UV-B滤减处理下烟草光合作用参数对光照度的响应

以烟草栽培品种K326为材料,通过覆盖不同的透明薄膜滤减UV-B辐射,研究了100%（CK）、75%（T₁）、50% (T₂)、35%（T₃）UV-B辐射透过率处理下,烟草成熟初期光合参数与50和150 cm高度光照度的关系。结果表明：对于T₁、T₃,烟叶净光合速率的变化主要是气孔因素,而T₂主要是非气孔因素;通过对4类处理的平均水分利用效率的比较,发现可能存在一个UV-B辐射对水分利用效率影响的阈值范围;150 cm高度光照度除了对蒸腾速率和T₂处理的气孔导度起促进作用外,对其他光合参数都有一定的抑制作用;而不同处理的烟叶光合参数对50和150 cm高度上的光照度的响应都较为一致,在敏感程度上则存在差异。     

中国水仙查尔酮合酶cDNA的克隆及序列分析（简报）

Chalcone synthase (CHS) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of all classes of flavonoids. The production of flower pigment is specifically regulated by the activity of CHS. We cloned the cDNA sequence of CHS-A gene from Narcissus by PCR and analyzed the coding sequence of gene. The result demonstrated that the sequence of the coding region was 1167bp, encoding a protein of 389 amino acid which was more than 80% homology with CHS of the other 8 plants, such as Nicotine abacus and Solana tuberosum.     

One single HPLC-PDA/(-)ESI-MS/MS analysis to simultaneously determine 30 components of the aqueous extract of Rabdosia rubescens

In China the leaves of Rabdosia rubescens have been cooked in water and widely drank to treat inflammatory and pain related diseases. To explore the components that were possibly absorbed by people the aqueous extract of the leaves was prepared, and one single HPLC-PDA/(-)ESI-MS/MS analysis was developed to simultaneously determine the components. Using the HPLC-PDA analysis 39 peaks were found in the aqueous extract, while using the (-)ESI-MS/MS analysis we were able to identify 30 peaks represented components, including 5 nucleic acids, 21 phenolic acids and 4 diterpenoids. On mouse models the in vivo anti-inflammation and analgesic actions demonstrate that 0.32 g/kg of the aqueous extract of the leaves of Rabdosia rubescens can effectively inhibit the inflammation-induced chronic pain.     

Dopamine Receptors Modulate Cytotoxicity of Natural Killer Cells via cAMP-PKA-CREB Signaling Pathway

Dopamine (DA), a neurotransmitter in the nervous system, has been shown to modulate immune function. We have previously reported that five subtypes of DA receptors, including D1R, D2R, D3R, D4R and D5R, are expressed in T lymphocytes and they are involved in regulation of T cells. However, roles of these DA receptor subtypes and their coupled signal-transduction pathway in modulation of natural killer (NK) cells still remain to be clarified. The spleen of mice was harvested and NK cells were isolated and purified by negative selection using magnetic activated cell sorting. After NK cells were incubated with various drugs for 4 h, flow cytometry measured cytotoxicity of NK cells against YAC-1 lymphoma cells. NK cells expressed the five subtypes of DA receptors at mRNA and protein levels. Activation of D1-like receptors (including D1R and D5R) with agonist {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"SKF38393","term_id":"1157151916","term_text":"SKF38393"}}SKF38393 enhanced NK cell cytotoxicity, but activation of D2-like receptors (including D2R, D3R and D4R) with agonist quinpirole attenuated NK cells. Simultaneously, {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"SKF38393","term_id":"1157151916","term_text":"SKF38393"}}SKF38393 elevated D1R and D5R expression, cAMP content, and phosphorylated cAMP-response element-binding (CREB) level in NK cells, while quinpirole reduced D3R and D4R expression, cAMP content, and phosphorylated CREB level in NK cells. These effects of {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"SKF38393","term_id":"1157151916","term_text":"SKF38393"}}SKF38393 were blocked by {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"SCH23390","term_id":"1052733334","term_text":"SCH23390"}}SCH23390, an antagonist of D1-like receptors, and quinpirole effects were abolished by haloperidol, an antagonist of D2-like receptors. In support these results, H89, an inhibitor of phosphokinase A (PKA), prevented the {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"SKF38393","term_id":"1157151916","term_text":"SKF38393"}}SKF38393-dependent enhancement of NK cells and forskolin, an activator of adenylyl cyclase (AC), counteracted the quinpirole-dependent suppression of NK cells. These findings show that DA receptor subtypes are involved in modulation of NK cells and suggest that D1-like receptors facilitate NK cells by stimulating D1R/D5R-cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling pathway and D2-like receptors suppress NK cells by inhibiting D3R/D4R-cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling pathway. The results may provide more targets of therapeutic strategy for neuroimmune diseases.     

Association between Transforming Growth Factor-Beta 1 T869C Polymorphism and Ischemic Stroke: A Meta-Analysis

Objective

To explore the association between transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) T869C polymorphism and risk of ischemic stroke (IS) by performing a meta-analysis based on published articles.

Methods

Systematic electronic searches of PubMed, Science Direct, BIOSIS Previews, Chinese Biomedical Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WANFANG Database were performed. The strength of the association was calculated by pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). Subgroup analysis was conducted to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis was performed to elucidate the stability of the outcomes. Publication bias was evaluated by Begg’s funnel plot and Egger’s test.

Results

A total of 6 studies involving 1701 cases were included. The overall estimates did not show any significant association between TGF-β1 T869C polymorphism and risk of IS under all genetic models (C vs. T: OR = 1.08,95%CI = 0.88–1.32; CC vs. TT:OR = 1.17,95%CI = 0.79–1.72; CT vs. TT: OR = 0.91, 95%CI = 0.68–1.22; CC+CT vs. TT: OR = 0.99, 95%CI = 0.73–1.35; CC vs. CT+TT: OR = 1.23, 95%CI = 0.95–1.59). Similar lacking associations were observed in subgroup analysis based on ethnicity and source of controls. When stratified by study design, significant increased association of IS risk was found in cohort studies under genetic models except recessive model(C vs. T: OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 1.05–1.32; CC vs. TT: OR = 1.40, 95%CI = 1.10–1.77; CT vs. TT: OR = 1.23, 95%CI = 1.02–1.49; CC+CT vs. TT: OR = 1.27, 95%CI = 1.03–1.57; CC vs. CT+TT, OR = 1.21, 95%CI = 0.99–1.47), whereas in case-control studies a significant decreased risk was detected under heterozygote comparison(CT vs. CC: OR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.57–0.92). However, after correction for multiple testing, the associations were observed to be null significant in both cohort and case-control subgroups among all genetic models.

Conclusion

This meta-analysis suggested that current epidemiological studies of TGF-β1 T869C polymorphism are too inconsistent to draw a conclusion on the association with IS susceptibility. Given the small sample size and remarkable between-study heterogeneity, further well-designed prospective large-scale studies are warranted.     

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.     

Microbial communities in terrestrial surface soils are not widely limited by carbon

Microbial communities in soils are generally considered to be limited by carbon (C), which could be a crucial control for basic soil functions and responses of microbial heterotrophic metabolism to climate change. However, global soil microbial C limitation (MCL) has rarely been estimated and is poorly understood. Here, we predicted MCL, defined as limited availability of substrate C relative to nitrogen and/or phosphorus to meet microbial metabolic requirements, based on the thresholds of extracellular enzyme activity across 847 sites (2476 observations) representing global natural ecosystems. Results showed that only about 22% of global sites in terrestrial surface soils show relative C limitation in microbial community. This finding challenges the conventional hypothesis of ubiquitous C limitation for soil microbial metabolism. The limited geographic extent of C limitation in our study was mainly attributed to plant litter, rather than soil organic matter that has been processed by microbes, serving as the dominant C source for microbial acquisition. We also identified a significant latitudinal pattern of predicted MCL with larger C limitation at mid- to high latitudes, whereas this limitation was generally absent in the tropics. Moreover, MCL significantly constrained the rates of soil heterotrophic respiration, suggesting a potentially larger relative increase in respiration at mid- to high latitudes than low latitudes, if climate change increases primary productivity that alleviates MCL at higher latitudes. Our study provides the first global estimates of MCL, advancing our understanding of terrestrial C cycling and microbial metabolic feedback under global climate change.