Long Non-Coding RNA Expression Profile in the Kidneys of Male,Low Birth Weight Rats Exposed to Maternal Protein Restriction at Postnatal Day 1 and Day 10

Background

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are involved in a variety of biological functions and aberrantly expressed in many types of diseases, are required for postnatal development. In this study, we aimed to investigate the lncRNA profiles in low birth weight (LBW) rats with reduced nephron endowment induced by the restriction of maternal protein intake. LBW by reduced nephron endowment is a risk factor for hypertension and end-stage renal disease in adulthood.

Methods

Kidneys were obtained from LBW rats fed a low-protein diet throughout gestation and lactation as well as from normal control rats born from dams fed normal protein diets at postnatal day 1 (p1) and 10 (p10). The total number of glomeruli in the kidneys was counted at p10. LncRNA expression profiles were analyzed by sequencing and screening using the Agilent Rat lncRNA Array. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of these lncRNAs confirmed the identity of some genes.

Results

The total number of glomeruli per kidney at p10 was significantly lower in LBW rats than in controls. A total of 42 lncRNAs were identified to be significantly differentially expressed, with fold-changes ≥2.0, between the two groups. According to correlation analysis between the differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs involved in kidney development, we randomly selected a number of lncRNAs for comparison analysis between LBW and control kidneys at the two time-points, p1 and p10, using qRT-PCR. Three lncRNAs (TCONS_00014139, TCONS_00014138, and TCONS_00017119), which were significantly correlated with the mRNA expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase 4, were aberrantly expressed in LBW rats, compared with controls, at both p1 and p10.

Conclusions

LncRNAs are aberrantly expressed in the kidneys of LBW rats, compared with controls, during nephron development, which indicates that lncRNAs might be involved in impaired nephron endowment.     

麻竹miR172a靶基因DlAP2的克隆及其表达

为了解开花麻竹(Dendrocalamus latiflorus)的Dl AP2基因功能,采用RT-PCR和RACE技术克隆了mi R172a靶基因AP2同源序列c DNA全长,命名为Dl AP2。结果表明,Dl AP2基因c DNA全长为1729 bp,包含5′端非编码区81 bp、开放阅读框1464 bp、3′端非编码区160 bp和24个碱基的Poly A尾巴,在编码框靠近3′端130 bp处有1个高度匹配mi R172a的结合位点(CTGCAGCATCATCAGGATTCT)。Dl AP2编码487个氨基酸的蛋白,具有两个AP2结构域,属于AP2/ERF家族AP2亚家族的AP2组,与来自其它单子叶植物的AP2蛋白均有较高同源性。RLM-5′RACE分析表明,mi R172a主要在靶序列的第11~12个碱基之间剪切靶基因Dl AP2的mi RNA。q RT-PCR结果表明,麻竹花芽中Dl AP2基因的表达规律与mi R172a表达变化正好相反,证明mi R172a对Dl AP2基因的表达具有调控作用。     

血人参石油醚部位化学成分研究

为深入探究血人参中的活性物质成分，该文采用硅胶柱色谱、Sephadex LH-20柱色谱、半制备高效液相色谱以及重结晶等方法对血人参石油醚部位进行了系统分离纯化，并利用现代波谱技术对分离得到的单体化合物进行结构鉴定。结果表明：从血人参石油醚部位共分离得到22个单体化合物，分别鉴定为β-谷甾酮(1)、豆甾烷3,6-二酮(2)、6β-羟基-豆甾-4-烯-3-酮(3)、(22E)-5α,8α-epidioxyergosta-6, 22-dien-3β-ol(4)、美迪紫檀素(5)、sativan(6)、2′,4′-二羟基查尔酮(7)、6,7-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-1-naphthoic acid(8)、对羟基苯甲酸乙酯(9)、2,4-二羟基苯甲酸乙酯(10)、(9E,11E)-13-oxo-9,11-ocatadecadienoic acid(11)、(9E,11E)-13-oxo-9,11-octadecadienoic acid methyl ester(12)、9-oxo-10E,12E-octadecadienoic acid methyl ester(13)、9-...     

魏氏拟尾柱虫腹皮层纤毛器微管胞器的形态及形态发生

应用荧光紫杉醇直接荧光标记和抗α-微管蛋白抗体免疫荧光标记显示,魏氏拟尾柱虫(Paraurostyla weissei)腹面皮层纤毛器微管胞器由口围带、波动膜、额腹横棘毛和左右缘棘毛等纤毛器微管、纤毛器基部附属微管等组成。其中口围带基部微管包括小膜托架、小膜附属微管;额腹横棘毛和左右缘棘毛基部附属微管包括前纵微管束、后纵微管束和横微管束,它们由各自的纤毛器基部向皮层细胞质不同方向发射,形成腹皮层表面下微管网。结果表明,魏氏拟尾柱虫的纤毛器骨架、纤毛器附属结构也是一类以微管蛋白为基本成分的微管胞器,其中缘棘毛基部附属微管具有不同于其他纤毛虫(例如棘尾虫)中所观察到的同种微管胞器的建构特征。形态发生中,前仔虫口围带在老结构位置形成,其结构建成与部分老口围带的更新有关;老缘棘毛的结构物质对新的左、右缘棘毛的发生可能具有定位作用及物质贡献,但此后新的左、右缘棘毛列分别在老缘棘毛的右侧形成,而并非是在老缘棘毛位置分化的。在有些细胞中,新的左缘棘毛左侧另有一列棘毛,这可能是形态发生中老的左缘棘毛退化不完全产生的。     

岱衢洋大黄鱼染色体核型分析

为补充岱衢洋海域产大黄鱼(Pseudosciaena crocea)的细胞遗传学数据,采用植物血球凝集素(8~10μg/g)及秋水仙素(1~2μg/g)活体腹腔注射培养,头肾细胞制片、空气干燥法制作染色体标本,显微观察象山港网箱养殖的岱衢洋产大黄鱼的染色体核型,用Micromeasure3.3软件测量染色体相对长度与臂比。结果显示,岱衢洋大黄鱼二倍体染色体数目为48,核型公式为2n=24st+24t,NF=48,染色体相对长度最长为5.53,最短为2.60,未发现异型染色体和随体。本研究的岱衢洋产大黄鱼染色体核型与以往报道的大黄鱼核型存在差异。     

重症急性呼吸道感染患儿中人鼻病毒分型检测及流行病学分析

目的:调查重症急性呼吸道感染患儿中人鼻病毒(HRV)的感染情况,初步了解不同型别HRV流行病学和临床特点。方法:收集2008年5月至2010年3月北京儿童医院重症急性呼吸道感染住院患儿鼻咽抽吸物样本259份,采用巢式PCR法,先用鼻病毒5′UTR引物筛查样本中该病毒总的感染情况,再用针对VP4-VP2区域的引物对阳性样本进行分型检测;同时对阳性样本进行其他常见呼吸道病毒共感染检测与流行病学及临床特点分析。结果:259例样本中,5′UTR初筛HRV阳性89例(34.4%),与其他常见呼吸道病毒存在共感染54例(60.7%);可通过VP4-VP2分型测序确定39例HRV-A(48.1%)、4例HRV-B(4.9%)、38例HRV-C(46.9%);HRV-A感染率最高的季节分布是秋季;HRV-A和HRV-C型感染者在临床特点上无明显差别。结论:HRV是儿童重症急性呼吸道感染的重要病原之一,新发现的HRV-C基因型感染率与HRV-A相似,但HRV在儿童重症急性呼吸道感染中的病原学意义还须进一步确认。     

Indication of intracellular physiological pH changes by L-cysteine-coated CdTe quantum dots with an acute alteration in emission color

A novel quantum dots (QDs) based biosensor was developed to monitor physiological pH changes in both fixed and living cells by means of pH-dependent emission color of the QDs. In our system, the nominally single-sized colloidal solution samples of the L-cysteine-capped CdTe QDs with intrinsically broadened size distributions were prepared by employing aqueous synthesis technique. The quench of fluorescence intensities of the QDs with a 16 nm red shift of the emission maximum and a color change from green to yellow was observed with a slight pH decrease (from 7.0 to 6.8) in the system. This pH-dependent emission could be attributed to the efficient exciton energy transfer from smaller QDs to larger ones, which was controlled by electrostatic-tuned aggregation/disaggregation (low/high pH values) processes of the QDs. In addition to high stability, the emission shift of the QDs was reversible for at least one cycle under optimal conditions. Our pH biosensor may find potential application for monitoring the intracellular pH changes in both physiological and pathological conditions.     

General allometric equations and biomass allocation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus massoniana</Emphasis> trees on a regional scale in southern China

Applying allometric equations in combination with forest inventory data is an effective approach to use when qualifying forest biomass and carbon storage on a regional scale. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop general allometric tree component biomass equations and (2) investigate tree biomass allocation patterns for Pinus massoniana, a principal tree species native to southern China, by applying 197 samples across 20 site locations. The additive allometric equations utilized to compute stem, branch, needle, root, aboveground, and total tree biomass were developed by nonlinear seemingly unrelated regression. Results show that the relative proportion of stem biomass to tree biomass increased while the contribution of canopy biomass to tree biomass decreased as trees continued to grow through time. Total root biomass was a large biomass pool in itself, and its relative proportion to tree biomass exhibited a slight increase with tree growth. Although equations employing stem diameter at breast height (dbh) alone as a predictor could accurately predict stem, aboveground, root, and total tree biomass, they were poorly fitted to predict the canopy biomass component. The inclusion of the tree height (H) variable either slightly improved or did not in any way increase model fitness. Validation results demonstrate that these equations are suitable to estimate stem, aboveground, and total tree biomass across a broad range of P. massoniana stands on a regional scale.