脲酶抑制剂氢醌对大豆结瘤、固氮和木质部溶质氮形态的影响

首次报导了在白浆土和砂壤土上使用氢醌(HQ)抑制土壤脲酶活性,有效地缓解尿素分解产物及其随后的氧化产物对大豆结瘤和固氮活性的抑制效应,结果表明:1.HQ浓度在40PPM以内对大豆幼苗生长及初生结瘤表现促进作用;进一步提高HQ浓度将使大豆根系生长受阻变态而阻止结瘤。2.HQ(10—50PPM)提高了离体活性大豆根瘤类苗体悬液的耗氧量(79.4—86.1％)和琥珀酸脱氢酶活性(124.7—138.4％)。3.盆栽和田间试验证实,由于HQ缓解了尿素的分解,从而颇大减轻了尿素对大豆结瘤和固氮(乙炔还原活性)的抑制效应;通过大豆木质部中溶质氮形态(酰胺、酰脲和硝酸盐)的分析进一步证实了,大豆植株从根部向地上部运输的氮素形态同土壤氮转化强度和根瘤固氮强度(酰脲相对丰度)之间的紧密联系。4.由于麦秸还田土壤脲酶活性提高,故应提高HQ剂量;与此同时,通过麦秸的“氮因子效应”便能完全解除尿素对大豆结瘤固氮的抑制,并为大豆籽实发育提供了丰富的土壤氮源。     

混料设计优化黑木耳菌丝生长的农业剩余物配方

【背景】菌林矛盾日益突出,农业剩余物资源丰富,可作为食用菌栽培主要基质。【目的】筛选出适合黑木耳菌丝生长的农业剩余物配方。【方法】以大豆秸秆、油菜秸秆、玉米秸秆、花生秸秆、小麦秸秆和杂木屑等6种基质为原料,运用单纯形格子法进行配方设计,分析不同基质交互作用对黑木耳菌丝生长速率、菌丝生长指数、漆酶酶活、多酚氧化酶酶活和纤维素酶酶活的影响。【结果】在这些农业剩余物基质中,大豆秸秆基质最适合黑木耳菌丝生长,其次是油菜秸秆。3种主料共同作用可以优化出最适合黑木耳菌丝生长的基质配比。【结论】最终优化出一个适合黑木耳菌丝生长的农业剩余物配方：杂木屑49.4%、油菜秸秆16.4%、大豆秸秆12.2%、麦麸20%、蔗糖1%、CaSO₄ 1%。本研究为“以草代木”栽培黑木耳提供了理论基础。     

PTEN enters the nucleus by diffusion

Despite much evidence for phosphatidylinositol phosphate (PIP)-triggered signaling pathways in the nucleus, there is little understanding of how the levels and activities of these proteins are regulated. As a first step to elucidating this problem, we determined whether phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) enters the nucleus by passive diffusion or active transport. We expressed various PTEN fusion proteins in tsBN2, HeLa, LNCaP, and U87MG cells and determined that the largest PTEN fusion proteins showed little or no nuclear localization. Because diffusion through nuclear pores is limited to proteins of 60,000 Da or less, this suggests that nuclear translocation of PTEN occurs via diffusion. We examined PTEN mutants, seeking to identify a nuclear localization signal (NLS) for PTEN. Mutation of K13 and R14 decreased nuclear localization, but these amino acids do not appear to be part of an NLS. We used fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to demonstrate that GFP-PTEN can passively pass through nuclear pores. Diffusion in the cytoplasm is retarded for the PTEN mutants that show reduced nuclear localization. We conclude that PTEN enters the nucleus by diffusion. In addition, sequestration of PTEN in the cytoplasm likely limits PTEN nuclear translocation.     

Protections of SMND-309, a novel derivate of salvianolic acid B,on brain mitochondria contribute to injury amelioration in cerebral ischemia rats

SMND-309, a novel compound named (2E)-2-{6-[(E)-2-carboxylvinyl]-2,3-dihydroxyphenyl}-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) propenoic acid, is a new derivate of salvianolic acid B. The present study was conducted to investigate whether SMND-309 has a protective effect on brain injury after focal cerebral ischemia, and if it did so, to investigate its effects on brain mitochondria. Adult male SD rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) by bipolar electro-coagulation. Behavioral tests and brain patho-physiological tests were used to evaluate the damage to central nervous system. Origin targets including mitochondria production of reactive oxygen species, antioxidant potentia, membrane potential, energy metabolism, mitochondrial respiratory enzymes activities and mitochondria swelling degree were evaluated. The results showed that SMND-309 decreased neurological deficit scores, reduced the number of dead hippocampal neuronal cells in accordance with its depression on mitochondria swelling degree, reactive oxygen species production, improvements on mitochondria swelling, energy metabolism, membrane potential level and mitochondrial respiratory chain complex activities. All of these findings indicate that SMND-309 exerted potent neuroprotective effects in the model of permanent cerebral ischemia, contributed to its protections on brain mitochondrial structure and function.     

Regulated Intramembrane Proteolysis of the Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Risk Factor,TMEM106B,by Signal Peptide Peptidase-like 2a (SPPL2a)

The sequential processing of single pass transmembrane proteins via ectodomain shedding followed by intramembrane proteolysis is involved in a wide variety of signaling processes, as well as maintenance of membrane protein homeostasis. Here we report that the recently identified frontotemporal lobar degeneration risk factor TMEM106B undergoes regulated intramembrane proteolysis. We demonstrate that TMEM106B is readily processed to an N-terminal fragment containing the transmembrane and intracellular domains, and this processing is dependent on the activities of lysosomal proteases. The N-terminal fragment is further processed into a small, rapidly degraded intracellular domain. The GxGD aspartyl proteases SPPL2a and, to a lesser extent, SPPL2b are responsible for this intramembrane cleavage event. Additionally, the TMEM106B paralog TMEM106A is also lysosomally localized; however, it is not a specific substrate of SPPL2a or SPPL2b. Our data add to the growing list of proteins that undergo intramembrane proteolysis and may shed light on the regulation of the frontotemporal lobar degeneration risk factor TMEM106B.     

A Novel Alkaloid from Marine-Derived Actinomycete Streptomyces xinghaiensis with Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Activities

Due to the increasing emergence of drug-resistant bacteria and tumor cell lines, novel antibiotics with antibacterial and cytotoxic activities are urgently needed. Marine actinobacteria are rich sources of novel antibiotics, and here we report the discovery of a novel alkaloid, xinghaiamine A, from a marine-derived actinomycete Streptomyces xinghaiensis NRRL B24674^T. Xinghaiamine A was purified from the fermentation broth, and its structure was elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR spectrum as well as mass spectrometry. Xinghaiamine A was identified to be a novel alkaloid with highly symmetric structure on the basis of sulfoxide functional group, and sulfoxide containing compound has so far never been reported in microorganisms. Biological assays revealed that xinghaiamine A exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial activities to both Gram-negative persistent hospital pathogens (e.g. Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive ones, which include Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. In addition, xinghaiamine A also exhibited potent cytotoxic activity to human cancer cell lines of MCF-7 and U-937 with the IC₅₀ of 0.6 and 0.5 µM, respectively.     

Coordinated Processing of 3′ Slipped (CAG)n/(CTG)n Hairpins by DNA Polymerases β and δ Preferentially Induces Repeat Expansions

Expansion of CAG/CTG trinucleotide repeats causes certain familial neurological disorders. Hairpin formation in the nascent strand during DNA synthesis is considered a major path for CAG/CTG repeat expansion. However, the underlying mechanism is unclear. We show here that removal or retention of a nascent strand hairpin during DNA synthesis depends on hairpin structures and types of DNA polymerases. Polymerase (pol) δ alone removes the 3′-slipped hairpin using its 3′-5′ proofreading activity when the hairpin contains no immediate 3′ complementary sequences. However, in the presence of pol β, pol δ preferentially facilitates hairpin retention regardless of hairpin structures. In this reaction, pol β incorporates several nucleotides to the hairpin 3′-end, which serves as an effective primer for the continuous DNA synthesis by pol δ, thereby leading to hairpin retention and repeat expansion. These findings strongly suggest that coordinated processing of 3′-slipped (CAG)_n/(CTG)_n hairpins by polymerases δ and β on during DNA synthesis induces CAG/CTG repeat expansions.     

Regulation of TDP-43 aggregation by phosphorylation and p62/SQSTM1

TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) proteinopathy has been linked to several neurodegenerative diseases, such as frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Phosphorylated and ubiquitinated TDP-43 C-terminal fragments have been found in cytoplasmic inclusions in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. However, the factors and pathways that regulate TDP-43 aggregation are still not clear. We found that the C-terminal 15 kDa fragment of TDP-43 is sufficient to induce aggregation but the aggregation phenotype is modified by additional sequences. Aggregation is accompanied by phosphorylation at serine residues 409/410. Mutation of 409/410 to phosphomimetic aspartic acid residues significantly reduces aggregation. Inhibition of either proteasome or autophagy dramatically increases TDP-43 aggregation. Furthermore, TDP-43 aggregates colocalize with markers of autophagy and the adaptor protein p62/SQSTM1. Over-expression of p62/SQSTM1 reduces TDP-43 aggregation in an autophagy and proteasome-dependent manner. These studies suggest that aggregation of TDP-43 C-terminal fragments is regulated by phosphorylation events and both the autophagy and proteasome-mediated degradation pathways.     

Up-regulation of apelin in brain tissue of patients with epilepsy and an epileptic rat model

Prolonged epileptic seizures or SE can cause neuronal cell death. However, the exact role of neuroprotectant against brain injury during epileptic seizure needs to be further elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of the apelin, a novel neuroprotective peptide, in brain tissues of the patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and experimental rats using immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and Western blotting analysis and to discuss the possible role of apelin in TLE. Thirty temporal neocortical tissue samples from the patients with drug-refractory TLE underwent surgical therapy and nine histologically normal temporal lobes tissues as controls were used in our study. Fifty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into seven groups, including one control group and six groups with epilepsy induced by lithium-pilocarpine. Hippocampus and adjacent cortex were taken from the controls and epileptic rats at 1, 3, 7, 14, 30, and 60 days after onset of seizures. Apelin was mainly expressed in the neurons of TLE patients and controls, and was significantly increased in TLE patients compared with the controls. Apelin was also expressed in the neurons of experimental and control rats, it was gradually increased in the experimental rat post-seizure and reached a stable high level in chronic epileptic phase. Our results demonstrated that the increased expression of apelin in the brain may be involved in human TLE.