The epigenetic changes of RELN that are involved in the development of dopaminergic neurons may fit the developmental theory of schizophrenia. However, evidence regarding the association of RELN DNA methylation with schizophrenia is far from sufficient, as studies have only been conducted on a few limited brain samples. As DNA methylation in the peripheral blood may mirror the changes taking place in the brain, the use of peripheral blood for a DNA methylation study in schizophrenia is feasible due to the scarcity of brain samples. Therefore, the aim of our study was to examine the relationship of DNA methylation levels of RELN promoters with schizophrenia using genomic DNA derived from the peripheral blood of patients with the disorder. The case control studies consisted of 110 schizophrenia participants and 122 healthy controls who had been recruited from the same district. After bisufhite conversion, the methylation levels of the DNA samples were calculated based on their differences of the Cq values assayed using the highly sensitive real-time MethyLight TaqMan® procedure. A significantly higher level of methylation of the RELN promoter was found in patients with schizophrenia compared to controls (p = 0.005) and also in males compared with females (p = 0.004). Subsequently, the RELN expression of the methylated group was 25 fold less than that of the non-methylated group. Based upon the assumption of parallel methylation changes in the brain and peripheral blood, we concluded that RELN DNA methylation might contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, the definite effects of methylation on RELN function during development and also in adult life still require further elaboration.
The development of efficient tissue culture protocol for somatic embryo would facilitate the genetic modification breeding program. The callus induction and regeneration were studied by using different parameters i.e., auxins, cytokinins, and desiccation treatment. Scanning electron microscopy and histological analysis were performed to identify the embryogenic callus for regeneration. The callus percentage results showed that MS (Murashige and Skoog) basal medium supplemented with 3 mg/L 2, 4-D and 30g/L maltose were the optimal callus induction medium for MR220 (80%) and MR220-CL2 (95%). The morphology of the embryogenic callus was confirmed by the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) (presence of extracellular matrix surface network) and later by histological analysis. Finally, MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L NAA (Naphthalene Acetic Acid), 2 mg/L kin, and 1 mg/L BAP were selected as the optimum regeneration media treatment while callus desiccated for 48 h was proved to produce more plantlets in MR220 (60%) and MR220-CL2 (73.33%) compared to control treatment (without desiccation). The protocol presented here showed the necessity for the inclusion of partial desiccation as an important step in the tissue culture protocol of Malaysian indica rice genotypes in order to enhance their regeneration potential.
The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the capacity of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) to enhance mandibular distraction osteogenesis (DO) in rabbits.
The biological examination of pulp injury, repair events and response of dental pulp stem cells to dental restorative materials is important to accomplish restorative treatment, especially to commonly used dental materials in paediatric dentistry, such as glass ionomer cement (GIC) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)(2)) lining cement.