橡胶草E2泛素结合酶基因TkUBC2基因的克隆及其表达分析

为解析橡胶草E2泛素结合酶在胁迫响应和信号转导中的功能,本文从橡胶草品系1151中克隆得到一个E2泛素结合酶基因,命名为TkUBC2,该基因编码区cDNA为459 bp,编码152个氨基酸。序列比对分析发现,不同物种间的UBC2高度同源,TkUBC2与莴苣、向日葵的UBC2相似性高达99%以上。采用荧光定量qRT-PCR技术分析该基因在橡胶草中的表达模式,结果表明,TkUBC2在不同组织中均有表达;而且PEG6000模拟干旱胁迫、甘露醇介导的渗透压胁迫以及植物激素茉莉酸甲酯(MeJA)、脱落酸(ABA)和乙烯利(ET)可诱导TkUBC2下调表达;而NaCl盐胁迫和UV辐射处理则上调TkUBC2表达。结果表明TkUBC2参与橡胶草抗逆反应、激素信号转导以及DNA损伤修复过程,以上结果为进一步解析该基因的功能奠定良好的基础。     

Reconstructing intraordinal relationships in Lepidoptera using mitochondrial genome data with the description of two newly sequenced lycaenids, Spindasis takanonis and Protantigius superans (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Lepidoptera is one of the largest insect orders, but the phylogenetic relationships within this order, have yet to be adequately described. Among these unresolved relationships include those regarding the monophyly of the Macrolepidoptera and interfamilial relationships of the true butterflies superfamily Papilionoidea. We present two new mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) belonging to the butterfly family Lycaenidae to explore the phylogenetic relationships existing among lepidopteran superfamilies and true butterfly families from a mitogenome perspective, and to evaluate the characteristics of the lepidopteran mitogenomes. Our consensus phylogeny of the Lepidoptera largely supported the superfamilial relationships (((((Bombycoidea + Geometroidea) + Noctuoidea) + Pyraloidea) + Papilionoidea) + Tortricoidea), signifying a lack of support for a traditionally defined Macrolepidoptera. The familial relationships of the true butterflies concordantly recovered the previously proposed phylogenetic hypothesis (((Lycaenidae + Nymphalidae) + Pieridae) + Papilionidae). The test for the effect of optimization schemes (exclusion and inclusion of third codon position of PCGs and two rRNA genes, with and without partitions) on the resolution and relationships within the Lepidoptera have demonstrated that the majority of analyses did not substantially alter the relevant topology and node support, possibly as the result of relatively strong signal in mitogenomes for intraordinal relationships in Lepidoptera.     

Involvement of miR-21 in resistance to daunorubicin by regulating PTEN expression in the leukaemia K562 cell line

Recent studies have shown microRNA-21 (miR-21) is overexpressed in several types of cancer and contributes to tumor resistance to chemotherapy. In this study, we investigated whether miR-21 mediated resistance of the leukaemia cell line K562 to the chemotherapeutic agent daunorubicin (DNR). miR-21 expression was upregulated in the DNR resistant cell line K562/DNR compared to its parental line K562. Stable transfection of miR-21 induced drug resistance in K562, while suppression of miR-21 in K562/DNR led to enhanced DNR cytotoxicity. Additional experiments indicate that the mechanism of miR-21 drug resistance involves the PI3K/Akt pathway and changes following PTEN protein expression. This study provides a novel mechanism for understanding leukaemia drug resistance.     

4E-BP1 participates in maintaining spindle integrity and genomic stability via interacting with PLK1

The essential function of eIF4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) in translation initiation has been well established; however, the role of 4E-BP1 in normal cell cycle progression is coming to attention. Here, we revealed the role of 4E-BP1 on mitotic regulation and chromosomal DNA dynamics during mitosis. First, we have observed the co-localization of the phosphorylated 4E-BP1 at T37/46 with Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) at the centrosomes during. Depression of 4E-BP1 by small interfering RNA in HepG2 or HeLa cells resulted in an increased outcome of polyploidy and aberrant mitosis, including chromosomal DNA misaligned and multi-polar spindles or multiple centrosomes. We observed that 4E-BP1 interacted with PLK1 directly in vitro and in vivo in mitotic cells, and the C-terminal aa 77–118 of 4E-BP1 mediates its interaction with PLK1. PLK1 can phosphorylate 4E-BP1 in vitro. Furthermore, the depletion of 4E-BP1 sensitized HepG2 and HeLa cells to the microtubule disruption agent paclitaxel. These results demonstrate that 4E-BP1, beyond its role in translation regulation, can function as a regulator of mitosis via interacting with PLK1, and possibly plays a role in genomic stability maintaining.     

Bioimaging of hyaluronic Acid derivatives using nanosized carbon dots

Fluorescent nanosized carbon dots (Cdots) are an emerging bioimaging agent with excellent chemical inertness and marginal cytotoxicity in comparison to widely used semiconductor quantum dots. In this work, we report the application of Cdots for real time bioimaging of target specific delivery of hyaluronic acid (HA) derivatives. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) diamine-capped Cdots were synthesized by the pyrolysis of citric acid in a hot solvent. The synthesized Cdots showed strong fluorescence under UV excitation with emission properties dependending on the excitation wavelength. HA-Cdot conjugates were synthesized by amide bond formation between amine groups of Cdot and carboxylic groups of HA. After confirmation of the negligible cytotoxicity of Cdots and HA-Cdot conjugates, in vitro bioimaging was carried out for target specific intracellular delivery of the HA-Cdot conjugates by HA receptor-mediated endocytosis. Furthermore, in vivo real-time bioimaging of Cdots and HA-Cdot conjugates exhibited the target specific delivery of HA-Cdot conjugates to the liver with abundant HA receptors. Taken together, we could confirm the feasibility of HA derivatives as a target-specific drug delivery carrier for the treatment of liver diseases and Cdots as a promising bioimaging agent.     

High temperature effects on ammonium assimilation in leaves of two Festuca arundinacea cultivars with different heat susceptibility

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of high temperature stress on ammonium assimilation in leaves of two tall fescue cultivars (Festuca arundinacea), Jaguar 3 brand (J3) (heat-tolerant) and TF 66 (T6) (heat-sensitive). High temperature stress for either 10 d or 20 d, and particularly the 20 d stress, produced dramatic changes in ammonium assimilation. After 20 d of stress treatment, the accumulations of total nitrogen, nitrate, soluble protein and total free amino acid (20 amino acids) decreased in both cultivars. Moreover, the activities of main regulatory enzymes, such as nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase (GS), NADH-dependent glutamate synthase (GOGAT), as well as Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR), also decreased in both cultivars when exposed to 20 d stress. Heat stress had little influence on ammonium accumulation in J3, but this was not the case with T6. The accumulations of nitrate, ammonium, soluble protein, and total free amino acid between the two cultivars were different. This suggests that accumulations of these nitrogen forms were associated with heat tolerance in both tall fescue cultivars. Changes of both NADH-glutamate dehydrogenase (NADH-GDH) activity and Glx (glutamine and glutamic acid) concentration in both cultivars indicated that there is an alternative system for assimilation of nitrogen through glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) in T6 during longer high temperature stress periods. Our results provide an insight to further selection and breeding of heat-tolerant tall fescue turfgrass cultivars.     

A multi-center randomised controlled trial of gatifloxacin versus azithromycin for the treatment of uncomplicated typhoid fever in children and adults in Vietnam

Background

Drug resistant typhoid fever is a major clinical problem globally. Many of the first line antibiotics, including the older generation fluoroquinolones, ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, are failing.

Objectives

We performed a randomised controlled trial to compare the efficacy and safety of gatifloxacin (10 mg/kg/day) versus azithromycin (20 mg/kg/day) as a once daily oral dose for 7 days for the treatment of uncomplicated typhoid fever in children and adults in Vietnam.

Methods

An open-label multi-centre randomised trial with pre-specified per protocol analysis and intention to treat analysis was conducted. The primary outcome was fever clearance time, the secondary outcome was overall treatment failure (clinical or microbiological failure, development of typhoid fever-related complications, relapse or faecal carriage of S. typhi).

Principal Findings

We enrolled 358 children and adults with suspected typhoid fever. There was no death in the study. 287 patients had blood culture confirmed typhoid fever, 145 patients received gatifloxacin and 142 patients received azithromycin. The median FCT was 106 hours in both treatment arms (95% Confidence Interval [CI]; 94–118 hours for gatifloxacin versus 88–112 hours for azithromycin), (logrank test p = 0.984, HR [95% CI] = 1.0 [0.80–1.26]).Overall treatment failure occurred in 13/145 (9%) patients in the gatifloxacin group and 13/140 (9.3%) patients in the azithromycin group, (logrank test p = 0.854, HR [95% CI] = 0.93 [0.43–2.0]). 96% (254/263) of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid and 58% (153/263) were multidrug resistant.

Conclusions

Both antibiotics showed an excellent efficacy and safety profile. Both gatifloxacin and azithromycin can be recommended for the treatment of typhoid fever particularly in regions with high rates of multidrug and nalidixic acid resistance. The cost of a 7-day treatment course of gatifloxacin is approximately one third of the cost of azithromycin in Vietnam.

Trial Registration

Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN67946944     

虫草菌素药理学研究进展

虫草菌素是一种脱氧核苷类似物,对多种疾病都有潜在的治疗作用。综述了国内外虫草菌素药理学的研究概况,主要概括了虫草菌素在调节免疫、抗肿瘤、抗真菌、抗病毒、抗白血病、降血糖、降血脂等方面的研究进展。提出了虫草菌素在临床应用时存在的问题,并对如何开展虫草菌素药理学研究及其应用进行了展望。     

须糖多孢菌Saccharopolyspora pogona的核糖体工程改造对丁烯基多杀菌素合成的影响

核糖体工程是以微生物的各类抗生素抗性突变为筛选标记,高效获得次生代谢产物合成能力提高的突变株的一种育种新方法。通过核糖体工程技术,使用链霉素对须糖多孢菌Saccharopolyspora pogona进行抗性选育,以获得高产丁烯基多杀菌素突变菌株。对原始菌株和所获得的突变菌株代谢产物的研究发现,相对于原始菌株,其中突变株S13的丁烯基多杀菌素产量提高幅度最大,相比原始菌株提高了1.79倍。经质谱测定表明,其代谢物中比原始菌株多了一种丁烯基多杀菌素组分Spinosynα1。对抗性突变株S13的DNA序列进行分析,发现在编码核糖体S12蛋白的rps L基因保守区域中出现点突变,第314位和第320位的胞嘧啶(C)分别突变为腺嘌呤(A)和胸腺嘧啶(T),对应的氨基酸残基分别由脯氨酸突变为谷氨酰胺,丙氨酸突变为缬氨酸。研究显示,突变株S13遗传稳定性良好。