Tree peony (Paeonia section Moutan DC.) is a famous ornamental plant, and P. ostii has been used for seed oil production in China because it is rich in α-linolenic acid. P. ostii has some resistance to drought, but lack of water can severely hinder its growth and development in arid areas. In order to clarify drought stress induced physiological and molecular changes of P. ostia, its physiological and transcriptomic analyses were performed under drought stress, and we found that P. ostii leaves drooped significantly 12 days after treatment and observed a significant increase in all detected physiological indices in response to drought treatment except leaf water content, chlorophyll, and carotenoid content. Meanwhile, the activity of three antioxidant enzymes basically increased under drought treatment. Moreover, drought treatment significantly reduced photosynthetic and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters except non-photochemical quenching (qN), and maintained more intact mesophyll cell structures. Additionally, many differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found by transcriptome sequencing, which play an important role in P. ostia drought tolerance by controlling a variety of biological processes, including the reactive oxygen species (ROS) system, chlorophyll degradation and photosynthetic competency, fatty acid metabolism, proline metabolism, biosynthesis of secondary metabolism, and plant hormone metabolism. These results provide a better understanding of P. ostii responses to drought stress.

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Aim: To investigate the roles of cysteinyl leukotriene receptors CysLT 1 R and CysLT 2 R in leukotriene D 4 (LTD 4 )-induced activation of microglial cells in vitro. Methods: Mouse microglial cell line BV2 was transfected with pcDNA3.1(+)-hCysLT 1 R or pcDNA3.1(+)-hCysLT 2 R. The expression of relevant mRNAs and proteins in the cells was detected using RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Phagocytosis was determined with flow cytometry analysis. The release of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) from the cells was measured using an ELISA assay. Results: The expression of CysLT 1 R or CysLT 2 R was considerably increased in the transfected BV2 cells, and the receptors were mainly distributed in the plasma membrane and cytosol. Treatment of the cells expressing CysLT 1 R or CysLT 2 R with CysLT receptor agonist LTD 4 (0.1-100 nmol/L) concentration-dependently enhanced the phagocytosis, and increased mRNA expression and release of IL-1β. Moreover, the responses of hCysLT 1 R-BV2 cells to LTD 4 were significantly larger than those of hCysLT 2 R-BV2 or WT-BV2 cells. Pretreatment of hCysLT 1 R-BV2 cells with the selective CysLT 1 R antagonist montelukast (1 μmol/L) significantly blocked LTD 4 -induced phagocytosis as well as the mRNA expression and release of IL-1β, whereas the selective CysLT 2 R antagonist HAMI 3379 (1 μmol/L) had no such effects. Conclusion: CysLT 1 R mediates LTD 4 -induced activation of BV2 cells, suggesting that CysLT 1 R antagonists may exert anti-inflammatory activity in brain diseases.

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To assess the patterns and predictors of AIDS-related mortality and identify its correlates among adult people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in China, a retrospective record-based cohort study was conducted among 18 years or older PLWHA, who had at least one follow up reported to the national database between January-1989 and June-2012. Cumulative Incidence Function was used to calculate AIDS-related mortality rate. Gray’s test was used to determine the variation in cumulative incidence across strata. The Fine and Gray model was used to measure the burden of cumulative incidence of AIDS-related mortality and strength of its association with potential correlates. Among 375,629 patients, 107,634 died during study period, of which 54,759 (50.87%) deaths were AIDS-related. Cumulative mortality rates of AIDS-related death at one, two, five, 10 and 15 years post-diagnosis were 5.7%, 8.2%, 14.3%, 22.9% and 30.9%, respectively. Among PLWHA, male gender, ethnic minority and having AIDS were associated with significantly higher mortality. Further, homosexual transmission, being on ART and increasing CD4-testing frequency were associated with lower mortality. To reduce mortality among PLWHA, efficient interventions targeting males, ethnic minority, heterosexually infected and AIDS patients should be combined with immunologic monitoring, enhancement of coverage of HIV-testing and ART.