Substrate specificity,plasma membrane localization,and lipid modification of the aldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH3B1

The accumulation of reactive aldehydes is implicated in the development of several disorders. Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) detoxify aldehydes by oxidizing them to the corresponding carboxylic acids. Among the 19 human ALDHs, ALDH3A2 is the only known ALDH that catalyzes the oxidation of long-chain fatty aldehydes including C16 aldehydes (hexadecanal and trans-2-hexadecenal) generated through sphingolipid metabolism. In the present study, we have identified that ALDH3B1 is also active in vitro toward C16 aldehydes and demonstrated that overexpression of ALDH3B1 restores the sphingolipid metabolism in the ALDH3A2-deficient cells. In addition, we have determined that ALDH3B1 is localized in the plasma membrane through its C-terminal dual lipidation (palmitoylation and prenylation) and shown that the prenylation is required particularly for the activity toward hexadecanal. Since knockdown of ALDH3B1 does not cause further impairment of the sphingolipid metabolism in the ALDH3A2-deficient cells, the likely physiological function of ALDH3B1 is to oxidize lipid-derived aldehydes generated in the plasma membrane and not to be involved in the sphingolipid metabolism in the endoplasmic reticulum.     

门诊高血压患者健康教育加个体化治疗的效果观察

摘要目的：探讨门诊高血压患者健康教育加个体化治疗的效果。方法：选取在本院门诊收治原发性高血压的患者258例,随机均分为观察组和对照组,每组129例。观察组使用健康教育和个体化治疗,而对照组使用常规治疗。记录并比较两组治疗前后对高血压病掌握情况,血压下降率,服药依从性,治疗后达标、并发症情况。结果：治疗前,观察组对高血压病掌握情况与对照组差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）;治疗后,观察组对高血压诊断（91．5％）、高血压病因（98．4％）、高血压症状（100．0％）、高血压并发症（92．2％）掌握情况明显比对照组要好,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）;观察组服药依从性明显好于对照组,差异具有统计学意义（P〈0．05）;观察组的血压下降率为81．4％,明显高于对照组49．6％,差异具有统计学意义（P〈0．05）;观察组的达标率高达74．4％,明显高于对照组的34．9％,差异具有统计学意义（P〈0．01）;观察组未达标率和并发症发生率分别为25．6％和9-3％,明显低于对照组的65．1％和20．9％,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．01）。结论：对不同高血压患者采用健康教育加个体化的治疗方法,对提高高血压的控制率和降低相应并发症的发生率有非常好的临床效果,值得临床进一步推广和应用。     

A Decreased Level of Serum Soluble Klotho Is an Independent Biomarker Associated with Arterial Stiffness in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background

Klotho was originally identified in a mutant mouse strain unable to express the gene that consequently showed shortened life spans. In humans, low serum Klotho levels are related to the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in community-dwelling adults. However, it is unclear whether the serum Klotho levels are associated with signs of vascular dysfunction such as arterial stiffness, a major determinant of prognosis, in human subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods

We determined the levels of serum soluble Klotho in 114 patients with CKD using ELISA and investigated the relationship between the level of Klotho and markers of CKD-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) and various types of vascular dysfunction, including flow-mediated dilatation, a marker of endothelial dysfunction, ankle-brachial pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, intima-media thickness (IMT), a marker of atherosclerosis, and the aortic calcification index (ACI), a marker of vascular calcification.

Results

The serum Klotho level significantly correlated with the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D level and inversely correlated with the parathyroid hormone level and the fractional excretion of phosphate. There were significant decreases in serum Klotho in patients with arterial stiffness defined as baPWV≥1400 cm/sec, atherosclerosis defined as maximum IMT≥1.1 mm and vascular calcification scores of ACI>0%. The serum Klotho level was a significant determinant of arterial stiffness, but not endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis or vascular calcification, in the multivariate analysis in either metabolic model, the CKD model or the CKD-MBD model. The adjusted odds ratio of serum Klotho for the baPWV was 0.60 (p = 0.0075).

Conclusions

Decreases in the serum soluble Klotho levels are independently associated with signs of vascular dysfunction such as arterial stiffness in patients with CKD. Further research exploring whether therapeutic approaches to maintain or elevate the Klotho level could improve arterial stiffness in CKD patients is warranted.     

Metabarcoding技术在植物鉴定和多样性研究中的应用

目前植物学研究已进入后植物志时代,iFlora的实现需要以传统植物分类学及相关研究为基础,整合基于高通量测序的DNA条形码（DNAbareoding）技术并开发便携式快速鉴定仪器及构建信息平台。传统植物鉴定多基于形态学分类,而近年来快速发展的DNA条形码快速鉴定技术被各界分类学家认可,在植物鉴定中也被广泛应用。但DNA条形码技术仍存在一些问题亟待解决,如种的鉴定需要多个条形码的解析、Sanger测序平台无法处理混合样品。本文介绍了传统植物分类技术和DNA条形码技术在植物研究中的应用和遇到的瓶颈;并重点介绍了基于高通量测序的metabarcoding技术在植物鉴定及多样性研究中的应用及前景,及其与iFlora的关系。     

Cloning,characterization and expression of \emph{OsFMO}_{{\mathbf{(}\emph{t}\mathbf{)}}} in rice encoding a flavin monooxygenase

Flavin monooxygenases (FMO) play a key role in tryptophan (Trp)-dependent indole-acetic acid (IAA) biosynthesis in plants and regulate plant growth and development. In this study, the full-length genomic DNA and cDNA of OsFMO _(t), a FMO gene that was originally identified from a rolled-leaf mutant in rice, was isolated and cloned from wild type of the rolled-leaf mutant. OsFMO _(t) was found to have four exons and three introns, and encode a protein with 422 amino acid residues that contains two basic conserved motifs, with a ‘G×G××G’ characteristic structure. OsFMO_(t) showed high amino acid sequence identity with FMO proteins from other plants, in particular with YUCCA from Arabidopsis, FLOOZY from Petunia, and OsYUCCA1 from rice. Our phylogenetic analysis showed that OsFMO_(t) and the homologous FMO proteins belong to the same clade in the evolutionary tree. Overexpression of OsFMO _(t) in transformed rice calli produced IAA-excessive phenotypes that showed browning and lethal effects when exogenous auxins such as naphthylacetic acid (NAA) were added to the medium. These results suggested that the OsFMO_(t) protein is involved in IAA biosynthesis in rice and its overexpression could lead to the malformation of calli. Spatio-temporal expression analysis using RT-PCR and histochemical analysis for GUS activity revealed that expression of OsFMO _(t) was totally absent in the rolled-leaf mutant. However, in the wild type variety, this gene was expressed at different levels temporally and spatially, with the highest expression observed in tissues with fast growth and cell division such as shoot apexes, tender leaves and root tips. Our results demonstrated that IAA biosynthesis regulated by OsFMO _(t) is likely localized and might play an essential role in shaping local IAA concentrations which, in turn, is critical for regulating normal growth and development in rice.     

Function of a Glutamine Synthetase-Like Protein in Bacterial Aniline Oxidation via γ-Glutamylanilide

Acinetobacter sp. strain YAA has five genes (atdA1 to atdA5) involved in aniline oxidation as a part of the aniline degradation gene cluster. From sequence analysis, the five genes were expected to encode a glutamine synthetase (GS)-like protein (AtdA1), a glutamine amidotransferase-like protein (AtdA2), and an aromatic compound dioxygenase (AtdA3, AtdA4, and AtdA5) (M. Takeo, T. Fujii, and Y. Maeda, J. Ferment. Bioeng. 85:17-24, 1998). A recombinant Pseudomonas strain harboring these five genes quantitatively converted aniline into catechol, demonstrating that catechol is the major oxidation product from aniline. To elucidate the function of the GS-like protein AtdA1 in aniline oxidation, we purified it from recombinant Escherichia coli harboring atdA1. The purified AtdA1 protein produced gamma-glutamylanilide (γ-GA) quantitatively from aniline and l-glutamate in the presence of ATP and MgCl₂. This reaction was identical to glutamine synthesis by GS, except for the use of aniline instead of ammonia as the substrate. Recombinant Pseudomonas strains harboring the dioxygenase genes (atdA3 to atdA5) were unable to degrade aniline but converted γ-GA into catechol, indicating that γ-GA is an intermediate to catechol and a direct substrate for the dioxygenase. Unexpectedly, a recombinant Pseudomonas strain harboring only atdA2 hydrolyzed γ-GA into aniline, reversing the γ-GA formation by AtdA1. Deletion of atdA2 from atdA1 to atdA5 caused γ-GA accumulation from aniline in recombinant Pseudomonas cells and inhibited the growth of a recombinant Acinetobacter strain on aniline, suggesting that AtdA2 prevents γ-GA accumulation that is harmful to the host cell.     

Chronic exposure to an extremely low‐frequency magnetic field induces depression‐like behavior and corticosterone secretion without enhancement of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis in mice

An extremely low‐frequency magnetic field (ELF‐MF) is generated by power lines and household electrical devices. Many studies have suggested an association between chronic ELF‐MF exposure and anxiety and/or depression. The mechanism of these effects is assumed to be a stress response induced by ELF‐MF exposure. However, this mechanism remains controversial. In the present study, we investigated whether chronic ELF‐MF exposure (intensity, 3 mT; total exposure, 200 h) affected emotional behavior and corticosterone synthesis in mice. ELF‐MF‐treated mice showed a significant increase in total immobility time in a forced swim test and showed latency to enter the light box in a light–dark transition test, compared with sham‐treated (control) mice. Corticosterone secretion was significantly high in the ELF‐MF‐exposed mice; however, no changes were observed in the amount of the adrenocorticotropic hormone and the expression of genes related to stress response. Quantification of the mRNA levels of adrenal corticosteroid synthesis enzymes revealed a significant reduction in Cyp17a1 mRNA in the ELF‐MF‐exposed mice. Our findings suggest the possibility that high intensity and chronic exposure to ELF‐MF induces an increase in corticosterone secretion, along with depression‐ and/or anxiety‐like behavior, without enhancement of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Bioelectromagnetics 34:43–51, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.