Role of autophagy in bone and muscle biology

Autophagy in eukaryotic cells is a constitutive process and functions as a homeostatic mechanism; it is up-regulated in response to specific stress stimuli such as starvation, hypoxia and as oxidative stress. In addition to playing a crucial role in adaptive responses to different stimuli, autophagy is also required for intracellular quality control. This second aspect is important to prevent the activation of pathological processes. Autophagy also plays a central role in cellular development and differentiation because it is involved in the regulation of energetic balance. This final aspect is critical for maintaining proper bone and muscle function as well as to prevent any pathological changes. Therefore, identifying new molecular targets involved in autophagy is critical to assure a good quality of life.

Effect of follicle-stimulating hormone on sperm quality and pregnancy rate

Aim: To evaluate the possible links between ultrastructural sperm quality and the clinical pregnancy rate in infertile males treated with FSH before intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: Forty-four infertile males with idiopathic oligo-asthenozoospermia were randomly allocated to the treated (n=24) and non-treated (control, n=20) groups. Semen analysis was carried out by light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) before and 12 weeks after FSH therapy. ICSI was performed in all couples. Results: TEM revealed a significant improvement in sperm quality after FSH treatment, particularly in men with their partners achieving clinical pregnancy. The preg nancy rate was 33 % in the treated group and 20 % in the control. Conclusion: Results highlight a positive role of FSH therapy in infertile males before ICSI, which was correlated vvith an increased pregnancy rate in treated couples. We believe that improved sperm ultrastructure after FSH therapy could positively influence the quality and early stage of embryo development, thereby increasing the probability of embryo implantation.

Genome-wide analysis of NDR1/HIN1-like genes in pepper(Capsicum annuum L.)and functional characterization of CaNHL4 under biotic and abiotic stresses

Plant NDR1/HIN1-like(NHL)genes play an important role in triggering plant defenses in response to biotic stresses.In this study,we performed a genome-wide identification of the NHL genes in pepper(Capsicum annuum L.)and characterized the functional roles of these CaNHL genes in response to abiotic stresses and infection by different pathogens.Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CaNHLs can be classified into five distinct subgroups,with each group containing generic and specific motifs.Regulatory element analysis showed that the majority of the promoter regions of the identified CaNHLs contain jasmonic acid(JA)-responsive and salicylic acid(SA)-responsive elements,and transcriptomic analysis revealed that CaNHL genes are expressed in all the examined tissues of pepper.The CaNHL1,CaNHL4,CaNHL6,CaNHL10,CaNHL11,and CaNHL12 genes were significantly upregulated under abiotic stress as well as in response to different pathogens,such as TMV,Phytophthora capsici and Pseudomonas syringae.In addition,we found that CaNHL4 localizes to the plasma membrane.CaNHL4-silenced pepper plants display significantly increased susceptibility to TMV,Phytophthora capsici and Pseudomonas syringae,exhibiting reduced expression of JA-related and SA-related genes and reduced ROS production.However,transient overexpression of CaNHL4 in pepper increases the expression of JArelated and SA-related genes,enhances the accumulation of ROS,and inhibits the infection of these three pathogens.Collectively,for the first time,we identified the NHL genes in pepper and demonstrated that CaNHL4 is involved in the production of ROS and that it also regulates the expression of JA-related and SA-related genes in response to different pathogens,suggesting that members of the CaNHL family play an essential role in the disease resistance of pepper.

Mesenchymal stem cells: A new diagnostic tool?

Mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) are progenitor cells capable of self-renewal that can differentiate in multiple tissues and, under specific and standardizedculture conditions, expand in vitro with little phenotypic alterations. In recent years, preclinical and clinical studies have focused on MSC analysis and understanding the potential use of these cells as a therapy in a wide range of pathologies, and many applications have been tested. Clinical trials using MSCs have been performed(e.g., for cardiac events, stroke, multiple sclerosis, blood diseases, auto-immune disorders, ischemia, and articular cartilage and bone pathologies), and for many genetic diseases, these cells are considered an important resource. Considering of the biology of MSCs, these cells may also be useful tools for understanding the physiopathology of different diseases, and they can be used to develop specific biomarkers for a broad range of diseases. In this editorial, we discuss the literature related to the use of MSCs for diagnostic applications and we suggest new technologies to improve their employment.

Common Variants Associated to Type 2 Diabetes in the Italian Population

Genome-wide association studies have identified numerous genetic variants for type 2 diabetes (T2D). Most genetic loci discovered to date were studied in Caucasians or Asian ancestry, however, there are no data regarding a quite large Italian sample. Therefore, we investigated T2D genetic susceptibility of 143 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within 30 genes involved in glucose metabolism in a large Italian case-control study. For the study, 1875 Caucasian patients were selected from three Italian cohorts. Age, gender, BMI and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) values were collected. Population was split in cases and controls based on FPG values or T2D diagnosis. T2D subjects and whom with FPG higher that 126 mg/dL were recruited as cases whereas subjects with normal values of FPG were considered controls. In each subject 143 SNPs were genotyped. To evaluate the association between genetic variations and diabetes status, a logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex and BMI, was performed. Overall, 948 (50.6%) had T2D. Twenty out of 143 variants within 11 different genes resulted significantly associated to T2D. Four of them were located into TCF7L2 gene and presented the highest odd ratio (from 1.42 to 1.57). At least two SNPs were located within KCNJ11, WFS1, ABCC8, JAZF1 and HNF1B genes and one SNP each was identified in ADAMTS9, IGF2BP2, FTO, G6PC2 and GCK genes. Our findings support the role of 11 genes involved in glucose homeostasis in T2D risk development in a large Italian population. We found that such genetic information may be advantageous for predicting T2D.

Effects of different forms of nitrogen addition on microbial extracellular enzyme activity in temperate grassland soil

Background:Nitrogen(N)deposition alters litter decomposition and soil carbon(C)sequestration by influencing the microbial community and its enzyme activity.Natural atmospheric N deposition comprises of inorganic N(IN)and organic N(ON)compounds.However,most studies have focused on IN and its effect on soil C cycling,whereas the effect of ON on microbial enzyme activity is poorly understood.Here we studied the effects of different forms of externally supplied N on soil enzyme activities related to decomposition in a temperate steppe.Ammonium nitrate was chosen as IN source,whereas urea and glycine were chosen as ON sources.Different ratios of IN to ON(Control,10:0,7:3,5:5,3:7,and 0:10)were mixed with equal total amounts of N and then used to fertilize the grassland soils for 6 years.Results:Our results show that IN deposition inhibited lignin-degrading enzyme activity,such as phenol oxidase(POX)and peroxidase(PER),which may restrain decomposition and thus induce accumulation of recalcitrant organic C in grassland soils.By contrast,deposition of ON and mixed ON and IN enhanced most of the C-degrading enzyme activities,which may promote the organic matter decomposition in grassland soils.In addition,theβ-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase(NAG)activity was remarkably stimulated by fertilization with both IN and ON,maybe because of the elevated N availability and the lack of N limitation after long-term N fertilization at the grassland site.Meanwhile,differences in soil pH,soil dissolved organic carbon(DOC),and microbial biomass partially explained the differential effects on soil enzyme activity under different forms of N treatments.Conclusions:Our results emphasize the importance of organic N deposition in controlling soil processes,which are regulated by microbial enzyme activities,and may consequently change the ecological effect of N deposition.Thus,more ON deposition may promote the decomposition of soil organic matter thus converting C sequestration in grassland soils into a C source.

Fitness components of Drosophila melanogaster developed on a standard laboratory diet or a typical natural food source

Drosophila melanogaster is often used as a model organism in evolution- ary biology and ecophysiology to study evolutionary processes and their physiological mechanisms. Diets used to feed Drosophila cultures differ between laboratories and are often nutritious and distinct from food sources in the natural habitat, Here we rear D. melanogaster on a standard diet used in our laboratory and a field diet composed of decomposing apples collected in the field. Flies developed on these two diet compositions are tested for heat, cold, desiccation, and starvation resistance as well as developmental time, dry body mass and fat percentage. The nutritional compositions of the standard and field diets were analyzed, and discussed in relation to the phenotypic observations. Results showed marked differences in phenotype of flies from the two types of diets. Flies reared on the field diet are more starvation resistant and they are smaller, leaner, and have lower heat resistance compared to flies reared on the standard diet. Sex specific effects of diet type are observed for several of the investigated traits and the strong sexual dimorphism usually observed in desiccation resistance in D. melanogaster disappeared when rearing the flies on the field diet. Based on our results we conclude that care should be taken in extrapolating results from one type of diet to another and especially from laboratory to field diets.