Trans‐3,5,4´‐trimethoxystilbene reduced gefitinib resistance in NSCLCs via suppressing MAPK/Akt/Bcl‐2 pathway by upregulation of miR‐345 and miR‐498

Despite initial dramatic efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR‐TKIs) in EGFR‐mutant lung cancer patients, subsequent emergence of acquired resistance is almost inevitable. Resveratrol and its derivatives have been found to exert some effects on EGFR‐TKI resistance in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We screened several NSCLC cell lines with gefitinib resistance by MTT assay and analysed the miR‐345/miR‐498 expression levels. NSCLC cells were pre‐treated with a resveratrol derivative, trans‐3,5,4‐trimethoxystilbene (TMS) and subsequently challenged with gefitinib treatment. The changes in apoptosis and miR‐345/miR‐498 expression were analysed by flow cytometry and q‐PCR respectively. The functions of miR‐345/miR‐498 were verified by CCK‐8 assay, cell cycle analysis, dual‐luciferase reporter gene assay and immunoblotting analysis. Our results showed that the expression of miR‐345 and miR‐498 significantly decreased in gefitinib resistant NSCLC cells. TMS pre‐treatment significantly upregulated the expression of miR‐345 and miR‐498 increasing the sensitivity of NSCLC cells to gefitinib and inducing apoptosis. MiR‐345 and miR‐498 were verified to inhibit proliferation by cell cycle arrest and regulate the MAPK/c‐Fos and AKT/Bcl‐2 signalling pathways by directly targeting MAPK1 and PIK3R1 respectively. The combination of TMS and gefitinib promoted apoptosis also by miR‐345 and miR‐498 targeting the MAPK/c‐Fos and AKT/Bcl‐2 signalling pathways. Our study demonstrated that TMS reduced gefitinib resistance in NSCLCs via suppression of the MAPK/Akt/Bcl‐2 pathway by upregulation of miR‐345/498. These findings would lay the theoretical basis for the future study of TMS for the treatment of EGFR‐TKI resistance in NSCLCs.     

蓖麻和线虫的两种不同结构脂肪酸去饱和酶的原核表达

目的:通过在原核表达系统中表达蓖麻的可溶性脂肪酸去饱和酶基因和线虫的fat-1脂肪酸去饱和酶基因,为脂肪酸去饱和酶序列结构与功能的研究奠定基础。方法:将蓖麻RCD△9脂肪酸去饱和酶和线虫fat-1脂肪酸去饱和酶基因亚克隆到大肠杆菌BL21表达载体pET32a+中,获得重组表达载体pET32a+-R9,pET32a+- F1,并通过SDS-PAGE和Western Blotting鉴定蛋白的表达情况。结果:经PCR和测序鉴定,证实两个重组质粒含有目的基因片段;SDS-PAGE和Western Blotting证实两种蛋白在大肠杆菌中获得表达,但表达量具有明显的不同;Anthepro软件对蛋白跨膜结构的分析,验证蓖麻△9脂肪酸去饱和酶和线虫fat-1脂肪酸去饱和酶在结构上的不同。结论:蓖麻的RCD脂肪酸去饱和酶和线虫的fat-1脂肪酸去饱和酶都得到了表达,但线虫fat-1脂肪酸去饱和酶表达量偏低;这可能与fat-1脂肪酸去饱和酶是一类跨膜蛋白的性质直接相关。因此,对于线虫fat-1脂肪酸去饱和酶的基于蛋白纯化的结构分析有待进一步的研究。     

Engineering of a xylose metabolic pathway in Rhodococcus strains

The two metabolically versatile actinobacteria Rhodococcus opacus PD630 and R. jostii RHA1 can efficiently convert diverse organic substrates into neutral lipids mainly consisting of triacylglycerol (TAG), the precursor of energy-rich hydrocarbon. Neither, however, is able to utilize xylose, the important component present in lignocellulosic biomass, as the carbon source for growth and lipid accumulation. In order to broaden their substrate utilization range, the metabolic pathway of d-xylose utilization was introduced into these two strains. This was accomplished by heterogenous expression of two well-selected genes, xylA, encoding xylose isomerase, and xylB, encoding xylulokinase from Streptomyces lividans TK23, under the control of the tac promoter with an Escherichia coli-Rhodococcus shuttle vector. The recombinant R. jostii RHA1 bearing xylA could grow on xylose as the sole carbon source, and additional expression of xylB further improved the biomass yield. The recombinant could consume both glucose and xylose in the sugar mixture, although xylose metabolism was still affected by the presence of glucose. The xylose metabolic pathway was also introduced into the high-lipid-producing strain R. opacus PD630 by expression of xylA and xylB. Under nitrogen-limited conditions, the fatty acid composition was determined, and lipid produced from xylose by recombinants of R. jostii RHA1 and R. opacus PD630 carrying xylA and xylB represented up to 52.5% and 68.3% of the cell dry weight (CDW), respectively. This work demonstrates that it is feasible to produce lipid from the sugars, including xylose, derived from renewable feedstock by genetic modification of rhodococcus strains.     

哌替啶对心室肌收缩的抑制作用及其机制

为明确哌替啶对心脏收缩的直接效应 ,并探讨其相关机制。采用Langendorff灌流心脏模型 ,观察了哌替啶对大鼠心室收缩功能的影响 ,并用荧光测钙技术和膜片钳技术探讨了哌替啶作用的钙离子机制。结果显示 ,哌替啶剂量依赖性地降低离体灌流心脏的LVDP×HR、 +dP/dt和 -dP/dt,而升高LVEDP。在酶解分离的心室肌细胞上 ,哌替啶剂量依赖性地降低细胞收缩时的钙瞬变幅度 ,并升高舒张末期的钙水平。哌替啶不影响高浓度咖啡因诱导的内钙释放。哌替啶使L 型钙电流强度降低到给药前的 67 4± 10 1% ,而不改变钙通道的激活和失活电位。哌替啶减弱钙电流的作用并不能被阿片受体阻断剂纳洛酮所阻断。以上结果表明 ,哌替啶能通过非阿片受体介导的途径阻断细胞外钙离子的内流 ,对心室收缩产生直接的抑制作用     

An engineered human IgG1 antibody with longer serum half-life

The serum half-life of IgG Abs is regulated by the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). By binding to FcRn in endosomes, IgG Abs are salvaged from lysosomal degradation and recycled to the circulation. Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between the binding affinity of IgG Abs to FcRn and their serum half-lives in mice, including engineered Ab fragments with longer serum half-lives. Our recent study extended this correlation to human IgG2 Ab variants in primates. In the current study, several human IgG1 mutants with increased binding affinity to human FcRn at pH 6.0 were generated that retained pH-dependent release. A pharmacokinetics study in rhesus monkeys of one of the IgG1 variants indicated that its serum half-life was approximately 2.5-fold longer than the wild-type Ab. Ag binding was unaffected by the Fc mutations, while several effector functions appeared to be minimally altered. These properties suggest that engineered Abs with longer serum half-lives may prove to be effective therapeutics in humans.     

濒危植物明党参与非濒危种峨参种子休眠和萌发比较

研究了濒危植物明党参（Changium smyrnioides)与非濒危种峨参（Anthriscus sylvestris)种子贮存,打破休眠和萌发对水分和温度条件的要求。结果表明,在自然条件下,明党参种子有5个月的休眠期,人工低温（10℃左右）处理40天即可打破休眠;两种植物种子自然温度干燥处理不能打破休眠;两种植物的种子在自然温度变湿层积处理后萌发率最高,萌发持续时间也最长,其中明党参的萌发率地峨参,持续时间短于峨参;自然温度淹水处理大大降低了两种植物种子的萌发率,但明党参仍有7％的萌发率。明党参种子质量和发芽率不应是明党参濒危的直接原因,但因其具有种子产量低,幼苗数量少,存活率高的K－对策,当受到强烈干扰时,种群难以在短期内恢复,容易濒危。     

AiiA蛋白的可溶性表达及其抗菌活性研究

AHLs是革兰氏阴性细菌在增殖过程中产生的一类信号分子,与其致病性密切相关。AiiA蛋白作为一种胞内解酯酶．能水解致病菌产生的AHb分子,使内酯环开环后不能再激活某些胞外酶的表达．从而极大地减弱了细菌的致病性。本研究从苏云金芽孢杆菌LLB15中分离编码aiiA基因的质粒DNA。用PCR方法克隆面讲基因,并利用pET载体构建6-His融合表达质粒pET29a-aiiA,转化E.coli BL21（DE3）菌株,并筛选得到E.coli BL21（DE3）-pET29a-aiiA工程菌。在20℃的低温和0．8mmol／LIPTG条件下。经25h的诱导表达,获得了54．4ug／mL可溶性AiiA蛋白。通过镍柱亲和层析,在国内外首次纯化了带6-His标记的AiiA蛋白。水解活性和抗病性检测表明,该蛋白能水解AHLs分子．对胡萝卜欧文氏软腐病菌具有较强的抗病作用。