Later Passages of Neural Progenitor Cells from Neonatal Brain Are More Permissive for Human Cytomegalovirus Infection

Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is the most frequent infectious cause of birth defects, primarily neurological disorders. Neural progenitor/stem cells (NPCs) are the major cell type in the subventricular zone and are susceptible to HCMV infection. In culture, the differentiation status of NPCs may change with passage, which in turn may alter susceptibility to virus infection. Previously, only early-passage (i.e., prior to passage 9) NPCs were studied and shown to be permissive to HCMV infection. In this study, NPC cultures derived at different gestational ages were evaluated after short (passages 3 to 6) and extended (passages 11 to 20) in vitro passages for biological and virological parameters (i.e., cell morphology, expression of NPC markers and HCMV receptors, viral entry efficiency, viral gene expression, virus-induced cytopathic effect, and release of infectious progeny). These parameters were not significantly influenced by the gestational age of the source tissues. However, extended-passage cultures showed evidence of initiation of differentiation, increased viral entry, and more efficient production of infectious progeny. These results confirm that NPCs are fully permissive for HCMV infection and that extended-passage NPCs initiate differentiation and are more permissive for HCMV infection. Later-passage NPCs being differentiated and more permissive for HCMV infection suggest that HCMV infection in fetal brain may cause more neural cell loss and give rise to severe neurological disabilities with advancing brain development.     

Is the Soft Song of the Brownish‐Flanked Bush Warbler an Aggressive Signal?

Soft songs have been detected in many songbirds, but in most species, research on soft songs has lagged behind studies of broadcast songs. In this study, we describe the acoustic features of a soft song in the brownish‐flanked bush warbler Cettia fortipes. Compared with the broadcast song, the warbler's soft song was characterized by a lower minimum frequency and longer duration, and it had a higher proportion of rapid frequency modulation notes. Using playback experiments, some in combination with mounted specimens, we found different responses to soft and broadcast songs, and we found that soft song can predict aggressive escalation (attack). We conclude that the soft song is an aggressive signal in this species.     

Dynamic expression of miR-126 and its effects on proliferation and contraction of hepatic stellate cells

In our previous study, miR-126 was identified as one of the leading miRNAs that is downregulated during activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). However, the roles and related mechanisms of miR-126 in HSCs are not understood. In this study, we compared expression of miR-126 during HSC activation both in vitro and in vivo. We also applied RNA interference to analyze the role and mechanism of miR-126^∗ in the activation of HSCs. Restoring HSCs with Lv-miR-126^∗ resulted in decreased proliferation, accumulation of extracellular matrix components, and cell contraction, while also negatively regulating the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signal transduction pathways by partially targeted VEGF-A. Thus, we postulate that miR-126 may be a biological marker for the activation of HSCs, and useful for reducing intrahepatic vascular resistance and improving the sinusoidal microcirculation in chronic liver diseases.     

不同成熟度煤样产甲烷潜力

摘要:【目的】评估不同类型煤炭生物降解转化为甲烷的潜力,研究原位煤层的微生物群落结构特征。【方法】分别在原位模拟、补加烃降解产甲烷菌系和补加碳源下厌氧培养煤样,利用气相色谱监测甲烷产生趋势,及高通量测序技术研究原位煤层的细菌和古菌群落。【结果】10个样品中有3个高成熟度煤样可以被厌氧降解转化为甲烷。通过生物强化和添加外源底物可以促进HF煤样的产甲烷潜力。其中SL 煤样中的古菌类群主要是氢营养型产甲烷菌Methanoculleus和乙酸营养型产甲烷菌Methanosaeta为主,细菌类群主要 属于Firmicutes(54.4%)、Proteobacteria(30.9%)、未培养微生物(10.8%)、Caldiserica(1.5%)及Thermotogae(1.3%)。【结论】不同成熟度煤样降解产气潜力不同,在部分原位煤层中可能存在参与烃降解与甲烷产生的功能菌。     

云南阳宗海酵母菌种群结构及产胞外酶测试北大核心CSCD

【目的】研究阳宗海酵母菌种群结构,分析生物因子及非生物因子对酵母菌种群分布的影响;测试阳宗海酵母菌产胞外酶活性。【方法】水样用醋酸纤维素滤膜过滤,原位培养分离酵母菌;梯度稀释法分离土样和底泥样品;对分离得到的菌株进行DNA提取和测序,分析26S rDNA的D1/D2区域,并结合形态及生理生化指标进行鉴定;用产酶筛选培养基对分离得到的酵母菌进行产胞外酶活性测试。【结果】共分离得到201株酵母菌,鉴定分属于15个属48个种,其中包括10个潜在的新种;普鲁兰类酵母(Aureobasidium pullulans),库德里阿兹威氏毕赤酵母(Pichia kudriavzevii),胶红酵母(Rhodotorula mucilaginosa),Cryptococcus podzolicus是优势种;15.9%的酵母菌具有产胞外酶活性,主要是脂肪酶和淀粉酶。【结论】阳宗海酵母菌有较为丰富的多样性,人为活动对阳宗海酵母菌分布影响较大,其次浊度、电导率也是影响酵母菌种群分布的重要因素;阳宗海产胞外酶酵母菌可能参与湖泊生态系统的自然循环。     

Evolutionary transition from C3 to C4 photosynthesis and the route to C4 rice

Compared with C₃ plants, C₄ plants possess a mechanism to concentrate CO₂ around the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase in chloroplasts of bundle sheath cells so that the carboxylation reaction work at a much more efficient rate, thereby substantially eliminate the oxygenation reaction and the resulting photorespiration. It is observed that C₄ photosynthesis is more efficient than C₃ photosynthesis under conditions of low atmospheric CO₂, heat, drought and salinity, suggesting that these factors are the important drivers to promote C₄ evolution. Although C₄ evolution took over 66 times independently, it is hypothesized that it shared the following evolutionary trajectory: 1) gene duplication followed by neofunctionalization; 2) anatomical and ultrastructral changes of leaf architecture to improve the hydraulic systems; 3) establishment of two-celled photorespiratory pump; 4) addition of transport system; 5) co-option of the duplicated genes into C₄ pathway and adaptive changes of C₄ enzymes. Based on our current understanding on C₄ evolution, several strategies for engineering C₄ rice have been proposed to increase both photosynthetic efficiency and yield significantly in order to avoid international food crisis in the future, especially in the developing countries. Here we summarize the latest progresses on the studies of C₄ evolution and discuss the strategies to introduce two-celled C₄ pathway into rice.     

Pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines: Discovery and preliminary SAR of a novel series of DYRK1B and DYRK1A inhibitors

DYRK1B is a kinase over-expressed in certain cancer cells (including colon, ovarian, pancreatic, etc.). Recent publications have demonstrated inhibition of DYRK1B could be an attractive target for cancer therapy. From a data-mining effort, the team has discovered analogues of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines as potent enantio-selective inhibitors of DYRK1B. Cells treated with a tool compound from this series showed the same cellular effects as down regulation of DYRK1B with siRNA. Such effects are consistent with the proposed mechanism of action. Progress of the SAR study is presented.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel histone deacetylase 1 inhibitors through click chemistry

We report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a new series of HDAC1 inhibitors using click chemistry. Compound 17 bearing a phenyl ring at meta-position was identified to show much better selectivity for HDAC1 over HDAC7 than SAHA. The compond 17 also showed better in vitro anticancer activities against several cancer cell lines than that of SAHA. This work could serve as a foundation for further exploration of selective HDAC inhibitors using the compound 17 molecular scaffold.     

云南苍山火烧迹地不同恢复期地表蜘蛛群落多样性

为了解云南苍山针阔混交林火烧迹地恢复过程地表蜘蛛群落多样性变化,于2009年1月份-2009年12月份,运用陷阱法,以“空间序列代替时间序列”,调查了苍山森林火干扰后不同恢复期样地(火干扰后2、10、18、23、33a和对照样地)地表蜘蛛多样性.研究结果表明,(1)物种组成及相对多度:不同恢复期随着恢复时间的增加优势类群更替趋势明显;(2)多样性:恢复1Oa样地地表蜘蛛群落多度显著大于其他恢复期(P＜0.05),而不同恢复期地表蜘蛛物种多样性却没有显著差异;(3)群落相似性:PCoA相似性分析将地表蜘蛛群落发展过程划分为火烧后2a、火烧后10a和火烧后18-33a 3个阶段;(4)指示物种:西菱头蛛Sibianor sp.1等是阶段1的指示物种,格氏狼蛛Lycosa grahami等是阶段2的指示物种,花蟹蛛Xysticus sp.2等是阶段3的指示物种,弱蛛Leptoneta sp.1等是对照的指示物种.火干扰改变了苍山针阔混交林原有的地表蜘蛛群落多样性;指示物种对生境的选择能够反映出不同恢复阶段地表环境变化;5个不同恢复时期火烧迹地中恢复最久的火烧迹地地表蜘蛛群落仍没有完成恢复,说明云南苍山火迹地地表蜘蛛的恢复需要30a以上.