采用蛋白质组学技术筛选大肠癌转移相关蛋白

采用对同一亲本来源、不同转移潜能细胞株SW480和SW620的蛋白质表达谱进行双向凝胶电泳和质谱技术分析,并在蛋白质和mRNA水平进行验证,成功鉴定了10个大肠癌转移相关蛋白,其中SW620细胞株表达上调的蛋白质有磷酸甘油酸变位酶1,磷脂酰乙醇胺结合蛋白和高迁移率族蛋白B-1,而热休克蛋白27,膜联蛋白Ⅰ,甲硫腺苷磷酸化酶,切丝蛋白1和表皮型脂肪酸结合蛋白在SW620中表达下调.大多数差异蛋白质功能涉及肿瘤细胞生长、运动、粘附、凋亡等过程,研究结果为阐明大肠癌转移机制及寻找预测大肠癌转移的潜在标志物提供了理论依据.     

8个禾本科草坪草品种遗传多样性的RAPD分析

利用RAPD技术,对禾本科4属4种8个品种的草坪草进行遗传多样性分析。15个有效引物用于PCR扩增,共获得RAPD谱带144条带,多态性带占63.2%。8个草坪草品种间的遗传距离在0.0857~0.2928之间,脱壳狗牙根与普通狗牙根间的遗传距离最小,交战2号与爱神特之间的遗传距离最大。用UPGMA和邻接法进行聚类分析,得到2个拓扑结构基本一致的树系图。同一种不同品种间的亲缘关系最近;不同属种间的遗传距离加大,同族不同属的草坪草基本构成一支;4个暖季型草坪草品种构成一个单系类群,但属于冷季型草种的黑麦草(爱神特)单独构成一支,并未与同族的其它3个冷季型草坪草品种(高羊茅)聚在一起。本研究不支持将黑麦草属与羊茅属放在同一族内的分类处理,并建议将高羊茅划分为过渡类型的草坪草。     

缢蛏碱性磷酸酶胍溶液中分子折叠与活力变化研究

报道了缢蛏碱性磷酸酶（简称ＡＬＰ）经不同浓度盐酸胍处理时酶的分子构象所发生的变化以及酶变化和失活的动力学过程。在胍中酶荧光发射峰强度下降,紫外差光谱在２４６ｎｍ和２８５ｎｍ处出现２个负峰,ＣＤ谱中酶的α螺旋度下降,且随浓度增大,变化程度也加大。动力学研究表明,酶在０．５ｍｏｌ／Ｌ、１．０ｍｏｌ／Ｌ、２．０ｍｏｌ／Ｌ３．０ｍｏｌ／Ｌ、４．０ｍｏｌ／Ｌ盐酸胍中的变性速度常数分别为３．２１×１０~（－４）ｓ~（－１）、６．３８×１０~（－４）ｓ~（－１）、２．１７×１０~（－３）ｓ~（－１）、２．３３×１０~（－３）ｓ~９－１）、５．１７×１０~（－３）ｓ~（－１）;而酶在相应盐酸胍中的失活速度常数分别为２．３３×１０~（－４）ｓ~（－１）、３．５７×１０~（－４）ｓ~（－１）、５．８６×１０~（－４）ｓ~（－１）、１．１４×１０~（－３）ｓ~（－１）、３．４５×１０~（－３）ｓ~（－１）;表现为失活与构象伸展变化基本平行。     

滋补肾阴方与温补肾阳方对卵巢切除所致骨质疏松大鼠治疗作用的对比研究

目的　对比观察滋补肾阴方与温补肾阳方对卵巢切除所致骨质疏松大鼠的治疗作用 ,以探讨它们之间的疗效是否存在差异。方法　将雌性Wistar大鼠 4 9只随机分为正常对照组、假手术组、卵巢切除组、滋阴组 (灌服生药含量为 1 0 5g ml的滋补肾阴方 ,按每 10 0g体重 0 7ml剂量 )、补阳组 (灌服生药含量为 0 78g ml的温补肾阳方 ,按每 10 0g体重 0 7ml剂量 )。于造模 3个月后开始给药 ,1次 日 ,连续 6d ,休息一天后 ,再连续灌服 6d。给药 2个月后 ,将大鼠处死 ,取胫骨行不脱钙骨切片 ,甲苯胺蓝染色 ,对其进行骨组织形态计量。结果　切除卵巢 5个月后 ,大鼠胫骨TBV %显著降低 ,TRS %以及TFS %、AFS %、MAR、BFR、OSW和mAR皆显著增高 ,给大鼠灌服滋阴补肾方和温补肾阳方 2个月后 ,均能使上述指标发生逆转 ,但程度有所不同 ,温补肾阳方的效果要明显优于滋补肾阴方。结论　滋补肾阴方与温补肾阳方对卵巢切除所致的骨质疏松均有明显的治疗作用 ,但温补肾阳方的疗效要优于滋阴补肾方。     

Behavioral modification in choice process of Drosophila

Because of its clear genetic and developmental background, diversity of behavioral paradigms and neuroanatomy of the brain, Drosophila has become an important animal model for studying genetic, molecular and cellular bases of learning and memory[1]. Extensive research has explored the visual operant conditioning of Drosophila and related molecular bases[2—8]; recently, researchers began to address cognition-like functions and involved neural substrates[9—11]. In these studies, behavioral ana…     

Biotin-ubiquitin tagging of mammalian proteins in Escherichia coli

Ubiquitin has been used in protein expression for enhancing yields and biological activities of recombinant proteins. Biotin binds tightly and specifically to avidin and has been widely utilized as a tag for protein purification and monitoring. Here, we report a versatile system that takes the advantages of both biotin and ubiquitin for protein expression, purification, and monitoring. The tripartite system contained coding sequences for a leader biotinylation peptide, ubiquitin, and biotin holoenzyme synthetase in two reading frames under the control of T7 promoter. The expression and purification of several large mammalian enzymes as biotin-ubiquitin fusions were accomplished including human ubiquitin activating enzyme, SUMO activating enzymes, and aspartyl-tRNA synthetase. Expressed proteins were purified by one-step affinity column chromatography on monomeric avidin columns and purified proteins exhibited active function. Additionally, the ubiquitin protein hydrolase UBP41, expressed and purified as biotin-UBP41, efficiently and specifically cleaved off the biotin-ubiquitin tag from biotin-ubiquitin fusions to produce unmodified proteins. The present expression system should be useful for the expression, purification, and functional characterization of mammalian proteins and the construction of protein microarrays.     

Association between Tumor Necrosis Factor-α 308G/A Gene Polymorphism and Silicosis Susceptibility: A Meta-Analysis

Background

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) 308 G/A gene polymorphism has been reported to be associated with susceptibility to silicosis. However, the relevant study results are still inconsistent.

Objective and Methods

A meta-analysis was performed in order to drive a more precise estimation of the relationship between TNF-α-308 G/A gene polymorphism and susceptibility to silicosis. Electronic databases were searched and nine separate studies were included. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence internal (CI) were calculated by a fixed effect model.

Results

A total of 1267 cases and 1214 controls were included. In the overall analysis, significantly increased silicosis risk was found (for GA+AA vs. GG OR=1.45, 95%CI: 1.20-1.760, P=1.58E4; for GA vs. GG: OR=1.53, 95%CI=1.25-1.86, P=3.11E5; for A allele vs. G allele: OR=1.27, 95%CI=1.08-1.50, P= 0.004). In the subgroup analysis, significantly increased silicosis risk was also found among Asians (for GA+AA vs. GG: OR=1.63, 95%CI=1.27-2.08, P=1.01E4), for GA vs. GG: OR=1.71, 95%CI=1.33-2.20, P=3.44E5), for A allele vs. G allele: OR=1.45, 95%CI=1.17-1.80, P=0.001). However, no significantly increased risk was found among non-Asians for all genetic models.

Conclusions

TNF-α-308 G/A polymorphism might lead to an increased risk of silicosis susceptibility, especially for Asians. However, further studies with large sample sizes should be conducted to confirm the association.     

A Bayesian Meta-Analysis on Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection among Chinese Volunteer Blood Donors

Background

Although transfusion-transmitted infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) threatens the blood safety of China, the nationwide circumstance of HBV infection among blood donors is still unclear.

Objectives

To comprehensively estimate the prevalence of HBsAg positive and HBV occult infection (OBI) among Chinese volunteer blood donors through bayesian meta-analysis.

Methods

We performed an electronic search in Pub-Med, Web of Knowledge, Medline, Wanfang Data and CNKI, complemented by a hand search of relevant reference lists. Two authors independently extracted data from the eligible studies. Then two bayesian random-effect meta-analyses were performed, followed by bayesian meta-regressions.

Results

5957412 and 571227 donors were identified in HBsAg group and OBI group, respectively. The pooled prevalence of HBsAg group and OBI group among donors is 1.085% (95% credible interval [CI] 0.859%∼1.398%) and 0.094% (95% CI 0.0578%∼0.1655%). For HBsAg group, subgroup analysis shows the more developed area has a lower prevalence than the less developed area; meta-regression indicates there is a significant decreasing trend in HBsAg positive prevalence with sampling year (beta = −0.1202, 95% −0.2081∼−0.0312).

Conclusion

Blood safety against HBV infection in China is suffering serious threats and the government should take effective measures to improve this situation.     

Acute Mechanical Stretch Promotes eNOS Activation in Venous Endothelial Cells Mainly via PKA and Akt Pathways

In the vasculature, physiological levels of nitric oxide (NO) protect against various stressors, including mechanical stretch. While endothelial NO production in response to various stimuli has been studied extensively, the precise mechanism underlying stretch-induced NO production in venous endothelial cells remains incompletely understood. Using a model of continuous cellular stretch, we found that stretch promoted phosphorylation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) at Ser¹¹⁷⁷, Ser⁶³³ and Ser⁶¹⁵ and NO production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Although stretch activated the kinases AMPKα, PKA, Akt, and ERK1/2, stretch-induced eNOS activation was only inhibited by kinase-specific inhibitors of PKA and PI3K/Akt, but not of AMPKα and Erk1/2. Similar results were obtained with knockdown by shRNAs targeting the PKA and Akt genes. Furthermore, inhibition of PKA preferentially attenuated eNOS activation in the early phase, while inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway reduced eNOS activation in the late phase, suggesting that the PKA and PI3K/Akt pathways play distinct roles in a time-dependent manner. Finally, we investigated the role of these pathways in stretch-induced endothelial exocytosis and leukocyte adhesion. Interestingly, we found that inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway increased stretch-induced Weibel-Palade body exocytosis and leukocyte adhesion, while inhibition of the PKA pathway had the opposite effects, suggesting that the exocytosis-promoting effect of PKA overwhelms the inhibitory effect of PKA-mediated NO production. Taken together, the results suggest that PKA and Akt are important regulators of eNOS activation in venous endothelial cells under mechanical stretch, while playing different roles in the regulation of stretch-induced endothelial exocytosis and leukocyte adhesion.