Chlorophyll breakdown is a vital catabolic process of leaf senescence as it allows the recycling of nitrogen and other nutrients. In the present study, we isolated rice senescence-induced receptor-like kinase (OsSRLK), whose transcription was upregulated in senescing rice leaves. The detached leaves of ossrlk mutant (ossrlk) contained more green pigment than those of the wild type (WT) during dark-induced senescence (DIS). HPLC and immunoblot assay revealed that degradation of chlorophyll and photosystem II proteins was repressed in ossrlk during DIS. Furthermore, ultrastructural analysis revealed that ossrlk leaves maintained the chloroplast structure with intact grana stacks during dark incubation; however, the retained green color and preserved chloroplast structures of ossrlk did not enhance the photosynthetic competence during age-dependent senescence in autumn. In ossrlk, the panicles per plant was increased and the spikelets per panicle were reduced, resulting in similar grain productivity between WT and ossrlk. By transcriptome analysis using RNA sequencing, genes related to phytohormone, senescence, and chlorophyll biogenesis were significantly altered in ossrlk compared to those in WT during DIS. Collectively, our findings indicate that OsSRLK may degrade chlorophyll by participating in a phytohormone-mediated pathway.

Alterations in signaling pathways and modulation of cell metabolism are associated with the pathogenesis of cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins and NF-κB family play major roles in various cellular processes. The current study aims to determine the expression profile of SUMO and NF-κB genes in HCC tumors and investigate their association with the clinical outcome of HCC. The expression of 5 genes – SUMO1, SUMO2, SUMO3, NF-κB p65 , and NF-κB p50 – was quantified in tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissues of 58 HBV-related HCC patients by real-time quantitative PCR and was analyzed for the possible association with clinical parameters of HCC. The expression of SUMO2 was significantly higher in HCC tumor tissues compared to the adjacent non-tumor tissues ( P = .01), while no significant difference in SUMO1, SUMO3, NF-κB p65 , and NF-κB p50 expression was observed between HCC tumor and non-tumor tissues ( P >  .05). In HCC tissues, a strong correlation was observed between the expression of SUMO2 and NF-κB p50 , between SUMO3 and NF-κB p50 , between SUMO3 and NF-κB p65 (Spearman rho = 0.83; 0.82; 0.772 respectively; P < .001). The expression of SUMO1, SUMO2, SUMO3, NF-κB p65 , and NF-κB p50 was decreased in grade 3 compared to grades 1 and 2 in HCC tumors according to the World Health Organization grades system. Our results highlighted that the SUMO2 gene is upregulated in tumor tissues of patients with HCC, and is related to the development of HCC, thus it may be associated with the pathogenesis of HCC.

Introduction Thymic epithelial tumours (TET) are a rare, histologically varied group of malignancies, classified by the World Health Organization into 5 subtypes ranging from indolent to aggressive forms. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues represent the conventional approach for...

Background: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare neoplasms of the anterior mediastinum, ranging from indolent thymomas to aggressive thymic carcinomas. Increasing evidence suggests that genetic alterations contribute to their pathogenesis and biological behavior. GTF2I, TP53, and NOTCH1 are particularly interesting among the potential genes due to their central roles in transcriptional regulation, cell-cycle control, and oncogenic signaling. Methods: In this study, 150 TET samples from Vietnamese patients were classified according to WHO guidelines and the Masaoka–Koga staging system. Genotyping was conducted on 139 high-quality samples using Sanger sequencing targeting exon 15 of GTF2I, exon 7 of TP53, and exon 34 of NOTCH1. The potential impact of these variants was predicted using the in silico MutationTaster2025 and CADD v1.7 tools. Statistical analyses were also conducted to assess associations between variants and tumor subtypes. Results: Our study identified a total of 17 variants across GTF2I, TP53, and NOTCH1, in which the c.1271T>A variant in the GTF2I hotspot, predicted to be deleterious, was identified in 14.1% of indolent thymomas and showed a significant association with this subtype group (odds ratio: 0.048, adjusted p-value = 0.014). In contrast, previously unreported variants in TP53 (c.772G>A) and NOTCH1 (c.7546T>G) were also computationally predicted to be deleterious and were significantly enriched in aggressive subtypes, with ORs of 15.1 (adjusted p-value = 0.01) and 18.4 (adjusted p-value = 0.026), respectively. Conclusion: These hypothesis-generating findings suggest that variations in GTF2I, TP53, and NOTCH1 may serve as candidate molecular markers for distinguishing thymoma subtypes and assessing patient risk. To date, this is the first targeted hotspot screening study of GTF2I, TP53, and NOTCH1 variants in TETs within the Vietnamese population.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a group of lymphoproliferative disorders characterized by the abnormal proliferation and accumulation of lymphocytes in the lymphatic system. An ovarian tumor domain containing ubiquitin aldehyde binding protein 1 (Otubain-1) is a deubiquitinating enzyme that cleaves ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like molecules and is expressed in various human tissues. The pathogenesis of NHL is associated with activations of the nuclear transcription factor (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins (JAK/STAT) signaling pathways. In this study, all the expressions of Otubain-1, NF-κB2, SHPs and STATs genes, the concentrations of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α and clinical features in NHL patients were examined. To the end, gene expression levels of 82 NHL patients and 56 healthy individuals were determined by quantitative real time RT-PCR and secretion of cytokines by ELISA. As a result, concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α in the patient group were found higher than in the healthy individuals and patients with higher LDH concentrations in the clinical cutoff, 280 U/L showed increased concentrations of AST, ALT and GGT than those with normal LDH concentrations. Interestingly, NHL patients with high Otubain-1 expression had significant elevations of GGT and ferritin concentrations as well as STAT-5 expression compared to those with low Otubain-1 expression. In conclusion, the present study indicates that up-regulation of Otubain-1 led to activation of STAT5 in lymphoma cells and liver dysfunction and metabolic syndrome in NHL patients.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable microbial polyesters that may reduce dependence on petroleum-derived plastics, but broader use remains constrained by production costs and tightly controlled cultivation. Thermophilic microorganisms have attracted increasing attention as promising PHA producers because they can be cultivated at elevated temperatures, reducing contamination risks and operational costs. In this study, a thermophilic Geobacillus sp. strain SL28 isolated from a Vietnamese hot spring was evaluated for its PHA-producing capability. Temperature, initial pH, carbon and nitrogen sources, C/N ratio, and cultivation time were examined. Intracellular inclusions were assessed by Sudan Black B and Nile Blue A staining and transmission electron microscopy, whereas the recovered polymer was characterized by FE-SEM, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), ¹H- and ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, capillary viscometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile testing. Under the optimized cultivation conditions identified by one-factor experimentation (50 °C, pH 7.0, sucrose, peptone, C/N 25:1, and 72 h), SL28 reached a dry cell weight of 2.215 ± 0.16 g/L and a PHA concentration of 1.383 ± 0.04 g/L, equivalent to 62.57 ± 2.82% of DCW. Structural characterization confirmed that the recovered polymer was poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). The purified PHB also exhibited favorable thermal stability, a relatively high molecular weight, and satisfactory mechanical properties. These results demonstrate the potential of thermophilic Geobacillus sp. SL28 as a promising candidate for PHB production.