Novel cerebroside, termitomycesphin I, from the mushroom, Termitomyces titanicus

The novel cerebroside, termitomycesphin I (1), and two known cerebrosides (2 and 3) were isolated from the edible mushroom, Termitomyces titanicus. The structures of 1-3 were determined and identified by interpreting the spectroscopic data.     

A Tyrosine Phosphorylation Cycle Regulates Fungal Activation of a Plant Receptor Ser/Thr Kinase

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Degradation of the Large Subunit of Ribulose-1, 5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase in Wheat Leaves

The degradation of the large subunit (LSU) of ribulose- 1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco; EC 4.1.1.39) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Yangmai 158) leaves was investigated. A 50 kDa fragment, a portion of the LSU of Rubisco, was detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting with antibody against tobacco Rubisco in crude enzyme extract of young wheat leaves. The appearance of the 50 kDa fragment was most obvious at 30-35 ℃ and pH 5.5. The LSU and its 50 kDa fragment both existed when the crude enzyme extract was incubated for 60 min. The amount of LSU decreased with incubation time from 0 to 3 h in crude enzyme extract. However, the 50 kDa fragment could not be found any pH from 4.5 to 8.5 in chloroplast lysates of young wheat leaves. In addition,through treatment with various inhibitors, reactions were inhibited by cysteine proteinase inhibitor E-64 or leupeptin.     

一种快速、灵敏的血小板释放功能检测方法及其在抗血小板药物研究中的应用

本文报道了一种快速、灵敏的血小板释放功能检测方法:利用荧光素-荧光素酶在有ATP、Mg~(2+)、O_2存在时产生的生物发光素测定血小板ATP的释放量,以反映血小板的释放功能;研究了ADP、AA、胶原、凝血酶等四种诱导剂对血小板释放功能的作用,发现ADP的诱导释放能力较其他三者为弱;观察在不同剂量ADP和AA的诱导下,血小板聚集强度和释放能力之间的关系,研究了血小板数等因素对ATP释放功能测定的影响。应用该方法研究了Aspirin及活血化淤药物川芎嗪,毛冬青甲素对血小板释放功能的影响,发现Aspirin对AA诱导的释放反应有强烈的抑制作用。在以ADP诱导的释放反应中,川芎嗪的抑制作用较毛冬青甲素更为强烈。     

右美托咪定预处理对小鼠肠缺血再灌注损伤的作用研究

目的:右美托咪定(Dexmedetomidine,Dex)属于α-2肾上腺素能受体激动剂具有抗焦虑、催眠、镇痛和交感神经阻滞作用。最新研究发现右美托咪定对心脏和肺的缺血再灌注损伤具有显著的保护效应,但是右美托咪定是否对肠缺血再灌注损伤具有保护作用,迄今为止还没有相关研究。因此,本研究以小鼠为模型,观察右美托咪定预处理对小鼠肠缺血再灌注损伤的影响。方法:建立肠缺血再灌注损伤小鼠模型,并分为假手术组、缺血再灌注组和右美托咪定与处理组。不同剂量(10,25,50和100μg/kg)右美托咪定预处理小鼠。提取小鼠肠组织,用不同的试剂盒分别测定超氧化物歧化酶(Superoxide Dismutase,SOD),丙二醛(Malondialdehyde,MDA),谷胱甘肽(Glutathione,GSH),一氧化氮(Nitric Oxide,NO)和髓过氧化物酶(Myeloperoxidase,MPO)的水平变化。结果:右美托咪定预处理可以显著提高肠缺血再灌注损伤小鼠的存活率并呈剂量依赖性。右美托咪定预处理(100μg/kg)抑制由肠缺血再灌注损伤引起的不良效应,包括SOD水平降低,MDA水平升高,GSH水平降低,NO水平升高和MPO水平升高。结论:我们的研究表明右美托咪定可以提高小鼠肠缺血再灌注损伤的生存率,并且抑制氧化应激反应,炎症细胞的活化和侵润以及NO的水平,对肠缺血再灌注损伤具有显著的保护效应。本研究不仅进一步证实了右美托咪定的广泛的药理活性,而且为肠缺血再灌注损伤的治疗提供了潜在的治疗药物,其进一步的药理效应和作用机制值得进一步的研究。     

Structure and dynamics of nitrifier populations in a full-scale submerged membrane bioreactor during start-up

Changes of microbial characteristics in a full-scale submerged membrane bioreactor system (capacity, 60,000 m³ day⁻¹) treating sewage were monitored over the start-up period (96 days). Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that the percentages of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (nitrobacter-related population) in total bacteria counted with DAPI staining increased significantly from 1.9% and 0.9% to 4.5% and 2.8%, corresponding to an increase of the specific ammonium oxidizing rate (from 0.06 to 0.12 kg N kg⁻¹ mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) per day) and the specific nitrate forming rate (from 0.05 to 0.10 kg N kg⁻¹ MLSS day⁻¹). Both the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of polymerase chain reaction and clone library results showed that the AOB was dominated by the genus Nitrosomonas, the diversity of which increased markedly with operational time. Most of the day 2 clones were closely related with the uncultured Nitrosomonas sp. clone Ninesprings-49S amoA gene (AY356450.1) originated from activated sludge, while the day 96 clone library showed a more diverse distribution characterized by the appearance of the oligotrophic nitrifiers like the Nitrosomonas oligotropha- and Nitrosomonas ureae-like bacteria, perhaps due to the interception by membrane and the low food-to-microorganisms ratio environment. The above results show that the membrane bioreactor system was characterized by the increased diversity and percentage of nitrifiers, which made it possible to achieve a stable and high efficient nitrification. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea with the changing population structures were also detected, but their roles for ammonia oxidation in the system need further studies.     

The ZP domain is a conserved module for polymerization of extracellular proteins

Many eukaryotic extracellular proteins share a sequence of unknown function, called the zona pellucida (ZP) domain. Among these proteins are the mammalian sperm receptors ZP2 and ZP3, non-mammalian egg coat proteins, Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP), glycoprotein-2 (GP-2), alpha- and beta-tectorins, transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta receptor III and endoglin, DMBT-1 (deleted in malignant brain tumour-1), NompA (no-mechanoreceptor-potential-A), Dumpy and cuticlin-1 (refs 1,2). Here, we report that the ZP domain of ZP2, ZP3 and THP is responsible for polymerization of these proteins into filaments of similar supramolecular structure. Most ZP domain proteins are synthesized as precursors with carboxy-terminal transmembrane domains or glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors. Our results demonstrate that the C-terminal transmembrane domain and short cytoplasmic tail of ZP2 and ZP3 are not required for secretion, but are essential for assembly. Finally, we suggest a molecular basis for dominant human hearing disorders caused by point mutations within the ZP domain of alpha-tectorin.     

Combined small-molecule inhibition accelerates developmental timing and converts human pluripotent stem cells into nociceptors

Considerable progress has been made in identifying signaling pathways that direct the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into specialized cell types, including neurons. However, differentiation of hPSCs with extrinsic factors is a slow, step-wise process, mimicking the protracted timing of human development. Using a small-molecule screen, we identified a combination of five small-molecule pathway inhibitors that yield hPSC-derived neurons at >75% efficiency within 10 d of differentiation. The resulting neurons express canonical markers and functional properties of human nociceptors, including tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant, SCN10A-dependent sodium currents and response to nociceptive stimuli such as ATP and capsaicin. Neuronal fate acquisition occurs about threefold faster than during in vivo development, suggesting that use of small-molecule pathway inhibitors could become a general strategy for accelerating developmental timing in vitro. The quick and high-efficiency derivation of nociceptors offers unprecedented access to this medically relevant cell type for studies of human pain.     

Knockdown of damage-specific DNA binding protein 1 (DDB1) enhances the HBx-siRNA-mediated inhibition of HBV replication

Recent studies have demonstrated that the effect of inhibition of HBV replication can be achieved by RNA interference (RNAi) at both the cellular and organismal levels. However, HBV replication cannot be completely inhibited by this method. To completely inhibit HBV replication, new strategies for improving the inhibition efficacy of HBV-specific siRNAs are needed. In this study, we demonstrated that knockdown of damage-specific DNA binding protein 1(DDB1), a protein involved in nucleotide-excision repair and HBV replication, significantly enhanced the HBx-siRNA-mediated inhibition of HBV replication. Although knockdown of DDB1 may be toxic to normal liver cells, our results indeed suggest a new direction to enhance the efficacy of HBV-siRNA-mediated inhibition of HBV replication.