Phytopathogenic bacteria utilize host glucose as a signal to stimulate virulence through LuxR homologues

Chemical signal-mediated biological communication is common within bacteria and between bacteria and their hosts. Many plant-associated bacteria respond to unknown plant compounds to regulate bacterial gene expression. However, the nature of the plant compounds that mediate such interkingdom communication and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly characterized. Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) causes black rot disease on brassica vegetables. Xcc contains an orphan LuxR regulator (XccR) which senses a plant signal that was validated to be glucose by HPLC-MS. The glucose concentration increases in apoplast fluid after Xcc infection, which is caused by the enhanced activity of plant sugar transporters translocating sugar and cell-wall invertases releasing glucose from sucrose. XccR recruits glucose, but not fructose, sucrose, glucose 6-phosphate, and UDP-glucose, to activate pip expression. Deletion of the bacterial glucose transporter gene sglT impaired pathogen virulence and pip expression. Structural prediction showed that the N-terminal domain of XccR forms an alternative pocket neighbouring the AHL-binding pocket for glucose docking. Substitution of three residues affecting structural stability abolished the ability of XccR to bind to the luxXc box in the pip promoter. Several other XccR homologues from plant-associated bacteria can also form stable complexes with glucose, indicating that glucose may function as a common signal molecule for pathogen–plant interactions. The conservation of a glucose/XccR/pip-like system in plant-associated bacteria suggests that some phytopathogens have evolved the ability to utilize host compounds as virulence signals, indicating that LuxRs mediate an interkingdom signalling circuit.     

Avicularin alleviates acute liver failure by regulation of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB and Nrf2/HO-1/GPX4 pathways to reduce inflammation and ferroptosis

Acute liver failure (ALF) is an inflammation-mediated hepatocyte death process associated with ferroptosis. Avicularin (AL), a Chinese herbal medicine, exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects. However, the protective effect of AL and the mechanism on ALF have not been reported. Our in vivo results suggest that AL significantly alleviated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced hepatic pathological injury, liver enzymes, inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen species and iron levels and increased the antioxidant enzyme activities (malondialdehyde and glutathione). Our further in vitro experiments demonstrated that AL suppressed inflammatory response in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells via blocking the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation protein-88 (MyD88)/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. Moreover, AL attenuated ferroptosis in D-GalN-induced HepG2 cells by activating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1)/glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) pathway. Therefore, AL can alleviate inflammatory response and ferroptosis in LPS/D-GalN-induced ALF, and its protective effects are associated with blocking TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway and activating Nrf2/HO-1/GPX4 pathway. Moreover, AL is a promising therapeutic option for ALF and should be clinically explored.     

Metabolic engineering of Mannheimia succiniciproducens for malic acid production using dimethylsulfoxide as an electron acceptor

Microbial production of various TCA intermediates and related chemicals through the reductive TCA cycle has been of great interest. However, rumen bacteria that naturally possess strong reductive TCA cycle have been rarely studied to produce these chemicals, except for succinic acid, due to their dependence on fumarate reduction to transport electrons for ATP synthesis. In this study, malic acid (MA), a dicarboxylic acid of industrial importance, was selected as a target chemical for mass production using Mannheimia succiniciproducens, a rumen bacterium possessing a strong reductive branch of the TCA cycle. The metabolic pathway was reconstructed by eliminating fumarase to prevent MA conversion to fumarate. The respiration system of M. succiniciproducens was reconstructed by introducing the Actinobacillus succinogenes dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) reductase to improve cell growth using DMSO as an electron acceptor. Also, the cell membrane was engineered by employing Pseudomonas aeruginosa cis-trans isomerase to enhance MA tolerance. High inoculum fed-batch fermentation of the final engineered strain produced 61 g/L of MA with an overall productivity of 2.27 g/L/h, which is the highest MA productivity reported to date. The systems metabolic engineering strategies reported in this study will be useful for developing anaerobic bioprocesses for the production of various industrially important chemicals.     

Rapid Analysis of Four Alkaloids in <i>Uncaria rhynchophylla</i> by Core-Shell Column HPLC and Quantitative Analysis of Multi-Components by Single Marker (QAMS)

As a traditional herbal medicine, the major alkaloids in Uncaria rhynchophylla have been proven to have blood pressure-lowering and sedative effects. It is essential to develop an effective method for the determination of the major alkaloids in U. rhynchophylla. In this research, a rapid quantitative analysis involving multi-components analysis by a single marker strategy coupled with core-shell column HPLC was adopted to analyse four alkaloids (corynoxeine, isocorynoxeine, isorhynchophylline, rhynchophylline) in U. rhynchophylla. Isorhynchophylline was selected as the internal reference substance, the content of which was determined by the traditional external standard method. Relative correction factors (RCF) between isorhynchophylline and the other three alkaloids were calculated respectively. The results showed that the QAMS method had good robustness under different HPLC instruments. Nineteen batches of U. rhynchophylla were tested. No significant difference was observed between the results by QAMS and EMS (Correlation coefficient > 0.99, p > 0.05). The QAMS method could be employed as a rapid, effective technique for the quality control of U. rhynchophylla.     

A Rapid Determination of 30 Prohibited Pesticide Residues in Lycii Fructus by UPLC-MS/MS

Prohibited pesticide residues have become one of the main factors affecting the quality and safety of Lycii Fructus, However, rarely studies focus on the rapid determination of these residues. Here, a total of 30 kinds of prohibited pesticide residues were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) in five different process ways. Pretreatment methods, chromatographic separation and detection conditions in mass spectrometry were all optimized accordingly. Among the five different pretreatment methods, the first and third solid phase extraction failed to provide high recoveries of sulfosulfuron compounds (both lower than 60%). Recovery of chlorphenamidine by the Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe multiresidue method (QuEChERS) was lower than 60%, which did not meet the requirements of trace determination. The concentrations of 30 prohibited pesticides residues treated by straightforward and solid phase extraction showed good linearity in their corresponding ranges, with correlation coefficients over 0.99. The average recoveries of straightforward ranged from 78.13% to 110.9%, while RSD ranged from 1.3% to 16.9%, albeit poor purification was observed. The recovery yield from solid phase extraction was between 67.75% and 103.08% with RSD value from 0.8% to 14.0%, which met the requirements of trace determination, this method has good precision and stability. These results could be employed to other Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) in detecting prohibited pesticide residues.     

Subcellular Distribution and Chemical Forms of Cadmium in the Medicine Food Homology Plant <i>Platycodon grandiflorum</i> (Jacq.) A.DC.

Although Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A.DC. is a renowned medicine food homology plant, reports of excessive cadmium (Cd) levels are common, which affects its safety for clinical use and food consumption. To enable its Cd levels to be regulated or reduced, it is necessary to first elucidate the mechanism of Cd uptake and accumulation in the plant, in addition to its detoxification mechanisms. This present study used inductively couple plasma-mass-spectrometry to analyze the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Cd in different tissues of P. grandiflorum. The experimental results showed that Cd was mainly accumulated in the roots [predominantly in the cell wall (50.96%–61.42%)], and it was found primarily in hypomobile and hypotoxic forms. The proportion of Cd in the soluble fraction increased after Cd exposure, and the proportion of insoluble phosphate Cd and oxalate Cd increased in roots and leaves, with a higher increase in oxalate Cd. Therefore, it is likely that root retention mechanisms, cell wall deposition, vacuole sequestration, and the formation of low mobility and low toxicity forms are tolerance strategies for Cd detoxification used by P. grandiflorum. The results of this study provide a theoretical grounding for the study of Cd accumulation and detoxification mechanisms in P. grandiflorum, and they can be used as a reference for developing Cd limits and standards for other medicine food homology plants.     

肠道菌群在脊髓损伤后胃肠道炎症反应中的研究进展

脊髓损伤(spinal cord injury, SCI)目前尚无有效的治疗手段。脊髓损伤后,患者常伴有严重的胃肠功能障碍,严重影响患者的生活质量。研究发现,脊髓损伤后肠道菌群的紊乱和脊髓损伤后的胃肠道功能障碍密切相关。因此,本文围绕脊髓损伤后肠道菌群的变化,探讨肠道菌群在迷走神经、下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺和肠道菌群代谢物3个途径中发挥的作用,及与胃肠道炎症反应相关的研究进展。     

蜜蜂脑乙酰胆碱免疫反应阳性神经元的分布

通过免疫组织化学方法-PAP法,使用乙酰胆碱(ACh)抗体,研究了中华蜂(Apis sinensis)和意大利蜂(Apis mellifera L)脑中具有乙酰胆碱免疫阳性反应的神经元胞体的形态、分布及神经元类型.并和已知的在其他昆虫脑中用ACh的合成酶ChAT和其水解酶AChE的抗体免疫组化法所获得的结果进行了比较.     

中国沙棘幼苗对土壤镉生理耐性和富集转运特征的性别差异

为探究中国沙棘对土壤镉(Cd)胁迫的性别响应差异,该研究以中国沙棘2年生幼苗为材料,利用盆栽试验研究在不同浓度Cd处理下(0(CK)、25、50、100和200 mg·kg^-1)雌、雄株幼苗的生长、叶片生理特性以及Cd富集特征的差异。结果表明：(1)Cd处理下中国沙棘幼苗雌、雄株的株高和基径生长以及各器官生物量均表现出低浓度(<50 mg·kg^-1)促进,高浓度(> 100 mg·kg^-1)抑制的现象;低浓度Cd处理下雌株的株高、基径增长率和生物量的增幅均高于雄株;高浓度Cd处理下(200 mg·kg^-1)雄株株高增长率、叶生物量和总生物量分别较CK显著降低,而雌株均未显著下降。(2)随着Cd浓度升高,雌、雄株叶片光合色素含量和抗氧化酶活性呈先升后降的变化趋势,丙二醛(MDA)和渗透调节物质含量呈上升趋势;Cd浓度为50～200 mg·kg^-1时,雌株叶片的光合色素含量、抗氧化酶活性和渗透调节物质含量均高于雄株,而MDA含量始终低于雄株。(3)随着Cd浓度升高,雌、...     

Four New C19-Diterpenoid Alkaloids from Aconitum nagarum Stapf

Four new aconitine-type C₁₉-diterpenoid alkaloids, were isolated from the roots of Aconitum nagarum Stapf which were named as nagarutines A–D ( 1–4 ), together with eleven known compounds ( 5–15 ). The structures of the compounds were identified by IR, HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra. All compounds were tested for the inhibitory effect on LPS induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages, compound 7 showed moderate anti-inflammatory activity effect and Inhibition rate is about 44.50%.