Expression of chemokine-like factor 1 is upregulated during T lymphocyte activation

Chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1) is a cytokine with chemotactic effects on leukocytes and a functional ligand of CCR4. This cytokine is widely expressed and the level of expression is reported to be upregulated in asthma and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), disease conditions in which T lymphocytes are over-activated. In order to determine the expression profile of CKLF1 in activated T lymphocytes, we first employed a PCR-based method on human blood fractions cDNA panels and found that CKLF1 was upregulated in activated CD4+ and CD8+ cells, with no obvious changes in CD19+ cells. We further performed kinetic analyses of CKLF1 expression in phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) at both the mRNA and protein levels. In resting PBL, the constitutive expression of CKLF1 was low at mRNA level and barely detectable at the protein level; however, both were remarkably upregulated by PHA, appearing at 8h after PHA-stimulation and persisting up to 72h. These results suggest that CKLF1 may be involved in T lymphocyte activation and further study of CKLF1 function will prove valuable.     

菱纹叶蝉属中国种类记要(同翅目,叶蝉科,殃叶蝉亚科)

记述中国菱纹叶蝉属Hishimonus Ishihara 17种,其中有2新种,即长突菱纹叶蝉H.prolongatus sp.nov.和褐斑菱纹叶蝉H.fuscomaculatus sp.nov..新种模式标本保存在贵州大学昆虫研究所.     

转双价抗虫基因毛白杨无性系85号抗虫性研究

以优化的毛白杨无性系85号最适遗传转化体系为基础,通过农杆菌介导法将Bt(CryⅠAc)和API双价抗虫基因导入毛白杨无性系85号基因组.在高浓度卡那霉素的培养基上诱导不定芽和根,初步选择到200株转化植株,PCR检测显示,66株呈阳性反应.Southern杂交和ELISA检测进一步证明,Bt(CryⅠAc)和API双价抗虫基因已整合到毛白杨无性系85号基因组中,并得到了表达.对转化植株用舞毒蛾幼虫进行饲虫试验,结果显示昆虫幼虫的死亡率高达60.0%~77.8%,且存活幼虫的生长发育也受到了明显抑制.研究结果为杨树抗虫育种提供了新的种质资源.     

Redox regulation of plant stem cell fate

Despite the importance of stem cells in plant and animal development, the common mechanisms of stem cell maintenance in both systems have remained elusive. Recently, the importance of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) signaling in priming stem cell differentiation has been extensively studied in animals. Here, we show that different forms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have antagonistic roles in plant stem cell regulation, which were established by distinct spatiotemporal patterns of ROS‐metabolizing enzymes. The superoxide anion () is markedly enriched in stem cells to activate WUSCHEL and maintain stemness, whereas H₂O₂ is more abundant in the differentiating peripheral zone to promote stem cell differentiation. Moreover, H₂O₂ negatively regulates biosynthesis in stem cells, and increasing H₂O₂ levels or scavenging leads to the termination of stem cells. Our results provide a mechanistic framework for ROS‐mediated control of plant stem cell fate and demonstrate that the balance between and H₂O₂ is key to stem cell maintenance and differentiation.     

Differentiation of Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis by Using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis

A pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method was developed for discriminating Bacillus anthracis from B. cereus and B. thuringiensis. A worldwide collection of 25 B. anthracis isolates showed high-profile homology, and these isolates were unambiguously distinguished from B. cereus and B. thuringiensis isolates by cluster analysis of the whole-genome macrorestriction enzyme digestion patterns generated by NotI.     

Ganoderic acid Mf and S induce mitochondria mediated apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells

In this work, the effects of a pair of positional isomer of ganoderic acids (GAs), namely ganoderic acid Mf (GA-Mf) and ganoderic acid S (GA-S) purified from the fermented mycelia of Ganoderma lucidum, on induction of cell apoptosis and the apoptotic pathway in HeLa cells were investigated. The results demonstrate that both isomers decreased cell population growth on various human carcinoma cell lines by MTT assay, while GA-Mf had better selectivity between normal and cancer cells. The flow cytometry analysis indicated that treatment of HeLa cells with GA-S caused cell cycle arrest in the S phase, while GA-Mf caused cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase. Compared with GA-S, GA-Mf had more potent increase in the number of early and late apoptotic cells. Treatment of HeLa cells with each isomer decreased the mitochondria membrane potential and caused the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol. In addition, stimulation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 activity was observed. The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was also increased in GA-treated HeLa cells. The results demonstrated that both isomers GA-Mf and GA-S induced apoptosis of human HeLa cells through a mitochondria mediated pathway, but they had the different cell cycle arrest specificity. The findings will be helpful to the development of useful cancer chemopreventive compounds from G. lucidum.     

Sequence, distribution and quantification of the motilin precursor in the cat

Due to motilin's relation to the migrating motor complex (MMC), the physiology of motilin has been mostly studied in man and dog. The cat does not have an MMC pattern, and little is known about cat motilin. Therefore we identified the cat motilin precursor (GenBank accession no. AF127917) and developed a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to explore its distribution in the gastrointestinal tract and in the central nervous system (CNS). The precursor is closely related to the dog precursor and consists of an open reading frame of 348bp encoding the signal peptide (25 amino acids), the motilin sequence (22 amino acids) and the motilin associated peptide (69 amino acids). One amino acid of the signal peptide was subject to gene polymorphism. Quantification of motilin messenger RNA (mRNA) was for the first time achieved. It is most abundant in the gastrointestinal tract, with the highest concentration in the duodenum, the lowest in the colon and is not detectable in the corpus. However an important expression was also observed in several regions of the CNS, except the striatum and cerebral cortex. The highest level was in the hypothalamus (although 23-fold lower than in the duodenum), the lowest level in the pons. Moderate levels were found in the thyroid. These data suggest that the physiological role of motilin may extend beyond its effect on gastrointestinal motility.