Ribosomal protein L6 promotes growth and cell cycle progression through upregulating cyclin E in gastric cancer cells

Our previous study revealed that human ribosomal protein L6 (RPL6) was upregulated in multidrug-resistant gastric cancer cells and over-expression of RPL6 could protect gastric cancer cells from drug-induced apoptosis. The present study was designed to explore the role of RPL6 in tumorigenesis and development of gastric cancer. The expression of RPL6 in gastric cancer tissues and normal gastric mucosa was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. It was found RPL6 was expressed at a higher level in gastric cancer tissues than that in normal gastric mucosa. RPL6 was then genetically overexpressed or knocked down in human immortalized gastric mucosa epithelial GES cells. It was demonstrated that upregulation of RPL6 accelerated the growth and enhanced in vitro colony forming ability of GES cells whereas downregulation of RPL6 showed adverse effects. Moreover, over-expression of RPL6 could promote G1 to S phase transition of GES cells. It was further evidenced that upregulation of RPL6 resulted in elevated cyclin E expression while downregulation of RPL6 caused decreased cyclin E expression in GES cells. Taken together, these data indicated that RPL6 was overexpressed in human gastric cancer and its over-expression could promote cell growth and cell cycle progression at least through upregulating cyclin E expression.     

Characterisation of the interaction between syndecan-2, neurofibromin and CASK: Dependence of interaction on syndecan dimerization

Neurofibromin and calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK) are membrane-associated signalling and scaffolding proteins which are mutated in human genetic neurological disorders. Syndecan-2 is a highly glycosylated transmembrane protein whose intracellular C-terminus has previously been shown to interact with the post-synaptic density 95/discs large/zonula occludens-1 (PDZ) domain of CASK and with two separate regions of neurofibromin. These three proteins collaborate to orchestrate the induction of filopodia and dendritic spines. We have used systematic mutagenesis of the intracellular region of syndecan-2 and a quantitative yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay to study the determinants of their interactions. We show that syndecan’s interactions with both CASK and neurofibromin are dependent on syndecan homodimerization and that neurofibromin largely interacts with the membrane-proximal part of the dimeric syndecan intracellular domain, leaving the membrane-distal C-terminus free to interact with CASK. We conducted a phylogenetic study of syndecan sequences, finding correspondence between conserved residues and mutations affecting both dimerization and interactions; we also find that fish have a very different syndecan repertoire from tetrapods. Further Y2H screens reveal that syndecan-2 interacts with a third distinct region of neurofibromin, and that the multiple neurofibromin regions bind competitively, rather than co-operatively, to syndecan. We combine these results to propose a model for the ternary syndecan-neurofibromin-CASK complex.     

Reversible Liposome Association Induced by LAH4: A Peptide with Potent Antimicrobial and Nucleic Acid Transfection Activities

We report on the reversible association of anionic liposomes induced by an antimicrobial peptide (LAH4). The process has been characterized for mixed membranes of POPC and POPS at molar ratios of 1:1, 3:1, and 9:1. Although the vesicles remain in suspension in the presence of excess amounts of peptide, the addition of more lipids results in surface charge neutralization, aggregation of the liposomes, and formation of micrometer-sized structures that coexist in equilibrium with vesicles in suspension. At low ratios of anionic lipids, vesicle aggregation is a reversible process, and vesicle disassembly is observed upon inversion of the surface charge by further supplementation with anionic vesicles. In contrast, a different process, membrane fusion, occurs in the presence of high phosphatidylserine concentrations. Upon binding to membranes containing low POPS concentrations, the peptide adopts an in-plane α-helical structure, a secondary structure that is conserved during vesicle association and dissociation. Our finding that peptides are essential for vesicle aggregation contributes to a better understanding of the activity of antimicrobial peptides, and suggests an additional layer of complexity in membrane-protein lipid interactions.     

Indinavir resistance evolution in one human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infected patient revealed by single-genome amplification

Abstract  

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 exists in vivo as quasispecies, and one of the genome’s characteristics is its diversity. During the antiretroviral therapy, drug resistance is the main obstacle to effective viral prevention. Understanding the molecular evolution process is fundamental to analyze the mechanism of drug resistance and develop a strategy to minimize resistance.     

小桐子愈伤组织的诱导

本文以小桐子的叶片、叶柄、茎段及下胚轴和子叶作为外植体,研究不同外植体类型对愈伤组织诱导的影响,结果表明叶柄的诱导率最高,其次为茎段的诱导率。同时以小桐子的下胚轴作为外植体,研究植物生长调节剂种类及浓度配比对愈伤组织诱导的影响,结果显示6-BA与2,4-D的组合更适宜小桐子愈伤组织的诱导,MS+6-BA0.5mg/L+2,4-D0.1mg/L为小桐子愈伤组织诱导的最佳培养基,其愈伤组织诱导率高达96.7%。本研究为小桐子愈伤组织的分化、植株再生及相关的遗传转化研究提供了参考。     

Real-time PCR genotyping and frequency of the myostatin F94L mutation in beef cattle breeds

This research developed two real-time PCR assays, employing high-resolution melt and allele-specific analysis to accurately genotype the F94L mutation in cattle. This mutation (g.433C > A) in the growth differentiation factor 8 or myostatin gene has recently been shown to be functionally associated with increased muscle mass and carcass yield in cattle. The F94L mutation is not, like other myostatin mutations, associated with reduced fertility and dystocia. It is therefore a candidate for introgression into other breeds to improve retail beef yield and the development of a simple and accurate test to genotype this specific mutation is warranted. Variations in the efficiency of enzyme cleavage compromised the accuracy of genotyping by published methods, potentially resulting in an overestimation of the frequency of the mutant allele. The frequency of the F94L mutation was determined by real-time PCR in 1140 animals from 15 breeds of cattle in Australia. The mutation was present in Simmental (0.8%), Piedmontese (2%), Droughtmaster (4%) and Limousin (94.2%) but not found in Salers, Angus, Poll Hereford, Hereford, Gelbvieh, Charolais, Jersey, Brahman, Holstein, Shorthorn or Maine Anjou. The low prevalence of F94L in all beef breeds except Limousin indicates the significant potential for this mutation to improve retail yield in Australian beef cattle.     

云南产凤尾蕨属植物(凤尾蕨科)的新修订

在《中国植物志》和《云南植物志》的基础上,对云南产凤尾蕨属植物进行新的分类修订。文中澄清了8个混淆类群,其中新等级1种,即高原凤尾蕨Pteriscuspigera(Chingex Ching et S.H.Wu)X.Q.Song;云南分布新记录1种,即假指状凤尾蕨Pteris psudodactylina Ching et S.K.Wu;新异名3个,即Pteris asperi-caulis var.cuspigera Chingex Ching et S.H.Wu,Pteris inaequalis Bak.及Pteris wallichiana var.yunnanensis(Christ)Ching et S.H.Wu。还列出了新修订种类的文献引证、标本引证、生境和地理分布。经该文研究确认,现知云南有该属植物48种。     

棉花4-香豆酸辅酶A连接酶基因克隆及原核表达

本研究从棉花中克隆了一个4CL基因,命名为Gh4CL2(GenBank登录号为FJ848870)。研究结果表明:Gh4CL2基因cDNA全长2332bp,具有一个1725bp的开放阅读框,5′非编码区为64bp,3′非编码区为543bp,编码574个氨基酸,预测分子量约为62.106kD,等电点为5.94。氨基酸同源性分析发现,Gh4CL2与来自白杨、大豆和紫草的4CL一致性较高。进一步研究Gh4CL2基因的功能,构建了该基因的原核表达载体pET-28a-4CL2,经酶切鉴定后转化到大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中。SDS-PAGE分析表明,最佳诱导表达条件为0.5mmol/LIPTG在37℃下诱导4h,重组蛋白主要以包涵体形式出现。     

淫羊藿属7种植物的雌蕊及果实形态描述的订正

采用了野外观察和光学显微技术对淫羊藿属（Epimedium L.）7种植物的雌蕊及果实的形态结构进行了研究。结果表明：7种植物的心皮数目为1个,胎座类型为边缘胎座,果实类型为蓇葖果。比较了《中国植物志》等文献的记载,订正了文献对7个种＂侧膜胎座＂或＂蒴果＂的记述,并对淫羊藿属的相应特征提出观点。