Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) has been proposed as a therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases because of its anti-inflammatory action in glial cells. However, PPARgamma agonists preventbeta-amyloid (Abeta)-induced neurodegeneration in hippocampal neurons, and PPARgamma is activated by the nerve growth factor (NGF) survival pathway, suggesting a neuroprotective anti-inflammatory independent action. Here we show that the PPARgamma agonist rosiglitazone (RGZ) protects hippocampal and dorsal root ganglion neurons against Abeta-induced mitochondrial damage and NGF deprivation-induced apoptosis, respectively, and promotes PC12 cell survival. In neurons and in PC12 cells RGZ protective effects are associated with increased expression of the Bcl-2 anti-apoptotic protein. NGF-differentiated PC12 neuronal cells constitutively overexpressing PPARgamma are resistant to Abeta-induced apoptosis and morphological changes and show functionally intact mitochondria and no increase in reactive oxygen species when challenged with up to 50 microM H2O2. Conversely, cells expressing a dominant negative mutant of PPARgamma show increased Abeta-induced apoptosis and disruption of neuronal-like morphology and are highly sensitive to oxidative stress-induced impairment of mitochondrial function. Cells overexpressing PPARgamma present a 4- to 5-fold increase in Bcl-2 protein content, whereas in dominant negative PPARgamma-expressing cells, Bcl-2 is barely detected. Bcl-2 knockdown by small interfering RNA in cells overexpressing PPARgamma results in increased sensitivity to Abeta and oxidative stress, further suggesting that Bcl-2 up-regulation mediates PPARgamma protective effects. PPARgamma prosurvival action is independent of the signal-regulated MAPK or the Akt prosurvival pathways. Altogether, these data suggest that PPARgamma supports survival in neurons in part through a mechanism involving increased expression of Bcl-2.

Neurotrophins are trophic factors that regulate important neuronal functions. They bind two unrelated receptors, the Trk family of receptor-tyrosine kinases and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75). p75 was recently identified as a new substrate for γ-secretase-mediated intramembrane proteolysis, generating a p75-derived intracellular domain (p75-ICD) with signaling capabilities. Using PC12 cells as a model, we studied how neurotrophins activate p75 processing and where these events occur in the cell. We demonstrate that activation of the TrkA receptor upon binding of nerve growth factor (NGF) regulates the metalloprotease-mediated shedding of p75 leaving a membrane-bound p75 C-terminal fragment (p75-CTF). Using subcellular fractionation to isolate a highly purified endosomal fraction, we demonstrate that p75-CTF ends up in endosomes where γ-secretase-mediated p75-CTF cleavage occurs, resulting in the release of a p75-ICD. Moreover, we show similar structural requirements for γ-secretase processing of p75 and amyloid precursor protein-derived CTFs. Thus, NGF-induced endocytosis regulates both signaling and proteolytic processing of p75.

Globally, the strawberry is one of the most widely consumed fruits, but under certain environmental conditions, it exhibits inadequate red color development, causing economic losses due to lower product quality. In order to evaluate if changes in color are cultivar-specific and environmentally dependent, a comparative study of anthocyanin accumulation, total phenolic, total flavonoid content analysis and additionally a transcriptional profile of pigment-related genes in “Camarosa,” “Cristal,” “Monterey,” and “Portola” (four strawberry cultivars) was performed. These showed an increase in their red coloration during fruit development. The anthocyanin accumulation in the four cultivars was related to the particular progress of the transcriptional activity of genes involved in the biosynthesis of flavonoid pigments. The greatest increase was observed in “Monterey” and “Camarosa”; thus, we have found a correlation between fruit color redness and total anthocyanins only in these cultivars. However, a positive correlation between the mRNA abundance of FaF3′H and FaFLS and the total flavonoids content was found in all cultivars at early stages of ripening. Finally, we found correlations between color and other important physiological properties such as SSC/TA, weight, and aroma expressed as total esters. These results could be useful in making decisions in future breeding programs to improve the content of healthy compound content in strawberry fruit.

Functional symbiosis is considered one of the successful mechanisms by which plants that inhabit extreme environment improve their ability to tolerate different types of stress. One of the most conspicuous type of symbiosis is the endophyticism. This interaction has been noted to play a role in the adaptation of the native vascular plant Colobanthus quitensis to the stressful environments of Antarctica, characterized by low temperatures and extreme aridity. Projections of climate change for this ecosystem indicate that abiotic conditions will be less limiting due to an increase in temperature and water availability in the soil. Due to this decrease in stress induced by the climate change, it has been suggested that the positive role of fungal endophytes on performance of C. quitensis plants would decrease. In this study, we evaluated the role of endophytic fungi on osmoprotective molecules (sugar production, proline, oxidative stress) and gene expression (CqNCED1, CqABCG25, and CqRD22) as well as physiological traits (stomatal opening, net photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance) in individuals of C. quitensis. Individual plants of C. quitensis with (E+) and without (E−) endophytic fungi were exposed to simulated conditions of increased water availability (W+), having the current limiting water condition (W−) in Antarctica as control. The results reveal an endophyte-mediated lower oxidative stress, higher production of sugars and proline in plants. In addition, E+ plants showed differential expressions in genes related with drought stress response, which was more evident in W− than in W+. These parameters corresponded with increased physiological mechanisms such as higher net photosynthesis, stomatal opening and conductance under presence of endophytes (E+) as well as the projected water condition (W+) for Antarctica. These results suggest that the presence of fungal endophytes plays a positive role in favoring tolerance to drought in C. quitensis. However, this positive role would be diminished if the stress factor is relaxed, suggesting that the role of endophytes could be less important under a future scenario of climate change in Antarctica with higher soil water availability.

Antarctic plants have developed mechanisms to deal with one or more adverse factors which allow them to successfully survive such extreme environment. Certain effective mechanisms to face adverse stress factors can arise from the establishment of functional symbiosis with endophytic fungi. In this work, we explored the role of fungal endophytes on host plant performance under high level of UV-B radiation, a harmful factor known to damage structure and function of cell components. In order to unveil the underlying mechanisms, we characterized the expression of genes associated to UV-B photoreception, accumulation of key flavonoids, and physiological responses of Colobanthus quitensis plants with (E+) and without (E−) fungal endophytes, under contrasting levels of UV-B radiation. The deduced proteins of CqUVR8, CqHY5, and CqFLS share the characteristic domains and display high degrees of similarity with other corresponding proteins in plants. Endophyte symbiotic plants showed lower lipid peroxidation and higher photosynthesis efficiency under high UV-B radiation. In comparison with E−, E+ plants showed lower CqUVR8, CqHY5, and CqFLS transcript levels. The content of quercetin, a ROS-scavenger flavonoid, in leaves of E- plants exposed to high UV-B was almost 8-fold higher than that in E+ plants 48 h after treatment. Our results suggest that endophyte fungi minimize cell damage and boost physiological performance in the Antarctic plants increasing the tolerance to UV-B radiation. Fungal endophytes appear as fundamental biological partners for plants to cope with the highly damaging UV-B radiation of Antarctica.