糖苷生物碱化学生态学研究进展

糖苷生物碱(glycoalkaloid)是主要分布于茄科和百合科植物中的糖苷类次级代谢产物,糖链通常由3或4个单糖组成,苷元通常为三类甾体生物碱:茄次碱烷、螺旋甾碱烷和其他甾体衍生物.糖苷生物碱的主要生物学功能是化学防御,具有阻止昆虫取食、抑制微生物、化感作用和协同进化等重要作用.本文在阐明糖苷生物碱的来源和化学结构的基础上,着重总结了糖苷生物碱化学生态学研究的现状、进展及其生物学意义,分析了今后的发展方向.     

石蒜属植物生物碱成分研究进展

石蒜属为东亚特有属。该属植物富含生物碱,且此类次生代谢产物具有细胞毒、抗疟疾、抗病毒以及对乙酰胆碱酯酶的抑制作用等活性。本文概述了该属中生物碱类成分的化学结构、药理活性及其生源途径。     

胡椒酰胺类生物碱的核磁共振谱学特征

胡椒酰胺类生物碱是胡椒属植物的主要化学成分,结构类型多样,活性显著。自1939年首次报道以来,胡椒酰胺类生物碱一直是研究热点之一。迄今为止,已经从胡椒属植物中分离鉴定了胡椒酰胺类化合物200多个,主要涉及异丙基类、哌啶类、吡咯类等化学结构类型,且具有抗虫、抗菌、抗抑郁等生物活性。本文以胡椒属植物黄花胡椒(Piper flaviflorum)中分离得到的酰胺生物碱为例,探讨胡椒酰胺类生物碱在应用核磁共振波谱进行结构鉴定的规律。     

植物生物碱代谢生物学研究进展

目前,植物生物碱作为植物的化学防御武器,在植物的生态适应过程中发挥积极作用的观点已得到了普遍的接受。生物碱代谢生物学的研究近年来取得了长足的进步,主要集中在生物碱合成和贮存部位、转运途径、代谢调控因子、生物合成途径和关键酶及其编码基因等方面,现就这方面的进展作一简要综述,并提出了该领域尚存在的问题和前景展望。     

植物生物碱代谢生物学研究进展

目前,植物生物碱作为植物的化学防御武器,在植物的生态适应过程中发挥积极作用的观点已得到了普遍的接受。生物碱代谢生物学的研究近年来取得了长足的进步,主要集中在生物碱合成和贮存部位、转运途径、代谢调控因子、生物合成途径和关键酶及其编码基因等方面,现就这方面的进展作一简要综述,并提出了该领域尚存在的问题和前景展望。     

植物生物碱代谢生物学研究进展

 目前,植物生物碱作为植物的化学防御武器,在植物的生态适应过程中发挥积极作用的观点已得到了普遍的接受。生物碱代谢生物学的研究近年来取得了长足的进步,主要集中在生物碱合成和贮存部位、转运途径、代谢调控因子、生物合成途径和关键酶及其编码基因等方面,现就这方面的进展作一简要综述,并提出了该领域尚存在的问题和前景展望。     

猴头菌属药用真菌活性次级代谢产物研究概况

对猴头菌属药用真菌的次级代谢产物化学、生物活性研究进行了综述。目前已经从猴头菌属真菌中发现了83个不同类型的活性次级代谢产物,主要包含二萜类、酚类、脂肪酸类、甾体、生物碱类化合物;这些化学成分显示了抗肿瘤、抗菌、抗糖尿病、促进神经生长因子合成等多种活性。文中讨论了目前研究的主要问题并对其前景进行了展望。     

海洋来源放线菌中新生物碱成分研究进展

因其独特的生活环境,海洋来源的放线菌具有新颖的代谢途径。近年来从海洋来源的放线菌分离出大量的生物碱,具有独特的化学结构与多种生物活性,有些已进入临床前研究。这些活性生物碱为药物研发提供了丰富的先导化合物。本文介绍了2010年以来国内外报道的海洋来源放线菌中新生物碱的化学结构、来源与生物活性,旨在对海洋来源放线菌生物碱的研究奠定基础。     

异甾体生物碱类化合物及药理活性研究进展

异甾体生物碱类结构多变,药理活性多样,主要分布于百合科贝母属和藜芦属植物中。近十五年内共报道了80个新发现的异甾体生物碱类成分,药理活性涉及抗炎、镇痛、降压、平喘、抗血栓、胆碱酯酶抑制、抗病毒和抗肿瘤等作用。本文综述了2006至2020年间该类化合物的植物来源、化学结构及药理活性,并对该类化合物的未来研究探索进行了讨论与展望。     

药用植物甾体生物碱的药理作用及合成途径

甾体生物碱是药用植物中广泛存在的一类代谢产物,是一类具有降压、止咳、平喘、抗肿瘤等生物活性的天然产物。目前,甾体生物碱的合成代谢途径、分离纯化、鉴别及生物学功能研究已成为国内外天然产物研究的热点之一。对药用植物甾体生物碱的药理作用进行了综述,并根据萜类物质合成途径,推测总结了甾体生物碱的合成相关途径和参与该途径的关键酶及其基因克隆的研究进展,以期为药用植物甾体生物碱的代谢途径与基因表达调控及应用研究提供参考。     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Enterovirus 71 3C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Highlights
1. The N-terminal tail of histone H3 is specifically cleaved during EV71 infection.
2. Viral protease 3C is identified as a protease responsible for proteolytically processing the N-terminal H3 tail.
3. Our finding reveals a new epigenetic regulatory mechanism for Enterovirus 71 in virus-host interactions.     

Detection of EBV and HHV6 in the Brain Tissue of Patients with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is a rare pediatric neurological disorder, and the exact etiology is not clear. Viral infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of RE, but conflicting results have reported. In this study, we evaluated the expression of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) 6 antigens in brain sections from 30 patients with RE and 16 control individuals by immunohistochemistry. In the RE group, EBV and HHV6 antigens were detected in 56.7% (17/30) and 50% (15/30) of individuals, respectively. In contrast, no detectable EBV and HHV6 antigen expression was found in brain tissues of the control group. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in 20.0% (6/30) of individuals. In particular, a 4-year-old boy had a typical clinical course, including a medical history of viral encephalitis, intractable epilepsy, and hemispheric atrophy. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in neurons and astrocytes in the brain tissue, accompanied by a high frequency of CD8⁺ T cells. Our results suggest that EBV and HHV6 infection and the activation of CD8⁺ T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of RE.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).     

Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

In conclusion, the novel visual RT-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, and sensitive approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2, and it is ready for application in primary care and community hospitals or health care centers, and even patients' own houses in response to the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic because the assay does not require sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it is also ready to be used in fields for screening samples from wild animals and environments to facilitate the identification of potential intermediate hosts that mediate the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans.