施氮对三个南方珍稀树种幼苗生长和生物量分配的影响

为了探讨珍稀树种对短期氮素添加的响应,该文研究了氮素添加(0、0.1、0.2、0.4和0.6g·kg~(-1)土)对观光木、棱角山矾和半枫荷幼苗生长和生物量分配的影响。结果表明:3个树种幼苗对外源氮素添加的反应不同,施氮显著促进观光木幼苗株高、基径、冠幅以及全株生物量和各部分生物量的增加,中低氮促进半枫荷幼苗的生长,但高氮抑制其生长;少量施氮对棱角山矾幼苗的形态和生物量参数没有产生显著影响,中量施氮抑制其生长。氮素营养的改变显著影响3种植物幼苗的生物量分配,观光木幼苗的根生物量比和根冠比均随施氮量的增加而显著降低;除高氮处理外,半枫荷幼苗的根生物量比和根冠比均随供氮量的增加而显著升高;棱角山矾的根生物量比和根冠比均随供氮量的增加而显著升高,可能与施氮抑制其茎叶的生长有关。总的来看,观光木幼苗更能耐受高氮条件,半枫荷幼苗次之,而棱角山矾幼苗不耐高氮;但到当年生长季末,各氮处理半枫荷幼苗的株高、基径和总相对生长速率均显著大于其它两种植物。     

Human umbilical cord Wharton jelly cells promote extra-pancreatic insulin formation and repair of renal damage in STZ-induced diabetic mice

Background

We evaluated the therapeutic effect and fate of high doses of human umbilical cord Wharton jelly cells (hUCWJCs) after IP administration to streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice.

Methods

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) was induced in Kunming mice via IP injection of STZ. hUCWJCs were labeled with 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI). Diabetic animals with sustained hyperglycemia for at least 2 weeks were administered 1 × 10⁷ Dil-hUCWJCs via intraperitoneal injection. Insulin, glucagon and PDX-1 were detected by immunofluorescence with confocal microscopy. Serum mouse and human C-peptide was assayed in blood collected via intracardiac puncture. Specific β-cell differentiation markers and human DNA were assessed using qPCR performed with 200 ng of target DNA.

Results

hUCWJCs migrated to the STZ-damaged organs and contributed to lower blood glucose levels in 30% of the treated mice. Confocal microscopy revealed the presence of resident insulin-positive cells in the liver and kidneys. hUCWJC-treated mice with restored hyperglycemia also showed increased serum mouse C-peptide levels. The qPCR results, particularly in the liver, revealed that after transplantation hUCWJCs upregulated genes of endocrine precursors but failed to express endocrine stage markers. Mice with restored hyperglycemia had reduced urinary volume and lacked glomerular hypertrophy, exhibiting a morphology resembling that of normal glomeruli. Moreover, we also verified that one of the possible mechanisms by which hUCWJCs exert immunosuppressive effects is through down-regulation of the cell surface receptor HLA-1.

Conclusions

We confirmed the potential of IP administration of hUCWJCs and the capability of these cells to migrate to damaged tissues and promote insulin secretion from non-pancreatic local cells and to improve renal damage. These findings confer unique therapeutic properties to hUCWJCs, suggesting a promising future in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

     

Enhanced photoluminescence of the Ca0.8Zn0.2TiO3:0.05% Pr3+ phosphor by optimized hydrothermal conditions

The red‐emitting phosphor Ca_0.8Zn_0.2TiO₃:Pr³⁺ was synthesized using an ethylene glycol (EG)‐assisted hydrothermal method. The effects of additional amounts of and order of adding EG, plus hydrothermal temperature, time, and pH on the composition, morphology and optical properties of the titanate phosphors were studied. The crystalline phases of the titanate phosphors were confirmed to be constituted of a series of co‐existing CaTiO₃, Zn₂TiO₄ and Ca₂Zn₄Ti₁₆O₃₈ compounds in various proportions that were visualized using an X‐ray diffractometer (XRD). The optical properties of the phosphors were studied using photoluminescence spectra and UV–visible spectroscopy. The results show that the impurities Zn₂TiO₄:Pr³⁺ and Ca₂Zn₄Ti₁₆O₃₈:Pr³⁺ significantly contributed to the enhancement of an absorption band around 380 nm. The optimum Ca_0.8Zn_0.2TiO₃:Pr³⁺ phosphor consisting of appropriate amounts of CaTiO₃, Ca₂Zn₄Ti₁₆O₃₈ and Zn₂TiO₄ in three phases was achieved by controlling the hydrothermal conditions, and the obtained red phosphor exhibited the highest red emission (¹D₂ → ³H₄ transition of Pr³⁺) with an ideal chromaticity coordinate located at (x = 0.667, y = 0.332) under 380 nm excitation.     

SFRP2 enhances the osteogenic differentiation of apical papilla stem cells by antagonizing the canonical WNT pathway

Background

Exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying directed differentiation is helpful in the development of clinical applications of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Our previous study on dental tissue-derived MSCs demonstrated that secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (SFRP2), a Wnt inhibitor, could enhance osteogenic differentiation in stem cells from the apical papilla (SCAPs). However, how SFRP2 promotes osteogenic differentiation of dental tissue-derived MSCs remains unclear. In this study, we used SCAPs to investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Methods

SCAPs were isolated from the apical papilla of immature third molars. Western blot and real-time RT-PCR were applied to detect the expression of β-catenin and Wnt target genes. Alizarin Red staining, quantitative calcium analysis, transwell cultures and in vivo transplantation experiments were used to study the osteogenic differentiation potential of SCAPs.

Results

SFRP2 inhibited canonical Wnt signaling by enhancing phosphorylation and decreasing the expression of nuclear β-catenin in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the target genes of the Wnt signaling pathway, AXIN2 (axin-related protein 2) and MMP7 (matrix metalloproteinase-7), were downregulated by SFRP2. WNT1 inhibited the osteogenic differentiation potential of SCAPs. SFRP2 could rescue this WNT1-impaired osteogenic differentiation potential.

Conclusions

The results suggest that SFRP2 could bind to locally present Wnt ligands and alter the balance of intracellular Wnt signaling to antagonize the canonical Wnt pathway in SCAPs. This elucidates the molecular mechanism underlying the SFRP2-mediated directed differentiation of SCAPs and indicates potential target genes for improving dental tissue regeneration.

     

海鸬鹚繁殖习性的初步观察

1995年7月至1998年8月,在山东长岛自然保护区的车由岛进行了海鸬鹚繁殖习性的观察,初步掌握了海鸬鹚的择偶,营巢,产卵,孵化,育雏等繁殖习性,探讨了影响海颅鹚捕食的因素,并报道了海鸬鹚在山东省的繁殖区。     

Development of microsatellite markers in white birch (Betula platyphylla var. japonica)

Betula platyphylla var. japonica is a typical pioneer tree species in the secondary succession in northern Japan. We describe the cloning and characterization of 13 polymorphic, codominant microsatellite loci isolated from this species. These polymorphic loci had 2–8 alleles per locus and a range of expected heterozygosities from 0.050 to 0.808.     

Regulation of synaptophysin degradation by mammalian homologues of seven in absentia.

Synaptophysin is an integral membrane protein of synaptic vesicles characterized by four transmembrane domains with both termini facing the cytoplasm. Although synaptophysin has been implicated in neurotransmitter release, and decreased synaptophysin levels have been associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, the molecular mechanism that regulates the degradation of synaptophysin remains unsolved. Using the cytoplasmic C terminus of synaptophysin as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified two synaptophysin-binding proteins, Siah-1A and Siah-2, which are rat homologues of Drosophila Seven in Absentia. We demonstrated that Siah-1A and Siah-2 associate with synaptophysin both in vitro and in vivo and defined the binding domains of synaptophysin and Siah that mediate their association. Siah proteins exist in both cytosolic and membrane-associated pools and co-localize with synaptophysin on synaptic vesicles and early endosomes. In addition, Siah proteins interact specifically with the brain-enriched E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH8 and facilitate the ubiquitination of synaptophysin. Furthermore, overexpression of Siah proteins promotes the degradation of synaptophysin via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Our findings indicate that Siah proteins function as E3 ubiquitin-protein ligases to regulate the ubiquitination and degradation of synaptophysin.     

类黄酮化合物在植物胁迫反应中作用的研究进展

植物胁迫发生时,一个明显的特征是在植物器官中积累红色与紫色类黄酮化合物。文章讨论了类黄酮化合物在植物胁迫保护中作用,如类黄酮化合物在抗植物UV—B辐射、抗病性以及铝毒害耐性等多方面的作用,也讨论了植物受胁迫时类黄酮积累的分子基础。     

Ion‐Exchange and Adsorption of Fe(III) by Sepia Melanin

Sepia eumelanin is associated with many metal ions, yet little is known about its metal binding capacity and the chemical nature of the binding site(s). Herein, the natural concentrations of metal ions are presented and the ability to remove metals by exposure of the melanin granules to EDTA is quantified. The results reveal that the binding constants of melanin at pH 5.8 for Mg(II), Ca(II), Sr(II) and Cu(II) are, respectively, 5, 4, 14 and 34 times greater than the corresponding binding constants of these ions with EDTA. By exposing Sepia eumelanin to aqueous solutions of FeCl₃, the content of bound Fe(III) can be increased from a natural concentration of ～180 ppm to a saturation limit of ～80 000 ppm or 1.43 mmol/g of melanin. Similar saturation limits are found for Mg(II) and Ca(II). Exposure of Sepia melanin granules to aqueous solutions containing Ca(II) results in the stoichiometric replacement of the initially bound Mg(II), arguing that these two ions occupy the same binding site(s) in the pigment. The pH‐dependent binding of Mg(II) and Ca(II) suggests coordination of these ions to carboxylic acid groups in the pigment. Mg(II) and Ca(II) can be added to a Fe(III)‐saturated melanin sample without affecting the amount of Fe(III) pre‐adsorbed, clearly establishing Fe(III) and Mg(II)/Ca(II) occupy different binding sites. Taking recent Raman spectroscopic data into account, the binding of Fe(III) is concluded to involve coordination to o‐dihydroxyl groups. The effects of metal ion content on the surface morphology were analyzed. No significant changes were found over the full range of Fe(III) concentration studied, which is supported by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. These observations imply the existence of channels within the melanin granules that can serve to transport metal ions.