Strategies of isoprenoids production in engineered bacteria

Isoprenoids are the largest family of natural products, over 40 000 compounds have been described, which have been widely used in various fields. Currently, the isoprenoid products are mainly produced by natural extraction or chemical synthesis, however, limited yield and high cost is far behind the increasing need. Most bacteria synthesize the precursors of isoprenoids through the methylerythritol 4‐phosphate pathway, microbial synthesis of isoprenoids by fermentation becomes more attractive mainly in terms of environmental concern and renewable resources. In this review, the strategies of isoprenoid production in bacteria by synthetic biology are discussed. Introducing foreign genes associated with desired products made it possible to produce isoprenoids in bacteria. Furthermore, the yield of isoprenoids is increased by the strategies of overexpression of native or foreign genes, introducing heterologous mevalonate pathway, balancing of the precursors and inactivating the competing pathway, these methods were used separately or simultaneously.     

Structural organization of an intact phycobilisome and its association with photosystem II

Phycobilisomes (PBSs) are light-harvesting antennae that transfer energy to photosynthetic reaction centers in cyanobacteria and red algae. PBSs are supermolecular complexes composed of phycobiliproteins (PBPs) that bear chromophores for energy absorption and linker proteins. Although the structures of some individual components have been determined using crystallography, the three-dimensional structure of an entire PBS complex, which is critical for understanding the energy transfer mechanism, remains unknown. Here, we report the structures of an intact PBS and a PBS in complex with photosystem II (PSII) from Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 using single-particle electron microscopy in combination with biochemical and molecular analyses. In the PBS structure, all PBP trimers and the conserved linker protein domains were unambiguously located, and the global distribution of all chromophores was determined. We provide evidence that ApcE and ApcF are critical for the formation of a protrusion at the bottom of PBS, which plays an important role in mediating PBS interaction with PSII. Our results provide insights into the molecular architecture of an intact PBS at different assembly levels and provide the basis for understanding how the light energy absorbed by PBS is transferred to PSII.     

Apoptotic Cell Death Induced by Resveratrol Is Partially Mediated by the Autophagy Pathway in Human Ovarian Cancer Cells

Resveratrol (trans-3,4,5’ –trihydroxystilbene) is an active compound in food, such as red grapes, peanuts, and berries. Resveratrol exhibits an anticancer effect on various human cancer cells. However, the mechanism of resveratrol-induced anti-cancer effect at the molecular level remains to be elucidated. In this study, the mechanism underlying the anti-cancer effect of resveratrol in human ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3 and Caov-3) was investigated using various molecular biology techniques, such as flow cytometry, western blotting, and RNA interference, with a major focus on the potential role of autophagy in resveratrol-induced apoptotic cell death. We demonstrated that resveratrol induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, which triggers autophagy and subsequent apoptotic cell death. Resveratrol induced ATG5 expression and promoted LC3 cleavage. The apoptotic cell death induced by resveratrol was attenuated by both pharmacological and genetic inhibition of autophagy. The autophagy inhibitor chloroquine, which functions at the late stage of autophagy, significantly reduced resveratrol-induced cell death and caspase 3 activity in human ovarian cancer cells. We also demonstrated that targeting ATG5 by siRNA also suppressed resveratrol-induced apoptotic cell death. Thus, we concluded that a common pathway between autophagy and apoptosis exists in resveratrol-induced cell death in OVCAR-3 human ovarian cancer cells.     

KATP通道对缺血性心肌电平衡的维护作用及机制

目的：利用异丙肾上腺素（ISO）诱导大鼠心肌缺血性损伤模型和心肌细胞损伤模型,并对其进行药物干预,探讨心肌ATP敏感性钾 通道（KATP通道）维持缺血性心肌电平衡的作用与机制。方法：在动物实验中,将雄性SD大鼠,随机分为5组,正常对照组大鼠皮下注射0.9% 氯化钠溶液,其余各组大鼠均皮下注射等量1 g ? L -1 ISO（qd）,连续9 d,其间,在第7~9 d,除了正常对照组和模型组外,其他3组大鼠还 分别灌胃给予1.75 g ? L -1 普萘洛尔（PRO）2 mL ? kg -1 ? d -1 、5 g ? L -1 曲美他嗪（VAS）2 mL ? kg -1 ? d -1 或腹腔注射给予5 g ? L -1 二苯基碘（DPI） 1 mL ? kg -1 ? d -1 。在造模期间不同时间点,对各组大鼠进行心电图检查,并制备心肌标本,检测其中KATP通道亚基KIR6.2蛋白表达水平。 在细胞实验中,将H9C2心肌细胞分成对照组（不给药）、ISO组、ISO+ PRO组、ISO+DPI组和ISO+VAS组,后3组细胞均在1 μmol ? L -1 ISO加入前30 min,分别给予2 μmol ? L -1 PRO、10 μmol ? L -1 DPI和10 μmol ? L -1 VAS,且在加入ISO后,与ISO组细胞一样,再孵育1 和24 h,采用实时荧光定量 PCR法测定各组细胞中KATP通道亚基KIR6.2和SUR2A基因表达水平。结果：大鼠实验显示,与正常对照组相比, 模型组大鼠在造模的第3、7 d,心电图参数QTc明显缩短,心率加快（P ＜0.05）,且心肌中KIR6.2蛋白表达明显增多（P ＜0.01）,而造 模9 d后,其QTc明显延长（P ＜0.01）,心率减慢（P ＜0.05）,心肌中KIR6.2蛋白表达显著降低（P ＜0.01）;ISO+ PRO、ISO+DPI 和ISO+VAS各组大鼠在持续3 d分别接受3种药物治疗后,其QTc较模型组明显缩短,心率升高,均趋于恢复正常水平。细胞实验显示, 与对照组相比,ISO组H9C2细胞经ISO孵育1 h后,KIR6.2和SUR2A的mRNA表达显著上调（P ＜0.05）,而在ISO孵育24 h后, KIR6.2和SUR2A的mRNA表达显著下调（ P ＜0.01）;与ISO组相比,各给药组细胞经ISO孵育1 h后,KIR6.2和SUR2A的mRNA表 达均有不同程度下调,而在ISO孵育24 h后,KIR6.2和SUR2A的mRNA表达均显著上调（P ＜0.05或P ＜0.01）。结论：KATP通道对 维护缺血性心肌电平衡起重要作用。持续性激动β受体、氧化应激或能量供应不足等体内多条途径都会影响KATP通道的表达和功能,而保护 KATP通道功能,对于维持心电平衡,抑制心律失常基质形成,意义重大。     

A Polymorphism Within the 3′UTR of <Emphasis Type="Italic">NLRP3</Emphasis> is Associated with Susceptibility for Ischemic Stroke in Chinese Population

Stroke was regarded as a severe disorder with high morbidity and high mortality worldwide, ischemic stroke (IS) accounts for 85 to 90 % of new increased stroke cases. Partial mechanisms were elucidated by genetic factors including genomic instability such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Previous reports demonstrated that inflammation was involved in IS, NLRP3 [nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3], acting as a specific inflammatory gene, however, its function and influence on IS was not well clarified. In this study, a case–control study including 1102 IS patients and 1610 healthy controls was conducted to investigate the association between IS susceptibility with a SNP (rs10754558) in 3′UTR of NLRP3. Logistic regression analysis showed that the heterozygote and the homozygote GG confer a significantly increased risk of CRC after controlling for other covariates (adjusted OR = 1.52, 95 % C.I. 1.19–1.97, P = 0.002; adjusted OR = 2.22, 95 % C.I. 2.18–3.67, P < 0.001, respectively). Carriage of G allele was associated with a greatly increased risk of developing the disease (OR = 1.69, 95 % C.I. 1.31–1.83, P < 0.001). Stratification analysis found that hypertension had interaction with rs10754558 to modulate IS risk. Further in vitro assay revealed that rs10754558 can affect mRNA level of NLRP3, suggesting its possible functional significance. Our data suggested that genetic polymorphisms in NLRP3 may influence IS risk in Chinese population. Replication of our studies in other populations and further functional studies are required for complete comprehension of the roles of NLRP3 polymorphisms in IS risk.