Endocrine Control of Calcium Metabolism in Teleosts

It is evident that fishes regulate their serum calcium efficientlybut that endocrine systems involved may be different from thosein tetrapods. A functional parathyroid gland has not yet beendemonstrated in fishes. The majority of evidence indicates thatcalcitonin has little or no effect on fish calcium regulation.Instead, the corpuscles of Stannius and the pituitary glandare necessary for maintaining fish serum calcium levels. Inthe killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, the removal of the corpusclesproduces hypercalcemia in sea water but not in artificial seawater deficient in calcium. Transplants of the corpuscles orthe administration of corpuscle homogenate corrects the increasein calcium. On the other hand, hypophysectomy elicits hypocalcemiaunder calcium deficient conditions but not in calcium rich seawater. Replacement therapy with pituitary homogenate or hypophysialtransplant prevents the fall in calcium. It is postulated thatthe hypocalcemic corpuscles of Stannius and the hypercalcemicpituitary gland enable the euryhaline killifish to regulateits serum calcium levels in high calcium sea water and low calciumfresh water, respectively.     

一株沙福芽胞杆菌生长及其产碳酸酐酶特性

为了探明一株沙福芽胞杆菌(Bacillus safensis)的生长与产碳酸酐酶(carbonic anhydrase,CA)特性,采用单因素实验,研究了培养基初始pH、接种量、温度、摇床转速及Zn2+、Co2+、Cd2+、Mn2+、Mg2+、Ca2+等金属离子对细菌生长及其产CA活性的影响.结果表明,该菌株的最佳生长...     

Label-retention expansion microscopy

Expansion microscopy (ExM) increases the effective resolving power of any microscope by expanding the sample with swellable hydrogel. Since its invention, ExM has been successfully applied to a wide range of cell, tissue, and animal samples. Still, fluorescence signal loss during polymerization and digestion limits molecular-scale imaging using ExM. Here, we report the development of label-retention ExM (LR-ExM) with a set of trifunctional anchors that not only prevent signal loss but also enable high-efficiency labeling using SNAP and CLIP tags. We have demonstrated multicolor LR-ExM for a variety of subcellular structures. Combining LR-ExM with superresolution stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), we have achieved molecular resolution in the visualization of polyhedral lattice of clathrin-coated pits in situ.     

Replication potentials of HIV-1/HSIV in PBMCs from northern pigtailed macaque (Macaca leonina)

The northern pig-tailed macaque(Macaca leonina) has been identified as an independent species of Old World monkey, and we previously found that PBMCs from M. leonina were susceptible to human immunodeficiency virus type 1(HIV-1), which may be due to the absence of a TRIM5 protein restricting HIV-1 replication. Here we investigated the infection potentials of six laboratory adapted HIV-1 strains and three primary HIV-1 isolates in PBMCs from M. leonina. The results indicate that these strains are characterized by various but low replication levels, and among which, HIV-1NL4-3 shows the highest replication ability. Based on the abundant evidence of species-specific interactions between restriction factors APOBEC3 and HIV/SIV-derived Vif protein, we subsequently examined the replication potentials of vif-substituted HIV-1(HSIV) in M. leonina PBMCs. Notably, HSIV-vifmac and stHIV-1SV chimeras, two HIV-1NL4-3-derived viruses encoding the viral infectivity factor(Vif) protein from SIVmac239, replicated robustly in cells from M. leonina, which suggests that HSIV could effectively antagonize the antiviral activity of APOBEC3 proteins expressed in cells of M. leonina. Therefore, our data demonstrate that M. leonina has the potential to be developed into a promising animal model for human AIDS.     

Neuroprotection by Monocarbonyl Dimethoxycurcumin C: Ameliorating the Toxicity of Mutant TDP-43 via HO-1

Mutation of TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) was detected in familiar and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and pathological TDP-43 was identified in the frontotemporal lobar degeneration. The neuroprotective functions of curcumin derivatives were assessed in motor neurons transfected with mutant TDP-43. We found that curcumin derivatives reduced the levels of TDP-43 fragments. Furthermore, we evaluated these compounds on the cellular model that the cells were transfected with TDP-25. We found that the expression level and aggregate formation of TDP-25 were significantly reduced by monocarbonyl dimethoxycurcumin C (Compound C). To study on the neuroprotective functions of curcumin derivatives, the neuroblastoma-spinal cord-34 cells transfected with mutant TDP-43 were assessed by the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malondialdehyde bisdimethyl acetal (MDA) that were involved in the oxidative stress. We found that Compound C ameliorated the damage of mutant TDP-43 by reducing the level of MDA and LDH. Furthermore, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was induced by Compound C significantly higher than other compounds. Znpp, which is known an inhibitor of HO-1, dramatically interfered with the function of Compound C. In addition, Compound C was tested in vivo, and HO-1 was significantly upregulated at the hippocampus. These findings suggest that Compound C, which degrades TDP-43 fragment and strengthens the antioxidant ability by HO-1, is a promising agent for TDP-43 proteinopathy.     

西南丘陵区不同耕作模式下玉米田土壤呼吸及影响因素

为了探讨不同耕作模式对旱作农田土壤呼吸的影响,采用LI6400-09在重庆北碚西南大学实验农场对平作(T)、垄作(R)、平作+覆盖(TS)、垄作+覆盖(RS)、平作+覆盖+秸秆速腐剂(TSD)、垄作+覆盖+秸秆速腐剂(RSD)6种处理下的西南紫色土丘陵区小麦/玉米/大豆套作体系中玉米生长季节的土壤呼吸及其水热生物因子进行了测定和分析。结果表明,玉米整个生育期阶段农田土壤呼吸先增强后减弱,变化范围为1.011—5.575μmol m-2s-1,不同处理土壤呼吸速率差异显著,表现为RSDTSDTSRSTR。垄作降低了玉米农田土壤呼吸速率,秸秆覆盖提高土壤呼吸速率。10 cm土层的土壤温度表现为RTRSDTSDRSTS,土壤呼吸的土温敏感指标Q10值排序为TSTSDRS=RTRSD。5 cm土层的土壤含水量高低排序为TSDTSRSRSDRT。土壤呼吸的土壤水分响应阈值大小排序依次为RTRSRSDTSTSD,介于11.98%—13.11%。其中垄作下的响应阈值较低,秸秆覆盖的作用提高了土壤水分的响应阈值。干漏斗法捕获的土壤动物在玉米农田生态系统中优势类群有弹尾目、螨目和双翅目。单纯的垄作减少了土壤动物数量,秸秆覆盖下土壤动物数量明显增多,土壤动物多样性指数较高;陷阱法捕获的土壤动物与土壤呼吸存在正相关关系,地表活动的土壤动物越多,土壤呼吸作用就越强,其中R的相关系数最高,r=1.000,P=0.017,TS的相关系数r=0.915,P=0.029,而传统耕作下土壤动物数量与土壤呼吸没有明显的关系。玉米田整个生长季均表现为碳汇,净碳汇为679.244—723.764 g(C)/m2。与对照相比,垄作和秸秆覆盖有利于农田生态系统的碳汇,增汇达2.91%—6.55%。     

近自然毛竹林空间结构动态变化

2009年7月在浙江省天目山国家级自然保护区,建立了1块100 m×100 m的近自然毛竹林固定标准地,采用相邻网格法进行每竹调查,利用全站仪测量毛竹的三维坐标(X,Y,Z),结合2010—2012年的3次毛竹复查数据,利用角尺度、大小比数和年龄隔离度3个结构指数,分析毛竹林空间结构的动态特征。结果表明:天目山近自然毛竹林大小年现象明显,平均胸径逐年增加;空间分布格局特征表现为2009、2012年毛竹林呈随机分布,2010、2011年毛竹林呈聚集分布;各年份毛竹林角尺度均服从左偏近似正态分布,且各年份的角尺度无显著性差异(P0.05);各年份毛竹林的平均大小比数均接近0.5,林分处于中庸状态;各年份毛竹林大小比数分布频率出现均衡分布特征,林分较稳定,且各年份间的大小比数无显著性差异;各年份毛竹林的年龄多样性及年龄隔离程度均较高;年龄隔离度逐年增加,毛竹小年向大年过渡期毛竹林年龄隔离度有显著性差异(P0.05),大年向小年的过渡期则无显著性差异。     

利用二代测序技术高通量分析水稻品种间抗病性差异的分子基础

稻瘟病和白叶枯病是由稻温病菌(Magnaporthe oryzae)和白叶枯病菌(Xanthomonas oryzae pv.oryzae)引起的两种主要水稻病害,也是制约中国水稻生产的主要病害。为了从DNA水平探索造成水稻感病品种‘丽江新团黑谷’(LTH)和高抗品种‘特特普’(Tetep,TTP)间抗病性差异的分子基础,该研究对其已知的3个抗稻瘟病基因和3个抗白叶枯基因所在DNA区段分别进行PCR扩增,将等量混合的PCR产物再与基因组重测序样品按Ct值差值(ΔCt)~10的比例混合,采用二代测序技术进行一次性测序和比较分析,并对有差异的基因区域进行常规传统测序验证,以确定这2个品种中抗性基因(R基因)的数目和结构与品种抗病或感病表型的关联性。实验结果表明,二代测序能够快速并准确地寻找到2个不同水稻品种中多个特定基因的序列差异,且差异位点与常规测序结果相符。从LTH和TTP这2种抗性不同水稻品种在多个抗性基因的DNA水平差异来看,有差异的抗性基因位点在高抗品种TTP中大都与原始抗性基因序列相同,而对应的普感品种LTH的抗性基因往往多表现为氨基酸突变,这些序列差异很可能就是导致TTP与LTH抗性差异的分子基础。     

巴马小型猪在医学研究中的应用进展简

广西巴马小型猪作为国内小型猪主要品种之一,具有遗传性稳定、多产、体重较小、体表多覆白毛等特征,组织器官及生化指标与人类相似,已越来越广泛地应用于医学研究领域：猪的心脏解剖与生理特点与人类高度相似,已被广泛应用于心血管系统研究中,在我国,巴马小型猪被用来构建心肌缺血、卵圆孔未闭等心血管疾病模型;猪具有杂食性及与人相似的脂质代谢,可用于研究内分泌疾病,巴马小型猪已用于糖尿病动物模型建立及其遗传易感性、并发症的防治研究等;巴马小型猪的消化系统与人类相似,利用此特点已建立阻塞性慢性胰腺炎、结肠穿孔、胆肠吻合等消化系统疾病模型;巴马小型猪除头、尾外,体表覆以白毛,这一特点使其成为研究皮肤创伤、烧伤修复等的理想动物;小型猪的牙齿解剖结构与人类相似,口裂大,可作为口腔医学研究中的理想动物,巴马小型猪已用来建立牙髓坏死模型及对上颌扩弓方式的研究;类似人的解剖、生理、病理使其成为较为适合的异种移植供体.在中医药研究方面,已用巴马小型猪分别建立了肝脏、脾脏、股动、静脉出血及头颈恶性肿瘤放疗后的腮腺损伤动物模型以研究中药制剂的疗效及机制.