哺乳动物DNA甲基化的功能与作用

甲基化修饰是哺乳动物DNA最常见的复制后调节方式之一,它通过调控基因的表达,在哺乳动物的生长发育过程中发挥重要作用,甲基化异常可导致生长发育异常或肿瘤。     

多纤毛细胞中心粒扩增的分子机制

中心粒是由九组三联体微管组成的圆筒状细胞器,主要存在于动物细胞中。中心粒在细胞中主要行使两大功能：一方面,中心粒是中心体的核心,而中心体是哺乳动物细胞的微管组织中心,在有丝分裂问期参与细胞迁移、胞内运输和形态维持等,而在有丝分裂期则作为纺锤体的极点参与纺锤体的形成,参与细胞分裂和遗传物质的分配;另一方面,细胞进入G0／G1期后,     

中国北方最早的人类化石——蓝田猿人

正1963～1964年,中科院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所科考队在陕西蓝田陈家窝子与公王岭先后发掘出蓝田直立人下颌骨与蓝田直立人头盖骨等,同时,在这两个遗址上又发现了文化遗物及与蓝田直立人共生的哺乳动物化石,今年恰逢发现蓝田直立人头骨50周年。写此文章,与大家分享。1959年地质专家曾河清来到陕西蓝田考查后,报道了陕西蓝田地区一个相当良好的新生界剖面,由于此前蓝田地区的新生界发育良好,一     

科学家命名侏罗纪哺乳动物新属种

<正>日前,中科院古脊椎动物与古人类所毕顺东、王元青和孟津等研究人员,根据在中国发现的6件1.6亿年前的哺乳动物化石证据,命名了神兽、仙兽2个新属的3个新种,分别是陆氏神兽、玲珑仙兽和宋氏仙兽。这些属种均属已绝灭的中生代哺乳动物类群"贼兽目"。相关成果发表在《自然》杂志。贼兽化石最早出现于晚三叠纪,在过去的170年中,     

哺乳动物细胞中重组蛋白瞬时表达技术（TGE）的研究进展

近年来越来越多的重组蛋白,尤其是单克隆抗体,作为生物药应用于医疗。临床及实验室研究中,经常要求在短时间内生产一定量的候选蛋白供应研究需求。经典的建立稳定细胞系生产重组蛋白过程复杂冗长,而作为替代方法,瞬时基因表达技术在数周内即可生产数十至数百毫克重组蛋白,得到广泛应用。本文将总结近年来工业及学术上,在哺乳动物细胞尤其是人胚胎肾细胞（HEK293）TL中国仓鼠卵巢细胞（CHO）中瞬时表达重组蛋白的一系列研究,概述瞬时表达技术在宿主细胞改造、表达载体最优化设计、瞬时转染条件等方面的研究进展,并展望其未来发展方向。     

PRCl Marks the Difference in Plant PcG Repression

ABSTRACT From mammals to plants, the Polycomb Group （PcG） machinery plays a crucial role in maintaining the repres- sion of genes that are not required in a specific differentiation status. However, the mechanism by which PeG machinery mediates gene repression is still largely unknown in plants. Compared to animals, few PcG proteins have been identi- fied in plants, not only because just some of these proteins are clearly conserved to their animal counterparts, but also because some PcG functions are carried out by plant-specific proteins, most of them as yet uncharacterized. For a long time, the apparent lack of Polycomb Repressive Complex （PRC）I components in plants was interpreted according to the idea that plants, as sessile organisms, do not need a long-term repression, as they must be able to respond rapidly to environmental signals; however, some PRC1 components have been recently identified, indicating that this may not be the case. Furthermore, new data regarding the recruitment of PcG complexes and maintenance of PcG repression in plants have revealed important differences to what has been reported so far. This review highlights recent progress in plant PcG function, focusing on the role of the putative PRC1 components.     

Nanovesicles Are Secreted during Pollen Germination and Pollen Tube Growth： A Possible Role in Fertilization

Dear Editor, During recent decades, a novel mechanism of secretion has been identified in a wide range of mammalian cells. It involves the release of bioactive membrane nanovesicles （30-100 nm）, termed exosomes, upon the fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane （Thery et al., 2009）. Exosomes are implicated in diverse functions, such as scavenging of archaic proteins, intercellular messengers delivering cell-specific signals, and vehicles for transmissible pathogens. Exosomes have also been described in other organisms such as bacte- ria, Drosophila, and fungi.     

MiR-29a/b/c regulate human circadian gene hPER1 expression by targeting its 3/UTR

Several essential biological progresses in mammals are regulated by circadian rhythms. Though the molecular mechanisms of oscillating these circadian rhythms have been uncovered, the specific functions of the circadian genes are not very clear. It has been reported that knocking down circadian genes by microRNA is a useful strategy to explore the function of the circadian rhythms. In this study, through a forward bioinformatics screening ap- proach, we identified miR-29a/b/c as potent inhibitors for the human circadian gene hPER1. We further found that miR-29a/b/c could directly target hPER1 3/untranslated region （UTR） and down-regulate hPER1 at both mRNA and protein expression levels in human A549 cells. Thus, our findings suggested that the expression of hPER1 is regulated by miR-29a/b/c, which may also provide a new clue for the function ofhPER1.     

Regulation and function of stimulus-induced phosphorylation of MeCP2

DNA methylation-dependent epigenetic regulation plays important roles in the development and function of the mammalian nervous system. MeCP2 is a key player in recognizing methylated DNA and interpreting the epigenetic information encoded in different DNA methylation patterns. Mutations in the MECP2 gene cause Rett syndrome, a devastating neurological disease that shares many features with autism. One interesting aspect of MeCP2 function is that it can be phosphorylated in response to diverse stimuli. Insights into the regulation and function of MeCP2 phosphorylation will help improve our understanding of how MeCP2 integrates environmental stimuli in neuronal nuclei to generate adaptive responses and may eventually lead to treatments for patients.     

甘肃灵台小石沟晚中新世—上新世小哺乳动物生物地层

根据发现的大量小哺乳动物化石,将甘肃灵台小石沟７２０７４（４）地点剖面划分出４个生物地层带,Ⅰ带与榆社马会组化石组合相当,为中新世晚期;Ⅱ带、Ⅲ带及Ⅳ带代表中国上新世较为完整的小哺乳动物生物地层层序。