催产素在脊髓水平对电针镇痛的影响

采用玻璃微电极胞外记录和脊髓表面给药的方法观察了催产素（ＯＴ）、抗催产素血清（ＡＯＴＳ）以及电针穴位对背角神经元伤害性诱发放电的影响。结果表明：电针穴位或脊髓表面施加ＯＴ可部分抑制脊髓背角神经元的伤害性诱发放电;在电针的基础上施加ＯＴ则明显加强电针的抑制效应;相反,用ＡＯＴＳ预处理后,电针的抑制作用放取消。提示ＯＴ在脊髓水平参与了对痛觉信息的调制,并与一定频率的针刺镇痛有关。     

Anatomy and lignin deposition of stone cell in Camellia oleifera shell during the young stage

Protoplasma - As the by-products of edible oil production with rich lignin, the reserves of Camellia oleifera shell were abundant and had a great economic value. Lignin was the most important...     

The subtype-specific molecular function of SPDEF in breast cancer and insights into prognostic significance

Breast cancer (BC) is a molecular diverse disease which becomes the most common malignancy among women worldwide. There are four BC subtypes (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched and Basal-like) robustly established following gene expression pattern-based characterization, behave significant differences in terms of their incidence, risk factors, prognosis and therapeutic sensitivity. Thus, there is an urgent need to provide mechanism research, treatment strategies and/or prognosis evaluation based on the patient stratification of BC subtypes. The prostate-derived ETS factor SPDEF was first identified as an activator of prostate specific antigen, and then, the involvements in many aspects of BC have been proposed. However, the subtype-specific molecular function of SPDEF in BC and insights into prognostic significance have not been clearly elucidated. This study demonstrated for the first time that SPDEF may play a diversity role in the expression levels, clinicopathologic importance, biological function and prognostic evaluation in BC via bioinformatics and experimental evidence, which mainly depends on different BC subtyping. In summary, our findings would help to better understand the possible mechanisms of various BC subtypes and to find possible candidate genes for prognostic and therapeutic usage.     

MBL-Mediated Opsonophagocytosis of Candida albicans by Human Neutrophils Is Coupled with Intracellular Dectin-1-Triggered ROS Production

Mannan-binding lectin (MBL), a lectin homologous to C1q, greatly facilitates C3/C4-mediated opsonophagocytosis of Candida albicans (C. albicans) by human neutrophils, and has the capacity to bind to CR1 (CD35) expressed on circulating neutrophils. The intracellular pool of neutrophil Dectin-1 plays a critical role in stimulating the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation through recognition of β-1,3-glucan component of phagocytized zymosan or yeasts. However, little is known about whether MBL can mediate the opsonophagocytosis of Candida albicans by neutrophils independent of complement activation, and whether MBL-mediated opsonophagocytosis influence the intracellular expression of Dectin-1 and ROS production. Here we showed that the inhibited phagocytic efficiency of neutrophils as a result of blockage of Dectin-1 was compensated by exogenous MBL alone in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the expressions of Dectin-1 at mRNA and intracellular protein levels were significantly up-regulated in neutrophils stimulated by MBL-pre-incubated C. albicans, while the expression of surface Dectin-1 remained almost unchanged. Nevertheless, the stimulated ROS production in neutrophils was partly and irreversibly inhibited by blockage of Dectin-1 in the presence of exogenous MBL. Confocal microscopy examination showed that intracellular Dectin-1 was recruited and co-distributed with ROS on the surface of some phagocytized yeasts. The β-1,3-glucanase digestion test further suggested that the specific recognition and binding site of human Dectin-1 is just the β-1,3-glucan moiety on the cell wall of C. albicans. These data demonstrate that MBL has an ability to mediate the opsonophagocytosis of Candida albicans by human neutrophils independent of complement activation, which is coupled with intracellular Dectin-1-triggered ROS production.     

Increase in the molecular weight and radius of gyration of apocalmodulin induced by binding of target peptide: evidence for complex formation

Small-angle X-ray scattering was used to investigate a complex state of apocalmodulin induced by the binding of a Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV calmodulin target site. Upon binding of the peptide, the molecular weight for apocalmodulin increased by 8.4%, which provides direct evidence for the formation of a calmodulin/target peptide complex. Comparison of the radius of gyration and Kratky plots of the apocalmodulin/peptide complex with those of apocalmodulin indicates that the overall conformation remains unchanged but the flexibility of the central linker decreases. An analysis of residue pairs between calmodulin and the target peptides suggests that the complex formation is induced by electrostatic interactions and subsequent van der Waals interactions.     

Induction of cardiac cytochrome p450 in cocaine-treated mice

Cytochrome P450 (P450) is a ubiquitous family of enzymes responsible for the metabolism of a wide variety of drugs and their metabolites, including cocaine. To investigate the effects of cocaine on myocardial injuries and cardiac P450 expression, BALB/c mice were injected daily intraperitoneally with cocaine (30 mg/kg) or cocaine plus pretreatment of P450 inhibitors for 14 days. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) content and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity in mice hearts and serums were significantly increased after long-term treatment with cocaine. Pretreatment with the P450 inhibitor, cimetidine (Cime, 50 mg/kg) or metyrapone (Mety, 40 mg/kg) abolished or significantly attenuated the effects of cocaine on TNF-alpha and CPK activity. Western blot analysis shows that mouse cardiac tissues express the P450 isoforms CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP2J2. The protein levels normalized with cyclophilin A were 1.20 plus minus 0.07, 0.67 plus minus 0.03, and 1.48 plus minus 0.01 for CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP 2J2, respectively. After cocaine administration, CYP2J2 increased by 43.6% and CYP1A1 increased by 108.5%, but CYP1A2 was not significantly altered. However, the cytochrome P450 inhibitors Cime and Mety suppressed the cocaine-induced increase in CYP1A1 and CYP2J2 expression. Moreover, application of Cime or Mety alone did not alter the level of cardiac TNF-alpha or the expression of P450. Our results demonstrate that long-term exposure to cocaine causes an increase in cardiac CYP1A1 and CYP2J2 concentration. We speculate that induction of P450 isoforms may cause cardiac injury due to cocaine metabolites locally catalyzed by P450 or the increase in P450 expression itself.     

Association between BMP15 Gene Polymorphism and Reproduction Traits and Its Tissues Expression Characteristics in Chicken

BMP15 (Bone morphogenetic protein 15) is an oocyte-secreted growth factor required for ovarian follicle development and ovulation in mammals, but its effects on reproduction in chickens are unclear. In this study, the association between BMP15 polymorphisms and reproduction traits were analyzed, and its expression characteristics in different tissues were explored in LaiWu Black chickens. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in four hundred LaiWu Black chickens. One SNP (NC_006091.3:g.1773T>C) located in exon 2 which was significantly associated with egg weight at first egg (EWFE) (P = 0.0389), was novel. Diplotypes based on the three SNPs were found to be significantly associated with egg weight at age of 43W (EW43) (P = 0.0058). The chickens with H3H3 diplotype had their first egg 0.57 days later than chickens with H5H5 diplotype and 1.21 days-3.96 days earlier than the other five diplotype chickens. The egg production at age of 43W (E43), egg production at age of 46W (E46) and egg production at age of 48W (E48) for chickens with H3H3 diplotype were the highest among all the chickens, and the E48 of chickens with H3H3 diplotype had 11.83 eggs higher than chickens with H1H5 diplotype. RT-qPCR results showed that the expression level of BMP15 gene in ovarian follicle was in the order of 4 mm>6 mm -8 mm> 15 mm -19 mm> 23 mm -29 mm > 33 mm -34 mm in diameter. The mRNA level in follicles of 4 mm and 6–8 mm in diameter were significantly higher than that in the other follicles (P<0.01). In the same week, the highest mRNA level was found in the ovary, and it was significantly different from that found in the liver and oviduct (P<0.01). Our results indicate that BMP15 plays a vital role in the development of ovary and follicles, especially in the development of primary follicles. H3H3 may be an potential advantageous molecular marker for improving reproduction traits in chickens.