13C MAS NMR studies of crystalline cholesterol and lipid mixtures modeling atherosclerotic plaques.

Cholesterol and cholesteryl esters are the predominant lipids of atherosclerotic plaques. To provide fundamental data for the quantitative study of plaque lipids in situ, crystalline cholesterol (CHOL) and CHOL/cholesteryl ester (CE) mixtures with other lipids were studied by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance with magic-angle-sample spinning. Highly distinctive spectra for three different crystalline structures of CHOL were obtained. When CHOL crystals were mixed with isotropic CE oil, solubilized CHOL (approximately 13 mol % CHOL) was detected by characteristic resonances such as C5, C6, and C3; the excess crystalline CHOL (either anhydrous or monohydrate) remained in its original crystalline structure, without being affected by the coexisting CE. By use of 13C-enriched CHOL, the solubility of CHOL in the CE liquid-crystalline phase (approximately 8 mol %) was measured. When phosphatidylcholine was hydrated in presence of CHOL and CE, magic-angle-sampling nuclear magnetic resonance revealed liquid-crystalline CHOL/phosphatidylcholine multilayers with approximately an equal molar ratio of CHOL/phosphatidylcholine. Excess CHOL existed in the monohydrate crystalline form, and CE in separate oil or crystalline phases, depending on the temperature. The magic-angle-sampling nuclear magnetic resonance protocol for identifying different lipid phases was applied to intact (ex vivo) atherosclerotic plaques of cholesterol-fed rabbits. Liquid, liquid-crystalline, and solid phases of CE were characterized.     

A protocol for the efficient screening of putatively transformed plants forbar,the selectable marker gene,using the polymerase chain reaction

Amplification of thebar gene usingTaq DNA polymerase in PCR is often not successful, possibly due tobar's high GC content. We describe a PCR protocol in which reliable amplification at a sensitivity of one gene copy per genome (in this study, barley) present in the reaction was achieved using a novel pair of primers and Expand^tm High Fidelity DNA polymerase mix (Boehringer Mannheim). This method should allow for rapid screening of plants putatively transformed withbar.     

羊草草地枯枝落叶中N,P,K变化动态

羊草草地枯枝落叶中Ｎ、Ｐ、Ｋ变化动态郭继勋,祝廷成（东北师范大学国家草地生态工程实验室,长春１３００２４）ＤｙｎａｍｉｃｓｏｆＮ,ＰａｎｄＫｉｎｌｉｔｔｅｒｓｏｎＡｎｅｕｒｏｌｏｐｉｄｉｕｍｃｈｉｎｅｎｓｅｇｒａｓｓｌａｎｄ．￥ＧｕｏＪｉｘｕｎａｎｄ...     

中药凌霄花的研究进展

本文对中药凌霄花的研究进展进行了综述,包括生药学研究、化学成分研究、药理学研究及临床应用。     

应用PCR技术检测细小病毒H－1DNA在人肝癌与裸鼠正常组织中复制的差异

应用ＰＣＲ技术检测细小病毒Ｈ－１ＤＮＡ在人肝癌与裸鼠正常组织中复制的差异黄青山,马承武,郭兰萍,陈献华,罗祖玉（上海复旦大学生理与生物物理学系,上海２００４３３）关键词：自主性细小病毒Ｈ－１及ＭＶＭ,聚合酶链式反应（ＰＣＲ）,人肝癌模型,抑瘤作用,肿...     

Construction of a novel bifunctional biogenic amine receptor by two point mutations of the H2-histamine receptor.

BACKGROUND: H2-histamine receptors mediate a wide range of physiological functions extending from stimulation of gastric acid secretion to induction of human promyelocyte differentiation. We have previously cloned the H2-histamine receptor gene and noted that only three amino acids on the receptor were sufficient to define its specificity and selectivity. Despite only modest overall amino acid homology (34% amino acid identity and 57.5% similarity) between the H2-histamine receptor and the receptor for another monoamine, the beta 2-adrenergic receptor, there is remarkable similarity at their critical ligand binding sites. We hypothesized that, if the specificity and selectivity of both receptors are invested in just three amino acids, it should be possible to convert one of the receptors into one that recognizes the ligand of the other by simple mutations at only one or two sites. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We explored the effect of two single mutations in the fifth transmembrane domain of the H2-histamine receptor, which encompasses the sites that determine H2 selectivity. The canine H2 receptor gene was mutated at Asp186 and Gly187 (Asp186 to Ala186 and Gly187 to Ser187) by oligonuceotide directed mutagenesis. The coding region of both the wild-type and mutated H2 receptors was subcloned into the eukaryotic expression vector, CMVneo, and stably transfected into Hepa cells and L cells. The biological activity of histamine and epinephrine on the expressed receptor was examined by measurement of cellular cAMP production and inositol trisphosphate formation. RESULTS: Hepa cells transfected with the Ala186-Ser187 mutant H2 receptor demonstrated a biphasic rise in cAMP in response to epinephrine with an early phase (ED50 approximately 10(-11) M) that could be inhibited by both propranolol and cimetidine. Epinephrine also induced IP3 generation in the same cells, a biological response that is characteristic of activation of the wild-type H2 but not of the beta-adrenergic receptor. L cells transfected with the Ala186-Ser187 mutant H2 receptor also responded to epinephrine in a cimetidine and propranolol inhibitable manner. CONCLUSIONS: We converted the H2-histamine receptor into a bifunctional one that has characteristics of both histamine and adrenergic receptors by two simple mutations. These results support the hypothesis that ligand specificity is determined by only a few key points on a receptor regardless of the structure of the remainder of the molecule. Our studies have important implications on the design of pharmacological agents targeted for action at physiological receptors.     

Computation of identity-by-descent proportions shared by two siblings.

I provide a novel approach to computing the mean and variance of the proportion of genetic material shared identical by descent (IBD) by sibling pairs in a specified chromosomal region, conditional on observed marker data. I first show that each chromosome in an offspring can be represented by a two-state Markov chain, with the time parameter being the map distance along the chromosome. On this basis, I show that IBD proportion can be written as a stochastic integral and that the computation of its mean and variance can be reduced to evaluation of an integral of some elementary functions. In addition, I show how Goldgar's model can be extended to include dominance effects. Several examples are provided to illustrate the calculation.