RNF7 promotes glioma growth via the PI3K/AKT signalling axis

RNF7 has been reported to play critical roles in various cancers. However, the underlying mechanisms of RNF7 in glioma development remain largely unknown. Herein, the expression level of RNF7 was examined in tissues by quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The effect of RNF7 on glioma progression was measured by performing CCK-8 and apoptosis assays, cell cycle-related experiments and animal experiments. The effect of RNF7 on PI3K/AKT signalling pathway was tested by Western blotting. First, we found that RNF7 was upregulated in tumour tissue compared with normal brain tissue, especially in high-grade glioma, and the high expression of RNF7 was significantly related to tumour size, Karnofsky Performance Scale score and a poor prognosis. Second, RNF7 overexpression facilitated tumour cell cycle progression and cell proliferation and suppressed apoptosis. Conversely, RNF7 knockdown suppressed tumour cell cycle progression and cell proliferation and facilitated apoptosis. Furthermore, follow-up mechanistic studies indicated that RNF7 could facilitate glioma cell proliferation and cell cycle progression and inhibit apoptosis by activating the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. This study shows that RNF7 can clearly promote glioma cell proliferation by facilitating cell cycle progression and inhibiting apoptosis by activating the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. Targeting the RNF7/PI3K/AKT axis may provide a new perspective on the prevention or treatment of glioma.     

Arrest of cell cycle progression of HeLa cells in the early G1 phase in K+-depleted conditions and its recovery upon addition of insulin and LDL

Cell cycle progression of synchronized HeLa cells was studied by measuring labeling of the nuclei with [³H]thymidine. The progression was arrested in a chemically defined medium in which K⁺ was replaced by Rb⁺ (Rb-CDM) but was restored upon addition of insulin and/or low density lipoprotein (LDL). Cells started DNA synthesis 12 hr after addition of insulin and/or LDL, regardless of the time of arrest, suggesting their arrest early in the G1 phase. After incubation of cells in Rb-CDM containing insulin or LDL singly for 3, 6, or 9 hr, replacement of the medium by that without an addition resulted in marked delay in entry of cells into the S phase, but in its replacement by medium containing both agents, the delay was insignificant. Synthesis of bulk protein, estimated as increase in the cell volume, was not strongly inhibited. From these results we conclude that cell cycle progression of HeLa cells in K^?-depleted CDM is arrested early in the G1 phase and that the arrest is due to lack of some protein(s) required for entry into the S phase that is synthesized in the early G1 phase.     

Transgenic modifications of silkworms as a means to obtain therapeutic biomolecules and protein fibers with exceptional properties

Transgenic modification of Bombyx mori silkworms is a benign approach for the production of silk fibers with extraordinary properties and also to generate therapeutic proteins and other biomolecules for various applications. Silk fibers with fluorescence lasting more than a year, natural protein fibers with strength and toughness exceeding that of spider silk, proteins and therapeutic biomolecules with exceptional properties have been developed using transgenic technology. The transgenic modifications have been done primarily by modifying the silk sericin and fibroin genes and also the silk producing glands. Although the genetic modifications were typically performed using the sericin 1 and other genes, newer techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 have enabled successful modifications of both the fibroin H-chain and L-chain. Such modifications have led to the production of therapeutic proteins and other biomolecules in reasonable quantities at affordable costs for tissue engineering and other medical applications. Transgenically modified silkworms also have distinct and long-lasting fluorescence useful for bioimaging applications. This review presents an overview of the transgenic techniques for modifications of B. mori silkworms and the properties obtained due to such modifications with particular focus on production of growth factors, fluorescent proteins, and high performance protein fibers.     

Terpenoids and Their Possible Role in Defense Against a Fungal Pathogen Alternaria tenuissima in Chrysanthemum morifolium Cultivars

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Terpenoids are a class of structurally diverse natural products involved in various plant biological processes. Their primary function is believed to provide...     

Partition of proteins in aqueous two-phase systems containing charged dextran or hydrophobic PEG

Summary The electrochemical effect of a charged dextran derivative and the hydrophobic effect of hydrophobic chain PEG derivative on partitioning of six types of proteins in PEG/dextran aqueous two-phase systems were investigated- When 1. 6%(w/w)DEAE-dextran was present in the system,the partition coefficient decreased quickly with increasing pH value;when 0. 4% (w/w)PEG pentadecanoic acid ester was present in the system, the partition coefficient of protein with strong hydrophobicity was greatly increased. The experimental results show that the influence of hydrocarbon chain PEG derivative on partition coefficient is closely related to the hydrophobicity of proteins.     

别藻蓝蛋白藻蓝胆素发色团分子构象研究

主要研究了蓝绿藻污棕席藻(Phormidium luridum)别藻蓝蛋白在不同 pH值条件下的吸收光谱和共振拉曼光谱.发现低聚化的结果导致了三聚体别藻蓝蛋白 650nm 特征吸收峰的消失和一些共振拉曼带强度和位置的移动.结果表明在低 pH 值作用下的低聚化的别藻蓝蛋白中藻蓝胆素发色团分子的构象和自由胆素分子类似,比三聚体的别藻蓝蛋白的发色团分子更趋于卷曲,折叠的构象态.而三聚体的别藻蓝蛋白,主要的拉曼带 1645cm^-1是其发色团分子构象处于更线性延展的标志,其光谱行为和吸收光谱 A_vis/A_uv所表征的发色团分子构象的结果相一致.     

异育银鲫及其人工杂合种外源遗传物质的检测分析

采用 DNA 杂交的方法,对异育银鲫及其人工杂合种进行了外源 DNA 的检测分析,发现两个雌核发育系的异育银鲫及其人工杂合种的 DNA 与红鲤 DNA 片段间的分子杂交均有阳性斑点出现,这表明,在异育银鲫及其人工杂合种产生过程中,父本(红鲤)的 DNA 片段的确可以随机地掺入到母本细胞的 DNA 中,从而产生了异精效应,使其子代生长加快,并出现父本性状。     

Enhancing electrical outputs of the fuel cells with Geobacter sulferreducens by overexpressing nanowire proteins

Protein nanowires are critical electroactive components for electron transfer of Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilm. To determine the applicability of the nanowire proteins in improving bioelectricity production, their genes including pilA, omcZ, omcS and omcT were overexpressed in G. sulfurreducens. The voltage outputs of the constructed strains were higher than that of the control strain with the empty vector (0.470–0.578 vs. 0.355 V) in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). As a result, the power density of the constructed strains (i.e. 1.39–1.58 W m⁻²) also increased by 2.62- to 2.97-fold as compared to that of the control strain. Overexpression of nanowire proteins also improved biofilm formation on electrodes with increased protein amount and thickness of biofilms. The normalized power outputs of the constructed strains were 0.18–0.20 W g⁻¹ that increased by 74% to 93% from that of the control strain. Bioelectrochemical analyses further revealed that the biofilms and MFCs with the constructed strains had stronger electroactivity and smaller internal resistance, respectively. Collectively, these results demonstrate for the first time that overexpression of nanowire proteins increases the biomass and electroactivity of anode-attached microbial biofilms. Moreover, this study provides a new way for enhancing the electrical outputs of MFCs.     

玉米种子萌发成苗不同阶段需水阈值的研究

用渗透势不同的聚乙二醇（ＰＥＧ）６０００模拟外界环境水分条件,对玉米不同品种的种子在萌动、萌发及成苗三个阶段需水的量化研究表明,种苗的抗旱性随吸水进程的推进而减弱;种子在萌动、萌发及胚芽伸长至一定长度的时间（ｔ）与外界环境水势（ｗ）之间存在着１／ｔ＝ａ＋ｂｗ的关系,据此推算出不同品种在不同成苗阶段的需水阈值,发现不同品种在同一成苗过程中对环境水分条件的反应不同,它们的抗旱性也不同。     

RT－cDNA克隆－PCR法获取犬瘟热病毒融合蛋白基因（F）

纯化鸡胚成纤维细胞培养的犬瘟热病毒（ＣａｎｉｎｅＤｉｓｔｅｍｐｅｒＶｉｒｕｓ,ＣＤＶ）,获得病毒基因组ＲＮＡ后,反转录合成双链病毒Ｆ基因ｃＤＮＡ。将此双链ｃＤＮＡ平端插入ＰＵＣ１９质粒ＳａｍⅠ位点构建重组质粒,进行ｃＤＮＡ克隆。以重组克隆质粒为模板ＰＣＲ扩增,获得ＣＤＶ全长Ｆ基因。将此Ｆ基因插入表达载体ＰＢＶ２２０,在大肠杆菌中表达,通过对表达产物的最终鉴定,可确认所获片段为ＣＤＶ全长Ｆ基因．