Evidence for a major gene influencing 7-year increases in diastolic blood pressure with age.

The contribution of genetic factors to blood pressure levels is well established. The contribution of genes to the longitudinal change in blood pressure has been less well studied, because of the lack of longitudinal family data. The present study investigated a possible major-gene effect on the observed increase with age in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) levels. Subjects included 965 unmedicated adults (age > or = 18 years) in 73 pedigrees collected in Utah as part of a longitudinal cardiovascular family study. Segregation analysis of DBP change over 7.2 years of follow-up identified a recessive major-gene effect with a gene frequency of p = .23. There was also a significant age effect on the genotypic means, which decreased expression of the major gene at older ages. For those inferred to have the genotype responsible for large DBP increases, DBP increased 32.3%, compared with a 1.5% increase in the nonsusceptible group (P < .0001). The relative risk of developing hypertension between the susceptible and nonsusceptible groups after 7.2 years was 2.4 (P = .006). Baseline DBP reactivities to mental arithmetic (P < .0001), and isometric handgrip (P < .0001) stress tests were greatest in those assigned to the susceptible genotype. We conclude that age-related changes in DBP are influenced by a major gene. Characteristics of this major-gene effect for greater age-related blood pressure increases include greater reactivity to mental and physical stressors. The present study thus provides evidence for genetic control of changes in blood pressure, in addition to the previously suggested genetic control of absolute blood pressure level.     

Efficient Inhibition of wear debris-induced inflammation by locally delivered siRNA

Aseptic loosening is the most common long-term complication of total joint replacement, which is associated with the generation of wear debris. The purpose of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on wear debris-induced inflammation. A local delivery of lentivirus-mediated TNF-α siRNA into the modified murine air pouch, which was stimulated by polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) particles, resulted in significant blockage of TNF-α both in mRNA and protein levels for up to 4 weeks. In addition, significant down-regulation of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was observed in TNF-α siRNA-treated pouches. The safety profile of gene therapy was proven by Bioluminescent assay and quantitative fluorescent flux. Histological analysis revealed less inflammatory responses (thinner pouch membrane and decreased cellular infiltration) in TNF-α siRNA-treated pouches. These findings suggest that local delivery of TNF-α siRNA might be an excellent therapeutic candidate to inhibit particle-induced inflammation.     

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer study of the associative state of membrane-bound complexes of complement proteins C5b-8

Human complement protein C8 was labeled with the fluorescent chromophores fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate (FITC), 3-(4-isothiocyanatophenyl)-7-diethylamine-4-methyl coumarin (IPM), eosin-5-isothiocyanate (EOS), or Texas Red (sulforhodamine-101-sulfonyl chloride; TR) with only minor reduction in the specific hemolytic activity of the protein. The distribution of C5b-8 complexes bound to sheep erythrocyte membranes was investigated by monitoring fluorescence resonance energy transfer (RET) between the following RET donor/acceptor pairs of labeled C8: FITC-C8/EOS-C8, IPM-C8/EOS-C8, and FITC-C8/TR-C8. On binding to membranes containing pre-formed C5b67 complexes, specific RET was detected for each of the donor/acceptor pairs of labeled C8 investigated. In contrast, no energy transfer was observed for these RET donor/acceptor pairs of labeled C8 incubated in the presence of control membranes or in membrane-free solution. On the basis of a consideration of the transfer efficiency that would be expected for donor/acceptor pairs of labeled C8 that were uniformly dispersed on the membrane surface, these results suggest that C5b-8 complexes are aggregated into polymeric clusters when membrane-bound. The efficiency of donor-C8 to acceptor-C8 RET--and the hemolytic activity of membrane-bound C5b-8 (in the absence of C9)--are both related to the surface density of membrane-bound C5b67, suggesting that the physical clustering of the membrane-inserted C5b-8 complex may be related to the expression of its cytolytic activity.     

Is there leaderless protein secretion in plants?

The sugar alcohol mannitol and it’s catabolic enzyme mannitol dehydrogenase (MTD), in addition to welldocumented roles in metabolism and osmoprotection, may play roles in hostpathogen interactions. Research suggests that in response to the mannitol that pathogenic fungi secrete to suppress reactive oxygen-mediated host defenses, plants make MTD to catabolize fungal mannitol. Yet previous work suggested that pathogen-secreted mannitol is extracellular, while in healthy plants MTD is cytoplasmic. We have presented results showing that the normally cytoplasmic MTD is exported into the cell wall or extracellular space in response to the endogenous inducer of plant defense responses salicylic acid (SA). This SA-induced secretion is insensitive to brefeldin A, an inhibitor of Golgimediated protein transport. Together with the absence of MTD in Golgi stacks and the lack of a documented extracellular targeting sequence in the MTD protein, this suggests MTD is secreted by a non-Golgi, pathogen-activated secretion mechanism in plants. Here we discuss the potential significance of non-Golgi secretion in response to stress.Key words: protein secretion, mannitol metabolism, plant-pathogen interaction, extracellular space, apoplast     

Phosphoproteomic analysis of thrombin- and p38 MAPK-regulated signaling networks in endothelial cells

Endothelial dysfunction is a hallmark of inflammation and is mediated by inflammatory factors that signal through G protein–coupled receptors including protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1). PAR1, a receptor for thrombin, signals via the small GTPase RhoA and myosin light chain intermediates to facilitate endothelial barrier permeability. PAR1 also induces endothelial barrier disruption through a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase–dependent pathway, which does not integrate into the RhoA/MLC pathway; however, the PAR1-p38 signaling pathways that promote endothelial dysfunction remain poorly defined. To identify effectors of this pathway, we performed a global phosphoproteome analysis of thrombin signaling regulated by p38 in human cultured endothelial cells using multiplexed quantitative mass spectrometry. We identified 5491 unique phosphopeptides and 2317 phosphoproteins, four distinct dynamic phosphoproteome profiles of thrombin-p38 signaling, and an enrichment of biological functions associated with endothelial dysfunction, including modulators of endothelial barrier disruption and a subset of kinases predicted to regulate p38-dependent thrombin signaling. Using available antibodies to detect identified phosphosites of key p38-regulated proteins, we discovered that inhibition of p38 activity and siRNA-targeted depletion of the p38α isoform increased basal phosphorylation of extracellular signal–regulated protein kinase 1/2, resulting in amplified thrombin-stimulated extracellular signal–regulated protein kinase 1/2 phosphorylation that was dependent on PAR1. We also discovered a role for p38 in the phosphorylation of α-catenin, a component of adherens junctions, suggesting that this phosphorylation may function as an important regulatory process. Taken together, these studies define a rich array of thrombin- and p38-regulated candidate proteins that may serve important roles in endothelial dysfunction.     

Recombinant human albumin supports single cell cloning of CHO cells in chemically defined media

Biologic drugs, such as monoclonal antibodies, are commonly made using mammalian cells in culture. The cell lines used for manufacturing should ideally be clonal, meaning derived from a single cell, which represents a technically challenging process. Fetal bovine serum is often used to support low cell density cultures, however, from a regulatory perspective, it is preferable to avoid animal‐derived components to increase process consistency and reduce the risk of contamination from adventitious agents. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most widely used cell line in industry and a large number of serum‐free, protein‐free, and fully chemically defined growth media are commercially available, although these media alone do not readily support efficient single cell cloning. In this work, we have developed a simple, fully defined, single‐cell cloning media, specifically for CHO cells, using commercially available reagents. Our results show that a 1:1 mixture of CD‐CHO? and DMEM/F12 supplemented with 1.5 g/L of recombinant albumin (Albucult®) supports single cell cloning. This formulation can support recovery of single cells in 43% of cultures compared to 62% in the presence of serum. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012     

嫁接诱导大豆低镉富集性状及遗传稳定性

通过野外小区实验,从8个大豆品种中筛选出2个低镉富集品种作为砧木,2个高镉富集品种作为接穗植物,研究嫁接当代以及接穗子代镉富集性状的变化,探明嫁接诱导镉富集性状变异的机制及其遗传稳定性.结果表明:大豆的镉富集性状表现出显著的品种间差异,以低镉富集品种(铁丰29和东鲜1号)作砧木,可以使接穗大豆植株(青仁黑1号和中黄38...