IN VIVO EFFECTS OF CARDIOTROPHIN-1

Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1) is a recently discovered cytokine that was isolated based on its ability to induce cardiac myocyte hypertrophy in vitro. In this study, the effects of chronic administration of CT-1 to mice (0.5 or 2 μg by intraperitoneal injection, twice a day for 14 days) were determined. A dose-dependent increase in both the heart weight and ventricular weight to body ratios was observed in the treated groups. The body weights of the animals were unaffected. These results indicate that CT-1 can induce cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. CT-1 was not specific for the heart, however. It stimulated the growth of the liver, kidney, and spleen, and caused atrophy of the thymus. CT-1 administration also increased the platelet counts by 70%, with no change in mean platelet volume. Red blood cell counts were increased in the treated animals, and there was a concomitant increase in haemoglobin concentration. Thus, CT-1 has a broad spectrum of biological activities in vivo. This observation is consistent with previous in-vitro findings showing that the mRNA for CT-1 is expressed in several tissues, and that CT-1 can function through binding to the leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) receptor and signalling through the gp130 pathway.     

K、Na、Ca、Mg 4种元素在疏叶骆驼刺体内含量分布特点的研究

 此项工作在新疆平原荒漠区盐化草甸带进行。研究结果显示出K、Na、Ca、Mg 4种元素在植物体内不同器官的含量分布特点和各个器官中不同元素间的含量关系。同时表明这4种元素在植物体不同器官中具有不同的作用。对于K、Na元素,地上部器官尤其叶片中含量水平反映出器官具有较强的留K排Ns的选择性元素的分配机制。     

油麻藤凝集素的荧光光谱研究

用化学修饰、内源荧光和荧光淬灭等方法研究了油麻藤凝集素（ＭＳＬ）的溶液构象变化和微环境的构象特征。研究发现ＭＳＬ分子中总共有９个色氨酸（Ｔｒｐ）残基,它们的荧光能被丙烯酰胺淬灭,但不易为ＫＩ接近而淬灭,ＭＳＬ经Ｎ－溴代琥珀酰亚胺（ＮＢＳ）修饰后,其内源性荧光发射谱发生相应变化,结果表明ＭＳＬ分子中部分Ｔｒｐ残基埋藏于分子内部,而位于分子表面的Ｔｒｐ残基可能处于分子的疏水袋中。     

黄精凝集素Ⅱ分子稳定性与生物学活性研究

黄精凝集素Ⅱ分子稳定性与生物学活性研究鲍锦库,曾仲奎,周红（四川大学生物系,成都,６１００６４）本文在黄精凝集素Ⅱ纯化及性质研究的基础上,应用多种变性条件,研究其分子特性,同时对分子的巯基和色氨酸进行修饰,研究该凝集素分子保持其生物学活性与这些基团的...     

A NEW SPECIES OF GENUS HABROPHLEBIODES ULMER (EPHEMEROPTERA: LEPTOPHLEBIIDAE)

Abstract  The present paper deals with a new species Habrophlebiodes zijinensis sp. nov. collected in Nanjing, Jiangsu Povince, China.     

Nerve Growth Factor as a Mitogen for a Pancreatic Carcinoid Cell Line

Abstract: Carcinoid tumors are a group of neuroendocrine neoplasms distributed widely throughout the body but most commonly occurring in the gut. These tumors retain many characteristics of their neural crest origin, including secretion of neuroactive peptides and responsiveness to neurotrophic substances. Nerve growth factor (NGF), a neurotrophic protein involved in maintenance and differentiation of peripheral sympathetic and sensory neurons, regulates growth of several neural tumor cells by inducing a differentiated phenotype and subsequent inhibition of cell growth rate. We examined the actions of NGF in a functioning human pancreatic carcinoid cell line (termed BON). NGF has no effect on the cytoarchitecture or constitutive secretion of bioamines in this carcinoid cell line. NGF, however, stimulates the in vitro cellular proliferation of BON cells. BON cells possess mRNA for the NGF receptors (p75^LNGFR and p140^trkA) and membrane-associated tyrosine kinase activity is increased in response to NGF. Both the mitogenic activity of NGF, as well as the receptor-linked tyrosine kinase activity, can be abrogated in BON cells by the trkA inhibitor K-252a and specific anti-NGF antibody. Our studies demonstrate that NGF is a mitogen for this carcinoid cell line without effect on cellular phenotype or cytoarchitecture. NGF may play a role in the development and progression of human carcinoid tumors.     

Promoters from kin1 and cor6.6, two Arabidopsis thaliana low-temperature-and ABA-inducible genes,direct strong β-glucuronidase expression in guard cells,pollen and young developing seeds

The ability of most higher plants to withstand freezing can be enhanced by cold acclimation, although the freezing tolerance of plant tissues is also affected by their developmental stage. In addition, low temperature has pleiotropic effects on many plant developmental processes such as vernalization. The interaction between plant development and low temperature implies that some genes are regulated by both environmental factors and developmental cues. Although a number of cold-inducible genes from plants have been identified, information concerning their regulation during plant development is limited. In order to understand their developmental regulation and obtain possible clues as to function, the promoters of kin1 and cor6.6, two cold- and abscisic acid (ABA)-regulated genes from Arabidopsis thaliana, were fused to the -glucuronidase (GUS)-coding sequence and the resulting constructs were used to transform tobacco and A. thaliana. Transgenic plants with either the kin1 or cor6.6 promoter showed strong GUS expression in pollen, developing seeds, trichomes and, most interestingly, in guard cells. During pollen development, maximum GUS activity was found in mature pollen. In contrast, the maximum GUS activity during seed development was during early embryogenesis. These patterns of expression distinguish kin1 and cor6.6 from related lea genes which are strongly expressed during late embryogenesis. There was no major qualitative difference in patterns of GUS expression between kin1 and cor6.6 promoters and the results were similar for transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis. Considering the results described, as well as those in an accompanying paper Wang et al., 1995, Plant Mol Biol 28: 605–617 (this issue), we suggest that osmotic potential might be a major factor in regulating the expression of kin1 and cor6.6 during several developmental processes. The implication of the results for possible function of the gene products is discussed.     

Effect of mutations in Shigella flexneri chromosomal and plasmid-encoded lipopolysaccharide genes on invasion and serum resistance

This study shows that both length and distribution of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are important for Shigella flexneri invasion and virulence. Mutants were generated in the chromosomal LPS synthesis genes rfa , rfb , and rol , and in a plasmid-encoded O-antigen chain-length regulator, cld _pHS-2. LPS analysis showed that mutations in rfb genes and in a candidate rfaL gene either eliminated the entire O-antigen side chains or produced chains of greatly reduced length. Mutation in a previously unidentified gene, rfaX , affected the LPS core region and resulted in reduced amounts of O-antigen. Mutants defective in cld _pHS-2 or rol had different distributions of O-antigen chain lengths. The results of tissue-culture cell invasion and plaque assays, the Serény test, and serum-sensitivity assay suggested roles for the different LPS synthesis genes in bacterial survival and virulence; rfaL, rfaX and rfb loci are required for serum resistance and intercellular spread, but not for invasion; cld _pHS-2 is required for resistance to serum killing and for full inflammation in the Serény test, but not for invasion or intercellular spread, while rol is required for normal invasiveness and plaque formation, but not for serum resistance. Thus, O-antigen synthesis and chain-length regulation genes encoded on both the chromosome and the small plasmid pHS-2 play important roles in S. flexneri invasion and virulence.