Flavone and isoflavone derivatives of terrestrial plants as larval settlement inhibitors of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite

To determine whether they could serve as non-toxic or less damaging alternative antifouling (AF) agents, 17 flavone and isoflavone derivatives were isolated from terrestrial plant extracts, purified and examined for their ability to inhibit the settlement of barnacle (Balanus amphitrite) cyprids. In larval bioassays, eight compounds showed strong anti-larval settlement activities, with EC(50) values <10 microg ml(-1). Through an analysis of the structure-activity relationship of these compounds, it was found that (1) the structural difference between flavones and isoflavones did not affect their AF activities; (2) the 5-hydroxyl group on the skeletons played a key role in AF activities; and (3) the presence of hydroxyl group or bulky group on C3 significantly reduced AF activities. A hydrolysis experiment using genistein, a typical active compound in this study, indicated that it was decomposed in the marine environment by hydrolysis reaction and that the degradation speed was significantly affected by pH. In a field AF test, genistein inhibited the attachment of B. amphitrite on panels coated with genistein-paint mixtures.     

Climate‐driven speedup of alpine treeline forest growth in the Tianshan Mountains,Northwestern China

Forest growth is sensitive to interannual climatic change in the alpine treeline ecotone (ATE). Whether the alpine treeline ecotone shares a similar pattern of forest growth with lower elevational closed forest belt (CFB) under changing climate remains unclear. Here, we reported an unprecedented acceleration of Picea schrenkiana forest growth since 1960s in the ATE of Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China by a stand‐total sampling along six altitudinal transects with three plots in each transect: one from the ATE between the treeline and the forest line, and the other two from the CFB. All the sampled P. schrenkiana forest patches show a higher growth speed after 1960 and, comparatively, forest growth in the CFB has sped up much slower than that in the ATE. The speedup of forest growth at the ATE is mainly accounted for by climate factors, with increasing temperature suggested to be the primary driver. Stronger water deficit as well as more competition within the CFB might have restricted forest growth there more than that within the ATE, implying biotic factors were also significant for the accelerated forest growth in the ATE, which should be excluded from simulations and predictions of warming‐induced treeline dynamics.     

Effects of a moderate-intensity static magnetic field and adriamycin on K562 cells

The aim of this study was to investigate whether a moderate‐intensity static magnetic field (SMF) can enhance the killing effect of adriamycin (ADM) on K562 cells, and to explore the effects of SMF combined with ADM on K562 cells. We analyzed the metabolic activity of cells, cell cycle distribution, DNA damage, change in cell ultrastructure, and P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp) expression after K562 cells were exposed continuously to a uniform 8.8 mT SMF for 12 h, with or without ADM. Our results showed that the SMF combined with ADM (25 ng/ml) significantly inhibited the metabolic activity of K562 cells (P < 0.05), while neither ADM nor the SMF alone affected the metabolic activity of these cells. Cell ultrastructure was altered in the SMF + ADM group. For example, cell membrane was depressed, some protuberances were observable, and vacuoles in the cytoplasm became larger. Cells were arrested at the G2/M phase and DNA damage increased after cells were treated with the SMF plus ADM. ADM also induced the P‐gp expression. In contrast, in the SMF group and SMF + ADM group, the P‐gp expression was decreased compared with the ADM group. Taken together, our results showed that the 8.8 mT SMF enhanced the cytotoxity potency of ADM on K562 cells, and the decrease in P‐gp expression may be one reason underlying this effect. Bioelectromagnetics 32:191–199, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

农杆菌介导的紫色红曲霉遗传转化体系的建立和优化

通过优化各种转化因素,建立了根癌农杆菌(Agrobacterium tumefaciens)介导红曲霉(Monascus)的高效转化体系:红曲霉在PDA培养基培养21 d后收集孢子,制备红曲霉孢子悬浮液,浓度为106个/mL,根癌农杆菌浓度为OD600值0.5,诱导剂AS浓度为100μmol/L,农杆菌与红曲霉在25℃共培养3 d。采用此转化体系构建了含有530多个转化子的红曲霉T-DNA插入突变体库。随机选取50株转化子菌株进行分子验证和稳定性检测,证明T-DNA成功插入红曲霉基因组DNA中,并能稳定遗传。最后,通过形态观察筛选出8株变异较大的菌株,为以后的红曲霉基因功能研究奠定了一定的基础。     

抗IFITM1 单克隆抗体的制备及检测

目的：制备抗干扰素诱导的跨膜蛋白-1(interferon-induced transmembrane protein 1, IFITM1)的单克隆抗体,为检测IFITM1 及进一步研究其在结肠肿瘤发生过程中的作用提供实验基础。方法：以结肠癌患者的癌组织为材料,提取总RNA,以RT-PCR扩 增得到IFITM1 cDNA 序列,经ECoRⅠ和HindⅢ双酶切后,克隆入pGEX-4T-3 进行原核表达并纯化得IFITM1-GST;以该融合蛋 白免疫BALB/c 小鼠,淋巴细胞杂交瘤法制备单克隆抗体;采用ELISA、Western-blot及免疫组织化学法以制备的抗体检测结肠癌 患者结肠癌组织中的IFITM1。结果：成功构建了IFITM1 原核表达载体,获得了IFITM1-GST 重组蛋白;制备得到了1 株抗 IFITM1 单克隆抗体,腹水ELISA 效价为1:30000,抗体亚类为IgG1,可用于ELISA、Western-blot及免疫组织化学法检测结肠癌患 者结肠癌组织中的IFITM1。结论：获得了1 株可用于ELISA、Western-blot及免疫组织化学法的抗IFITM1 单克隆抗体2F-1,为进 一步研究IFITM1在结肠肿瘤发生过程中的作用提供了实验基础。     

UV-B-induced DNA damage and repair pathways in polar Pseudogymnoascus sp. from the Arctic and Antarctic regions and their effects on growth,pigmentation and conidiogenesis

Solar radiation regulates most biological activities on Earth. Prolonged exposure to solar UV radiation can cause deleterious effects by inducing two major types of DNA damage, namely, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and pyrimidine 6-4 pyrimidone photoproducts. These lesions may be repaired by the photoreactivation (Phr) and nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathways; however, the principal UV-induced DNA repair pathway is not known in the fungal genus Pseudogymnoascus. In this study, we demonstrated that an unweighted UV-B dosage of 1.6 kJ m⁻² d⁻¹ significantly reduced fungal growth rates (by between 22% and 35%) and inhibited conidia production in a 10 d exposure. The comparison of two DNA repair conditions, light or dark, which respectively induced photoreactivation (Phr) and NER, showed that the UV-B-induced CPDs were repaired significantly more rapidly in light than in dark conditions. The expression levels of two DNA repair genes, RAD2 and PHR1 (encoding a protein in NER and Phr respectively), demonstrated that NER rather than Phr was primarily activated for repairing UV-B-induced DNA damage in these Pseudogymnoascus strains. In contrast, Phr was inhibited after exposure to UV-B radiation, suggesting that PHR1 may have other functional roles. We present the first study to examine the capability of the Arctic and Antarctic Pseudogymnoascus sp. to perform photoreactivation and/or NER via RT-qPCR approaches, and also clarify the effects of light on UV-B-induced DNA damage repair in vivo by quantifying cyclobutene pyrimidine dimers and pyrimidine 6-4 pyrimidone photoproducts. Physiological response data, including relative growth rate, pigmentation and conidia production in these Pseudogymnoascus isolates exposed to UV-B radiation are also presented.     

Enantioselective Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activities of Tetrahydro‐Β‐Carboline Diketopiperazines

A series of single isomers tetrahydro‐β‐carboline diketopiperazines were stereoselectively synthesized starting from l ‐tryptophan methyl ester hydrochloride and six aldehydes through a four‐step reaction including Pictet‐Spengler reaction, crystallization‐induced asymmetric transformations (CIAT), Schotten‐Baumann reaction, and intramolecular ester amidation. The chemical structures were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and elemental analysis, among which two compounds were determined by x‐ray single crystal diffraction. Moreover, antimicrobial activities of all the compounds were also tested. Chirality 25:656–662, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Proteome analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma by two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis: novel protein markers in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly malignant tumor, and chronic infection with hepatitis B virus is one of its major risk factors. To identify the proteins involved in HCC carcinogenesis, we used two-dimensional fluorescence DIGE to study the differentially expressed proteins in tumor and adjacent nontumor tissue samples. Samples from 12 hepatitis B virus-associated HCC patients were analyzed. A total of 61 spots were significantly up-regulated (ratio >/= 2, p 相似文献