结核休眠菌与巨噬细胞自噬

结核休眠菌是残存于人体巨噬细胞内处于代谢静止期的极微量结核分枝杆菌(MTB),了解其生物学特性和相关作用机制对MTB潜伏感染新靶点药物的研究具有重要意义。巨噬细胞作为机体固有免疫和适应性免疫的重要组成部分,是清除胞内感染的MTB的首要屏障。巨噬细胞可以通过自噬途径清除MTB,而处于休眠状态的MTB可以逃避巨噬细胞的杀伤而持续存在。此外,目前有关休眠菌如何逃逸巨噬细胞自噬的具体机制也并不十分明确,本文则对休眠菌及其与巨噬细胞自噬相关研究的最新进展作一综述。     

The impact of maternal infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the infant response to bacille Calmette–Guérin immunization

Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) immunization provides variable protection against tuberculosis. Prenatal antigen exposure may have lifelong effects on responses to related antigens and pathogens. We therefore hypothesized that maternal latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) influences infant responses to BCG immunization at birth. We measured antibody (n = 53) and cellular (n = 31) responses to M. tuberculosis purified protein derivative (PPD) in infants of mothers with and without LTBI, in cord blood and at one and six weeks after BCG. The concentrations of PPD-specific antibodies declined between birth (median [interquartile range (IQR)]) 5600 ng ml⁻¹ [3300–11 050] in cord blood) and six weeks (0.00 ng ml⁻¹ [0–288]). Frequencies of PPD-specific IFN-γ-expressing CD4⁺T cells increased at one week and declined between one and six weeks (p = 0.031). Frequencies of IL-2- and TNF-α-expressing PPD-specific CD4⁺T cells increased between one and six weeks (p = 0.019, p = 0.009, respectively). At one week, the frequency of PPD-specific CD4⁺T cells expressing any of the three cytokines, combined, was lower among infants of mothers with LTBI, in crude analyses (p = 0.002) and after adjusting for confounders (mean difference, 95% CI −0.041% (−0.082, −0.001)). In conclusion, maternal LTBI was associated with lower infant anti-mycobacterial T-cell responses immediately following BCG immunization. These findings are being explored further in a larger study.     

不同品种小豆光合作用和生长发育对弱光的响应

为确定小豆作为林果行间套种作物的适宜性,通过田间试验和盆栽试验,测定全光和弱光处理(全光的48%)下3个小豆品种(阜南绿小豆、早熟黑小豆、晚熟黑小豆)在初花期的叶片光合特征参数、光合色素含量和RuBPCase活性,研究小豆生长发育对弱光的响应.结果表明: 弱光使3个品种小豆叶片的最大净光合速率、光饱和点、光补偿点等光合参数不同程度地向耐荫的方向变化,净光合速率、水分利用效率和RuBPCase活性也显著下降;遮阴后,阜南绿小豆的叶绿素a和b含量显著增加,Chl a/b和类胡萝卜素含量显著降低,其他小豆的叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量无明显变化;弱光使3个品种小豆的生物量和干物质积累效率降低,根冠比降低,根瘤量减少,叶片数和叶面积指数减小;弱光胁迫下,阜南绿小豆提前开花、提前成熟,早熟黑小豆推迟开花、延迟成熟,而晚熟黑小豆只开花不结实.从遮阴后小豆的光合特性变化和生长发育差异等方面综合考虑,3个小豆品种的耐阴能力大小为:阜南绿小豆>早熟黑小豆>晚熟黑小豆.     

盐渍化胁迫下油葵对土壤原油污染的适应性及其改良措施

为了探究植物在盐渍化胁迫下对原油污染的适应性及改良措施,本研究以油葵作为研究对象,进行了原油-氯化钠-脱硫石膏盆栽正交试验和煤渣-沸石-脱硫石膏-锯沫盆栽正交试验.结果表明: 在盐渍化条件下,随着原油浓度的增大,油葵幼苗株高相对生长率(RGR)、地上生物量RGR、根氮磷比均显著减小,超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性呈先增加后显著降低的趋势;随着锯沫体积分数的加大,油葵株高RGR和地上生物量RGR均显著增加,SOD活性逐渐降低,说明锯沫在改良盐渍化原油污染土壤方面比煤渣、沸石和脱硫石膏效果显著.在盐渍化条件下,原油污染能够降低油葵幼苗的生长率,锯沫对改良原油污染有较好的效果.     

松鼠分子生态学研究进展

松鼠由于受到非法猎捕、栖息地破坏及欧洲部分地区的北美灰松鼠生态入侵,导致种群数量锐减,现已被世界自然保护联盟(IUCN)列为近危种,我国吉林省已将其列入省重点保护野生动物名录.分子生物学研究方法的快速发展,尤其是基于mtDNA片段开展的相关研究,以及已筛选出并能应用于松鼠研究的微卫星位点的应用,使松鼠分子生态学研究不断深入.本文对松鼠的分子系统发育、遗传多样性和分子系统地理学等分子生态学内容进行了综述,并提出松鼠分子生态学未来研究的展望:进一步探讨松鼠与日本松鼠的系统分化关系;松鼠连续种群、隔离种群和集合种群的遗传多样性比较分析;利用核基因其他标记分析松鼠分子系统地理学问题;探讨亚洲是否存在第四纪冰期避难所.     

割草和放牧对大针茅根际与非根际土壤养分和微生物数量的影响

选取内蒙古典型草原大针茅为主要研究对象,研究割草和放牧干扰对其根际与非根际土壤有机碳、全氮、有效氮、全磷、有效磷含量以及微生物数量的影响.结果表明：在割草和放牧干扰下,根际土壤有机碳、全氮、有效氮含量均有不同程度的减少,根际截存效应减弱;土壤全磷由于固定性强不易向植物根部聚集,土壤全磷的根际效应不明显;土壤有效磷异质性较大,在放牧和割草干扰下有不同程度的变化,但根际和非根际间差异不显著;放牧干扰显著减少了土壤微生物的数量;土壤养分的变化与土壤微生物数量的变化关系密切,细菌和真菌的数量变化可能对土壤养分的影响更大;相对于割草,放牧干扰更易造成根际土壤养分的流失及微生物数量的减少.     

利用线性混合效应模型模拟杉木人工林枝条生物量

基于福建省将乐林场45株人工杉木解析木的572组枝条生物量数据,采用线性混合效应模型方法,建立杉木人工林枝条总生物量和枝、叶生物量的预测模型,并利用独立样本数据对模型进行检验.结果表明： 线性混合效应模型比传统多元线性回归模型的拟合精度高.不同随机效应参数的组合,其混合模型的精度不同.考虑异方差结构的混合模型能够消除数据间的异方差性,其精度更高,其中,对于枝条总生物量和叶生物量模型,以指数函数作为异方差结构时的模型精度最高;对于枝生物量模型,以常数加幂函数作为异方差结构时的模型精度最高.模型检验结果表明：对于杉木人工林枝条生物量预测模型,考虑随机效应和异方差结构的线性混合模型的检验精度比传统多元线性回归模型的精度有明显提高.     

短小芽孢杆菌AR03对烟草赤星病菌和白粉病菌的防治

采用对峙培养法、凹玻片法、LB琼脂培养基萌发法测定短小芽孢杆菌AR03对烟草赤星病菌和白粉病菌的抑制作用.结果表明： AR03菌液对2种病菌的菌丝生长和分生孢子萌发均有明显的拮抗作用;对赤星病菌的抑制作用表现为:经AR03菌液原液(3×10⁸cfu·mL^-1)处理的菌丝隔间变短、肿胀且集结成团,内含物聚集,菌丝顶端生长膨大畸形;经该菌液处理的赤星病菌分生孢子不萌发或萌发产生畸形芽管,分生孢子变形、肿大,纵横分隔部分的组织膨胀呈泡状.AR03菌液原液、30倍液和200倍液对白粉病菌分生孢子萌发的平板抑制率分别为100%、91.4%和 69.3%,菌液对分生孢子萌发的破坏作用表现为分生孢子不萌发,细胞肿胀变形、细胞原生质解体或收缩,孢子内、外壁分离,由于原生质外泄,一些分生孢子内部呈中空状.温室防治试验结果表明： 不同浓度AR03菌悬液处理对烟草白粉病的防治效果存在显著差异,第二次药后7和15 d,AR03菌液原液的防治效果分别达到83.8%和90.3%,与对照药剂差异不显著;而100倍稀释液的防效分别为70.0%和73.3%,与对照药剂差异显著.AR03菌株防治白粉病的持效期为30 d以上.     

A 3D Human Lung Tissue Model for Functional Studies on Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection

Tuberculosis (TB) still holds a major threat to the health of people worldwide, and there is a need for cost-efficient but reliable models to help us understand the disease mechanisms and advance the discoveries of new treatment options. In vitro cell cultures of monolayers or co-cultures lack the three-dimensional (3D) environment and tissue responses. Herein, we describe an innovative in vitro model of a human lung tissue, which holds promise to be an effective tool for studying the complex events that occur during infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). The 3D tissue model consists of tissue-specific epithelial cells and fibroblasts, which are cultured in a matrix of collagen on top of a porous membrane. Upon air exposure, the epithelial cells stratify and secrete mucus at the apical side. By introducing human primary macrophages infected with M. tuberculosis to the tissue model, we have shown that immune cells migrate into the infected-tissue and form early stages of TB granuloma. These structures recapitulate the distinct feature of human TB, the granuloma, which is fundamentally different or not commonly observed in widely used experimental animal models. This organotypic culture method enables the 3D visualization and robust quantitative analysis that provides pivotal information on spatial and temporal features of host cell-pathogen interactions. Taken together, the lung tissue model provides a physiologically relevant tissue micro-environment for studies on TB. Thus, the lung tissue model has potential implications for both basic mechanistic and applied studies. Importantly, the model allows addition or manipulation of individual cell types, which thereby widens its use for modelling a variety of infectious diseases that affect the lungs.     

Lipid metabolism and Type VII secretion systems dominate the genome scale virulence profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in human dendritic cells

Background

Mycobacterium tuberculosis continues to kill more people than any other bacterium. Although its archetypal host cell is the macrophage, it also enters, and survives within, dendritic cells (DCs). By modulating the behaviour of the DC, M. tuberculosis is able to manipulate the host’s immune response and establish an infection. To identify the M. tuberculosis genes required for survival within DCs we infected primary human DCs with an M. tuberculosis transposon library and identified mutations with a reduced ability to survive.

Results

Parallel sequencing of the transposon inserts of the surviving mutants identified a large number of genes as being required for optimal intracellular fitness in DCs. Loci whose mutation attenuated intracellular survival included those involved in synthesising cell wall lipids, not only the well-established virulence factors, pDIM and cord factor, but also sulfolipids and PGL, which have not previously been identified as having a direct virulence role in cells. Other attenuated loci included the secretion systems ESX-1, ESX-2 and ESX-4, alongside many PPE genes, implicating a role for ESX-5. In contrast the canonical ESAT-6 family of ESX substrates did not have intra-DC fitness costs suggesting an alternative ESX-1 associated virulence mechanism. With the aid of a gene-nutrient interaction model, metabolic processes such as cholesterol side chain catabolism, nitrate reductase and cysteine-methionine metabolism were also identified as important for survival in DCs.

Conclusion

We conclude that many of the virulence factors required for survival in DC are shared with macrophages, but that survival in DCs also requires several additional functions, such as cysteine-methionine metabolism, PGLs, sulfolipids, ESX systems and PPE genes.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1569-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.