Verification and tissue-specific expression of nifU-like gene from the amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri

A nifU-like gene exhibiting similarity to nifU of nitrogen fixation gene cluster was identified for the first time from the gut cDNA library of amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri. Both RT-PCR and Northern blotting as well as in situ hybridization histochemistry verified that the cDNA represents an amphioxus nifU-like gene rather than a microbial contaminant. The nifU-like gene encodes a protein of 164 amino acid residues including a highly conserved U-type motif (C-X26-C-X43-C), and shares 66-86% identity to NifU-like proteins from a variety of species including vertebrates, invertebrates and microbes. It is expressed in a tissue-specific manner in the digestive system including epipharyngeal groove, endostyle, hepatic caecum and hind-gut and in the gill, ovary and testis. Taken together, it is highly likely that NifU-like protein plays some tissue-dependent and critical role in amphioxus.     

Deoxyribonuclease 1-like 3 Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression by Inducing Apoptosis and Reprogramming Glucose Metabolism

HCC has remained one of the challenging cancers to treat, owing to the paucity of drugs targeting the critical survival pathways. Considering the cancer cells are deficient in DNase activity, the increase of an autonomous apoptisis endonuclease should be a reasonable choice for cancer treatment. In this study, we investigated whether DNASE1L3, an endonuclease implicated in apoptosis, could inhibit the progress of HCC. We found DNASE1L3 was down-regulated in HCC tissues, whereas its high expression was positively associated with the favorable prognosis of patients with HCC. Besides, serum DNASE1L3 levels were lower in HCC patients than in healthy individuals. Functionally, we found that DNASE1L3 inhibited the proliferation of tumor cells by inducing G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis in vitro. Additionally, DNASE1L3 overexpression suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, we found that DNASE1L3 overexpression weakened glycolysis in HCC cells and tissues via inactivating the rate-limiting enzymes involved in PTPN2-HK2 and CEBPβ-p53-PFK1 pathways. Finally, we identified the HBx to inhibit DNASE1L3 expression by up-regulating the expression of ZNF384. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that DNASE1L3 could inhibit the HCC progression through inducing cell apoptosis and weakening glycolysis. We believe DNASE1L3 could be considered as a promising prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.     

Genomic DNA sequence for human C-reactive protein

The gene for the prototype acute phase reactant, C-reactive protein, has been isolated from two lambda phage libraries containing inserted human DNA fragments using synthetic oligonucleotide probes. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicates that after coding for a signal peptide of 18 amino acids and the first two amino acids of the mature protein, there is an intron of 278 base pairs followed by the nucleotide sequence for the remaining 204 amino acids. The intron is unusual in that it contains on the positive strand a poly(A) stretch 16 nucleotides long and a poly(GT) region 30 nucleotides long which could adopt the Z-form of DNA. The nucleotide sequence reported here confirms the amino acid sequence of mature C-reactive protein as originally reported except that it codes for an additional 19 amino acids beginning at position 62. Thus DNA sequence analysis predicts that the mature protein consists of 206 amino acids rather than 187 as originally reported. The mRNA cap site is located 104 nucleotides from the start of the signal peptide and there is a 3' noncoding region 1.2 kilobase pairs in length. The gene has a typical promoter containing the sequences TATAAAT and CAAT 29 and 81 base pairs upstream, respectively, of the cap site.     

颧颞部骨折术后并发颞部凹陷的临床回顾性研究

目的：分析不同颧颞部骨折性质与颞部凹陷的相关性,评价颧颞部骨折术后并发颞部凹陷的防治效果。方法：对105例颧颞部骨折病例进行回顾性分析,52例患者行颞部凹陷修复术,采用头皮冠状切口,应用钛网修复颞部凹陷,术后通过长期随访评价治疗效果。结果：陈旧性骨折颞部凹陷的发生率显著高于新鲜骨折,但治疗后颞部外形均有明显改善。结论：钛网植入能有效地修复颧颞部骨折术后并发的颞部凹陷,但应把握手术时机及治疗方法。     

An eukaryotic translation initiation factor,AteIF5A‐2, affects cadmium accumulation and sensitivity in Arabidopsis

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic elements and can be accumulated in plants easily; meanwhile, eIF5A is a highly conserved protein in all eukaryotic organisms. The present work tried to investigate whether eIF5A is involved in Cd accumulation and sensitivity in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana L.) by comparing the wild‐type Columbia‐0 (Col‐0) with a knockdown mutant of AteIF5A‐2, fbr12‐3 under Cd stress conditions. The results showed that the mutant fbr12‐3 accumulated more Cd in roots and shoots and had significantly lower chlorophyll content, shorter root length, and smaller biomass, suggesting that downregulation of AteIF5A‐2 makes the mutant more Cd sensitive. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction revealed that the expressions of metal transporters involved in Cd uptake and translocation including IRT1, ZIP1, AtNramp3, and AtHMA4 were significantly increased but the expressions of PCS1 and PCS2 related to Cd detoxification were decreased notably in fbr12‐3 compared with Col‐0. As a result, an increase in MDA and H₂O₂ content but decrease in root trolox, glutathione and proline content under Cd stress was observed, indicating that a severer oxidative stress occurs in the mutant. All these results demonstrated for the first time that AteIF5A influences Cd sensitivity by affecting Cd uptake, accumulation, and detoxification in Arabidopsis.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus addition differentially enhance seed production of dominant species in a temperate steppe

Previous studies have demonstrated changes in plant growth and reproduction in response to nutrient availability, but responses of plant growth and reproduction to multiple levels of nutrient enrichment remain unclear. In this study, a factorial field experiment was performed with manipulation of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability to examine seed production of the dominant species, Stipa krylovii, in response to N and P addition in a temperate steppe. There were three levels of N and P addition in this experiment, including no N addition (0 g N m⁻² year⁻¹), low N addition (10 g N m⁻² year⁻¹), and high N addition (40 g N m⁻² year⁻¹) for N addition treatment, and no P addition (0 g P m⁻² year⁻¹), low P addition (5 g P m⁻² year⁻¹), and high P addition (10 g P m⁻² year⁻¹) for P addition treatment. Low N addition enhanced seed production by 814%, 1371%, and 1321% under ambient, low, and high P addition levels, respectively. High N addition increased seed production by 2136%, 3560%, and 3550% under ambient, low, and high P addition levels, respectively. However, P addition did not affect seed production in the absence of N addition, but enhanced it under N addition. N addition enhanced seed production mainly by increasing the tiller number and inflorescence abundance per plant, whereas P addition stimulated it by decreasing the plant density yet stimulating height of plants and their seed number per inflorescence. Our results indicate seed production is not limited by P availability but rather by N availability in the temperate steppe, whereas seed production will be increased by P addition when N availability is improved. These findings enable a better understanding of plant reproduction dynamics in the temperate steppe under intensified nutrient enrichment and can inform their improved management in the future.     

Pax3/7BP is a Pax7- and Pax3-binding protein that regulates the proliferation of muscle precursor cells by an epigenetic mechanism

In mouse skeletal muscles, Pax7 uniquely marks muscle satellite cells and plays some important yet unknown functions at the perinatal stage. To elucidate its in vivo functions, we initiated a yeast two-hybrid screening to look for Pax7-interacting proteins and identified a previously uncharacterized Pax7- and Pax3-binding protein (Pax3/7BP). Pax3/7BP is a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein, enriched in Pax7+ muscle precursor cells (MPCs), and serves as an indispensable adaptor for Pax7 to recruit the histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methyltransferase (HMT) complex by bridging Pax7 and Wdr5. Knockdown of Pax3/7BP abolished the Pax3/7-associated H3K4 HMT activity and inhibited the proliferation of Pax7+ MPCs from young mice both in culture and in vivo. Id3 and Cdc20 were direct target genes of Pax7 and Pax3/7BP involved in the proliferation of Pax7+ MPCs. Collectively, our work establishes Pax3/7BP as an essential adaptor linking Pax3/7 with the H3K4 HMT to regulate the proliferation of MPCs.     

Identification of a stable quantitative trait locus for percentage grains with white chalkiness in rice (Oryza sativa)

High chalkiness is a major problem in many rice-producing areas of the world, especially in hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) in China. We previously showed a major quantitative trait locus for the percentage of grains with white chalkiness (QTLqPGWC-8) in the interval G1149-R727 on chromosome 8 using a chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL). Here, we selected the line-CSSL50 harboring the QTLqPGWC-8 allele from the CSSLs derived from a cross between Asominori (as a recurrent parent) and IR24 (as a donor parent), which had higher percentage chalkiness, markedly different from that of Asominori. There were also significant differences in starch granules, appearance of amylose content (AAC) and milling qualities between Asominori and CSSL50, but not in grain size or thousand grain weight (TGW). The BC(4) F(2) and BC(4) F(3) populations from a cross between CSSL50 and Asominori were used for fine mapping of qPGWC-8. We narrowed down the location of this QTL to a 142 kb region between Indel markers 8G-7 and 8G-9. QTLqPGWC-8 accounted for 50.9% of the difference in PGWC between the parents. The markers tightly linked to qPGWC-8 should facilitate cloning of the gene underlying this QTL and will be of value for marker-assisted selection in breeding rice varieties with better grain quality.     

Cigarette smoke extract alters genome‐wide profiles of circular RNAs and mRNAs in primary human small airway epithelial cells

As a novel kind of non‐coding RNA, circular RNAs (circRNAs) were involved in various biological processes. However, the role of circRNAs in the developmental process of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is still unclear. In the present study, by using a cell model of COPD in primary human small airway epithelial cells (HSAECs) treated with or without cigarette smoke extract (CSE), we uncovered 4,379 previously unknown circRNAs in human cells and 903 smoke‐specific circRNAs, with the help of RNA‐sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. Moreover, 3,872 up‐ and 4,425 down‐regulated mRNAs were also identified under CSE stimulation. Furthermore, a putative circRNA‐microRNA‐mRNA network was constructed for in‐depth mechanism exploration, which indicated that differentially expressed circRNAs could influence expression of some key genes that participate in response to pentose phosphate pathway, ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) transporters, glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis pathway and cancer‐related pathways. Our research indicated that cigarette smoke had an influence on the biogenesis of circRNAs and mRNAs. CircRNAs might be involved in the response to CSE in COPD through the circRNA‐mediated ceRNA networks.