Variation of Genetic Diversity in a Rapidly Expanding Population of the Greater Long-Tailed Hamster (Tscherskia triton) as Revealed by Microsatellites

Genetic diversity is essential for persistence of animal populations over both the short- and long-term. Previous studies suggest that genetic diversity may decrease with population decline due to genetic drift or inbreeding of small populations. For oscillating populations, there are some studies on the relationship between population density and genetic diversity, but these studies were based on short-term observation or in low-density phases. Evidence from rapidly expanding populations is lacking. In this study, genetic diversity of a rapidly expanding population of the Greater long-tailed hamsters during 1984–1990, in the Raoyang County of the North China Plain was studied using DNA microsatellite markers. Results show that genetic diversity was positively correlated with population density (as measured by % trap success), and the increase in population density was correlated with a decrease of genetic differentiation between the sub-population A and B. The genetic diversity tended to be higher in spring than in autumn. Variation in population density and genetic diversity are consistent between sub-population A and B. Such results suggest that dispersal is density- and season-dependent in a rapidly expanding population of the Greater long-tailed hamster. For typically solitary species, increasing population density can increase intra-specific attack, which is a driving force for dispersal. This situation is counterbalanced by decreasing population density caused by genetic drift or inbreeding as the result of small population size. Season is a major factor influencing population density and genetic diversity. Meanwhile, roads, used to be considered as geographical isolation, have less effect on genetic differentiation in a rapidly expanding population. Evidences suggest that gene flow (Nm) is positively correlated with population density, and it is significant higher in spring than that in autumn.     

CD106 Identifies a Subpopulation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells with Unique Immunomodulatory Properties

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reside in almost all of the body tissues, where they undergo self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation. MSCs derived from different tissues share many similarities but also show some differences in term of biological properties. We aim to search for significant differences among various sources of MSCs and to explore their implications in physiopathology and clinical translation. We compared the phenotype and biological properties among different MSCs isolated from human term placental chorionic villi (CV), umbilical cord (UC), adult bone marrow (BM) and adipose (AD). We found that CD106 (VCAM-1) was expressed highest on the CV-MSCs, moderately on BM-MSCs, lightly on UC-MSCs and absent on AD-MSCs. CV-MSCs also showed unique immune-associated gene expression and immunomodulation. We thus separated CD106⁺cells and CD106⁻cells from CV-MSCs and compared their biological activities. Both two subpopulations were capable of osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation while CD106⁺CV-MSCs were more effective to modulate T helper subsets but possessed decreased colony formation capacity. In addition, CD106⁺CV-MSCs expressed more cytokines than CD106⁻CV-MSCs. These data demonstrate that CD106 identifies a subpopulation of CV-MSCs with unique immunoregulatory activity and reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism underlying immunomodulation of MSCs.     

MiRNA-181b suppresses IGF-1R and functions as a tumor suppressor gene in gliomas

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded, 18- to 23-nt RNA molecules that function as regulators of gene expression. Previous studies have shown that microRNAs play important roles in human cancers, including gliomas. Here, we found that expression levels of miR-181b were decreased in gliomas, and we identified IGF-1R as a novel direct target of miR-181b. MiR-181b overexpression inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumorigenesis by targeting IGF-1R and its downstream signaling pathways, PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK1/2. Overexpression of IGF-1R rescued the inhibitory effects of miR-181b. In clinical specimens, IGF-1R was overexpressed, and its protein levels were inversely correlated with miR-181b expression. Taken together, our results indicate that miR-181b functions in gliomas to suppress growth by targeting the IGF-1R oncogene and that miR-181b may serve as a novel therapeutic target for gliomas.     

The Composition of Microbiome in Larynx and the Throat Biodiversity between Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients and Control Population

The throat is an ecological assemblage involved human cells and microbiota, and the colonizing bacteria are important factors in balancing this environment. However, this bacterial community profile has thus been poorly investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the microbial biology of the larynx and to analyze the throat biodiversity in laryngeal carcinoma patients compared to a control population in a case-control study. Barcoded pyrosequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA gene was used. We collected tissue samples from 29 patients with laryngeal carcinoma and 31 control patients with vocal cord polyps. The findings of high-quality sequence datasets revealed 218 genera from 13 phyla in the laryngeal mucosa. The predominant communities of phyla in the larynx were Firmicutes (54%), Fusobacteria (17%), Bacteroidetes (15%), Proteobacteria (11%), and Actinobacteria (3%). The leading genera were Streptococcus (36%), Fusobacterium (15%), Prevotella (12%), Neisseria (6%), and Gemella (4%). The throat bacterial compositions were highly different between laryngeal carcinoma subjects and control population (p = 0.006). The abundance of the 26 genera was significantly different between the laryngeal cancer and control groups by metastats analysis (p<0.05). Fifteen genera may be associated with laryngeal carcinoma by partial least squares discriminant analysis (p<0.001). In summary, this study revealed the microbiota profiles in laryngeal mucosa from tissue specimens. The compositions of bacteria community in throat were different between laryngeal cancer patients and controls, and probably were related with this carcinoma. The disruption of this bio-ecological niche might be a risk factor for laryngeal carcinoma.     

β-葡萄糖苷酶的分离纯化和性质研究

β－葡萄糖苷酶是纤维素酶的重要组分之一,它不仅可水解纤维二糖和寡糖,更可解除纤维二糖对β－１,４－内切葡聚糖酶和外切葡聚糖酶的抑制,提高水解速率和程度．利用ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＧ－１５０和ＤＥＡＥ－ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＡ－５０层析法从黑曲霉变异株Ｌ－２２中分离提纯了β－葡萄糖苷酶,该酶是由两个分子量相同的亚基组成的二聚体,每个亚基分子量为２０３ｋＤ．该酶最适ｐＨ为４．８,ｐＨ稳定范围在３．６～６．４;最适温度是６０℃,温度稳定范围为４～６０℃;酶分子含糖量为８．３５％．它是一个酸性β－葡萄糖苷水解酶,专一性地水解β－糖苷键．而不水解α－糖苷键,对短链底物表现了相对高的活力．用动力学分析和共价化学修饰方法探讨了与该酶活力有关的必需基团．由ｐＨ对ｌｇＶｍ和ｌｇＶｍ／Ｋｍ的影响,推测出酶活性部位至少有两个可解离基团为酶活性所必需,它们在酶－底物复合物中的ｐＫｅｓ１和ｐＫｅｓ２的值分别为４．０和５．６,在游离酶中的ｐＫ值分别为４．２和５．９．由此可初步判断这两个可解离基团可能为组氨酸和含羧基的氨基酸,它们与酶的催化和底物结合可能有关．     

MNNG对细胞DNA合成及其分布的影响

本文用流式细胞光度术(FCM)等方法研究了MNNG,ENNG和DMS对HeLa细胞DNA含量分布的影响。经MNNG(6.8μmol/L)处理后,细胞分裂减少,DNA合成速率下降,S期细胞的比例随处理时间的延长而增加。DMS显示有类似的现象而ENNG的效应则较小。     

Cloning of the nucleic acid-binding domain of the rat HnRNP C-type protein

A cDNA encoding the nucleic acid-binding domain of the hnRNP C-type protein has been cloned by DNA-affinity screening of pituitary-derived expression libraries. An analysis revealed sequence identity with the human C-type cDNA and demonstrated the presence of a peptide sequence contained within the single-stranded DNA-binding protein, UP2, which was absent from the human cDNA. Structural analysis of the protein encoded by the rat cDNA demonstrated a net charge of +15 with 14.56% and 6.33% lysines and arginines, respectively, and an amino acid sequence that is consistent with an extensive helix-loop-helix-turn-helix structure.     

Highly luminescent S,N co‐doped carbon quantum dots‐sensitized chemiluminescence on luminol–H2O2 system for the determination of ranitidine

S,N co‐doped carbon quantum dots (N,S‐CQDs) with super high quantum yield (79%) were prepared by the hydrothermal method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence, UV–Vis spectroscopy and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. N,S‐CQDs can enhance the chemiluminescence intensity of a luminol–H₂O₂ system. The possible mechanism of the luminol–H₂O₂–(N,S‐CQDs) was illustrated by using chemiluminescence, photoluminescence and ultraviolet analysis. Ranitidine can quench the chemiluminescence intensity of a luminol–H₂O₂–N,S‐CQDs system. So, a novel flow‐injection chemiluminescence method was designed to determine ranitidine within a linear range of 0.5–50 μg ml^?1 and a detection limit of 0.12 μg ml^?1. The method shows promising application prospects.     

The ATPase cycle mechanism of the DEAD-box rRNA helicase, DbpA

DEAD-box proteins are ATPase enzymes that destabilize and unwind duplex RNA. Quantitative knowledge of the ATPase cycle parameters is critical for developing models of helicase activity. However, limited information regarding the rate and equilibrium constants defining the ATPase cycle of RNA helicases is available, including the distribution of populated biochemical intermediates, the catalytic step(s) that limits the enzymatic reaction cycle, and how ATP utilization and RNA interactions are linked. We present a quantitative kinetic and equilibrium characterization of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-activated ATPase cycle mechanism of DbpA, a DEAD-box rRNA helicase implicated in ribosome biogenesis. rRNA activates the ATPase activity of DbpA by promoting a conformational change after ATP binding that is associated with hydrolysis. Chemical cleavage of bound ATP is reversible and occurs via a γ-phosphate attack mechanism. ADP-P_i and RNA binding display strong thermodynamic coupling, which causes DbpA-ADP-P_i to bind rRNA with > 10-fold higher affinity than with bound ATP, ADP or in the absence of nucleotide. The rRNA-activated steady-state ATPase cycle of DbpA is limited both by ATP hydrolysis and by P_i release, which occur with comparable rates. Consequently, the predominantly populated biochemical states during steady-state cycling are the ATP- and ADP-P_i-bound intermediates. Thermodynamic linkage analysis of the ATPase cycle transitions favors a model in which rRNA duplex destabilization is linked to strong rRNA and nucleotide binding. The presented analysis of the DbpA ATPase cycle reaction mechanism provides a rigorous kinetic and thermodynamic foundation for developing testable hypotheses regarding the functions and molecular mechanisms of DEAD-box helicases.     

Expression,purification and characterization of anti-BAFF antibody secreted from the yeast <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pichia pastoris</Emphasis>

B-Cell activating factor (BAFF) is critical for B cell survival and maturation; excessive expression of it corrupts B-cell tolerance and may lead to autoimmunity. The gene, scFv-Fc, coding for the antibody of BAFF was inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector, pPICZαA, and transformed into Pichia pastoris. A high-level expression strain was obtained using a ‘yeastern blotting’ method. The scFv-Fc antibody was purified and 56 mg was obtained from 1 l of culture supernatant. It retained high binding activity to both soluble BAFF and membrane-bound BAFF.