Immune-related microRNAs are abundant in breast milk exosomes

Breast milk is a complex liquid rich in immunological components that affect the development of the infant's immune system. Exosomes are membranous vesicles of endocytic origin that are found in various body fluids and that can mediate intercellular communication. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a well-defined group of non-coding small RNAs, are packaged inside exosomes in human breast milk. Here, we identified 602 unique miRNAs originating from 452 miRNA precursors (pre-miRNAs) in human breast milk exosomes using deep sequencing technology. We found that, out of 87 well-characterized immune-related pre-miRNAs, 59 (67.82%) are presented and enriched in breast milk exosomes (P < 10(-16), χ(2) test). In addition, compared with exogenous synthetic miRNAs, these endogenous immune-related miRNAs are more resistant to relatively harsh conditions. It is, therefore, tempting to speculate that these exosomal miRNAs are transferred from the mother's milk to the infant via the digestive tract, and that they play a critical role in the development of the infant immune system.     

新疆苦豆子根瘤菌的数值分类研究

苦豆子(Sophora alopecuroides)对于干旱荒漠地区的畜牧业发展有着非常重要的意义,其生长特性与根瘤菌有密切关系。我们对分离自新疆苦豆子根瘤的67株根瘤菌及36个模式菌株进行了118项表型性状的测定,包括唯一碳源利用、唯一氮源利用、对抗生素和染料的抗性、耐盐性、初始pH值生长范围、生长温度范围及石蕊牛奶反应、氧化酶、过氧化氢酶和脲酶。对测定结果用聚类分析方法进行了分析,获得数值分类树状图。结果表明：新疆苦豆子根瘤菌在碳氮源利用、抗生素敏感性以及对染料的抗性程度等方面存在着差异。新疆苦豆子根瘤菌能耐受低温,并具有较强的耐盐、碱能力,所有供试菌株均能在初始pH值为9－12的YMA培养基上生长,92.5％的菌株能耐受3.0％的NaCl,91.0％的菌株能耐受4.0％的NaCl,有18株菌甚至能耐受5.0％和6.0％的NaCl。聚类结果表明, 在84.8%的相似性水平上,67个供试菌株构成了4个新的表观群,第Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ类群分别有21、7、4、3个菌株,中心菌株分别为NWBC152、NWTKX101、NWYJS12、NWLP112。此外,数值分类结果还表明,苦豆子根瘤菌与模式菌株的相似性较低,它们所形成的4个独立群可能有新种出现。     

利用SPSS与AFLP方法对双丰甜菜品种（系）间亲缘关系与系谱分析比较

作物育种必须调查植物学性状和生物学特征指标数据,来建立种质资源库,利用SPSS多元分析方法克服了传统植物学性状和生物学特征指标难以综合评价的缺陷,探讨利用SPSS统计分析软件对双丰系列甜菜品种（系）间亲缘关系与系谱进行准确性分析,除双丰2号品种块根产量、产糖量和株高三个主成分具有极值影响外,结果基本与亲本分析一致,可以作为亲缘关系与系谱分析的一种辅助工具;通过AFLP获得不同基因型品种的特征带和特征缺失带,表明AFLP技术在甜菜品种鉴定上的应用潜力。但AFLP也具有缺点,主要是标记是共显性的,不能完全区分某一位点是杂合体和纯合体,因而不能更好地估算种群遗传的变异,对种群遗传结构的分析不能提供更多的统计信息,相信随着AFLP分子标记技术的不断完善与发展,将与SPSS统计分析软件一起越来越广泛地利用在种群遗传和系谱分析中。     

HIV gag基因修饰在不同载体系统中对免疫效果的影响

目的:了解gag基因修饰前后在不同载体系统中的表达水平差异对免疫效果的影响,为确定HIV疫苗中能诱发较高水平细胞免疫的Gag靶抗原奠定实验基础。方法:将含有优化前后gag基因的HIV-1 DNA(pVRC)疫苗和重组痘苗病毒(rVV)载体疫苗单独或联合免疫BALB/c小鼠,利用IFN-γ酶联免疫斑点法和胞内细胞因子染色检测各组的细胞免疫效果,ELISA检测体液免疫水平,分别比较基因优化前后及在不同载体内的Gag诱发的免疫效果。结果:DNA疫苗中gag基因修饰后细胞免疫反应由472提高至925 SFC/106MNC,抗体滴度随免疫次数增加而提高,基因修饰后第二针的抗体水平由104.2提高至105.3,三针后则没有差别;而以rVV为载体的疫苗基因修饰前后细胞免疫反应(~320 SFC/106MNC)和抗体水平(~104.4)均没有差异。2种疫苗联合免疫均可显著提高Gag修饰前后在小鼠体内的免疫效果,基因修饰后细胞免疫反应由1700提高至2100 SFC/106MNC,抗体水平则没有差别。结论:gag基因修饰明显提高常规DNA疫苗免疫效果,并可进一步提高联合免疫效果,但对rVV疫苗单独免疫效果无明显影响。     

Association between polymorphisms in the promoter region of interleukin-10 and susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease

The aim of this study was to assess the association of polymorphisms in the promoter region of the IL-10 gene with the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Fifteen studies (3,693 cases and 4,574 controls) were included in a meta-analysis of association between IL-10 ?1082G/A, ?819C/T and ?592C/A polymorphisms, and IBD, CD and UC using allele contrast and the recessive, dominant, and additive models. Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was confirmed for each study. Heterogeneity and study quality were investigated using stratification analyses and sensitivity analyses. Polymorphism ?1082G/A showed significant association with CD, with odds ratios (ORs) for the GG + GA genotype and GG versus AA genotype of 1.278 (1.004–1.627) and 1.238 (1.027–1.492) in all subjects. Significant associations were found in the Caucasian subgroup using the allele contrast, dominant, and additive models. C-allele carriers of the ?819C/T polymorphism were at increased risk of IBD (OR 1.093, 95 % CI 1.004–1.190). Association with the ?819C/T polymorphism was also found in Caucasians with CD (C vs. T: OR 1.104, 95 % CI 1.010–1.206; CC + CT vs. TT: OR 1.328, 95 % CI 1.006–1.754; CC vs. TT: OR 1.339, 95 % CI 1.008–1.778), and with UC (CC vs. CT + TT: OR 1.188, 95 % CI 1.019–1.385). No significant association was found between the ?592C/A polymorphism and IBD, CD or UC. In conclusion, the meta-analysis demonstrated clear association between the IL-10 polymorphisms ?1082G/A and ?819C/T and the risk of IBD.     

Is the removal of aboveground shrub biomass an effective technique to restore a shrub‐encroached grassland?

Encroachment of woody plants into grasslands is a global phenomenon that has substantial impacts on pastoral productivity and ecosystem services. Over the past half century, pastoralists and land management agencies have explored various options to control woody plants in order to improve ecosystem services in shrub‐encroached grasslands. We examined the effectiveness of controlling the encroachment of the shrub Caragana microphylla into grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. We cut and removed all of the aboveground biomass from 450 shrubs, predicting that the effectiveness of this technique to control shrubs would depend on shrub morphology. Specifically, we expected that larger shrubs with more biomass would be more difficult to kill by cutting than smaller shrubs. A year after treatment, we found that cutting killed only 11% of the 450 treated shrubs, and of these, three‐quarters of the locations that they occupied reverted to grasses and one‐quarter to bare soil. Shrubs that survived the cutting treatment produced more stems and leaf biomass, and therefore had a greater leaf to stem ratio. Shrubs that died after cutting had a lower crown area and basal area, and less stem biomass than shrubs that resprouted within 12 months of cutting. There were no effects of shrub height on the fate of treated shrubs. Cutting had no effect on understory plant cover or richness, but reproductive plants were taller under shrubs that were not cut. Overall, our study showed that removing aboveground shrub biomass by cutting is an ineffective technique for “restoring” the original grassland community unless shrubs are very small. Strategic targeting of small shrubs would be a more effective technique for controlling the spread of C. microphylla in the long term.     

Elevated GAPDH expression is associated with the proliferation and invasion of lung and esophageal squamous cell carcinomas

Glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase, is one of the most investigated housekeeping genes and widely used as an internal control in analysis of gene expression levels. The present study was designed to assess whether GAPDH is associated with cancer cell growth and progression and, therefore may not be a good internal control in cancer research. Our results from clinical tissue studies showed that the levels of GAPDH protein were significantly up‐regulated in lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues, compared with the adjacent normal lung tissues, and this was confirmed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. GAPDH knockdown by siRNA resulted in significant reductions in proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung squamous carcinoma cells in vitro. In a nude mouse cancer xenograft model, GAPDH knockdown significantly inhibited the cell proliferation and migration/invasion in vivo. In summary, GAPDH may not be an appropriate internal control for gene expression studies, especially in cancer research. The role of GAPDH in cancer development and progression should be further examined in pre‐clinical and clinical studies.     

Structural analysis of the N- and C-termini in a peptide with consensus sequence.

We present a structural analysis of a peptide, the sequence of which includes amino acids that show preferences for specific positions near the N- and C-termini in protein helices. This peptide has the sequence ac-YMSEDELKAAEAAFKRHGVP-amide, which includes a strong version of an N-terminal Harper-Rose capping box structure as well as a Gly located close to the C-terminus designed to elucidate its role in C-terminal capping. The sequence of five residues at the middle is inserted to separate effects at the two ends via a helix-stabilizing linker. Application of a simulated annealing procedure using interproton distance constraints derived from 1H NOESY experiments in water reveals the presence of a C-terminal structure in this model. The C-terminus forms a folded back structure in a significant fraction of structures generated by the annealing, in most of which Gly assumes an alpha L conformation. This structure occurs within a highly flexible region of the molecule and hence is occupied only a fraction of the time.     

胡须信息在大鼠双侧初级体感皮层间的传递路径

大鼠的初级体感皮层(primary somatosensory cortex,SⅠ)虽然只接受来自对侧胡须的上行输入,但仍可以被同侧胡须刺激所激活.解剖学研究发现,在两侧SⅠ皮层之间有两条传递胡须信息胼胝体通路:一条是类颗粒区(perigranular zone,PGZ)通路;另一条是异颗粒区(dysgranular zone,DZ)通路.然而,哪一条通路在传递胡须刺激信息的过程中起主要作用还不清楚.本研究使用电压敏感染料(voltage-sensitive dye,VSD)成像技术来观察胡须刺激时整个SⅠ的神经元群体活动的空间分布和时间特性.实验发现,对侧胡须刺激首先激活barrel(颗粒区,granular zone,GZ),然后以兴奋波的形式传播到胡须感觉区(sub-barrel field cortex,BFC)外侧的DZ.而与首先激活BFC的对侧胡须刺激不同,同侧胡须刺激首先激活SⅠ的DZ.所激发的皮层兴奋以波的形式传播并扩散至BFC.失活另一侧皮层可以抑制这种同侧反应.电刺激另一侧半球皮层与刺激同侧胡须类似,也首先激活成像侧DZ.我们的实验结果显示,胡须刺激激活对侧SⅠ,在经过胼胝体传导后,另一侧半球的DZ(同侧于被刺激的胡须)被激活.连接双侧皮层DZ区的胼胝体连接在SⅠ对同侧胡须刺激的反应中起了主导作用.     

酪酸梭菌与婴儿型双歧杆菌对产气荚膜梭菌试管内生物拮抗作用的研究

用酪酸权菌（Clostridium butyricum）和婴儿型双歧杆菌（Bifidobacterium Infantis）对产气荚膜梭菌（Clostriduim perfringens）进行试管内的生物拮抗试验。将酪酸梭菌、婴儿型双歧杆菌及酪酸梭菌和婴儿型双歧杆菌分别对产气荚膜酸菌以一定的比例等量混合接种于GAM液体培养基中进行厌氧培养。实验证明酪酸梭菌和婴儿型双歧能明显抑制产气荚膜梭菌的生长,并且比各自单独培养时显示了较强的生物拮抗作用。