etabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, 1 and recent research has demonstrated that adipocytokines, especially adiponectin, are associated with metabolic syndrome. 2 In terms of the evaluation and management of hypercholesterolemia (a risk factor of cardiovascular disease and a causative factor of death in more than 40% of heart-related deaths) according to the recommendations of the 2001 Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III Guidelines, the risk factors for the development of metabolic syndrome are visceral obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, a low level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterolemia, and an impaired glucose tolerance. 3 Hyperuricemia is also considered by some investigators to be a component of metabolic syndrome that reflects insulin resistance. 4,5 In several epidemiological studies, a close relationship between hyperuricemia and hypertension, heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases has been reported, [6][7][8][9] and correlations between hyperuricemia and obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes have also been recently reported. [10][11][12] However, studies of Asians, who differ physically from Caucasians, are relatively rare. In Korea, knowledge of the general adult population without type 2 diabetes, hypertension and other diseases is inadequate, and no study has been performed on the association between the newly defined metabolic syndrome and hyperuricemia in the Korean population. Hence, this study investigated Korean adults who had undergone health screening to assess the correlation between increased serum uric acid concentration and hypertension, insulin resistance, and other risk factors of metabolic syndrome. Methods Study PopulationThe study group comprised 53,477 individuals (34,169 males, 19,308 females), who underwent health screening at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2002. Subjects who were taking diuretics, antihypertensive or antidiabetic agents, lipid-lowering agents, hyper-or hypouricemic agents, and those with any clinical suspicion of malignancy, acute infectious disease, acute inflammatory disease or renal disease were excluded. Physical Examination and Blood Pressure (BP)Height, weight, waist -hip circumference and systolic and diastolic BP were measured. According to the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program protocol, 13 BP was measured using a sphygmomanometer after the subjects had rested for more than 5 min. For those with a systolic BP >140 mmHg and a diastolic BP >90 mmHg (defined as hypertension by the 2003 JNC-7 14 ) BP was measured on a further 2 occasions after resting, and average Seung Ho Ryu, MD*; Dong Geuk Keum, MD** Background Associations between hyperuricemia, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes have been reported, but few of the studies have been conducted in the Korean population. The present study examined ...

The plant hormone jasmonate (JA) exerts direct control over the production of chemical defense compounds that confer resistance to a remarkable spectrum of plant-associated organisms, ranging from microbial pathogens to vertebrate herbivores. The underlying mechanism of JA-triggered immunity (JATI) can be conceptualized as a multi-stage signal transduction cascade involving: i) pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that couple the perception of danger signals to rapid synthesis of bioactive JA; ii) an evolutionarily conserved JA signaling module that links fluctuating JA levels to changes in the abundance of transcriptional repressor proteins; and iii) activation (de-repression) of transcription factors that orchestrate the expression of myriad chemical and morphological defense traits. Multiple negative feedback loops act in concert to restrain the duration and amplitude of defense responses, presumably to mitigate potential fitness costs of JATI. The convergence of diverse plant- and non-plant-derived signals on the core JA module indicates that JATI is a general response to perceived danger. However, the modular structure of JATI may accommodate attacker-specific defense responses through evolutionary innovation of PRRs (inputs) and defense traits (outputs). The efficacy of JATI as a defense strategy is highlighted by its capacity to shape natural populations of plant attackers, as well as the propensity of plant-associated organisms to subvert or otherwise manipulate JA signaling. As both a cellular hub for integrating informational cues from the environment and a common target of pathogen effectors, the core JA module provides a focal point for understanding immune system networks and the evolution of chemical diversity in the plant kingdom.

Glandular trichomes play important roles in protecting plants from biotic attack by producing defensive compounds. We investigated the metabolic profiles and transcriptomes to characterize the differences between different glandular trichome types in several domesticated and wild Solanum species: Solanum lycopersicum (glandular trichome types 1, 6, and 7), Solanum habrochaites (types 1, 4, and 6), Solanum pennellii (types 4 and 6), Solanum arcanum (type 6), and Solanum pimpinellifolium (type 6). Substantial chemical differences in and between Solanum species and glandular trichome types are likely determined by the regulation of metabolism at several levels. Comparison of S. habrochaites type 1 and 4 glandular trichomes revealed few differences in chemical content or transcript abundance, leading to the conclusion that these two glandular trichome types are the same and differ perhaps only in stalk length. The observation that all of the other species examined here contain either type 1 or 4 trichomes (not both) supports the conclusion that these two trichome types are the same. Most differences in metabolites between type 1 and 4 glands on the one hand and type 6 glands on the other hand are quantitative but not qualitative. Several glandular trichome types express genes associated with photosynthesis and carbon fixation, indicating that some carbon destined for specialized metabolism is likely fixed within the trichome secretory cells. Finally, Solanum type 7 glandular trichomes do not appear to be involved in the biosynthesis and storage of specialized metabolites and thus likely serve another unknown function, perhaps as the site of the synthesis of protease inhibitors.Trichomes are epidermal structures widely conserved across the plant kingdom (Kim and Mahlberg, 1991;Wagner, 1991;Alonso et al., 1992;Yu et al., 1992;Kolb and Muller, 2003;Valkama et al., 2003;Giuliani and Bini, 2008). These structures perform important biological functions, such as discouraging herbivory, attracting pollinators, and maintaining a boundary layer (Nihoul, 1993;Van Dam and Hare, 1998;Kennedy, 2003;Moyano et al., 2003;Simmons and Gurr, 2005;Liu et al., 2006;Horgan et al., 2007;Gonzalez et al., 2008;Romero et al., 2008;Nonomura et al., 2009;Kang et al., 2010). Many of these functions are the result of the specialized nature of glandular trichomes (glands) as sites for the synthesis and storage of biologically active specialized metabolites (Alonso et al