几种椎间盘退变动物模型的建立和应用

椎间盘退变是一种年龄相关的退行性疾病,是引起下腰痛的主要因素,严重影响病人的生活质量,并显著增加家庭的经济负担。目前,缺少椎间盘退变的有效干预和治疗手段,部分原因是其发病机制尚未阐明。椎间盘退变动物模型的构建对于阐明该疾病的病理机制至关重要。椎间盘退变是一个复杂的过程,受机械应力、结构损伤、生物化学与基因表达等多种因素的影响。本文总结了应用异常机械应力、结构损伤、生物化学或化学诱导和基因敲除等方式构建的椎间盘退变动物模型。生物力学是维持椎间盘稳态的重要因素,异常的机械应力会导致椎间盘退变。同时,椎间盘退变常伴随结构性损伤,椎间盘结构破坏也会导致椎间盘发生退变。此外,生物化学或化学诱导和关键基因敲除也会导致椎间盘退变。本文按照造成异常机械应力的因素将机械应力模型分为加压模型和失稳模型;按照椎间盘结构将结构损伤模型分为髓核与纤维环损伤模型和软骨终板损伤模型。总结了生物化学或化学诱导模型以及新型的基因敲除模型。讨论了不同类型椎间盘退变动物模型的可能应用和局限性。     

瞬时受体电位通道M2在恶性肿瘤中的作用

瞬时受体电位通道M2(transient receptor potential channel melastatin 2, TRPM2)是人体中一个重要的Ca²⁺通透性非选择性阳离子通道,通常表达于正常细胞胞膜和溶酶体膜上,并在氧化应激中发挥重要的离子调节作用。但近年发现,TRPM2也在多种恶性肿瘤(神经母细胞瘤,舌/喉鳞状细胞癌,肺癌,乳腺癌,胃癌,胰腺癌,膀胱癌,前列腺癌和T细胞白血病)中高表达,能通过调节细胞线粒体功能和自噬促进肿瘤细胞的生物学能量而促进其生存能力,通过调节抗氧化物水平增强细胞对氧化刺激的耐受力而表现出化疗抵抗作用。同时,在肿瘤细胞膜上该通道大量激活又对化疗药物联合使用发挥协同作用。此外,TRPM2能通过激活多种不同的分子的信号通路,促进细胞增殖、侵袭和转移能力。总之,根据肿瘤的不同,TRPM2对肿瘤细胞生物学行为的调控机制也不同,甚至具有复杂的双重作用。所以,对TRPM2的生化及分子机制的研究必将使我们对肿瘤的发生发展的认识更加全面。本文将从TRPM2蛋白质的结构,生理功能及肿瘤机制等不同角度系统阐述TRPM2的研究现状和进展。     

肿瘤中甲硫氨酸代谢及其相关基因的表达调控

甲硫氨酸(methionine)作为人体必需氨基酸,生理功能多样,在肿瘤代谢重编程过程中具有重要意义。研究发现,多种肿瘤细胞对外源性甲硫氨酸存在依赖性,该效应被称为Hoffman效应。在人体内,甲硫氨酸经甲硫氨酸循环代谢,参与一碳单位代谢、叶酸循环,以及多胺、谷胱甘肽、半胱氨酸和核苷酸等多种物质的合成。肿瘤中常出现甲硫氨酸代谢的改变,并伴随甲硫氨酸代谢相关酶基因表达的异常,其中以甲硫氨酸腺苷转移酶(methionine adenosyltransferase, MAT)相关基因表达改变及甲硫腺苷磷酸化酶(methylthioadenosine phosphorylase,MTAP)基因的缺失最为常见,二者可分别引起甲硫氨酸循环及甲硫氨酸补救合成途径的异常,进而导致甲基供体S-腺苷甲硫氨酸(S-adenosylmethionine, SAM)的生成减少和甲硫腺苷(methylthioadenosine, MTA)的堆积,其与肿瘤的发生、发展和转移等活动密切相关。由甲硫氨酸的代谢改变和代谢酶的基因表达异常,分别衍生出2种不同的治疗策略,即甲硫氨酸限制疗法和靶向治疗。本文将从甲硫氨酸代谢出发,阐述肿瘤中甲硫氨酸依懒性、肿瘤细胞MAT和MTAP相关基因的表达调控,并概述甲硫氨酸相关肿瘤治疗方案的新进展与新问题,为肿瘤治疗方案的进一步探索提供新思路。     

十种园林植物叶片导热系数及对流换热系数测定

为研究植物层传热特性,选取校园内十种常见园林植物测定其叶片导热系数、叶片与周边空气对流换热系数,拟合导热系数与叶片含水量的近似关系式,对比实验测定对流换热系数与通过经验公式理论计算所得对流换热系数,比较与叶片接触前后空气的相对湿度。结果表明,叶片存在降温增湿作用,在5～25 ℃下叶片导热系数随温度变化较小;叶温20 ℃时,叶片导热系数随叶片含水量降低而减小;实验测试对流换热系数与理论计算结果吻合度较高。     

A study of the antibacterial mechanism of pinocembrin against multidrug-resistant Aeromonas hydrophila

International Microbiology - Aeromonas hydrophila is a common pathogen in fish that has caused severe economic losses in aquaculture worldwide. With the emergence of bacterial resistance, it is...     

Genotype distribution and evolutionary analysis of rotavirus associated with acute diarrhea outpatients in Hubei,China, 2013–2016

Group A human rotaviruses (RVAs) annually cause the deaths of 215,000 infants and young children. To understand the epidemiological characteristics and genetic evolution of RVAs, we performed sentinel surveillance on RVA prevalence in a rotavirus-surveillance network in Hubei, China. From 2013 to 2016, a total of 2007 fecal samples from hospital outpatients with acute gastroenteritis were collected from four cities of Hubei Province. Of the 2007 samples, 153 (7.62%) were identified positive for RVA by real-time RT-PCR. RVA infection in Hubei mainly occurred in autumn and winter. The highest detection rate of RVA infection was in 1–2 years old of outpatients (16.97%). No significant difference of RVA positive rate was observed between females and males. We performed a phylogenetic analysis of the G/P genotypes based on the partial VP7/VP4 gene sequences of RVAs. G9P[8] was the most predominant strain in all four years but the prevalence of G2P[4] genotype increased rapidly since 2014. We reconstructed the evolutionary time scale of RVAs in Hubei, and found that the evolutionary rates of the G9, G2, P[8], and P[4] genotypes of RVA were 1.069×10^-3, 1.029×10^-3, 1.283×10^-3 and 1.172×10^-3 nucleotide substitutions/site/year, respectively. Importantly, using a molecular clock model, we showed that most G9, G2, P[8], and P[4] genotype strains dated from the recent ancestor in 2005, 2005, 1993, and 2013, respectively. The finding of the distribution of RVAs in infants and young children in Hubei Province will contribute to the understanding of the epidemiological characteristics and genetic evolution of RVAs in China.     

番茄潜叶蛾幼虫肠道可培养细菌结构组成及对大分子化合物的降解作用研究

番茄潜叶蛾Tuta absoluta是一种世界毁灭性番茄害虫。为明确其幼虫肠道可培养细菌的多样性及功能,本研究采用LB和NA两种培养基分别对番茄潜叶蛾幼虫肠道细菌组成进行了分离培养,根据细菌菌落形态和16S rDNA序列分析对细菌进行种属鉴定,采用比浊法测定了优势种的生长曲线,并采用透明圈法测定了肠道各可培养细菌对大分子化合物淀粉和纤维素的降解能力。结果表明,从番茄潜叶蛾3龄幼虫肠道中共分离到27株细菌,分属于3门10科17属24种,优势门、科、属、种分别是变形菌门Proteobacteria、欧文氏菌科Erwiniaceae、欧文氏菌属Erwinia、Erwinia iniecta,其相对多度分别达到90.68%、89.41%、89.41%和89.41%。优势种Erwinia iniecta在25℃,180 r/min的条件下培养无迟缓期,0~14 h为对数生长期,14~28 h为稳定期,28 h以后为衰亡期。Glutamicibacter属的L7和L9、考克氏菌属Kocuria的L14和短状杆菌属Brachybacterium的L20能同时降解淀粉和纤维素,考克氏菌属Kocuria的L15和L17只能降解淀粉,欧文氏菌属Erwinia的L、动性球菌属Planococcus的L11、微杆菌属Microbacterium的L18和Prolinoborus属的L22只能降解纤维素,其他菌株无淀粉和纤维素降解能力。综上所述,番茄潜叶蛾幼虫含有24种肠道可培养细菌,种类较为丰富,且部分细菌对淀粉和纤维素大分子化合物具有较强的降解作用,该结果将为番茄潜叶蛾肠道细菌多样性及其功能的深入研究提供依据,同时还为功能细菌的开发利用提供菌株。     

MicroRNA-638 inhibits human airway smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration through targeting cyclin D1 and NOR1

Abnormal airway smooth muscle cell (ASMC) proliferation and migration contribute significantly to increased ASM mass associated with asthma. MicroRNA (miR)-638 is a primate-specific miRNA that plays important roles in development, DNA damage repair, hematopoiesis, and tumorigenesis. Although it is highly expressed in ASMCs, its function in ASM remodeling remains unknown. In the current study, we found that in response to various mitogenic stimuli, including platelet-derived growth factor-two B chains (PDGF-BB), transforming growth factor β1, and fetal bovine serum, the expression of miR-638, as determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), was significantly downregulated in the proliferative human ASMCs. Both gain- and loss-of-function studies were performed to study the role of miR-638 in ASMC proliferation and migration. We found that adenovirus-mediated miR-638 overexpression markedly inhibits ASMC proliferation and migration, while ablation of miR-638 by anti-miR-638 markedly increases cell proliferation and migration, as determined by WST-8 proliferation and scratch wound assays. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, qRT-PCR, and immunoblot analysis were used to investigate the effects of miR-638 on the expression of the downstream target genes in ASMCs. Our results demonstrated that miR-638 overexpression significantly reduced the expression of downstream target cyclin D1 and NOR1, both of which have been shown to be essential for cell proliferation and migration. Together, our study provides the first in vitro evidence highlighting the antiproliferative and antimigratory roles of miR-638 in human ASMC remodeling and suggests that targeted overexpression of miR-638 in ASMCs may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for preventing ASM hyperplasia associated with asthma.     

Quercetin relieved diabetic neuropathic pain by inhibiting upregulated P2X4 receptor in dorsal root ganglia

The upregulation of nociceptive ion channels expressed in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) contributes to the development and retaining of diabetic pain symptoms. The flavonoid quercetin (3,3′,4′,5,7-pentahydroxyflavone) is a component extracted from various fruits and vegetables and exerts anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticarcinogenic, antiulcer, and antihypertensive effects. However, the exact mechanism underlying quercetin's analgesic action remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of quercetin on diabetic neuropathic pain related to the P2X₄ receptor in the DRG of type 2 diabetic rat model. Our data showed that both mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency in diabetic rats treated with quercetin were higher compared with those in untreated diabetic rats. The expression levels of P2X₄ messenger RNA and protein in the DRG of diabetic rats were increased compared with the control rats, while quercetin treatment significantly inhibited such enhanced P2X₄ expression in diabetic rats. The satellite glial cells (SGCs) enwrap the neuronal soma in the DRG. Quercetin treatment also lowered the elevated coexpression of P2X₄ and glial fibrillary acidic protein (a marker of SGCs) and decreased the upregulation of phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) in the DRG of diabetic rats. Quercetin significantly reduced the P2X₄ agonist adenosine triphosphate-activated currents in HEK293 cells transfected with P2X₄ receptors. Thus, our data demonstrate that quercetin may decrease the upregulation of the P2X₄ receptor in DRG SGCs, and consequently inhibit P2X₄ receptor-mediated p38MAPK activation to relieve the mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in diabetic rats.