重楼活性单体pp-10通过抑制PI3K/Akt通路诱导人胃癌细胞BGC-823凋亡和自噬

目的:探讨重楼/七叶一枝花(Paris polyphylla)的醇提物单体pp-10诱导人胃癌BGC-823细胞凋亡和自噬及其分子机制。方法:采用MTT法和克隆形成抑制实验观察不同浓度的重楼单体pp-10对人胃癌BGC-823细胞的增殖抑制作用;Hoechst33342染色法检测pp-10作用于人胃癌BGC-823细胞后细胞核形态的改变;Annexin V-FITC/PI双染法检测细胞凋亡;Western blotting检测重楼单体pp-10对细胞凋亡和自噬相关蛋白Caspase-3、Caspase-9、(ADP-核糖)聚合酶(PARP)、Bax、Bcl-2、LC3、P62以及PI3K/Akt信号通路相关蛋白(Akt、p-Akt、m TOR、p-m TOR、P70s6k、p-P70s6k)表达的影响。结果:重楼单体pp-10能显著抑制BGC-823细胞的生长,作用呈时间-效应关系及剂量-效应关系;克隆形成抑制实验表明随着pp-10浓度的增加,细胞克隆形成逐渐减少,与对照组相比有显著差异;在荧光显微镜下观察可见其细胞核固缩、边聚、裂解等细胞凋亡形态学变化;流式细胞术检测显示,随着作用药物浓度的增高,其凋亡率逐渐升高;Western blotting结果表明,随着药物浓度的增加,线粒体相关凋亡信号通路蛋白Caspase9、Caspase3及PARP均出现酶切活化条带,细胞促凋亡蛋白Bax的表达水平增加,抗凋亡蛋白Bcl-2减少,自噬相关蛋白Ⅱ型LC3增加,P62蛋白减少,p-Akt蛋白的表达水平下降,Akt下游蛋白p-m Tor、p-p70S6K表达减少。结论:重楼单体pp-10通过抑制BGC-823细胞增殖,诱导细胞凋亡和自噬,与下调P13K/Akt信号通路有关。     

细菌萜类合成酶的生物信息学分析

【目的】目前对于萜类合成酶(Terpenoid synthase,TPS)的研究主要集中在植物和真菌中,而对细菌TPS的系统研究尚少。建立在大量已经被测序的细菌基因组基础上,利用生物信息学方法,对细菌TPS在全基因组范围内进行识别、分类和功能分析。【方法】利用TPS的隐马尔科夫模型(Pfam编号为PF03936)搜索自建的细菌蛋白质组数据库,预测出细菌TPS。对这些候选TPS的蛋白序列用MAFFT 7.130b进行多序列比对,并利用MEGA 6.0对多序列比对结果进行进化分析。利用MEME和PredictProtein分别进行细菌TPS的基序(Motifs)和点突变分析。【结果】建立在生物信息学分析的基础上,1 423条细菌TPS被识别,它们分布在8个门中,即放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、蓝藻门(Cyanobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、绿弯菌门(Chloroflexi)、酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)和衣原体门(Chlamydiae)。进化分析表明细菌TPS可分为4大类,Motifs分析表明除了各类之间保守的基序(Motifs)外,还有特异的Motifs,这暗示着细菌TPS在不同类别之间的功能分化。点突变分析表明,细菌TPS不同位点的氨基酸突变对TPS功能的影响不同。【结论】细菌TPS主要分布于8个门中,其中在2个门中细菌TPS尚未见报道,即厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)与酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)。基于进化分析,可以把细菌TPS分为4类,各类之间的差异可能是由类特异的Motifs决定的,另外细菌TPS不同氨基酸位点的突变分析为今后验证TPS的功能提供了很好的理论基础。     

Knockdown of RPL34 inhibits the proliferation and migration of glioma cells through the inactivation of JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway

Ribosomal protein L34 (RPL34), belonging to the L34E family of ribosomal proteins, was reported to be dysregulated in several types of cancers and plays important roles in tumor progression. However, the expression and roles of RPL34 in human glioma remain largely unknown. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the expression and role of RPL34 in glioma. We report here that RPL34 is highly expressed in human glioma tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of RPL34 markedly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as prevented the epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype in glioma cells. Further, mechanistic analysis showed that knockdown of RPL34 significantly downregulated the levels of p-JAK and p-STAT3 in glioma cells. Taken together, our findings indicated that knockdown of RPL34 inhibits the proliferation and migration of glioma cells through the inactivation of JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway. Thus, RPL34 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of glioma.     

Long term experimental drought alters community plant trait variation,not trait means,across three semiarid grasslands

Plant and Soil - Mechanisms by which soil pH affects rice growth await further elucidation. We have used a Systems Biology approach to elucidate the nature of the damage caused by extreme pH to...     

Clonal integration enhances survival and performance of Potentilla anserina, suffering from partial sand burial on Ordos plateau, China

On Ordos plateau, a semi-arid, desertified area in China, sand burial is a common stress factor for plants. The extent to which sand burial occurs is heterogeneous and unpredictable in space and in time. Therefore, clonal fragments (i.e., interconnected ramets of a clonal plant) often experience partial sand burial, with some ramets buried in sand while the rest may remain unburied. It was hypothesized that clonal fragments are able to benefit from clonal integration, in case they experience partial sand burial. A pot experiment was conducted with Potentilla anserina, a stoloniferous herb often found on Ordos plateau. We used clonal fragments consisting of four interconnected ramets. In the experiment, the two proximal (older) ramets were unburied while the two distal (younger) ramets were either unburied (control) or buried with a 2, 4 or 6 cm deep layer of sand (burial treatments). The stolon connection between the proximal and the distal ramets was either severed or left intact. Stolon severing dramatically decreased the survival of buried ramets. Stolon severing and sand burial had significant effects on plant performance in terms of biomass production, number of leaves and leaf area. A cost–benefit analysis based on performance measures shows that the proximal ramets supported their connected distal ramets and did not incur any cost from this resource export. These results suggest that clonal integration, which is one of the functionally most important consequences of clonal growth, contributes significantly to our test species' capacity to withstand partial sand burial on Ordos plateau, a semi-arid and desertified area of China.     

遗传标记及其在作物品种鉴定中的应用

本文评述了用于作物品种鉴定的形态标记（morphological markers）、细胞标记（cytological markers）、生化标记（biochemical markers）、分子标记（molecular markers）的优缺点。重点评述了分子标记在作物品种鉴定中的应用。文中除对蛋白质电泳指纹图谱——同工酶和贮藏蛋白（包括醇溶性蛋白、清蛋白、谷蛋白、球蛋白等）电泳产生的指纹图谱的应用外,较详细地介绍了近年来DNA指纹图谱技术;包括限制片段长度多态性（restriction fragment length polymorphism,简称RFLP）、随机扩增多态性DNA (random amplified po lymorphic DNA,简称RAPD)、小卫星DNA（minisatellite DNA）、微卫星DNA（microsatellite DNA）,简单重复序列间扩增（intersimple sequence repeats,简称ISSR）,扩增片段长度多态性（amplified fragment length polymorphism,简称AFLP）以及CAPS (cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences)和SNPS (single nucleotide polymorphisms)对作物品种鉴定和新品种登记,品种纯度和真实性的检验以及品种间亲缘关系的探讨和在分类研究中的贡献等。     

Detection of microwave radiation of cytochrome CYP102 A1 solution during the enzyme reaction

Microwave radiation at 3.4–4.2 GHz frequency of the cytochrome P450 CYP102 A1 (BM3) solution was registered during the lauric acid hydroxylation reaction. The microwave radiation generation was shown to occur following the addition of electron donor NADPH to a system containing an enzyme and a substrate. The radiation occurs for the enzyme solutions with enzyme concentrations of 10^?8 and 10^?9 М. The microwave radiation effect elicited by the aqueous enzyme solution was observed for the first time. The results obtained can be used to elaborate a new approach to enzyme systems research, including studying of the mechanism of interaction of a functioning enzyme system with microenvironment.     

Evidences for Chlorogenic Acid — A Major Endogenous Polyphenol Involved in Regulation of Ripening and Senescence of Apple Fruit

To learn how the endogenous polyphenols may play a role in fruit ripening and senescence, apple pulp discs were used as a model to study the influences of chlorogenic acid (CHA, a major polyphenol in apple pulp) on fruit ripening and senescence. Apple (‘Golden Delicious’) pulp discs prepared from pre-climacteric fruit were treated with 50 mg L^-1 CHA and incubated in flasks with 10 mM MES buffer (pH 6.0, 11% sorbitol). Compared to the control samples, treatment with CHA significantly reduced ethylene production and respiration rate, and enhanced levels of firmness and soluble solids content of the pulp discs during incubation at 25°C. These results suggested that CHA could retard senescence of the apple pulp discs. Proteomics analysis with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF) revealed that the expressions of several key proteins correlated to fruit ripening and senescence were affected by the treatment with CHA. Further study showed that treating the pulp discs with CHA remarkably reduced levels of lipoxygenase, β-galactosidase, NADP-malic enzyme, and enzymatic activities of lipoxygenase and UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, all of which are known as promoters of fruit ripening and senescence. These results could provide new insights into the functions of endogenous phenolic compounds in fruit ripening and senescence.