TEMPO-mediated selective oxidation of substituted polysaccharides--an efficient approach for the determination of the degree of substitution at C-6

2,2,6,6-Tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidations of substituted polysaccharides were studied at pH 10.2 and at a temperature of 0 °C with NaOCl as the oxidant. The reaction is highly selective, and it was shown that the oxidation can proceed to a yield of nearly 100%. The oxidation process was investigated for several substituted polysaccharides, especially for a series of hydroxypropyl guar gums with different molar degrees of substitution. It was shown that this oxidation can be used for the determination of the degree of substitution at C-6 of the polysaccharide by comparing the difference in oxidation yield between substituted and natural polysaccharides. Studies on several hydroxypropyl guar gums showed that the degrees of substitution at C-6—for MS of 0.08, 0.34, 0.62, and 1.08—are 0.06, 0.24, 0.40, and 0.44, respectively. The results were extended to other polysaccharides such as carboxymethyl cellulose, cationic guar gum, carboxymethyl pullulan, and methyl cellulose. It can be concluded that the TEMPO-mediated oxidation is a useful method for the determination of the DS at the substituted C-6 position for different kinds of modified polysaccharides.     

Floral-dip法大豆GmDREB转录因子转拟南芥研究

DREB（dehydration responsive element binding）转录因子通过调控下游多个抗逆相关基因的表达,能有效提高植物的抗逆性。将构建的植物高效表达载体GmDREB：：pCAMBIA1304,借助优化的floral-dip法,转入模式植物拟南芥,并经潮霉素Hygromycine（40-50mg·L^-1）抗性筛选得到22棵抗性植株。对抗性植株再进行PCR和GUS检测获得19颗阳性苗,阳性率为86．3％。对T1代种子进行抗性分离比例统计,有4个株系的分离比例接近3：1,符合孟德尔遗传定律,说明外源基因GmDREB在这些株系的染色体中可能是单拷贝插入。继续对上述4个株系的后代进行抗性筛选．现已得到2个纯合的转基因株系。导入的报告基因GUS组织染色检测表明,转入大豆DREB基因在拟南芥的根系和子叶中均有大量表达,并在叶脉中表达。     

根据蛋白质互作网络预测前列腺癌相关蛋白质的细致功能

对于功能部分已知的前列腺癌相关蛋白质,提出了一种基于Gent Ontology的功能特异的子网构建方法来细化其功能注释。结果显示该方法能够以很高的精确率为前列腺癌相关蛋白质预测更为精细的功能。预测的相关蛋白质的功能对于指导实验研究前列腺癌的分子机制具有重要的价值。     

动物学综合实验在教学中培养探究性的实践

以动物学综合实验--家鸡脑标本的制作与观察为例,从药品的配制、实验材料的准备、实验整个操作程序的设计,到最后的实验结果,让学生独立完成.起到了指导学生探究和掌握科学方法的作用,让学生在体验科学探究的过程中,获得初步的科学探究能力,培养其探索和创新意识,从而提高生物科学素养.     

gacS基因插入失活对绿针假单胞菌G-05的两种胞外次生代谢物合成的影响

一株来自大棚温室甜椒根际的绿针假单胞菌Pseudomonas chlororaphis G-05,可分泌抗生物质吩嗪-1-羧酸,并具有抑制辣椒疫霉的生物防治功效。【目的】为了系统研究该菌株的生物防治功能及抗生物质合成与分泌机制。【方法】首先通过生化法和16S rDNA同源比对法对该菌株进行系统分类的初步鉴定,再根据基因的同源性从G-05基因组DNA中克隆长1.4 kb的gacS基因的部分保守区段,采用抗庆大霉素基因（gentamycin resistance cassette, aacC1）插入失活的策略构建了该基因突变株G-05S。【结果】在King’ s B（KMB）或PPM培养基中,突变株G-05S合成吩嗪-1-羧酸的能力受到明显抑制。然而,突变株G-05S分泌的吲哚乙酸与野生株相比无显著差异。互补实验表明,gacS基因的表达可以使突变株G-05S的吩嗪-1-羧酸的合成恢复到野生株水平。【结论】由此推测,GacS(Global activator sensor )对不同次生代谢物的调控具有特异性。     

LYVE-1和D2—40在检测早期宫颈鳞状细胞癌和癌前病变微淋巴管中的研究

目的对比分析两种常用的淋巴内皮细胞标记分子LYVE-1和D2—40在检测宫颈癌癌前病变和早期宫颈鳞状细胞癌（简称鳞癌）组织中微淋巴管的异同,结合临床资料分析其与宫颈鳞癌的临床分期,淋巴转移和病理特点之间的关系。方法采用SP法检测抗人淋巴管内皮透明质酸受体-1（1ymphatic Vesselendothelial HAreceptor-1,LYVE-1）多克隆抗体和D2—40单克隆抗体免疫组织化学染色分别检测22例宫颈癌癌前病变和36例早期宫颈鳞癌组织中的淋巴管密度（lympatie vessel density,LVD）,图像分析系统统计LVD的水平。结果 1.两种标记分子检测均发现在宫颈癌前病变和早期鳞癌中LVD随着疾病的进展而显著增加（P〈0．001）,同时均发现LVD与盆腔淋巴结状态密切相关。2．对比两种分子染色效果,两种标记分子各有优劣,联合起来使用更为可靠。结论 LYVE-1和D2-40结合使用能更准确反应宫颈淋巴管的情况,宫颈癌前病变和早期宫颈癌组织中高淋巴管分布与淋巴转移和肿瘤分期有关。     

Identification of a critical motif for the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41 core structure: implications for designing novel anti-HIV fusion inhibitors

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) entry into the host cell involves a cascade of events and currently represents one of most attractive targets in the search for new antiviral drugs. The fusion-active gp41 core structure is a stable six-helix bundle (6-HB) folded by its trimeric N-terminal heptad repeat (NHR) and C-terminal heptad repeat (CHR). Peptides derived from the CHR region of HIV-1 gp41 are potent fusion inhibitors that target the NHR to block viral and cellular membrane fusion in a dominant negative fashion. However, all CHR peptides reported to date are derived primarily from residues 628 to 673 of gp41; little attention has been paid to the upstream sequence of the pocket binding domain (PBD) in the CHR. Here, we have identified a motif ((621)QIWNNMT(627)) located at the upstream region of the gp41 CHR, immediately adjacent to the PBD ((628)WMEWEREI(635)). Biophysical characterization demonstrated that this motif is critical for the stabilization of the gp41 6-HB core. The peptide CP621-652, containing the (621)QIWNNMT(627) motif, was able to interact with T21, a counterpart peptide derived from the NHR, to form a typical 6-HB structure with a high thermostability (thermal unfolding transition [T(m)] value of 82 degrees C). In contrast, the 6-HB formed by the peptides N36 and C34, which has been considered to be a core structure of the fusion-active gp41, had a T(m) of 64 degrees C. Different from T-20 (brand name Fuseon), which is the first and only HIV-1 fusion inhibitor approved for clinical use, CP621-652 could efficiently block 6-HB formation in a dose-dependent manner. Significantly, CP621-652 had potent inhibitory activity against HIV-1-mediated cell-cell fusion and infection, especially against T-20- and C34-resistant virus. Therefore, our works provide important information for understanding the core structure of the fusion-active gp41 and for designing novel anti-HIV peptides.     

20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid causes endothelial dysfunction via eNOS uncoupling

Nitric oxide (NO), generated from L-arginine by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), is a key endothelial-derived factor whose bioavailability is essential to the normal function of the endothelium. Endothelium dysfunction is characterized by loss of NO bioavailability because of either reduced formation or accelerated degradation of NO. We have recently reported that overexpression of vascular cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 4A in rats caused hypertension and endothelial dysfunction driven by increased production of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), a major vasoconstrictor eicosanoid in the microcirculation. To further explore cellular mechanisms underlying CYP4A-20-HETE-driven endothelial dysfunction, the interactions between 20-HETE and the eNOS-NO system were examined in vitro. Addition of 20-HETE to endothelial cells at concentrations as low as 1 nM reduced calcium ionophore-stimulated NO release by 50%. This reduction was associated with a significant increase in superoxide production. The increase in superoxide in response to 20-HETE was prevented by N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, suggesting that uncoupled eNOS is a source of this superoxide. The response to 20-HETE was specific in that 19-HETE did not affect NO or superoxide production, and, in fact, the response to 20-HETE could be competitively antagonized by 19(R)-HETE. 20-HETE had no effect on phosphorylation of eNOS protein at serine-1179 or threonine-497 following addition of calcium ionophore; however, 20-HETE inhibited association of eNOS with 90-kDa heat shock protein (HSP90). In vivo, impaired acetylcholine-induced relaxation in arteries overexpressing CYP4A was associated with a marked reduction in the levels of phosphorylated vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein, an indicator of bioactive NO, that was reversed by inhibition of 20-HETE synthesis or action. Because association of HSP90 with eNOS is critical for eNOS activation and coupled enzyme activity, inhibition of this association by 20-HETE may underlie the mechanism, at least in part, by which increased CYP4A expression and activity cause endothelial dysfunction.