on signaling pathways and IL-8 gene response in gastric epithelial cells. IL-8 mRNA level is elevated in response to high (100) multiplicity of infection (MOI) independent of cagA, vacA, and dupA gene characteristics. By lower MOIs (1 or 10), only cagA ( + ) strains significantly induce IL-8 gene expression. This is based on differential regulation of IL-8 promoter activity. Analysis of intracellular signaling pathways indicates that H. pylori clinical isolates induce IL-8 gene transcription through NF-κB p65, but by a MOI-dependent differential activation of MAPK pathways. Thus, the major virulence factors of H. pylori CagA, VacA, and DupA might play a minor role in the level of IL-8 gene response to a high bacterial load.

  19. Knockdown of the Placental Growth Factor Gene Inhibits Laser Induced Choroidal Neovascularization in a Murine Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramin Nourinia

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To evaluate the effect of placental growth factor (PlGF gene knockdown in a murine model of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization. Methods: Choroidal neovascularization was induced in the left eyes of 11 mice by infrared laser. Small interfering RNA (siRNA, 20 picomoles/10 μl corresponding to PlGF mRNA was administered intravitreally by Hamilton syringe in all subjects. One month later, fluorescein angiography and histolologic examination were performed. Results: No leakage was apparent in the 11 eyes treated with siRNA cognate to PlGF. The results of histological evaluation were consistent with angiographic findings showing absence of choroidal neovascularization. Conclusion: Knockdown of the PlGF gene can inhibit the growth of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization in mice.

  20. Evaluation of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and dna-repair genes as potential biomarkers for ethanol-induced cns alterations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hicks Steven D

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Alcohol use disorders (AUDs lead to alterations in central nervous system (CNS architecture along with impaired learning and memory. Previous work from our group and that of others suggests that one mechanism underlying these changes is alteration of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA-repair in neural stem cells (NSCs produced as a consequence of ethanol-induced effects on the expression of genes related to p53-signaling. This study tests the hypothesis that changes in the expression of p53-signaling genes represent biomarkers of ethanol abuse which can be identified in the peripheral blood of rat drinking models and human AUD subjects and posits that specific changes may be correlated with differences in neuropsychological measures and CNS structure. Results Remarkably, microarray analysis of 350 genes related to p53-signaling in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs of binge-drinking rats revealed 190 genes that were significantly altered after correcting for multiple testing. Moreover, 40 of these genes overlapped with those that we had previously observed to be changed in ethanol-exposed mouse NSCs. Expression changes in nine of these genes were tested for independent confirmation by a custom QuantiGene Plex (QGP assay for a subset of p53-signaling genes, where a consistent trend for decreased expression of mitosis-related genes was observed. One mitosis-related gene (Pttg1 was also changed in human lymphoblasts cultured with ethanol. In PBLs of human AUD subjects seven p53-signaling genes were changed compared with non-drinking controls. Correlation and principal components analysis were then used to identify significant relationships between the expression of these seven genes and a set of medical, demographic, neuropsychological and neuroimaging measures that distinguished AUD and control subjects. Two genes (Ercc1 and Mcm5 showed a highly significant correlation with AUD-induced decreases in the volume of the left

  1. The Arabidopsis histone chaperone FACT is required for stress-induced expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfab, Alexander; Breindl, Matthias; Grasser, Klaus D

    2018-03-01

    The histone chaperone FACT is involved in the expression of genes encoding anthocyanin biosynthetic enzymes also upon induction by moderate high-light and therefore contributes to the stress-induced plant pigmentation. The histone chaperone FACT consists of the SSRP1 and SPT16 proteins and associates with transcribing RNAPII (RNAPII) along the transcribed region of genes. FACT can promote transcriptional elongation by destabilising nucleosomes in the path of RNA polymerase II, thereby facilitating efficient transcription of chromatin templates. Transcript profiling of Arabidopsis plants depleted in SSRP1 or SPT16 demonstrates that only a small subset of genes is differentially expressed relative to wild type. The majority of these genes is either up- or down-regulated in both the ssrp1 and spt16 plants. Among the down-regulated genes, those encoding enzymes of the biosynthetic pathway of the plant secondary metabolites termed anthocyanins (but not regulators of the pathway) are overrepresented. Upon exposure to moderate high-light stress several of these genes are up-regulated to a lesser extent in ssrp1/spt16 compared to wild type plants, and accordingly the mutant plants accumulate lower amounts of anthocyanin pigments. Moreover, the expression of SSRP1 and SPT16 is induced under these conditions. Therefore, our findings indicate that FACT is a novel factor required for the accumulation of anthocyanins in response to light-induction.

  2. Rapid activation of Rac GTPase in living cells by force is independent of Src.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yeh-Chuin Poh

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that mechanical forces are crucial in regulating functions of every tissue and organ in a human body. However, it remains unclear how mechanical forces are transduced into biochemical activities and biological responses at the cellular and molecular level. Using the magnetic twisting cytometry technique, we applied local mechanical stresses to living human airway smooth muscle cells with a magnetic bead bound to the cell surface via transmembrane adhesion molecule integrins. The temporal and spatial activation of Rac, a small guanosine triphosphatase, was quantified using a fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET method that measures changes in Rac activity in response to mechanical stresses by quantifying intensity ratios of ECFP (enhanced cyan fluorescent protein as a donor and YPet (a variant yellow fluorescent protein as an acceptor of the Rac biosensor. The applied stress induced rapid activation (less than 300 ms of Rac at the cell periphery. In contrast, platelet derived growth factor (PDGF induced Rac activation at a much later time (>30 sec. There was no stress-induced Rac activation when a mutant form of the Rac biosensor (RacN17 was transfected or when the magnetic bead was coated with transferrin or with poly-L-lysine. It is known that PDGF-induced Rac activation depends on Src activity. Surprisingly, pre-treatment of the cells with specific Src inhibitor PP1 or knocking-out Src gene had no effects on stress-induced Rac activation. In addition, eliminating lipid rafts through extraction of cholesterol from the plasma membrane did not prevent stress-induced Rac activation, suggesting a raft-independent mechanism in governing the Rac activation upon mechanical stimulation. Further evidence indicates that Rac activation by stress depends on the magnitudes of the applied stress and cytoskeletal integrity. Our results suggest that Rac activation by mechanical forces is rapid, direct and does not depend on Src

  3. Water spray-induced grooming is negatively correlated with depressive behavior in the forced swimming test in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiota, Noboru; Narikiyo, Kimiya; Masuda, Akira; Aou, Shuji

    2016-05-01

    Rodents show grooming, a typical self-care behavior, under stress and non-stress conditions. Previous studies revealed that grooming under stress conditions such as the open-field test (OFT) or the elevated plus-maze test (EPM) is associated with anxiety, but the roles of grooming under non-stress conditions are not well understood. Here, we examined spray-induced grooming as a model of grooming under a non-stress condition to investigate the relationship between this grooming and depression-like behavior in the forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test, and we compared spray-induced grooming with OFT- and EPM-induced grooming. The main finding was that the duration of spray-induced grooming, but not that of OFT/EPM-induced grooming, was negatively correlated with the duration of immobility in the FST, an index of depression-like behavior. The results suggest that spray-induced grooming is functionally different from the grooming in the OFT and EPM and is related to reduction of depressive behavior.

  4. Development of Agrobacterium-mediated virus-induced gene silencing and performance evaluation of four marker genes in Gossypium barbadense.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinhuan Pang

    Full Text Available Gossypiumbarbadense is a cultivated cotton species and possesses many desirable traits, including high fiber quality and resistance to pathogens, especially Verticilliumdahliae (a devastating pathogen of Gossypium hirsutum, the main cultivated species. These elite traits are difficult to be introduced into G. hirsutum through classical breeding methods. In addition, genetic transformation of G. barbadense has not been successfully performed. It is therefore important to develop methods for evaluating the function and molecular mechanism of genes in G. barbadense. In this study, we had successfully introduced a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS system into three cultivars of G. barbadense by inserting marker genes into the tobacco rattle virus (TRV vector. After we optimized the VIGS conditions, including light intensity, photoperiod, seedling age and Agrobacterium strain, 100% of plants agroinfiltrated with the GaPDS silencing vector showed white colored leaves. Three other marker genes, GaCLA1, GaANS and GaANR, were employed to further test this VIGS system in G. barbadense. The transcript levels of the endogenous genes in the silenced plants were reduced by more than 99% compared to control plants; these plants presented phenotypic symptoms 2 weeks after inoculation. We introduced a fusing sequence fragment of GaPDS and GaANR gene silencing vectors into a single plant, which resulted in both photobleaching and brownish coloration. The extent of silencing in plants agroinfiltrated with fusing two-gene-silencing vector was consistent with plants harboring a single gene silencing vector. The development of this VIGS system should promote analysis of gene function in G. barbadense, and help to contribute desirable traits for breeding of G. barbadense and G. hirsutum.

  5. Targeted sequencing reveals low-frequency variants in EPHA genes as markers of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy.

    OpenAIRE

    Apellániz-Ruiz, Maria; Tejero, Héctor; Inglada-Pérez, Lucía; Sánchez-Barroso, Lara; Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, Gerardo; Calvo, Isabel; Castelo, Beatriz; Redondo, Andrés; García-Donás, Jesus; Romero-Laorden, Nuria; Sereno, Maria; Merino, María; Currás-Freixes, Maria; Montero-Conde, Cristina; Mancikova, Veronika

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE: Neuropathy is the dose limiting toxicity of paclitaxel and a major cause for decreased quality of life. Genetic factors have been shown to contribute to paclitaxel neuropathy susceptibility; however, the major causes for inter-individual differences remain unexplained. In this study we identified genetic markers associated with paclitaxel-induced neuropathy through massive sequencing of candidate genes. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We sequenced the coding region of 4 EPHA genes, 5 genes invo...

  6. Human native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation is associated with repression of inflammatory genes in THP-1 macrophages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rangel-Salazar Rubén

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We previously showed that a VLDL- and LDL-rich mix of human native lipoproteins induces a set of repressive epigenetic marks, i.e. de novo DNA methylation, histone 4 hypoacetylation and histone 4 lysine 20 (H4K20 hypermethylation in THP-1 macrophages. Here, we: 1 ask what gene expression changes accompany these epigenetic responses; 2 test the involvement of candidate factors mediating the latter. We exploited genome expression arrays to identify target genes for lipoprotein-induced silencing, in addition to RNAi and expression studies to test the involvement of candidate mediating factors. The study was conducted in human THP-1 macrophages. Results Native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation was associated with a general repression of various critical genes for macrophage function, including pro-inflammatory genes. Lipoproteins showed differential effects on epigenetic marks, as de novo DNA methylation was induced by VLDL and to a lesser extent by LDL, but not by HDL, and VLDL induced H4K20 hypermethylation, while HDL caused H4 deacetylation. The analysis of candidate factors mediating VLDL-induced DNA hypermethylation revealed that this response was: 1 surprisingly, mediated exclusively by the canonical maintenance DNA methyltransferase DNMT1, and 2 independent of the Dicer/micro-RNA pathway. Conclusions Our work provides novel insights into epigenetic gene regulation by native lipoproteins. Furthermore, we provide an example of DNMT1 acting as a de novo DNA methyltransferase independently of canonical de novo enzymes, and show proof of principle that de novo DNA methylation can occur independently of a functional Dicer/micro-RNA pathway in mammals.

  7. Differential Gene Expression Patterns in Chicken Cardiomyocytes during Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Apoptosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Chunyun; Xiang, Jinmei; Li, Youwen; Guo, Dingzong

    2016-01-01

    Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is both an exogenous and endogenous cytotoxic agent that can reliably induce apoptosis in numerous cell types for studies on apoptosis signaling pathways. However, little is known of these apoptotic processes in myocardial cells of chicken, a species prone to progressive heart failure. Sequencing of mRNA transcripts (RNA-Seq) allows for the identification of differentially expressed genes under various physiological and pathological conditions to elucidate the molecular pathways involved, including cellular responses to exogenous and endogenous toxins. We used RNA-seq to examine genes differentially expressed during H2O2-induced apoptosis in primary cultures of embryonic chicken cardiomyocytes. Following control or H2O2 treatment, RNA was extracted and sequencing performed to identify novel transcripts up- or downregulated in the H2O2 treatment group and construct protein-protein interaction networks. Of the 19,268 known and 2,160 novel transcripts identified in both control and H2O2 treatment groups, 4,650 showed significant differential expression. Among them, 55.63% were upregulated and 44.37% downregulated. Initiation of apoptosis by H2O2 was associated with upregulation of caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-3, and downregulation of anti-apoptotic genes API5 and TRIA1. Many other differentially expressed genes were associated with metabolic pathways (including 'Fatty acid metabolism', 'Alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism', and 'Biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids') and cell signaling pathways (including 'PPAR signaling pathway', 'Adipocytokine signaling pathway', 'TGF-beta signaling pathway', 'MAPK signaling pathway', and 'p53 signaling pathway'). In chicken cardiomyocytes, H2O2 alters the expression of numerous genes linked to cell signaling and metabolism as well as genes directly associated with apoptosis. In particular, H2O2 also affects the biosynthesis and processing of proteins and unsaturated fatty acids. These

  8. Forced treadmill exercise can induce stress and increase neuronal damage in a mouse model of global cerebral ischemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martina Svensson

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Physical exercise is known to be a beneficial factor by increasing the cellular stress tolerance. In ischemic stroke, physical exercise is suggested to both limit the brain injury and facilitate behavioral recovery. In this study we investigated the effect of physical exercise on brain damage following global cerebral ischemia in mice. We aimed to study the effects of 4.5 weeks of forced treadmill running prior to ischemia on neuronal damage, neuroinflammation and its effect on general stress by measuring corticosterone in feces. We subjected C57bl/6 mice (n = 63 to either treadmill running or a sedentary program prior to induction of global ischemia. Anxious, depressive, and cognitive behaviors were analyzed. Stress levels were analyzed using a corticosterone ELISA. Inflammatory and neurological outcomes were analyzed using immunohistochemistry, multiplex electrochemoluminescence ELISA and Western blot. To our surprise, we found that forced treadmill running induced a stress response, with increased anxiety in the Open Field test and increased levels of corticosterone. In accordance, mice subjected to forced exercise prior to ischemia developed larger neuronal damage in the hippocampus and showed higher cytokine levels in the brain and blood compared to non-exercised mice. The extent of neuronal damage correlated with increased corticosterone levels. To compare forced treadmill with voluntary wheel running, we used a different set of mice that exercised freely on running wheels. These mice did not show any anxiety or increased corticosterone levels. Altogether, our results indicate that exercise pre-conditioning may not be beneficial if the animals are forced to run as it can induce a detrimental stress response.

  9. Gene expression profiling reveals underlying molecular mechanisms of the early stages of tamoxifen-induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pogribny, Igor P.; Bagnyukova, Tetyana V.; Tryndyak, Volodymyr P.; Muskhelishvili, Levan; Rodriguez-Juarez, Rocio; Kovalchuk, Olga; Han Tao; Fuscoe, James C.; Ross, Sharon A.; Beland, Frederick A.

    2007-01-01

    Tamoxifen is a widely used anti-estrogenic drug for chemotherapy and, more recently, for the chemoprevention of breast cancer. Despite the indisputable benefits of tamoxifen in preventing the occurrence and re-occurrence of breast cancer, the use of tamoxifen has been shown to induce non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which is a life-threatening fatty liver disease with a risk of progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In recent years, the high-throughput microarray technology for large-scale analysis of gene expression has become a powerful tool for increasing the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and for identifying new biomarkers with diagnostic and predictive values. In the present study, we used the high-throughput microarray technology to determine the gene expression profiles in the liver during early stages of tamoxifen-induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis. Female Fisher 344 rats were fed a 420 ppm tamoxifen containing diet for 12 or 24 weeks, and gene expression profiles were determined in liver of control and tamoxifen-exposed rats. The results indicate that early stages of tamoxifen-induced liver carcinogenesis are characterized by alterations in several major cellular pathways, specifically those involved in the tamoxifen metabolism, lipid metabolism, cell cycle signaling, and apoptosis/cell proliferation control. One of the most prominent changes during early stages of tamoxifen-induced hepatocarcinogenesis is dysregulation of signaling pathways in cell cycle progression from the G 1 to S phase, evidenced by the progressive and sustained increase in expression of the Pdgfc, Calb3, Ets1, and Ccnd1 genes accompanied by the elevated level of the PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt1/2, Akt3, and cyclin B, D1, and D3 proteins. The early appearance of these alterations suggests their importance in the mechanism of neoplastic cell transformation induced by tamoxifen

  10. Inflammation, gene mutation and photoimmunosuppression in response to UVR-induced oxidative damage contributes to photocarcinogenesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halliday, Gary M. [Dermatology Research Laboratories, Division of Medicine, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Research Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital at the University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW (Australia)]. E-mail: garyh@med.usyd.edu.au

    2005-04-01

    Ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes inflammation, gene mutation and immunosuppression in the skin. These biological changes are responsible for photocarcinogenesis. UV radiation in sunlight is divided into two wavebands, UVB and UVA, both of which contribute to these biological changes, and therefore probably to skin cancer in humans and animal models. Oxidative damage caused by UV contributes to inflammation, gene mutation and immunosuppression. This article reviews evidence for the hypothesis that UV oxidative damage to these processes contributes to photocarcinogenesis. UVA makes a larger impact on oxidative stress in the skin than UVB by inducing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species which damage DNA, protein and lipids and which also lead to NAD+ depletion, and therefore energy loss from the cell. Lipid peroxidation induces prostaglandin production that in association with UV-induced nitric oxide production causes inflammation. Inflammation drives benign human solar keratosis (SK) to undergo malignant conversion into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) probably because the inflammatory cells produce reactive oxygen species, thus increasing oxidative damage to DNA and the immune system. Reactive oxygen or nitrogen appears to cause the increase in mutational burden as SK progress into SCC in humans. UVA is particularly important in causing immunosuppression in both humans and mice, and UV lipid peroxidation induced prostaglandin production and UV activation of nitric oxide synthase is important mediators of this event. Other immunosuppressive events are likely to be initiated by UV oxidative stress. Antioxidants have also been shown to reduce photocarcinogenesis. While most of this evidence comes from studies in mice, there is supporting evidence in humans that UV-induced oxidative damage contributes to inflammation, gene mutation and immunosuppression. Available evidence implicates oxidative damage as an important contributor to sunlight-induced carcinogenesis in humans.

  11. Inflammation, gene mutation and photoimmunosuppression in response to UVR-induced oxidative damage contributes to photocarcinogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halliday, Gary M.

    2005-01-01

    Ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes inflammation, gene mutation and immunosuppression in the skin. These biological changes are responsible for photocarcinogenesis. UV radiation in sunlight is divided into two wavebands, UVB and UVA, both of which contribute to these biological changes, and therefore probably to skin cancer in humans and animal models. Oxidative damage caused by UV contributes to inflammation, gene mutation and immunosuppression. This article reviews evidence for the hypothesis that UV oxidative damage to these processes contributes to photocarcinogenesis. UVA makes a larger impact on oxidative stress in the skin than UVB by inducing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species which damage DNA, protein and lipids and which also lead to NAD+ depletion, and therefore energy loss from the cell. Lipid peroxidation induces prostaglandin production that in association with UV-induced nitric oxide production causes inflammation. Inflammation drives benign human solar keratosis (SK) to undergo malignant conversion into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) probably because the inflammatory cells produce reactive oxygen species, thus increasing oxidative damage to DNA and the immune system. Reactive oxygen or nitrogen appears to cause the increase in mutational burden as SK progress into SCC in humans. UVA is particularly important in causing immunosuppression in both humans and mice, and UV lipid peroxidation induced prostaglandin production and UV activation of nitric oxide synthase is important mediators of this event. Other immunosuppressive events are likely to be initiated by UV oxidative stress. Antioxidants have also been shown to reduce photocarcinogenesis. While most of this evidence comes from studies in mice, there is supporting evidence in humans that UV-induced oxidative damage contributes to inflammation, gene mutation and immunosuppression. Available evidence implicates oxidative damage as an important contributor to sunlight-induced carcinogenesis in humans

  12. Parallel logic gates in synthetic gene networks induced by non-Gaussian noise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yong; Jin, Xiaoqin; Zhang, Huiqing

    2013-11-01

    The recent idea of logical stochastic resonance is verified in synthetic gene networks induced by non-Gaussian noise. We realize the switching between two kinds of logic gates under optimal moderate noise intensity by varying two different tunable parameters in a single gene network. Furthermore, in order to obtain more logic operations, thus providing additional information processing capacity, we obtain in a two-dimensional toggle switch model two complementary logic gates and realize the transformation between two logic gates via the methods of changing different parameters. These simulated results contribute to improve the computational power and functionality of the networks.

  13. HPRT gene locus mutation in peripheral blood lymphocytes induced by internal exposure to radionuclides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jingyong, Zhao; Yongzhong, Xu; Tao, Zhao; Fengmei, Cui; Liuyi, Wang; Qinhua, Lao [Suzhou Univ., Suzhou (China). Radiation Medicine Department

    2001-07-01

    HPRT gene locus mutation in peripheral blood lymphocytes induced by internal exposure to radionuclides was performed and the relationships between mutation frequency and dose were studied. Rats were injected intravenously with radionuclides, the blood was sampled at different time after injection; HPRT gene locus mutation frequency (GMF) were examined by methods of multi-nucleus cell and Brdurd assay, working out the Dose-response function. GMF rose with the increase of dose and dose-rates and were clearly interrelated. The HPRT gene locus mutation is very sensitive to radiation and may be used as a biological dosimeter.

  14. Haloperidol induces pharmacoepigenetic response by modulating miRNA expression, global DNA methylation and expression profiles of methylation maintenance genes and genes involved in neurotransmission in neuronal cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swathy, Babu; Banerjee, Moinak

    2017-01-01

    Haloperidol has been extensively used in various psychiatric conditions. It has also been reported to induce severe side effects. We aimed to evaluate whether haloperidol can influence host methylome, and if so what are the possible mechanisms for it in neuronal cells. Impact on host methylome and miRNAs can have wide spread alterations in gene expression, which might possibly help in understanding how haloperidol may impact treatment response or induce side effects. SK-N-SH, a neuroblasoma cell line was treated with haloperidol at 10μm concentration for 24 hours and global DNA methylation was evaluated. Methylation at global level is maintained by methylation maintenance machinery and certain miRNAs. Therefore, the expression of methylation maintenance genes and their putative miRNA expression profiles were assessed. These global methylation alterations could result in gene expression changes. Therefore genes expressions for neurotransmitter receptors, regulators, ion channels and transporters were determined. Subsequently, we were also keen to identify a strong candidate miRNA based on biological and in-silico approach which can reflect on the pharmacoepigenetic trait of haloperidol and can also target the altered neuroscience panel of genes used in the study. Haloperidol induced increase in global DNA methylation which was found to be associated with corresponding increase in expression of various epigenetic modifiers that include DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B and MBD2. The expression of miR-29b that is known to putatively regulate the global methylation by modulating the expression of epigenetic modifiers was observed to be down regulated by haloperidol. In addition to miR-29b, miR-22 was also found to be downregulated by haloperidol treatment. Both these miRNA are known to putatively target several genes associated with various epigenetic modifiers, pharmacogenes and neurotransmission. Interestingly some of these putative target genes involved in neurotransmission

  15. Haloperidol induces pharmacoepigenetic response by modulating miRNA expression, global DNA methylation and expression profiles of methylation maintenance genes and genes involved in neurotransmission in neuronal cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babu Swathy

    Full Text Available Haloperidol has been extensively used in various psychiatric conditions. It has also been reported to induce severe side effects. We aimed to evaluate whether haloperidol can influence host methylome, and if so what are the possible mechanisms for it in neuronal cells. Impact on host methylome and miRNAs can have wide spread alterations in gene expression, which might possibly help in understanding how haloperidol may impact treatment response or induce side effects.SK-N-SH, a neuroblasoma cell line was treated with haloperidol at 10μm concentration for 24 hours and global DNA methylation was evaluated. Methylation at global level is maintained by methylation maintenance machinery and certain miRNAs. Therefore, the expression of methylation maintenance genes and their putative miRNA expression profiles were assessed. These global methylation alterations could result in gene expression changes. Therefore genes expressions for neurotransmitter receptors, regulators, ion channels and transporters were determined. Subsequently, we were also keen to identify a strong candidate miRNA based on biological and in-silico approach which can reflect on the pharmacoepigenetic trait of haloperidol and can also target the altered neuroscience panel of genes used in the study.Haloperidol induced increase in global DNA methylation which was found to be associated with corresponding increase in expression of various epigenetic modifiers that include DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B and MBD2. The expression of miR-29b that is known to putatively regulate the global methylation by modulating the expression of epigenetic modifiers was observed to be down regulated by haloperidol. In addition to miR-29b, miR-22 was also found to be downregulated by haloperidol treatment. Both these miRNA are known to putatively target several genes associated with various epigenetic modifiers, pharmacogenes and neurotransmission. Interestingly some of these putative target genes involved in

  16. Resonance energy transfer (RET)-Induced intermolecular pairing force: a tunable weak interaction and its application in SWNT separation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Xiaoyong; Chen, Hui; Wang, Wei Zhi; Ng, Siu Choon; Chan-Park, Mary B

    2011-07-21

    This paper explores evidence of an optically mediated interaction that is active in the separation mechanism of certain selective agents through consideration of the contrasting selective behaviors of two conjugated polymers with distinct optical properties. The involvement of a RET-induced intermolecular pairing force is implied by the different illumination response behaviors. The magnitude of this interaction scales with the external stimulus parameter, the illumination irradiance (I), and thus is tunable. This suggests a facile technique to modify the selectivity of polymers toward specific SWNT species by altering the polymer structure to adjust the corresponding intermolecular interaction. This is the first experimental verification and application of a RET-induced intermolecular pairing force to SWNT separation. With this kind of interaction taken into account, reasonable interpretation of some conflicting data, especially PLE maps, can be easily made. The above conclusion can be applied to other substances as long as they are electrically neutral and there is photon-induced RET between them. The significant magnitude of this interaction makes direct manipulation of molecules/particles possible and is expected to have applications in molecular engineering. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  17. Distinct steps of neural induction revealed by Asterix, Obelix and TrkC, genes induced by different signals from the organizer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia Pinho

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The amniote organizer (Hensen's node can induce a complete nervous system when grafted into a peripheral region of a host embryo. Although BMP inhibition has been implicated in neural induction, non-neural cells cannot respond to BMP antagonists unless previously exposed to a node graft for at least 5 hours before BMP inhibitors. To define signals and responses during the first 5 hours of node signals, a differential screen was conducted. Here we describe three early response genes: two of them, Asterix and Obelix, encode previously undescribed proteins of unknown function but Obelix appears to be a nuclear RNA-binding protein. The third is TrkC, a neurotrophin receptor. All three genes are induced by a node graft within 4-5 hours but they differ in the extent to which they are inducible by FGF: FGF is both necessary and sufficient to induce Asterix, sufficient but not necessary to induce Obelix and neither sufficient nor necessary for induction of TrkC. These genes are also not induced by retinoic acid, Noggin, Chordin, Dkk1, Cerberus, HGF/SF, Somatostatin or ionomycin-mediated Calcium entry. Comparison of the expression and regulation of these genes with other early neural markers reveals three distinct "epochs", or temporal waves, of gene expression accompanying neural induction by a grafted organizer, which are mirrored by specific stages of normal neural plate development. The results are consistent with neural induction being a cascade of responses elicited by different signals, culminating in the formation of a patterned nervous system.

  18. An Optimized Protocol to Increase Virus-Induced Gene Silencing Efficiency and Minimize Viral Symptoms in Petunia

    OpenAIRE

    Broderick, Shaun R.; Jones, Michelle L.

    2013-01-01

    Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is used to down-regulate endogenous plant genes. VIGS efficiency depends on viral proliferation and systemic movement throughout the plant. Although tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-based VIGS has been successfully used in petunia (Petunia × hybrida), the protocol has not been thoroughly optimized for efficient and uniform gene down-regulation in this species. Therefore, we evaluated six parameters that improved VIGS in petunia. Inoculation of mechanically wounde...

  19. The Van der Waals-force-induced phononic band gap and resonant scattering in two-nanosphere aggregate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Jiuhui; Zhang Siwen; Zhou Kejiang

    2012-01-01

    A physical mechanism of phononic band gap and resonant nanoacoustic scattering in an aggregate of two elastic nanospheres is presented in this paper. By considering the Van der Waals (VdW) force between two nanospheres illuminated by nanoacoustic wave, phononic band gap and frequency shift at the lower frequency side, and largely enhanced nanoacoustic scattering at the other frequency range have been found through calculating the form function of the acoustic scattering from the nanosystem. This VdW-force-induced band gap is different from the known mechanisms of Bragg scattering and local resonances for periodic media. It is shown that when the separation distance between two nanospheres is decreasing from 20 to 1 nm, due to the increasing VdW force, the nanoacoustic scattering is much heightened by two order of magnitude, and meanwhile the frequency shift and phononic band gap at the low frequencies are both widened. These results could provide potential applications of nanoacoustic devices.

  20. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors suppress UV-induced human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gene expression at the posttranscriptional level

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamagoe, S.; Kohda, T.; Oishi, M.

    1991-01-01

    Gene expression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is induced not only by trans activation mediated through a gene product (tat) encoded by the virus but also by treatment of virus-carrying cells with DNA-damaging agents such as UV light. Employing an artificially constructed DNA in which the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene was placed under the control of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat, we analyzed the induction process in HeLa cells and found that inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase suppressed UV-induced HIV-1 gene expression but not tat-mediated expression. We also found that suppression occurs at the posttranscriptional level. These results indicate that HIV-1 gene expression is activated by at least two different mechanisms, one of which involves poly-ADP ribosylation. A possible new role of poly-ADP ribosylation in the regulation of specific gene expression is also discussed

  1. Structure and agency in development-induced forced migration: the case of Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines how structure and agency interact to shape forced migration outcomes. Specifically, I ask how structural factors such as compensation policies as well as social, financial, and human capital may either foster or constrain migration aspirations and capabilities. I use longitudinal, semi-structured interview data to study forced migration among farmers displaced by the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Results from baseline interviews indicate that nearly all community members aspired to purchase rural land in the region and maintain livelihoods as cacao farmers or cattle ranchers. Constraints limiting the ability to attain aspirations included strict requirements on land titles for properties, delays in receiving compensation, rising land prices, and the lack of power to negotiate for better compensation. Despite these constraints, most migrants succeeded in attaining aspirations, as they were able to mobilize resources such as social networks, financial capital, skills, and knowledge. These findings highlight the importance of considering the relationship between structure and agency within forced migration research. I conclude by discussing how the findings may inform resettlement policies for future cases of development- or environment-induced forced migration. PMID:28298745

  2. Multicolor Fluorescence Writing Based on Host-Guest Interactions and Force-Induced Fluorescence-Color Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsunaga, Yuki; Yang, Jye-Shane

    2015-06-26

    A new strategy is reported for multicolor fluorescence writing on thin solid films with mechanical forces. This concept is illustrated by the use of a green-fluorescent pentiptycene derivative 1, which forms variably colored fluorescent exciplexes: a change from yellow to red was observed with anilines, and fluorescence quenching (a change to black) occurred in the presence of benzoquinone. Mechanical forces, such as grinding and shearing, induced a crystalline-to-amorphous phase transition in both the pristine and guest-adsorbed solids that led to a change in the fluorescence color (mechanofluorochromism) and a memory of the resulting color. Fluorescence drawings of five or more colors were created on glass or paper and could be readily erased by exposure to air and dichloromethane fumes. The structural and mechanistic aspects of the observations are also discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. A role for FACT in repopulation of nucleosomes at inducible genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Warren P Voth

    Full Text Available Xenobiotic drugs induce Pleiotropic Drug Resistance (PDR genes via the orthologous Pdr1/Pdr3 transcription activators. We previously identified the Mediator transcription co-activator complex as a key target of Pdr1 orthologs and demonstrated that Pdr1 interacts directly with the Gal11/Med15 subunit of the Mediator complex. Based on an interaction between Pdr1 and the FACT complex, we show that strains with spt16 or pob3 mutations are sensitive to xenobiotic drugs and display diminished PDR gene induction. Although FACT acts during the activation of some genes by assisting in the nucleosomes eviction at promoters, PDR promoters already contain nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs before induction. To determine the function of FACT at PDR genes, we examined the kinetics of RNA accumulation and changes in nucleosome occupancy following exposure to a xenobiotic drug in wild type and FACT mutant yeast strains. In the presence of normal FACT, PDR genes are transcribed within 5 minutes of xenobiotic stimulation and transcription returns to basal levels by 30-40 min. Nucleosomes are constitutively depleted in the promoter regions, are lost from the open reading frames during transcription, and the ORFs are wholly repopulated with nucleosomes as transcription ceases. While FACT mutations cause minor delays in activation of PDR genes, much more pronounced and significant defects in nucleosome repopulation in the ORFs are observed in FACT mutants upon transcription termination. FACT therefore has a major role in nucleosome redeposition following cessation of transcription at the PDR genes, the opposite of its better-known function in nucleosome disassembly.

  4. Gene editing and clonal isolation of human induced pluripotent stem cells using CRISPR/Cas9.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yumlu, Saniye; Stumm, Jürgen; Bashir, Sanum; Dreyer, Anne-Kathrin; Lisowski, Pawel; Danner, Eric; Kühn, Ralf

    2017-05-15

    Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) represent an ideal in vitro platform to study human genetics and biology. The recent advent of programmable nucleases makes also the human genome amenable to experimental genetics through either the correction of mutations in patient-derived iPSC lines or the de novo introduction of mutations into otherwise healthy iPSCs. The production of specific and sometimes complex genotypes in multiple cell lines requires efficient and streamlined gene editing technologies. In this article we provide protocols for gene editing in hiPSCs. We presently achieve high rates of gene editing at up to three loci using a modified iCRISPR system. This system includes a doxycycline inducible Cas9 and sgRNA/reporter plasmids for the enrichment of transfected cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Here we cover the selection of target sites, vector construction, transfection, and isolation and genotyping of modified hiPSC clones. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Identification of GIG1, a GlcNAc-induced gene in Candida albicans needed for normal sensitivity to the chitin synthase inhibitor nikkomycin Z.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunasekera, Angelo; Alvarez, Francisco J; Douglas, Lois M; Wang, Hong X; Rosebrock, Adam P; Konopka, James B

    2010-10-01

    The amino sugar N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is known to be an important structural component of cells from bacteria to humans, but its roles in cell signaling are less well understood. GlcNAc induces two pathways in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. One activates cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling, which stimulates the formation of hyphal cells and the expression of virulence genes, and the other pathway induces genes needed to catabolize GlcNAc. Microarray analysis of gene expression was carried out under four different conditions in order to characterize the transcriptional changes induced by GlcNAc. The most highly induced genes include those that encode a GlcNAc transporter (NGT1) and the GlcNAc catabolic enzymes (HXK1, DAC1, and NAG1). GlcNAc also activated most of the genes whose expression is increased when cells are triggered with other stimuli to form hyphae. Surprisingly, GlcNAc also induced a subset of genes that are regulated by galactose (GAL1, GAL7, and GAL10), which may be due to cross talk between signaling pathways. A novel GlcNAc-induced gene, GIG1, which is not essential for GlcNAc catabolism or the induction of hyphae, was identified. However, a Gig1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein was specifically induced by GlcNAc, and not by other sugars. Gig1-GFP localized to the cytoplasm, where GlcNAc metabolism occurs. Significantly, a gig1Δ mutant displayed increased resistance to nikkomycin Z, which inhibits chitin synthase from converting UDP-GlcNAc into cell wall chitin. Gig1 is highly conserved in fungi, especially those that contain GlcNAc catabolic genes. These results implicate Gig1 in GlcNAc metabolism.

  6. Mapping photothermally induced gene expression in living cells and tissues by nanorod-locked nucleic acid complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riahi, Reza; Wang, Shue; Long, Min; Li, Na; Chiou, Pei-Yu; Zhang, Donna D; Wong, Pak Kin

    2014-04-22

    The photothermal effect of plasmonic nanostructures has numerous applications, such as cancer therapy, photonic gene circuit, large cargo delivery, and nanostructure-enhanced laser tweezers. The photothermal operation can also induce unwanted physical and biochemical effects, which potentially alter the cell behaviors. However, there is a lack of techniques for characterizing the dynamic cell responses near the site of photothermal operation with high spatiotemporal resolution. In this work, we show that the incorporation of locked nucleic acid probes with gold nanorods allows photothermal manipulation and real-time monitoring of gene expression near the area of irradiation in living cells and animal tissues. The multimodal gold nanorod serves as an endocytic delivery reagent to transport the probes into the cells, a fluorescence quencher and a binding competitor to detect intracellular mRNA, and a plasmonic photothermal transducer to induce cell ablation. We demonstrate the ability of the gold nanorod-locked nucleic acid complex for detecting the spatiotemporal gene expression in viable cells and tissues and inducing photothermal ablation of single cells. Using the gold nanorod-locked nucleic acid complex, we systematically characterize the dynamic cellular heat shock responses near the site of photothermal operation. The gold nanorod-locked nucleic acid complex enables mapping of intracellular gene expressions and analyzes the photothermal effects of nanostructures toward various biomedical applications.

  7. Robust heat-inducible gene expression by two endogenous hsp70-derived promoters in transgenic Aedes aegypti

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenetti, Tiffany L. G.; Aryan, Azadeh; Myles, Kevin M.; Adelman, Zach N.

    2011-01-01

    Aedes aegypti is an important vector of the viruses that cause dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and yellow fever. Reverse genetic approaches to the study of gene function in this mosquito have been limited by the lack of a robust inducible promoter to allow precise temporal control over a protein-encoding or hairpin RNA transgene. Likewise, investigations into the molecular and biochemical basis of vector competence would benefit from the ability to activate an anti-pathogen molecule at specific times during infection. We have characterized the ability of genomic sequences derived from two Ae. aegypti hsp70 genes to drive heat-inducible expression of a reporter in both transient and germline transformation contexts. AaHsp70-luciferase transcripts accumulated specifically after heat shock, and displayed a pattern of rapid induction and decay similar to endogenous AaHsp70 genes. Luciferase expression in transgenic Ae. aegypti increased by ∼25-50 fold in whole adults by four hours after heat-shock, with significant activity (∼20 fold) remaining at 24 hr. Heat-induced expression was even more dramatic in midgut tissues, with one strain showing a ∼2500-fold increase in luciferase activity. The AaHsp70 promoters described could be valuable for gene function studies as well as for the precise timing of the expression of anti-pathogen molecules. PMID:22142225

  8. Identification of potential crucial genes associated with steroid-induced necrosis of femoral head based on gene expression profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Zhe; Lin, Yongsheng

    2017-09-05

    The aim of this study was to explore potential crucial genes associated with the steroid-induced necrosis of femoral head (SINFH) and to provide valid biological information for further investigation of SINFH. Gene expression profile of GSE26316, generated from 3 SINFH rat samples and 3 normal rat samples were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using LIMMA package. After functional enrichment analyses of DEGs, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and sub-PPI network analyses were conducted based on the STRING database and cytoscape. In total, 59 up-regulated DEGs and 156 downregulated DEGs were identified. The up-regulated DEGs were mainly involved in functions about immunity (e.g. Fcer1A and Il7R), and the downregulated DEGs were mainly enriched in muscle system process (e.g. Tnni2, Mylpf and Myl1). The PPI network of DEGs consisted of 123 nodes and 300 interactions. Tnni2, Mylpf, and Myl1 were the top 3 outstanding genes based on both subgraph centrality and degree centrality evaluation. These three genes interacted with each other in the network. Furthermore, the significant network module was composed of 22 downregulated genes (e.g. Tnni2, Mylpf and Myl1). These genes were mainly enriched in functions like muscle system process. The DEGs related to the regulation of immune system process (e.g. Fcer1A and Il7R), and DEGs correlated with muscle system process (e.g. Tnni2, Mylpf and Myl1) may be closely associated with the progress of SINFH, which is still needed to be confirmed by experiments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Fitness Effects of Network Non-Linearity Induced by Gene Expression Noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ray, Christian; Cooper, Tim; Balazsi, Gabor

    2012-02-01

    In the non-equilibrium dynamics of growing microbial cells, metabolic enzymes can create non-linearities in metabolite concentration because of non-linear degradation (utilization): an enzyme can saturate in the process of metabolite utilization. Increasing metabolite production past the saturation point then results in an ultrasensitive metabolite response. If the production rate of a metabolite depends on a second enzyme or other protein-mediated process, uncorrelated gene expression noise can thus cause transient metabolite concentration bursts. Such bursts are physiologically unnecessary and may represent a source of selection against the ultrasensitive switch, especially if the fluctuating metabolic intermediate is toxic. Selection may therefore favor correlated gene expression fluctuations for enzymes in the same pathway, such as by same-operon membership in bacteria. Using a modified experimental lac operon system, we are undertaking a combined theoretical-experimental approach to demonstrate that (i) the lac operon has an implicit ultrasensitive switch that we predict is avoided by gene expression correlations induced by same-operon membership; (ii) bacterial growth rates are sensitive to crossing the ultrasensitive threshold. Our results suggest that correlations in intrinsic gene expression noise are exploited by evolution to ameliorate the detrimental effects of nonlinearities in metabolite concentrations.

  10. Analysis of genes involved in the PI3K/Akt pathway in radiation- and MNU-induced rat mammary carcinomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showler, Kaye; Nishimura, Mayumi; Daino, Kazuhiro; Imaoka, Tatsuhiko; Nishimura, Yukiko; Morioka, Takamitsu; Blyth, Benjamin J; Kokubo, Toshiaki; Takabatake, Masaru; Fukuda, Maki; Moriyama, Hitomi; Kakinuma, Shizuko; Fukushi, Masahiro; Shimada, Yoshiya

    2017-03-01

    The PI3K/AKT pathway is one of the most important signaling networks in human breast cancer, and since it was potentially implicated in our preliminary investigations of radiation-induced rat mammary carcinomas, our aim here was to verify its role. We included mammary carcinomas induced by the chemical carcinogen 1-methyl-1-nitrosourea to determine whether any changes were radiation-specific. Most carcinomas from both groups showed activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway, but phosphorylation of AKT1 was often heterogeneous and only present in a minority of carcinoma cells. The negative pathway regulator Inpp4b was significantly downregulated in both groups, compared with in normal mammary tissue, and radiation-induced carcinomas also showed a significant decrease in Pten expression, while the chemically induced carcinomas showed a decrease in Pik3r1 and Pdk1. Significant upregulation of the positive regulators Erbb2 and Pik3ca was observed only in chemically induced carcinomas. However, no genes showed clear correlations with AKT phosphorylation levels, except in individual carcinomas. Only rare carcinomas showed mutations in PI3K/AKT pathway genes, yet these carcinomas did not exhibit stronger AKT phosphorylation. Thus, while AKT phosphorylation is a common feature of rat mammary carcinomas induced by radiation or a canonical chemical carcinogen, the mutation of key genes in the pathways or permanent changes to gene expression of particular signaling proteins do not explain the pathway activation in the advanced cancers. Although AKT signaling likely facilitates cancer development and growth in rat mammary carcinomas, it is unlikely that permanent disruption of the PI3K/AKT pathway genes is a major causal event in radiation carcinogenesis. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japan Radiation Research Society and Japanese Society for Radiation Oncology.

  11. Co-regulation of the atrial natriuretic factor and cardiac myosin light chain-2 genes during alpha-adrenergic stimulation of neonatal rat ventricular cells. Identification of cis sequences within an embryonic and a constitutive contractile protein gene which mediate inducible expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knowlton, K U; Baracchini, E; Ross, R S; Harris, A N; Henderson, S A; Evans, S M; Glembotski, C C; Chien, K R

    1991-04-25

    To study the mechanisms which mediate the transcriptional activation of cardiac genes during alpha adrenergic stimulation, the present study examined the regulated expression of three cardiac genes, a ventricular embryonic gene (atrial natriuretic factor, ANF), a constitutively expressed contractile protein gene (cardiac MLC-2), and a cardiac sodium channel gene. alpha 1-Adrenergic stimulation activates the expression and release of ANF from neonatal ventricular cells. As assessed by RNase protection analyses, treatment with alpha-adrenergic agonists increases the steady-state levels of ANF mRNA by greater than 15-fold. However, a rat cardiac sodium channel gene mRNA is not induced, indicating that alpha-adrenergic stimulation does not lead to an increase in the expression of all cardiac genes. Studies employing a series of rat ANF luciferase and rat MLC-2 luciferase fusion genes identify 315- and 92-base pair cis regulatory sequences within an embryonic gene (ANF) and a constitutively expressed contractile protein gene (MLC-2), respectively, which mediate alpha-adrenergic-inducible gene expression. Transfection of various ANF luciferase reporters into neonatal rat ventricular cells demonstrated that upstream sequences which mediate tissue-specific expression (-3003 to -638) can be segregated from those responsible for inducibility. The lack of inducibility of a cardiac Na+ channel gene, and the segregation of ANF gene sequences which mediate cardiac specific from those which mediate inducible expression, provides further insight into the relationship between muscle-specific and inducible expression during cardiac myocyte hypertrophy. Based on these results, a testable model is proposed for the induction of embryonic cardiac genes and constitutively expressed contractile protein genes and the noninducibility of a subset of cardiac genes during alpha-adrenergic stimulation of neonatal rat ventricular cells.

  12. Virus-induced gene silencing of Withania somnifera squalene synthase negatively regulates sterol and defence-related genes resulting in reduced withanolides and biotic stress tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Anup Kumar; Dwivedi, Varun; Rai, Avanish; Pal, Shaifali; Reddy, Sajjalavarahalli Gangireddy Eswara; Rao, Dodaghatta Krishnarao Venkata; Shasany, Ajit Kumar; Nagegowda, Dinesh A

    2015-12-01

    Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is an important Indian medicinal plant that produces withanolides, which are triterpenoid steroidal lactones having diverse biological activities. To enable fast and efficient functional characterization of genes in this slow-growing and difficult-to-transform plant, a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) was established by silencing phytoene desaturase (PDS) and squalene synthase (SQS). VIGS of the gene encoding SQS, which provides precursors for triterpenoids, resulted in significant reduction of squalene and withanolides, demonstrating its application in studying withanolides biosynthesis in W. somnifera leaves. A comprehensive analysis of gene expression and sterol pathway intermediates in WsSQS-vigs plants revealed transcriptional modulation with positive feedback regulation of mevalonate pathway genes, and negative feed-forward regulation of downstream sterol pathway genes including DWF1 (delta-24-sterol reductase) and CYP710A1 (C-22-sterol desaturase), resulting in significant reduction of sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol. However, there was little effect of SQS silencing on cholesterol, indicating the contribution of sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol, but not of cholesterol, towards withanolides formation. Branch-point oxidosqualene synthases in WsSQS-vigs plants exhibited differential regulation with reduced CAS (cycloartenol synthase) and cycloartenol, and induced BAS (β-amyrin synthase) and β-amyrin. Moreover, SQS silencing also led to the down-regulation of brassinosteroid-6-oxidase-2 (BR6OX2), pathogenesis-related (PR) and nonexpressor of PR (NPR) genes, resulting in reduced tolerance to bacterial and fungal infection as well as to insect feeding. Taken together, SQS silencing negatively regulated sterol and defence-related genes leading to reduced phytosterols, withanolides and biotic stress tolerance, thus implicating the application of VIGS for functional analysis of genes related to withanolides

  13. Transient receptor potential melastatin 8 gene polymorphism is associated with cold-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in bronchial asthma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naumov, Denis E; Perelman, Juliy M; Kolosov, Victor P; Potapova, Tatyana A; Maksimov, Vladimir N; Zhou, Xiangdong

    2015-11-01

    Cold-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (CAH) is common in bronchial asthma (BA) patients and represents a problem for those living in cold climate. Transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) channel is the main cold temperature sensor in humans that could mediate cold response in asthmatics with CAH. No associations between TRPM8 gene polymorphisms and CAH have been reported. The present study involved 123 BA patients. CAH was assessed by 3-min isocapnic (5% CO2 ) cold air (-20°C) hyperventilation challenge. The c.750G > C (rs11562975), c.1256G > A (rs7593557), c.3048C > T (rs11563208) and c.3174C > G (rs11563071) polymorphisms of TRPM8 gene were genotyped by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR with subsequent restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. GC genotype and C allele carriers of the c.750G > C (rs11562975) polymorphism were more frequently observed to exhibit CAH. The estimated odds ratio for the GC genotype was 3.73 95%CI (1.48; 9.37), P = 0.005. Furthermore, GC heterozygotes had a prominent decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s after the challenge as compared to GG homozygotes (-12% (-16; -8.1) vs -6.45% (-11; -2.1), P  C (rs11562975) polymorphism is associated with CAH in patients with BA, which suggests a potential role of TRPM8 in CAH development. © 2015 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

  14. Development of a flexible and potent hypoxia-inducible promoter for tumor-targeted gene expression in attenuated Salmonella

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mengesha, Asferd; Dubois, Ludwig; Lambin, Philippe; Landuyt, Willy; Chiu, Roland K; Wouters, Bradly G; Theys, Jan

    To increase the potential of attenuated Salmonella as gene delivery vectors for cancer treatment, we developed a hypoxia-inducible promoter system to limit gene expression specifically to the tumor. This approach is envisaged to not only increase tumor specificity, but also to target those cells

  15. Role of promoter element in c-mpl gene expression induced by TPO.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunohara, Masataka; Morikawa, Shigeru; Fuse, Akira; Sato, Iwao

    2013-01-01

    Thrombopoietin (TPO) and its receptor, c-Mpl, play the crucial role for the development of megakaryocyte and considered to regulate megakaryocytopoiesis. Previously we reported that TPO increased the c-mpl promoter activity determined by a transient expression system using a vector containing the luciferase gene as a reporter and the expression of the c-mpl gene is modulated by transcription through a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent pathway in the megakaryoblastic cells. In this research, to elucidate the required elements in c-mpl promoter, the promoter activity of the deletion constructs and site-directed mutagenesis were measured by a transient transfection assay system. Destruction of -77GATA in c-mpl promoter decreased the activity by 22.8%. Our study elucidated that -77GATA involved in TPO-induced c-mpl gene expression in a human megakaryoblastic cell line, CMK.

  16. Psychological stress, cocaine and natural reward each induce endoplasmic reticulum stress genes in rat brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlovsky, A A; Boehning, D; Li, D; Zhang, Y; Fan, X; Green, T A

    2013-08-29

    Our prior research has shown that the transcription of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress transcription factors activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) and ATF4 are induced by amphetamine and restraint stress in rat striatum. However, presently the full extent of ER stress responses to psychological stress or cocaine, and which of the three ER stress pathways is activated is unknown. The current study examines transcriptional responses of key ER stress target genes subsequent to psychological stress or cocaine. Rats were subjected to acute or repeated restraint stress or cocaine treatment and mRNA was isolated from dorsal striatum, medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens brain tissue. ER stress gene mRNA expression was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and RNA sequencing. Restraint stress and cocaine-induced transcription of the classic ER stress-induced genes (BIP, CHOP, ATF3 and GADD34) and of two other ER stress components x-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) and ATF6. In addition, rats living in an enriched environment (large group cage with novel toys changed daily) exhibited rapid induction of GADD34 and ATF3 after 30 min of exploring novel toys, suggesting these genes are also involved in normal non-pathological signaling. However, environmental enrichment, a paradigm that produces protective addiction and depression phenotypes in rats, attenuated the rapid induction of ATF3 and GADD34 after restraint stress. These experiments provide a sensitive measure of ER stress and, more importantly, these results offer good evidence of the activation of ER stress mechanisms from psychological stress, cocaine and natural reward. Thus, ER stress genes may be targets for novel therapeutic targets for depression and addiction. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. PTTG1, A novel androgen responsive gene is required for androgen-induced prostate cancer cell growth and invasion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Zheng; Jin, Bo; Jin, Yaqiong; Huang, Shengquan; Niu, Xiaohua; Mao, Zebin; Xin, Dianqi

    2017-01-01

    Androgens (AR) play an important role in initiation and progression of prostate cancer. It has been shown that AR exert their effects mainly through the androgen-activated AR which binds to androgen response elements (AREs) in the regulatory regions of target genes to regulate the transcription of androgen-responsive genes, thus, identification of AR downstream target gene is critical to understand androgen function in prostate cancer. In this study, our results showed that androgen treatment of LNCaP cells induced PTTG1 expression, which was blocked by the androgen receptor antagonist, Casodex. Bioinformatics analysis and experiments using PTTG1 promoter deletion mutants showed that the PTTG1 promoter contains a putative androgen response element (ARE), which localizes in the −851 to −836 region of the promoter. Androgen activated androgen receptor (AR) binding to this ARE was confirmed by Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. Furthermore, Knockdown of PTTG1 expression using short hairpin RNA significantly reduced androgen-induced LNCaP cell growth and invasion. In addition, we showed PTTG1 is highly expressed in metastasis prostate cancer tissue. These results suggest that PTTG1 is a novel downstream target gene of androgen receptor and take part in prostate cancer proliferation and metastasis. - Highlights: • Androgen treatment of LNCaP cells induced PTTG1 expression. • Knockdown of PTTG1 expression significantly reduced androgen-induced LNCaP cell growth and invasion. • PTTG1 is highly expressed in metastasis prostate cancer tissue. • PTTG1 is a novel downstream target gene of androgen receptor.

  18. Rotator cuff tear reduces muscle fiber specific force production and induces macrophage accumulation and autophagy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gumucio, Jonathan P; Davis, Max E; Bradley, Joshua R; Stafford, Patrick L; Schiffman, Corey J; Lynch, Evan B; Claflin, Dennis R; Bedi, Asheesh; Mendias, Christopher L

    2012-12-01

    Full-thickness tears to the rotator cuff can cause severe pain and disability. Untreated tears progress in size and are associated with muscle atrophy and an infiltration of fat to the area, a condition known as "fatty degeneration." To improve the treatment of rotator cuff tears, a greater understanding of the changes in the contractile properties of muscle fibers and the molecular regulation of fatty degeneration is essential. Using a rat model of rotator cuff injury, we measured the force generating capacity of individual muscle fibers and determined changes in muscle fiber type distribution that develop after a full thickness rotator cuff tear. We also measured the expression of mRNA and miRNA transcripts involved in muscle atrophy, lipid accumulation, and matrix synthesis. We hypothesized that a decrease in specific force of rotator cuff muscle fibers, an accumulation of type IIb fibers, and an upregulation in fibrogenic, adipogenic, and inflammatory gene expression occur in torn rotator cuff muscles. Thirty days following rotator cuff tear, we observed a reduction in muscle fiber force production, an induction of fibrogenic, adipogenic, and autophagocytic mRNA and miRNA molecules, and a dramatic accumulation of macrophages in areas of fat accumulation. Copyright © 2012 Orthopaedic Research Society.

  19. Induced expression of hepatic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2C subunit gene during liver enlargement induced by lead nitrate, a hepatocellular mitogen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemoto, Kiyomitsu; Ikeda, Ayaka; Hikida, Tokihiro; Kojima, Misaki; Degawa, Masakuni

    2013-02-01

    We previously demonstrated the super-induced expression of the Grin2c gene encoding the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2C subunit during the development of liver enlargement with hepatocellular hypertrophy induced by phenobarbital, clofibrate, or piperonyl butoxide. In the present study, we assessed whether or not Grin2c gene expression was induced during the development of chemically induced liver enlargement with hyperplasia. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSPs), and SHRSP's normotensive control, Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, were administered lead nitrate (LN) (0.1 mmol/kg, single i.v.), a direct inducer of liver hyperplasia, and changes in the level of Grin2c mRNA in the liver were assessed by real-time RT-PCR. The level of hepatic Grin2c mRNA was significantly higher 6-48 hr after the injection in SD rats (about 30~40- and 70-fold over the control at 6~24 hr and 48 hr, respectively) and in WKY rats (about 20-fold over the control only at 12 hr), but was not significantly higher in SHRSPs. Such differences in LN-induced levels of Grin2c mRNA among SD rats, WKY rats, and SHRSPs were closely correlated with those in the previously reported increase in liver weight 48 hr after LN administration. The present findings suggest that the increase in the level of hepatic Grin2c mRNA relates to development of chemically induced liver enlargement with hyperplasia.

  20. Modulation of interferon-induced genes by lipoxin analogue in anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohse, Takamoto; Ota, Tatsuru; Kieran, Niamh; Godson, Catherine; Yamada, Koei; Tanaka, Tetsuhiro; Fujita, Toshiro; Nangaku, Masaomi

    2004-04-01

    Immune complex deposition is associated with the accumulation of neutrophils, which play an important role in the various immune-mediated diseases. A novel anti-inflammatory agent, the lipoxin A (LXA) analogue (15-epi-16-(FPhO)-LXA-Me)), a stable synthetic analogue of aspirin-triggered 15-epi-lipoxin A4 (ATLa), was used in experimental anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody nephritis in mice. ATLa was administered before the induction of the disease, and 2 h later, the animals were killed. ATLa reduced the infiltrating neutrophils and nitrotyrosine staining in glomeruli. Subsequent changes of gene expression in the early phase were evaluated, and 5674 genes were present under the basal conditions in kidneys from normal mice; 54 upregulated genes and 25 downregulated genes were detected in anti-GBM nephritis. Eighteen of these upregulated genes were those induced by IFN-gamma. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis confirmed the results of the microarrays. To investigate a role of IFN-gamma in neutrophil infiltration, anti-GBM nephritis was induced in IFN-gamma knockout mice. The number of infiltrating neutrophils in these mice did not differ from those in wild-type mice. Also examined were CD11b expression on neutrophils from mice treated with ATLa by flow cytometry, but suppression of this adhesion molecule was not observed. Neutrophil infiltration was successfully inhibited by ATLa in the early phase of murine anti-GBM nephritis. Microarray analysis detected the change of mRNA expression in anti-GBM nephritis and demonstrated amelioration of various genes by ATLa, which may provide a clue to the development of novel therapeutic approaches in immune renal injury.

  1. Nonequilibrium forces following quenches in active and thermal matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohwer, Christian M.; Solon, Alexandre; Kardar, Mehran; Krüger, Matthias

    2018-03-01

    Nonequilibrium systems with conserved quantities like density or momentum are known to exhibit long-ranged correlations. This, in turn, leads to long-ranged fluctuation-induced (Casimir) forces, predicted to arise in a variety of nonequilibrium settings. Here, we study such forces, which arise transiently between parallel plates or compact inclusions in a gas of particles, following a change ("quench") in temperature or activity of the medium. Analytical calculations, as well as numerical simulations of passive or active Brownian particles, indicate two distinct forces: (i) The immediate effect of the quench is adsorption or desorption of particles of the medium to the immersed objects, which in turn initiates a front of relaxing (mean) density. This leads to time-dependent density-induced forces. (ii) A long-term effect of the quench is that density fluctuations are modified, manifested as transient (long-ranged) (pair-)correlations that relax diffusively to their (short-ranged) steady-state limit. As a result, transient fluctuation-induced forces emerge. We discuss the properties of fluctuation-induced and density-induced forces as regards universality, relaxation as a function of time, and scaling with distance between objects. Their distinct signatures allow us to distinguish the two types of forces in simulation data. Our simulations also show that a quench of the effective temperature of an active medium gives rise to qualitatively similar effects to a temperature quench in a passive medium. Based on this insight, we propose several scenarios for the experimental observation of the forces described here.

  2. 20-hydroxyecdysone upregulates Atg genes to induce autophagy in the Bombyx fat body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Ling; Ma, Li; Guo, Enen; Deng, Xiaojuan; Ma, Sanyuan; Xia, Qingyou; Cao, Yang; Li, Sheng

    2013-01-01

    Autophagy is finely regulated at multiple levels and plays crucial roles in development and disease. In the fat body of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, autophagy occurs and Atg gene expression peaks during the nonfeeding molting and pupation stages when the steroid hormone (20-hydroxyecdysone; 20E) is high. Injection of 20E into the feeding larvae upregulated Atg genes and reduced TORC1 activity resulting in autophagy induction in the fat body. Conversely, RNAi knockdown of the 20E receptor partner (USP) or targeted overexpression of a dominant negative mutant of the 20E receptor (EcRDN) in the larval fat body reduced autophagy and downregulated the Atg genes, confirming the importance of 20E-induction of Atg gene expression during pupation. Moreover, in vitro treatments of the larval fat body with 20E upregulated the Atg genes. Five Atg genes were potentially 20E primary-responsive, and a 20E response element was identified in the Atg1 (ortholog of human ULK1) promoter region. Furthermore, RNAi knockdown of 4 key genes (namely Br-C, E74, HR3 and βftz-F1) in the 20E-triggered transcriptional cascade reduced autophagy and downregulated Atg genes to different levels. Taken together, we conclude that in addition to blocking TORC1 activity for autophagosome initiation, 20E upregulates Atg genes to induce autophagy in the Bombyx fat body. PMID:23674061

  3. 9-cis-retinoic acid represses estrogen-induced expression of the very low density apolipoprotein II gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schippers, I J; Kloppenburg, M; Snippe, L; Ab, G

    1994-11-01

    The chicken very low density apolipoprotein II (apoVLDLII) gene is estrogen-inducible and specifically expressed in liver. We examined the possible involvement of the retinoid X receptor (RXR) and its ligand 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cis-RA) in the activation of the apoVLDLII promoter. We first concentrated on a potential RXR recognition site, which deviates at only one position from a perfect direct A/GGGTCA repeat spaced by one nucleotide (DR-1) and was earlier identified as a common HNF-4/COUP-TF recognition site. However, band shift analysis revealed that this imperfect DR-1 motif does not interact with RXR alpha-homodimers. In accordance with this observation we found that this regulatory element does not mediate transactivation through RXR alpha in the presence of 9-cis-RA. However, our experiments revealed another, unexpected, effect of 9-cis-RA. Instead of stimulating, 9-cis-RA attenuated estrogen-induced expression of transfected estrogen-responsive VLDL-CAT reporter plasmids. This repression appeared to take place through the main estrogen response element (ERE) of the gene. Importantly, 9-cis-RA also strongly repressed the estrogen-induced expression of the endogenous apoVLDLII gene in cultured chicken hepatoma cells.

  4. Spatial Manipulation and Assembly of Nanoparticles by Atomic Force Microscopy Tip-Induced Dielectrophoresis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Peilin; Yu, Haibo; Yang, Wenguang; Wen, Yangdong; Wang, Zhidong; Li, Wen Jung; Liu, Lianqing

    2017-05-17

    In this article, we present a novel method of spatial manipulation and assembly of nanoparticles via atomic force microscopy tip-induced dielectrophoresis (AFM-DEP). This method combines the high-accuracy positioning of AFM with the parallel manipulation of DEP. A spatially nonuniform electric field is induced by applying an alternating current (AC) voltage between the conductive AFM probe and an indium tin oxide glass substrate. The AFM probe acted as a movable DEP tweezer for nanomanipulation and assembly of nanoparticles. The mechanism of AFM-DEP was analyzed by numerical simulation. The effects of solution depth, gap distance, AC voltage, solution concentration, and duration time were experimentally studied and optimized. Arrays of 200 nm polystyrene nanoparticles were assembled into various nanostructures, including lines, ellipsoids, and arrays of dots. The sizes and shapes of the assembled structures were controllable. It was thus demonstrated that AFM-DEP is a flexible and powerful tool for nanomanipulation.

  5. Structural analysis of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations by atomic force microscope (AFM) before and after Giemsa staining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murakami, M.; Kanda, R.; Minamihisamatsu, M.; Hayata, I.

    2003-01-01

    Full text: We have studied structures of chromosome aberration induced by ionizing radiation by an atomic force microscope (AFM). The AFM could visualize the fine structure of chromosomes on Giemsa stained or unstained samples, although it was difficult to visualize unstained chromosomes by light microscope. The height data of chromosomes obtained by AFM provided useful information to describe detailed structure of chromatid gaps induced by heavy ion irradiation. A fibrous structure was observed on the unstained chromosome and these structures were considered to be the 30nm fibers on the chromosome. These types of structures were observed in the gaps as well as on surface of the chromosome. Further more, other types of chromosome aberration induced by ionizing radiation visualized by AFM will be presented

  6. Full-Length Sequence of Mouse Acupuncture-Induced 1-L (Aig1l Gene Including Its Transcriptional Start Site

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mika Ohta

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We have been investigating the molecular efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA, which is one type of acupuncture therapy. In our previous molecular biological study of acupuncture, we found an EA-induced gene, named acupuncture-induced 1-L (Aig1l, in mouse skeletal muscle. The aims of this study consisted of identification of the full-length cDNA sequence of Aig1l including the transcriptional start site, determination of the tissue distribution of Aig1l and analysis of the effect of EA on Aig1l gene expression. We determined the complete cDNA sequence including the transcriptional start site via cDNA cloning with the cap site hunting method. We then analyzed the tissue distribution of Aig1l by means of northern blot analysis and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We used the semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to examine the effect of EA on Aig1l gene expression. Our results showed that the complete cDNA sequence of Aig1l was 6073 bp long, and the putative protein consisted of 962 amino acids. All seven tissues that we analyzed expressed the Aig1l gene. In skeletal muscle, EA induced expression of the Aig1l gene, with high expression observed after 3 hours of EA. Our findings thus suggest that the Aig1l gene may play a key role in the molecular mechanisms of EA efficacy.

  7. P53 Gene Mutation as Biomarker of Radiation Induced Cell Injury and Genomic Instability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukh-Syaifudin

    2006-01-01

    Gene expression profiling and its mutation has become one of the most widely used approaches to identify genes and their functions in the context of identify and categorize genes to be used as radiation effect markers including cell and tissue sensitivities. Ionizing radiation produces genetic damage and changes in gene expression that may lead to cancer due to specific protein that controlling cell proliferation altered the function, its expression or both. P53 protein encoded by p53 gene plays an important role in protecting cell by inducing growth arrest and or cell suicide (apoptosis) after deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage induced by mutagen such as ionizing radiation. The mutant and thereby dysfunctional of this gene was found in more than 50% of various human cancers, but it is as yet unclear how p53 mutations lead to neoplastic development. Wild-type p53 has been postulated to play a role in DNA repair, suggesting that expression of mutant forms of p53 might alter cellular resistance to the DNA damage caused by radiation. Moreover, p53 is thought to function as a cell cycle checkpoint after irradiation, also suggesting that mutant p53 might change the cellular proliferative response to radiation. P53 mutations affect the cellular response to DNA damage, either by increasing DNA repair processes or, possibly, by increasing cellular tolerance to DNA damage. The association of p53 mutations with increased radioresistance suggests that alterations in the p53 gene might lead to oncogenic transformation. Current attractive model of carcinogenesis also showed that p53 gene is the major target of radiation. The majority of p53 mutations found so far is single base pair changes ( point mutations), which result in amino acid substitutions or truncated forms of the p53 protein, and are widely distributed throughout the evolutionary conserved regions of the gene. Examination of p53 mutations in human cancer also shows an association between particular carcinogens and

  8. Four inducible promoters for controlled gene expression in the oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula toruloides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Michael Bedford Johns

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Rhodotorula (Rhodosporidium toruloides is an oleaginous yeast with great biotechnological potential, capable of accumulating lipid up to 70 % of its dry biomass, and of carotenoid biosynthesis. However, few molecular genetic tools are available for manipulation of this basidiomycete yeast and its high genomic GC content can make routine cloning difficult. We have developed plasmid vectors for transformation of R. toruloides which include elements for Saccharomyces cerevisiae in-yeast assembly; this method is robust to the assembly of GC-rich DNA and of large plasmids. Using such vectors we screened for controllable promoters, and identified inducible promoters from the genes NAR1, ICL1, CTR3 and MET16. These four promoters have independent induction/repression conditions and exhibit different levels and rates of induction in R. toruloides, making them appropriate for controllable transgene expression in different experimental situations. Nested deletions were used to identify regulatory regions in the four promoters, and to delimit the minimal inducible promoters, which are as small as 200 bp for the NAR1 promoter. The NAR1 promoter shows very tight regulation under repressed conditions as determined both by an EGFP reporter gene and by conditional rescue of a leu2 mutant. These new tools facilitate molecular genetic manipulation and controllable gene expression in R. toruloides.

  9. Inducing indel mutation in the SOX6 gene by zinc finger nuclease for gamma reactivation: An approach towards gene therapy of beta thalassemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modares Sadeghi, Mehran; Shariati, Laleh; Hejazi, Zahra; Shahbazi, Mansoureh; Tabatabaiefar, Mohammad Amin; Khanahmad, Hossein

    2018-03-01

    β-thalassemia is a common autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a deficiency in the synthesis of β-chains. Evidences show that increased HbF levels improve the symptoms in patients with β-thalassemia or sickle cell anemia. In this study, ZFN technology was applied to induce a mutation in the binding domain region of SOX6 to reactivate γ-globin expression. The sequences coding for ZFP arrays were designed and sub cloned in TDH plus as a transfer vector. The ZFN expression was confirmed using Western blot analysis. In the next step, using the site-directed mutagenesis strategy through the overlap PCR, a missense mutation (D64V) was induced in the catalytic domain of the integrase gene in the packaging plasmid and verified using DNA sequencing. Then, the integrase minus lentivirus containing ZFN cassette was packaged. Transduction of K562 cells with this virus was performed. Mutation detection assay was performed. The indel percentage of the cells transducted with lenti virus containing ZFN was 31%. After 5 days of erythroid differentiation with 15 μg/mL cisplatin, the levels of γ-globin mRNA were sixfold in the cells treated with ZFN compared to untreated cells. In the meantime, the measurement of HbF expression levels was carried out using hemoglobin electrophoresis and showed the same results. Integrase minus lentivirus can provide a useful tool for efficient transient gene expression and helps avoid disadvantages of gene targeting using the native virus. The ZFN strategy applied here to induce indel on SOX6 gene in adult erythroid progenitors may provide a method to activate fetal hemoglobin expression in individuals with β-thalassemia. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Identifying clinically relevant drug resistance genes in drug-induced resistant cancer cell lines and post-chemotherapy tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Mengsha; Zheng, Weicheng; Lu, Xingrong; Ao, Lu; Li, Xiangyu; Guan, Qingzhou; Cai, Hao; Li, Mengyao; Yan, Haidan; Guo, You; Chi, Pan; Guo, Zheng

    2015-12-01

    Until recently, few molecular signatures of drug resistance identified in drug-induced resistant cancer cell models can be translated into clinical practice. Here, we defined differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between pre-chemotherapy colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue samples of non-responders and responders for 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin-based therapy as clinically relevant drug resistance genes (CRG5-FU/L-OHP). Taking CRG5-FU/L-OHP as reference, we evaluated the clinical relevance of several types of genes derived from HCT116 CRC cells with resistance to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin, respectively. The results revealed that DEGs between parental and resistant cells, when both were treated with the corresponding drug for a certain time, were significantly consistent with the CRG5-FU/L-OHP as well as the DEGs between the post-chemotherapy CRC specimens of responders and non-responders. This study suggests a novel strategy to extract clinically relevant drug resistance genes from both drug-induced resistant cell models and post-chemotherapy cancer tissue specimens.

  11. Atypical antipsychotics induce both proinflammatory and adipogenic gene expression in human adipocytes in vitro

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sárvári, Anitta K., E-mail: anittasarvari@med.unideb.hu [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, Debrecen (Hungary); Veréb, Zoltán, E-mail: jzvereb@gmail.com [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, Debrecen (Hungary); Uray, Iván P., E-mail: ipuray@mdanderson.org [Clinical Cancer Prevention Department, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States); Fésüs, László, E-mail: fesus@med.unideb.hu [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, Debrecen (Hungary); MTA DE Apoptosis, Genomics and Stem Cell Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Hungary); Balajthy, Zoltán, E-mail: balajthy@med.unideb.hu [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, Debrecen (Hungary)

    2014-08-08

    Highlights: • Antipsychotics modulate the expression of adipogenic genes in human adipocytes. • Secretion of proinflammatory cytokine IL8 and MCP-1 is induced by antipsychotics. • Adipocyte-dependent inflammatory abnormality could develop during chronic treatment. • Infiltrated macrophages would further enhance proinflammatory cytokine production. - Abstract: Schizophrenia requires lifelong treatment, potentially causing systemic changes in metabolic homeostasis. In the clinical setting, antipsychotic treatment may differentially lead to weight gain among individual patients, although the molecular determinants of such adverse effects are currently unknown. In this study, we investigated changes in the expression levels of critical regulatory genes of adipogenesis, lipid metabolism and proinflammatory genes during the differentiation of primary human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). These cells were isolated from patients with body mass indices <25 and treated with the second-generation antipsychotics olanzapine, ziprasidone, clozapine, quetiapine, aripiprazole and risperidone and the first-generation antipsychotic haloperidol. We found that antipsychotics exhibited a marked effect on key genes involved in the regulation of cell cycle, signal transduction, transcription factors, nuclear receptors, differentiation markers and metabolic enzymes. In particular, we observed an induction of the transcription factor NF-KB1 and NF-KB1 target genes in adipocytes in response to these drugs, including the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8 and MCP-1. In addition, enhanced secretion of both IL8 and MCP-1 was observed in the supernatant of these cell cultures. In addition to their remarkable stimulatory effects on proinflammatory gene transcription, three of the most frequently prescribed antipsychotic drugs, clozapine, quetiapine and aripiprazole, also induced the expression of essential adipocyte differentiation genes and the adipocyte hormones leptin

  12. Atypical antipsychotics induce both proinflammatory and adipogenic gene expression in human adipocytes in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sárvári, Anitta K.; Veréb, Zoltán; Uray, Iván P.; Fésüs, László; Balajthy, Zoltán

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Antipsychotics modulate the expression of adipogenic genes in human adipocytes. • Secretion of proinflammatory cytokine IL8 and MCP-1 is induced by antipsychotics. • Adipocyte-dependent inflammatory abnormality could develop during chronic treatment. • Infiltrated macrophages would further enhance proinflammatory cytokine production. - Abstract: Schizophrenia requires lifelong treatment, potentially causing systemic changes in metabolic homeostasis. In the clinical setting, antipsychotic treatment may differentially lead to weight gain among individual patients, although the molecular determinants of such adverse effects are currently unknown. In this study, we investigated changes in the expression levels of critical regulatory genes of adipogenesis, lipid metabolism and proinflammatory genes during the differentiation of primary human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). These cells were isolated from patients with body mass indices <25 and treated with the second-generation antipsychotics olanzapine, ziprasidone, clozapine, quetiapine, aripiprazole and risperidone and the first-generation antipsychotic haloperidol. We found that antipsychotics exhibited a marked effect on key genes involved in the regulation of cell cycle, signal transduction, transcription factors, nuclear receptors, differentiation markers and metabolic enzymes. In particular, we observed an induction of the transcription factor NF-KB1 and NF-KB1 target genes in adipocytes in response to these drugs, including the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8 and MCP-1. In addition, enhanced secretion of both IL8 and MCP-1 was observed in the supernatant of these cell cultures. In addition to their remarkable stimulatory effects on proinflammatory gene transcription, three of the most frequently prescribed antipsychotic drugs, clozapine, quetiapine and aripiprazole, also induced the expression of essential adipocyte differentiation genes and the adipocyte hormones leptin

  13. A computational profiling of changes in gene expression and transcription factors induced by vFLIP K13 in primary effusion lymphoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasu Punj

    Full Text Available Infection with Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV has been linked to the development of primary effusion lymphoma (PEL, a rare lymphoproliferative disorder that is characterized by loss of expression of most B cell markers and effusions in the body cavities. This unique clinical presentation of PEL has been attributed to their distinctive plasmablastic gene expression profile that shows overexpression of genes involved in inflammation, adhesion and invasion. KSHV-encoded latent protein vFLIP K13 has been previously shown to promote the survival and proliferation of PEL cells. In this study, we employed gene array analysis to characterize the effect of K13 on global gene expression in PEL-derived BCBL1 cells, which express negligible K13 endogenously. We demonstrate that K13 upregulates the expression of a number of NF-κB responsive genes involved in cytokine signaling, cell death, adhesion, inflammation and immune response, including two NF-κB subunits involved in the alternate NF-κB pathway, RELB and NFKB2. In contrast, CD19, a B cell marker, was one of the genes downregulated by K13. A comparison with K13-induced genes in human vascular endothelial cells revealed that although there was a considerable overlap among the genes induced by K13 in the two cell types, chemokines genes were preferentially induced in HUVEC with few exceptions, such as RANTES/CCL5, which was induced in both cell types. Functional studies confirmed that K13 activated the RANTES/CCL5 promoter through the NF-κB pathway. Taken collectively, our results suggest that K13 may contribute to the unique gene expression profile, immunophenotype and clinical presentation that are characteristics of KSHV-associated PEL.

  14. ACTIVATION OF GENES CONTROLLING THE IMMUNE SIGNALING PATHWAYS: DIFFERENTIAL INDIVIDUAL SENSITIVITY OF HUMAN BLOOD CELLS FOR INTERFERON PREPARATIONS AND IFN INDUCERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. M. Sokolova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We have studied dose effects of several Interferon (IFN inducers, i.e., Genfaxon (beta-1 IFN, Cycloferon and Immunomax upon expression of six genes controlling the signaling in immune pathways (TLR3, TLR4, RIG1, IRF3, IPS, B2M, by means of real-time RT-PCR, being tested with blood cells from three humans. It is revealed that individual cell samples showed different sensitivity to these drugs, probably, due to constitutive levels of TLR3 and TLR4 gene expression and possible connections with their immune pathology. Genfaxon at a dose of 104 ME produced potent stimulation of TLR3, TLR4, IRF3 and B2M genes in two persons. Immunomax, at a dose 0,5 unit, exhibited same effect in one case only (with Epstein-Barr virus infection. Cycloferon stimulated gene expression at much lower levels than Genfaxon in any cases. We have shown a reverse correlation between sensitivity of the cells to Immunomax, and constitutive TLR3 and TLR4 expression. The stimulatory effects of Immunomax were maximal in a person with very low TLR3/4 gene expression. Immunomax boosted the genes from several signaling pathways, including TLR3, TLR4, but genes of RIG/IPS pathway showed higher activation. Cycloferon induced gene transcription of IRF3 and B2M-receptor to higher degree, than expression of TLR3 and TLR4 genes. Hence, our data concerning Genfaxon, Immunomax and Cycloferon confirm their IFN-inducing effects upon human blood cells. The RT-PCR-based evaluation of gene expression related to signaling immune pathways in blood cell populations will enable rapid and highly specific quantitation of IFN and IFN-inducer drugs activities, thus avoiding their biological testing in long-term cell cultures. 

  15. The ionizing radiation inducible gene PARX/ARAP2 participates in Rho and ARF signaling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, J.A.; Chen, Z.; Zhao, Y.; Vallis, K.A.; Marignani, P.A.; Randazzo, P.A.

    2003-01-01

    Full text: PARX/ARAP2 is a novel protein that we identified in a gene trap screen for ionizing radiation (IR)-regulated genes. It belongs to a recently described family of proteins that link Rho, ADP-ribosilation factor (ARF) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) signaling. We have cloned the full length human PARX. Domain analysis of the predicted protein revealed a sterile-alpha motif, five pleckstrin homology domains, a RhoGTPase activating domain (RhoGAP) and an ARF activating domain (ARFGAP). PARX is early inducible by IR in a dose-dependent manner in murine ES cells and in several human B-cell lymphoma lines with up to six-fold induction at the mRNA level at 2 hours (10 Gy). Thus, the kinetics of PARX induction follows the pattern of the rapid response typical of many stress-induced immediate-early genes. PARX expression is also induced in response to other cellular stressors including sorbitol and bleomycin. PARX induction is dependent on PI3-K activity and can be suppressed by the PI3-K inhibitor LY294002. Induction of PARX in response to IR has been observed in cell lines that are p53 mutant indicating up-regulation independent of normal p53 function. The role of p53 in PARX induction is currently being studied using cell lines expressing temperature sensitive p53. Biochemical studies reveal that human PARX has in vivo RhoGAP activity for Rac1 and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate dependent ARFGAP activity for ARF1, ARF5 and ARF6. Also, temporal changes in PARX cellular localization following IR are currently being investigated using confocal microscopy. PARX is a gene with a potential role in the cellular response to genotoxic stress, and may illuminate the currently unclear role the small GTPases Rho and ARF play in the radiation response

  16. Kinetics of gene and chromosome mutations induced by UV-C in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koltovaya, N.; Kokoreva, A.; Senchenko, D.; Shvaneva, N.; Zhuchkina, N.

    2017-01-01

    The systematic study of the kinetics of UV-induced gene and structural mutations in eukaryotic cells was carried out on the basis of model yeast S. cerevisiae. A variety of genetic assays (all types of base pair substitutions, frameshifts, forward mutations canl, chromosomal and plasmid rearrangements) in haploid strains were used. Yeast cells were treated by UV-C light of fluence of energy up to 200 J/m"2. The kinetics of the induced gene and structural mutations is represented by a linear-quadratic and exponential functions. The slope of curves in log-log plots was not constant, had the value 2-4 and depended on the interval of doses. It was suggested that it is the superposition and dynamics of different pathways form the mutagenic responses of eukaryotic cells to UV-C light that cause the high-order curves. [ru

  17. Effects of nonmagnetic interparticle forces on magnetorheological fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klingenberg, D J; Olk, C H; Golden, M A; Ulicny, J C

    2010-01-01

    Effects of nonmagnetic interparticle forces on the on- and off-state behavior of magnetorheological fluids are investigated experimentally and with particle-level simulations. Suspensions of iron particles in an aliphatic oil are modified by surface-active species. The modifications significantly alter the off-state properties, but have little impact on the field-induced stresses. Simulations show similar behavior. Off-state rheological properties are strongly influenced by van der Waals forces and modifications of the short-range repulsive forces. Field-induced stresses are less sensitive to the nonmagnetic forces.

  18. Effects of nonmagnetic interparticle forces on magnetorheological fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klingenberg, D J; Olk, C K; Golden, M A; Ulicny, J C

    2009-01-01

    Effects of nonmagnetic interparticle forces on the on- and off-state behavior of MR fluids are investigated experimentally and with particle-level simulations. Suspensions of iron particles in an aliphatic oil are modified by surface-active species. The modifications significantly alter the off-state properties, but have little impact on the field-induced stresses. Simulations show similar behavior. Off-state rheological properties are strongly influenced by van der Waals forces and modifications of the short-range repulsive forces. Field-induced stresses are less sensitive to the nonmagnetic forces.

  19. HEAT INDUCIBLE EXPRESSION OF ANTIFREEZE PROTEIN GENES FROM THE BEETLES Tenebrio molitor AND Microdera punctipennis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jieqiong; Ma, Wenjing; Ma, Ji

    2016-01-01

    Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) play important roles in protecting poikilothermic organisms from cold damage. The expression of AFP genes (afps) is induced by low temperature. However, it is reported that heat can influence the expression of afps in the desert beetle Microdera punctipennis. To further detect whether heat also induce the expression of afps in other insects, and to determine the expression profiling of insect afps at different temperatures. The expression of antifreeze protein genes in the two beetles, Microdera punctipennis and Tenebrio molitor that have quite different living environment, under different temperatures were studied by using real-time quantitative PCR. Mild low temperatures (5~15 degree C), high temperature (38~47 degree C for M. punctipennis, or 37~42 degree C for T. molitor) and temperature difference (10~30 degree C) all stimulated strongly to the expression of AFP genes (Mpafps) in M. punctipennis which lives in the wild filed in desert. The mRNA level of Mpafps after M. punctipennis were exposed to these temperatures for 1h~5h was at least 30-fold of the control at 25 degree C. For T. molitor which is breeding in door with wheat bran all these temperatures stimulated significantly to the expression of Tmafps, while the extent and degree of the temperature stimulation on Tmafps expression were much lower than on Mpafps. After T. molitor were exposed to 5 degree C and 15 degree C for 1h~5h, the mRNA level of Tmafps was over 6-fold and 45-fold of the control at 25 degree C. High temperature (37~42 degree C) for 1h~3h treatments increased Tmafps mRNA level 4.8-fold of the control. Temperature difference of 10 degree C was effective in stimulating Tmafps expression. The expression of insect antifreeze protein genes both in M. punctipennis and T. molitor was induced by heat, suggesting that this phenomenon may be common in insects; the extent and degree of the influence differ in species that have different living conditions. The heat

  20. Preferential repair of ionizing radiation-induced damage in the transcribed strand of an active human gene is defective in Cockayne syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leadon, S.A.; Copper, P.K.

    1993-01-01

    Cells from patients with Cockayne syndrome (CS), which are sensitive to killing by UV although overall damage removal appears normal, are specifically defective in repair of UV damage in actively transcribe genes. Because several CS strains display cross-sensitivity to killing by ionizing radiation, the authors examined whether ionizing radiation-induced damage in active genes is preferentially repaired by normal cells and whether the radiosensitivity of CS cells can be explained by a defect in this process. They found that ionizing radiation-induced damage was repaired more rapidly in the transcriptionally active metallothionein IIA (MTIIA) gene than in the inactive MTIIB gene or in the genome overall in normal cells as a result of faster repair on the transcribed strand of MTIIA. Cells of the radiosensitive CS strain CS1AN are completely defective in this strand-selective repair of ionizing radiation-induced damage, although their overall repair rate appears normal. CS3BE cells, which are intermediate in radiosensitivity, do exhibit more rapid repair of the transcribed strand but at a reduced rate compared to normal cells. Xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A cells, which are hypersensitive to UV light because of a defect in the nucleotide excision repair pathway but do not show increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation, preferentially repair ionizing radiation-induced damage on the transcribed strand of MTIIA. Thus, the ability to rapidly repair ionizing radiation-induced damage in actively transcribing genes correlates with cell survival. The results extend the generality of preferential repair in active genes to include damage other than bulky lesions

  1. Transcriptional Enhancers Induce Insertional Gene Deregulation Independently From the Vector Type and Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maruggi, Giulietta; Porcellini, Simona; Facchini, Giulia; Perna, Serena K; Cattoglio, Claudia; Sartori, Daniela; Ambrosi, Alessandro; Schambach, Axel; Baum, Christopher; Bonini, Chiara; Bovolenta, Chiara; Mavilio, Fulvio; Recchia, Alessandra

    2009-01-01

    The integration characteristics of retroviral (RV) vectors increase the probability of interfering with the regulation of cellular genes, and account for a tangible risk of insertional mutagenesis in treated patients. To assess the potential genotoxic risk of conventional or self-inactivating (SIN) γ-RV and lentiviral (LV) vectors independently from the biological consequences of the insertion event, we developed a quantitative assay based on real-time reverse transcriptase—PCR on low-density arrays to evaluate alterations of gene expression in individual primary T-cell clones. We show that the Moloney leukemia virus long terminal repeat (LTR) enhancer has the strongest activity in both a γ-RV and a LV vector context, while an internal cellular promoter induces deregulation of gene expression less frequently, at a shorter range and to a lower extent in both vector types. Downregulation of gene expression was observed only in the context of LV vectors. This study indicates that insertional gene activation is determined by the characteristics of the transcriptional regulatory elements carried by the vector, and is largely independent from the vector type or design. PMID:19293778

  2. Trichloroethylene-induced gene expression and DNA methylation changes in B6C3F1 mouse liver.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Jiang

    Full Text Available Trichloroethylene (TCE, widely used as an organic solvent in the industry, is a common contaminant in air, soil, and water. Chronic TCE exposure induced hepatocellular carcinoma in mice, and occupational exposure in humans was suggested to be associated with liver cancer. To understand the role of non-genotoxic mechanism(s for TCE action, we examined the gene expression and DNA methylation changes in the liver of B6C3F1 mice orally administered with TCE (0, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg b.w. per day for 5 days. After 5 days TCE treatment at a dose level of 1000 mg/kg b.w., a total of 431 differentially expressed genes were identified in mouse liver by microarray, of which 291 were up-regulated and 140 down-regulated. The expression changed genes were involved in key signal pathways including PPAR, proliferation, apoptosis and homologous recombination. Notably, the expression level of a number of vital genes involved in the regulation of DNA methylation, such as Utrf1, Tet2, DNMT1, DNMT3a and DNMT3b, were dysregulated. Although global DNA methylation change was not detected in the liver of mice exposed to TCE, the promoter regions of Cdkn1a and Ihh were found to be hypo- and hypermethylated respectively, which correlated negatively with their mRNA expression changes. Furthermore, the gene expression and DNA methylation changes induced by TCE were dose dependent. The overall data indicate that TCE exposure leads to aberrant DNA methylation changes, which might alter the expression of genes involved in the TCE-induced liver tumorgenesis.

  3. Sulindac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, selectively inhibits interferon-γ-induced expression of the chemokine CXCL9 gene in mouse macrophages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakaeda, Yoshiichi; Hiroi, Miki; Shimojima, Takahiro; Iguchi, Mayumi; Kanegae, Haruhide; Ohmori, Yoshihiro

    2006-01-01

    Sulindac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has been shown to exert an anti-tumor effect on several types of cancer. To determine the effect of sulindac on intracellular signaling pathways in host immune cells such as macrophages, we investigated the effect of the drug on interferon gamma (IFNγ)-induced expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and other genes in mouse macrophage-like cell line RAW264.7 cells. Sulindac, but not aspirin or sodium salicylate, inhibited IFNγ-induced expression of the CXC ligand 9 (CXCL9) mRNA, a chemokine for activated T cells, whereas the interferon-induced expression of CXCL10 or IFN regulatory factor-1 was not affected by sulindac. Luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that sulindac inhibited IFNγ-induced promoter activity of the CXCL9 gene. Surprisingly, sulindac had no inhibitory effect on IFNγ-induced STAT1 activation; however, constitutive nuclear factor κB activity was suppressed by the drug. These results indicate that sulindac selectively inhibited IFNγ-inducible gene expression without inhibiting STAT1 activation

  4. Gene-gun DNA vaccination aggravates respiratory syncytial virus-induced pneumonitis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bartholdy, Christina; Olszewska, Wieslawa; Stryhn, Anette

    2004-01-01

    elicited with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the complete RSV M2 protein, but stronger than those induced by a similar DNA construct without the beta2m gene. DNA vaccination led to enhanced pulmonary disease after RSV challenge, with increased weight loss and cell recruitment to the lung. Depletion......A CD8+ T-cell memory response to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was generated by using a DNA vaccine construct encoding the dominant Kd-restricted epitope from the viral transcription anti-terminator protein M2 (M2(82-90)), linked covalently to human beta2-microglobulin (beta2m). Cutaneous gene...... of CD8+ T cells reduced, but did not abolish, enhancement of disease. Mice vaccinated with a construct encoding a class I-restricted lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus epitope and beta2m suffered more severe weight loss after RSV infection than unvaccinated RSV-infected mice, although RSV-specific CD8...

  5. Identification of GIG1, a GlcNAc-Induced Gene in Candida albicans Needed for Normal Sensitivity to the Chitin Synthase Inhibitor Nikkomycin Z▿§

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunasekera, Angelo; Alvarez, Francisco J.; Douglas, Lois M.; Wang, Hong X.; Rosebrock, Adam P.; Konopka, James B.

    2010-01-01

    The amino sugar N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is known to be an important structural component of cells from bacteria to humans, but its roles in cell signaling are less well understood. GlcNAc induces two pathways in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. One activates cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling, which stimulates the formation of hyphal cells and the expression of virulence genes, and the other pathway induces genes needed to catabolize GlcNAc. Microarray analysis of gene expression was carried out under four different conditions in order to characterize the transcriptional changes induced by GlcNAc. The most highly induced genes include those that encode a GlcNAc transporter (NGT1) and the GlcNAc catabolic enzymes (HXK1, DAC1, and NAG1). GlcNAc also activated most of the genes whose expression is increased when cells are triggered with other stimuli to form hyphae. Surprisingly, GlcNAc also induced a subset of genes that are regulated by galactose (GAL1, GAL7, and GAL10), which may be due to cross talk between signaling pathways. A novel GlcNAc-induced gene, GIG1, which is not essential for GlcNAc catabolism or the induction of hyphae, was identified. However, a Gig1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein was specifically induced by GlcNAc, and not by other sugars. Gig1-GFP localized to the cytoplasm, where GlcNAc metabolism occurs. Significantly, a gig1Δ mutant displayed increased resistance to nikkomycin Z, which inhibits chitin synthase from converting UDP-GlcNAc into cell wall chitin. Gig1 is highly conserved in fungi, especially those that contain GlcNAc catabolic genes. These results implicate Gig1 in GlcNAc metabolism. PMID:20675577

  6. Indian hedgehog gene transfer is a chondrogenic inducer of human mesenchymal stem cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Introduction To date, no single most-appropriate factor or delivery method has been identified for the purpose of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based treatment of cartilage injury. Therefore, in this study we tested whether gene delivery of the growth factor Indian hedgehog (IHH) was able to induce chondrogenesis in human primary MSCs, and whether it was possible by such an approach to modulate the appearance of chondrogenic hypertrophy in pellet cultures in vitro. Methods First-generation adenoviral vectors encoding the cDNA of the human IHH gene were created by cre-lox recombination and used alone or in combination with adenoviral vectors, bone morphogenetic protein-2 (Ad.BMP-2), or transforming growth factor beta-1 (Ad.TGF-β1) to transduce human bone-marrow derived MSCs at 5 × 102 infectious particles/cell. Thereafter, 3 × 105 cells were seeded into aggregates and cultured for 3 weeks in serum-free medium, with untransduced or marker gene transduced cultures as controls. Transgene expressions were determined by ELISA, and aggregates were analysed histologically, immunohistochemically, biochemically and by RT-PCR for chondrogenesis and hypertrophy. Results IHH, TGF-β1 and BMP-2 genes were equipotent inducers of chondrogenesis in primary MSCs, as evidenced by strong staining for proteoglycans, collagen type II, increased levels of glycosaminoglycan synthesis, and expression of mRNAs associated with chondrogenesis. IHH-modified aggregates, alone or in combination, also showed a tendency to progress towards hypertrophy, as judged by the expression of alkaline phosphatase and stainings for collagen type X and Annexin 5. Conclusion As this study provides evidence for chondrogenic induction of MSC aggregates in vitro via IHH gene delivery, this technology may be efficiently employed for generating cartilaginous repair tissues in vivo. PMID:22817660

  7. UVB-irradiated keratinocytes induce melanoma-associated ganglioside GD3 synthase gene in melanocytes via secretion of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miyata, Maiko [Department of Life and Medical Sciences, Chubu University Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Matsumoto, Kasugai 487-8501 (Japan); Department of Biochemistry II, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-0065 (Japan); Ichihara, Masatoshi; Tajima, Orie; Sobue, Sayaka; Kambe, Mariko [Department of Life and Medical Sciences, Chubu University Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Matsumoto, Kasugai 487-8501 (Japan); Sugiura, Kazumitsu [Department of Dermatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-0065 (Japan); Furukawa, Koichi, E-mail: koichi@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Department of Biochemistry II, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-0065 (Japan); Furukawa, Keiko [Department of Life and Medical Sciences, Chubu University Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Matsumoto, Kasugai 487-8501 (Japan); Department of Biochemistry II, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-0065 (Japan)

    2014-03-07

    Highlights: • Melanocytes showed low ST8SIA1 and high B3GALT4 levels in contrast with melanomas. • Direct UVB irradiation of melanocytes did not induce ganglioside synthase genes. • Culture supernatants of UVB-irradiated keratinocytes induced ST8SIA1 in melanocytes. • TNFα and IL-6 secreted from keratinocytes enhanced ST8SIA1 expression in melanocytes. • Inflammatory cytokines induced melanoma-related ST8SIA1 in melanocytes. - Abstract: Although expression of gangliosides and their synthetic enzyme genes in malignant melanomas has been well studied, that in normal melanocytes has been scarcely analyzed. In particular, changes in expression levels of glycosyltransferase genes responsible for ganglioside synthesis during evolution of melanomas from melanocytes are very important to understand roles of gangliosides in melanomas. Here, expression of glycosyltransferase genes related to the ganglioside synthesis was analyzed using RNAs from cultured melanocytes and melanoma cell lines. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that melanomas expressed high levels of mRNA of GD3 synthase and GM2/GD2 synthase genes and low levels of GM1/GD1b synthase genes compared with melanocytes. As a representative exogenous stimulation, effects of ultraviolet B (UVB) on the expression levels of 3 major ganglioside synthase genes in melanocytes were analyzed. Although direct UVB irradiation of melanocytes caused no marked changes, culture supernatants of UVB-irradiated keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) induced definite up-regulation of GD3 synthase and GM2/GD2 synthase genes. Detailed examination of the supernatants revealed that inflammatory cytokines such as TNFα and IL-6 enhanced GD3 synthase gene expression. These results suggest that inflammatory cytokines secreted from UVB-irradiated keratinocytes induced melanoma-associated ganglioside synthase genes, proposing roles of skin microenvironment in the promotion of melanoma-like ganglioside profiles in melanocytes.

  8. UVB-irradiated keratinocytes induce melanoma-associated ganglioside GD3 synthase gene in melanocytes via secretion of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyata, Maiko; Ichihara, Masatoshi; Tajima, Orie; Sobue, Sayaka; Kambe, Mariko; Sugiura, Kazumitsu; Furukawa, Koichi; Furukawa, Keiko

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Melanocytes showed low ST8SIA1 and high B3GALT4 levels in contrast with melanomas. • Direct UVB irradiation of melanocytes did not induce ganglioside synthase genes. • Culture supernatants of UVB-irradiated keratinocytes induced ST8SIA1 in melanocytes. • TNFα and IL-6 secreted from keratinocytes enhanced ST8SIA1 expression in melanocytes. • Inflammatory cytokines induced melanoma-related ST8SIA1 in melanocytes. - Abstract: Although expression of gangliosides and their synthetic enzyme genes in malignant melanomas has been well studied, that in normal melanocytes has been scarcely analyzed. In particular, changes in expression levels of glycosyltransferase genes responsible for ganglioside synthesis during evolution of melanomas from melanocytes are very important to understand roles of gangliosides in melanomas. Here, expression of glycosyltransferase genes related to the ganglioside synthesis was analyzed using RNAs from cultured melanocytes and melanoma cell lines. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that melanomas expressed high levels of mRNA of GD3 synthase and GM2/GD2 synthase genes and low levels of GM1/GD1b synthase genes compared with melanocytes. As a representative exogenous stimulation, effects of ultraviolet B (UVB) on the expression levels of 3 major ganglioside synthase genes in melanocytes were analyzed. Although direct UVB irradiation of melanocytes caused no marked changes, culture supernatants of UVB-irradiated keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) induced definite up-regulation of GD3 synthase and GM2/GD2 synthase genes. Detailed examination of the supernatants revealed that inflammatory cytokines such as TNFα and IL-6 enhanced GD3 synthase gene expression. These results suggest that inflammatory cytokines secreted from UVB-irradiated keratinocytes induced melanoma-associated ganglioside synthase genes, proposing roles of skin microenvironment in the promotion of melanoma-like ganglioside profiles in melanocytes

  9. Kinetics and regional specificity of irinotecan-induced gene expression in the gastrointestinal tract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowen, Joanne M.; Tsykin, Anna; Stringer, Andrea M.; Logan, Richard M.; Gibson, Rachel J.; Keefe, Dorothy M.K.

    2010-01-01

    Gastrointestinal toxicity remains a significant and dose-limiting complication of cancer treatment. While the pathophysiology is becoming clearer, considerable gaps in the knowledge remain surrounding the timing and site-specific gene changes which occur in response to insult. As such, this study aimed to assess gene expression profiles in a number of regions along the gastrointestinal tract following treatment with the chemotherapy agent, irinotecan, and correlate them with markers of cell death and tissue damage. Data analysis of microarray results found that genes involved in apoptosis, mitogen activated kinase (MAPK) signalling and inflammation were upregulated within 6 h, while genes involved in cell proliferation, wound healing and blood vessel formation were upregulated at later time points up to 72 h. Cell death was significantly increased at 6 and 24 h, and the stomach showed the lowest severity of overt tissue damage. Real time PCR of MAPK signalling pathway genes found that the jejunum and colon had significantly increased expression in a number of genes at 72 h, where as the stomach was unchanged. These results indicate that overall severity of tissue damage may be determined by precisely timed target gene responses specific to each region. Therapeutic targeting of key gene responses at the appropriate time point may prove to be effective for prevention of chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal damage.

  10. Multi-kilobase homozygous targeted gene replacement in human induced pluripotent stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Susan M; Ortiz, Luis; Mali, Prashant; Aach, John; Church, George M

    2015-02-18

    Sequence-specific nucleases such as TALEN and the CRISPR/Cas9 system have so far been used to disrupt, correct or insert transgenes at precise locations in mammalian genomes. We demonstrate efficient 'knock-in' targeted replacement of multi-kilobase genes in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Using a model system replacing endogenous human genes with their mouse counterpart, we performed a comprehensive study of targeting vector design parameters for homologous recombination. A 2.7 kilobase (kb) homozygous gene replacement was achieved in up to 11% of iPSC without selection. The optimal homology arm length was around 2 kb, with homology length being especially critical on the arm not adjacent to the cut site. Homologous sequence inside the cut sites was detrimental to targeting efficiency, consistent with a synthesis-dependent strand annealing (SDSA) mechanism. Using two nuclease sites, we observed a high degree of gene excisions and inversions, which sometimes occurred more frequently than indel mutations. While homozygous deletions of 86 kb were achieved with up to 8% frequency, deletion frequencies were not solely a function of nuclease activity and deletion size. Our results analyzing the optimal parameters for targeting vector design will inform future gene targeting efforts involving multi-kilobase gene segments, particularly in human iPSC. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  11. Cannabidivarin (CBDV suppresses pentylenetetrazole (PTZ-induced increases in epilepsy-related gene expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naoki Amada

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available To date, anticonvulsant effects of the plant cannabinoid, cannabidivarin (CBDV, have been reported in several animal models of seizure. However, these behaviourally observed anticonvulsant effects have not been confirmed at the molecular level. To examine changes to epilepsy-related gene expression following chemical convulsant treatment and their subsequent control by phytocannabinoid administration, we behaviourally evaluated effects of CBDV (400 mg/kg, p.o. on acute, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ: 95 mg/kg, i.p.-induced seizures, quantified expression levels of several epilepsy-related genes (Fos, Casp 3, Ccl3, Ccl4, Npy, Arc, Penk, Camk2a, Bdnf and Egr1 by qPCR using hippocampal, neocortical and prefrontal cortical tissue samples before examining correlations between expression changes and seizure severity. PTZ treatment alone produced generalised seizures (median: 5.00 and significantly increased expression of Fos, Egr1, Arc, Ccl4 and Bdnf. Consistent with previous findings, CBDV significantly decreased PTZ-induced seizure severity (median: 3.25 and increased latency to the first sign of seizure. Furthermore, there were correlations between reductions of seizure severity and mRNA expression of Fos, Egr1, Arc, Ccl4 and Bdnf in the majority of brain regions in the CBDV+PTZ treated group. When CBDV treated animals were grouped into CBDV responders (criterion: seizure severity ≤3.25 and non-responders (criterion: seizure severity >3.25, PTZ-induced increases of Fos, Egr1, Arc, Ccl4 and Bdnf expression were suppressed in CBDV responders. These results provide the first molecular confirmation of behaviourally observed effects of the non-psychoactive, anticonvulsant cannabinoid, CBDV, upon chemically-induced seizures and serve to underscore its suitability for clinical development.

  12. Directed partial correlation: inferring large-scale gene regulatory network through induced topology disruptions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yinyin Yuan

    Full Text Available Inferring regulatory relationships among many genes based on their temporal variation in transcript abundance has been a popular research topic. Due to the nature of microarray experiments, classical tools for time series analysis lose power since the number of variables far exceeds the number of the samples. In this paper, we describe some of the existing multivariate inference techniques that are applicable to hundreds of variables and show the potential challenges for small-sample, large-scale data. We propose a directed partial correlation (DPC method as an efficient and effective solution to regulatory network inference using these data. Specifically for genomic data, the proposed method is designed to deal with large-scale datasets. It combines the efficiency of partial correlation for setting up network topology by testing conditional independence, and the concept of Granger causality to assess topology change with induced interruptions. The idea is that when a transcription factor is induced artificially within a gene network, the disruption of the network by the induction signifies a genes role in transcriptional regulation. The benchmarking results using GeneNetWeaver, the simulator for the DREAM challenges, provide strong evidence of the outstanding performance of the proposed DPC method. When applied to real biological data, the inferred starch metabolism network in Arabidopsis reveals many biologically meaningful network modules worthy of further investigation. These results collectively suggest DPC is a versatile tool for genomics research. The R package DPC is available for download (http://code.google.com/p/dpcnet/.

  13. Heavy metal-induced gene expression in fish and fish cell lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Price-Haughey, J.; Bonham, K.; Gedamu, L.

    1986-01-01

    Two isoforms of metallothionein (MT) have been isolated from rainbow trout livers following CdCl 2 injections. These MTs have been identified by standard procedures and appear to be similar to mammalian MTs. Total RNA from such induced livers was shown to contain high levels of MT-mRNA activity when translated in cell free systems. This activity was demonstrated to be in the 8 to 10S region of a sucrose gradient. The RNA fractions also showed homology to a mouse MT-I cDNA probe. The exposure of rainbow trout hepatoma (RTH) cells to various concentrations of CdCl 2 and ZnCl 2 induced the expression of MT and MT-mRNA. Exposure of Chinook salmon embryonic (CHSE) cells to these metals, however, did not result in MT synthesis, suggesting that the MT genes have not become committed to transcription. Instead, an unknown low molecular weight (MW = 14 kDa) protein was induced. This metal-inducible protein (MIP) was capable of binding 109 Cd and was stable to heating, while the binding of the metal to this protein was not. These characteristics have been reported for a protein induced in rainbow trout liver following environmental exposure to cadmium

  14. Protective effects of the exopolysaccharide Lasiodiplodan against DNA damage and inflammation induced by doxorubicin in rats: Cytogenetic and gene expression assays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mello, M.B.; Machado, C.S.; Ribeiro, D.L.; Aissa, A.F.; Burim, R.V.; Alves da Cunha, M.A.; Barcelos, G.R.M.

    2017-01-01

    The lasiodiplodan (LS) is a β-(1 → 6)-D-glucan produced by the fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae and some of the biological activities of LS were reported as hypoglycemic, anticoagulant, anti-proliferative and anticancer action; however, its effects on DNA instability and modulation of gene expression are still unclear. Aims of study were investigate the genotoxic effects of lasiodiplodan, and its protective activity against DNA damage induced by doxorubicin (DXR) and its impact on the expression of genes associated with DNA damage and inflammatory response pathways. Therefore, Wistar rats were treated (15 days) orally with LS (5.0; 10 and 20 mg/kg bw) alone and in combination with DXR (15 mg/kg bw; administrated intraperitoneally on 14th day) as well as their respective controls: distilled water and DXR. Monitoring of DNA damage was assessed by comet and micronucleus (MN) assays and gene expression was evaluated by PCR-Arrays. Treatments with LS alone did not induce disturbances on DNA; when LS was given in combination with DXR, comet and MN formations were reduced to those found in the respective controls. Moreover, LS was able to reduce the disturbances on gene expressions induced by DXR treatment, since the animals that receive LS associated with DXR showed no alteration in the expression of genes related to DNA damage response. Also, DXR induced several up- and down-regulation of several genes associated to inflammatory process, while the animals that received LS + DXR had their gene expression patterns similar to those found in the control group. In conclusion, our results showed that LS did not induce disturbances on DNA stability and significantly reduce the DNA damage and inflammation caused by DXR exposure. In addition, we give further information concerning the molecular mechanisms associated to LS protective effects which seems to be a promising nutraceutical with chemopreventive potential.

  15. Can short-term administration of dexamethasone abrogate radiation-induced acute cytokine gene response in lung and modify subsequent molecular responses?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, J.-H.; Chiang, C.-S.; Tsao, C.-Y.; Lin, P.-Y.; Wu, C.-J.; McBride, William H.

    2001-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate the effects of short-term administration of dexamethasone (DEX) on radiation-induced responses in the mouse lung, focusing on expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine and related genes. Methods and Materials: At indicated times after thoracic irradiation and/or drug treatment, mRNA expression levels of cytokines (mTNF-α, mIL-1α, mIL-1β, mIL-2, mIL-3, mIL-4, mIL-5, mIL-6, mIFN-γ) and related genes in the lungs of C3H/HeN mice were measured by RNase protection assay. Results: Radiation-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression levels in lung peak at 6 h after thoracic irradiation. DEX (5 mg/kg) suppresses both basal cytokine mRNA levels and this early response when given immediately after irradiation. However, by 24 h, in mice treated with DEX alone or DEX plus radiation, there was a strong rebound effect that lasted up to 3 days. Modification of the early radiation-induced response by DEX did not change the second wave of cytokine gene expression in the lung that occurs at 1 to 2 weeks, suggesting that early cytokine gene induction might not determine subsequent molecular events. A single dose of DEX attenuated, but did not completely suppress, increases in cytokine mRNA levels induced by lipopolysaccharide (2.5 mg/kg) treatment, but, unlike with radiation, no significant rebound effect was seen. Five days of dexamethasone treatment in the pneumonitic phase also inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression and, again, there was a rebound effect after withdrawal of the drug. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that short-term use of dexamethasone can temporarily suppress radiation-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression, but there may be a rebound after drug withdrawal and the drug does little to change the essence and course of the pneumonitic process

  16. Towards mastering CRISPR-induced gene knock-in in plants: Survey of key features and focus on the model Physcomitrella patens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collonnier, Cécile; Guyon-Debast, Anouchka; Maclot, François; Mara, Kostlend; Charlot, Florence; Nogué, Fabien

    2017-05-15

    Beyond its predominant role in human and animal therapy, the CRISPR-Cas9 system has also become an essential tool for plant research and plant breeding. Agronomic applications rely on the mastery of gene inactivation and gene modification. However, if the knock-out of genes by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ)-mediated repair of the targeted double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by the CRISPR-Cas9 system is rather well mastered, the knock-in of genes by homology-driven repair or end-joining remains difficult to perform efficiently in higher plants. In this review, we describe the different approaches that can be tested to improve the efficiency of CRISPR-induced gene modification in plants, which include the use of optimal transformation and regeneration protocols, the design of appropriate guide RNAs and donor templates and the choice of nucleases and means of delivery. We also present what can be done to orient DNA repair pathways in the target cells, and we show how the moss Physcomitrella patens can be used as a model plant to better understand what DNA repair mechanisms are involved, and how this knowledge could eventually be used to define more performant strategies of CRISPR-induced gene knock-in. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Exercise Prevents Diaphragm Wasting Induced by Cigarette Smoke through Modulation of Antioxidant Genes and Metalloproteinases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gracielle Vieira Ramos

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. The present study aimed to analyze the effects of physical training on an antioxidant canonical pathway and metalloproteinases activity in diaphragm muscle in a model of cigarette smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD. Methods. Male mice were randomized into control, smoke, exercise, and exercise + smoke groups, which were maintained in trial period of 24 weeks. Gene expression of kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1; nuclear factor erythroid-2 like 2; and heme-oxygenase1 by polymerase chain reaction was performed. Metalloproteinases 2 and 9 activities were analyzed by zymography. Exercise capacity was evaluated by treadmill exercise test before and after the protocol. Results. Aerobic training inhibited diaphragm muscle wasting induced by cigarette smoke exposure. This inhibition was associated with improved aerobic capacity in those animals that were submitted to 24 weeks of aerobic training, when compared to the control and smoke groups, which were not submitted to training. The aerobic training also downregulated the increase of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9 and upregulated antioxidant genes, such as nuclear factor erythroid-2 like 2 (NRF2 and heme-oxygenase1 (HMOX1, in exercise + smoke group compared to smoke group. Conclusions. Treadmill aerobic training protects diaphragm muscle wasting induced by cigarette smoke exposure involving upregulation of antioxidant genes and downregulation of matrix metalloproteinases.

  18. Ultra-short laser pulse ablation using shear-force feedback: Femtosecond laser induced breakdown spectroscopy feasibility study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samek, Ota; Kurowski, Andre; Kittel, Silke; Kukhlevsky, Sergei; Hergenroeder, Roland

    2005-01-01

    This work reports on a feasibility study of proximity ablation using femtosecond pulses. Ultra-short pulses were launched to a bare tapered optical fiber and delivered to the sample. The tip-sample distance was controlled by means of shear-force feedback. Consequently, ablation craters with submicrometer dimensions were obtained. Potential analytical applications for Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique, such as e.g. inclusions in steel or bio cells, are suggested

  19. Characterization of the Promoter Region of an Arabidopsis Gene for 9-cis-Epoxycarotenoid Dioxygenase Involved in Dehydration-Inducible Transcription

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behnam, Babak; Iuchi, Satoshi; Fujita, Miki; Fujita, Yasunari; Takasaki, Hironori; Osakabe, Yuriko; Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, Kazuko; Kobayashi, Masatomo; Shinozaki, Kazuo

    2013-01-01

    Plants respond to dehydration stress and tolerate water-deficit status through complex physiological and cellular processes. Many genes are induced by water deficit. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays important roles in tolerance to dehydration stress by inducing many stress genes. ABA is synthesized de novo in response to dehydration. Most of the genes involved in ABA biosynthesis have been identified, and they are expressed mainly in leaf vascular tissues. Of the products of such genes, 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) is a key enzyme in ABA biosynthesis. One of the five NCED genes in Arabidopsis, AtNCED3, is significantly induced by dehydration. To understand the regulatory mechanism of the early stages of the dehydration stress response, it is important to analyse the transcriptional regulatory systems of AtNCED3. In the present study, we found that an overlapping G-box recognition sequence (5′-CACGTG-3′) at −2248 bp from the transcriptional start site of AtNCED3 is an important cis-acting element in the induction of the dehydration response. We discuss the possible transcriptional regulatory system of dehydration-responsive AtNCED3 expression, and how this may control the level of ABA under water-deficit conditions. PMID:23604098

  20. A Single-Chain Photoswitchable CRISPR-Cas9 Architecture for Light-Inducible Gene Editing and Transcription.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xin X; Zou, Xinzhi; Chung, Hokyung K; Gao, Yuchen; Liu, Yanxia; Qi, Lei S; Lin, Michael Z

    2018-02-16

    Optical control of CRISPR-Cas9-derived proteins would be useful for restricting gene editing or transcriptional regulation to desired times and places. Optical control of Cas9 functions has been achieved with photouncageable unnatural amino acids or by using light-induced protein interactions to reconstitute Cas9-mediated functions from two polypeptides. However, these methods have only been applied to one Cas9 species and have not been used for optical control of different perturbations at two genes. Here, we use photodissociable dimeric fluorescent protein domains to engineer single-chain photoswitchable Cas9 (ps-Cas9) proteins in which the DNA-binding cleft is occluded at baseline and opened upon illumination. This design successfully controlled different species and functional variants of Cas9, mediated transcriptional activation more robustly than previous optogenetic methods, and enabled light-induced transcription of one gene and editing of another in the same cells. Thus, a single-chain photoswitchable architecture provides a general method to control a variety of Cas9-mediated functions.

  1. Dynamic Blue Light-Inducible T7 RNA Polymerases (Opto-T7RNAPs) for Precise Spatiotemporal Gene Expression Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumschlager, Armin; Aoki, Stephanie K; Khammash, Mustafa

    2017-11-17

    Light has emerged as a control input for biological systems due to its precise spatiotemporal resolution. The limited toolset for light control in bacteria motivated us to develop a light-inducible transcription system that is independent from cellular regulation through the use of an orthogonal RNA polymerase. Here, we present our engineered blue light-responsive T7 RNA polymerases (Opto-T7RNAPs) that show properties such as low leakiness of gene expression in the dark state, high expression strength when induced with blue light, and an inducible range of more than 300-fold. Following optimization of the system to reduce expression variability, we created a variant that returns to the inactive dark state within minutes once the blue light is turned off. This allows for precise dynamic control of gene expression, which is a key aspect for most applications using optogenetic regulation. The regulators, which only require blue light from ordinary light-emitting diodes for induction, were developed and tested in the bacterium Escherichia coli, which is a crucial cell factory for biotechnology due to its fast and inexpensive cultivation and well understood physiology and genetics. Opto-T7RNAP, with minor alterations, should be extendable to other bacterial species as well as eukaryotes such as mammalian cells and yeast in which the T7 RNA polymerase and the light-inducible Vivid regulator have been shown to be functional. We anticipate that our approach will expand the applicability of using light as an inducer for gene expression independent from cellular regulation and allow for a more reliable dynamic control of synthetic and natural gene networks.

  2. Traction force dynamics predict gap formation in activated endothelium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valent, Erik T.; Nieuw Amerongen, Geerten P. van; Hinsbergh, Victor W.M. van; Hordijk, Peter L.

    2016-01-01

    In many pathological conditions the endothelium becomes activated and dysfunctional, resulting in hyperpermeability and plasma leakage. No specific therapies are available yet to control endothelial barrier function, which is regulated by inter-endothelial junctions and the generation of acto-myosin-based contractile forces in the context of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. However, the spatiotemporal distribution and stimulus-induced reorganization of these integral forces remain largely unknown. Traction force microscopy of human endothelial monolayers was used to visualize contractile forces in resting cells and during thrombin-induced hyperpermeability. Simultaneously, information about endothelial monolayer integrity, adherens junctions and cytoskeletal proteins (F-actin) were captured. This revealed a heterogeneous distribution of traction forces, with nuclear areas showing lower and cell-cell junctions higher traction forces than the whole-monolayer average. Moreover, junctional forces were asymmetrically distributed among neighboring cells. Force vector orientation analysis showed a good correlation with the alignment of F-actin and revealed contractile forces in newly formed filopodia and lamellipodia-like protrusions within the monolayer. Finally, unstable areas, showing high force fluctuations within the monolayer were prone to form inter-endothelial gaps upon stimulation with thrombin. To conclude, contractile traction forces are heterogeneously distributed within endothelial monolayers and force instability, rather than force magnitude, predicts the stimulus-induced formation of intercellular gaps. - Highlights: • Endothelial monolayers exert dynamic- and heterogeneous traction forces. • High traction forces correlate with junctional areas and the F-actin cytoskeleton. • Newly formed inter-endothelial gaps are characterized by opposing traction forces. • Force stability is a key feature controlling endothelial permeability.

  3. Traction force dynamics predict gap formation in activated endothelium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Valent, Erik T.; Nieuw Amerongen, Geerten P. van; Hinsbergh, Victor W.M. van; Hordijk, Peter L., E-mail: p.hordijk@vumc.nl

    2016-09-10

    In many pathological conditions the endothelium becomes activated and dysfunctional, resulting in hyperpermeability and plasma leakage. No specific therapies are available yet to control endothelial barrier function, which is regulated by inter-endothelial junctions and the generation of acto-myosin-based contractile forces in the context of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. However, the spatiotemporal distribution and stimulus-induced reorganization of these integral forces remain largely unknown. Traction force microscopy of human endothelial monolayers was used to visualize contractile forces in resting cells and during thrombin-induced hyperpermeability. Simultaneously, information about endothelial monolayer integrity, adherens junctions and cytoskeletal proteins (F-actin) were captured. This revealed a heterogeneous distribution of traction forces, with nuclear areas showing lower and cell-cell junctions higher traction forces than the whole-monolayer average. Moreover, junctional forces were asymmetrically distributed among neighboring cells. Force vector orientation analysis showed a good correlation with the alignment of F-actin and revealed contractile forces in newly formed filopodia and lamellipodia-like protrusions within the monolayer. Finally, unstable areas, showing high force fluctuations within the monolayer were prone to form inter-endothelial gaps upon stimulation with thrombin. To conclude, contractile traction forces are heterogeneously distributed within endothelial monolayers and force instability, rather than force magnitude, predicts the stimulus-induced formation of intercellular gaps. - Highlights: • Endothelial monolayers exert dynamic- and heterogeneous traction forces. • High traction forces correlate with junctional areas and the F-actin cytoskeleton. • Newly formed inter-endothelial gaps are characterized by opposing traction forces. • Force stability is a key feature controlling endothelial permeability.

  4. Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Gene Expression Is Induced by Nanog and Oct4, Essential Pluripotent Stem Cells’ Transcription Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solari, Claudia; Vázquez Echegaray, Camila; Cosentino, María Soledad; Petrone, María Victoria; Waisman, Ariel; Luzzani, Carlos; Francia, Marcos; Villodre, Emilly; Lenz, Guido; Miriuka, Santiago; Barañao, Lino; Guberman, Alejandra

    2015-01-01

    Pluripotent stem cells possess complex systems that protect them from oxidative stress and ensure genomic stability, vital for their role in development. Even though it has been reported that antioxidant activity diminishes along stem cell differentiation, little is known about the transcriptional regulation of the involved genes. The reported modulation of some of these genes led us to hypothesize that some of them could be regulated by the transcription factors critical for self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). In this work, we studied the expression profile of multiple genes involved in antioxidant defense systems in both ESCs and iPSCs. We found that Manganese superoxide dismutase gene (Mn-Sod/Sod2) was repressed during diverse differentiation protocols showing an expression pattern similar to Nanog gene. Moreover, Sod2 promoter activity was induced by Oct4 and Nanog when we performed a transactivation assay using two different reporter constructions. Finally, we studied Sod2 gene regulation by modulating the expression of Oct4 and Nanog in ESCs by shRNAs and found that downregulation of any of them reduced Sod2 expression. Our results indicate that pluripotency transcription factors positively modulate Sod2 gene transcription. PMID:26642061

  5. Turbulence-induced bubble collision force modeling and validation in adiabatic two-phase flow using CFD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, Subash L., E-mail: sharma55@purdue.edu [School of Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1290 (United States); Hibiki, Takashi; Ishii, Mamoru [School of Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1290 (United States); Brooks, Caleb S. [Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Schlegel, Joshua P. [Nuclear Engineering Program, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409 (United States); Liu, Yang [Nuclear Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States); Buchanan, John R. [Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation, Bettis Laboratory, West Mifflin, PA 15122 (United States)

    2017-02-15

    Highlights: • Void distribution in narrow rectangular channel with various non-uniform inlet conditions. • Modeling of void diffusion due to bubble collision force. • Validation of new modeling in adiabatic air–water two-phase flow in a narrow channel. - Abstract: The prediction capability of the two-fluid model for gas–liquid dispersed two-phase flow depends on the accuracy of the closure relations for the interfacial forces. In previous studies of two-phase flow Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), interfacial force models for a single isolated bubble has been extended to disperse two-phase flow assuming the effect in a swarm of bubbles is similar. Limited studies have been performed investigating the effect of the bubble concentration on the lateral phase distribution. Bubbles, while moving through the liquid phase, may undergo turbulence-driven random collision with neighboring bubbles without significant coalescence. The rate of these collisions depends upon the bubble approach velocity and bubble spacing. The bubble collision frequency is expected to be higher in locations with higher bubble concentrations, i.e., volume fraction. This turbulence-driven random collision causes the diffusion of the bubbles from high concentration to low concentration. Based on experimental observations, a phenomenological model has been developed for a “turbulence-induced bubble collision force” for use in the two-fluid model. For testing the validity of the model, two-phase flow data measured at Purdue University are utilized. The geometry is a 10 mm × 200 mm cross section channel. Experimentally, non-uniform inlet boundary conditions are applied with different sparger combinations to vary the volume fraction distribution across the wider dimension. Examining uniform and non-uniform inlet data allows for the influence of the volume fraction to be studied as a separate effect. The turbulence-induced bubble collision force has been implemented in ANSYS CFX. The

  6. Gene trapping identifies a putative tumor suppressor and a new inducer of cell migration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guardiola-Serrano, Francisca; Haendeler, Judith; Lukosz, Margarete; Sturm, Karsten; Melchner, Harald von; Altschmied, Joachim

    2008-01-01

    Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in apoptotic cell death, cellular proliferation, differentiation, inflammation, and tumorigenesis. In tumors it is secreted by tumor associated macrophages and can have both pro- and anti-tumorigenic effects. To identify genes regulated by TNFα, we performed a gene trap screen in the mammary carcinoma cell line MCF-7 and recovered 64 unique, TNFα-induced gene trap integration sites. Among these were the genes coding for the zinc finger protein ZC3H10 and for the transcription factor grainyhead-like 3 (GRHL3). In line with the dual effects of TNFα on tumorigenesis, we found that ZC3H10 inhibits anchorage independent growth in soft agar suggesting a tumor suppressor function, whereas GRHL3 strongly stimulated the migration of endothelial cells which is consistent with an angiogenic, pro-tumorigenic function

  7. Mercury-induced hepatotoxicity in zebrafish: in vivo mechanistic insights from transcriptome analysis, phenotype anchoring and targeted gene expression validation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathavan Sinnakaruppan

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mercury is a prominent environmental contaminant that causes detrimental effects to human health. Although the liver has been known to be a main target organ, there is limited information on in vivo molecular mechanism of mercury-induced toxicity in the liver. By using transcriptome analysis, phenotypic anchoring and validation of targeted gene expression in zebrafish, mercury-induced hepatotoxicity was investigated and a number of perturbed cellular processes were identified and compared with those captured in the in vitro human cell line studies. Results Hepato-transcriptome analysis of mercury-exposed zebrafish revealed that the earliest deregulated genes were associated with electron transport chain, mitochondrial fatty acid beta-oxidation, nuclear receptor signaling and apoptotic pathway, followed by complement system and proteasome pathway, and thereafter DNA damage, hypoxia, Wnt signaling, fatty acid synthesis, gluconeogenesis, cell cycle and motility. Comparative meta-analysis of microarray data between zebrafish liver and human HepG2 cells exposed to mercury identified some common toxicological effects of mercury-induced hepatotoxicity in both models. Histological analyses of liver from mercury-exposed fish revealed morphological changes of liver parenchyma, decreased nucleated cell count, increased lipid vesicles, glycogen and apoptotic bodies, thus providing phenotypic evidence for anchoring of the transcriptome analysis. Validation of targeted gene expression confirmed deregulated gene-pathways from enrichment analysis. Some of these genes responding to low concentrations of mercury may serve as toxicogenomic-based markers for detection and health risk assessment of environmental mercury contaminations. Conclusion Mercury-induced hepatotoxicity was triggered by oxidative stresses, intrinsic apoptotic pathway, deregulation of nuclear receptor and kinase activities including Gsk3 that deregulates Wnt signaling

  8. Ultraviolet B radiation induces impaired lifecycle traits and modulates expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes in the copepod Tigriopus japonicus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Puthumana, Jayesh; Lee, Min-Chul; Park, Jun Chul; Kim, Hui-Su; Hwang, Dae-Sik; Han, Jeonghoon, E-mail: jeonghoon@skku.edu; Lee, Jae-Seong, E-mail: jslee2@skku.edu

    2017-03-15

    Highlights: • Impaired effects of UV-B on the copepod Tigriopus japonicus were examined. • Modulation of entire CYP genes were analyzed in response to UV-B. • CYP inhibitor (PBO) confirmed the role of CYP in UV-B induced mortality. • Low-dose UV-B found induce developmental delays, and higher doses cause reproductive impairments. • Study predicted the mechanistic effects of UV-B in copepods through the AhR-mediated up-regulation of CYP genes. - Abstract: To evaluate the effects of ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation at the developmental, reproductive, and molecular levels in aquatic invertebrates, we measured UV-B-induced acute toxicity, impairments in developmental and reproductive traits, and UV-B interaction with the entire family of cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes in the intertidal benthic copepod Tigriopus japonicus. We found a significant, dose-dependent reduction (P < 0.05) in the survival of T. japonicus that began as a developmental delay and decreased fecundity. The 48 h LD10 and LD50 were 1.35 and 1.84 kJ/m{sup 2}, and the CYP inhibitor (PBO) elevated mortality, confirming the involvement of CYP genes in UV-B induced toxicity. Low-dose UV-B (1.5 kJ/m{sup 2}) induced developmental delays, and higher doses (6–18 kJ/m{sup 2}) caused reproductive impairments in ovigerous females. The significant up-regulation of CYP genes belonging to clans 2/3/MT/4/20 in T. japonicus exposed to UV-B (12 kJ/m{sup 2}) confirmed molecular interaction between UV-B and CYP genes. Moreover, orphan CYPs, such as CYP20A1, provide good insight on the deorphanization of invertebrate CYPs. Overall, these results demonstrate the involvement of UV-B radiation in the expression of all the CYP genes in T. japonicus and their susceptibility to UV-B radiation. This will provide a better understanding of the mechanistic effects of UV-B in copepods through the predicted AhR-mediated up-regulation of CYP genes.

  9. Ultraviolet B radiation induces impaired lifecycle traits and modulates expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes in the copepod Tigriopus japonicus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puthumana, Jayesh; Lee, Min-Chul; Park, Jun Chul; Kim, Hui-Su; Hwang, Dae-Sik; Han, Jeonghoon; Lee, Jae-Seong

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Impaired effects of UV-B on the copepod Tigriopus japonicus were examined. • Modulation of entire CYP genes were analyzed in response to UV-B. • CYP inhibitor (PBO) confirmed the role of CYP in UV-B induced mortality. • Low-dose UV-B found induce developmental delays, and higher doses cause reproductive impairments. • Study predicted the mechanistic effects of UV-B in copepods through the AhR-mediated up-regulation of CYP genes. - Abstract: To evaluate the effects of ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation at the developmental, reproductive, and molecular levels in aquatic invertebrates, we measured UV-B-induced acute toxicity, impairments in developmental and reproductive traits, and UV-B interaction with the entire family of cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes in the intertidal benthic copepod Tigriopus japonicus. We found a significant, dose-dependent reduction (P < 0.05) in the survival of T. japonicus that began as a developmental delay and decreased fecundity. The 48 h LD10 and LD50 were 1.35 and 1.84 kJ/m"2, and the CYP inhibitor (PBO) elevated mortality, confirming the involvement of CYP genes in UV-B induced toxicity. Low-dose UV-B (1.5 kJ/m"2) induced developmental delays, and higher doses (6–18 kJ/m"2) caused reproductive impairments in ovigerous females. The significant up-regulation of CYP genes belonging to clans 2/3/MT/4/20 in T. japonicus exposed to UV-B (12 kJ/m"2) confirmed molecular interaction between UV-B and CYP genes. Moreover, orphan CYPs, such as CYP20A1, provide good insight on the deorphanization of invertebrate CYPs. Overall, these results demonstrate the involvement of UV-B radiation in the expression of all the CYP genes in T. japonicus and their susceptibility to UV-B radiation. This will provide a better understanding of the mechanistic effects of UV-B in copepods through the predicted AhR-mediated up-regulation of CYP genes.

  10. [Gene Expression Profile of Apoptosis in Leukemia Cells Induced by Hsp90 Selective inhibitor 17-AAG].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Na-Na; Li, Zhi-Heng; Tao, Yan-Fang; Xu, Li-Xiao; Pan, Jian; Hu, Shao-Yan

    2016-06-01

    To investigate the apoptotic effects of Hsp90 selective inhibitor 17-AAG on human leukemia HL-60 and NB4 cells and analyse its possible mechanism. CCK-8 assay was used to quantify the growth inhibition of cells after exposure to 17-AAG for 24 hours. Flow cytometrve with annexin V/propidium iodide staining was used to detect apoptosis of leukemia cells. Then Western blot was used to detect the activation of apoptosis related protein caspase-3 and PARP level. Gene expression profile of NB4 cells treated with 17-AAG was analyzed with real-time PCR arrays. The inhibition of leukemia cell proliferation displayed a dose-dependent manner. Annexin V assay, cell cycle analysis and activation of PARP demonstrate that 17-AAG induced apoptosis leukemia cells. Real-time PCR array analysis showed that expression of 56 genes significantly up-regulated and expression of 23 genes were significantly down-regulated after 17-AAG treatment. The 17-AAG can inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of leukemia cells. After leukemia cells are treated with 17-AAG, the significant changes of apoptosis-related genes occured, and the cell apoptosis occurs via activating apoptosis related signaling pathway.

  11. Effect of chronic forced swimming stress on whole brain radiation induced cognitive dysfunction and related mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yuan; Sun Rui; Zhu Yaqun; Zhang Liyuan; Ji Jianfeng; Li Kun; Tian Ye

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To explore whether chronic forced swimming stress could improve whole brain radiation induced cognitive dysfunction and possible mechanism. Methods: Thirty-nine one month old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into sham control group(C), swimming group(C-S), radiation group(R), and radiation plus swimming group(R-S). Radiation groups were given a single dose of 20 Gy on whole-brain. Rats in the swimming groups were trained with swimming of 15 min/d, 5 d/w. Rat behavior was performed 3 months after radiation in an order of free activity in an open field and the Morris water maze test including the place navigation and spatial probe tests. Then, the protein expressions of BDNF, P-ERK, T-ERK, P-CREB and T-CREB in the rat hippocampus tissue were assayed by Western blot. Results: On the day 2, in the place navigation test of Morris water maze, the latency of swimming group was significantly shorter than that of sham group, the latency of sham group was significantly shorter than that of radiation group, and the latency of radiation swimming group was significantly shorter than that of radiation group(P 0.05). Western blot assay showed that the expressions of BDNF and its downstream signals including P-ERK and P-CREB were markedly reduced by radiation (P < 0.05), but this reduction was attenuated by the chronic forced swimming stress. Conclusion: The chronic forced swimming stress could improve whole brain radiation induced cognitive dysfunction by up-regulating the expressions of BDNF and its downstream signal molecules of P-ERK and P-CREB in hippocampus. (authors)

  12. Force-Induced Calpain Cleavage of Talin Is Critical for Growth, Adhesion Development, and Rigidity Sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Mayur; Changede, Rishita; Hone, James; Wolfenson, Haguy; Sheetz, Michael P

    2017-12-13

    Cell growth depends upon formation of cell-matrix adhesions, but mechanisms detailing the transmission of signals from adhesions to control proliferation are still lacking. Here, we find that the scaffold protein talin undergoes force-induced cleavage in early adhesions to produce the talin rod fragment that is needed for cell cycle progression. Expression of noncleavable talin blocks cell growth, adhesion maturation, proper mechanosensing, and the related property of EGF activation of motility. Further, the expression of talin rod in the presence of noncleavable full-length talin rescues cell growth and other functions. The cleavage of talin is found in early adhesions where there is also rapid turnover of talin that depends upon calpain and TRPM4 activity as well as the generation of force on talin. Thus, we suggest that an important function of talin is its control over cell cycle progression through its cleavage in early adhesions.

  13. Differential gene expression in liver tissues of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats in response to resveratrol treatment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gökhan Sadi

    Full Text Available This study was conducted to elucidate the genome-wide gene expression profile in streptozotocin induced diabetic rat liver tissues in response to resveratrol treatment and to establish differentially expressed transcription regulation networks with microarray technology. In addition to measure the expression levels of several antioxidant and detoxification genes, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR was also used to verify the microarray results. Moreover, gene and protein expressions as well as enzymatic activities of main antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase (SOD-1 and SOD-2 and glutathione S-transferase (GST-Mu were analyzed. Diabetes altered 273 genes significantly and 90 of which were categorized functionally which suggested that genes in cellular catalytic activities, oxidation-reduction reactions, co-enzyme binding and terpenoid biosynthesis were dominated by up-regulated expression in diabetes. Whereas; genes responsible from cellular carbohydrate metabolism, regulation of transcription, cell signal transduction, calcium independent cell-to-cell adhesion and lipid catabolism were down-regulated. Resveratrol increased the expression of 186 and decreased the expression of 494 genes in control groups. While cellular and extracellular components, positive regulation of biological processes, biological response to stress and biotic stimulants, and immune response genes were up-regulated, genes responsible from proteins present in nucleus and nucleolus were mainly down-regulated. The enzyme assays showed a significant decrease in diabetic SOD-1 and GST-Mu activities. The qRT-PCR and Western-blot results demonstrated that decrease in activity is regulated at gene expression level as both mRNA and protein expressions were also suppressed. Resveratrol treatment normalized the GST activities towards the control values reflecting a post-translational effect. As a conclusion, global gene expression in the liver tissues is

  14. A nitrogen source-dependent inducible and repressible gene expression system in the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takayuki eFujiwara

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae is a model organism for studying the basic biology of photosynthetic organisms. The C. merolae cell is composed of an extremely simple set of organelles. The genome is completely sequenced. Gene targeting and a heat-shock inducible gene expression system has been recently established. However, a conditional gene knockdown system has not been established, which is required for the examination of function of genes that are essential to cell viability and primary mutant defects. In the current study, we first evaluated the expression of a transgene from two chromosomal neutral loci located in the intergenic region between CMD184C and CMD185C, and a region upstream of the URA5.3 gene. There was no significant difference in expression between them and this result suggests that both may be used as neutral loci. We then designed an inducible and repressible gene expression by using promoters of nitrate-assimilation genes. The expression of nitrate-assimilation genes such as NR (nitrate reductase, NIR (nitrite reductase and NRT (the nitrate/nitrite transporter are reversibly regulated by their dependence on nitrogen sources. We constructed stable strains in which a cassette containing the NR, NIR or NRT promoter and sfGFP gene was inserted in a region upstream of URA5.3 and examined the efficacy of the promoters. The NR, NIR, and NRT promoters were constitutively activated in the nitrate medium, whereas their activities were extremely low in presence of ammonium. The activation of each promoter was immediately inhibited within a period of 1 hour by the addition of ammonium. Thus, a conditional knockdown system in C. merolae was successfully established. The activity varies among the promoters, and each is selectable according to the expression level of a target gene estimated by RNA-sequencing. This method is applicable to defects in genes of interest in photosynthetic organism.

  15. Inducible l-Alanine Exporter Encoded by the Novel Gene ygaW (alaE) in Escherichia coli ▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hori, Hatsuhiro; Yoneyama, Hiroshi; Tobe, Ryuta; Ando, Tasuke; Isogai, Emiko; Katsumata, Ryoichi

    2011-01-01

    We previously isolated a mutant hypersensitive to l-alanyl-l-alanine from a non-l-alanine-metabolizing Escherichia coli strain and found that it lacked an inducible l-alanine export system. Consequently, this mutant showed a significant accumulation of intracellular l-alanine and a reduction in the l-alanine export rate compared to the parent strain. When the mutant was used as a host to clone a gene(s) that complements the dipeptide-hypersensitive phenotype, two uncharacterized genes, ygaW and ytfF, and two characterized genes, yddG and yeaS, were identified. Overexpression of each gene in the mutant resulted in a decrease in the intracellular l-alanine level and enhancement of the l-alanine export rate in the presence of the dipeptide, suggesting that their products function as exporters of l-alanine. Since ygaW exhibited the most striking impact on both the intra- and the extracellular l-alanine levels among the four genes identified, we disrupted the ygaW gene in the non-l-alanine-metabolizing strain. The resulting isogenic mutant showed the same intra- and extracellular l-alanine levels as observed in the dipeptide-hypersensitive mutant obtained by chemical mutagenesis. When each gene was overexpressed in the wild-type strain, which does not intrinsically excrete alanine, only the ygaW gene conferred on the cells the ability to excrete alanine. In addition, expression of the ygaW gene was induced in the presence of the dipeptide. On the basis of these results, we concluded that YgaW is likely to be the physiologically most relevant exporter for l-alanine in E. coli and proposed that the gene be redesignated alaE for alanine export. PMID:21531828

  16. Reactive oxygen species and fatigue-induced prolonged low-frequency force depression in skeletal muscle fibres of rats, mice and SOD2 overexpressing mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruton, Joseph D; Place, Nicolas; Yamada, Takashi; Silva, José P; Andrade, Francisco H; Dahlstedt, Anders J; Zhang, Shi-Jin; Katz, Abram; Larsson, Nils-Göran; Westerblad, Håkan

    2008-01-01

    Skeletal muscle often shows a delayed force recovery after fatiguing stimulation, especially at low stimulation frequencies. In this study we focus on the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in this fatigue-induced prolonged low-frequency force depression. Intact, single muscle fibres were dissected from flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscles of rats and wild-type and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) overexpressing mice. Force and myoplasmic free [Ca(2+)] ([Ca(2+)](i)) were measured. Fibres were stimulated at different frequencies before and 30 min after fatigue induced by repeated tetani. The results show a marked force decrease at low stimulation frequencies 30 min after fatiguing stimulation in all fibres. This decrease was associated with reduced tetanic [Ca(2+)](i) in wild-type mouse fibres, whereas rat fibres and mouse SOD2 overexpressing fibres instead displayed a decreased myofibrillar Ca(2+) sensitivity. The SOD activity was approximately 50% lower in wild-type mouse than in rat FDB muscles. Myoplasmic ROS increased during repeated tetanic stimulation in rat fibres but not in wild-type mouse fibres. The decreased Ca(2+) sensitivity in rat fibres could be partially reversed by application of the reducing agent dithiothreitol, whereas the decrease in tetanic [Ca(2+)](i) in wild-type mouse fibres was not affected by dithiothreitol or the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine. In conclusion, we describe two different causes of fatigue-induced prolonged low-frequency force depression, which correlate to differences in SOD activity and ROS metabolism. These findings may have clinical implications since ROS-mediated impairments in myofibrillar function can be counteracted by reductants and antioxidants, whereas changes in SR Ca(2+) handling appear more resistant to interventions.

  17. Inducible defenses stay up late: temporal patterns of immune gene expression in Tenebrio molitor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Paul R; Makarova, Olga; Rolff, Jens

    2013-12-06

    The course of microbial infection in insects is shaped by a two-stage process of immune defense. Constitutive defenses, such as engulfment and melanization, act immediately and are followed by inducible defenses, archetypically the production of antimicrobial peptides, which eliminate or suppress the remaining microbes. By applying RNAseq across a 7-day time course, we sought to characterize the long-lasting immune response to bacterial challenge in the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor, a model for the biochemistry of insect immunity and persistent bacterial infection. By annotating a hybrid de novo assembly of RNAseq data, we were able to identify putative orthologs for the majority of components of the conserved insect immune system. Compared with Tribolium castaneum, the most closely related species with a reference genome sequence and a manually curated immune system annotation, the T. molitor immune gene count was lower, with lineage-specific expansions of genes encoding serine proteases and their countervailing inhibitors accounting for the majority of the deficit. Quantitative mapping of RNAseq reads to the reference assembly showed that expression of genes with predicted functions in cellular immunity, wound healing, melanization, and the production of reactive oxygen species was transiently induced immediately after immune challenge. In contrast, expression of genes encoding antimicrobial peptides or components of the Toll signaling pathway and iron sequestration response remained elevated for at least 7 days. Numerous genes involved in metabolism and nutrient storage were repressed, indicating a possible cost of immune induction. Strikingly, the expression of almost all antibacterial peptides followed the same pattern of long-lasting induction, regardless of their spectra of activity, signaling possible interactive roles in vivo. Copyright © 2014 Johnston et al.

  18. Melatonin mitigates thioacetamide-induced hepatic fibrosis via antioxidant activity and modulation of proinflammatory cytokines and fibrogenic genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebda, Mohamed A; Sadek, Kadry M; Abouzed, Tarek K; Tohamy, Hossam G; El-Sayed, Yasser S

    2018-01-01

    The potential antifibrotic effects of melatonin against induced hepatic fibrosis were explored. Rats were allocated into four groups: placebo; thioacetamide (TAA) (200mg/kg bwt, i.p twice weekly for two months); melatonin (5mg/kgbwt, i.p daily for a week before TAA and continued for an additional two months); and melatonin plus TAA. Hepatic fibrotic changes were evaluated biochemically and histopathologically. Hepatic oxidative/antioxidative indices were assessed. The expression of hepatic proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β), fibrogenic-related genes (transforming growth factor-1β, collagen I, collagen, III, laminin, and autotaxin) and an antioxidant-related gene (thioredoxin-1) were detected by qRT-PCR. In fibrotic rats, melatonin lowered serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and autotaxin activities, bilirubin, hepatic hydroxyproline and plasma ammonia levels. Melatonin displayed hepatoprotective and antifibrotic potential as indicated by mild hydropic degeneration of some hepatocytes and mild fibroplasia. In addition, TAA induced the depletion of glutathione, glutathione s-transferase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and paraoxonase-1 (PON-1), while inducing the accumulation of malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl (C=O) and nitric oxide (NO), and DNA fragmentation. These effects were restored by melatonin pretreatment. Furthermore, melatonin markedly attenuated the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and fibrogenic genes via the upregulation of thioredoxin-1 mRNA transcripts. Melatonin exhibits potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and fibrosuppressive activities against TAA-induced hepatic fibrogenesis via the suppression of oxidative stress, DNA damage, proinflammatory cytokines and fibrogenic gene transcripts. In addition, we demonstrate that the antifibrotic activity of melatonin is mediated by the induction of thioredoxin-1 with attenuation of autotaxin expressions

  19. Gene expression in skin tumors induced in hairless mice by chronic exposure to ultraviolet B irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Hiromi; Tanaka, Misao; Kobayashi, Shizuko; Suzuki, Junko S.; Ogiso, Manabu; Tohyama, Chiharu

    1997-01-01

    We investigated the expressions of c-Ha-ras, c-jun, c-fos, c-myc genes and p53 protein in the development of skin tumours induced by chronic exposure to UVB without a photosensitizer using hairless mice. When mice were exposed to UVB at a dose of 2 kJ/m 2 three times a week, increased c-Ha-ras and c-myc transcripts were detected after only 5 weeks of exposure, while no tumour appeared on the exposed skin. The increase in gene expression continued until 25 weeks, when tumours, identified pathologically as mainly squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), developed in the dorsal skin. In these SCC, overexpression of c-fos mRNA was also observed along with the increases in c-Ha-ras and c-myc. A single dose of UVB (2 kJ/m 2 ) applied to the backs of hairless mice transiently induced overexpression of the early event genes c-fos, c-jun and c-myc, but not c-Ha-ras, in the exposed area of skin. Accumulation of p53 protein was determined by Western blotting analysis of immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies PAb 240 or 246, which recognize mutant or wide type, respectively. In the SCC, a mutant p53 protein accumulated in the cytoplasm and nucleus. After single-dose irradiation, the increased wild-type p53 protein was observed in the nuclei of epidermal cells. The present results suggest that overexpression of the c-fos, c-myc and c-Ha-ras genes, and the mutational changes in p53 protein might be associated with skin photocarcinogenesis. Moreover, overexpression of the c-Ha-ras and c-myc genes might be an early event in the development of UVB-induced skin tumors in mice. (author)

  20. R5FORCE: a program to compute fluid induced forces using hydrodynamic output from the RELAP5 code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watkins, J.C.

    1983-01-01

    This paper describes the computer code R5FORCE, a postprocessor to the RELAP5/MOD1 thermal-hydraulics code. R5FORCE computes piping hydraulic force/time histories that can be input into various structural analysis computer codes. R5FORCE solves the momentum conservation equation using the pressure and wall shear force terms rather than the pressure and fluid acceleration terms; eliminating potential instabilities associated with computing the time derivative in the fluid acceleration term. The updates to REALP5 required to generate the input data to R5FORCE are also discussed

  1. Virus-induced gene silencing in Medicago truncatula and Lathyrus odorata

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønlund, Mette; Kjær, Gabriela Didina Constantin; Piednoir, Elodie

    2008-01-01

    Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has become an important reverse genetics tool for functional genomics. VIGS vectors based on Pea early browning virus (PEBV, genus Tobravirus) and Bean pod mottle virus (genus Comovirus) are available for the legume species Pisum sativum and Glycine max, respec...

  2. Genetic and molecular analyses of UV radiation-induced mutations in the fem-3 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hartman, P S; De Wilde, D; Dwarakanath, V N [Texas Christian Univ., Fort Worth, TX (United States). Dept. of Biology

    1995-06-01

    The utility of a new target gene (fem-3) is described for investigating the molecular nature of mutagenesis in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. As a principal attribute, this system allows for the selection, maintenance and molecular analysis of any type of mutation that disrupts the gene, including deletions. In this study, 86 mutant strains were isolated, of which 79 proved to have mutations in fem-3. Twenty of these originally tested as homozygous inviable. Homozygous inviability was expected, as Stewart and coworkers had previously observed that, unlike in other organisms, most UV radiation-induced mutations in C. elegans are chromosomal rearrangements of deficiencies (Mutat. Res 249, 37-54, 1991). However, additional data, including Southern blot analyses on 49 of the strains, indicated that most of the UV radiation-induced fem-3 mutations were not deficiencies, as originally inferred from their homozygous inviability. Instead, the lethals were most likely ``coincident mutations`` in linked, essential genes that were concomitantly induced. As such, they were lost owing to genetic recombination during stock maintenance. As in mammalian cells, yeast and bacteria, the frequency of coincident mutations was much higher than would be predicted by chance. (Author).

  3. Evaluation of a nanotechnology-based approach to induce gene-expression in human THP-1 macrophages under inflammatory conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernal, Laura; Alvarado-Vázquez, Abigail; Ferreira, David Wilson; Paige, Candler A; Ulecia-Morón, Cristina; Hill, Bailey; Caesar, Marina; Romero-Sandoval, E Alfonso

    2017-02-01

    Macrophages orchestrate the initiation and resolution of inflammation by producing pro- and anti-inflammatory products. An imbalance in these mediators may originate from a deficient or excessive immune response. Therefore, macrophages are valid therapeutic targets to restore homeostasis under inflammatory conditions. We hypothesize that a specific mannosylated nanoparticle effectively induces gene expression in human macrophages under inflammatory conditions without undesirable immunogenic responses. THP-1 macrophages were challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 5μg/mL). Polyethylenimine (PEI) nanoparticles grafted with a mannose receptor ligand (Man-PEI) were used as a gene delivery method. Nanoparticle toxicity, Man-PEI cellular uptake rate and gene induction efficiency (GFP, CD14 or CD68) were studied. Potential immunogenic responses were evaluated by measuring the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10. Man-PEI did not produce cytotoxicity, and it was effectively up-taken by THP-1 macrophages (69%). This approach produced a significant expression of GFP (mRNA and protein), CD14 and CD68 (mRNA), and transiently and mildly reduced IL-6 and IL-10 levels in LPS-challenged macrophages. Our results indicate that Man-PEI is suitable for inducing an efficient gene overexpression in human macrophages under inflammatory conditions with limited immunogenic responses. Our promising results set the foundation to test this technology to induce functional anti-inflammatory genes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  4. Optical forces, torques, and force densities calculated at a microscopic level using a self-consistent hydrodynamics method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Kun; Chan, C. T.

    2018-04-01

    The calculation of optical force density distribution inside a material is challenging at the nanoscale, where quantum and nonlocal effects emerge and macroscopic parameters such as permittivity become ill-defined. We demonstrate that the microscopic optical force density of nanoplasmonic systems can be defined and calculated using the microscopic fields generated using a self-consistent hydrodynamics model that includes quantum, nonlocal, and retardation effects. We demonstrate this technique by calculating the microscopic optical force density distributions and the optical binding force induced by external light on nanoplasmonic dimers. This approach works even in the limit when the nanoparticles are close enough to each other so that electron tunneling occurs, a regime in which classical electromagnetic approach fails completely. We discover that an uneven distribution of optical force density can lead to a light-induced spinning torque acting on individual particles. The hydrodynamics method offers us an accurate and efficient approach to study optomechanical behavior for plasmonic systems at the nanoscale.

  5. A Functional Role for the Epigenetic Regulator ING1 in Activity-induced Gene Expression in Primary Cortical Neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leighton, Laura J; Zhao, Qiongyi; Li, Xiang; Dai, Chuanyang; Marshall, Paul R; Liu, Sha; Wang, Yi; Zajaczkowski, Esmi L; Khandelwal, Nitin; Kumar, Arvind; Bredy, Timothy W; Wei, Wei

    2018-01-15

    Epigenetic regulation of activity-induced gene expression involves multiple levels of molecular interaction, including histone and DNA modifications, as well as mechanisms of DNA repair. Here we demonstrate that the genome-wide deposition of inhibitor of growth family member 1 (ING1), which is a central epigenetic regulatory protein, is dynamically regulated in response to activity in primary cortical neurons. ING1 knockdown leads to decreased expression of genes related to synaptic plasticity, including the regulatory subunit of calcineurin, Ppp3r1. In addition, ING1 binding at a site upstream of the transcription start site (TSS) of Ppp3r1 depends on yet another group of neuroepigenetic regulatory proteins, the Piwi-like family, which are also involved in DNA repair. These findings provide new insight into a novel mode of activity-induced gene expression, which involves the interaction between different epigenetic regulatory mechanisms traditionally associated with gene repression and DNA repair. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Functional characterisation of an Arabidopsis gene strongly induced by ionising radiation: the gene coding the poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (AthPARP-1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doucet-Chabeaud, G.

    2000-01-01

    Arabidopsis thaliana, the model-system in plant genetics, has been used to study the responses to DNA damage, experimentally introduced by γ-irradiation. We have characterised a radiation-induced gene coding a 111 kDa protein, AthPARP-1, homologous to the human poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (hPARP-1). As hPARP-1 is composed by three functional domain with characteristic motifs, AthPARP-1 binds to DNA bearing single-strand breaks and shows DNA damage-dependent poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation. The preferential expression of AthPARP-1 in mitotically active tissues is in agreement with a potential role in the maintenance of genome integrity during DNA replication, as proposed for its human counterpart. Transcriptional gene activation by ionising radiation of AthPARP-1 and AthPARP-2 genes is to date plant specific activation. Our expression analyses after exposure to various stress indicate that 1) AthPARP-1 and AthPARP-2 play an important role in the response to DNA lesions, particularly they are activated by genotoxic agents implicating the BER DNA repair pathway 2) AthPARP-2 gene seems to play an additional role in the signal transduction induced by oxidative stress 3) the observed expression profile of AthPARP-1 is in favour of the regulation of AthPARP-1 gene expression at the level of transcription and translation. This mode of regulation of AthPARP-1 protein biosynthesis, clearly distinct from that observed in animals, needs the implication of a so far unidentified transcription factor that is activated by the presence of DNA lesions. The major outcome of this work resides in the isolation and characterisation of such new transcription factor, which will provide new insight on the regulation of plant gene expression by genotoxic stress. (author) [fr

  7. Comprehensive Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles of Sepsis-Induced Multiorgan Failure Identified Its Valuable Biomarkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yumei; Yin, Xiaoling; Yang, Fang

    2018-02-01

    Sepsis is an inflammatory-related disease, and severe sepsis would induce multiorgan dysfunction, which is the most common cause of death of patients in noncoronary intensive care units. Progression of novel therapeutic strategies has proven to be of little impact on the mortality of severe sepsis, and unfortunately, its mechanisms still remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed gene expression profiles of severe sepsis with failure of lung, kidney, and liver for the identification of potential biomarkers. We first downloaded the gene expression profiles from the Gene Expression Omnibus and performed preprocessing of raw microarray data sets and identification of differential expression genes (DEGs) through the R programming software; then, significantly enriched functions of DEGs in lung, kidney, and liver failure sepsis samples were obtained from the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery; finally, protein-protein interaction network was constructed for DEGs based on the STRING database, and network modules were also obtained through the MCODE cluster method. As a result, lung failure sepsis has the highest number of DEGs of 859, whereas the number of DEGs in kidney and liver failure sepsis samples is 178 and 175, respectively. In addition, 17 overlaps were obtained among the three lists of DEGs. Biological processes related to immune and inflammatory response were found to be significantly enriched in DEGs. Network and module analysis identified four gene clusters in which all or most of genes were upregulated. The expression changes of Icam1 and Socs3 were further validated through quantitative PCR analysis. This study should shed light on the development of sepsis and provide potential therapeutic targets for sepsis-induced multiorgan failure.

  8. Neuro-fuzzy control strategy for an offshore steel jacket platform subjected to wave-induced forces using magneto rheological dampers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarrafan, Atabak; Zareh, Seiyed Hamid; Khayyat, Amir Ali Akbar; Zabihollah, Abolghassem

    2012-01-01

    Magnetorheological (MR) damper is a prominent semi-active control device to vibrate mitigation of structures. Due to the inherent non-linear nature of MR damper, an intelligent non-linear neuro-fuzzy control strategy is designed to control wave-induced vibration of an offshore steel jacket platform equipped with MR dampers. In the proposed control system, a dynamic-feedback neural network is adapted to model non-linear dynamic system, and the fuzzy logic controller is used to determine the control forces of MR dampers. By use of two feed forward neural networks required voltages and actual MR damper forces are obtained, in which the first neural network and the second one acts as the inverse dynamics model, and the forward dynamics model of the MR dampers, respectively. The most important characteristic of the proposed intelligent control strategy is its inherent robustness and its ability to handle the non-linear behavior of the system. Besides, no mathematical model needed to calculate forces produced by MR dampers. According to linearized Morison equation, wave-induced forces are determined. The performance of the proposed neuro-fuzzy control system is compared with that of a traditional semi-active control strategy, i.e., clipped optimal control system with LQG-target controller, through computer simulations, while the uncontrolled system response is used as the baseline. It is demonstrated that the design of proposed control system framework is more effective than that of the clipped optimal control scheme with LQG-target controller to reduce the vibration of offshore structure. Furthermore, the control strategy is very important for semi-active control

  9. CHD1 regulates cell fate determination by activation of differentiation-induced genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgart, Simon J; Najafova, Zeynab; Hossan, Tareq; Xie, Wanhua; Nagarajan, Sankari; Kari, Vijayalakshmi; Ditzel, Nicholas; Kassem, Moustapha; Johnsen, Steven A

    2017-07-27

    The coordinated temporal and spatial activation of gene expression is essential for proper stem cell differentiation. The Chromodomain Helicase DNA-binding protein 1 (CHD1) is a chromatin remodeler closely associated with transcription and nucleosome turnover downstream of the transcriptional start site (TSS). In this study, we show that CHD1 is required for the induction of osteoblast-specific gene expression, extracellular-matrix mineralization and ectopic bone formation in vivo. Genome-wide occupancy analyses revealed increased CHD1 occupancy around the TSS of differentiation-activated genes. Furthermore, we observed that CHD1-dependent genes are mainly induced during osteoblast differentiation and are characterized by higher levels of CHD1 occupancy around the TSS. Interestingly, CHD1 depletion resulted in increased pausing of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) and decreased H2A.Z occupancy close to the TSS, but not at enhancer regions. These findings reveal a novel role for CHD1 during osteoblast differentiation and provide further insights into the intricacies of epigenetic regulatory mechanisms controlling cell fate determination. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  10. Heat-Induced, Pressure-Induced and Centrifugal-Force-Induced Exact Axisymmetric Thermo-Mechanical Analyses in a Thick-Walled Spherical Vessel, an Infinite Cylindrical Vessel, and a Uniform Disk Made of an Isotropic and Homogeneous Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vebil Yıldırım

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Heat-induced, pressure-induced, and centrifugal force-induced axisymmetric exact deformation and stresses in a thick-walled spherical vessel, a cylindrical vessel, and a uniform disk are all determined analytically at a specified constant surface temperature and at a constant angular velocity. The inner and outer pressures are both included in the formulation of annular structures made of an isotropic and homogeneous linear elastic material. Governing equations in the form of Euler-Cauchy differential equation with constant coefficients are solved and results are presented in compact forms. For disks, three different boundary conditions are taken into account to consider mechanical engineering applications. The present study is also peppered with numerical results in graphical forms.

  11. Effect of Smac gene on apoptosis of HeLa cells induced by γ-rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Baofeng; Tian Mei; Ruan Jianlei; Su Xu

    2007-01-01

    To explore the effect of Smac gene on apoptosis of HeLa cells induced by γ-ray and its possible mechanisms, the full length cDNA of Smac gene was transferred into HeLa cells. 24 h after transferring, the results of Western Blot indicated the expression of Smac was increased but the expression of Survivin decreased. After HeLa cells was irradiated by γ-rays, Smac gene transferred HeLa/Smac cells showed more cell apoptosis rates and the higher activity of Caspase-3 than vector transferred control HeLa/pcDNA3.1 cells. However, the damage and repair of DNA and the cell cycle don't change significantly, comparing HeLa/Smac cells with HeLa/pcDNA3.1 cells. (authors)

  12. A 3D CFD Simulation and Analysis of Flow-Induced Forces on Polymer Piezoelectric Sensors in a Chinese Liquors Identification E-Nose

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Gu

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Chinese liquors can be classified according to their flavor types. Accurate identification of Chinese liquor flavors is not always possible through professional sommeliers’ subjective assessment. A novel polymer piezoelectric sensor electric nose (e-nose can be applied to distinguish Chinese liquors because of its excellent ability in imitating human senses by using sensor arrays and pattern recognition systems. The sensor, based on the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM principle is comprised of a quartz piezoelectric crystal plate sandwiched between two specific gas-sensitive polymer coatings. Chinese liquors are identified by obtaining the resonance frequency value changes of each sensor using the e-nose. However, the QCM principle failed to completely account for a particular phenomenon: we found that the resonance frequency values fluctuated in the stable state. For better understanding the phenomenon, a 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD simulation using the finite volume method is employed to study the influence of the flow-induced forces to the resonance frequency fluctuation of each sensor in the sensor box. A dedicated procedure was developed for modeling the flow of volatile gas from Chinese liquors in a realistic scenario to give reasonably good results with fair accuracy. The flow-induced forces on the sensors are displayed from the perspective of their spatial-temporal and probability density distributions. To evaluate the influence of the fluctuation of the flow-induced forces on each sensor and ensure the serviceability of the e-nose, the standard deviation of resonance frequency value (SDF and the standard deviation of resultant forces (SDFy in y-direction (Fy are compared. Results show that the fluctuations of Fy are bound up with the resonance frequency values fluctuations. To ensure that the sensor's resonance frequency values are steady and only fluctuate slightly, in order to improve the identification accuracy of Chinese

  13. Effects of ketamine and N-methyl-D-aspartate on fluoxetine-induced antidepressant-related behavior using the forced swimming test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owolabi, Rotimi Adegbenga; Akanmu, Moses Atanda; Adeyemi, Oluwole Isaac

    2014-04-30

    This study investigated the effects of ketamine on fluoxetine-induced antidepressant behavior using the forced swimming test (FST) in mice. In order to understand the possible role of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) neurotransmission in the antidepressant effect of fluoxetine, different groups of mice (n=10) were administered with acute ketamine (3mg/kg, i.p.), acute NMDA (75mg/kg and 150mg/kg, i.p.) and a 21-day chronic ketamine (15mg/kg, i.p./day) were administered prior to the administration of fluoxetine (20mg/kg, i.p.) in the mice. Antidepressant related behavior (immobility score) was measured using the forced swimming test. The results showed that the acute ketamine and fluoxetine alone treatments elicited a significant (pfluoxetine-induced decrease in immobility score. In contrast, pre-treatment with NMDA (150mg/kg) significantly (pfluoxetine-induced decrease in immobility score. On the other hand, chronic administration of ketamine significantly elicited an increase in immobility score as well as reversed the reduction induced by fluoxetine. Similarly, NMDA administration at both 75mg/kg and 150mg/kg increased immobility score in chronically administered ketamine groups. Furthermore, chronic administration of ketamine, followed by NMDA (75mg/kg) and fluoxetine significantly elevated the immobility score when compared with the group that received NMDA and fluoxetine but not chronically treated with ketamine. It can be suggested) that facilitation of NMDA transmission blocked fluoxetine-induced reduction in immobility score, while down-regulation of NMDA transmission is associated with increase in fluoxetine-induced antidepressant-related behavior in mice. Down-regulation of the NMDA transmission is proposed as an essential component of mechanism of suppression of depression related behaviors by fluoxetine. Modulation of NMDA transmission is suggested to be relevant in the mechanism of action of fluoxetine. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights

  14. DELLA proteins regulate expression of a subset of AM symbiosis-induced genes in Medicago truncatula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Floss, Daniela S; Lévesque-Tremblay, Véronique; Park, Hee-Jin; Harrison, Maria J

    2016-01-01

    The majority of the vascular flowering plants form symbiotic associations with fungi from the phylum Glomeromycota through which both partners gain access to nutrients, either mineral nutrients in the case of the plant, or carbon, in the case of the fungus. (1) The association develops in the roots and requires substantial remodeling of the root cortical cells where branched fungal hyphae, called arbuscules, are housed in a new membrane-bound apoplastic compartment. (2) Nutrient exchange between the symbionts occurs over this interface and its development and maintenance is critical for symbiosis. Previously, we showed that DELLA proteins, which are well known as repressors of gibberellic acid signaling, also regulate development of AM symbiosis and are necessary to enable arbuscule development. (3) Furthermore, constitutive overexpression of a dominant DELLA protein (della1-Δ18) is sufficient to induce transcripts of several AM symbiosis-induced genes, even in the absence of the fungal symbiont. (4) Here we further extend this approach and identify AM symbiosis genes that respond transcriptionally to constitutive expression of a dominant DELLA protein and also genes that do respond to this treatment. Additionally, we demonstrate that DELLAs interact with REQUIRED FOR ARBUSCULE DEVELOPMENT 1 (RAD1) which further extends our knowledge of GRAS factor complexes that have the potential to regulate gene expression during AM symbiosis.

  15. Effect of force-induced mechanical stress at the coronary artery bifurcation stenting: Relation to in-stent restenosis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Cheng-Hung [Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan (China); Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan (China); Jhong, Guan-Heng [Graduate Institute of Medical Mechatronics, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan (China); Hsu, Ming-Yi; Wang, Chao-Jan [Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan (China); Liu, Shih-Jung, E-mail: shihjung@mail.cgu.edu.tw [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan (China); Hung, Kuo-Chun [Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan (China)

    2014-05-28

    The deployment of metallic stents during percutaneous coronary intervention has become common in the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions. However, restenosis occurs mostly at the bifurcation area even in present era of drug-eluting stents. To achieve adequate deployment, physicians may unintentionally apply force to the strut of the stents through balloon, guiding catheters, or other devices. This force may deform the struts and impose excessive mechanical stresses on the arterial vessels, resulting in detrimental outcomes. This study investigated the relationship between the distribution of stress in a stent and bifurcation angle using finite element analysis. The unintentionally applied force following stent implantation was measured using a force sensor that was made in the laboratory. Geometrical information on the coronary arteries of 11 subjects was extracted from contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan data. The numerical results reveal that the application of force by physicians generated significantly higher mechanical stresses in the arterial bifurcation than in the proximal and distal parts of the stent (post hoc P < 0.01). The maximal stress on the vessels was significantly higher at bifurcation angle <70° than at angle ≧70° (P < 0.05). The maximal stress on the vessels was negatively correlated with bifurcation angle (P < 0.01). Stresses at the bifurcation ostium may cause arterial wall injury and restenosis, especially at small bifurcation angles. These finding highlight the effect of force-induced mechanical stress at coronary artery bifurcation stenting, and potential mechanisms of in-stent restenosis, along with their relationship with bifurcation angle.

  16. Effect of force-induced mechanical stress at the coronary artery bifurcation stenting: Relation to in-stent restenosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Cheng-Hung; Jhong, Guan-Heng; Hsu, Ming-Yi; Wang, Chao-Jan; Liu, Shih-Jung; Hung, Kuo-Chun

    2014-01-01

    The deployment of metallic stents during percutaneous coronary intervention has become common in the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions. However, restenosis occurs mostly at the bifurcation area even in present era of drug-eluting stents. To achieve adequate deployment, physicians may unintentionally apply force to the strut of the stents through balloon, guiding catheters, or other devices. This force may deform the struts and impose excessive mechanical stresses on the arterial vessels, resulting in detrimental outcomes. This study investigated the relationship between the distribution of stress in a stent and bifurcation angle using finite element analysis. The unintentionally applied force following stent implantation was measured using a force sensor that was made in the laboratory. Geometrical information on the coronary arteries of 11 subjects was extracted from contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan data. The numerical results reveal that the application of force by physicians generated significantly higher mechanical stresses in the arterial bifurcation than in the proximal and distal parts of the stent (post hoc P < 0.01). The maximal stress on the vessels was significantly higher at bifurcation angle <70° than at angle ≧70° (P < 0.05). The maximal stress on the vessels was negatively correlated with bifurcation angle (P < 0.01). Stresses at the bifurcation ostium may cause arterial wall injury and restenosis, especially at small bifurcation angles. These finding highlight the effect of force-induced mechanical stress at coronary artery bifurcation stenting, and potential mechanisms of in-stent restenosis, along with their relationship with bifurcation angle.

  17. Radiation-induced genomic instability, and the cloning and functional analysis of its related gene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muto, Masahiro; Kanari, Yasuyoshi; Kubo, Eiko; Yamada, Yutaka

    2000-01-01

    Exposure to ionizing radiation produces a number of biological consequences including gene mutations, chromosome aberrations, cellular transformation and cell death. The classical view has been that mutations occur at the sites of DNA damage, that is, damage produced by radiation is converted into a mutation during subsequent DNA replication or as a consequence of enzymatic repair processes. However, many investigators have presented evidence for an alternative mechanism to explain these biological effects. This evidence suggests that radiation may induce a process of genomic instability that is transmissible over many generations of cell replication and that serves to enhance the probability of the occurrence of such genetic effects among the progeny of the irradiated cell after many generations of cell replication. If such a process exists in vivo, it could have significant implications for mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Exposure of B10 mice to fractionated X-irradiation induces a high incidence of thymic lymphomas, whereas the incidence in STS/A mice is very low. Such strain differences are presumably determined genetically, and various genetic factors have been reported to be involved in radiation-induced lymphomagenesis. The mechanism of radiation-induced lymphomagenesis appears to develop through a complex and multistep process. Using this experimental system, we characterized the prelymphoma cells induced by radiation, and identified the genetic changes preceding the development of thymic lymphomas by comparing the oncogenic alterations with the pattern of T cell receptor (TCR) γ rearrangements. In these studies, the latent expression of some chromosomal aberrations and p53 mutations in irradiated progeny has been interpreted to be a manifestation of genomic instability. In the present report we review the results of in vivo studies conducted in our laboratory that support the hypothesis of genomic instability induced by radiation, and we describe the

  18. The ygaVP Genes of Escherichia coli Form a Tributyltin-Inducible Operon▿ †

    OpenAIRE

    Gueuné, Hervé; Durand, Marie-José; Thouand, Gérald; DuBow, Michael S.

    2008-01-01

    A tributyltin (TBT) luxAB transcriptional fusion in Escherichia coli revealed that a TBT-activated promoter is located upstream of two cotranscribed orphan genes, ygaV and ygaP. We demonstrate that transcription from the promoter upstream of ygaVP is constitutive in a ygaVP mutant, suggesting that YgaV is an autoregulated, TBT-inducible repressor.

  19. Analysis of radiation pressure force exerted on a biological cell induced by high-order Bessel beams using Debye series

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Renxian; Ren, Kuan Fang; Han, Xiang'e; Wu, Zhensen; Guo, Lixin; Gong, Shuxi

    2013-01-01

    Debye series expansion (DSE) is employed to the analysis of radiation pressure force (RPF) exerted on biological cells induced by high-order Bessel beams (BB). The beam shape coefficients (BSCs) for high-order Bessel beams are calculated using analytical expressions obtained by the integral localized approximation (ILA). Different types of cells, including a real Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell and a lymphocyte which are respectively modeled by a coated and five-layered sphere, are considered. The RPF induced by high-order Bessel beams is compared with that by Gaussian beams and zeroth-order Bessel beams, and the effect of different scattering processes on RPF is studied. Numerical calculations show that high-order Bessel beams with zero central intensity can also transversely trap particle in the beam center, and some scattering processes can provide longitudinal pulling force. -- Highlights: ► BSCs for high-order Bessel beam (HOBB) is derived using ILA. ► DSE is employed to study the RPF induced by HOBB exerted on multilayered cells. ► RPF is decided by radius relative to the interval of peaks in intensity profile. ► HOBB can also transversely trap high-index particle in the vicinity of beam axis. ► RPF for some scattering processes can longitudinally pull particles back

  20. Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of ROS-Mediated Oridonin-Induced Oesophageal Cancer KYSE-150 Cell Apoptosis by Atomic Force Microscopy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiang Pi

    Full Text Available High levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS in cells is recognized as one of the major causes of cancer cell apoptosis and has been developed into a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer therapy. However, whether apoptosis associated biophysical properties of cancer cells are related to intracellular ROS functions is still unclear. Here, for the first time, we determined the changes of biophysical properties associated with the ROS-mediated oesophageal cancer KYSE-150 cell apoptosis using high resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM. Oridonin was proved to induce ROS-mediated KYSE-150 cell apoptosis in a dose dependent manner, which could be reversed by N-acetylcysteine (NAC pretreatment. Based on AFM imaging, the morphological damage and ultrastructural changes of KYSE-150 cells were found to be closely associated with ROS-mediated oridonin-induced KYSE-150 cell apoptosis. The changes of cell stiffness determined by AFM force measurement also demonstrated ROS-dependent changes in oridonin induced KYSE-150 cell apoptosis. Our findings not only provided new insights into the anticancer effects of oridonin, but also highlighted the use of AFM as a qualitative and quantitative nanotool to detect ROS-mediated cancer cell apoptosis based on cell biophysical properties, providing novel information of the roles of ROS in cancer cell apoptosis at nanoscale.

  1. Identification of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition-related Target Genes Induced by the Mutation of Smad3 Linker Phosphorylation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sujin; Yang, Kyung-Min; Park, Yuna; Hong, Eunji; Hong, Chang Pyo; Park, Jinah; Pang, Kyoungwha; Lee, Jihee; Park, Bora; Lee, Siyoung; An, Haein; Kwak, Mi-Kyung; Kim, Junil; Kang, Jin Muk; Kim, Pyunggang; Xiao, Yang; Nie, Guangjun; Ooshima, Akira

    2018-01-01

    Background Smad3 linker phosphorylation plays essential roles in tumor progression and metastasis. We have previously reported that the mutation of Smad3 linker phosphorylation sites (Smad3-Erk/Pro-directed kinase site mutant constructs [EPSM]) markedly reduced the tumor progression while increasing the lung metastasis in breast cancer. Methods We performed high-throughput RNA-Sequencing of the human prostate cancer cell lines infected with adenoviral Smad3-EPSM to identify the genes regulated by Smad3-EPSM. Results In this study, we identified genes which are differentially regulated in the presence of Smad3-EPSM. We first confirmed that Smad3-EPSM strongly enhanced a capability of cell motility and invasiveness as well as the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker genes, CDH2, SNAI1, and ZEB1 in response to TGF-β1 in human pancreatic and prostate cancer cell lines. We identified GADD45B, CTGF, and JUNB genes in the expression profiles associated with cell motility and invasiveness induced by the Smad3-EPSM. Conclusions These results suggested that inhibition of Smad3 linker phosphorylation may enhance cell motility and invasiveness by inducing expression of GADD45B, CTGF, and JUNB genes in various cancers. PMID:29629343

  2. Isosteviol has beneficial effects on palmitate-induced α-cell dysfunction and gene expression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoping Chen

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Long-term exposure to high levels of fatty acids impairs insulin secretion and exaggerates glucagon secretion. The aim of this study was to explore if the antihyperglycemic agent, Isosteviol (ISV, is able to counteract palmitate-induced α-cell dysfunction and to influence α-cell gene expression. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Long-term incubation studies with clonal α-TC1-6 cells were performed in the presence of 0.5 mM palmitate with or without ISV. We investigated effects on glucagon secretion, glucagon content, cellular triglyceride (TG content, cell proliferation, and expression of genes involved in controlling glucagon synthesis, fatty acid metabolism, and insulin signal transduction. Furthermore, we studied effects of ISV on palmitate-induced glucagon secretion from isolated mouse islets. Culturing α-cells for 72-h with 0.5 mM palmitate in the presence of 18 mM glucose resulted in a 56% (p<0.01 increase in glucagon secretion. Concomitantly, the TG content of α-cells increased by 78% (p<0.01 and cell proliferation decreased by 19% (p<0.05. At 18 mM glucose, ISV (10(-8 and 10(-6 M reduced palmitate-stimulated glucagon release by 27% (p<0.05 and 27% (p<0.05, respectively. ISV (10(-6 M also counteracted the palmitate-induced hypersecretion of glucagon in mouse islets. ISV (10(-6 M reduced α-TC1-6 cell proliferation rate by 25% (p<0.05, but ISV (10(-8 and 10(-6 M had no effect on TG content in the presence of palmitate. Palmitate (0.5 mM increased Pcsk2 (p<0.001, Irs2 (p<0.001, Fasn (p<0.001, Srebf2 (p<0.001, Acaca (p<0.01, Pax6 (p<0.05 and Gcg mRNA expression (p<0.05. ISV significantly (p<0.05 up-regulated Insr, Irs1, Irs2, Pik3r1 and Akt1 gene expression in the presence of palmitate. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: ISV counteracts α-cell hypersecretion and apparently contributes to changes in expression of key genes resulting from long-term exposure to palmitate. ISV apparently acts as a glucagonostatic drug with potential as a

  3. Prestrain-induced Reduction in Skin Tissue Puncture Force of Microneedle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jonghun; Park, Sungmin; Nam, Gyungmok; Yoon, Sang-Hee

    2016-01-01

    Despite all the recent advances in biodegradable material-based microneedles, the bending and failure (especially buckling) of a biodegradable microneedle during skin tissue insertion remains a major technical hurdle for its large-scale commercialization. A reduction in skin tissue puncture force during microneedle insertion remains an essential issue in successfully developing a biodegradable microneedle. Here, we consider uniaxial and equibiaxial prestrains applied to a skin tissue as mechanophysical stimuli that can reduce the skin tissue puncture force, and investigate the effect of prestrain on the changes in skin tissue puncture force. For a porcine skin tissue similar to that of humans, the skin tissue puncture force of a flat-end microneedle is measured with a z-axis stage equipped with a load cell, which provides a force-time curve during microneedle insertion. The findings of this study lead to a quantitative characterization of the relationship between prestrain and the skin tissue puncture force

  4. Prestrain-induced Reduction in Skin Tissue Puncture Force of Microneedle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jonghun; Park, Sungmin; Nam, Gyungmok; Yoon, Sang-Hee [Inha Univ., Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Despite all the recent advances in biodegradable material-based microneedles, the bending and failure (especially buckling) of a biodegradable microneedle during skin tissue insertion remains a major technical hurdle for its large-scale commercialization. A reduction in skin tissue puncture force during microneedle insertion remains an essential issue in successfully developing a biodegradable microneedle. Here, we consider uniaxial and equibiaxial prestrains applied to a skin tissue as mechanophysical stimuli that can reduce the skin tissue puncture force, and investigate the effect of prestrain on the changes in skin tissue puncture force. For a porcine skin tissue similar to that of humans, the skin tissue puncture force of a flat-end microneedle is measured with a z-axis stage equipped with a load cell, which provides a force-time curve during microneedle insertion. The findings of this study lead to a quantitative characterization of the relationship between prestrain and the skin tissue puncture force.

  5. AICAR Protects against High Palmitate/High Insulin-Induced Intramyocellular Lipid Accumulation and Insulin Resistance in HL-1 Cardiac Cells by Inducing PPAR-Target Gene Expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Rodríguez-Calvo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Here we studied the impact of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR, a well-known AMPK activator, on cardiac metabolic adaptation. AMPK activation by AICAR was confirmed by increased phospho-Thr172-AMPK and phospho-Ser79-ACC protein levels in HL-1 cardiomyocytes. Then, cells were exposed to AICAR stimulation for 24 h in the presence or absence of the AMPK inhibitor Compound C, and the mRNA levels of the three PPARs were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. Treatment with AICAR induced gene expression of all three PPARs, but only the Ppara and Pparg regulation were dependent on AMPK. Next, we exposed HL-1 cells to high palmitate/high insulin (HP/HI conditions either in presence or in absence of AICAR, and we evaluated the expression of selected PPAR-targets genes. HP/HI induced insulin resistance and lipid storage was accompanied by increased Cd36, Acot1, and Ucp3 mRNA levels. AICAR treatment induced the expression of Acadvl and Glut4, which correlated to prevention of the HP/HI-induced intramyocellular lipid build-up, and attenuation of the HP/HI-induced impairment of glucose uptake. These data support the hypothesis that AICAR contributes to cardiac metabolic adaptation via regulation of transcriptional mechanisms.

  6. Gene expression profile and genomic alterations in colonic tumours induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) in rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Femia, Angelo Pietro; Luceri, Cristina; Toti, Simona; Giannini, Augusto; Dolara, Piero; Caderni, Giovanna

    2010-01-01

    Azoxymethane (AOM) or 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon carcinogenesis in rats shares many phenotypical similarities with human sporadic colon cancer and is a reliable model for identifying chemopreventive agents. Genetic mutations relevant to human colon cancer have been described in this model, but comprehensive gene expression and genomic analysis have not been reported so far. Therefore, we applied genome-wide technologies to study variations in gene expression and genomic alterations in DMH-induced colon cancer in F344 rats. For gene expression analysis, 9 tumours (TUM) and their paired normal mucosa (NM) were hybridized on 4 × 44K Whole rat arrays (Agilent) and selected genes were validated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Functional analysis on microarray data was performed by GenMAPP/MappFinder analysis. Array-comparative genomic hybridization (a-CGH) was performed on 10 paired TUM-NM samples hybridized on Rat genome arrays 2 × 105K (Agilent) and the results were analyzed by CGH Analytics (Agilent). Microarray gene expression analysis showed that Defcr4, Igfbp5, Mmp7, Nos2, S100A8 and S100A9 were among the most up-regulated genes in tumours (Fold Change (FC) compared with NM: 183, 48, 39, 38, 36 and 32, respectively), while Slc26a3, Mptx, Retlna and Muc2 were strongly down-regulated (FC: -500; -376, -167, -79, respectively). Functional analysis showed that pathways controlling cell cycle, protein synthesis, matrix metalloproteinases, TNFα/NFkB, and inflammatory responses were up-regulated in tumours, while Krebs cycle, the electron transport chain, and fatty acid beta oxidation were down-regulated. a-CGH analysis showed that four TUM out of ten had one or two chromosomal aberrations. Importantly, one sample showed a deletion on chromosome 18 including Apc. The results showed complex gene expression alterations in adenocarcinomas encompassing many altered pathways. While a-CGH analysis showed a low degree of genomic imbalance, it is interesting to

  7. CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease-mediated gene knock-in in bovine-induced pluripotent cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heo, Young Tae; Quan, Xiaoyuan; Xu, Yong Nan; Baek, Soonbong; Choi, Hwan; Kim, Nam-Hyung; Kim, Jongpil

    2015-02-01

    Efficient and precise genetic engineering in livestock such as cattle holds great promise in agriculture and biomedicine. However, techniques that generate pluripotent stem cells, as well as reliable tools for gene targeting in livestock, are still inefficient, and thus not routinely used. Here, we report highly efficient gene targeting in the bovine genome using bovine pluripotent cells and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas9 nuclease. First, we generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from bovine somatic fibroblasts by the ectopic expression of yamanaka factors and GSK3β and MEK inhibitor (2i) treatment. We observed that these bovine iPSCs are highly similar to naïve pluripotent stem cells with regard to gene expression and developmental potential in teratomas. Moreover, CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease, which was specific for the bovine NANOG locus, showed highly efficient editing of the bovine genome in bovine iPSCs and embryos. To conclude, CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease-mediated homologous recombination targeting in bovine pluripotent cells is an efficient gene editing method that can be used to generate transgenic livestock in the future.

  8. Ethylene induces combinatorial effects of histone H3 acetylation in gene expression in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Likai; Zhang, Fan; Rode, Siddharth; Chin, Kevin K; Ko, Eun Esther; Kim, Jonghwan; Iyer, Vishwanath R; Qiao, Hong

    2017-07-17

    Histone acetylation and deacetylation are essential for gene regulation and have been implicated in the regulation of plant hormone responses. Many studies have indicated the role of histone acetylation in ethylene signaling; however, few studies have investigated how ethylene signaling regulates the genomic landscape of chromatin states. Recently, we found that ethylene can specifically elevate histone H3K14 acetylation and the non-canonical histone H3K23 acetylation in etiolated seedlings and the gene activation is positively associated with the elevation of H3K14Ac and H3K23Ac in response to ethylene. To assess the role of H3K9, H3K14, and H3K23 histone modifications in the ethylene response, we examined how ethylene regulates histone acetylation and the transcriptome at global level and in ethylene regulated genes both in wild type (Col-0) and ein2-5 seedlings. Our results revealed that H3K9Ac, H3K14Ac, and H3K23Ac are preferentially enriched around the transcription start sites and are positively correlated with gene expression levels in Col-0 and ein2-5 seedlings both with and without ethylene treatment. In the absence of ethylene, no combinatorial effect of H3K9Ac, H3K14Ac, and H3K23Ac on gene expression was detected. In the presence of ethylene, however, combined enrichment of the three histone acetylation marks was associated with high gene expression levels, and this ethylene-induced change was EIN2 dependent. In addition, we found that ethylene-regulated genes are expressed at medium or high levels, and a group of ethylene regulated genes are marked by either one of H3K9Ac, H3K14Ac or H3K23Ac. In this group of genes, the levels of H3K9Ac were altered by ethylene, but in the absence of ethylene the levels of H3K9Ac and peak breadths are distinguished in up- and down- regulated genes. In the presence of ethylene, the changes in the peak breadths and levels of H3K14Ac and H3K23Ac are required for the alteration of gene expressions. Our study reveals that

  9. A subset of herpes simplex virus replication genes induces DNA amplification within the host cell genome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heilbronn, R.; zur Hausen, H. (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg (West Germany))

    1989-09-01

    Herpes simplex virus (HSV) induces DNA amplification of target genes within the host cell chromosome. To characterize the HSV genes that mediate the amplification effect, combinations of cloned DNA fragments covering the entire HSV genome were transiently transfected into simian virus 40 (SV40)-transformed hamster cells. This led to amplification of the integrated SV40 DNA sequences to a degree comparable to that observed after transfection of intact virion DNA. Transfection of combinations of subclones and of human cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter-driven expression constructs for individual open reading frames led to the identification of sic HSV genes which together were necessary and sufficient for the induction of DNA amplification: UL30 (DNA polymerase), UL29 (major DNA-binding protein), UL5, UL8, UL42, and UL52. All of these genes encode proteins necessary for HSV DNA replication. However, an additional gene coding for an HSV origin-binding protein (UL9) was required for origin-dependent HSV DNA replication but was dispensable for SV40 DNA amplification. The results show that a subset of HSV replication genes is sufficient for the induction of DNA amplification. This opens the possibility that HSV expresses functions sufficient for DNA amplification but separate from those responsible for lytic viral growth. HSV infection may thereby induce DNA amplification within the host cell genome without killing the host by lytic viral growth. This may lead to persistence of a cell with a new genetic phenotype, which would have implications for the pathogenicity of the virus in vivo.

  10. The use of Optical Magnetic Twisting Cytometry and Flourescence Resonance Energy Transfer to quantify force-induced protein dissociation in the nucleus of a living cell

    OpenAIRE

    sprotocols

    2015-01-01

    Authors: Yeh-Chuin Poh & Ning Wang ### Abstract Mechanical forces are known to play a significant role in biological processes. These forces can be transmitted to the cell through the cytoskeletal filament network, inducing different biochemical responses within the cytoplasm. Although there have been ample reports showing that cytoplasmic enzymes can be directly activated by a local stress on the cell surface via integrins, there has been no evidence that mechanical forces can direct...

  11. Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha and oligodendrocyte lineage gene-1 in cultured brain slices after oxygen-glucose deprivation☆

    OpenAIRE

    Cui, Hong; Han, Weijuan; Yang, Lijun; Chang, Yanzhong

    2013-01-01

    Oligodendrocyte lineage gene-1 expressed in oligodendrocytes may trigger the repair of neuronal myelin impairment, and play a crucial role in myelin repair. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, a transcription factor, is of great significance in premature infants with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage. There is little evidence of direct regulatory effects of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α on oligodendrocyte lineage gene-1. In this study, brain slices of Sprague-Dawley rats were cultured and subjected to oxy...

  12. Physical properties of root cementum: part 20. Effect of fluoride on orthodontically induced root resorption with light and heavy orthodontic forces for 4 weeks: a microcomputed tomography study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karadeniz, Ersan Ilsay; Gonzales, Carmen; Nebioglu-Dalci, Oyku; Dwarte, Dennis; Turk, Tamer; Isci, Devrim; Sahin-Saglam, Aynur M; Alkis, Huseyin; Elekdag-Turk, Selma; Darendeliler, M Ali

    2011-11-01

    The major side effect of orthodontic treatment is orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption. Fluoride was previously shown to reduce the volume of the root resorption craters in rats. However, the effect of fluoride on orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption in humans has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high and low amounts of fluoride intake from birth on orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption under light (25 g) and heavy (225 g) force applications. Forty-eight patients who required maxillary premolar extractions as part of their orthodontic treatment were selected from 2 cities in Turkey with high and low fluoride concentrations in the public water of ≥ 2 and ≤ 0.05 ppm, respectively. The patients were randomly separated into 4 groups of 12 each: group 1, high fluoride intake and heavy force; group 2, low fluoride intake and heavy force; group 3, high fluoride intake and light force; and group 4, low fluoride intake and light force. Light or heavy buccal tipping orthodontic forces were applied on the maxillary first premolars for 28 days. At day 28, the teeth were extracted, and the samples were analyzed with microcomputed tomography. Fluoride reduced the volume of root resorption craters in all groups; however, this effect was significantly different with high force application (P = 0.015). It was also found that light forces caused less root resorption than heavy forces. There was no statistical difference in the amount of root resorption observed on root surfaces (buccal, lingual, mesial, and distal) in all groups. However, the middle third of the roots showed the least root resorption. With high fluoride intake and heavy force application, less root resorption was found in all root surfaces and root thirds. Fluoride may reduce the volume of root resorption craters. This effect is significant with heavy force applications (P root showed significantly greater root

  13. Utilizing virus-induced gene silencing for the functional characterization of maize genes during infection with the fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Linde, Karina; Doehlemann, Gunther

    2013-01-01

    While in dicotyledonous plants virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is well established to study plant-pathogen interaction, in monocots only few examples of efficient VIGS have been reported so far. One of the available systems is based on the brome mosaic virus (BMV) which allows gene silencing in different cereals including barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and maize (Zea mays).Infection of maize plants by the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis leads to the formation of large tumors on stem, leaves, and inflorescences. During this biotrophic interaction, plant defense responses are actively suppressed by the pathogen, and previous transcriptome analyses of infected maize plants showed comprehensive and stage-specific changes in host gene expression during disease progression.To identify maize genes that are functionally involved in the interaction with U. maydis, we adapted a VIGS system based on the Brome mosaic virus (BMV) to maize at conditions that allow successful U. maydis infection of BMV pre-infected maize plants. This setup enables quantification of VIGS and its impact on U. maydis infection using a quantitative real-time PCR (q(RT)-PCR)-based readout.

  14. Melatonin-Induced Temporal Up-Regulation of Gene Expression Related to Ubiquitin/Proteasome System (UPS in the Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda C. Koyama

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available There is an increasing understanding that melatonin and the ubiquitin/ proteasome system (UPS interact to regulate multiple cellular functions. Post-translational modifications such as ubiquitination are important modulators of signaling processes, cell cycle and many other cellular functions. Previously, we reported a melatonin-induced upregulation of gene expression related to ubiquitin/proteasome system (UPS in Plasmodium falciparum, the human malaria parasite, and that P. falciparum protein kinase 7 influences this process. This implies a role of melatonin, an indolamine, in modulating intraerythrocytic development of the parasite. In this report we demonstrate by qPCR analysis, that melatonin induces gene upregulation in nine out of fourteen genes of the UPS, consisting of the same set of genes previously reported, between 4 to 5 h after melatonin treatment. We demonstrate that melatonin causes a temporally controlled gene expression of UPS members.

  15. Current-induced forces: a new mechanism to induce negative differential resistance and current-switching effect in molecular junctions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Lei; Fu, Hua-Hua

    2015-12-01

    Current-induced forces can excite molecules, polymers and other low-dimensional materials, which in turn leads to an effective gate voltage through Holstein interaction. Here, by taking a short asymmetric DNA junction as an example, and using the Langevin approach, we find that when suppression of charge transport by the effective gate voltage surpasses the current increase from an elevated voltage bias, the current-voltage (I-V) curves display strong negative differential resistance (NDR) and perfect current-switching characteristics. The asymmetric DNA chain differs in mechanical stability under inverse voltages and the I-V curve is asymmetric about inverse biases, which can be used to understand recent transport experiments on DNA chains, and meanwhile provides a new strategy to realize NDR in molecular junctions and other low-dimensional quantum systems.

  16. Current-induced forces: a new mechanism to induce negative differential resistance and current-switching effect in molecular junctions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gu, Lei; Fu, Hua-Hua

    2015-01-01

    Current-induced forces can excite molecules, polymers and other low-dimensional materials, which in turn leads to an effective gate voltage through Holstein interaction. Here, by taking a short asymmetric DNA junction as an example, and using the Langevin approach, we find that when suppression of charge transport by the effective gate voltage surpasses the current increase from an elevated voltage bias, the current-voltage (I–V) curves display strong negative differential resistance (NDR) and perfect current-switching characteristics. The asymmetric DNA chain differs in mechanical stability under inverse voltages and the I–V curve is asymmetric about inverse biases, which can be used to understand recent transport experiments on DNA chains, and meanwhile provides a new strategy to realize NDR in molecular junctions and other low-dimensional quantum systems. (paper)

  17. A Critical Review of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy and Forced Use in Children With Hemiplegia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeanne Charles

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Hemiplegia is a physical impairment that can occur in childhood following head trauma, cerebral vascular accident or transient ischemic attack (stroke, brain tumor, or congenital or perinatal injury. One of the most disabling symptoms of hemiplegia is unilaterally impaired hand and arm function. Sensory and motor impairments in children with hemiplegia compromise movement efficiency. Such children often tend not to use the affected extremity, which may further exacerbate the impairments, resulting in a developmentally learned non-use of the involved upper extremity, termed ‘developmental disuse’. Recent studies suggest that children with hemiplegia benefit from intensive practice. Forced use and Constraint-lnduced Movement Therapy (CI therapy are recent therapeutic interventions involving the restraint of the non-involved upper extremity and intensive practice with the involved upper extremity. These approaches were designed for adults with hemiplegia, and increasing evidence suggests that they are efficacious in this population. Recently, forced use and constraint-induced therapy have been applied to children with hemiplegia. In this review, we provide a brief description of forced use and CI therapy and their historical basis, provide a summary of studies of these interventions in children, and discuss a number of important theoretical considerations, as well as implications for postural control. We will show that whereas the studies to date suggest that both forced use and CI therapy appear to be promising for improving hand function in children with hemiplegia, the data are limited. Substantially more work must be performed before this approach can be advocated for general clinical use.

  18. Selenium Pretreatment Alleviated LPS-Induced Immunological Stress Via Upregulation of Several Selenoprotein Encoding Genes in Murine RAW264.7 Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Longqiong; Jing, Jinzhong; Yan, Hui; Tang, Jiayong; Jia, Gang; Liu, Guangmang; Chen, Xiaoling; Tian, Gang; Cai, Jingyi; Shang, Haiying; Zhao, Hua

    2018-04-18

    This study was conducted to profile selenoprotein encoding genes in mouse RAW264.7 cells upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge and integrate their roles into immunological regulation in response to selenium (Se) pretreatment. LPS was used to develop immunological stress in macrophages. Cells were pretreated with different levels of Se (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 μmol Se/L) for 2 h, followed by LPS (100 ng/mL) stimulation for another 3 h. The mRNA expression of 24 selenoprotein encoding genes and 9 inflammation-related genes were investigated. The results showed that LPS (100 ng/mL) effectively induced immunological stress in RAW264.7 cells with induced inflammation cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-α, mRNA expression, and cellular secretion. LPS increased (P immunological stress in RAW264.7 cells accompanied with the global downregulation of selenoprotein encoding genes and Se pretreatment alleviated immunological stress via upregulation of a subset of selenoprotein encoding genes.

  19. Transcriptome analysis of the exocarp of apple fruit identifies light-induced genes involved in red color pigmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vimolmangkang, Sornkanok; Zheng, Danman; Han, Yuepeng; Khan, M Awais; Soria-Guerra, Ruth Elena; Korban, Schuyler S

    2014-01-15

    Although the mechanism of light regulation of color pigmentation of apple fruit is not fully understood, it has been shown that light can regulate expression of genes in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway by inducing transcription factors (TFs). Moreover, expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in this pathway may be coordinately regulated by multiple TFs. In this study, fruits on trees of apple cv. Red Delicious were covered with paper bags during early stages of fruit development and then removed prior to maturation to analyze the transcriptome in the exocarp of apple fruit. Comparisons of gene expression profiles of fruit covered with paper bags (dark-grown treatment) and those subjected to 14 h light treatment, following removal of paper bags, were investigated using an apple microarray of 40,000 sequences. Expression profiles were investigated over three time points, at one week intervals, during fruit development. Overall, 736 genes with expression values greater than two-fold were found to be modulated by light treatment. Light-induced products were classified into 19 categories with highest scores in primary metabolism (17%) and transcription (12%). Based on the Arabidopsis gene ontology annotation, 18 genes were identified as TFs. To further confirm expression patterns of flavonoid-related genes, these were subjected to quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) using fruit of red-skinned apple cv. Red Delicious and yellow-skinned apple cv. Golden Delicious. Of these, two genes showed higher levels of expression in 'Red Delicious' than in 'Golden Delicious', and were likely involved in the regulation of fruit red color pigmentation. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Bifidobacterium bifidum Actively Changes the Gene Expression Profile Induced by Lactobacillus acidophilus in Murine Dendritic Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weiss, Gudrun Margarethe; Rasmussen, Simon; Fink, Lisbeth Nielsen

    2010-01-01

    Dendritic cells (DC) play a pivotal regulatory role in activation of both the innate as well as the adaptive immune system by responding to environmental microorganisms. We have previously shown that Lactobacillus acidophilus induces a strong production of the pro-inflammatory and Th1 polarizing...... cytokine IL-12 in DC, whereas bifidobacteria do not induce IL-12 but inhibit the IL-12 production induced by lactobacilli. In the present study, genome-wide microarrays were used to investigate the gene expression pattern of murine DC stimulated with Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM and Bifidobacterium...

  1. Effects of alpha-AMPK knockout on exercise-induced gene activation in mouse skeletal muscle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Sebastian Beck; Wojtaszewski, Jørgen; Viollet, Benoit

    2005-01-01

    We tested the hypothesis that 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays an important role in regulating the acute, exercise-induced activation of metabolic genes in skeletal muscle, which were dissected from whole-body a2- and a1-AMPK knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice at rest, after treadmi...

  2. Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel salt-inducible gene encoding an acidic isoform of PR-5 protein in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onishi, M; Tachi, H; Kojima, T; Shiraiwa, M; Takahara, H

    2006-10-01

    We identified a novel salt-inducible soybean gene encoding an acidic-isoform of pathogenesis-related protein group 5 (PR-5 protein). The soybean PR-5-homologous gene, designated as Glycine max osmotin-like protein, acidic isoform (GmOLPa)), encodes a putative polypeptide having an N-terminal signal peptide. The mature GmOLPa protein without the signal peptide has a calculated molecular mass of 21.5 kDa and a pI value of 4.4, and was distinguishable from a known PR-5-homologous gene of soybean (namely P21 protein) through examination of the structural features. A comparison with two intracellular salt-inducible PR-5 proteins, tobacco osmotin and tomato NP24, revealed that GmOLPa did not have a C-terminal extension sequence functioning as a vacuole-targeting motif. The GmOLPa gene was transcribed constitutively in the soybean root and was induced almost exclusively in the root during 24 h of high-salt stress (300 mM NaCl). Interestingly, GmOLPa gene expression in the stem and leaf, not observed until 24 h, was markedly induced at 48 and 72 h after commencement of the high-salt stress. Abscisic acid (ABA) and dehydration also induced expression of the GmOLPa gene in the root; additionally, dehydration slightly induced expression in the stem and leaf. In fact, the 5'-upstream sequence of the GmOLPa gene contained several putative cis-elements known to be involved in responsiveness to ABA and dehydration, e.g. ABA-responsive element (ABRE), MYB/MYC, and low temperature-responsive element (LTRE). These results suggested that GmOLPa may function as a protective PR-5 protein in the extracellular space of the soybean root in response to high-salt stress and dehydration.

  3. Low pH induces co-ordinate regulation of gene expression in oesophageal cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duggan, Shane P; Gallagher, William M; Fox, Edward J P; Abdel-Latif, Mohammed M; Reynolds, John V; Kelleher, Dermot

    2006-02-01

    The development of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is known to be a causative risk factor in the evolution of adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus. The major component of this reflux is gastric acid. However, the impact of low pH on gene expression has not been extensively studied in oesophageal cells. This study utilizes a transcriptomic and bioinformatic approach to assess regulation of gene expression in response to low pH. In more detail, oesophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines were exposed to a range of pH environments. Affymetrix microarrays were used for gene-expression analysis and results were validated using cycle limitation and real-time RT-PCR analysis, as well as northern and western blotting. Comparative promoter transcription factor binding site (TFBS) analysis (MatInspector) of hierarchically clustered gene-expression data was employed to identify the elements which may co-ordinately regulate individual gene clusters. Initial experiments demonstrated maximal induction of EGR1 gene expression at pH 6.5. Subsequent array experimentation revealed significant induction of gene expression from such functional categories as DNA damage response (EGR1-4, ATF3) and cell-cycle control (GADD34, GADD45, p57). Changes in expression of EGR1, EGR3, ATF3, MKP-1, FOSB, CTGF and CYR61 were verified in separate experiments and in a variety of oesophageal cell lines. TFBS analysis of promoters identified transcription factors that may co-ordinately regulate gene-expression clusters, Cluster 1: Oct-1, AP4R; Cluster 2: NF-kB, EGRF; Cluster 3: IKRS, AP-1F. Low pH has the ability to induce genes and pathways which can provide an environment suitable for the progression of malignancy. Further functional analysis of the genes and clusters identified in this low pH study is likely to lead to new insights into the pathogenesis and therapeutics of GORD and oesophageal cancer.

  4. Altered Stress-Induced Regulation of Genes in Monocytes in Adults with a History of Childhood Adversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwaiger, Marion; Grinberg, Marianna; Moser, Dirk; Zang, Johannes C S; Heinrichs, Markus; Hengstler, Jan G; Rahnenführer, Jörg; Cole, Steve; Kumsta, Robert

    2016-09-01

    Exposure to serious or traumatic events early in life can lead to persistent alterations in physiological stress response systems, including enhanced cross talk between the neuroendocrine and immune system. These programming effects may be mechanistically involved in mediating the effects of adverse childhood experience on disease risk in adulthood. We investigated hormonal and genome-wide mRNA expression responses in monocytes to acute stress exposure, in a sample of healthy adults (n=30) with a history of early childhood adversity, and a control group (n=30) without trauma experience. The early adversity group showed altered hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to stress, evidenced by lower ACTH and cortisol responses. Analyses of gene expression patterns showed that stress-responsive transcripts were enriched for genes involved in cytokine activity, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine activity, and G-protein coupled receptor binding. Differences between groups in stress-induced regulation of gene transcription were observed for genes involved in steroid binding, hormone activity, and G-protein coupled receptor binding. Transcription factor binding motif analysis showed an increased activity of pro-inflammatory upstream signaling in the early adversity group. We also identified transcripts that were differentially correlated with stress-induced cortisol increases between the groups, enriched for genes involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and glutamate receptor signaling. We suggest that childhood adversity leads to persistent alterations in transcriptional control of stress-responsive pathways, which-when chronically or repeatedly activated-might predispose individuals to stress-related psychopathology.

  5. RiArsB and RiMT-11: Two novel genes induced by arsenate in arbuscular mycorrhiza.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maldonado-Mendoza, Ignacio E; Harrison, Maria J

    Plants associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) increase their tolerance to arsenic-polluted soils. This study aims to investigate the genes involved in the AMF molecular response to arsenic pollution. Genes encoding proteins involved in arsenic metabolism were identified and their expression assessed by PCR or RT-qPCR. The As-inducible gene GiArsA (R. irregularis ABC ATPase component of the ArsAB arsenite efflux pump) and two new genes, an arsenate/arsenite permease component of ArsAB (RiArsB) and a methyltransferase type 11 (RiMT-11) were induced when arsenate was added to two-compartment in vitro monoxenic cultures of R. irregularis-transformed carrot roots. RiArsB and RiMT-11 expression in extraradical hyphae in response to arsenate displayed maximum induction 4-6 h after addition of 350 μM arsenate. Their expression was also detected in colonized root tissues grown in pots, or in the root-fungus compartment of two-compartment in vitro systems. We used a Medicago truncatula double mutant (mtpt4/mtpt8) to demonstrate that RiMT-11 and RiArsB transcripts accumulate in response to the addition of arsenate but not in response to phosphate. These results suggest that these genes respond to arsenate addition regardless of non-functional Pi symbiotic transport, and that RiMT-11 may be involved in arsenate detoxification by methylation in AMF-colonized tissues. Copyright © 2017 British Mycological Society. All rights reserved.

  6. HPV-16 L1 genes with inactivated negative RNA elements induce potent immune responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rollman, Erik; Arnheim, Lisen; Collier, Brian; Oeberg, Daniel; Hall, Haakan; Klingstroem, Jonas; Dillner, Joakim; Pastrana, Diana V.; Buck, Chris B.; Hinkula, Jorma; Wahren, Britta; Schwartz, Stefan

    2004-01-01

    Introduction of point mutations in the 5' end of the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) L1 gene specifically inactivates negative regulatory RNA processing elements. DNA vaccination of C57Bl/6 mice with the mutated L1 gene resulted in improved immunogenicity for both neutralizing antibodies as well as for broad cellular immune responses. Previous reports on the activation of L1 by codon optimization may be explained by inactivation of the regulatory RNA elements. The modified HPV-16 L1 DNA that induced anti-HPV-16 immunity may be seen as a complementary approach to protein subunit immunization against papillomavirus

  7. Microarray Analyses of Genes Differentially Expressed by Diet (Black Beans and Soy Flour) during Azoxymethane-Induced Colon Carcinogenesis in Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rondini, Elizabeth A; Bennink, Maurice R

    2012-01-01

    We previously demonstrated that black bean (BB) and soy flour (SF)-based diets inhibit azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colon cancer. The objective of this study was to identify genes altered by carcinogen treatment in normal-appearing colonic mucosa and those attenuated by bean feeding. Ninety-five male F344 rats were fed control (AIN) diets upon arrival. At 4 and 5 weeks, rats were injected with AOM (15 mg/kg) or saline and one week later administered an AIN, BB-, or SF-based diet. Rats were sacrificed after 31 weeks, and microarrays were conducted on RNA isolated from the distal colonic mucosa. AOM treatment induced a number of genes involved in immunity, including several MHC II-associated antigens and innate defense genes (RatNP-3, Lyz2, Pla2g2a). BB- and SF-fed rats exhibited a higher expression of genes involved in energy metabolism and water and sodium absorption and lower expression of innate (RatNP-3, Pla2g2a, Tlr4, Dmbt1) and cell cycle-associated (Cdc2, Ccnb1, Top2a) genes. Genes involved in the extracellular matrix (Col1a1, Fn1) and innate immunity (RatNP-3, Pla2g2a) were induced by AOM in all diets, but to a lower extent in bean-fed animals. This profile suggests beans inhibit colon carcinogenesis by modulating cellular kinetics and reducing inflammation, potentially by preserving mucosal barrier function.

  8. AMPKα is essential for acute exercise-induced gene responses but not for exercise training-induced adaptations in mouse skeletal muscle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fentz, Joachim; Kjøbsted, Rasmus; Maag Kristensen, Caroline

    2015-01-01

    -induced increases in exercise capacity and expression of metabolic proteins as well as acute exercise-induced gene regulation would be compromised in AMPKα1 and -α2 muscle-specific double knockout (mdKO) mice. An acute bout of exercise increased skeletal muscle mRNA content of cytochrome C oxidase subunit I......, glucose transporter 4 and VEGF in an AMPK-dependent manner, while cluster of differentiation 36 and fatty acid transport protein 1 mRNA content increased similarly in AMPKα wild type (WT) and mdKO mice. During four weeks of voluntary running wheel exercise training, the AMPKα mdKO mice ran less than WT...

  9. Effect of SMAD7 gene overexpression on TGF-β1-induced profibrotic responses in fibroblasts derived from Peyronie's plaque

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Ji Choi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1 has been identified as one of the most important fibrogenic cytokines associated with Peyronie's disease (PD. The mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 7 (SMAD7 is an inhibitory Smad protein that blocks TGF-β signaling pathway. The aim of this study was to examine the anti-fibrotic effect of the SMAD7 gene in primary fibroblasts derived from human PD plaques. PD fibroblasts were pretreated with the SMAD7 gene and then stimulated with TGF-β1. Treated fibroblasts were used for Western blotting, fluorescent immunocytochemistry, hydroxyproline determination, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling assays. Overexpression of the SMAD7 gene inhibited TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of SMAD2 and SMAD3, transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, and quashed TGF-β1-induced production of extracellular matrix protein and hydroxyproline. Overexpression of the SMAD7 gene decreased the expression of cyclin D1 (a positive cell cycle regulator and induced the expression of poly (ADP-ribose polymerase 1, which is known to terminate Smad-mediated transcription, in PD fibroblasts. These findings suggest that the blocking of the TGF-β pathway by use of SMAD7 may be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of PD.

  10. Stress-induced anhedonia in mice is associated with deficits in forced swimming and exploration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strekalova, Tatyana; Spanagel, Rainer; Bartsch, Dusan; Henn, Fritz A; Gass, Peter

    2004-11-01

    In order to develop a model for a depression-like syndrome in mice, we subjected male C57BL/6 mice to a 4-week-long chronic stress procedure, consisting of rat exposure, restraint stress, and tail suspension. This protocol resulted in a strong decrease in sucrose preference, a putative indicator of anhedonia in rodents. Interestingly, predisposition for stress-induced anhedonia was indicated by submissive behavior in a resident-intruder test. In contrast, most mice with nonsubmissive behavior did not develop a decrease in sucrose preference and were regarded as nonanhedonic. These animals were used as an internal control for stress-induced behavioral features not associated with the anhedonic state, since they were exposed to the same stressors as the anhedonic mice. Using a battery of behavioral tests after termination of the stress procedure, we found that anhedonia, but not chronic stress per se, is associated with key analogues of depressive symptoms, such as increased floating during forced swimming and decreased exploration of novelty. On the other hand, increased anxiety, altered locomotor activity, and loss of body weight were consequences of chronic stress, which occurred independently from anhedonia. Thus, behavioral correlates of stress-induced anhedonia and of chronic stress alone can be separated in the present model.

  11. Rapid screening of spontaneous and radiation-induced structural changes at the vestigial gene of Drosophila melanogaster by polymerase chain reaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aleksandrov, I.D.; Lapidus, I.L.; Aleksandrova, M.V.; Karpovskij, A.L.; Korablinova, S.V.; Levkovich, N.V.

    1998-01-01

    A total of 27 independent isolated spontaneous and gamma-ray-induced heritable mutations at the vestigial gene of Drosophila melanogaster were analysed by a rapid deletion screening method with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. According to the results obtained 36.4% (4 of 11) of spontaneous mutants and 62.5% (10 of 16) of gamma-ray-induced ones have revealed deficiency of one or more fragments studied. The rest of spontaneous and radiation mutants showed no alterations in the PCR patterns, indicating possible small scale changes (point mutations) inside the gene region studied or, probably, the gross lesions situated elsewhere. The distribution of the mutation damages in the gene region studied are discussed

  12. Phytate addition to soil induces changes in the abundance and expression of Bacillus β-propeller phytase genes in the rhizosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorquera, Milko A; Saavedra, Nicolás; Maruyama, Fumito; Richardson, Alan E; Crowley, David E; del C Catrilaf, Rosa; Henriquez, Evelyn J; de la Luz Mora, María

    2013-02-01

    Phytate-mineralizing rhizobacteria (PMR) perform an essential function for the mineralization of organic phosphorus but little is known about their ecology in soils and rhizosphere. In this study, PCR-based methods were developed for detection and quantification of the Bacillus β-propeller phytase (BPP) gene. Experiments were conducted to monitor the presence and persistence of a phytate-mineralizing strain, Bacillus sp. MQH19, after inoculation of soil microcosms and within the rhizosphere. The occurrence of the BPP gene in natural pasture soils from Chilean Andisols was also examined. The results showed that the Bacillus BPP gene was readily detected in sterile and nonsterile microcosms, and that the quantitative PCR (qPCR) methods could be used to monitor changes in the abundance of the BPP gene over time. Our results also show that the addition of phytate to nonsterile soils induced the expression of the BPP gene in the rhizosphere of ryegrass and the BPP gene was detected in all pasture soils sampled. This study shows that phytate addition soils induced changes in the abundance and expression of Bacillus BPP to genes in the rhizosphere and demonstrates that Bacillus BPP gene is cosmopolitan in pasture soils from Chilean Andisols. © 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Isolation and identification of gene mediating radiation-induced apoptosis in human leukemia U937 cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tong Xin; Luo Ying; Dong Yan; Sun Zhixian

    1998-01-01

    Objective: Increasing evidences suggest that Caspase family proteases play an important role in the effector mechanism of apoptotic cell death. Radiation (IR) can induce apoptosis in tumor cells, so it is very important to isolate and identify the member of the Caspase family proteases involved in IR-induced apoptosis, and this would contribute to the understanding of the mechanism responsible for apoptosis execution. Methods: A PCR approach to isolate genes for IR-induced apoptosis was developed. The approach used degenerated oligonucleotide encoding the highly conserved peptides that were present in all known Caspases. Results: Protease inhibitors special for Caspases could block the apoptotic cell death caused by IR, and Caspase-3 was isolated from irradiated human leukemia U937 cells. Conclusion: Caspases involve in IR-induced apoptosis, and Caspase-3 is the pivotal element of IR-induced apoptosis

  14. Transcriptional up-regulation of antioxidant genes by PPARδ inhibits angiotensin II-induced premature senescence in vascular smooth muscle cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyo Jung; Ham, Sun Ah; Paek, Kyung Shin; Hwang, Jung Seok; Jung, Si Young; Kim, Min Young; Jin, Hanna; Kang, Eun Sil; Woo, Im Sun; Kim, Hye Jung; Lee, Jae Heun; Chang, Ki Churl; Han, Chang Woo; Seo, Han Geuk

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Activation of PPARδ by GW501516 significantly inhibited Ang II-induced premature senescence in hVSMCs. → Agonist-activated PPARδ suppressed generation of Ang II-triggered ROS with a concomitant reduction in DNA damage. → GW501516 up-regulated expression of antioxidant genes, such as GPx1, Trx1, Mn-SOD and HO-1. → Knock-down of these antioxidant genes abolished the effects of GW501516 on ROS production and premature senescence. -- Abstract: This study evaluated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) δ as a potential target for therapeutic intervention in Ang II-induced senescence in human vascular smooth muscle cells (hVSMCs). Activation of PPARδ by GW501516, a specific agonist of PPARδ, significantly inhibited the Ang II-induced premature senescence of hVSMCs. Agonist-activated PPARδ suppressed the generation of Ang II-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) with a concomitant reduction in DNA damage. Notably, GW501516 up-regulated the expression of antioxidant genes, such as glutathione peroxidase 1, thioredoxin 1, manganese superoxide dismutase and heme oxygenase 1. siRNA-mediated down-regulation of these antioxidant genes almost completely abolished the effects of GW501516 on ROS production and premature senescence in hVSMCs treated with Ang II. Taken together, the enhanced transcription of antioxidant genes is responsible for the PPARδ-mediated inhibition of premature senescence through sequestration of ROS in hVSMCs treated with Ang II.

  15. Glucocorticoid-induced reversal of interleukin-1β-stimulated inflammatory gene expression in human oviductal cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stéphanie Backman

    Full Text Available Studies indicate that high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC, the most common epithelial ovarian carcinoma histotype, originates from the fallopian tube epithelium (FTE. Risk factors for this cancer include reproductive parameters associated with lifetime ovulatory events. Ovulation is an acute inflammatory process during which the FTE is exposed to follicular fluid containing both pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules, such as interleukin-1 (IL1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF, and cortisol. Repeated exposure to inflammatory cytokines may contribute to transforming events in the FTE, with glucocorticoids exerting a protective effect. The global response of FTE cells to inflammatory cytokines or glucocorticoids has not been investigated. To examine the response of FTE cells and the ability of glucocorticoids to oppose this response, an immortalized human FTE cell line, OE-E6/E7, was treated with IL1β, dexamethasone (DEX, IL1β and DEX, or vehicle and genome-wide gene expression profiling was performed. IL1β altered the expression of 47 genes of which 17 were reversed by DEX. DEX treatment alone altered the expression of 590 genes, whereas combined DEX and IL1β treatment altered the expression of 784 genes. Network and pathway enrichment analysis indicated that many genes altered by DEX are involved in cytokine, chemokine, and cell cycle signaling, including NFκΒ target genes and interacting proteins. Quantitative real time RT-PCR studies validated the gene array data for IL8, IL23A, PI3 and TACC2 in OE-E6/E7 cells. Consistent with the array data, Western blot analysis showed increased levels of PTGS2 protein induced by IL1β that was blocked by DEX. A parallel experiment using primary cultured human FTE cells indicated similar effects on PTGS2, IL8, IL23A, PI3 and TACC2 transcripts. These findings support the hypothesis that pro-inflammatory signaling is induced in FTE cells by inflammatory mediators and raises the possibility that

  16. Casticin induced apoptotic cell death and altered associated gene expression in human colon cancer colo 205 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Hung-Sheng; Liu, Jia-You; Lu, Hsu-Feng; Chiang, Han-Sun; Lin, Chia-Hain; Chen, Ann; Lin, Yuh-Feng; Chung, Jing-Gung

    2017-08-01

    Casticin, a polymethoxyflavone, derived from natural plant Fructus Viticis exhibits biological activities including anti-cancer characteristics. The anti-cancer and alter gene expression of casticin on human colon cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. Flow cytometric assay was used to measure viable cell, cell cycle and sub-G1 phase, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Ca 2+ productions, level of mitochondria membrane potential (ΔΨ m ) and caspase activity. Western blotting assay was used to detect expression of protein level associated with cell death. Casticin induced cell morphological changes, decreased cell viability and induced G2/M phase arrest in colo 205 cells. Casticin increased ROS production but decreased the levels of ΔΨ m , and Ca 2+ , increased caspase-3, -8, and -9 activities. The cDNA microarray indicated that some of the cell cycle associated genes were down-regulated such as cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A) (p21, Cip1) and p21 protein (Cdc42/Rac)-activated kinase 3 (PAK3). TNF receptor-associated protein 1 (TRAP1), CREB1 (cAMP responsive element binding protein 1) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B) (p27, Kip1) genes were increased but matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), PRKAR2B (protein kinase, cAMP-dependent, regulatory, type II, bet), and CaMK4 (calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV) genes were inhibited. Results suggest that casticin induced cell apoptosis via the activation of the caspase- and/or mitochondria-dependent signaling cascade, the accumulation of ROS and altered associated gene expressions in colo 205 human colon cancer cells. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Homeobox gene Dlx-2 is implicated in metabolic stress-induced necrosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lim Sung-Chul

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In contrast to tumor-suppressive apoptosis and autophagic cell death, necrosis promotes tumor progression by releasing the pro-inflammatory and tumor-promoting cytokine high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1, and its presence in tumor patients is associated with poor prognosis. Thus, necrosis has important clinical implications in tumor development; however, its molecular mechanism remains poorly understood. Results In the present study, we show that Distal-less 2 (Dlx-2, a homeobox gene of the Dlx family that is involved in embryonic development, is induced in cancer cell lines dependently of reactive oxygen species (ROS in response to glucose deprivation (GD, one of the metabolic stresses occurring in solid tumors. Increased Dlx-2 expression was also detected in the inner regions, which experience metabolic stress, of human tumors and of a multicellular tumor spheroid, an in vitro model of solid tumors. Dlx-2 short hairpin RNA (shRNA inhibited metabolic stress-induced increase in propidium iodide-positive cell population and HMGB1 and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH release, indicating the important role(s of Dlx-2 in metabolic stress-induced necrosis. Dlx-2 shRNA appeared to exert its anti-necrotic effects by preventing metabolic stress-induced increases in mitochondrial ROS, which are responsible for triggering necrosis. Conclusions These results suggest that Dlx-2 may be involved in tumor progression via the regulation of metabolic stress-induced necrosis.

  18. Radiation-induced pulmonary gene expression changes are attenuated by the CTGF antibody Pamrevlumab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sternlicht, Mark D; Wirkner, Ute; Bickelhaupt, Sebastian; Lopez Perez, Ramon; Tietz, Alexandra; Lipson, Kenneth E; Seeley, Todd W; Huber, Peter E

    2018-01-18

    Fibrosis is a delayed side effect of radiation therapy (RT). Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) promotes the development of fibrosis in multiple settings, including pulmonary radiation injury. To better understand the cellular interactions involved in RT-induced lung injury and the role of CTGF in these responses, microarray expression profiling was performed on lungs of irradiated and non-irradiated mice, including mice treated with the anti-CTGF antibody pamrevlumab (FG-3019). Between group comparisons (Welch's t-tests) and principal components analyses were performed in Genespring. At the mRNA level, the ability of pamrevlumab to prolong survival and ameliorate RT-induced radiologic, histologic and functional lung deficits was correlated with the reversal of a clear enrichment in mast cell, macrophage, dendritic cell and mesenchymal gene signatures. Cytokine, growth factor and matrix remodeling genes that are likely to contribute to RT pneumonitis and fibrosis were elevated by RT and attenuated by pamrevlumab, and likely contribute to the cross-talk between enriched cell-types in injured lung. CTGF inhibition had a normalizing effect on select cell-types, including immune cells not typically regarded as being regulated by CTGF. These results suggest that interactions between RT-recruited cell-types are critical to maintaining the injured state; that CTGF plays a key role in this process; and that pamrevlumab can ameliorate RT-induced lung injury in mice and may provide therapeutic benefit in other immune and fibrotic disorders.

  19. Abrogation of cisplatin-induced hepatotoxicity in mice by xanthorrhizol is related to its effect on the regulation of gene transcription

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwan Kim, Seong; Ok Hong, Kyoung; Chung, Won-Yoon; Kwan Hwang, Jae; Park, Kwang-Kyun

    2004-01-01

    Cisplatin is a widely used anticancer drug, but at high dose, it can produce undesirable side effects such as hepatotoxicity. Because Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) has been traditionally used to treat liver disorders, the protective effect of xanthorrhizol, which is isolated from C. xanthorrhiza, on cisplatin-induced hepatotoxicity was evaluated in mice. The pretreatment of xanthorrhizol (200 mg/kg/day, po) for 4 days prevented the hepatotoxicity induced by cisplatin (45 mg/kg, ip) with statistical significance. Interestingly, it abrogated cisplatin-induced DNA-binding activity of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB), which consequently affected mRNA expression levels of NF-κB-dependent genes, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), even in part. It also attenuated the cisplatin-suppressed DNA-binding activity of activator protein 1 (AP-1). Using differential display reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR), seven upregulated genes including S100 calcium binding protein A9 (S100A9) mRNA and antigenic determinant for rec-A protein mRNA and five downregulated genes including caseinolytic protease X (ClpX) mRNA and ceruloplasmin (CP) mRNA by cisplatin were identified. Although these mRNA expression patterns were not totally consistent with gel shift patterns, altered expression levels by cisplatin were reversed by the pretreatment of xanthorrhizol. In conclusion, the ability of xanthorrhizol to regulate the DNA-binding activities of transcription factors, NF-κB and AP-1, could be one possible mechanism to elucidate the preventive effect of xanthorrhizol on cisplatin-induced hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, genes identified in this study could be helpful to understand the mechanism of cisplatin-induced hepatotoxicity. Finally, the combination treatment of xanthorrhizol and cisplatin may provide more advantage than single treatment of cisplatin in cancer therapy

  20. Apoptotic activity and gene responses in Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells, induced by azadirachtin A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Lin; Li, Sheng; Ran, Xueqin; Liu, Chang; Lin, Rutao; Wang, Jiafu

    2016-09-01

    Azadirachtin has been used as an antifeedant and growth disruption agent for many insect species. Previous investigations have reported the apoptotic effects of azadirachtin on some insect cells, but the molecular mechanisms are still not clear. This study investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms for the apoptotic effects induced by azadirachtin on Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells in vitro. The results of the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay demonstrated that azadirachtin exhibited significant cytotoxicity to S2 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The changes in cellular morphology and the DNA fragmentation demonstrated that azadirachtin induced remarkable apoptosis of S2 cells. Expression levels of 276 genes were found to be significantly changed in S2 cells after exposure to azadirachtin, as detected by Drosophila genome array. Among these genes, calmodulin (CaM) was the most highly upregulated gene. Azadirachtin was further demonstrated to trigger intracellular Ca(2+) release in S2 cells. The genes related to the apoptosis pathway, determined from chip data, were validated by the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. The results showed that azadirachtin-mediated intracellular Ca(2+) release was the primary event that triggered apoptosis in Drosophila S2 cells through both pathways of the Ca(2+) -CaM and EcR/Usp signalling cascade. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.