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.     

ER-lysosome lipid transfer protein VPS13C/PARK23 prevents aberrant mtDNA-dependent STING signaling

Mutations in VPS13C cause early-onset, autosomal recessive Parkinson’s disease (PD). We have established that VPS13C encodes a lipid transfer protein localized to contact sites between the ER and late endosomes/lysosomes. In the current study, we demonstrate that depleting VPS13C in HeLa cells causes an accumulation of lysosomes with an altered lipid profile, including an accumulation of di-22:6-BMP, a biomarker of the PD-associated leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) G2019S mutation. In addition, the DNA-sensing cGAS-STING pathway, which was recently implicated in PD pathogenesis, is activated in these cells. This activation results from a combination of elevated mitochondrial DNA in the cytosol and a defect in the degradation of activated STING, a lysosome-dependent process. These results suggest a link between ER-lysosome lipid transfer and innate immune activation in a model human cell line and place VPS13C in pathways relevant to PD pathogenesis.     

A rapid enzymatic assay for high-throughput screening of adenosine-producing strains

Adenosine is a major local regulator of tissue function and industrially useful as precursor for the production of medicinal nucleoside substances. High-throughput screening of adenosine overproducers is important for industrial microorganism breeding. An enzymatic assay of adenosine was developed by combined adenosine deaminase (ADA) with indophenol method. The ADA catalyzes the cleavage of adenosine to inosine and NH₃, the latter can be accurately determined by indophenol method. The assay system was optimized to deliver a good performance and could tolerate the addition of inorganic salts and many nutrition components to the assay mixtures. Adenosine could be accurately determined by this assay using 96-well microplates. Spike and recovery tests showed that this assay can accurately and reproducibly determine increases in adenosine in fermentation broth without any pretreatment to remove proteins and potentially interfering low-molecular-weight molecules. This assay was also applied to high-throughput screening for high adenosine-producing strains. The high selectivity and accuracy of the ADA assay provides rapid and high-throughput analysis of adenosine in large numbers of samples.     

Selenium-containing 15-mer peptides with high glutathione peroxidase-like activity

Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) is one of the most crucial antioxidant enzymes in a variety of organisms. Here we described a new strategy for generating a novel GPX mimic by combination of a phage-displayed random 15-mer peptide library followed by computer-aided rational design and chemical mutation. The novel GPX mimic is a homodimer consisting of a 15-mer selenopeptide with an appropriate catalytic center, a specific binding site for substrates, and high catalytic efficiency. Its steady state kinetics was also studied, and the values of k(cat)/K(m)(GSH) and k(cat)/ K(mH(2)O(2)) were found to be similar to that of native GPX and the highest among the existing GPX mimics. Moreover, the novel GPX mimic was confirmed to have a strong antioxidant ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation by measuring the content of malondialdehyde, cell viability, and lactate dehydrogenase activity. Importantly, the novel GPX mimic can penetrate into the cell membrane because of its small molecular size. These characteristics endue the novel mimic with potential perspective for pharmaceutical applications.     

Design and construction of a preparative-scale dynamic field gradient focusing apparatus

A linear model is used to show that dynamic field gradient focusing (DFGF) can be scaled to preparative capacity, approximately O (10 mgs). This paper explains how the preparative-scale DFGF apparatus was designed and fabricated. Scaled-down experiments and mathematical modeling guided material selection and design changes during construction to increase the probability that the prototype preparative-scale DFGF apparatus would perform as intended. The finished prototype successfully focused bovine hemoglobin from an initial concentration of 6.82 to 15 mg/mL and allowed for 86% recovery of injected protein.     

The discovery of potent, selective, and orally bioavailable hNK1 antagonists derived from pyrrolidine

SAR studies on amides, ureas, and vinylogous amides derived from pyrrolidine led to the discovery of several potent hNK(1) antagonists. One particular vinylogous amide (45b) had excellent potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetic profile, and functional activity in vivo. An in vivo rhesus macaque brain receptor occupancy PET study for compound 45b revealed an estimated Occ(90) approximately 300 ng/ml.     

The role of iNOS-derived NO in the antihypertrophic actions of B-type natriuretic peptide in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes

In the infarcted rat heart, the increase of NO occurs in the hypertrophied myocardium of non-infarcted areas and its antihypertrophic efficacy has been well established. As another endogenous regulator and the reliable index of heart pathology, B-type natriuretic peptide also exhibits the antihypertrophic properties in many tissues by elevating intracellular cGMP. Several studies indicate that natriuretic peptides family may exert some actions in part via a nitric oxide pathway following receptor-mediated stimulation of iNOS. Therefore, it raises our great interest to ask what role NO plays in the antihypertrophic actions of B-type natriuretic peptide in cardiomyocytes. Incubation of cardiomyocytes under mild hypoxia for 12 h caused a significant increase in cellular protein content, protein synthesis and cell surface sizes. This growth stimulation was suppressed by exogenous B-type natriuretic peptide in a concentration dependent manner. Furthermore, the generation of intracellular cGMP, the upregulation of iNOS mRNA expression, the increase of iNOS activity and subsequent nitrite generation in hypertrophic cardiomyocytes was also increased by B-type natriuretic peptide. AG, a selective iNOS inhibitor, inhibited the upregulation of iNOS expression and the increase of iNOS activity by the combination of B-type natriuretic peptide/mild hypoxia or by the combination of 8-bromo-cGMP/mild hypoxia. Rp-8-br-cGMP, cGMP dependent protein kinase inhibitor, attenuated the actions of B-type natriuretic peptide and 8-bromo-cGMP which increases intracellular cGMP independent of B-type natriuretic peptide. In conclusion, our present data suggest that B-type natriuretic peptide exerted the antihypertrophic effects in cardiomyocytes, which was partially attributed to induction of iNOS-derived NO by cGMP pathway.