Noninvasive positron emission tomography imaging of cell death using a novel small-molecule probe, 18F labeled bis(zinc(II)-dipicolylamine) complex

The synthetic bis(zinc(II)-dipicolylamine) (DPAZn2) coordination complexes are known to have a high specific and selective affinity to target the exposed phosphatidylserine (PS) on the surface of dead and dying cells. An ¹⁸F-labeled DPAZn2 complex (4-¹⁸F-Fluoro-benzoyl-bis(zinc(II)-dipicolylamine), ¹⁸F-FB-DPAZn2) as positron emission tomography (PET) tracer was developed and evaluated for in vivo imaging of tumor treated with a chemical agent. The in vitro cell stain studies revealed that fluorescent DPAZn2 complexes (Dansyl-DPAZn2) stained the same cells (apoptotic and necrotic cells) as fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled Annexin V (FITC-Annexin V). The radiosynthesis of ¹⁸F-FB-DPAZn2 was achieved through the amidation the precursor bis(2,2′-dipicolylamine) derivative (DPA2) with the prosthetic group N-succinimidyl-4-[¹⁸F]-fluorobenzoate (¹⁸F-SFB) and chelation with zinc nitrate. In the biodistribution study, the fast clearance of ¹⁸F-FB-DPAZn2 from blood and kidney was observed and high uptake in liver and intestine within 90 min postinjection was also found. For the PET imaging, significantly higher tumor uptake of ¹⁸F-FB-DPAZn2 was observed in the adriamycin (ADM)-treated Hepa1-6 hepatocellular carcinoma-bearing mice than that in the untreated tumor-model mice, while a slightly decreased tumor uptake of ¹⁸F-FDG was found in the ADM-treated tumor-bearing mice. The results indicate that ¹⁸F-FB-DPAZn2 has the similar capability of apoptosis detection as FITC-Annexin V and seems to be a potential PET tracer for noninvasive evaluation and monitoring of anti-tumor chemotherapy. The high uptake of ¹⁸F-FB-DPAZn2 in the abdomen needs to optimize the structure for improving its pharmacokinetics characteristics in the future work.     

Effects of disperser abundance, seed type, and interspecific seed availability on dispersal distance

Seed dispersal distance is influenced by a variety of seed properties and functional responses of dispersers. However, to our knowledge, how and why seed dispersal distances are determined remains poorly understood. In the present study, seeds of sympatric tree species, Pinus koraiensis, Corylus mandshurica, Corylus heterophylla, and Quercus mongolica were released to investigate the effects of rodent abundance, seed type, and seed availability on seed dispersal. Our results showed that seeds of P. koraiensis were dispersed further than those of C. heterophylla and C. mandshurica regardless of the ambient rodent and seed abundances, reflecting a consistent effect of seed type on seed dispersal distances. Seed dispersal distance was greatly facilitated by lower per-capita seed abundance (the ratio of seeds to rodents); however, seed caching and cache survival were benefited from higher per-capita seed abundance. Although seed dispersal and seed caching of a particular tree species can be enhanced by its own seed availability, no consistent influence was detected at interspecific levels, reflecting different interspecific effects of seed availability on seed dispersal of sympatric seed species. Our results provide evidences that the effect of seed availability on seed dispersal should be evaluated in terms of per-capita seed abundance and interspecific effects, rather than the independent influence of seed or disperser abundances.     

杀菌剂对感染越冬桃小食心虫的白僵菌的抑制作用

【目的】桃小食心虫是我国果树上发生最普遍的食心类害虫,其室内人工饲养是综合防治研究的基础,但面临着田间越冬种群大量感染白僵菌死亡,给实验室种群的建立带来很大困难。因此筛选出对球孢白僵菌高效的杀菌剂用于解决桃小食心虫种群建立时感染白僵菌的问题。【方法】利用液体摇床振荡法和平皿十字交叉法测定16种常见杀菌剂对球孢白僵菌孢子萌发和菌丝生长的影响。【结果】筛选出9种杀菌剂,其中,腐霉利和中生菌素对孢子萌发的抑制效果好,常规用量抑制效果分别为97.88%±1.53%和93.22%±2.36%;抑霉唑和戊唑醇对菌丝生长的抑制效果明显,常规用量抑制效果分别达100.00%±0.00%和98.43%±0.99%;咪酰胺、丙环唑、噻菌灵、腈菌唑和吡唑醚菌酯对孢子萌发和菌丝生长的抑制效果都好。同时测定了这9种杀菌剂常规浓度及其5倍和10倍稀释液对桃小食心虫的毒力,结果表明有5种杀菌剂对桃小食心虫稍有不利影响。【结论】4种杀菌剂,中生菌素、戊唑醇、吡唑醚菌酯和噻菌灵可用于解决桃小食心虫种群建立时越冬幼虫的感染白僵菌问题。     

Comparative analysis of intermuscular bones in fish of different ploidies

We documented the number, morphology, and distribution of intermuscular bones in five fishes of different ploidy: Carassius auratus (Abbr.WCC, 2n=100), Carassius auratus variety PengZe (Abbr.PZCC, 3n=150), improved triploid crucian carp (Abbr.ITCC, 3n=150), improved red crucian carp (Carassius auratus red var., Abbr.IRCC, ♀, 2n=100), and improved allotetraploids (Abbr.G×AT, ♂, 4n=200). The number of intermuscular bones in WCC, PZCC, and G×AT ranged from 78 to 83 ( $\bar x$ =81), 80 to 86 ( $\bar x$ =84), and 77 to 84 ( $\bar x$ =82), respectively. The numbers in ITCC and IRCC were significantly lower, ranging from 77 to 82 ( $\bar x$ =79) and 58 to 77 ( $\bar x$ =71), respectively. The average number of intermuscular bones in each sarcomere, ranked in order from highest to lowest, was 0.721 (WCC), 0.673 (PZCC), 0.653 (G×AT), 0.633 (ITCC), and 0.608 (IRCC). There was no difference between ITCC and G×AT or between G×AT and PZCC. However, the average number of intermuscular bones in the sarcomeres of ITCC, WCC, and PZCC differed significantly, as did that of IRCC and the four other kinds of fish. The intermuscular bone of these five fishes was divided into seven shape categories, non-forked (卜), one-end-unequal-bi-fork (卜), one-end-equal-bi-fork (Y), one-end-multi-fork, two-end-bi-fork, two-end-multi-fork, and tree-branch types. Generally, the morphological complexity was higher in the anterior intermuscular bones than in the posterior body. The number of intermuscular bones was similar but not equal between the left and right sides of the body. ITCC had significantly fewer intermuscular bones than either WCC or PZCC, making it of greater commercial value. Additionally, IRCC and ITCC had fewer intermuscular bones than WCC. Our observations are significant in both fish bone developmental biology and genetic breeding.     

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.     

一种新杨树菇(Agrocybe aegerita)凝集素的纯化及生化特性

用硫酸铵分级沉淀、离子交换和分子筛等方法 ,从食用菌杨树菇子实体中分离纯化了一种凝集素 ,称作为AAVP(Agrocybeaegeritaantiviralprotein) .经SDS PAGE测定其亚基的相对分子质量为15 8kD ,凝胶过滤分析分子量为 32kD .IEF PAGE计算其等电点为 3 8.AAVP不含糖 ,是一种N端焦谷氨酰环化封闭的蛋白质 ,经N端去封闭后测得N端氨基酸序列为QGVNIYNIVAGA ,用胰蛋白酶消化后得到一大片段 ,测定的氨基酸序列为PDGPWLVEK .AAVP可以凝集供试的 12种动物血和3种血型人血的血红细胞 ,但对各种血红细胞凝集滴度不同 .糖抑制实验表明 ,在供试的 18种单糖和 3种糖蛋白中 ,只有猪胃粘蛋白强烈抑制AAVP的凝血活性 .AAVP具有较好的热稳定性 ,能够忍受极端的酸碱条件 .AAVP的凝血活性不受Ca2 + 、Mg2 + 、Zn2 + 等二价阳离子的影响 .抗肿瘤活性检测表明 ,AAVP对胃癌细胞株SGC 790 1,MGC 80 3,BGC82 3及人急性白血病细胞株HL 6 0有明显的抑制作用 .AAVP对小鼠腹腔注射的半致死剂量为 15 85mg kg .     

亚洲人阿尔兹海默症miRNA-mRNA网络的生物信息学分析

随着社会人口老龄化加剧,以阿尔兹海默症(Alzheimer's disease,AD)为代表的认知障碍疾病越来越严重地危害着人类的生命健康,带来了巨大的社会和经济负担.然而目前AD的发病机制尚未明确,也未见有效的治疗药物.此外,现有关于AD的机制研究大多数集中在高加索人群,而关于亚洲人群的研究少见报道.收集GEO公共数...