Modeling of single noninactivating Na+ channels: evidence for two open and several fast inactivated states

Voltage-gated Na(+) channels play a fundamental role in the excitability of nerve and muscle cells. Defects in fast Na(+) channel inactivation can cause hereditary muscle diseases with hyper- or hypoexcitability of the sarcolemma. To explore the kinetics and gating mechanisms of noninactivating muscle Na(+) channels on a molecular level, we analyzed single channel currents from wild-type and five mutant Na(+) channels. The mutations were localized in different protein regions which have been previously shown to be important for fast inactivation (D3-D4-linker, D3/S4-S5, D4/S4-S5, D4/S6) and exhibited distinct grades of defective fast inactivation with varying levels of persistent Na(+) currents caused by late channel reopenings. Different gating schemes were fitted to the data using hidden Markov models with a correction for time interval omission and compared statistically. For all investigated channels including the wild-type, two open states were necessary to describe our data. Whereas one inactivated state was sufficient to fit the single channel behavior of wild-type channels, modeling the mutants with impaired fast inactivation revealed evidence for several inactivated states. We propose a single gating scheme with two open and three inactivated states to describe the behavior of all five examined mutants. This scheme provides a biological interpretation of the collected data, based on previous investigations in voltage-gated Na(+) and K(+) channels.     

10CM短柱快速分离3-MH的实验研究

本研究在改进后短程序基础上,对氨基酸分离柱进行了改进。改进后的分离柱长为10cm。比原来20cm长柱分离3—MH的时间缩短了近1/2。实验所得的(回收率为97.59%,分离度0.89±0.02。变异系数1.17)这些指标较国外用其它方法所得的结果有良好的相关性。多次测定结果说明长柱与短柱比较无明显差异。证明了短柱对3—MH含量无影响。这一改进所建立的方法大大地缩短了样品的分析时间,节约了大量进口试剂,开展这方面的工作将有利益提高严重烧伤、创伤后蛋白质代谢和营养学等方面的研究水平。     

Susceptibility loci revealed for bovine respiratory disease complex in pre-weaned holstein calves

Background

Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) is an infectious disease of cattle that is caused by a combination of viral and/or bacterial pathogens. Selection for cattle with reduced susceptibility to respiratory disease would provide a permanent tool for reducing the prevalence of BRDC. The objective of this study was to identify BRDC susceptibility loci in pre-weaned Holstein calves as a prerequisite to using genetic improvement as a tool for decreasing the prevalence of BRDC. High density SNP genotyping with the Illumina BovineHD BeadChip was conducted on 1257 male and 757 female Holstein calves from California (CA), and 767 calves identified as female from New Mexico (NM). Of these, 1382 were classified as BRDC cases, and 1396 were classified as controls, with all phenotypes assigned using the McGuirk health scoring system. During the acquisition of blood for DNA isolation, two deep pharyngeal and one mid-nasal diagnostic swab were obtained from each calf for the identification of bacterial and viral pathogens. Genome-wide association analyses were conducted using four analytical approaches (EIGENSTRAT, EMMAX-GRM, GBLUP and FvR). The most strongly associated SNPs from each individual analysis were ranked and evaluated for concordance. The heritability of susceptibility to BRDC in pre-weaned Holstein calves was estimated.

Results

The four statistical approaches produced highly concordant results for 373 top ranked SNPs that defined 126 chromosomal regions for the CA population. Similarly, in NM, 370 SNPs defined 138 genomic regions that were identified by all four approaches. When the two populations were combined (i.e., CA + NM) and analyzed, 324 SNPs defined 116 genomic regions that were associated with BRDC across all analytical methods. Heritability estimates for BRDC were 21% for both CA and NM as individual populations, but declined to 13% when the populations were combined.

Conclusions

Four analytical approaches utilizing both single and multi-marker association methods revealed common genomic regions associated with BRDC susceptibility that can be further characterized and used for genomic selection. Moderate heritability estimates were observed for BRDC susceptibility in pre-weaned Holstein calves, thereby supporting the application of genomic selection to reduce the prevalence of BRDC in U.S. Holsteins.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-1164) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

中国人卵巢上皮性肿瘤nm23H1基因遗传不稳定性的研究

采用石蜡包埋组织抽提DNA,PCR-单链构象多态性(PCR-SSCP),常规银染、Envision免疫组织化学染色和Leica-Qwin计算机图像分析等方法,研究人类17号染色体D17S396位点微卫星不稳定(microsatellite instablility,MSI)和杂合性缺失(loss of heterozygosity,LOH),对卵巢上皮性肿瘤nm23H1蛋白表达的影响,阐明nm23H1基因遗传不稳定性与卵巢肿瘤进展的关系,为揭示nm23H1基因作用机制和肿瘤转移机制提供实验依据。本实验中,卵巢上皮性癌D17S396位点遗传不稳定发生率为40%,明显高于交界性肿瘤的9.52%,而在良性肿瘤和正常卵巢组织中,未见该位点遗传不稳定的发生。其中,LOH的发生率,随肿瘤恶性程度的增高而增加(P<0.05)。在卵巢上皮性癌中,淋巴转移组的LOH发生率高于无淋巴转移组(P<0.01)。FIGO Ⅲ Ⅳ期的LOH发生率高于Ⅰ Ⅱ期(P<0.05)。MSI发生率与卵巢上皮癌组织类型、分化程度、淋巴转移及FIGO分期均无关。nm23H1 蛋白阳性率在卵巢上皮性癌和交界性肿瘤组织中分别为56.00%和57.14%,高于良性肿瘤的13.64%和正常卵巢组织的8.33%(P<0.01)。卵巢上皮性癌中,淋巴转移组nm23H1蛋白阳性率低于无淋巴转移组;FIGO Ⅲ Ⅳ期nm23H1蛋白阳性率低于Ⅰ Ⅱ期(P<0.05)。此外,计算机图像定量分析显示,在各临床病理参数影响下,nm23H1蛋白的表达强度没有差异。在卵巢上皮性癌中,LOH阳性组中nm23H1蛋白阳性率为0.00%,显著低于LOH阴性组的73.68%(P<0.01)。实验结果提示, nm23H1基因的遗传不稳定性可能是卵巢上皮性癌发生、发展的一个重要机制。LOH的发生可作为卵巢组织恶变的判断指标。nm23H1基因的MSI和LOH,通过相互独立的途径调控卵巢上皮癌的发生和转移,后者可抑制卵巢上皮癌局部nm23H1蛋白的表达,并赋予卵巢上皮癌高淋巴结转移、低预后的特性。提高卵巢上皮癌局部nm23H1蛋白的表达,可减缓肿瘤的淋巴转移并提高预后率。     

On-Going Frontal Alpha Rhythms Are Dominant in Passive State and Desynchronize in Active State in Adult Gray Mouse Lemurs

The gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) is considered a useful primate model for translational research. In the framework of IMI PharmaCog project (Grant Agreement n°115009, www.pharmacog.org), we tested the hypothesis that spectral electroencephalographic (EEG) markers of motor and locomotor activity in gray mouse lemurs reflect typical movement-related desynchronization of alpha rhythms (about 8–12 Hz) in humans. To this aim, EEG (bipolar electrodes in frontal cortex) and electromyographic (EMG; bipolar electrodes sutured in neck muscles) data were recorded in 13 male adult (about 3 years) lemurs. Artifact-free EEG segments during active state (gross movements, exploratory movements or locomotor activity) and awake passive state (no sleep) were selected on the basis of instrumental measures of animal behavior, and were used as an input for EEG power density analysis. Results showed a clear peak of EEG power density at alpha range (7–9 Hz) during passive state. During active state, there was a reduction in alpha power density (8–12 Hz) and an increase of power density at slow frequencies (1–4 Hz). Relative EMG activity was related to EEG power density at 2–4 Hz (positive correlation) and at 8–12 Hz (negative correlation). These results suggest for the first time that the primate gray mouse lemurs and humans may share basic neurophysiologic mechanisms of synchronization of frontal alpha rhythms in awake passive state and their desynchronization during motor and locomotor activity. These EEG markers may be an ideal experimental model for translational basic (motor science) and applied (pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions) research in Neurophysiology.