Novosphingobium sp. strain Rr 2-17 is an N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-producing bacterium isolated from the crown gall tumor of a grapevine. To our knowledge, this is the first draft genome announcement of a plant-associated strain from the genus Novosphingobium.
This study aims to investigate potential diabetic retinopathy (DR) risk factors by evaluating the circulating levels of pentosidine, soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-product (sRAGE), advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) as well as glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in DR patients. A total of 235 healthy controls, 171 type 2 diabetic without retinopathy (DNR) and 200 diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients were recruited. Plasma was extracted for the estimation of pentosidine, sRAGE, AOPP levels and GPx activity whereas peripheral blood mononuclear cells were disrupted for SOD activity measurement. DNR and DR patients showed significantly higher levels of plasma pentosidine, sRAGE and AOPP but lower GPx and SOD activities when compared to healthy controls. The sRAGE/pentosidine ratio in DR patients was significantly lower than the ratio detected in DNR patients. Proliferative DR patients had significantly higher levels of plasma pentosidine, sRAGE, AOPP and sRAGE/pentosidine ratio than non-proliferative DR patients. High HbA1c level, long duration of diabetes and low sRAGE/pentosidine ratio were determined as the risk factors for DR. This study suggests that sRAGE/pentosidine ratio could serve as a risk factor determinant for type 2 DR as it has a positive correlation with the severity of DR.
The excess accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) contributes to the chronic complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and renal failure. Biopsy specimens (n = 184) of arterial (n = 92) and venous (n = 92) tissues were obtained (radial artery and cephalic vein) from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with or without DM and normal healthy subjects (n = 12) requiring surgery (trauma patients). Immunohistochemical assessment of the blood vessels revealed the presence of pentosidine (AGE marker) in both veins and arteries in 72% of the ESRD patients. The percentage of arteries and veins that showed positive pentosidine staining in ESRD patients with type 2 DM alone was 100% and 92% respectively, in the non-diabetic ESRD patients it was < 70% (for arteries and veins), and in the ESRD patients with hypertension as an additional co-morbidity to type 2 DM it was 70% and 82%, respectively. The veins of ESRD patients with DM showed a strong (+++) positive staining and very strong (++++) positive staining was observed in the patients with DM and hypertension. Only mild (+) or moderate (++) pentosidine staining intensity was observed in the arteries of ESRD patients without or with comorbidities, respectively. The accumulation of AGE in the vein rather than the artery may be a better reflection of the extent of complications of ESRD.
Receptor for advanced glycation end-product (RAGE) gene polymorphism 2245G/A is associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, the mechanism on how it affects the disease development is still unclear.
Gentiana floribunda was investigated for the possible hypotensive and vasodilator activities in an attempt to rationalize its traditional use in hypertension.
We investigated the role of protein arginine methylation (PAM) in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer cells through pharmacological intervention. Tamoxifen (TAM) or adenosine dialdehyde (ADOX), independently, triggered cell cycle arrest and down-regulated PAM, as reduced protein arginine methyltransferase1 (PRMT1) mRNA and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels. Synergistic effect of these compounds elicited potent anti-cancer effect. However, reduction in ADMA was not proportionate with the compound-induced down-regulation of PRMT1 mRNA. We hypothesized that the disproportionate effect is due to the influence of the compounds on other methyltransferases, which catalyze the arginine dimethylation reaction and the diversity in the degree of drug-protein interaction among these methyltransferases. In silico analyses revealed that independently, ADOX or TAM, binds with phosphatidylethanolamine-methyltransferase (PEMT) or betaine homocysteine-methyl transferase (BHMT); and that the binding affinity of ADOX with PEMT or BHMT is prominent than TAM. These observations suggest that in breast cancer, synergistic effect of ADOX + TAM elicits impressive protective function by regulating PAM; and plausibly, restoration of normal enzyme activities of methyltransferases catalyzing arginine dimethylation could have clinical benefits.