Pan1p: an actin director of endocytosis in yeast

The yeast protein Pan1p plays a key role in actin-driven endocytosis. The molecular architecture enables the protein to perform multivalent tasks. First, Pan1p acts as a central scaffold for assembly of coat complex at the endocytic sites through its binding to multiple endocytic proteins. Secondly, Pan1p is also required for normal actin cytoskeleton organization and dynamics at the cell cortex. It is capable of F-actin binding and promoting the Arp2/3-mediated actin nucleation via its WH2 and acid domains. Pan1p, therefore, is responsible for the mechanism of coupling the vesicle coat to actin network in the early steps of internalization. The function of Pan1p is under a negative regulation by the kinase Prk1p. Phosphorylation of Pan1p by Prk1p results in disassembly of the coat complex and dissociation of the vesicle from actin meshwork after internalization. The phosphorylation of Pan1p is possibly reversed by the type 1 phosphatase Glc7p, which will allow Pan1p to be reused for coat assembly in the next round of endocytosis.     

In-depth proteomic profiling of the normal human kidney glomerulus using two-dimensional protein prefractionation in combination with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The kidney glomerulus plays a pivotal role in ultrafiltration of plasma into urine and also is the locus of kidney disease progressing to chronic renal failure. We have focused proteomic analysis on the glomerulus that is most proximal to the disease locus. In the present study, we aimed to provide a confident, in-depth profiling of the glomerulus proteome. The glomeruli were highly purified from the kidney cortex from a male, 68-year-old patient who underwent nephroureterectomy due to ureter carcinoma. The patient was normal in clinical examinations including serum creatinine and urea levels and liver function, and did not receive any chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The cortical tissue was histologically normal, and no significant deposition of immunoglobulins and complement C3 was observed. We employed a novel strategy of protein separation using 1D (SDS-PAGE) and 2D (solution-phase IEF in combination with SDS-PAGE) prefractionation prior to the shotgun analysis with LC-MS/MS. The protein prefractionation produced 90 fractions, and eventually provided a confident set of identified proteins consisting of 6686 unique proteins (3679 proteins with two or more peptide matches and 3007 proteins with one peptide match), representing 2966 distinct genes. All the identified proteins were annotated and classified in terms of molecular function and biological process, compiled into 1D and 2D protein arrays, consisting of 15 and 75 sections, corresponding to the protein fractions which were defined by MW and pI range, and deposited on a Web-based database (http://www.hkupp.org). The most remarkable feature of the glomerulus proteome was a high incidence of identification of cytoskeleton-related proteins, presumably reflecting the well-developed, cytoskeletal organization of glomerular cells related to their physiological functions.     

Production and physicochemical characterization of acidocin D20079, a bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079

Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079 is the producer of a novel bacteriocin termed acidocin D20079. In this paper, a partial sequence of this peptide is determined, together with data on its secondary structure. A modification of the MRS-growth medium (replacing the detergent Tween 80 with oleic acid), was shown to improve the production level of the peptide by one order of magnitude, as well as to stabilize the activity level. Addition of a detergent (Tween 20, less interfering in mass spectrometric analysis), was however necessary for solubilization of the purified acidocin D20079. Digestion of the peptide followed by de-novo sequencing of generated fragments, allowed determination of a partial sequence consisting of 39 of the totally estimated 65 residues. Acidocin D20079 has a high content of glycine residues, hydrophobic residues, and acidic residues. No modified amino acids were found. Edman degradation, and C-terminal sequencing failed, suggesting that the peptide may be cyclic, and a novel member of class IIc bacteriocins. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and secondary structure prediction showed random coil conformation in aqueous solution, but secondary structure was induced in the presence of sodium-dodecyl sulfate. The data could be fitted assuming 2–13% of the residues to be in α-helix and 23–27% of the residues to be in β-strand conformation. This indicates that a membrane/membrane-mimicking hydrocarbon–water interface induces an active conformation.     

斑点嗜蓝孢孔菌化学成分、生物活性及水提物荧光猝灭研究

对斑点嗜蓝孢孔菌乙醇提取物进行分级萃取,利用柱层析技术得到6个单体化合物。经核磁数据比对为β-谷甾醇(1)、麦角甾醇(2)、麦角甾-7,22-二烯-3β-醇(3)、5,8-过氧麦角甾-6,22-二烯-3β-醇(4)、3-乙酰齐墩果酸(5)、白桦脂醇(6)。采用Alamar Blue法检测各有机相及单体化合物对NCI-H460人非小细胞肺癌细胞增殖的影响,用DPPH自由基清除法检测其抗氧化活性。利用荧光光谱及紫外-可见光光谱研究方法在模拟人体生理条件下,研究了斑点嗜蓝孢孔菌水提物与人纤维蛋白原的相互作用,实     

蒙古栎叶片及其土壤碳、氮同位素自然丰度对大气CO2浓度升高的响应

大气CO₂浓度升高对土壤氮素转化过程产生重要影响,研究其变化有助于更好地预测陆地生态系统的固碳潜力.氮同位素自然丰度作为生态系统氮素循环过程的综合指标能够有效地指示CO₂浓度升高对土壤氮素转化过程的影响.本研究采用开顶箱CO₂ 熏蒸法研究连续10年的大气CO₂ 浓度升高对我国东北地区蒙古栎及其土壤和微生物生物量碳、氮同位素自然丰度的影响.结果表明: 大气CO₂浓度升高改变了土壤氮循环过程,增加了土壤微生物和植物叶片δ¹⁵N;促进了富¹³C土壤有机碳分解,中和了贫¹³C植物光合碳输入的效果,导致土壤可溶性有机碳和微生物碳δ¹³C在CO₂升高条件下没有发生显著变化.这些结果表明,CO₂浓度升高很可能促进了土壤有机质矿化过程,并加剧了系统氮限制的状态.     

孕酮对蒙古绵羊输卵管上皮细胞β-防御素mRNA表达的影响

建立蒙古绵羊输卵管上皮细胞培养体系作为体外实验模型,分别添加10^-6、10^-7、10^-8、10^-9和10^-10 mol/L孕酮,运用实时荧光定量PCR方法测定孕酮对上皮细胞内β-防御素相对表达量的影响。结果显示,与对照组比较,10^-6和10^-7 mol/L孕酮组β-防御素相对表达量显著升高（P<0.05）;10^-8和10^-9 mol/L孕酮组极显著升高（P<0.01）;而10^-10 mol/L孕酮组未见显著性差异。孕酮添加组间比较显示,10^-8和10^-9 mol/L孕酮组极显著高于10^-10 mol/L组（P<0.01）,其它孕酮添加组间未见显著性差异。分析认为,一定浓度的孕酮（10^-9－10^-6 mol/L）对培养的输卵管上皮细胞β-防御素的表达有促进作用。且不同浓度的孕酮对β-防御素表达的影响程度不同。因而推断,雌性生理周期下,雌性生殖道β-防御素的表达与孕激素相关。     

黄孢原毛平革菌乙醇脱氢酶基因的克隆和表达

乙醇是黄孢原毛平革菌(Phanerochaete chrysosporium)在限氧培养条件下重要的代谢物之一, 为了更好的理解P. chrysosporium在低氧条件下的代谢机制, 文章从P. chrysosporium中克隆到一个长1071 bp的乙醇脱氢酶基因PCAdh1 cDNA, 该基因编码一个由356个氨基酸组成的蛋白质, 它与其他生物的乙醇脱氢酶的氨基酸序列的相似性很低, 但酶催化活性位点序列却高度保守。将PCAdh1在大肠杆菌中表达, 并获得有酶活性的重组蛋白。纯化的蛋白质用于制备抗体。半定量RT-PCR和Western blot分析结果显示, 在限氧条件的培养过程中, PCAdh1基因在mRNA水平和蛋白水平上都保持相对稳定, 表明该基因的表达是组成型的; 但从菌丝体提取的粗蛋白中的乙醇脱氢酶活性却随着培养时间的增加及氧气含量的持续降低而逐渐升高, 这暗示P. chrysospo-rium中存在其他低氧诱导型乙醇脱氢酶基因的表达。     

花榈木组培苗茎段低温胁迫培养及耐冷性诱导

以花榈木组培苗茎段为试材,在低温胁迫条件下进行耐冷性愈伤组织诱导培养。结果表明,5℃是花榈木茎段低温胁迫培养及耐冷性诱导的最适温度。经过5℃低温胁迫培养获得的耐冷性愈伤组织在分化培养基MS+6-BA 2.0 mg/L+NAA 0.25 mg/L上的分化率达70.0%,且再生植株的低温伤害率明显低于对照。     

An exploratory study of cardiac function and oxygen uptake during cycle ergometry in overweight children

Objective: Obesity has been proposed to negatively impact cardiac function in overweight (OW) individuals. The relationship between diastolic dysfunction and oxygen uptake (V?o ₂) kinetics is equivocal. This exploratory investigation evaluated the relationship between resting left ventricular function and V?o ₂ kinetics during cycle ergometry in OW and non‐overweight (NO) children and adolescents. Research Methods and Procedures: Fourteen OW (>85 percentile for BMI for age and gender) children, 10 boys and 4 girls (age, 11.7 ± 1.9 years; body mass, 80.6 ± 45.5 kg) and 10 NO children (4 boys, 6 girls) volunteered to participate in the study (age, 12.5 ± 2.1 years; body mass, 45.8 ± 13.8 kg). Resting cardiovascular structure and function were assessed using spectral Doppler echocardiography. All subjects underwent two sub‐maximal exercise stages on a cycle ergometer (3 minutes unloaded and 5 minutes at 50 W, both at a cadence of 50 rpm). Respiratory data were measured on a breath‐by‐breath basis at both workloads and the mean response time (MRT) was calculated. Results: Analysis of the MRT data demonstrated that there were no significant differences between OW and NO (OW, 52.6 ± 11.7 seconds vs. NO, 45.6 ± 7.4 seconds). Significant correlations (p < 0.05) were obtained between MRT V?o ₂ and echocardiographic‐derived mitral valve inflow pressure half‐time (r = 0.55) and between MRT V?o ₂, and mitral valve inflow deceleration time (r = 0.55). Discussion: The evidence from this research suggests a possible link between left ventricular diastolic function at rest and oxygen uptake kinetics during sub‐maximal exercise in OW and NO children and adolescents.     

Genome sequencing and comparison of two nonhuman primate animal models, the cynomolgus and Chinese rhesus macaques

The nonhuman primates most commonly used in medical research are from the genus Macaca. To better understand the genetic differences between these animal models, we present high-quality draft genome sequences from two macaque species, the cynomolgus/crab-eating macaque and the Chinese rhesus macaque. Comparison with the previously sequenced Indian rhesus macaque reveals that all three macaques maintain abundant genetic heterogeneity, including millions of single-nucleotide substitutions and many insertions, deletions and gross chromosomal rearrangements. By assessing genetic regions with reduced variability, we identify genes in each macaque species that may have experienced positive selection. Genetic divergence patterns suggest that the cynomolgus macaque genome has been shaped by introgression after hybridization with the Chinese rhesus macaque. Macaque genes display a high degree of sequence similarity with human disease gene orthologs and drug targets. However, we identify several putatively dysfunctional genetic differences between the three macaque species, which may explain functional differences between them previously observed in clinical studies.