能源植物资源的研究和开发

植物能源是一种清洁的、方便的可替代能源,发展植物能源是解决矿石能源危机的可行的措施,生物汽油和生物柴油产业已得到初步发展和应用。按照能源植物所含特定化学物质的对能源植物进行类别划分,并结合我国的实际,提出我国适宜发展的能源植物品种。     

生物柴油植物黑皂树开发利用研究

能源短缺和环境污染是当前人类社会所面临的巨大挑战,生物柴油的推广和应用是现阶段解决替代燃油的重要途径之一。黑皂树种子油是很好的生物柴油原料,目前在许多热带地区大力种植黑皂树。我国华南、西南地区的一些干旱荒地可以种植黑皂树。我们对黑皂树油在柴油机上的应用研究证明:黑皂树油在气温35℃条件下,可以直接在各种柴油机上起动和应用;黑皂树油中掺入20%的轻柴油,其黏度大大降低,冷机起动性能和热效率等均与轻柴油相当。因此,黑皂树油的应用比目前国外使用的生物柴油更经济,是一种很有发展前途的能源植物。     

月见草油用于化妆品的研究与开发

介绍月见草的利用简况,月见草油对皮肤的活性研制营养霜过程及系列产品等。     

三七总皂甙对博莱霉素所致小鼠肺纤维化的干预作用

目的:观察三七总皂甙(PNS)对实验性小鼠肺纤维化的干预作用。方法:小鼠随机分为正常对照组、模型对照组、醋酸泼尼松组和PNS大、中、小剂量组。通过气管内注入博莱霉素(BLM)复制小鼠肺纤维化模型,于造模后第2天各治疗组开始给药,于给药后第7、14、28 d处死部分小鼠,取肺组织,行HE染色,并测定肺组织中羟脯氨酸(HYP)含量。结果PNS能减少实验性肺纤维化小鼠肺组织中胶原沉积及降低肺系数(P<0.05,P<0.01),减轻肺部的病理损害(P<0.05,P<0.01)。结论:PNS对BLM诱导产生的小鼠肺纤维化有一定的抑制作用。     

Zinc tetraaminophthalocyanine-Fe3O4 nanoparticle composite for laccase immobilization

Zinc tetraaminophthalocyanine-Fe3O4 nanoparticle composites were prepared by organic-inorganic complex technology and characterized. It has been proved that the ZnTAPc dispersed randomly onto the surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles to form molecular dispersion layer and there was a relatively strong bond between central zinc cation and oxygen. The nanoparticle composite took the shape of roundish spheres with the mean diameter of about 15 nm. Active amino groups of magnetic carriers could be used to bind laccase via glutaraldehyde. The optimal pH for the activity of the immobilized laccases and free laccase were the same at pH 3.0 and the optimal temperature for laccase immobilization on ZnTAPc-Fe3O4 nanoparticle composite was 45 degrees. The immobilization yields and K(m) value of the laccase immobilized on ZnTAPc-Fe3O4 nanoparticle composite were 25% and 20.1 microM, respectively. This kind of immobilized laccase has good thermal, storage and operation stability, and could be used as the sensing biocomponent for the fiber optic biosensor based on enzyme catalysis.     

Functional expression and purification of bovine enterokinase light chain in recombinant Escherichia coli

Enterokinase (EC 3.4.21.9) is a serine proteinase of the intestinal brush border that exhibits specificity for the sequence (Asp)(4)-Lys and converts trypsinogen into its active form, trypsin. A codon optimized sequence coding light chain (catalytic subunit) of bovine enterokinase gene (sBEKLC) was synthesized, and it was fused with DsbA to construct the expression vector (pET39-sBEKLC). Then, the plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) for expression. Under optimal conditions, the volumetric productivity of fusion protein reached 151.2 mg L(-1), i.e., 80.6 mg sBEKLC L(-1). The cold osmotic shock technique was successfully used to extract sBEKLC from periplasmic space, and nickel affinity chromatography was employed to obtain mature sBEKLC. Finally, about 6.8 mg of bioactive sBEKLC was purified from 1 liter fermentation broth and could be used to cleave one tested fusion protein with an inter-domain enteropeptidase recognition site. This work will be helpful for large-scale production of this increasingly demanded enterokinase.     

NF-kappaB in breast cancer cells promotes osteolytic bone metastasis by inducing osteoclastogenesis via GM-CSF

Advanced breast cancers frequently metastasize to bone, resulting in osteolytic lesions, yet the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we report that nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) plays a crucial role in the osteolytic bone metastasis of breast cancer by stimulating osteoclastogenesis. Using an in vivo bone metastasis model, we found that constitutive NF-kappaB activity in breast cancer cells is crucial for the bone resorption characteristic of osteolytic bone metastasis. We identified the gene encoding granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) as a key target of NF-kappaB and found that it mediates osteolytic bone metastasis of breast cancer by stimulating osteoclast development. Moreover, we observed that the expression of GM-CSF correlated with NF-kappaB activation in bone-metastatic tumor tissues from individuals with breast cancer. These results uncover a new and specific role of NF-kappaB in osteolytic bone metastasis through GM-CSF induction, suggesting that NF-kappaB is a potential target for the treatment of breast cancer and the prevention of skeletal metastasis.