Expression of apoptosis-related genes in the endometrium of polycystic ovary syndrome patients during the window of implantation

The present study investigated the expression of the apoptosis-related genes fas-associated via death domain (FADD) and Bcl-2 in the endometrium during the window of implantation in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. The aim was to explore the role of cell apoptosis in endometrial receptivity during this period. The subjects were divided into experimental and control group. The experimental group comprised 12 infertile women with PCOS, and the control group comprised 12 women who were infertile because of tubal pathological factors but had normal menstrual cycles. Endometria were collected by biopsy 7d after ovulation. Six samples from each group were randomly selected and subjected to gene chip analyses. The expression of endometrial FADD and Bcl-2 was determined by immunohistochemistry, and cell apoptosis was detected by the TUNEL method. Compared with the control group, 194 differentially expressed genes were found in the PCOS group, 102 of which were upregulated and 92 were downregulated. The differentially expressed genes were divided into 15 types according to function. Among the nine genes related to cell apoptosis, five (including Bcl-2) were upregulated and four were downregulated (including FADD). Bcl-2 expression during the window of implantation in the PCOS group increased compared with the control group, showing a significant difference (P<0.05). FADD expression in the PCOS group notably decreased compared with that in the control group, which also showed a significant difference (P<0.05). Cell apoptosis analysis showed a significant difference between the average apoptotic indices in the PCOS and control groups (P<0.05). Significant differences were observed between the endometrial gene expression in the PCOS and control groups. The decrease in cell apoptosis during the window of implantation in PCOS patients may be one of the causes of the reduced endometrial receptivity.     

Biobased poly(propylene sebacate) as shape memory polymer with tunable switching temperature for potential biomedical applications

From the point of better biocompatibility and sustainability, biobased shape memory polymers (SMPs) are highly desired. We used 1,3-propanediol, sebacic acid, and itaconic acid, which have been industrially produced via fermentation or extraction with large quantities as the main raw materials for the synthesis of biobased poly(propylene sebacate). Diethylene glycol was used to tailor the flexibility of the polyester. The resulted polyesters were found to be promising SMPs with excellent shape recovery and fixity (near 100% and independent of thermomechanical cycles). The switching temperature and recovery speed of the SMPs are tunable by controlling the composition of the polyesters and their curing extent. The continuously changed switching temperature ranging from 12 to 54 °C was realized. Such temperature range is typical for biomedical applications in the human body. The molecular and crystalline structures were explored to correlate to the shape memory behavior. The combination of potential biocompatibility and biodegradability of the biobased SMPs makes them suitable for fabricating biomedical devices.     

Incorporating heuristic information into ant colony optimization for epistasis detection

Epistasis has been receiving increasing attention in understanding the mechanism underlying susceptibility to complex diseases. Though many works have been done for epistasis detection, genome-wide association study remains a challenging task: it makes the search space excessively huge while solution quality is excessively demanded. In this study, we introduce an ant colony optimization based algorithm, AntMiner, by incorporating heuristic information into ant-decision rules. The heuristic information is used to direct ants in the search process for improving computational efficiency and solution accuracy. During iterations, chi-squared test is conducted to measure the association between an interaction and the phenotype. At the completion of the iteration process, statistically significant epistatic interactions are ordered and then screened by a post-procedure. Experiments of AntMiner and its comparison with existing algorithms epiMODE, TEAM and AntEpiSeeker are performed on both simulation data sets and real age-related macular degeneration data set, under the criteria of detection power and sensitivity. Results demonstrate that AntMiner is promising for epistasis detection. In terms of detection power, AntMiner performs best among all the other algorithms on all cases regardless of epistasis models and single nucleotide polymorphism size; compared with AntEpiSeeker, AntMiner can obtain better detection power but with less ants and iterations. In terms of sensitivity, AntMiner is better than AntEpiSeeker in detecting epistasis models displaying marginal effects but it has moderate sensitivity on epistasis models displaying no marginal effects. The study may provide clues on heuristics for further epistasis detection. The software package is available online at https://sourceforge.net/projects/antminer/files/.     

Proteomic insights into the stimulatory effect of Tween 80 on mycelial growth and exopolysaccharide production of an edible mushroom Pleurotus tuber-regium

Proteomic analysis was applied to investigate the mechanism of the stimulatory effect of Tween 80 on the mycelial growth and exopolysaccharide production by an edible mushroom Pleurotus tuber-regium. 32 differentially expressed proteins were identified by one-dimension gel electrophoresis. Combined with our previous findings, the up-regulation of heat shock proteins might help to maintain cellular viability under environmental stress. The up-regulation of ATP:citrate lyase isoform 2 could suppress the activity of tricarboxylic acid cycle and, consequently, stimulate exopolysaccharide production. The present results provide important insight to the mechanism by which stimulatory agents (Tween 80) can increase the production of useful fungal metabolites and also fill the gap of our knowledge on the under-developed mushroom proteomics.     

Preliminary studies on leaf beetle, Galeruca daurica on grassland

沙葱萤叶甲Galeruca daurica Joannis是近年来严重危害葱属(AUium)植物建群草场的重要食叶害虫.该虫在内蒙古地区一年发生1代,以卵越冬.本文介绍了该虫生活史、生活习性、发生范围、发生面积、危害症状、生境特征、危害损失,并提出了防治策略.     

Limits of propidium iodide as a cell viability indicator for environmental bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Viability measurements of individual bacteria are applied in various scopes of research and industry using approaches where propidium iodide (PI) serves as dead cell indicator. The reliability of PI uptake as a cell viability indicator for dead (PI permeable) and viable (PI impermeable) bacteria was tested using two soil bacteria, the gram(-) Sphingomonas sp. LB126 and the gram(+) Mycobacterium frederiksbergense LB501T. METHODS: Bacterial proliferation activities observed viaDAPI and Hoechst 33342 staining were linked to the energy charge and the proportion of dead cells as obtained by diOC(6) (3)-staining and PI-uptake, respectively. Calibration and verification experiments were performed using batch cultures grown on different substrates. RESULTS: PI uptake depended on the physiological state of the bacterial cells. Unexpectedly, up to 40% of both strains were stained by PI during early exponential growth on glucose when compared to 2-5% of cells in the early stationary phase of growth. CONCLUSIONS: The results question the utility of PI as a universal indicator for the viability of (environmental) bacteria. It rather appears that in addition to nonviable cells, PI also stains growing cells of Sphingomonas sp. and M. frederiksbergense during a short period of their life cycle.     

蚜虫不同分类阶元之间遗传距离的RAPD-PCR研究(英文)

应用RAPD PCR技术研究了蚜虫不同分类阶元的遗传距离。从 2 0种随机引物中筛选出 7种引物 ,并用它们的扩增结果进行Nei’s的遗传距离的计算和聚类分析。结果表明 :蚜虫的遗传距离在不同科之间为 0 .56 6 3± 0 .0 6 89,亚科之间为 0 .4 586± 0 .0 2 142 ,属之间为 0 .3816± 0 .0 375,种之间为 0 .2 975±0 0 6 2 7,同一种的不同种群之间为 0 .0 4 33± 0 .0 2 2 2。同时 ,本研究结果为在DNA水平上研究蚜虫的分化和种的鉴定 ,尤其是对于近缘种的鉴定具有重要的价值。     

Impacts of glutathione peroxidase-1 knockout on the protection by injected selenium against the pro-oxidant-induced liver aponecrosis and signaling in selenium-deficient mice

Previous research has suggested that repletion of cellular glutathione peroxidase (GPX1) activity by a single injection of Se was dissociated from the Se protection against the pro-oxidant-induced liver necrosis in Se-deficient rodents. Using the GPX1 knockout (GPX1-/-) mice, TUNEL assay, and apoptosis gene expression microarray, we have demonstrated strikingly different impacts of GPX1 knockout on hepatotoxicity and the related signaling induced by an intraperitoneal injection of 12.5 mg paraquat/kg body weight (b.wt.). In both Se-deficient GPX1-/- and wild-type (WT) mice, the paraquat did not induce typical liver necrosis, rather aponecrosis or necrapoptosis, a syncretic process of cell death sharing characteristics of both apoptosis and necrosis. The severity of liver aponecrosis and the associated mortality were reduced to a much greater extent by an injection of Se (ip, 50 microg/kg b.wt. as Na2SeO3) prior to paraquat stress in the WT mice, compared with the GPX1-/- mice. The induced liver aponecrosis seemed to be more apoptotic in the GPX1-/- mice but more necrotic in the WT mice. The paraquat-mediated gene or protein expression of proapoptotic Bax, Bcl-w, and Bcl-X(S), cell survival/death factors GADD45, MDM2, c-Myc, and caspase-3 was upregulated, but that of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 was downregulated in the GPX1-/- mice vs. the WT mice. Overall, these differences between the two groups of mice were related to a low level of liver GPX1 activity in the WT mice that represented < 4% of the normal physiological level. Therefore, the low level of GPX1 activity in the Se-deficient mice can exert a potent role in defending against liver aponecrosis induced by moderate oxidative stress.