Evaluation of free radicals scavenging and immunity-modulatory activities of Purslane polysaccharides

In this study, antioxidant and immunity-modulatory activities of Purslane polysaccharide were estimated. The results revealed that in a dose-dependent manner, Purslane polysaccharides could significantly scavenge superoxide anion, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^?), nitric oxide and hydroxyl radicals. Furthermore, the Purslane polysaccharides could still effectively inhibit the red blood cell (RBC) haemolysis, and increase spleen, thymocyte T and B lymphocyte proliferation, it could be concluded that Purslane polysaccharides could be of considerable preventive and therapeutic significance to some free radical associated health problems such as ovarian cancer, by scavenging accumulating free radicals and enhancing immunity functions.     

Preparation and structure of chitosan soluble in wide pH range

Two kinds of chitosans, namely N-acetylated and N-deacetylated chitosan were prepared by the modified processes. They can dissolve in both acid and alkali solution. ¹³C NMR was used to study the basic solution of chitosan, and XRD, FT-IR and SEM were used to study the structure of N-acetylated and N-deacetylated chitosan. The result from X-ray diffraction showed that a transformation of crystal structure occurred during the N-acetylation or N-deacetylation process with the decrease of crystallinity and expansion of crystal lattices. FT-IR spectra revealed that the intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonds were destroyed by both treatments and a looser structure was observed by the SEM. The lower crystallinity, the decreased intermolecular interactions, the more disordered and looser structure were easy for the permeation of LiOH/urea aqueous solution and coordinated with the breakage of intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bond by LiOH at low temperature, the prepared chitosans dissolved in LiOH/urea/H₂O mixture.     

同工酶研究在嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌分类中的应用

嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌是一个尚未被严格定义的种,它几乎包括芽孢杆菌属内所有能在65℃以上生长的细菌。用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳的方法对151株嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌的9种酶(G6PDH、LDH、MDH、IDH、AlaDH、LeuDH、过氧化氢酶、过氧化物酶、酯酶)的酶谱进行测定分析。根据其酶谱的差异,可将151株菌株分成两个类型。两型之间8个酶的13或14个基因产物的相异度约为91.8％,两型间的标准遗传距离是2.55。因此这两种类型的细菌也许可以被看作为两个不同的种。     

An approach based on liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry to detect diol metabolites as biomarkers of exposure to styrene and 1,3-butadiene

Styrene and 1,3-butadiene are important intermediates used extensively in the plastics industry. They are metabolized mainly through cytochrome P450-mediated oxidation to the corresponding epoxides, which are subsequently converted to diols by epoxide hydrolase or through spontaneous hydration. The resulting styrene glycol and 3-butene-1,2-diol have been suggested as biomarkers of exposure to styrene and 1,3-butadiene, respectively. Unfortunately, poor ionization of the diols within electrospray mass spectrometers becomes an obstacle to the detection of the two diols by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS). We developed an LC/ESI-MS approach to analyze styrene glycol and 3-butene-1,2-diol by means of derivatization with 2-bromopyridine-5-boronic acid (BPBA), which not only dramatically increases the sensitivity of diol detection but also facilitates the identification of the diols. The analytical approach developed was simple, quick, and convincing without the need for complicated chemical derivatization. To evaluate the feasibility of BPBA as a derivatizing reagent of diols, we investigated the impact of diol configuration on the affinity of a selection of diols to BPBA using the established LC/ESI-MS approach. We found that both cis and trans diols can be derivatized by BPBA. In conclusion, BPBA may be used as a general derivatizing reagent for the detection of vicinal diols by LC/MS.     

De novo protein structure generation from incomplete chemical shift assignments

NMR chemical shifts provide important local structural information for proteins. Consistent structure generation from NMR chemical shift data has recently become feasible for proteins with sizes of up to 130 residues, and such structures are of a quality comparable to those obtained with the standard NMR protocol. This study investigates the influence of the completeness of chemical shift assignments on structures generated from chemical shifts. The Chemical-Shift-Rosetta (CS-Rosetta) protocol was used for de novo protein structure generation with various degrees of completeness of the chemical shift assignment, simulated by omission of entries in the experimental chemical shift data previously used for the initial demonstration of the CS-Rosetta approach. In addition, a new CS-Rosetta protocol is described that improves robustness of the method for proteins with missing or erroneous NMR chemical shift input data. This strategy, which uses traditional Rosetta for pre-filtering of the fragment selection process, is demonstrated for two paramagnetic proteins and also for two proteins with solid-state NMR chemical shift assignments. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine in comparison with chloroquine in moderate and severe patients with COVID-19

Science China Life Sciences -     

Relationships of growth,stable carbon isotope composition and anatomical properties of leaf and xylem in seven mulberry cultivars: a hint towards drought tolerance

• The fast growth of mulberry depends on high water consumption, but considerable variations in drought tolerance exist across different cultivars. Physiological and anatomical mechanisms are important to plant survival under drought. However, few research efforts have been made to reveal the relationships of these two aspects in relation to drought tolerance.
• In this study, growth rates, leaf functional physiology and anatomical characteristics of leaf and xylem of 1‐year‐old saplings of seven mulberry cultivars at a common garden were compared. Their relationships were also explored.
• Growth, leaf physiology and anatomy were significantly different among the tested cultivars. Foliar stable carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) was negatively correlated with growth rates, and closely related to several leaf and xylem anatomical traits. Particularly, leaf thickness, predicted hydraulic conductivity and vessel element length jointly contributed 77% of the variability in δ¹³C. Cultivar Wupu had small stomata, intermediate leaf thickness, the smallest hydraulically weighted vessel diameter and highest vessel number, and higher δ¹³C; Yunguo1 had high abaxial stomatal density, low specific leaf area, moderate hydraulic conductivity and δ¹³C; these are beneficial features to reduce leaf water loss and drought‐induced xylem embolism in arid areas. Cultivar Liaolu11 had contrasting physiological and anatomical traits compared with the previous two cultivars, suggesting that it might be sensitive to drought.
• Our findings indicate that growth and δ¹³C are closely associated with both leaf and xylem anatomical characteristics in mulberry, which provides fundamental information to assist evaluation of drought tolerance in mulberry cultivars and in other woody trees.

     

TWO SPECIFIC CAUSES OF CELL MORTALITY IN FREEZE‐THAW CYCLE OF YOUNG THALLI OF PORPHYRA YEZOENSIS (BANGIALES,RHODOPHYTA)1

Porphyra yezoensis Ueda is an important marine aquaculture crop with single‐layered gametophytic thalli. In this work, the influences of thallus dehydration level, cold‐preservation (freezing) time, and thawing temperature on the photosynthetic recovery of young P. yezoensis thalli were investigated employing an imaging pulse‐amplitude‐modulation (PAM) fluorometer. The results showed that after 40 d of frozen storage when performing thallus thawing under 10°C, the water content of the thalli showed obvious effects on the photosynthetic recovery of the frozen thalli. The thalli with absolute water content (AWC) of 10%–40% manifested obvious superiority compared to the thalli with other AWCs, while the thalli thawed at 20°C showed very high survival rate (93.10%) and no obvious correlation between thallus AWCs and thallus viabilities. These results indicated that inappropriate thallus water content contributed to the cell damage during the freeze‐thaw cycle and that proper thawing temperature is very crucial. Therefore, AWC between 10% and 40% is the suitable thallus water content range for frozen storage, and the thawing process should be as short as possible. However, it is also shown that for short‐term cold storage the Porphyra thallus water content also showed no obvious effect on the photosynthetic recovery of the thalli, and the survival rate was extremely high (100%). These results indicated that freezing time is also a paramount contributor of the cell damage during the freeze‐thaw cycle. Therefore, the frozen nets should be used as soon as time permits.     

整合素BmIntegrin β2的结构分析及其对家蚕血细胞的调控作用

整合素是一类广泛分布于细胞表面的黏附分子受体,是由α和β两个亚基组成的异源二聚体跨膜蛋白,其是细胞内外信号转导的中间桥梁。在鳞翅目昆虫细胞内,整合素主要表达于血细胞,参与昆虫细胞免疫反应进程。文中首先通过RACE技术等,克隆获得BmIntegrin β2基因cDNA全长序列2 434 bp;并对其蛋白结构域进行了预测,主要包括信号肽、一段较大的胞外域,单次跨膜结构和较短的胞内域;利用qRT-PCR技术检测了家蚕4龄3天和5龄3天的BmIntegrin β2各组织表达图谱,结果显示其主要在血细胞和造血器官中高表达;然后再经原核诱导表达、蛋白纯化及免疫动物后获得BmIntegrin β2抗体。通过对BmIntegrin β2蛋白功能作用的研究发现,BmIntegrin β2抗体可显著地减少浆细胞的数量,这从侧面说明BmIntegrin β2抗体可能抑制了浆细胞的延伸性和粘附能力。该结果不仅为BmIntegrin β2参与家蚕细胞的免疫反应奠定了基础,还提供了一个新的研究视野。