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BACKGROUND: The striped stem borer (SSB, Chilo suppressalis) is one of the most destructive insect pests on rice. As a chewing insect, SSB larval feeding causes a dramatic increase in rice defense responses. However, the effects of oral secretions (OSs) during SSB feeding on rice defense remain largely unexplored. RESULTS: In this study, based on transcriptome analysis results, treatment with SSB OSs regulated the expression of genes involved in the plant defense‐related pathways of calcium, mitogen‐activated protein kinases, reactive oxygen species, jasmonic acid (JA), herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (HIPVs), and protease inhibitors. Unsurprisingly, treatment with SSB OSs elicited the accumulation of JA and JA‐isoleucine in rice. The defense mechanisms activated by the cascade not only induced the expression of trypsin inhibitors, inhibiting the normal growth of SSB larvae but also induced HIPVs emission, rendering rice attractive to a common larval parasitoid. High‐throughput proteome sequencing of SSB OSs led to 534 proteins being identified and 343 proteins with two or more unique peptides being detected. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates that SSB OSs trigger both direct and indirect defense mechanisms in rice, akin to the effects of SSB feeding. It identifies specific proteins in SSB OSs that may influence the interactions between SSB and rice during feeding, providing valuable insights for effectors research. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage caused by the rice striped stem borer (SSB), Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is much more severe on indica/xian rice than on japonica/geng rice (Oryza sativa) which matches pest outbreak data in cropping regions of China. The mechanistic basis of this difference among rice subspecies remains unclear. Using transcriptomic, metabolomic and genetic analyses in combination with insect bioassay experiments, we showed that japonica and indica rice utilise different defence responses to repel SSB, and that SSB exploited plant nutrition deficiencies in different ways in the subspecies. The more resistant japonica rice induced patterns of accumulation of methyl jasmonate (MeJA—part of a defensive pathway) and vitamin B1 (VB1—a nutrition pathway) distinct from indica cultivars. Using gene‐edited rice plants and SSB bioassays, we found that MeJA and VB1 jointly affected the performance of SSB by disrupting juvenile hormone levels. In addition, genetic variants of key biosynthesis genes in the MeJA and VB1 pathways (OsJMT and OsTH1, respectively) differed between japonica and indica rice and contributed to performance differences; in indica rice, SSB avoided the MeJA defence pathway and hijacked the VB1 nutrition‐related pathway to promote development. The findings highlight important genetic and mechanistic differences between rice subspecies affecting SSB damage which could be exploited in plant breeding for resistance. Summary Statement: This manuscript demonstrates that striped stem borer (SSB) avoided one defence pathway and hijacked another nutrition‐related pathway to promote development. The findings highlight important genetic and mechanistic differences between rice subspecies affecting SSB damage which could be exploited in plant breeding for resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is a multifunctional enzyme that plays an important role in the formation of fatty acids. The fatty acids take part in many processes, such as cell signaling and energy metabolism, and in insects they are important in both cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) formation and reproduction. Here we characterized the sequence structure and function of an FAS from the small brown planthopper (SBPH), Laodelphax striatellus. The full‐length open reading frame (ORF) sequence of LsFAS1 was 7122 bp, encoding a predicted protein of 2373 amino acid residues. There were 7 functional domains in the LsFAS1 protein sequence. Gene expression screening by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) showed that LsFAS1 was expressed in all developmental stages. Relative expression was highest at the 4th‐instar and female adult stages. Among different tissues, the expression level of LsFAS1 in the ovary was the highest. Phylogenetic analysis showed that LsFAS1 clustered in a clade with 2 FASs from Nilaparvata lugens. Furthermore, these 3 FASs are related to cockroach BgFAS and locust LmFAS. After RNA interference‐mediated knock‐down, most treated insects died at eclosion. In addition, the lifespan of dsFAS1‐treated female adults was shorter than that of the dsGFP‐injected control, and offspring production decreased. Also, the expression of vitellogenin (Vg) and vitellogenin receptor (VgR) genes decreased. Virgin females dissected at days 2 and 4 post‐eclosion showed many matured oocytes in planthoppers treated with dsGFP but not with dsFAS1. These data highlight the importance of LsFAS1 in SBPH, including a role in reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apolipoprotein M (ApoM) is a type of apolipoprotein. It is well known that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) decreases inflammatory responses via the apoM-sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) pathway. The present study further investigated the importance of ApoM in the inhibitory effects of HDL on inflammation. Mice with an apoM gene deficiency (apoM−/−) were employed to investigate the effects of ApoM on the expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), S1P receptor-1 (S1PR1) and 3β-hydroxysterol Δ-24-reductase (DHCR24), as compared with in wild-type mice (apoM+/+). Furthermore, cell culture experiments were performed using a permanent human hybrid endothelial cell line (EA.hy926). Cells were cultured in the presence of recombinant human apoM (rec-apoM) or were induced to overexpress apoM (apoMTg); subsequently, cells were treated with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), in order to investigate the effects of ApoM on IL-1β and MCP-1. The results demonstrated that the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β and MCP-1 were significantly higher in the liver following administration of lipopolysaccharide in apoM−/− mice compared with in apoM+/+ mice. In cell culture experiments, when cells were pre-cultured with rec-apoM or were engineered to overexpress apoM (apoMTg), they exhibited decreased expression levels of IL-1β and MCP-1 following TNF-α treatment compared with in normal apoM-expressing cells (apoMTgN). Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β and MCP-1 were significantly elevated following addition of the S1PR1 inhibitor W146, but not by the scavenger receptor class B type I inhibitor, block lipid transport-1 (BLT-1), in apoMTg cells prior to TNF-α treatment. Conversely, there were no differences in these inflammatory biomarkers under the same conditions in apoMTgN cells. The mRNA expression levels of DHCR24 were significantly reduced by the addition of BLT-1 prior to TNF-α treatment in apoMTg cells; however, there was no difference in the expression of this inflammatory biomarker in apoMTgN cells. In conclusion, ApoM displayed inhibitory effects against the inflammatory response in vivo and in vitro; these effects may be induced via the S1PR1 and DHCR24 pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It had been demonstrated that apolipoprotein M (apoM) is an important carrier of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in blood, and the S1P has critical roles in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI). In the present study, we investigated whether apoM has beneficial effects in a mouse model after lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. Forty-eight mice were divided into two groups: male C57BL/6 wild-type (apoM+/+) group (n = 24) and apoM gene-deficient (apoM−/−) group (n = 24) and then randomly subdivided into four subgroups (n = 6 each) according to different intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection: control group, W146 group, LPS group, and LPS + W146 group. Serum levels of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and mRNA levels of IL-1β, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), lung histology, wet/dry weight ratio, and immunohistochemistry were measured at 3 h after the baseline and compared in each group. Our results clearly demonstrated that IL-1β mRNA levels and other inflammatory biomarkers were significantly increased in the lungs of LPS-induced ALI apoM−/− mice compared to those of the apoM+/+ mice. Moreover, when apoM+/+ mice were treated with W146, a S1P receptor (S1PR1) antagonist, these inflammatory biomarkers could be significantly upregulated by LPS-induced ALI. Therefore, it suggests that apoM-S1P-S1PR1 signaling might underlie the pathogenesis of ALI and apoM could have physiological benefits to alleviate LPS-induced ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to advances in diagnosis and treatment methods over past decades, a growing number of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnoses has enabled a greater of proportion of patients to receive curative treatment. However, a high risk of early recurrence and poor prognosis remain major challenges in HCC therapy. Microvascular invasion (MVI) has been demonstrated to be an essential independent predictor of early recurrence after curative therapy. Currently, biopsy is not generally recommended before treatment to evaluate MVI in HCC according clinical guidelines due to sampling error and the high risk of tumor cell seeding following biopsy. Therefore, the postoperative histopathological examination is recognized as the gold standard of MVI diagnosis, but this lagging indicator greatly impedes clinicians in selecting the optimal effective treatment for prognosis. As imaging can now noninvasively and completely assess the whole tumor and host situation, it is playing an increasingly important role in the preoperative assessment of MVI. Therefore, imaging criteria for MVI diagnosis would be highly desirable for optimizing individualized therapeutic decision-making and achieving a better prognosis. In this review, we summarize the emerging image characteristics of different imaging modalities for predicting MVI. We also discuss whether advances in imaging technique have generated evidence that could be practice-changing and whether advanced imaging techniques will revolutionize therapeutic decision-making of early-stage HCC., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://qims.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/qims-24-44/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. All rights reserved.)

N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is the most prevalent modification in cellular RNA which orchestrates diverse physiological and pathological processes during stress response. However, the differential m 6 A modifications that cope with herbivore stress in resistant and susceptible crop varieties remain unclear. Here, we found that rice stem borer (RSB) larvae grew better on indica rice (e.g., MH63, IR64, Nanjing 11) than on japonica rice varieties (e.g., Nipponbare, Zhonghua 11, Xiushui 11). Then, transcriptome-wide m 6 A profiling of representative resistant (Nipponbare) and susceptible (MH63) rice varieties were performed using a nanopore direct RNA sequencing approach, to reveal variety-specific m 6 A modifications against RSB. Upon RSB infestation, m 6 A methylation occurred in actively expressed genes in Nipponbare and MH63, but the number of methylation sites decreased across rice chromosomes. Integrative analysis showed that m 6 A methylation levels were closely associated with transcriptional regulation. Genes involved in herbivorous resistance related to mitogen-activated protein kinase, jasmonic acid (JA), and terpenoid biosynthesis pathways, as well as JA-mediated trypsin protease inhibitors, were heavily methylated by m 6 A, and their expression was more pronounced in RSB-infested Nipponbare than in RSB-infested MH63, which may have contributed to RSB resistance in Nipponbare. Therefore, dynamics of m 6 A modifications act as the main regulatory strategy for expression of genes involved in plant-insect interactions, which is attributed to differential responses of resistant and susceptible rice varieties to RSB infestation. These findings could contribute to developing molecular breeding strategies for controlling herbivorous pests., (© 2024 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) often have cognitive impairment and structural brain abnormalities. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based brain atrophy and lesion index can be used to evaluate common brain changes and their correlation with cognitive function, and can therefore also be used to reflect whole-brain structural changes related to T2DM. A total of 136 participants (64 men and 72 women, aged 55-86 years) were recruited for our study between January 2014 and December 2016. All participants underwent MRI and Mini-Mental State Examination assessment (including 42 healthy control, 38 T2DM without cognitive impairment, 26 with cognitive impairment but without T2DM, and 30 T2DM with cognitive impairment participants). The total and sub-category brain atrophy and lesion index scores in patients with T2DM with cognitive impairment were higher than those in healthy controls. Differences in the brain atrophy and lesion index of gray matter lesions and subcortical dilated perivascular spaces were found between non-T2DM patients with cognitive impairment and patients with T2DM and cognitive impairment. After adjusting for age, the brain atrophy and lesion index retained its capacity to identify patients with T2DM with cognitive impairment. These findings suggest that the brain atrophy and lesion index, based on T1-weighted and T2-weighted imaging, is of clinical value for identifying patients with T2DM and cognitive impairment. Gray matter lesions and subcortical dilated perivascular spaces may be potential diagnostic markers of T2DM that is complicated by cognitive impairment. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of University of South China (approval No. USC20131109003) on November 9, 2013, and was retrospectively registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration No. ChiCTR1900024150) on June 27, 2019., Competing Interests: None

Porphyromonas gingivalis ( P. gingivalis ) is an anaerobic gram-negative bacterium that colonizes in the epithelium and has been strongly associated with periodontal disease. Recently, various degrees of associations between P. gingivalis and digestive system cancers, including oral squamous cell carcinoma in the oral cavity, oesophageal squamous carcinoma in the digestive tract, and pancreatic cancer in pancreatic tissues, have been displayed in multiple clinical and experimental studies. Since P. gingivalis has a strong association with periodontal diseases, not only the relationships between P. gingivalis and digestive system tumours but also the effects induced by periodontal diseases on cancers are well-illustrated in this review. In addition, the prevention and possible treatments for these digestive system tumours induced by P. gingivalis infection are also included in this review. At the end, we also highlighted the possible mechanisms of cancers caused by P. gingivalis . One important carcinogenic effect of P. gingivalis is inhibiting the apoptosis of epithelial cells, which also plays an intrinsic role in protecting cancerous cells. Some signalling pathways activated by P. gingivalis are involved in cell apoptosis, tumourigenesis, immune evasion and cell invasion of tumour cells. In addition, metabolism of potentially carcinogenic substances caused by P. gingivalis is also one of the connections between this bacterium and cancers., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest related to this study.

Objective: To investigate the mRNA and protein expression levels of apolipoprotein M (apoM) in the human colorectal cancer tissues, and to explore its clinical relevance., Methods: Real-time PCR was carried out to determine the mRNA expression levels both in cancer tissue and its adjacent normal tissue from 20 patients with colorectal cancer. Immunohistochemistry was also carried out to determine the protein levels in 23 colorectal biopsy samples (7 normal mucosa, 6 inflammatory mucosa and 10 polyp tissues) and 20 cases of colorectal cancer tissues as well as the adjacent normal tissues., Results: Real-time PCR result showed that apoM mRNA level in the colorectal cancer tissues was significantly lower than that in their adjacent normal tissues (0.05±0.01 vs. 0.19±0.05, P<0.05). ApoM mRNA level in colorectal cancer tissues was statistically significant higher in the patients with lymph node metastasis as compared to the patients without lymph node metastasis (P<0.01). The median value of apoM protein in cancer tissues was 5.50, which was significantly lower than that in the adjacent normal tissues (10.5, P<0.05), inflammatory mucosa tissues (9.75, P<0.05), polyp tissues (11.0, P<0.01) and normal mucosa (10.5, P<0.05). No significant association was observed between the apoM protein level and the clinicopathological parameters of patients., Conclusions: Both apoM mRNA and protein expression levels in colorectal cancer tissues are significantly decreased in contrast to normal and benign colorectal tissues. The apoM mRNA expression in colorectal cancer tissues is closely associated with nodal metastasis.

Objective: In the present study we describe a new method to detect the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations A1555G and C1494T by using the base-quenched probe technique in a single PCR reaction., Methods: 6-carboxyfluorescein (FAM) was directly conjugated to the 3' end of the probe. Four vectors, representing the four possible genotype combinations, were constructed as the amplification template for the methodology established. In present study A1555G and C1494T mutations in 117 individuals with hearing loss were detected by the base-quenched probe method and were further validated by the direct DNA sequencing analyses., Results: From the melting curve we could distinguish the four haplotypes accurately. And there were complete concordance between the base-quenched probe method and direct DNA sequencing., Conclusion: This method is suitable for clinical test of mtDNA mutations A1555G and C1494T in individuals with hearing loss.

Background: HtrA1, a serine protease, is down-regulated in various human solid tumors. Overexpression of HtrA1 in human cancer cells inhibits cell growth and proliferation in vitro and in vivo, suggesting its possible role as a tumor suppressor., Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the expression of HtrA1 in 50 hepatocellular carcinoma specimens and adjacent liver tissues. The correlation between the expression of HtrA1 and the clinico-pathologic data were analyzed., Results: The levels of HtrA1 were lower in tumor tissues than in their adjacent liver tissues. Moreover, an inverse relationship was found between HtrA1 expression and the differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma. Loss of HtrA1 was more frequently found in tumors in Edmondson grade III-IV, especially in those with venous invasion, compared to tumors in Edmondson grade I-II. Most importantly, patients with higher HtrA1 expression had a better survival rate., Conclusion: All these data suggest an important role of HtrA1 in hepatocellular carcinoma development and progression, which may be a new target for its treatment.

Objective: To study the expression of B7-H3 mRNA and B7-H3 protein in gastric carcinoma and their clinical significance., Methods: The expression of B7-H3 mRNA and B7-H3 protein in gastric carcinoma and the nearby normal tissue of 38 patients was detected by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemical assay respectively., Results: B7-H3 mRNA was expressed both in gastric carcinoma and nearby normal tissue, but the expression level in gastric carcinoma was much lower than that in nearby normal tissue. There were no significant differences of B7-H3 mRNA expression among gender, age, histological type, tumor size, lymph node metastasis and invasive depth (all P >0.05). The positive rate of B7-H3 protein expressed in gastric carcinoma was 39.5%. There were no significant differences of B7-H3 protein expression among gender, age, histological type, tumor size, lymph node metastasis and invasive depth (all P >0.05), but there were significant differences among groups of clinical stage (P=0.022) and pathological grade (P=0.039). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that disease-free survival or overall survival of the patients with positive B7-H3 expression were significantly longer than those with negative B7-H3 expression (P=0.009 and P=0.010 respectively)., Conclusion: Detection of B7-H3 expression in gastric carcinoma will be beneficial to the judgment of the prognosis of gastric carcinoma and the choice of individualized treatment.

Objective: To investigate the role of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells in patients with ITP., Methods: Flow cytometry was used to examine the number of CD4+ CD25+, CD4+ CD25 high, CD4+ Foxp3+ and CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ T cells. The level of Foxp3 mRNA expression was analyzed by realtime quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) . CD4+ CD25 high T cells was cocultured with CD4+ CD25 - T cells from patients or controls for assessing the regulatory properties of CD4+ CD25 Treg cells., Results: The proportion of CD4+ CD25+ T cells in the peripheral blood of patients with ITP [(15.64 +/- 5.82) %] was significantly higher than that in normal control group [(9.30 +/- 3.95)%] (P <0.01). There was no significant difference in the percentages of CD4+ CD25 high T cells between ITP patients and controls [(1.53 +/- 0.66)% versus (1.36 +/- 0.55)% (P = 0.317)]. But the number of CD4 Foxp 3+ T cells and CD4 + CD25+ Foxp3+ T cells in patients were significantly lower than that in control group (P <0.01). The expression of Foxp3 mRNA reduced (P < 0.01) and the suppressive activity of CD4+ CD25 high T cells is lower than that of healthy controls (P <0.01)., Conclusion: In patients with ITP, both the number and immuno-regulative function of CD4+ CD25+ Treg cells are reduced.