Effects of methotrexate on the viscoelastic properties of single cells probed by atomic force microscopy

Methotrexate is a commonly used anti-cancer chemotherapy drug. Cellular mechanical properties are fundamental parameters that reflect the physiological state of a cell. However, so far the role of cellular mechanical properties in the actions of methotrexate is still unclear. In recent years, probing the behaviors of single cells with the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) has contributed much to the field of cell biomechanics. In this work, with the use of AFM, the effects of methotrexate on the viscoelastic properties of four types of cells were quantitatively investigated. The inhibitory and cytotoxic effects of methotrexate on the proliferation of cells were observed by optical and fluorescence microscopy. AFM indenting was used to measure the changes of cellular viscoelastic properties (Young’s modulus and relaxation time) by using both conical tip and spherical tip, quantitatively showing that the stimulation of methotrexate resulted in a significant decrease of both cellular Young’s modulus and relaxation times. The morphological changes of cells induced by methotrexate were visualized by AFM imaging. The study improves our understanding of methotrexate action and offers a novel way to quantify drug actions at the single-cell level by measuring cellular viscoelastic properties, which may have potential impacts on developing label-free methods for drug evaluation.     

Predicting protein structural classes with pseudo amino acid composition: an approach using geometric moments of cellular automaton image

A novel approach was developed for predicting the structural classes of proteins based on their sequences. It was assumed that proteins belonging to the same structural class must bear some sort of similar texture on the images generated by the cellular automaton evolving rule [Wolfram, S., 1984. Cellular automation as models of complexity. Nature 311, 419-424]. Based on this, two geometric invariant moment factors derived from the image functions were used as the pseudo amino acid components [Chou, K.C., 2001. Prediction of protein cellular attributes using pseudo amino acid composition. Proteins: Struct., Funct., Genet. (Erratum: ibid., 2001, vol. 44, 60) 43, 246-255] to formulate the protein samples for statistical prediction. The success rates thus obtained on a previously constructed benchmark dataset are quite promising, implying that the cellular automaton image can help to reveal some inherent and subtle features deeply hidden in a pile of long and complicated amino acid sequences.     

小麦秆锈抗性遗传及抗性基因研究进展

目前国际上已发现近80个小麦抗秆锈基因,其中45个抗秆锈基因已被正式定名,58个抗秆锈基因已定位在小麦特定染色体上,其中12个基因被标记。本文对小麦抗秆锈病基因抗源、抗秆锈性遗传、分子标记研究现状及存在问题加以综述,并对抗秆锈分子遗传前景进行展望。     

MiR-204 regulates cardiomyocyte autophagy induced by ischemia-reperfusion through LC3-II

Background  

Autophagy plays a significant role in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. So it is important to inhibit autophagy to protect cardiomyocytes besides anti-apoptosis. MiRNA has been demonstrated to protect cardiomyocytes against apoptosis during IR, while whether it has anti-autophagy effect has not been known. The aim of this study was to investigate whether miR-204 regulated autophagy by regulating LC3-II protein, which is the marker of autophagosome during myocardial IR injury.     

二元融合子与荧光假单胞菌耐药性遗传标记的筛选

应用定性和定量药物敏感性试验与诱变相结合,筛选出荧光假单胞菌56-12-10菌株的遗传标记为链霉素抗性,二元融合子AM-1菌株的遗传标记为环丙沙星抗性,确定了在这两种细菌原生质体融合试验中,选择培养基中链霉素的应用浓度为300Iu/ml,环丙沙星应用浓度为100Iu/ml。     

尖吻蝮仔蛇的人工模拟生态养殖试验

目的通过建立一个适应于尖吻蝮仔蛇生长发育的稳定的多功能生态系统的人工模拟生态养殖蛇场,以最大限度地降低仔蛇的饲料成本,从而达到降低人工养殖尖吻蝮蛇的成本。方法选取一个室外围墙式养蛇场作为试验基地。设计为适应于蛇、蛙、昆虫、蚯蚓、小杂鱼等动物生长繁衍的人工模拟生态环境,建立一个稳定的多功能蛇场生态系统,以尖吻蝮蛇100条,在试验以前随机抽取10条测量其体重和体长,并以活体动物饲料喂养法和科学饲养管理法进行试验养殖,并在进入第一、第二次冬眠前均随机抽取10条蛇仔测其体重和体长。结果本次试验与本蛇场室内人工饲养尖吻蝮仔蛇相比,不仅在体重、体长和肥满度方面均相差不大,而且仔蛇的存活率还有所提高。结论表明该人工模拟生态养殖蛇场能够满足尖吻蝮仔蛇生长发育的需要,达到了预期的目的。     

Blockade of L-type voltage-gated Ca channel inhibits ischemia-induced neurogenesis by down-regulating iNOS expression in adult mouse

Neurogenesis in the adult mammalian hippocampus may contribute to repairing the brain after injury. The signals that regulate neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus following ischemic stroke insult are not well known. We have previously reported that inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression is necessary for ischemia-stimulated neurogenesis in the adult dentate gyrus. Here, we show that mice subjected to 90 min of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) significantly increased the number of new neurons and up-regulated iNOS expression in the dentate gyrus. Blockade of the L-type voltage-gated Ca(2+) channel (L-VGCC) prevented neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and subventricular zone (SVZ), and down-regulated iNOS expression in the dentate gyrus after cerebral ischemia. This study suggests that Ca(2+) influx through L-VGCC is involved in ischemia-induced neurogenesis by up-regulating iNOS expression.     

Kinetic FP-TDI assay for SNP allele frequency determination

Strategies for identifying genetic risk factors in complex diseases by association studies require the comparison of allele frequencies of numerous SNPs between affected and control populations. Theoretically, hundreds of thousands of SNP markers across the genome will have to be genotyped in these studies. Genotyping SNPs one sample at a time is extremely costly and time consuming. To streamline whole genome association studies, some have proposed to screen SNPs by pooling the DNA samples initially for allele frequency determination and perform individual genotyping only when there is a significant discrepancy in allele frequencies between the affected and control populations. Here we describe a new method for determining the allele frequency of SNPs in pooled DNA samples using a two-color primer extension assay with real-time monitoring of fluorescence polarization (named kinetic FP-TDI assay). By comparing the ratio of the rate of incorporation of the two allele-specific dye-terminators, one can calculate the relative amounts of each allele in the pooled sample. The accuracy of allele frequency determination with pooled samples is within 3.3 +/- 0.8% of that determined by genotyping individual samples that make up the pool.     

过硫酸铵-N,N,N′,N′-四甲基乙二胺体系产生的氧自由基及其清除的研究

应用ESR和自旋捕集相结合的技术直接测定了过硫酸铵—N,N,N′,N′-四甲基乙二胺(AP-TEMED)体系产生的氧自由基,经计算机波谱模拟和计算波谱参数证实该体系产生的氧自由基是O_2~-和·OH。并用维生素C、茶多酚、超氧化物歧化酶等氧自由基清除剂,从聚丙烯酰胺凝胶法、化学发光法和脂质过氧化法不同角度研究了AP-TEMED体系在自由基研究方面的应用意义。