MsmE, a lipoprotein involved in sugar transport in Streptococcus mutans.

Metabolic labelling by [14C]palmitic acid showed that growth of Streptococcus mutans LT11 in raffinose, an inducer of the msm operon, resulted in increased production of a 45-kDa lipoprotein corresponding to MsmE, which is believed to be a sugar-binding protein. MsmE was also labelled when an msmE clone was expressed in Escherichia coli. The presence of a lipid anchor on MsmE provides a likely explanation of how the sugar-binding protein component of the msm binding protein-dependent multiple sugar transport system is retained at the cell surface.     

Hindered diffusion of high molecular weight compounds in brain extracellular microenvironment measured with integrative optical imaging.

This paper describes the theory of an integrative optical imaging system and its application to the analysis of the diffusion of 3-, 10-, 40-, and 70-kDa fluorescent dextran molecules in agarose gel and brain extracellular microenvironment. The method uses a precisely defined source of fluorescent molecules pressure ejected from a micropipette, and a detailed theory of the intensity contributions from out-of-focus molecules in a three-dimensional medium to a two-dimensional image. Dextrans tagged with either tetramethylrhodamine or Texas Red were ejected into 0.3% agarose gel or rat cortical slices maintained in a perfused chamber at 34 degrees C and imaged using a compound epifluorescent microscope with a 10 x water-immersion objective. About 20 images were taken at 2-10-s intervals, recorded with a cooled CCD camera, then transferred to a 486 PC for quantitative analysis. The diffusion coefficient in agarose gel, D, and the apparent diffusion coefficient, D*, in brain tissue were determined by fitting an integral expression relating the measured two-dimensional image intensity to the theoretical three-dimensional dextran concentration. The measurements in dilute agarose gel provided a reference value of D and validated the method. Values of the tortuosity, lambda = (D/D*)1/2, for the 3- and 10-kDa dextrans were 1.70 and 1.63, respectively, which were consistent with previous values derived from tetramethylammonium measurements in cortex. Tortuosities for the 40- and 70-kDa dextrans had significantly larger values of 2.16 and 2.25, respectively. This suggests that the extracellular space may have local constrictions that hinder the diffusion of molecules above a critical size that lies in the range of many neurotrophic compounds.     

肺癌患者胸水游离氨基酸分析

本文对11例肺癌患者胸水13种游离氨基酸作了分析,并与28例正常人血浆游离氨基酸水平作了对照,结果表明:肺癌患者胸水的必需及非必需氨基酸普遍高于正常人血浆游离氨基酸,但其胸水谷氨酰胺水平则明显低于正常人血浆水平。     

厌氧氨氧化菌驱动脱氮途径的研究进展

厌氧氨氧化菌(anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, AnAOB)的代谢多样性,使得该菌群能够在海洋、湿地和陆地等不同的自然生态系统中广泛分布,甚至在一些极热和极寒环境中也检测到了该菌群的存在。本文回顾并总结了厌氧氨氧化菌在不同生态系统中的发现、分布及脱氮贡献等方面的研究,分析了厌氧氨氧化菌分布的主要环境影响因素。该综述将帮助我们更好地理解全球氮循环中厌氧氨氧化菌的实际角色和功能,并基于厌氧氨氧化(anaerobicammoniaoxidation,anammox)过程,探究能与其进行协作的新型生物脱氮工艺,以期为这些工艺的研发和推广提供生态学基础和新的思考,从而实现脱氮工艺的技术变革。     

细菌Ⅵ型分泌系统效应蛋白的装配及功能的研究进展

蛋白分泌作为细胞之间传递信号的途径之一,在微生物生存竞争中也扮演着重要的角色。革兰氏阴性菌可以通过Ⅵ型分泌系统(type Ⅵ secretion system, T6SS)将效应蛋白传递至胞外或原核和真核微生物中,从而介导微生物间的竞争或宿主-细菌的相互作用,最终建立竞争优势。本文主要总结了T6SS的结构与组成,并重点对效应蛋白的装配以及其与免疫蛋白的作用机制的研究进展进行阐述,为以后靶向T6SS抗菌药物的研制提供新思路。     

Crevice-forming mutants in the rigid core of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor: crystal structures of F22A, Y23A, N43G, and F45A.

Crystal structures of four mutants of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (F22A, Y23A, N43G, and F45A), engineered to alter their stability properties, have been determined. The mutated residues, which are highly conserved among Kunitz-type inhibitors, are located in the rigid core of the molecule. Replacement of the partially buried bulky residues of the wild-type protein with smaller residues resulted in crevices open to the exterior of the molecule. The overall three-dimensional structure of these mutants is very similar to that of the wild-type protein and only small rearrangements are observed among the atoms lining the crevices.     

NAC类转录因子在‘砀山酥梨’黄化叶复绿过程中的表达分析

为探讨NAC转录因子在梨缺铁黄化叶复绿过程中的表达特性,并筛选响应该过程的核心NAC因子,以清水处理正常梨树叶片（N）和黄化梨树叶片（C）为对照（CN和CC）,再次探讨了外源0.2% FeSO4溶液对梨缺铁黄化叶复绿和Fe2+积累的影响,研究了其关键PbrNAC基因的生物学性质,组织表达特异性以及复绿过程中的表达模式,并阐述了其与叶内Fe2+积累的关联性。其结果表明,（1）于N和C内共鉴定到含NAM结构域的21个显著差异表达的PbrNAC基因,涉及8个亚族,其长度不均,motif数从4到9不等,内含子数较少。（2）该基因倾向于根中表达,且均可响应缺铁黄化叶的复绿,其中Pbr032231.1/Pbr021393.1/Pbr026635.1/Pbr038615.1/Pbr019210.3/Pbr019212.1/Pbr002372.1这7个基因在CC内的表达量显著低于CN内表达量,且FeSO4处理后,其各时期表达量均较CC显著上调;与之相反,Pbr007284.1/Pbr016205.1/Pbr007673.1等14个PbrNAC基因均在CC内显著高表达,而FeSO4处理后,其各时期表达量总体较CC显著下降。（3）各叶样内Fe2+含量与Pbr007284.1/Pbr016205.1/Pbr007673.1基因的表达量呈显著负相关,且该3个基因的表达与Pbr016932.1/Pbr027956.1/Pbr029956.1/Pbr026635.1等基因的表达显著相关。（4）多数PbrNAC在正常梨树根系和黄化梨树根系中的表达趋势与其在CN和CC内的表达趋势基本一致,说明其在地下部根系与地上部叶内可能存在表达协同性。以上结果表明,梨PbrNAC基因可能与梨树缺铁胁迫响应和缺铁黄化叶的复绿相关,其中Pbr007284.1/Pbr016205.1/Pbr007673.1可能起重要调控作用。