Electrogenerated chemiluminescence of ruthenium complex immobilized in a highly cross‐linked polymer and its analytical applications

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of a ruthenium complex polymer modified carbon paste electrode and its analytical applications were investigated. The ruthenium complex polymer was prepared using bis(2,2‐bipyridine) (4,4‐dicarboxy‐2,2‐bipyridine) ruthenium(II). The ECL behaviours of ruthenium complex polymer modified carbon paste electrode were investigated in the absence and presence of tripropylamine (TPA). The modified carbon paste electrode exhibited long‐term stability and fine reproducibility. The ECL intensity of the modified carbon paste electrode was linear with the concentration of TPA in the range 2.0 × 10^–6–3.8 × 10^–3 mol/L, with a detection limit (S:N = 3) of 6 × 10^–7 mol/L. It was also found that raceanisodamine could enhance the ECL intensity of the modified electrode. The ECL intensity of the modified carbon paste electrode was linear with the concentration of raceanisodamine in the range 1.1 × 10^–5–6.0 × 10^–4 mol/L, with a detection limit (S:N = 3) of 6 × 10^–6 mol/L. This work demonstrates that the entrapment of ruthenium complex in a highly cross‐linked polymer is a promising approach to construct an ECL modified electrode with long‐term stability and fine reproducibility. The modified electrode designed has a potential application in the ECL detector. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

百合不定芽的快速诱导

为获得麝香百合组织培养最优外植体及探讨蔗糖、6-BA和NAA的最佳用量,本文以MS固体培养基为基础培养基,通过4因素3水平(L9 (34)) 3次重复正交试验,研究不同花器官及不同浓度的蔗糖、6-BA (6 苄基嘌呤)和NAA (α-萘乙酸)对麝香百合组织培养诱导不定芽的影响.结果表明,花托为诱导不定芽最优外植体,诱导不定芽最佳培养基为MS+6-BA 1.0 mg/L+NAA 0.3 mg/L+蔗糖90 g/L.同时经过分析,可以判断本试验中设计的4个试验因素对百合组培的影响程度依次为外植体>蔗糖>奈乙酸和6-苄氨基嘌呤.本研究结果将为百合优良品种的生产提供重要的技术支撑和资源保证.     

角蛋白酶基因gm2886在密旋链霉菌ACT12中的表达及鉴定

通过生物信息学分析,在本实验室分离得到的1株羽毛高效降解菌微白黄链霉菌Fea-10基因组中发现基因gm2886(GenBank Accession Number:KY368946)可能编码一新的角蛋白酶,通过在该基因5'端和3'端分别连接红霉素抗性基因启动子(PermE)和组氨酸标签编码序列并构建在大肠杆菌-链霉菌穿梭质粒pSET152上,接合转入密旋链霉菌Streptomyces pactum ACT12,从而实现了异源表达,蛋白纯化后对其酶学性质进行了研究。实验结果表明,带有组氨酸标签编码序列的gm2886在密旋链霉菌ACT12中可以表达分泌得到1个大小约为36 kDa的蛋白。多种底物检测表明异源表达得到的重组蛋白GM2886-His6具有蛋白酶活性,可以降解水不溶性的天青角蛋白和羽毛粉;其最适温度和pH分别为50℃和pH 10.0。PMSF可抑制GM2886-His6的酶活,而EDTA不能,说明该酶为丝氨酸蛋白酶。本研究为从分子水平上解析羽毛高效降解菌Fea-10的活性机理,从而进一步开发其应用潜力提供了基础,同时可为该类蛋白酶的研究提供借鉴。     

Silibinin ameliorates Aβ<Subscript>25-35</Subscript>-induced memory deficits in rats by modulating autophagy and attenuating neuroinflammation as well as oxidative stress

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease. Accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory response, oxidative stress and autophagy are involved in amyloid β (Aβ)-induced memory deficits. Silibinin (silybin), a flavonoid derived from the herb milk thistle, is well known for its hepatoprotective activities. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of silibinin on Aβ_25-35-injected rats. Results demonstrated that silibinin significantly attenuated Aβ_25-35-induced memory deficits in Morris water maze and novel object-recognition tests. Silibinin exerted anxiolytic effect in Aβ_25-35-injected rats as determined in elevated plus maze test. Silibinin attenuated the inflammatory responses, increased glutathione (GSH) levels and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and upregulated autophagy levels in the Aβ_25-35-injected rats. In conclusion, silibinin is a potential candidate for AD treatment because of its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and autophagy regulating activities.     

Engineering Aspergillus oryzae A-4 through the Chromosomal Insertion of Foreign Cellulase Expression Cassette to Improve Conversion of Cellulosic Biomass into Lipids

A genetic modification scheme was designed for Aspergillus oryzae A-4, a natural cellulosic lipids producer, to enhance its lipid production from biomass by putting the spotlight on improving cellulase secretion. Four cellulase genes were separately expressed in A-4 under the control of hlyA promoter, with the help of the successful development of a chromosomal genetic manipulation system. Comparison of cellulase activities of PCR-positive transformants showed that these transformants integrated with celA gene and with celC gene had significantly (p<0.05) higher average FPAase activities than those strains integrated with celB gene and with celD gene. Through the assessment of cellulosic lipids accumulating abilities, celA transformant A2-2 and celC transformant D1-B1 were isolated as promising candidates, which could yield 101%–133% and 35.22%–59.57% higher amount of lipids than the reference strain A-4 (WT) under submerged (SmF) conditions and solid-state (SSF) conditions, respectively. Variability in metabolism associated to the introduction of cellulase gene in A2-2 and D1-B1 was subsequently investigated. It was noted that cellulase expression repressed biomass formation but enhanced lipid accumulation; whereas the inhibitory effect on cell growth would be shielded during cellulosic lipids production owing to the essential role of cellulase in substrate utilization. Different metabolic profiles also existed between A2-2 and D1-B1, which could be attributed to not only different transgene but also biological impacts of different integration. Overall, both simultaneous saccharification and lipid accumulation were enhanced in A2-2 and D1-B1, resulting in efficient conversion of cellulose into lipids. A regulation of cellulase secretion in natural cellulosic lipids producers could be a possible strategy to enhance its lipid production from lignocellulosic biomass.     

Anthraquinone G503 Induces Apoptosis in Gastric Cancer Cells through the Mitochondrial Pathway

G503 is an anthraquinone compound isolated from the secondary metabolites of a mangrove endophytic fungus from the South China Sea. The present study elucidates the anti-tumor activity and the underlying mechanism of G503. Cell viability assay performed in nine cancer cell lines and two normal cell lines demonstrated that the gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 is the most G503-sensitive cancer cells. G503 induced SGC7901 cell death via apoptosis. G503 exposure activated caspases-3, -8 and -9. Pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK and caspase-9 inhibitor Z-LEHD-FMK, but not caspase-8 inbibitor Z-IETD-FMK, attenuated the effect of G503. These results suggested that the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, rather than the extrinsic pathway, was involved in G503-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, G503 increased the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2 in the mitochondria and decreased the ratio in the cytosol. G503 treatment resulted in mitochondrial depolarization, cytochrome c release and the subsequent cleavage of caspase -9 and -3. Moreover, it is reported that the endoplasmic reticulum apoptosis pathway may also be activated by G503 by inducing capase-4 cleavage. In consideration of the lower 50% inhibitory concentration for gastric cancer cells, G503 may serve as a promising candidate for gastric cancer chemotherapy.     

High Expression of SOX2 and OCT4 Indicates Radiation Resistance and an Independent Negative Prognosis in Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Radiotherapy (RT) as a preoperative or postoperative adjuvant or primary treatment is the most common management modality for locally advanced cervical cancer. Radioresistance of tumor cells remains a major therapeutic problem. Consequently, we aimed to explore if the stem cell biomarkers SOX2 and OCT4 protein could be used to predict radioresistance in patients with locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (LACSCC). These 132 patients were divided into two groups (radiation-resistant and radiation-sensitive groups) according to progress-free survival (PFS). Using pretreatment paraffin-embedded tissues, we evaluated SOX2 and OCT4 expression using immunohistochemical staining. The percentage of overexpression of SOX2 and OCT4 in the radiation-resistant group was much higher than that in the radiation-sensitive group (p<0.001 and p <0.001, respectively). The patients with high expression of SOX2 and OCT4 showed a shorter PFS than those with low expression. Our study suggests that the expression of SOX2 and OCT4 in tumor cells indicates resistance to radiotherapy and that these two factors were important predictors of poor survival in patients with LACSCC (hazard ratio [95% CI], 2.294 [1.013, 5.195] and 2.300 [1.050, 5.037], respectively; p=0.046 and p=0.037, respectively).     

Determination of zeranol and its metabolites in bovine muscle and liver by a chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay: compared to an ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy method

A chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) was compared to an ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy (UPLC‐MS/MS) procedure for the analysis of zeranol and its metabolites in bovine tissue samples. Apparent recoveries from fortified samples by both methods were comparable at 0.5–4.0 µg/kg and a significant correlation was obtained. For CLEIA analysis, hapten mimicking the analyte was first synthesized and conjugated with the carrier protein bovine serum albumin as the immunogen to produce monoclonal antibody. The obtained antibody showed extensive cross‐reactivity toward zeranol metabolites (zearalanone). The limit of detection of CLEIA and UPLC‐MS/MS was 0.05 µg/kg and 0.5 µg/kg, respectively. Recoveries of both methods for fortified samples were higher than 75.0% with the coefficient of variation less than 15%. These results indicated that the combination of screening with CLEIA and confirmation with UPLC‐MS/MS for zeranol and its metabolites would be a reliable method for a large number of bovine samples. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.