蜂毒变应原及蜂毒免疫治疗

膜翅目昆虫种类繁多,其中某些种类昆虫刺蛰后可以导致严重的甚至危及生命的过敏反应。目前,关于膜翅目毒液的成分和变应原的研究越来越广泛和深入。该文主要介绍膜翅目中蜜蜂毒液的主要成分、主要变应原及蜂毒过敏的免疫治疗。     

Do cnidarians have a ParaHox cluster? Analysis of synteny around a Nematostella homeobox gene cluster

SUMMARY The Hox gene cluster is renowned for its role in developmental patterning of embryogenesis along the anterior–posterior axis of bilaterians. Its supposed evolutionary sister or paralog, the ParaHox cluster, is composed of Gsx, Xlox, and Cdx, and also has important roles in anterior–posterior development. There is a debate as to whether the cnidarians, as an outgroup to bilaterians, contain true Hox and ParaHox genes, or instead the Hox‐like gene complement of cnidarians arose from independent duplications to those that generated the genes of the bilaterian Hox and ParaHox clusters. A recent whole genome analysis of the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis found conserved synteny between this cnidarian and vertebrates, including a region of synteny between the putative Hox cluster of N. vectensis and the Hox clusters of vertebrates. No syntenic region was identified around a potential cnidarian ParaHox cluster. Here we use different approaches to identify a genomic region in N. vectensis that is syntenic with the bilaterian ParaHox cluster. This proves that the duplication that gave rise to the Hox and ParaHox regions of bilaterians occurred before the origin of cnidarians, and the cnidarian N. vectensis has bona fide Hox and ParaHox loci.     

Restricted N-glycan Conformational Space in the PDB and Its Implication in Glycan Structure Modeling

Understanding glycan structure and dynamics is central to understanding protein-carbohydrate recognition and its role in protein-protein interactions. Given the difficulties in obtaining the glycan''s crystal structure in glycoconjugates due to its flexibility and heterogeneity, computational modeling could play an important role in providing glycosylated protein structure models. To address if glycan structures available in the PDB can be used as templates or fragments for glycan modeling, we present a survey of the N-glycan structures of 35 different sequences in the PDB. Our statistical analysis shows that the N-glycan structures found on homologous glycoproteins are significantly conserved compared to the random background, suggesting that N-glycan chains can be confidently modeled with template glycan structures whose parent glycoproteins share sequence similarity. On the other hand, N-glycan structures found on non-homologous glycoproteins do not show significant global structural similarity. Nonetheless, the internal substructures of these N-glycans, particularly, the substructures that are closer to the protein, show significantly similar structures, suggesting that such substructures can be used as fragments in glycan modeling. Increased interactions with protein might be responsible for the restricted conformational space of N-glycan chains. Our results suggest that structure prediction/modeling of N-glycans of glycoconjugates using structure database could be effective and different modeling approaches would be needed depending on the availability of template structures.     

NEAT1 contributes to ox-LDL-induced inflammation and oxidative stress in macrophages through inhibiting miR-128

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) have been recognized as significant regulators in the progression of atherosclerosis (AS). Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) can induce macrophage inflammation and oxidative stress, that serves important roles in AS. However, the exact function of lncRNA NEAT1 and its possible molecular mechanism in AS remain unclear. Here, we concentrated on the roles and molecular mechanisms of NEAT1 in AS development. In our current study, we observed that NEAT1 was elevated by ox-LDL in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. RAW264.7 cell survival was greatly enhanced, and cell apoptosis was significantly inhibited by LV-shNEAT1 transfection. In addition, knockdown of NEAT1 in RAW264.7 cells repressed CD36 expression and foam cell formation while NEAT1 overexpression shown an opposite process. Moreover, NEAT1 downregulation inhibited inflammation molecules including IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. Meanwhile, silencing of NEAT1 can also suppress reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels with an enhancement of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in RAW264.7 cells. MicroRNAs are some short RNAs, and they can regulate multiple biological functions in many diseases including AS. Here, we found that miR-128 expression was remarkably decreased in ox-LDL-incubated RAW264.7 cells. Interestingly, miR-128 mimics was able to reverse AS-correlated events induced by overexpression of NEAT1. By using bioinformatics analysis, miR-128 was predicted as a target of NEAT1 and the correlation between them was validated in our study. Taken these together, it was implied that NEAT1 participated in ox-LDL-induced inflammation and oxidative stress in AS development through sponging miR-128.     

食品微生物本科毕业论文实验的探索与实践——以干酪乳杆菌异源表达胆盐水解酶为例

毕业论文是本科教育教学过程中不可替代的重要环节之一,是检验学生综合素质的重要手段。以干酪乳杆菌异源表达胆盐水解酶为例,从论文选题、实验准备、实验研究和论文撰写等方面介绍上海理工大学食品微生物本科毕业论文实验的有关探索。学生通过综合运用所学理论知识和实验技能,能够顺利完成毕业论文实验,构建出具有工业应用潜力的耐胆盐干酪乳杆菌基因工程菌,达到本科毕业论文实践教学的目的。     

Altered regulation of renal nitric oxide and atrial natriuretic peptide systems in angiotensin II-induced hypertension

The present study was aimed to determine whether there is an altered role of local nitric oxide (NO) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) systems in the kidney in association with the angiotensin (Ang) II-induced hypertension. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Ang II (100 ng·min?1·kg?1) was infused through entire time course. Thirteenth day after beginning the regimen, kidneys were taken. The protein expression of NO synthase (NOS) and nitrotyrosine was determined by semiquantitative immunoblotting. The mRNA expression of components of ANP system was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The activities of soluble and particulate guanylyl cyclases were determined by the amount of cGMP generated in responses to sodium nitroprusside and ANP, respectively. There developed hypertension and decreased creatinine clearance in the experimental group. The protein expression of eNOS, nNOS and nitrotyrosine was increased in the cortex, while that of iNOS remained unaltered. The urinary excretion of NO increased in Ang II-induced hypertensive rats. The catalytic activity of soluble guanylyl cyclase was blunted in the glomerulus in Ang II-induced hypertensive rats. The mRNA expression of ANP was increased in Ang II-induced hypertensive rats. Neither the expression of NPR-A nor that of NPR-C was changed. The protein expression of neutral endopeptidase was decreased and the activity of particulate guanylyl cyclase was blunted in the glomerulus and papilla in Ang II-induced hypertensive rats. In conclusion, the synthesis of NO and ANP was increased in the kidney of Ang II-induced hypertension, while stimulated cGMP response was blunted. These results suggest desensitization of guanylyl cyclase in the kidney of Ang II-induced hypertensive rats, which may contribute to the associated renal vasoconstriction and hypertension.