Abnormal muscle and hematopoietic gene expression may be important for clinical morbidity in primary hyperparathyroidism

In primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), excess PTH secretion by adenomatous or hyperplastic parathyroid glands leads to elevated serum [Ca(2+)]. Patients present complex symptoms of muscular fatigue, various neuropsychiatric, neuromuscular, and cardiovascular manifestations, and, in advanced disease, kidney stones and metabolic bone disease. Our objective was to characterize changes in muscle and hematopoietic gene expression in patients with reversible mild PHPT after parathyroidectomy and possibly link molecular pathology to symptoms. Global mRNA profiling using Affymetrix gene chips was carried out in biopsies obtained before and 1 yr after parathyroidectomy in seven patients discovered by routine blood [Ca(2+)] screening. The tissue distribution of PTH receptor (PTHR1 and PTHR2) mRNAs were quantitated using real-time RT-PCR in unrelated persons to define PTH target tissues. Of about 10,000 expressed genes, 175 muscle, 169 hematological, and 99 bone-associated mRNAs were affected. Notably, the major part of muscle-related mRNAs was increased whereas hematological mRNAs were predominantly decreased during disease. Functional and molecular network analysis demonstrated major alterations of several tissue characteristic groups of mRNAs as well as those belonging to common cell signaling and major metabolic pathways. PTHR1 and PTHR2 mRNAs were more abundantly expressed in muscle and brain than in hematopoietic cells. We suggest that sustained stimulation of PTH receptors present in brain, muscle, and hematopoietic cells have to be considered as one independent, important cause of molecular disease in PHPT leading to profound alterations in gene expression that may help explain symptoms like muscle fatigue, cardiovascular pathology, and precipitation of psychiatric illness.     

鞑靼滨藜幼嫩花序的组织培养及植株再生

1 植物名称 鞑靼滨藜（Atriplex tatarica L．）。 2 材料类别 幼嫩花序。 3 培养条件 （1）不定芽诱导和增殖培养基：MS＋6-BA 3mg·L^-1（单位下同）＋IAA0．3;     

Lateral Organ Boundaries Domain 19 (LBD19) negative regulate callus formation in Arabidopsis

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Callus is a remarkable regeneration tissue. The genes correlated with root development can be involved in regulating callus development in higher...     

The genome of the marine medaka Oryzias melastigma

Marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) is considered to be a useful fish model for marine and estuarine ecotoxicology studies and has good potential for field‐based population genomics because of its geographical distribution in Asian estuarine and coastal areas. In this study, we present the first whole‐genome draft of O. melastigma. The genome assembly consists of 8,602 scaffolds (N50 = 23.737 Mb) and a total genome length of 779.4 Mb. A total of 23,528 genes were predicted, and 12,670 gene families shared with three teleost species (Japanese medaka, mangrove killifish and zebrafish) were identified. Genome analyses revealed that the O. melastigma genome is highly heterozygous and contains a large number of repeat sequences. This assembly represents a useful genomic resource for fish scientists.     

Critical parameters in the MCF-7 cell proliferation bioassay (E-Screen)

The MCF-7 cell proliferation bioassay has grown in popularity as a rapid test for detecting potentially oestrogenic compounds. Several MCF-7 cell sublines with different sensitivities to oestrogens are currently used, with maximal proliferation responses ranging from two- to 10-fold above those of hormone-free controls. In the highly responsive MCF-7 BUS cell line, we evaluated critical assay parameters for test performance, including growth conditions, initial seeding densities and differences in growth stimulation in medium containing human serum or fetal calf serum as well as appropriate solvents for oestrogen-mimicking compounds. Modifications significantly reduced the labour-intensive steps and overall assay costs without affecting the sensitivity of the assay. Using this optimized test regimen, the responsiveness of treated MCF-7 BUS cells was consistently increased up to 11-fold over hormone-free controls. The specificity was characterized by examining the effects of oestradiol-17 β, the anti-oestrogen ICI 182,780, and dieldrin, a recognized xeno-oestrogen. The improved proliferation bioassay will be a useful tool in identifying potential xeno-oestrogens.     

建鲤和异育银鲫摄食不同质量饲料时的氮收支和能量收支比较

实验探讨了建鲤和异育银鲫摄食低质和高质饲料时氮和能量的收支情况.低质饲料以豆粕为主要蛋白源,饲料蛋白含量为33.91%,高质饲料以鱼粉为主要蛋白源,饲料蛋白含量为45.59%.55d的生长结果显示,氮收支和能量收支受到饲料质量和鱼类种类的显著影响:摄食低质饲料时,建鲤的生长氮和生长能比例显著低于异育银鲫,排泄氮、排泄能和代谢能比例显著高于异育银鲫;摄食高质饲料时,两种鱼的氮收支和能量收支无显著差异;建鲤的氮收支和能量收支受饲料质量的显著影响,摄食低质饲料时,其生长氮和生长能比例均显著低于摄食高质饲料时,而排泄氮、粪能和代谢能比例均显著高于摄食高质饲料时;异育银鲫的氮收支、生长能和代谢能比例不受饲料质量的显著影响.结果表明,在低质饲料条件下,建鲤利用氮和能量的能力弱于异育银鲫,在高质饲料条件下,两种鱼没有显著差异.与异育银鲫相比,建鲤利用氮和能量的能力受饲料质量的影响更为显著.       

Construction of a genomewide RNAi mutant library in rice

Long hairpin RNA (hpRNA) transgenes are a powerful tool for gene function studies in plants, but a genomewide RNAi mutant library using hpRNA transgenes has not been reported for plants. Here, we report the construction of a hpRNA library for the genomewide identification of gene function in rice using an improved rolling circle amplification‐mediated hpRNA (RMHR) method. Transformation of rice with the library resulted in thousands of transgenic lines containing hpRNAs targeting genes of various function. The target mRNA was down‐regulated in the hpRNA lines, and this was correlated with the accumulation of siRNAs corresponding to the double‐stranded arms of the hpRNA. Multiple members of a gene family were simultaneously silenced by hpRNAs derived from a single member, but the degree of such cross‐silencing depended on the level of sequence homology between the members as well as the abundance of matching siRNAs. The silencing of key genes tended to cause a severe phenotype, but these transgenic lines usually survived in the field long enough for phenotypic and molecular analyses to be conducted. Deep sequencing analysis of small RNAs showed that the hpRNA‐derived siRNAs were characteristic of Argonaute‐binding small RNAs. Our results indicate that RNAi mutant library is a high‐efficient approach for genomewide gene identification in plants.     

FD香葱生产中的危害分析与关键环节控制

将HACCCP体系引入FD(真空冷冻干燥)香葱生产过程中,经危害分析找出关键控制点,通过过程控制提高产品合格率,降低危害发生的风险,形成一套行之有效的食品安全管理体系.     

Introduction to Special Issue on ‘Statistical Methods for Cancer Immunotherapy’

Statistics in Biosciences -