Search

ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the safety of interferon β-1a for treatment of corona virus disease 2019 （COVID-19）， and to provide references for interferon β-1a's clinical application.MethodsThis study was conducted with the database from US Food and Drug Administration adverse event reporting system （FAERS） from January 1， 2015 to March 31， 2021. Information component （IC） and reporting odds ratio （ROR） methods were applied for signal mining.ResultsA total of 463 700 records of COVID-19 were selected for analysis， and 45 positive drug adverse event signals were detected. Headache （IC025=1.09， ROR025=2.28）， pyrexia （IC025=0.51， ROR025=1.51） and multiple sclerosis relapse （IC025=3.67， ROR025=14.71） were positive adverse events with higher frequency. Autoimmune disorder （IC025=4.42， ROR025=24.03）， streptococcal infection （IC025=4.12， ROR025=19.82）， and multiple sclerosis relapse （IC025=3.67， ROR025=14.71） were positive adverse events. Acute lung injury， cardio-respiratory arrest and metabolic acidosis were associated with a higher proportion and frequency of death.ConclusionThere are certain safety issues with interferon β-1a in the treatment of COVID-19， and some adverse events with high frequency and high death rate deserve further attention by medical staffs.

Tree peony is considered as an important ornamental and medicinal plant in China, and 60Co gamma radiation breeding can be potentially used to improve its quality. In this study, we have analyzed the biochemical characteristics and transcriptomic effects induced by different doses of 60Co gamma radiation on the grafted seedlings to explore the possible mutagenic effects of 60Co gamma radiation on the tree peony. The higher radiation doses were found to be harmful to the seedlings, and LD50 (50% of the lethal value) was 40.30 Gy. 60Co gamma radiation treatment obviously affected the physiological and biochemical states of tree peony. The activity of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase gradually increased after radiation exposure, with maximal at 40 Gy. The total soluble protein content gradually decreased, while the content of proline and malondialdehyde was significantly increased. A total of 77,699 unigenes were identified, of which 399, 1447 and 1928 identified were differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in H0 (control) vs H1 (10 Gy), H0 vs H5 (50 Gy), H1 vs H5, respectively. GO and KEGG results showed that the DEGs were closely related to phenylalanine metabolism, lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism pathways, plant hormone signal transduction and secondary biosynthesis metabolism. A total of 768 different expressed transcription factors were identified, which were mainly distributed in MYB, WRKY, NAC and other families related to plant stress regulation which was up-regulated upon exposure to 50 Gy. This is the first transcriptome-based study to demonstrate significant variations in the expression of the various genes in response to 60Co gamma radiation. The findings of this study could be useful in the development of a mutation breeding program for tree peony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lilium tsingtauense is an endangered bulb plant in China that has curved leaves and orange flowers. Little is known about the opening of the L. tsingtauense flower. In this paper, the blooming process of L. tsingtauense flowers was sampled in five stages according to characteristic tepal morphology. The center of the tepal has an increasing elongation rate compared with the upper and lower parts. Tepal growth from closed buds at the greenish tepal stage (CBS) to the completely opened buds at the horizontal tepal stage is mainly due to cell division, cell elongation, and obvious longitudinal cellular growth. The fructose and glucose levels increased as the flower opened; however, the sucrose levels remained constant. The ultrastructure of different flowering stages implies that starch grains were mainly concentrated in the early flowering stage, and the cell wall was thicker in the fully opened flowers in the unhorizontal tepal stage compared with CBS and the completely opened bud in the reflexed tepal stage. Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR showed that cell expansion and hormone-related genes were correlated with flower opening. These results clearly illustrate the patterns of tepal cell expansion and the changes in metabolites during L. tsingtauense flower opening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]