Deregulation of Cdc2 kinase induces caspase-3 activation and apoptosis

Progression of the cell cycle and control of apoptosis are tightly linked processes. It has been reported that manifestation of apoptosis requires cdc2 kinase activity yet the mechanism(s) of which is largely unclear. In an attempt to study the role of human MDM2 (HDM2) in interphase and mitosis, we employed the Xenopus cell-free system to study HDM2 protein stability. Interestingly, HDM2 is specifically cleaved in Xenopus mitotic extracts but not in the interphase extracts. We demonstrate that HDM2 cleavage is dependent on caspase-3 and that activation of cdc2 kinase results in caspase-3 activation in the Xenopus cell-free system. Furthermore, expression of cdc2 kinase in mammalian cells leads to activation of caspase-3 and apoptosis. Taken together, these data indicate that deregulation of cdc2 kinase activity can trigger apoptotic machinery that leads to caspase-3 activation and apoptosis.     

Effects of different beta73 amino acids on formation of 14-stranded fibers of Hb S versus double-stranded crystals of Hb C-Harlem

Hb S (alpha(2)beta(2)(6Glu-->Val)) forms polymers, while Hb C-Harlem (alpha(2)beta(2)(6Glu-->Val,73Asp-->Asn)) forms crystals upon oversaturation. Since the only difference between the two is the beta73 amino acid, it follows that this site is a critical determinant in promoting either polymerization or crystallization. Beta73 Asp in Hb S forms a hydrogen bond with beta4 Thr, while beta73 Asn in Hb C-Harlem may inhibit this interaction as well as increase the hydrophobicity at the EF helix beta6 Val acceptor sites. Two new beta73 Hb S variants (beta73 His and Leu) were constructed and analyzed to define other amino acids facilitating formation of Hb S-like polymers versus Hb C-Harlem-like crystals. The two variants that were chosen were expected to either (1) enhance formation of the beta73-beta4 hydrogen bond (beta73 His) or (2) inhibit it and increase the hydrophobicity of the EF helix beta6 Val acceptor sites (beta73 Leu). beta73 His Hb S formed fibers but at a lower concentration than Hb S, while beta73 Leu Hb S formed crystals but at a higher concentration than Hb C-Harlem. The solubility of beta73 His Hb S was (1)/(7) of that of Hb S, while the solubility of beta73 Leu Hb S was similar to that of Hb C-Harlem. The delay time prior to polymer or crystal formation depended on Hb concentration. The delay time for beta73 His Hb S was 10(5)-fold shorter than that for Hb S, while that for beta73 Leu Hb S was 10(5)-fold longer in 1.0 M phosphate buffer. NMR results indicate beta73 amino acid changes induce alteration in the beta-chain heme pocket region, while CD results indicate no change in the helical content of the variants. These results suggest that enhancing the beta73-beta4 hydrogen bond and/or induced changes in the heme pocket by the beta73 Asp to His change facilitate formation of Hb S-like fibers. Our results also suggest that removal of the beta73-beta4 hydrogen bond and enhancing the hydrophobicity of the EF helix beta6 Val acceptor sites by the beta73 Asp to Leu or Asn changes delay nuclei formation and facilitate formation of Hb C-Harlem-like crystals.     

Molecular classification of cancer types from microarray data using the combination of genetic algorithms and support vector machines

Simultaneous multiclass classification of tumor types is essential for future clinical implementations of microarray-based cancer diagnosis. In this study, we have combined genetic algorithms (GAs) and all paired support vector machines (SVMs) for multiclass cancer identification. The predictive features have been selected through iterative SVMs/GAs, and recursive feature elimination post-processing steps, leading to a very compact cancer-related predictive gene set. Leave-one-out cross-validations yielded accuracies of 87.93% for the eight-class and 85.19% for the fourteen-class cancer classifications, outperforming the results derived from previously published methods.     

Development of a physical and genetic map of the virulent Wolbachia strain wMelPop

We report here the construction of a physical and genetic map of the virulent Wolbachia strain, wMelPop. This map was determined by ordering 28 chromosome fragments that resulted from digestion with the restriction endonucleases FseI, ApaI, SmaI, and AscI and were resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Southern hybridization was done with 53 Wolbachia-specific genes as probes in order to determine the relative positions of these restriction fragments and use them to serve as markers. Comparison of the resulting map with the whole genome sequence of the closely related benign Wolbachia strain, wMel, shows that the two genomes are largely conserved in gene organization with the exception of a single inversion in the chromosome.     

内毒诱导肺动脉内皮细胞生成过氧亚硝基阴离子的意义

目的：探讨牛肺动脉内皮细胞（BPAEC）产生过氧亚硝基阴离子（ONOO^-）的能力及其作用。方法：用流式细胞免疫荧光技术,定量检测内毒素主要成分脂多糖（LPS）诱导培养的BPAEC中ONOO^-生成标志物硝基酪氨酸（NT）的含量,观察ONOO^-对BPAEC形态变化的影响。结果：LPS可剂量依赖性诱导BPAEC产生ONOO^-明显增多,并为氮基胍部分翻转;ONOO^-可导致BPAEC明显回缩,胞体变小,细胞间隙增宽。结论：LPS诱导BPAEC产生增多的ONOO^-可能参与介导LPS对BPAEC本身的损伤效应。     

拉曼被孢霉F5发酵生产γ—亚麻酸的实验研究

对拉曼被孢霉突变株F5发酵生产γ-亚麻酸的最适碳源,氮源,发酵时间及湿度,无机盐离子的添加,最适碳源浓度及补加碳源时间等发酵条件进行了研究探讨,最适发酵培养基组成为（g/L)：葡萄糖100,酵母浸出粉4,蛋白胨1,K2HPO41,CaCl2 1*10^-2,MgSO4 5*10^-2,FeSO4 1*10^-2,ZnSO4 7.5*10^-3,CuSO40.5*10^-3,MnSO4 2*10^-3,pH6.0,培养湿度为25度,140rpm 振荡培养10天,培养8天后（即收获前2天）补加5％葡萄糖,发酵结果为：DC24．59 g/L,TL10.84g/L,TL/DC 44.09%,GLA/TL10.67%,GLA产量为1156．63mg/L,GLA产量较初始结果提高156．15％,该菌株已达到工业化生产菌株要求。