藏红花素对C6胶质瘤细胞生长及Survivin和Livin表达的影响

目的:研究藏红花素对大鼠C6胶质瘤细胞生长及凋亡蛋白抑制因子Survivin和Livin表达的影响。方法:体外培养C6胶质瘤细胞,加入不同浓度的藏红花素培养液,并于不同时间点进行观测,采用四甲基偶氮唑蓝(MTT)比色法绘制细胞生长曲线,观察C6细胞的生长活性;通过相差显微镜和Hoechst荧光染色法观察C6细胞的形态学变化;采用Western blot法检测Survivin和Livin蛋白的表达水平。结果:C6胶质瘤细胞经藏红花素作用后细胞生长受到明显抑制,用含2、4和8 mg/ml藏红花素的培养液作用48h后各组C6细胞的OD值分别为0.732±0.013、0.421±0.010和0.289±0.017,细胞生长抑制率分别为26.8±0.01%、58.0±0.02%和71.1±0.02%,其中4 mg/ml和8 mg/ml藏红花素实验组细胞生长抑制率与阴性对照组均有显著性差异(P均0.05);相差显微镜和Hoechst荧光染色法观察显示实验组C6细胞出现典型的凋亡形态学改变;Western blot检测显示实验组C6细胞Survivin和Livin蛋白表达明显下调。结论:藏红花素能明显抑制C6胶质瘤细胞的体外生长,其抑制作用与诱导C6细胞发生凋亡和下调凋亡蛋白抑制因子Survivin和Livin的表达有关。     

布鲁氏茵病防治基础研究现状与展望

布鲁氏菌病（简称布病）是由布鲁氏菌属细菌侵入机体引起的人畜共患传染病．近年来,布病疫情在世界范围内呈反弹趋势,我国尤甚．进入2000年以后,人间布病在我国成为报告发病数上升速度最快的传染病之一,令我国布病防治形势严峻．为了明确我国布病防治工作的现状和需求、最新研究现状和研究动态以及面临的挑战和机遇,深入研讨分析我国布病防治研究中的重大科学和关键技术问题,凝练和提出今后我国布病防治研究发展中亟需关注、解决的重要基础科学问题,在国家自然科学基金委员会资助下,由中国疾病预防控制中心地方病控制中心主办,哈尔滨医科大学、中国疾病预防控制中心传染病预防控制所和内蒙古地方病防治研究中心共同协办,于2013年6月21日召开了由来自全国布病防治与基础研究领域专家共同参加的“布鲁氏菌病防治基础研究发展战略研讨会”．会议在我国布病疫情最重的省份内蒙古自治区呼和浩特市召开,中国疾病预防控制中心传染病预防控制所、军事医学科学院疾病预防控制所、石河子大学、中国兽医药品监察所等19家从事布病防治与基础研究的科研院所、高等院校、疾病防治机构的40余位专家参加了此次会议．现结合文献资料以及本次会议的内容,对国内外布病流行现状、研究进展,以及影响我国布病防治的亟需解决的科学问题和建议作一综述．     

Intergenomic single nucleotide polymorphisms as a tool for bacterial artificial chromosome contig building of homoeologous Brassica napus regions

Background

Homoeologous sequences pose a particular challenge if bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) contigs shall be established for specific regions of an allopolyploid genome. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) differentiating between homoeologous genomes (intergenomic SNPs) may represent a suitable screening tool for such purposes, since they do not only identify homoeologous sequences but also differentiate between them.

Results

Sequence alignments between Brassica rapa (AA) and Brassica oleracea (CC) sequences mapping to corresponding regions on chromosomes A1 and C1, respectively were used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms between the A and C genomes. A large fraction of these polymorphisms was also present in Brassica napus (AACC), an allopolyploid species that originated from hybridisation of A and C genome species. Intergenomic SNPs mapping throughout homoeologous chromosome segments spanning approximately one Mbp each were included in Illumina’s GoldenGate® Genotyping Assay and used to screen multidimensional pools of a Brassica napus bacterial artificial chromosome library with tenfold genome coverage. Based on the results of 50 SNP assays, a BAC contig for the Brassica napus A subgenome was established that spanned the entire region of interest. The C subgenome region was represented in three BAC contigs.

Conclusions

This proof-of-concept study shows that sequence resources of diploid progenitor genomes can be used to deduce intergenomic SNPs suitable for multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based screening of multidimensional BAC pools of a polyploid organism. Owing to their high abundance and ease of identification, intergenomic SNPs represent a versatile tool to establish BAC contigs for homoeologous regions of a polyploid genome.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-560) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Whole exome sequencing of a single osteosarcoma case—integrative analysis with whole transcriptome RNA-seq data

Background

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a prevalent primary malignant bone tumour with unknown etiology. These highly metastasizing tumours are among the most frequent causes of cancer-related deaths. Thus, there is an urgent need for different markers, and with our study, we were aiming towards finding novel biomarkers for OS.

Methods

For that, we analysed the whole exome of the tumorous and non-tumour bone tissue from the same patient with OS applying next-generation sequencing. For data analysis, we used several softwares and combined the exome data with RNA-seq data from our previous study.

Results

In the tumour exome, we found wide genomic rearrangements, which should qualify as chromotripsis—we detected almost 3,000 somatic single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and small indels and more than 2,000 copy number variants (CNVs) in different chromosomes. Furthermore, the somatic changes seem to be associated to bone tumours, whereas germline mutations to cancer in general. We confirmed the previous findings that the most significant pathway involved in OS pathogenesis is probably the WNT/β-catenin signalling pathway. Also, the IGF1/IGF2 and IGF1R homodimer signalling and TP53 (including downstream tumour suppressor gene EI24) pathways may have a role. Additionally, the mucin family genes, especially MUC4 and cell cycle controlling gene CDC27 may be considered as potential biomarkers for OS.

Conclusions

The genes, in which the mutations were detected, may be considered as targets for finding biomarkers for OS. As the study is based on a single case and only DNA and RNA analysis, further confirmative studies are required.

     

Evidence for Chromatin-Remodeling Complex PBAP-Controlled Maintenance of the Drosophila Ovarian Germline Stem Cells

In the Drosophila oogenesis, germline stem cells (GSCs) continuously self-renew and differentiate into daughter cells for consecutive germline lineage commitment. This developmental process has become an in vivo working platform for studying adult stem cell fate regulation. An increasing number of studies have shown that while concerted actions of extrinsic signals from the niche and intrinsic regulatory machineries control GSC self-renewal and germline differentiation, epigenetic regulation is implicated in the process. Here, we report that Brahma (Brm), the ATPase subunit of the Drosophila SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes, is required for maintaining GSC fate. Removal or knockdown of Brm function in either germline or niche cells causes a GSC loss, but does not disrupt normal germline differentiation within the germarium evidenced at the molecular and morphological levels. There are two Drosophila SWI/SNF complexes: the Brm-associated protein (BAP) complex and the polybromo-containing BAP (PBAP) complex. More genetic studies reveal that mutations in polybromo/bap180, rather than gene encoding Osa, the BAP complex-specific subunit, elicit a defect in GSC maintenance reminiscent of the brm mutant phenotype. Further genetic interaction test suggests a functional association between brm and polybromo in controlling GSC self-renewal. Taken together, studies in this paper provide the first demonstration that Brm in the form of the PBAP complex functions in the GSC fate regulation.     

Investigation of Antimicrobial Resistance in Escherichia coli and Enterococci Isolated from Tibetan Pigs

Objectives

This study investigated the antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli and enterococci isolated from free-ranging Tibetan pigs in Tibet, China, and analyzed the influence of free-ranging husbandry on antimicrobial resistance.

Methods

A total of 232 fecal samples were collected from Tibetan pigs, and the disk diffusion method was used to examine their antimicrobial resistance. Broth microdilution and agar dilution methods were used to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations for antimicrobial agents for which disks were not commercially available.

Results

A total of 129 E. coli isolates and 84 Enterococcus isolates were recovered from the fecal samples. All E. coli isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and 40.4% were resistant to tetracycline. A small number of isolates were resistant to florfenicol (27.9%), ampicillin (27.9%), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (19.4%), nalidixic acid (19.4%), streptomycin (16.2%) and ceftiofur (10.9%), and very low resistance rates to ciprofloxacin (7.8%), gentamicin (6.9%), and spectinomycin (2.3%) were observed in E. coli. All Enterococcus isolates, including E. faecium, E. faecalis, E. hirae, and E. mundtii, were susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and vancomycin, but showed high frequencies of resistance to oxacillin (92.8%), clindamycin (82.1%), tetracycline (64.3%), and erythromycin (48.8%). Resistance rates to florfenicol (17.9%), penicillin (6.0%), ciprofloxacin (3.6%), levofloxacin (1.2%), and ampicillin (1.2%) were low. Only one high-level streptomycin resistant E. faecium isolate and one high-level gentamicin resistant E. faecium isolate were observed. Approximately 20% and 70% of E. coli and Enterococcus isolates, respectively, were defined as multidrug-resistant.

Conclusions

In this study, E. coli and Enterococcus isolated from free-ranging Tibetan pigs showed relatively lower resistance rates than those in other areas of China, where more intensive farming practices are used. These results also revealed that free-range husbandry and absence of antibiotic use could decrease the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance to some extent.     

Fluorofenidone Offers Improved Renoprotection at Early Interventions during the Course of Diabetic Nephropathy in db/db Mice via Multiple Pathways

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) remains the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a situation that is in part attributable to the lack of effective treatments. Fluorofenidone is a newly developed reagent with anti-fibrotic activity. While fluorofenidone was previously demonstrated to possess renoprotection from DN pathogenesis in db/db mice, the protective process and its underlying mechanisms have not been well studied. To characterize fluorofenidone-derived renoprotection, we treated 5, 8, or 12-week old db/db mice with daily doses of placebo, fluorofenidone, or losartan until 24 weeks of age; the time at which diabetes and DN were fully developed in placebo-treated animals. In comparison to db/db mice receiving fluorofenidone at 12-weeks old, those treated at 5-weeks had less glomerular expansion and better preservation of renal functions, judged by serum creatinine levels, albumin to creatinine ratio, and urinary albumin excretion (mg/24 hours). These benefits of early treatment were associated with significant reductions of multiple DN-promoting events, such as decreased expression of TGF-β1 and the p22^phox subunit of NADPH oxidase as well as downregulated activation of protein kinase C-zeta (ζ), ERK and AKT. This improvement in renoprotection following early interventions is not a unique property of DN pathogenesis, as losartan does not apparently offer the same benefits and is not more renoprotective than fluorofenidone. Additionally, the enhanced renoprotection provided by fluorofenidone did not affect the diabetic process, as it did not alter serum levels of glycated serum proteins, glucose, triglyceride or cholesterol. Collectively, we provide evidence that fluorofenidone offers improved renoprotection at early stages of DN pathogenesis.     

Genetic Linkage Map Construction and QTL Mapping of Salt Tolerance Traits in Zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica)

Zoysiagrass (Zoysia Willd.) is an important warm season turfgrass that is grown in many parts of the world. Salt tolerance is an important trait in zoysiagrass breeding programs. In this study, a genetic linkage map was constructed using sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers and random amplified polymorphic DNA markers based on an F₁ population comprising 120 progeny derived from a cross between Zoysia japonica Z105 (salt-tolerant accession) and Z061 (salt-sensitive accession). The linkage map covered 1211 cM with an average marker distance of 5.0 cM and contained 24 linkage groups with 242 marker loci (217 sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers and 25 random amplified polymorphic DNA markers). Quantitative trait loci affecting the salt tolerance of zoysiagrass were identified using the constructed genetic linkage map. Two significant quantitative trait loci (qLF-1 and qLF-2) for leaf firing percentage were detected; qLF-1 at 36.3 cM on linkage group LG4 with a logarithm of odds value of 3.27, which explained 13.1% of the total variation of leaf firing and qLF-2 at 42.3 cM on LG5 with a logarithm of odds value of 2.88, which explained 29.7% of the total variation of leaf firing. A significant quantitative trait locus (qSCW-1) for reduced percentage of dry shoot clipping weight was detected at 44.1 cM on LG5 with a logarithm of odds value of 4.0, which explained 65.6% of the total variation. This study provides important information for further functional analysis of salt-tolerance genes in zoysiagrass. Molecular markers linked with quantitative trait loci for salt tolerance will be useful in zoysiagrass breeding programs using marker-assisted selection.