Atropine can induce autophagy independent of the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor

Background: No other effects of atropine other than as an antagonist of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) have been found. Methods: In this study, human kidneyepithelial cells were treated with different physiological regulators. Results: Subsequently, it was found that atropine could significantly induce autophagy as demonstrated by the appearance of autophagosome-like double- or single-membrane vesicles in the cytoplasm ofhost cells and the number of GFP-LC3 dots. In addition, increased conversion of the autophagy marker protein LC3-I and LC3-II and increased p62/SQSTM1 indicatedincomplete autophagy. In addition, atropine induced autophagosome levels in a dose-dependent manner within a certain concentration range in human kidney epithelial cells. In atropine-treated mouse skeletal muscle cells containing nicotinic acetylcholinereceptors and rat cardiac muscle cells containing mAchR, atropine induced autophagy in mouse skeletal muscle cells but not in rat cardiac muscle cells. Furthermore, atropine did not induce autophagy in tissue cells containing mAchR in vivo but did in tissue cells not containing mAchR. Conclusion: This study expands the application and understanding of atropine’s action mechanism in the field of medicine.

Isolation and Characterization of Ell Gene Promoter from Tomato

A fragment of 2000 bp upstream sequence of Ell clone was amplified from genomic DNA of the tomato cultivar Zhongshu- 5. Sequence analysis showed that the upstream contains the regulatory elements： TATA box （-29 - -22）, CAAT box （-193 - -189）, wound, and drought response elements. Expression vectors of Ell promoter gus fusion were constructed with the promoters of 1 200 and 2 000 bp regions, respectively. Transgenic tomato plants were obtained through Agrobacteriummediated transformation. Histochemical analysis of GUS activity in various tissues showed that the two promoters were able to direct fruit-specific gene expression. The expression driven by promoter of 2 000 bp upstream fragment could increase GUS activity with the maturation of tomato fruits. The promoter of -1 200 bp fragment could direct gus gene expression in fruits with the inductions of drought and wounding. The regulatory region for fruit-specificity was probably located in the region of 1 200 bp of 5′-flanking sequence and some positive regulatory elements or enhancers may exist in the region from -1 200 to -2000 bp.

Overexpression of PtPEPCK1 gene promotes nitrogen metabolism in poplar

To understand the function of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase,we introduced PtPEPCK1 gene under the control of 35S promoter into 84K poplar(Populus alba×P.glandulosa).PtPEPCK1 gene is well-known for its role in gluconeogenesis.However,our data confi rmed that it has signifi cant eff ects on amino acid biosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism.Immunohistochemistry and fl uorescence microscopy indicate that PtPEPCK1 is specifi cally expressed in the cytoplasm of the spongy and palisade tissues.Overexpression of PtPEPCK1 was characterized through transcriptomics and metabolomics.The metabolites concentration of the ornithine cycle and its precursors also increased,of which N-acetylornithine was up-regulated almost 50-fold and ornithine 33.7-fold.These were accompanied by a massive increase in levels of several amino acids.Therefore,overexpression of PtPEPCK1 increases amino acid levels with urea cycle disorder.

Correction to:Overexpression of PtPEPCK1 gene promotes nitrogen metabolism in poplar

Correction to:J.For.Res.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-019-01042-4 In the Original publication,the author has found that C1 and C4 in Fig.3 have been published with errors.The corrected Fig.3 C1 and C4 are provided below.

Dopamine D2 receptors in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex modulate social hierarchy in male mice

Social hierarchy greatly influences behavior and health.Both human and animal studies have signaled the medial prefrontal cortex(mPFC)as specifically related to social hierarchy.Dopamine D1 receptors(D1Rs)and D2 receptors(D2Rs)are abundantly expressed in the mPFC,modulat-ing its functions.However,it is unclear how DR-expressing neurons in the mPFC regulate social hierarchy.Here,using a confrontation tube test,we found that most adult C57BL/6J male mice could establish a linear social rank after 1 week of cohabitation.Lower rank individuals showed social anxiety together with decreased serum testosterone levels.D2R expression was significantly downregulated in the dorsal part of mPFC(dmPFC)in lower rank individuals,whereas D1R expression showed no significant difference among the rank groups in the whole mPFC.Virus knockdown of D2Rs in the dmPFC led to mice being particularly prone to lose the contests in the confrontation tube test.Finally,simultaneous D2R activation in the subordinates and D2R inhibition in the dominants in a pair switched their dominant-subordinate relationship.The above results indicate that D2Rs in the dmPFC play an important role in social dominance.Our findings provide novel insights into the divergent func-tions of prefrontal D1Rs and D2Rs in social dominance,which may contribute to ameliorating social dysfunctions along with abnormal social hierarchy.