Genetic Polymorphisms of DNA Repair Gene: XRCC1 Pro206Pro and Gln632Gln in a Chinese Han Population

DNA repair genes are increasingly studied because of their critical role in maintaining genome integrity. The base excision repair (BER) pathway is a DNA repair pathway that operates on small lesions, such as oxidized or reduced bases, fragmented or nonbulky adducts, or those produced by methylating agents. The XRCC1 polymorphic system is the key gene of the BER pathway. In this study, polymorphisms of XRCC1 Pro206Pro on exon 7 and Gln632Gln on exon 17 were analyzed in a northeastern Chinese Han population. Genomic DNA extracted from 303 unrelated individuals and the PCR-RFLP technique were used to identify variants. The allele frequencies were 0.90 (A) and 0.10 (G) for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and 0.88 (G) and 0.12 (A) for XRCC1 Gln632Gln. The genotype frequencies were 0.797 (AA), 0.203 (AG), and 0 (GG) for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and 0.007 (AA), 0.222 (AG), and 0.771 (GG) for XRCC1 Gln632Gln. The expected heterozygosity and PIC were 18 and 16.38% for Pro206Pro and 21.12 and 18.89% for Gln632Gln. The two polymorphisms were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D' = 0.921, r (2) = 0.735). The results are compared with those of other reported populations. They showed marked ethnic group differences. This study provides the first analysis of the distribution of allele frequency for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and Gln632Gln in a Chinese population.     

Evaluation of biogenic and anthropogenic inputs of aliphatic hydrocarbons to Lake Taihu sediments using biomarkers

Surficial sediments from 13 sites throughout Lake Taihu, one of the largest urbanized freshwater lake systems in China, were analyzed for biomarkers (e.g., n-alkanes and hopanes) to track the origin of organic inputs (biogenic or anthropogenic), and, thus, to identify any ‘hot spots’ of hydrocarbon contamination. A distinct spatial distribution of aliphatic hydrocarbons in sediments was observed in Lake Taihu. At the northern tip of the lake (i.e., Meiliang and Wuli Bays), the highest mean aliphatic hydrocarbon concentration, with a significant contribution of an unresolved complex mixture (UCM), was found, indicating possible anthropogenic petroleum contamination (mainly from untreated and partially treated industrial and domestic sewage from Wuxi, Changzhou and other cities). This was supported by the n-alkane indices (e.g., small Carbon Preference Index and odd-to-even values) and a high degree of maturity of the hopane biomarkers. However, hydrocarbons from East Taihu were mainly biogenic, with the lowest mean concentrations, negligible or no contribution of UCM, abundance of vascular plant C₂₃–C₃₃ n-alkanes with a high odd-to-even predominance, and the presence of biogenic hopanes (e.g., 17β(H), 21β(H)-hopanes and hopenes). In the other areas of the lake, however, the predominance of biogenic in combination with petrogenic hydrocarbons was indicated by the biomarkers.     

Homochiral metal-organic coordination networks from l-typtophan

Three homochiral metal-organic coordination networks [Co₂(l-Trp)₂(Py)₆] · Py · (ClO₄)₂ (1), [Ni(l-Trp)(Py)₃] · H₂O · ClO₄ (2) and [Co₂(l-Trp)(INT)₂(H₂O)₂(ClO₄)] (3), all containing natural amino acid l-HTrp (l-typtophan), were hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. The compounds 1 and 2 crystallize in the orthorhombic space group C222₁, with a = 10.731(2) Å, b = 19.709(4) Å, c = 27.365(6) Å and Z = 4 for 1 and a = 10.710(10) Å, b = 20.088(18) Å, c = 27.63(3) Å and Z = 8 for 2, respectively. The compound 3 has the monoclinic space group P2₁, with a = 8.1934(14) Å, b = 13.209(2) Å, c = 12.464(2) Å, β = 104.107(3)° and Z = 2. Both 1 and 2 consist of 1D helical chains. Compound 3 is composed of 2D networks, which further assemble into a 3D supramolecular structure via weak interlayer interactions. The optically pure amino acid l-HTrp plays an important role leading to homochiral structures reported here.     

施硫对‘豫麦50’籽粒灌浆特性及产量的影响

选用弱筋小麦品种‘豫麦50’为材料,通过大田试验研究了较高供氮水平下(施纯氮330 kg/hm2)施用低量(S 20 kg/hm2)、中量(S 60 kg/hm2)和高量(S 100 kg/hm2)硫肥对小麦籽粒灌浆特性和产量的影响.结果显示,不同施硫处理的小麦籽粒灌浆进程均“呈慢—快—慢”的S型曲线,拟合的Logistic方程决定系数均大于0.993 2,并达到极显著水平;灌浆持续期(T)、渐增期平均灌浆速率(V1),快增期和缓增期持续期(T2、T3)、灌浆期各阶段干物质积累量(m1、m2、m3)和理论最大千粒重(K)均随施硫量增加而提高,并以中硫处理的各项灌浆参数表现较优;中硫处理的千粒重(46.47 g)和籽粒产量(7 416.0 kg/hm2)显著高于低硫处理,极显著高于对照(不施硫)和高硫处理.表明在当前较高施氮水平下,每公顷施纯硫60 kg可有效改善小麦灌浆特性,显著提高籽粒产量.     

重新评价G-480位点变异对Ⅰ型脊髓灰质炎疫苗病毒神经毒力的影响

在对分离于中国贵州省的9株Ⅰ型循环的疫苗衍生脊髓灰质炎病毒（cVDPVs）进行全基因组核苷酸序列分析后,发现已知最重要的决定病毒神经毒力的位点G-480和U-525并没有发生回复野生型突变;另外一些已知的神经毒力决定位点,如A-2438、A-2795、C-6203和G-7441等均已经发生了回复野生型突变。根据核苷酸序列的不同,从9株Ⅰ型cVDPVs毒株中选取5株病毒感染转人脊髓灰质炎病毒受体基因的小鼠进行神经毒力实验,发现它们的神经毒力都有所升高,其中CHN8184株和CHN8229-1．1株的神经毒力已经十分接近P1／Mahoney株,CHN8229-1．1株、CHN8229-2株和CHN8229-3株神经毒力依次递减,但仍处于较高水平,在它们的全基因组中分别只有7个和2个核苷酸的差异,而毒力却相差很多,提示有新的未鉴别的神经毒力决定位点的存在。对这些毒株5′非编码区（5′NCR）的第Ⅴ结构域进行二级结构预测,发现它们的二级结构很稳定。在G-480位点没有发生回复突变的情况下,部分毒株的神经毒力已经非常接近P1／Mahoney的水平,提示先前的研究中关于G-480突变对Ⅰ型脊髓灰质炎病毒神经毒力的作用可能被估计过高,G-480位点不是唯一重要的神经毒力决定位点,可能多个核苷酸联合突变才能达到减毒的效果。要真正全面了解P1／Sabin株的减毒机制,还需要进行更加深入的研究。     

NSCLC中低氧诱导因子-1α对血管生成素-2表达的影响

目的探讨非小细胞肺癌(non-small cell lung cancer,NSCLC)中低氧诱导因子-1α(hypoxia-inducible fac-tor-1α,HIF-1α)对血管生成素-2(angiopoietin-2)表达的影响及意义。方法免疫组化SP法检测46例NSCLC组织HIF-1α、血管生成素-2蛋白的表达;培养人肺腺癌细胞株A549细胞,CoCl2模拟缺氧处理6h、12h、24h,以及缺氧条件下不同浓度genistein处理细胞12h后,采用Western Blot和RT-PCR方法分别检测A549细胞HIF-1α蛋白和血管生成素-2 mRNA的表达情况。结果46例NSCLC中HIF-1α、血管生成素-2的阳性表达率分别为73.9%(34/46)、63.0%(29/46),明显高于癌旁肺组织(P<0.05);HIF-1α的表达与血管生成素-2的表达呈正相关。急性缺氧可以诱导A549细胞HIF-1α蛋白和血管生成素-2 mRNA表达增加,分别在6h,12h达到高峰,随着缺氧时间延长,HIF-1α蛋白和血管生成素-2 mRNA表达相对减少;genistein抑制HIF-1α蛋白后,血管生成素-2 mRNA的表达也相应减少,呈浓度依赖。结论缺氧时NSCLC中HIF-1α可参与血管生成素-2的调控,HIF-1α、血管生成素-2表达增加与肿瘤新生血管形成有关,二者共同促进NSCLC的发生发展过程。     

脱氮菌株P6的分离鉴定及其处理氨氮废水的试验研究

目的：从污水处理池的污泥中分离得到去除氨氮效果较好的菌株,对其进行分类鉴定和去除氨氮的最佳条件的研究。方法：根据维诺格拉斯基柱法分离出几种纯菌株,选取其中脱氮效果较好的一株,经形态观察和生理生化实验,鉴定其分类地位。研究不同培养条件对该菌生长的影响,用滴定法测定不同条件下其对氨氮的去除率。结果：获得一脱氮菌株P6,初步推测该菌为产碱杆菌。其最适生长条件为：温度29℃,初始pH值7.5以及摇床（100r/min）培养,且在温度29℃、废水的初始pH值11、接种量与废水体积的比例为1.2g/150mL、添加乙酸钠浓度为0.1%、废水的氨氮浓度为600mg/L和摇床（100r/min）的条件下,3d后该菌对氨氮的去除率达到45%。结论：P6菌有一定的去除氨氮能力,具有应用价值。     

Crystal structure of AGR_C_4470p from Agrobacterium tumefaciens

We report here the crystal structure at 2.0 A resolution of the AGR_C_4470p protein from the Gram-negative bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The protein is a tightly associated dimer, each subunit of which bears strong structural homology with the two domains of the heme utilization protein ChuS from Escherichia coli and HemS from Yersinia enterocolitica. Remarkably, the organization of the AGR_C_4470p dimer is the same as that of the two domains in ChuS and HemS, providing structural evidence that these two proteins evolved by gene duplication. However, the binding site for heme, while conserved in HemS and ChuS, is not conserved in AGR_C_4470p, suggesting that it probably has a different function. This is supported by the presence of two homologs of AGR_C_4470p in E. coli, in addition to the ChuS protein.     

The disulfide loop of gp41 is critical to the furin recognition site of HIV gp160

The importance of the HIV gp41 conserved disulfide loop to envelope function has been examined by mutational and functional analyses. Based on a luciferase-reporter entry assay, mutants gp41-CC/AA (C598A/C604A) and gp41-Delta (deletion of residues 596-606) result in a nonfunctional envelope protein. Western blot analysis shows both mutants to be properly expressed but not processed to form gp120 and gp41, which explains their nonfunctionality. The presence of mutant gp160 on the cell surface, as well as their ability to bind to sCD4, suggests that the mutations have disrupted processing at the furin recognition site encoded within the gp120 conserved domain 5, without resulting in an overall misfolding of the protein. With respect to the furin recognition site, the mutations are sequentially distant, which implies that the gp41 disulfide loop is interacting with gp120 C5 in gp160. In addition, we have modeled the gp120-gp41 interaction in unprocessed precursor gp160 using structural data available for gp120 and gp41 domains in isolation, supplemented by mutagenesis data. We suggest that the mutations have altered the interaction between gp120 C5 and the gp41 disulfide loop, resulting in decreased accessibility of the furin recognition site and implying that the interaction between the gp120 C5 and gp41 loop is a conformational requirement for gp160 processing. The sensitivity of this interaction could be exploited in future antivirals designed to disrupt HIV pathogenesis by disrupting gp160 processing.     

Arylsulfonamides as a new class of cannabinoid CB1 receptor ligands: identification of a lead and initial SAR studies

High-throughput screening of the UCB sample collection identified the piperidinyl-sulfonyl benzoic ester 1 as a novel agonist for CB(1) receptor with nanomolar affinity. We report here the pharmacological profile of compound 1 as well as preliminary biological activities in pain model. Diverse close analogs of 1 were purchased and the structure-affinity relationships among this novel class are discussed.