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To investigate its potential application as a selectable marker for plant transformation, the mannitol producing, celery mannose-6-phosphate reductase gene (M6PR) was transformed into Arabidopsis and tobacco using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Mannose-tolerance assays in transgenic materials revealed that the M6PR can act as a selectable marker gene in either a positive or a negative selection mode depending on the plant species. For mannose sensitive species, such as Arabidopsis, expression of M6PR enhanced mannose tolerance and provided a positive selection for transgenic seeds. On medium containing 2 g/L mannose, transgenic seeds germinated, whereas wild type (WT) seeds did not. For mannose-tolerant species, expression of M6PR increased mannose sensitivity in tobacco and enabled a negative selection for transgenic leaves and seeds. Mannose at 30 g/L blanched leaf explants from all 29 transgenic tobacco events with M6PR. In contrast, 30 g/L mannose did not inhibit shoot regeneration from leaf explants of WT or transgenic plants with either an antisense M6PR or a plasmid control. Similarly, mannose at 30 g/L inhibited seed germination of transgenic tobacco seeds with M6PR but not that of WT or transgenic tobacco with either the antisense M6PR or the plasmid control. Northern blot confirmed transcripts of the M6PR in transgenic tobacco, and accumulation of mannitol verified activity of the M6PR in tobacco leaves. Either positive or negative selection using the celery M6PR is versatile for plant transformation. Additionally, the celery M6PR is a potential target gene for improving salt-tolerance in plants due to mannitol accumulation.

The present study aimed to explore the pathogenesis behind post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). In the present study, a chloride ferric injection-induced rat PTE model was established. The expression levels of apoptosis-antagonizing transcription factor (AATF), cleaved caspase-3, p53, Bcl-2 and Bax were measured by western blotting or immunofluorescence staining (IF). The expression of AATF in vivo was downregulated by microinjection of lentiviral-mediated short-hairpin RNA. Compared with control and sham groups, at day 5 after PTE, neuron apoptosis was significantly increased and the expression levels of AATF, p53, cleaved caspase-3 and Bax were significantly upregulated. In addition, IF revealed co-localization of AATF and cleaved caspase-3 in the cortex. Additionally, AATF was expressed mainly in neurons and astrocytes. Following AATF inhibition, the expression levels of p53 and cleaved caspase-3 were significantly reduced as compared with the control group. Taken together, these findings suggested that following PTE, AATF is involved in neuronal apoptosis and may serve as a potential target for its alleviation.

A 2860-bp cDNA was isolated from a human fetal brain cDNA library by high throughput cDNA sequencing, which encodes a putative protein with 186 amino acids. The putative protein shares 90.7% identity with rat pBOG (3403163) and shares 93.4% identity with human RBBP9 (NP_006597.1). A conserved RB binding domain, L x C x E, located between residue 63 and 68 was recognized. Therefore, it was named RBBP10. Mapviewer analysis locates it on human chromosome 20q11.22. RBBP10 spans about 9.6 kb of the genome and consists of six exons and five introns. RT-PCR revealed that the gene was expressed widely in various human tissues, and the expression level is somewhat higher in tumor tissues than in normal tissues. But subsequent sequencing analysis did notfound any mutation of this in tumor tissues. The COS 7 cell transfected with the ORF of RBBP10 showed that the protein was distributed both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. Our results suggest that RBBP10 is the orthologue of the rat BOG gene (AF025819) and a paralogue of human RBBP9 (AF039564).