2017-2020年河南省漯河市呼吸道合胞病毒流行特征研究

呼吸道合胞病毒(Respiratory syncytial virus,RSV)是引起严重急性呼吸道感染(Severe acute respiratory infection,SARI)的一个重要病原,尤其以5岁以下儿童为主.为了解河南省漯河市SARI住院患者中RSV感染的流行病学和临床特征,为RSV预防控制及临床诊疗提供科学数据,本研究采集2017年10月至2020年8月河南省漯河市SARI住院病例的咽拭子,并收集流行病学和临床信息.采用荧光定量PCR方法鉴定RSV A/B阳性病例,分析其流行病学和临床特征.结果显示,本研究共入组1335例SARI病例,其中220例(16.48％)为RSV阳性,A和B亚型分别占64.55％和30.45％.RSV感染以5岁以下儿童为主(占91.36％),2岁以下婴幼儿占RSV感染病例的一半以上(占55.37％).RSV流行高峰出现在11月-次年1月,不同年份流行季可前后相差一个月.A﹑B亚型在不同月份可单独流行也可共流行.受新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情影响,2020年2-8月SARI病例数较往年同期减少60％以上,RSV阳性率在2020年2-8月降低为0.与非RSV感染组相比,RSV更易感染2岁以下儿童,下呼吸道感染占比更高(以支气管肺炎为主).本研究通过近3年SARI病例监测,揭示河南省漯河市RSV感染以冬春季常见,以下呼吸道感染为主,主要感染5岁以下儿童,其中2岁以下婴幼儿是防控重点人群.新型冠状病毒肺炎流行期间,由于限制性防控措施的干预,RSV感染大大降低.本研究将为RSV疫苗和单克隆抗体等预防性干预手段的使用策略提供基础数据.     

基于MSPA和MCR模型的秦岭(陕西段)山地生态网络构建

快速的城市化发展破坏了生境斑块的连通性,而在应对此环境变化中,从斑块层构建区域生态网络的研究不足。本研究以秦岭(陕西段)为对象,采用形态学空间格局分析(MSPA)辨别生态源地,利用最小阻力模型(MCR)提取潜在生态廊道,构建秦岭生态网络;基于重力模型对生态网络内部斑块的重要性进行分级,并分析了网络的结构特征及景观构成。结果表明: 秦岭(陕西段)生态网络由10个生态源地、45条潜在生态廊道和38个脚踏石构成,生态源地总面积29686.15 km²;网络闭合度(0.11)、线点率(1.18)、网络连接度(0.42)、成本比(0.99)综合表明,网络结构中潜在生态廊道和生态节点的连通性较好,而源地间的连通程度低,构建网络的成本较高;重要生态廊道主要由林地、草地、耕地等景观类型构成,其中,林地面积最大,为571.00 km²,约占廊道总面积的89.2%,景观结构良好;在生态网络中应加强保护生态源地,优先建立并保护重要生态廊道和生态节点。研究结果可为秦岭生态环境保护与高质量发展提供科学的参考和依据。     

SHED aggregate exosomes shuttled miR‐26a promote angiogenesis in pulp regeneration via TGF‐β/SMAD2/3 signalling

ObjectivesPulp regeneration brings big challenges for clinicians, and vascularization is considered as its determining factor. We previously accomplished pulp regeneration with autologous stem cells from deciduous teeth (SHED) aggregates implantation in teenager patients, however, the underlying mechanism needs to be clarified for regenerating pulp in adults. Serving as an important effector of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), exosomes have been reported to promote angiogenesis and tissue regeneration effectively. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of SHED aggregate‐derived exosomes (SA‐Exo) in the angiogenesis of pulp regeneration.Materials and MethodsWe extracted exosomes from SHED aggregates and utilized them in the pulp regeneration animal model. The pro‐angiogenetic effects of SA‐Exo on SHED and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were evaluated. The related mechanisms were further investigated.ResultsWe firstly found that SA‐Exo significantly improved pulp tissue regeneration and angiogenesis in vivo. Next, we found that SA‐Exo promoted SHED endothelial differentiation and enhanced the angiogenic ability of HUVECs, as indicated by the in vitro tube formation assay. Mechanistically, miR‐26a, which is enriched in SA‐Exo, improved angiogenesis both in SHED and HUVECs via regulating TGF‐β/SMAD2/3 signalling.ConclusionsIn summary, these data reveal that SA‐Exo shuttled miR‐26a promotes angiogenesis via TGF‐β/SMAD2/3 signalling contributing to SHED aggregate‐based pulp tissue regeneration. These novel insights into SA‐Exo may facilitate the development of new strategies for pulp regeneration.     

Revisiting of Carex sect. Confertiflorae s.l. (Cyperaceae): New data from molecular and morphological evidence and first insights on Carex biogeography in East Asia

Carex sect. Confertiflorae s.l. is a medium-sized species group (ca. 40 species) with its center of diversity in E Asia (China and Japan). According to morphological traits, the section has been proposed to split into two sections (sects. Confertiflorae sensu Ohwi and Molliculae Ohwi) up to five different ones (sects. Confertiflorae s.s., Molliculae, Dispalatae Ohwi, Ischnostachyae Ohwi, and Alliiformes Akiyama). Recent phylogenetic reconstructions showed Confertiflorae s.l. not to be monophyletic, as species traditionally considered part of it were found to belong to other clades, whereas species traditionally ascribed to other sections were nested within it. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic structure, morphological affinities, and biogeographic history of sect. Confertiflorae s.l. We employed a taxon-based approach to explore the morphological affinities of the species considered in sect. Confertiflorae and compared the micromorphology of the nutlets of almost all the taxa using SEM. We included 40 samples representing 31 species/subspecies of sect. Confertiflorae s.l. and used two nuclear (ETS and ITS) and three plastid (trnL-F, matK, and rpl32-trnL ^UAG) molecular markers to reconstruct the phylogeny of the group. The phylogenetic analyses confirmed the polyphyly of sect. Confertiflorae s.l., whose representatives were found within five distinct clades. From these, two clades, sect. Confertiflorae and sect. Molliculae, were found to be closely related and contained the majority of the species. The composition of the two clades agreed with the morphological structure of the group, and we confirmed an exclusive combination of features (namely color of basal sheaths, presence of bract sheath, peduncle of lowest spike, inflorescence sex distribution, shape of pistillate glume apex, and color and veins of utricle, among others) characterizing each of the two clades. The origin of the two clades was found to be in the early Pliocene; however, the majority of the diversification events within each clade took place during the Pleistocene. This illustrates that although Asia has been regarded as having little potential ecological space for Carex to diversify due to its climate stability, groups of sedges sub-endemic from that area may have a fairly recent origin related to glaciations. We proposed the rearrangement of sect. Confertiflorae as previously conceived as three independent sections: the monotypic Alliiformes, sect. Molliculae, and sect. Paludosae.     

猪肌肉的转录组学研究进展

猪在中国的畜牧业及人类疾病的研究中有着不可或缺的作用,一方面猪提供了人类日常所需的肉类食物,另一方面在人类的器官移植方面的研究甚为广泛.因此,对于猪的各方面的研究都较为广泛,但在肌肉mRNA转录组方面涉及不深.转录组包括编码RNA和非编码RNA,根据测序结果,通过对不同品种的同位基因进行比较,用来分析相互之间的差异,进而分析不同的生物现象以及发病机制.利用这一特性,将国内外猪种的肌肉在生长过程中的编码RNA和非编码RNA进行研究,其潜在的意义是降低中国地方猪的脂肪含量.本综述旨在对转录组学、测序技术和转录组学研究以及猪基因的研究进行归纳,为进一步提高中国本土猪的瘦肉率提供了参考.     

Suppression of DRR1 results in the accumulation of insoluble ubiquitinated proteins,which impairs drought stress tolerance

Drought stress has detrimental effects on plants. Although the abscisic acid (ABA)‐mediated drought response is well established, defensive mechanisms to cope with dehydration‐induced proteotoxicity have been rarely studied. DRR1 was identified as an Arabidopsis drought‐induced gene encoding an ER‐localized RING‐type E3 Ub ligase. Suppression of DRR1 markedly reduced tolerance to drought and proteotoxic stress without altering ABA‐mediated germination and stomatal movement. Proteotoxicity‐ and dehydration‐induced insoluble ubiquitinated protein accumulation was more obvious in DRR1 loss‐of‐function plants than in wild‐type plants. These results suggest that DRR1 is involved in an ABA‐independent drought stress response possibly through the mitigation of dehydration‐induced proteotoxic stress.     

Three‐dimensional reconstruction and comparison of vacuolar membranes in response to viral infection

The vacuole is a unique plant organelle that plays an important role in maintaining cellular homeostasis under various environmental stress conditions. However, the effects of biotic stress on vacuole structure has not been examined using three‐dimensional (3D) visualization. Here, we performed 3D electron tomography to compare the ultrastructural changes in the vacuole during infection with different viruses. The 3D models revealed that vacuoles are remodeled in cells infected with cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) or tobacco necrosis virus A Chinese isolate (TNV‐A^C), resulting in the formation of spherules at the periphery of the vacuole. These spherules contain neck‐like channels that connect their interior with the cytosol. Confocal microscopy of CMV replication proteins 1a and 2a and TNV‐A^C auxiliary replication protein p23 showed that all of these proteins localize to the tonoplast. Electron microscopy revealed that the expression of these replication proteins alone is sufficient to induce spherule formation on the tonoplast, suggesting that these proteins play prominent roles in inducing vacuolar membrane remodeling. This is the first report of the 3D structures of viral replication factories built on the tonoplasts. These findings contribute to our understanding of vacuole biogenesis under normal conditions and during assembly of plant (+) RNA virus replication complexes.     

Effective methods for isolation and purification of extracellular vesicles from plants

Plant extracellular vesicles (EVs) play critical roles in the cross-kingdom trafficking of molecules from hosts to interacting microbes, most notably in plant defense responses. However, the isolation of pure, intact EVs from plants remains challenging. A variety of methods have been utilized to isolate plant EVs from apoplastic washing fluid (AWF). Here, we compare published plant EV isolation methods, and provide our recommended method for the isolation and purification of plant EVs. This method includes a detailed protocol for clean AWF collection from Arabidopsis thaliana leaves, followed by EV isolation via differential centrifugation. To further separate and purify specific subclasses of EVs from heterogeneous vesicle populations, density gradient ultracentrifugation and immunoaffinity capture are then utilized. We found that immunoaffinity capture is the most precise method for specific EV subclass isolation when suitable specific EV biomarkers and their corresponding antibodies are available. Overall, this study provides a guide for the selection and optimization of EV isolation methods for desired downstream applications.     

Leptin gene-targeted editing in ob/ob mouse adipose tissue based on the CRISPR/Cas9 system

Gene therapy has become the most effective treatment for monogenic diseases. Congenital LEPTIN deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive monogenic obesity syndrome caused by mutations in the Leptin gene. Ob/ob mouse is a monogenic obesity model, which carries a homozygous point mutation of C to T in Exon 2 of the Leptin gene. Here, we attempted to edit the mutated Leptin gene in ob/ob mice preadipocytes and inguinal adipose tissues using CRISPR/Cas9 to correct the C to T mutation and restore the production of LEPTIN protein by adipocytes. The edited preadipocytes exhibit a correction of 5.5% of Leptin alleles and produce normal LEPTIN protein when differentiated into mature adipocytes. The ob/ob mice display correction of 1.67% of Leptin alleles, which is sufficient to restore the production and physiological functions of LEPTIN protein, such as suppressing appetite and alleviating insulin resistance. Our study suggests CRISPR/Cas9-mediated in situ genome editing as a feasible therapeutic strategy for human monogenic diseases, and paves the way for further research on efficient delivery system in potential future clinical application.