Expression and genomic imprinting of the porcine Rasgrf1 gene

Imprinted genes play important roles in mammalian growth, development and behavior. The Rasgrf1 (Ras protein-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1) gene has been identified as an imprinted gene in mouse and rat. In the present study, we detected its sequence, imprinting status and expression pattern in the domestic pigs. A 228 bp partial sequence located in exon 14 and a 193 bp partial sequence located in exon 1 of the Rasgrf1 gene in domestic pigs were obtained. A G/A transition, was identified in Rasgrf1 exon 14, and then, the reciprocal Berkshire × Wannan black F₁ hybrid model and the RT-PCR-RFLP method were used to detect the imprinting status of porcine Rasgrf1 gene at the developmental stage of 1-day-old. The expression profile results indicated that the porcine Rasgrf1 mRNA was highly expressed in brain, pituitary and pancreas, followed by kidney, stomach, lung, testis, small intestine, ovary, spleen and liver, and at low levels of expression in longissimus dorsi, heart, and backfat. The expression levels of Rasgrf1 gene in brain, pituitary and pancreas tissues were significantly different between the two reciprocal F₁ hybrids. Imprinting analysis showed that porcine Rasgrf1 gene was maternally expressed in the liver, small intestine, paternally expressed in the lung, but biallelically expressed in brain, heart, spleen, kidney, stomach, pancreas, backfat, testis, ovary, longissimus dorsi and pituitary tissues.     

Epidemiologic Features and Environmental Risk Factors of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome,Xinyang, China

Background

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease discovered in rural areas of Central China in 2009, caused by a novel bunyavirus, SFTS virus (SFTSV). The disease usually presents as fever, thrombocytopenia, and leukocytopenia, with case-fatality rates ranging from 2.5% to 30%. Haemaphysalis longicornis was suspected to be the most likely vector of SFTSV. By the end of 2012, the disease had expanded to 13 provinces of China. SFTS patients have been reported in Japan and South Korea, and a disease similar to SFTS has been reported in the United States.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We characterized the epidemiologic features of 504 confirmed SFTS cases in Xinyang Region, the most severely SFTS-afflicted region in China from 2011 to 2012, and assessed the environmental risk factors. All cases occurred during March to November, with the epidemic peaking from May to July. The patients'' ages ranged from 7 to 87 years (median 61 years), and the annual incidence increased with age (χ² test for trend, P<0.001). The female-to-male ratio of cases was 1.58, and 97.0% of the cases were farmers who resided in the southern and western parts of the region. The Poisson regression analysis revealed that the spatial variations of SFTS incidence were significantly associated with the shrub, forest, and rain-fed cropland areas.

Conclusions

The distribution of SFTS showed highly significant temporal and spatial heterogeneity in Xinyang Region, with the majority of SFTS cases being elderly farmers who resided in the southern and western parts of the region, mostly acquiring infection between May and July when H. longicornis is highly active. The shrub, rain-fed, and rain-fed cropland areas were associated with high risk for this disease.     

人干细胞转录因子Nanog和BTB/POZ家族蛋白NAC1的相互作用

目的：研究人干细胞转录因子Nanog和BTB/POZ家族蛋白NAC1的相互作用,并初步确定作用区域。方法：应用免疫共沉淀、GSTpull-down实验验证人Nanog与NAC1的相互作用。结果：人Nanog与NAC1能够相互作用,且NAC1的BTB/POZ结构域对于二者相互作用是必需的。结论：人Nanog和NAC1在体内、外均能形成复合物,二者的相互作用对于人胚胎干细胞的自我更新及肿瘤的发生可能具有重要的作用。     

Cadherin-11 promotes the metastasis of prostate cancer cells to bone

Bone is the most common site of metastases from prostate cancer. The mechanism by which prostate cancer cells metastasize to bone is not fully understood, but interactions between prostate cancer cells and bone cells are thought to initiate the colonization of metastatic cells at that site. Here, we show that cadherin-11 (also known as osteoblast-cadherin) was highly expressed in prostate cancer cell line derived from bone metastases and had strong homophilic binding to recombinant cadherin-11 in vitro. Down-regulation of cadherin-11 in bone metastasis-derived PC3 cells with cadherin-11-specific short hairpin RNA (PC3-shCad-11) significantly decreased the adhesion of those cells to cadherin-11 in vitro. In a mouse model of metastasis, intracardiac injection of PC3 cells led to metastasis of those cells to bone. However, the incidence of PC3 metastasis to bone in this model was reduced greatly when the expression of cadherin-11 by those cells was silenced. The clinical relevance of cadherin-11 in prostate cancer metastases was further studied by examining the expression of cadherin-11 in human prostate cancer specimens. Cadherin-11 was not expressed by normal prostate epithelial cells but was detected in prostate cancer, with its expression increasing from primary to metastatic disease in lymph nodes and especially bone. Cadherin-11 expression was not detected in metastatic lesions that occur in other organs. Collectively, these findings suggest that cadherin-11 is involved in the metastasis of prostate cancer cells to bone.     

综述: 糖基化对斑马鱼发育及再生作用的研究进展

对有机体发育和再生的研究一直是生命科学领域探索热点之一,斑马鱼由于具有发育速度快、胚胎透明便于观察以及其尾鳍、心脏、神经系统等组织器官可以再生等众多优点,已经成为应用最为广泛的模式生物之一．在斑马鱼发育及再生过程中,细胞发生增殖、分化、形态建成等代谢活动,而对其中调控机制的研究尚未完全明确,对其深入探究的意义不言而喻,可以为很多疾病的认识治疗、组织工程的发展奠定理论基础．研究已经表明,在此过程中,有很多蛋白质参与发育及再生的调节,而蛋白质糖基化是重要的蛋白质翻译后修饰,糖基化的变化会影响细胞识别、黏附、信号传导等,从而导致炎症、肿瘤等恶性疾病的发生．近年来,糖组学的发展为发育生物学和再生医学提供了新的思路和研究成果,本文就糖基化变化在斑马鱼的发育过程中发挥的作用做一综述,并对今后它对再生过程的作用进行展望．     

云南抚仙湖产类胡萝卜素酵母菌的资源调查

【目的】对分离自云南抚仙湖湖水的379株酵母菌进行产类胡萝卜素的筛选,以期获得具有开发应用价值的产类胡萝卜素酵母菌。【方法】采用酸热法提取类胡萝卜素,紫外分光光度计测定类胡萝卜素含量,SPSS软件分析产类胡萝卜素酵母的分布特征。【结果】318株酵母菌(占供试菌株的83.91%)具有产类胡萝卜素的能力,大多数菌株类胡萝卜素产量在10-300μg/g之间,最高达590.83μg/g。产类胡萝卜素酵母集中分布于红冬孢酵母属(Rhodosporidium)和红酵母属(Rhodotorula);担子菌酵母产类胡萝卜素的能力高于子囊菌酵母;筛选到9株产类胡萝卜素活性较强的菌株:双倒卵形红冬孢酵母(Rhodosporidium diobovatum)3株、沼泽生红冬孢酵母(Rhodosporidium paludigenum)2株、粘红酵母(Rhodotorula glutinis)、禾本红酵母(Rhodotorula graminis)、瑞纳锁掷孢酵母(Sporidiobolus ruineniae)及Cystofilobasidium macerans各1株。【结论】高原湖泊抚仙湖生存着大量产类胡萝卜素的酵母菌,"红色酵母"(Red yeasts)具有较强的产类胡萝卜素的能力,红冬孢酵母属(Rhodosporidium)和红酵母属(Rhodotorula)是抚仙湖产类胡萝卜素酵母菌的主要类群。     

黄河小浪底栓皮栎、刺槐叶片电子传递速率-光响应的模拟

为了比较直角双曲线模型、非直角双曲线模型与叶子飘模型的优缺点, 研究阴生叶和阳生叶电子传递速率的差异, 探讨环境/生物因素对电子传递速率等参数的影响, 该文采用LI-6400XT荧光测定系统对黄河小浪底栓皮栎(Quercus variabilis)、刺槐(Robinia pseudoacacia)叶片电子传递速率-光响应(J-I)曲线进行了测定, 利用直角双曲线模型、非直角双曲线模型和叶子飘模型对J-I曲线进行了拟合。结果表明, 3种模型对叶片J-I曲线拟合的决定系数(R ²)在0.96以上, 叶子飘模型的R ²最高(> 0.99)。直角双曲线模型和非直角双曲线模型无法模拟植物叶片光系统II动力学下调现象, 且不能得出饱和光强(I_sat); 直角双曲线模型对最大电子传递速率(J_max)的模拟明显大于实测值; 叶子飘模型能很好地模拟光系统II动力学下调现象, 得出的J_max和I_sat均最接近实测值。对阴生叶和阳生叶J-I曲线研究发现, 栓皮栎、刺槐阴生叶的J_max分别低于阳生叶25.0%和18.0%, 阳生叶的I_sat分别高于阴生叶26.0%和10.1%。栓皮栎和刺槐J_max与气温显著正相关; 刺槐I_sat与气温、土壤水分含量和净光合速率具有显著的正相关关系; 栓皮栎和刺槐J-I曲线初始斜率α均与净光合速率呈显著负相关关系。     

水稻磷效率相关性状的遗传特性

利用数量遗传模型对P1、P2、F1、F2．3等4个世代的相对分蘖率、有效穗、生物产量及经济产量等性状进行了遗传分析。混合遗传模型分析表明：低磷胁迫条件下,相对分蘖率和相对有效穗两个指标适合两对主基因的加性．显性．上位性的模型,两对主基因之间存在着广泛的加性、显性和上位性效应,也存在多基因修饰;相对分蘖率和相对有效穗的最大效应主基因以加性效应为主,次大主基因以显性效应为主,而相对生物量与相对经济产量两个指标符合两对加性．显性．上位性主基因＋多基因的模型,主基因遗传力分别达到60．08％和37．70％,多基因遗传力分别达到32．15％和58．9％。表明相对分蘖率、有效穗和生物量的主基因遗传力均较高,可以作为水稻耐低磷遗传育种的指标。而相对经济产量的主基因遗传力相对较低,说明经济产量受气候等环境因素影响较大。     

NudC is required for Plk1 targeting to the kinetochore and chromosome congression

The equal distribution of chromosomes during mitosis is critical for maintaining the integrity of the genome. Essential to this process are the capture of spindle microtubules by kinetochores and the congression of chromosomes to the metaphase plate . Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is a mitotic kinase that has been implicated in microtubule-kinetochore attachment, tension generation at kinetochores, tension-responsive signal transduction, and chromosome congression . The tension-sensitive substrates of Plk1 at the kinetochore are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that human Nuclear distribution protein C (NudC), a 42 kDa protein initially identified in Aspergillus nidulans and shown to be phosphorylated by Plk1 , plays a significant role in regulating kinetochore function. Plk1-phosphorylated NudC colocalizes with Plk1 at the outer plate of the kinetochore. Depletion of NudC reduced end-on microtubule attachments at kinetochores and resulted in defects in chromosome congression at the metaphase plate. Importantly, NudC-deficient cells exhibited mislocalization of Plk1 and the Kinesin-7 motor CENP-E from prometaphase kinetochores. Ectopic expression of wild-type NudC, but not NudC containing mutations in the Plk1 phosphorylation sites, recovered Plk1 localization at the kinetochore and rescued chromosome congression. Thus, NudC functions as both a substrate and a spatial regulator of Plk1 at the kinetochore to promote chromosome congression.     

小鼠β-防御素30的原核表达和纯化

目的:在原核细胞中表达小鼠β-防御素30(DEFB30),并对表达产物进行鉴定和纯化。方法:用RT-PCR方法扩增小鼠Defb30的cDNA序列,将2个拷贝的cDNA序列串联连入原核表达载体pET28(a),构建重组表达载体pET28(a)-Defb30,并将重组表达载体转化至大肠杆菌Rosetta(DE3),IPTG诱导表达,以Western印迹分析表达产物His-DEFB30,用Ni-NTA亲和柱纯化融合蛋白。结果:构建了Defb30基因的原核表达载体,经IPTG诱导,相对分子质量约15×103的融合蛋白获得表达,Western印迹分析证实此蛋白即为目的蛋白,经Ni-NTA柱亲和纯化,获得了高纯度的融合蛋白His-DEFB30。结论:获得了在大肠杆菌中表达的DEFB30,为研究该蛋白的免疫避孕效果、抗菌活性奠定了基础。