Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important biological messenger, but few biologically-compatible methods are available for its detection in aqueous solution. Herein, we report a highly water-soluble naphthalimide-based fluorescent probe (L1), which is a highly versatile building unit that absorbs and emits at long wavelengths and is selective for hydrogen sulfide over cysteine, glutathione, and other reactive sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen species in aqueous solution. We describe turn-on fluorescent probes based on azide group reduction on the fluorogenic ‘naphthalene’ moiety to fluorescent amines and intracellular hydrogen sulfide detection without the use of an organic solvent. L1 and L2 were synthetically modified to functional groups with comparable solubility on the N-imide site, showing a marked change in turn-on fluorescent intensity in response to hydrogen sulfide in both PBS buffer and living cells. The probes were readily employed to assess intracellular hydrogen sulfide level changes by imaging endogenous hydrogen sulfide signal in RAW264.7 cells incubated with L1 and L2. Expanding the use of L1 to complex and heterogeneous biological settings, we successfully visualized hydrogen sulfide detection in the yolk, brain and spinal cord of living zebrafish embryos, thereby providing a powerful approach for live imaging for investigating chemical signaling in complex multicellular systems.

Genes that are expressed ubiquitously throughout all developmental stages are thought to be necessary for basic biological or cellular functions. Therefore, determining their biological roles is a great challenge. We identified 4034 of these genes in rice after studying the results of Agilent 44K and Affymetrix meta-anatomical expression profiles. Among 105 genes that were characterized by loss-of-function analysis, 79 were classified as members of gene families, the majority of which were predominantly expressed. Using T-DNA insertional mutants, we examined 43 genes and found that loss of expression of six genes caused developing seed- or seedling-defective phenotypes. Of these, three are singletons without similar family members and defective phenotypes are expected from mutations. Phylogenomic analyses integrating genome-wide transcriptome data revealed the functional dominance of three ubiquitously expressed family genes. Among them, we investigated the function of Os03g19890, which is involved in ATP generation within the mitochondria during endosperm development. We also created and evaluated functional networks associated with this gene to understand the molecular mechanism. Our study provides a useful strategy for pheonome analysis of ubiquitously expressed genes in rice.

Tauopathy refers to a group of progressive neurodegenerative diseases, including frontotemporal lobar degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease, which correlate with the malfunction of microtubule-associated protein Tau (MAPT) due to abnormal hyperphosphorylation, leading to the formation of intracellular aggregates in the brain. Despite extensive efforts to understand tauopathy and develop an efficient therapy, our knowledge is still far from complete. To find a solution for this group of devastating diseases, several animal models that mimic diverse disease phenotypes of tauopathy have been developed. Rodents are the dominating tauopathy models because of their similarity to humans and established disease lines, as well as experimental approaches. However, powerful genetic animal models using Drosophila, zebrafish, and C. elegans have also been developed for modeling tauopathy and have contributed to understanding the pathophysiology of tauopathy. The success of these models stems from the short lifespans, versatile genetic tools, real-time in-vivo imaging, low maintenance costs, and the capability for high-throughput screening. In this review, we summarize the main findings on mechanisms of tauopathy and discuss the current tauopathy models of these non-rodent genetic animals, highlighting their key advantages and limitations in tauopathy research.

PdW initiated the project and the line was generated by DHP. The project was further coordinated by MP and AS. WISH, western blot, survival, head and brain measurements, histological experiments, 2 locomotor and cognition assay, local field potential recordings and qPCR were performed and

Calcium (Ca 2? ), as a universal second messenger, plays an important role in various signal transduction pathway networks in plants. There are several components of Ca 2? mediating signaling pathways including calcium-dependent protein kinases, calmodulin and calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), and CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPK). Here, we provide a systematic view of 33 rice CIPK (OsCIPK) family members, which are further classified into seven subgroups. The integration of various meta-expression data such as anatomy, diurnal regulation, and phylogenomic tree context of the OsCIPK family reveals that 11 of the family members show preferred expression in leaves during vegetative growth. In addition, 20 OsCIPK genes show peak expression during the day, while none of the genes peaked expression in the dark. Regarding abiotic stress, 16 OsCIPK genes were induced by drought stress in leaf organs; of these, 14 OsCIPK genes showed up-regulation and two OsCIPK genes were down-regulated based on quantitative RT-PCR analyses. We then developed a functional gene network that consists of 15 out of the 16 genes. This network proposes a useful hypothetical model to understand the molecular mechanism of drought response and circadian regulation associated with OsCIPK family genes.

No abstract

Elongation of most bones occur at the growth plate through endochondral ossification in postnatal mammals. The maturation of chondrocyte is a crucial factor in longitudinal bone growth, which is regulated by a complex network of paracrine and endocrine signaling pathways. Here, we show that a phytochemical sulfuretin can stimulate hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation in vitro and in vivo. We found that sulfuretin stabilized nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), stimulated its transcriptional activity, and induced expression of its target genes. Sulfuretin treatment resulted in an increase in body length of zebrafish larvae and induced the expression of chondrocyte markers. Consistently, a clinically available Nrf2 activator, dimethyl fumarate (DMF), induced the expression of hypertrophic chondrocyte markers and increased the body length of zebrafish. Importantly, we found that chondrocyte gene expression in cell culture and skeletal growth in zebrafish stimulated by sulfuretin were significantly abrogated by Nrf2 depletion, suggesting that such stimulatory effects of sulfuretin were dependent on Nrf2, at least in part. Taken together, these data show that sulfuretin has a potential use as supporting ingredients for enhancing bone growth. [