恶性疟原虫膜蛋白Pfs25在毕赤酵母中的组成型表达

目的:Pfs25蛋白是传播阻断型恶性疟疾疫苗的侯选抗原,在毕赤酵母中表达Pfs25蛋白,并对表达产物进行鉴定。方法:参照GenBank中公布的pfs25基因序列,通过毕赤酵母喜好密码子分析人工合成目的基因;采取定向克隆策略构建重组表达质粒pfs25/pGAPZαA,经BstXⅠ线性化,电转染法转化酵母菌株GS115,在Zeocin抗性的筛选培养基上获得表达目的基因的pfs25/pGAPZαA/GS115重组酵母菌,SDS-PAGE和Western印迹检测表达产物;通过在YPD培养基上传代培养和目的基因表达,验证重组菌株的遗传稳定性。结果:在毕赤酵母中表达了Pfs25蛋白,且重组菌株遗传性质稳定。结论:为研制基于Pfs25蛋白的传播阻断型恶性疟疾疫苗奠定了基础。     

Hormonal induction of spawning in 4 species of frogs by coinjection with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and a dopamine antagonist

Background  

It is well known that many anurans do not reproduce easily in captivity. Some methods are based on administration of mammalian hormones such as human chorionic gonadotropin, which are not effective in many frogs. There is a need for simple, cost-effective alternative techniques to induce spawning.     

Trypanoside,anti-tuberculosis,leishmanicidal, and cytotoxic activities of tetrahydrobenzothienopyrimidines

The synthesis of 2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro[1]benzothieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)hydrazone-derivatives (BTPs) and their in vitro evaluation against Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Leishmania amazonensis axenic amastigotes, and six human cancer cell lines is described. The in vivo activity of the most active and least toxic compounds against T. cruzi and L. amazonensis was also studied. BTPs constitute a new family of drug leads with potential activity against infectious diseases. Due to their drug-like properties, this series of compounds can potentially serve as templates for future drug-optimization and drug-development efforts for use as therapeutic agents in developing countries.     

Cleavage of the matricellular protein SPARC by matrix metalloproteinase 3 produces polypeptides that influence angiogenesis

SPARC, a matricellular protein that affects cellular adhesion and proliferation, is produced in remodeling tissue and in pathologies involving fibrosis and angiogenesis. In this study we have asked whether peptides generated from cleavage of SPARC in the extracellular milieu can regulate angiogenesis. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, but not MMP-1 or 9, showed significant activity toward SPARC. Limited digestion of recombinant human (rhu)SPARC with purified catalytic domain of rhuMMP-3 produced three major fragments, which were sequenced after purification by HPLC. Three synthetic peptides (Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3) representing motifs from each fragment were tested in distinct assays of angiogenesis. Peptide Z-1 (3.9 kDa, containing a Cu2+-binding sequence KHGK) exhibited a biphasic effect on [3H]thymidine incorporation by cultured endothelial cells and stimulated vascular growth in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). In contrast, peptides Z-2 (6.1 kDa, containing Ca2+-binding EF hand-1) and Z-3 (2.2 kDa, containing neither Cu2+-binding motifs nor EF hands), inhibited cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner and exhibited no effects on vessel growth in the CAM. Reciprocal results were obtained in a migration assay in native collagen gels: peptide Z-1 was ineffective over a range of concentrations, whereas Z-2 or Z-3 stimulated cell migration. Therefore, proteolysis of SPARC by MMP-3 produced peptides that regulate endothelial cell proliferation and/or migration in vitro in a mutually exclusive manner. One of these peptides containing KHGK also demonstrated a concentration-dependent effect on angiogenesis.     

Inter‐annual and body topographic consistency in the plumage bacterial load of Great Tits

ABSTRACT Plumage bacteria may play an important role in shaping the life histories of birds. However, to design suitable experiments to examine causal relationships between plumage bacteria and the fitness of host birds, natural variation in plumage bacterial communities needs to be better understood. We examined within‐individual consistency of plumage bacterial contamination in Great Tits (Parus major), comparing different body regions (ventral vs. dorsal) and comparing contamination between years. Numbers of free‐living and attached bacteria and the species richness of feather‐degrading bacterial assemblages were studied using flow cytometry and ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA). Numbers of both types of bacteria were higher on dorsal than on ventral feathers. Numbers of free‐living, but not attached, bacteria on the two body regions were highly positively correlated. There was also a strong within‐individual correlation between numbers of attached bacteria during the same breeding stages in different years. These results suggest that, despite variation in absolute levels of feather bacterial loads between years and different body regions, sampling individual birds can provide reliable estimates of relative levels of bacterial contamination, as long as sampling time and body region are carefully standardized.     

中国圈养林麝微卫星DNA多样性研究

本文利用13对微卫星标记,对我国3个核心种源地（巴山、秦岭、川西高原）圈养林麝种群进行遗传多样性和遗传结构分析。在167份样品中共检测到142个等位基因（Na）,每个位点等位基因数介于7~16,均值为10.92,平均有效等位基因数（Ne）为6.3730,期望杂合度（He）和观测杂合度（Ho）均值分别为0.8302和0.3897。这些圈养林麝种群遗传多样性水平较高,但较低的观测杂合度表明圈养群体存在近交现象。两两群体间的Fst 值和AMOVA分析结果均表明种群之间分化程度不明显。群体遗传结构分析显示,全部样本聚为3个遗传簇（最佳K值=3）,其主体与3个地理来源相符,但种群间存在基因渗透现象。本研究中的秦岭种群遗传变异最为丰富,可以作为种质改良的基因池。     

基于局部茎搜索的RNA二级结构预测算法

RNA的二级结构预测是生物信息学中一个已经有30多年历史的经典问题,基于最小自由能模型(MFE)的优化算法是使用最为广泛的方法．但RNA结构中假结的存在使MFE问题理论上成为一个NP-hard问题,即使采用动态规划等优化算法也会面临时间复杂度高的困难,同时研究还发现,由于受RNA折叠动力学机制以及环境因素的影响,真实的RNA二级结构往往并不处于自由能最小状态．根据RNA折叠的特点,提出了一种启发式搜索算法来预测带假结的RNA二级结构．该算法以RNA的茎为基本单元,采用启发式搜索策略在茎的组合空间中搜索自由能最小并且出现频率最高的RNA二级结构,该算法不仅能显著降低搜索RNA二级结构的时间复杂度,还有助于弥补单纯依赖能量预测RNA二级结构的不足．在多种类型的RNA标准数据集上进行了检验,结果表明,该算法在预测的精度上优于目前国际上几个著名的RNA二级结构预测算法并且具有较高的运行效率．     

铅胁迫对玉米幼苗叶片光系统功能及光合作用的影响

通过同时测定玉米叶片的叶绿素荧光快速诱导动力学曲线和对820 nm光的吸收、分析叶片的气体交换过程以及叶绿体活性氧清除关键酶的活性,研究了不同浓度的铅(Pb)胁迫对玉米光系统Ⅰ(PSⅠ)、光系统Ⅱ(PSⅡ)的光化学活性和光合作用的影响,并分析了Pb胁迫下两个光系统的相互关系.结果表明:铅胁迫显著抑制了玉米地上部分和地下部分的生长、降低了叶片光合色素含量、并通过非气孔因素限制了光合作用、导致过剩激发能的增加;铅胁迫显著抑制了超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和抗坏血酸过氧化物酶(APX)的活性、伤害了PSII反应中心、PSII的受体侧和供体侧(放氧复合体)以及PSI光化学活性.     

Combined effects of chlorpromazine and high fat diet on lipid levels and enzyme activities in bile, liver and plasma of Wistar rats

The effects of high fat diet and injection of chlorpromazine on bile lipid secretion were studied in the rats fed a control diet (C), a saturated fat, high cholesterol diet (S) and a polyunsaturated fat, high cholesterol diet (PU). As compared to controls, injection of chlorpromazine in the S and PU diet groups caused no appreciable change in the level of bile salts and bile phospholipids. Chlorpromazine did however enhance bile cholesterol, especially in the PU group, and lower secretion of lysosomal enzyme (beta-glucuronidase) into bile. Impairment of lysosomal enzyme secretion but not of bile lipid secretion suggests that the lysosomal activity is not directly involved in the bile secretion mechanism. These data point up the risks of using chlorpromazine therapy in association with a diet high in fat and cholesterol.