Biological effects of low-energy C ion implantation on sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Field cultivation experiments on white sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)seeds implanted with low-energy C ion showed that different dosages of C ion implantation produce different biological effects.Sesame plants in 6 different dosage groups with C ion density respectively at 1×1011,1×1012,1×1015,5×1015,1×1016,5×1016 ion/cm2 were superior to the control group in plant height,leaf number,stalk diameter and leaf size.Further,sesame plants in these groups flower and seed earlier than those in the control group,and single plant yield also increased.Of all the groups,the 5×1015 ion/cm2 dosage group yielded the best effect,whereas the 1×1017/cm2 dosage group showed an evident inhibitory effect of ion implantation on the germination and growth of the sesame seeds.     

Effect of mitogen-activated protein kinases on chemokine synthesis induced by substance P in mouse pancreatic acinar cells

Substance P, acting via its neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1 R), plays an important role in mediating a variety of inflammatory processes. Its interaction with chemokines is known to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis. In pancreatic acinar cells, substance P stimulates the release of NFκB-driven chemokines. However, the signal transduction pathways by which substance P-NK1 R interaction induces chemokine production are still unclear. To that end, we went on to examine the participation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in substance P-induced synthesis of pro-inflammatory chemokines, monocyte chemoanractant protein-1 (MCP-I), macrophage inflammatory protein-lα (MIP-lα) and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), in pancreatic acini. In this study, we observed a time-dependent activation of ERK1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), NFκB and activator protein-1 (AP-1) when pancreatic acini were stimulated with substance P. Moreover, substance P-induced ERK 1/2, JNK, NFκB and AP-1 activation as well as chemokine synthesis were blocked by pre-treatment with either extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase kinase 1 (MEK1) inhibitor or JNK inhibitor. In addition, substance P-induced activation of ERK 112, JNK, NFκB and AP-1-driven chemokine production were attenuated by CP96345, a selective NK1 R antagonist, in pancreatic acinar cells. Taken together, these results suggest that substance P-NK1 R induced chemokine production depends on the activation of MAPKs-mediated NFκB and AP-1 signalling pathways in mouse pancreatic acini.     

Cyclopeptides from Sagina japonica (Caryophyllaceae)

Two new cyclic peptides, named sajaponicin C (1) and sajaponicin D (2), were isolated from the whole plants of Sagina japonica (Caryophyllaceae). Their structures were determined as cyclo(Pro(2)-Leu(2)-Tyr-Leu(1)-Phe(1)-Pro(3)-Phe(2)-Pro(1)) (1) and cyclo(Pro(1)-Pro(2)-Pro(3)-Pro(4)-Phe(1)-Gly-Thr-Ser-Phe(2)-Ile-Tyr) (2) on the basis of spectroscopic data, especially by two-dimensional (2D) NMR techniques.     

Labdane diterpenoid glycosides from Aster veitchianus

Four new labdane-type rhamnopyranosides derived from 13-epimanool, compounds 1-4, with differently acetylated sugar moieties, were isolated from A. veitchianus. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by chemical transformation, spectroscopic and mass-spectrometric analyses (IR, 1D- and 2D-NMR, HR-ESI-MS), as well as by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (compound 1). The isolates 2-4 were investigated for their cytotoxic properties against cultured human hepatoma (SMMC-7721), ovarian neoplasm (HO-8910), and leukemia (HL-60) cells, and for their antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus.     

Membrane subproteomic analysis of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin

Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has been known for a long time to prevent tuberculosis (TB) worldwide since 1921. Nonetheless, we know little about BCG membrane proteome. In the present study, we utilized alkaline incubation and Triton X-114-based methods to enrich BCG membrane proteins and subsequently digested them using proteolytic enzyme. The recovered peptides were further separated by 2-D LC and identified by ESI-MS/MS. As a result, total 474 proteins were identified, including 78 integral membrane proteins (IMPs). Notably, 18 BCG IMPs were described for the first time in mycobacterium. Further analysis of the 78 IMPs indicated that the theoretical molecular mass distribution of them ranged from 8.06 to 167.86 kDa and pI scores ranged from 4.40 to 11.60. Functional classification revealed that a large proportion of the identified IMPs (67.9%, 53 out of 78) were involved in cell wall and cell processes functional group. In conclusion, here we reported a comprehensive profile of the BCG membrane subproteome. The present investigation may allow the identification of some valuable vaccine and drug target candidates and thus provide basement for future designing of preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies against TB.     

Systematic identification of SH3 domain-mediated human protein-protein interactions by peptide array target screening

Systematic identification of direct protein-protein interactions is often hampered by difficulties in expressing and purifying the corresponding full-length proteins. By taking advantage of the modular nature of many regulatory proteins, we attempted to simplify protein-protein interactions to the corresponding domain-ligand recognition and employed peptide arrays to identify such binding events. A group of 12 Src homology (SH) 3 domains from eight human proteins (Swiss-Prot ID: SRC, PLCG1, P85A, NCK1, GRB2, FYN, CRK) were used to screen a peptide target array composed of 1536 potential ligands, which led to the identification of 921 binary interactions between these proteins and 284 targets. To assess the efficiency of the peptide array target screening (PATS) method in identifying authentic protein-protein interactions, we examined a set of interactions mediated by the PLCgamma1 SH3 domain by coimmunoprecipitation and/or affinity pull-downs using full-length proteins and achieved a 75% success rate. Furthermore, we characterized a novel interaction between PLCgamma1 and hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) identified by PATS and demonstrated that the PLCgamma1 SH3 domain negatively regulated HPK1 kinase activity. Compared to protein interactions listed in the online predicted human interaction protein database (OPHID), the majority of interactions identified by PATS are novel, suggesting that, when extended to the large number of peptide interaction domains encoded by the human genome, PATS should aid in the mapping of the human interactome.     

Quantitative phosphoproteome profiling of Wnt3a-mediated signaling network: indicating the involvement of ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase M2 subunit phosphorylation at residue serine 20 in canonical Wnt signal transduction

The complexity of canonical Wnt signaling comes not only from the numerous components but also from multiple post-translational modifications. Protein phosphorylation is one of the most common modifications that propagates signals from extracellular stimuli to downstream effectors. To investigate the global phosphorylation regulation and uncover novel phosphoproteins at the early stages of canonical Wnt signaling, HEK293 cells were metabolically labeled with two stable isotopic forms of lysine and were stimulated for 0, 1, or 30 min with purified Wnt3a. After phosphoprotein enrichment and LC-MS/MS analysis, 1057 proteins were identified in all three time points. In total 287 proteins showed a 1.5-fold or greater change in at least one time point. In addition to many known Wnt signaling transducers, other phosphoproteins were identified and quantitated, implicating their involvement in canonical Wnt signaling. k-Means clustering analysis showed dynamic patterns for the differential phosphoproteins. Profile pattern and interaction network analysis of the differential phosphoproteins implicated the possible roles for those unreported components in Wnt signaling. Moreover 100 unique phosphorylation sites were identified, and 54 of them were quantitated in the three time points. Site-specific phosphopeptide quantitation revealed that Ser-20 phosphorylation on RRM2 increased upon 30-min Wnt3a stimulation. Further studies with mutagenesis, the Wnt reporter gene assay, and RNA interference indicated that RRM2 functioned downstream of beta-catenin as an inhibitor of Wnt signaling and that Ser-20 phosphorylation of RRM2 counteracted its inhibition effect. Our systematic profiling of dynamic phosphorylation changes responding to Wnt3a stimulation not only presented a comprehensive phosphorylation network regulated by canonical Wnt signaling but also found novel molecules and phosphorylation involved in Wnt signaling.     

图书馆开展大学生信息素养教育的优势与途径

论述了对大学生进行信息素养教育的意义,阐明了图书馆在开展大学生信息素养教育过程中起到的优势作用,提出了利用图书馆进行大学生信息素养教育的6种途径。     

UV-B-induced DNA damage and repair pathways in polar Pseudogymnoascus sp. from the Arctic and Antarctic regions and their effects on growth,pigmentation and conidiogenesis

Solar radiation regulates most biological activities on Earth. Prolonged exposure to solar UV radiation can cause deleterious effects by inducing two major types of DNA damage, namely, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and pyrimidine 6-4 pyrimidone photoproducts. These lesions may be repaired by the photoreactivation (Phr) and nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathways; however, the principal UV-induced DNA repair pathway is not known in the fungal genus Pseudogymnoascus. In this study, we demonstrated that an unweighted UV-B dosage of 1.6 kJ m⁻² d⁻¹ significantly reduced fungal growth rates (by between 22% and 35%) and inhibited conidia production in a 10 d exposure. The comparison of two DNA repair conditions, light or dark, which respectively induced photoreactivation (Phr) and NER, showed that the UV-B-induced CPDs were repaired significantly more rapidly in light than in dark conditions. The expression levels of two DNA repair genes, RAD2 and PHR1 (encoding a protein in NER and Phr respectively), demonstrated that NER rather than Phr was primarily activated for repairing UV-B-induced DNA damage in these Pseudogymnoascus strains. In contrast, Phr was inhibited after exposure to UV-B radiation, suggesting that PHR1 may have other functional roles. We present the first study to examine the capability of the Arctic and Antarctic Pseudogymnoascus sp. to perform photoreactivation and/or NER via RT-qPCR approaches, and also clarify the effects of light on UV-B-induced DNA damage repair in vivo by quantifying cyclobutene pyrimidine dimers and pyrimidine 6-4 pyrimidone photoproducts. Physiological response data, including relative growth rate, pigmentation and conidia production in these Pseudogymnoascus isolates exposed to UV-B radiation are also presented.