适于工程教育的生物化学PBL教学案例设计

工程教育是我国高等教育的重要组成部分,随着新工科人才培养内涵的不断深化,全方位开展课程改革,提高工科人才培养质量正当其时。为了突出新工科人才培养的特色,专业课和实习实践类课程正在成为课程教学改革的重点。但是,在专业基础课中如何突出工科特色人才培养的实践亟待探索。本文以生物化学课程为例,采用问题引导式教学方法,选择合适的教学案例,从科学与技术问题出发探索教学设计,引导学生凝练问题、分析问题并解决问题。实现引导学生从“被动式”到“主动式”学习的转变,提升学生思辨能力的同时,突出科学与技术的工程化应用,并为持续甚至终生学习奠定基础,为新工科背景下应用型人才培养提供参考和借鉴。     

Recombinant protein subunit vaccine booster following two-dose inactivated vaccines dramatically enhanced anti-RBD responses and neutralizing titers against SARS-CoV-2 and Variants of Concern

Dear Editor, As of October,2021,SARS-CoV-2 has infected more than 230 million people;promoting roll-out vaccinations could help build herd immunity for the pand...     

NMR studies of mannitol-terminating oligosaccharides derived by reductive alkaline hydrolysis from brain glycoproteins

Interest in the characterisation of O-mannosyl glycan structures has been stimulated following the identification of mannitol-terminating oligosaccharides among the chains released from mammalian proteins in nervous and muscle tissues, and by the discovery of a putative human O-mannosyl transferase. Several mass spectrometry methods have been applied to structure elucidation particularly when low amounts of oligosaccharide are available for analysis. However, when sufficient amounts are available, a combination of through-bond homo- and heteronuclear, and of through-space homonuclear NMR experiments permit the complete identification of these oligosaccharide sequences. We describe here the assignment of 1H and 13C NMR chemical shifts from such experiments for four mannitol-terminating oligosaccharide alditols, GlcNAcbeta-(1-->2)Manol, Galbeta-(1-->4)GlcNAcbeta-(1-->2)Manol, Galbeta-(1-->4)[Fucalpha-(1-->3)]GlcNAcbeta-(1-->2)Manol and NeuAcalpha-(2-->3)Galbeta-(1-->4)GlcNAcbeta-(1-->2)Manol, that were released from brain glycopeptides by alkaline borohydride treatment.     

Early postnatal cardiac changes and premature death in transgenic mice overexpressing a mutant form of serum response factor

Serum response factor (SRF) is a key regulator of a number of extracellular signal-regulated genes important for cell growth and differentiation. A form of the SRF gene with a double mutation (dmSRF) was generated. This mutation reduced the binding activity of SRF protein to the serum response element and reduced the capability of SRF to activate the atrial natriuretic factor promoter that contains the serum response element. Cardiac-specific overexpression of dmSRF attenuated the total SRF binding activity and resulted in remarkable morphologic changes in the heart of the transgenic mice. These mice had dilated atrial and ventricular chambers, and their ventricular wall thicknesses were only 1/2 to 1/3 the thickness of that of nontransgenic mice. Also these mice had smaller cardiac myocytes and had less myofibrils in their myocytes relative to nontransgenic mice. Altered gene expression and slight interstitial fibrosis were observed in the myocardium of the transgenic mice. All the transgenic mice died within the first 12 days after birth, because of the early onset of severe, dilated cardiomyopathy. These results indicate that dmSRF overexpression in the heart apparently alters cardiac gene expression and blocks normal postnatal cardiac growth and development.     

Prostasin is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored active serine protease

A recombinant human prostasin serine protease was expressed in several human cell lines. Subcellular fractionation showed that this serine protease is synthesized as a membrane-bound protein while a free-form prostasin is secreted into the culture medium. Prostasin was identified in nuclear and membrane fractions. Membrane-bound prostasin can be released by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C treatment, or labeled by [(3)H]ethanolamine, indicating a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchorage. A prostasin-binding protein was identified in mouse and human seminal vesicle fluid. Both the secreted and the membrane-bound prostasin were able to form a covalently linked 82-kDa complex when incubated with seminal vesicle fluid. The complex formation between prostasin and the prostasin-binding protein was inhibited by a prostasin antibody, heparin, and serine protease inhibitors. Prostasin's serine protease activity was inhibited when bound to the prostasin-binding protein in mouse seminal vesicle fluid. This study indicates that prostasin is an active serine protease in its membrane-bound form.     

Extraintestinal migration of Pharyngostomum cordatum metacercariae in experimental rodents

Extraintestinal migration patterns of Pharyngostomum cordatum (Digenea: Neodiplostomidae) were studied in experimental rodents such as mice, rats, and hamsters. When metacercariae isolated from grass snakes were infected orally to rodents, they penetrated the intestinal wall at days 2-3 post-infection (p.i.) and were discovered mainly in the diaphragm, intercostal muscles, and vital organ such as the lungs at days 7-28 p.i., without morphological changes. Interestingly, from several rodents which died suddenly at days 2-9 p.i., small to considerable numbers of metacercariae were found, not only in the lungs, but also in the heart and brain. Within the tissues, worms were freely motile until day 7 p.i., but later they were surrounded by host cells, and finally tissue cysts were formed. When metacercariae harvested from the snakes and intercostal muscles of rodents were infected orally to cats, they developed into adult flukes in the small intestine. The results show that P. cordatum undergoes considerable extraintestinal migration including the vital organs of its rodent hosts.     

Susceptibility of avian hosts to experimental Gymnophalloides seoi infection

To determine whether avian species are susceptible to infection with Gymnophalloides seoi (a human-infecting intestinal trematode), we exposed 7 species of birds with metacercariae obtained from oysters. The birds were necropsied at days 2, 4, and 6 postinfection (PI). The highest worm recovery at day 6 PI was obtained from the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus; mean = 56.0%), followed by the Mongolian plover (C. mongolus; 49.3%), and the grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola; 32.3%). In contrast, no mature worms were recovered from the great knot (Calidris tenuirostris), dunlin (C. alpina), black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris), and mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Among the plovers, the worms attained the greatest size at day 6 PI (254.1 x 190.4 microm) in the Kentish plover, with a significantly higher number of eggs in the uterus. The 3 species of plovers are highly susceptible to experimental G. seoi infection, suggesting that they could play a role as definitive hosts for these worms in nature.     

Alkyl phenols and derivatives from Tapirira obtusa

From the bark of Tapiria obtusa, six alkyl phenol derivatives were isolated: 1-hydroxy-3-[(Z)-7'-nonadecenyl]-benzene, 1-hydroxy-3-[(Z)-7'-heptadecenyl]-benzene, 1-hydroxy-3-[14'-phenyltetradecyl]-benzene, and 1-hydroxy-3-[16'-phenyltetradecyl]-benzene, and their possible biogenetic precursors, 1-(16'-phenyl-12'Z-hexadecenyl)-4-Z-cyclohexene-(1S*,3S*)-diol and (4S*,6S*)-dihydroxy-6-(14'Z-nonadecenyl)-2-cyclohexenone. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by chemical and spectroscopic analysis, (4S*,6S*)-Dihydroxy-6-(14'Z-nonadecenyl)-2-cyclohexenone showed cytotoxic activity.