Comparative genomic analysis of eutherian Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor genes

The present study made attempts to update comprehensive eutherian Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor gene data sets, using public eutherian genomic sequence data sets and new genomics and molecular evolution tests. Among 254 potential coding sequences, the most comprehensive gene data set of eutherian Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor genes included 119 complete coding sequences that described eight major gene clusters. The present analysis integrated gene annotations, phylogenetic analysis and protein molecular evolution analysis and first explained differential gene expansion patterns of eutherian Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor genes. The updated classification and nomenclature of eutherian Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor genes were proposed as new framework of future experiments.     

A new quaternary photoluminescence enhancement system of Eu−N‐(o‐vanillin)‐1,8‐diaminonaphthalene−1,10‐phenanthroline−Zn and its application in determining trace amounts of europium and zinc

A new sensitive quaternary photoluminescence enhancement system has been successfully developed to determine trace amounts of Eu³⁺ and Zn²⁺. The photoluminescence intensity of Eu ? N‐(o‐vanilin)‐1,8‐diaminonaphthalene systems was greatly increased by the addition of specific concentrations of 1, 10‐phenanthroline and Zn²⁺. The excitation and emission wavelengths were 274 and 617 nm, respectively. Under optimal system conditions, the photoluminescence intensity showed a linear response toward Eu³⁺ in the range of 5.0 × 10^–6 ~ 2.0 × 10^–5 M with a limit of detection (= 2.2 × 10^–9 M) and the photoluminescence intensity of the system decreased linearly by increasing the Zn²⁺ concentration in the range of 5.0 × 10^–8 ~ 1.0 × 10^–6 M with a limit of detection (= 8.8 × 10^–11 M). This system was successfully applied for the determination of trace amounts of Eu³⁺ in a high purity La₂O₃ matrix and in the synthetic rare earth oxide mixture, and of Zn²⁺ in a high purity Mg(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O matrix and in synthetic coexisting ionic matrixes. The energy transfer mechanism, photoluminescence enhancement of the system and interference of other lanthanide ions and common coexisting ions were also studied in detail. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long-term effects of 900 MHz radiofrequency radiation emitted from mobile phone on testicular tissue and epididymal semen quality

The purpose of this study is to bridge this gap by investigating effects of long term 900?MHz mobile phone exposure on reproductive organs of male rats. The study was carried out on 14 adult Wistar Albino rats by dividing them randomly into two groups (n: 7) as sham group and exposure group. Rats were exposed to 900?MHz radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted from a GSM signal generator. Point, 1?g and 10?g specific absorption rate (SAR) levels of testis and prostate were found as 0.0623?W/kg, 0.0445?W/kg and 0.0373?W/kg, respectively. The rats in the exposure group were subject to RF radiation 3?h per day (7?d a week) for one year. For the sham group, the same procedure was applied, except the generator was turned off. At the end of the study, epididymal sperm concentration, progressive sperm motility, abnormal sperm rate, all-genital organs weights and testis histopathology were evaluated. Any differences were not observed in sperm motility and concentration (p?>?0.05). However, the morphologically normal spermatozoa rates were found higher in the exposure group (p?p?p?相似文献   

Lactating and non-lactating rats differ in sensitivity to HgCl2: Protective effect of ZnCl2

This work investigated zinc (Zn) and mercury (Hg) effects on oxidative parameters, markers of toxicity and metal levels in different tissues from non-lactating rats (NLR) and lactating rats (LR). Adult NLR and LR received ZnCl₂ (27 mg/kg) or saline (0.9%) subcutaneously and after 24 h they received HgCl₂ (5 mg/kg) or saline (0.9%). Twenty four hours later, they were sacrificed and the preparation of biological material and biochemical analyses were performed. With respect to oxidative parameters, Hg exposure decreased kidney total SH levels from NLR and LR and hepatic catalase activity (not statistically significant) in NLR. Zinc pre-treatment partly prevented the decrease of kidney total SH levels in LR. Zinc per se increased hepatic non-protein SH levels of NLR and LR. Regarding toxicity markers, Hg exposure inhibited the δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALA-D) activity from kidney and liver of NLR, inhibited serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity of LR and increased serum creatinine and urea levels of NLR and LR. Zinc pre-exposure prevented the enzymatic alterations caused by Hg. NLR and LR Hg exposed presented accumulation of mercury in the kidney, liver, blood and urine. Zinc pre-treatment prevented this accumulation partly in NLR liver and blood and completely in LR kidney and liver. These results show that NLR and LR are differently sensitive to HgCl₂ and that ZnCl₂ showed a promising effect against Hg toxicity.     

Neocarzinostatin-based hybrid biocatalysts with a RNase like activity

A new zinc(II)-cofactor coupled to a testosterone anchor, zinc(II)-N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,3-diamino-propa-2-ol-N′(17′-succinimidyltestosterone) (Zn-Testo-BisPyPol) 1-Zn has been synthesized and fully characterized. It has been further associated with a neocarzinostatin variant, NCS-3.24, to generate a new artificial metalloenzyme following the so-called ‘Trojan horse’ strategy. This new 1-Zn-NCS-3.24 biocatalyst showed an interesting catalytic activity as it was found able to catalyze the hydrolysis of the RNA model HPNP with a good catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_M = 13.6 M⁻¹ s⁻¹ at pH 7) that places it among the best artificial catalysts for this reaction. Molecular modeling studies showed that a synergy between the binding of the steroid moiety and that of the BisPyPol into the protein binding site can explain the experimental results, indicating a better affinity of 1-Zn for the NCS-3.24 variant than testosterone and testosterone-hemisuccinate themselves. They also show that the artificial cofactor entirely fills the cavity, the testosterone part of 1-Zn being bound to one the two subdomains of the protein providing with good complementarities whereas its metal ion remains widely exposed to the solvent which made it a valuable tool for the catalysis of hydrolysis reactions, such as that of HPNP. Some possible improvements in the ‘Trojan horse’ strategy for obtaining better catalysts of selective reactions will be further studied.     

速生树种尾巨桉和竹柳幼苗耗水特性和水分利用效率

速生树种尾巨桉和竹柳因其水分消耗和利用问题引起了一些争议,因而受到了广泛的关注,由于尚缺乏科学的观测数据,而其中许多指责或支持也尚无定论,因此必须深入研究此2种树种耗水性能和水分利用效率,以期科学评价其水分消耗和利用性能。采用盆栽苗木称重法和Li-6400光合系统测定方法分别测定尾巨桉(Eucalyptus urophylla×Eucalyptus grandis)和竹柳(Salix sp.)苗木在不同土壤水分条件下耗水量、耗水速率和苗木不同生长期叶片净光合速率(Pn)、蒸腾速率(Tr)和水分利用效率(WUE),研究表明:(1)正常水分条件下,尾巨桉和竹柳日总耗水量和最大耗水速率分别为(182.05±12.74)g/d、(100.48±10.95)g/d和(66.31±9.91)g·m-2·h-1、(89.50±13.54)g·m-2·h-1,土壤水分条件下降时,2种苗木耗水量和耗水速率均呈显著下降趋势,严重干旱胁迫时尾巨桉降幅更大。(2)正常水分条件和轻度水分胁迫下2种苗木耗水速率日变化趋势均为明显"单峰"曲线,且峰值均出现在12:00—14:00,中度干旱胁迫时则其变化趋势呈"双峰"曲线,峰值分别在10:00—12:00和14:00—16:00出现,严重干旱胁迫时日变化规律不明显。(3)正常水分条件和轻度水分胁迫下2种苗木耗水速率与环境温度显著正相关,与相对湿度显著负相关,随着干旱胁迫的发展,环境因子对耗水速率的影响有所减弱。(4)叶片水平来看,与尾巨桉相比,竹柳具有高光合、低蒸腾、高水分利用效率的特点,2种苗木由生长初期进入生长旺期时,净光合速率和蒸腾速率均发生相同幅度增加,而水分利用效率基本保持不变。(5)从单株耗水量和耗水速率以及叶片水分利用效率综合来看,竹柳属节水性能较好速生树种,而尾巨桉虽然存在叶片水平高蒸腾和低水分利用效率的情况,但从单株苗木水平上来讲,其耗水速率甚至低于竹柳,特别在土壤水分严重亏缺情况下其白天平均耗水速率仅为(4.02±0.60)g·m-2·h-1,也表现出了一定的抗旱节水能力。     

Zinc transporter expression in zebrafish (Danio rerio) during development

Zinc is a micronutrient important in several biological processes including growth and development. We have limited knowledge on the impact of maternal zinc deficiency on zinc and zinc regulatory mechanisms in the developing embryo due to a lack of in vivo experimental models that allow us to directly study the effects of maternal zinc on embryonic development following implantation. To overcome this barrier, we have proposed to use zebrafish as a model organism to study the impact of zinc during development. The goal of the current study was to profile the mRNA expression of all the known zinc transporter genes in the zebrafish across embryonic and larval development and to quantify the embryonic zinc concentrations at these corresponding developmental time points. The SLC30A zinc transporter family (ZnT) and SLC39A family, Zir-,Irt-like protein (ZIP) zinc transporter proteins were profiled in zebrafish embryos at 0, 2, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 120 h post fertilization to capture expression patterns from a single cell through full development. We observed consistent embryonic zinc levels, but differential expression of several zinc transporters across development. These results suggest that zebrafish is an effective model organism to study the effects of zinc deficiency and further investigation is underway to identify possible molecular pathways that are dysregulated with maternal zinc deficiency.     

Cadmium transport in isolated enterocytes of freshwater rainbow trout: interactions with zinc and iron, effects of complexation with cysteine, and an ATPase-coupled efflux

The present study investigated the mechanisms of intestinal cadmium (Cd) uptake and efflux, using isolated enterocytes of freshwater rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) as the experimental model. The apical uptake of free Cd(2+) in the enterocytes was a saturable and high-affinity transport process. Both zinc (Zn(2+)) and iron (Fe(2+)) inhibited cellular Cd(2+) uptake through a competitive interaction, suggesting that Cd(2+) enters enterocytes via both Zn(2+) (e.g., ZIP8) and Fe(2+) (e.g., DMT1) transport pathways. Cellular Cd(2+) uptake increased in the presence of HCO(3)(-), which resembled the function of mammalian ZIP8. Cellular Cd(2+) uptake was unaffected by Ca(2+), indicating that Cd(2+) does not compete with Ca(2+) for apical uptake. Interestingly, Cd uptake was influenced by the presence of l-cysteine, and under the exposure condition where Cd(Cys)(+) was the predominant Cd species, cellular Cd uptake rate increased with the increased concentration of Cd(Cys)(+). The kinetic analysis indicated that the uptake of Cd(Cys)(+) occurs through a low capacity transport mechanism relative to that of free Cd(2+). In addition, Cd efflux from the enterocytes decreased in the presence of an ATPase inhibitor (orthovanadate), suggesting the existence of an ATPase-coupled extrusion process. Overall, our findings provide new mechanistic insights into the intestinal Cd transport in freshwater fish.