Comprehensive association analysis of nine candidate genes with serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels among healthy Caucasian subjects

Vitamin D deficiency is a common public health problem in the US. It is related to the high risk of rickets, osteoporosis and other diseases. Currently, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration is the best indicator of vitamin D status, and determination of its deficiency or sufficiency. This level has high heritability (28–80%). However, genes contributing to the wide variation in serum 25(OH)D are generally unknown. In this study, we screened nine important genes in vitamin D metabolic pathways using 49 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in a group of 156 unrelated healthy Caucasian subjects. Significant confounding factors that may affect serum 25(OH)D variations were used as covariates for the association analyses. An association test for quantitative trait was performed to evaluate the association between candidate genes and serum 25(OH)D levels. Permutation was conducted for correcting multiple testing problems. Evidence of association was observed at SNPs in the CYP2R1 (cytochrome P450, family 2, subfamily R, polypeptide 1) and the GC (vitamin D binding protein) gene. Next, we performed a replication study for six promising SNPs in the gene CYP2R1 and GC, using another group of 340 unrelated healthy Caucasian subjects. Association analyses were conducted in the replication cohort (n = 340) and the pooled cohort (n = 496). The CYP2R1 gene and the GC gene remain significant in the pooled cohort. The results suggest that the CYP2R1 and GC genes may contribute to the variation of serum 25(OH)D levels in healthy populations.     

The spermatogenesis and sperm structure of Acerentomon microrhinus (Protura, Hexapoda) with considerations on the phylogenetic position of the taxon

The spermatogenesis of the proturan Acerentomon microrhinus Berlese, (Redia 6:1–182, 1909) is described for the first time with the aim of comparing the ultrastructure of the flagellated sperm of members of this taxon with that of the supposedly related group, Collembola. The apical region of testes consists of a series of large cells with giant polymorphic nuclei and several centrosomes with 14 microtubule doublets, whose origin is likely a template of a conventional 9-doublet centriole. Beneath this region, there are spermatogonial cells, whose centrosome has two centrioles, both with 14 microtubule doublets; the daughter centriole of the pair has an axial cylinder. Slender parietal cells in the testes have centrioles with nine doublet microtubules. Spermatocytes produce short primary cilia with 14 microtubule doublets. Spermatids have a single basal body with 14 microtubule doublets. Anteriorly, a conical dense material is present, surrounded by a microtubular basket, which can be seen by using an α-anti-tubulin antibody. Behind this region, the basal body expresses a long axoneme of 14 microtubule doublets with only inner arms. An acrosome is lacking. The nucleus is twisted around the apical conical dense structure and the axoneme; this coiling seems to be due to the rotation of the axoneme on its longitudinal axis. The posterior part of the axoneme forms three turns within the spermatid cytoplasm. Few unchanged mitochondria are scattered in the cytoplasm. Sperm consist of encysted, globular cells that descend along the deferent duct lumen. Some of them are engulfed by the epithelial cells, which thus have a spermiophagic activity. Sperm placed in a proper medium extend their flagellar axonemes and start beating. Protura sperm structure is quite different from that of Collembola sperm; and on the basis of sperm characters, a close relationship between the two taxa is not supported.     

牛乳碱性蛋白二维凝胶电泳条件的优化

为了在二维凝胶电泳(2-DE)中有效分离牛乳中的碱性蛋白,本试验在等电聚焦上样缓冲液中加入异丙醇和甘油,采用杯上样方式,比较了三丁基磷(TBP)和二硫苏糖醇(DTT)两种还原剂对碱性区域蛋白的分离效果。结果发现,等电聚焦上样缓冲液以TBP为还原剂的碱性蛋白分离图谱水平条纹少,优于以DTT为还原剂图谱。表明等电聚焦上样缓冲液以TBP为还原剂,采用杯上样的方法可以改善牛乳中碱性蛋白的分离效果。     

Apoptotic cells activate NKT cells through T cell Ig-like mucin-like-1 resulting in airway hyperreactivity

T cell Ig-like mucin-like-1 (TIM-1) is an important asthma susceptibility gene, but the immunological mechanisms by which TIM-1 functions remain uncertain. TIM-1 is also a receptor for phosphatidylserine (PtdSer), an important marker of cells undergoing programmed cell death, or apoptosis. We now demonstrate that NKT cells constitutively express TIM-1 and become activated by apoptotic cells expressing PtdSer. TIM-1 recognition of PtdSer induced NKT cell activation, proliferation, and cytokine production. Moreover, the induction of apoptosis in airway epithelial cells activated pulmonary NKT cells and unexpectedly resulted in airway hyperreactivity, a cardinal feature of asthma, in an NKT cell-dependent and TIM-1-dependent fashion. These results suggest that TIM-1 serves as a pattern recognition receptor on NKT cells that senses PtdSer on apoptotic cells as a damage-associated molecular pattern. Furthermore, these results provide evidence for a novel innate pathway that results in airway hyperreactivity and may help to explain how TIM-1 and NKT cells regulate asthma.     

Memory-enhancing effect of a supercritical carbon dioxide fluid extract of the needles of Abies koreana on scopolamine-induced amnesia in mice

Abies koreana Wilson (A. koreana) is a shrub or broadly pyramidal evergreen tree endemic in the mountainous regions of South Korea. We obtained the essential oil (EO) from alpine needle leaves of A. koreana by the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) method. EO was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and 68 compounds were identified constituting 95.66% of the oil. The major components were elemol (11.17%), terpinen-4-ol (9.77%), sabinene (8.86%), 10(15)-cadien-4-ol (7.16%), alpha-terpineol (6.13%), alpha-pinene (6.07%) and gamma-terpinene (4.71%). To investigate the memory-enhancing effects, we conducted a passive avoidance test using a scopolamine (1 mg/kg, ip)-induced amnesia mouse model. A peritoneal injection of EO from A. koreana (100 mg/kg) showed a memory enhancing effect of 72.7% compared with the control. These results suggest that EO of A. koreana may be a useful therapeutic agent against such amnesia-inducing diseases as Alzheimer and vascular dementia.     

Fatty acid compositions of red blood cell phospholipids in children with autism

We compared the compositions of fatty acids including n-3, n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, trans- and cis-monounsaturated fatty acids, and saturated fatty acids in the red blood cell membranes of 40 children with autism (20 with early onset autism and 20 with developmental regression) and age-matched, 20 typically developing controls and 20 subjects with non-autistic developmental disabilities. The main findings include increased levels of eicosenoic acid (20:1n9) and erucic acid (22:1n9) in autistic subjects with developmental regression when compared with typically developing controls. In addition, an increase in 20:2n6 and a decrease in 16:1n7t were observed in children with clinical regression compared to those with early onset autism. Our results do not provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that abnormal fatty acid metabolism plays a role in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder, although they suggest some metabolic or dietary abnormalities in the regressive form of autism.     

The Expression and Diversity of Catalases in Isolates of Genus Comamonas in Response to the Oxidative Stress of a Polluted Environment

We have evaluated the role of monofunctional heme-containing catalase encoded by cat-1 gene from the soil bacterium Comamonas terrigena N3H in the response to various forms of oxidative stress. Our results indicate that this constitutively expressed catalase represents the major source for the defence of Comamonas terrigena cells against toxic peroxides but the cells can express also a second form of catalase that is bigger and its regulation is probably more complicated. The sequence analysis confirmed the presence of highly conserved catalase sequence motifs in two environmental strains of Comamonas terrigena but in those strains that were not exposed to oxidative stress, no such sequence motif could be detected. The results obtained underline the importance of catalase expression in the defence mechanism against oxidative stress in bacterial cells.     

Gluconobacter in biosensors: applications of whole cells and enzymes isolated from gluconobacter and acetobacter to biosensor construction

Bacteria belonging to the genus Acetobacter and Gluconobacter, and enzymes isolated from them, have been extensively used for biosensor construction in the last decade. Bacteria used as a biocatalyst are easy to prepare and use in amperometric biosensors. They contain multiple enzyme activities otherwise not available commercially. The range of compounds analyzable by Gluconobacter biosensors includes: mono- and poly-alcohols, multiple aldoses and ketoses, several disaccharides, triacylglycerols, and complex parameters like utilizable saccharides or biological O₂ demand. Here, the recent trends in Gluconobacter biosensors and current practical applications are summarized. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Mitochondrial 12S rRNA A827G mutation is involved in the genetic susceptibility to aminoglycoside ototoxicity

We have analyzed the clinical and molecular characterization of a Chinese family with aminoglycoside-induced and non-syndromic hearing impairment. Clinical evaluations revealed that only those family members who had a history of exposure to aminoglycoside antibiotics subsequently developed hearing loss, suggesting mitochondrial genome involvement. Sequence analysis of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA and tRNA(Ser(UCN)) genes led to the identification of a homoplasmic A827G mutation in all maternal relatives, a mutation that was identified previously in a few sporadic patients and in another Chinese family with non-syndromic deafness. The pathogenicity of the A827G mutation is strongly supported by the occurrence of the same mutation in two independent families and several genetically unrelated subjects. The A827G mutation is located at the A-site of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene which is highly conserved in mammals. It is possible that the alteration of the tertiary or quaternary structure of this rRNA by the A827G mutation may lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, thereby playing a role in the pathogenesis of hearing loss and aminoglycoside hypersensitivity. However, incomplete penetrance of hearing impairment indicates that the A827G mutation itself is not sufficient to produce clinical phenotype but requires the involvement of modifier factors for the phenotypic expression. Indeed, aminoglycosides may contribute to the phenotypic manifestation of the A827G mutation in this family. In contrast with the congenital or early-onset hearing impairment in another Chinese family carrying the A827G mutation, three patients in this pedigree developed hearing loss only after use of aminoglycosides. This discrepancy likely reflects the difference of genetic backgrounds, either mitochondrial haplotypes or nuclear modifier genes, between two families.     

Crystal structure of Thermus caldophilus phosphoglycerate kinase in the open conformation

Phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) is a key glycolytic enzyme that catalyzes the reversible transfer of a phosphate from 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to ADP to form 3-phosphoglycerate and ATP in the presence of magnesium. During catalysis, a conformational change occurs that brings the N- and C-domains of PGK closer together. Here we present the 1.8A crystal structure of unliganded PGK from Thermus caldophilus (Tca). Comparison of the structure of TcaPGK (open conformation) with that of Thermotoga maritima (Tma) PGK (closed conformation) revealed that the conformational change reflects a change in the interaction between the domains. We identified Arg148 as a key residue involved in open-to-closed transition. The open conformation of TcaPGK is stabilized by an interdomain salt bridge between Arg148 and Glu375. The binding of 3-PG (or maybe 1,3-BPG) disrupts this salt bridge and, in ternary complex, the formation of new salt bridge between Arg60 and Asp197 stabilizes the closed conformation.