中国专利法对农业化学品发明的专利保护

１中国专利保护的现状众所周之,目前,我国已加入世界知识产权组织管理的全部有关专利的国际条约,并制订了有关知识产权保护的各项法律。除上文所述的《商标法》、《专利法》和《著作权法》外,１９８０年６月３日起,中国成为世界知识产权组织的成员国;１９８５年３月...     

The use of zinc(II) to probe iron binding and oxidation by the ferritin (EcFtnA) of Escherichia coli

 The ferritin of Escherichia coli (EcFtnA) is similar to human H-chain ferritin (HuHF) in having 24 subunits, each containing a dinuclear site at which two iron atoms can be oxidised (the diiron centre). In EcFtnA, unlike HuHF, fluorescence quenching of Trp122, located near site A of the dinuclear centre, can be used to monitor metal binding (this tryptophan is absent from HuHF). Metal binding also perturbs the UV absorbance spectrum of Trp122 and that of Tyr24 (a conserved residue near site B of the dinuclear centre). Using UV-difference spectroscopy and fluorescence quenching it is shown that Fe(II) and Zn(II) bind at the same sites, A and B. Sequential stopped-flow studies of Fe(II) binding and oxidation also show that Zn(II) is an effective competitor of Fe(II) binding and an inhibitor of its oxidation. Received: 10 June 1998 / Accepted: 18 September 1998     

Integrated bioinformatics analysis revealed the regulation of angiogenesis by tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality, metastasis accounts for most of the cases. Angiogenesis plays an important role in cancer metastasis, but how tumor cells affect the function of endothelial cells by dictating their microRNA (miRNA) expression remains largely unknown.Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified through dataset downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzed by GEO2R. We then used online tools to obtain potential targets of candidate miRNAs and functional enrichment analysis, as well as the protein-protein interaction (PPI). Finally, the function of miR-302c-3p was validated through in vitro assay.In the current study, we found that HCC cells altered miRNA expression profiles of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and miR-302c-3p was the most down-regulated miRNA in HUVECs when they were co-cultured with HCC-LM3 cells. Functional enrichment analysis of the candidate targets revealed that these genes were involved in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, in particular, cytosine methylation. In addition, PPI network demonstrated distinct roles of genes targeted by miR-302c-3p. Importantly, inhibition of angiogenesis, migration and permeability by the most down-regulated miR-302c-3p in HUVECs was confirmed in vitro. These findings brought us novel insight into the regulation of angiogenesis by HCC cells and provided potential targets for the development of therapeutic strategies.     

Tumor suppression in the absence of p53-mediated cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, and senescence

Cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, and senescence are widely accepted as the major mechanisms by which p53 inhibits tumor formation. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether they are the rate-limiting steps in tumor suppression. Here, we have generated mice bearing lysine to arginine mutations at one (p53(K117R)) or three (p53(3KR); K117R+K161R+K162R) of p53 acetylation sites. Although p53(K117R/K117R) cells are competent for p53-mediated cell-cycle arrest and senescence, but not apoptosis, all three of these processes are ablated in p53(3KR/3KR) cells. Surprisingly, unlike p53 null mice, which rapidly succumb to spontaneous thymic lymphomas, early-onset tumor formation does not occur in either p53(K117R/K117R) or p53(3KR/3KR) animals. Notably, p53(3KR) retains the ability to regulate energy metabolism and reactive oxygen species production. These findings underscore the crucial role of acetylation in differentially modulating p53 responses and suggest that unconventional activities of p53, such as metabolic regulation and antioxidant function, are critical for suppression of early-onset spontaneous tumorigenesis.     

Coastal Seawater Bacteria Harbor a Large Reservoir of Plasmid-Mediated Quinolone Resistance Determinants in Jiaozhou Bay, China

Diversity and prevalence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants were investigated in environmental bacteria isolated from surface seawater of Jiaozhou Bay, China. Five qnr gene alleles were identified in 34 isolates by PCR amplification, including qnrA3 gene in a Shewanella algae isolate, qnrB9 gene in a Citrobacter freundii isolate, qnrD gene in 22 Proteus vulgaris isolates, qnrS1 gene in 1 Enterobacter sp. and 4 Klebsiella spp. isolates, and qnrS2 gene in 1 Pseudomonas sp. and 4 Pseudoalteromonas sp. isolates. The qnrC, aac(6')-Ib-cr, and qepA genes could not be detected in this study. The 22 qnrD-positive Proteus vulgaris isolates could be differentiated into four genotypes based on ERIC-PCR assay. The qnrS1 and qnrD genes could be transferred to Escherichia coli J53 Azi(R) or E. coli TOP10 recipient strains using conjugation or transformation methods. Among the 34 qnr-positive isolates, 30 had a single point mutation in the QRDRs of GyrA protein (Ala67Ser, Ser83Ile, or Ser83Thr), indicating that cooperation of chromosome- and plasmid-mediated resistance contributed to the spread and evolution of quinolone resistance in this coastal bay. Eighty-five percent of the isolates were also found to be resistant to ampicillin, and bla(CMY), bla(OXY), bla(SHV), and bla(TEM) genes were detected in five isolates that also harbored the qnrB9 or qnrS1 gene. Our current study is the first identification of qnrS2 gene in Pseudoalteromonas and Pseudomonas strains, and qnrD gene in Proteus vulgaris strains. High prevalence of diverse qnr genes in Jiaozhou Bay indicates that coastal seawater may serve as an important reservoir, natural source, and dissemination vehicle of quinolone resistance determinants.     

Genome sequence of the facultative anaerobic arsenite-oxidizing and nitrate-reducing bacterium Acidovorax sp. strain NO1

Acidovorax sp. strain NO1, isolated from gold mine soil, was shown to be a facultative anaerobic arsenite-oxidizing and nitrate-reducing bacterium. The reported draft genome predicts the presence of genes involved in arsenic metabolism, nitrate reduction, phosphate transport, and multiple metal resistances and indicates putative horizontal gene transfer events.     

Peony Glycosides Protect Against Corticosterone-Induced Neurotoxicity in PC12 Cells

Preclinical and clinical investigations have shown the involvement of dysregulation of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis in the pathogenesis of depression. Hypercortisolemia and the associated hippocampal atrophy were observed in patients with depression, which could be ameliorated by the treatment with antidepressants. Therefore, neuroprotection has been proposed to be one of the acting mechanisms of antidepressant. Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated the antidepressant-like activity of total glycosides of peony (TGP) in mice. This study aimed to examine the effect of TGP treatment on corticosterone-induced neurotoxicity in cultured rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. Treating the cells with corticosterone at 200 μM for 48 h caused apoptotic cell death. The cytotoxicity was associated with the activation of caspase-3 activity and the decrease in the mRNA ratio of bcl-2 to bax. TPG treatment at increasing doses (1–10 mg/l) protected against the corticosterone-induced toxicity in PC12 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The cytoprotection afforded by TGP treatment was associated with the inhibition of caspase-3 activity and the up-regulation of bcl-2/bax mRNA ratio. The anti-apoptotic effect of TGP is therefore likely mediated by the suppression of the mitochondrial pathway leading to apoptosis.     

HuR-positive stress granules: Potential targets for age-related osteoporosis

Aging impairs osteoblast function and bone turnover, resulting in age-related bone degeneration. Stress granules (SGs) are membrane-less organelles that assemble in response to stress via the recruitment of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), and have emerged as a novel mechanism in age-related diseases. Here, we identified HuR as a bone-related RBP that aggregated into SGs and facilitated osteogenesis during aging. HuR-positive SG formation increased during osteoblast differentiation, and HuR overexpression mitigated the reduction in SG formation observed in senescent osteoblasts. Moreover, HuR positively regulated the mRNA stability and expression of its target β-catenin by binding and recruiting β-catenin into SGs. As a potential therapeutic target, HuR activator apigenin (API) enhanced its expression and thus aided osteoblasts differentiation. API treatment increased HuR nuclear export, enhanced the recruitment of β-catenin into HuR-positive SGs, facilitated β-catenin nuclear translocation, and contributed osteogenesis. Our findings highlight the roles of HuR and its SGs in promoting osteogenesis during skeletal aging and lay the groundwork for novel therapeutic strategies against age-related skeletal disorders.