Screening of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes for the Ginsenoside Compound K In Vitro: An Efficient Anti-Cancer Substance Originating from Panax Ginseng

Ginsenoside compound K (CK), a rare ginsenoside originating from Panax Ginseng, has been found to possess unique pharmacological activities specifically as anti-cancers. However, the role of cytochrome P450s (CYPs) in the metabolism of CK is unclear. In this study, we screened the CYPs for the metabolism of CK in vitro using human liver microsomes (HLMs) or human recombinant CYPs. The results showed that CK inhibited the enzyme activities of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 in the HLMs. The K_m and V_max values of CK were 84.20±21.92 μM and 0.28±0.04 nmol/mg protein/min, respectively, for the HLMs; 34.63±10.48 μM and 0.45±0.05 nmol/nmol P450/min, respectively, for CYP2C9; and 27.03±5.04 μM and 0.68±0.04 nmol/nmol P450/min, respectively, for CYP3A4. The IC₅₀ values were 16.00 μM and 9.83 μM, and K_i values were 14.92 μM and 11.42μM for CYP2C9 and CYP3A4, respectively. Other human CYP isoforms, including CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, and CYP2C19, showed minimal or no effect on CK metabolism. The results suggested that CK was a substrate and also inhibitors for both CYP2C9 and CYP3A4. Patients using CK in combination with therapeutic drugs that are substrates of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 for different reasons should be careful, although the inhibiting potency of CK is much poorer than that of enzyme-specific inhibitors.     

The Composition of Microbiome in Larynx and the Throat Biodiversity between Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients and Control Population

The throat is an ecological assemblage involved human cells and microbiota, and the colonizing bacteria are important factors in balancing this environment. However, this bacterial community profile has thus been poorly investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the microbial biology of the larynx and to analyze the throat biodiversity in laryngeal carcinoma patients compared to a control population in a case-control study. Barcoded pyrosequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA gene was used. We collected tissue samples from 29 patients with laryngeal carcinoma and 31 control patients with vocal cord polyps. The findings of high-quality sequence datasets revealed 218 genera from 13 phyla in the laryngeal mucosa. The predominant communities of phyla in the larynx were Firmicutes (54%), Fusobacteria (17%), Bacteroidetes (15%), Proteobacteria (11%), and Actinobacteria (3%). The leading genera were Streptococcus (36%), Fusobacterium (15%), Prevotella (12%), Neisseria (6%), and Gemella (4%). The throat bacterial compositions were highly different between laryngeal carcinoma subjects and control population (p = 0.006). The abundance of the 26 genera was significantly different between the laryngeal cancer and control groups by metastats analysis (p<0.05). Fifteen genera may be associated with laryngeal carcinoma by partial least squares discriminant analysis (p<0.001). In summary, this study revealed the microbiota profiles in laryngeal mucosa from tissue specimens. The compositions of bacteria community in throat were different between laryngeal cancer patients and controls, and probably were related with this carcinoma. The disruption of this bio-ecological niche might be a risk factor for laryngeal carcinoma.     

Genome-Scale Screening of Drug-Target Associations Relevant to Ki Using a Chemogenomics Approach

The identification of interactions between drugs and target proteins plays a key role in genomic drug discovery. In the present study, the quantitative binding affinities of drug-target pairs are differentiated as a measurement to define whether a drug interacts with a protein or not, and then a chemogenomics framework using an unbiased set of general integrated features and random forest (RF) is employed to construct a predictive model which can accurately classify drug-target pairs. The predictability of the model is further investigated and validated by several independent validation sets. The built model is used to predict drug-target associations, some of which were confirmed by comparing experimental data from public biological resources. A drug-target interaction network with high confidence drug-target pairs was also reconstructed. This network provides further insight for the action of drugs and targets. Finally, a web-based server called PreDPI-K_i was developed to predict drug-target interactions for drug discovery. In addition to providing a high-confidence list of drug-target associations for subsequent experimental investigation guidance, these results also contribute to the understanding of drug-target interactions. We can also see that quantitative information of drug-target associations could greatly promote the development of more accurate models. The PreDPI-K_i server is freely available via: http://sdd.whu.edu.cn/dpiki.     

扶桑绵粉蚧若虫对不同蔬菜寄主的选择性与适生性

测定了扶桑绵粉蚧2龄若虫对11科24种蔬菜的取食选择性。结果显示,在8种绿叶类蔬菜中,扶桑绵粉蚧对旋花科的空心菜具有较强的取食选择性;在8种果实类蔬菜中,扶桑绵粉蚧喜欢取食葫芦科的南瓜;在8种根茎类蔬菜中,扶桑绵粉蚧喜欢取食茄科的马铃薯和天南星科的芋艿。在11科蔬菜中,扶桑绵粉蚧比较嗜好茄科、葫芦科、旋花科、菊科、天南星科等科的蔬菜。24种蔬菜上,扶桑绵粉蚧的瞬时增长率ri均大于0,表明24种蔬菜均能满足扶桑绵粉蚧生长发育和种群增长的需要。综合比较扶桑绵粉蚧对寄主的选择性、种群建立率和瞬时增长率,认为扶桑绵粉蚧在马铃薯、南瓜、空心菜、生菜、芋艿、苋菜等蔬菜上的适生性较高,在大豆、豇豆、木耳菜等蔬菜上的适生性较低。     

ITS/CHS1靶位序列分析结合SRAP分子标记技术鉴定Nannizzia incurvata临床分离株

以转录间隔区（internal transcribed spacer,ITS）和几丁质合成酶1（chitinase synthase 1,CHS1）为鉴定靶位,结合种系进化分析将2007年至2016年分离自头癣或面癣患儿的12株石膏样小孢子菌复合体成员（现被归入Nannizzia菌属）鉴定到种水平,其中5株为Nannizzia gypsea（Microsporum gypseum）,另7株为Nannizzia incurvata（Microsporum incurvatum）。在此基础上,通过序列相关扩增多态性（SRAP）分子标记进一步证实二者在DNA多位点存在扩增多态性。本研究证实在我国湖北地区存在Nannizzia incurvata,为我国开展Nannizzia菌属的分子流行病学研究提供了实验室依据和支持。     

Purification, characterization and primary structure of a chymotrypsin inhibitor from Naja atra venom

A chymotrypsin inhibitor, designated NA-CI, was isolated from the venom of the Chinese cobra Naja atra by three-step chromatography. It inhibited bovine alpha-chymotrypsin with a Ki of 25 nM. The molecular mass of NA-CI was determined to be 6403.8 Da by matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis. The complete amino acid sequence was determined after digestion of S-carboxymethylated inhibitor with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease and porcine trypsin. NA-CI was a single polypeptide chain composed of 57 amino acid residues. The main contact site with the protease (P1) has a Phe, showing the specificity of the inhibitor. NA-CI shared great similarity with the chymotrypsin inhibitor from Naja naja venom (identities=89.5%) and other snake venom protease inhibitors.     

Fed-batch fermentation of Tuber melanosporum for the hyperproduction of mycelia and bioactive Tuber polysaccharides

For the first time, a fed-batch fermentation process of Tuber melanosporum was developed for the efficient production of bioactive mycelia and Tuber polysaccharides. Each 1.67 g/L of peptone and 8.33 g/L of yeast extract were added on day 3, 6, and 9, respectively, and sucrose was fed to maintain its concentration around 35–5 g/L when its residual level decreased to 10–5 g/L. Then, the maximal biomass, the production of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) and intracellular polysaccharides (IPS) reached 53.72 ± 2.57 g DW/L, 7.09 ± 0.62 and 4.43 ± 0.21 g/L, respectively. Compared with the batch culture conducted in the enriched medium, the biomass, the production of EPS and IPS were enhanced by 55.8%, 222.3% and 103.2%, respectively. Not only the cell density but also the production of EPS and IPS were the highest ever reported in truffle fermentation, and the biomass was also the highest as ever reported in mushroom fermentation.     

Application of Lake-model based indices from chlorophyll fluorescence on sugarcane seedling Application of Lake-model based indices from chlorophyll fluorescence on sugarcane seedling

 为从能量平衡及分配的角度研究干旱胁迫下甘蔗(Saccharum officinarum)苗期光系统的运转状况, 进而为丰富不同甘蔗品种的抗旱性评价指标及实现对季节性干旱胁迫的快速诊断提供理论依据, 该研究通过对基于Lake模型的叶绿素荧光参数在不同入射光强下变化的动态分析, 研究光合电子传递链中能量平衡状态对不同水分梯度(40%、25%、10%、8%)的响应。结果表明: 两个供试品种(耐旱品种‘ROC22’和非耐旱品种‘ROC16’)的最大光能利用效率(F_v/F_m)、相对电子传递速率(rETR)、光系统II(PSII)量子效率(Φ_II)和光化学猝灭(q_L)均随着干旱胁迫程度的增加而下降, 可调节性能量耗散(Φ_NPQ)和非调节性能量耗散(Φ_NO)则随着干旱胁迫程度的增加而上升。除Φ_NO之外的叶绿素荧光参数的变化幅度均随着光合有效辐射(PAR)的增加而增大。在干旱胁迫的前中期, 相对于‘ROC22’, ‘ROC16’的PSII反应中心能够维持较高的开放程度; 但‘ROC22’调节能量耗散的能力和对干旱胁迫的敏感程度均高于‘ROC16’, 说明较强的光保护能力是‘ROC22’的抗旱性高于‘ROC16’的主要原因之一。对干旱胁迫敏感且在不同PAR下较为稳定的Φ_NO可作为甘蔗苗期抗旱性的快速诊断和评价指标。rETR对递增的PAR的响应表现为随着干旱胁迫程度的增加而提前出现峰值或下降趋势, 但是不同水分梯度下的rETR在PAR较低时并无显著差异, 表明干旱胁迫下光抑制现象的提早出现是造成光系统损伤的首要因素, 高光强对干旱胁迫信号起放大作用。     

广东天井山林区发现角原矛头蝮

2009年4～7月,在广东天井山林区采集到3条角原矛头蝮(Protobothrops cornutus),这是该蛇在我国野外第二次被发现,天井山是新发现的一个分布点。本次野外新发现进一步证实了角原矛头蝮在我国的自然分布,为深入了解该蛇的形态特征及地理分布格局提供了重要基础资料。     

以潮霉素B抗性为选择标记的深黄被孢霉原生质体转化

利用亚硝基胍(MNNG)诱变方法筛选了一株深黄被孢霉潮霉素B敏感型菌株M6-22-4。采用PEG介导的方法,将含有E.coli潮霉素B抗性标记的PD4质粒转入敏感株M6-22-4原生质体,并在潮霉素B浓度为400μg/mL的选择培养基上筛选转化子,获得了1.6~2.8个转化子/μg质粒DNA的转化频率。稳定性实验表明,质粒线性化后所获得的转化子在PDA培养基上传代10代以后,转接到选择平板上有31.6%仍具有HmB抗性;随机挑选了3个转化子,通过PCR方法检测到潮霉素抗性基因的存在,Southern杂交发现,潮霉素抗性基因已经以1~2拷贝数整合到深黄被孢霉M6-22-4染色体上,这是深黄被孢霉转化系统的首次报道。