Dependence of dexamethasone-induced Akt/FOXO1 signaling,upregulation of MAFbx,and protein catabolism upon the glucocorticoid receptor

The muscle ubiquitin ligases MAFbx and MuRF1 are upregulated in and promote muscle atrophy. Upregulation of MAFbx and MuRF1 by glucocorticoids has been linked to activation of FOXO1 and FOXO3A resulting from reduced Akt activity. We determined the requirements for the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in these biological responses in C2C12 cells in which GR expression was knocked down by stable expression of an shRNA. Loss of GR prevented dexamethasone-induced increases in protein catabolism. Loss of GR, or inhibition of ligand binding to GR with RU486, prevented upregulation of MAFbx and MuRF1 by dexamethasone. Loss of GR also prevented dexamethasone-induced decreases in Akt phosphorylation, and increases in the fraction of FOXO1 that was unphosphorylated. The findings establish a requirement for the GR in activating molecular signals that promote muscle protein catabolism.     

ITMSQ: A software tool for N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric tandem mass spectrometry quantification

Tandem MS (MS2) quantification using the series of N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs generated from isobaric‐labelled peptides was recently considered an accurate strategy in quantitative proteomics. However, the presence of multiplexed terminal fragment ion in MS2 spectra may reduce the efficiency of peptide identification, resulting in lower identification scores or even incorrect assignments. To address this issue, we developed a quantitative software tool, denoted isobaric tandem MS quantification (ITMSQ), to improve N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric MS2 quantification. A spectrum splitting module was designed to separate the MS2 spectra from different samples, increasing the accuracy of both identification and quantification. ITMSQ offers a convenient interface through which parameters can be changed along with the labelling method, and the result files and all of the intermediate files can be exported. We performed an analysis of in vivo terminal amino acid labelling labelled HeLa samples and found that the numbers of quantified proteins and peptides increased by 13.64 and 27.52% after spectrum splitting, respectively. In conclusion, ITMSQ provides an accurate and reliable quantitative solutionfor N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric MS2 quantitative methods.     

A quantitative proteomics analysis of MCF7 breast cancer stem and progenitor cell populations

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that breast cancers are initiated and develop from a small population of stem‐like cells termed cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells are hypothesized to mediate tumor metastasis and contribute to therapeutic resistance. However, the molecular regulatory networks responsible for maintaining CSCs in an undifferentiated state have yet to be elucidated. In this study, we used CSC markers to isolate pure breast CSCs fractions (ALDH+ and CD44+CD24‐ cell populations) and the mature luminal cells (CD49f‐EpCAM+) from the MCF7 cell line. Proteomic analysis was performed on these samples and a total of 3304 proteins were identified. A label‐free quantitative method was applied to analyze differentially expressed proteins. Using the criteria of greater than twofold changes and p value <0.05, 305, 322 and 98 proteins were identified as significantly different in three pairwise comparisons of ALDH+ versus CD44+CD24‐, ALDH+ versus CD49f‐EpCAM+ and CD44+CD24‐ versus CD49f‐EpCAM+, respectively. Pathway analysis of differentially expressed proteins by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) revealed potential molecular regulatory networks that may regulate CSCs. Selected differential proteins were validated by Western blot assay and immunohistochemical staining. The use of proteomics analysis may increase our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of breast CSCs. This may be of importance in the future development of anti‐CSC therapeutics.     

果蝇求偶行为分子调控机制的研究进展

果蝇(Drosophila)的求偶行为受多个基因调控,例如fruitless(fru)、dissatisfaction(dsf)和retained(retn)等。它们通过不同的剪切方式产生特异性产物,利用这些产物来控制雌雄果蝇的求偶行为,它们的剪切方式是雌雄果蝇求偶行为和性别决定所必需的。主要阐述了这些基因在果蝇求偶行为方面的分子调控机制,为进一步研究果蝇的求偶行为和性别决定提供理论依据。     

海南野生稻资源调查收集与保护

为了加强海南野生稻资源的保护和研究利用,2002—2013年对海南省18市(县)野生稻资源进行野外调查、资源收集和原、异位保护。初步查明,目前在全省15个市(县)发现154个野生稻自然居群,其中普通野生稻136个、疣粒野生稻11个、药用野生稻7个。收集到野生稻居群87个,其中普通野生稻80个、疣粒野生稻4个、药用野生稻3个,总共2900余份野生稻种茎,经繁殖和编目后妥善保存于海南省农业科学院试验基地的热带野生稻异位保存圃中,并参照农业行业标准-农业野生植物原生境保护点建设技术规范,分别在文昌、琼海、儋州、万宁、陵水和保亭等县(市)建立了6个野生稻原生境保护点,其中普通野生稻4个,疣粒野生稻1个,药用野生稻1个。根据调查结果,对海南野生稻濒危状况及其根源进行了分析,提出了海南野生稻保护相关建议。     

星形胶质细胞通过CX47促进少突胶质前体细胞增殖

目的:研究星形胶质细胞(AST)对少突胶质前体细胞(OPC)生长分化的影响及作用机制。方法:用P3SD乳鼠,建立星形胶质细胞与少突胶质前体细胞原代培养体系。实验分两部分,第一部分为常规OPC培养组、AST分泌因子组、AST与OPC直接接触式培养组;第二部分为AST与OPC直接接触式培养组、缝隙连接干扰对照组、缝隙连接干扰组。免疫荧光鉴定OPC与AST细胞纯度,光镜观察细胞生长状态,流式细胞术检测细胞周期,转录组测序分析不同状态下OPC中缝隙连接蛋白CX47差异表达,PCR和Western blot检测鉴定转录组测序CX47差异表达,EDU检测CX47干扰后OPC增殖能力,流式细胞术测干扰CX47后细胞周期变化。结果:光镜与流式检测发现,与AST接触培养的OPC增殖能力最强、新生细胞数目最多。转录组测序分析和PCR验证显示,AST接触调控OPC增殖的主要差异表达蛋白为CX47,干扰CX47后细胞周期阻滞在G1期,OPC增殖能力明显下降。结论;AST可通过缝隙连接蛋白CX47调控细胞周期,促进OPC增殖。     

食用菌超细粉免疫调节和抗氧化功能研究

以糙皮侧耳、双孢蘑菇、金针菇、3个黑木耳品种、3个香菇品种为材料,通过测定小鼠体重、免疫器官重量、细胞免疫功能、体液免疫功能、单核-巨噬细胞的吞噬功能、血清及肝脏中谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶、超氧化物歧化酶、肝脏中白介素-6、丙二醛等指标进行小鼠免疫功能的评价研究。结果表明:"四川青川"香菇、"北神奇1号"黑木耳和"黑龙江黑29"黑木耳能显著增强小鼠的细胞免疫功能;糙皮侧耳、"辽宁恒仁"香菇、金针菇、"北神奇1号"黑木耳、"黑龙江黑29"黑木耳均能显著促进小鼠单核吞噬细胞的吞噬能力,增强小鼠机体的免疫力;糙皮侧耳、"四川青川"香菇、"辽宁恒仁"香菇、金针菇和"黑龙江黑29"黑木耳具有提高小鼠肝脏中白介素-6含量的作用;双孢蘑菇、"福建古田"香菇、"辽宁恒仁"香菇、金针菇增加小鼠血清溶血素水平,具有显著的特异性体液免疫增强作用。此外,双孢蘑菇、金针菇、"北神奇1号"黑木耳、"吉林黑29"黑木耳均可显著提高血清和肝脏中的GSH-PX活性;糙皮侧耳能提高小鼠血清中和肝脏中SOD活性;从而达到清除自由基和抗氧化损伤的作用。综合上述结果,9种食用菌超细粉均具有显著增强小鼠免疫调节能力和抗氧化作用,为食用菌功能食品产品开发利用提供支撑。