Effects of plant and prey characteristics on the predatory behavior of Delphastus catalinae

Nymphal setosity of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) has been reported to be induced by mechanical stimuli such as leaf tomentosity, and related to the predatory performance of the coccinellid Delphastus catalinae (Horn) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). In this study, a possible adaptive value of this phenomenon for the whitefly is shown through the combined effects of leaf and prey characteristics on the walking and predatory behaviors of the beetle. Leaf tomentosity significantly affected the walking patterns of the beetle and therefore its searching abilities, thus indirectly increasing the influence of prey distribution upon predator's efficiency. Moreover, while searching on tomentose leaves, the beetles showed preference for the smooth prey phenotype. This behavior was found dependent on the experience of the beetle in previous encounters. These results are pertinent to intraspecific competition between the different nymphal phenotypes and to the predatory efficiency of this beetle, which is utilized in biological control of whiteflies.     

Leucine-rich repeat C4 protein is involved in nervous tissue development and neurite outgrowth, and induction of glioma cell differentiation

LRRC4, leucine-rich repeat C4 protein, has been identified in human （GenBank accession No. AF196976）, mouse （GenBank accession No. DQ177325）, rat （GenBank accession No. DQ119102） and bovine （GenBank accession No. DQ 164537） with identical domains. In terms of their similarity, the genes encoding LRRC4 in these four mammalian species are orthogs and therefore correspond to the same gene entity. Based on previous research, and using in situ hybridization, we found that LRRC4 had the strongest expression in hippocampal CA1 and CA2, the granule cells of the dentate gyrus region, the mediodoral thalamic nucleus, and cerebella Purkinje cell layers. Using a P19 cell model, we also found that LRRC4 participates in the differentiation of neuron and glia cells. In addition, extracellular proteins containing both an LRR cassette and immunoglobulin domains have been shown to participate in axon guidance. Our data from neurite outgrowth assays indicated that LRRC4 promoted neurite extension of hippocampal neurons, and induced differentiation of glioblastoma U251 cells into astrocyte-like cells, confirmed by morphology observation and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression.     

β连环素在新生儿细支气管的表达与研究

目的研究β-cat在新生儿细支气管中的表达情况,探讨β-cat在新生儿支气管发育中的作用。方法采用免疫组化(SP)法,检测22例尸检新生儿β-cat、GSK-3β在细支气管上皮细胞的表达,以12例儿童为对照。结果β-cat在新生儿组有6例出现细胞膜表达降低、3例出现胞质表达、2例胞核表达;对照组中2例胞膜表达减少,1例胞质表达。β-cat的平均光密度值在新生儿组为0·112±0·024,对照组为0·128±0·037。两组比较P>0·05,无显著性差异;GSK-3β平均光密度值在对照组为0·147±0·037,新生儿组为0·115±0·028,两组比较P<0·05,有显著性差异。结论β-cat在新生儿细支气管的异位表达,提示Wnt信号与支气管的发育成熟有关。     

Tyrosine phosphorylated Par3 regulates epithelial tight junction assembly promoted by EGFR signaling

The conserved polarity complex, comprising the partitioning-defective (Par) proteins Par3 and Par6, and the atypical protein kinase C, functions in various cell-polarization events and asymmetric cell divisions. However, little is known about whether and how external stimuli-induced signals may regulate Par3 function in epithelial cell polarity. Here, we found that Par3 was tyrosine phosphorylated through phosphoproteomic profiling of pervanadate-induced phosphotyrosine proteins. We also demonstrated that the tyrosine phosphorylation event induced by multiple growth factors including epidermal growth factor (EGF) was dependent on activation of Src family kinase (SFK) members c-Src and c-Yes. The tyrosine residue 1127 (Y1127) of Par3 was identified as the major EGF-induced phosphorylation site. Moreover, we found that Y1127 phosphorylation reduced the association of Par3 with LIM kinase 2 (LIMK2), thus enabling LIMK2 to regulate cofilin phosphorylation dynamics. Substitution of Y1127 for phenylalanine impaired the EGF-induced Par3 and LIMK2 dissociation and delayed epithelial tight junction (TJ) assembly considerably. Collectively, these data suggest a novel, phosphotyrosine-dependent fine-tuning mechanism of Par3 in epithelial TJ assembly controlled by the EGF receptor-SFK signaling pathway.     

The capacity for multistability in small gene regulatory networks

Background  

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the use of mathematical modeling to gain insight into gene regulatory network behavior across many different organisms. In particular, there has been considerable interest in using mathematical tools to understand how multistable regulatory networks may contribute to developmental processes such as cell fate determination. Indeed, such a network may subserve the formation of unicellular leaf hairs (trichomes) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.     

腹腔镜诊断子宫内膜异位症并联合药物治疗不孕症157例分析

目的:探讨运用腹腔镜诊断子宫内膜异位症,并观察通过手术联合药物治疗子宫内膜异位症的临床疗效.方法:回顾性分析157例子宫内膜异位症患者腹腔镜手术联合药物治疗后的临床资料.结果:不同期别子宫内膜位异症患者术后联合用药后完全缓解率为84.7%,半年复发率为1.9%,半年妊娠率为59.2%.结论:子宫内膜异位症腹腔镜手术后联合用药可有效降低复发率,提高受孕率.     

Virus-host interactions: new insights from the small RNA world

RNA silencing has a known role in the antiviral responses of plants and insects. Recent evidence, including the finding that the Tat protein of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can suppress the host's RNA-silencing pathway and may thus counteract host antiviral RNAs, suggests that RNA-silencing pathways could also have key roles in mammalian virus-host interactions.     

Glycosphingolipids in endocytic membrane transport

Endocytosis leads to the internalisation of both lipids and proteins and their delivery to specific subcellular locations. This involves sorting processes that are not completely understood, but may involve interactions between lipids and proteins as well as pH and calcium gradients. This article discusses the importance of endocytosis in glycosphingolipid (GSL) synthesis as well as the potential roles of GSLs in endocytic membrane transport. Although the accumulation of GSLs in storage diseases clearly disrupts endocytic transport, increasing evidence also supports a role for GSLs in endocytosis in normal cells.     

Expression pattern of Filamin-240 in Drosophila blood cells

The expression pattern of Filamin-240 was studied in subsets of Drosophila blood cells by means of immunofluorescent staining and Western blot analysis with use of an antibody specific to a "filamin-folding domain", a consensus motif profile generated from the 20 existing filamin repeats. Expression of Filamin-240 is restricted to lamellocytes - a special blood cell type of the cellular immune response - and is involved in the regulation of lamellocyte development. In the cher1 homozygous larvae, which lack Filamin-240 protein, a vigorous lamellocyte differentiation occurs which is further enhanced upon in vivo immune challenge by a parasitic wasp, Leptopilina boulardi. By introducing a full-length transgene encoding the Drosophila Filamin-240 protein into the cher1 Filamin-deficient homozygous mutant, the mutant blood cell phenotype was rescued. These data demonstrate that the expression of Filamin-240 is strictly lamellocyte specific in Drosophila blood cells and that the protein is a suppressor of lamellocyte development.