Hybrid cytokines as hematopoietic growth factors.

A large body of in vitro and in vivo data suggests that combinations of cytokines provide the most effective mechanism for stimulating multilineage acceleration of hematopoiesis. Creation of a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)/interleukin 3 (IL-3) fusion protein has yielded a single therapeutic which has enhanced biological activity in comparison to the individual cytokines from which it is composed. In vivo studies with this fusion protein (PIXY321) suggest that it may provide a means to accelerate both neutrophil and platelet recovery in clinical settings in which hematopoiesis is suppressed. The biology of PIXY321 and the potential for other fusion proteins is discussed.     

Immunodetection of thiol proteinase levels in various populations of Artemia cysts and during development

An immunodetection assay on Western blots has been used to determine the thiol proteinase content and composition in cysts from 12 populations of the brine shrimp Artemia. Our results showed no differences in the subunit composition of the thiol proteinase among cysts from eight bisexual strains and four parthenogenic strains, and confirmed an earlier finding that the proteinase is composed of two subunits of 25.9 and 31.5 kilodaltons. In contrast, we found that Artemia cysts from parthenogenic strains contain 17.1 ng/cyst of the thiol proteinase, while cysts from bisexual strains contain 8.2 ng/cyst of the thiol proteinase. Also, there was a good linear correlation (r = 0.863; p less than 0.001) between the thiol proteinase content and cyst mass. Embryo fractionation experiments showed that 82% of the thiol proteinase was in the cytosol, while 14 and 4%, respectively, were in the nuclei/yolk platelets and mitochondria/lysosome fractions. Measurements of the thiol proteinase content of developing Artemia embryos showed that the proteinase content was relatively constant during early development, suggesting that the activity of the thiol proteinase gene(s) may be constitutive and not developmentally regulated in Artemia embryos.     

Effects of chloramine on Bacillus subtilis deoxyribonucleic acid.

The lesions induced in Bacillus subtilis deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) after treating bacterial cells (in vivo) and bacterial DNA (in vitro) with chloramine were studied biologically and physically. Single-strand breaks and a few double-strand scissions (at higher chloramine doses) accompanied loss of DNA-transforming activity in both kinds of treatments. Chloramine was about three times more efficient in vitro than in vivo in inducing DNA single-strand breaks. DNA was slowly chlorinated; the subsequent efficiency of producing DNA breaks was high. Chlorination of cells also reduced activity of endonucleases in cells; however, chlorinated DNA of both treatments was sensitized to cleavage by endonucleases. The procedure of extracting DNA from cells treated with chloramine induced further DNA degradation. Both treatments introduced a small fraction of alkali-sensitive lesions in DNA. DNA chlorinated in vitro showed further reduction in transforming activity as well as further degradation after incubation at 50 C for 5 h whereas DNA extracted from chloramine-treated cells did not show such a heat sensitivity.     

合成己酸乙酯脂肪酶产生菌的筛选及产酶条件

从２７株脂肪酶产生菌中筛选到能由乙醇和己酸合成己酸乙酯的菌株８株。其中Ｒｈｉｚｏｐｕｓｓｐ．Ｈ－３菌株脂肪酶活力为５０－６０ｕ／ｍｌ,全细胞在有机溶剂中的酯化率可达己酸的９１％。Ｈ３产酶的最适碳源为淀粉或葡萄糖。６％黄豆饼粉加４％蛋白陈复合氮源有利于酶活力的增加。     

Selective pericentromeric heterochromatin dismantling caused by TP53 activation during senescence

Cellular senescence triggers various types of heterochromatin remodeling that contribute to aging. However, the age-related mechanisms that lead to these epigenetic alterations remain elusive. Here, we asked how two key aging hallmarks, telomere shortening and constitutive heterochromatin loss, are mechanistically connected during senescence. We show that, at the onset of senescence, pericentromeric heterochromatin is specifically dismantled consisting of chromatin decondensation, accumulation of DNA breakages, illegitimate recombination and loss of DNA. This process is caused by telomere shortening or genotoxic stress by a sequence of events starting from TP53-dependent downregulation of the telomere protective protein TRF2. The resulting loss of TRF2 at pericentromeres triggers DNA breaks activating ATM, which in turn leads to heterochromatin decondensation by releasing KAP1 and Lamin B1, recombination and satellite DNA excision found in the cytosol associated with cGAS. This TP53–TRF2 axis activates the interferon response and the formation of chromosome rearrangements when the cells escape the senescent growth arrest. Overall, these results reveal the role of TP53 as pericentromeric disassembler and define the basic principles of how a TP53-dependent senescence inducer hierarchically leads to selective pericentromeric dismantling through the downregulation of TRF2.     

Hemin with Peroxidase Activity Can Inhibit the Oxidative Damage Induced by Ultraviolet A

Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), a highly reactive substance that contains oxygen, induced by ultraviolet A (UVA) cause oxidative damage to skin. We confirmed that hemin can catalyze the reaction of tyrosine (Tyr) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Catalysis was found to effectively reduce or eliminate oxidative damage to cells induced by H₂O₂ or UVA. The scavenging effects of hemin for other free-radical ROS were also evaluated through pyrogallol autoxidation, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·)-scavenging assays, and phenanthroline–Fe²⁺ assays. The results show that a mixture of hemin and tyrosine exhibits strong scavenging activities for H₂O₂, superoxide anion (O₂⁻·), DPPH·, and the hydroxyl radical (·OH). Furthermore, the inhibition of oxidative damage to human skin keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells induced by H₂O₂ or UVA was evaluated. The results show that catalysis can significantly reduce the ratio of cell apoptosis and death and inhibit the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA). Furthermore, the resistance to apoptosis was found to be enhanced. These results show that the mixture of hemin and tyrosine has a significantly protective effect against oxidative damage to HaCaT cells caused by UVA, suggesting it as a protective agent for combating UVA damage.     

In vitro development and transfer of resistance to chlortetracycline in Bacillus subtilis

The present criteria and rules controlling the approval of the use of probiotics are limited to antibiotic resistance patterns and the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria. There is little information available in the literature regarding the risk of the usage of probiotics in the presence of antibiotic pressure. In this study we investigated the development and transfer of antibiotic resistance in Bacillus subtilis selected in vitro by chlortetracycline in a stepwise manner. Bacillus subtilis was exposed to increasing concentrations of chlortetracyclineto induce in vitro resistance to chlortetracycline, and the minimal inhibitory concentrations were determinedfor the mutants. Resistant B. subtilis were conjugated with Escherichia coli NK5449 and Enterococcus faecalis JH2-2 using the filter mating. Three B. subtilis tetracycline resistant mutants (namely, BS-1, BS-2, and BS-3) were derived in vitro. A tetracycline resistant gene, tet (K), was found in the plasmids of BS-1 and BS-2. Three conjugates (BS-1N, BS-2N, and BS-3N) were obtained when the resistant B. subtilis was conjugated with E. coli NK5449. The conjugation frequencies for the BS-1N, BS-2N, and BS-3N conjugates were 4.57×10^?7, 1.4×10^?7, and 1.3×10^?8, respectively. The tet(K) gene was found only in the plasmids of BS-1N. These results indicate that long-term use of probiotics under antibiotic selection pressure could cause antibiotic resistance, and the resistance gene could be transferred to other bacteria. The risk arising from the use of probiotics under antibiotic pressure should be considered in the criteria and rules for the safety assessment of probiotics.     

Development of mechanistically based model for simulating soluble microbial products generation in an aerated/non-aerated SBR

Soluble microbial products (SMPs) are considered as the main organic components in wastewater treatment plant effluent from biological wastewater treatment systems. To investigate and explore SMP metabolism pathway for further treatment and control, two innovative mechanistically based activated sludge models were developed by extension of activated sludge model no.3 (ASM3). One was the model by combining SMP formation and degradation (ASM3-SMP model) processes with ASM3, and the other by combining both SMP and simultaneous substrate storage and growth (SSSG) mechanisms with ASM3 (SSSG-ASM3-SMP model). The detailed schematic modification and process supplements were introduced for comprehensively understanding all the mechanisms involved in the activated sludge process. The evaluations of these two models were demonstrated by a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operated under aerated/non-aerated conditions. The simulated and measured results indicated that SMP comprised about 83% of total soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) in which biomass-associated products (BAPs) were predominant compared with utilization-associated products (UAPs). It also elucidated that there should be a minimum SMP value as the reactive time increases continuously and this conclusion could be used to optimize effluent SCOD in activated sludge processes. The comparative results among ASM3, ASM3-SMP and SSSG-ASM3-SMP models and the experimental measurements (SCOD, ammonia and nitrate nitrogen) showed clearly the best agreement with SSSG-ASM3-SMP simulation values (R = 0.993), strongly suggesting that both SMP formation and degradation and SSSG mechanisms are necessary in biologically activated sludge modeling for municipal wastewater treatment.