荒漠甲虫小胸鳖甲抗冻蛋白的酵母表达及应用

昆虫抗冻蛋白(Antifreeze protein,AFP)的抗冻活性很高,可应用于生物组织和细胞的低温保存。为了在酵母中表达荒漠甲虫小胸鳖甲Microdera punctipennis抗冻蛋白Mp AFP698,并确定其在低温下的保护作用,本文通过构建真核表达载体p PIC9K-Mpafp698,转化巴斯德毕赤酵母GS115,诱导表达小胸鳖甲抗冻蛋白Mp AFP698。利用免疫印迹(Western blotting)分析Mp AFP698蛋白的特异性表达,结果显示Mpafp698基因可整合到酵母基因组中并分泌表达,且酵母自身蛋白很少分泌表达。检测抗冻蛋白的低温保护作用,结果发现,小胸鳖甲抗冻蛋白可显著改善冷冻小鼠肝脏等器官的细胞形态,降低血细胞在4℃的溶血率,提高SF9细胞冻融后的存活率。本研究表明,小胸鳖甲AFP可以在毕赤酵母中分泌表达,便于纯化,有良好的低温保护效果。     

东北地区高温对玉米生产的影响及对策

极端高温是制约东北农作区玉米生产的主要气象灾害之一.本文通过研究气候变暖背景下玉米不同生育时期内日最高温度大于30℃的积温(AT)和日最高温度大于30℃的天数(AD)的时空变化特征,分析了极端高温对东北农作区不同地区玉米生产的影响,并探讨了应对高温的对策.结果表明:1961—2010年,东北农作区玉米生育期内温度显著升高,开花期(花前花后20 d)最高温度明显大于其他生育时期,玉米全生育期、营养生长期(播种到开花前11 d)、花期和生育后期(开花后11 d到收获)4个时期日最高温度的气候趋向率分别为0.16、0.14、0.06和0.23℃·10 a-1.近50年东北农作区玉米全生育期AT明显增加,西南部地区的AT明显高于其他区域,营养生长期AT的增加趋势明显大于其他两个时期.玉米全生育期AD明显增加,高值区也主要集中在西南部地区,生育后期的AD的增加趋势大于其他两个生育时期.东北农作区玉米生育期内极端高温显著影响玉米生产,其中营养生长期的极端高温对玉米产量的不利影响十分显著,松辽平原地区玉米生产的高温风险明显大于其他地区.优化作物布局,培育耐高温品种,调整玉米生产管理措施,构建防灾减灾玉米生产体系是东北农作区玉米生产应对高温风险的有效措施.     

合成生物学技术在糖胺聚糖生产中的应用

糖胺聚糖是一类直链酸性多糖,具有优良的生物相容性和生理活性,被广泛应用于临床治疗,并用作药物运输载体,其中透明质酸、 肝素和硫酸软骨素的相关研究最为深入。由于传统方式（如动物组织提取法等）制备糖胺聚糖,存在外毒素、病毒等致病因子污染的风 险,因而,利用合成生物学技术,构建重组工程菌株生产糖胺聚糖,逐渐受到研究者们的重视。主要围绕透明质酸、肝素前体及软骨素, 综述糖胺聚糖的生物合成途径,并探讨产糖胺聚糖基因工程菌的构建以及糖胺聚糖生物合成过程中分子质量调控机制,以期为构建产高 品质糖胺聚糖工程菌株提供新思路。     

Asef controls vascular endothelial permeability and barrier recovery in the lung

Increased levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in injured lungs may reflect a compensatory response to diminish acute lung injury (ALI). HGF-induced activation of Rac1 GTPase stimulates endothelial barrier protective mechanisms. This study tested the involvement of Rac-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor Asef in HGF-induced endothelial cell (EC) cytoskeletal dynamics and barrier protection in vitro and in a two-hit model of ALI. HGF induced membrane translocation of Asef and stimulated Asef Rac1-specific nucleotide exchange activity. Expression of constitutively activated Asef mutant mimicked HGF-induced peripheral actin cytoskeleton enhancement. In contrast, siRNA-induced Asef knockdown or expression of dominant-negative Asef attenuated HGF-induced Rac1 activation evaluated by Rac-GTP pull down and FRET assay with Rac1 biosensor. Molecular inhibition of Asef attenuated HGF-induced peripheral accumulation of cortactin, formation of lamellipodia-like structures, and enhancement of VE-cadherin adherens junctions and compromised HGF-protective effect against thrombin-induced RhoA GTPase activation, Rho-dependent cytoskeleton remodeling, and EC permeability. Intravenous HGF injection attenuated lung inflammation and vascular leak in the two-hit model of ALI induced by excessive mechanical ventilation and thrombin signaling peptide TRAP6. This effect was lost in Asef^−/− mice. This study shows for the first time the role of Asef in HGF-mediated protection against endothelial hyperpermeability and lung injury.     

Valsartan Attenuates Atherosclerosis via Upregulating the Th2 Immune Response in Prolonged Angiotensin II–Treated ApoE?/? Mice

Valsartan has a protective effect against hypertension and atherosclerosis in humans and experimental animal models. This study aimed to determine the effect of prolonged treatment with angiotensin II (Ang II) on atherosclerosis and the effect of valsartan on the activity of CD4⁺ T lymphocyte subsets. The results showed that prolonged treatment (8 wks) with exogenous Ang II resulted in an increased atherosclerotic plaque size and a switch of stable-to-unstable plaque via modulating on CD4⁺ T lymphocyte activity, including an increase in the T helper cell type 1 (Th1) and Th17 cells and a decrease in Th2 and regulatory T (Treg) cells. In contrast, valsartan treatment efficiently reversed the imbalance in CD4⁺ T lymphocyte activity, ameliorated atherosclerosis and elicited a stable plaque phenotype in addition to controlling blood pressure. In addition, treatment with anti-interleukin (IL)-5 monoclonal antibodies weakened the antiatherosclerotic effects of valsartan without affecting blood pressure.     

Differential Sensitivities of Fast- and Slow-Cycling Cancer Cells to Inosine Monophosphate Dehydrogenase 2 Inhibition by Mycophenolic Acid

As uncontrolled cell proliferation requires nucleotide biosynthesis, inhibiting enzymes that mediate nucleotide biosynthesis constitutes a rational approach to the management of oncological diseases. In practice, however, results of this strategy are mixed and thus elucidation of the mechanisms by which cancer cells evade the effect of nucleotide biosynthesis restriction is urgently needed. Here we explored the notion that intrinsic differences in cancer cell cycle velocity are important in the resistance toward inhibition of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) by mycophenolic acid (MPA). In short-term experiments, MPA treatment of fast-growing cancer cells effectively elicited G0/G1 arrest and provoked apoptosis, thus inhibiting cell proliferation and colony formation. Forced expression of a mutated IMPDH2, lacking a binding site for MPA but retaining enzymatic activity, resulted in complete resistance of cancer cells to MPA. In nude mice subcutaneously engrafted with HeLa cells, MPA moderately delayed tumor formation by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. Importantly, we developed a lentiviral vector–based Tet-on label-retaining system that enables to identify, isolate and functionally characterize slow-cycling or so-called label-retaining cells (LRCs) in vitro and in vivo. We surprisingly found the presence of LRCs in fast-growing tumors. LRCs were superior in colony formation, tumor initiation and resistance to MPA as compared with fast-cycling cells. Thus, the slow-cycling compartment of cancer seems predominantly responsible for resistance to MPA.     

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of RrNHX1 and RrVHA-c genes related to salt tolerance in wild Rosa rugosa

Salt stress is one important factor influencing the growth and development of plants, and salt tolerance of plants is a result of combined action of multiple genes and mechanisms. Rosa rugosa is not only an important ornamental plant, but also the natural aromatic plant of high value. Wild R. rugosa which is naturally distributed on the coast and islands of China has a good salt tolerance due to the special living environment. Here, the vacuolar Na⁺/H⁺ reverse transporter gene (NHX1) and the vacuolar H⁺-ATPase subunit C gene (VHA-c) closely related to plant salt tolerance were isolated from wild R. rugosa, and the expression patterns in R. rugosa leaves of the two genes under NaCl stress were determined by real-time quantitative fluorescence PCR. The results showed that the RrNHX1 protein is a constitutive Na⁺/H⁺ reverse transporter, the expression of the RrNHX1 gene first increased and then decreased with the increasing salt concentration, and had a time-controlled effect. The RrVHA-c gene is suggestive of the housekeeping feature, its expression pattern showed a similar variation trend with the RrNHX1 gene under the stress of different concentrations of NaCl, and its temporal expression level under 200 mM NaCl stress presented bimodal change. These findings indicated that RrNHX1 and RrVHA-c genes are closely associated with the salt tolerance trait of wild R. rugosa.