LPS/Bcl3/YAP1 signaling promotes Sox9+HNF4α+ hepatocyte-mediated liver regeneration after hepatectomy

Recent reports have demonstrated that Sox9⁺HNF4α⁺ hepatocytes are involved in liver regeneration after chronic liver injury; however, little is known about the origin of Sox9⁺HNF4α⁺ hepatocytes and the regulatory mechanism. Employing a combination of chimeric lineage tracing, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry, we demonstrate that Sox9⁺HNF4α⁺ hepatocytes, generated by transition from mature hepatocytes, play an important role in the initial phase after partial hepatectomy (PHx). Additionally, knocking down the expression of Sox9 suppresses hepatocyte proliferation and blocks the recovery of lost hepatic tissue. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that Bcl3, activated by LPS, promotes hepatocyte conversion and liver regeneration. Mechanistically, Bcl3 forms a complex with and deubiquitinates YAP1 and further induces YAP1 to translocate into the nucleus, resulting in Sox9 upregulation and mature hepatocyte conversion. We demonstrate that Bcl3 promotes Sox9⁺HNF4α⁺ hepatocytes to participate in liver regeneration, and might therefore be a potential target for enhancing regeneration after liver injury.Subject terms: Ubiquitylation, Transdifferentiation, NF-kappaB, Regeneration, Stem-cell research     

典型油气藏区域环境因素差异对甲烷氧化菌丰度与群落结构分布的影响

【目的】甲烷氧化菌(methane-oxidizing bacteria, MOB)是油气微生物勘探中重要的指标微生物,其丰度与群落结构分布受到地理位置和多种环境因素的影响。本研究以采集的7个典型油气藏区域的土壤样品为研究对象,探究油气藏区域环境因素差异对甲烷氧化菌丰度与群落结构分布的影响。【方法】对采集自7个典型油气藏区域土壤样品进行pmoA基因实时荧光定量PCR (real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, qPCR)、细菌16S rRNA基因测序和甲烷氧化菌功能基因pmoA测序,结合环境因子,比较甲烷氧化菌丰度差异,分析环境因子对甲烷氧化菌分布的影响。【结果】土壤样品的理化性质测定发现江汉盆地样品的含水量最高,约22.8%,硝态氮平均含量最高位于玉北油田,达到31.96 μg/g干重土壤,春光油田出现最高的SO₄^2- (6 425.0 mg/g干重土壤)及Cl^- (1 617.0 mg/g干重土壤)浓度。qPCR分析发现pmoA基因丰度仅为土壤样本总细菌丰度的0.77%,表明甲烷氧化菌绝对数量较少。16S rRNA基因测序发现type I型甲基八叠球菌属(Methylosarcina)、甲基嗜热菌属(Methylocaldum)、甲基球菌属(Methylococcus)与type II型的甲基胞囊菌属(Methylocystis) 4种主要的甲烷氧化菌,甲烷氧化菌中的优势菌属的相对丰度极低,最高仅为0.124%。甲烷氧化菌功能基因pmoA测序发现type II型的甲基胞囊菌属、甲基弯曲菌属(Methylosinus)为主要优势pmoA基因型。环境因子与甲烷氧化菌丰度相关性分析表明甲烷氧化菌绝对丰度与铵态氮、pH、颗粒大小、硫酸根和氯离子显著相关,而环境因子与甲烷氧化菌的相对丰度的相关性分析仅发现与颗粒大小、总氮、总磷、金属离子(Al、Fe、K、Ca、Mg、Mn、Zn和Cu)显著相关。甲烷氧化菌pmoA功能基因组成判别相关分析(discriminant correlation analysis, DCA)表明含水量(土壤湿度)、pH值、<2 μm的土壤颗粒、总氮及钙离子对甲烷氧化菌pmoA功能基因组成影响具有显著性。【结论】本研究通过对来自7个典型油气藏区域的土壤样品的甲烷氧化菌的绝对丰度与相对丰度进行分析,发现基于不同的测量方法,甲烷氧化菌的丰度存在较大差异,16S rRNA基因测序无法较为全面地反映土壤样本中优势甲烷氧化菌的群落结构,不同地理位置的甲烷氧化菌指示群落存在差异,在全国尺度下油气区及背景点均无特有的甲烷氧化菌指示群落。对环境因子与甲烷氧化菌相关性分析发现,基于不同的甲烷氧化菌丰度指标,环境因子的显著影响具有较大差别。     

氯氟氰菊酯与阿维菌素增效混配制剂对美洲斑潜蝇的防治效果

低毒化学杀虫剂氯氟氰菊酯与生物源农药阿维菌素混配,通过其对美洲斑潜蝇室内毒力实验,测定共毒系数CTC为161～232,处于明显增效范围内。据此确定最佳配比,配制此增效混剂2%渗透型可湿性粉剂。在北京、山东两地防治美洲斑潜蝇幼虫的田间试验表明药效优良,制剂用量50 g/667m²药后3、7、11天两地区校正防效分别为85.26%～90.76%和86.74%～94.02%,制剂用量25g/667m2两地区相应防效分别为75.28%～85.17%、79.96%～88.68%。该增效混剂防治斑潜蝇速效性和持效性皆佳,成本有所下降,使用可湿粉与乳油相比较,可减少投放入环境的化学品数量,以减少环境污染。     

Solution structure of a yeast ubiquitin-like protein Smt3: the role of structurally less defined sequences in protein-protein recognitions

Smt3 belongs to a growing family of ubiquitin-related proteins involved in posttranslational protein modification. Independent studies demonstrate an essential function of Smt3 in the regulation of nucleocytoplasmic transport, and suggest a role in cell-cycle regulation. Here we report the high-resolution NMR structure of yeast Smt3 in the complex free form. Our comparison of the Smt3 NMR structure with the Smt3 crystal structure in complex with the C-Terminal Ulp1 protease domain revealed large structural differences in the binding surface, which is also involved in the Smt3-Ubc-9 interaction detected by NMR. The structural differences in the region indicate the important functions of conserved residues in less structurally defined sequences.     

Promotion of PTEN on apoptosis through PI3K/Akt signal in vascular smooth muscle cells of mice model of coronary heart disease

Previous studies have shown that phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) are key regulators of the development of many malignant tumors and other diseases. However, its regulatory effect on coronary heart disease (CHD) has rarely been reported. Therefore, the regulatory effect of PTEN on the survival and cell death of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in CHD mice was elucidated in this study. It was found that the protein and messenger RNA expressions of PTEN in VSMCs of 10 CHD mice were lower than those of normal mice. Then PTEN was overexpressed in VSMCs. It was suggested that the upregulation of PTEN was not conducive to the proliferation and survival of VSMCs in the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and colony formation assay. The flow cytometry (Annexin V-Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide) and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay were used to detect the apoptotic rate of overexpressing PTEN cells. Some data showed that the expression of PTEN could lead to increased apoptotic rate. It was shown that antiapoptotic Bcl-2 levels were decreased, but cleaved caspase-3 and proapoptotic Bax levels were promoted by SIRT6 overexpression in Western blot analysis. Moreover, PI3K/Akt expression and phosphorylation were significantly decreased in cells expressing PTEN. Recovery of PI3K expression inhibited the suppressive influence of PTEN on VSMC survival, as evidenced by the activated PI3K/Akt pathway, increased cell proliferative rate, reduced the apoptotic level, and reversed expression patterns of Bcl-2 and Bax. Therefore, the findings in this study provide a new idea on the occurrence and development mechanism of CHD and may promote the discovery of innovative therapies.     

Hypoxic conditioned medium derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells protects against ischemic stroke in rats

In recent years, studies have shown that the secretome of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) contains many growth factors, cytokines, and antioxidants, which may provide novel approaches to treat ischemic diseases. Furthermore, the secretome may be modulated by hypoxic preconditioning. We hypothesized that conditioned medium (CM) derived from BMSCs plays a crucial role in reducing tissue damage and improving neurological recovery after ischemic stroke and that hypoxic preconditioning of BMSCs robustly improves these activities. Rats were subjected to ischemic stroke by middle cerebral artery occlusion and then intravenously administered hypoxic CM, normoxic CM, or Dulbecco modified Eagle medium (DMEM, control). Cytokine antibody arrays and label-free quantitative proteomics analysis were used to compare the differences between hypoxic CM and normoxic CM. Injection of normoxic CM significantly reduced the infarct area and improved neurological recovery after stroke compared with administering DMEM. These outcomes may be associated with the attenuation of apoptosis and promotion of angiogenesis. Hypoxic preconditioning significantly enhanced these therapeutic effects. Fourteen proteins were significantly increased in hypoxic CM compared with normoxic CM as measured by cytokine arrays. The label-free quantitative proteomics analysis revealed 163 proteins that were differentially expressed between the two groups, including 107 upregulated proteins and 56 downregulated proteins. Collectively, our results demonstrate that hypoxic CM protected brain tissue from ischemic injury and promoted functional recovery after stroke in rats and that hypoxic CM may be the basis of a potential therapy for stroke patients.     

慢性缺氧大鼠肺动脉一氧化氮合酶与蛋白激酶C表达变化关系的免疫组织化学研究

观察慢性缺氧对大鼠肺动脉诱导型一氧化氮合酶 (i NOS)和蛋白激酶 C (PKC)表达的影响 ,并探讨 i NOS及 PKC的相互关系在肺动脉高压形成中的作用。建立常压缺氧肺动脉高压模型。应用免疫组化染色和计算机定量图像分析技术观察各组 i NOS和 PKC在蛋白质水平表达的变化 ,并分析二者之间的关系。结果表明随着缺氧时间的延长 ,PKC的表达逐渐上升而 i NOS的表达逐渐下降 ,直线相关分析结果呈显著性负相关 (n=2 4,r=- 0 .94,P<0 .0 1) ,提示 i NOS与 PKC相互拮抗作用与缺氧性肺动脉高压的形成及发展有关     

The proline-rich domain of tau plays a role in interactions with actin

Background  

The microtubule-associated protein tau is able to interact with actin and serves as a cross-linker between the microtubule and actin networks. The microtubule-binding domain of tau is known to be involved in its interaction with actin. Here, we address the question of whether the other domains of tau also interact with actin.