Testin protects against cardiac hypertrophy by targeting a calcineurin‐dependent signalling pathway

Multiple organs express testin (TES), including the heart. Nevertheless, current understanding of the influence of TES on cardiovascular diseases, especially on cardiac hypertrophy and its etiology, is insufficient. This study investigated the influence of TES on cardiac hypertrophy and its etiology. Murine models with excessive TES expression specific to the heart were constructed with an adeno‐associated virus expression system. Cardiac hypertrophy was stimulated through aortic banding (AB). The severity of cardiac hypertrophy was evaluated through molecular, echocardiographic, pathological, and hemodynamic examination. The findings of our study revealed that TES expression was remarkably suppressed not only in failing human hearts but also in mouse hearts with cardiac hypertrophy. It was discovered that excessive TES expression driven by an adeno‐associated viral vector noticeably inhibited hypertrophy triggered by angiotensin II (Ang II) in cultivated cardiomyocytes from newborn rats. It was also revealed that TES knockdown via AdshTES caused the reverse phenotype in cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, it was proved that excessive TES expression attenuated the ventricular dilation, cardiac hypertrophy, dysfunction, and fibrosis triggered by AB in mice. It was discovered that TES directly interacted with calcineurin and suppressed its downstream signalling pathway. Moreover, the inactivation of calcineurin with cyclosporin A greatly offset the exacerbated hypertrophic response triggered by AB in TES knockdown mice. Overall, the findings of our study suggest that TES serves as a crucial regulator of the hypertrophic reaction by hindering the calcineurin‐dependent pathway in the heart.     

Potential roles and targeted therapy of the CXCLs/CXCR2 axis in cancer and inflammatory diseases

The chemokine receptor CXCR2 and its ligands are implicated in the progression of tumours and various inflammatory diseases. Activation of the CXCLs/CXCR2 axis activates multiple signalling pathways, including the PI3K, p38/ERK, and JAK pathways, and regulates cell survival and migration. The CXCLs/CXCR2 axis plays a vital role in the tumour microenvironment and in recruiting neutrophils to inflammatory sites. Extensive infiltration of neutrophils during chronic inflammation is one of the most important pathogenic factors in various inflammatory diseases. Chronic inflammation is considered to be closely correlated with initiation of cancer. In addition, immunosuppressive effects of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) against T cells attenuate the anti-tumour effects of T cells and promote tumour invasion and metastasis. Over the last several decades, many therapeutic strategies targeting CXCR2 have shown promising results and entered clinical trials. In this review, we focus on the features and functions of the CXCLs/CXCR2 axis and highlight its role in cancer and inflammatory diseases. We also discuss its potential use in targeted therapies.     

细胞穿膜肽研究应用的新进展

细胞穿膜肽(Cell-penetrating peptides,CPPs)是一类能够穿过细胞膜或组织屏障的短肽。CPPs可通过内吞和直接穿透等机制运载蛋白质、RNA、DNA等生物大分子进入细胞内发挥其效应功能。相比于其他非天然的化学分子,CPPs具有生物相容性佳、对细胞造成的毒性小、完成入胞转运后可降解、并能与生物活性蛋白直接融合重组表达等优点,因此成为以胞内分子为靶标的药物递送技术发展的重要工具,并在生物医学研究领域具有良好的应用前景。文中针对CPPs的分类特点、入胞转运机制及其治疗应用的新近研究进展进行综述和讨论。     

Simultaneous analysis of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin in Asparagus officinalis byproduct by thin‐layer chromatography

Introduction – Asparagus officinalis L. has several biological activities including antifungal, antiviral and antitumoral activities due to the steroidal saponins. Normally diosgenin and sarsasapogenin are analysed separately by thin‐layer chromatography or high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC‐UV or HPLC‐ELSD), which is time‐consuming and expensive, so we need to find a rapid solution to this problem. Objective – To develop a sensitive, rapid and validated TLC method for simultaneous detection and quantification of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin. Methodology – Samples were prepared by extraction of A. officinalis with 70% aqueous ethanol to get steroidal saponins, and then hydrolysed using 36 mL 2 m hydrochloric acid for 3 h. The hydrolysis product was extracted with chloroform, and then analysed by TLC, the results of which were verified by HPLC and HPLC‐MS. Results – The retention factor (R_f) of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin on TLC plate were 0.49 and 0.6, respectively. After calculation from the regression equation of the standard curve, the contents of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin in the A. officinalis extract were 0.27–0.46 and 0.11–0.32%, respectively. Conclusion – The study showed that thin‐layer chromatography can be applied for the determination of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin in the oldest tissue of A. officinalis, and also can be conducted for screening of sapogenin in other plant or extracts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于三类特征融合的O-糖基化位点预测

糖基化是蛋白质翻译后的主要修饰,O-糖基化的固定模式未知,高精度识别O-糖基化位点是机器学习面临的挑战性问题.以迄今最大的人O-糖基化位点Steentoft数据集为基础,本文首次提出了基于位置的卡方差表特征χ~2-pos,融合伪氨基酸序列进化信息Pse PSSM以及无方向的k间隔氨基酸对组分Undirected-CKSAAP表征序列,构建5个正负样本均衡的支持向量机分类器,经加权投票,独立测试准确率、Matthew相关系数及ROC曲线下面积,分别达到了89.62%、0.79、0.96,明显优于文献报道结果.χ~2-pos、Pse PSSM与Undirected-CKSAAP三种特征的融合在蛋白质糖基化、磷酸化等位点预测中有广泛应用前景.     

Housefly Larva Vermicomposting Efficiently Attenuates Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Swine Manure,with Concomitant Bacterial Population Changes

Manure from swine treated with antimicrobials as feed additives is a major source for the expansion of the antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) reservoir in the environment. Vermicomposting via housefly larvae (Musca domestica) can be efficiently used to treat manure and regenerate biofertilizer, but few studies have investigated its effect on ARG attenuation. Here, we tracked the abundances of 9 ARGs and the composition and structure of the bacterial communities in manure samples across 6 days of full-scale manure vermicomposting. On day 6, the abundances of genes encoding tetracycline resistance [tet(M), tet(O), tet(Q), and tet(W)] were reduced (P < 0.05), while those of genes encoding sulfonamide resistance (sul1 and sul2) were increased (P < 0.05) when normalized to 16S rRNA. The abundances of tetracycline resistance genes were correlated (P < 0.05) with the changing concentrations of tetracyclines in the manure. The overall diversity and richness of the bacteria significantly decreased during vermicomposting, accompanied by a 100 times increase in the relative abundance of Flavobacteriaceae spp. Variations in the abundances of ARGs were correlated with the changing microbial community structure and the relative abundances of the family Ruminococcaceae, class Bacilli, or phylum Proteobacteria. Vermicomposting, as a waste management practice, can reduce the overall abundance of ARGs. More research is warranted to assess the use of this waste management practice as a measure to attenuate the dissemination of antimicrobial residues and ARGs from livestock production before vermicompost can be safely used as biofertilizer in agroecosystems.     

Anticancer immunotherapy by CTLA-4 blockade: obligatory contribution of IL-2 receptors and negative prognostic impact of soluble CD25

The cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4)-blocking antibody ipilimumab induces immune-mediated long-term control of metastatic melanoma in a fraction of patients. Although ipilimumab undoubtedly exerts its therapeutic effects via immunostimulation, thus far clinically useful, immunologically relevant biomarkers that predict treatment efficiency have been elusive. Here, we show that neutralization of IL-2 or blocking the α and β subunits of the IL-2 receptor (CD25 and CD122, respectively) abolished the antitumor effects and the accompanying improvement of the ratio of intratumoral T effector versus regulatory cells (Tregs), which were otherwise induced by CTLA-4 blockade in preclinical mouse models. CTLA-4 blockade led to the reduction of a suppressive CD4⁺ T cell subset expressing Lag3, ICOS, IL-10 and Egr2 with a concomitant rise in IL-2-producing effector cells that lost FoxP3 expression and accumulated in regressing tumors. While recombinant IL-2 improved the therapeutic efficacy of CTLA-4 blockade, the decoy IL-2 receptor α (IL-2Rα, sCD25) inhibited the anticancer effects of CTLA-4 blockade. In 262 metastatic melanoma patients receiving ipilimumab, baseline serum concentrations of sCD25 represented an independent indicator of overall survival, with high levels predicting resistance to therapy. Altogether, these results unravel a role for IL-2 and IL-2 receptors in the anticancer activity of CTLA-4 blockade. Importantly, our study provides the first immunologically relevant biomarker, namely elevated serum sCD25, that predicts resistance to CTLA-4 blockade in patients with melanoma.     

Integrative investigation of lipidome and signal pathways in human endothelial cells under oxidative stress

Phospholipids in human endothelial cells (ECs), cell line EA.hy926, were profiled by a novel lipidomics approach, combining liquid chromatography (LC)-ion trap mass spectrometry (MS) and LC-tandem quadrupole MS. More than 200 species of phospholipids were quantified. Twenty-eight were identified as the most discriminant species in response to different levels of oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). H(2)O(2) treatment induced phosphorylation of cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) via the activation of extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), increasing the production of lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). The release of arachidonic acid (AA, 20?:?4) increased from no H(2)O(2) exposure to 1 h exposure, decreased from 1 h to 2 h, and increased again from 2 h to 4 h exposure time. The particular increase seen of phosphatidylcholine (PC) species that include AA chains from 1 h to 2 h indicates that the released AA is reincorporating into PC molecules to reduce the extension of the AA cascade. The change in free AA levels seen suggests possible defense mechanisms to oxidative injury in ECs. We further verified nine species as potential biomarkers by adding inhibitor and demonstrated direct correlation to the activity of the cPLA(2)-AA pathway. The oxidative injury to cell line EA.hy926 provided a novel application for a combined lipidomics and signal transduction approach. This combined approach has enabled future investigations for possible therapeutic interventions in phospholipids and cPLA(2) activity for defense against oxidative cellular stress.