sEcad and EGF Levels Increased in Urine of Non-ferrous Metal Workers and Medium of Uroepithelial Cell Line Treated by Arsenic

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a carcinogen and could increase the risks of bladder, lung, and skin cancer. Mining and smelting of non-ferrous metals are common occupational arsenic exposures. In this study, 125 individuals working in non-ferrous metal smelting plants were separated into two groups according to urinary total arsenic (TAs) levels: group 1, TAs < 100 μg/g Cr; group 2, TAs ≥ 100 μg/g Cr. Demographic characteristics of participants were obtained by questionnaire interview. Levels of E-cadherin soluble ectodomain fragment (sEcad) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in workers urine were determined by ELISA test. We found that concentrations of sEcad and EGF present in urine were significantly elevated in the high urinary arsenic group 2 compared with the low urinary arsenic group 1. Urinary levels of the shedding of E-cadherin soluble ectodomain fragment (sEcad) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were positively related to the concentrations of iAs in urine after adjusting for the confounding effects. A positive correlation between sEcad and EGF concentrations in urine was also observed. In order to verify the effects of iAs on sEcad and EGF, the human uroepithelial cell line (SV-HUC-1) was treated with NaAsO₂ for 24 h in vitro. sEcad and EGF levels in the 4 μM NaAsO₂-treated SV-HUC-1 cell medium significantly increased compared to the control group. In conclusion, urinary levels of sEcad and EGF increased in higher urinary arsenic workers of non-ferrous metal plants and are closely associated with urinary iAs concentration. The results suggested that sEcad and EGF may potentially be preclinical prognostic factors of bladder injury and early detection in arsenic exposure individuals.     

Sirt6 deletion in hepatocytes increases insulin sensitivity of female mice by enhancing ERα expression

Sirtuin 6 (Sirt6), a NAD⁺-dependent protein deacetylase, is involved in hepatic glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, which impact metabolic homeostasis. In this paper, we discover that Sirt6 affects the insulin sensitivity of mice in a gender-dependent manner; few studies have been conducted on this issue. Based on reports revealing the influences of sex hormones on insulin signaling, this investigation explores the mechanism by which Sirt6 regulates the estrogen pathway and disrupts insulin signal transduction. Hepatocyte-specific Sirt6 knockout (Sirt6HKO) mice were generated to investigate the function of Sirt6 in hepatocytes. Mice were castrated or spayed to eliminate sex hormones. Insulin sensitivity was assessed via an insulin tolerance test (ITT) in vivo. The interaction of Sirt6 with the estrogen pathway and their impacts on insulin signal transduction were revealed by immunoblot and immunoprecipitation. Sirt6 deletion in hepatocytes significantly enhanced insulin sensitivity and signal transduction in female mice but not in male or spayed female mice as demonstrated by ITT and the phosphorylation level of Akt in the liver. We also identified upregulation of p300, ERα, and interaction of ERα with p85 in the liver of female Sirt6HKO mice. Additionally, Sirt6 was found to inhibit ERα protein stability in a p300-dependent manner without interacting directly with ERα. Our findings show that hepatic Sirt6 downregulates the ERα protein level in a p300-dependent manner and thus disturbs estrogen-induced improvement in insulin sensitivity in the liver, which may partially explain the gender difference in insulin sensitivity.     

Structures of the human dopamine D3 receptor-Gi complexes

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Comprehensive role of prostate‐specific antigen identified with proteomic analysis in prostate cancer

Current treatments including androgen deprivation fail to prevent prostate cancer (PrCa) from progressing to castration‐resistant PrCa (CRPC). Accumulating evidence highlights the relevance of prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) in the development and progression of PrCa. The underlying mechanism whereby PSA functions in PrCa, however, has yet been elucidated. We demonstrated that PSA knockdown attenuated tumorigenesis and metastasis of PrCa C4‐2 cells in vitro and in vivo, whereas promoted the apoptosis in vitro. To illuminate the comprehensive role of PSA in PrCa, we performed an isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)‐based proteomic analysis to explore the proteomic change induced by PSA knockdown. Among 121 differentially expressed proteins, 67 proteins were up‐regulated, while 54 proteins down‐regulated. Bioinformatics analysis was used to explore the mechanism through which PSA exerts influence on PrCa. Protein‐protein interaction analysis showed that PSA may mediate POTEF, EPHA3, RAD51C, HPGD and MCM4 to promote the initiation and progression of PrCa. We confirmed that PSA knockdown induced the up‐regulation of MCM4 and RAD51C, while it down‐regulated POTEF and EPHA3; meanwhile, MCM4 was higher in PrCa para‐cancerous tissue than in cancerous tissue, suggesting that PSA may facilitate the tumorigenesis by mediating MCM4. Our findings suggest that PSA plays a comprehensive role in the development and progression of PrCa.     

低温常压等离子体提高MDBK细胞中IBRV病毒滴度的作用与机制研究

加强病毒的繁殖可以帮助MDBK细胞生产更多的IBRV病毒用于生产灭活病毒疫苗。已证明低温常压等离子体（Cold atmospheric plasma,CAP）是一种依靠活性氧来实现MDBK细胞中病毒显著增殖的物理方法,可有效增强病毒的传播,其中牛鼻气管炎病毒（Infectious bovine rhinotrachieitis virus,IBRV）和牛肾细胞（Madin-Darby Bovine Kidney,MDBK）分别被用作模型所需病毒和细胞系。CAP被证明与病毒感染具有协同作用,可以在G2/M期阻止宿主细胞分裂增殖,降低细胞膜电位,增加细胞内钙离子水平并诱导细胞选择性自噬。通过检测免疫相关蛋白表达,CAP被证明可以抑制病毒触发的免疫原性信号传导。综上所述,我们证明了CAP触发了宿主资源对病毒繁殖的最大化,这有利于病毒疫苗的生产,并为在医疗和卫生领域应用CAP开辟了新的可能。     

Flavonoid biosynthesis in four Dendrobium species based on transcriptome sequencing and metabolite analysis

Molecular Biology Reports - Dendrobium is a genus of plants used as traditional Chinese herbal medicines, with high economic and medicinal value. To reveal the mechanism of flavonoid biosynthesis...     

嗜热厌氧菌Caldicellulosiruptor sp. F32中降解β-1,3-1,4葡聚糖水解酶的协同性分析及糖基化对F32EG5热稳定性影响

【目的】通过研究来自极端嗜热厌氧菌Caldicellulosiruptor sp. F32中3个可降解β-1,3-1,4葡聚糖(β-葡聚糖)的糖苷水解酶,解析其在降解β-葡聚糖过程中协同作用,以及异源表达的糖基化修饰对β-葡聚糖酶F32EG5热稳定性的影响,为该系列水解酶的应用提供考据。【方法】通过大肠杆菌异源表达β-葡聚糖酶F32EG5和Lam16A-GH,以及β-葡萄糖苷酶BlgA,利用DNS、TLC等方法检测其在β-葡聚糖降解过程中的协同性及底物耐受能力。随后,利用毕赤酵母对F32EG5进行异源表达,以及对糖基化修饰的p-F32EG5进行酶学对比。【结果】β-葡聚糖酶F32EG5和Lam16A-GH单独作用于底物时,水解产物不同。但混合使用时,低聚合度寡糖的比例增加。β-葡萄糖苷酶BlgA分别与F32EG5和Lam16A-GH复配时,均展示出良好的协同效应和底物耐受能力。此外,利用毕赤酵母异源表达的p-F32EG5,没有明显改变其最适pH和最适温度,但在超高温下(80–90°C)的热稳定性和催化效率相对于未被糖基化的F32EG5提高2倍以上。【结论】葡萄糖糖苷水解酶BlgA分别与β-葡聚糖酶F32EG5、Lam16A-GH复配,在水解β-葡聚糖过程中表现出良好的协同性和底物耐受能力,同时毕赤酵母异源表达的糖基化修饰能提高在超高温环境下的热稳定性能,有利于酶制剂生产造粒过程中的酶活保留,从而使F32EG5具备应用化潜力。     

Quantitative conversion of phytate to inorganic phosphorus in soybean seeds expressing a bacterial phytase

Phytic acid (PA) contains the major portion of the phosphorus in the soybean (Glycine max) seed and chelates divalent cations. During germination, both minerals and phosphate are released upon phytase-catalyzed degradation of PA. We generated a soybean line (CAPPA) in which an Escherichia coli periplasmic phytase, the product of the appA gene, was expressed in the cytoplasm of developing cotyledons. CAPPA exhibited high levels of phytase expression, >or=90% reduction in seed PA, and concomitant increases in total free phosphate. These traits were stable, and, although resulted in a trend for reduced emergence and a statistically significant reduction in germination rates, had no effect on the number of seeds per plant or seed weight. Because phytate is not digested by monogastric animals, untreated soymeal does not provide monogastrics with sufficient phosphorus and minerals, and PA in the waste stream leads to phosphorus runoff. The expression of a cytoplasmic phytase in the CAPPA line therefore improves phosphorus availability and surpasses gains achieved by other reported transgenic and mutational strategies by combining in seeds both high phytase expression and significant increases in available phosphorus. Thus, in addition to its value as a high-phosphate meal source, soymeal from CAPPA could be used to convert PA of admixed meals, such as cornmeal, directly to utilizable inorganic phosphorus.     

Effect of influent substrate ratio on anammox granular sludge: performance and kinetics

Effect of influent substrate ratio on anammox process was studied in sequencing batch reactor. Operating temperature was fixed at 35 ± 1 °C. Influent pH and hydraulic retention time were 7.5 and 6 h, respectively. When influent NO₂ ^?-N/NH₄ ⁺-N was no more than 2.0, total nitrogen removal rate (TNRR) increased whereas NH₄ ⁺-N removal rate stabilized at 0.32 kg/(m³ d). ΔNO₂ ^?-N/ΔNH₄ ⁺-N increased with enhancing NO₂ ^?-N/NH₄ ⁺-N. When NO₂ ^?-N/NH₄ ⁺-N was 4.5, ΔNO₂ ^?-N/ΔNH₄ ⁺-N was 1.98, which was much higher than theoretical value (1.32). The IC₅₀ of NO₂ ^?-N was 289 mg/L and anammox activity was inhibited at high NO₂ ^?-N/NH₄ ⁺-N ratio. With regard to influent NH₄ ⁺-N/NO₂ ^?-N, the maximum NH₄ ⁺-N removal rate was 0.36 kg/(m³ d), which occurred at the ratio of 4.0. Anammox activity was inhibited when influent NH₄ ⁺-N/NO₂ ^?-N was higher than 5.0. With influent NO₃ ^?-N/NH₄ ⁺-N of 2.5–6.5, NH₄ ⁺-N removal rate and NRR were stabilized at 0.33 and 0.40 kg/(m³ d), respectively. When the ratio was higher than 6.5, nitrogen removal would be worsened. The inhibitory threshold concentration of NO₂ ^?-N was lower than NH₄ ⁺-N and NO₃ ^?-N. Anammox bacteria were more sensitive to NO₂ ^?-N than NH₄ ⁺-N and NO₃ ^?-N. TNRR would be enhanced with increasing nitrogen loading rate, but sludge floatation occurred at high nitrogen loading shock. The Han-Levenspiel could be applied to simulate nitrogen removal resulting from NO₂ ^?-N inhibition.