| 1. |
- Hansson, Charlotta, et al.
(författare)
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Feeding transgenic plants that express a tolerogenic fusion protein effectively protects against arthritis
- 2016
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Ingår i: Plant Biotechnology Journal. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1467-7644 .- 1467-7652. ; 14:4, s. 1106-1115
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although much explored, oral tolerance for treatment of autoimmune diseases still awaits the establishment of novel and effective vectors. We investigated if the tolerogenic CTA1(R7K)-COL-DD fusion protein can be expressed in edible plants and in this way induce oral tolerance and protect against arthritis. The fusion protein was recombinantly expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana plants, which were fed to H-2q restricted DBA/1 mice to assess the preventive effect on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). The treatment resulted in fewer mice exhibiting disease and arthritis scores were significantly reduced. Immune suppression was evident in treated mice and serum biomarkers for inflammation as well as anti-collagen IgG responses were reduced. In spleen draining and lymph nodes, CD4+ T cell responses were reduced. Concomitant with a reduced effector T cell activity with lower IFNg, IL-13 and IL-17A production we observed an increase in IL-10 production to recall antigen stimulation in vitro, suggesting reduced Th1, Th2 and Th17 activity subsequent to upregulated IL-10 and regulatory T cell (Treg) functions. The present study shows that edible plants expressing a tolerogen were effective at stimulating CD4 T cell tolerance and in protecting against CIA disease. Our study conveys optimism as to the potential of using edible plants for oral treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
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| 2. |
- Eriksson, D, et al.
(författare)
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Extended exome sequencing identifies BACH2 as a novel major risk locus for Addison's disease
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0954-6820 .- 1365-2796. ; 286:6, s. 595-608
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Autoimmune disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In Addison's disease, the adrenal glands are targeted by destructive autoimmunity. Despite being the most common cause of primary adrenal failure, little is known about its aetiology.METHODS: To understand the genetic background of Addison's disease, we utilized the extensively characterized patients of the Swedish Addison Registry. We developed an extended exome capture array comprising a selected set of 1853 genes and their potential regulatory elements, for the purpose of sequencing 479 patients with Addison's disease and 1394 controls.RESULTS: We identified BACH2 (rs62408233-A, OR = 2.01 (1.71-2.37), P = 1.66 × 10(-15) , MAF 0.46/0.29 in cases/controls) as a novel gene associated with Addison's disease development. We also confirmed the previously known associations with the HLA complex.CONCLUSION: Whilst BACH2 has been previously reported to associate with organ-specific autoimmune diseases co-inherited with Addison's disease, we have identified BACH2 as a major risk locus in Addison's disease, independent of concomitant autoimmune diseases. Our results may enable future research towards preventive disease treatment.
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| 3. |
- Qian, Minjie, et al.
(författare)
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UV-A light induces a robust and dwarfed phenotype in cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.) without affecting fruit yield
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scientia Horticulturae. - : Elsevier. - 0304-4238 .- 1879-1018. ; 263
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar ultraviolet (UV) light influences plant growth and metabolism. Whereas high doses of UV can be deleterious for plants, natural UV doses are important for morphogenesis in many plants species, including those used in horticulture. Greenhouses are widely used for horticultural production and common cladding materials strongly absorb UV. Thus, low amounts of UV may be limiting the optimal development in some plant species. Light supplementation using UV tubes can overcome UV deficiency. Here we study cucumber seedling production in the absence or presence of different UV wavelengths. UV-A- (315-400 nm) and UV-B- (280-315 nm) enriched light was used for exposure and parameters such as the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II, stem development (internode length and diameter, stem dry weight, stem weight per unit of stem length, and stem bending), root biomass, leaf biomass and specific leaf mass were measured. We found that UV-A supplementation resulted in shorter more compact and sturdy plants, properties that are positive from a horticultural perspective. In contrast, UV-B-enriched light led to even smaller plants that lacked the sturdy phenotype. There were no signs of decreased Fv/Fmunder any of the treatments, nor statistically significant differences in fruit yield between the control plants and the UV-treated plants when grown to harvest. In particular, the differences in fruit yield between the controls and the UV-A-treated plants were negligible in all cases. Thus, supplementary UV-A light can be an interesting alternative to chemical growth regulators for production of sturdy horticultural plants.
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| 4. |
- Danielsson, Marie, et al.
(författare)
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Arthropod infestation sites and induced defence can be traced by emission from single spruce needle
- 2019
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Ingår i: Arthropod-Plant Interactions. - : Springer. - 1872-8855 .- 1872-8847. ; 13:2, s. 253-259
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Emissions of defence chemicals from Norway spruce seedlings can be induced by feeding arthropods or by exogenous hormonal application. Some defence chemicals may attract or repel associated arthropods. The aim of this study was to show that it is possible to detect and collect stress-induced volatiles from micro sites, such as at the scale of a single needle, in vivo by using SPME. Methyl jasmonate application on the stem of Norway spruce seedlings induced emission of (E)-beta-farnesene only from the needles closest to the application site. Emissions of (E)-beta-farnesene, (E,E)-alpha-farnesene and (E)-alpha-bisabolene were only detected from needles infested by the spider mite Oligonychus ununguis. The total volatile amount detected by SPME-GC-MS reached a considerable mass of 14 ng/needle/24 h, suggesting that emission from damaged and stressed conifers might have a larger impact on the macro climate than previously estimated.
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| 5. |
- Díaz-Ramos, L. Aranzazú, et al.
(författare)
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Difference in the action spectra for UVR8 monomerisation and HY5 transcript accumulation in Arabidopsis
- 2018
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1474-905X .- 1474-9092. ; 17:8, s. 1108-1117
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The photoreceptor UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR8) activates photomorphogenic responses when plants are exposed to ultraviolet-B (UVB) light. However, whereas the absorption spectrum of UVR8 peaks at 280 nm, action spectra for several photomorphogenic UV-B responses show maximal photon effectiveness at 290-300 nm. To investigate this apparent discrepancy we measured the effectiveness of UV wavelengths in initiating two responses in Arabidopsis: photoconversion of homodimeric UVR8 into the monomeric form, which is active in signaling, and accumulation of transcripts of the ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) transcription factor, which has a key role in UVR8-mediated responses. When purified UVR8 or Arabidopsis leaf extracts were exposed to UV light monomerisation was maximal at approximately 280 nm, which correlates with the UVR8 absorption spectrum. When intact plants were exposed to UV, monomerisation was most strongly initiated at approximately 290 nm, and this shift in maximal effectiveness could be explained by strong absorption or reflectance at 280 nm by leaf tissue. Notably, the action spectrum for accumulation of HY5 transcripts in the same leaf tissue samples used to assay UVR8 dimer/monomer status peaked at approximately 300 nm. Possible reasons for the difference in maximal photon effectiveness of UVR8 monomerisation and HY5 transcript accumulation in leaf tissue are discussed.
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| 6. |
- Nahar, Noor, et al.
(författare)
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In silico and in vivo studies of an Arabidopsis thaliana gene, ACR2, putatively involved in arsenic accumulation in plants
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Molecular Modeling. - : Springer. - 1610-2940 .- 0948-5023. ; 18:9, s. 4249-4262
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previously, our in silico analyses identified four candidate genes that might be involved in uptake and/or accumulation of arsenics in plants: arsenate reductase 2 (ACR2), phytochelatin synthase 1 (PCS1) and two multi-drug resistant proteins (MRP1 and MRP2) [Lund et al. (2010) J Biol Syst 18:223–224]. We also postulated that one of these four genes, ACR2, seems to play a central role in this process. To investigate further, we have constructed a 3D structure of the Arabidopsis thaliana ACR2 protein using the iterative implementation of the threading assembly refinement (I-TASSER) server. These analyses revealed that, for catalytic metabolism of arsenate, the arsenate binding-loop (AB-loop) and residues Phe-53, Phe-54, Cys-134, Cys-136, Cys-141, Cys-145, and Lys-135 are essential for reducing arsenate to arsenic intermediates (arsenylated enzyme-substrate intermediates) and arsenite in plants. Thus, functional predictions suggest that the ACR2 protein is involved in the conversion of arsenate to arsenite in plant cells. To validate the in silico results, we exposed a transfer-DNA (T-DNA)-tagged mutant of A. thaliana (mutation in the ACR2 gene) to various amounts of arsenic. Reverse transcriptase PCR revealed that the mutant exhibits significantly reduced expression of the ACR2 gene. Spectrophotometric analyses revealed that the amount of accumulated arsenic compounds in this mutant was approximately six times higher than that observed in control plants. The results obtained from in silico analyses are in complete agreement with those obtained in laboratory experiments.
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| 7. |
- Nahar, Noor, et al.
(författare)
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In silico and in vivo studies of molecular structures and mechanisms of AtPCS1 protein involved in binding arsenite and/or cadmium in plant cells
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Molecular Modeling. - : Springer. - 1610-2940 .- 0948-5023. ; 20:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper reports a continuation of our previous research on the phytochelatin synthase1 (PCS1) gene involved in binding and sequestration of heavy metals or metalloids in plant cells. Construction of a 3D structure of the Arabidopsis thaliana PCS1 protein and prediction of gene function by employing iterative implementation of the threading assembly refinement (I-TASSER) revealed that PC ligands (3GC-gamma-glutamylcysteine) and Gln50, Pro53, Ala54, Tyr55, Cys56, Ile102, Gly161, His162, Phe163, Asp204 and Arg211 residues are essential for formation of chelating complex with cadmium (Cd²⁺) or arsenite (AsIII). This finding suggests that the PCS1 protein might be involved in the production of the enzyme phytochelatin synthase, which might in turn bind, localize, store or sequester heavy metals in plant cells. For validation of the in silico results, we included a T-DNA tagged mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana, SAIL_650_C12, (mutation in AtPCS1 gene) in our investigation. Furthermore, using reverse transcriptase PCR we confirmed that the mutant does not express the AtPCS1 gene. Mutant plants of SAIL_650_C12 were exposed to various amounts of cadmium (Cd²⁺) and arsenite (AsIII) and the accumulation of these toxic metals in the plant cells was quantified spectrophotometrically. The levels of Cd²⁺ and AsIII accumulation in the mutant were approximately 2.8 and 1.6 times higher, respectively, than that observed in the wild-type controlled plants. We confirmed that the results obtained in in silico analyses complement those obtained in in vivo experiments.
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| 8. |
- Qian, Minjie, et al.
(författare)
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Supplementary UV-A and UV-B radiation differentially regulate morphology in Ocimum basilicum
- 2023
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - : Springer. - 1474-905X .- 1474-9092. ; 22:9, s. 2219-2230
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- UV-A- or UV-B-enriched growth light were given to basil plants at non-stress-inducing intensities. UV-A-enriched growth light gave rise to a sharp rise in expression of PAL and CHS genes in leaves, an effect that rapidly declined after 1-2 days of exposure. On the other hand, leaves of plants grown in UV-B-enriched light had a more stable and long-lasting increase in expression of these genes and also showed a stronger increase in leaf epidermal flavonol content. UV supplementation of growth light also led to shorter more compact plants with a stronger UV effect the younger the tissue. The effect was more prominent in plants grown under UV-B-enriched light than in those grown under UV-A. Parameters particularly affected were internode lengths, petiole lengths and stem stiffness. In fact, the bending angle of the 2nd internode was found to increase as much as 67% and 162% for plants grown in the UV-A- and UV-B-enriched treatments, respectively. The decreased stem stiffness was probably caused by both an observed smaller internode diameter and a lower specific stem weight, as well as a possible decline in lignin biosynthesis due to competition for precursor by the increased flavonoid biosynthesis. Overall, at the intensities used, UV-B wavelengths are stronger regulators of morphology, gene expression and flavonoid biosynthesis than UV-A wavelengths.
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| 9. |
- Saénz-de la O, Diana, et al.
(författare)
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Antioxidant and drought‑acclimation responses in UV‑B‑exposed transgenic Nicotiana tabacum displaying constitutive overproduction of H2O2
- 2023
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - : Springer. - 1474-905X .- 1474-9092. ; 22:10, s. 2373-2387
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important molecule that regulates antioxidant responses that are crucial for plant stress resistance. Exposure to low levels of ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280–315 nm) can also activate antioxidant defenses and acclimation responses. However, how H2O2 and UV-B interact to promote stress acclimation remains poorly understood. In this work, a transgenic model of Nicotiana tabacum cv Xanthi nc, with elevated Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD)activity, was used to study the interaction between the constitutive overproduction of H2O2 and a 14-day UV-B treatment (1.75 kJ m−2 d−1 biologically effective UV-B). Subsequently, these plants were subjected to a 7-day moderate drought treatment to evaluate the impact on drought resistance of H2O2- and UV-dependent stimulation of the plants' antioxidant system. The UV-B treatment enhanced H2O2 levels and altered the antioxidant status by increasing the epidermal flavonol index, Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity, and catalase, peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase activities in the leaves. UV-B also retarded growth and suppressed acclimation responses in highly H2O2-overproducing transgenic plants. Plants not exposed to UV-B had a higher drought resistance in the form of higher relative water content of leaves. Our data associate the interaction between Mn-SOD transgene overexpression and the UV-B treatment with a stress response. Finally, we propose a hormetic biphasic drought resistance response curve as a function of leaf H2O2 content in N. tabacum cv Xanthi.
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| 10. |
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