伯克霍尔德氏菌ZYB002脂肪酶lipC24基因的克隆、表达及其酶学性质

【目的】克隆伯克霍尔德菌ZYB002菌株中的新型脂肪酶lip C24基因,测定其基本酶学性质,为后续深入研究该基因在菌株中的生理功能奠定基础。【方法】根据洋葱伯克霍尔德菌JK321菌株的全基因组DNA信息,直接设计引物从伯克霍尔德菌ZYB002菌株基因组中扩增出lip C24基因,并对之进行原核表达、重组蛋白的纯化及酶学性质分析。【结果】lip C24基因全长1317 bp,编码438个氨基酸残基;多肽链中具有保守五肽-G-X1-S-X2-G-序列;重组蛋白Lip C24的分子量为45 k Da;能有效水解各种对硝基苯酯,对中链脂肪酸的对硝基苯酯表现出偏爱性;其催化水解反应的最适温度为40℃,最适p H7.5;40℃下的半衰期为15.72 min,在p H 7.0-8.0的条件下,具有较好的稳定性。【结论】lip C24的编码产物为一个45 k Da蛋白,具有明显的脂肪酶活性,为中温中性脂肪酶。     

Rumen Bacterial Diversity of 80 to 110-Day-Old Goats Using 16S rRNA Sequencing

The ability of rumen microorganisms to use fibrous plant matter plays an important role in ruminant animals; however, little information about rumen colonization by microbial populations after weaning has been reported. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to investigate the establishment of this microbial population in 80 to 110-day-old goats. Illumina sequencing of goat rumen samples yielded 101,356,610 nucleotides that were assembled into 256,868 reads with an average read length of 394 nucleotides. Taxonomic analysis of metagenomic reads indicated that the predominant phyla were distinct at different growth stages. The phyla Firmicutes and Synergistetes were predominant in samples taken from 80 to 100-day-old goats, but Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes became the most abundant phyla in samples from 110-day-old animals. There was a remarkable variation in the microbial populations with age; Firmicutes and Synergistetes decreased after weaning, but Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria increased from 80 to 110 day of age. These findings suggested that colonization of the rumen by microorganisms is related to their function in the rumen digestive system. These results give a better understanding of the role of rumen microbes and the establishment of the microbial population, which help to maintain the host’s health and improve animal performance.     

细菌纤维素生产菌株的分离和菌种初步鉴定

从长膜的醋醅中分离出一株发酵生产细菌纤维素产量较高且稳定的醋酸菌M12。根据《常见细菌系统鉴定手册》和《伯杰氏细菌鉴定手册》第九版,对醋酸菌M12进行了形态和生理生化特征的分析、测定了G＋Cmol％含量,初步鉴定该菌为醋化醋杆菌木质亚种（Acetobacter xylinum subsp.xylinum,又称木醋杆菌）。     

Prioritizing human cancer microRNAs based on genes' functional consistency between microRNA and cancer

The identification of human cancer-related microRNAs (miRNAs) is important for cancer biology research. Although several identification methods have achieved remarkable success, they have overlooked the functional information associated with miRNAs. We present a computational framework that can be used to prioritize human cancer miRNAs by measuring the association between cancer and miRNAs based on the functional consistency score (FCS) of the miRNA target genes and the cancer-related genes. This approach proved successful in identifying the validated cancer miRNAs for 11 common human cancers with area under ROC curve (AUC) ranging from 71.15% to 96.36%. The FCS method had a significant advantage over miRNA differential expression analysis when identifying cancer-related miRNAs with a fine regulatory mechanism, such as miR-27a in colorectal cancer. Furthermore, a case study examining thyroid cancer showed that the FCS method can uncover novel cancer-related miRNAs such as miR-27a/b, which were showed significantly upregulated in thyroid cancer samples by qRT-PCR analysis. Our method can be used on a web-based server, CMP (cancer miRNA prioritization) and is freely accessible at http://bioinfo.hrbmu.edu.cn/CMP. This time- and cost-effective computational framework can be a valuable complement to experimental studies and can assist with future studies of miRNA involvement in the pathogenesis of cancers.     

Static pressure drives proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells via caveolin-1/ERK1/2 pathway

Intimal hyperplasia plays an important role in various types of vascular remodeling. Mechanical forces derived from blood flow are associated with the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). This contributes to many vascular disorders such as hypertension, atherosclerosis and restenosis after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). In this study, we show that static pressure induces the proliferation of VSMC and activates its related signal pathway. VSMC from a rat aorta were treated with different pressures (0, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 mm Hg) in a custom-made pressure incubator for 24 h. The most active proliferation of VSMC was detected at a pressure of 120 mm Hg. VSMC was also incubated under a static pressure of 120 mm Hg for different time intervals (0, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h). We found that static pressure significantly stimulates VSMC proliferation. Extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) activation showed a peak at the pressure of 120 mm Hg at 4-h time point. Moreover, caveolin-1 expression was significantly inhibited by rising static pressure. Downregulation of VSMC proliferation could be found after PD98059 (ERK1/2 phosphorylation inhibitor) treatment. Our data also showed that a siRNA-mediated caveolin-1 knock down increased ERK1/2 phosphorylation and VSMC proliferation. These results demonstrate that static pressure promotes VSMC proliferation via the Caveolin-1/ERK1/2 pathway.     

A20 plays a critical role in the immunoregulatory function of mesenchymal stem cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess an immunoregulatory capacity and are a therapeutic target for many inflammation‐related diseases. However, the detailed mechanisms of MSC‐mediated immunosuppression remain unclear. In this study, we provide new information to partly explain the molecular mechanisms of immunoregulation by MSCs. Specifically, we found that A20 expression was induced in MSCs by inflammatory cytokines. Knockdown of A20 in MSCs resulted in increased proliferation and reduced adipogenesis, and partly reversed the suppressive effect of MSCs on T cell proliferation in vitro and inhibited tumour growth in vivo. Mechanistic studies indicated that knockdown of A20 in MSCs inhibited activation of the p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, which potently promoted the production of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α and inhibited the production of interleukin (IL)‐10. Collectively, these data reveal a crucial role of A20 in regulating the immunomodulatory activities of MSCs by controlling the expression of TNF‐α and IL‐10 in an inflammatory environment. These findings provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of various inflammatory‐associated diseases, and are a new reference for the future development of treatments for such afflictions.     

TGF-β1对话Hedgehog-Gli1信号调控肾小管上皮细胞表型转化和胶原累积

该研究旨在探讨Hedgehog-Gli1(HH)信号在肾小管上皮细胞表型转化(epithelial-mesenchymal transition,EMT)和胶原累积中的作用及与TGF-β1信号的对话机制。该实验通过体外培养大鼠肾小管上皮细胞NRK-52E,以溶剂作为对照组,以1~50 ng/m L重组蛋白sonic hedgehog(Shh)或5 ng/m L TGF-β1作为诱导组,以加入或不加入HH信号特异性阻断剂环靶明(cyclopamine,Cyp)5μmol/L为干预组。细胞培养24 h,采用ELISA、q RT-PCR、免疫细胞荧光染色和Western blot等方法检测HH信号相关分子(Ptch1、Smo和Gli1)、TGF-β1、EMT相关分子(Rac1蛋白、肌成纤维细胞标志物α-SMA和上皮细胞标志物E-cadherin)、III型胶原m RNA或蛋白的表达。结果发现,外源性Shh上调Smo和Gli1表达,抑制Ptch1表达,继而激活HH信号;HH信号活化抑制肾小管上皮细胞E-cadherin的表达,上调α-SMA、III型胶原和TGF-β1的表达。环靶明干预后,Smo表达下调,进而抑制HH信号、EMT和胶原累积,并下调TGF-β1的表达。应用TGF-β1诱导小管上皮细胞EMT,同时也上调HH信号分子Smo和Gli1的表达,下调Ptch1的表达,提示TGF-β1可诱导HH信号活化。综上所述,HH信号和TGF-β1均参与了肾小管上皮细胞EMT和胶原累积过程。HH信号活化可促进TGF-β1的表达,同时TGF-β1能激活HH信号,推测TGF-β1与HH信号可能存在交叉对话以调控EMT和胶原累积。