Preferential solvation of methylmercurated calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid.

The changes in polymer-solvent interactions that occur when native calf thymus DNA is dialyzed against Na₂SO₄ solutions of a given ionic strength and buffer concentration but of varying concentrations in methylmercuric hydroxide have been investigated with the help of solution density measurements at 25 °C and pH 6.8–7.0. From measurements executed under equilibrium dialysis conditions at the three salt levels 5 mm, 0.05 m, and 0.5 m Na₂SO₄ (m refers to molality) and in the presence of 5 mm cacodylic acid buffer, the density increments $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ for native calf thymus DNA were determined as a function of CH₃HgOH concentration. $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ was found not to vary with organomercurial concentration, irrespective of the concentration of supporting electrolyte, until a certain CH₃HgOH concentration level has been reached, viz., , beyond which $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ increases strongly with increasing concentration of CH₃HgOH. As is shown by optical melting, $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ becomes a function of organomercurial concentration the moment DNA undergoes denaturation brought about by the complexing of CH₃HgOH with the various N-binding sites of the base residues in the DNA double helix.Polymer-solvent interactions, expressed in terms of preferential water interactions (“net hydration”) and preferential salt interactions (“salt solvation”), were derived from the $\text{(}\text{??}\text{?c}{}_2\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{}^0$ data in combination with data obtained on the preferential interaction of CH₃HgOH with denatured DNA and data on the partial specific volumes of all major solution components, gathered from density measurements on solutions with fixed concentrations of diffusible components. Evidence is presented which shows that denaturation in general decreases the net hydration while salt becomes preferentially associated with the polyelectrolyte. This process is further amplified by the interaction of CH₃HgOH with denatured DNA: Methylmercurated DNA alters the redistribution of diffusible components at dialysis equilibrium to such an extent that in a formal sense large amounts of water are rejected from the immediate vicinity of the polymer. The molecular implications of these findings are explored. The results are further discussed in the light of previous findings where the methylmercury-induced denaturation of DNA had been studied with the help of buoyant density measurements in a Cs₂SO₄ density gradient and by velocity-sedimentation in a variety of sulfate media.     

Collagen cross-linking. Purification and substrate specificity of lysyl oxidase.

Lysyl oxidase is a specific amine oxidase that catalyzes the formation of aldehyde cross-link intermediates in collagen and elastin. In this study, lysyl oxidase from embryonic chick cartilage was purified to constant specific activity and a single protein band on sodium dodecyl sulfate acrylamide gel electrophoresis. This band had an apparent molecular weight of 62,000. The eluted protein cross-reacted with inhibiting antisera developed against highly purified lysyl oxidase. The highly purified enzyme was active with both insoluble elastin and embryonic chick skin or bone collagen precipitated as reconstituted, native fibrils. There was low activity with nonhydroxylated collagen, collagen monomers, or native fibrils isolated from lathyritic calvaria. The maximum number of aldehyde intermediates formed per molecule of collagen that became insoluble was two. These results indicate that lysyl oxidase has maximum activity on ordered aggregates of collagen molecules that may be overlapping associations of only a few collagen molecules across. Formation of aldehyde intermediates and cross-links during fibril formation may facilitate the biosynthesis of stable collagen fibrils and contribute to increased fibril tensile strength in vivo.     

Allosteric interactions of the membrane-bound acetylcholine reception: kinetic studies with alpha-bungarotoxin.

The specific and irreversible reaction of a snake neurotoxin, α-bungarotoxin, with the acetylcholine receptor of electroplax membrane preparations from $\text{Electrophorus electricus}$ proceeds by an initial fast phase followed by a slower one. The fraction of the reaction in the fast phase increases with increasing initial toxin concentrations, while the fraction going slowly decreases correspondingly. Both phases are affected by compounds which initiate or inhibit nerve impulse transmissions. The time course of the reaction can be fitted to the sum of two exponentials. The dependence on initial toxin concentration of the two exponentials, and of the fraction of reaction governed by the exponentials, can be fitted to a minimum reaction mechanism which involves at least two types of toxin binding sites with different dissociation constants and ligand-induced conversion of one type of site into the other. The mechanism is consistent with our previous data which showed that activators and inhibitors of membrane electrical potential changes occupy separate sites, only half of which interact. This type of mechanism has been seen in a number of allosteric regulatory enzymes.     

非生长季降水对青藏高原高寒草甸优势种生物量稳定性的影响

受全球气候变化的影响,青藏高原在过去的几十年间整体上呈现暖湿化的趋势,相比于年际之间温度和降水的变化外,生长季和非生长季气候变化模式的差异可能会对生态系统产生更重要的影响,但相关的研究尚不充分。以青藏高原东部的高寒草甸为研究对象,基于2001年至2017年17年的野外观测数据,包括优势植物紫花针茅的高度、多度以及生物量、次优势物种洽草的生物量,结合生长季和非生长季平均温度和降水量的变化,通过线性回归以及结构方程模型,探究生长季/非生长季不对称气候变化对于青藏高原高寒草甸优势物种生物量稳定性的影响。研究结果表明：1)青藏高原东部年均温和年降水在过去的17年间显著增加,呈现暖湿化的趋势,但是非生长的降水却变化不明显;2)紫花针茅的高度、多度以及生物量在过去17年没有显著的趋势,但是洽草的生物量稳定性显著减少;3)非生长降水结合紫花针茅的高度、多度以及洽草的生物量稳定性促进了紫花针茅的生物量稳定性。研究结果可以为青藏高原高寒草甸在未来气候变化的背景下合理保护与利用提供科学依据。     

A protein–protein interaction map reveals that the Coxiella burnetii effector CirB inhibits host proteasome activity

Coxiella burnetii is the etiological agent of the zoonotic disease Q fever, which is featured by its ability to replicate in acid vacuoles resembling the lysosomal network. One key virulence determinant of C. burnetii is the Dot/Icm system that transfers more than 150 effector proteins into host cells. These effectors function to construct the lysosome-like compartment permissive for bacterial replication, but the functions of most of these effectors remain elusive. In this study, we used an affinity tag purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) approach to generate a C. burnetii-human protein-protein interaction (PPI) map involving 53 C. burnetii effectors and 3480 host proteins. This PPI map revealed that the C. burnetii effector CBU0425 (designated CirB) interacts with most subunits of the 20S core proteasome. We found that ectopically expressed CirB inhibits hydrolytic activity of the proteasome. In addition, overexpression of CirB in C. burnetii caused dramatic inhibition of proteasome activity in host cells, while knocking down CirB expression alleviated such inhibitory effects. Moreover, we showed that a region of CirB that spans residues 91–120 binds to the proteasome subunit PSMB5 (beta 5). Finally, PSMB5 knockdown promotes C. burnetii virulence, highlighting the importance of proteasome activity modulation during the course of C. burnetii infection.     

植酸钠对黑曲霉柠檬酸发酵产酸的促进效应

研究了植酸钠对黑曲霉柠檬酸发酵产酸的促进效应。在葡萄糖全合成培养基中添加１％的植酸钠,可使产酸比对照提高２．４倍;在薯粉、玉米粉等天然培养基中添加１％植酸钠,柠檬酸产量分别提高１．７倍和１．３倍。酶活性测定分析表明,植酸钠对柠檬酸代谢途径中的几种关键酶的活性有影响。     

人单核细胞系中HIV-1前病毒转录调节新型研究模型的建立

【目的】抗反转录病毒疗法(ART)能够有效控制人免疫缺陷病毒(Human immunodeficiency virus-1,HIV-1)的复制,但是不能将其完全清除。至2012年底,全球仍有3 500万HIV-1感染者,同年约160万人死于艾滋病(Acquired immune deficiency syndrome,AIDS)及其相关疾病。HIV-1感染难以根治的主要原因之一是机体内HIV-1潜伏储存库(Reservoir)的存在。HIV-1潜伏储存库主要由CD4+T细胞和单核巨噬细胞构成,与CD4+T细胞相比,目前研究者对单核巨噬系细胞中HIV-1病毒复制机制尚不明了,且缺乏适宜的研究体系。因此,为探讨单核细胞活化或分化信号对HIV-1复制的影响,我们建立了旨在研究HIV-1前病毒转录调控机制的人单核巨噬细胞系模型。【方法】构建env区域移码突变和nef区域携带EGFP或Nano Luc报告基因的HIV-1 NLn GFP-Kp或NLn Nano Luc-Kp重组病毒,分别感染2种人单核细胞系THP-1或U937细胞。通过有限稀释法制备单克隆细胞系,利用流式细胞术或Nano Luc荧光素酶活性分析检测报告基因的表达。筛选EGFP或Nano Luc阴性表达的细胞克隆,经激活剂佛波酯(Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate,PMA)刺激后鉴定潜伏感染的细胞克隆。【结果】研究中鉴定了4个HIV-1潜伏感染的细胞克隆。其中2个是表达EGFP的THP-1克隆,2个是以Nano Luc为报告基因的U937克隆。这些克隆在PMA刺激处理后皆有报告基因的表达,而在恒态条件下未检测到报告基因的表达。【结论】成功建立了4个HIV-1潜伏感染的人单核细胞系克隆,该模型有助于理解单核巨噬系细胞的HIV-1病毒复制机制,可能成为进一步研究HIV-1前病毒转录调控机制的有力工具。