Inhibition of lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of sunflower oil in AOT/isooctane reversed micelles

The hydrolysis of sunflower oil using Candida cylindracea lipase in reversed micelles of AOT/isooctane was investigated. The inhibition caused by substrate and hydrolysis products has been found in the process of reaction. It was revealed that the extent of inhibition caused by oleic acid was higher than that caused by glycerol, and was much more serious in the case of the mixture of hydrolysis products. Moreover, with the initial addition of glycerol into the reaction mixture, the stability of lipase could be increased during the hydrolysis of sunflower oil in reversed micelles. We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China for the financial support of this work. We also thank Prof. Xu, Jia-li for his contributions to this work.     

Upregulation of amphiregulin by retinoic acid and Wnt signalling promotes liver cancer cell proliferation

Activated hepatic stellate cells promote hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. Hepatic stellate cells play a key role in retinoid metabolism, and activation of stellate cells increases retinoic acid (RA) in the liver. However, the role of RA in HCC proliferation remains unclear. We aimed to analyse the mechanism of RA in HCC proliferation. Thirty-eight patients who had undergone hepatic resection for HCCs were recruited. Paired non-tumour tissues, adjacent and distal to HCCs, were collected, and the RA levels in the tissues were analysed. The mechanisms of RA and HCC proliferation were assessed in liver cancer cell lines by protein and gene expression analyses. Early recurrence of HCC was significantly higher in patients with a higher RA concentration than in those with a lower RA concentration in tissues adjacent to HCCs (61.1% vs. 20%, p = .010). RA promoted HCC cell proliferation and activated the expression of Amphiregulin, a growth factor in hepatocarcinogenesis. The promoter of Amphiregulin contained the binding sites of the RA receptor, RXRα. Wnt signalling also activated the expression of Amphiregulin, and the RA and Wnt pathways acted synergistically to increase the expression of Amphiregulin. Furthermore, RXRα interacted with β-catenin and then translocated to the nucleus to activate Amphiregulin. An increased RA concentration in the tissues adjacent to the tumour was associated with an early recurrence of HCC. RA activated the expression of Amphiregulin, and then promoted HCC proliferation, which might partly contribute to early recurrence of HCC after hepatic resection.     

The palindromic series I repeats in the simian cytomegalovirus major immediate-early promoter behave as both strong basal enhancers and cyclic AMP response elements.

A 600-base-pair (bp) enhancer region upstream from the major IE94 gene of simian cytomegalovirus (SCMV) produces very strong basal expression of associated gene products. This domain consists of multiple sets of interspersed repetitive elements, including 11 copies of a conserved 16-bp palindromic sequence with the consensus CCATTGACGTCAATGG. These series I repeats contain an 8-bp core TGACGTCA that resembles the cyclic AMP (cAMP) response element (CRE) of cellular genes. In transient chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays in K562 human erythroleukemia cells, a set of deleted variants of the IE94 promoter all responded up to 15-fold to induction by cAMP. However, successive removal of most of the SCMV 16-bp motifs reduced basal expression over 20-fold. The cAMP stimulation was also manifested at the steady-state RNA level after SCMV infection of K562 cells and was detectable within 1.5 h after treatment of DNA-transfected cells. Addition of a single 30-bp oligonucleotide encompassing the 16-bp palindrome conveyed up to 10-fold cAMP responsiveness onto a heterologous weak promoter but had no effect on basal expression. In contrast, two or more adjacent copies produced 20- to 40-fold increases in basal expression and provided greater than 200-fold activation in the presence of cAMP. Similar effects were obtained when the oligonucleotides were placed in a downstream location relative to the reporter gene. Studies with mutant oligonucleotides revealed that both the core CRE and the flanking sequence portions of the 16-bp elements were essential for enhancer function. Both components were also important for maximum cAMP responsiveness. Band shift assays with fractionated nuclear extracts from Raji lymphocytes revealed multiple competable complexes with cellular DNA-binding factors that recognized the series I elements. Three distinct CREB-like factors were detected that required only the core 8-bp elements for binding. We conclude that the 16-bp series I repeats provide a major contribution to the constitutive enhancer properties of the IE94 promoter and also act as functional CREs. The cAMP response properties appear likely to play a key role in reactivation of the virus from a latent state in appropriately differentiating cell types.     

Patent Deployment Strategies and Patent Value in LED Industry

This study applies two variables in the measurement of company patent deployment strategies: patent family depth and earn plan ratio. Patent family depth represents the degree to which certain fields and markets are valued by the patent owner. Earn plan ratio defined as the ratio of the number of patent forward citations to patent family size. Earn plan ratio indicates the degree to which a patent family could be cited by later innovators and competitors. This study applies a logistic regression model in the analysis LED industry data. The results demonstrate that patent value has a positive relationship with the patent family depth, and earn plan ratio.     

Modulation of Locomotion and Reproduction by FLP Neuropeptides in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Neuropeptides function in animals to modulate most, if not all, complex behaviors. In invertebrates, neuropeptides can function as the primary neurotransmitter of a neuron, but more generally they co-localize with a small molecule neurotransmitter, as is commonly seen in vertebrates. Because a single neuron can express multiple neuropeptides and because neuropeptides can bind to multiple G protein-coupled receptors, neuropeptide actions increase the complexity by which the neural connectome can be activated or inhibited. Humans are estimated to have 90 plus neuropeptide genes; by contrast, nematodes, a relatively simple organism, have a slightly larger complement of neuropeptide genes. For instance, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has over 100 neuropeptide-encoding genes, of which at least 31 genes encode peptides of the FMRFamide family. To understand the function of this large FMRFamide peptide family, we isolated knockouts of different FMRFamide-encoding genes and generated transgenic animals in which the peptides are overexpressed. We assayed these animals on two basic behaviors: locomotion and reproduction. Modulating levels of different neuropeptides have strong as well as subtle effects on these behaviors. These data suggest that neuropeptides play critical roles in C. elegans to fine tune neural circuits controlling locomotion and reproduction.