Proteomic analysis of differentially expressed proteins in Penaeus vannamei hemocytes upon Taura syndrome virus infection

To understand molecular responses of crustacean hemocytes to virus infection, we applied 2-DE proteomics approach to investigate altered proteins in hemocytes of Penaeus vannamei during Taura syndrome virus (TSV) infection. At 24 h postinfection, quantitative intensity analysis and nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS revealed 11 forms of 8 proteins that were significantly up-regulated, whereas 9 forms of 5 proteins were significantly down-regulated in the infected shrimps. These altered proteins play important roles in host defense (hemocyanin, catalase, carboxylesterase, transglutaminase, and glutathione transferase), signal transduction (14-3-3 zeta), carbohydrate metabolism (acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase), cellular structure and integrity (beta-tubulin, beta-actin, tropomyosin, and myosin), and ER-stress response (protein disulfide isomerase). Semiquantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis confirmed the upregulation of 14-3-3 at both mRNA and protein levels. Interestingly, several altered protein spots were identified as fragments of hemocyanin. Mass spectrometric analysis showed that the hemocyanin spots at acidic and basic regions represented the C- and N-terminal hemocyanin fragments, respectively. As three-quarters of C-terminal fragments were up-regulated, whereas two-thirds of N-terminal hemocyanin fragments were down-regulated, we therefore hypothesize that C- and N-terminal hemocyanin fragments may have differential roles in hemocytes. Further investigation of these data may lead to better understanding of the molecular responses of crustacean hemocytes to TSV infection.     

Enhanced Biological Hydrogen Production from Escherichia coli with Surface Precipitated Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles

The precipitation of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles is induced on the surface of Escherichia coli , and the biological hydrogen production efficiency under visible light (VL) irradiation is investigated. When endogenous [Ni–Fe]‐hydrogenase is anaerobically induced, an additional 400 µmol of hydrogen gas is generated within 3 h from the hybrid system suspension (50 mL) under VL irradiation (2000 W m^?2), corresponding to an increase in hydrogen production of ≈30%. The apparent quantum efficiencies of the hybrid system under 470 and 620 nm VL irradiation are 7.93% and 9.59%, respectively, which are higher than those of many photoheterotrophic bacteria. Furthermore, the mechanism of the enhanced hydrogen evolution is investigated. The interaction between photogenerated electrons and cells of E. coli is confirmed by heat‐treatment, electron‐scavenger, and separation studies. The acceleration of pyruvate generation, inhibition of lactate fermentation, increase of formate concentration, stimulation of hydrogenase activity, and elevation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)H/NAD ratio in the hybrid system are responsible for the enhanced hydrogen production. A feasibility study is also conducted using wastewater and natural sunlight for the hydrogen production by the hybrid system. An additional 120 µmol of hydrogen is generated from the hybrid system within 3 h under these conditions using natural resources.     

青葉跳蟬Cicadella viridis (L.)的生活史(同翅目:葉跳蟬科)

葉跳蝉的为害,不但普遍而且严重。普通对于莊稼、果树、蔬菜等都能直接为害,还可以传染植物病菌。世界上各农业科学先进国家都久已注意到这类害虫,但在我国还没有能详细研究。在华北一带,葉跳蟬的种类很多,据我们已经採到的标杆標本、已经有一百数十种。其中最普遍而为数也特别显得多的,要算青葉跳蟬。     

Exosomes derived from umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells alleviate viral myocarditis through activating AMPK/mTOR‐mediated autophagy flux pathway

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell‐derived exosomes (hucMSC‐exosomes) have been implicated as a novel therapeutic approach for tissue injury repair and regeneration, but the effects of hucMSC‐exosomes on coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3)‐induced myocarditis remain unknown. The object of the present study is to investigate whether hucMSC‐exosomes have therapeutic effects on CVB3‐induced myocarditis (VMC). HucMSC‐exosomes were identified using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Western blot. The purified hucMSC‐exosomes tagged with PKH26 were tail intravenously injected into VMC model mice in vivo and used to administrate CVB3‐infected human cardiomyocytes (HCMs) in vitro, respectively. The effects of hucMSC‐exosomes on myocardial pathology injury, proinflammatory cytokines and cardiac function were evaluated through haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Doppler echocardiography. The anti‐apoptosis role and potential mechanism of hucMSC‐exosomes were explored using TUNEL staining, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, Ad‐mRFP‐GFP‐LC3 transduction and Western blot. In vivo results showed that hucMSC‐exosomes (50 μg iv) significantly alleviated myocardium injury, shrank the production of proinflammatory cytokines and improved cardiac function. Moreover, in vitro data showed that hucMSC‐exosomes (50 μg/mL) inhibited the apoptosis of CVB3‐infected HCM through increasing pAMPK/AMPK ratio and up‐regulating autophagy proteins LC3II/I, BECLIN‐1 and anti‐apoptosis protein BCL‐2 as well as decreasing pmTOR/mTOR ratio, promoting the degradation of autophagy flux protein P62 and down‐regulating apoptosis protein BAX. In conclusion, hucMSC‐exosomes could alleviate CVB3‐induced myocarditis via activating AMPK/mTOR‐mediated autophagy flux pathway to attenuate cardiomyocyte apoptosis, which will be benefit for MSC‐exosome therapy of myocarditis in the future.     

N-Acetylcysteine ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced organ damage in conscious rats

Lipopolysaccharide is strongly associated with septic shock, leading to multiple organ failure. It can activate monocytes and macrophages to release proinflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and nitric oxide (NO). The present experiments were designed to induce endotoxin shock by an intravenous injection ofKlebsiella pneumoniae lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 mg/kg) in conscious rats. Arterial pressure and heart rate (HR) were continuously monitored for 48 h after LPS administration. N-Acetyl-cysteine was used to study its effects on organ damage. Biochemical substances were measured to reflect organ functions. Biochemical factors included blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cre), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), aspartate transferase (GOT), alanine transferase (GPT), TNF-, IL-1, methyl guanidine (MG), and nitrites/nitrates. LPS caused significant increases in blood BUN, Cre, LDH, CPK, GOT, GPT, TNF-, IL-1, MG levels, and HR, as well as a decrease in mean arterial pressure and an elevation of nitrites/nitrates. N-Acetylcysteine suppressed the release of TNF-, IL-1, and MG, but enhanced NO production. These actions ameliorate LPS-induced organ damage in conscious rats. The beneficial effects may suggest a potential chemopreventive effect of this compound in sepsis prevention and treatment.     

Critical role of interleukin-17/interleukin-17 receptor axis in mediating Con A-induced hepatitis

Concanavalin A (Con A)-induced hepatitis is thought to be a T-cell-mediated disease with active destruction of liver cells. Interleukin (IL)-17 is a cytokine produced principally by CD4(+) T cells. However, whether IL-17/IL-17 receptor (IL-17/IL-17R)-mediated responses are involved in T-cell-mediated Con A-induced liver injury remains unclear. In this study, we found that IL-17 expression was highly elevated in liver tissues during Con A-induced hepatitis. The increased levels of IL-17 were paralleled with the severity of liver injury reflected by Alanine aminotransaminase and histological assay as well as the secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-6. Blockage of IL-17 significantly ameliorated Con A-induced hepatitis, while overexpression of IL-17 systemically resulted in massive hepatocyte necrosis in mice. Furthermore, overexpression of an IL-17R immunoglobulin G1 fusion protein significantly attenuated liver inflammation after acute Con A treatment. High expression of IL-17R on Kupffer cells was also observed along with the production of cytokines including TNF-α and IL-6. Inhibition of Kupffer cells by gadolinium chloride completely prevented Con A-induced liver injury and cytokine release. Finally, IL-17-expressing CD4(+) T and natural killer T cells were greatly increased in Con A-injected mice compared with that in controls. Overall, our results indicate that IL-17R signaling is critically involved in the pathogenesis in Con A-induced hepatitis, and blockade of IL-17/IL-17R signaling pathway may represent a novel therapeutic intervention in human autoimmune-related hepatitis.     

Screening and production of erythritol by newly isolated osmophilic yeast-like fungi

Twenty-eight erythritol-producing strains were isolated from pollen, honey and high sugar food samples collected in Taiwan. Amongst these, six strains (166-2, 262-1, 278-3, 440, 441 and 442) were high erythritol-producers with a yield higher than 30% for 30% glucose. The erythritol productivity of these strains ranged from 90.9 to 116.4 g l⁻¹. ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR analyses confirmed that the fermentation product was erythritol. The results of morphological and physiological studies indicate that strains 166-2, 262-1, 278-3, 440, and 442 may be members of the genus Moniliella. More studies are required to determine the taxonomic position of strain 441. The use of a medium containing 30% glucose and 1% yeast extract gave the highest erythritol productivity. On batch fermentation in a 5-l fermentor using strain 166-2, a maximal erythritol productivity of 111.0 g l⁻¹ was obtained after cultivation for 144 h.     

Multiplex amplification of all coding sequences within 10 cancer genes by Gene-Collector

Herein we present Gene-Collector, a method for multiplex amplification of nucleic acids. The procedure has been employed to successfully amplify the coding sequence of 10 human cancer genes in one assay with uniform abundance of the final products. Amplification is initiated by a multiplex PCR in this case with 170 primer pairs. Each PCR product is then specifically circularized by ligation on a Collector probe capable of juxtapositioning only the perfectly matched cognate primer pairs. Any amplification artifacts typically associated with multiplex PCR derived from the use of many primer pairs such as false amplicons, primer-dimers etc. are not circularized and degraded by exonuclease treatment. Circular DNA molecules are then further enriched by randomly primed rolling circle replication. Amplification was successful for 90% of the targeted amplicons as seen by hybridization to a custom resequencing DNA micro-array. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that 96% of the amplification products were all within 4-fold of the average abundance. Gene-Collector has utility for numerous applications such as high throughput resequencing, SNP analyses, and pathogen detection.