Intracerebral administration of recombinant rabies virus expressing GM-CSF prevents the development of rabies after infection with street virus

Recently it was found that prior immunization with recombinant rabies virus (RABV) expressing granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (LBNSE-GM-CSF) resulted in high innate/adaptive immune responses and protection against challenge with virulent RABV (Wen et al., JVI, 2011). In this study, the ability of LBNSE-GM-CSF to prevent animals from developing rabies was investigated in mice after infection with lethal doses of street RABV. It was found that intracerebral administration of LBNSE-GM-CSF protected more mice from developing rabies than sham-treated mice as late as day 5 after infection with street RABV. Intracerebral administration of LBNSE-GM-CSF resulted in significantly higher levels of chemokine/cytokine expression and more infiltration of inflammatory and immune cells into the central nervous system (CNS) than sham-administration or administration with UV-inactivated LBNSE-GM-CSF. Enhancement of blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and increases in virus neutralizing antibodies (VNA) were also observed in mice treated with LBNSE-GM-CSF. On the other hand, intracerebral administration with UV-inactivated LBNSE-GM-CSF did not increase protection despite the fact that VNA were induced in the periphery. However, intracerebral administration with chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1, also termed CCL2) increased significantly the protective efficacy of UV-inactivated LBNSE-GM-CSF. Together these studies confirm that direct administration of LBNSE-GM-CSF can enhance the innate and adaptive immunity as well as the BBB permeability, thus allowing infiltration of inflammatory cells and other immune effectors enter into the CNS to clear the virus and prevent the development of rabies.     

新疆罗布泊地区可培养嗜盐古菌多样性及其功能酶筛选

【目的】探索新疆罗布泊地区高盐环境可培养嗜盐古菌的多样性及其功能酶应用潜力。【方法】采集罗布泊地区13份土样,用纯培养并结合基于16S rRNA基因系统发育分析的方法来研究样品中嗜盐古菌的多样性。按系统进化树的聚类关系,挑选出一些菌株进行盐度耐受及淀粉酶、蛋白酶、酯酶的酶活检测。【结果】从13份土样中共分离到56株嗜盐古菌,经16S rRNA基因克隆测序,通过MEGA 4.0构建N-J树分析,56株菌分布于嗜盐古菌的10个生效发表属和5个潜在新属。运用Shannon-Wiener方法计算其多样性指数为1.820。挑选17株嗜盐古菌所测试盐浓度实验结果表明这一批嗜盐古菌的大部分生长范围在10%-35%之间,最适盐浓度在20%-25%之间。不同酶活检测结果为:淀粉酶酶活率为70.6%,蛋白酶酶活率为35.3%,酯酶酶活率为82.4%。【结论】新疆罗布泊周边地区由于气候及地理位置的独特性,蕴藏丰富的嗜盐古菌资源。本实验所设计的分离方法对嗜盐古菌的分离是极其有效的,为进一步研究新疆罗布泊及周边地区嗜盐古菌资源提供了技术基础。盐度耐受实验结果验证在低盐环境中分离嗜盐古菌新物种的可行性。同时,嗜盐古菌的酶活比率较高且活性较强为进一步开发利用嗜盐古菌资源提供了理论依据。     

秦岭中段野生动物多样性的红外相机监测数据库平台介绍

秦岭地处我国中西部, 生物地理位置重要, 拥有丰富的生物多样性, 有大熊猫(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)、秦岭羚牛(Budorcas bedfordi)、金丝猴(Rhinopithecus roxellana)和朱鹮(Nipponia nippon)等4个秦岭森林旗舰物种, 被称为“秦岭四宝”。利用红外相机技术开展秦岭野生动物的非损伤性监测不仅可以为秦岭山系提供物种名录信息, 还可以为了解秦岭野生动物的行为和活动格局提供科学数据。清华大学环境学院生态团队自2009-2020年在秦岭中段南坡先后实施了7个项目, 对秦岭南坡的4个保护区进行了野生动物监测, 面积达1,113 km ²(26.5 km × 42 km), 红外相机位点数267个, 相机日数152,160天, 共获取红外相机照片855,260张。共鉴定出27种野生兽类和63种野生鸟类, 并应用这些照片数据开展了信息挖掘工作, 对野生动物行为、稀有物种、与生境的关系, 以及人为活动对野生动物的影响等领域进行了研究, 已取得部分成果。在此基础上建立了“秦岭中段野生动物多样性的红外相机监测数据库平台”, 供团队内部及合作者使用。通过10年的监测, 我们提出未来研究建议: (1)对于非常偶见的物种, 还需要更长的时间并在更多样化的生境布设相机, 以获取更多影像数据评估其现状; (2)数据库需要在更大程度和深度上进行信息挖掘, 尤其在种间关系、物种-生境关系、种群动态等方面; (3)对典型大种群数量的物种(如秦岭羚牛和野猪Sus scrofa)及食物链顶端大型捕食动物(如金钱豹Panthera pardus)进行种群动态研究, 为整个秦岭生态系统的健康持续提供科学支撑; (4)利用数据库的数据及今后红外相机监测数据进行野生动物疾病的发生发展监测研究。     

Circulating exosomal long non‐coding RNAs in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Exosomes are attracting considerable interest in the cardiovascular field as the wide range of their functions is recognized in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the regulatory role of exosomal long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in AMI remains largely unclear. Exosomes were isolated from the plasma of AMI patients and controls, and the sequencing profiles and twice qRT‐PCR validations of exosomal lncRNAs were performed. A total of 518 differentially expressed lncRNAs were detected over two‐fold change, and 6 kinds of lncRNAs were strikingly elevated in AMI patients with top fold change and were selected to perform subsequent validation. In the two validations, lncRNAs ENST00000556899.1 and ENST00000575985.1 were significantly up‐regulated in AMI patients compared with controls. ROC curve analysis revealed that circulating exosomal lncRNAs ENST00000556899.1 and ENST00000575985.1 yielded the area under the curve values of 0.661 and 0.751 for AMI, respectively. Moreover, ENST00000575985.1 showed more significant relationship with clinical parameters, including inflammatory biomarkers, prognostic indicators and myocardial damage markers. Multivariate logistic model exhibited positive association of ENST00000575985.1 with the risk of heart failure in AMI patients. In summary, our data demonstrated that circulating exosomal lncRNAs ENST00000556899.1 and ENST00000575985.1 are elevated in patients with AMI, functioning as potential biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of pateints with AMI.     

Increased 4-Hydroxynonenal Formation Contributes to Obesity-Related Lipolytic Activation in Adipocytes

Oxidative stress in adipose tissue plays an etiological role in a variety of obesity-related metabolic disorders. We previously reported that increased adipose tissue 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) contents contributed to obesity-related plasma adiponectin decline in mice. In the present study, we investigated the effects of intracellular 4-HNE accumulation on lipolytic response in adipocytes/adipose tissues and underlying mechanisms. In both fully-differentiated 3T3-L1 and primary adipocytes, a 5-hour 4-HNE exposure elevated lipolytic reaction in a dose-dependent manner at both basal and isoproterenol-stimulated conditions, evidenced by significantly increased glycerol and fatty acids releases. This conclusion was corroborated by the comparable observations when the minced human visceral adipose tissues were used. Mechanistic investigations revealed that 4-HNE-stimulated lipolytic activation is multifactorial. 4-HNE exposure quickly increased intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) level, which was concomitant with increased phosphorylations of protein kinase A (PKA) and its direct downstream target, hormone sensitive lipase (HSL). Pre-incubation with H89, a potent PKA inhibitor, prevented 4-HNE stimulated glycerol release, suggesting that enhanced lipolytic action in response to 4-HNE increase is mediated mainly by cAMP/PKA signal pathway in adipocytes. In addition to activating cAMP/PKA/HSL pathway, 4-HNE exposure also suppresses AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a suppressive pathway for lipolysis, measured by both Western blotting for phosphorylated form of AMPK and ELISA for enzyme activity. Furthermore, 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1-beta-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR), a pharmacological AMPK activator, alleviated 4-HNE-induced lipolysis, suggesting that AMPK suppression also contributes to 4-HNE elicited lipolytic response. In conclusion, our findings indicate that increased intracellular 4-HNE accumulation in adipocytes/adipose tissues contributes to obesity-related lipolytic activation.     

Protection of nicotinic acid against oxidative stress-induced cell death in hepatocytes contributes to its beneficial effect on alcohol-induced liver injury in mice

Oxidative stress plays a pathological role in the development of alcoholic liver disease. In this study, we investigated the effects of nicotinic acid (NA) supplementation on H₂O₂-induced cell death in hepatocytes and alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. Hepatocytes were exposed to H₂O₂ (0–0.4 mM) for 16 h after a 2-h pretreatment with NA (0–100 μM). Cell viability, intracellular glutathione and total NAD contents were determined. In animal experiments, male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to Lieber-De Carli liquid diet [+/? ethanol with/without NA supplementation (0.5%, w/v) for 4 weeks]. Nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase (NaPRT) is the first enzyme participated in the NA metabolism, converting NA to nicotinic acid mononucleotide (NaMN). In NaPRT-expressing Hep3B cells, H₂O₂-induced cell death was attenuated by NA, whereas in NaPRT-lost HepG2 cells, only NaMN conferred protective effect, suggesting that NA metabolism is required for its protective action against H₂O_2. In Hep3B cells, NA supplementation prevented H₂O₂-inudced declines in intracellular total NAD and GSH/GSSG ratios. Further mechanistic investigations revealed that conservation of Akt activity contributed to NA's protective effect against H₂O₂-inudced cell death. In alcohol-fed mice, NA supplementation attenuated liver injury induced by chronic alcohol exposure, which was associated with alleviated hepatic lipid peroxidation and increased liver GSH concentrations. In conclusion, our findings indicate that exogenous NA supplementation may be an ideal choice for the treatment of liver diseases that involve oxidative stress.     

东方马脑炎E2蛋白原核表达及免疫活性初步研究

为构建东方马脑炎病毒E2基因原核表达载体,完成E2蛋白表达及其免疫活性研究。利用PCR方法扩增E2编码全基因,大小为1 260 bp,将酶切后目的片段连接到原核表达载体pET-30a(+)上,构建成重组质粒pET30a(+)-EEEV-E2,采用酶切和测序分析方法鉴定正确的重组质粒转化到大肠杆菌BL21中,诱导E2蛋白表达,并用SDS-PAGE电泳和Western-blotting分析和鉴定目的蛋白;最后,用纯化的E2蛋白免疫BALB/c小鼠,小鼠随机分成4组:PBS对照组、弗氏佐剂对照组、E2蛋白免疫组和E2蛋白+弗氏佐剂免疫组,每组小鼠免疫2次,两次免疫间隔时间为14天,免疫剂量均为100μL/只;小鼠初次免疫后第10天,用细胞因子ELISA试剂盒检测血清中IL-6、IL-12与TNF-α的浓度,加强免疫后第14天,用EEEV的假病毒检测血清中E2蛋白抗体的中和作用。结果表明完成了E2基因的原核表达载体pET30a(+)-E2构建和成功表达了带有His标签的E2融合蛋白,蛋白以包涵体形式存在,大小为53.0 kDa;免疫小鼠血清中产生了高水平的IL-6、IL-12与TNF-α和具有较强中和作用的E2蛋白抗体。研究结果为今后E2蛋白作为基因工程亚单位疫苗的研究提供了重要参考。     

浓香型白酒发酵过程中窖内古菌群落分布特征

泥窖池多菌种固态发酵是浓香型白酒的典型特点,其中古菌是重要的酿造功能菌,但目前对发酵过程古菌的群落分布及多样性尚缺乏研究。采用高通量测序技术,分析了浓香型白酒发酵过程酒醅与窖泥中古菌的生物量、群落组成与演替规律,并通过共现性网络分析了古菌与细菌的潜在互作关系。结果表明,窖泥中古菌平均生物量约是酒醅的200倍,两者之间古菌群落的结构差异不显著 (r=0.017,P=0.074),但演替规律存在显著相关性 (r=0.30,P=0.03)。甲烷杆菌属 Methanobacterium 是酒醅与窖泥中丰度占比最高的古菌,其他优势群类依次为甲烷八叠球菌属 Methanosarcina、甲烷粒菌属 Methanocorpusculum、甲烷囊菌属 Methanoculleus 和甲烷短杆菌属 Methanobrevibacter。共现性网络分析显示甲烷杆菌属在酒醅与窖泥中与多数细菌为正相关,特别是与窖泥中主要细菌氢孢菌属Hydrogenispora 和产己酸菌属 Caproiciproducens。研究结果揭示了浓香型白酒窖池中古菌群落的时空分布特点及潜在功能。     

Social play behavior in infant Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Qinling Mountains, China

We describe the development of social play behavior and assess factors influencing the development of play in infant Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana). Infant snub-nosed monkeys began to exhibit social play at 3 months of age, when they spent an average 0.89% of time engaging in this behavior (range: 0.7-1.12%). At 6 months of age, there was a significant increase in the proportion of time spent in social play, averaging 9.78% of observation time (range: 4.92-17.08%). However, from 7 to 9 months of age during the winter, social play decreased gradually before rising again from 10 months of age in the spring. Play behavior in infant snub-nosed monkeys is influenced by environmental temperature. Males were observed to play more than females, although further data on this are required. Social rank did not influence the social play of wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkey infants.