无核小枣木质素合成基因Zj4CL的克隆和表达分析

为研究无核小枣果实无核形成机理,应用RT-PCR扩增技术首次从无核小枣果实中克隆得到4-香豆酸辅酶A连接酶(4CL,4-Coumarate:Coenzyme A Ligase)基因,该序列长度1819 bp,包含1776 bp的完整开放阅读框,编码591个氨基酸,命名为Zj4CL(登陆号KP279930)。Zj4CL与基因组序列比对发现,该基因组含有5个外显子,4个内含子。序列比对和结构域分析表明,Zj4CL包含4CL基因家族的Box I和Box II保守区。进化树分析显示,Zj4CL与苹果(XP_008362825)的亲缘关系最近。实时荧光定量PCR分析表明,无核小枣在花后30 d左右基因表达量达到最大值,到花后40 d以后表达量明显下降。     

Chaihu-Shugan-San Administration Ameliorates Perimenopausal Anxiety and Depression in Rats

Chaihu-Shugan-San (CSS) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula that is widely used for treating perimenopausal symptoms in China; however, its mechanisms remain unknown. The present study was designed to investigate potential CSS mechanisms in rats with unpredicted chronic mild stress (UCMS) and normally aging rats (52 weeks of age). We performed the sucrose consumption test along with the forced swimming test to confirm depression-like behavior and the open field test (OFT) to confirm anxiety-like behavior in the animals. In addition, we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure serum and hippocampal estradiol (E₂) levels and a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to assess hippocampal mRNA levels of estrogen receptors (ERs) α and β as well as G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30). We found that CSS administration resulted in a significant increase in the ratio of hippocampal ERα and ERβ mRNA (ERα/ERβ ratio) in UCMS rats (p<0.001). However, no significant changes were observed in E₂ levels, ERα mRNA expression, and GPR30 mRNA expression. In contrast, changes in ERα/ERβ mRNA ratio were sensitively associated with changes in mood states in the animal models. These findings suggest that enhancement of ERα/ERβ ratio may play a role in the pharmacological mechanisms of CSS. Furthermore, this ratio can be employed as a potential index for evaluating mood states in animal models and can be considered as a therapeutic target for perimenopausal anxiety and depression in the future.     

Effect of different diets on the growth and development of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas)

Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) is an important natural enemy of crop pests. Feeding H. axyridis through artificial diets (ADs) is an important means to achieve large-scale production. In this study, the effects of different diets on the growth, development and reproduction of H. axyridis were comprehensively evaluated, and the reasons for the reduced reproductive capacity of H. axyridis fed ADs were preliminarily explored. Artificial diets were prepared using pig liver and pork as the main ingredients. Larval duration, larval survival rate, egg production and other traits were comprehensively evaluated. Harmonia axyridis fed ADs during both the larval and adult periods completed growth and development from larva to adult but had a prolonged development duration (6.13-day extension) and reduced survival rate (15.3% reduction) in the larval stage. In addition, adults could not lay eggs. Next, individuals of H. axyridis were fed Megoura japonica (Matsumura) in the larval stage and an AD, adequate aphids (AA) or an artificial diet plus 5 (AD5), 10 (AD10) or 25 (AD25) aphids in the adult stage. The adults in the AD group produced a small number of eggs (103.3 eggs). When aphids were added to the diet, egg production gradually increased with the number of aphids added. The AD25 group exhibited no significant difference in egg production compared with that in the AA group (983.8 eggs and 1,158.3 eggs, respectively). Anatomical observations of the H. axyridis adults in these five groups revealed that ovary development was slowest in the AD group. In addition, we found that the levels of vitellogenin and juvenile hormone were significantly lower in the AD group than in the AA group. These results provide a foundation for formulating ADs for H. axyridis and improving the large-scale reproduction of this species.     

Dynamic metabolic modeling for a MAB bioprocess

Production of monoclonal antibodies (MAb) for diagnostic or therapeutic applications has become an important task in the pharmaceutical industry. The efficiency of high-density reactor systems can be potentially increased by model-based design and control strategies. Therefore, a reliable kinetic model for cell metabolism is required. A systematic procedure based on metabolic modeling is used to model nutrient uptake and key product formation in a MAb bioprocess during both the growth and post-growth phases. The approach combines the key advantages of stoichiometric and kinetic models into a complete metabolic network while integrating the regulation and control of cellular activity. This modeling procedure can be easily applied to any cell line during both the cell growth and post-growth phases. Quadratic programming (QP) has been identified as a suitable method to solve the underdetermined constrained problem related to model parameter identification. The approach is illustrated for the case of murine hybridoma cells cultivated in stirred spinners.     

Simultaneous determination of ten antiarrhythic drugs and a metabolite in human plasma by liquid chromatography--tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, accurate and selective LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of ten antiarrhythic drugs (diltiazem, amiodarone, mexiletine, propranolol, sotalol, verapamil, bisoprolol, metoprolol, atenolol, carvedilol) and a metabolite (norverapamil) in human plasma. Plasma samples were simply pretreated with acetonitrile for deproteinization. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Capcell C(18) column (50mmx2.0mm, 5microm) using a gradient mixture of acetonitrile and water (both containing 0.02% formic acid) as a mobile phase at flow rate of 0.3ml/min. The analytes were protonated in the positive electrospray ionization (ESI) interface and detected in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Calibration curves were linear over wide ranges from sub- to over-therapeutic concentration in plasma for all analytes. Intra- and inter-batch precision of analysis was <12.0%, accuracy ranged from 90% to 110%, average recovery from 85.0% to 99.7%. The validated method was successfully applied to therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of antiarrhythic drugs in routine clinical practice.     

Multifunctional Fe₃O₄ core/Ni-Al layered double hydroxides shell nanospheres as labels for ultrasensitive electrochemical immunoassay of subgroup J of avian leukosis virus

A novel electrochemical immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection of subgroup J of avian leukosis virus (ALVs-J) was designed by using graphene sheets (GS)-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) composites modified electrode with multifunctional Fe(3)O(4) core/Ni-Al LDHs shell (LDHs@Fe(3)O(4)) nanospheres as labels. At first, the GS-LDHs were used for the immunosensor platform for improving the electronic transmission rate as well as increasing the surface area to capture a large amount of primary antibodies (Ab(1)). After that, ferrocene (Fc), secondary antibodies (Ab(2)) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) multifunctional LDHs@Fe(3)O(4) nanospheres were used as labels with high load amount and good biological activity. Subsequently, in presence of H(2)O(2), amplified signals were obtained by an electrochemical sandwich immunoassay protocol. To embody the signal amplification property of the protocol, the analytical properties of various immunosensor platform and labels were compared in detail. Under optimal conditions, the reduction peak currents of the electrochemical immunosensor were proportional to the ALVs-J concentration over the range from 10(2.32) to 10(5.50) TCID(50)/mL with a low detection limit (180 TCID(50)/mL, S/N=3). The resulting immunosensor also displayed a good selectivity, reproducibility and stability.     

A new class of prolylcarboxypeptidase inhibitors, part 1: discovery and evaluation

A new structural class of potent prolylcarboxypeptidase (PrCP) inhibitors was discovered by high-throughput screening. The series possesses a tractable SAR profile with sub-nanomolar in vitro IC(50) values. Compared to prior inhibitors, the new series demonstrated minimal activity shifts in pure plasma and complete ex vivo plasma target engagement in mouse plasma at the 20 h post-dose time point (po). In addition, the in vivo level of CNS and non-CNS drug exposure was measured.     

High density lipoprotein cholesterol promotes the proliferation of bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells via binding scavenger receptor-B type I and activation of PI3K/Akt, MAPK/ERK1/2 pathways

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) possesses protective properties in cardiovascular diseases. However, the effect of HDL on the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which could be mobilized to the damaged myocardial tissue, has not been well elucidated yet. In the current study, we investigated the effect of HDL on the proliferation of MSCs so as to reveal its molecular mechanisms. MSCs derived from rats were treated with HDL in different concentrations and for different periods. The proliferation of MSCs was measured with MTT and BrdU cell proliferation assay. The phosphorylation of Akt, ERK1/2 and the expression of p21 were evaluated by Western blotting. After the activity of respective pathways was down-regulated by the specific inhibitor and the gene of scavenger receptor-B type I (SR-BI) was knocked down by RNA interference, BrdU assay was performed to examine this effect of HDL on MSCs. We found that the proliferation of MSCs induced by HDL, in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, was the phosphorylation of Akt- and ERK1/2-dependent, which was significantly attenuated by the specific inhibitor to respective pathways. Moreover, MAPK/ERK1/2 pathway exerted a more dominating effect on this process. SR-BI contributed to HDL-induced proliferation of MSCs, which was effectively abolished by the silencing of SR-BI. The results suggested that HDL was capable of improving MSCs proliferation, in which MAPK/ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt pathways involved and SR-BI played a critical role as well.