Intrinsically altered lung‐resident γδT cells control lung melanoma by producing interleukin‐17A in the elderly

Cancer is an age‐associated disease, potentially related to the altered immune system of elderly individuals. However, cancer has gradually decreased incidence in the eldest globally such as the most common lung cancer, the mechanisms of which remain to be elucidated. In this study, it was found that the number of lung‐resident γδT cells was significantly increased with altered gene expression in aged mice (20–24 months) versus young mice (10–16 weeks). Aged lung Vγ4⁺ and Vγ6⁺ γδT cells predominantly produced interleukin‐17A (IL‐17A), resulting in increased levels in the serum and lungs. Moreover, the aged mice exhibited smaller tumors and reduced numbers of tumor foci in the lungs after challenge with intravenous injection of B16/F10 melanoma cells compared with the young mice. Aged lung Vγ4⁺ and Vγ6⁺ γδT cells were highly cytotoxic to B16/F10 melanoma cells with higher expression levels of CD103. The markedly longer survival of the challenged aged mice was dependent on γδT17 cells, since neutralization of IL‐17A or depletion of indicated γδT cells significantly shortened the survival time. Consistently, supplementation of IL‐17A significantly enhanced the survival time of young mice with lung melanoma. Furthermore, the anti‐tumor activity of aged lung γδT17 cells was not affected by alterations in the load and composition of commensal microbiota, as demonstrated through co‐housing of the aged and young mice. Intrinsically altered lung γδT17 cells underlying age‐dependent changes control lung melanoma, which will help to better understand the lung cancer progression in the elderly and the potential use of γδT17 cells in anti‐tumor immunotherapy.     

水稻NAM基因家族的全基因组鉴定及表达分析

植物特异性转录因子NAM家族从属于NAC转录因子超家族,在植株生长发育、生理代谢以及应对各种胁迫反应中均发挥重要作用。该研究采用生物信息学方法鉴定水稻基因组中的NAM基因,分析其时空表达模式、亚细胞定位以及蛋白相互作用,并采用实时定量qRT PCR方法分析不同外源激素(如SA、ABA和MeJA)以及非生物胁迫(包括干旱、盐和冷)处理下各NAM基因的表达特征,为进一步探索NAM基因在非生物胁迫中的功能和应激机制以及激素调控途径奠定基础。结果显示：(1)从水稻基因组中共鉴定出48个NAM基因,进化分析将其分为5个亚家族;NAM基因在水稻基因组中存在9对片段复制事件。(2)组织表达分析显示,NAM基因在水稻不同组织及发育时期表现特异性表达,特别是叶鞘、茎和节的生长过程中高表达,且大多数是核定位,并存在多种蛋白互作。(3)实时定量qRT PCR表达分析显示,10个NAM基因在不同组织中均特异表达;大部分NAM基因在盐和干旱胁迫下表达上调,而在冷胁迫下表达降低;SA、ABA和MeJA处理均可显著改变各NAM基因的表达水平。研究表明,NAM基因在水稻生长发育、激素应答和非生物胁迫响应中具有重要作用。     

轻度支气管哮喘儿童的诱导痰菌群特征

目的探讨轻度支气管哮喘儿童的诱导痰菌群特征及临床意义。方法纳入年龄为6~12周岁于2018年11月至2019年1月在深圳市儿童医院呼吸科门诊定期复诊的轻度支气管哮喘患儿51例(哮喘组),留取诱导痰,匹配同年龄段97例健康无过敏儿童的口咽拭子作为对照。诱导痰及口咽拭子提取总DNA并扩增,对16S rRNA基因进行高通量测序并对测序结果进行生物信息学分析。结果NMDS分析结果显示哮喘组与健康对照组研究对象菌群结构存在差异;哮喘组的诱导痰菌群多样性指数(Shannon index)高于健康对照组(2.34±0.53 vs 1.87±0.50,P<0.05)。门水平分析显示,哮喘组与健康对照组的菌群均主要为厚壁菌门(38.34%vs 44.74%,P<0.05)、变形杆菌门(31.14%vs 19.78%,P<0.05)、拟杆菌门(14.59%vs 20.52%,P<0.05)、放线菌门(10.41%vs 7.85%,P<0.05)和梭杆菌门(2.82%vs 6.67%,P<0.05),但两组之间的构成比有明显差异。与健康对照组相比,在属水平上哮喘组韦荣球菌属(5.27%vs 8.96%)、普雷沃菌属(8.38%vs 17.35%)、罗斯菌属(1.50%vs 5.46%)、纤毛菌属(1.37%vs 4.39%)等非条件致病菌属比例明显下降(均P<0.05),而嗜血杆菌属(9.83%vs 6.17%)、卟啉单胞菌属(2.48%vs 1.41%)、莫拉菌属(5.66%vs 0.42%)、诺卡菌属(3.40%vs 0.00%)等条件致病菌属比例明显上升(均P<0.05)。结论尽管轻度支气管哮喘患儿已临床控制,但诱导痰内菌群仍存在结构紊乱。气道菌群紊乱可能是儿童支气管哮喘的发病机制之一。除了致病菌属外,非致病菌菌属的构成变化可能也是儿童哮喘的一个发生机制。     

Chemical components of ginseng,their biotransformation products and their potential as treatment of hypertension

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Ginseng is an ancient perennial herb belonging to the family Araliaceae and genus Panax which has been used for medical therapeutics for thousands of years,...     

吉林省天然阔叶混交林生态系统多功能性及驱动因素

量化天然林生态系统的多功能性,分析不同功能间的权衡-协同关系及驱动因子,对于天然林保护及修复具有重要的意义。基于吉林省第8次森林资源清查天然阔叶混交林固定样地调查数据、土壤及气候数据,选取土壤保持、涵养水源、碳储量、气候调节、土壤肥力维持、生物多样性、生产力和木材生产8个生态系统功能来表征生态系统多功能性。利用平均值法中的最大值转换法计算多功能性指数。结果表明：（1）8个功能间权衡、协同和中性关系均存在,但以协同关系为主。生物多样性除与气候调节为权衡关系外,与其他功能均为协同关系;碳储量-木材生产协同关系最强（r=0.960,P<0.01）,气候调节-涵养水源间权衡关系最强（r=-0.934,P<0.01）;（2）吉林省天然阔叶混交林的多功能性指数在0.31-0.89之间,且生物多样性和气候调节为主导功能;（3）多功能性与驱动因子的结构方程模型确定系数为R²=0.795,多功能性的驱动因子的总路径系数依次为：林分密度指数（0.752） > 平均年龄（0.375） > 年降雨量（0.365） > 树种丰富度（0.101） > 土壤pH（0.064） > 结构多样性（-0.037） > 年均温（-0.105）,林分密度是最重要的驱动因子。结果对理解天然阔叶混交林的多功能形成及经营调控有一定的意义。     

The Crown Pearl: a draft genome assembly of the European freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758)

Since historical times, the inherent human fascination with pearls turned the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) into a highly valuable cultural and economic resource. Although pearl harvesting in M. margaritifera is nowadays residual, other human threats have aggravated the species conservation status, especially in Europe. This mussel presents a myriad of rare biological features, e.g. high longevity coupled with low senescence and Doubly Uniparental Inheritance of mitochondrial DNA, for which the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly known. Here, the first draft genome assembly of M. margaritifera was produced using a combination of Illumina Paired-end and Mate-pair approaches. The genome assembly was 2.4 Gb long, possessing 105,185 scaffolds and a scaffold N50 length of 288,726 bp. The ab initio gene prediction allowed the identification of 35,119 protein-coding genes. This genome represents an essential resource for studying this species’ unique biological and evolutionary features and ultimately will help to develop new tools to promote its conservation.     

The involvement of α-proteobacteria Phenylobacterium in maintaining the dominance of toxic Microcystis blooms in Lake Taihu,China

Lake Taihu in China has suffered serious harmful cyanobacterial blooms for decades. The algal blooms threaten the ecological sustainability, drinking water safety, and human health. Although the roles of abiotic factors (such as water temperature and nutrient loading) in promoting Microcystis blooms have been well studied, the importance of biotic factors (e.g. bacterial community) in promoting and meditating Microcystis blooms remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the ecological dynamics of bacterial community, the ratio of toxic Microcystis, as well as microcystin in Lake Taihu. High-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the bacteria community compositions (BCCs) clustered into three groups, the partitioning of which corresponded to that of groups according to the toxic profiles (the ratio of toxic Microcystis to total Microcystis, and the microcystin concentrations) of the samples. Further Spearman's correlation network showed that the α-proteobacteria Phenylobacterium strongly positively correlated with the toxic profiles. Subsequent laboratory chemostats experiments demonstrated that three Phenylobacterium strains promoted the dominance of the toxic Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806 when co-culturing with the non-toxic PCC7806 mcyB⁻ mutant. Taken together, our data suggested that the α-proteobacteria Phenylobacterium may play a vital role in the maintenance of toxic Microcystis dominance in Lake Taihu.