Understanding the Role of Dicer in Astrocyte Development

The Dicer1 allele is used to show that microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in astrocyte development and functions. While it is known that astrocytes that lack miRNAs are dysregulated, the in vivo phenotypes of these astrocytes are not well understood. In this study, we use Aldh1l1-EGFP transgene, a marker of astrocytes, to characterize mouse models with conditional Dicer1 ablation (via either human or mouse GFAP-Cre). This transgene revealed novel features of the defective astrocytes from the absence of miRNA. Although astrocyte miRNAs were depleted in both lines, we found histological and molecular differences in the Aldh1l1-EGFP cells between the two Cre lines. Aldh1l1-EGFP cells from hGFAP-Cre mutant lines displayed up-regulation of Aldh1l1-EGFP with increased proliferation and a genomic profile that acquired many features of wildtype primary astrocyte cultures. In the young mGFAP-Cre mutant lines we found that Aldh1l1-EGFP cells were disorganized and hyperproliferative in the developing cerebellum. Using the Aldh1l1-EGFP transgene, our work provides new insights into the roles of miRNAs in astrocyte development and the features of astrocytes in these two mouse models.     

Acylation of Antioxidant of Bamboo Leaves with Fatty Acids by Lipase and the Acylated Derivatives’ Efficiency in the Inhibition of Acrylamide Formation in Fried Potato Crisps

This study selectively acylated the primary hydroxyl groups on flavonoids in antioxidant of bamboo leaves (AOB) using lauric acid with Candida antarctica lipase B in tert-amyl-alcohol. The separation and isolation of acylated derivatives were performed using silica gel column chromatography with a mixture of dichloromethane/diethyl ether/methanol as eluents. Both thin layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses confirmed the high efficiency of the isolation process with the purified orientin-6″-laurate, isoorientin-6″-laurate, vitexin-6″-laurate, and isovitexin-6″-laurate that were obtained. The addition of AOB and acylated AOB reduced acrylamide formation in fried potato crisps. Results showed that 0.05% AOB and 0.05% and 0.1% acylated AOB groups significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the content of acrylamide in potato crisps by 30.7%, 44.5%, and 46.9%, respectively.