Development of a fluorescent probe hydrolysis-insulated isothermal PCR for rapid and sensitive on-site detection of African swine fever virus

Highlights
1. A probe-based insulated isothermal PCR (iiPCR) assay was developed for rapid and onsite detection of ASFV.
2. The developed iiPCR showed similar sensitivity and specificity with OIE recommended real-time PCR.
3. Blood samples could be directly applied as PCR template in iiPCR without DNA extraction.     

Endothelial S1pr1 regulates pressure overload‐induced cardiac remodelling through AKT‐eNOS pathway

Cardiac vascular microenvironment is crucial for cardiac remodelling during the process of heart failure. Sphingosine 1‐phosphate (S1P) tightly regulates vascular homeostasis via its receptor, S1pr1. We therefore hypothesize that endothelial S1pr1 might be involved in pathological cardiac remodelling. In this study, heart failure was induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) operation. S1pr1 expression is significantly increased in microvascular endothelial cells (ECs) of post‐TAC hearts. Endothelial‐specific deletion of S1pr1 significantly aggravated cardiac dysfunction and deteriorated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in myocardium. In vitro experiments demonstrated that S1P/S1pr1 praxis activated AKT/eNOS signalling pathway, leading to more production of nitric oxide (NO), which is an essential cardiac protective factor. Inhibition of AKT/eNOS pathway reversed the inhibitory effect of EC‐S1pr1‐overexpression on angiotensin II (AngII)‐induced cardiomyocyte (CM) hypertrophy, as well as on TGF‐β‐mediated cardiac fibroblast proliferation and transformation towards myofibroblasts. Finally, pharmacological activation of S1pr1 ameliorated TAC‐induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, leading to an improvement in cardiac function. Together, our results suggest that EC‐S1pr1 might prevent the development of pressure overload‐induced heart failure via AKT/eNOS pathway, and thus pharmacological activation of S1pr1 or EC‐targeting S1pr1‐AKT‐eNOS pathway could provide a future novel therapy to improve cardiac function during heart failure development.     

Topoisomerase I‐Mediated Antiproliferative Activity of 10‐Substituted and 12‐Substituted Homocamptothecins

Homocamptothecin (hCPT) is an E‐ring modified camptothecin (CPT) analogue, which showed pronounced inhibitory activity of topoisomerase I. In search of novel hCPT‐type anticancer agents, two series of hCPT derivatives were synthesized and evaluated in vitro against three human tumor cell lines. The results indicated that the 10‐substituted hCPT derivatives had a considerably higher cytotoxic activity than the 12‐substituted ones. Among the 10‐substituted compounds, 8a, 8b, 9b , and 9i showed an equivalent or even more potent activity than the positive control drug topotecan against the lung cancer cell line A‐549. Moreover, the hCPT analogues 8a and 8b exhibited a higher topoisomerase I inhibitory activity than CPT at a concentration of 100 μM .     

Aluminum Tolerance in Moso Bamboo (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllostachys pubescens</Emphasis>)

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) is widely distributed in the acid soil region of Southern China, where great potential of aluminum (Al) toxicity exists. To evaluate the Al tolerance of Moso bamboo, seed germination and root elongation were compared with two rice cultivars, and physical and physiological damages were examined under various levels of Al stress. Results showed that Moso bamboo seed germination was inhibited when Al concentration increased to 500 μM, and the median lethal concentration was 2,000 μM. Comparatively, the rice seed germination was not inhibited even at a concentration of 2,000 μM Al. Aluminum accumulated mainly in the cell wall of root apices, and entered into protoplasts as treating time prolonged and/or Al concentration increased, which resulted in apoptosis. The bamboo root epidermis degraded significantly in the presence of 2,000 μM Al. In conclusion, Moso bamboo is moderately weak in Al tolerance.     

Synthesis of novel steroidal agonists,partial agonists,and antagonists for the glucocorticoid receptor

Adverse effects of glucocorticoids could be limited by developing new compounds that selectively modulate anti-inflammatory activity of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). We have synthesized a novel series of steroidal GR ligands, including potent agonists, partial agonists and antagonists with a wide range of effects on inhibiting secretion of interleukin-6. Some of these new ligands were designed to directly impact conformational stability of helix-12, in the GR ligand-binding domain (LBD). These compounds modulated GR activity and glucocorticoid-induced gene expression in a manner that was inversely correlated to the degree of inflammatory response. In contrast, compounds designed to directly modulate LBD epitopes outside helix-12, led to dissociated levels of GR-mediated gene expression and inflammatory response. Therefore, these new series of compounds and their derivatives will be useful to dissect the ligand-dependent features of GR signaling specificity.     

黑曲霉发酵过程中菌体形态的分析方法建立及应用

丝状真菌(Filamentous fungi)的发酵生产通常具有较高的工业应用价值,但其菌体形态是一个区别于其他非丝状菌的一个重要发酵指标。针对目前形态分析的瓶颈,本研究使用琼脂糖凝胶对黑曲霉菌形进行固定,利用平板实现菌球样本的大量制备,并结合图形处理软件自建自动化处理程序,实现了大量准确可靠的菌体形态参数的获得,大大增加了形态数据处理通量及准确度。应用该方法于黑曲霉发酵生产糖化酶过程中不同供氧水平及剪切水平下菌体形态的研究,通过大量形态数据定量阐明了黑曲霉在不同剪切水平下的分区域形态分布特性,为进一步工业过程的形态优化提供了重要的研究方法。     

油菜主序优势及其利用初析

油菜具有主序优势,主要表现在结角数上,在角粒数、千粒重及品质上也很显著。不同类型其优势强弱不同,白菜型和甘蓝型优势明显,芥菜型几乎不具有优势。在甘蓝型油菜中因品种、密度不同优势差异显著。增加密度可使主序在产量中的比例增加,在５万株／亩时可达７３．０５％．主序具有结角率高、成熟早等优点,通过选育优势强的品种,适当增加密度,合理调整布局,有望使油菜产量有较大幅度地提高