Background: The genus Atractylodes, native to East Asia, encompasses several species that serve as sources for the widely used traditional Chinese medicines Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Atractylodis Rhizoma. However, the international trade arouses concern regarding potential confusion and misidentification of Atractylodes species. Objective: A comprehensive understanding of the chemical diversity is crucial for ensuring the quality and exploring the potential variations in medicinal efficacy of Atractylodes. Methods: The GC-MS/MS-based metabolomics and multivariate statistical analysis identified 589 differentially accumulated metabolites across 5 Atractylodes species. Results: A total of 150 metabolites were predicted as potential chemical markers for species differentiation and quality assessment of Atractylodes. According to the metabolic profiles, the species of Atractylodes can be roughly classified into three categories: A. lancea and A. coreana with the volatile oil components being mainly atractylodin and β-eudesmol; A. macrocephala with the biomarker being atractylon; and A. japonica and A. carlinoides lying between the two categories above. Conclusions: Metabolomic results indicated that the metabolic profiles of A. carlinoides and A. macrocephala were similar and distinct from those of the other three species. Sesquiterpenoids were the main chemical components in the rhizome of A. carlinoides, which indicated the potential medicinal value of this plant.

Background: The genus Atractylodes, native to East Asia, encompasses several species that serve as sources for the widely used traditional Chinese medicines Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Atractylodis Rhizoma. However, the international trade arouses concern regarding potential confusion and misidentification of Atractylodes species. Objective: A comprehensive understanding of the chemical diversity is crucial for ensuring the quality and exploring the potential variations in medicinal efficacy of Atractylodes. Methods: The GC-MS/MS-based metabolomics and multivariate statistical analysis identified 589 differentially accumulated metabolites across 5 Atractylodes species. Results: A total of 150 metabolites were predicted as potential chemical markers for species differentiation and quality assessment of Atractylodes. According to the metabolic profiles, the species of Atractylodes can be roughly classified into three categories: A. lancea and A. coreana with the volatile oil components being mainly atractylodin and β-eudesmol; A. macrocephala with the biomarker being atractylon; and A. japonica and A. carlinoides lying between the two categories above. Conclusions: Metabolomic results indicated that the metabolic profiles of A. carlinoides and A. macrocephala were similar and distinct from those of the other three species. Sesquiterpenoids were the main chemical components in the rhizome of A. carlinoides, which indicated the potential medicinal value of this plant.

Background: The genus Atractylodes, native to East Asia, encompasses several species that serve as sources for the widely used traditional Chinese medicines Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Atractylodis Rhizoma. However, the international trade arouses concern regarding potential confusion and misidentification of Atractylodes species. Objective: A comprehensive understanding of the chemical diversity is crucial for ensuring the quality and exploring the potential variations in medicinal efficacy of Atractylodes. Methods: The GC-MS/MS-based metabolomics and multivariate statistical analysis identified 589 differentially accumulated metabolites across 5 Atractylodes species. Results: A total of 150 metabolites were predicted as potential chemical markers for species differentiation and quality assessment of Atractylodes. According to the metabolic profiles, the species of Atractylodes can be roughly classified into three categories: A. lancea and A. coreana with the volatile oil components being mainly atractylodin and β-eudesmol; A. macrocephala with the biomarker being atractylon; and A. japonica and A. carlinoides lying between the two categories above. Conclusions: Metabolomic results indicated that the metabolic profiles of A. carlinoides and A. macrocephala were similar and distinct from those of the other three species. Sesquiterpenoids were the main chemical components in the rhizome of A. carlinoides, which indicated the potential medicinal value of this plant.

Objective:To construct a novel chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell targeting CD138 and to investigate its cytotoxicity against myeloma cells.Methods:The hybridoma strain that can stably secrete the CD138 monoclonal antibody (mAb) was prepared and obtained through monoclonal antibody screening technology. The hybridoma strain cells were intraperitoneally injected into mice to produce ascites containing monoclonal antibodies, which were then collected and purified to obtain pure CD138 mAb. Further examinations were performed to assess the biological characteristics of CD138 mAb. The variable region sequence of this antibody was amplified through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and was used as the antigen recognition domain of CD138 CAR, which was subsequently expressed on the surface of T cells by lentiviral infection. Flow cytometry was employed to assess the phenotype of CD138 CAR-T cells. In vitro cytotoxicity and degranulation assays were performed to evaluate their antitumor effects.Results:① We successfully prepared anti-human CD138 antibody hybridoma cell lines and screened a hybridoma cell strain, 5G2, which could persistently and stably secrete the anti-CD138 antibody. ② The purified CD138 (5G2) mAb can especially recognize CD138 + cells with a binding affinity constant (K D) of 6.011×10 -9 mol/L and showed no significant binding activity with CD138 - cells. ③The variable region sequence of the CD138 (5G2) antibody was obtained using molecular cloning technology, and CD138 (5G2) CAR was successfully constructed and expressed on T cells through lentivirus infection and, concurrently, demonstrated effective binding to recombinant human CD138 protein.④ The proliferation of T cells transduced with the CD138 (5G2) CAR was highly efficient. The phenotype analysis revealed that CD138 (5G2) CAR-T cells exhibited a greater tendency to differentiate into central memory T cells and memory stem T cells, with a reduced proportion of terminally differentiated effector memory subsets. ⑤CD138 (5G2) CAR-T cells demonstrated specific cytotoxicity against CD138 + myeloma cell line H929, whereas CD138 - cell line K562 remained unaffected. The percentage of residual H929 cells was (12.92±8.02) % after co-culturing with CD138 (5G2) CAR-T cells, while (54.25±15.79) % was left in the Vector-T group (E∶T=1∶2; P<0.001). ⑥Results of degranulation assays demonstrated a significant activation of CD138 (5G2) CAR-T cells after co-culture with the H929 cell line, whereas no significant activation was observed in Vector-T cells [ (25.78±3.35) % vs (6.13±1.30) %, P<0.001]. ⑦After co-culturing with CD138 + cells, CD138 (5G2) CAR-T cells exhibited a significant increase in cytokine secretion compared to the Vector-T group [interleukin-2: (1 697.52±599.05) pg/ml vs (5.07±1.17) pg/ml, P<0.001; interferon-γ: (3 312.20±486.38) pg/ml vs (9.28±1.46) pg/ml, P<0.001; and tumor necrosis factor-α: (1 837.43±640.49) pg/ml vs (8.75±1.65) pg/ml, P<0.001]. However, no significant difference was observed in cytokine secretion levels between the two groups after co-culturing with CD138 - cells. Conclusion:This study successfully prepared a novel monoclonal antibody against CD138, and CAR-T cells constructed with the antigen recognition domain derived from this 5G2 mAb demonstrated effective antitumor activity against myeloma cells. This can be used as a new option for the detection of the CD138 antigen and proposes a novel strategy for multiple myeloma immunotherapy.

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between porcine epidemic diar-rhea virus(PEDV)S1 IgG antibody levels and neutralizing antibody potency in sow sera.Sera from 5 PEDV-infected farms with a clear immune background,5 non-infected farms and 5 infected farms with an unclear immune background,and sera from return-fed reserve pigs,totaling 716 copies,were collected and measured,and the correlation between PEDV S1 IgG antibodies and neutralizing antibodies was analyzed.The results showed that the PEDV S1 IgG and neutralizing antibodies of sow sera showed highly significant positive correlation,the correlation coefficient was 0.892(P＜0.000 1).Previous studies have shown that the level of PEDV neutralizing antibodies in sow serum correlates with the ability of piglets'maternal antibodies to resist PEDV infection.Therefore,the a-bility of maternal antibodies against PEDV in piglets can be evaluated by detecting PEDV S1 IgG antibodies in the serum of sows.In 10 PEDV-infected farms,the neutralizing antibodies to PEDV in the sera of sows after immunization were generally high,and the S1 IgG antibodies were also high,and their S/P values were higher than 3.5 in 66.9％of the farms(347/519),and the highest anti-body levels were found in the four farms in which PED did not occur,whereas the neutralizing an-tibodies in the immunized sows in the five PEDV-uninfected farms were generally low,and their S1 IgG antibodies were also low,and only 8.1％(13/161)having S/P values higher than 3.5.The re-sults suggest that most sows in PEDV-infected farms can provide good immunoprotection to pig-lets after immunization,while pigs in PEDV-uninfected farms need further immunization if they need to achieve a higher level of immunoprotection.The present study provides a substantial clini-cal basis for the use of PEDV S1 IgG antibody levels to assess the effectiveness of PEDV antibody protection in swine herds.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)-induced cytokine storms constitute the primary cause of coronavirus disease 19(COVID-19)progression,severity,criticality,and death.Gluco-corticoid and anti-cytokine therapies are frequently administered to treat COVID-19,but have limited clinical efficacy in severe and critical cases.Nevertheless,the weaknesses of these treatment modalities have prompted the development of anti-inflammatory therapy against this infection.We found that the broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory agent inosine downregulated proinflammatory interleukin(IL)-6,upregulated anti-inflammatory IL-10,and ameliorated acute inflammatory lung injury caused by mul-tiple infectious agents.Inosine significantly improved survival in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2.It indirectly impeded TANK-binding kinase 1(TBK1)phosphorylation by binding stimulator of interferon genes(STING)and glycogen synthase kinase-3β(GSK3β),inhibited the activation and nuclear trans-location of the downstream transcription factors interferon regulatory factor(IRF3)and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB),and downregulated IL-6 in the sera and lung tissues of mice infected with lipopoly-saccharide(LPS),H1N1,or SARS-CoV-2.Thus,inosine administration is feasible for clinical anti-inflammatory therapy against severe and critical COVID-19.Moreover,targeting TBK1 is a promising strategy for inhibiting cytokine storms and mitigating acute inflammatory lung injury induced by SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious agents.

Objective:To determine the role of lncRNA TUG1 in pancreatic β cells functioning both in vitro and in vivo.Methods:The lncRNA TUG1 expression in mice pancreas,brain,muscle and other different tissues was examined through qRT-PCR.MTT,flow cytometry,GSIS,ELISA and immunochemistry analyses were performed to detect the effect of lncRNA TUG1 on insulin secretion in vitro and in vivo.Results:lncRNA TUG1 was highly expressed in pancreatic tissue compared with other organ tissues.Knockdown of lncRNA TUG1 expression resulted in decreased insulin secretion in β cells both in vitro and in vivo.Immunochemistry analyses showed decreased relative islet area after treatment with lncRNA TUG1 siRNA.Conclusions:Downregulation of lncRNA TUG1 expression can affect insulin secretion in pancreatic β cells in vitro and in vivo,and lncRNA TUG1 may represent a factor that regulates the function of pancreatic β cells.

Objective To study the effect of ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides on T cell subsets and AQP1, AQP3 expression of bladder cancer T24 cell line bearing mice.Methods 60 BALB/C nude mice were selection as experimental animals, bladder tumor bearing animal models were made by bladder cancer T24 cells subcutaneous injection, and were randomly divided into control group, cisplatin group, ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides and cisplatin group, cisplatin group given 25 mg/kgcisplatin intraperitoneal injection, cisplatin combined ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide group given 200 mg/kg ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide lavage, 25 mg/kg cisplatin intraperitoneal injection, the control group given quite a volume normal saline lavage.Then tumor volume and weight, peripheral blood T cell subsets and AQP1, AQP3, Caspase-3, Bax mRNA content in tumor tissue were determined.Results Cisplatin group, cisplatin combined ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide tumor volume and mass were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05), cisplatin and ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide tumor volume and mass were significantly lower than that cisplatin group ( P<0.05 ); Cisplatin group, cisplatin combined ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides group CD4 + T cells, CD8 +T cells , CD4 +/CD8 + were significantly higher than that of control group (P<0.05), cisplatin combined ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide group CD4 +T cells, CD4 +/CD8 +were significantly higher than that of cisplatin group (P<0.05); Cisplatin group, cisplatin combined ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide group mices tumor tissues Bax, Caspase 3 mRNA content were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05), cisplatin combined ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide group Bax,caspase 3 mRNA content were significantly lower than that of cisplatin group (P<0.05); Cisplatin group, cisplatin combined ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide group mice tumor tissue AQP1, AQP3 mRNA content were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05); Cisplatin combined ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide group AQP1, AQP3 mRNA content were significantly lower than cisplatin group (P<0.05 ). Conclusion ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide can inhibit tumor growth and enhance cellular immune function of bladder cancer T24 cell line bearing mice, and adjust the expression of pro-apoptotic genes, AQP1 and AQP3.

Although the molecular basis of flowering time control is well dissected in the long day (LD) plant Arabidopsis, it is still largely unknown in the short day (SD) plant rice. Rice flowering time (heading date) is an important agronomic trait for season adaption and grain yield, which is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. During the last decade, as the nature of florigen was identified, notable progress has been made on exploration how florigen gene expression is genetically controlled. In Arabidopsis expression of certain key flowering integrators such as FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) are also epigenetically regulated by various chromatin modifications, however, very little is known in rice on this aspect until very recently. This review summarized the advances of both genetic networks and chromatin modifications in rice flowering time control, attempting to give a complete view of the genetic and epigenetic architecture in complex network of rice flowering pathways.
Arabidopsis ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Arabidopsis Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Chromatin ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Florigen ; metabolism ; Flowers ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Gene Regulatory Networks ; MADS Domain Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Oryza ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Phenotype ; Time Factors

Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived gaseous free radical that predominantly functions as a messenger and effector molecule. It affects a variety of physiological processes, including programmed cell death (PCD) through cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent and - independent pathways. In this field, dominant discoveries are the diverse apoptosis networks in mammalian cells, which involve signals primarily via death receptors (extrinsic pathway) or the mitochondria (intrinsic pathway) that recruit caspases as effector molecules. In plants, PCD shares some similarities with animal cells, but NO is involved in PCD induction via interacting with pathways of phytohormones. NO has both promoting and suppressing effects on cell death, depending on a variety of factors, such as cell type, cellular redox status, and the flux and dose of local NO. In this article, we focus on how NO regulates the apoptotic signal cascade through protein S-nitrosylation and review the recent progress on mechanisms of PCD in both mammalian and plant cells.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; physiology ; Caspases ; metabolism ; Caspases, Effector ; metabolism ; Cyclic GMP ; metabolism ; Mitochondria ; metabolism ; physiology ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; physiology ; Plant Cells ; Plant Physiological Phenomena ; Signal Transduction ; physiology