Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells expressing IL-24 induce apoptosis in gliomas

Although much progress has been made in the treatment of gliomas, the prognosis for patients with gliomas is still very poor. Stem cell-based therapies may be promising options for glioma treatment. Recently, many studies have reported that umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (UC-MSCs) are ideal gene vehicles for tumor gene therapy. Interleukin 24 (IL-24) is a pleiotropic immunoregulatory cytokine that has an apoptotic effect on many kinds of tumor cells and can inhibit the growth of tumors specifically without damaging normal cells. In this study, we investigated UC-MSCs as a vehicle for the targeted delivery of IL-24 to tumor sites. UC-MSCs were transduced with lentiviral vectors carrying green fluorescent protein (GFP) or IL-24 complementary DNA. The results indicated that UC-MSCs could selectively migrate to glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. Injection of IL-24-UC-MSCs significantly suppressed tumor growth of glioma xenografts. The restrictive efficacy of IL-24-UC-MSCs was associated with the inhibition of proliferation as well as the induction of apoptosis in tumor cells. These findings indicate that UC-MSC-based IL-24 gene therapy may be able to suppress the growth of glioma xenografts, thereby suggesting possible future therapeutic use in the treatment of gliomas.     

PRASA: An integrated web server that analyzes protein interaction types

This work presents the Protein Association Analyzer (PRASA) (http://zoro.ee.ncku.edu.tw/prasa/) that predicts protein interactions as well as interaction types. Protein interactions are essential to most biological functions. The existence of diverse interaction types, such as physically contacted or functionally related interactions, makes protein interactions complex. Different interaction types are distinct and should not be confused. However, most existing tools focus on a specific interaction type or mix different interaction types. This work collected 7234058 associations with experimentally verified interaction types from five databases and compiled individual probabilistic models for different interaction types. The PRASA result page shows predicted associations and their related references by interaction type. Experimental results demonstrate the performance difference when distinguishing between different interaction types. The PRASA provides a centralized and organized platform for easy browsing, downloading and comparing of interaction types, which helps reveal insights into the complex roles that proteins play in organisms.     

Inherent Relationships among Different Biophysical Prediction Methods for Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Intrinsically disordered proteins do not have stable secondary and/or tertiary structures but still function. More than 50 prediction methods have been developed and inherent relationships may be expected to exist among them. To investigate this, we conducted molecular simulations and algorithmic analyses on a minimal coarse-grained polypeptide model and discovered a common basis for the charge-hydropathy plot and packing-density algorithms that was verified by correlation analysis. The correlation analysis approach was applied to realistic datasets, which revealed correlations among some physical-chemical properties (charge-hydropathy plot, packing density, pairwise energy). The correlations indicated that these biophysical methods find a projected direction to discriminate ordered and disordered proteins. The optimized projection was determined and the ultimate accuracy limit of the existing algorithms is discussed.     

Morphology of three new marine Frontonia species (Ciliophora; Peniculida) with note on the phylogeny of this genus

Members of the ciliate genus Frontonia are common colonizers of periphytic communities in aquatic biotopes. Recent studies indicate that their species diversity is higher than previously supposed. In this study the morphology and infraciliature of three new species, Frontonia sinica spec. nov., F. pusilla spec. nov., and F. elegans spec. nov., isolated from coastal waters of China, were investigated using live observation and silver impregnation methods. Frontonia sinica differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: ellipsoidal body, about 116 somatic and five or six vestibular kineties, peniculi 1 and 2 four-rowed, peniculus 3 two-rowed, and a single contractile vacuole. Frontonia pusilla has about 72 somatic kineties, four-rowed peniculi 1 and 2, a two-rowed peniculus 3, and two contractile vacuoles. Frontonia elegans has 73 somatic kineties, four-rowed peniculi 1 and 2, a three-rowed peniculus 3, and two contractile vacuoles. In the present work, six new small-subunit rRNA gene sequences of six Frontonia species are used to construct the phylogenetic trees. Our phylogenetic analysis supports that the genus Frontonia may be paraphyletic. Meanwhile, no pattern of correlation could be found between the structures of peniculi and the phylogenetic relationships of Frontonia species in the present study.     

Choosing the right antibody for resistin-like molecule (RELM/FIZZ) family members

The family of resistin-like molecules (RELM), also known as found in inflammatory zone (FIZZ), consists of four members in mouse (RELMα/FIZZ1/HIMF, RELMβ/FIZZ2, Resistin/FIZZ3, and RELMγ/FIZZ4) and two members in human (resistin and RELMβ). The importance of these proteins in many aspects of physiology and pathophysiology, especially inflammatory processes, is rapidly evolving in the literature, and many investigators are beginning to work in this field. Most published studies focus on only one isoform, do not evaluate other isoforms that might be present, and have not tested for the specificity of the antibody used. Because RELM isoforms have high sequence and structural similarity and both distinct and overlapping functions, it is important to use a specific antibody to distinguish each isoform in the study. We constructed and established HEK 293 cell lines that constitutively express each isoform. Using these cell lines, we determined the specificity of antibodies (both commercially available and laboratory-made) to each isoform by Western blot and immunofluorescence. Some of the antibodies showed specificity in Western blotting but were not applicable in immunofluorescence. Others showed cross reactivity in Western blot assays. Our results indicate that RELM antibody specificity should be taken into account when using them in research and interpreting data obtained with them.     

A Novel Cell-Penetrating Peptide Derived from Human Eosinophil Cationic Protein

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are short peptides which can carry various types of molecules into cells; however, although most CPPs rapidly penetrate cells in vitro, their in vivo tissue-targeting specificities are low. Herein, we describe cell-binding, internalization, and targeting characteristics of a newly identified 10-residue CPP, denoted ECP^32–41, derived from the core heparin-binding motif of human eosinophil cationic protein (ECP). Besides traditional emphasis on positively charged residues, the presence of cysteine and tryptophan residues was demonstrated to be essential for internalization. ECP^32–41 entered Beas-2B and wild-type CHO-K1 cells, but not CHO cells lacking of cell-surface glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), indicating that binding of ECP^32–41 to cell-surface GAGs was required for internalization. When cells were cultured with GAGs or pre-treated with GAG-digesting enzymes, significant decreases in ECP^32–41 internalization were observed, suggesting that cell-surface GAGs, especially heparan sulfate proteoglycans were necessary for ECP^32–41 attachment and penetration. Furthermore, treatment with pharmacological agents identified two forms of energy-dependent endocytosis, lipid-raft endocytosis and macropinocytosis, as the major ECP^32–41 internalization routes. ECP^32–41 was demonstrated to transport various cargoes including fluorescent chemical, fluorescent protein, and peptidomimetic drug into cultured Beas-2B cells in vitro, and targeted broncho-epithelial and intestinal villi tissues in vivo. Hence this CPP has the potential to serve as a novel vehicle for intracellular delivery of biomolecules or medicines, especially for the treatment of pulmonary or gastrointestinal diseases.     

不同水氮梯度下典型挺水植物叶绿素荧光的响应特性

叶绿素荧光测量分析可以揭示植物叶片光化学效率的变化,已越来越多地应用于植物生态监测。以再生水为主要补给水源的北京门城湖湿地公园为研究区,选取典型湿地挺水植物芦苇(Phragmites australis)、香蒲(Typha angustifolia)和茭白(Zizania latifolia)为研究对象,通过野外测量叶片尺度的叶绿素荧光参数和室内测定对应样点的水体总氮含量指标,研究了再生水补给条件下,不同水氮梯度植物叶绿素荧光的响应特性。结果表明,3种典型挺水植物的初始荧光(Fo)与最大荧光(Fm)随着水体总氮含量的增加呈现上升的趋势;PSII的量子效率(F_v/F_m)与实际量子效率(ΦPSII)受水氮含量的影响先升高,达到15–20 mg·L~(–1)区间时,则与之持平;光化学淬灭(qP)参数则呈现先升高后降低的变化趋势,而非光化学淬灭(NPQ)参数的变化没有明显的规律。当水氮含量为15–20 mg·L~(–1)时,光化学反应减弱,光合作用出现抑制。不同类型植物的荧光参数也有所不同,处于生长期(6月)植物的光合作用显著强于生长成熟期(9月)。     

Reproductive Allocation in Three Macrophyte Species from Different Lakes with Variable Eutrophic Conditions

Reproductive allocation is a key process in the plant life cycle and aquatic plants exhibit great diversity in their reproductive systems. In the present study, we conduct a field investigation of three aquatic macrophytes: Stuckenia pectinata, Myriophyllum spicatum, and Potamogeton perfoliatus. Our results showed that widespread species, including S. pectinata and M. spicatum had greater plasticity in their allocation patterns in the form of increased sexual and asexual reproduction, and greater potential to set seeds and increase fitness in more eutrophic environments. P. perfoliatus also exhibited a capacity to adopt varied sexual reproductive strategies such as setting more offspring for the future, although only in clear conditions with low nutrient levels. Our results establish strategies and mechanisms of some species for tolerating and surviving in varied eutrophic lake conditions.