Combinatorial signals of activin/nodal and bone morphogenic protein regulate the early lineage segregation of human embryonic stem cells

Cell fate commitment of pre-implantation blastocysts, to either the inner cell mass or trophoblast, is the first step in cell lineage segregation of the developing human embryo. However, the intercellular signals that control fate determination of these cells remain obscure. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) provide a unique model for studying human early embryonic development. We have previously shown that Activin/Nodal signaling contributes to maintaining pluripotency of hESCs, which are derivatives of the inner cell mass. Here we further demonstrate that the inhibition of Activin/Nodal signaling results in the loss of hESC pluripotency and trophoblast differentiation, similar to BMP4-induced trophoblast differentiation from hESCs. We also show that the trophoblast induction effect of BMP4 correlates with and depends on the inhibition of Activin/Nodal signaling. However, the activation of BMP signaling is still required for trophoblast differentiation when Activin/Nodal signaling is inhibited. These data reveal that the early lineage segregation of hESCs is determined by the combinatorial signals of Activin/Nodal and BMP.     

吸附剂及培养基组成对香荚兰细胞悬浮培养产生香兰素的影响

本文报道了培养基的组成及添加吸附剂对香荚兰细胞悬浮培养产生香兰素的影响。结果表明,添加吸附剂活性炭及XAD-2后,香荚兰细胞产生的香兰素含量明显增加,而且活性炭的效果优于XAD-2;香荚兰细胞在全组成的MS培养基中香兰素含量均低于由矿物质盐组成培养基中的含量。可以考虑采用二步培养法来培养香荚兰细胞及产生香兰素。     

小鼠着丝粒DNA探针对流式仪分选微核的染色体组成的初步研究

本文报道用作者建立的流式细胞仪红细胞微核自动检测技术,将染色体断裂剂丝裂霉素C(MMC)和非整倍体毒剂秋水仙碱(COM)诱导的大量微核分选在载玻片上,然后使用小鼠着丝粒γ-卫星DNA探针(约为234bp),对分选微核进行荧光原位杂交(FISH),以显示微核(MN)内着丝粒的情况,进而判定M N是由整条染色体还是由染色体断片组成。结果MN内着丝粒荧光阳性比例为COM50.1%,MMC 22.3%。两者相差显著,藉此方法可以准确有效地将两类毒剂区分开。 Abstract:Basis on auther’s new automatic flow cytometric technique for micronuclei,a lot micronuclei induced by clastogen Mitomycin C and aneugen colcemid were collected on slides using sorting function of flow cytometry,them the centromere Gamma satellite DNA probes of mouse (about 234bp) was used to do in situ hybridization for micronuclei,furthermore,the kinetochores of micronuclei can be showed,and the micronuclei which consist of the whole chromosomes or the chromosome fragments,can also be indicated.The results showed that 50.1% MN induced by COM and 22.3% MN induced by MMC had the positive fluorescent singles.There are significant difference between them,this means it is possible to distinglish clastogens and aneugens exactly and effectively with this method.     

Tat-MANF融合蛋白的制备及生物活性研究

目的：构建用于表达具有Tat序列的新型神经营养因子MANF（mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor）融合蛋白（Tat-MANF）的重组质粒;利用原核细胞表达系统表达该重组蛋白,并检测其生物学活性。方法：以MANF cDNA为模板,利用PCR技术在上下游分别添加TAT序列和His标签及合适的限制性酶切位点,构建TAT-MANF融合基因。插入表达载体Pet22b⁺后,转化大肠杆菌BL21进行表达和纯化,用SDS-PAGE及Western印迹鉴定表达的重组蛋白。为了验证Tat-MANF的生物学活性,用30μmol/L浓度的6-羟多巴胺（6-OHDA）对神经母胶质瘤细胞（SH-SY5Y）进行毒性诱导,同时加入2μg/ml的TAT-MANF及对照MANF蛋白,24h后用流式细胞仪检测细胞的凋亡率。用脑微血管内皮细胞（B-endo3）体外模拟血脑屏障,与FITC标记的Tat-MANF共孵育4h,荧光显微镜下观察。结果：成功构建TAT-MANF融合基因,表达产物与目的蛋白大小相符,能与MANF抗体发生结合反应。重组蛋白可减少由6-OHDA导致的SH-SY5Y细胞凋亡,Tat-MANF-FITC与B-end3细胞共孵育4h后,可见细胞内明显荧光。结论：获得的重组蛋白Tat-MANF具有神经细胞保护作用及跨膜功能,为进一步开展帕金森症的体内治疗研究奠定了物质基础。     

Inhibition of mitochondrial complex I improves glucose metabolism independently of AMPK activation

Accumulating evidences showed metformin and berberine, well‐known glucose‐lowering agents, were able to inhibit mitochondrial electron transport chain at complex I. In this study, we aimed to explore the antihyperglycaemic effect of complex I inhibition. Rotenone, amobarbital and gene silence of NDUFA13 were used to inhibit complex I. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test were performed in db/db mice. Lactate release and glucose consumption were measured to investigate glucose metabolism in HepG2 hepatocytes and C2C12 myotubes. Glucose output was measured in primary hepatocytes. Compound C and adenoviruses expressing dominant negative AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) α1/2 were exploited to inactivate AMPK pathway. Cellular NAD⁺/NADH ratio was assayed to evaluate energy transforming and redox state. Rotenone ameliorated hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance in db/db mice. It induced glucose consumption and glycolysis and reduced hepatic glucose output. Rotenone also activated AMPK. Furthermore, it remained effective with AMPK inactivation. The enhanced glycolysis and repressed gluconeogenesis correlated with a reduction in cellular NAD⁺/NADH ratio, which resulted from complex I suppression. Amobarbital, another representative complex I inhibitor, stimulated glucose consumption and decreased hepatic glucose output in vitro, too. Similar changes were observed while expression of NDUFA13, a subunit of complex I, was knocked down with gene silencing. These findings reveal mitochondrial complex I emerges as a key drug target for diabetes treatment. Inhibition of complex I improves glucose homoeostasis via non‐AMPK pathway, which may relate to the suppression of the cellular NAD⁺/NADH ratio.     

The altered activity of complex III may contribute to the high penetrance of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy in a Chinese family carrying the ND4 G11778A mutation

The ND4 G11778A mutation is the most common mitochondrial DNA mutation leading to Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Despite considerable clinical evidences, the modifier role of nuclear background and mitochondrial haplotypes in phenotypic manifestation of LHON remains poorly understood. We investigated the effect of these modifiers on bioenergetics in lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from five affected subjects of one Chinese family carrying the G11778A mutation and five Chinese controls. Significant reductions in the activities of complexes I and III were observed in mutant cell lines from the Chinese family, whereas the mutant cell lines from other families carrying the same mutation exhibited only reduced activity of complex I. The reduced activities of complexes I and III caused remarkably higher reductions of ATP synthesis in mutant cell lines from the Chinese family than those from other families. The deficient respiration increased generation of reactive oxygen species. The defect in complex III activity, likely resulting from the mitochondrial haplotype or nuclear gene alteration, worsens mitochondrial dysfunction caused by the G11778A mutation, thereby causing extremely high penetrance and expressivity of optic neuropathy in this Chinese family. Our data provide the first experimental evidence that altered activity of complex III modulates the phenotypic manifestation of LHON-associated G11778A mutation. Thus, our findings may provide new insights into the pathophysiology of LHON.     

脉冲电场对真皮成纤维细胞生长和膜流动性的影响

采用MTT比色分析法检测脉冲电场(f=50Hz,t=20μs,Epp=1V/m),对真皮成纤维细胞增殖的影响,结果表明,电场作用1分钟和5分钟,均产生促进细胞增殖的效果(P<0.05和P<0.001),而较长时间(t≥10分钟)的电场作用则显著抑制细胞的正常增殖(P<0.001)。 采用荧光偏振法研究了脉冲电场对真皮成纤维细胞膜流动性的影响。结果表明,电场作用5分钟后即刻引起膜流动性的显著增加。而电场作用45分钟后,需经过一段时间的温育(30 分钟),才表现出膜流动性的降低。说明不同作用时间的电场可以造成膜流动性的增加或降低,而且对膜流动性的影响是可逆的。我们认为,脉冲电场所引起的膜流动性改变是细胞分裂能力发生变化的原因之一。     

Allele-specific targeting of hsa-miR-657 to human IGF2R creates a potential mechanism underlying the association of ACAA-insertion/deletion polymorphism with type 2 diabetes

The biological mechanism of a recent discovered association of type 2 diabetes with the ACAA-insertion/deletion polymorphism at the 3′UTR of the IGF2R gene has remained unclear. A very recently emerging novel polymorphic control layer by microRNAs (miRNAs) makes it possible to elucidate this issue. In this study, a prediction by web tools MicroInspector and miRanda demonstrated that DNA sequence polymorphism (DSPs) ACAA-insertion/deletion in IGF2R 3′UTR is located within the hsa-miR-657 and hsa-miR-453 binding sites. And luciferase reporter assay revealed that hsa-miR-657 acts directly at the 3′UTR of the IGF2R. Furthermore, ACAA-deletion exerted a further repression compared with ACAA-insertion, indicating that hsa-miR-657 regulates IGF2R gene expression in a polymorphic control manner. Importantly, we also demonstrated that hsa-miR-657 can translationally regulate the IGF2R expression levels in Hep G2 cells. Thus, our findings testify the possibility that the ACAA-insertion/deletion polymorphism may result in the change of IGF2R expression levels at least in part by hsa-miR-657-mediated regulation, contributing to the elucidation for the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and raise the possibility that miRNAs or in combination with functional DNA sequence polymorphism may be valuable in the treatment of human type 2 diabetes.     

含铬重组液激活部分缺失金属原子簇的钼铁蛋白的研究

棕色固氮菌（Ａｚｏｔｏｂａｃｔｅｒ ｖｉｎｅｌａｎｄｉｉ）固氮酶钼铁蛋白经邻菲口罗啉和Ｏ２ 处理后,变为部分缺失ＦｅＭｏｃｏ 和Ｐ－ｃｌｕｓｔｅｒ的失活蛋白。与由Ｋ２ＣｒＯ４、高柠檬酸铁、Ｎａ２Ｓ和二硫苏糖醇组成的重组液保温后,处理蛋白对乙炔和质子还原的活性都得以显著恢复;然而,它的吸收光谱和圆二色谱虽有明显恢复,但仍与还原钼铁蛋白有所不同。这表明,激活蛋白中也许存在功能与钼铁蛋白相似,而结构则有所差异的含铬（ＣｒＦｅ）蛋白