免疫细胞分泌研究进展

细胞分泌活动涉及一系列复杂的分子活动和信号转导过程,它是许多重要生命活动如神经递质的释放、内分泌激素分泌、蛋白质转运等的基础。故而有关细胞分泌活动的研究近年在国际上形成一个新的热点。有关免疫细胞中细胞因子的分泌机制研究的较少,将膜电容测量、电化学测量、光学测量、胞内信号分子光解等近年发展起来的生物物理方法引入免疫学领域,对研究免疫细胞的分泌调控和信号转导意义重大。     

刺五加腋芽培养中抗褐化初探

研究刺五加腋芽分化生长过程中褐化现象的结果表明,以75％的酒精消毒40s,0．1％的升汞灭菌8min能较好地抑制褐化现象;1000mg·L^-1维生素C的抑制作用较为明显;WPM＋1．0mg·L^-16-BA＋0．1mg·L^-1NAA培养基的褐化现象最轻：15mg·L^-1蔗糖、5d暗处理和15d转瓶一次都能在一定程度上抑制褐化。     

Energetic mapping of transition state analogue interactions with human and Plasmodium falciparum purine nucleoside phosphorylases

Human purine nucleoside phosphorylase (huPNP) is essential for human T-cell division by removing deoxyguanosine and preventing dGTP imbalance. Plasmodium falciparum expresses a distinct PNP (PfPNP) with a unique substrate specificity that includes 5'-methylthioinosine. The PfPNP functions both in purine salvage and in recycling purine groups from the polyamine synthetic pathway. Immucillin-H is an inhibitor of both huPNP and PfPNPs. It kills activated human T-cells and induces purine-less death in P. falciparum. Immucillin-H is a transition state analogue designed to mimic the early transition state of bovine PNP. The DADMe-Immucillins are second generation transition state analogues designed to match the fully dissociated transition states of huPNP and PfPNP. Immucillins, DADMe-Immucillins and related analogues are compared for their energetic interactions with human and P. falciparum PNPs. Immucillin-H and DADMe-Immucillin-H are 860 and 500 pM inhibitors against P. falciparum PNP but bind human PNP 15-35 times more tightly. This common pattern is a result of kcat for huPNP being 18-fold greater than kcat for PfPNP. This energetic binding difference between huPNP and PfPNP supports the k(chem)/kcat binding argument for transition state analogues. Preferential PfPNP inhibition is gained in the Immucillins by 5'-methylthio substitution which exploits the unique substrate specificity of PfPNP. Human PNP achieves part of its catalytic potential from 5'-OH neighboring group participation. When PfPNP acts on 5'-methylthioinosine, this interaction is not possible. Compensation for the 5'-OH effect in the P. falciparum enzyme is provided by improved leaving group interactions with Asp206 as a general acid compared with Asn at this position in huPNP. Specific atomic modifications in the transition state analogues cause disproportionate binding differences between huPNP and PfPNPs and pinpoint energetic binding differences despite similar transition states.     

血小板环状 RNA研究进展

血小板环状RNA (platelet circular RNA, platelet circRNA)是一类在血小板中由RNA反向剪切封闭形成的环形RNA分子,具有结构稳定、丰度高以及细胞、组织特异性.血小板环状RNA可以参与细胞内RNA调控网络,与疾病的发生和发展密切相关,可能成为新型的生物标记物及治疗靶点.近年来,关于血小板环状RNA产生、调控、生物学特性、功能及其与疾病的关系等均取得了初步的研究进展.本文将对血小板环状RNA的研究进展予以综述.     

森林溪流倒木生态学研究进展

溪流倒木是指在河流中长度大于1 m、直径大于10 cm的死木。溪流倒木在森林河流中(特别是较小的河流中)是一个常见且重要的结构成分。该文综述了近30年溪流倒木的研究成果(主要来自北美),总结溪流倒木在河流形态、碳循环、泥沙与养分拦截、水生生境的形成、水生生物多样性等方面的生态功能,倒木的时间动态性与空间变异性,以及干扰(包括自然干扰与人为干扰)与倒木存留量及分布的关系。此外,该文也探讨了溪流倒木的生态管理模式及未来研究方向。大量的研究证明,溪流倒木对森林水生生态系统具有重要的生态功能,但它的存留量、分布以及它的生态意义因所研究的森林生态系统、河流大小不同而异。随着河流宽度的增加, 倒木的存留量及它对河流的影响减少,并且倒木的分布以单个为主变为聚集体为主。单个倒木的直径则随河流宽度增加而增大。倒木也呈现十分明显的时间动态性,而这种动态往往是由大规模毁灭性的森林干扰(火、风倒等)所驱动的。研究倒木的时空变异性及自然干扰与人为干扰对倒木的不同影响对于保持倒木的生态功能是十分必要的。该文还对中国开展溪流倒木的生态研究提出一些建议。     

Modulation of D2R-NR2B interactions in response to cocaine

Dopamine-glutamate interactions in the neostriatum determine psychostimulant action, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here we found that dopamine stimulation by cocaine enhances a heteroreceptor complex formation between dopamine D2 receptors (D2R) and NMDA receptor NR2B subunits in the neostriatum in vivo. The D2R-NR2B interaction is direct and occurs in the confined postsynaptic density microdomain of excitatory synapses. The enhanced D2R-NR2B interaction disrupts the association of Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) with NR2B, reduces NR2B phosphorylation at a CaMKII-sensitive site (Ser1303), and inhibits NMDA receptor-mediated currents in medium-sized striatal neurons. Furthermore, the regulated D2R-NR2B interaction is critical for constructing behavioral responsiveness to cocaine. Our findings here uncover a direct and dynamic D2R-NR2B interaction in striatal neurons in vivo. This type of dopamine-glutamate integration at the receptor level may be responsible for synergistically inhibiting the D2R-mediated circuits in the basal ganglia and fulfilling the stimulative effect of psychostimulants.