Strong and High-Precision Manipulation of Nanoparticle with Graphene-Coated Fiber Systems

Two kinds of graphene-coated fiber systems are proposed and studied for optical trapping. Their plasmonic modes in uniform environment and close to the substrate are studied in the finite element method. The optical forces exerted on dielectric nanoparticle by these systems are calculated by standalone waveguide approximation. It is found that for the dielectric particle with diameter of 1 nm, the maximal optical forces generated by certain modes are more than 10⁷ fN/W whereas their force ranges are only one to several nanometers. These results may have important applications in strong and high-precision optical tweezers.

     

Discovery of thieno[2,3-c]pyridines as potent COT inhibitors

Evaluation of hit chemotypes from high throughput screening identified a novel series of 2,4-disubstituted thieno[2,3-c]pyridines as COT kinase inhibitors. Structural modifications exploring SAR at the 2- and 4-positions resulting in inhibitors with improved enzyme potency and cellular activity are disclosed.     

Regulation of myostatin expression is associated with growth and muscle development in commercial broiler and DMC muscle

Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. Muscle tissue is the largest tissue in the body and influences body growth. Commercial Avian broiler chickens are selected for high growth rate and muscularity. Daweishan mini chickens are a slow growing small-sized chicken breed. We investigated the relations between muscle (breast and leg) myostatin mRNA expression and body and muscle growth. Twenty chickens per breed were slaughtered at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days of age. Body and muscle weights were higher at all times in Avian chickens. Breast muscle myostatin expression was higher in Avian chickens than in Daweishan mini chickens at day 30. Myostatin expression peaked at day 60 in Daweishan mini chickens and expression remained higher in breast muscle. Daweishan mini chickens myostatin expression correlated positively with carcass weight, breast and leg muscle weight from day 0 to 60, and correlated negatively with body weight from day 90 to 150, while myostatin expression in Avian chickens was negatively correlated with carcass and muscle weight from day 90 to 150. The results suggest that myostatin expression is related to regulation of body growth and muscle development, with two different regulatory mechanisms that switch between days 30 and 60.     

Solid-state NMR triple-resonance backbone assignments in a protein

Triple-resonance solid-state NMR spectroscopy is demonstrated to sequentially assign the 13C and 15N amide backbone resonances of adjacent residues in an oriented protein sample. The observed 13C chemical shift frequency provides an orientational constraint complementary to those measured from the 1H and 15N amide resonances in double-resonance experiments.     

Rational design and improvement of the dimerization‐disrupting peptide selectivity between ROCK‐I and ROCK‐II kinase isoforms in cerebrovascular diseases

Human rho‐associated coiled‐coil forming kinases (ROCKs) ROCK‐I and ROCK‐II have been documented as attractive therapeutic targets for cerebrovascular diseases. Although ROCK‐I and ROCK‐II share a high degree of structural conservation and are both present in classic rho/ROCK signaling pathway, their downstream substrates and pathological functions may be quite different. Selective targeting of the two kinase isoforms with traditional small‐molecule inhibitors is a great challenge due to their surprisingly high homology in kinase domain (~90%) and the full identity in kinase active site (100%). Here, instead of developing small‐molecule drugs to selectively target the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) site of two isoforms, we attempt to design peptide agents to selectively disrupt the homo‐dimerization event of ROCK kinases through their dimerization domains which have a relatively low conservation (~60%). Three helical peptides H1, H2, and H3 are split from the kinase dimerization domain, from which the isolated H2 peptide is found to have the best capability to rebind at the dimerization interface. A simulated annealing (SA) iteration method is used to improve the H2 peptide selectivity between ROCK‐I and ROCK‐II. The method accepts moderate degradation in peptide affinity in order to maximize the affinity difference between peptide binding to the two isoforms. Consequently, hundreds of parallel SA runs yielded six promising peptide candidates with ROCK‐I over ROCK‐II (I over II [IoII]) calculated selectivity and four promising peptide candidates with ROCK‐II over ROCK‐I (II over I [IIoI]) calculated selectivity. Subsequent anisotropy assays confirm that the selectivity values range between 13.2‐fold and 83.9‐fold for IoII peptides, and between 5.8‐fold and 21.2‐fold for IIoI peptides, which are considerably increased relative to wild‐type H2 peptide (2.6‐fold for IoII and 2.0‐fold for IIoI). The molecular origin of the designed peptide selectivity is also analyzed at structural level; it is revealed that the peptide residues can be classified into conserved, non‐conserved, and others, in which the non‐conserved residues play a crucial role in defining peptide selectivity, while conserved residues confer stability to kinase‐peptide binding.     

Targeting the exogenous htPAm gene on goat somatic cell beta-casein locus for transgenic goat production

Combining gene targeting of animal somatic cells with nuclear transfer technique has provided a powerful method to produce transgenic animal mammary gland bioreactor. The objective of this study is to make an efficient and reproducible gene targeting in goat fetal fibroblasts by inserting the exogenous htPAm cDNA into the beta-casein locus with liposomes or electroporation so that htPAm protein might be produced in gene-targeted goat mammary gland. By gene-targeting technique, the exogenous htPAm gene was inserted to milk goat beta-casein gene sequences. Fetal fibroblasts were isolated from Day 35 fetuses of Guanzhong milk goats, and transfected with linear gene-targeting vector pGBC4htPAm using Lipefectamin-2000 and electoporation, respectively. Forty-eight gene-targeted cell colonies with homologous recombination were obtained, and three cell colonies were verified by DNA sequence analysis within the homologous recombination region. Using gene-targeted cell lines as donor cells for nuclear transfer, a total of 600 reconstructed embryos had been obtained, and 146 developed cloned embryos were transferred to 16 recipient goats, and finally three goats showed pregnancy at Day 90.     

The role of AKT1 and autophagy in the protective effect of hydrogen sulphide against hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice

Hydrogen sulphide (H 2S) exerts a protective effect in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the exact mechanism of H 2S action remains largely unknown. This study was designed to investigate the role of the PtdIns3K-AKT1 pathways and autophagy in the protective effect of H 2S against hepatic I/R injury. Primary cultured mouse hepatocytes and livers with or without NaHS (a donor of H 2S) preconditioning were exposed to anoxia/reoxygenation (A/R) and I/R, respectively. In certain groups, they were also pretreated with LY294002 (AKT1-specific inhibitor), 3-methyladenine (3MA, autophagy inhibitor) or rapamycin (autophagy enhancer), alone or simultaneously. Cell viability, expression of P-AKT1, T-AKT1, LC3 and BECN1 were examined. The severity of liver injury was measured by the levels of serum aminotransferase and inflammatory cytokine, apoptosis and histological examination. GFP-LC3 redistribution and transmission electron microscopy were used to test the activity of autophagy. H 2S preconditioning activated PtdIns3K-AKT1 signaling in hepatocytes. LY294002 could abolish the AKT1 activation and attenuate the protective effect of H 2S on hepatocytes A/R and hepatic I/R injuries. H 2S suppressed hepatic autophagy in vitro and in vivo. Further reducing autophagy by 3MA also diminished the protective effect of H 2S, while rapamycin could reverse the autophagy inhibitory effect and enhance the protective effect of H 2S against hepatocytes A/R and hepatic I/R injuries, consequently. Taken together, H 2S protects against hepatocytic A/R and hepatic I/R injuries, at least in part, through AKT1 activation but not autophagy. An autophagy agonist could be applied to potentiate this hepatoprotective effect by reversing the autophagy inhibition of H 2S.     

重组蛋白G基因工程菌高密度发酵及其分离纯化

蛋白G是链球菌细胞壁蛋白,能和哺乳免疫球蛋白结合,在分离抗体研究方面具有重要的作用。重组蛋白G(SPG)基因重组工程菌高密度发酵工艺和SPG分离纯化研究工艺直接影响了蛋白G的应用。通过一级、二级种子培养,转接到发酵罐及控制补料浓度、加入IPTG等条件,考察了接种量、氧气、pH、培养方式等发酵工艺,以及超声破碎菌体、镍柱亲和层析、Sephadex G-25凝胶过滤层析和DEAE-FF离子交换层析分离提取SPG工艺,并用SDS-PAGE检测分离提取效果。高密度发酵能得到至少80g/L的菌体,最高达到150g/L的菌体,每升发酵液可得到1g的SPG。本生产工艺可得到高浓度和高产量的SPG。     

镉污染对不同生境拟水狼蛛氧化酶和金属硫蛋白应激的影响

为探讨镉(Cd)对机体抗氧化功能及金属硫蛋白(MT)的影响,在室内分别用不添加Cd2 和添加浓度为20 mgkg-1 Cd2 培养基培养的黑腹果蝇来饲喂4种不同生境下(S1,S2,S3和S4)拟水狼蛛,于饲喂5d、10d和20d后,分别测定其体内MT和丙二醛 (MDA)的含量及超抗氧化酶(GST、SOD和CAT)活性。结果表明：1,不同生境拟水狼蛛用不添加Cd2 培养基培养的黑腹果蝇饲喂后,不添加Cd2 对照组拟水狼蛛镉的积累量和MT含量无显著变化,但均显著低于添加Cd2 污染组。添加Cd2 污染组拟水狼蛛镉的积累量和MT含量都显著高于对照组,且均随着饲喂时间的延长而显著升高,具有明显的时间–效应关系(p<0.05)。2,在饲喂5d和10d后,不添加Cd饲喂的拟水狼蛛MDA含量和抗氧化酶系差异都不显著。添加Cd2 污染组(S1,S2和S3)MDA含量显著高于对照组(S4),MDA含量与饲喂时间呈显著正相关(p<0.05);GST、SOD和CAT等抗氧化酶活性污染组显著低于对照组,与饲喂时间呈显著负相关(p<0.05);饲喂20d后,污染组MDA含量和抗氧化酶（SOD和CAT）活性均与对照组无显著差异,但GST活性差异显著。     

浙江双栉蝠蛾发生与土壤关系的层次递进判别分析

为了揭示浙江双栉蝠蛾发生与土壤化学指标、土壤深度的关系,在福建省邵武市拿口镇三丰村选取春笋被浙江栉蝠蛾重度危害和轻度危害各2个样地进行调查,土壤由表及里依次分成3个层次,对每个层次测定pH值、全N含量等7个指标,采用判别分析法分别对每一层及不同层次的组合进行分析。结果表明: (1)各层独立分析,第1层单个指标中具有显著性的是有机质(X₇),判别最有效的组合是全N含量(X₂)和速效K(X₆);第2层中单个指标都不具有显著性,判别最有效的组合仍为全N含量 (X₂)和速效K(X₆);第3层单个指标中具有显著性的是有机质(X₇),判别最有效的组合是速效K(X₆)和有机质(X₇)。 (2)依据第1层判别函数能够完全正确判别分组第2层和第3层,第2层判别函数能够完全正确判别分组第3层,但第2层判别函数不能够完全正确判别分组第1层,第3层判别函数不能够完全正确判别分组第1层和第2层,判别函数具有随土壤层递进而正确判别的递进性,而不具有逆土壤层进行正确判别的逆向性。 (3)对第1层与第2层的组合、第2层与第3层的组合的判别分析,发现单个指标的显著性有所变化,但判别组合的指标没有变化,再次说明了土壤理化性状是由表及里的影响特性。 (4)与方差分析和多重比较的结果相比较,判别分析不仅能反映单个指标在分组中的显著性,而且反映出指标组合的重要性,表明单个指标的显著性不能构成对分组区别的决定性。在层次递进分析过程中,可以清晰地表明各指标在各层以及层次组合中的作用,反映出了层与层间的关系。 由此可以得出:土壤的理化性状是由表及里地影响,与浙江双栉蝠蛾发生危害程度关系密切的是全N含量 (X₂)和速效K(X₆),即全N含量 (X₂)的增加和速效K(X₆)的减少会使危害程度加重,其次为全P含量(X₃),全P含量的增加可使危害程度加重。判别分析法较方差分析和多重比较更全面深刻地反映了浙江双栉蝠蛾发生与土壤的关系。