The Fruit Dropping Characters of Sweet Cherry and Its Interior Causes in Insufficient Chilling Zone

Russian Journal of Plant Physiology - Attempts had been made to provide evidences insight into the pattern and physiological mechanism of sweet cherry fruit dropping. However, the fruit abscission...     

Associations of the uric acid related genetic variants in SLC2A9 and ABCG2 loci with coronary heart disease risk

Background

Multiple studies investigated the associations between serum uric acid and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. However, further investigations still remain to be carried out to determine whether there exists a causal relationship between them. We aim to explore the associations between genetic variants in uric acid related loci of SLC2A9 and ABCG2 and CHD risk in a Chinese population.

Results

A case–control study including 1,146 CHD cases and 1,146 controls was conducted. Association analysis between two uric acid related variants (SNP rs11722228 in SLC2A9 and rs4148152 in ABCG2) and CHD risk was performed by logistic regression model. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Compared with subjects with A allele of rs4148152, those with G allele had a decreased CHD risk and the association remained significant in a multivariate model. However, it altered to null when BMI was added into the model. No significant association was observed between rs11722228 and CHD risk. The distribution of CHD risk factors was not significantly different among different genotypes of both SNPs. Among subjects who did not consume alcohol, the G allele of rs4148152 showed a moderate protective effect. However, no significant interactions were observed between SNP by CHD risk factors on CHD risk.

Conclusions

There might be no association between the two uric acid related SNPs with CHD risk. Further studies were warranted to validate these results.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-015-0162-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Monophosphoryl lipid A analogues with varying 3-O-substitution: synthesis and potent adjuvant activity

Structurally defined immunostimulatory adjuvants play important roles in the development of new generation vaccines. Here described are the syntheses of three monophosphoryl lipid A analogues (1-3) with different substitution at 3-O-position of the reducing sugar and their potent immunostimulatory adjuvant activity. The syntheses involve the preparation of glycosylation acceptors benzyl 3,4-di-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-2-[(R)-3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanamido]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (16) and benzyl 3-O-allyl-4-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-2-[(R)-3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanamido]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (17). The glycosylation reactions between the donor 4,6-di-O-benzylidene-2-deoxy-2-(2',2',2'-trichloroethoxycarbonylamino)-alpha-d-glucopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate (21) and acceptors 16 and 17 provide the desired beta-(1-->6)-linked disaccharides 22 and 23, respectively. Selective reductive ring opening of the 4,6-di-O-benzylidene group, installation of a phosphate group to the 4'-hydroxyl group, and the final global debenzylation produce the designed monophosphoryl lipid A analogues 1-3. All three synthetic analogues induce antigen specific T-cell proliferation and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production in ex vivo experiments with a totally synthetic liposomal vaccine system. The immunostimulatory potency of compound 1-3 is in the same order of magnitude as that of the detoxified natural lipid A product isolated from Salmonella minnesota R595 (R595 lipid A). The substituent at the 3-O-position of the reducing sugar does not have much effect on the adjuvant activity of monophosphoryl lipid A analogues. The preliminary lethal toxicity study indicates that the 3-O-acylated hepta-acyl monophosphoryl lipid A may not be more toxic than its 3-O-deacylated hexa-acyl analogue.     

重组人IL6／2融合蛋白对6.5Gy照射小鼠造血功能恢复的影响

观察了ｈＦＰＩＬ６／２对６．５Ｇｙγ线照射ＮＩＨ小鼠第１０天造血功能恢复的影响。结果表明：照射小鼠连续４ｄ给予ｈＦＰＩＬ６／２２５０μｇ·ｋｇ－１·ｄ－１,其脾重、ＣＦＵ－８、骨髓有核细胞数及ＣＭ－ＣＦＵ分别比对照组增加５９．０％、２７８．５％、５７．９％和１３８．２％,统计学处理均有显著差异;对此四项指标的改善也明显优于２５μｇ组。另外,２５０μｇ剂量组小鼠外周血象３０ｄ的动态观察结果表明,ｈＦＰＩＬ６／２不但能明显提高红细胞和血红蛋白的最低值,而且能使血小板的恢复提前。提示ｈＦＰＩＬ６／２在促进血小板生成和促进红系造血方面可能具有良好的应用前景。     

Expression and characterization of the chitinases from Serratia marcescens GEI strain for the control of Varroa destructor, a honey bee parasite

Serratia marcescens GEI strain was isolated from the gut of the workers of Chinese honey bee Apis cerana and evaluated in the laboratory for the control of Varroa destructor, a parasite of western honey bee A. mellifera. The supernatant and the collected proteins by ammonium sulfate from the bacterial cultures showed a strong miticidal effect on the female mites, with 100% mite mortality in 5 days. Heat (100 °C for 10 min) and proteinase K treatment of the collected proteins destroyed the miticidal activity. The improved miticial activity of this bacterial strain on chitin medium indicated the involvement of chitinases. The expressed chitinases ChiA, ChiB and ChiC1 from S. marcescens GEI by recombinant Escherichia coli showed pathogenicity against the mites in the laboratory. These chitinases were active in a broad pH range (5-9) and the optimum temperatures were between 60 and 75 °C. Synergistic effects of ChiA and ChiB on the miticidal activity against V. destructor were observed. The workers of both honey bee species were not sensitive to the spraying and feeding chitinases. These results provided alternative control strategies for Varroa mites, by formulating chitinase agents and by constructing transgenetic honey bees.     

Detecting disease associated modules and prioritizing active genes based on high throughput data

Background  

The accumulation of high-throughput data greatly promotes computational investigation of gene function in the context of complex biological systems. However, a biological function is not simply controlled by an individual gene since genes function in a cooperative manner to achieve biological processes. In the study of human diseases, rather than to discover disease related genes, identifying disease associated pathways and modules becomes an essential problem in the field of systems biology.     

白介素-6对NMDA诱导的小脑神经元放电活动的抑制作用及其机制

目的：观察白介素-6（IL-6）对N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸（NMDA）激发的神经元放电活动的影响及其可能的作用机制。方法：用含IL-6、NMDA和JAK抑制剂ACA90的人工脑脊液（ACSF）灌流小脑脑片,利用离体脑片神经元单位放电细胞外记录技术,记录药物对小脑间位核神经元放电的影响。用Western blot法测定间位核神经元NMDA受体亚单位1（NRI）的磷酸化水平。结果：单独用12．5μmol／L和25μmol／LNMDA灌流,神经元放电频率均较基础放电频率增加;用不同浓度IL-6（50,100,200μg／ml）联合NMDA作用后,神经尤的放电频率出现浓度依赖性地降低;AG490可部分阻断IL-6对NMDA兴奋神经元放电的抑制作用。与单独NMDA处理组比较,用IL-6联合NMDA处理神经元后,神经元的NR1磷酸化水平出现浓度依赖性地降低。AG490可阻断IL-6所致的神经元NR1磷酸化水平的降低。结论：IL-6可抑制NMDA激发的小脑间位核神经元的放电兴奋活动;并同时下调神经元的NR1磷酸化水平。     

细菌必需基因、最小基因组和合成细胞

单细胞原核生物是原始的细胞生命形式,确定细菌必需基因和最小基因组对理解生命的本质、细胞生命的起源和进化有非常重要的意义。文中简要介绍近年来有关细菌的必需基因、最小基因组和合成细胞的研究方法、理论和进展。还特别介绍人工建立最小细菌基因组的策略以及应用前景。     

Berberine Targets AP-2/hTERT,NF-κB/COX-2, HIF-1α/VEGF and Cytochrome-c/Caspase Signaling to Suppress Human Cancer Cell Growth

Berberine (BBR), an isoquinoline derivative alkaloid isolated from Chinese herbs, has a long history of uses for the treatment of multiple diseases, including cancers. However, the precise mechanisms of actions of BBR in human lung cancer cells remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms by which BBR inhibits cell growth in human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Treatment with BBR promoted cell morphology change, inhibited cell migration, proliferation and colony formation, and induced cell apoptosis. Further molecular mechanism study showed that BBR simultaneously targeted multiple cell signaling pathways to inhibit NSCLC cell growth. Treatment with BBR inhibited AP-2α and AP-2β expression and abrogated their binding on hTERT promoters, thereby inhibiting hTERT expression. Knockdown of AP-2α and AP-2β by siRNA considerably augmented the BBR-mediated inhibition of cell growth. BBR also suppressed the nuclear translocation of p50/p65 NF-κB proteins and their binding to COX-2 promoter, causing inhibition of COX-2. BBR also downregulated HIF-1α and VEGF expression and inhibited Akt and ERK phosphorylation. Knockdown of HIF-1α by siRNA considerably augmented the BBR-mediated inhibition of cell growth. Moreover, BBR treatment triggered cytochrome-c release from mitochondrial inter-membrane space into cytosol, promoted cleavage of caspase and PARP, and affected expression of BAX and Bcl-2, thereby activating apoptotic pathway. Taken together, these results demonstrated that BBR inhibited NSCLC cell growth by simultaneously targeting AP-2/hTERT, NF-κB/COX-2, HIF-1α/VEGF, PI3K/AKT, Raf/MEK/ERK and cytochrome-c/caspase signaling pathways. Our findings provide new insights into understanding the anticancer mechanisms of BBR in human lung cancer therapy.