Selective pericentromeric heterochromatin dismantling caused by TP53 activation during senescence

Cellular senescence triggers various types of heterochromatin remodeling that contribute to aging. However, the age-related mechanisms that lead to these epigenetic alterations remain elusive. Here, we asked how two key aging hallmarks, telomere shortening and constitutive heterochromatin loss, are mechanistically connected during senescence. We show that, at the onset of senescence, pericentromeric heterochromatin is specifically dismantled consisting of chromatin decondensation, accumulation of DNA breakages, illegitimate recombination and loss of DNA. This process is caused by telomere shortening or genotoxic stress by a sequence of events starting from TP53-dependent downregulation of the telomere protective protein TRF2. The resulting loss of TRF2 at pericentromeres triggers DNA breaks activating ATM, which in turn leads to heterochromatin decondensation by releasing KAP1 and Lamin B1, recombination and satellite DNA excision found in the cytosol associated with cGAS. This TP53–TRF2 axis activates the interferon response and the formation of chromosome rearrangements when the cells escape the senescent growth arrest. Overall, these results reveal the role of TP53 as pericentromeric disassembler and define the basic principles of how a TP53-dependent senescence inducer hierarchically leads to selective pericentromeric dismantling through the downregulation of TRF2.     

Quantitative regulation of the thermal stability of enveloped virus vaccines by surface charge engineering to prevent the self-aggregation of attachment glycoproteins

The development of thermostable vaccines can relieve the bottleneck of existing vaccines caused by thermal instability and subsequent poor efficacy, which is one of the predominant reasons for the millions of deaths caused by vaccine-preventable diseases. Research into the mechanism of viral thermostability may provide strategies for developing thermostable vaccines. Using Newcastle disease virus (NDV) as model, we identified the negative surface charge of attachment glycoprotein as a novel determinant of viral thermostability. It prevented the temperature-induced aggregation of glycoprotein and subsequent detachment from virion surface. Then structural stability of virion surface was improved and virus could bind to and infect cells efficiently after heat-treatment. Employing the approach of surface charge engineering, thermal stability of NDV and influenza A virus (IAV) vaccines was successfully improved. The increase in the level of vaccine thermal stability was determined by the value-added in the negative surface charge of the attachment glycoprotein. The engineered live and inactivated vaccines could be used efficiently after storage at 37°C for at least 10 and 60 days, respectively. Thus, our results revealed a novel surface-charge-mediated link between HN protein and NDV thermostability, which could be used to design thermal stable NDV and IAV vaccines rationally.     

Hemin with Peroxidase Activity Can Inhibit the Oxidative Damage Induced by Ultraviolet A

Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), a highly reactive substance that contains oxygen, induced by ultraviolet A (UVA) cause oxidative damage to skin. We confirmed that hemin can catalyze the reaction of tyrosine (Tyr) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Catalysis was found to effectively reduce or eliminate oxidative damage to cells induced by H₂O₂ or UVA. The scavenging effects of hemin for other free-radical ROS were also evaluated through pyrogallol autoxidation, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·)-scavenging assays, and phenanthroline–Fe²⁺ assays. The results show that a mixture of hemin and tyrosine exhibits strong scavenging activities for H₂O₂, superoxide anion (O₂⁻·), DPPH·, and the hydroxyl radical (·OH). Furthermore, the inhibition of oxidative damage to human skin keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells induced by H₂O₂ or UVA was evaluated. The results show that catalysis can significantly reduce the ratio of cell apoptosis and death and inhibit the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA). Furthermore, the resistance to apoptosis was found to be enhanced. These results show that the mixture of hemin and tyrosine has a significantly protective effect against oxidative damage to HaCaT cells caused by UVA, suggesting it as a protective agent for combating UVA damage.     

系统发育谱构建方法研究

随着后基因组时代的到来,系统发育谱方法作为一种非同源性的功能注释方法,已经被成功的应用到基因组功能预测、蛋白质相互作用预测等一些重要领域的研究中去。本文阐述了系统发育谱法的基本原理,详细地介绍了现有的几种系统发育谱的构建方法,并提出了利用ortholog来构建基因的系统发育谱的思想。     

Fast classification and compositional analysis of cornstover fractions using Fourier transform near-infrared techniques

The objectives of this research were to determine the variation of chemical composition across botanical fractions of cornstover, and to probe the potential of Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) techniques in qualitatively classifying separated cornstover fractions and in quantitatively analyzing chemical compositions of cornstover by developing calibration models to predict chemical compositions of cornstover based on FT-NIR spectra. Large variations of cornstover chemical composition for wide calibration ranges, which is required by a reliable calibration model, were achieved by manually separating the cornstover samples into six botanical fractions, and their chemical compositions were determined by conventional wet chemical analyses, which proved that chemical composition varies significantly among different botanical fractions of cornstover. Different botanic fractions, having total saccharide content in descending order, are husk, sheath, pith, rind, leaf, and node. Based on FT-NIR spectra acquired on the biomass, classification by Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) was employed to conduct qualitative classification of cornstover fractions, and partial least square (PLS) regression was used for quantitative chemical composition analysis. SIMCA was successfully demonstrated in classifying botanical fractions of cornstover. The developed PLS model yielded root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP %w/w) of 0.92, 1.03, 0.17, 0.27, 0.21, 1.12, and 0.57 for glucan, xylan, galactan, arabinan, mannan, lignin, and ash, respectively. The results showed the potential of FT-NIR techniques in combination with multivariate analysis to be utilized by biomass feedstock suppliers, bioethanol manufacturers, and bio-power producers in order to better manage bioenergy feedstocks and enhance bioconversion.     

一株粘质沙雷氏菌烈性噬菌体污水分离及特性

[目的]以粘质沙雷氏菌(8039)为宿主菌从医院污水中分离噬菌体并对其基本生物学特点进行研究.[方法]四步法污水分离噬菌体;单、双层平板噬菌斑实验筛选烈性噬菌体并观察噬菌斑形态;纯化后2%磷钨酸染色电镜观察;手工法提取噬菌体核酸酶切后琼脂糖凝胶电泳分析;利用双层平板噬菌斑实验测定最佳感染复数和完成一步生长实验.[结果]从医院污水中成功分离出粘质沙雷氏菌烈性噬菌体一株(SM701),该噬菌体有一个正多面体立体对称的头部,头径约64nm,无囊膜,有一长尾,无收缩尾鞘,尾长约143nm;基因组核酸能被双链DNA内切酶BamH Ⅰ及Hind Ⅲ切开,大小约57kb;噬菌斑圆形透明,直径1mm左右(培养12h,),边界清楚;当感染复数(multiplicity of infection,MOI)为10时,子代噬菌体滴度较高;按照一步生长实验结果绘制出一步生长曲线,可知感染宿主菌的潜伏期是约为30min,爆发期约100min,平均爆发量约为630[结论]按照国际病毒分类委员会分类标准,该噬菌体属于长尾噬菌体科(siphoviridae)烈性噬菌体,按照Bradley和Ackermann形态分类法属于B1亚群;噬菌斑与周围红色细菌生长区,颜色差异明显,非常便于观察和计数;噬菌体头部大小和形态与呼吸道病毒中的呼肠病毒和腺病毒最为接近;国内尚未见粘质沙雷氏菌噬菌体相关报道.