Gene expression profile of human bone marrow stromal cells: high-throughput expressed sequence tag sequencing analysis

Human bone marrow stromal cells (HBMSC) are pluripotent cells with the potential to differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, myelosupportive stroma, and marrow adipocytes. We used high-throughput DNA sequencing analysis to generate 4258 single-pass sequencing reactions (known as expressed sequence tags, or ESTs) obtained from the 5' (97) and 3' (4161) ends of human cDNA clones from a HBMSC cDNA library. Our goal was to obtain tag sequences from the maximum number of possible genes and to deposit them in the publicly accessible database for ESTs (dbEST of the National Center for Biotechnology Information). Comparisons of our EST sequencing data with nonredundant human mRNA and protein databases showed that the ESTs represent 1860 gene clusters. The EST sequencing data analysis showed 60 novel genes found only in this cDNA library after BLAST analysis against 3.0 million ESTs in NCBI's dbEST database. The BLAST search also showed the identified ESTs that have close homology to known genes, which suggests that these may be newly recognized members of known gene families. The gene expression profile of this cell type is revealed by analyzing both the frequency with which a message is encountered and the functional categorization of expressed sequences. Comparing an EST sequence with the human genomic sequence database enables assignment of an EST to a specific chromosomal region (a process called digital gene localization) and often enables immediate partial determination of intron/exon boundaries within the genomic structure. It is expected that high-throughput EST sequencing and data mining analysis will greatly promote our understanding of gene expression in these cells and of growth and development of the skeleton.     

CpG-enriched plasmid enhances the efficacy of the traditional foot-and-mouth disease killed vaccine

A CpG-enriched recombinant plasmid (pUC18-CpG) as an adjuvant of FMD killed vaccine was tested for immunization and vaccination challenge in a porcine model. Our preliminary results had indicated that the recombinant plasmid could enhance the humoral immune response triggered by the traditional oil-adjuvant vaccine after the initial inoculation. A subsequent vaccination-challenge test showed an increased PD(50) value. Thus, coadministration of the recombinant plasmid with the oil-adjuvant vaccine helped illicit an immune response earlier than that elicited by giving the vaccine alone. Our results showed that pUC18-CpG can be a potent immunoadjuvant for the traditional FMD killed vaccine and can greatly enhance the traditional vaccine's efficacy when given in combination with it.     

茚虫威对不同抗药性品系小菜蛾呼吸代谢的影响

以小菜蛾Plutella xylostella(L.)敏感品系(S)、田间品系(F)及茚虫威汰选抗性品系(T17)幼虫为供试虫源,采用便携式光合作用测定仪测定小菜蛾3～4龄幼虫在受药前后或不同受药剂量等条件下呼吸速率的变化,从能量代谢的角度研究抗药性机制。结果表明,汰选抗性品系、田间品系与敏感品系同龄期小菜蛾幼虫在未受药条件下的呼吸速率差异不显著,表明抗药性的产生并未影响小菜蛾本底的呼吸速率。以各个品系的茚虫威LC20和LC50剂量处理幼虫后,3个品系的呼吸速率均明显提高,汰选抗性品系呼吸速率提高幅度明显大于其他2个品系。在LC20剂量下3个品系呼吸速率峰值均出现在2h前后,10h后恢复到正常水平;在LC50剂量下敏感品系没有明显差异;而田间品系和汰选抗性品系分别在药剂处理后4h和6h达到呼吸高峰,汰选抗性品系保持高水平呼吸速率时间长达9h,分别于药后15h和24h恢复到正常水平。这表明用药后抗性品系呼吸速率的提高幅度与小菜蛾的解毒代谢能力有关,这也揭示了昆虫幼虫中毒后能量消耗会随着抗性水平的提高而增加。     

Comparative study of myocytes from normal and mdx mice iPS cells

Recently, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) have been derived from various techniques and show great potential for therapy of human diseases. Furthermore, the iPS technique can be used to provide cell models to explore pathological mechanisms of many human diseases in vitro, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is a severe recessive X-linked form of muscular dystrophy without effective treatment. In this study, we try to determine whether there are different characteristics of myocytes from mdx iPS cells and C57BL/10 iPS cells. Our results showed that both of mdx and C57BL/10 cells could be induced into iPS cells in vitro, whereas colony-forming ability of mdx iPS cells was much weaker than that of C57BL/10 iPS cells. Meanwhile, mdx iPS cells could be induced to differentiate into myocytes, whereas their differentiation efficiency was much lower than that of C57BL/10 iPS cells. And, the number of apoptotic cells in differentiated myocytes from mdx iPS cells was significantly higher than that from C57BL/10 iPS cells. More importantly, treatment of a pan-caspase inhibitor (Z-VAD) produced a significant decrease in apoptotic cells. This study might add some insight to the biology study of dystrophin gene.     

"Effects of baicalin on protease-activated receptor-1 expression and brain injury in a rat model of intracerebral hemorrhage"

"Regular physical exercise plays an important role in reducing obesity, preventing hyperglycemia, lowering blood lipids and reducing systemic blood pressure. But the question about the nature of the relationship between homocysteine, nitric oxide and physical activity remains unanswered. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of callisthenic exercises on plasma lipids, homocysteine (Hcy), total nitric oxide (NOx) and body composition in middle-aged healthy sedentary women. Forty-two middle-aged women (ages: 28-49; mean: 41.40 ± 7.3 years) were asked to perform a callisthenic exercise 50 min per session, 3 times per week for 12 weeks in a sports hall. Before and after the exercise, plasma lipids (total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein and triglyceride), Hcy and NO were determined. Body composition, including body mass index, fat percentage, fat free mass, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rates were measured. After a 12-week callisthenic exercise program, plasma NOx and Hcy levels were found to be significantly increased (P < 0.05). Body composition parameters, lipid profile, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rate significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Aerobic callisthenic exercises characterized by 50 min/day and 3 days/week resulted in positive changes in important health parameters like reducing obesity, lowering blood lipids and increasing plasma NOx. Cardiovascular improvements might be dependent on the increase of NOx values. But callisthenic exercise in such intensity did not lower the plasma Hcy level. Moreover, Hcy level increased significantly. The result shows that if the Hcy is in the normal levels in healthy subjects, long-term callisthenic exercise do not decrease the Hcy levels despite some beneficial effects on health. On the contrary, the Hcy levels are increased by long-term callisthenic exercises."