p53 acetylation enhances Taxol-induced apoptosis in human cancer cells

Microtubule inhibitors (MTIs) such as Taxol have been used for treating various malignant tumors. Although MTIs have been known to induce cell death through mitotic arrest, other mechanisms can operate in MTI-induced cell death. Especially, the role of p53 in this process has been controversial for a long time. Here we investigated the function of p53 in Taxol-induced apoptosis using p53 wild type and p53 null cancer cell lines. p53 was upregulated upon Taxol treatment in p53 wild type cells and deletion of p53 diminished Taxol-induced apoptosis. p53 target proteins including MDM2, p21, BAX, and β-isoform of PUMA were also upregulated by Taxol in p53 wild type cells. Conversely, when the wild type p53 was re-introduced into two different p53 null cancer cell lines, Taxol-induced apoptosis was enhanced. Among post-translational modifications that affect p53 stability and function, p53 acetylation, rather than phosphorylation, increased significantly in Taxol-treated cells. When acetylation was enhanced by anti-Sirt1 siRNA or an HDAC inhibitor, Taxol-induced apoptosis was enhanced, which was not observed in p53 null cells. When an acetylation-defective mutant of p53 was re-introduced to p53 null cells, apoptosis was partially reduced compared to the re-introduction of the wild type p53. Thus, p53 plays a pro-apoptotic role in Taxol-induced apoptosis and acetylation of p53 contributes to this pro-apoptotic function in response to Taxol in several human cancer cell lines, suggesting that enhancing acetylation of p53 could have potential implication for increasing the sensitivity of cancer cells to Taxol.     

Perivascular adipose tissue‐derived stromal cells contribute to vascular remodeling during aging

Aging is an independent risk factor for vascular diseases. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), an active component of the vasculature, contributes to vascular dysfunction during aging. Identification of underlying cell types and their changes during aging may provide meaningful insights regarding the clinical relevance of aging‐related vascular diseases. Here, we take advantage of single‐cell RNA sequence to characterize the resident stromal cells in the PVAT (PVASCs) and identified different clusters between young and aged PVASCs. Bioinformatics analysis revealed decreased endothelial and brown adipogenic differentiation capacities of PVASCs during aging, which contributed to neointimal hyperplasia after perivascular delivery to ligated carotid arteries. Mechanistically, in vitro and in vivo studies both suggested that aging‐induced loss of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ coactivator‐1 α (PGC1α) was a key regulator of decreased brown adipogenic differentiation in senescent PVASCs. We further demonstrated the existence of human PVASCs (hPVASCs) and overexpression of PGC1α improved hPVASC delivery‐induced vascular remodeling. Our finding emphasizes that differentiation capacities of PVASCs alter during aging and loss of PGC1α in aged PVASCs contributes to vascular remodeling via decreased brown adipogenic differentiation.     

Distinct lung microbial community states in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

An improved understanding of the lung microbiome may lead to better strategies to diagnose, treat, and prevent pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB). However, the characteristics of the lung microbiomes of patients with TB remain largely undefined. In this study, 163 bronchoalveolar lavage(BAL) samples were collected from 163 sputum-negative suspected PTB patients. Furthermore, 12 paired BAL samples were obtained from 12 Mycobacterium tuberculosis-positive(MTB+) patients before and after negative conversion following a two-month anti-TB treatment. The V3–V4 region of the 16 S ribosomal RNA(rRNA) gene was used to characterize the microbial composition of the lungs. The results showed that the prevalence of MTB in the BAL samples was 42.9%(70/163) among the sputum-negative patients. The α-diversity of lung microbiota was significantly less diverse in MTB+ patients compared with Mycobacterium tuberculosis-negative(MTB–) patients. There was a significant difference in β-diversity between MTB+ and MTB– patients. MTB+ patients were enriched with Anoxybacillus, while MTB– patients were enriched with Prevotella, Alloprevotella, Veillonella, and Gemella. There was no significant difference between the Anoxybacillus detection rates of MTB+ and MTB– patients. The paired comparison between the BAL samples from MTB+ patients and their negative conversion showed that BAL negative-conversion microbiota had a higher α-diversity. In conclusion, distinct features of airway microbiota could be identified between samples from patients with and without MTB. Our results imply links between lung microbiota and different clinical groups of active PTB.     

飞行(学)员ACE基因的多态性

血管紧张素转化酶 (ACE)第 16内含子的插入 缺失多态性与运动员耐力水平有关 .为了解这一多态性与飞行员飞行耐力的关系 ,对不同阶段飞行人员ACE第 16内含子基因型进行了分析和比较 .结果显示 ,ACEDD基因型百分率在招飞体检应征人员为 12 5 %、基础飞行学院学员 (未飞 )为 11 5 %、飞行学院初教机飞行学员为 10 0 %、歼击机飞行员为 3 0 % .歼击机飞行员组D等位基因频率及DD基因型明显低于其他 3组 (P <0 0 1) ,而后 3组之间无明显差异 (P >0 0 5 ) .进而观察到 ,飞行员体能测试成绩优者 ,无DD基因型 .提示 ,飞行员体能表现与ACE第 16内含子的插入 缺失多态性有关 ,具有I等位基因者 ,体能较好 ,飞行耐力也较好 .     

不同藻类对成熟前文蛤的生长及其生化成分的影响

为了找到适于文蛤(Meretrix meretrix)暂养、育肥的藻类,通过实验观察了不同藻类对成熟前文蛤生长的影响.实验共分为5组,分别单独投喂4种单胞藻,包括海水小球藻(CMorella vulgaris)(A组)、球等边金藻(Isochrysis golbana)(B组)、青岛大扁藻(Platymonas halgolandica)(C组)和牟氏角毛藻(Chaetoceros müelleri)(D组),及混合投喂海水小球藻、球等边金藻与牟氏角毛藻(E组).结果表明,单胞藻无论是单独投喂还是混合投喂,对成熟前文蛤的壳长和体重增长没有显著影响(P>0.05),其常规生化成分如蛋白质、脂肪、总糖及各种脂肪酸含量在某些实验组之间存在显著性差异(P<0.05).E组蛋白质含量(63.57%)最低,与其他组之间存在显著性差异;E组脂肪含量(8.17%)除低于D组(8.64%)外,高于其他3组,但与其他组间无显著性差异;E组总糖含量(7.08%)除低于C组(7.62%)外,高于其他3组,与其他组之间存在显著性差异(P<0.05).亚油酸(C18:2)、亚麻酸(C18:3)和花生四烯酸(C20:4)均为C组最高,含量分别为2.06%、2.28%和6.50%,与其他组之间存在显著性差异.EPA以D组为最高(8.51%),DHA以B组为最高(10.33%).     

Pedigree‐based analysis of derivation of genome segments of an elite rice reveals key regions during its breeding

Analyses of genome variations with high‐throughput assays have improved our understanding of genetic basis of crop domestication and identified the selected genome regions, but little is known about that of modern breeding, which has limited the usefulness of massive elite cultivars in further breeding. Here we deploy pedigree‐based analysis of an elite rice, Huanghuazhan, to exploit key genome regions during its breeding. The cultivars in the pedigree were resequenced with 7.6× depth on average, and 2.1 million high‐quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained. Tracing the derivation of genome blocks with pedigree and information on SNPs revealed the chromosomal recombination during breeding, which showed that 26.22% of Huanghuazhan genome are strictly conserved key regions. These major effect regions were further supported by a QTL mapping of 260 recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross of Huanghuazhan and a very dissimilar cultivar, Shuanggui 36, and by the genome profile of eight cultivars and 36 elite lines derived from Huanghuazhan. Hitting these regions with the cloned genes revealed they include numbers of key genes, which were then applied to demonstrate how Huanghuazhan were bred after 30 years of effort and to dissect the deficiency of artificial selection. We concluded the regions are helpful to the further breeding based on this pedigree and performing breeding by design. Our study provides genetic dissection of modern rice breeding and sheds new light on how to perform genomewide breeding by design.     

Pyrrole and furan oligoglycosides from the starfish Asterina batheri and their inhibitory effect on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells

Three new pyrrole oligoglycosides, astebatheriosides A–C (1–3), and a new furan oligoglycoside, astebatherioside D (4), were isolated from the starfish Asterina batheri by various chromatographic methods. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Compounds 2, 3, and 4 moderately inhibited IL-12 p40 production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) with IC₅₀ values of 36.4, 31.6, and 22.8 μM, respectively.     

小麦－黑麦－中间偃麦草三属杂种F_1及其花粉植株的细胞遗传学研究

２个小麦－黑麦－中间偃麦草三属杂种Ｆ１的减数分裂方为复杂,中期Ⅰ染色体平均每细胞构型为１９．５３Ⅰ＋１３．４７Ⅱ＋０．７０Ⅲ＋０．０６Ⅳ和１９．９９Ⅰ＋１３．４２Ⅱ＋０．６５Ⅲ＋０．０４Ⅳ＋０．０１Ⅴ,后期Ⅰ染色体分配不平衡,单价体并不一定排列在赤道板上,产生各种类型的异常四分体。１８株花粉植株染色体组成类型多样,在２个花粉植株中分别观察到端体和等臂染色体。单倍体花粉植株中期Ⅰ染色体配对频率较高,交叉值为１．５１－３．８５。本文还讨论了三属杂种和花药培养的结合应用。