Expression profiles and ligand-binding properties of two odorant-binding proteins from Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Guang Wei Li,Xiu Lin Chen,Yong Sun,Yu Xing Chen,Shi Cai Xu,Jun Xiang Wu 한국응용곤충학회 2019 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.22 No.4

The ligand-binding function of odorant binding proteins (OBPs) that are expressed exclusively or enriched in antennae are well-studied, whilst the ligand binding properties of relatively low expressed OBPs in insect antennae are still unclear. Here, two low expressed GmolOBPs (namely GmolOBP12 and GmolOBP16) were cloned based on the antennal transcriptome of Grapholita molesta, and then their expression profiles and binding properties were investigated via real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and fluorescence binding assays, respectively. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analyses displayed that both of GmolOBP12 and GmolOBP16 possessed the typical six-cysteine motifs unique to the classic OBPs subfamily and were classified as such. Although the abundance of transcripts of GmolOBP12 and GmolOBP16 were relatively low compared to that of many other OBPs in the antennal transcriptome of G. molesta, qRT-PCR results indicated that the transcript levels of GmolOBP12 and GmolOBP16 in antennae were significantly higher than those in other tissues. GmolOBP12 displayed higher expression level in male antennae than in female antennae, while the transcript level of GmolOBP16 in antennae was similar for both sexes. Both recombinant GmolOBP12 and GmolOBP16 exhibited strong binding affinities to the sex pheromone (Z)-8-dodecenyl alcohol and host-plant volatile pear ester. Besides, rGmolOBP12 showed outstanding binding affinities to (E)-2-hexenal, benzaldehyde, 1-hexanol, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate with K i values of 4.21, 6.81, 4.68 and 4.68 μM, respectively. rGmolOBP16 had moderate binding abilities with hexanal, decanal, 1-hexanol, methyl myristate and benzonitrile. We speculated that GmolOBP12 may have dual functions in recognition of green leaf volatiles and sex pheromone components and GmolOBP16 may participate in the detection of host-plant volatiles in chemoreception.

Concurrent Weekly Docetaxel Chemotherapy in Combination with Radiotherapy for Stage III and IVA-B Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Wei, Wei-Hong,Cai, Xiu-Yu,Xu, Tao,Zhang, Guo-Yi,Wu, Yong-Feng,Feng, Wei-Neng,Lin, Li,Deng, Yan-Ming,Lu, Qiu-Xia,Huang, Zhe-Li Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.3

Background and Purpose: Cisplatin is the most common chemotherapeutic agent for loco-regionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, toxicity is a limiting factor for some patients. We retrospectively compared the efficacy and toxicity of weekly docetaxel-based and cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy in loco-regionally advanced NPC. Methods and Materials: Eighty-four patients with Stage III and IVA-B NPCs, treated between 2007 and 2008, were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty received weekly docetaxel-based concurrent chemotherapy, and 43 were given weekly cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was administered using a conventional technique (seven weeks, 2.0 Gy per fraction, total dose 70-74 Gy) with 6-8 Gy boosts for some patients with locally advanced disease. Results: Median follow-up time was 42.3 months (range, 8.6-50.8 months). There were no significant differences in the 3-year loco-regional failure-free survival (85.6% vs. 92.3%; p=0.264), distant failure-free survival (87.0% vs. 92.5%; p=0.171), progression-free survival (85.7% vs. 88.4%; p=0.411) or overall survival (86.5% vs. 92.5%, p=0.298) of patients treated concurrently with docetaxel or cisplatin. Severe toxicity was not common in either group. Conclusions: Weekly docetaxel-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy is potentially effective and has a tolerable toxicity; however, further investigations are required to determine if docetaxel is superior to cisplatin for advanced stage NPC.

The Characteristics and Survival Outcomes in Patients Aged 70 Years and Older with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in the Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy Era

Ya-Nan Jin,Wang-Jian Zhang,Xiu-Yu Cai,Mei-Su Li,Wayne R. Lawrence,Si-Yang Wang,Dong-Mei Mai,Yu-Yun Du,Dong-Hua Luo,Hao-Yuan Mo 대한암학회 2019 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.51 No.1

Purpose We aim to examine nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) characteristics and survival outcomes in patients aged 70 years and older in the intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) era. Materials and Methods From 2006 to 2013, 126 non-metastatic NPC patients aged  70 years who were treated with IMRT +/ chemotherapy were included. Adult Comorbidity Evaluation 27 (ACE-27) was used to measure patient comorbidities. The overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences were compared using the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to carry out multivariate analyses. Results For the entire group, only two patients (1.6%) presented stage I disease, and up to 84.1% patients had stage III-IVB disease. All patients had a comorbidity score of 0 in 24 (19.0%), 1 in 45 (35.7%), 2 in 42 (33.3%), and 3 in 15 (11.9%) patients. The main acute grade during radiotherapy was 3-4 adverse events consisting of mucositis (25.4%), bone marrow suppression (16.7%), and dermatitis (8.7%). After treatment, four patients (3.2%) developed temporal lobe injury. Five-year CSS and OS rates were 67.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 58.6% to 77.4%) and 54.0% (95% CI, 45.6% to 63.9%), respectively. Five-year OS was significantly higher for ACE-27 score 0-1 than ACE-27 score 2-3 (72.9% and 39.9%, respectively; p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses showed ACE-27 score 0-1 was significantly associated with superior OS (hazard ratio [HR], 3.02; 95% CI, 1.64 to 5.55; p < 0.001). In addition, the rate of OS was higher for stage I-III than that of stage IV, with borderline significance (HR, 1.67; 95% CI, 0.99 to 2.82; p=0.053). But no significant advantage was observed in OS when chemotherapy was used (p > 0.05). Conclusion Our findings suggest IMRT +/– chemotherapy has a manageable toxicity and provides an acceptable survival in patients aged  70 years with NPC. ACE-27 score was significantly associated with survival outcomes in this group population.

Efficacy of Taxane-Based Regimens in a First-line Setting for Recurrent and/or Metastatic Chinese Patients with Esophageal Cancer

Jiang, Chang,Liao, Fang-Xin,Rong, Yu-Ming,Yang, Qiong,Yin, Chen-Xi,He, Wen-Zhuo,Cai, Xiu-Yu,Guo, Gui-Fang,Qiu, Hui-Juan,Chen, Xu-Xian,Zhang, Bei,Xia, Liang-Ping Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.13

Objective: To compare the efficacy of taxane-based regimens in the first line setting retrospectively in Chinese patients with recurrent and/or metastatic esophageal cancer. Methods: We analyzed 102 recurrent and/or metastatic esophageal cancer patients who received taxanes-based regimens in a first-line setting from January 2009 to December 2013. Sixteen (15.7%) patients were administered Nab-PTX based chemotherapy and 86 patients (84.3%) received paclitaxel (PTX) or docetaxel (DTX) based chemotherapy. Patients in the PTX/DTX group could be further divided into TP (71 patients) and TPF (15 patients) groups. Results: The objective response rate (ORR) of all patients was 20.6%, and the disease control rate (DCR) was 67.6%. The median overall survival (OS) was 10.5 months (95% CI 10.1-16.4) and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.04 months (95% CI 5.09-7.91). The DCR was higher in the TPF group than the TP group (93.3% vs. 59.1%; p = 0.015 ). There were no significant differences in ORR, OS, and PFS among Nab-PTX, TPF and TP groups. Conclusions: The three regimens of Nab-PTX based, TP and TPF proved active in a first line setting of Chinese patients with recurrent and/or metastatic esophageal cancer, and should thus be regarded as alternative treatments.

Comparative transcriptomic screen identifies expression of key genes involved in pattern-triggered immunity induced by salicylic acid in strawberry

Feng Jun,Wu Xiao-Ying,Xiu Yu,Zheng Cai-Xia 한국원예학회 2023 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.64 No.5

The destructive illness powdery mildew, caused by Podosphaera aphanis , reduces strawberry yield. However, the mechanism through which exogenous salicylic acid can enhance resistance to P. aphanis remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism of SA-induced resistance in strawberry leaves against P. aphanis using a comparative RNA-seq approach. Upon observing the symptoms, it was found that SA partially contributed to strawberry resistance against P. aphanis by increasing H 2 O 2 levels during the initial stages. To mitigate the eff ects of H 2 O 2 , SA-treated leaves signifi cantly boosted the activities of enzymes such as superoxide dismutases (SOD), catalases (CAT), and peroxidases (POD). RNA profi ling identifi ed several diff erentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-redox pathway. Moreover, SA-induced leaves fortifi ed the cell wall to prevent P. aphanis penetration. Using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA), three modules (red, green, and yellow) were constructed, showing a strong correlation with enhanced resistance. Predictably, cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGC) were identifi ed as potential players in Ca 2+ signaling linked to the PTI response. Additionally, the presence of WRKY33 and defense-related genes such as PR10 were associated with enhanced resistance. It is plausible that strawberries exposed to SA trigger ROS and Ca 2+ signaling, along with signifi cantly elevated WRKY33 expression, to facilitate the production of PR10 and camalexin, which help protect against P. aphanis .