脐带血造血干/祖细胞体外分化为不同阶段红系祖细胞的动力学观察

目的:探讨体外培养脐带血单个核细胞定向诱导分化为不同阶段红系祖细胞的动力学变化情况。方法:用0.5%甲基纤维素沉降脐带血红细胞及人淋巴细胞分离液密度梯度离心法得到单个核细胞,在含EPO、SCF、IGF-1等细胞因子的无血清培养体系中诱导其定向分化为红系祖细胞,观察细胞增殖、存活率、细胞集落形成情况,并检测不同阶段细胞红系特异性表面标志CD71和CD235a的表达。结果:随着培养时间的延长,细胞数逐渐增多,14 d细胞可扩增140倍左右,收集诱导后的细胞进行瑞氏吉姆萨染色,可见大量红系祖细胞,诱导后的细胞集落形成能力强,形成的克隆大部分为红系集落。诱导过程中,14 d前CD71、CD235a的表达逐渐增高。按细胞表面标志表达的不同可将诱导的细胞分为4群,分别对应红系祖细胞的不同阶段;随着诱导天数的增加,各时间点细胞对应的早期红系祖细胞群(P2、P3)比例逐渐下降,中晚期红系祖细胞群(P4、P5)的比例逐渐上升。结论:无血清培养基添加细胞因子组合的红系诱导培养体系可较好地诱导扩增红系祖细胞,流式分选可获得相对均一而处于不同分化阶段的红系祖细胞群体。获得了红系祖细胞体外分化的动力学数据,为今后进一步优化红系诱导分化体系获得均一的红系祖细胞奠定了基础,并对未来利用干细胞制备均一的红系祖细胞应用于临床治疗有一定的指导作用。     

The Prognostic Role of BRAF Mutation in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Receiving Anti-EGFR Monoclonal Antibodies: A Meta-Analysis

Background

BRAF mutation has been investigated as a prognostic factor in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) undergoing anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (moAbs), but current results are still inconclusive. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the relationship between BRAF mutation status and the prognosis of mCRC patients treated with moAbs.

Methods

Eligible studies were identified by systematically searching Pubmed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Knowledge, and OVID. Risk ratio (RR) for overall response rate (ORR), Hazard ratios (HRs) for Progression free survival (PFS) and Overall survival (OS) were extracted or calculated. Prespecified subgroup analyses were conducted in KRAS wild-type and in different study types. The source of between-trial variation was explored by sensitivity analyses. Quality assessment was conducted by the Hayden’s criteria.

Results

A total of twenty one trials including 5229 patients were identified for the meta-analysis. 343 patients displayed BRAF mutations of 4616 (7.4%) patients with known BRAF status. Patients with BRAF wild-type (WT) showed decreased risks of progression and death with an improved PFS(HR 0.38, 95% confidence intervals 0.29–0.51) and an improved OS (HR 0.35 [0.29–0.42]), compared to BRAF mutant. In KRAS WT population, there were even larger PFS benefit (HR 0.29[0.19,0.43]) and larger OS benefit (HR 0.26 [0.20,0.35]) in BRAF WT. A response benefit for BRAF WT was observed (RR 0.31[0.18,0.53]) in KRAS WT patients, but not observed in unselected patients (RR 0.76 [0.43–1.33]). The results were consistent in the subgroup analysis of different study types. Heterogeneity between trials decreased in the subgroup and explained by sensitivity analysis. No publication bias of ORR, PFS and OS were detected.

Conclusions

The results indicate that BRAF mutant is a predictive biomarker for poor prognosis in mCRC patients undergoing anti-EGFR MoAbs therapy, especially in KRAS WT patients. Additional large prospective trials are required to confirm the predictive role of BRAF status.     

Splicing Factor Transformer-2β (Tra2β) Regulates the Expression of Regulator of G Protein Signaling 4 (RGS4) Gene and Is Induced by Morphine

Regulator of G protein signaling 4 (RGS4) is a critical modulator of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated signaling and plays important roles in many neural process and diseases. Particularly, drug-induced alteration in RGS4 protein levels is associated with acute and chronic effects of drugs of abuse. However, the precise mechanism underlying the regulation of RGS4 expression is largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that the expression of RGS4 gene was subject to regulation by alternative splicing of the exon 6. Transformer-2β (Tra2β), an important splicing factor, bound to RGS4 mRNA and increased the relative level of RGS4-1 mRNA isoform by enhancing the inclusion of exon 6. Meanwhile, Tra2β increased the expression of full-length RGS4 protein. In rat brain, Tra2β was co-localized with RGS4 in multiple opioid action-related brain regions. In addition, the acute and chronic morphine treatment induced alteration in the expression level of Tra2β in rat locus coerulus (LC) in parallel to that of RGS4 proteins. It suggests that induction of this splicing factor may contribute to the change of RGS4 level elicited by morphine. Taken together, the results provide the evidence demonstrating the function of Tra2β as a new mediator in opioid-induced signaling pathway via regulating RGS4 expression.     

Distribution of 2-kb miniplasmid pBMB2062 from Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki YBT-1520 strain in Bacillus species

A multi-copy and small plasmid pBMB2062 from Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki YBT-1520 strain was cloned and characterized and its distribution was analyzed using dot-blot analysis with the ORF1 fragment as a probe. Bacillus species of 84 serotypes were evaluated. The pBMB2062 plasmid was found to be present in commercial B. thuringiensis kurstaki (H3abc) and aizawai (H7) insecticides of various serotypes, and one Bacillus cereus UW85 strain (produced Zwittermicin fungicide and Cry toxin synergist). The sequences of 7 pBMB2062-like plasmids from randomly selected Bacillus species (positive signal in the dot-blot analysis) were highly conserved. Two open reading frames (ORFs), ORF1 and ORF2, were present in this plasmid. ORF1 was found to be necessary for plasmid replication, whereas ORF2 did not play a role in replication or stability. Based on its sequence homology, ORF2 was a putative solitary antitoxin. Furthermore, the copy number of the replicon of pBMB2062 was higher than those of ori1030 and ori44 based on the thermogenic data, and ori2062 could drive the stable replication of a recombinant plasmid (11 kb total size) in B. thuringiensis.     

Lymphotoxin Alpha (LTA) Polymorphism Is Associated with Prognosis of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in a Chinese Population

Background

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has been widely reported to be associated with autoimmune and pro-inflammatory response, and genetic polymorphisms of candidate genes involved in autoimmune and pro-inflammatory response may influence the survival and prognosis of NHL patients. To evaluate the role of such genetic variations in prognosis of NHL, we conducted this study in a Chinese population.

Methods

We used the TaqMan assay to genotype six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (TNF rs1799964T>C, LTA rs1800683G>A, IL-10 rs1800872T>G, LEP rs2167270G>A, LEPR rs1327118C>G, TNFAIP8 rs1045241C>T) for 215 NHL cases. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to compare progression free survival among two common genotypes. Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify independent risk factors.

Results

We observed that LTA rs1800683G>A was significantly associated with risk of progression or relapse in NHL patients (HR = 1.63, 95%CI = 1.06–2.51; P = 0.028), particularly in Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cases (HR = 1.50, 95%CI = 1.10–2.04, P = 0.01). Both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that in DLBCL patients, Ann Arbor stage III/IV, elevated LDH level before treatment and LTA rs1800683 AA genotype carrier were independent risk factors for progression or relapse. While in NK/T cell lymphoma, Ann Arbor stage III/IV and elevated β₂-MG level before treatment indicated poorer prognosis.

Conclusions

The polymorphism of LTA rs1800683G>A contributes to NHL prognosis in a Chinese population. Further large-scale and well-designed studies are needed to confirm these results.     

口腔微生物耐氟机制的研究进展

氟化物一直被当作一种有效的抗龋药物广泛应用,但长期使用氟化物可能会导致耐氟菌株的出现,使其通过表型适应或基因型改变对氟产生抗性,降低氟化物防龋效果,且长期氟干扰可能引起口腔微生态失衡,从而诱发疾病。鉴于氟与口腔疾病防治的密切关系,以及口腔微生物稳态对于口腔乃至全身健康的重要作用,本文就口腔微生物耐氟机制的研究进展作一综述。     

中国温泉微生物物种多样性及其酶活性研究进展

微生物作为生物群体的重要组成成员,其生长受外界物化条件(如温度、盐度、pH等)影响较大。温泉作为极端水生环境之一,属于相对稳定且较为特殊的生态系统,使生长于其中的微生物可能具有适应高温等特殊生境的独特生存生理机制,具体表现为微生物物种及其活性次级代谢产物呈现出一定的多样性与新颖性。本文从菌株物种多样性分析及其酶活性研究方面,综述了近5年来国内温泉微生物相关研究进展,以期为温泉等极端环境微生物资源开发与保护提供参考。     

肠道细菌弗氏柠檬酸杆菌和产酸克雷伯氏菌对斑翅果蝇生长发育和物质代谢的影响

【目的】明确弗氏柠檬酸杆菌Citrobacter freundi和产酸克雷伯氏菌Klebsiella oxytoca两种肠道共生细菌对斑翅果蝇Drosophila suzukii生长发育和物质代谢的影响。【方法】以正常饲养条件下的斑翅果蝇、构建的斑翅果蝇无菌品系以及弗氏柠檬酸杆菌和产酸克雷伯氏菌单一共生菌感染的斑翅果蝇品系为材料,检测不同品系间斑翅果蝇的卵孵化率、3龄幼虫体重和化蛹率;测定不同斑翅果蝇品系3龄幼虫体内蛋白质、氨基酸、糖原和游离脂肪酸等代谢物的含量及超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)和过氧化物酶(POD)的活力。【结果】正常饲养条件下的斑翅果蝇卵孵化率、3龄幼虫体重、化蛹率及3龄幼虫体内蛋白质的含量均高于其他斑翅果蝇品系,且无菌品系中的最低。弗氏柠檬酸杆菌和产酸克雷伯氏菌感染的斑翅果蝇品系3龄幼虫中的氨基酸和糖原含量均低于斑翅果蝇无菌品系和正常品系。弗氏柠檬酸杆菌感染斑翅果蝇品系3龄幼虫体内游离脂肪酸的含量较其他品系的也降到最低。弗氏柠檬酸杆菌和产酸克雷伯氏菌感染斑翅果蝇品系3龄幼虫体内POD活力显著高于无菌品系和正常品系,而CAT活力显著低于无菌品系。【结论】斑翅果蝇肠道中无肠道共生细菌时生长发育迟缓,在食物中分别添加弗氏柠檬酸杆菌和产酸克雷伯氏菌后可一定程度上促进斑翅果蝇的发育,这与添加肠道共生菌后斑翅果蝇体内代谢物的变化密切相关。     

树鼩IL-2全长编码序列的克隆及分子特征分析

树鼩作为多种人类疾病模型已受到广泛关注,而免疫因子对于树鼩模型评价至关重要,但目前对其白细胞介素-2(IL-2)的研究鲜有报道。该实验以经ConA(concanavalin)诱导培养的树鼩淋巴细胞总RNA为模板,RT-PCR克隆出465bp的树鼩IL-2全长编码序列,并采用ClustalW软件分析其序列和分子特征。结果表明树鼩IL-2cDNA编码一个由154个氨基酸组成的蛋白质,其cDNA及氨基酸序列与人的同源性分别为93%及80%,且其整体结构与人IL-2相似。MEGA5.0软件构建的进化树表明,树鼩与人及恒河猴的亲缘关系较近。Pymol软件对树鼩和人IL-2氨基酸序列进行的三维结构模建表明,两者的IL-2分子三维空间结构基本相似,表面大部分区域所带电荷相同,但在某些区域差异较大,且树鼩多出一个糖基化位点,这些差异对抗体的结合可能存在影响。该研究为今后树鼩IL-2单克隆抗体的制备及功能研究奠定了基础。     

Overexpression of Arabidopsis acyl‐CoA‐binding protein ACBP2 enhances drought tolerance

Arabidopsis thaliana acyl‐CoA‐binding protein 2 (ACBP2) is a stress‐responsive protein that is also important in embryogenesis. Here, we assign a role for ACBP2 in abscisic acid (ABA) signalling during seed germination, seedling development and the drought response. ACBP2 was induced by ABA and drought, and transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing ACBP2 (ACBP2‐OXs) showed increased sensitivity to ABA treatment during germination and seedling development. ACBP2‐OXs also displayed improved drought tolerance and ABA‐mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in guard cells, thereby promoting stomatal closure, reducing water loss and enhancing drought tolerance. In contrast, acbp2 mutant plants showed decreased sensitivity to ABA in root development and were more sensitive to drought stress. RNA analyses revealed that ACBP2 overexpression up‐regulated the expression of Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homolog D (AtrbohD) and AtrbohF, two NAD(P)H oxidases essential for ABA‐mediated ROS production, whereas the expression of Hypersensitive to ABA1 (HAB1), an important negative regulator in ABA signalling, was down‐regulated. In addition, transgenic plants expressing ACBP2pro:GUS showed beta‐glucuronidase (GUS) staining in guard cells, confirming a role for ACBP2 at the stomata. These observations support a positive role for ACBP2 in promoting ABA signalling in germination, seedling development and the drought response.