Preliminary results on nematicidal activity from culture filtrates of Basidiomycetes against the pine wood nematode,Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Aphelenchoididae)

One hundred and eighty one fungal species that were isolated from the fresh fruiting bodies collected in the Mountains of Pu Er County of Yunnan Province, China were tested on the pine wood nematode,Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in vitro. Each fungal species was grown in Czapek broth and potato dextrose broth (PDB). Fifteen filtrates fromAmauroderma austrosinense, Amauroderma macer, Filoboletus sp.,Laccaria tortilis, Lactarius gerardii, Lentinula edodes, Oudemansiella longipes, Oudemansiella mucida, Peziza sp.,Pleurotus sp.,Sinotermitomyces carnosus (two strains),Strobilomyces floccopus, Termitomyces albuminosus, Tylopilus striatulus grown on PDB were found to be pathogenic to the tested nematodes. Eleven filtrates fromAmanita junguillea, Amanita sp.,Daedalea sepiaria, Fistulina hepatica, Omphalotus olearius, Oudemansiella mucida, Peziza sp.,Pleurotus pulmatus, Ramaria sp.,Tricholoma conglobatum, Tylopilus striatulus grown on Czapek broth were also pathogenic to the nematodes. When screening for nematicidal potential of fungi, it is important to study the growth medium conditions necessary to obtain the optimal nematicidal effect as fungal filtrates growing on different liquid media showed a very inconsistent toxicity towards nematodes.     

Optimization of sulfated modification conditions of tremella polysaccharide and effects of modifiers on cellular infectivity of NDV

Based on our previous research, sulfated modification conditions of Tremella polysaccharide (TPS), the chlorosulfonic acid to pyridine (CSA-Pry) ratio, reaction temperature and time, were optimized by L₉ (3⁴) orthogonal design taking the yield and degree of sulfation (DS) of modifiers as indexes. Two TPSs, TPS_tp and TPS_70c, were modified under optimized conditions. The effects of two modifiers, sTPS_tp and sTPS_70c, on cellular infectivity of NDV were determined by MTT method taking the non-modified TPS_tp, TPS_tc and TPS_70c as controls. The results showed that the optimized modification conditions were reaction temperature of 80 °C, CSA-Pry ratio of 1:6 and reaction time of 1.5 h. Five polysaccharides at proper concentrations could significantly inhibit the infectivity of NDV to CEF. The virus inhibitory rates of sTPS_tp at 1.563 μg mL⁻¹ group were the highest and significantly higher than those of other three non-modified polysaccharide groups in three sample-adding modes. This indicated that sulfated modification could significantly improve the antiviral activity of TPS. sTPS_tp possessed the best efficacy and would be as a component of antiviral polysaccharide drug.     

共表达甲型流感病毒M1和HA抗原的重组杆状病毒的构建

为构建同时表达流感病毒M1和HA抗原的重组杆状病毒,采用PCR扩增流感病毒A/PR/8/34株的M1基因和去除信号肽的HA基因,将两基因克隆到杆状病毒转座载体pFastBac Dual的两个启动子下游的多克隆位点,筛选出阳性重组转座载体pFastBac Dual-M1-HA。将其转化含有杆状病毒穿梭载体(Bacmid)的DH10Bac感受态细胞,通过抗生素、蓝白斑筛选和PCR鉴定获得重组杆状病毒穿梭载体rBacmid-M1-HA,在脂质体介导下转染Sf9昆虫细胞,获得重组杆状病毒rBac-M1-HA。提取重组病毒基因组,通过PCR鉴定外源基因插入成功。间接免疫荧光和Western-blot检测表明,该重组杆状病毒在Sf9昆虫细胞中成功地表达了M1和HA。应用杆状病毒/昆虫细胞系统成功共表达流感病毒M1和HA抗原,为研究流感病毒VLP的形成机制和开发新型流感疫苗奠定了基础。     

Influenza A virus-binding activity of glycoglycerolipids of aquatic bacteria

As the aqueous sphere has been proposed to be an important source medium for the virus infection of land animals, the glycolipids of some aquatic organisms were examined for human influenza A virus-binding activity. Active compounds were not found among the eight echinoderm gangliosides, but two active non-sialylated glycoglycerolipids were isolated from an aquatic bacterium, Corynebacterium aquaticum. The structural formula of one of them, H632A, was elucidated to be 1-14-methyl-hexadecanoyl-3-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->3)-6-(12-met hyl-tetradecanoyl)-1-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl]-sn-glycerol. The latter together with reported one elsewhere, S365A, 1-14-methyl-hexadecanoyl-3-[alpha-D-mannopyranosyl-(1-->3)-6-(12-meth yl-tetradecanoyl)-1-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl]-sn-glycerol, apparently bound to three human influenza viruses, A/PR/8/34 (H1N1), A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2), and A/Memphis/1/71 (H3N2), exhibiting 7-12% (H632A) and 10-22% (S365A) of the activities of the control substances (Neu5Acalpha2-3-paragloboside and Neu5Acalpha2-6- paragloboside). Additionally, these glycolipids were assumed to have virus-neutralizing activities for the following two reasons: (i) The hemagglutination and hemolysis activities of the viruses were inhibited by the glycolipid. (ii) The leakage of a cytosolic enzyme (lactate dehydrogenase) from Madin-Darby canine kidney cells on virus infection was prevented by the glycolipids to nearly the same extent as by fetuin. This is the first evidence of the binding- and neutralizing-abilities of native glycoglycerolipids as to influenza viruses.     

Comparative proteomics analysis of silkworm hemolymph during the stages of metamorphosis via liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

The silkworm is a lepidopteran insect that has an open circulatory system with hemolymph consisting of blood and lymph fluid. Hemolymph is not only considered as a depository of nutrients and energy, but it also plays a key role in substance transportation, immunity response, and proteolysis. In this study, we used LC‐MS/MS to analyze the hemolymph proteins of four developmental stages during metamorphosis. A total of 728 proteins were identified from the hemolymph of the second day of wandering stage, first day of pupation, ninth day of pupation, and first day as an adult moth. GO annotations and categories showed that silkworm hemolymph proteins were enriched in carbohydrate metabolism, proteolysis, protein binding, and antibacterial humoral response. The levels of nutrient, immunity‐related, and structural proteins changed significantly during development and metamorphosis. Some, such as cuticle, odorant‐binding, and chemosensory proteins, showed stage‐specific expression in the hemolymph. In addition, the expression of several antimicrobial peptides exhibited their highest level of abundance in the hemolymph of the early pupal stage. These findings provide a comprehensive proteomic insight of the silkworm hemolymph and suggest additional molecular targets for studying insect metamorphosis.     

伴侣素的发现者——霍维茨

伴侣素（chaperonin）是辅助蛋白质正确折叠过程中的重要元件,可有效防止蛋白质错误折叠和聚集,对细胞正常功能发挥和发育具有十分重要的意义。伴侣素功能缺陷或异常可导致许多神经退行性疾病如帕金森综合症等的发生,因此伴侣素介导的蛋白质折叠的研究对该类疾病的治疗具有重要帮助。伴侣素于1989年由霍维茨发现,经过近20年研究,人们对其作用机理和生理功能有了较为全面的理解,从而为应用奠定了基础。     

乏情和发情初产母猪下丘脑–垂体–卵巢轴中lincRNAs表达谱比较分析

初产母猪断奶后能否正常发情对养猪生产影响重大,也是初产母猪被淘汰的主要原因。本研究以乏情和发情初产母猪为研究对象,首次利用RNA-seq技术对其下丘脑-垂体-卵巢轴中的基因间长链非编码RNAs(long intergenic noncoding RNAs,lincRNAs)进行筛选比较,得到lincRNAs的表达图谱,并对其特征和功能进行了初步分析。结果显示,在乏情和发情初产母猪下丘脑–垂体–卵巢轴中鉴定得到3519个lincRNAs,以发情组为对照共有17个lincRNAs存在差异表达,其中12个表达上调,5个表达下调(FC≥2,P<0.05)。选择4个差异表达的lincRNAs经qRT-PCR验证,其表达水平与测序结果基本一致。对这17个差异表达的lincRNAs进行GO分析、KEGG通路分析及lincRNA-mRNA共表达网络分析,发现这些lincRNAs主要与猪卵母细胞减数分裂成熟、卵巢细胞分化及颗粒细胞凋亡等生殖活动相关。本研究结果丰富了猪lincRNAs数据资源,为进一步深入研究初产母猪的生殖机能提供了理论依据。     

Dexamethasone interferes with osteoblasts formation during osteogenesis through altering IGF-1-mediated angiogenesis

Dexamethasone (Dex), a synthetic glucocorticoid (GC) with long-lasting treatment effects, has been proved to exert a modulatory effect on osteoblast proliferation and differentiation during embryonic osteogenesis. However, it is still controversial if Dex exposure influences endochondral ossification and the underlying mechanism. In this study, chick embryos in vivo and preosteoblast cell cultures in vitro were utilized to investigate the effects of Dex on osteoblast formation and differentiation during the skeletal development. We first demonstrated that Dex exposure could shorten the long bones of 17-day chick embryos in vivo, and also downregulated the expressions of osteogenesis-related genes. Next, we established that Dex exposure inhibited the proliferation and viability of preosteoblasts-MC3TC-E1 cells, and the addition of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) could dramatically rescue these negative effects. On the basis of remarkable changes in the rescue experiments, we next verified the important role of angiogenesis in osteogenesis by culturing isolated embryonic phalanges in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium culture or on the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Then, we transplanted MC3T3-E1 cell masses onto the CAM. The data showed that Dex exposure reduced the vessel density within the developed cell mass, concomitantly with the downregulation of IGF-1 pathway. We verified that the inhibition of blood vessel formation caused by Dex could be rescued by IGF-1 treatment using the CAM angiogenesis model. Eventually, we demonstrated that the shortened length of the phalanges in the presence of Dex could be reversed by IGF-1 addition. In summary, these findings suggested that the inhibition of Igf-1 signal caused by Dex exposure exerts a detrimental impact on the formation of osteoblasts and angiogenesis, which consequently shortens long bones during osteogenesis.