Identification and characterization of the retinoic acid response elements in the human RIG1 gene promoter

The expression of retinoic acid-induced gene 1 (RIG1), a class II tumor suppressor gene, is induced in cells treated with retinoids. RIG1 has been shown to express ubiquitously and the increased expression of this gene appears to suppress cell proliferation. Recent studies also demonstrated that this gene may play an important role in cell differentiation and the progression of cancer. In spite of the remarkable regulatory role of this protein, the molecular mechanism of RIG1 expression induced by retinoids remains to be clarified. The present study was designed to study the molecular mechanism underlying the all-trans retinoic acid (atRA)-mediated induction of RIG1 gene expression. Polymerase chain reaction was used to generate a total of 10 luciferase constructs that contain various fragments of the RIG1 5'-genomic region. These constructs were then transfected into human gastric cancer SC-M1 and breast cancer T47D cells for transactivation analysis. atRA exhibited a significant induction in luciferase activity only through the -4910/-5509 fragment of the 5'-genomic region of RIG1 gene relative to the translation initiation site. Further analysis of this promoter fragment indicated that the primary atRA response region is located in between -5048 and -5403 of the RIG1 gene. Within this region, a direct repeat sequence with five nucleotide spacing, 5'-TGACCTctattTGCCCT-3' (DR5, -5243/-5259), and an inverted repeat sequence with six nucleotide spacing, 5'-AGGCCAtggtaaTGGCCT-3' (IR6, -5323/-5340), were identified. Deletion and mutation of the DR5, but not the IR6 element, abolished the atRA-mediated activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with nuclear extract from atRA-treated cells indicated the binding of retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR) heterodimers specifically to this response element. In addition to the functional DR5, the region contains many other potential sequence elements that are required to maximize the atRA-mediated induction. Taken together, we have identified and characterized the functional atRA response element that is responsible for the atRA-mediated induction of RIG1 gene.     

Invasive alien plant species in China: regional distribution patterns

Plant invasions have been attracting increasing attention from ecologists because of their worldwide environmental impacts and huge economic costs. Research on the characteristics of the recipient regions is essential for understanding the process of plant invasion. However, few previous studies on invasibility of habitats include social factors, although human activities are critical in the process of plant invasion. China is a vast country with high plant species diversity and a long history of introduction of exotic plant species and is particularly vulnerable to invasive plant species. Alien plant species are widespread in the country. Therefore, the study of invasive plants in China is urgent in practice and theoretically important for developing invasion ecology. For the present study, 126 species were selected to represent the major invasive plant species in China. We then collected data on their species richness in 31 provincial administrative units of China and performed Spearman rank correlations between species richness and possible natural and socio‐economic factors. We found that socio‐economic factors, such as human density and GDP, correlated positively with the species richness of invasive plants in China. In conjunction with the natural and socio‐economic correlations in the study of regional distribution pattern of the major invasive plants, we discussed the factors influencing the regional distribution pattern of the major invasive plants in China. We suggest that native plant species richness was mainly determined by the natural conditions of the regions, while invasive species richness was influenced by natural conditions and human disturbance together.     

Different protective roles in vitro of alpha- and beta-domains of growth inhibitory factor (GIF) on neuron injuries caused by oxygen free radicals.

It was well known that beta-amyloid (Abeta) and tau protein play an important role in pathological procedure of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a senile dementia. The growth inhibitory factor (GIF, also named metallothionein-3, MT-3) had been demonstrated to inhibit the outgrowth of cortex neurons in the medium with extract of the AD patient brain. In our experiments, it was found that the neurons of cortex and the PC12 (pheochromocytoma) cells could be protected from the cytotoxicity of beta-amyloid 25-35 in presence of GIF and its domains. Additionally, GIF can scavenge the hydroxyl radical efficiently in CytC-VitC radical producing system and its alpha-domain shown more effective potentials than its beta-domain. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra also show that the alpha-domain has more potential ability for eliminating reactive oxygen free radicals than its beta-domain. The results suggest that GIF could act as an efficient scavenger against free radicals in vitro and the alpha-domain in GIF molecule shows more potential in protecting against reactive oxygen species injury than the beta-domain.     

Generation and Analysis of ESTs from the Grass Carp,Ctenopharyngodon idellus

Grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idellus (Valenciennes, 1844), is an economically important species widely cultured in the world, but its genome research resources are largely lacking. The objectives of this study were to construct normalized cDNA libraries for efficient EST analysis, to generate ESTs from these libraries, and to identify EST-related molecular markers such as microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for genetic analysis of this species. A total of 6,269 ESTs were generated representing 4,815 unique sequences, from which 105 putative microsatellites and 5,228 SNPs were identified. These genome resources provide the material basis for future genetic and functional analyses in this species.     

Contraction of fibroblast-containing collagen gels: Initial collagen concentration regulates the degree of contraction and cell survival

Remodeling of extracellular matrix involves a number of steps including the recruitment, accumulation, and eventual apoptosis of parenchymal cells as well as the production, organization, and rearrangement of extracellular matrix produced by these cells. The culture of fibroblasts in three-dimensional gels made of type I collagen has been used as a model of tissue contraction which characterizes both wound repair and fibrosis. The current study was designed to determine the effect of initial collagen concentration on the ability of fibroblasts to contract collagen gels and on cell survival. Native type I collagen was extracted from rat tail tendons and used to prepare collagen gels with varying collagen concentrations (0.75-2.0 mg/ml). Human lung fibroblasts (HFL-1) were cast into the gels and cultured in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium with 0.1% fetal calf serum for 2 wk. The gel size, collagen content, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content were determined. Gels prepared with an initial concentration of 0.75 mg/ml contracted more rapidly and to a smaller final size than gels prepared from 2 mg/ml initial collagen concentration (final size 7.1 versus 36.4% of initial size, P < 0.01). There was no significant degradation of the collagen in the gels under either condition. Hence, the dramatically increased contraction of the lower density gels resulted in a higher final density (P < 0.01). Cell density was estimated from DNA content. In low initial density gels, the final DNA content was significantly less than that in higher initial density gels (0.73 versus 1.88 microg/gel, P < 0.05). This was accompanied by an increased percentage of apoptotic cells at day 14 (43.3 versus 34.1%, P < 0.05). If the gels were maintained in the attached state which largely prevents contraction, apoptosis was significantly reduced, suggesting that contraction rather than matrix composition was a requirement for the increased apoptosis. In summary, these findings indicate that the initial matrix composition can lead to differing outcomes during fibroblast-mediated wound contraction.     

cⅠ857基因的体外定位同义突变

 ｃⅠ８５７基因的体外定位同义突变陈南春,高辉,陈苏民,杨萍,刘新平（西安第四军医大学分子生物学研究所,西安７１００３２）外源基因要在大肠杆菌中获得高表达,需要合适的ＳＤ序列和可调控的强启动子［１］。ＰＬ启动子在原核启动子中属强启动子,它受ｃⅠ基因产物...     

两种类型聚半乳糖醛酸酶的提纯及性质

黑曲霉(AspergilluS niger)AS 3.3883所产果胶酶经DEAE Sephadex A50及Sephadex G100柱层析分离出电泳纯的两种聚半乳糖醛酸酶(PG1,PG2),并对它们的性质及结构进行了比较研究。结果证明两种酶作用的最适条件、动力学性质、分子量、氨基酸组成及金属离子对酶活力影响等方面有很大差异,但二者的每个摩尔的活力及酶的构象很相似。     

Temporal-spatial variation and the influence factors of precipitation in Sichuan Province, China

Precipitation is a key factor in the water cycle. At the same time, precipitation is the focus of study in meteorology and climatology, ecological environmental assessment, non-point source pollution and so on. Understanding the temporal-spatial variation and the corresponding factors of precipitation has become the object of hydrology and environmentology. Based on the annual precipitation data, we analyzed the spatial distribution of precipitation in Sichuan Province in China as well as the temporal-spatial variation and the corresponding influence factors involved. The results show that the amount of precipitation was abundant, but the spatial distribution was not consistent with it and the amount of precipitation gradually declined from the south-east to the north-west in Sichuan Province, China. Moreover, the spatial distribution was different throughout the years. The result of correlation analysis indicated that elevation, temperature and air pressure were three key factors affecting the amount and distribution of precipitation, and the correlation coefficients were −0.56, 0.38 and 0.45 respectively. Notably, the relationship between the slope of topography and precipitation were significantly negative and the average correlation coefficient was −0.28.