Spinal N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2B subunit (NR2B)-increased expression plays an important role in the facilitation and maintenance of the persistent pain state due to peripheral nerve injury. A vaccination strategy to reduce the expression of brain protein is feasible and may have therapeutic potential for neurological disorders. Thus, we investigated the effect of oral immunization with recombinant adenovirus serotype 5-mediated NR2B gene transfer (rAd5/NR2B) for the modulation of neuropathic pain. After peroral administration of the rAd5/NR2B vaccine, transgene NR2B expression persisted for at least a week and was associated with the induction of high serum titers of NR2B-specific antibodies. Following the occurrence of mechanical allodynia due to peripheral nerve injury, NR2B-specific antibodies could pass the blood-brain barrier, transport and subsequently bind to the spinal NR2B protein. The humoral immunoresponse results in the strong antiallodynia in the spared nerve injury animal model. These data proved the feasibility of oral immunization with rAd5/NR2B for the prevention of neuropathic pain.

The wild species Brassica fruticulosa Cyr. (FF, 2n = 16) is closely related to the cultivated Brassica species.Through interspecific reciprocal crosses between B. fruticulosa and three cultivated Brassica allotetraploids (AABB, AACC,and BBCC where A = 10, B = 8, and C = 9), four trigenomic hybrids (F.AC, 2n = 27; F.AB, 2n = 26; F.BC, 2n = 25;BC.F, 2n = 25) were produced. By chromosome doubling of respective hybrids, three allohexaploids (FF.AACC, 2n = 54;FF.AABB, 2n = 52; BBCC.FF, 2n = 50) were synthesized. In pollen mother cells (PMCs) of the trigenomic hybrids, 1–2 autosyndetic bivalents were detected within A, B, and C genomes but only one within F genome; 1–3 allosyndetic bivalents between any two genomes were observed, and a closer relationship of F and B genomes than F and A genomes or F and C genomes was revealed. The all ohexaploids showed a generally low but different pollen fertilities. The chromosomes in PMCs were predominantly paired as bivalents but some univalents and multivalents at variable frequencies were observed.The bivalents of homologous pairing for each genome prevailed, but all osyndetic quadrivalents and hexavalents involving any two genomes were observed, together with autosyndetic quadrivalents for A, B, and C genomes but not the F genome.The nondiploidized cytological behaviour of these allohexaploids contributed to their low fertility. The relationships between the genome affinity and meiotic behavior in these allohexaploids were discussed.

Maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD) has long been known as one of the most devastating viral diseases of maize worldwide and is caused by single or complex infection by four fijiviruses: Maize rough dwarf virus (MRDV) in Europe and the Middle East, Mal de Rio Cuarto virus (MRCV) in South America, rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV), and Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV or Rice black-streaked dwarf virus 2, RBSDV-2) in East Asia. These are currently classified as four distinct species in the genus Fijivirus, family Reoviridae, but their taxonomic status has been questioned. To help resolve this, the nucleotide sequences of the ten genomic segments of an Italian isolate of MRDV have been determined, providing the first complete genomic sequence of this virus. Its genome has 29144 nucleotides and is similar in organization to those of RBSDV, SRBSDV, and MRCV. The 13 ORFs always share highest identities (81.3-97.2%) with the corresponding ORFs of RBSDV and phylogenetic analyses of the different genome segments and ORFs all confirm that MRDV clusters most closely with RBSDV and that MRCV and SRBSDV are slightly more distantly related. The results suggest that MRDV and RBSDV should be classified as different geographic strains of the same virus species and we suggest the name cereal black-streaked dwarf fijivirus (CBSDV) for consideration.