Infection with the Lyme disease pathogen suppresses innate immunity in mice with diet‐induced obesity

Obesity is a major global public health concern. Immune responses implicated in obesity also control certain infections. We investigated the effects of high‐fat diet‐induced obesity (DIO) on infection with the Lyme disease bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi in mice. DIO was associated with systemic suppression of neutrophil‐ and macrophage‐based innate immune responses. These included bacterial uptake and cytokine production, and systemic, progressive impairment of bacterial clearance, and increased carditis severity. B. burgdorferi‐infected mice fed normal diet also gained weight at the same rate as uninfected mice fed high‐fat diet, toll‐like receptor 4 deficiency rescued bacterial clearance defects, which greater in female than male mice, and killing of an unrelated bacterium (Escherichia coli) by bone marrow‐derived macrophages from obese, B. burgdorferi‐infected mice was also affected. Importantly, innate immune suppression increased with infection duration and depended on cooperative and synergistic interactions between DIO and B. burgdorferi infection. Thus, obesity and B. burgdorferi infection cooperatively and progressively suppressed innate immunity in mice.     

The alpha- and beta-tubulin folding pathways

The alpha-beta tubulin heterodimer is the subunit from which microtubules are assembled. The pathway leading to correctly folded alpha- and beta-tubulins is unusually complex: it involves cycles of ATP-dependent interaction of newly synthesized tubulin subunits with cytosolic chaperonin, resulting in the production of quasi-native folding intermediates, which must then be acted upon by additional protein cofactors. These cofactors form a supercomplex containing both alpha- and beta-tubulin polypeptides, from which native heterodimer is released in a GTP-dependent reaction. Here, we discuss the current state of our understanding of the function of cytosolic chaperonin and cofactors in tubulin folding.     

禾缢管蚜在不同温度条件下的飞行能力

通过利用昆虫飞行磨对室内饲养的禾缢管蚜Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus)在不同温度(8℃一30℃)条件下飞行能力的测试结果。试验结果表明,禾缢管蚜的飞行距离和飞行时间在12℃～20℃时较大,平均飞行距离为6.614～8.219 km,平均飞行时间为5.074～7.003 h。在15℃时,单个个体的最大飞行距离和最长飞行时间分别达到26.231 km和21.153h：在8℃～10℃条件下禾缢管蚜较难起飞,即使起飞后飞行时间和距离均很短。在 23℃以上禾缢管蚜的飞行时间和距离逐渐缩短,30℃时禾缢管蚜起飞后很快就停止飞行。飞行速度随温度增高而加快,平均飞行速度在8℃时为o.781km/h,在30℃时达1.605km/h。     

MiR-674-5p Suppresses the Proliferation and Migration of Glioma Cells by Targeting Cul4b

Neurochemical Research - Glioma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumors. Despite the considerable advances in GBM treatment, it is still one of the most lethal forms of...     

GenoBaits Soy40K: a highly flexible and low-cost SNP array for soybean studies

<正>Dear Editor,Soybean(Glycine max [L.] Merr.) provides more than half of the oilseeds and more than a quarter of protein worldwide. It is estimated that the production of soybean has to be doubled by 2050 to meet the needs of the rapidly increasing consumption of soybean seeds along with a continuously increasing population(Ray et al., 2013). As such, development of a genotyping platform with high throughput, high efficiency and high precision but low-cost is urgently needed to accelerate...     

有关彩色真菌培养基的应用

彩色真菌培养基具有选择性强、分辨率高、易生长、易观察的特点。在真菌培养方面优于其它培养基,其主要作用机理在于应用了化学生物效应促进真菌生长。     

Broadening the avenue of intersubgenomic heterosis in oilseed Brassica

Accumulated evidence has shown that each of the three basic Brassica genomes (A, B and C) has undergone profound changes in different species, and has led to the concept of the “subgenome”. Significant intersubgenomic heterosis was observed in hybrids between traditional Brassica napus and first generation lines of new type B. napus. The latter were produced by the partial introgression of subgenomic components from different species into B. napus. To increase the proportion of exotic subgenomic components and thus achieve stronger heterosis, lines of first generation new type B. napus were intercrossed with each other, and subjected to intensive marker-assisted selection to develop the second generation of new type B. napus. The second generation showed better agronomic traits and a higher proportion of introgression of subgenomic components than did the first generation. Compared with the commercial hybrid and the hybrids produced with the first generation new type B. napus, the novel hybrids showed stronger heterosis for seed yield during the 2 years of field trials. The extent of heterosis showed a significant positive correlation with the introgressed subgenomic components in the parental new type B. napus. To increase the content of the exotic subgenomic components further and to allow sustainable breeding of novel lines of new type B. napus, we initiated the development of a gene pool for new type B. napus that contained a substantial amount of genetic variation in the A^r and C^c genome. We discuss new approaches to broaden the avenue of intersubgenomic heterosis in oilseed Brassica.     

Dephosphorylation of photosystem II proteins and phosphorylation of CP29 in barley photosynthetic membranes as a response to water stress

Kinetic studies of protein dephosphorylation in barley thylakoid membranes revealed accelerated dephosphorylation of photosystem II (PSII) proteins, and meanwhile rapidly induced phosphorylation of a light-harvesting complex (LHCII) b4, CP29 under water stress. Inhibition of dephosphorylation aggravates stress damages and hampers photosystem recovery after rewatering. This increased dephosphorylation is catalyzed by both intrinsic and extrinsic membrane protein phosphatase. Water stress did not cause any thylakoid destacking, and the lateral migration from granum membranes to stroma-exposed lamellae was only found to CP29, but not other PSII proteins. Activation of plastid proteases and release of TLP40, an inhibitor of the membrane phosphatases, were also enhanced during water stress. Phosphorylation of CP29 may facilitate disassociation of LHCII from PSII complex, disassembly of the LHCII trimer and its subsequent degradation, while general dephosphorylation of PSII proteins may be involved in repair cycle of PSII proteins and stress-response-signaling.