Obesity-related genetic variants, human pigmentation, and risk of melanoma

Previous biological studies showed evidence of a genetic link between obesity and pigmentation in both animal models and humans. Our study investigated the individual and joint associations between obesity-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and both human pigmentation and risk of melanoma. Eight obesity-related SNPs in the FTO, MAP2K5, NEGR1, FLJ35779, ETV5, CADM2, and NUDT3 genes were nominally significantly associated with hair color among 5,876 individuals of European ancestry. The genetic score combining 35 independent obesity-risk loci was significantly associated with darker hair color (beta-coefficient per ten alleles = 0.12, P value = 4 × 10^?5). However, single SNPs or genetic scores showed non-significant association with tanning ability. We further examined the SNPs at the FTO locus for their associations with pigmentation and risk of melanoma. Among the 783 SNPs in the FTO gene with imputation R ² quality metric >0.8 using the 1,000 genome data set, ten and three independent SNPs were significantly associated with hair color and tanning ability respectively. Moreover, five independent FTO SNPs showed nominally significant association with risk of melanoma in 1,804 cases and 1,026 controls. But none of them was associated with obesity or in linkage disequilibrium with obesity-related variants. FTO locus may confer variation in human pigmentation and risk of melanoma, which may be independent of its effect on obesity.     

双重荧光染色监测听毛细胞游离钙

豚鼠耳蜗分离外毛细胞经fluo-3和fura-red染色后,用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜监测其胞内游离钙的空间分布和动态变化,以fluo-3/fura-red荧光比值大小指示游离钙浓度的高低。外毛细胞胞内游离钙呈不均匀分布,荧光比值分别为细胞质1.71±0.85,质膜1.61±0.75,表皮板1.47±0.65及胞核1.39±0.66,显示细胞质游离钙浓度最高而胞核游离钙浓度最低。静息状态下连续扫描时荧光比值变化小于0.1,而在受到机械刺激后荧光比值增加幅度达0.3—1.2。实验结果表明,fluo-3和fura-red双发射比例法能更准确反映听毛细胞胞内钙的空间分布和动态变化,第二信使钙可能参与了听毛细胞的机械-电换能过程,研究了换能过程中听毛细胞钙信号的时空模式。     

石墨烯对植物的生理毒性效应研究进展

石墨烯是当前研究最热的碳纳米材料,具有独特的理化特性,在各领域广泛应用。随着石墨烯生产和使用量的不断增大,其不可避免地进入到环境中,给生态环境和人类健康带来风险。阐明石墨烯的潜在毒性效应及其作用机制对于客观评价石墨烯的生态环境健康风险具有重要意义。迄今为止,已有诸多研究报道了石墨烯的植物生理毒理效应。研究表明,石墨烯对植物的生理学响应及其生理变化过程存在影响,涉及萌芽、幼苗生长、氧化应激、光合特性、植物激素和代谢过程等,且多呈浓度效应。今后亟需构建一套被广泛认可的植物石墨烯毒性评价体系,为石墨烯的安全生产和使用提供指导。     

An undiscovered facet of hydraulic redistribution driven by evaporation—a study from a Populus tomentosa plantation

Maintaining the activity and function of the shallow root system of plants is essential for withstanding drought stress, but the associated mechanism is poorly understood. By investigating sap flow in 14 lateral roots (LRs) randomly selected from trees of a Chinese white poplar (Populus tomentosa) plantation receiving three levels of irrigation, an unknown root water transport mode of simultaneous daytime bi-directional water flow was discovered. This mode existed in five LRs confined to the surface soil without attached sinker roots. In the longer term, the bi-directional water flow was correlated with the soil water content. However, within the day, it was associated with transpiration. Our data demonstrated that bi-directional root sap flow occurred during the day, and was driven by evaporative demand, further suggesting the existence of circumferential water movement in the LR xylem. We named this phenomenon evaporation-driven hydraulic redistribution (EDHR). A soil-root water transport model was proposed to encapsulate this water movement mode. EDHR may be a crucial drought-tolerance mechanism that allows plants to maintain shallow root survival and activity by promoting root water recharge under extremely dry conditions.     

外泌体源性miRNAs在肺癌发生发展中的作用

外泌体(exosomes)是细胞分泌的纳米级细胞外囊泡.外泌体通过释放其内的生物活性大分子,比如微小RNA(microRNA,miRNA)到受体细胞,从而介导细胞间交流通讯. MiRNAs作为一类主要在转录后水平负向调控靶mRNAs的非编码RNAs,其在外泌体中含量最为丰富.在肺癌中,miRNAs经肿瘤细胞分泌的外泌体转运释放而发挥重要的作用.本文主要讨论了外泌体源性miRNAs在肺癌发生发展的各个阶段,包括血管生成、细胞增殖、侵袭转移、免疫逃逸、耐药等方面的作用,以及其在作为新型肺癌诊断和预后标志物方面的临床价值.     

Arabidopsis vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-ATPase) B subunits are involved in actin cytoskeleton remodeling via binding to, bundling, and stabilizing F-actin

Vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) is a membrane-bound multisubunit enzyme complex composed of at least 14 different subunits. The complex regulates the physiological processes of a cell by controlling the acidic environment, which is necessary for certain activities and the interaction with the actin cytoskeleton through its B and C subunits in both humans and yeast. Arabidopsis V-ATPase has three B subunits (AtVAB1, AtVAB2, and AtVAB3), which share 97.27% sequence identity and have two potential actin-binding sites, indicating that these AtVABs may have crucial functions in actin cytoskeleton remodeling and plant cell development. However, their biochemical functions are poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that AtVABs bind to and co-localize with F-actin, bundle F-actin to form higher order structures, and stabilize actin filaments in vitro. In addition, the AtVABs also show different degrees of activities in capping the barbed ends but no nucleating activities, and these activities were not regulated by calcium. The functional similarity and differences of the AtVABs implied that they may play cooperative and distinct roles in Arabidopsis cells.     

人参皂甙Rd预处理可减轻谷氨酸所致的PC12细胞损伤

目的:研究人参皂甙Rd(Ginsenoside Rd)预处理对谷氨酸所致PC12细胞损伤的影响。方法:将体外培养的PC12细胞分为3组,分别为对照组(Control)、谷氨酸损伤组(Glu)和人参皂甙Rd预处理组(Rd)。Control组细胞正常培养;Glu组细胞暴露于含10mM谷氨酸的DMEM培养基中损伤24 h;Rd组细胞经50μM的人参皂甙Rd预处理30 min后,在谷氨酸浓度为10 mM的DMEM培养基中损伤24 h。采用MTT检测细胞活力和乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)检测试剂盒检测LDH释放量;流式细胞仪检测胞内活性氧(ROS)水平;Western blot检测还原型谷胱甘肽蛋白(GSH)表达;专用试剂盒检测细胞内过氧化氢酶(CAT)和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)含量,相差显微镜观测细胞形态。结果:50μM的人参皂甙Rd预处理30 min,可明显提高谷氨酸诱导的PC12细胞的活力,降低其LDH释放量、胞内ROS含量,并提高胞内GSH蛋白表达,增加CAT、SOD含量并改善细胞形态。结论:人参皂甙Rd预处理可减轻谷氨酸引起的PC12细胞损伤。     

选择性环氧合酶-2抑制剂联合奥曲肽诱导人胃癌细胞的凋亡

目的探讨选择性环氧合酶-2抑制剂NS-398与奥曲肽联合应用对人胃癌细胞株BGC-823生长、凋亡的影响。方法体外培养BGC-823细胞,分别用NS-398(100μmol/L)与奥曲肽(1μmol/L)单独及联合处理不同时间后,倒置显微镜观察细胞形态学变化;观察生长曲线的变化;流式细胞仪检测细胞凋亡率;实时定量(Real-time)PCR检测COX-2mRNA的表达;Western blot法检测Caspase-3蛋白表达。结果倒置显微镜下,对照组BGC-823细胞生长良好,药物处理后,细胞变小、变圆,悬浮,联合组细胞形态学改变显著强于单纯用药组;药物作用后,细胞生长受抑制,出现负增长,联合组作用明显强于单纯用药组;流式细胞仪检测表明联合用药组诱导BGC-823细胞的凋亡率明显高于单一用药组和对照组(P0.01);各处理组均使BGC-823细胞COX-2mRNA表达下调(P0.05);药物处理后细胞Caspase-3蛋白表达明显增加。结论 NS-398、奥曲肽联合可协同抑制BGC-823细胞生长、增殖,其机制可能与下调COX-2mRNA表达、诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡相关。