MAGE-C2/CT10 promotes growth and metastasis through upregulating c-Myc expression in prostate cancer

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common reproductive cancer in men and the third leading cause of cancer death among men worldwide. Recently targeted therapy...     

紫外长期胁迫对高世代麦长管蚜生命表参数的影响

为了评估紫外连续处理对第20代以后麦长管蚜Sitobion avenae (Fabricius)种群动态的影响,采用特定年龄生命表方法,设置不同强度(0,0.50,0.70 m W/cm2) UV-B连续多代处理麦长管蚜成虫,统计经紫外处理后的麦长管蚜第22代,第27代,第32代,第37代麦长管蚜生命表种群参数的变化并总结了1—37代麦长管蚜内禀增长率的变化规律。结果表明:(1)处理组供试麦长管蚜平均世代周期(T)呈先显著升高后下降的趋势。(2)低强度处理组内禀增长率(rm)、净增殖率(R0)、周限增长率(λ)均呈先升高后下降又升高的趋势,高强度处理组供试麦长管蚜内禀增长率(rm)、净增殖率(R0)、周限增长率(λ)呈先下降后显著升高的的趋势,且均在G37达到最大值。(3) 1—37代处理组麦长管蚜rm呈现先显著增高后下降又升高又下降又显著升高的变化规律,且均在G37达到最大值。由此可见:麦长管蚜经过多代的UV-B胁迫后,对其生命表参数的影响依然显著,在G37麦长管蚜对紫外的适应能力最强。本研究的创新点在于解析了第22代以后紫外胁迫对麦长管蚜种群动态的影响,从而为全面深入的阐述紫外胁迫对麦长管蚜生长繁殖的影响规律,掌握不同紫外胁迫下的剂量效应关系及麦长管蚜的适应性提供实验基础和理论依据。     

The homeobox gene Gsh2 is required for retinoid production in the embryonic mouse telencephalon

We have examined the role of the homeobox gene Gsh2 in retinoid production and signaling within the ventral telencephalon of mouse embryos. Gsh2 mutants exhibit altered ventral telencephalic development, including a smaller striatum with fewer DARPP-32 neurons than wild types. We show that the expression of the retinoic acid (RA) synthesis enzyme, retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 3 (Raldh3, also known as Aldh1a3), is reduced in the lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) of Gsh2 mutants. Moreover, using a retinoid reporter cell assay, we found that retinoid production in the Gsh2 mutants is markedly reduced. The striatal defects in Gsh2 mutants are thought to result from ectopic expression of Pax6 in the LGE. Previously, we had shown that removal of Pax6 from the Gsh2 mutant background improves the molecular identity of the LGE in these double mutants; however, Raldh3 expression is not improved. The Pax6;Gsh2 double mutants possess a larger striatum than the Gsh2 mutants, but the disproportionate reduction in DARPP-32 neurons is not improved. These findings suggest that reduced retinoid production in the Gsh2 mutant contributes to the striatal differentiation defects. As RA promotes the expression of DARPP-32 in differentiating LGE cells in vitro, we examined whether exogenous RA can improve striatal neuron differentiation in the Gsh2 mutants. Indeed, RA supplementation of Gsh2 mutants, during the period of striatal neurogenesis, results in a significant increase in DARPP-32 expression. Thus, in addition to the previously described role for Gsh2 to maintain correct molecular identity in the LGE, our results demonstrate a novel requirement of this gene for retinoid production within the ventral telencephalon.     

Dyskerin overexpression in human hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with advanced clinical stage and poor patient prognosis

Background

Dyskerin (encoded by the DKC1 gene) is an essential nucleolar protein involved in cell proliferation, where it is required for the pseudo-uridylation of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules and the stabilization of the telomerase RNA component. Dyskerin expression has been reported to predict poor survival in some cancer patients. The aim of the present study was to analyze the expression of dyskerin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to determine its correlation with clinicopathologic features, including the survival of patients with HCC.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Dyskerin protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in paraffin sections of 252 HCC cases and 80 noncancerous liver tissues. The correlation was analyzed between dyskerin expression levels and clinicopathologic variables and prognosis. Dyskerin protein was significantly overexpressed in HCC tissues when compared to noncancerous liver tissue. Dyskerin overexpression was positively correlated with the hepatitis B surface antigen status, serum alpha-fetoprotein, and advanced clinical stage in HCC patients. A survival analysis indicated that HCC patients with higher dyskerin expression had a significantly shorter overall survival and 5-year survival time when compared to those with low expression. A multivariate analysis suggested that dyskerin overexpression was an independent factor for prognosis (hazard risk, 2.912; P = 0.007). Expression of DKC1 mRNA was measured by quantitative RT-PCR in 80 HCC and 50 non-cancerous tissues. The relationship between DKC1, TERT, MKI67, and MYC mRNA expression in HCC tissues was also evaluated. DKC1 mRNA was significantly overexpressed in HCC tissues and showed a significant correlation with MKI67 and MYC mRNA but a weak correlation with TERT mRNA.

Conclusions/Significance

Dyskerin overexpression in HCC patients was correlated with MYC and MKI67 expression and showed a possible involvement in the tumorigenic process. Dyskerin overexpression may be an unfavorable prognostic factor in patients with HCC.     

基于林业清查资料的桂西北植被碳空间分布及其变化特征

基于2005-2010年林业资源清查数据,采用材积源生物量法,运用地理信息系统技术,估算和分析了桂西北植被碳密度及其储量的空间分布及其变化。结果显示:(1) 研究区域从2005年到2010年呈现碳汇变化趋势,植被碳储量由4.19×10⁴t增加到4.27×10⁴t(增幅为1.84%),植被碳密度从29.04t/hm²增加到29.57 t/hm²。(2) 从治理措施、林种起源方式及林种类型来看,自然保护区的植被碳密度最大,超过40 t/hm²。2005-2010年,人工植苗、直播、飞播和萌生方式植被碳密度增加,退耕还林工程的植被碳密度均呈明显增长(增加3.00 t/hm²),所有林种碳密度都呈不同程度的增长。 (3)植被碳密度空间分布上,大致表现为西部高、中东部低,北部高、南部低。西部区植被碳密度均值超过40 t/hm²,中东部区植被碳密度均值低于25 t/hm²。植被碳密度变化在空间分布上表现为无论是非喀斯特区还是喀斯特区的植被碳密度都有增长趋势,其中有7个县市植被碳密度升级为更高等级。研究表明,随着退耕还林、生态移民等治理措施的实施,区域植被碳密度显著增加,生态环境好转。     

WNT5A signaling contributes to Aβ-induced neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity

Neurodegenration is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive. Here, we present evidence that reveals a crucial role of Wnt5a signaling in this process. We showed that Wnt5a and its receptor Frizzled-5 (Fz5) were up-regulated in the AD mouse brain, and that beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ), a major constituent of amyloid plaques, stimulated Wnt5a and Fz5 expression in primary cortical cultures; these observations indicate that Wnt5a signaling could be aberrantly activated during AD pathogenesis. In support of such a possibility, we observed that inhibition of Wnt5a signaling attenuated while activation of Wnt5a signaling enhanced Aβ-evoked neurotoxicity, suggesting a role of Wnt5a signaling in AD-related neurodegeneration. Furthermore, we also demonstrated that Aβ-induced neurotoxicity depends on inflammatory processes, and that activation of Wnt5a signaling elicited the expression of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α whereas inhibition of Wnt5a signaling attenuated the Aβ-induced expression of the cytokines in cortical cultures. Our findings collectively suggest that aberrantly up-regulated Wnt5a signaling is a crucial pathological step that contributes to AD-related neurodegeneration by regulating neuroinflammation.     

Exogenous gibberellic acid increases the fruit weight of ‘Comte de Paris’ pineapple by enlarging flesh cells without negative effects on fruit quality

In mainland China, the most popular pineapple cultivar is ‘Comte de Paris’. Gibberellic acids have been widely applied to enhance fruit growth in various species. To evaluate the effect of gibberellic acid (GA₃) on ‘Comte de Paris’ pineapple production and quality, pineapple fruits were sprayed with GA₃ at concentrations of 5, 20, 50, or 100 mg l⁻¹ at both 0 and 15 days after flowering (DAF). Fruits were sampled every 15 days from 0 to 60 DAF (maturation) for flow cytometric analysis and histological observation. The results showed that the treatments with the three highest concentrations of GA₃ significantly increased fruit weight, and the most effective concentration was 50 mg l⁻¹ GA₃, which increased the flesh weight by 20.3% compared to the control. Although treatment with GA₃ had little effect on the total soluble solids and fruit juice pH, it increased the vitamin C content. Although flow cytometric analysis showed that the 50 mg l⁻¹ GA₃ treatment had only a slight impact on the number of S phase cells, histological observations indicated that the increase of fruit volume and flesh weight under this GA₃ treatment was not due to the increase of cell number but a result of the increase of cell area in the fruit flesh.     

类芒齿黄芪地下部分化学成分研究

为了解类芒齿黄芪( Astragalus camptodontoides)主要化学成分,从其地下部分甲醇提取物的乙酸乙酯部位分离出19个单体化合物,通过现代波谱分析及理化性质等手段分别鉴定为异补骨脂黄酮(1),4′-hydroxy-isolonchocarpin (2),5-去氧山豆根黄酮(3),shinflavanone (4),khonklonginols H (5),4′-O-methylpreglabridin (6),3′-hydroxy-4′-O-methylglabridin (7),4′-O-methylglabridin (8),8-prenyl-phaseollinisoflavan (9),xambioona (10),光甘草酚(11),粗毛甘草素H (12),methylnissolin (13),邻苯二甲酸异丁酯(14),邻苯二甲酸丁酯异丁酯(15),β-谷甾醇(16),胡萝卜苷(17),齐墩果酸(18),(2S,3S,4R,9E)-1,3,4-trihydroxy-2-[(2′R)-2′- hydr-oxytetraco-sanoylamino]-9-octadecene (19)。化合物1~19均为首次从该植物中获得,化合物1~7为首次从黄芪属(Astraga-lus)植物中分离得到。     

冠斑犀鸟的骨骼系统解剖

对冠斑犀鸟的骨骼系统进行了详细的观察和描述,其头骨厚重、骨壁坚硬;颌骨、前颌骨极度前伸,构成巨大的上喙,其后部连同鼻骨向背方显著隆起,构成盔.寰椎、枢椎、尾综骨、胸骨等形态特殊.跗跖骨结构以及足趾近、远端趾节的长度反映了明显的树栖性特征.     

Evaluation of residue-residue contact prediction methods: From retrospective to prospective

Sequence-based residue contact prediction plays a crucial role in protein structure reconstruction. In recent years, the combination of evolutionary coupling analysis (ECA) and deep learning (DL) techniques has made tremendous progress for residue contact prediction, thus a comprehensive assessment of current methods based on a large-scale benchmark data set is very needed. In this study, we evaluate 18 contact predictors on 610 non-redundant proteins and 32 CASP13 targets according to a wide range of perspectives. The results show that different methods have different application scenarios: (1) DL methods based on multi-categories of inputs and large training sets are the best choices for low-contact-density proteins such as the intrinsically disordered ones and proteins with shallow multi-sequence alignments (MSAs). (2) With at least 5L (L is sequence length) effective sequences in the MSA, all the methods show the best performance, and methods that rely only on MSA as input can reach comparable achievements as methods that adopt multi-source inputs. (3) For top L/5 and L/2 predictions, DL methods can predict more hydrophobic interactions while ECA methods predict more salt bridges and disulfide bonds. (4) ECA methods can detect more secondary structure interactions, while DL methods can accurately excavate more contact patterns and prune isolated false positives. In general, multi-input DL methods with large training sets dominate current approaches with the best overall performance. Despite the great success of current DL methods must be stated the fact that there is still much room left for further improvement: (1) With shallow MSAs, the performance will be greatly affected. (2) Current methods show lower precisions for inter-domain compared with intra-domain contact predictions, as well as very high imbalances in precisions between intra-domains. (3) Strong prediction similarities between DL methods indicating more feature types and diversified models need to be developed. (4) The runtime of most methods can be further optimized.