Fenretinide prevents lipid-induced insulin resistance by blocking ceramide biosynthesis

Fenretinide is a synthetic retinoid that is being tested in clinical trials for the treatment of breast cancer and insulin resistance, but its mechanism of action has been elusive. Recent in vitro data indicate that fenretinide inhibits dihydroceramide desaturase, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of lipotoxic ceramides that antagonize insulin action. Because of this finding, we assessed whether fenretinide could improve insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis in vitro and in vivo by controlling ceramide production. The effect of fenretinide on insulin action and the cellular lipidome was assessed in a number of lipid-challenged models including cultured myotubes and isolated muscles strips incubated with exogenous fatty acids and mice fed a high-fat diet. Insulin action was evaluated in the various models by measuring glucose uptake or disposal and the activation of Akt/PKB, a serine/threonine kinase that is obligate for insulin-stimulated anabolism. The effects of fenretinide on cellular lipid levels were assessed by LC-MS/MS. Fenretinide negated lipid-induced insulin resistance in each of the model systems assayed. Simultaneously, the drug depleted cells of ceramide, while promoting the accumulation of the precursor dihydroceramide, a substrate for the reaction catalyzed by Des1. These data suggest that fenretinide improves insulin sensitivity, at least in part, by inhibiting Des1 and suggest that therapeutics targeting this enzyme may be a viable therapeutic means for normalizing glucose homeostasis in the overweight and diabetic.     

Rapid detection and monitoring therapeutic efficacy of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex using a novel real-time assay

We combined real-time RT-PCR and real-time PCR (R/P) assays using a hydrolysis probe to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC)-specific 16S rRNA and its rRNA gene (rDNA). The assay was applied to 28 nonrespiratory and 207 respiratory specimens from 218 patients. Total nucleic acids (including RNA and DNA) were extracted from samples, and results were considered positive if the repeat RT-PCR threshold cycle was < or =35 and the ratio of real-time RT-PCR and real-time PCR load was > or =1.51. The results were compared with those from existing methods, including smear, culture, and real-time PCR. Following resolution of the discrepant results between R/P assay and culture, the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), and negative predictive values (NPV) of all samples (including nonrespiratory and respiratory specimens) were 98.2%, 97.2%, 91.7%, and 99.4%, respectively, for R/P assay, and 83.9%, 89.9%, 72.3%, and 94.7%, respectively, for real-time PCR. Furthermore, the R/P assay of four patient samples showed a higher ratio before treatment than after several days of treatment. We conclude that the R/P assay is a rapid and accurate method for direct detection of MTBC, which can distinguish viable and nonviable MTBC, and thus may guide patient therapy and public health decisions.     

Genetic variants at 14q24.1 and breast cancer susceptibility: a fine-mapping study in Chinese women

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs999737 at 14q24.1 was identified as a susceptibility marker of breast cancer in a genome-wide association study of the European population, which was also confirmed by some of the following studies in populations of European descent. However, rs999737 is very rare or nonpolymorphic in non-Europeans including Chinese, and the role of other genetic variants at 14q24.1 has not been evaluated in populations of non-European descent. In this study, we first selected 21 common tagging SNPs (minor allele frequency [MAF] >0.05 in the Chinese population) by searching the Hapmap database, covering a linage disequilibrium region of more than 70?Kb at 14q24.1, and then conducted a two-stage study (stage I: 878 cases and 900 controls; stage II: 914 cases and 967 controls) to investigate the associations between these tagging SNPs and risk of breast cancer in a Chinese population. In stage I, two SNPs (rs2842346 and rs17828907) were identified to be significantly associated with breast cancer risk (p=0.030 and 0.027 for genotype distributions, respectively). However, no significant associations were found between these two SNPs and breast cancer risk in either stage II or the combined dataset. These findings suggest that common variants at 14q24.1 might not be associated with the risk of breast cancer in the Chinese population, which will need the replication in additional larger studies.     

Ablation of Dihydroceramide Desaturase Confers Resistance to Etoposide-Induced Apoptosis In Vitro

Sphingolipid biosynthesis is potently upregulated by factors associated with cellular stress, including numerous chemotherapeutics, inflammatory cytokines, and glucocorticoids. Dihydroceramide desaturase 1 (Des1), the third enzyme in the highly conserved pathway driving sphingolipid biosynthesis, introduces the 4,5-trans-double bond that typifies most higher-order sphingolipids. Surprisingly, recent studies have shown that certain chemotherapeutics and other drugs inhibit Des1, giving rise to a number of sphingolipids that lack the characteristic double bond. In order to assess the effect of an altered sphingolipid profile (via Des1 inhibition) on cell function, we generated isogenic mouse embryonic fibroblasts lacking both Des1 alleles. Lipidomic profiling revealed that these cells contained higher levels of dihydroceramide than wild-type fibroblasts and that complex sphingolipids were comprised predominantly of the saturated backbone (e.g. sphinganine vs. sphingosine, dihydrosphingomyelin vs. sphingomyelin, etc.). Des1 ablation activated pro-survival and anabolic signaling intermediates (e.g. Akt/PKB, mTOR, MAPK, etc.) and provided protection from apoptosis caused by etoposide, a chemotherapeutic that induces sphingolipid synthesis by upregulating several sphingolipid biosynthesizing enzymes. These data reveal that the double bond present in most sphingolipids has a profound impact on cell survival pathways, and that the manipulation of Des1 could have important effects on apoptosis.     

Marine biofilm bacteria evade eukaryotic predation by targeted chemical defense

Many plants and animals are defended from predation or herbivory by inhibitory secondary metabolites, which in the marine environment are very common among sessile organisms. Among bacteria, where there is the greatest metabolic potential, little is known about chemical defenses against bacterivorous consumers. An emerging hypothesis is that sessile bacterial communities organized as biofilms serve as bacterial refuge from predation. By testing growth and survival of two common bacterivorous nanoflagellates, we find evidence that chemically mediated resistance against protozoan predators is common among biofilm populations in a diverse set of marine bacteria. Using bioassay-guided chemical and genetic analysis, we identified one of the most effective antiprotozoal compounds as violacein, an alkaloid that we demonstrate is produced predominately within biofilm cells. Nanomolar concentrations of violacein inhibit protozoan feeding by inducing a conserved eukaryotic cell death program. Such biofilm-specific chemical defenses could contribute to the successful persistence of biofilm bacteria in various environments and provide the ecological and evolutionary context for a number of eukaryote-targeting bacterial metabolites.     

中国石榴品种资源经济性状研究

本文测定了34个中国石榴主栽品种的单果重、可溶性固形物含量、糖酸比等9个经济性状,根据测定结果对各品种果实品质进行了模糊综合评判.结果表明,皖榴3号、皖榴2号、皖榴1号、大笨子等品种品质最佳;提出了评判结果等级划分的方法;各品种经济性状的相关与回归分析结果显示,果实百粒重与出汁率,可溶性固形物含量、可溶性糖含量与糖酸比,出汁率与糖酸比,糖酸比与可溶性糖含量均呈极显著正相关(α=0.01,F＞F0.01);出汁率与果皮光洁度呈极显著负相关(a=0.01,F＞0.01);主成分分析结果表明,前5个主成分累积方差贡献率达到87.67%,基本概括了全部9个性状的主要信息.     

股骨头负重区松质骨的压缩力学特性

本文对19具新鲜青年(30左右)尸体股骨负重区的松质骨进行了压缩测试,测算并提供了一组松质骨弹性模量,极限应力,应变,屈服载荷及能量吸收值。试验表明松质骨力学性能主要缓解外力冲击加压。     

温度对不同类型早籼稻灌浆期间直链淀粉、蛋白质积累的影响

高温条件下早籼稻籽粒直链淀粉积累速率快,持续时间短;蛋白质含量高;灌浆前期谷草转氨酶和谷丙转氨酶活性高,开花11d后迅速下降．适温条件下籽粒直链淀粉积累速率慢,持续时间长;蛋白质含量低;谷草转氨酶和谷丙转氨酶活性变化缓慢,3个不同类型品种中适合作米粉的湘早籼33号直链淀粉含量最高,饲料稻湘早籼24号蛋白质含量最高．高温有助于湘早籼33号直链淀粉含量和湘早籼24号蛋白质含量的提高。     

我国登革3型病毒广西80-2株基因组全序列分析

对我国登革 3型病毒 80 2株基因组进行全序列测定 ,为了解其基因组结构与功能的关系提供依据 .根据登革 3型病毒H87株的序列设计并合成引物 ,应用RT PCR和RACE法 ,对 80 2株基因组RNA进行扩增、克隆测序后获得我国登革 3型病毒广西株基因组序列 .该株病毒基因组全长10 696nt ,不含poly(A)尾 ,4种碱基数分别为A :3 4 3 7,C :2 2 15,G :2 773 ,U :2 2 71.包含一个读码框架 ,自 95至 10 2 67位 ,共 10 170个碱基 ,编码 3 3 90个氨基酸 ,5′和 3′非编码区长度分别为 94nt和4 3 2nt.与H 87株比较 ,核苷酸和氨基酸序列同源性均在 99%以上 ,有 2 8个碱基发生改变 ,其中 2 6个碱基突变发生在读码框架内 ,碱基转换 18个 ,颠换 10个 ;碱基突变引起 14个氨基酸的改变 .80 2株与H87株病毒的基因组全序列同源性高 ,变异度小 .