A comparative study on physiological activities of lager and ale brewing yeasts under different gravity conditions

High gravity (HG) or very high gravity (VHG) brewing has become popular in modern breweries due to its economic and product quality advantages. However, there are the negative impacts such as the fermentation performance of brewer??s yeast in HG or VHG wort, which are closely related to changes in cell physiological activity. In the present study, 3 kinds of worts, with different gravities, were used to examine the systematic effects on fermentation performance and physiological activity of lager yeast FBY009505 (Saccharomyces pastorianus) and ale yeast FBY0099 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), as well as the resulting beer flavor. Results showed that the responses of FBY009505 and FBY0099 to the HG or VHG worts were similar. The specific fermentation rate and viability of cropped yeast of FBY009505 and FBY0099 were decreased with increasing wort gravity. The increased wort gravity resulted in the increase of energy charge and the decrease of ??-glucosides transport rate and glycolytic enzyme activities. Moreover, the environmental stresses in the HG or VHG wort showed a higher inhibitory activity against ??-glucoside transport than glycolytic enzymes. The content of intracellular trehalose and glycerol of FBY009505 and FBY0099 increased with the increase in wort gravity. The results from this study provided a potential means to systematically understand the physiology of brewer??s yeast under HG or VHG conditions.     

HIV Protease Inhibitors Sensitize Human Head and Neck Squamous Carcinoma Cells to Radiation by Activating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

BackgroundHuman head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most malignant cancer worldwide. Despite significant advances in the delivery of treatment and surgical reconstruction, there is no significant improvement of mortality rates for this disease in the past decades. Radiotherapy is the core component of the clinical combinational therapies for HNSCC. However, the tumor cells have a tendency to develop radiation resistance, which is a major barrier to effective treatment. HIV protease inhibitors (HIV PIs) have been reported with radiosensitizing activities in HNSCC cells, but the underlying cellular/molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Our previous study has shown that HIV PIs induce cell apoptosis via activation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. The aim of this study was to examine the role of ER stress in HIV PI-induced radiosensitivity in human HNSCC.

Methodology and Principal Findings

HNSCC cell lines, SQ20B and FaDu, and the most commonly used HIV PIs, lopinavir and ritonavir (L/R), were used in this study. Clonogenic assay was used to assess the radiosensitivity. Cell viability, apoptosis and cell cycle were analyzed using Cellometer Vision CBA. The mRNA and protein levels of ER stress-related genes (eIF2α, CHOP, ATF-4, and XBP-1), as well as cell cycle related protein, cyclin D1, were detected by real time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. The results demonstrated that L/R dose-dependently sensitized HNSCC cells to irradiation and inhibited cell growth. L/R-induced activation of ER stress was correlated to down-regulation of cyclin D1 expression and cell cycle arrest under G0/G1 phase.

Conclusion and Significance

HIV PIs sensitize HNSCC cells to radiotherapy by activation of ER stress and induction of cell cycle arrest. Our results provided evidence that HIV PIs can be potentially used in combination with radiation in the treatment of HNSCC.     

Structure and Properties of Organogels Developed by Diosgenin in Canola Oil

Food Biophysics - In this study, naturally occurring ingredient diosgenin was utilized as an organogelator for structuring canola oil. Results show that stable diosgenin-based organogel can be...     

北部湾涠洲岛水域发现上颌和须板异常的布氏鲸:对保护的启示

2018年初以来,北部湾涠洲岛附近出现了布氏鲸（Balaenoptera edeni）的活动。一头上颌与须板异常的小布氏鲸个体引发热议,其视频在网络上广泛流传。我们在船只调查时,目击该个体10次,其以单独活动为主（90%）,主要出现在涠洲岛到斜阳岛之间的水域,最小凸多边形家域面积为14km2,核心家域面积为166.9km²。然而,在 2019年3月30日我们发现该个体已死亡漂浮在海面,根据尸体腐烂状况来推测,该个体的死亡时间大约为3~5日,死亡原因不明。根据照片和现场解剖分析,推测该小布氏鲸的上颌和鲸须异常可能是被渔网或绳索缠绕导致的。由于无法从外形上确认属于哪一个亚种,因此我们测定了该个体的线粒体DNA D-loop（mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA）和细胞色素b（cytochrome b, Cyt b）基因,分别得到909bp和395bp的序列,经比对和系统发育重建,发现该个体属于近岸分布的小布氏鲸亚种（Eden’s whale, B. e. edeni）。由于小布氏鲸具有一定季节迁移特性,我们无法判断造成其上颌伤害的渔网或绳索是否在中国水域。尽管如此,仍然建议当地部门应加强宣传,减少渔网等海洋垃圾的丢弃和排放,为小布氏鲸营造一个安全的栖息环境。     

Insulin resistance dysregulates CYP7B1 leading to oxysterol accumulation: a pathway for NAFL to NASH transition

NAFLD is an important public health issue closely associated with the pervasive epidemics of diabetes and obesity. Yet, despite NAFLD being among the most common of chronic liver diseases, the biological factors responsible for its transition from benign nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to NASH remain unclear. This lack of knowledge leads to a decreased ability to find relevant animal models, predict disease progression, or develop clinical treatments. In the current study, we used multiple mouse models of NAFLD, human correlation data, and selective gene overexpression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StarD1) in mice to elucidate a plausible mechanistic pathway for promoting the transition from NAFL to NASH. We show that oxysterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7B1) controls the levels of intracellular regulatory oxysterols generated by the “acidic/alternative” pathway of cholesterol metabolism. Specifically, we report data showing that an inability to upregulate CYP7B1, in the setting of insulin resistance, results in the accumulation of toxic intracellular cholesterol metabolites that promote inflammation and hepatocyte injury. This metabolic pathway, initiated and exacerbated by insulin resistance, offers insight into approaches for the treatment of NAFLD.     

Differentially expressed genes in embryonic cardiac tissues of mice lacking <Emphasis Type="Italic">Folr1</Emphasis>gene activity

Background  

Heart anomalies are the most frequently observed among all human congenital defects. As with the situation for neural tube defects (NTDs), it has been demonstrated that women who use multivitamins containing folic acid peri-conceptionally have a reduced risk for delivering offspring with conotruncal heart defects [1–3]. Cellular folate transport is mediated by a receptor or binding protein and by an anionic transporter protein system. Defective function of the Folr1 (also known as Folbp1; homologue of human FRα) gene in mice results in inadequate transport, accumulation, or metabolism of folate during cardiovascular morphogenesis.     

TREM2 Attenuates Aβ1-42-Mediated Neuroinflammation in BV-2 Cells by Downregulating TLR Signaling

Neurochemical Research - The pathogenesis of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) mainly involves abnormal accumulation of extracellular β-amyloid (Aβ) and the consequent neurotoxic...     

Identification of a novel mutation of the gene for gap junction protein α3 (GJA3) in a Chinese family with congenital cataract

Cataract, defined as any opacity of the crystallin lens, can be divided into early onset (congenital or infantile) and age-related. It is the leading cause of visual disability in children, and mutations in many genes have currently been linked with this disorder. In the present study, we identified a genetic defect in a Chinese family with congenital cataract. Genomic DNA was extracted from the venous blood of the family and 100 normal controls. To screen for the disease-causing mutation, we sequenced eight candidate genes, and to predict the functional consequences of the mutation, a structural model of the protein was developed using the Protein Data Bank and PyMOL 1.1r1. We found a novel variant (c.163 A > G transition) in the gene for gap junction protein α3, or the connexin46 gene. This mutation resulted in the substitution of a highly conserved asparagine at codon 55 by aspartic acid (p.N55D). There were no nucleotide polymorphisms in the other candidate genes sequenced.