126Gln is the residue of human IL-2 binding to IL-2R γ subunit

The 126Gln of human interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a conserved amino acid residue. After substitution of 126Gln with Asp, the binding abilities of this mutant to different composites of IL-2 receptor (R) subunits have been determined. Results show that 126AspIL-2 has higher affinity to IL-2R α β γ complex and normal affinity to IL-2R α β complex, but loses its binding ability to IL-2R β γ complex, demonstrating that the 126Gln is the residue of human IL-2 which binds to IL-2R γ subunit. Project supported by the “863” Project of China.     

S1PR3 deficiency alleviates radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis through the regulation of epithelial–mesenchymal transition by targeting miR-495-3p

Radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis (RIPF) is a life-threatening complication of thoracic radiotherapy, which contributes to continued deterioration in pulmonary function. Sphingosine-1 phosphate receptor 3 (S1PR3) has been identified as a crucial molecule in fibrosis. Accumulating evidence indicated that the inhibition of the S1PRs ameliorates fibrogenesis. Thus, this study aims to explore whether S1PR3 participates in RIPF and elucidates the molecular mechanisms underlying S1PR3-modulated epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in transforming growth factor-β1-induced pulmonary epithelia. A recombinant adeno-associated viral-mediated S1PR3 (AAV-S1PR3) gene therapy analyzed the effect of S1PR3 gene deficiency on the altered histology structure and molecular mechanisms in the lung of mice with whole-lung irradiation. Compared with the AAV-negative control mice, AAV-mediated S1PR3 knockdown in the lung of mice attenuated pulmonary fibrosis induced by the radiation, as indicated by the alleviation of collagen accumulation, lessened histopathological alterations, and the suppression of inflammatory cells infiltration. S1PR3 deficiency reversed the RIPF concomitantly with abrogated EMT-related protein (α-smooth muscle actin). Consistently, S1PR3-deficient pulmonary epithelia inhibited the EMT process changes and fibrosis formation. Furthermore, S1PR3 was designated as one of the target genes for microRNA-495-3p (miR-495-3p). The inhibition of miR-495-3p promoted the expression of S1PR3 in pulmonary epithelia, whereas the overexpression of miR-495-3p inhibited the S1PR3/SMAD2/3 pathway and suppressed the EMT process. Collectively, miR-495-3p might be a negative regulator of the EMT process in fibrosis formation by inhibiting the targeted S1PR3 gene. These results established a link between the S1PR3 gene, the EMT process, and the fibrosis, suggesting the pharmacological blockage of S1PR3 as a potential therapeutic strategy for RIPF.     

Stereoselective degradation of tebuconazole in rat liver microsomes

The aim of this study was to assess the stereoselectivity of two tebuconazole [(RS)-1-p-chlorophenyl-4,4-dimethyl-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)pentan-3-ol] enantiomers in in vitro system (rat liver microsomes). The analytes were extracted with acetic ether and concentrations were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)-based chiral stationary phase. The degradation of rac-tebuconazole (15 μM) followed first-order kinetics, and the degradation of the S-tebuconazole (t(1/2) = 22.31 min) was faster than that of the R-tebuconazole (t(1/2) = 48.76 min), but no significant difference between the enantiomers was found in the respective incubation (7.5 μM for each). Kinetic assays showed that the K(m) was different between the two enantiomers (K(mR) = 14.83 ± 2.19, K(mS) = 12.23 ± 2.72). The interaction results revealed that there was competitive inhibition between S- and R-form, and there was a significant difference between the IC(50) of R- to S-tebuconazole and S- to R-tebuconazole (IC(50R/S)/IC(50S/R) = 4.98).     

Enantioselective degradation of hexaconazole in rat hepatic microsomes in vitro

Hexaconazole [(RS)-2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) hexan-2-ol] is a potent triazole fungicide and consists of a pair of enantiomers. Enantioselective degradation of hexaconazole was investigated in rat hepatic microsomes in vitro. Concentrations of (-)- and (+)-hexaconazole and enantiomer fraction were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with a cellulose-tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)-based chiral stationary phase. The t(1/2) of (-)-hexaconazole and (+)-hexaconazole were 23.70 and 13.95 min for rac- hexaconazole and 44.18 and 23.54 for enantiomers examined separately. Furthermore, hexaconazole is configurationally stable in rat hepatic microsomes, demonstrating no chiral inversion from the (-)-hexaconazole to (+)-hexaconazole or vice versa. Intrinsic metabolic clearance of (+)-hexaconazole is 1.12 times than that of (-)-hexaconazole. Interaction study revealed that there was competitive inhibition between (-)-hexaconazole and (+)-hexaconazole. In addition, there was a significant difference between the inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of (-)- to (+)-hexaconazole and (+)- to (-)-hexaconazole [IC(50)(-)/(+)/IC(50)(+)/(-) = 1.88]. These results may have potential implications for better environmental and ecological risk assessment for hexaconazole.     

表面表达猪流行性腹泻病毒核蛋白蛋白的重组干酪乳杆菌诱导产生的免疫应答

为探讨表达猪流行性腹泻病毒(PEDV)核蛋白(N)基因的重组干酪乳杆菌口服免疫小鼠后诱导特异性免疫应答,本研究制备表达流行性腹泻病毒核蛋白的重组干酪乳杆菌,应用Western blotting、间接免疫荧光和全细胞ELISA鉴定目的蛋白的表达。然后用该重组干酪乳杆菌口服免疫BALB/c小鼠,分别测定了免疫后不同时间血清中特异性IgG、粪便中特异性的sIgA水平以及血清的中和活性;并测定免疫小鼠脾淋巴细胞增殖情况和细胞因子水平。结果显示,目的蛋白表达在细胞表面,可被阳性血清所识别。免疫小鼠后,可分别在血清中和粪便中检测到较高水平特异性IgG、sIgA(P<0.01),但血清并没有中和活性;淋巴细胞增殖试验和细胞因子测定结果显示,免疫组可产生明显的细胞免疫应答。结果表明,该重组干酪乳杆菌表达系统可诱导小鼠产生黏膜免疫应答和系统免疫应答,具有作为口服疫苗潜在的应用价值。     

基于表达元件和宿主优化促地衣芽胞杆菌高效表达L-天冬酰胺酶

L-天冬酰胺酶(L-asparaginase, L-ASN)广泛用于恶性肿瘤治疗及低丙烯酰胺食品生产,然而其较低的表达水平限制了应用推广。异源蛋白表达是提高目标酶表达水平的有效策略,芽胞杆菌广泛用于酶蛋白的高效生产,本研究拟通过表达元件及宿主优化提高芽胞杆菌(Bacillus)中L-天冬酰胺酶产量。首先,筛选了5种信号肽(SP_SacC、SP_AmyL、SP_AprE、SP_YwbN、SP_WapA)用于L-天冬酰胺酶的分泌表达,其中SP_SacC介导下L-天冬酰胺酶分泌效果最好,酶活达到157.61 U/mL。随后,选取了4种芽胞杆菌强启动子(P43、P_ykzA-P43、P_Ubay、P_{bac A}),其中串联启动子P_ykzA-P43介导的L-天冬酰胺酶表达量最高,较对照菌株提高了52.94%。最后,筛选了3种芽胞杆菌表达宿主：地衣芽胞杆菌(Bacillus licheniformi...     

基于音节聚类分析的被动声学监测技术及其在鸟类监测中的应用

被动声学监测通过分析鸟鸣声信息来实现物种识别,为鸟类多样性监测提供了一种切实可行的技术方案。由于鸟种的鸣声复杂多变,如何通过声纹快速准确辨别物种,分析鸟类丰度,降低对人工操作的需求等技术难题,成为基于声纹的鸟类多样性监测所面临的挑战。本文提出了基于音节聚类的鸟类鸣声监测框架:首先通过音高、频率平坦度等音频特征在声纹数据中提取音节,然后通过无监督表征学习与狄利克雷过程(Dirichlet process)混合模型对音节进行深度无监督聚类训练,完成音节聚类和自动音节种类推断。分析结果表明,本文提出的基于音节聚类的鸟类鸣声监测框架在处理开源数据集白腰文鸟(Lonchura striata)的曲目时可获得接近90%的聚类准确率。在此基础上,本研究对2022年4-5月在广州市白云山公园固定监测点所录制的10种鸟类鸣声进行了无监督的音节聚类分析,验证了本文所提出的基于音节聚类的鸟类鸣声监测框架的有效性:本技术不仅可以支持快速鸟类物种识别,还可以统计和分析不同物种鸟鸣在时间、频度、数量上的变化。这些结果表明,基于音节聚类的鸟类鸣声监测框架可以显著降低对人工标注训练数据的要求,克服传统鸟鸣物种识别框架...     

Quantitative PCR of string-test collected gastric material: A feasible approach to detect Helicobacter pylori and its resistance against clarithromycin and levofloxacin for susceptibility-guided therapy

Background

As the reduced eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), we introduced string-test and quantitative PCR (qPCR) for susceptibility-guided therapy innovatively. The practicality of the string test was evaluated.

Methods

It was an open-label, non-randomized, parallel, single-center study, in which subjects tested by ¹³C- urea breath test (UBT) and string-qPCR were enrolled. Based on the results of string-qPCR, we calculated clarithromycin and levofloxacin resistance rates and gave ¹³C-UBT positive patients 14 days susceptibility-guided bismuth quadruple therapy. In the empirical therapy group, we retrospectively analyzed the treatment results of ¹³C-UBT positive patients also treated with bismuth quadruple at Shenzhen Luohu People's Hospital from January 2021 to May 2022. The eradication rate was compared between susceptibility-guided therapy and empirical therapy groups.

Results

The diagnosis of H. pylori infection using the string-qPCR had an overall concordance rate of 95.9% with the ¹³C-UBT results. Based on the results of string-qPCR, the clarithromycin and levofloxacin resistance rates were 26.1% and 31.8%, respectively. The patients who were given 14 days susceptibility-guided bismuth-based quadruple therapy achieved a high H. pylori eradication rate of 91.8%. Retrospective analysis of patient treatment data from January 2021 to May 2022 available in the hospital database revealed an overall success rate of 82.3% for those who received empirical bismuth-based quadruple therapies, which is marginally significantly lower than that of the string-qPCR susceptibility-guided group (p = 0.084).

Conclusion

The high treatment success rate of 91.8% indicates that the string-qPCR test is a valuable and feasible approach for clinical practice to help improve H. pylori treatment success rate.     

帕金森病裸DNA法基因治疗的实验研究

采用体内裸DNA基因治疗帕金森病(PD)取得显著疗效.将酪氨酸羟比酶(TH)基冈表达质粒与Lipofectin形成的复合物立体定位注射于PD模型鼠纹状体,显著改善了PD鼠的不对付旋转行为.免疫组化证实神经细胞表达了外源TH.