Type 1 fimbriae deliver an LPS- and TLR4-dependent activation signal to CD14-negative cells

Fimbriae target bacteria to different mucosal surfaces and enhance the inflammatory response at these sites. Inflammation may be triggered by the fimbriae themselves or by fimbriae-dependent delivery of other host activating molecules such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Although LPS activates systemic inflammation through the CD14 and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathways, mechanisms of epithelial cell activation by LPS are not well understood. These cells lack CD14 receptors and are unresponsive to pure LPS, but fimbriated Escherichia coli overcome this refractoriness and trigger epithelial cytokine responses. We now show that type 1 fimbriae can present an LPS- and TLR4-dependent signal to the CD14-negative epithelial cells. Human uroepithelial cells were shown to express TLR4, and type 1 fimbriated E. coli strains triggered an LPS-dependent response in those cells. A similar LPS- and fimbriae-dependent response was observed in the urinary tract of TLR4-proficient mice, but not in TLR4-defective mice. The moderate inflammatory response in the TLR4-defective mice was fimbriae dependent but LPS independent. The results demonstrate that type 1 fimbriae present LPS to CD14-negative cells and that the TLR4 genotype determines this response despite the absence of CD14 on the target cells. The results illustrate how the host "sees" LPS and other microbial products not as purified molecules but as complexes, and that fimbriae determine the molecular context in which LPS is presented to host cells.     

Novel extracellular and nuclear caspase-1 and inflammasomes propagate inflammation and regulate gene expression: a comprehensive database mining study

Background

Caspase-1 is present in the cytosol as an inactive zymogen and requires the protein complexes named “inflammasomes” for proteolytic activation. However, it remains unclear whether the proteolytic activity of caspase-1 is confined only to the cytosol where inflammasomes are assembled to convert inactive pro-caspase-1 to active caspase-1.

Methods

We conducted meticulous data analysis method?s on proteomic, protein interaction, protein intracellular localization, and gene expressions of 114 experimentally identified caspase-1 substrates and 38 caspase-1 interaction proteins in normal physiological conditions and in various pathologies.

Results

We made the following important findings: (1) Caspase-1 substrates and interaction proteins are localized in various intracellular organelles including nucleus and secreted extracellularly; (2) Caspase-1 may get activated in situ in the nucleus in response to intra-nuclear danger signals; (3) Caspase-1 cleaves its substrates in exocytotic secretory pathways including exosomes to propagate inflammation to neighboring and remote cells; (4) Most of caspase-1 substrates are upregulated in coronary artery disease regardless of their subcellular localization but the majority of metabolic diseases cause no significant expression changes in caspase-1 nuclear substrates; and (5) In coronary artery disease, majority of upregulated caspase-1 extracellular substrate-related pathways are involved in induction of inflammation; and in contrast, upregulated caspase-1 nuclear substrate-related pathways are more involved in regulating cell death and chromatin regulation.

Conclusions

Our identification of novel caspase-1 trafficking sites, nuclear and extracellular inflammasomes, and extracellular caspase-1-based inflammation propagation model provides a list of targets for the future development of new therapeutics to treat cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory diseases, and inflammatory cancers.

     

滇龙胆与青叶胆环烯醚萜类物质计量特征分析?

龙胆科龙胆属滇龙胆( Gentiana rigescens)与獐牙菜属青叶胆( Swertia mileensis)为我国特有种。采用高效液相色谱法测定其中马钱苷酸、獐牙菜苦苷、龙胆苦苷和当药苷含量,结合多变量分析研究环烯醚萜类成分含量及其构成比例在龙胆科植物种内和种间的差异。研究结果显示,4种环烯醚萜类成分的计量特征呈现种间差异,依据环烯醚萜类成分含量及其构成比例,所有滇龙胆样品可分为4类。马钱苷酸含量与纬度呈极显著负相关( R＝－0?348, P<0?05),与海拔呈极显著正相关( R＝0?307, P<0?01);獐牙菜苦苷含量与经度呈极显著负相关( R＝－0?592, P<0?01),高海拔有利于植株中当药苷构成比例的增加( R＝0?245, P<0?05);地理因子对植株中龙胆苦苷含量变化影响不显著( P>0?05)。     

脂肪储存小滴蛋白5 重组腺病毒的制备

目的:利用AdEasy腺病毒表达系统构建含有小鼠脂肪储存小滴蛋白5(LSDP5)基因的重组腺病毒。方法:从小鼠肝脏cDNA克隆出LSDP5基因全长,克隆至pMD18-T载体中,酶切测序。回收酶切产物,连接到腺病毒穿梭载体pShuttle-CMV,构建pShuttle-CMV-LSDP5重组质粒,经PmeI酶切线性化后转化至含有腺病毒骨架质粒pAdEasy-1的BJ5183中。筛选阳性克隆,提取重组质粒,PacI酶切线性化并转染AD293细胞进行包装,提取病毒DNA,鉴定重组病毒并检测病毒滴度。结果:LSDP5基因克隆经测序证实与Genebank公布一致,双酶切重组pMD18-T载体得到1400 bp左右的片段。重组穿梭载体经Kpn I和Sal I双酶切后得到预期片段。PacI酶切得到30 Kb大片段和4.5 Kb小片段。转染AD293细胞后收集病毒,经PCR鉴定,获得理想的目的片段。取病毒上清反复感染AD293细胞以扩增病毒,最后所得病毒滴度为2.5×109pfu/ml。结论:成功构建了携带脂肪储存小滴蛋白5基因的重组腺病毒载体,为进一步研究LSDP5基因功能奠定基础。     

The structural features of Trask that mediate its anti-adhesive functions

Trask/CDCP1 is a transmembrane protein with a large extracellular and small intracellular domains. The intracellular domain (ICD) undergoes tyrosine phosphorylation by Src kinases during anchorage loss and, when phosphorylated, Trask functions to inhibit cell adhesion. The extracellular domain (ECD) undergoes proteolytic cleavage by serine proteases, although the functional significance of this remains unknown. There is conflicting evidence regarding whether it functions to signal the phosphorylation of the ICD. To better define the structural determinants that mediate the anti-adhesive functions of Trask, we generated a series of deletion mutants of Trask and expressed them in tet-inducible cell models to define the structural elements involved in cell adhesion signaling. We find that the ECD is dispensable for the phosphorylation of the ICD or for the inhibition of cell adhesion. The anti-adhesive functions of Trask are entirely embodied within its ICD and are specifically due to tyrosine phosphorylation of the ICD as this function is completely lost in a phosphorylation-defective tyrosine-phenylalanine mutant. Both full length and cleaved ECDs are fully capable of phosphorylation and undergo phosphorylation during anchorage loss and cleavage is not an upstream signal for ICD phosphorylation. These data establish that the anti-adhesive functions of Trask are mediated entirely through its tyrosine phosphorylation. It remains to be defined what role, if any, the Trask ECD plays in its adhesion functions.     

滇龙胆不同部位裂环烯醚萜类物质含量比较分析

采用高效液相色谱法,对云南临沧云县滇龙胆不同部位龙胆苦苷、獐牙菜苦苷、当药苷含量进行分析.结果显示:(1)龙胆苦苷、獐牙菜苦苷、当药苷在滇龙胆根、茎、叶、花中均有分布;龙胆苦苷、獐牙菜苦苷在根部含量较高,分别为(35.88±5.89)mg/g和(1.35±0.33)mg/g;当药苷在花部含量最高,为(0.97±0.24)mg/g.(2)不同部位有效成分间具有显著(P<0.05)或极显著(P<0.01)的相关性.(3)相同海拔条件下,不同栽培方式下滇龙胆根部龙胆苦苷含量差异不显著(P>0.05),但茎部、叶部獐牙菜苦苷含量差异显著(P<0.05).     

流行性出血热病毒R22株cDNA克隆及其特异性鉴定

用家鼠型流行性出血热病毒R22株RNA,经polyA接尾,以Oligo-dT做引物,合成cDNA。用pUC18为载体转染E.coli Mc1061,建立cDNA克隆。再经菌落杂交,选择病毒特异性的5个阳性克隆制成缺口翻译探针,与病毒RNA3个片段进行反杂交,确定RNA片段的特异性。结果表明,3个克隆为中(M)片段的cDNA,另两个分别为大(L)和小(S)片段cDNA。核苷酸序列分析证明,克隆的DNA中含病毒特异的核苷酸序列。     

Climatic Factors Drive Population Divergence and Demography: Insights Based on the Phylogeography of a Riparian Plant Species Endemic to the Hengduan Mountains and Adjacent Regions

Quaternary climatic factors have played a significant role in population divergence and demography. Here we investigated the phylogeography of Osteomeles schwerinae, a dominant riparian plant species of the hot/warm-dry river valleys of the Hengduan Mountains (HDM), Qinling Mountains (QLM) and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (YGP). Three chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) regions (trnD-trnT, psbD-trnT, petL-psbE), one single copy nuclear gene (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; G3pdh), and climatic data during the Last Interglacial (LIG; c. 120–140 ka), Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; c. 21 ka), and Current (c. 1950–2000) periods were used in this study. Six cpDNA haplotypes and 15 nuclear DNA (nDNA) haplotypes were identified in the 40 populations of O. schwerinae. Spatial Analysis of Molecular Variance, median-joining networks, and Bayesian phylogenetic trees based on the cpDNA and nDNA datasets, all suggested population divergence between the QLM and HDM-YGP regions. Our climatic analysis identified significant heterogeneity of the climatic factors in the QLM and HDM-YGP regions during the aforementioned three periods. The divergence times based on cpDNA and nDNA haplotypes were estimated to be 466.4–159.4 ka and 315.8–160.3 ka, respectively, which coincide with the time of the weakening of the Asian monsoons in these regions. In addition, unimodal pairwise mismatch distribution curves, expansion times, and Ecological Niche Modeling suggested a history of population expansion (rather than contraction) during the last glaciation. Interestingly, the expansion times were found being well consistent with the intensification of the Asian monsoons during this period. We inferred that the divergence between the two main lineages is probably caused by disruption of more continuous distribution because of weakening of monsoons/less precipitation, whilst subsequent intensification of the Asian monsoons during the last glaciation facilitated the expansion of O. schwerinae populations.     

大叶醉鱼草居群、种子萌发特征及适应性的初步研究

通过对云南和四川交界地区大叶醉鱼草生物学特征的调查表明:该物种在野外条件下,其居群单株的平均分枝数、单株最大茎的平均直径、居群的平均高度与海拔呈显著相关,居群的平均花序(果序)长度、千粒种子平均质量与海拔相关性不明显。此外,该物种的种子萌发率(4年内)随储存时间的增加而升高,且对光照不敏感。最后,结合研究结果讨论了大叶醉鱼草在国外能成为外来入侵种,而在国内没有产生危害的原因。