雪被覆盖对高山森林凋落物分解过程中水溶性和有机溶性组分含量的影响

季节性雪被可能通过冻结、淋溶以及冻融循环等对高山森林凋落物水溶性和有机溶性组分含量产生影响.本文采用凋落物分解袋法,以川西高山森林典型乔木（四川红杉、岷江冷杉、红桦、方枝柏）和灌木（高山杜鹃、康定柳）凋落物为研究对象,研究了雪被覆盖不同时期（雪被形成期、雪被覆盖期和雪被融化期）和雪被厚度（厚型雪被、中型雪被、薄型雪被和无雪被）下凋落物水溶性和有机溶性组分含量的动态变化特征.结果表明： 在一个冬季的分解过程中,6种凋落物水溶性组分含量在雪被形成期和融化期降低而雪被覆盖期增加,但除高山杜鹃凋落物有机溶性组分含量在雪被覆盖期增加外,其他5种凋落物有机溶性组分含量在整个冬季呈降低趋势.相对于凋落物有机溶性组分含量,不同厚度雪被斑块对凋落物水溶性组分含量变化的影响更大,且主要表现在雪被形成期和雪被覆盖期.相对于其他雪被斑块,薄型雪被斑块更加显著地促进了高山柳和高山杜鹃凋落物水溶性组分含量降低,但显著抑制了方枝柏凋落物水溶性组分含量降低,而其他凋落物水溶性组分含量变化在不同斑块间无显著差异.冬季高山森林雪被对凋落物水溶性和有机溶性组分含量的影响主要受控于凋落物质量.     

Changes in gene expression of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in response to anaerobic stress reveal induction of central metabolism and biofilm formation

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is an important porcine respiratory pathogen causing great economic losses in the pig industry worldwide. Oxygen deprivation is a stress that A. pleuropneumoniae will encounter during both early infection and the later, persistent stage. To understand modulation of A. pleuropneumoniae gene expression in response to the stress caused by anaerobic conditions, gene expression profiles under anaerobic and aerobic conditions were compared in this study. The microarray results showed that 631 genes (27.7% of the total ORFs) were differentially expressed in anaerobic conditions. Many genes encoding proteins involved in glycolysis, carbon source uptake systems, pyruvate metabolism, fermentation and the electron respiration transport chain were up-regulated. These changes led to an increased amount of pyruvate, lactate, ethanol and acetate in the bacterial cells as confirmed by metabolite detection. Genes encoding proteins involved in cell surface structures, especially biofilm formation, peptidoglycan biosynthesis and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis were up-regulated as well. Biofilm formation was significantly enhanced under anaerobic conditions. These results indicate that induction of central metabolism is important for basic survival of A. pleuropneumoniae after a shift to an anaerobic environment. Enhanced biofilm formation may contribute to the persistence of this pathogen in the damaged anaerobic host tissue and also in the early colonization stage. These discoveries give new insights into adaptation mechanisms of A. pleuropneumoniae in response to environmental stress.     

Corticosterone administration up‐regulated expression of norepinephrine transporter and dopamine β‐hydroxylase in rat locus coeruleus and its terminal regions

Stress has been reported to activate the locus coeruleus (LC)–noradrenergic system. In this study, corticosterone (CORT) was orally administrated to rats for 21 days to mimic stress status. In situ hybridization measurements showed that CORT ingestion significantly increased mRNA levels of norepinephrine transporter (NET) and dopamine β‐hydroxylase (DBH) in the LC region. Immunofluorescence staining and western blotting revealed that CORT treatment also increased protein levels of NET and DBH in the LC, as well as NET protein levels in the hippocampus, the frontal cortex and the amygdala. However, CORT‐induced increase in DBH protein levels only appeared in the hippocampus and the amygdala. Elevated NET and DBH expression in most of these areas (except for NET protein levels in the LC) was abolished by simultaneous treatment with combination of corticosteroid receptor antagonist mifepristone and spironolactone (s.c. for 21 days). Also, treatment with mifepristone alone prevented CORT‐induced increases of NET expression and DBH protein levels in the LC. In addition, behavioral tasks showed that CORT ingestion facilitated escape in avoidance trials using an elevated T‐maze, but interestingly, there was no significant effect on the escape trial. Corticosteroid receptor antagonists failed to counteract this response in CORT‐treated rats. In the open‐field task, CORT treatment resulted in less activity in a defined central zone compared to controls and corticosteroid receptor antagonist treatment alleviated this increase. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that chronic exposure to CORT results in a phenotype that mimics stress‐induced alteration of noradrenergic phenotypes, but the effects on behavior are task dependent. As the sucrose consumption test strongly suggests CORT ingestion‐induced depression‐like behavior, further elucidation of underlying mechanisms may improve our understanding of the correlation between stress and the development of depression.

     

Itraconazole suppresses the growth of glioblastoma through induction of autophagy: Involvement of abnormal cholesterol trafficking

Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive human cancers with poor prognosis, and therefore a critical need exists for novel therapeutic strategies for management of glioblastoma patients. Itraconazole, a traditional antifungal drug, has been identified as a novel potential anticancer agent due to its inhibitory effects on cell proliferation and tumor angiogenesis; however, the molecular mechanisms involved are still unclear. Here, we show that itraconazole inhibits the proliferation of glioblastoma cells both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, we demonstrate that treatment with itraconazole induces autophagic progression in glioblastoma cells, while blockage of autophagy markedly reverses the antiproliferative activities of itraconazole, suggesting an antitumor effect of autophagy in response to itraconazole treatment. Functional studies revealed that itraconazole retarded the trafficking of cholesterol from late endosomes and lysosomes to the plasma membrane by reducing the levels of SCP2, resulting in repression of AKT1-MTOR signaling, induction of autophagy, and finally inhibition of cell proliferation. Together, our studies provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms regarding the antitumor activities of itraconazole, and may further assist both the pharmacological investigation and rational use of itraconazole in potential clinical applications.     

大鼠C6胶质瘤细胞中gdnf基因启动子Ⅰ区组蛋白高乙酰化可能参与了其高转录调控过程

目的:探讨大鼠C6胶质瘤细胞中gdnf基因高转录与其启动子Ⅰ区组蛋白乙酰化的关系。方法:应用Real-time PCR和ChIP-PCR技术分别检测了大鼠正常星形胶质细胞和C6胶质瘤细胞中gdnf基因mRNA的表达水平以及其启动子Ⅰ区组蛋白H3K9的乙酰化程度;利用Real-time PCR技术,检测了不同浓度的组蛋白乙酰基转移酶抑制剂姜黄素(Curcumin)或去乙酰化酶抑制剂曲古抑菌素A(TSA)处理对C6胶质瘤细胞中gdnf基因mRNA表达的影响。结果:较之正常星形胶质细胞,C6胶质瘤细胞中gdnf基因mRNA的表达量极显著增高(P0.01),并且其启动子Ⅰ区H3K9的乙酰化水平也显著升高(P0.05)。C6胶质瘤细胞经Curcumin处理24 h后,gdnf基因mRNA的表达量随药物浓度的升高而降低,且100μmol/L作用浓度时其表达量下降了74.17%(P0.001);相反,TSA处理后gdnf基因mRNA的表达量呈上升趋势,且200nmol/L组其表达量约上升145.35%(P0.05)。结论:在大鼠C6胶质瘤细胞中gdnf基因启动子Ⅰ区H3K9发生了高乙酰化修饰,这种修饰可能是其高转录的原因。     

脂联素的研究进展及与多种疾病的关系

超重和肥胖对心血管疾病,糖尿病及其它疾病的发生发展及预后有着重要的意义。脂联素是脂肪细胞介导的分泌蛋白,在体内和体外的大量实验中,都被证实具有多种功能:抗炎、改善胰岛素抵抗、抗动脉粥样硬化、降血糖、降血脂、抗氧化等。作为生物标记物,脂联素在临床研究中受到广泛关注。根据最新的研究结果,本文简要的介绍了脂联素的主要结构特征,作用机制,参与胰岛μ细胞的功能和存活、胰岛素抵抗的作用,以及与多种疾病之间的关系。作为唯一一个在肥胖患者体内水平下调的脂肪因子,脂联素对肥胖症、糖尿病、心血管疾病、肾脏疾病的保护作用及其分子机制的研究具有深远的意义,为相关疾病的预防和治疗提供新的思路。同时相关研究也为药物治疗提供可靠的下游靶点。     

碳/碳材料含硅羟基磷灰石涂层体外成骨细胞相容性研究

目的:成骨细胞在碳/碳复合材料表面羟基磷灰石涂层上有良好的长入,该实验在羟基磷灰石(hydroxyapatite HA)涂层中掺入硅后,研究成骨细胞对该涂层的生物活性,为临床骨科应用提供实验基础。方法:本研究采用化学液相气化沉积/水热法在碳/碳材料表面制备了含硅羟基磷灰石(silicon-hydroxyapatite Si-HA)涂层。在体外成骨细胞相容性的研究中,以HA涂层为对照,通过甲基噻唑基四唑(methylthiazolyl tetrazolium MTT)法测定细胞增殖反应和对细胞毒性反应,碱性磷酸酶(alkaline phosphatase ALP)测定细胞的分化,扫描电镜观察细胞生长形态,免疫荧光显影技术测定细胞的长入。结果:在HA涂层中引入硅后,Si-HA涂层和HA涂层在第2天、第4天的成骨细胞增殖实验表明前者的细胞长入数较后者多,两者的差异有统计学意义,而Si-HA涂层浸泡液中的ALP活性下降较HA涂层而言更明显,两者的差异有统计学意义,电镜扫描及荧光染色均提示在Si-HA涂层中成骨细胞的增值数更多。结论:在HA涂层中引入硅后,改变了涂层自身的晶体结构及表面电荷,同时诱导成骨细胞分泌胶原,使得成骨细胞更好的贴壁生长和增殖,成骨能力增加。在临床骨科植入物表面涂层改性上有很好的应用前景。     

E3泛素连接酶接头蛋白Keap1的研究进展

Kelch样ECH关联蛋白1(Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1,Keap1)是E3泛素连接酶的底物识别亚单位,在蛋白质的泛素化修饰中起重要作用.蛋白质的泛素化修饰作为一种重要且复杂的蛋白质翻译后修饰,在自噬和蛋白酶体系统中作为降解信号而被利用.野生型Keap1能够识别、结合多种底物...