MAPK在不同生殖特性鲫鲤杂交鱼性腺组织中的表达分析

运用Western-blot技术和免疫组织化学来检测丝裂原活化蛋白激酶(mitogen-activated protein kinases,MAPKs)家族成员细胞外调节蛋白激酶(extracellular regulated protein kinase,ERK)和c-Jun氨基末端激酶(c-Jun N-terminal kinase,JNK)在不同生殖特性鲫鲤杂交鱼性腺组织中的表达。研究表明,JNK、ERK在鱼类性腺组织中均有较高量的表达,但在鱼类卵巢和精巢间、雌核发育二倍体鲫鲤和不同倍性鱼的性腺组织间,JNK或ERK的表达量并不存在明显的差异,而P-JNK在雌核发育二倍体鲫鲤性腺中的表达量远高于三倍体和四倍体鲫鲤的卵巢组织。此外,JNK和ERK在雌核发育二倍体鲫鲤早期性腺性原细胞中均有阳性表达。其中,JNK在10月龄雌核发育二倍体鲫鲤性腺中的阳性反应强度高于6、8月龄;而ERK在8月龄和10月龄的性腺中的阳性反应则弱于6月龄。结果表明JNK通路可能对雌核发育二倍体鲫鲤产生不减数配子具有重要调控作用。     

黄鳝性腺自然逆转过程中vasa基因的表达分析

本研究采用RNA反义探针原位杂交技术,对vasa基因在黄鳝(Monopterusalbus)性腺发育过程中的表达情况进行了分析。结果表明:vasamRNA在Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ期卵母细胞的胞质中均匀分布,在Ⅳ、Ⅴ期卵母细胞中vasamRNA有向胞质外周皮层迁移集中的趋势,但不明显;退化的卵粒也呈现vasamRNA阳性反应;在Ⅲ、Ⅳ期卵巢的被膜中检测到带有vasa阳性信号的细胞,这些细胞可能是待向精原细胞分化、迁移到卵巢被膜上的原始生殖细胞(Primordialgermcell,PGC),在性逆转过程中这些PGC可能由卵巢被膜迁移到精小叶中并发育成精子;在成熟精巢中,vasa在精原细胞和初级精母细胞中表达。进一步采用碱性磷酸酶染色法分析黄鳝卵巢及精巢后发现:在卵巢中,除了卵母细胞外,卵巢被膜中也检测到了带有碱性磷酸酶阳性信号的细胞;在成熟精巢中,只在生殖腺囊内的雄性生殖细胞中检测到碱性磷酸酶,而精巢被膜中没有检测到带有碱性磷酸酶阳性信号的细胞。本研究结果初步表明:黄鳝的雄性生殖细胞可能起源于雌性阶段卵巢被膜中的原始生殖细胞[动物学报51(3):469-475,2005]。     

性类固醇激素及其受体在文昌鱼性腺和神经系统中的分布

首次用雌二醇,睾酮及孕酮受体的多克隆抗体在文昌鱼性腺,脑泡和神经管中进行免疫细胞化学定位研究,结果表明,不同发育时期的卵原细胞和卵母细胞中都存在雌激素,雄激素和孕激素受体,在小生长期,3种受体通常定位在卵原细胞和早期初级卵母细胞的胞质或核膜,在大生长期和成熟期,则定位在胞质和核质,在雄性,3种类固醇激素受体分布在不同发育时期的精原细胞,精母细胞和精子细胞（雌激素受体例外）中,受体阳性物定位在胞质和核,另外,用免疫细胞化学方法和性类固醇激素抗体对文昌鱼不同发育时期的性腺和神经系统进行研究,结果揭示,免疫阳性物存在于不同发育时期的卵巢和精巢中,在卵巢发育是上期,卵原细胞和卵母细胞的胸质和核仁膜对紫二醇,睾酮和孕酮抗体显示强或中等强度免疫阳性反应,在大生长期和成熟期,卵母细胞胞质和核仁膜对睾酮和孕酮抗体的免疫阳性反应明显减弱,而对雌二醇则显著增强,在雄性,随着精原细胞和精母细胞对孕酮抗体发生强的免疫阳性反应,在成熟期则对雌二醇抗体发生免疫阴性反应,精子始终为免疫阴性,本文研究首次发现,文昌鱼脑泡和神经管中存在哺乳动物神经旮体激素样免疫阳性神经细胞及其纤维,免疫阳性物分布在神经细胞胸质,核显阴性反应,这些结果为证明文昌鱼性类固醇激素参与调节性腺发育成熟和生殖内分泌调控轴的功能成熟提供重要的形态学新证据。     

黄鳝性逆转时生殖腺的组织学与超微结构的变化

黄鳝由雌转雄性时,其生殖腺滤泡细胞变得肥大和充满分泌物,卵母细胞的微绒毛、线粒体与放射带退化,卵黄液化。滤泡细胞吞噬卵黄颗粒并消化吸收后,最后形成类胡罗卜素瘤。随着卵巢的退化,精细胞与精巢逐渐形成。     

黄鳝“性逆转”一词小议

黄鳝Monopterus albus(Zuiew)属硬骨鱼纲合鳃目合鳃科,又名鳝鱼,鳝。在黄鳝的生活周期中,有一特殊的生物现象:生殖腺早期向雌性分化为卵巢,待卵巢中的卵母细胞发育成熟产卵后,卵巢转化为精巢,育成精子。一般认为,2龄前,平均体长为350毫米以下的黄鳝为雌性;3至5龄,平均体长450-600毫米为雌性、雌雄间性、雄性共存期;6龄,体长700毫米以上,则雄性个体可占95%以上。黄鳝的这一现象引起许多学者的兴趣。我国著名鱼类学家、黄鳝研究的先躯——伍献文与刘建康早在四十年代就进行了黄鳝性     

c-fos-like蛋白在尖唇散白蚁繁殖蚁和工蚁性腺中的表达

为了探讨c-fos原癌基因在白蚁生殖品级和非生殖品级性腺发育中的作用,揭示白蚁不同品级性腺发育的调节机理,本研究运用免疫细胞化学定位方法对尖唇散白蚁Reticulitermes aculabialis繁殖蚁和工蚁精、卵发生过程中的c-fos蛋白表达进行了研究。结果显示：雌性繁殖蚁在末龄若虫期的卵子发生过程中有c-fos-like表达, c-fos-like免疫阳性物质定位于生长期的卵母细胞核和滤泡细胞核中;而繁殖蚁成虫的卵子发生过程中没有c-fos-like免疫阳性反应。雄性繁殖蚁在末龄若虫期时精子发生过程中没有c-fos-like表达, 而发育到成虫期有c-fos-like免疫阳性反应,阳性物质定位于精原细胞的细胞核中。工蚁精、 卵发生过程中均没有c-fos-like的表达。结果提示：c-fos在调节繁殖蚁精子和卵子发生方面有重要作用,c-fos可能通过调节精原细胞增殖参与精子的发生;在卵巢中可以直接作用于生长期的卵母细胞和滤泡细胞来调节卵子的发生。在工蚁性腺中c-fos表达缺失可能导致卵母细胞和滤泡细胞无法正常发育,精原细胞停止增殖而使精子发生处于相对抑制状态。工蚁性腺退化不育可能与c-fos没有正常表达有关。     

人工三倍体水晶彩鲫的性腺发育

雄性三倍体鱼的精巢发育比较一致,都完成了由精原细胞、初级精母细胞经减数分裂形成精子细胞的过程,有些还见有变态中的异形精子,个别的还观察到少量类似于正常的成熟精子。雌性三倍体鱼的卵巢发育相当复杂,分化多样,已辨别出卵巢发育分别停留在卵原细胞分化、初级卵母细胞形成、少量卵母细胞生长发育和较多卵母细胞生长发育的四种异常类型,其共同特点是都含有一些败育和趋于败育的细胞,后两类卵巢中普遍含有类似于三倍体鱼精巢中的组织细胞结构。     

中国结鱼性腺发育的组织学观察

采用石蜡组织切片法,对澜沧江特有鱼类中国结鱼的性腺发育进行组织学观察,系统地描述了各期卵巢和精巢的形态结构、特征及变化。中国结鱼的卵巢和精巢的发育均分为6个时期,卵巢中共有5个时相的卵母细胞,精巢中有5种形态的生殖细胞。第2时相末期到第3时相早期卵母细胞的细胞质中出现卵黄核,细胞核中的核仁出现外排现象,核仁的外排物可能与核周的颗粒卵黄的形成有关。中国结鱼的精巢属于小叶型结构。     

黄鳝性逆转过程中Gsdf基因cDNA片段的克隆和表达分析

通过RT-PCR法从黄鳝性腺中首次克隆获得黄鳝Gsdf(gonadal soma-derived factor)基因的片段序列,该片段序列长218 bp,编码72个氨基酸。氨基酸序列分析表明黄鳝Gsdf基因片段与其他物种的相似性在61%~76%之间,其中与舌齿鲈(Dicentrarchus labrax)GsdfⅠ型、舌齿鲈GsdfⅡ型同源性最高,均为76%;系统进化树显示,黄鳝Gsdf与尼罗罗非鱼(Oreochromis niloticus)Gsdf基因聚成一支,与鲈形目鱼类亲缘关系较近。此外,不同性腺组织的基因检测结果显示,黄鳝Gsdf在卵巢和间期性腺的表达量很低,两者没有显著性差异(P0.05);在精巢组织中的表达量显著高于卵巢、间期性腺组织的表达量(P0.05)。上述结果表明Gsdf基因可能在黄鳝的性腺尤其是精巢的分化和发育过程中起着重要的作用。     

VEGF在人胎卵巢发育过程中的表达研究

目的研究血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）在人胚胎卵巢组织发生过程中的表达特征,探讨其在卵巢发生中的作用。方法采用HE染色和SP免疫组织化法学法检测VEGF在不同胎龄卵巢组织中的表达变化。结果VEGF在胎儿卵巢初级卵母细胞、卵泡细胞、部分基质细胞呈阳性表达,在卵母细胞的染色程度均强于卵泡细胞和基质细胞,基质小血管内皮也有阳性表达。其在卵母细胞中以胎24w阳性细胞多且表达量强,此后呈逐渐下降趋势。结论胎儿卵巢存在局部调节因子,VEGF表达于人胎卵巢中,以自分泌或旁分泌方式参与卵母细胞生长,在卵巢发生、发育过程中起着一定的作用。     

Race and Racism in America and in Anthropology

Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview . Audrey Smedley
Anthropology and Race . Eugenia Shanklin     

Degradation and conversion of somatostatin in normal and diabetic rats in vivo and in vitro

Plasma somatostatin-like immunoreactivity in the portal and jugular veins of streptozotocin diabetic rats was compared with that in normal control rats. In the diabetic group, somatostatin levels in the portal (p less than 0.05) and jugular (p less than 0.01) veins were both elevated compared with those in the control group. Moreover, the degree of elevation was greater in the jugular vein than in the portal vein. To further investigate the role of the liver in the clearance of somatostatin-28 in vivo, 2 micrograms of somatostatin-28 was administered as a bolus into the external jugular vein of intact and functionally hepatectomized rats. The mean half-time of somatostatin-28 was significantly longer in intact diabetic rats than in controls (p less than 0.05). The functional hepatectomy did not cause a significant difference in the half-time in diabetic rats but made it longer in control rats. These results suggest that the longer half-time of somatostatin-28 in diabetic rats in vivo is due to its slower hepatic clearance. The hepatic clearance of somatostatin-28 and somatostatin-14 was further studied in vitro using a recirculating liver perfusion method. The hepatic clearance of 1.2 nM of either somatostatin-28 or somatostatin-14 was significantly lower in diabetic rats than in controls (p less than 0.01). This indicates that elevated plasma somatostatin levels in diabetic rats are caused at least in part by decreased hepatic clearance of somatostatin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Trajectories and Constraints in Brain Evolution in Primates and Cetaceans

A negative allometric relationship between body mass (BM) and brain size (BS) can be observed for many vertebrate groups. In the past decades, researchers have proposed several hypotheses to explain this finding, but none is definitive and some are possibly not mutually exclusive. Certain species diverge markedly (positively or negatively) from the mean of the ratio BM/BS expected for a particular taxonomic group. It is possible to define encephalization quotient (EQ) as the ratio between the actual BS and the expected brain size. Several cetacean species show higher EQs compared to all primates, except modern humans. The process that led to big brains in primates and cetaceans produced different trajectories, as shown by the organizational differences observed in every encephalic district (e.g., the cortex). However, these two groups both convergently developed complex cognitive abilities. The comparative study on the trajectories through which the encephalization process has independently evolved in primates and cetaceans allows a critical appraisal of the causes, the time and the mode of quantitative and qualitative development of the brain in our species and in the hominid evolutionary lineage.     

Variation in infectivity and aggressiveness in space and time in wild host-pathogen systems: causes and consequences

Variation in host resistance and in the ability of pathogens to infect and grow (i.e. pathogenicity) is important as it provides the raw material for antagonistic (co)evolution and therefore underlies risks of disease spread, disease evolution and host shifts. Moreover, the distribution of this variation in space and time may inform us about the mode of coevolutionary selection (arms race vs. fluctuating selection dynamics) and the relative roles of G × G interactions, gene flow, selection and genetic drift in shaping coevolutionary processes. Although variation in host resistance has recently been reviewed, little is known about overall patterns in the frequency and scale of variation in pathogenicity, particularly in natural systems. Using 48 studies from 30 distinct host–pathogen systems, this review demonstrates that variation in pathogenicity is ubiquitous across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Quantitative analysis of a subset of extensively studied plant–pathogen systems shows that the magnitude of within‐population variation in pathogenicity is large relative to among‐population variation and that the distribution of pathogenicity partly mirrors the distribution of host resistance. At least part of the variation in pathogenicity found at a given spatial scale is adaptive, as evidenced by studies that have examined local adaptation at scales ranging from single hosts through metapopulations to entire continents and – to a lesser extent – by comparisons of pathogenicity with neutral genetic variation. Together, these results support coevolutionary selection through fluctuating selection dynamics. We end by outlining several promising directions for future research.     

Aminoacylation in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and in methanogenic and halophilic archaebacteria

Abstract Phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PRS) from the sulphur-metabolizing thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus acidocaldarius has been purified 150-fold using different chromatographic steps. The enzyme has a M _r of 270 000 and exhibits considerable thermostability in a temperature range up to 90°C with optimal activity at 70°C. Conservation of antigenic determinants could not be detected by antibodies against various PRS of all primary kingdoms. As a further means to detect traits of phylogenetic relationship, the cross-species reactivity between PRS and tRNAs of organisms from the three branches of archaebacteria and from all primary kingdoms reveals the group character of all 3 branches of the archaebacterial domain, the sulphur-metabolizing, methanogenic and halophilic archaebacteria.     

Deoxynivalenol and nivalenol in wheat and by-products in Argentina

The deoxynivalenol and nivalenol contamination in wheat and by-products obtained through milling was analized by Trucksess method slightly modified in the proportion of acetonitrile—water (3:1). Only one sample of wheat showed deoxynivalenol contamination, 1,200μg/kg. No samples obtained in different stages of the milling were contaminated with deoxynivalenol or nivalenol. In the commercial wheat flours the levels found ranged between 400 and 800μg/kg, as follows: 400μ/kg, 5 samples; 800jug/kg, 1 sample.     

Obestatin and ghrelin in obese and in pregnant women

We identified, through qPCR, receptor mRNA for a number of gut peptides in female human omental fat: the incretins, GIP and GLP-1, the orexigenic peptides PYY-Y1 and -Y2 and ghrelin, and the anorexigenic peptide obestatin. Four cohorts of women were examined: lean controls (BMI<23), obese (BMI>41), obese diabetic and term pregnant women. Human fat expressed receptor mRNAs for all six peptides. Pregnant women expressed roughly three times as much orphan GPR-39 receptor, a proposed obestatin receptor, than other women and less than half as much of the ghrelin receptor (GHSR-1a). An immunoblot probed with a GPR-39 selective antibody yielded a single band corresponding to the correct molecular weight (52 kDa) for the proposed obestatin receptor. Fluorescent immunohistochemistry of human fat employing the same antibody indicated the receptor protein was localized to the adipocyte cell membrane. The concentration of obestatin circulating in blood was measured in the same cohort of women and was significantly lower in obese and obese diabetic women compared to control.