Background: The significant advances in microarray and proteomics analyses have resulted in an exponential increase in potential new targets and have promised to shed light on the identification of disease markers and cellular pathways. We aim to collect and decipher the HCC-related genes at the systems level.

Liu-Wei-Di-Huang Wan (LWDHW) has been used by traditional Chinese doctors to treat asthma patients. This study was to examine the potential effect of this decoction on the regulation of T helper (Th)1- and Th2-type cytokine gene expression in vitro. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were activated with mitogen for 24 hours in the presence or absence of LWDHW extracts. Concentrations of different cytokines in the culture supernatants were determined with ELISA. RNA isolated from cultured cells was subjected to RT-PCR analysis. The results showed that the expression of all cytokines (Th2-type: IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, or IL-13 and Th1-type: IL-2 and IFN-gamma) examined was inhibited at both RNA and protein levels by LWDHW. Since the cell viability was similar in all cultures, the reduction of cytokine production was not due to the toxicity of LWDHW. Moreover, the cells either retained or increased their capacity to respond to mitogen stimulation after incubation with the LWDHW decoction. Therefore, the data suggest that LWDHW functioned directly on cytokine gene expression from activated PBMC.

Male sterility is an essential trait in hybrid seed production, especially for monoclinous and autogamous food crops. Soybean male-sterile ms1 mutant has been known for more than 50 years and could be instrumental in making hybrid seeds. However, the gene responsible for the male-sterile phenotype has remained unknown. Here, we report the map-based cloning and characterization of the MS1 gene in soybean. MS1 encodes a kinesin protein and localizes to the nucleus, where it is required for the male meiotic cytokinesis after telophase II. We further substantiated that MS1 colocalizes with microtubules and is essential for cell plate formation in soybean male gametogenesis through immunostaining. Both ms1 and CRISPR/Cas9 knockout mutants show complete male sterility but are otherwise phenotypically normal, making them perfect tools for producing hybrid seeds. The identification of MS1 has the practical potential for assembling the sterility system and speeding up hybrid soybean breeding.

Background Small HCCs usually arise in cirrhosis, often with associated thrombocytopenia. Many large HCC patients have normal blood platelet counts. Aims To compare parameter and phenotype patterns of patients with small ≤3cm and larger HCCs. Methods Retrospective analysis was undertaken of a 4139 patient HCC database to compare patient demographics, liver and tumor characteristics associated with small and large size HCCs, especially with respect to platelet counts. Results Patients with larger HCCs had more tumor nodules and PVT positivity, and had higher blood AFP, bilirubin and platelet counts. In patients with larger tumors and normal platelets (43.7% of the cohort), tumors were larger and AFP levels were higher, with lower bilirubin and AST levels than in patients with larger tumors and thrombocytopenia (17.5%). A parsimonious multinomial regression model showed high Odds Ratio for AFP and platelets for tumors >3cm with PVT. Conclusions Platelet levels are associated with distinct large HCC phenotypes.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a multifunctional factor in acceleration of cell proliferation, differentiation and transference, and therefore widely used in clinical applications. In this study, expression vector pWX-Nt03 harboring a codon-optimized bFGF gene was constructed and introduced into the tobacco chloroplasts by particle bombardment. After four rounds of selection, bFGF was proved to integrate into the chloroplast genome of regenerated plants and two of four transgenic plants were confirmed to be homoplastomic by PCR and Southern hybridization. ELISA assay indicated that bFGF represented approximately 0.1% of total soluble protein in the leaves of transplastomic tobacco plants. This is the first report of bFGF expression via chloroplast transformation in model plant, providing an additional option for the production of chloroplast-produced therapeutic proteins.

Heterosis has been widely exploited as an approach to enhance crop traits during breeding. However, its underlying molecular genetic mechanisms remain unclear. Recent advances in RNA sequencing technology (RNA-seq) have provided an opportunity to conduct transcriptome profiling for heterosis studies. We used RNA-seq to analyze the flower transcriptomes of two F1 hybrid soybeans (HYBSOY-1 and HYBSOY-5) and their parents. More than 385 million high-quality reads were generated and aligned against the soybean reference genome. A total of 681 and 899 genes were identified as being differentially expressed between HYBSOY-1 and HYBSOY-5 and their parents, respectively. These differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were categorized into four major expression categories with 12 expression patterns. Furthermore, gene ontology (GO) term analysis showed that the DEGs were enriched in the categories metabolic process and catalytic activity, while Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis found that metabolic pathway and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites were enriched in the two F1 hybrids. Comparing the DEGs of the two F1 hybrids by GO term and KEGG pathway analyses identified 26 common DEGs that showed transgressive up-regulation, and which could be considered potential candidate genes for heterosis in soybean F1 hybrids. This identification of an extensive transcriptome dataset gives a comprehensive overview of the flower transcriptomes in two F1 hybrids, and provides useful information for soybean hybrid breeding. These findings lay the foundation for future studies on molecular mechanisms underlying soybean heterosis.

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Rice blast is a major destructive fungal disease that poses a serious threat to rice production and the improvement of blast resistance is critical to rice breeding. The antimicrobial peptide MSI-99 has been suggested as an antimicrobial peptide conferring resistance to bacterial and fungal diseases. Here, a vector harboring the MSI-99 gene was constructed and introduced into the tobacco chloroplast genome via particle bombardment. Transformed plants were obtained and verified to be homoplastomic by PCR and Southern hybridization. In planta assays demonstrated that the transgenic tobacco plants displayed an enhanced resistance to the fungal disease. The evaluation of the antimicrobial activity revealed that the crude protein extracts from the transgenic plants manifested an antimicrobial activity against E. coli, even after incubation at 120 °C for 20 min, indicating significant heat stability of MSI-99. More importantly, the MSI-99-containing protein extracts were firstly proved in vitro and in vivo to display significant suppressive effects on two rice blast isolates. These findings provide a strong basis for the development of new biopesticides to combat rice blast.