Human umbilical cord-derived MSC culture: the replacement of animal sera with human cord blood plasma

Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) hold great potential for their therapeutic use in various clinical diseases. Many publications have reported on human blood-derived alternatives to animal serum for culturing mesenchymal stem cells, such as human serum, allogenic umbilical cord blood serum, and human platelet derivatives. However, it is not clear whether human umbilical cord blood plasma (UCBP), as the surplusage of umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cell extraction, could be used. In this study, in order to make the best of umbilical cord blood, the human UCBP was dialyzed to replace fetal bovine serum (FBS) in the culture medium. hUC-MSCs were cultured in the new medium. Cell growth rate, specific biomarkers, and differentiation properties were detected to characterize the cell proliferation and MSC-specific properties. The hUC-MSCs cultured in such derived medium were verified with proliferation rate, cluster differentiation markers, cell cycle, as well as differentiation capabilities. Such dialyzed human UCBP is fully comparable with, if not superior to, FBS in deriving and culturing hUC-MSCs.     

肺癌组织中岩藻糖化糖链结构免疫组化研究

Lewis X(Le~x)、唾液酸化的Lewis X(Sialyl Lewis X,SLe~x)和唾液酸化的双岩藻糖Lewis X(Sialyl Dimeric Lewis X,SDLe~x)是细胞表面外侧带α1,3岩藻糖的糖链结构。本文用免疫组化ABC法研究了肺癌原发灶、转移灶和癌旁组织中这三种抗原结构的表达。结果发现这三种抗原在肺癌细胞表面及胞浆中均有不同程度的表达,而在肺癌癌旁组织及正常肺组织中未见表达。有转移的肺癌和(或)低分化肺癌中这三种抗原结构的表达要明显高于未发生转移和高、中分化肺癌中相同抗原结构的表达。其中以SLe~x的表达与肺癌细胞的转移能力和分化程度关系最为密切。另外,肺癌浸润转移的淋巴结中也有Le~x、SLe~x的明显表达和SDLe~x的少量表达,而未被肺癌浸润转移的淋巴结中就没有它们的表达。     

The three-dimensional structure of bovine calcium ion-bound osteocalcin using 1H NMR spectroscopy

Structural information on osteocalcin or other noncollagenous bone proteins is very limited. We have solved the three-dimensional structure of calcium bound osteocalcin using (1)H 2D NMR techniques and proposed a mechanism for mineral binding. The protons in the 49 amino acid sequence were assigned using standard two-dimensional homonuclear NMR experiments. Distance constraints, dihedral angle constraints, hydrogen bonds, and (1)H and (13)C chemical shifts were all used to calculate a family of 13 structures. The tertiary structure of the protein consisted of an unstructured N terminus and a C-terminal loop (residues 16-49) formed by long-range hydrophobic interactions. Elements of secondary structure within residues 16-49 include type III turns (residues 20-25) and two alpha-helical regions (residues 27-35 and 41-44). The three Gla residues project from the same face of the helical turns and are surface exposed. The genetic algorithm-molecular dynamics simulation approach was used to place three calcium atoms on the NMR-derived structure. One calcium atom was coordinated by three side chain oxygen atoms, two from Asp30, and one from Gla24. The second calcium atom was coordinated to four oxygen atoms, two from the side chain in Gla 24, and two from the side chain of Gla 21. The third calcium atom was coordinated to two oxygen atoms of the side chain of Gla17. The best correlation of the distances between the uncoordinated Gla oxygen atoms is with the intercalcium distance of 9.43 A in hydroxyapatite. The structure may provide further insight into the function of osteocalcin.     

芒果APl同源基因的克隆及其生物信息学分析

我们采用RT-PCR方法克隆了2个APl同源基因全长cDNA,分别命名为MAPl-1(GenBank accession No.FJ529206)和MAPl-2(GenBank accession No.FJ529207).MAPl-1编码247个氨基酸,开放阅读框长度为741 bp,蛋白质分子量为28.54kD,等电点为8.31;MAPl-2编码248个氨基酸,开放阅读框长度为744 bp,蛋白质分子量为28.78 kD,等电点为8.70.同源性分析表明,它们的核苷酸序列与其它木本植物APl同源基因的一致性为72%～81%.实验分析表明,MAPl-1和MAPl-2第1至第61个氨基酸含有一个MADS盒结构域,第88至第178个为K盒结构域;两个基因均定位于细胞核,且功能位点分布存在着不同,推测这两个基因在花器官发育过程中的功能存在差异.蛋白二级结构预测显示,MAPl-1蛋白有12个a-螺旋,4个β折叠区,14个β-转角;而MAPl-2蛋白有11个a-螺旋,5个β折叠区,15个β-转角:其大多数氨基酸具有亲水性.本研究有助于进一步了解芒果的开花分子机理及成花的生物学发育阶段.     

小溪自然保护区非盐环境土壤中嗜盐和耐盐菌多样性

【目的】研究湖南小溪国家级自然保护区普通非盐环境(ordinary non-saline environment)土壤样品中可培养嗜盐及耐盐细菌(含放线菌)多样性。【方法】采用纯培养法和基于16S rRNA基因序列的系统发育分析对样品中嗜盐及耐盐细菌多样性进行研究。【结果】用补充5%-20%(w/v)NaCl的MA、ISP2、ISP5、NA和HAA培养基从土壤样品中分离到114株细菌,其中8株为中度嗜盐菌,19株为轻度嗜盐菌,87株为耐盐菌。根据形态观察和部分生理生化实验结果去冗余,选取61个代表性菌株进行基于16S rRNA基因序列的系统发育多样性分析。结果表明,这些菌株属于细菌域(Bacteria)的3个大的系统发育类群(门;phylum)(Actinobacteria,Firmicutes,Proteobacteria)的16个科、18个属,代表了41个物种。多数菌株属于Firmicutes门(38株,62.3%)和Actinobacteria门(18株,29.5%)。大多数菌株与其系统发育关系最密切的已知物种的典型菌株之间存在一定的遗传差异(16S rRNA基因序列相似性为96.9%-99.8%),其中有7个菌株(JSM070026,JSM081004,JSM081006,JSM081008,JSM083058,JSM083085,JSM084035)代表7个潜在新种(potential novel species)。【结论】研究结果表明,湖南小溪国家级自然保护区普通非盐环境土壤中存在较为丰富的可培养嗜盐及耐盐细菌多样性,并且潜藏着较多新的微生物类群(物种)。     

Dynamic distribution of spindlin in nucleoli, nucleoplasm and spindle from primary oocytes to mature eggs and its critical function for oocyte-to-embryo transition in gibel carp

Spindlin (Spin) was thought as a maternal-effect factor associated with meiotic spindle. Its role for the oocyte-to-embryo transition was suggested in mouse, but its direct evidence for the function had been not obtained in other vertebrates. In this study, we used the CagSpin-specific antibody to investigate CagSpin expression pattern and distribution during oogenesis of gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). First, the oocyte-specific expression pattern and dynamic distribution was revealed in nucleoli, nucleoplasm, and spindle from primary oocytes to mature eggs by immunofluorescence localization. In primary oocytes and growth stage oocytes, CagSpin accumulates in nucleoli in increasing numbers along with the oocyte growth, and its disassembly occurs in vitellogenic oocytes, which implicates that CagSpin may be a major component of a large number of nucleoli in fish growth oocytes. Then, co-localization of CagSpin and β-tubulin was revealed in meiotic spindle of mature egg, indicating that CagSpin is one spindle-associated factor. Moreover, microinjection of CagSpin-specific antibody into the fertilized eggs blocked the first cleavage, and found that the CagSpin depletion resulted in spindle assembly disturbance. Thereby, our study provided the first direct evidence for the critical oocyte-to-embryo transition function of Spin in vertebrates, and confirmed that Spin is one important maternal-effect factor that participates in oocyte growth, oocyte maturation, and oocyte-to-embryo transition.     

西双版纳热带雨林中两种生态型蕨类植物的光合特性比较研究

通过比较分布于西双版纳热带雨林林下生境中的附生鸟巢蕨（Neottopteris nidus）和地生网脉铁角蕨（Asplenium finlaysonianum）的光合特征和光合诱导特性,来研究不同生态型蕨类植物的光斑利用策略。研究结果表明,2种蕨类植物的最大净光合速率、暗呼吸速率、表观量子效率、光饱和点和光补偿点没有显著差异,但网脉铁角蕨的最大气孔导度远远高于鸟巢蕨,表明后者具有更强的光合水分利用效率。在暗处理3／J＇,时接着光照（光强为20I~mol-m-2,s。‘）30分钟后,网脉铁角蕨的初始气孔导度显著高于鸟巢蕨。连续照射饱和强光后,网脉铁角蕨达到最大净光合速率50％（T50％）和90％的时间（T90%）比鸟巢蕨短：网脉铁角蕨和鸟巢蕨的T50%分别为0．57和5．31分钟,T90％分别为5．85和26．33分钟。诱导过程中,气孔导度对强光的响应明显滞后于净光合速率。鸟巢蕨达到最大气孔导度的时间明显比网脉铁角蕨慢,但在光合诱导消失过程中2种蕨类植物的光合诱导维持能力却没有显著差异。上述结果表明,与大多数地生林下植物（如网脉铁角蕨）相比,附生鸟巢蕨的水分保护比碳获得更重要,但却限制了附生蕨对光斑的利用。     

Changes of soil organic and inorganic carbon in relation to grassland degradation in Northern Tibet

The effect of livestock grazing on grassland degradation and the resulting impact on soil carbon concentration is an important factor in carbon estimation. We addressed this issue using field observations and laboratory analysis of samples from Tibetan grassland. Based on the field measurements, we investigated the soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) under two contrasting degradation states: lightly or non-degraded grasslands (LDG) and heavily degraded grasslands (HDG). We assessed their relationships with environmental factors using data collected from 99 sites across Northern Tibet during 2011–2012. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model and one-way ANOVA. The results showed that: (1) SOC concentration decreased and SIC concentration increased following grassland degradation, especially at soil depths in the range of 0–10 cm (P < 0.05); (2) the major environmental factors affecting SOC and SIC were soil pH and plant biomass; (3) spatially, the SOC density increased with the mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation, whereas SIC exhibited the opposite trend; (4) the SOC density increased at first and then decreased with increasing grazing intensity, with an opposite trend in SIC; and (5) soil carbon storage in this region was 0.14 Pg smaller in the HDG than in the LDG. This study suggests that grassland degradation can significantly affect the vertical distribution and storage of SOC and SIC. The carbon sequestration capacity of the top 100 cm of soil in Northern Tibet was estimated as 0.14 Pg.     

NOX4-Derived Reactive Oxygen Species Drive Apelin-13-Induced Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation via the ERK Pathway

Apelin is the endogenous ligand of the G-protein-coupled receptor, apelin–angiotensin receptor-like 1 (APJ). Vascular smooth muscle cells express both apelin and APJ, which are important regulatory factors in the cardiovascular system. Apelin-13 significantly stimulated vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. However, little is known about the precise cellular mechanisms responsible for vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation induced by apelin-13. Here, we present novel data that indicate the key role of NADPH oxidase 4-derived reactive oxygen species in proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells treated with apelin-13. Apelin-13 stimulated reactive oxygen species production in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, DPI impaired apelin-13-induced reactive oxygen species generation and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. Apelin-13-treatment increased the expression of NADPH oxidase 4 in a dose-dependent manner. Down-regulation of NADPH oxidase 4 using siRNA prevented apelin-13-induced reactive oxygen species generation and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. An increase in reactive molecules can trigger the activation of ERK stress-sensitive signaling pathways. Additionally, siRNA-NOX4 and DPI reversed the phosphorylation of ERK induced by apelin-13. Apelin-13 induced vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation by NOX4-derived ROS via the ERK signaling pathway.     

基于可变模糊评价模型的东山湾生态系统健康评价

根据东山湾海域环境污染现状和生态系统的特点,从水质环境、沉积物环境、生物残毒以及海洋生物方面构建了东山湾生态系统健康评价指标体系,提出了基于可变模糊评价模型的海湾生态系统健康评价方法,并利用该方法对东山湾生态系统健康状况进行了评价。结果表明:东山湾春季生态系统健康指数为2.36,秋季为2.44,均处于"良与中之间,偏良"水平,春季略优于秋季。影响东山湾生态系统健康状况的主要负面指标因子为鱼卵及仔鱼密度(春秋季健康指数均值为4.95)、营养水平(秋季健康指数为4.47)和底栖生物生物量(春季健康指数为3.59)。实例研究表明该方法通过准则参数α和距离参数p的不同组合变化,以线性与非线性相结合,能够较客观系统、标准量化地评价海湾生态系统健康状况的优劣,。