The glucose‐deprivation network counteracts lapatinib‐induced toxicity in resistant ErbB2‐positive breast cancer cells

Dynamic interactions between intracellular networks regulate cellular homeostasis and responses to perturbations. Targeted therapy is aimed at perturbing oncogene addiction pathways in cancer, however, development of acquired resistance to these drugs is a significant clinical problem. A network‐based computational analysis of global gene expression data from matched sensitive and acquired drug‐resistant cells to lapatinib, an EGFR/ErbB2 inhibitor, revealed an increased expression of the glucose deprivation response network, including glucagon signaling, glucose uptake, gluconeogenesis and unfolded protein response in the resistant cells. Importantly, the glucose deprivation response markers correlated significantly with high clinical relapse rates in ErbB2‐positive breast cancer patients. Further, forcing drug‐sensitive cells into glucose deprivation rendered them more resistant to lapatinib. Using a chemical genomics bioinformatics mining of the CMAP database, we identified drugs that specifically target the glucose deprivation response networks to overcome the resistant phenotype and reduced survival of resistant cells. This study implicates the chronic activation of cellular compensatory networks in response to targeted therapy and suggests novel combinations targeting signaling and metabolic networks in tumors with acquired resistance.     

低氧对巨噬细胞分泌TNF-α和IL-6的影响及其机制

目的:观察低氧对巨噬细胞(Mφ)前炎症因子TNF-α和IL-6分泌的影响及其机制.方法:收集分离小鼠腹腔Mφ,建立Mφ的低氧(1% O2,5%CO2)培养模型,并用非特异性酯酶染色法进行鉴定;ELISA法检测上清液中TNF-α和IL-6的含量;RT-PCR法检测TNF-α和IL-6的转录物水平;用Western blot法检测Mφ核内NF-κB的激活量;通过在培养液中加入氢化可的松(5 mg/L),观察低氧时TNF-α和IL-6分泌量的变化.结果:TNF-α和IL-6分泌量在低氧12 h时明显增加(P＜0.01);低氧6 h时,TNF-α mRNA和IL-6 mRNA表达量明显高于对照组(P＜0.01);M中核内NF-κB的激活量在低氧2 h时明显增高(P＜0.05),低氧5 h内持续存在;而当培养液中加入氢化可的松抑制NF-κB活性后,TNF-α和IL-6的分泌水平无明显变化.结论:低氧可通过核转录因子NF-κB途径促进细胞因子TNF-α和IL-6基因的表达和分泌.     

Characterization of the carboxysomal carbonic anhydrase CsoSCA from Halothiobacillus neapolitanus

In cyanobacteria and many chemolithotrophic bacteria, the CO(2)-fixing enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) is sequestered into polyhedral protein bodies called carboxysomes. The carboxysome is believed to function as a microcompartment that enhances the catalytic efficacy of RubisCO by providing the enzyme with its substrate, CO(2), through the action of the shell protein CsoSCA, which is a novel carbonic anhydrase. In the work reported here, the biochemical properties of purified, recombinant CsoSCA were studied, and the catalytic characteristics of the carbonic anhydrase for the CO(2) hydration and bicarbonate dehydration reactions were compared with those of intact and ruptured carboxysomes. The low apparent catalytic rates measured for CsoSCA in intact carboxysomes suggest that the protein shell acts as a barrier for the CO(2) that has been produced by CsoSCA through directional dehydration of cytoplasmic bicarbonate. This CO(2) trap provides the sequestered RubisCO with ample substrate for efficient fixation and constitutes a means by which microcompartmentalization enhances the catalytic efficiency of this enzyme.     

Administration of signalling molecules dictates stem cell homing for in situ regeneration

Ex vivo‐expanded stem cells have long been a cornerstone of biotherapeutics and have attracted increasing attention for treating intractable diseases and improving tissue regeneration. However, using exogenous cellular materials to develop restorative treatments for large numbers of patients has become a major concern for both economic and safety reasons. Advances in cell biological research over the past two decades have expanded the potential for using endogenous stem cells during wound healing processes, and in particular, recent insight into stem cell movement and homing has prompted regenerative research and therapy based on recruiting endogenous cells. Inspired by the natural healing process, artificial administration of specific chemokines as signals systemically or at the injury site, typically using biomaterials as vehicles, is a state‐of‐the‐art strategy that potentiates stem cell homing and recreates an anti‐inflammatory and immunomodulatory microenvironment to enhance in situ tissue regeneration. However, pharmacologically coaxing endogenous stem cells to act as therapeutics in the field of biomedicine remains in the early stages; its efficacy is limited by the lack of innovative methodologies for chemokine presentation and release. This review describes how to direct the homing of endogenous stem cells via the administration of specific signals, with a particular emphasis on targeted signalling molecules that regulate this homing process, to enhance in situ tissue regeneration. We also provide an outlook on and critical considerations for future investigations to enhance stem cell recruitment and harness the reparative potential of these recruited cells as a clinically relevant cell therapy.     

中国绿杯菌属研究(英文)

对采自中国12个省的绿杯菌属Chlorociboria标本进行了分类研究,鉴定出3个种,分别为小孢绿杯菌C.aeruginascens、绿杯菌C.aeruginosa和波托绿杯菌C.poutoensis。其中波托绿杯菌为中国新记录种,对该种的形态学特征进行了描述和图示,并对其分类地位提供了DNA序列分析的佐证。     

引入显式水分子对接提高蛋白质配体复合物结构的预测精度

在蛋白质复合物界面一般都会存在着一定量的水分子,这些水分子通过空间占据和氢键方式影响蛋白质与配体的位置关系。应用现有的计算机方法研究蛋白质-配体对接时,一般不会显式地考虑水分子的作用。本文显式地将水分子引入蛋白质-配体对接过程,考虑水分子空间占据和氢键能量对复合物对接结构的影响,提出了一种包含水分子的蛋白质-配体对接算法。实验结果表明引入水分子使蛋白质-配体对接质量有明显提高。     

Site-selective lateral multilayer assembly of bienzyme with polyelectrolyte on ITO electrode based on electric field-induced directly layer-by-layer deposition

We describe here a new approach to construct a multilayer enzyme/polyelectrolyte film on a structured transparent indium-tin oxide (ITO) covered glass electrode surface as micropattern, on which two different types of enzyme distributed laterally on one common substrate without interference. The multilayer film was prepared by alternate electric field directed layer-by-layer assembly deposition and alternate deposition of different redox enzymes and polyelectrolyte poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) onto the site-selective ITO glass electrode surface. The cyclic voltammogram, obtained from the ITO glass electrode modified with the glucose oxidase (GO(X))/PDDA and catalase (CA(T))/PDDA multilayers, revealed that the bioelectrocatalytic response is directly correlated to the number of deposition bilayers. From the analysis of cyclic voltammetric characterization, the coverage of catalytically active enzymes per enzyme/PDDA bilayer during the multilayer formation was homogeneous, which demonstrates that the multilayer is constructed in a spatially ordered manner. Also, from the atomic force microscopy and Brewster angle microscopy measurements, more information of the multilayer constructed by different methods on the modified electrode surface is obtained and compared. This fabrication technique is simple and would be applicable to the construction of a thickness- and area-controlled biopattern composed of multi-enzymes as well as multiple biomaterials.     

PRRSV NJ-a株ORF5基因A表位的修饰与糖基化位点的突变对其DNA疫苗免疫效力的影响

为了提高PRRSV ORF5基因的免疫效力,对ORF5基因进行了改造,将CpG序列和通用型辅助性T淋巴细胞表位插入A表位与B表位之间,并对N33与N51位糖基化位点进行了点突变,获得改造的ORF5基因。在此基础上构建了由两个CMV启动子调控的共表达改造的ORF5(MORF5)与ORF6基因的真核表达质粒pcDNA-M5A-6A。经Western-blot与IFA验证真核质粒的体外表达后,免疫6周龄Balb/c小鼠,利用微量中和试验检测免疫后的中和抗体,利用MTT法检测免疫后淋巴细胞的增生情况,并与未改造ORF5基因真核表达质粒pcDNA-5A-6A、弱毒疫苗以及灭活疫苗的免疫效果进行比较。结果表明,pcDNA-M5A-6A不但能够刺激免疫小鼠在较短的时间内产生更高水平的中和抗体,而且可以诱导产生更强烈的T淋巴细胞增殖反应。所构建的共表达PRRSV改造的ORF5基因与ORF6基因的DNA疫苗pcDNA-M5A-6A,能够较好的诱发小鼠产生较高的特异性针对PRRSV的中和抗体和细胞免疫应答,为研究能够更好地防制PRRSV的新型疫苗提供了新的思路。