Design and synthesis of urea and thiourea derivatives and their inhibitory activities on lipopolysaccharide-induced NO production

Series of ureas and thioureas were designed and synthesized, and their inhibitory activities of NO production in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages were evaluated. We found several essential moieties in the structure of the prepared compounds for the activity. Thiourea derivatives revealed higher inhibitory activity than the corresponding urea derivatives. Among these compounds, 7e having carboxymethyl group at N3 position of thiourea was the most potent in the inhibition of NO production. They inhibited NO production through the suppression of iNOS protein and mRNA expression.     

Simple repeat evolution includes dramatic primary sequence changes that conserve folding potential

We previously demonstrated that many "weak-folding" simple repeats were replaced during evolution by alternative weak-folding repeats. This suggested repeat selection at the level of higher order structure potential. Here, we demonstrate similar phenomena for "strong-folding" simple repeats in non-coding DNA. The Rabgap1 gene's 3' UTR contained the self-complementary repeat (AT)n in Homo sapiens but, in Mus musculus, this site was occupied by the complementary repeats (GT)n and (AC)n. Similarly, primate Plag1 UTRs contained various (GT)n-(AC)n palindromes but in rodents, this site was occupied by (AT)n, preserving folding potential more than primary sequence. The Znf516, Senp1, Rock2, and other UTRs exhibited similar replacements. In the Bnc2 UTR, (AT)n was replaced by sequences that evolved with approximate symmetry about a central axis, a pattern difficult to explain without invoking selection to preserve secondary structure. These observations reflect a predictable evolutionary pattern for some common non-coding genomic sequences.     

Wp specific methylation of highly proliferated LCLs

The epigenetic regulation of viral genes may be important for the life cycle of EBV. We determined the methylation status of three viral promoters (Wp, Cp, Qp) from EBV B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) by pyrosequencing. Our pyrosequencing data showed that the CpG region of Wp was methylated, but the others were not. Interestingly, Wp methylation was increased with proliferation of LCLs. Wp methylation was as high as 74.9% in late-passage LCLs, but 25.6% in early-passage LCLs. From two Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines, Wp specific hypermethylation was also found (>80%). Interestingly, the expression of EBNA2 gene which located directly next to Wp was associated with its methylation. Our data suggested that Wp specific methylation may be important for the indicator of the proliferation status of LCLs, and the epigenetic viral gene regulation of EBNA2 gene by Wp should be further defined possibly with other biological processes.     

Inactivation of Mxi1 induces Il-8 secretion activation in polycystic kidney

The Mxi1 proteins are biochemical and biological antagonists of c-myc oncoprotein. It has been reported that the overexpression pattern of c-myc might be similar to a molecular feature of early and late stages of human autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. We identified the cyst phenotype in Mxi1-deficient mice aged 6-12 months using H&E staining. Some chemokines containing a protein domain similar to human IL-8, which is associated with the inflammatory response, were subsequently selected from the up-regulated genes. We confirmed the expression level of these chemokines and measured protein concentrations of IL-8 using ELISA in the Mxi1-knockdown cells. IL-8 was found to be significantly increased in Mxi1-knockdown cells. We found that p38 MAP kinase activation was involved in the signal transduction of the Mxi1-inactivated secretion of IL-8. Therefore, we could suggest that the inactivation of Mxi1 leads to the inflammatory response and has the potential to induce polycystic renal disease.     

真菌提取物JN219抗人巨细胞病毒机制的初步研究

目的探讨真菌提取物JN219的抗病毒机制。方法(1)样品对病毒入侵宿主细胞的抑制作用:将样品(JN219 50μg/ml、柱洗脱组分5 g/L)分别与人巨细胞病毒(HCMV半数组织感染量TCID50为105/ml)等容量混合,不同时间(混合后立刻、混合后37℃作用1 h)以不同稀释度、100μl/孔接种至多孔板人胚肺细胞(HEL)上;(2)样品对病毒复制的抑制作用:将HCMV(100个TCID50)100μl/孔接种于HEL上1 h后,加不同稀释度的样品;(3)灭活病毒对样品抗病毒作用的抑制作用:将紫外线灭活的HCMV与JN219、柱洗脱组分等容量混合,37℃作用1 h,加等容量HCMV(TCID50为105/ml)混合37℃作用1 h,以不同稀释度、100μl/孔接种于96孔板内的HEL上。以上各实验组同时设细胞对照组、病毒对照组、空白对照组、相应稀释度的样品对照组,37℃、5%CO2培养,每日观察细胞CPE,当病毒对照病变90%以上,终止培养,中性红染色,在540 nm读取吸光度A值,用Reed-Muench法计算细胞半数有效浓度(IC50)和病毒TCID50。通过比较组间差异,探讨在哪一复制周期样品对病毒产生抑制作用。结果(1)样品对病毒入侵宿主细胞的抑制作用:JN219、柱洗脱组分与HCMV等容量混合后立刻接种细胞,测得病毒TICD50为104.8/ml,与病毒对照组比较(TCID50为105/ml)差异无显著性;与病毒作用1 h后接种细胞,JN219、柱洗脱组分IC50分别为0.168μg/ml、0.185μg/ml,第一孔JN219 TCID50为101.6/ml,柱洗脱组分标本未测得病毒,可使HCMV得到抑制;(2)样品对病毒复制的抑制作用:先将病毒接种细胞1 h,然后加JN219、柱洗脱组分,IC50分别为3.29μg/ml、13.1 g/L,样品不能完全抑制人巨细胞病毒病变的发生;(3)灭活病毒对样品抗病毒作用的抑制作用:紫外线灭活的病毒与样品作用1 h,再加等容量病毒后接种细胞,样品JN219、柱洗脱组分与病毒混合物TCID50分别为103.5、103.75,样品抗病毒位点已被紫外线灭活病毒外膜蛋白占据,抗病毒效果降低。结论JN219抗人巨细胞病毒作用机制主要是阻断病毒入侵宿主细胞,作用位点主要为人巨细胞病毒外膜蛋白。     

Supplementation of a novel microbial biopolymer, PGB1, from new Enterobacter sp. BL-2 delays the deterioration of type 2 diabetic mice

Antidiabetic effects of a novel microbial biopolymer (PGB)1 excreted from new Enterobacter sp. BL-2 were tested in the db/db mice. The animals were divided into normal control, rosiglitazone (0.005%, wt/wt), low PGB1 (0.1%, wt/wt), and high PGB1 (0.25%, wt/wt) groups. After 5 weeks, the blood glucose levels of high PGB1 and rosiglitazone supplemented groups were significantly lower than those of the control group. In hepatic glucose metabolic enzyme activities, the glucokinase activities of PGB1 supplemented groups were significantly higher than the control group, whereas the PEPCK activities were significantly lower. The plasma insulin and hepatic glycogen levels of the low and high PGB1 supplemented groups were significantly higher compared with the control group. Specifically, the insulin and glycogen increases were dose-responsive to PGB1 supplement. PGB1 supplement did not affect the IPGTT and IPITT compared with the control group; however, rosiglitazone significantly improved IPITT. High PGB1 and rosiglitazone supplementation preserved the appearance of islets and insulin-positive cells in immunohistochemical photographs of the pancreas compared with the control group. These results demonstrated that high PGB1 (0.25% in the diet) supplementation seemingly contributes to preventing the onset and progression of type 2 diabetes by stimulating insulin secretion and enhancing the hepatic glucose metabolic enzyme activities.     

Anti-inflammatory effects of recombinant arginine deiminase originating from Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis ATCC 7962

Arginine deiminase (ADI, E.C. 3.5.3.6), one of the arginine deprivation enzymes, exhibits anticarcinogenic activities. The present study investigated the anti-inflammatory activities of the purified recombinant ADI originating from Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis ATCC7962 (LADI). LADI dose-dependently inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase and the production of nitric oxide in RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. The induction of cyclooxygenase-2 expression and subsequent production of prostaglandin E2 by LPS was also attenuated by LADI treatment. Moreover, LADI inhibited the production of interleukin-6 in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. These results indicate that LADI exerts anti-inflammatory effects, which may in part explain its chemopreventive potential.     

Functional expression of recombinant canstatin in stably transformed Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells

We describe the expression and in vitro activity of recombinant canstatin from stably transformed Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells. Southern blot analysis indicated that transformed S2 cells contained multiple copies of the canstatin gene in the genome. Recombinant canstatin with a molecular weight of 29kDa was secreted into the culture medium. Recombinant canstatin was purified to homogeneity using a simple one-step Ni(2+) affinity fractionation. Purified recombinant canstatin inhibited human umbilical vein endothelial cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The concentration at half-maximum inhibition (ED(50)) for recombinant canstatin expressed in stably transformed Drosophila S2 cells was approximately 0.37mug/ml. A maximum production level of 76mg/l of recombinant canstatin was obtained in a T-flask culture of Drosophila S2 cells 6 days after induction with 0.5mM CuSO(4).