Genome‐wide DNA methylation signatures of infection status in Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

Epigenetic modification, especially DNA methylation, can play an important role in mediating gene regulatory response to environmental stressors and may be a key process affecting phenotypic plasticity and adaptation. Parasites are potent stressors with profound physiological and ecological effects on their hosts, yet it remains unclear how parasites influence host methylation patterns. Here, we used a well‐studied host–parasite system, the guppy Poecilia reticulata and its ectoparasitic monogenean Gyrodactylus turnbulli to gain mechanistic insight into the dynamics of DNA methylation in host–parasite interactions. To explore this, we quantitatively measured genome‐wide DNA methylation in guppy skin tissue using reduced representation bisulphite sequencing and characterized differential methylation patterns in guppies during distinct phases of infection. We identified 365, 313, and 741 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between infected and control fish in early infection, peak infection and recovery phases, respectively. The magnitude of the methylation difference was moderate in DMRs, with an average of 29% (early infection), 27% (peak infection) and 30% (recovery) differential methylation per DMR. Approximately 50% of DMRs overlapped with CpG islands, and over half of the DMRs overlapped with gene bodies, several of which encode proteins relevant to immune response. These findings provide the first evidence of an epigenetic signature of infection by ectoparasites and demonstrate the changing relationship between epigenetic variation and immune response in distinct phases of infection.     

雷公藤AP2/ERF转录因子基因的克隆与分析

该研究以雷公藤发状根为材料,根据雷公藤根转录组数据设计引物,采用RT-PCR方法克隆得到2个雷公藤AP2/ERF转录因子,分别命名为TwAP2/ERF1基因(GenBank登录号:GAVZ01042389.1)和TwAP2/ERF2基因(GenBank登录号:GAVZ01016765.1)。TwAP2/ERF1基因含有一个525bp开放阅读框(ORF),编码186个氨基酸;TwAP2/ERF2基因的ORF为789bp,编码262个氨基酸;2个基因编码的蛋白质均为亲水性蛋白质。系统进化分析表明,TwAP2/ERF1与油桐(Vernicia fordii)AP2/ERF(APQ47444.1)和木油桐(Vernicia montana)AP2/ERF(APQ47365.1)相似性较高,TwAP2/ERF2与毛果杨(Populus trichocarpa)AP2/ERF(XP_002304640.1)和樱桃(Prunus pseudocerasus)AP2/ERF(ALD84477.1)相似性较高。雷公藤发状根经MeJA诱导后,TwAP2/ERF1基因的相对表达量明显提高,并于处理后9h达到最高值,为对照表达量的16.77倍;而MeJA处理对TwAP2/ERF2基因的表达表现出抑制作用,但于处理后48h相对表达量有所提高。研究表明,雷公藤TwAP2/ERF1转录因子响应MeJA早期诱导正调控,推测其可能参与调控雷公藤植物次生代谢产物的生物合成,该研究结果为阐明雷公藤次生代谢物质的生物合成调控与利用现代生物技术提高雷公藤植物细胞中次生代谢物质的含量奠定了基础。     

MicroRNAs Are Involved in the Regulation of Ovary Development in the Pathogenic Blood Fluke Schistosoma japonicum

Schistosomes, blood flukes, are an important global public health concern. Paired adult female schistosomes produce large numbers of eggs that are primarily responsible for the disease pathology and critical for dissemination. Consequently, understanding schistosome sexual maturation and egg production may open novel perspectives for intervening with these processes to prevent clinical symptoms and to interrupt the life-cycle of these blood-flukes. microRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of many biological processes including development, cell proliferation, metabolism, and signal transduction. Here, we report on the identification of Schistosoma japonicum miRNAs using small RNA deep sequencing in the key stages of male-female pairing, gametogenesis, and egg production. We identified 38 miRNAs, including 10 previously unknown miRNAs. Eighteen of the miRNAs were differentially expressed between male and female schistosomes and during different stages of sexual maturation. We identified 30 potential target genes for 16 of the S. japonicum miRNAs using antibody-based pull-down assays and bioinformatic analyses. We further validated some of these target genes using either in vitro luciferase assays or in vivo miRNA suppression experiments. Notably, suppression of the female enriched miRNAs bantam and miR-31 led to morphological alteration of ovaries in female schistosomes. These findings uncover key roles for specific miRNAs in schistosome sexual maturation and egg production.     

Gadd45a is a heterochromatin relaxer that enhances iPS cell generation

Reprogramming of somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells rewrites the code of cell fate at the chromatin level. Yet, little is known about this process physically. Here, we describe a fluorescence recovery after photobleaching method to assess the dynamics of heterochromatin/euchromatin and show significant heterochromatin loosening at the initial stage of reprogramming. We identify growth arrest and DNA damage‐inducible protein a (Gadd45a) as a chromatin relaxer in mouse embryonic fibroblasts, which also enhances somatic cell reprogramming efficiency. We show that residue glycine 39 (G39) in Gadd45a is essential for interacting with core histones, opening chromatin and enhancing reprogramming. We further demonstrate that Gadd45a destabilizes histone–DNA interactions and facilitates the binding of Yamanaka factors to their targets for activation. Our study provides a method to screen factors that impact on chromatin structure in live cells, and identifies Gadd45a as a chromatin relaxer.     

Blocking the NOTCH pathway can inhibit the growth of CD133-positive A549 cells and sensitize to chemotherapy

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are believed to play an important role in tumor growth and recurrence. These cells exhibit self-renewal and proliferation properties. CSCs also exhibit significant drug resistance compared with normal tumor cells. Finding new treatments that target CSCs could significantly enhance the effect of chemotherapy and improve patient survival. Notch signaling is known to regulate the development of the lungs by controlling the cell-fate determination of normal stem cells. In this study, we isolated CSCs from the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549. CD133 was used as a stem cell marker for fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). We compared the expression of Notch signaling in both CD133+ and CD133− cells and blocked Notch signaling using the γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT (GSI-IX). The effect of combining GSI and cisplatin (CDDP) was also examined in these two types of cells. We observed that both CD133+ and CD133− cells proliferated at similar rates, but the cells exhibited distinctive differences in cell cycle progression. Few CD133+ cells were observed in the G₂/M phase, and there were half as many cells in S phase compared with the CD133− cells. Furthermore, CD133+ cells exhibited significant resistance to chemotherapy when treated with CDDP. The expression of Notch signaling pathway members, such as Notch1, Notch2 and Hes1, was lower in CD133+ cells. GSI slightly inhibited the proliferation of both cell types and exhibited little effect on the cell cycle. The inhibitory effects of DPP on these two types of cells were enhanced when combined with GSI. Interestingly, this effect was especially significant in CD133+ cells, suggesting that Notch pathway blockade may be a useful CSC-targeted therapy in lung cancer.     

Semisynthesis and Antifungal Activity of Novel Oxime Ester Derivatives of Carabrone Modified at C(4) against Botrytis cinerea

To continuously improve the potential utility of the natural lead compound of carabrone in agrochemistry, carabrone oxime and 36 novel oxime ester derivatives of carabrone modified at C(4) were synthesized, and evaluated for their antifungal activities against Botrytis cinerea in vitro and in vivo. Of these 36 oxime ester derivatives, some compounds exhibited antifungal activities in vitro or in vivo. It was found that compounds with a pyridinyl residue can either efficiently inhibit spore germination or efficiently inhibit hyphal growth of B. cinerea, and compound 9 exhibited the highest activity in vitro and in vivo with IC₅₀ and EC₅₀ values of 1.17 and 12.9 μg/ml, respectively. Further, the structure? activity relationships are also discussed.     

Accelerative effect of leflunomide on recovery from hepatic fibrosis involves TRAIL-mediated hepatic stellate cell apoptosis

AimsHepatic fibrosis is reversible, associated with apoptosis of activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) as injury subsides, thus providing potential targets for therapy. Little is known, however, about the course of this condition. The objective of this study was to elucidate the mechanism by which Kupffer cells regulate HSC biology during regression of hepatic fibrosis and the effect of leflunomide on this process.Main methodsWe harvested Kupffer cells from rats during spontaneous recovery from liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) and prepared recovery Kupffer cell conditioned medium (KCCM). Culture-activated HSCs were pretreated in the absence or presence of A771726, the active metabolite of leflunomide, and then stimulated with recovery KCCM.Key findingsFollowing stimulation with recovery KCCM, HSCs showed a decrease in proliferation and an increase in apoptosis by a caspase-dependent mechanism. Furthermore, pretreatment with A771726 markedly enhanced these effects. Real-time quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) analysis showed increased expression of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in Kupffer cells during the spontaneous recovery phase. The pro-apoptotic function of KCCM prepared from TRAIL siRNA-treated Kupffer cells was obviously decreased, suggesting that TRAIL played an important role in recovery from hepatic fibrosis. Moreover, A771726 enhanced recovery KCCM-induced apoptosis of HSCs by a mechanism involving the inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation.SignificanceOur results showed the role of TRAIL in the apoptosis of activated HSCs that is induced by Kupffer cells prepared from livers recovering from CCI₄-induced fibrosis and provided insights into the resolution of fibrosis and the mechanisms by which leflunomide might act upon liver fibrosis.     

Genome-wide estimation of firing efficiencies of origins of DNA replication from time-course copy number variation data

Background  

DNA replication is a fundamental biological process during S phase of cell division. It is initiated from several hundreds of origins along whole chromosome with different firing efficiencies (or frequency of usage). Direct measurement of origin firing efficiency by techniques such as DNA combing are time-consuming and lack the ability to measure all origins. Recent genome-wide study of DNA replication approximated origin firing efficiency by indirectly measuring other quantities related to replication. However, these approximation methods do not reflect properties of origin firing and may lead to inappropriate estimations.