Sex pheromone components of the carpenterworm moth,Holcocerus vicarius

Extracts of the female sex pheromone gland of the carpenterworm moth, Holcocerus vicarius (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Cossidae), a pest of Ulmus pumila L. (Ulmaceae), were found to contain Z7‐tetradecenyl acetate (Z7‐14Ac), E3‐tetradecenyl acetate (E3‐14Ac), (Z3,E5)‐tetradecenyl acetate (Z3,E5‐14Ac), and Z7‐tetradecenyl alcohol (Z7‐14OH) by coupled gas chromatographic‐electroantennographic detection (GC‐EAD) and coupled gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). Field trapping studies with impregnated rubber septa indicated that Z7‐14Ac was essential for attraction of males of H. vicarius. However, the most attractive blend contained Z7‐14Ac, E3‐14Ac, Z3,E5‐14Ac, and Z7‐14OH in a 50:22:17:10 ratio. Our results demonstrated that a blend of Z7‐14Ac, E3‐14Ac, Z3,E5‐14Ac, and Z7‐14OH represented the sex pheromone of H. vicarius. The optimized four‐component lure blend may be useful for monitoring H. vicarius infestations and mating disruption.     

源于129S1品系的小鼠胚胎干细胞系的建立及其生物学特性分析

从129S1小鼠早期胚胎的内细胞团分离、培养类胚胎样细胞,经反复传代,成功地建立了129S1小鼠胚胎干细胞系,命名为NM-2细胞系。形态学鉴定具有胚胎干细胞的典型形态特征,正常核型率为80％;呈碱性磷酸酶阳性、表达胚胎干细胞特异性转录因子OCT-4;体内分化后可形成源于三胚层的组织结构;经囊胚腔显微注射后所获得的子代个体中79％具有毛色嵌合表型;雄性嵌合个体中31％发生生殖腺嵌合;同时,通过育种观察到所有生殖腺嵌合体的子代小鼠表型正常。以上结果证实NM-2细胞系为一株具高生殖腺嵌合能力的小鼠胚胎干细胞系。     

Diosgenin exerts its tumor suppressive function via inhibition of Cdc20 in osteosarcoma cells

Osteosarcoma (OS) is one of the aggressive malignancies for young adults. Cdc20 (cell division cycle 20 homologue) has been reported to exhibit an oncogenic role in OS, suggesting that inhibition of Cdc20 could be a novel strategy for the treatment of OS. Since Cdc20 inhibitors have side effects, it is important to discover the new CDC20 inhibitors with non-toxic nature. In the present study, we determine whether natural agent diosgenin is an inhibitor of Cdc20 in OS cells. We performed MTT, FACS, Wound healing assay, Transwell, Western blotting, transfection assays in our study. We found diosgenin inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis. Moreover, diosgenin exposure led to inhibition of cell migration and invasion. Notably, diosgenin inhibited the expression of Cdc20 in OS cells. Overexpression of Cdc20 abrogated the inhibition of cell growth and invasion induced by diosgenin. Our data reveal that inhibition of Cdc20 by diosgenin could be helpful for the treatment of patients with OS.     

Microchip-based human serum atherogenic lipoprotein profile analysis

Owing to the mounting evidence of serum lipid changes in atherosclerosis, there has been increasing interest in developing new methods for analyzing atherogenic lipoprotein profiles. The separation of lipoprotein and lipoprotein subclasses has been demonstrated using a microchip capillary electrophoresis (CE) system [Chromatographia 74 (2011) 799–805]. In contrast to this previous study, the current report demonstrates that sdLDL peak efficiencies can be improved dramatically by adding gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to the sample. Moreover, NBD C₆-ceramide was identified as a satisfactory dye for specific labeling and quantitation of individual serum lipoproteins. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by comparison with ultracentrifuge separated small, dense, low-density lipoprotein (sdLDL). A high correlation was observed between these two methods for sdLDL cholesterol. Lipid levels were investigated between atherosclerotic patients and healthy controls. The variation of serum atherogenic lipoprotein profiles for atherosclerotic patients pre- and post-treatment was assessed by microchip CE. This method has potential for the rapid and sensitive detection of different lipoprotein classes as well as their subclasses and, therefore, is suitable for routine clinical applications. Microchip-based atherogenic lipoprotein profile assays will greatly improve the analysis of risk factors in atherosclerosis and will provide useful information for monitoring the effect of therapies on atherosclerotic disease.     

Pre-Existing Hypertension Dominates γδT Cell Reduction in Human Ischemic Stroke

T lymphocytes may play an important role in the evolution of ischemic stroke. Depletion of γδT cells has been found to abrogate ischemia reperfusion injury in murine stroke. However, the role of γδT cells in human ischemic stroke is unknown. We aimed to determine γδT cell counts and γδT cell interleukin 17A (IL-17A) production in the clinical setting of ischemic stroke. We also aimed to determine the associations of γδT cell counts with ischemic lesion volume, measures of clinical severity and with major stroke risk factors. Peripheral blood samples from 43 acute ischemic stroke patients and 26 control subjects matched on race and gender were used for flow cytometry and complete blood count analyses. Subsequently, cytokine levels and gene expression were measured in γδT cells. The number of circulating γδT cells was decreased by almost 50% (p = 0.005) in the stroke patients. γδT cell counts did not correlate with lesion volume on magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging or with clinical severity in the stroke patients, but γδT cells showed elevated levels of IL-17A (p = 0.048). Decreased γδT cell counts were also associated with older age (p = 0.004), pre-existing hypertension (p = 0.0005) and prevalent coronary artery disease (p = 0.03), with pre-existing hypertension being the most significant predictor of γδT cell counts in a multivariable analysis. γδT cells in human ischemic stroke are reduced in number and show elevated levels of IL-17A. A major reduction in γδT lymphocytes also occurs in hypertension and may contribute to the development of hypertension-mediated stroke and vascular disease.     

Immuno‐modification of enhancing stem cells targeting for myocardial repair

Despite the controversy in mechanism, rodent and clinical studies have demonstrated beneficial effects of stem/progenitor cell therapy after myocardial infarction (MI). In a rat ischaemic reperfusion MI model, we investigated the effects of immunomodification of CD 34⁺ cells on heart function and myocardial conduction. Bispecific antibody (BiAb), consisting of an anti‐myosin light chain antibody and anti‐CD45 antibody, injected intravenously was used to direct human CD34⁺ cells to injured myocardium. Results were compared to echocardiography guided intramyocardial (IM) injection of CD34⁺ cells and PBS injected intravenously. Treatment was administered 2 days post MI. Echocardiography was performed at 5 weeks and 3 months which demonstrated LV dilatation prevention and fractional shortening improvement in both the BiAb and IM injection approaches, with BiAb achieving better results. Histological analyses demonstrated a decrease in infarct size and increase in arteriogenesis in both BiAb and IM injection. Electrophysiological properties were studied 5 weeks after treatments by optical mapping. Conduction velocity (CV), action potential duration (APD) and rise time were significantly altered in the MI area. The BiAb treated group demonstrated a more normalized activation pattern of conduction and normalization of CV at shorter pacing cycle lengths. The ventricular tachycardia inducibility was lowest in the BiAb treatment group. Intravenous administration of BiAb offers an effective means of stem cell delivery for myocardial repair post‐acute MI. Such non‐invasive approach was shown to offer a distinct advantage to more invasive direct IM delivery.     

Interaction of glutathione and sodium selenite in vitro investigated by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Selenite has been found to be an active catalyst for the oxidation of sulphhydryl compounds, such as glutathione (GSH). Considering the biological importance of GSH oxidation and the implication of sulphhydryl compounds in selenium poisoning and other biological activities, more information on selenite oxidation of GSH in enzyme-free conditions is desirable. Herein, we describe glutathione and sodium selenite simply mixed in aqueous solutions. The interaction products and transient intermediate are identified and characterized using electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry. In the first step, GSH directly reacts to form diglutathione (GSSG) and unstable selenodiglutathione (GS-Se-SG). Then selenodiglutathione further reacted with remaining GSH to form diglutathione and elemental selenium, Se(0). As the amount of GSSG significantly increased or acidity of the solution increased, the redox potential of glutathione [E(0')(GSSG/2GSH) approximately -250 mV (NHE)] significantly shifted to the positive direction. This makes the GSSG react with elemental selenium formed in the solution, which can be demonstrated by another unstable intermediate ion identified at m/z 418 by mass spectrometry with the elemental composition of [GSS-Se](-). The reaction mechanism between GSH and sodium selenite has been proposed according to the ESI-MS, NMR and UV-vis spectrometric measurements.     

双管基因枪介导的基因瞬时表达技术在拟南芥中的应用

基因瞬时表达是植物中研究目标基因功能的常用手段。在模式植物拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)中, 相比原生质体和农杆菌介导的基因异源表达技术, 利用粒子轰击进行基因瞬时表达一直鲜有报道。其主要原因是拟南芥叶型相对较小、基因枪操作相对烦琐以及基因表达效率差异较大。该研究通过优化双管基因枪系统, 在营养生长旺盛的拟南芥莲座叶中实现GFP和GUS基因高效表达。同时, 通过GUS报告基因明确了坏死诱导因子BAX、Avh238和ATR13/Rpp13激发拟南芥细胞坏死的表型。但在本氏烟(Nicotiana benthamiana)中明显诱导细胞坏死的Avrblb1/RB基因对, 在拟南芥中却丧失了诱导细胞坏死的活性。由于双管基因枪系统每次轰击时设置平行对照, 可有效降低转化实验中的样本变异度, 为拟南芥及其突变体研究中准确评价基因功能和高通量筛选目标基因提供新的技术参考。     

云南厚壳桂属一新种

瘤果厚壳桂新种CryptocaryarolletiiWangetH.Zhu,sp.nov.SpeciesproximaC.maculataeH.W.Li,sedfructumajore,2.5cmdiam,nervislateralibusutrinsecus4~6differtaC.haihanensiMerr.fructugloboso,paniculaexpansa,multifloradiffert.Arbor,usquead20malalRamuliinjuventnte...     

肠道菌群可能为高血压发病的环境因素

本文通过分析人体肠道菌群与高血压危险因素(胆固醇、动脉粥样硬化、肥胖、代谢综合征、糖尿病)之间的关系,并结合高血压患者肠道菌群变化及乳酸菌降压研究,认为肠道菌群可能为高血压发病的环境因素。