Genetic Polymorphisms of DNA Repair Gene: XRCC1 Pro206Pro and Gln632Gln in a Chinese Han Population

DNA repair genes are increasingly studied because of their critical role in maintaining genome integrity. The base excision repair (BER) pathway is a DNA repair pathway that operates on small lesions, such as oxidized or reduced bases, fragmented or nonbulky adducts, or those produced by methylating agents. The XRCC1 polymorphic system is the key gene of the BER pathway. In this study, polymorphisms of XRCC1 Pro206Pro on exon 7 and Gln632Gln on exon 17 were analyzed in a northeastern Chinese Han population. Genomic DNA extracted from 303 unrelated individuals and the PCR-RFLP technique were used to identify variants. The allele frequencies were 0.90 (A) and 0.10 (G) for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and 0.88 (G) and 0.12 (A) for XRCC1 Gln632Gln. The genotype frequencies were 0.797 (AA), 0.203 (AG), and 0 (GG) for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and 0.007 (AA), 0.222 (AG), and 0.771 (GG) for XRCC1 Gln632Gln. The expected heterozygosity and PIC were 18 and 16.38% for Pro206Pro and 21.12 and 18.89% for Gln632Gln. The two polymorphisms were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D' = 0.921, r (2) = 0.735). The results are compared with those of other reported populations. They showed marked ethnic group differences. This study provides the first analysis of the distribution of allele frequency for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and Gln632Gln in a Chinese population.     

Outer membrane proteins of Fibrobacter succinogenes with potential roles in adhesion to cellulose and in cellulose digestion

Comparative analysis of binding of intact glucose-grown Fibrobacter succinogenes strain S85 cells and adhesion-defective mutants AD1 and AD4 to crystalline and acid-swollen (amorphous) cellulose showed that strain S85 bound efficiently to both forms of cellulose while mutant Ad1 bound to acid-swollen cellulose, but not to crystalline cellulose, and mutant Ad4 did not bind to either. One- and two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) of outer membrane cellulose binding proteins and of outer membranes, respectively, of strain S85 and adhesion-defective mutant strains in conjunction with mass spectrometry analysis of tryptic peptides was used to identify proteins with roles in adhesion to and digestion of cellulose. Examination of the binding to cellulose of detergent-solubilized outer membrane proteins from S85 and mutant strains revealed six proteins in S85 that bound to crystalline cellulose that were absent from the mutants and five proteins in Ad1 that bound to acid-swollen cellulose that were absent from Ad4. Twenty-five proteins from the outer membrane fraction of cellulose-grown F. succinogenes were identified by 2-DE, and 16 of these were up-regulated by growth on cellulose compared to results with growth on glucose. A protein identified as a Cl-stimulated cellobiosidase was repressed in S85 cells growing on glucose and further repressed in the mutants, while a cellulose-binding protein identified as pilin was unchanged in S85 grown on glucose but was not produced by the mutants. The candidate differential cellulose binding proteins of S85 and the mutants and the proteins induced by growth of S85 on cellulose provide the basis for dissecting essential components of the cellulase system of F. succinogenes.     

Influence of N<Emphasis Type="Italic">-</Emphasis>Glycosylation on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> Morphology: A Golgi Glycosylation Mutant Shows Cell Division Defects

The N-glycosylation mutants (mnn1 and mnn1 och1) show different morphological characteristics at the restrictive and nonpermissive temperature. We deleted the MNN1 to eliminate the terminal α1, 3-linked mannose of hypermannosylation and deleted the OCH1 to block the elongation of the main backbone chain. The mnn1 cells exhibited no observable change with respect to the wild-type strain at 28°C and 37°C, but the mnn1 och1 double mutant exhibited defects in cell cytokinesis, showed a slower growth rate, and became temperature-sensitive. Meanwhile, the mnn1 och1 mutant tended to aggregate, which was probably due to the glycolsylation defect. Loss of mannosyl-phosphate-accepting sites in this mutant migth result in reduced charge repulsion between cell surfaces. Pyridylaminated glycans were profiled and purified through an NH₂ column by size-fractionation high-performance liquid chromatography. Matrix assisted laser desoption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF/MS) analysis of the N-glycan structure of the mnn1 och1 mutant revealed that the main component is Man₈GlcNAc₂.     

Renal responses to the kappa-opioid-receptor agonist U-50488H in conscious lambs

In adult animals and humans, activation of kappa-opioid receptors results in a diuresis. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether kappa-opioids are also diuretic early in life and whether this is altered during postnatal maturation. Therefore, the renal effects of the kappa-opioid-receptor agonist U-50488H were measured in two separate age groups of conscious lambs at two stages of postnatal maturation (approximately 1 wk and approximately 6 wk) under physiological conditions. To evaluate whether the renal responses to U-50488H resulted from receptor-dependent effects, responses to U-50488H were also tested in the presence of the specific kappa-opioid-receptor antagonist 5'-guanidinonaltrindole (GNTI). Urinary flow rate, free water clearance, and electrolyte excretions and clearances were measured for 30 min before and for 90 min after intravenous injection of U-50488H or vehicle. An increase in urinary flow rate accompanied by an increase in free water clearance occurred in response to administration of U-50488H but not vehicle. There were no effects of U-50488H on electrolyte excretions or clearances at either 1 or 6 wk of postnatal life. Although there were no effects of GNTI on any of the measured or calculated variables, the aforementioned diuretic response to U-50488H was abolished by pretreatment with GNTI in both age groups. We conclude that kappa-opioid receptors are diuretic early in life and that this response does not appear to be altered as postnatal maturation proceeds. Therefore, these data provide evidence that activation of kappa-opioid receptors early in life may lead to alterations in fluid balance.     

NFKB1 promoter variation implicates shear-induced NOS3 gene expression and endothelial function in prehypertensives and stage I hypertensives

In endothelial cells, NF-kappaB is an important intracellular signaling molecule by which changes in wall shear stress are transduced into the nucleus to initiate downstream endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) gene expression. We investigated whether NF-kappa light-chain gene enhancer in B cells 1 (NFKB1) promoter polymorphism ((-94)NFKB1 I/D, where I is the insertion allele and D is the deletion allele) was associated with 1) NOS3 gene expression in endothelial cells under physiological levels of unidirectional laminar shear stress (LSS) and 2) endothelial function in prehypertensive and stage I hypertensive individuals before and after a 6-mo supervised endurance exercise intervention. Competitive EMSAs revealed that proteins present in the nuclei of endothelial cells preferentially bound to the I allele NFKB1 promoter compared with the D allele. Reporter gene assays showed that the I allele promoter had significantly higher activity than the D allele. In agreement with these observations, homozygous II genotype cells had higher p50 expression levels than homozygous DD genotype cells. Cells with the homozygous II genotype showed a greater increase in NOS3 protein expression than did homozygous DD genotype cells under LSS. Functional experiments on volunteers confirmed higher baseline reactive hyperemic forearm blood flow, and, furthermore, the subgroup analysis revealed that DD homozygotes were significantly less prevalent in the exercise responder group compared with II and ID genotypes. We conclude that the (-94)NFKB1 I/D promoter variation contributes to the modulation of vascular function and adaptability to exercise-induced flow shear stress, most likely due to differences in NFKB1 gene transactivity.     

防风体细胞胚发生发育中的淀粉体和多糖动态

以防风体细胞胚的发生体系为材料,通过半薄切片技术研究了培养物中淀粉体的组织化学定位,并采用分光光度法测定了不同培养阶段的多糖含量.结果发现在胚性细胞内积累了大量的淀粉体;含4%蔗糖的培养基中的胚性愈伤组织阶段多糖含量最高.研究表明糖类物质的活跃代谢为胚性细胞的分化和发育直接提供了物质和能源;大量淀粉体的存在可作为胚性细胞分化的标记.     

血管紧张素转换酶抑制剂和醛固酮受体阻断剂对钙超载大鼠心功能的影响

目的:观察血管紧张素转换酶抑制剂(ACEI)和醛固酮(ALDO)受体阻断剂(spironolactone,安体舒通)对钙超载大鼠心功能的影响,以探讨钙超载引起心功能降低和心肌损伤的机制。方法:维生素D3加尼古丁诱导心肌钙超载,放射免疫法测定心肌组织AngⅡ和ALDO含量,Powerlab仪测定心功能,原子吸收测定心肌和血管钙含量,生化法测定心肌MDA和conjugated diene变化,自动生化分析仪测定血浆LDH和CPK含量。结果:心肌钙超载后,心肌和血管钙含量较对照组分别增加3.2和5.8倍,LVdp/dtmax和LVdp/dtmin分别降低27%和34%,LVESP和LVEDP增加42%和32%;心肌MDA和conjugated diene增加22%和68%;血浆LDH和CPK增加4.5和3.1倍(均P<0.01)。运用ACEI和ALDO受体阻断剂可缓解上述指标变化,与钙超载组相比,心肌钙含量分别低44%和39%,主动脉钙含量也低57%和34%,MDA低20%和30%,conjugated diene低44%和35%,LDH、CPK分别减少28%和34%、20%和27%(均P<0.01)。结论:心肌钙超载可以导致心功能下降和心肌损伤,运用ACEI和ALDO受体阻断剂可以减轻心肌钙超载和改善心功能,心肌损伤程度减轻。     

黄瑞木果实红色素的分离及其化学结构研究

采用纸层析、紫外-可见光谱、红外光谱和液-质联用等技术对福建野生黄瑞木〔Adinandra millettii(Hook. et Arn.)Benth.〕果实红色素进行了分析研究。结果表明,该红色素主要含有矢车菊素-3-芸香糖苷(cyanidin-3-rutinoside)和矢车菊素-3-葡萄糖苷(cyanidin-3-glucoside)2种花色苷,呈鲜艳的红色,可作为天然保健食品的色素添加剂加以推广应用。     

水淹胁迫下10个树种某些生理指标的变化及其耐水淹能力的比较

以游离脯氨酸和丙二醛(MDA)含量及相对电导率为指标,比较了水淹条件下10个树种的耐水淹能力。结果表明,水淹胁迫下,不同树种的相对电导率及丙二醛含量均呈上升趋势,而游离脯氨酸含量的变化则有显著差异。根据生理指标的变化可以看出,黄连木(Pistacia chinensis Bunge)和石楠(Photinia serrulata Lindl.)的耐水淹能力较弱,耐水淹时间仅为5至10 d;蓝果树(Nyssa sinensis Oliv.)、薄壳山核桃〔Carya illinoensis(Wangenh.)Koch〕、榉树(Zelkova schneideriana Hand.-Mazz.)和一球悬铃木(Platanus occidentalis L.)具有一定的耐水淹能力,耐水淹时间约为25 d;乌桕〔Sapium sebiferum(L.) Roxb.〕和白蜡(Fraxinus chinensis Roxb.)的耐水淹能力较强,耐水淹时间超过45 d;墨西哥落羽杉(Taxodium macronatum Ten.)和花叶杞柳(Salixintegra‘Hakuro Nishiki’)的耐水淹能力最强,受水淹的60 d内无受害现象。