Background and purpose: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play key roles in pathogenesis of diabetes-related vascular complications. AGEs can induce dysfunction in EPCs. The peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor-gamma (PPARg) agonists are widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and it remains unknown if they could attenuate EPC dysfunction induced by AGEs. Experimental approach: EPCs isolated from healthy adults were cultured with various concentrations of AGEs (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg·L -1 ) with or without rosiglitazone (10 nM), antibody for the receptors for AGE-human serum albumin (anti-receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE); 50 mg·mL -1 ), phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor (LY294002, 5 mM), nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor (L-N G -nitro-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), 100 mM) or sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 25 mM). Proliferation, apoptosis, cell adhesion, migration and NO production in EPCs were assessed, and expressions of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and Akt were determined. Key results: Number, proliferation/migration capacities, eNOS and Akt phosphorylation as well as NO synthesized by EPCs were increased by rosiglitazone and reduced by AGEs. AGEs promoted while rosiglitazone reduced EPC apoptosis. The AGE-induced effects were significantly ameliorated by pre-incubation with rosiglitazone, RAGE antibody and SNP. The beneficial effects of rosiglitazone could be blocked by pretreatment with L-NAME and LY294002. Conclusions and implications:The PPARg agonist rosiglitazone increased EPC function and attenuated EPC dysfunction induced by AGEs via upregulating the Akt-eNOS signal pathways of EPCs.

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is used as fresh green winter forage worldwide, and its ability to regenerate after mowing determines whether it can be used for forage production; however, the molecular mechanism of regeneration is poorly understood. This study identified long-chain coding and non-coding RNAs in the wheat cultivar “XN9106,” which is cultivated for forage and grain production separately in winter and summer, and analyzed their function during post-mowing regeneration. The results showed that the degradation of carbohydrate plays an important role in regeneration, as demonstrated by decreased carbohydrate content. The increased gene expression of enzymes including β-amylase, β-fructofuranosidase, sucrose synthase, sucrose-6-phosphate synthase, trehalose-6-phosphate synthase, and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase in mowed seedlings suggests regeneration is fueled by degraded carbohydrates that provide energy and carbon skeletons for the Krebs cycle and amino acid synthesis. The decreased auxin content relieved the inhibition of cytokinin synthesis, that controls the transition from cell division to cell expansion and stimulates cell expansion and differentiation during the cell expansion phase, and eventually accelerate post-mowing regeneration of seedlings. Additionally, differentially expressed long-chain non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) might participate in the regulation of gene expression related to carbohydrate metabolism and hormone signal transduction. This study demonstrated the responses of key mRNAs and lncRNAs during post-mowing regeneration of winter wheat and revealed the importance of carbohydrate and hormone during regeneration, providing valuable information for genetic improvement of forage wheat.