LINC00612靶向miR-30d对心肌细胞缺氧/复氧损伤的影响

为探讨长基因间非编码RNA 00612(LINC00612)靶向微小RNA(miR)-30d对心肌细胞缺氧/复氧损伤的影响,该研究采用实时定量PCR检测心肌梗死患者血浆中LINC00612、miR-30d的相对水平。建立大鼠心肌细胞H9C2缺氧/复氧损伤模型。将空载体质粒(pcDNA)、LINC00612过表达载体(pcDNA-LINC00612)、miRNA抑制物阴性对照(anti-miR-NC)、miR-30d抑制物(anti-miR-30d)、pcDNA-LINC00612+miR-30d模拟物分别转染至H9C2细胞,缺氧/复氧处理后,采用CCK-8法检测细胞活力,流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡,商品试剂盒检测细胞中超氧化物岐化酶(SOD)活性以及细胞培养液中肌酸激酶(CK)和乳酸盐脱氢酶(LDH)水平。该研究得出与健康对照者比较,心肌梗死患者血浆中LINC00612的相对水平显著降低(P0.05),miR-30d的相对水平显著升高(P0.05)。缺氧/复氧显著下调LINC00612的表达(P0.05),上调miR-30d的表达(P0.05),降低细胞活力、SOD活性(P0.05),并增加凋亡率以及细胞培养液中CK、LDH的水平(P0.05)。过表达LINC00612或抑制miR-30d显著增加细胞活力、SOD活性(P0.05),并降低凋亡率以及细胞培养液中CK、LDH水平(P0.05)。过表达miR-30d显著降低细胞活力、SOD活性(P0.05),并增加凋亡率以及细胞培养液中CK、LDH水平(P0.05)。过表达miR-30d可明显减弱LINC00612过表达对缺氧/复氧心肌细胞活力、凋亡、氧化损伤的影响(P0.05)。总之,LINC00612靶向miR-30d可减轻缺氧/复氧诱导的心肌细胞凋亡和氧化应激损伤。     

mTOR信号通路诱导的自噬在心肌细胞缺氧损伤中的作用研究

目的:探讨自噬在心肌细胞缺氧损伤中的作用及分子机制。方法:体外分离培养乳鼠心肌细胞,体外建立缺氧/去血清(H/SD)模型以模拟在体的缺血环境。分别给予自噬抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3MA,5 mM)和mTOR抑制剂雷帕霉素(1.0μg/L)调节心肌细胞自噬水平。分别采用TUNEL染色检测心肌细胞凋亡,Western blot方法检测心肌细胞蛋白表达水平。结果:H/SD损伤可以显著诱导心肌细胞自噬水平(P0.05),并且细胞自噬水平可以被3-MA及雷帕霉素调节。同时,H/SD可以显著增加心肌细胞凋亡(P0.05),而给予3-MA抑制自噬水平可以减少细胞凋亡(P0.05)。相反,雷帕霉素增加自噬同样可以加重缺氧导致的心肌细胞凋亡(P0.05)。H/SD损伤过程中,心肌细胞mTOR信号通路被激活,而自噬抑制剂3-MA可以显著提高缺氧条件下心肌细胞中p-mTOR(Ser2448)的表达水平(P0.05),并增加mTOR下游分子p-p70S6k(P0.05)和p-S6(P0.05)的表达。结论:mTOR信号通路诱导的细胞自噬可能参与了缺氧损伤诱导的心肌细胞凋亡。     

MiR-21靶向调控Mfn2对缺血再灌注损伤肾小管上皮NRK-52E细胞自噬及凋亡的影响

摘要 目的：探讨miR-21对缺血再灌注损伤肾小管上皮细胞自噬及凋亡的影响及其与线粒体融合素2（mitochondria fusion protein mitofusin2,Mfn2）的靶向关系。方法：将大鼠近端肾小管上皮细胞株NRK-52E细胞按处理方式不同分组：I/R+control mimics组（转染control mimics后缺氧3 h/复氧3 h）,I/R+miR-21mimics组（转染miR-21mimics后缺氧3 h/复氧3 h）,I/R组（缺氧3 h/复氧3 h）及对照组（正常培养）。选取30只Sprague-Dawley(SD)大鼠,随机分为假手术组、缺血再灌注模型组(I/R组)。取大鼠肾组织进行HE染色,自动生化分析仪检测大鼠血清尿素氮（BUN）、肌酐（Cr）,四甲基偶氮唑盐比色法（MTT）检测细胞增殖能力,TUNEL法检测细胞凋亡,实时荧光定量PCR检测细胞自噬和凋亡相关基因LC3-Ⅱ、LC3-Ⅰ、Beclin1、Bcl-2、Bax及Mfn2 mRNA表达,Western blot法检测细胞自噬和凋亡相关蛋白的表达,荧光素酶实验验证miR-21与Mfn2的靶向关系。结果：Sham组大鼠血清BUN、Cr水平,大鼠肾组织细胞凋亡率高于I/R组（P<0.05）。I/R组大鼠肾组织肾小管结构紊乱,大量炎症细胞浸润。Sham组大鼠肾组织miR-21水平高于I/R组（P<0.05）。48 和 72 h 时,I/R+miR-21 mimics组细胞活力明显低于I/R+control mimics组,I/R组及对照组（P<0.05）,I/R组细胞活力低于对照组（P<0.05）。I/R+miR-21mimics组凋亡率显著高于I/R+control mimics组,I/R组及对照组（P<0.05）,I/R组凋亡率显著高于对照组（P<0.05）。与对照组比较,I/R组细胞Beclin1、LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ、Bax蛋白及基因mRNA表达量升高,Bcl-2蛋白及基因mRNA表达量降低（P<0.05）;与I/R组比较,I/R+miR-21mimics组细胞Beclin1、LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ、Bax蛋白及基因mRNA表达量升高,Bcl-2蛋白及基因mRNA表达量降低（P<0.05）。miR-21与Mfn2具有靶向关系。结论：miR-21可靶向Mfn2促进肾缺血再灌注损伤引起的凋亡及自噬。     

孤儿核受体Nur77对缺/复氧损伤中心肌细胞自噬的调节

目的:研究孤儿核受体Nur77对缺/复氧损伤中心肌细胞自噬的调节作用。方法:差速贴壁法分离乳鼠心肌细胞,经免疫荧光染色鉴定纯度。缺氧(1%O_2、5%CO_2和94%N_2)培养12 h后,常氧培养2 h构建心肌细胞缺/复氧损伤。实时定量PCR和western blot的方法检测Nur77的表达变化。通过siRNA转染抑制心肌细胞nur77表达,通过自噬标志蛋白表达改变作为细胞自噬水平的变化。结果:原代分离的心肌细胞纯度95%以上。缺氧12 h和缺/复氧(12 h/2 h)刺激后,心肌细胞中Nur77表达都明显升高(P0.01)。与缺氧组相比,缺/复氧组细胞质中的水平明显增加(P0.01),细胞核中Nur77水平无明显变化。抑制Nur77后,缺/复氧组自噬水平明显降低,缺氧组心肌细胞自噬水平无明显变化。结论:Nur77参与缺/复氧损伤中心肌细胞自噬水平的调节。     

黄芪甲苷后处理对乳鼠心肌细胞缺氧复氧损伤的作用研究

目的:观察黄芪甲苷(AstragalosideⅣ,AsⅣ)后处理对缺氧复氧损伤(simulated ischemia reperfusion injury,SI/RI)的SD乳鼠心肌细胞是否具有保护作用。方法:将乳鼠原代心肌细胞平均分为五组,即空白对照组(Control)、缺氧复氧处理组(SI/RI)、黄芪甲苷预处理(5,10、20μM)+SI/RI组(AsIV+SI/RI)。各组细胞经处理后,四氮唑溴盐比色法(MTT)检测各组细胞存活率;TUNEL染色法测定各组细胞凋亡率;SOD测试盒检测培养液中超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)含量,总嘌呤氧化酶(XOD)测试盒检测丙二醛(MDA)含量。Western blot法检测各组细胞抗凋亡蛋白Bcl-2和促凋亡蛋白Caspase-3的表达。结果:与空白组相比,缺氧复氧损伤组细胞活力显著下降(P0.05),凋亡率显著上升(P0.05),其培养液中SOD水平显著降低(P0.05),MDA水平显著升高。而不同浓度AsⅣ后处理组的心肌细胞存活率显著上升,凋亡率显著下降,培养液中SOD水平显著上升,MDA水平显著下降(P0.05),且呈浓度呈依赖性。Western blot结果显示AsⅣ后处理组细胞中的Bcl-2表达明显上升,Caspase-3明显下降。结论:黄芪甲苷后处理对缺氧复氧诱导的乳鼠心肌细胞损伤具有显著的保护作用,能够显著上调抗凋亡蛋白Bcl-2的表达,下调促凋亡蛋白Caspase-3的表达。     

miR-146a调控PI3K/Akt信号通路促进心力衰竭大鼠心肌细胞凋亡

目的:探讨miR-146a对心力衰竭大鼠的保护作用及对心肌细胞的影响,并探讨其可能机制。方法:随机选择6只SPF级不进行起搏处理的SD大鼠为假手术组(A组),剩余大鼠构建心力衰竭大鼠模型,随机分为模型组(B组)、转染miR-146a抑制剂腺病毒的心力衰竭大鼠(C组)、转染未携带miR-146a抑制剂腺病毒的心力衰竭大鼠(D组),每组6只,观察对心力衰竭大鼠的影响。qRT-PCR测定大鼠心肌组织miR-146a的表达,小动物超声成像系统检测大鼠的心脏超声心动图,HE染色及TUNEL法观察大鼠心肌的病变程度及心肌细胞的凋亡情况,Western印迹检测心肌细胞PI3K、p-PI3K、Akt、p-Akt、Cleaved caspase-3和Cleaved caspase-9的表达。结果:B组大鼠心肌组织中miR-146a的表达水平明显较A组上调(P0.05);C组大鼠心肌组织中miR-146a的表达水平明显较B组下调(P0.05);C组大鼠LVEF、LVFS明显较B组上升(P0.05);C组大鼠心肌病变程度明显较B组改善;C组大鼠心肌细胞凋亡率明显较B组下降(P0.05);C组大鼠心肌组织Cleaved caspase-3、Cleaved caspase-9蛋白的表达水平明显较B组下调(P0.05);C组大鼠PI3K、Akt蛋白的磷酸化水平明显较B组高(P0.05)。结论:miR-146a在心力衰竭大鼠心肌组织中呈高表达。miR-146a可能通过抑制PI3K/Akt信号通路发挥其促进心肌细胞凋亡的作用,进而促进疾病的发生与进展。     

丹参酮ⅡA调节microRNA-1保护缺氧心肌细胞的作用研究

目的:研究丹参酮Ⅱ A(TanshinoneⅡA)通过调节microRNA-1抗心肌细胞缺氧损伤的作用。方法:原代培养新生大鼠心肌细胞,建立心肌细胞缺氧模型。MTT法检测心肌细胞存活率(%);TUNEL、流式细胞术测心肌细胞凋亡率;激光共聚焦检测心肌细胞内钙离子[Ca2+]i浓度的变化情况。结果:MTT结果显示丹参酮ⅡA对缺氧心肌细胞及过表达miR-1引起心肌细胞损伤具有保护作用。丹参酮ⅡA增加了缺氧心肌细胞的存活率(P0.05),同时给予丹参酮ⅡA和miR-1组与单独miR-1损伤组相比较,存活率也明显升高,呈现剂量依赖性。TUNEL结果显示丹参酮ⅡA可以抑制缺氧诱导的细胞凋亡,丹参酮ⅡA可以明显降低由缺氧导致的细胞凋亡率(P0.05)。共聚焦检测结果显示,缺氧损伤的心肌细胞内[Ca2+]i显著升高1322.72±5.16(vs正常对照组,P0.05),丹参酮ⅡA则有效抑制由缺氧引起过高的[Ca2+]i。miR-1诱导的细胞内[Ca2+]i升高至1349.33±62.63,约为正常对照组的1.96倍,而丹参酮ⅡA则有效抑制胞内过高的[Ca2+]i,从而发挥心肌保护作用。结论:丹参酮ⅡA可能是通过抑制胞内miR-1的表达,参与对钙离子浓度的调控,发挥其对心肌细胞的保护作用。     

sRAGE抑制缺血/再灌注引起的心肌细胞自噬

可溶性晚期糖基化终末产物受体（soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products,sRAGE）作为内源性保护物质,能够拮抗心肌缺血/再灌注(ischemia/reperfusion,I/R）损伤发生,重要机制是减轻心肌细胞凋亡。而近年来随着细胞死亡研究的深入,细胞自噬被认为是一种新的细胞程序性死亡。sRAGE是否可以抑制缺血/再灌引起的心肌细胞自噬尚未见报道。本文研究证明,sRAGE可抑制缺血/再灌注引起的心肌细胞自噬。以心肌细胞缺氧/复氧模拟心肌细胞缺血/再灌注模型,蛋白质印迹检测自噬门户蛋白beclin-1的表达,激光共聚焦显微镜检测自噬小体及自噬溶酶体的形成。心肌再灌注期间,心肌细胞自噬小体增加,而自噬溶酶体下降。细胞内自噬小体堆积,说明心肌细胞缺血/再灌注使自噬小体与溶酶体结合受损,清除发生障碍。与缺血/再灌注（I/R）组比较,缺血/再灌+sRAGE（I/R+sRAGE）组的自噬流减弱。此外,自噬门户蛋白beclin-1也表达下降。以上结果从细胞形态学和蛋白水平两方面说明,sRAGE抑制了I/R引起的心肌细胞自噬。换言之,sRAGE可以直接作用于心肌细胞拮抗缺血/再灌注损伤,其保护性作用可能与抑制心肌细胞自噬有关。     

凋亡诱导因子介导缺氧/复氧致肥大心肌细胞凋亡的作用

心肌细胞凋亡导致心肌组织合胞体功能丧失,最终使代偿性心肌肥大向心力衰竭转化。过去的研究已经确认天门冬氨酸特异性半胱氨酸蛋白酶(caspartate-specificcysteinylproteinase,caspase)依赖机制在心肌细胞凋亡中的作用,但对caspase非依赖机制即凋亡诱导因子(apoptosis-inducingfactor,AIF)在心肌细胞凋亡中的作用尚不明确。本研究应用血管紧张素Ⅱ(0.1μmol/L培养12h)诱导培养的小鼠肥大心肌细胞,利用三气孵箱建立缺氧/复氧模型以模拟缺血再灌注。应用RT-PCR、Westernblot、siRNA基因转染、Hoechst33258染色法检测AIF在mRNA和蛋白质水平的表达及细胞凋亡的变化,分析AIF在缺氧/复氧致肥大心肌细胞凋亡中的意义。结果如下:(1)与对照组比较,缺氧8h组(H8h)和缺氧12h组(H12h)AIFmRNA及蛋白表达水平均显著升高(mRNA:0.52±0.04及0.85±0.10vs0.29±0.08,P<0.05;蛋白质:2.07±0.15和3.12±0.19vs0.29±0.04,P<0.05),即随缺血时间的延长,AIFmRNA及蛋白表达水平均显著增加。(2)与对应单纯缺氧组比较,缺氧后给予复氧刺激,H8h/R组和H12h/R组AIFmRNA及蛋白表达水平均显著升高(mRNA:1.09±0.12和1.41±0.23,P<0.05;蛋白质:4.57±0.25和5.71±0.27,P<0.05)。仅在H8h/R及H12h/R组,可见AIF核转位显著增加。(3)AIFsiRNA转染可显著抑制肥大心肌细胞AIF的表达,对缺氧时细胞凋亡无明显影响(P>0.05),但可显著降低缺氧/复氧诱导的肥大心肌细胞凋亡率(P<0.05)。同时抑制AIF及caspase-3活性,可显著加强单一抑制剂对缺氧/复氧诱导的肥大心肌细胞凋亡的抑制作用。(4)抑制caspase-3活性对缺氧/复氧诱导的AIF核转位无明显影响。上述结果提示,缺氧/复氧时AIFmRNA、蛋白表达和核转位均显著增加,且在缺氧/复氧诱导肥大心肌细胞凋亡中具有重要的作用。     

靶向PUMA的siRNA对缺氧/复氧诱导大鼠心肌细胞凋亡的保护作用

为探讨p53上调凋亡调制物(p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis,PUMA)在大鼠心肌细胞缺氧/复氧(hypoxia/reoxygenatio,H/R)损伤中的作用,本研究将靶向PUMA的siRNA(si-PUMA)转染大鼠心肌细胞以建立PUMA沉默表达模型,观察其对心肌细胞H/R损伤的影响.RT-PCR和Western印迹结果表明,最适转染浓度50 nmol/L si-PUMA能靶向抑制H/R损伤心肌细胞的PUMA表达;MTT法检测心肌细胞存活率及培养基乳酸脱氢酶(lactate dehydrogenase,LDH)活性测定结果发现,si-PUMA组细胞存活率较H/R 6 h模型组明显提高,培养液中LDH活性显著降低(P<0.01);分光光度法及Annexin V-FITC/PI联合染色流式细胞凋亡检测结果显示,si-PUMA组caspase-3活性较H/R 6h组明显下调,细胞凋亡率明显降低(P<0.01);RT-PCR结果提示,与H/R6 h组相比,si-PUMA组Bax及Bcl-2表达分别出现显著下调及上调(P<0.05).以上结果表明,靶向PUMA的siRN...     

Preparation of hair for measurement of elements by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

The preparation of hair for the determination of elements is a critical component of the analysis procedure. Open-beaker, closedvessel microwave, and flowthrough microwave digestion are methods that have been used for sample preparation and are discussed. A new digestion method for use with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been developed. The method uses 0.2 g of hair and 3 mL of concentrated nitric acid in an atmospheric pressurelow-temperature microwave digestion (APLTMD) system. This preparation method is useful in handling a large numbers of samples per day and may be adapted to hair sample weights ranging from 0.08 to 0.3 g. After digestion, samples are analyzed by ICP-MS to determine the concentration of Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ge, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Zr, Mo, Pd, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, Pt, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th, and U. Benefits of the APLTMD include reduced contamination and sample handling, and increased precision, reliability, and sample throughput.     

日本北海道虻类雌性外生殖器形态(双翅目：虻科)(英文)

【目的】利用日本北海道虻类评估和验证外生殖器在分类学上的意义。【方法】将虻类成虫标本浸渍在生理盐水中并置于双目显微镜下通过针和镊子在培养皿中进行解剖并绘图,观察第9背板、第10背板、尾叶、第8腹板、受精囊、受精囊管及生殖叉器的形态特征。【结果】在日本北海道共记录了虻科(Tabanidae) 3亚科7属38种。我们观察并描述了3亚科其中的6属24种的雌性外生殖器的主要特征。亚科之间存在明显差异;然而在一般情况下属之间很难建立一种方法来确定共同点;种之间只有在斑虻属Chrysops中有相似之处,其他属中则比较多样化。因此,亚科鉴定根据第9背板、第8腹板及受精囊足以进行区分,属及种鉴定需要结合第9背板、第10背板、尾叶、第8腹板、受精囊、受精囊管及生殖叉器各自的特征组合在一起才能区分开来。我们也制作了虻类外生殖器的检索表。【结论】和许多其他昆虫一样,外生殖器是虻科的重要分类特征,对于促进分类学和系统学的发展具有重要意义。本研究首次对分布在日本北海道的虻科雌性外生殖器进行了系统研究。     

外泌体在白血病中的重要调控作用

目前,白血病复发是患者死亡的主要原因之一。肿瘤细胞和微环境的相互作用,以及隐匿在骨髓中的肿瘤干细胞,促进了白血病的复发和向淋巴组织的转移,因此白血病的治疗、转移和复发问题受到广泛关注。外泌体是由绝大多数细胞分泌的双层脂质膜囊泡,可以调控细胞间的交流和信息传递。在白血病细胞、基质细胞和内皮细胞之间的相互联系中都涉及到外泌体,白血病细胞来源的外泌体存在于白血病患者的血浆中,能把其携带的白血病相关抗原及微小RNA呈递给靶细胞,促进白血病肿瘤细胞的增殖,有助于肿瘤细胞实现免疫逃避,保护白血病细胞抵抗化疗药物导致的细胞毒性作用,促进血管生成及肿瘤细胞的迁移。因此,外泌体与白血病的转移、治疗及预后密切相关,可以用来检测和监测白血病的进展。本文综述了外泌体的来源、形成与分泌机制,以及外泌体在白血病发生前、发展中、预后和免疫治疗中所扮演的重要角色。     

Assessing burrowing, nest construction, and hoarding in mice

Deterioration in the ability to perform "Activities of daily living" (ADL) is an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Preclinical behavioural screening of possible treatments for AD currently largely focuses on cognitive testing, which frequently demands expensive equipment and lots of experimenter time. However, human episodic memory (the most severely affected aspect of memory in AD) is different to rodent memory, which seems to be largely non-episodic. Therefore the present ways of screening for new AD treatments for AD in rodents are intrinsically unlikely to succeed. A new approach to preclinical screening would be to characterise the ADL of mice. Fortuitously, several such assays have recently been developed at Oxford, and here the three most sensitive and well-characterised are presented. Burrowing was first developed in Oxford. It evolved from a need to develop a mouse hoarding paradigm. Most published rodent hoarding paradigms required a distant food source to be linked to the home cage by a connecting passage. This would involve modifying the home cage as well as making a mouse-proof connecting passage and food source. So it was considered whether it would be possible to put the food source inside the cage. It was found that if a container was placed on the floor it was emptied by the next morning., The food pellets were, however, simply deposited in a heap at the container entrance, rather than placed in a discrete place away from the container, as might be expected if the mice were truly hoarding them. Close inspection showed that the mice were performing digging ("burrowing") movements, not carrying the pellets in their mouths to a selected place as they would if truly hoarding them. Food pellets are not an essential substrate for burrowing; mice will empty tubes filled with sand, gravel, even soiled bedding from their own cage. Moreover, they will empty a full tube even if an empty one is placed next to it. Several nesting protocols exist in the literature. The present Oxford one simplifies the procedure and has a well-defined scoring system for nest quality. A hoarding paradigm was later developed in which the mice, rather than hoarding back to the real home cage, were adapted to living in the "home base" of a hoarding apparatus. This home base was connected to a tube made of wire mesh, the distal end of which contained the food source. This arrangement proved to yield good hoarding behaviour, as long as the mice were adapted to living in the "home base" during the day and only allowed to enter the hoarding tube at night.     

Genetic Manipulation in Δku80 Strains for Functional Genomic Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii

Targeted genetic manipulation using homologous recombination is the method of choice for functional genomic analysis to obtain a detailed view of gene function and phenotype(s). The development of mutant strains with targeted gene deletions, targeted mutations, complemented gene function, and/or tagged genes provides powerful strategies to address gene function, particularly if these genetic manipulations can be efficiently targeted to the gene locus of interest using integration mediated by double cross over homologous recombination.Due to very high rates of nonhomologous recombination, functional genomic analysis of Toxoplasma gondii has been previously limited by the absence of efficient methods for targeting gene deletions and gene replacements to specific genetic loci. Recently, we abolished the major pathway of nonhomologous recombination in type I and type II strains of T. gondii by deleting the gene encoding the KU80 protein^1,2. The Δku80 strains behave normally during tachyzoite (acute) and bradyzoite (chronic) stages in vitro and in vivo and exhibit essentially a 100% frequency of homologous recombination. The Δku80 strains make functional genomic studies feasible on the single gene as well as on the genome scale^1-4.Here, we report methods for using type I and type II Δku80Δhxgprt strains to advance gene targeting approaches in T. gondii. We outline efficient methods for generating gene deletions, gene replacements, and tagged genes by targeted insertion or deletion of the hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HXGPRT) selectable marker. The described gene targeting protocol can be used in a variety of ways in Δku80 strains to advance functional analysis of the parasite genome and to develop single strains that carry multiple targeted genetic manipulations. The application of this genetic method and subsequent phenotypic assays will reveal fundamental and unique aspects of the biology of T. gondii and related significant human pathogens that cause malaria (Plasmodium sp.) and cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium).     

A phylogenetic analysis of 100+ genera and 50+ families of euasterids based on morphological and molecular data with notes on possible higher level morphological synapomorphies

 A data matrix of 143 morphological and chemical characters for 142 genera of euasterids according to the APG system was compiled and complemented with rbcL and ndhF sequences for most of the genera. The data were subjected to parsimony analysis and support was assessed by bootstrapping. Strict consensus trees from analyses of morphology alone and morphology + rbcL + ndhF are presented. The morphological data recover several groups supported by molecular data but at the level of orders and above relationships are only superficially in agreement with molecular studies. The analyses provide support for monophyly of Gentianales, Aquifoliales, Apiales, Asterales, and Dipsacales. All data indicate that Adoxaceae are closely related to Dipsacales and hence they should be included in that order. The trees were used to assess some possible morphological synapomorphies for euasterids I and II and for the orders of the APG system. Euasterids I are generally characterised by opposite leaves, entire leaf margins, hypogynous flowers, “early sympetaly” with a ring-shaped corolla primordium, fusion of stamen filaments with the corolla tube, and capsular fruits. Euasterids II often have alternate leaves, serrate-dentate leaf margins, epigynous flowers, “late sympetaly” with distinct petal primordia, free stamen filaments, and indehiscent fruits. It is unclear which of these characters represent synapomorphies and symplesiomorphies for the two groups, respectively, and there are numerous expections to be interpreted as reversals and parallelisms. Received August 28, 2000 Accepted August 7, 2001     

Staining protocols for human pancreatic islets

Estimates of islet area and numbers and endocrine cell composition in the adult human pancreas vary from several hundred thousand to several million and beta mass ranges from 500 to 1500 mg. With this known heterogeneity, a standard processing and staining procedure was developed so that pancreatic regions were clearly defined and islets characterized using rigorous histopathology and immunolocalization examinations. Standardized procedures for processing human pancreas recovered from organ donors are described in part 1 of this series. The pancreas is processed into 3 main regions (head, body, tail) followed by transverse sections. Transverse sections from the pancreas head are further divided, as indicated based on size, and numbered alphabetically to denote subsections. This standardization allows for a complete cross sectional analysis of the head region including the uncinate region which contains islets composed primarily of pancreatic polypeptide cells to the tail region. The current report comprises part 2 of this series and describes the procedures used for serial sectioning and histopathological characterization of the pancreatic paraffin sections with an emphasis on islet endocrine cells, replication, and T-cell infiltrates. Pathology of pancreatic sections is intended to characterize both exocrine, ductular, and endocrine components. The exocrine compartment is evaluated for the presence of pancreatitis (active or chronic), atrophy, fibrosis, and fat, as well as the duct system, particularly in relationship to the presence of pancreatic intraductal neoplasia. Islets are evaluated for morphology, size, and density, endocrine cells, inflammation, fibrosis, amyloid, and the presence of replicating or apoptotic cells using H&E and IHC stains. The final component described in part 2 is the provision of the stained slides as digitized whole slide images. The digitized slides are organized by case and pancreas region in an online pathology database creating a virtual biobank. Access to this online collection is currently provided to over 200 clinicians and scientists involved in type 1 diabetes research. The online database provides a means for rapid and complete data sharing and for investigators to select blocks for paraffin or frozen serial sections.     

A Microplate Assay to Assess Chemical Effects on RBL-2H3 Mast Cell Degranulation: Effects of Triclosan without Use of an Organic Solvent

Mast cells play important roles in allergic disease and immune defense against parasites. Once activated (e.g. by an allergen), they degranulate, a process that results in the exocytosis of allergic mediators. Modulation of mast cell degranulation by drugs and toxicants may have positive or adverse effects on human health. Mast cell function has been dissected in detail with the use of rat basophilic leukemia mast cells (RBL-2H3), a widely accepted model of human mucosal mast cells^3-5. Mast cell granule component and the allergic mediator β-hexosaminidase, which is released linearly in tandem with histamine from mast cells⁶, can easily and reliably be measured through reaction with a fluorogenic substrate, yielding measurable fluorescence intensity in a microplate assay that is amenable to high-throughput studies¹. Originally published by Naal et al.¹, we have adapted this degranulation assay for the screening of drugs and toxicants and demonstrate its use here.Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent that is present in many consumer products and has been found to be a therapeutic aid in human allergic skin disease^7-11, although the mechanism for this effect is unknown. Here we demonstrate an assay for the effect of triclosan on mast cell degranulation. We recently showed that triclosan strongly affects mast cell function². In an effort to avoid use of an organic solvent, triclosan is dissolved directly into aqueous buffer with heat and stirring, and resultant concentration is confirmed using UV-Vis spectrophotometry (using ε₂₈₀ = 4,200 L/M/cm)¹². This protocol has the potential to be used with a variety of chemicals to determine their effects on mast cell degranulation, and more broadly, their allergic potential.     

Automated High-throughput Behavioral Analyses in Zebrafish Larvae

We have created a novel high-throughput imaging system for the analysis of behavior in 7-day-old zebrafish larvae in multi-lane plates. This system measures spontaneous behaviors and the response to an aversive stimulus, which is shown to the larvae via a PowerPoint presentation. The recorded images are analyzed with an ImageJ macro, which automatically splits the color channels, subtracts the background, and applies a threshold to identify individual larvae placement in the lanes. We can then import the coordinates into an Excel sheet to quantify swim speed, preference for edge or side of the lane, resting behavior, thigmotaxis, distance between larvae, and avoidance behavior. Subtle changes in behavior are easily detected using our system, making it useful for behavioral analyses after exposure to environmental toxicants or pharmaceuticals.