Is GPR39 the natural receptor of obestatin?

GPR39, an orphan receptor belonging to the family of G protein-coupled receptors, was originally reported to be the receptor of obestatin. However recently, numerous reports have questioned this conclusion. In mammals, GPR39 was reported to be involved in the regulation of gastrointestinal and the metabolic functions. In this article, a latest and brief review on the receptor family, structure, distribution and physiological functions of GPR39 has been reported.     

具有杀镰孢菌素合成功能基因菌株的筛选与鉴定

在NCBI数据库中搜索已知多黏类芽孢杆菌基因组中分别编码Fusaricidin合成酶3个NRPS功能区段的核苷酸保守序列,利用Primer5.0软件设计3对引物,对供试的95个细菌菌株进行PCR检测,筛选到1株阳性菌株T99,其3对引物扩增产物的测序结果表明,所得3个功能片段核苷酸序列与多黏类芽孢杆菌SC2和M1的Fusaricidin合成酶基因序列的一致性分别为99％、97％和99％,说明菌株T99基因组中具有Fusaricidin合成相关功能基因.结合形态特征及培养性状、生理生化特性和16SrDNA序列同源性分析的结果,将菌株T99鉴定为多黏类芽孢杆菌.     

Substrate modification with lysine 63-linked ubiquitin chains through the UBC13-UEV1A ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme

Protein modification with lysine 63-linked ubiquitin chains has been implicated in the non-proteolytic regulation of signaling pathways. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying this process, we have developed an in vitro system to examine the activity of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UBC13-UEV1A with TRAF6 in which TRAF6 serves as both a ubiquitin ligase and substrate for modification. Although TRAF6 potently stimulates the activity of UBC13-UEV1A to synthesize ubiquitin chains, it is not appreciably ubiquitinated. We have determined that the presentation of Lys(63) of ubiquitin by UEV1A suppresses TRAF6 modification. Based on our observations, we propose that the modification of proteins with Lys(63)-linked ubiquitin chains occurs through a UEV1A-independent substrate modification and UEV1A-dependent Lys(63)-linked ubiquitin chain synthesis mechanism.     

两种肚倍型蚜虫之两种同功酶及可溶性蛋白的比较

应用电泳分析方法,对青麸杨上幼锤形信子与长枣形倍子内蚜虫进行了酯酶同功酶、过氧化物同功酶及可溶蛋白质的比较研究。结果表明：经形态学鉴定同为肚倍蚜可致瘿形成纺锤形与长枣形倍子。2种倍形内蚜虫在可溶性蛋白及酯酶同功酶上有较大差异。相异系数分别为02571,0067。说明肚倍蚜种内已出现分化,不同变形体倍子内蚜虫在分子水平上已具有向不同生物型分化的趋势。     

Simulation of sequential batch reactor (SBR) operation for simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus

Modeling of the operation of sequential batch reactor (SBR) was performed to find out optimum design parameters for simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus in a small-scale wastewater treatment plant. The models were set up with material balances on SBR operation and Monod kinetics. The model parameters were obtained to best fit the experimental results in a small scale SBR. The models were useful in optimizing hydraulic retention time (HRT) and successfully simulated operations of SBR in a larger scale. Especially the model predicted well the reactions occurring in the filling period as well as the effect of dilution, and evaluated the performance of SBR process under diverse operating conditions.     

MST1 promotes apoptosis through phosphorylation of histone H2AX

MST1 (mammalian STE20-like kinase 1) is a serine/threonine kinase that is cleaved and activated by caspases during apoptosis. Overexpression of MST1 induces apoptotic morphological changes such as chromatin condensation, but the mechanism is not clear. Here we show that MST1 induces apoptotic chromatin condensation through its phosphorylation of histone H2AX at Ser-139. During etoposide-induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells, the cleavage of MST1 directly corresponded with strong H2AX phosphorylation. In vitro kinase assay results showed that MST1 strongly phosphorylates histone H2AX. Western blot and kinase assay results with a mutant S139A H2AX confirmed that MST1 phosphorylates H2AX at Ser-139. Direct binding of MST1 and H2AX can be detected when co-expressed in HEK293 cells and was also confirmed by an endogenous immunoprecipitation study. When overexpressed in HeLa cells, both the MST1 full-length protein and the MST1 kinase domain (MST1-NT), but not the kinase-negative mutant (MST1-NT-KN), could induce obvious endogenous histone H2AX phosphorylation. The caspase-3 inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-DEVD-fluoromethyl ketone (Z-DEVD-fmk) attenuates phosphorylation of H2AX by MST1 but cannot inhibit MST1-NT-induced histone H2AX phosphorylation, indicating that cleaved MST1 is responsible for H2AX phosphorylation during apoptosis. Histone H2AX phosphorylation and DNA fragmentation were suppressed in MST1 knockdown Jurkat cells after etoposide treatment. Taken together, our data indicated that H2AX is a substrate of MST1, which functions to induce apoptotic chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation.     

烟粉虱携带番茄黄化曲叶病毒检测及其传入山东省的考证

【背景】番茄黄化曲叶病毒（TYLCV）是由媒介昆虫烟粉虱传播的一种双生病毒,对蔬菜及烟草等经济作物造成严重危害。前人资料表明,该病毒于2006年传人我国南方地区,2007年传人山东省,2008年后在山东各地逐渐蔓延扩散。【方法】为了考证TYLcV传人山东省的时间,本研究利用mtCOI基因对于2005和2006年7—8月份在山东省不同地区作物上共采集的15份烟粉虱样品进行了生物型鉴定,并进一步检测了烟粉虱携带TYLCV情况,同时对PCR扩增产物进行了测序分析。【结果】2005年的4份样品烟粉虱生物型均为B型,均不携带TYLCV。2006年的11份烟粉虱样品为B型与Q型混合样品,其中,2份烟粉虱样品检测到TYLCV,进一步证实该病毒为TYLCV。【结论与意义】本研究首次证实了TYLCV早在2006年就已经传入山东省。研究结果不仅对于防控该病毒具有重要指导意义,而且对于其入侵生物学研究也具有重要参考价值。     

高原兔肝脏火器伤后GSH、SOD和MDA变化特点及意义

目的:探讨在高原环境下兔肝脏火器伤后全血谷胱甘肽(GSH)含量、血清超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活力和丙二醛(MDA)含量的动态变化规律。方法:144只新西兰大白兔随机分为平原肝脏火器伤组(A组)、初入高原肝脏火器伤组(B组)、适应高原肝脏火器伤组(C组),各组又细分为伤后0.5、2、6、12、24、48、72h和正常对照组,每组6只。在不同海拔环境下成功建立肝脏火器伤模型后,分别于各时间点采集血液标本,检测全血GSH含量、血清SOD活力和MDA含量。结果:①兔肝脏火器伤后与正常组比较,伤后GSH含量、SOD活力早期略有升高,以后逐渐下降,到达低谷后逐渐恢复。而MDA在伤后持续升高,12h达峰值(P<0.01),继而进行性下降,72h仍高于正常。②初入高原组与平原组比较,GSH含量、SOD活力早期升高及以后到达低谷和MDA到达峰值水平(P<0.01),初入高原组更显著。③适应高原组与平原组比较,GSH含量、SOD活力降低幅度(P<0.05)和MDA升高程度,适应高原组更显著。结论:肝脏火器伤破坏了体内氧化与抗氧化之间的平衡,尤其在高原缺氧环境下更为明显,提示氧自由基可能参与肝脏火器伤后机体的病理生理过程。     

Subtractive hybridization analysis of gastric diseases-associated Helicobacter pylori identifies peptidyl-prolyl isomerase as a potential marker for gastric cancer

Helicobacter pylori, a microaerophilic Gram-negative bacterium, is known to cause chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Genes that are present in certain isolates may determine strain-specific traits such as disease association and drug resistance. In order to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of gastric diseases, identify molecular markers of the diseases associated with H. pylori strains and provide clues for target treatment of H. pylori-related diseases, a subtracted DNA library was constructed from a gastric cancer-associated H. pylori strain and a superficial gastritis-associated H. pylori strain by suppression subtractive hybridization. The presence of gastric cancer-specific genes was identified by dot blot hybridization, DNA sequencing and PCR-based screening. Twelve gastric cancer-specific high-copy genes and nine low-copy genes were found in gastric cancer compared with the superficial gastritis strain. These genes were confirmed by PCR analysis of H. pylori isolates. Notably, peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) was detected positively in 11 out of 22 (50%) gastric cancer-associated H. pylori strains. In contrast, <24% of the H. pylori strains from superficial gastritis showed positive results. Given the potential role of PPIases in cell growth, apoptosis and oncogenic transformation, our results suggest that PPIase may represent a novel marker and potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.     

影响山羊体外受精的因素

以屠宰山羊卵母细胞为材料研究了公羊个体、附睾不同部位精子、成熟培养和受精时卵丘存在与否、卵丘扩展程度及卵龄对山羊体外受精的影响。结果表明 :1)不同公羊精液在受精、卵裂和桑椹 /囊胚率上都有显著差异 ;2 )附睾尾精子和鲜精的受精、卵裂和桑椹 /囊胚率无显著差异 ,但显著高于附睾体和附睾头精子 ;3)成熟培养 2 4和 2 7h卵母细胞的的桑椹胚 /囊胚率显著高于培养 2 1和 30h卵母细胞 ;4 )卵丘扩展 3和 4级卵母细胞受精和桑椹胚 /囊胚率显著高于扩展 0和 1级卵母细胞 ;5 )成熟培养前机械去卵丘严重影响卵母细胞体外受精和桑椹胚 /囊胚率 ;6 )受精前完全去掉卵丘显著影响桑椹胚 /囊胚率