A model for the shuttle motions of puerarin and daidzin inside the cavity of β-cyclodextrin in aqueous acetic acid: insights from molecular dynamics simulations

Acetic acid acts as one component of the mobile phase to influence separation of puerarin from daidzin when using β-cyclodextrin-substituted media. In this work considering an explicit acetic acid solution, host-guest complexes of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with puerarin and daidzin were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. Computational results indicate different shuttle motions of puerarin and daidzin inside the cavity of β-CD. A model detailing the shuttle motion was constructed, and the relationships between shuttle depth and guest rotation angles, hydrogen bonds, and host-guest interaction energies were analyzed. The results can be used to explain the chromatographic retention mechanisms of puerarin and daidzin with β-CD, and to explore the complexity of host-guest interactions involving β-CD.     

An enhanced protein crosslink identification strategy using CID-cleavable chemical crosslinkers and LC/MS(n) analysis

We describe a novel two-step LC/MS(n) strategy to effectively and confidently identify numerous crosslinked peptides from complex mixtures. This method incorporates the use of our gas-phase cleavable crosslinking reagent, disuccinimidyl-succinamyl-aspartyl-proline (SuDP), and a new data-processing algorithm CXLinkS (Cleavable Crosslink Selection), which enables unequivocal crosslink peptide selection and identification on the basis of mass measurement accuracy, high resolving power, and the unique fragmentation pattern of each crosslinked peptide. We demonstrate our approach with well-characterized monomeric and multimeric protein systems with and without database searching restrictions where inter-peptide crosslink identification is increased 8-fold over our previously published data-dependent LC/MS3 method and discuss its applicability to other CID-cleavable crosslinkers and more complex protein systems.     

引起阿尔茨海默病的γ-分泌酶作用机制

γ-分泌酶剪切C99形成的Aβ在脑中的聚集认为是阿尔茨海默病的元凶,.GXGD结构域",含水腔隙"的发现使得对γ-分泌酶有了进一步认识。本文对γ-分泌酶的结构、作用机制及其抑制剂的研究做综述。     

血管紧张素1-7对氧糖剥夺/复氧海马神经元的保护作用

血管紧张素1-7（angiotensin 1-7, Ang1-7）在神经系统中发挥重要作用。已有研究发现,Ang1-7在脑缺血动物模型中发挥保护作用,但至今未见有关Ang1-7对氧糖剥夺/复氧（oxygen-glucose deprivation/ reoxygenation, OGD/R）损伤神经元的保护作用及其机制的研究报道。本研究以厌氧培养及不含葡萄糖的EBSS培养基培养、建立新生大白鼠原代培养的海马神经元OGD/R模型模拟脑缺血环境,实验分为3组：正常对照组、实验对照组和Ang1-7处理组。倒置显微镜观察神经元形态显示,Ang1-7处理组的神经元形态明显改善|CCK8试剂盒检测发现,Ang1-7处理组的细胞活性提高|流式细胞术研究发现,Ang1-7处理组的神经元凋亡和坏死率降低、神经元内Ca2+及NO水平降低|Western印迹结果发现,Ang1-7处理组Bax表达降低,Bcl-2表达增加。以上结果说明,Ang1-7可降低OGD/R神经元中NO和Ca2+水平,降低Bax蛋白、增加Bcl-2蛋白的表达,减少OGD/R神经元凋亡和坏死率,对OGD/R神经元发挥了保护作用。本研究为进一步在神经元水平上研究Ang-1-7的保护机制奠定基础,对中风等脑缺血疾病的防治具有重要意义。     

Amino acids essential for the interaction between cellular heat shock protein 90 and a Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-encoded protein kinase ORF36

正Dear Editor,Protein-protein interactions(PPIs)often play important roles in biological processes(Zhang et al.,2016).The split Renilla luciferase complementation assay(SRLCA)is one of the methods in studying PPIs.SRLCA is based on the complementation of the N-terminal domains of Renilla luciferase(LN)and C-terminal domains of     

光倒刺对水绵、轮叶黑藻、金鱼藻的摄食选择性及对水质影响

为探究生物操纵光倒刺鲃(Spinibarbus hollandi) 控制大型丝状藻水绵藻华的有效性及安全性, 研究了不同密度下(0、26、52、104 g/m3)光倒刺鲃对试验环境中水绵、轮叶黑藻、金鱼藻的摄食状况及对水质的影响, 通过显微观察初步分析该鱼对水绵的摄食消化机制, 进一步探究该鱼对摄食生物不同生长期的摄食偏好。结果表明:光倒刺鲃在低密度(26 g/m3)下, 可高强度摄食水绵, 且对3种水生植物的摄食选择性为:水绵轮叶黑藻金鱼藻; 光倒刺鲃对两种生长时期的水绵均大量摄食, 且喜食危害较大的成熟水绵, 而对轮叶黑藻幼嫩叶片无显著摄食; 其对水绵的消化机制与咽喉齿的机械破碎密切有关; 在鱼-草共生条件下, 各处理组营养盐出现先增后降的趋势, 低密度组(26 g/m3)21d后, NH3-N、NO3--N、PO4--P均低于其初始水平; 光倒刺鲃难以对浮游微藻产生滤食作用及前期营养盐上升, 导致各处理组中叶绿素a较对照组(0 g/m3)均显著上升。预期在轮叶黑藻、金鱼藻等沉水植物为主的人工湖泊城市水景及水产养殖中, 较低密度投放该鱼, 可有效控制水绵泛滥, 并兼顾水质, 但在浮游微藻易暴发的水域中, 不适于单一运用该鱼。       

Enhanced allelopathy and competitive ability of invasive plant Solidago canadensis in its introduced range

Aims Why invasive plants are more competitive in their introduced range than native range is still an unanswered question in plant invasion ecology. Here, we used the model invasive plant Solidago canadensis to test a hypothesis that enhanced production of allelopathic compounds results in greater competitive ability of invasive plants in the invaded range rather than in the native range. We also examined the degree to which the allelopathy contributes increased competitive ability of S. canadensis in the invaded range.Methods We compared allelochemical production by S. canadensis growing in its native area (the USA) and invaded area (China) and also by populations that were collected from the two countries and grown together in a 'common garden' greenhouse experiment. We also tested the allelopathic effects of S. canadensis collected from either the USA or China on the germination of Kummerowia striata (a native plant in China). Finally, we conducted a common garden, greenhouse experiment in which K. striata was grown in monoculture or with S. canadensis from the USA or China to test the effects of allelopathy on plant–plant competition with suitable controls such as adding activated carbon to the soil to absorb the allelochemicals and thereby eliminating any corresponding allopathic effects.Important findings Allelochemical contents (total phenolics, total flavones and total saponins) and allelopathic effects were greater in S. canadensis sampled from China than those from the USA as demonstrated in a field survey and a common garden experiment. Inhibition of K. striata germination using S. canadensis extracts or previously grown in soil was greater using samples from China than from the USA. The competitive ability of S. canadensis against K. striata was also greater for plants originating from China than those from the USA. Allelopathy could explain about 46% of the difference. These findings demonstrated that S. canadensis has evolved to be more allelopathic and competitive in the introduced range and that allelopathy significantly contributes to increased competitiveness for this invasive species.     

细胞dNTP库的稳态维持与基因组稳定性

作为DNA合成的重要前体,细胞中4种脱氧核糖核苷三磷酸(dATP、dTTP、dGTP和dCTP)是DNA复制、重组和修复所必需的原材料,而DNA的正确合成及其完整性则是基因组稳定性的重要体现,因此dNTP库状态的稳定对维持基因组的稳定进而保证细胞的稳定至关重要.从dNTP库的质量上讲,一些异质dNTP如氧化的dNTP掺...     

Characterization of the novel gene BjDREB1B encoding a DRE-binding transcription factor from Brassica juncea L

A novel DREB (dehydration responsive element binding protein) gene, designated BjDREB1B, was isolated from Brassica juncea L. BjDREB1B contains a conserved EREBP/AP2 domain and was classified into the A-1 subgroup of the DREB subfamily based on phylogenetic tree analysis. RT-PCR showed that BjDREB1B was induced by abiotic stresses and exogenous phytohormones, such as drought, salt, low temperature, heavy metals, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid. Gel shift assay revealed that BjDREB1B specifically bound to the DRE element in vitro. Yeast one-hybrid assay showed that full-length BjDREB1B or its C-terminal region functioned effectively as a trans-activator. Furthermore, overexpression of BjDREB1B in tobacco up-regulated the expression of NtERD10B, and BjDREB1B transgenic plants accumulated higher levels of proline than control plants under normal and saline conditions, together showing that BjDREB1B plays important roles in improving plant tolerance to drought and salinity.