标记蛋白HPT的表达、纯化及免疫活性鉴定

构建含有HPT的原核表达质粒,经诱导表达纯化后获得HPT抗体。从含有hpt的质粒pCambia1301上扩增目的基因,经SalⅠ和NotⅠ双酶切后与原核表达载体pET-28b（+）进行粘性末端连接,成功构建了pET-28b-hpt质粒,并转化到宿主细菌大肠杆菌Rosset(DE3)中进行蛋白表达。在异丙基硫代-β-D-半乳糖苷(IPTG)诱导下,pET-28b-hpt原核表达载体在E.coli Rosset菌株中以包涵体的形式高效表达了HPT蛋白,并以纯化的目的蛋白为抗原免疫兔制备了多克隆抗体。利用本方法可以获得特异性强、灵敏度高的多克隆抗体。     

RAGE upregulation and nuclear factor-kappaB activation associated with ageing rat cardiomyocyte dysfunction

Evidence suggests that ageing is a major risk factor for cardiac dysfunction. Interactions between advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and the receptor for AGEs (RAGE) are known to cause chronic cellular activation, including activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), which has been implicated as a causal factor in the ageing process. To assess whether cardiomyocyte contractile function and the interaction of AGEs with RAGE in the heart are altered in ageing, 25- and 2-month-old male rats were compared. Mechanical properties were assessed in ventricular myocytes using an edge-detection system, including peak twitch amplitude (PTA), time-to-PTA (TPS), time-to-75% relengthening (TR75) and maximal velocity of shortening/relengthening (+/-dL/dt) in ventricular myocytes. AGEs were detected by using a fluorescence assay. The expression of RAGE and NF-kappaB was assessed through a Western blot analysis. Compared with young myocytes, aged myocytes displayed a prolonged TR75 at 1 Hz. With increasing stimulus frequency (from 2 to 4 Hz), aged myocytes' PTA was significantly reduced relative to young myocytes. Aged rat hearts displayed high level of AGEs, RAGE upregulation and NF-kappaB activation. These findings demonstrate impaired cardiomyocyte relaxation and reduced tolerance to increased stimulus frequency in aged rats, which might be associated with enhanced AGEs, RAGE expression, and NF-kappaB activation.     

Influence of different Sinorhizobium meliloti inocula on abundance of genes involved in nitrogen transformations in the rhizosphere of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

Inoculation of leguminous seeds with selected rhizobial strains is practised in agriculture to ameliorate the plant yield by enhanced root nodulation and nitrogen uptake of the plant. However, effective symbiosis between legumes and rhizobia does not only depend on the capacity of nitrogen fixation but also on the entire nitrogen turnover in the rhizosphere. We investigated the influence of seed inoculation with two indigenous Sinorhizobium meliloti strains exhibiting different efficiency concerning plant growth promotion on nitrogen turnover processes in the rhizosphere during the growth of alfalfa. Quantification of six target genes (bacterial amoA, nirK, nirS, nosZ, nifH and archaeal amoA) within the nitrogen cycle was performed in rhizosphere samples before nodule formation, at bud development and at the late flowering stage. The results clearly demonstrated that effectiveness of rhizobial inocula is related to abundance of nifH genes in the late flowering phase of alfalfa. Moreover, other genes involved in nitrogen turnover had been affected by the inocula, e.g. higher numbers of amoA copies were observed during flowering when the more effective strain had been inoculated. However, the respective gene abundances differed overall to a greater extent between the three plant development stages than between the inoculation variants.     

青鳉prdm14的原核表达、多克隆抗体制备及其应用

青鳉(Oryzias latipes)是研究遗传发育和细胞多能性的重要模式鱼类, 为探究prdm14同源基因的潜在作用, 实验将青鳉prmd14经原核表达后制备了兔抗Prdm14多克隆抗体。首先, 将prdm14基因的部分编码区连接到pET32a质粒中, 构建重组表达载体pET32a-prdm14?600。随后将重组载体转化至大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)Rosetta(DE3), 经异丙基-β-d-硫代半乳糖苷(Isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactoside, IPTG)诱导表达, 获得分子量为60 kD的Prdm14重组蛋白。接着大量诱导蛋白表达并切胶纯化, 免疫家兔(Oryctolagus cuniculus), 6周后获得阳性抗体, 最后通过ELISA和Western blot检测抗体效价及其特异性。结果显示, 在37℃、0.6 mmol/L IPTG、诱导3h的条件下, 可获得Prdm14重组蛋白的高效表达; 制备的兔抗青鳉Prdm14多克隆抗体能够特异性识别青鳉组织中表达的Prdm14蛋白以及在HepG2细胞中过表达的青鳉Prdm14: EGFP融合蛋白。综上所述, 研究首次制备了一种能有效识别青鳉Prdm14的多克隆抗体, 该抗体的获得为后续研究prdm14基因在鱼类多能性干细胞中的作用提供了有力工具。     

大曲贮存过程中原核微生物群落结构及风味成分演替规律

【目的】研究大曲贮存过程中原核微生物群落结构及风味成分变化规律,阐述大曲贮存阶段的必要性和重要性,并探索不同微生物种属之间的相互关系,为更好地控制大曲品质提供微生物和风味方面的参考依据。【方法】通过Mi Seq高通量测序剖析大曲成熟过程中原核微生物群落结构变化;利用共存(Co-occurrence)模式方法分析不同种属微生物之间的相关关系,预测其相关性;利用SPME-GC-MS分析贮存过程中大曲风味成分的变化规律。【结果】采用Mi Seq测序方法共得到3 710个OTUs,除不能有效比对的序列外共鉴定出29个门和160个种属。其中,乳杆菌属、芽孢杆菌属、明串珠菌属、高温放线菌属、乳球菌属等是大曲中的优势菌群。随大曲贮存时间推移,贮存前期不断积累酸、醇类物质,后期酯类及含氮类等重要风味物质不断形成,而4-甲基苯酚等异味物质的含量却不断降低。相关性分析结果表明,乳酸菌与乳酸、乙酸等酸类物质之间存在显著的相关性,芽孢杆菌与酸类及含氮化合物之间存在显著的相关性。【结论】大曲贮存过程中,原核微生物结构不断发生调整,风味物质向更优质白酒风味进行变化。除环境因素外,原核微生物的代谢活动对风味物质的形成具有重要的影响,因此大曲贮存是白酒酿造过程中必不可少的环节。     

Retinal Arteriolar Morphometry Based on Full Width at Half Maximum Analysis of Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Images

Objectives

In this study, we develop a microdensitometry method using full width at half maximum (FWHM) analysis of the retinal vascular structure in a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) image and present the application of this method in the morphometry of arteriolar changes during hypertension.

Methods

Two raters using manual and FWHM methods measured retinal vessel outer and lumen diameters in SD-OCT images. Inter-rater reproducibility was measured using coefficients of variation (CV), intraclass correlation coefficient and a Bland-Altman plot. OCT images from forty-three eyes of 43 hypertensive patients and 40 eyes of 40 controls were analyzed using an FWHM approach; wall thickness, wall cross-sectional area (WCSA) and wall to lumen ratio (WLR) were subsequently calculated.

Results

Mean difference in inter-rater agreement ranged from -2.713 to 2.658 μm when using a manual method, and ranged from -0.008 to 0.131 μm when using a FWHM approach. The inter-rater CVs were significantly less for the FWHM approach versus the manual method (P < 0.05). Compared with controls, the wall thickness, WCSA and WLR of retinal arterioles were increased in the hypertensive patients, particular in diabetic hypertensive patients.

Conclusions

The microdensitometry method using a FWHM algorithm markedly improved inter-rater reproducibility of arteriolar morphometric analysis, and SD-OCT may represent a promising noninvasive method for in vivo arteriolar morphometry.     

Effects of biodiversity,stand factors and functional identity on biomass and productivity during the restoration of subtropical forests in Central China

恢复梯度上华中亚热带森林生物多样性、林分因子及功能特性对生物量、生产力的影响 草地群落上进行的控制实验大都发现生物多样性对生态系统功能有显著促进作用。然而,在天然林中,多样性与林分因子、群落功能特性的相对作用大小仍存在争议。本文在森林恢复梯度上,研究这3类因素对生物量和生产力的相对影响。我们在湖北神农架设置了处于不同恢复阶段的24块(600 m²)亚热 带森林样地,计算了林分生物量和生产力。选择5个关键的植物功能性状,并计算了群落的功能多样性(功能丰富度、功能均匀度和功能离散度)和性状的加权平均值(CWM)。使用一般线性模型(GLMs)、变异分离等方法探究林分因子(密度、林龄、群落最大树高等)、功能特性、物种和功能多样性对生物量和生产力的相对重要性。研究结果表明,随着森林恢复,林分生物量和生产力显著增加,群落物种丰富度显著增加,而功能离散度显著降低。变异分离结果表明,多样性对生物量和生产力的单独效应不显著,但可能通过与林分因子和功能特性的协同效应来影响生物量和生产力。总体而言,我们发现林分因子对亚热带森林生物量和生产力的影响最大,功能特性显著影响生产力,但不影响生物量。这些结果说明,在森林经营中,调整林分结构和群落物种特性是提高森林碳储量和固碳潜力的有效途径。     

Nucleolin interacts with the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus replicase RdRp,nonstructural proteins p16 and p23, playing a role in virus replication

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is a member of the Caliciviridae family and cannot be propagated in vitro, which has impeded the progress of investigating its replication mechanism. Construction of an RHDV replicon system has recently provided a platform for exploring RHDV replication in host cells. Here, aided by this replicon system and using two-step affinity purification, we purified the RHDV replicase and identified its associated host factors. We identified rabbit nucleolin (NCL) as a physical link, which mediating the interaction between other RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp)-related host proteins and the viral replicase RdRp. We found that the overexpression or knockdown of NCL significantly increased or severely impaired RHDV replication in RK-13 cells, respectively. NCL was identified to directly interact with RHDV RdRp, p16, and p23. Furthermore, NCL knockdown severely impaired the binding of RdRp to RdRp-related host factors. Collectively, these results indicate that the host protein NCL is essential for RHDV replication and acts as a physical link between viral replicase and host proteins.     

Protective effects of irisin on hypoxia-reoxygenation injury in hyperglycemia-treated cardiomyocytes: Role of AMPK pathway and mitochondrial protection

Recent evidence has verified the cardioprotective actions of irisin in different diseases models. However, the beneficial action of irisin on hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR) injury under high glucose stress has not been described. Herein our research investigated the influence of irisin on HR-triggered cardiomyocyte death under high glucose stress. HR model was established in vitro under high glucose treatment. The results illuminated that HR injury augmented apoptotic ratio of cardiomyocyte under high glucose stress; this effect could be abolished by irisin via modulating mitochondrial function. Irisin treatment attenuated cellular redox stress, improved cellular ATP biogenetics, sustained mitochondria potential, and impaired mitochondrion-related cell death. At the molecular levels, irisin treatment activated the 5′-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway and the latter protected cardiomyocyte and mitochondria against HR injury under high glucose stress. Altogether, our results indicated a novel role of irisin in HR-treated cardiomyocyte under high glucose stress. Irisin-activated AMPK pathway and the latter sustained cardiomyocyte viability and mitochondrial function.