黄芪汤对延缓C离子辐射致大鼠肾组织细胞凋亡的影响及相关机制

目的: 探讨黄芪汤抑制¹²C⁶⁺离子辐射脑模型鼠肾组织细胞凋亡的分子保护机制。方法: 50只SPF级Wistar大鼠随机分为正常对照组,单纯辐射模型组,黄芪汤(高、中、低剂量)组。正常对照组和单纯辐射模型组给予等体积生理盐水灌胃10 ml/(kg·d),黄芪汤治疗组分别灌胃给予黄芪汤18、9、4.5 g/(kg·d),连续给药2周。7 d后除正常对照组外,其余各组大鼠脑组织给予4Gy ¹²C⁶⁺离子束单次照射,辐射后第7日处死各组大鼠。HE染色法观察大鼠肾脏的病理形态变化,ELISA法检测大鼠血清IL-6的含量,实时荧光定量PCR法测定大鼠肾脏Bcl-2、Bax和Caspase-3的基因表达,免疫组化法检测大鼠肾脏Bcl-2、Bax、Caspase-3和NF-κB的蛋白表达。结果: 与正常对照组比较,单纯辐射模型组体重和肾脏指数均显著降低,血清IL-6的含量显著升高,肾脏Bcl-2的基因表达和蛋白表达均显著降低,Bax和Caspase-3的基因表达和蛋白表达均显著升高,NF-κB的蛋白表达也显著升高(P＜ 0.01),单纯辐射组肾小球系膜细胞明显增生,肾小管间质血管明显扩张充血,肾小管管腔狭窄、不规则。与单纯辐射模型组相比,黄芪汤高剂量组体重和肾脏指数均明显升高,黄芪汤各干预组肾脏Bcl-2的基因表达和蛋白表达均显著升高(P＜0.05或P＜0.01);而黄芪汤中、高剂量组Bax和Caspase-3的蛋白表达均显著降低,各干预组血清IL-6的含量显著降低,肾脏Bax和Caspase-3的基因表达均显著降低,肾脏NF-κB的蛋白表达显著下降(P＜0.05或P＜0.01),黄芪汤高剂量组可见肾小球系膜细胞增生情况明显改善,肾小管轮廓清晰。结论: 黄芪汤对¹²C⁶⁺离子辐射脑模型鼠的肾损伤具有一定的防护作用,其作用机制可能与调控Bcl-2/NF-κB信号通路有关。     

涌泉根灌下水氮耦合对陕北山地苹果光合特性、产量和水氮利用的影响

以陕北山地7年生‘寒富’苹果树为试验材料,设置3个灌水水平[高水(W₁,85%～100%θ_f,θ_f为田间持水量)、中水(W₂,70%～85%θ_f)、低水(W₃,55%～70%θ_f)]和3个施氮水平[高氮(N₁,600 kg·hm^-2)、中氮(N₂,400 kg·hm^-2)、低氮(N₃,200 kg·hm^-2)],研究涌泉根灌条件下水氮耦合对山地苹果树光合特性、产量和水氮利用的影响。结果表明: 相同灌水条件下,随着施氮量的减少,苹果树叶片的净光合速率(P_n)、蒸腾速率(T_r)、气孔导度(g_s)和瞬时水分利用效率(WUE_i)降低,但胞间CO₂浓度(C_i)增加;相同施氮条件下,随着灌水量的减少,叶片P_n、T_r、g_s和WUE_i降低,而C_i增加。W₁N₁处理的P_n、T_r日均值最大,但与W₁N₁处理相比,W₂N₂处理的WUE_i最大。苹果产量、灌溉水利用效率(IWUE)和氮肥偏生产力(NPFP)受灌水和施氮量的显著影响,W₂N₂处理的产量最高(26761 kg·hm^-2),减小灌水量和增大施氮量使IWUE显著提高,而增大灌水量和降低施氮量使NPFP显著增加。回归分析表明,产量和IWUE同时获得最优解时,灌水量和施氮量组合最接近W₂N₂处理。因此,W₂N₂处理为涌泉根灌条件下陕北山地苹果最佳的水氮组合模式。     

Genetic Analysis of Human Adenovirus Type 7 Strains Circulating in Different Parts of China

To investigate the molecular epidemiology and genetic variation of human adenovirus type 7(HAdV-7) in children with acute respiratory infections(ARI) in China. HAdV-7-positive respiratory samples collected from children with ARI in Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Wenzhou and Guangzhou from 2014–2018 were selected for gene amplification and sequence analysis. Fifty-seven HAdV-7 clinical strains with hexon, penton base and fiber gene sequences were obtained. Meanwhile17 strains were selected randomly from different cities for whole genome sequencing. Phylogenetic and variation analyses were performed based on the obtained sequences, HAdV-7 prototype strain Gomen(AY594255), vaccine strains(AY495969 and AY594256) and representative sequences of strains. The phylogenetic trees constructed based on whole genome sequences, major capsid protein genes(hexon, penton base and fiber) and the early genes(E1, E2, E3 and E4) were not completely consistent. The HAdV-7 strains obtained in this study always clustered with most of the circulating strains worldwide from the 1980 s to the present. Compared with the HAdV-7 prototype strain Gomen(AY594255), some amino acid mutations in loop1 and loop2 of hexon and the RGD loop region of the penton base gene were observed. Recombination analysis showed that partial regions of 55 k Da protein and 100 kDa hexon-assembly associated protein genes among all HAdV-7 strains in this study were from HAdV-16 and HAdV-3, respectively. Our study demonstrated the molecular evolution characteristics of HAdV-7 strains circulating in China and provided basic reference data for the prevention, control and vaccine development of HAdV-7.     

A Multicenter Study of Viral Aetiology of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Hospitalized Children in Chinese Mainland

Virologica Sinica - Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. In this study, we aimed to describe the aetiology of viral...     

Minor salivary gland mesenchymal stromal cells derived from patients with Sjӧgren's syndrome deploy intact immune plasticity

Background aimsMesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) provide minor salivary glands (MSGs) with support and niche cells for epithelial glandular tissue. Little is known about resident MSG-derived MSCs (MSG-MSCs) in primary Sj?gren's syndrome (PSS). The authors’ objective is to define the immunobiology of endogenous PSS MSG-MSCs.MethodsUsing culture-adapted MSG-MSCs isolated from consenting PSS subjects (n = 13), the authors performed in vitro interrogation of PSS MSG-MSC immunobiology and global gene expression compared with controls. To this end, the authors performed phenotypic and immune functional analysis of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and intercellular adhesion marker 1 (ICAM-1) before and after interferon γ (IFNγ) licensing as well as the effect of MSG-MSCs on T-cell proliferation. Considering the female predominance of PSS, the authors also addressed the influence of 17-β-estradiol on estrogen receptor α-positive-related MSC function.ResultsThe authors found that MSG-MSCs deployed normal immune regulatory functionality after IFNγ stimulation, as demonstrated by increased protein-level expression of IDO, PD-L1 and ICAM-1. The authors also found that MSG-MSCs suppressed T-cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner independent of 17-β-estradiol exposure. Gene ontology and pathway analysis highlighted extracellular matrix deposition as a possible difference between PSS and control MSG-MSCs. MSG-MSCs demonstrated increased α-smooth muscle actin expression in PSS, indicating a partial myofibroblast-like adaptation.ConclusionsThese findings establish similar immune regulatory function of MSG-MSCs in both PSS and control patients, precluding intrinsic MSC immune regulatory defects in PSS. PSS MSG-MSCs show a partial imprinted myofibroblast-like phenotype that may arise in the setting of chronic inflammation, providing a plausible etiology for PSS-related glandular fibrosis.     

Synthesis,telomerase inhibitory and anticancer activity of new 2-phenyl-4H-chromone derivatives containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole moiety

Based on previous studies, 66 2-phenyl-4H-chromone derivatives containing amide and 1,3,4-oxadiazole moieties were prepared as potential telomerase inhibitors. The results showed most of the title compounds exhibited significantly inhibitory activity on telomerase. Among them, some compounds demonstrated the most potent telomerase inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ < 1 µM), which was significantly superior to the staurosporine (IC₅₀ = 6.41 µM). In addition, clear structure–activity relationships were summarised, indicating that the substitution of the methoxy group and the position, type and number of the substituents on the phenyl ring had significant effects on telomerase activity. Among them, compound A33 showed considerable inhibition against telomerase. Flow cytometric analysis showed that compound A33 could arrest MGC-803 cell cycle at G2/M phase and induce apoptosis in a concentration-dependent way. Meanwhile, Western blotting revealed that this compound could reduce the expression of dyskerin, which is a fragment of telomerase.     

Microscale grooves regulate maturation development of hPSC-CMs by the transient receptor potential channels (TRP channels)

The use of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) is limited in drug discovery and cardiac disease mechanism studies due to cell immaturity. Micro-scaled grooves can promote the maturation of cardiomyocytes by aligning them in order, but the mechanism of cardiomyocytes alignment has not been studied. From the level of calcium activity, gene expression and cell morphology, we verified that the W20H5 grooves can effectively promote the maturation of cardiomyocytes. The transient receptor potential channels (TRP channels) also play an important role in the maturation and development of cardiomyocytes. These findings support the engineered hPSC-CMs as a powerful model to study cardiac disease mechanism and partly mimic the myocardial morphological development. The important role of the TRP channels in the maturation and development of myocardium is first revealed.     

Allelopathic effects of switchgrass on redroot pigweed and crabgrass growth

Non-native invasive plant species influence plant community composition and competitively eradicate native species. However, there is doubt regarding how global invasive species increase and explosively interfere with native plants. Invasive plants always have strong allelopathic potential. In this study, allelopathic effects of switchgrass on redroot pigweed and crabgrass growth were investigated by field and laboratory experiments. Within a 0.4-m distance of switchgrass, density and shoot biomass of native species were significantly suppressed in the field, with 95.1% and 93.0% inhibition on density of redroot pigweed and crabgrass and with 99.0% and 97.7% inhibition on shoot biomass, respectively, during the third growing season. Significant inhibitory effects on shoot and root biomass were observed at the 5:5 (switchgrass–native species) proportion in glass bottles, by 41.57% and 51.21% for shoot and root biomass of redroot pigweed and by 33.42% and 56.95% for shoot and root biomass of crabgrass, respectively. Results of a glass bottle experiment showed that shoot and root biomass of redroot pigweed and crabgrass could be significantly inhibited by contact with switchgrass root. Results of a Petri dish experiment showed that aqueous extracts of switchgrass significantly inhibited germination process of both species at high concentrations, with 90.74% and 18.62% inhibition on germination rate and plumule length of redroot pigweed and with 63.59%, 16.38%, and 19.92% inhibition on germination rate, plumule, and radicle lengths of crabgrass, respectively, at the concentration of 0.1 g·mL^?1. This report demonstrated that switchgrass had allelopathic effects on redroot pigweed and crabgrass growth.

     

巴尔通体在滇西南蝙蝠中高度流行并具有丰富的遗传变异特征

蝙蝠是很多病原微生物的自然宿主, 全球多项研究表明蝙蝠是巴尔通体(Bartonella species)的主要宿主。为了解滇西南地区蝙蝠中巴尔通体的流行特征, 我们于2015-2017年间在云南省4个地区应用网捕法捕获蝙蝠3种305只。经种类鉴定后采集肝脾组织, 提取核酸, 通过TaqMan实时荧光定量PCR方法检测巴尔通体的tmRNA基因ssrA, 并进行测序鉴定和系统发育分析。结果发现172只蝙蝠检出该基因, 总感染率为56.4%; 其中临沧、西双版纳、保山和瑞丽4个采样点的蝙蝠感染率分别为50.0% (22/44)、61.7% (29/47)、62.1% (18/29)和55.7% (103/185)。中菊头蝠(Rhinolophus affinis)、小菊头蝠(R. blythi)和棕果蝠(Rousettus leschenaultii)的感染率分别为50.0% (22/44)、62.1% (18/29)和56.9% (132/232), 差异没有统计学意义(χ² = 1.135, P = 0.567), 表明巴尔通体在云南当地的蝙蝠种群中高度流行。定量PCR扩增产物2次扩增后测序获得37个巴尔通体ssrA序列, 属于10个系统发育分支, 其中1个为伊丽莎白巴尔通体(B. elizabethae)、特利波契巴尔通体(B. tribocorum)和克拉斯诺夫巴尔通体(B. krasnovii)的近缘种。其余序列与已知巴尔通体距离较远, 与亚洲、欧洲和美洲等其他地域来源于蝙蝠的巴尔通体近缘。遗传多样性分析显示, ssrA基因的核苷酸多样性指数(π)为0.11381 ± 0.00928, 基因型多样性指数(Hd)为0.985 ± 0.010, 形成29个基因型(单倍型), 说明云南蝙蝠巴尔通体具有丰富的遗传多样性。通过对本研究标本与全球相关序列的系统发育网络重建, 分析全球蝙蝠巴尔通体的地理和宿主分布特征, 可以看出巴尔通体与蝙蝠之间存在显著的宿主特异性关联。因此可初步确定蝙蝠-巴尔通体具有协同进化特征, 同时受到地理隔离的影响。