液相质谱联用的代谢组方法优化及其在蓝细菌分析中的应用

为了准确鉴定光合蓝细菌中的各种代谢物,需要对基于液相色谱–质谱联用仪(LC-MS)的代谢组学分析方法进行有针对性的优化。本研究选取了24种涉及中心碳代谢和能量代谢的代谢物作为LC-MS的检测目标,获得了每个代谢物的最适色谱分离条件和质谱参数;同时以光合蓝细菌Synechocystis sp.PCC6803为主要对象,针对性地优化了样品前处理条件,结果显示适当延长梯度洗脱顺序表的时间并将流速设为0.2 m L/min可以得到最佳的分离效果,同时选择80%(V/V)甲醇(-80?C)作为代谢物萃取剂。分析结果证明这一代谢组分析技术可以成功地应用到光合蓝细菌的研究中。     

代谢物组学的研究进展

结构基因组学、蛋白质组学和转录物组学的研究产生了大量关于基因表达和蛋白质表达的数据,但同时,它们与功能基因组学的研究相比也显示出了局限性。与之相对,生物体内代谢物组的研究有广阔的前景,这便随之产生了代谢物组学。本系统地综述了代谢物组学的最新发展动态,主要包括代谢物组学的研究内容、研究手段及其应用领域等方面。     

Recent advances in the treatment of colon cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although surgical resection is still the only treatment capable of curing colon cancer, adjuvant therapy continues to play an important role in preventing recurrence and metastasis. In recent years remarkable progress has been made in the treatment of colon cancer. This review discusses recent advances in adjuvant therapy for colon cancer, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, antiangiogenic therapy and apoptosis induction. In the meantime, molecular therapy is also elucidated in the above methods. All these new advances will provide new promises for patients of colon cancer.     

Recent advances in the treatment of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is the 9th most common malignancy in Hungary, being the 4th most frequent cause of death among all cancers. The traditional treatment approaches did not turn out to be effective against advanced gastric cancer. On the other hand, due to better understanding of the underlying molecular biology of tumors, targeted therapeutics emerge resulting in longer survival times. Dank M. Recent advances in the treatment of gastric cancer.     

NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomic study of serum in sulfur mustard exposed patients with lung disease

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a vesication chemical warfare agent for which there is currently no antidote. Despite years of research, there is no common consensus about the pathophysiological basis of chronic pulmonary disease caused by this chemical warfare agent. In this study, we combined chemometric techniques with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to explore the metabolic profile of sera from SM-exposed patients. A total of 29 serum samples obtained from 17 SM-injured patients, and 12 healthy controls were analyzed by Random Forest. Increased concentrations of seven amino acids, glycerol, dimethylamine, ketone bodies, lactate, acetate, citrulline and creatine together with the decreased very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) levels were observed in patients compared with control subjects. Our study reveals the metabolic profile of sera from SM-injured patients and indicates that NMR-based methods can distinguish these patients from healthy controls.     

Recent advances in cancer stem cells

The theory of cancer stem cells states that a subset of cancer cells within a tumor has the ability to self-renew and differentiate. Only those cells within a tumor that have these two properties are called cancer stem cells. This concept was first demonstrated in the study of leukemia where only cells with specific surface antigen profiles were able to cause leukemia when engrafted into immunodeficient mice. In recent years solid tumors were studied utilizing similar techniques in mice. Human tumors where evidence of cancer stem cells has been published include tumors of the breast, brain, pancreas, head and neck, and colon. If this difference in tumorigenicity of cancer cells also occurs in patients, then the ability to enrich for cancer stem cells lays an important groundwork for future studies where mechanisms involved in cancer stem cells can now be investigated.     

Cross‐sectional serum metabolomic study of multiple forms of muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophies are characterized by a progressive loss of muscle tissue and/or muscle function. While metabolic alterations have been described in patients’‐derived muscle biopsies, non‐invasive readouts able to describe these alterations are needed in order to objectively monitor muscle condition and response to treatment targeting metabolic abnormalities. We used a metabolomic approach to study metabolites concentration in serum of patients affected by multiple forms of muscular dystrophy such as Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies, limb‐girdle muscular dystrophies type 2A and 2B, myotonic dystrophy type 1 and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. We show that 15 metabolites involved in energy production, amino acid metabolism, testosterone metabolism and response to treatment with glucocorticoids were differentially expressed between healthy controls and Duchenne patients. Five metabolites were also able to discriminate other forms of muscular dystrophy. In particular, creatinine and the creatine/creatinine ratio were significantly associated with Duchenne patients performance as assessed by the 6‐minute walk test and north star ambulatory assessment. The obtained results provide evidence that metabolomics analysis of serum samples can provide useful information regarding muscle condition and response to treatment, such as to glucocorticoids treatment.     

生态物种形成及其研究进展

物种形成是基本的进化过程, 也是生物多样性形成的基础。自然选择可以导致新物种的产生。生态物种形成是指以生态为基础的歧化选择使不同群体分化产生生殖隔离的物种形成过程。本文首先回顾了生态物种形成的研究历史, 并详细介绍了生态物种形成的3个要素, 即歧化选择的来源、生殖隔离的形式以及关联歧化选择与生殖隔离的遗传机制。歧化选择的来源主要包括不同的环境或生态位、不同形式的性选择, 以及群体间的相互作用。生殖隔离的形式多种多样, 我们总结了合子前和合子后隔离的遗传学机制以及在生态物种形成中起到的作用。控制适应性性状的基因与导致生殖隔离的基因可以通过基因多效性或连锁不平衡相互关联起来。借助于第二代测序技术, 研究者可以对生态物种形成的遗传学与基因组学基础进行研究。此外, 本文还总结了生态物种形成领域最新的研究进展, 包括平行进化的全基因组基础, 以及基因流影响群体分化的理论基础。通过归纳比较由下至上和由上至下这两种不同的研究思路, 作者认为这两种思路的结合可以为生态物种形成基因的筛选提供更有力也更精确的方法。同时, 作者还提出生态物种形成的研究应该基于更好的表型描述以及更完整的基因组信息, 研究的物种也应该具有更广泛的代表性。     

Recent advances in the study of gibberellin mutants

Recent advances in the study of GA mutants are reviewed. Endogenous GAs in the vast majority of GA synthesis and response mutants have now been quantified by physicochemical means, and the implications of the results are discussed. In recent papers the effects of synthesis mutations on processes other than stem elongation have received increased attention, as has the advent of mutants with reportedly elevated GA levels. The feedback theory has been formulated, explaining paradoxical observations on endogenous GA levels in certain response mutants. In a significant breakthrough, a GA biosynthesis gene has been cloned, paving the way for a combined approach to future GA research, involving GA mutants, physicochemical analyses, and molecular techniques.     

Recent advances in the phylogenetic study of ghrelin

To understand fully the biology of ghrelin, it is important to know the evolutionary history of ghrelin and its receptor. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic studies of mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates are a useful approach to that end. Ghrelin is a hormone that has apparently evaded natural selection during a long evolutionary history. Surely ghrelin plays crucial physiological roles in living animals. Phylogenetic studies reveal the nature and evolutionary history of this important signaling system.     

Recent advances in the study of HPV-associated carcinogenesis

Human papillomaviruses(HPVs) cause virtually all cervical cancers, the second leading cause of death by cancer among women, as well as other anogenital cancers and a subset of head and neck cancers. Approximately half of women, who develop cervical cancer die from it. Despite the optimism that has accompanied the introduction of prophylactic vaccines to prevent some HPV infections, the relatively modest uptake of the vaccine, especially in the developing world, and the very high fraction of men and women who are already infected, means that HPV-associated disease will remain as a significant public health problem for decades. In this review, we summarize some recent findings on HPV-associated carcinogenesis, such as mi RNAs in HPV-associated cancers, implication of stem cells in the biology and therapy of HPV-positive cancers, HPV vaccines, targeted therapy of cervical cancer, and drug treatment for HPV-induced intraepithelial neoplasias.     

Discovery of urine biomarkers for bladder cancer via global metabolomics

Bladder cancer (BC) is latent in its early stage and lethal in its late stage. Therefore, early diagnosis and intervention are essential for successful BC treatment. Considering the limitations of current diagnostic tools, noninvasive biomarkers that are both highly sensitive and specific are needed to improve the overall survival and quality of life of patients. With the advent of systems biology, “-omics” technologies have been developed over the past few decades. As a promising member, global metabolomics has increasingly been found to have clear potential for biomarker discovery. However, urinary metabolomics studies related to BC have lagged behind those of other urinary cancers, and major findings have not been systematically reported. The objective of this review is to comprehensively list the currently identified potential urinary metabolite biomarkers for BC.     

Recent advances in the study of chromosome structure

The Botanical Review -     

Recent advances in the study of prenylated proteins

Post-translational modification of proteins with isoprenoids was first recognized as a general phenomenon in 1984. In recent years, our understanding, including mechanistic studies, of the enzymatic reactions associated with these modifications and their physiological functions has increased dramatically. Of particular functional interest is the role of prenylation in facilitating protein-protein interactions and membrane-associated protein trafficking. The loss of proper localization of Ras proteins when their farnesylation is inhibited has also permitted a new target for anti-malignancy pharmaceuticals. Recent advances in the enzymology and function of protein prenylation are reviewed in this article.     

Recent advances in the study of electroreception.

Recent studies on electroreception in fish have focused on the structure and function of recurrent descending pathways, efference copy mechanisms, and multiple neuronal maps involved in the processing of sensory information. Studies on a neuronal oscillator have revealed that different neuronal inputs modulate the pattern of oscillations to produce different forms of behavioral output.     

Orexigenic action of oral zinc: metabolomic analysis in the rat hypothalamus

ABSTRACT

We previously reported an orexigenic action of oral zinc administration in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats during an early stage of feeding with a zinc-deficient diet, without decreased zinc concentrations in tissues. The overall conclusion was that orally but not intraperitoneally administered zinc stimulates food intake in short-term zinc-deficient-diet fed rats. We here investigate the mechanism of the orexigenic action of zinc using GC-MS/MS-targeted metabolomic analysis in the rat hypothalamus. Four-week-old, male SD/Slc rats were used, and after 2 days of feeding with a zinc-deficient diet, 3 mg of ZnSO₄ in 5 mL saline solution were administered to each rat either orally or intraperitoneally. Three hours after administration, the rats were sacrificed and the hypothalamus were excised and analyzed. We found that the oral administration group showed increased concentrations of 3-aminopropanoic acid (β-alanine), hypotaurine, dopamine, and biotin. In light of metabolomic analysis of these results, we indicate directions for further research.