Discovery of a new type inhibitor of human glyoxalase I by myricetin-based 4-point pharmacophore

The human glyoxalase I (hGLO I), which is a rate-limiting enzyme in the pathway for detoxification of apoptosis-inducible methylglyoxal (MG), has been expected as an attractive target for the development of new anti-cancer drugs. We have previously identified a natural compound myricetin as a substrate transition-state (Zn²⁺-bound MG-glutathione (GSH) hemithioacetal) mimetic inhibitor of hGLO I. Here, we constructed a hGLO I/inhibitor 4-point pharmacophore based on the binding mode of myricetin to hGLO I. Using this pharmacophore, in silico screening of chemical library was performed by docking study. Consequently, a new type of compound, which has a unique benzothiazole ring with a carboxyl group, named TLSC702, was found to inhibit hGLO I more effectively than S-p-bromobenzylglutathione (BBG), a well-known GSH analog inhibitor. The computational simulation of the binding mode indicates the contribution of Zn²⁺-chelating carboxyl group of TLSC702 to the hGLO I inhibitory activity. This implies an important scaffold-hopping of myricetin to TLSC702. Thus, TLSC702 may be a valuable seed compound for the generation of a new lead of anti-cancer pharmaceuticals targeting hGLO I.     

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of 6-aminopyrazolyl-pyridine-3-carbonitriles as JAK2 kinase inhibitors

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of 6-aminopyrazolyl-pyridine-3-carbonitriles as JAK2 kinase inhibitors was reported. Biochemical screening, followed by profile optimization, resulted in JAK2 inhibitors exhibiting good kinase selectivity, pharmacokinetic properties, physical properties and pharmacodynamic effects.     

The Luoping biota: exceptional preservation, and new evidence on the Triassic recovery from end-Permian mass extinction

The timing and nature of biotic recovery from the devastating end-Permian mass extinction (252 Ma) are much debated. New studies in South China suggest that complex marine ecosystems did not become re-established until the middle–late Anisian (Middle Triassic), much later than had been proposed by some. The recently discovered exceptionally preserved Luoping biota from the Anisian Stage of the Middle Triassic, Yunnan Province and southwest China shows this final stage of community assembly on the continental shelf. The fossil assemblage is a mixture of marine animals, including abundant lightly sclerotized arthropods, associated with fishes, marine reptiles, bivalves, gastropods, belemnoids, ammonoids, echinoderms, brachiopods, conodonts and foraminifers, as well as plants and rare arthropods from nearby land. In some ways, the Luoping biota rebuilt the framework of the pre-extinction latest Permian marine ecosystem, but it differed too in profound ways. New trophic levels were introduced, most notably among top predators in the form of the diverse marine reptiles that had no evident analogues in the Late Permian. The Luoping biota is one of the most diverse Triassic marine fossil Lagerstätten in the world, providing a new and early window on recovery and radiation of Triassic marine ecosystems some 10 Myr after the end-Permian mass extinction.     

RNA激活效应研究

RNAa(RNA activation)即RNA激活效应,是指某些小分子非编码RNA(non-coding RNA,ncRNA)在转录水平上激活基因表达的现象,这种发挥激活作用的小RNA分子又叫激活小RNA(small activating RNA,saRNA)。saRNA与干扰小RNA(small interfer-ing RNA,siRNA)同属小分子双链非编码RNA家族,既有相似的分子特征,在靶序列、作用动力学和调控方式等方面又有显著差别。虽然RNAa的作用机制尚未完全明了,但其在肿瘤治疗中的应用前景吸引了人们的关注。本文就RNAa近年的研究进展进行了简要综述。     

滇龙胆不同部位裂环烯醚萜类物质含量比较分析

采用高效液相色谱法,对云南临沧云县滇龙胆不同部位龙胆苦苷、獐牙菜苦苷、当药苷含量进行分析.结果显示:(1)龙胆苦苷、獐牙菜苦苷、当药苷在滇龙胆根、茎、叶、花中均有分布;龙胆苦苷、獐牙菜苦苷在根部含量较高,分别为(35.88±5.89)mg/g和(1.35±0.33)mg/g;当药苷在花部含量最高,为(0.97±0.24)mg/g.(2)不同部位有效成分间具有显著(P<0.05)或极显著(P<0.01)的相关性.(3)相同海拔条件下,不同栽培方式下滇龙胆根部龙胆苦苷含量差异不显著(P>0.05),但茎部、叶部獐牙菜苦苷含量差异显著(P<0.05).     

圆果黄麻雌性不育突变体鉴定及其生理生化特性初步研究

为研究圆果黄麻（Corchorus capsularis L．）粤圆6号不育突变体的类型及不育机理,以粤圆6号及其不育突变体为实验材料,对其花器官及花粉粒进行了形态观察、碘染实验、体外萌发实验及田间授粉实验,结果表明,粤圆6号突变体为雌性不育。对两个材料发育不同时期功能叶和花蕾中的可溶性糖和可溶性蛋白含量进行了测定,结果表明,可溶性糖和可溶性蛋白在不同时期均表现出动态变化。雌性不育突变体功能叶中的可溶性糖在现蕾前期的含量略低于正常可育材料,进入现蕾期和结果期,其可溶性糖却比可育材料分别高出16．0％、33．3％,而花蕾组织中的可溶性糖比可育材料降低了15．5％;可育材料3个时期的功能叶及花蕾组织中可溶性蛋白的表达量分别比不育突变体高出3．9％、29．2％、79．1％、11．9％。上述代谢表达差异可能与雌性不育有关。     

核酸适配体及其在病原微生物学中的应用

核酸适配体指利用指数富集配体系统进化技术筛选出的寡聚核苷酸片段,它可以特异性地识别靶标并与之结合,已经广泛应用于基础研究、临床诊断、纳米技术等。以下综述了适配体在微生物学方面的应用。     

中国云南三产地淡水三角涡虫核型分析

利用空气干燥法,对采自云南省丽江市束河古镇、保山市龙王塘和香格里拉市小中甸3产地淡水三角涡虫(Dugesia sp.)的染色体和核型进行分析,结果表明:丽江市束河古镇淡水三角涡虫体细胞的染色体数目以16条为主,为二倍体(2n=2x=16=16m);保山市龙王塘淡水三角涡虫体细胞的染色体数目以24条为主(2n=3x=24=24m),少数为16条(2n=2x=16=16m),为三倍体和为二倍体的混合倍体;值得注意的是:香格里拉市小中甸淡水三角涡虫体细胞的染色体数目以极少见的26条为主(2n=3x+2=24+2=21m+3st+2m),少数为25条(2n=3x+1=24+1=21m+3st+1m)和24条(2n=3x=24=21m+3st),为三倍性混合倍体。研究根据核型结果对上述三产地淡水三角涡虫的分类和染色体非整倍性进行了分析。     

Characterization of bbtTICAM from amphioxus suggests the emergence of a MyD88-independent pathway in basal chordates

The MyD88-independent pathway, one of the two crucial TLR signaling routes, is thought to be a vertebrate innovation. However, a novel Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) adaptor, designated bbtTICAM, which was identified in the basal chordate amphioxus, links this pathway to invertebrates. The protein architecture of bbtTICAM is similar to that of vertebrate TICAM1 (TIR-containing adaptor molecule-1, also known as TRIF), while phylogenetic analysis based on the TIR domain indicated that bbtTICAM is the oldest ortholog of vertebrate TICAM1 and TICAM2 (TIR-containing adaptor molecule-2, also known as TRAM). Similar to human TICAM1, bbtTICAM activates NF-κB in a MyD88-independent manner by interacting with receptor interacting protein (RIP) via its RHIM motif. Such activation requires bbtTICAM to form homodimers in endosomes, and it may be negatively regulated by amphioxus SARM (sterile α and armadillo motif-containing protein) and TRAF2. However, bbtTICAM did not induce the production of type I interferon. Thus, our study not only presents the ancestral features of vertebrate TICAM1 and TICAM2, but also reveals the evolutionary origin of the MyD88-independent pathway from basal chordates, which will aid in understanding the development of the vertebrate TLR network.