β3 Adrenergic Receptor Polymorphism and Obesity‐Related Phenotypes in Hypertensive Patients

Objectives: Obesity is a complex trait that is affected by both environmental and genetic risk factors. The β₃ adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) is expressed in adipose tissue and plays a role in energy metabolism. A missense mutation on codon 64 of this gene (W64R) is associated with receptor malfunction. Previous studies examining the relation between this polymorphism and obesity produced inconsistent findings. The current study assessed the association between the W64R genotype and obesity‐related phenotypes, including body weight, BMI, and serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and glucose. Research Methods and Procedures: We determined the ADRB3 W64R genotypes and fasting serum lipid and glucose concentrations for 695 hypertensive adults (336 men, 359 women) from a rural county in Anhui Province, China. Multivariate linear regression models were fit to detect associations between the genetic polymorphism and obesity‐related phenotypes. Results: The ADRB3 W64R polymorphism was significantly associated with body weight and BMI in men but not in women. After controlling for potential confounding variables, men who were homozygous for the R64 allele were 11.8 kg heavier (p < 0.001) and had a BMI that was 3.7 kg/m² greater (p = 0.001) than men who were homozygous for the W64 allele. Serum concentrations of lipids and glucose were found not associated with the genetic polymorphism. Discussion: The ADRB3 R64 allele was associated with increased body weight and BMI in men but not in women. The genetic association was not modified by triglyceride, cholesterol, blood glucose, or blood pressure levels of the subjects.     

不同产地山芹萸种实性状变异分析

山茱萸〔Ｍａｃｒｏｃａｒｐｉｕｍｏｆｆｉｃｉｎａｌｉｓ (Ｓｉｅｂ .ｅｔＺｕｃｃ .)Ｎａｋａｉ〕为重要的木本药用植物 ,果皮名曰萸肉 ,枣皮 ,果肉中含有 16种氨基酸、2 3种微量元素以及丰富的维生素、有机酸、鞣质、多种甙、黄酮等 ,具有多种药用功效 ,是名贵的中药[1] 。同时 ,山茱萸又是一种非常好的观赏树种 ,具有较高的经济价值和良好的开发应用前景[2 ] 。山茱萸的栽培已有 10 0 0多年的历史 ,但对其研究主要集中在营养和药用成分分析、种子休眠以及栽培技术等[3～ 5] 。作者分析了不同产地、不同母树山茱萸种实性状的变异状况 ,…     

转基因植物中RNA介导的病毒抗性机制

介绍了近年来转基因植物中RNA介导的抗性特征和解释这种抗性机制的两种模型,一种是阈值模型,一种是质量模型,并对这两种模型的优缺点进行了讨论.     

Mechanisms of Dihydroartemisinin and Dihydroartemisinin/Holotransferrin Cytotoxicity in T-Cell Lymphoma Cells

The validated therapeutic effects of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) in solid tumors have encouraged us to explore its potential in treating T-cell lymphoma. We found that Jurkat cells (a T-cell lyphoma cell line) were sensitive to DHA treatment with a IC50 of dihydroartemisinin. The cytotoxic effect of DHA in Jurkat cells showed a dose- and time- dependent manner. Interestingly, the cytotoxic effect of DHA was further enhanced by holotransferrin (HTF) due to the high expression of transferrin receptors in T-cell lymphoma. Mechanistically, DHA significantly increased the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species, which led to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The DHA treatment also inhibited the expression of protumorgenic factors including VEGF and telomerase catalytic subunit. Our results have proved the therapeutic effect of DHA in T-cell lymphoma. Especially in combination with HTF, DHA may provide a novel efficient approach in combating the deadly disease.     

Revealing the Inhibitory Effect of Ginseng on Mitochondrial Respiration through Synaptosomal Proteomics

Ginseng, the active ingredients of which are ginsenosides, is the most popular herbal medicine and has potential merit in the treatment of cerebral disorders. To better understand the function of Ginseng in the cerebral system, we examined changes in the protein expression profiles of synaptosomes extracted from the cerebral cortical and hippocampal tissues of rats administered a high or low dose of Ginseng for 2 weeks. More than 5000 proteins belonging to synaptosomes were simultaneously identified and quantitated by an approach combining tandem mass tags with 2D liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS). Regarding differentially expressed proteins, downregulated proteins were much more highly induced than upregulators in the cerebral cortical and hippocampal synaptosomes, regardless of the dose of Ginseng. Bioinformatic analysis indicated the majority of the altered proteins to be located in the mitochondria, directly or indirectly affecting mitochondrial oxidative respiration. Further functional experiments using the substrate‐uncoupler inhibitor titration approach confirmed that three representative ginsenosides were able to inhibit oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. Our results demonstrate that Ginseng can regulate the function of mitochondria and alter the energy metabolism of cells, which may be useful for the treatment of central nervous disorders.