AIP1 acts with cofilin to control actin dynamics during epithelial morphogenesis

During epithelial morphogenesis, cells not only maintain tight adhesion for epithelial integrity but also allow dynamic intercellular movement to take place within cell sheets. How these seemingly opposing processes are coordinated is not well understood. Here, we report that the actin disassembly factors AIP1 and cofilin are required for remodeling of adherens junctions (AJs) during ommatidial precluster formation in Drosophila eye epithelium, a highly stereotyped cell rearrangement process which we describe in detail in our live imaging study. AIP1 is enriched together with F-actin in the apical region of preclusters, whereas cofilin displays a diffuse and uniform localization pattern. Cofilin overexpression completely rescues AJ remodeling defects caused by AIP1 loss of function, and cofilin physically interacts with AIP1. Pharmacological reduction of actin turnover results in similar AJ remodeling defects and decreased turnover of E-cadherin, which also results from AIP1 deficiency, whereas an F-actin-destabilizing drug affects AJ maintenance and epithelial integrity. Together with other data on actin polymerization, our results suggest that AIP1 enhances cofilin-mediated actin disassembly in the apical region of precluster cells to promote remodeling of AJs and thus intercellular movement, but also that robust actin polymerization promotes AJ general adhesion and integrity during the remodeling process.     

转化淋巴细胞胰岛素受体酪氨酸蛋白激酶活性及细胞内源性底物的研究

本文对增殖期的淋巴细胞胰岛素依赖性酪氨酸蛋白激酶活性及内源性废物进行了分析研究。在纯化的健康人淋巴细胞中加入适量的植物血凝素(PHA),经过72h培养即成为转化淋巴细胞(增殖期淋巴细胞)。应用~(32)P参入实验,证实转化淋巴细胞胰岛素受体具有胰岛素依赖性的酪氨酸蛋白激酶活性,与未转化的对照组相比其活性增加约9倍。Scatchard分析表明转化后淋巴细胞膜表面胰岛素受体数增加3.5倍。应用抗酪氨酸磷酸酯抗体,对胰岛素作用前后的转化与未转化淋巴细胞内,酪氨酸残基磷酸化的蛋白进行了鉴定,结果表明:除了95kD受体β亚基自身磷酸化外,45kD蛋白质也明显磷酸化,我们命名它为PP45。我们认为PP45可能是淋巴细胞中胰岛素受体酪氨酸蛋白激酶的主要内源性废物,它的磷酸化是胰岛素信息传递过程级联反应的初始步骤。     

Changes and subcellular localizations of the enzymes involved in phenylpropanoid metabolism during grape berry development

The phenylpropanoid pathway yields a variety of phenolics that are closely associated with fruit qualities in addition to structural and defense-related functions. However, very little has been reported concerning its metabolism in fruit. This experiment was designed to assess changes of eleven phenolic acids in grape berry (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) and explore both the activities and amounts of three key enzymes--phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H) and 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase (4CL)--catalyzing the biosynthesis of these compounds during berry development. Finally, the subcellular localizations of the enzymes within berry tissues were also investigated using immuno-gold electron microscopic technique. The results indicated that the contents of gallic, protocatechuic, gentisic and caffeic acid all changed drastically during berry development, while other compounds containing p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, syringic, chlorogenic, p-coumaric, ferulic and sinapic acid varied only slightly. Activities of PAL, C4H and 4CL showed similar pattern changes with two accumulated peaks throughout berry development. In addition, their activities all showed a highly positive correlation with the total contents of phenolic acids, whereas the immunoblotting analysis showed that changes in enzyme activities were independent of the enzyme amounts. Results from the subcellular-localization study revealed that PAL was mainly present in the cell walls, secondarily thickened walls, and the parenchyma cells of the berry mesocarp cells, C4H was found primarily in the chloroplast (plastid) and nucleus and 4CL predominantly in the secondarily thickened walls and the parenchyma cells of mesocarp vascular tissue.     

LTP inhibits LTD in the hippocampus via regulation of GSK3beta

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) has been implicated in major neurological disorders, but its role in normal neuronal function is largely unknown. Here we show that GSK3beta mediates an interaction between two major forms of synaptic plasticity in the brain, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) and NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression (LTD). In rat hippocampal slices, GSK3beta inhibitors block the induction of LTD. Furthermore, the activity of GSK3beta is enhanced during LTD via activation of PP1. Conversely, following the induction of LTP, there is inhibition of GSK3beta activity. This regulation of GSK3beta during LTP involves activation of NMDA receptors and the PI3K-Akt pathway and disrupts the ability of synapses to undergo LTD for up to 1 hr. We conclude that the regulation of GSK3beta activity provides a powerful mechanism to preserve information encoded during LTP from erasure by subsequent LTD, perhaps thereby permitting the initial consolidation of learnt information.     

Diagnostic Performance of Echocardiography for the Detection of Acute Cardiac Allograft Rejection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective

Many studies have addressed the diagnostic performance of echocardiography to evaluate acute cardiac allograft rejection compared with endomyocardial biopsy. But the existence of heterogeneity limited its clinical application. Thus, we conducted a comprehensive, systematic literature review and meta-analysis for the purpose.

Methods

Studies prior to September 1, 2014 identified by Medline/PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrance were examined by two independent reviews. We conducted meta-analysis by using Meta-DiSc 1.4 software. An assessment tool of QUADAS-2 was applied to evaluate the risk of bias and applicability of the studies.

Results

Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria of meta-analysis. The four parameters of pressure half time, isovolumic relaxation time, index of myocardial performance and late diastolic mitral annular motion velocity were included in the meta-analysis, with a pooled diagnostic odds ratio of 10.43, 6.89, 15.95 and 5.68 respectively, and the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curves value of 0.829, 0.599, 0.871 and 0.685 respectively.

Conclusion

The meta-analysis and systematic review demonstrate that no single parameter of echocardiography showed a reliable diagnostic performance for acute cardiac allograft rejection. A result of echocardiography for ACAR should be comprehensively considered by physicians in the context of clinical presentations and imaging feature.     

禽病原性大肠杆菌iro和tsh基因缺失株的构建

通过SSH和SCOTS研究, 铁系统(Iro)和温度敏感性血凝素(Tsh)在禽病原性大肠杆菌(APEC)的感染中可能发挥重要作用。基因检测发现, 在243个禽源大肠杆菌分离株中, 有205株为iro+菌株, 其中高、中度和低致病株分别为89.8%(184/205)、8.8%(18/205)和1.5%(3/205); 有167株为tsh+菌株, 高、中度、低致病株分别为87.4%(146/167)、12.6%(21/167)和0%(0/167), 结果显示iro+或tsh+株大多数为高致病株。为了确定iro和tsh基因在APEC致病力中的作用, 以APEC E037株为基础, 通过自杀性载体分别构建了iro和tsh基因缺失突变株E037(Δiro)、E037(Δtsh)和E037(ΔiroΔtsh)。动物感染性试验表明, 突变株在鸡体内的繁殖能力和致病性均明显下降, 但两个基因的协同致病作用不显著。进一步证实Iro和Tsh为APEC重要的致病因子。     

Screening and isolation of an organic solvent-tolerant bacterium for high-yield production of organic solvent-stable protease

Forty-three strains were screened from crude oil-contaminated samples by toluene and cyclohexane enrichment in medium. Ten of these strains demonstrated high protease activity on skim-milk agar. Among them, the PT121 isolate, identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was selected based on its extracellular protease stability in the presence of hydrophilic organic solvents. The crude protease also retained most of its activity up to at least 14 days in the presence of various organic solvents at 50% concentration, and the protease activity in production medium was 10,876U/ml after 72h incubation. This protease showed high activity as a catalyst for aspartame precursor Cbz-Asp-Phe-NH2 synthesis in the presence of 50% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO).