MT2A对脂多糖介导的人肺毛细血管内皮细胞损伤的保护作用

目的:探索不同浓度的金属硫蛋2A(Metallothionein 2A, MT2A)对脂多糖(Lipopolysaccharid, LPS)介导的人肺微血管内皮细胞损伤的保护作用。方法:培养人肺毛细血管内皮细胞株(Human lung microvascular endothelial cells, HPMVECs),经过一定浓度LPS溶液进行刺激后,利用不同浓度的MT2A与对照组共同培养,一段时间后观察炎性介质IL-6、TNF-α释放的量及荧光显微镜观察组HPMVECs骨架形态变化。结果:各组TNF-α浓度均在0 h最低,随之逐渐升高,到6 h达到高峰;从各时间点来看,除0 h各组TNF-α浓度无显著差异外(F=0.717, P=0.549),其余各时间点B1、B2、B3均显著高于A组(均P0.05)。各组中IL-6浓度均在0 h最低,A组在2 h达到高峰,随后逐渐下降;B1组在4 h达到高峰,随之下降;B2、B3组从0 h开始逐渐升高,到6 h达到峰值;从各时间点来看,除0 h各处理因素无显著差异外(F=2.341, P=0.092),其余各时间点B1、B2、B3均低于A组(均P0.05)。A组6 h小时后纤维状肌动蛋白(F-actin)明显解聚,分布明显减少,应力纤维排列紊乱或者消失;B1组、B2组、B3组6 h小时后,与A组相比,F-actin的分布明显较多,应力纤维排列较为整齐。结论:LPS刺激人肺毛细血管内皮细胞有明显损伤效应,加入MT2A后细胞相关炎性因子释放量、细胞骨架损伤情况明显减轻,表明一定浓度的MT2A对LPS介导的肺毛细血管损伤有明显保护作用。     

Epidemiological,Clinical and Serological Characteristics of Children with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Wuhan: A Single-centered,Retrospective Study

In December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the samples obtained from three adult patients who suffered from an unknown viral pneumonia in Wuhan (Li et al. 2020). This unknown viral pneumonia is further named as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization. To date, the number of new COVID-19 cases has continued to skyrocket and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on humans is far greater than any pathogen of this century in both breadth and depth. Previous studies have shown that adults with COVID-19 have symptoms of fever, dry cough, dyspnea, fatigue and lymphocytopenia. Moreover, COVID-19 is more likely to cause death in the elderly, especially those with chronic comorbidities (Huang et al. 2020). In Wuhan, more than 50, 000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, including over 780 pediatric patients, and only one child death case (Lu et al. 2020). Although the number of children cases was far fewer than that of adults, COVID-19 might endanger children's health and the information on children remains limited, especially in serological study. In the retrospective study, the investigators analyzed the epidemiological, clinical and serological characteristics of children with COVID-19 in Wuhan in the early stages of the outbreak, which might provide theoretical and practical help in controlling COVID-19 and similar emerging infectious diseases in the future.     

Epitranscriptomic technologies and analyses

RNA can interact with RNA-binding proteins(RBPs), mRNA, or other non-coding RNAs(ncRNAs) to form complex regulatory networks. High-throughput CLIP-seq, degradome-seq, and RNA-RNA interactome sequencing methods represent powerful approaches to identify biologically relevant ncRNA-target and protein-ncRNA interactions. However, assigning ncRNAs to their regulatory target genes or interacting RNA-binding proteins(RBPs) remains technically challenging. Chemical modifications to mRNA also play important roles in regulating gene expression. Investigation of the functional roles of these modifications relies highly on the detection methods used. RNA structure is also critical at nearly every step of the RNA life cycle. In this review, we summarize recent advances and limitations in CLIP technologies and discuss the computational challenges of and bioinformatics tools used for decoding the functions and regulatory networks of ncRNAs. We also summarize methods used to detect RNA modifications and to probe RNA structure.     

Activation of the bitter taste sensor TRPM5 prevents high salt-induced cardiovascular dysfunction

Science China Life Sciences - High salt intake is a known risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. Our recent study demonstrated that long-term high salt intake impairs transient receptor potential...     

Polymorphism analysis and supertype definition of swine leukocyte antigen class I molecules in three-way crossbred (Landrace,Duroc, and Yorkshire) pigs: implications for the vaccine development of African swine fever virus

正Dear Editor,Swine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a highly polymorphic gene in pigs and is also called swine leukocyte antigen (SLA)(Fan et al., 2018). SLA is divided into three major categories, SLA Ⅰ (SLA-1,-2,-3), SLA Ⅱ, and SLA Ⅲ(Smith et al., 2005). SLA Ⅰ plays an important role in cellular immunity which can eliminate viruses and other foreign     

无花果果皮中花青素的提取工艺的建立

本研究使用单因素方法考察了无花果(Ficus carica L.)果皮中花青素的最佳提取条件,并考察了7种参数对花青素提取率的影响。参数设置如下:溶剂性质(水,甲醇,乙醇和丙酮)、提取次数(1~3次)、固液比(1/50,1/100,1/150和1/200)、提取时间(60 min,120 min,180 min和240 min)、甲醇浓度(0,20%,40%,60%,80%和100%)、酸类型(盐酸,乙酸,柠檬酸和酒石酸)和酸浓度(0,1%,2%,5%和10%)。使用pH-示差法测量无花果果皮中单体花色素的含量。研究显示,无花果果皮中花青素的最佳提取条件为:溶剂为甲醇溶剂,提取次数为2次,固液比为1/100,提取时间为180 min,甲醇浓度为80%,酸类型为柠檬酸,柠檬酸浓度为5%。该最佳提取条件下的花青素的提取率达到最高(345.62 mg/100g DS)。     

Exogenous maltose enhances Zebrafish immunity to levofloxacin-resistant Vibrio alginolyticus

Understanding the interplay between bacterial fitness, antibiotic resistance, host immunity and host metabolism could guide treatment and improve immunity against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The acquisition of levofloxacin (Lev) resistance affects the fitness of Vibrio alginolyticus in vitro and in vivo. Lev-resistant (Lev-R) V. alginolyticus exhibits slow growth, reduced pathogenicity and greater resistance to killing by the host, Danio rerio (zebrafish), than Lev-sensitive (Lev-S) V. alginolyticus, suggesting that Lev-R V. alginolyticus triggers a weaker innate immune response in D. rerio than Lev-S V. alginolyticus. Differences were detected in the metabolome of D. rerio infected with Lev-S or Lev-R V. alginolyticus. Maltose, a crucial metabolite, is significantly downregulated in D. rerio infected with Lev-R V. alginolyticus, and exogenous maltose enhances the immune response of D. rerio to Lev-R V. alginolyticus, leading to better clearance of the infection. Furthermore, we demonstrate that exogenous maltose stimulates the host production of lysozyme and its binding to Lev-R V. alginolyticus, which depends on bacterial membrane potential. We suggest that exogenous exposure to crucial metabolites could be an effective strategy for treating and/or managing infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.