A biogeographically mixed, Middle Permian brachiopod fauna from the Baoshan Block, western Yunnan, China

A small brachiopod fauna is described from the carbonate rocks of the basal Shazipo Formation of the Baoshan Block, western Yunnan, south-west China, including significant new ventral and dorsal internal morphological features of Cryptospirifer omeishanensis Huang. This fauna is regarded as Wordian (Middle Guadalupian, Middle Permian) because of the presence of Cryptospirifer omeishanensis Huang and associated fusulinids ( Neoschwagerina craticulifera Zone). Palaeobiogeographically, the brachiopod fauna is of considerable interest because of its admixed nature characterized by typical warm-water Cathaysian elements intermingled with temperate Peri-Gondwanan taxa. This in turn is interpreted to indicate that the Baoshan Block may have been situated in an intermediate palaeogeographical position between Gondwanaland to the south and Cathaysia to the north during the Mid Permian and, as such, it probably furnished an important 'stepping stone' for the dispersal of Mid Permian eastern Tethyan marine invertebrate taxa (e.g. Cryptospirifer ) to the western Tethys.     

Chitosan nanoparticle as gene therapy vector via gastrointestinal mucosa administration: results of an in vitro and in vivo study

This study was designed to investigate the in vitro and in vivo transfection efficiency of chitosan nanoparticles used as vectors for gene therapy. Three types of chitosan nanoparticles [quaternized chitosan -60% trimethylated chitosan oligomer (TMCO-60%), C(43-45 KDa, 87%), and C(230 KDa, 90%)] were used to encapsulate plasmid DNA (pDNA) encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) using the complex coacervation technique. The morphology, optimal chitosan-pDNA binding ratio and conditions for maximal in vitro transfection were studied. The in vivo transfection was conducted by feeding the chitosan/pDNA nanoparticles to 12 BALB/C-nu/nu nude mice. Both conventional and TMCO-60% could form stable nanoparticles with pDNA. The in vitro study showed the transfection efficiency to be in the following descending order: TMCO-60%>C(43-45 KDa, 87%)>C(230 KDa, 90%). TMCO-60% proved to be the most efficient and the optimal chitosan/pDNA ratio being 3.2:1. In vivo study showed most prominent GPF expression in the gastric and upper intestinal mucosa. GFP expression in the mucosa of the stomach and duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and large intestine were found, respectively, in 100%, 88.9%, 77.8% and 66.7% of the nude mice examined. TMCO-60%/pDNA nanoparticles had better in vitro and in vivo transfection activity than the other two, and with minimal toxicity, which made it a desirable non-viral vector for gene therapy via oral administration.     

Recent Advances of Natural Polyphenols Activators for Keap1‐Nrf2 Signaling Pathway

The Keap1‐Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway is an important defense system against exogenous and endogenous oxidative stress injury. The dysregulation of the signaling pathway is associated with many diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and respiratory diseases. Over the years, a wide range of natural products has provided sufficient resources for the discovery of potential therapeutic drugs. Among them, polyphenols possess Nrf2 activation, not only inhibit the production of ROS, inhibit Keap1‐Nrf2 protein–protein interaction, but also degrade Keap1 and regulate the Nrf2 related pathway. In fact, with the continuous improvement of natural polyphenols separation and purification technology and further studies on the Keap1‐Nrf2 molecular mechanism, more and more natural polyphenols monomer components of Nrf2 activators have been gradually discovered. In this view, we summarize the research status of natural polyphenols that have been found with apparent Nrf2 activation and their action modes. On the whole, this review may guide the design of novel Keap1‐Nrf2 activator.     

肾缺血增强大鼠延髓腹外侧头端区神经元电话动和Fos蛋白表达

在67只切断两侧缓冲神经的麻醉Sprague-Dawley大鼠,应用细胞外记录的电生理方法和免疫组织化学技术,分别观察肾缺血对延髓腹外侧头端区巨细胞旁外侧核神经元自发放电活动和Fos蛋白表达的影响.所得结果如下(1)左肾动脉阻断后,28个单位的放电频率由11.40±1.08增至21.1±1.74spikes/s(P<0.001),血压和心率无明显变化(P>0.05);(2)在17个放电单位中,应用腺苷受体拮抗剂8-苯茶碱(8-phenyltheophylline,10mg/kg)可明显抑制肾缺血的兴奋效应(P<0.05);(3)肾缺血后,延髓腹外侧头端区的Fos蛋白样免疫反应神经元显著增加(P<0.01);(4)预先应用8-苯茶碱可明显减弱肾缺血所激活的Fos蛋白表达反应(P<0.05).以上结果提示肾缺血增强延髓腹外侧头端区神经元的放电活动和Fos蛋白表达,而此作用可能与肾脏缺血所产生的腺苷激活肾内感受器有关.     

Absence of estrogen receptor beta leads to abnormal adipogenesis during early tendon healing by an up‐regulation of PPARγ signalling

Achilles tendon injury is one of the challenges of sports medicine, the aetiology of which remains unknown. For a long time, estrogen receptor β (ERβ) has been known as a regulating factor of the metabolism in many connective tissues, such as bone, muscle and cartilage, but little is known about its role in tendon. Recent studies have implicated ERβ as involved in the process of tendon healing. Tendon‐derived stem cells (TDSCs) are getting more and more attention in tendon physiological and pathological process. In this study, we investigated how ERβ played a role in Achilles tendon healing. Achilles tendon injury model was established to analyse how ERβ affected on healing process in vivo. Cell proliferation assay, Western blots, qRT‐PCR and immunocytochemistry were performed to investigate the effect of ERβ on TDSCs. Here, we showed that ERβ deletion in mice resulted in inferior gross appearance, histological scores and, most importantly, increased accumulation of adipocytes during the early tendon healing which involved activation of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ) signalling. Furthermore, in vitro results of ours confirmed that the abnormity might be the result of abnormal TDSC adipogenic differentiation which could be partially reversed by the treatment of ERβ agonist LY3201. These data revealed a role of ERβ in Achilles tendon healing for the first time, thereby providing a new target for clinical treatment of Achilles tendon injury.     

转几丁质酶和葡聚糖酶双价基因棉花对土壤细菌种群多样性的影响

以转几丁质酶和葡聚糖酶双价基因棉花为研究对象,非转基因受体棉花为对照,通过比较可培养细菌数量和基于16S rRNA克隆文库细菌种群分析,评价外源双价基因的导入在苗期、蕾期、花铃期和吐絮期对棉花根际细菌群落多样性的影响。结果表明,可培养细菌的数量不受外源双价基因的影响,随着棉花生育期的交替而变化,以代谢旺盛的花铃期最多。构建的转基因和非转基因不同生育期根际土壤细菌16S rRNA文库容量为2400个克隆,涵盖了细菌的283个属。其中,Acidobacterium是最大优势类群,共包括624个克隆,其次为未知细菌种群和Flavisolibacter。比较转基因和非转基因棉花根际土壤细菌的种群结构,结果显示,同一生育期内前者种群的多样性显著低于后者,二者的共有类群随着生长发育的进行而增多。研究结果说明几丁质酶基因和葡聚糖酶基因对棉花根际细菌种群多样性有着不同程度的削减作用,但是随着种植时间的延长,该差异呈现逐渐缩小的趋势。     

miR-377-5p inhibits lung cancer cell proliferation,invasion, and cell cycle progression by targeting AKT1 signaling

Lung carcinoma is the most common type of malignant tumors globally, and its molecular mechanisms remained unclear. With the aim to investigate the effects of microRNA (miR)-377-5p on the cell development, invasion, metastasis, and cycle of lung carcinoma, this study was performed. We evaluated miR-377-5p expression levels in lung cancer tissues and cell models. Cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion abilities, and cell cycle distribution were measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, crystal violet, transwell, and flow cytometry assay. Furthermore, expression levels of protein kinase B α subunit (AKT1) and proteins related to cell cycle and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were assessed using Western blot analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. These results suggested that miR-377-5p was downregulated in vivo and in cell models, and miR-377-5p overexpression inhibited cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, and induced cell-cycle arrest. In addition, as a target of miR-377-5p, AKT1 alleviated the decreases of cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, the S-phase cells, the expression of cyclin D1, fibronectin, and vimentin, as well as the increases of the G0/G1-phase cells, the expression of Foxo1, p27 ^kip1, p21 ^Cip1 and E-cadherin when miR-377-5p overexpressed. In conclusion, miR-377-5p inhibited cell development and regulated cell cycle distribution and EMT by targeting AKT1, which provided a theoretical basis for further study of lung carcinoma therapeutics.     

Factors influencing the release of the biological nitrification inhibitor 1,9-decanediol from rice (Oryza sativa L.) roots

Plant and Soil - Depending on the availability and stoichiometry of nutrients in soil, microbes and plants can compete for the same resources. In this study we aimed to test how microbial nutrient...     

A novel procedure for pre-embedding double immunogold-silver labeling at the ultrastructural level.

Pre-embedding double immunogold-silver labeling using two ultrasmall gold conjugates has not been attempted previously because a means of distinguishing labels by conjugates of identical sizes was lacking. This study investigated the feasibility of creating a particle size segregation between two ultrasmall gold conjugates through sequential immunogold incubations and silver enhancements. Two primary antibodies, mouse anti-synaptophysin and rabbit anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), were used in the model system. Differentiation of the double labeling was achieved by incubating with one ultrasmall gold conjugate, followed by silver enhancement, and then incubating with the second ultrasmall gold conjugate, followed by additional silver enhancement. This resulted in two groups of silver-enhanced particles: smaller particles enhanced once and larger particles enhanced twice. Electron microscopic examination revealed two readily distinguished populations of gold-silver particles within the appropriate structures, with very little size overlap. The quality of the ultrastructure permitted identification of most subcellular organelles. This procedure provides for the first time a pre-embedding immunogold-silver labeling protocol that allows the precise subcellular co-localization of multiple antigens.