A novel membrane based process to isolate photosystem-I membrane complex from spinach

The isolation of photosystem-I (PS-I) from spinach has been conducted using ultrafiltration with 300 kDa molecular weight cut-off polyethersulfone membranes. The effects of ultrafiltration operating conditions on PS-I activity were optimized using parameter scanning ultrafiltration. These conditions included solution pH, ionic strength, stirring speed, and permeate flux. The effects of detergent (Triton X-100 and n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside) concentration on time dependent activity of PS-I were also studied using an O₂ electrode. Under optimized conditions, the PS-I purity obtained in the retentate was about 84% and the activity recovery was greater than 94% after ultrafiltration. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation of a membrane protein using ultrafiltration alone.     

外源基因表达造成的群体感应细菌生存压力的建模分析

外源基因的表达及其对细菌种群的影响对于群体感应系统和合成生物学产业的研究具有重要意义。然而,人们对于表达外源蛋白的细菌本身的行为模式仍然知之甚少。为了研究菌落生长和外源基因表达的过程究竟受到哪些因素的影响,文中测量了受Lux类受体调控的外源基因在N-酰基高丝氨酸内酯 (N-acyl homoserine lactone,N-AHL) 信号分子诱导下的表达,并模拟了其对细菌种群动态的影响。文中建立了一个假设性的数学模型,对信号分子诱导表达下细菌种群生长受影响的现象进行了分析。先前的研究通常将细菌种群生长受群体感应系统影响的现象归咎于合成群体感应信号分子的消耗与N-AHL信号分子的毒性,文中提供了对于这种生存压力的另一种可能的解释。     

应激颗粒的形成与生物学意义

真核细胞对外界压力刺激会做出一系列应答反应,如暂停蛋白质翻译系统,从而使细胞能更好地适应环境压力。通过应激颗粒（stress granules,SG）的形成包裹未被翻译的mRNA是该适应性调节的重要方式。研究表明,环境压力导致eIF2α上游激酶的激活从而磷酸化eIF2α,翻译起始受阻,随后,TIA-1、TTP等蛋白迅速与mRNP结合聚集成SG,并在微管蛋白的帮助下进一步向细胞核聚集,形成成熟的SG。当压力消失,SG依赖微管及其动力蛋白进行解聚,释放包裹的mRNA及蛋白。细胞内成熟的SG在转录后调节中发挥重要作用,并且通过其组成蛋白在肿瘤凋亡、病毒侵染、免疫、炎症反应及由蛋白错误折叠引起的疾病中发挥作用。该文首次综述了压力颗粒研究进展,为充分认识SG的病理生理性调节功能提供参考。     

点状气单胞菌引起虹鳟感染症及其病原学机制的初步研究

对山西省朔县省虹鳟试验场1987年8月在亲鱼中爆发的一次流行病进行了病原菌分离、培养、毒力试验和详细的生理生化测定,确定点状气单胞菌为其病原菌。并对该菌胞外产物的致病性进行了研究,通过测定其溶血活性、酪蛋白酶活性、对鱼致死性以及对其引起的组织病理学变化的观察,初步确定了胞外产物与该菌侵袭力的相关性。     

从酵母中提取谷胱甘肽的初步研究

考察了不同提取方法对从酵母中提取谷胱甘肽（ＧＳＨ）的影响,热水抽提由于其提取收率高（９０％）,耗时短（１０ｍｉｎ）经济性强而明显优于其它提取方法,对７３２阳离子交换树脂纯化ＧＳＨ进行了初步研究,主要研究了树脂颗粒大小对提纯ＧＳＨ的影响,采用６０～８０目的树脂,ＧＳＨ收率为５７．６％,虽然比８０目以上的树脂低１０％但前者操作作所需时间只有后者的１／３。     

Probing the production of amidated peptides following genetic and dietary copper manipulations

Amidated neuropeptides play essential roles throughout the nervous and endocrine systems. Mice lacking peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase (PAM), the only enzyme capable of producing amidated peptides, are not viable. In the amidation reaction, the reactant (glycine-extended peptide) is converted into a reaction intermediate (hydroxyglycine-extended peptide) by the copper-dependent peptidylglycine-α-hydroxylating monooxygenase (PHM) domain of PAM. The hydroxyglycine-extended peptide is then converted into amidated product by the peptidyl-α-hydroxyglycine α-amidating lyase (PAL) domain of PAM. PHM and PAL are stitched together in vertebrates, but separated in some invertebrates such as Drosophila and Hydra. In addition to its luminal catalytic domains, PAM includes a cytosolic domain that can enter the nucleus following release from the membrane by γ-secretase. In this work, several glycine- and hydroxyglycine-extended peptides as well as amidated peptides were qualitatively and quantitatively assessed from pituitaries of wild-type mice and mice with a single copy of the Pam gene (PAM(+/-)) via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based methods. We provide the first evidence for the presence of a peptidyl-α-hydroxyglycine in vivo, indicating that the reaction intermediate becomes free and is not handed directly from PHM to PAL in vertebrates. Wild-type mice fed a copper deficient diet and PAM(+/-) mice exhibit similar behavioral deficits. While glycine-extended reaction intermediates accumulated in the PAM(+/-) mice and reflected dietary copper availability, amidated products were far more prevalent under the conditions examined, suggesting that the behavioral deficits observed do not simply reflect a lack of amidated peptides.     

Cryo-EM structure of glycoprotein C from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a causative agent of serious hemorrhagic diseases in humans with high mortality rates. CCHFV glycoprotein Gc plays critical roles in mediating virus-host membrane fusion and has been studied extensively as an immunogen. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in membrane fusion and Gc-specific antibody-antigen interactions remain unresolved largely because structural information of this glycoprotein is missing. We designed a trimeric protein including most of the ectodomain region of Gc from the prototype CCHFV strain, IbAr10200, which enabled the cryo-electron microscopy structure to be solved at a resolution of 2.8 ?. The structure confirms that CCHFV Gc is a class II fusion protein. Unexpectedly, structural comparisons with other solved Gc trimers in the postfusion conformation revealed that CCHFV Gc adopted hybrid architectural features of the fusion loops from hantaviruses and domain III from phenuiviruses, suggesting a complex evolutionary pathway among these bunyaviruses. Antigenic sites on CCHFV Gc that protective neutralizing antibodies target were mapped onto the CCHFV Gc structure, providing valuable information that improved our understanding of potential neutralization mechanisms of various antibodies.     

Regulatory perspective of antibiotic biosynthesis in Streptomyces

<正>Streptomycetes are Gram-positive bacteria with high GC DNA content. They produce the most abundant secondary metabolites including over two-thirds of the clinically used antibiotics of natural origin (Barka et al., 2016), for example,the important broad-spectrum antimicrobials oxytetracycline(OTC) and chlortetracycline, which are the tetracycline antibiotics, produced by Streptomyces rimosus and Strepto-     

CCL5/CCR5 axis promotes the motility of human oral cancer cells

CCL5 (previously called RANTES) is in the CC‐chemokine family and plays a crucial role in the migration and metastasis of human cancer cells. On the other hand, the effect of CCL5 is mediated via CCR receptor. RT‐PCR and flow cytometry studies demonstrated CCR5 but not CCR1 and CCR3 mRNA in oral cancer cell lines, especially higher in those with high invasiveness (SCC4) as compared with lower levels in HSC3 cells and SCC9 cells. Stimulation of oral cancer cells with CCL5 directly increased the migration and metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) production. MMP‐9 small interfering RNA inhibited the CCL5‐induced MMP‐9 expression and thereby significantly inhibited the CCL5‐induced cell migration. Activations of phospholipase C (PLC), protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ), and NF‐κB pathways after CCL5 treatment was demonstrated, and CCL5‐induced expression of MMP‐9 and migration activity was inhibited by the specific inhibitor of PLC, PKCδ, and NF‐κB cascades. In addition, migration‐prone sublines demonstrate that cells with increasing migration ability had more expression of MMP‐9, CCL5, and CCR5. Taken together, these results indicate that CCL5/CCR5 axis enhanced migration of oral cancer cells through the increase of MMP‐9 production. J. Cell. Physiol. 220: 418–426, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

鸡减蛋综合征病毒(EDSV)基因组右末端结构的分析

从中国发病鸡中分离的鸡减蛋综合征病毒（ＥｇｇＤｒｏｐＳｙｎｄｒｏｍＶｉｒｕｓ,ＥＤＳＶ）弱毒株（ＡＡ－２）,其基因组全长约为３３ｋｂ。用限制性内切酶ＨｉｎｄⅢ水解ＥＤＳＶ全基因组,构建了以ｐＢｌｕｅｓｃｒｉｐｔⅡ（ＫＳ＋）为载体的右末端片段的克隆（约４．２ｋｂ）,对其进行了序列测定和结构分析。该片段全长４１８３个碱基对（ｂｐ）,位于基因组右末端８７．３ｍ．ｕ．－１００ｍ．ｕ．。结果显示,该片段与哺乳动物腺病毒右末端Ｅ４区结构不同,与禽Ⅰ型腺病毒代表株ＣＥＬＯ右末端片段亦无同源性。本文为深入了解ＥＤＳＶ基因组结构特点,ＥＤＳＶ与其他腺病毒基因结构与功能的进化关系和ＥＤＳＶ载体的构建奠定了分子生物学基础