Molecular Variation and Horizontal Gene Transfer of the Homocysteine Methyltransferase Gene mmuM and its Distribution in Clinical Pathogens

The homocysteine methyltransferase encoded by mmuM is widely distributed among microbial organisms. It is the key enzyme that catalyzes the last step in methionine biosynthesis and plays an important role in the metabolism process. It also enables the microbial organisms to tolerate high concentrations of selenium in the environment. In this research, 533 mmuM gene sequences covering 70 genera of the bacteria were selected from GenBank database. The distribution frequency of mmuM is different in the investigated genera of bacteria. The mapping results of 160 mmuM reference sequences showed that the mmuM genes were found in 7 species of pathogen genomes sequenced in this work. The polymerase chain reaction products of one mmuM genotype ({"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"NC_013951","term_id":"291289198","term_text":"NC_013951"}}NC_013951 as the reference) were sequenced and the sequencing results confirmed the mapping results. Furthermore, 144 representative sequences were chosen for phylogenetic analysis and some mmuM genes from totally different genera (such as the genes between Escherichia and Klebsiella and between Enterobacter and Kosakonia) shared closer phylogenetic relationship than those from the same genus. Comparative genomic analysis of the mmuM encoding regions on plasmids and bacterial chromosomes showed that pKF3-140 and pIP1206 plasmids shared a 21 kb homology region and a 4.9 kb fragment in this region was in fact originated from the Escherichia coli chromosome. These results further suggested that mmuM gene did go through the gene horizontal transfer among different species or genera of bacteria. High-throughput sequencing combined with comparative genomics analysis would explore distribution and dissemination of the mmuM gene among bacteria and its evolution at a molecular level.     

Regulation of insulin secretion and GLUT4 trafficking by the calcium sensor synaptotagmin VII

Insulin regulates blood glucose by promoting uptake by fat and muscle, and inhibiting production by liver. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake is mediated by GLUT4, which translocates from an intracellular compartment to the plasma membrane. GLUT4 traffic and insulin secretion both rely on calcium-dependent, regulated exocytosis. Deletion of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3 results in constitutive expression of GLUT4 at the plasma membrane. Inhibition of channel activity stimulated GLUT4 translocation through a calcium dependent mechanism. The synaptotagmins (Syt) are calcium sensors for vesicular traffic, and Syt VII mediates lysosomal and secretory granule exocytosis. We asked if Syt VII regulates insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells, and GLUT4 translocation in insulin-sensitive tissues mouse model. Syt VII deletion (Syt VII -/-) results in glucose intolerance and a marked decrease in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in vivo. Pancreatic islet cells isolated from Syt VII -/- cells secreted significantly less insulin than islets of littermate controls. Syt VII deletion disrupted GLUT4 traffic as evidenced by constitutive expression of GLUT4 present at the plasma membrane of fat and skeletal muscle cells and unresponsiveness to insulin. These data document a key role for Syt VII in peripheral glucose homeostasis through its action on both insulin secretion and GLUT4 traffic.     

Selenium Level and Dyslipidemia in Rural Elderly Chinese

Objective

Higher selenium level has been hypothesized to have the potential to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases including dyslipidemia. However, results from previous studies are inconsistent. This study aims to determine the association between selenium level and dyslipidemia in elderly Chinese with relatively low selenium status.

Methods

A cross-sectional study of 1859 participants aged 65 or older from four rural counties in China was conducted. Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDLC) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDLC), nail selenium concentration and APOE genotype were measured in all subjects. The four types of dyslipidemia were defined as >5.17mmol/L for High-TC, >1.69 mmol/L for High-TG, >3.36 mmol/L for High-LDLC, and <1.04 mmol/L for Low-HDLC according to Chinese Guidelines on Prevention and Treatment of Dyslipidemia in Adults. Logistic models adjusting for age, gender, APOE genotype, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, medication use for cardiovascular diseases were used to examine the relationship between selenium levels and the risk of dyslipidemia.

Results

Mean nail selenium concentration was 0.465μg/gin this sample. Rates for High-TC, High-LDLC, High-TG, Low-HDLC were 18.13%, 13.23%, 12.21% and 32.76% respectively. Results from logistic models indicated that higher selenium levels were significantly associated with higher risk of High-TC, High-LDLC and lower risk of Low-HDLC adjusting for covariates (p < 0.0001). Compared with the lowest selenium quartile group, participants in selenium quartile groups 2, 3 and 4 had significantly higher rates of High-TC, High-LDLC, High-TG, and lower rate of Low-HDLC adjusting for covariates. No significant association was observed between selenium level and the risk of High-TG. APOEε4 carriers had higher rates of High-TC and High-LDLC. There was no interaction between selenium level and APOE with the rates of dyslipidemia.

Conclusions

Our results suggest long-term selenium exposure level may be associated with the risk of dyslipidemia in elderly population. Future studies are needed to examine the underlying mechanism of the association.     

Exosomes as a messager to regulate the crosstalk between macrophages and cardiomyocytes under hypoxia conditions

Recent studies have confirmed that cardiomyocyte‐derived exosomes have many pivotal biological functions, like influencing the progress of coronary artery disease via modulating macrophage phenotypes. However, the mechanisms underlying the crosstalk between cardiomyocytes and macrophages have not been fully characterized. Hence, this study aimed to observe the interaction between cardiomyocytes under hypoxia and macrophages through exosome communication and further evaluate the ability of exosomes derived from cardiomyocytes cultured under hypoxic conditions (Hypo‐Exo) to polarize macrophages, and the effect of alternatively activated macrophages (M2) on hypoxic cardiomyocytes. Our results revealed that hypoxia facilitated the production of transforming growth factor‐beta (TGF‐β) in H9c2 cell‐derived exosomes. Moreover, exosomes derived from cardiomyocytes cultured under normal conditions (Nor‐Exo) and Hypo‐Exo could induce RAW264.7 cells into classically activated macrophages (M1) and M2 macrophages respectively. Likewise, macrophage activation was induced by circulating exosomes isolated from normal human controls (hNor‐Exo) or patients with acute myocardial infarction (hAMI‐Exo). Thus, our findings support that the profiles of hAMI‐Exo have been changed, which could regulate the polarization of macrophages and subsequently the polarized M2 macrophages reduced the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in return. Based on our findings, we speculate that exosomes have emerged as important inflammatory response modulators regulating cardiac oxidative stress injury.     

氟中毒大鼠肝肾自由基代谢及硒对其影响

为探讨硒对氟中毒大鼠肝、肾自由基代谢的影响,两组Wistar大鼠饮1.58 mmol/L和2.63 mmol/L高氟水;饮高氟水的同时加饲2.0 mg/kg硒饲料;饮氟水7个月后加饲硒饲料.实验14个月时用低温电子自旋共振(ESR)技术测其肝、肾活性氧自由基(FR)含量;同时测氟(F)、硒(Se)含量;谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性和脂质过氧化物(LPO)含量.结果：氟中毒大鼠在肝、肾氟升高的同时,FR和LPO上升,GSH-Px、SOD下降.在氟中毒不同时期投硒,大鼠肝、肾氟降低,FR和LPO减少,抗氧化酶活性恢复.表明硒不但可拮抗大鼠体内的高氟,还可纠正高氟造成的自由基代谢紊乱.     

铬对大鼠心电图及心肌细胞的电生理影响

应用心电图及细胞内微电极技术观察铬对心肌电生理的影响。大鼠腹腔内注射铬,９周后心电图显示各剂量组ＱＴ间期均缩短,细胞内微电极检查显示动作电位时程（ＡＰＤ５０、ＡＰＤ９０）于２周后随剂量增加而逐渐缩短,０．４ｍｇ组显著缩短,９周后各剂量组ＡＰＤ５０、ＡＰＤ９０均缩短。心率、静息电位（ＲＰ）与动作电位（ＡＰＡ）幅度及动作电位最大上升速率（Ｖｍａｘ）无变化。铬影响了心肌复极引起ＱＴ间期缩短,而ＡＰＤ５０、ＡＰＤ９０缩短可能是铬影响了钙内流及钾外流的结果。     

嗜菌异小杆线虫H06品系对红棕象甲致病力的时间效应及对血淋巴的影响

【目的】阐明嗜菌异小杆线虫H06品系处理对红棕象甲血淋巴免疫系统的影响。【方法】采用室内生物测定和生理生化测定法,研究了嗜菌异小杆线虫H06品系对红棕象甲不同虫态的致病力及对血淋巴各项指标的调节作用。【结果】嗜菌异小杆线虫H06品系对红棕象甲不同虫态的致病力与处理浓度和处理时间均呈正相关性,经嗜菌异小杆线虫H06品系处理后,红棕象甲血淋巴总量和血淋巴酯酶均呈前期升高、后期降低的趋势,处理后72 h的血淋巴总量和酯酶活性与对照相比分别降低39.73%和53.36%;血淋巴蛋白含量与对照相比呈下降的趋势,虽在60 h时有一个短暂的回升,之后又迅速下降,其中在处理后72 h,血淋巴的蛋白含量与对照相比下降74.96%。【结论】嗜菌异小杆线虫H06品系的侵入破坏了红棕象的血淋巴免疫系统,本研究结果可为揭示昆虫病原线虫对红棕象甲的致病机理提供依据。     

The molecular design of a recombinant antimicrobial peptide CP and its in vitro activity

Antibacterial peptides from various sources express different antibacterial activity. In order to obtain a high activity antibacterial peptide, the sequences of four antimicrobial peptides--Protegrin-1, 4 kDa Scorpion Defensin, Metalnikowin-2A and Sheep Myeloid Antibacterial Peptide SMAP-29--were exploited to generate a synthetic antimicrobial peptide cp gene, which was then cloned into the expression vector pPICZalpha-A. The constructed recombinant expression vector pPICZalpha-cp was transformed into Pichia pastoris X-33, in which the synthetic antimicrobial peptide (CP) could be expressed under the control of the inducible AOX1 promoter and secreted via the alpha mating factor leader of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Results showed that recombinant plasmid is highly stable, and In vitro experiments showed that the recombinant antimicrobial peptide CP is heat and acid-stable, and it has high antibacterial activity against several Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. Only 1 microg of the recombinant antimicrobial peptide CP has an antibacterial activity equivalent to 64 U ampicillin. Thus, this recombinant antimicrobial peptide could serve as an attractive candidate for the development of therapeutic antimicrobial drugs.     

RS-5645 attenuates inflammatory cytokine storm induced by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and LPS by modulating pulmonary microbiota

An inflammatory cytokine storm is considered an important cause of death in severely and critically ill COVID-19 patients, however, the relationship between the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and the host''s inflammatory cytokine storm is not clear. Here, the qPCR results indicated that S protein induced a significantly elevated expression of multiple inflammatory factor mRNAs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), whereas RS-5645 ((4-(thiophen-3-yl)-1-(p-tolyl)-1H-pyrrol-3-yl)(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)methanone) attenuated the expression of the most inflammatory factor mRNAs. RS-5645 also significantly reduced the cellular ratios of CD45+/IFNγ+, CD3+/IFNγ+, CD11b+/IFNγ+, and CD56+/IFNγ+ in human PBMCs. In addition, RS-5645 effectively inhibited the activation of inflammatory cells and reduced inflammatory damage to lung tissue in mice. Sequencing results of 16S rRNA v3+v4 in mouse alveolar lavage fluid showed that there were 494 OTUs overlapping between the alveolar lavage fluid of mice that underwent S protein+ LPS-combined intervention (M) and RS-5645-treated mice (R), while R manifested 64 unique OTUs and M exhibited 610 unique OTUs. In the alveoli of group R mice, the relative abundances of microorganisms belonging to Porphyromonas, Rothia, Streptococcus, and Neisseria increased significantly, while the relative abundances of microorganisms belonging to Psychrobacter, Shimia, and Sporosarcina were significantly diminished. The results of KEGG analysis indicated that the alveolar microbiota of mice in the R group can increase translation and reduce the activity of amino acid metabolism pathways. COG analysis results indicated that the abundance of proteins involved in ribosomal structure and biogenesis related to metabolism was augmented in the alveolar microbiota of the mice in the R group, while the abundance of proteins involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis was significantly reduced. Therefore, our research results showed that RS-5645 attenuated pulmonary inflammatory cell infiltration and the inflammatory storm induced by the S protein and LPS by modulating the pulmonary microbiota.     

Mapping QTLs for root traits under different nitrate levels at the seedling stage in maize (Zea mays L.)

Nitrogen (N) loss is a worldwide problem in crop production. Apart from reasonable N fertilizer application, breeding N efficient cultivars provides an alternative way. Root architecture is an important factor determining N acquisition. However, little is known about the molecular genetic basis for root growth in relation to N supply. In the present study, an F₈ maize (Zea may L.) recombinant inbred (RI) population consisting of 94 lines was used to identify the QTLs for root traits under different nitrate levels. The lateral root length (LRL), axial root length (ARL), maximal axial root length (MARL), axial root number (ARN) and average axial root length (AARL) were evaluated under low N (LN) and high N (HN) conditions in a hydroponics system. A total of 17 QTLs were detected among which 14 loci are located on the same chromosome region as published QTLs for root traits. A major QTL on chromosome 1 (between bnlg1025 and umc2029) for the AARL under LN could explain 43.7% of the phenotypic variation. This QTL co-localizes with previously reported QTLs that associate with root traits, grain yield, and N uptake. Our results indicate that longer axial roots are important for efficient N acquisition and the major QTL for AARL may be used as a marker in breeding N efficient maize genotypes.