Comparative study of apoptosis-related gene loci in human, mouse and rat genomes

Many genes are involved in mammalian cell apoptosis pathway. These apoptosis genes often contain characteristic functional domains, and can be classified into at least 15 functional groups, according to previous reports. Using an integrated bioinformatics platform for motif or domain search from three public mammalian proteomes (International Protein Index database for human, mouse, and rat), we systematically cataloged all of the proteins involved in mammalian apoptosis pathway. By localizing those proteins onto the genomes, we obtained a gene locus centric apoptosis gene catalog for human, mouse and rat.Further phylogenetic analysis showed that most of the apoptosis related gene loci are conserved among these three mammals. Interestingly, about one-third of apoptosis gene loci form gene clusters on mammal chromosomes, and exist in the three species, which indicated that mammalian apoptosis gene orders are also conserved. In addition, some tandem duplicated gene loci were revealed by comparing gene loci clusters in the three species. All data produced in this work were stored in a relational database and may be viewed at http://pcas.cbi.pku.edu.cn/database/apd.php.     

A Putative Plasma Membrane Cation/proton Antiporter from Soybean Confers Salt Tolerance in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis>

Cation transport is thought to be an important process for ion homeostasis in plant cells. Here, we report that a soybean putative cation/proton antiporter GmCAX1 may be a mediator of this process. GmCAX1 is expressed in all tissues of the soybean plants but at a lower level in roots. Its expression was induced by PEG, ABA, Ca²⁺, Na⁺ and Li⁺ treatments. The GmCAX1-GFP fusion protein was mainly localized in plasma membrane of the transgenic Arabidopsis plant cells and onion epidermal cells. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing GmCAX1 accumulated less Na⁺, K⁺, and Li⁺, and were more tolerant to elevated Li⁺ and Na⁺ levels during germination when compared with the controls. These results suggest that GmCAX1 may function as an antiporter for Na⁺, K⁺ and Li⁺. Modulation of this antiporter may be beneficial for regulation of ion homeostasis and thus plant salt tolerance.     

Rational Design of Hierarchical “Ceramic‐in‐Polymer” and “Polymer‐in‐Ceramic” Electrolytes for Dendrite‐Free Solid‐State Batteries

Solid polymer electrolytes as one of the promising solid‐state electrolytes have received extensive attention due to their excellent flexibility. However, the issues of lithium (Li) dendrite growth still hinder their practical applications in solid‐state batteries (SSBs). Herein, composite electrolytes from “ceramic‐in‐polymer” (CIP) to “polymer‐in‐ceramic” (PIC) with different sizes of garnet particles are investigated for their effectiveness in dendrite suppression. While the CIP electrolyte with 20 vol% 200 nm Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ (LLZTO) particles (CIP‐200 nm) exhibits the highest ionic conductivity of 1.6 × 10^?4 S cm^?1 at 30 °C and excellent flexibility, the PIC electrolyte with 80 vol% 5 µm LLZTO (PIC‐5 µm) shows the highest tensile strength of 12.7 MPa. A sandwich‐type composite electrolyte (SCE) with hierarchical garnet particles (a PIC‐5 µm interlayer sandwiched between two CIP‐200 nm thin layers) is constructed to simultaneously achieve dendrite suppression and excellent interfacial contact with Li metal. The SCE enables highly stable Li plating/stripping cycling for over 400 h at 0.2 mA cm^?2 at 30 °C. The LiFePO₄/SCE/Li cells also demonstrate excellent cycle performance at room temperature. Fabricating sandwich‐type composite electrolytes with hierarchical filler designs can be an effective strategy to achieve dendrite‐free SSBs with high performance and high safety at room temperature.     

马铃薯块茎组织特异性启动子的克隆及序列分析

利用PCR技术从马铃薯陇薯3号基因组DNA中扩增出长度约为1.0 kb的DNA片段,经与T载体连接,测序表明,克隆到的DNA片段大小为969 bp,该序列与GenBank中已公布的patatin启动子序列同源性为97.94％;采用植物顺式调控元件数据库PLACE和PlantCare进行序列分析,结果表明,该片段含有启动子的保守序列TATA-box和CAAT-box,且在CAAT-box上游有8 bp的增强子.此外,还具有马铃薯块茎蛋白patatin基因启动子保守调控序列的蔗糖效应元件(SURE)4个及马铃薯储藏物特异结合调控patatin蛋白表达位点(B-box)2个,而这些特异序列可能是基因特异表达所必须的.     

恩替卡韦联合胸腺肽α1 治疗慢性乙型肝炎疗效研究

目的:观察和比较恩替卡韦联合胸腺肽α1治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎的疗效。方法:选取我院58例HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎患者分成联合组和对照组。联合组28例,初始同时使用恩替卡韦及胸腺肽α124周,之后停胸腺肽α1继续用恩替卡韦至48周。对照组30例,单用恩替卡韦0.5mg/d,48周。定期检测ALT复常率,HBVDNA转阴率,HBeAg/抗HBe血清转换率,肝纤维化组合,Fibroscan评分两组在治疗结束时进行疗效评价。结果:24周时两组ALT复常率无差异显著性(P>0.05),联合组和对照组HBV DNA阴转率在24周、48周时均差异有显著性(P<0.05)。联合组与单用组HBeAg血清转换率在第24周、48周时,两组比较差异均有显著性(P<0.05)。肝纤维化组合各指标(HA,LN,PⅢP,Ⅳ型胶原),Fibroscan评分两组治疗48周后比较差异均有显著性(P<0.05),且两组治疗前后差异联合组更显著。治疗过程中,未发现明显副作用。结论:恩替卡韦联合胸腺肽α1治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎,安全性与耐受性良好,联合组在ALT复常率,HBeAg血清转换率和HBV DNA转阴率,抗肝纤维化的疗效上显著优于单用恩替卡韦组。     

The intronic promoter of Actin4 mediates high-level transgene expression mainly in the wing and epidermis of silkworms

Transgenic Research - The cytoplasmic actin gene Actin4 (A4) in silkworm (Bombyx mori) was isolated 20&nbsp;years ago and has a distal promoter upstream of the first exon and a proximal...     

Two New Species of the Genus Bupleurum (Umbelliferae) from China

Bupleurum is a genus largely distributed in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In China 36 species, 17 varieties and 7 forms have hitherto been reported and most of them are used as Chinese traditional drugs under the name of Chai-Hu. Chai-Hu is one of the most popular drugs used ever since the ancient time and is prescribed principally in the treatment of fevers and influenza. In this article, the authors report two new species, B. kunmingense Y. Li et S. L. Pan and B. polyclonum Y. Li et S. L. Pan which were discovered in Yunnan Province based on morphological studies and preliminary phytochemical tests. The ultraviolet spectrums and thin layer chromatograms of the essential oil and the crude saikosaponins of the two new species are similar to those of B. chinense DC., the standard material medica of Chai-Hu. Moreover, two new saikosaponin spots located between saikosaponin a and c in TLC were discovered in the two new species, and this could be served as a chemical evidence for identification purpose. In the histochemistry examination, the reaction of saikosaponin with color developing agent in parenchyma of the roots of the two new species is obviously more significant than that of B. chinense DC. and this phenomenon has also been proved to be true by TLC of the crude saikosaponin extracts of these two new species. It is suggested that the two new species be used as a substitute ofhigh quality for Chai-Hu.     

Hybrid Models Identified a 12-Gene Signature for Lung Cancer Prognosis and Chemoresponse Prediction

Background

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The recurrence rate ranges from 35–50% among early stage non-small cell lung cancer patients. To date, there is no fully-validated and clinically applied prognostic gene signature for personalized treatment.

Methodology/Principal Findings

From genome-wide mRNA expression profiles generated on 256 lung adenocarcinoma patients, a 12-gene signature was identified using combinatorial gene selection methods, and a risk score algorithm was developed with Naïve Bayes. The 12-gene model generates significant patient stratification in the training cohort HLM & UM (n = 256; log-rank P = 6.96e-7) and two independent validation sets, MSK (n = 104; log-rank P = 9.88e-4) and DFCI (n = 82; log-rank P = 2.57e-4), using Kaplan-Meier analyses. This gene signature also stratifies stage I and IB lung adenocarcinoma patients into two distinct survival groups (log-rank P<0.04). The 12-gene risk score is more significant (hazard ratio = 4.19, 95% CI: [2.08, 8.46]) than other commonly used clinical factors except tumor stage (III vs. I) in multivariate Cox analyses. The 12-gene model is more accurate than previously published lung cancer gene signatures on the same datasets. Furthermore, this signature accurately predicts chemoresistance/chemosensitivity to Cisplatin, Carboplatin, Paclitaxel, Etoposide, Erlotinib, and Gefitinib in NCI-60 cancer cell lines (P<0.017). The identified 12 genes exhibit curated interactions with major lung cancer signaling hallmarks in functional pathway analysis. The expression patterns of the signature genes have been confirmed in RT-PCR analyses of independent tumor samples.

Conclusions/Significance

The results demonstrate the clinical utility of the identified gene signature in prognostic categorization. With this 12-gene risk score algorithm, early stage patients at high risk for tumor recurrence could be identified for adjuvant chemotherapy; whereas stage I and II patients at low risk could be spared the toxic side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs.