ATF2与ATF3在结直肠癌中表达及临床病理意义

目的：观察结直肠癌组织中活化转录因子2（ATF2）和活化转录因子3（ATF3）的表达并分析其表达的临床病理意义。方法：收集结直肠癌病例,明确其病理诊断并收集临床资料,应用免疫组织化学SP法检测活化转录因子2和活化转录因子3蛋白的表达。结果：ATF2在癌旁肠组织、腺瘤、腺癌组的阳性表达率分别为38%,32%,64%,差异有统计学意义,其中癌旁肠组织、腺瘤分别与腺癌有显著性差异。ATF3在癌旁肠组织、腺瘤、腺癌组的阳性表达率分别为56%,44%,52%,差异无统计学意义。ATF2表达与浸润肠壁深度,淋巴结转移有关,而与肿块大小、部位、分化程度无关。ATF3表达与肿块直径、浸润肠壁深度,而与淋巴结转移、部位、分化程度无关。结论：ATF2与结直肠癌反生和发展有关,而ATF3与结直肠癌的恶性演进有关。     

水稻粒形性状的遗传及相关基因定位与克隆研究进展

作物育种的首要目标是提高产量。水稻粒形是与水稻产量性状直接相关,与品质性状存在着密切关系的数量性状,其评价指标主要是粒长、粒宽、粒厚、长/宽和长/厚。近年来,水稻粒形的数量遗传研究取得了重要进展,并成功定位克隆了一批控制水稻粒形的基因。文章综述了水稻粒形的经典遗传研究、QTL定位、粒形基因的克隆和功能分析以及在水稻超高产育种中的利用。     

The retention properties of nucleobases in alkyl C8-/C18- and IAM-chromatographic systems in relation to log Pow

In order to evaluate the differences in the partition properties of 35 structurally congeneric nucleobases of biological interests in octanol-water biphasic, alkyl C(8)/C(18), and IAM systems, a comparative chromatographic study was performed. Comparing with the reversed-phase C(8)/C(18) retention data, most of the purines possessed weaker IAM retention except for those with specific H-bond and/or electrostatic interactions. Quantitative correlations between the experimental log P(ow) literature values and the IAM, C(8), and C(18) log k were evaluated (R(2)=0.943, 0.794, and 0.767, respectively). Although IAM retention correlated significantly better (larger R(2) value) with the log P(ow) values statistically, the latter was revealed apparently behaving more like (slope approaching unity) alkyl C(8)/C(18) retention and hence also has the same shortcoming in under-representing analytes capable of forming short-term H-bond/electrostatic interactions with polar head-groups of phospholipids. A chemically meaningful structure-retention model (q(2)=0.824 and R(2)=0.968) was derived, in which the hydrophobic interaction is identified as the underlying factor for the retention of purines in IAM system modulated non-trivially by H-bond/electrostatic interactions.     

A vibrational spectroscopic investigation of interactions of agonists with GluR0, a prokaryotic glutamate receptor

We have used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to provide a detailed picture of the interactions between the carboxylate groups of the ligands, glutamate, serine, and glutamine, with the ligand-binding domain of a prokaryotic ionotropic glutamate receptor (GluR0). The vibrational spectra indicate that the noncovalent interactions between the 1C(alpha)-carboxylate moiety of the ligand and the protein are stronger for glutamate than for serine and glutamine. These results correlate well with the higher affinity of glutamate for GluR0-S1S2 relative to the affinities of serine and glutamine. In addition, all three ligands induce similar changes in the vibrational spectra and intrinsic fluorescence of the protein, which indicates that all three ligands induce the same structural changes in the protein. These results are consistent with the recent crystal structures of the glutamate and serine bound forms of GluR0-S1S2 and in addition provide insights into the structure of the glutamine bound form of the protein.     

Gangrenous Cutaneous Mucormycosis Caused by Rhizopus oryzae: A Case Report and Review of Primary Cutaneous Mucormycosis in China Over Past 20 Years

Cutaneous mucormycosis is a rare opportunistic infection caused by zygomycetes that can be rapidly fatal if unrecognized. We describe the clinical, histopathological, fungal and molecular features of a case of gangrenous cutaneous mucormycosis. The patient presented with great necrosis on his right forearm at the site of detained intravenous cannula needle. He had type II diabetes and chronic renal insufficiency. KOH mount of black eschar showed many broad, aseptate fungal hyphae with right-angle branching. PAS staining of the tissue sample revealed similar broad hyphae in the dermis and cutis. Fungal culture and ITS sequence analysis identified this fungus as Rhizopus oryzae. As no organ involvement was detected, the patient was diagnosed with primary cutaneous mucormycosis. Considering the poor state of the patient, complete excision of the infectious tissue was performed without skin graft instead of amputation. At the same time, intravenous liposomal amphotericin B was given, starting from a small dosage and increased to a total dosage amount of 5.45 g. The wound recovered well with granulation. We emphasize that early recognition and prompt therapy including the control of the primary diseases were important. In this article, we also reviewed the features of primary cutaneous mucormycosis reported in China over the last 20 years.     

Cloning and evolutionary analysis of tobacco MAPK gene family

The mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade is an important signaling module which is involved in biotic and abiotic stress responses as well as plant growth and development. In this study, we identified 17 tobacco MAPKs including 11 novel tobacco MAPK genes that have not been identified before. Comparative analysis with MAPK gene families from other plants, such as Athaliana thaliana, rice and poplar, suggested that tobacco MAPKs (such as NtMPK1, NtMPK3 and NtMPK8) might play similar functions in response to abiotic and biotic stresses. QRT-PCR analysis revealed that a total of 14 NtMPKs were regulated by SA and/or MeJA, suggesting their potential roles involved in plant defense response. In addition, 6 NtMPKs were induced by drought treatment, implying their roles in response to drought stress. Our results indicated that most of tobacco MAPK might be involved in plant defense response, which provides the basis for further analysis on physiological functions of tobacco MAPKs.     

Vaginal microbiome variances in sample groups categorized by clinical criteria of bacterial vaginosis

Background

One of the most common and recurrent vaginal infections is bacterial vaginosis (BV). The diagnosis is based on changes to the “normal” vaginal microbiome; however, the normal microbiome appears to differ according to reproductive status and ethnicity, and even among individuals within these groups. The Amsel criteria and Nugent score test are widely used for diagnosing BV; however, these tests are based on different criteria, and so may indicate distinct changes in the vaginal microbial community. Nevertheless, few studies have compared the results of these test against metagenomics analysis.

Methods

Vaginal flora samples from 77 participants were classified according to the Amsel criteria and Nugent score test. The microbiota composition was analyzed using 16S ribosome RNA gene amplicon sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis and multivariate statistical analysis were used to evaluate the microbial diversity and function.

Results

Only 3 % of the participants diagnosed BV negative using the Amsel criteria (A−) were BV-positive according to the Nugent score test (N+), while over half of the BV-positive patients using the Amsel criteria (A+) were BV-negative according to the Nugent score test (N−). Thirteen genera showed significant differences in distribution among BV status defined by BV tests (e.g., A − N−, A + N− and A + N+). Variations in the four most abundant taxa, Lactobacillus, Gardnerella, Prevotella, and Escherichia, were responsible for most of this dissimilarity. Furthermore, vaginal microbial diversity differed significantly among the three groups classified by the Nugent score test (N−, N+, and intermediate flora), but not between the Amsel criteria groups. Numerous predictive microbial functions, such as bacterial chemotaxis and bacterial invasion of epithelial cells, differed significantly among multiple BV test, but not between the A− and A+ groups.

Conclusions

Metagenomics analysis can greatly expand our current understanding of vaginal microbial diversity in health and disease. Metagenomics profiling may also provide more reliable diagnostic criteria for BV testing.