Shotgun proteomic analysis for detecting differentially expressed proteins in the reduced culm number rice

To survey protein expression patterns in the reduced culm number (RCN) rice, a comparative shotgun proteomic analysis was conducted. For large-scale protein identification, multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT) coupled with pre-fractionation of plant shoot proteins led to the identification of 3004 non-redundant rice proteins. By statistically comparing relative amounts of 1353 reproducibly identified proteins between the RCN rice and the wild-type rice, 44 differentially expressed proteins were detected, where 42 proteins were increased and 2 proteins were decreased in the RCN rice. These proteins appear to have roles in glycolysis, trichloroacetic acid cycle, secondary metabolism, nutrient recycling, and nucleotide metabolism and repair. Consequently, we hypothesized that the RCN rice might fail to maintain sugar nutrient homeostasis. This was confirmed with the observation that the sucrose concentration was increased significantly in the RCN rice compared with the wild-type rice. Also, the RCN rice showed a hypersensitive response to exogenous sucrose treatment.     

Application of hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for the study of the osthole pharmacokinetics in cerebral ischemia hypoperfusion rat plasma

A simple and solvent-minimized sample preparation technique based on two-phase hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction has been developed and used to quantify the osthole in cerebral ischemia reperfusion rat plasma following oral administration. The analysis was performed by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Extraction conditions such as solvent identity, agitation rate, salt concentration, extraction time, and length of the hollow fiber were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the linear range of osthole in rat plasma was 5-500 ng mL(-1) (r(2) = 0.9997). The limit of detection (LOD) was 2 ng mL(-1) (S/N = 3) with limit of quantification (LOQ) being 5 ng mL(-1). The validated method has been successfully applied for pharmacokinetic studies of osthole from cerebral ischemia reperfusion rat plasma after oral administration.     

Molecularly imprinted microspheres as SPE sorbent for selective extraction of four Sudan dyes in catsup products

A highly selective molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) ultraviolet-visible detection was developed for the simultaneous isolation and determination of four Sudan dyes (I, II, III and IV) in catsup products. The novel molecularly imprinted microspheres (MIM) were synthesized by aqueous suspension polymerization using phenylamine and naphthol as template, which showed high affinity to Sudan dyes in aqueous solution. In order to develop a selective extraction protocol for simultaneous determination the four Sudan dyes from catsup products, the molecular recognition properties of MIM as a SPE sorbent were evaluated. Under the optimized condition, good linearity was obtained from 0.01 to 2.5 μg g(-1) (r(2)≥ 0.9990) with the relative standard deviations of less than 3.4%. This proposed MISPE-HPLC procedure eliminated the effect of template leakage on quantitative analysis and could be applied to direct determination of four Sudan dyes in complicated food samples.     

多重PCR在质粒拷贝数检测中的应用

聚合酶链式反应(PCR)作为常规分子克隆技术已在分子生物学的各个领域得到广泛应用.然而,多重PCR技术应用于质粒拷贝数检测的研究尚未见报道.为深入探索多重PCR在质粒拷贝数测定中的应用,首先利用构建的多重PCR引物设计及评估体系分别针对细菌基因组DNA和质粒载体DNA序列设计多重PCR引物;然后以转化有不同质粒载体的大...     

麻竹花药诱导再生植株的染色体倍性分析

为阐明麻竹(Dendrocalamus latiflorus)花药培养再生植株的染色体倍性, 利用流式细胞仪和染色体标本制备方法对麻竹再生植株嫩叶DNA的含量和根尖染色体数目进行了研究。结果表明: 100株花药培养再生植株中有4株为六倍体, 96株为十二倍体。该结果进一步验证了麻竹花药培养体系, 对麻竹遗传改良和功能基因组学研究具有重要意义。     

The role of proline rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) on cisplatin resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma

Aims

We previously demonstrated Proline rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) plays important roles in regulating tumor progression, migration and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we aimed to examine the role of proline rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) on cisplatin resistance in HCC and to explore its underlying molecular mechanism.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Stable transfectants either overexpressing or suppressing Pyk2 were established in different HCC cell lines. MTT, colony formation and Annexin-V assays were employed to examine their in vitro responses to cisplatin. Xenograft ectopic and orthotopic nude mice models were generated to investigate the in vivo responses of them to cisplatin treatment. cDNA microarray was performed to identify Pyk2-induced genes which were further validated by quantitative real-time RT-PCR using clinical HCC samples. In vitro functional study demonstrated that Pyk2-overexpressing HCC transfectants exhibited relatively lower cytotoxicity, higher colony-forming ability and lower apoptosis to cisplatin compared with the control transfectants. Moreover, Pyk2 overexpressing HCC transfectants had a higher survival rate under cisplatin treatment by up-regulation of AKT phosphorylation. In vivo xenograft nude mice model demonstrated that Pyk2-overexpressing transfectants developed higher tolerance to cisplatin treatment together with less tumor necrosis and apoptosis. cDNA microarray analysis revealed that there were more than 4,000 genes differentially expressed upon overexpression of Pyk2. Several upregulated genes were found to be involved in drug resistance and invasion in cancers. Among them, the expression profiles of MDR1, GAGE1, STAT1 and MAP7 were significantly associated with the expression of Pyk2 in clinical HCC samples.

Conclusions

Our results may suggest a new evidence of Pyk2 on promoting cisplatin resistance of HCC cells through preventing cell apoptosis, activation of AKT pathway and upregulation of drug resistant genes.     

Protective role of hydrogen sulfide against noise-induced cochlear damage: a chronic intracochlear infusion model

Background

A reduction in cochlear blood flow plays an essential role in noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The timely regulation of cochlear perfusion determines the progression and prognosis of NIHL. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) has attracted increasing interest as a vasodilator in cardiovascular systems. This study identified the role of H₂S in cochlear blood flow regulation and noise protection.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The gene and protein expression of the H₂S synthetase cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE) in the rat cochlea was examined using immunofluorescence and real-time PCR. Cochlear CSE mRNA levels varied according to the duration of noise exposure. A chronic intracochlear infusion model was built and artificial perilymph (AP), NaHS or DL-propargylglycine (PPG) were locally administered. Local sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) significantly increased cochlear perfusion post-noise exposure. Cochlear morphological damage and hearing loss were alleviated in the NaHS group as measured by conventional auditory brainstem response (ABR), cochlear scanning electron microscope (SEM) and outer hair cell (OHC) count. The highest percentage of OHC loss occurred in the PPG group.

Conclusions/Significance

Our results suggest that H₂S plays an important role in the regulation of cochlear blood flow and the protection against noise. Further studies may identify a new preventive and therapeutic perspective on NIHL and other blood supply-related inner ear diseases.     

Amelioration of lupus nephritis by serum amyloid P component gene therapy with distinct mechanisms varied from different stage of the disease

Background

Our previous study revealed that administration of syngeneic female BALB/c mice with excessive self activated lymphocyte-derived DNA (ALD-DNA) could induce systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease, indicating that overload of self-DNA might exceed normal clearance ability and comprise the major source of autoantigens in lupus mice. Serum amyloid P component (SAP), an acute-phase serum protein with binding reactivity to DNA in mice, was proved to promote the clearance of free DNA and prevent mice against self-antigen induced autoimmune response. It is reasonable to hypothesize that SAP treatment might contribute to alleviation of SLE disease, whereas its role in ALD-DNA-induced lupus nephritis is not fully understood.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The ratios of SAP to DNA significantly decreased and were negatively correlated with the titers of anti-dsDNA antibodies in ALD-DNA-induced lupus mice, indicating SAP was relatively insufficient in lupus mice. Herein a pcDNA3-SAP plasmid (pSAP) was genetically constructed and intramuscularly injected into BALB/c mice. It was found that SAP protein purified from the serum of pSAP-treated mice bound efficiently to ALD-DNA and inhibited ALD-DNA-mediated innate immune response in vitro. Treatment of ALD-DNA-induced lupus mice with pSAP in the early stage of SLE disease with the onset of proteinuria reversed lupus nephritis via decreasing anti-dsDNA autoantibody production and immune complex (IC) deposition. Further administration of pSAP in the late stage of SLE disease that had established lupus nephritis alleviated proteinuria and ameliorated lupus nephritis. This therapeutic effect of SAP was not only attributable to the decreased levels of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies, but also associated with the decreased infiltration of lymphocytes and the reduced production of inflammatory markers.

Conclusion/Significance

These results suggest that SAP administration could effectively alleviated lupus nephritis via modulating anti-dsDNA antibody production and the inflammation followed IC deposition, and SAP-based intervening strategy may provide new approaches for treating SLE disease.     

Administration of simvastatin after kainic acid-induced status epilepticus restrains chronic temporal lobe epilepsy

In this study, we examined the effect of chronic administration of simvastatin immediately after status epilepticus (SE) on rat brain with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). First, we evaluated cytokines expression at 3 days post KA-lesion in hippocampus and found that simvastatin-treatment suppressed lesion-induced expression of interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Further, we quantified reactive astrocytosis using glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) staining and neuron loss using Nissl staining in hippocampus at 4-6 months after KA-lesion. We found that simvastatin suppressed reactive astrocytosis demonstrated by a significant decrease in GFAP-positive cells, and attenuated loss of pyramidal neurons in CA3 and interneurons in dentate hilar (DH). We next assessed aberrant mossy fiber sprouting (MFS) that is known to contribute to recurrence of spontaneous seizure in epileptic brain. In contrast to the robust MFS observed in saline-treated animals, the extent of MFS was restrained by simvastatin in epileptic rats. Attenuated MFS was related to decreased neuronal loss in CA3 and DH, which is possibly a mechanism underlying decreased hippocampal susceptibility in animal treated with simvastatin. Electronic encephalography (EEG) was recorded during 4 to 6 months after KA-lesion. The frequency of abnormal spikes in rats with simvastatin-treatment decreased significantly compared to the saline group. In summary, simvastatin treatment suppressed cytokines expression and reactive astrocytosis and decreased the frequency of discharges of epileptic brain, which might be due to the inhibition of MFS in DH. Our study suggests that simvastatin administration might be a possible intervention and promising strategy for preventing SE exacerbating to chronic epilepsy.