Recent progress in the study of brown adipose tissue

Adult organ-specific stem cells are essential for organ homeostasis and repair in adult vertebrates. The intestine is one of the best-studied organs in this regard. The intestinal epithelium undergoes constant self-renewal throughout adult life across vertebrates through the proliferation and subsequent differentiation of the adult stem cells. This self-renewal system is established late during development, around birth, in mammals when endogenous thyroid hormone (T3) levels are high. Amphibian metamorphosis resembles mammalian postembryonic development around birth and is totally dependent upon the presence of high levels of T3. During this process, the tadpole intestine, predominantly a monolayer of larval epithelial cells, undergoes drastic transformation. The larval epithelial cells undergo apoptosis and concurrently, adult epithelial stem/progenitor cells develop de novo, rapidly proliferate, and then differentiate to establish a trough-crest axis of the epithelial fold, resembling the crypt-villus axis in the adult mammalian intestine. We and others have studied the T3-dependent remodeling of the intestine in Xenopus laevis. Here we will highlight some of the recent findings on the origin of the adult intestinal stem cells. We will discuss observations suggesting that liganded T3 receptor (TR) regulates cell autonomous formation of adult intestinal progenitor cells and that T3 action in the connective tissue is important for the establishment of the stem cell niche. We will further review evidence suggesting similar T3-dependent formation of adult intestinal stem cells in other vertebrates.     

The inhibition of catalase by glutathione

Reduced glutathione (GSH) inhibited catalase activity in a dose-dependent manner. DL-dithiothreitol (DL-DTT) and dithioerythritol (DTE) also inhibited catalase activity. The inhibition of catalase by GSH and DL-DTT could be reduced by NADPH. Polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated the inhibition was partially reversible. The inhibition of catalase by GSH appeared to be partly due to superoxide radicals, since it was inhibited by active manganese superoxide dismutase, but not by heat-inactivated enzyme. Other chemical species also appear to take part in the inhibition, but they could not be identified.     

海岛棉GbTCP5基因的克隆与表达分析

该研究根据前期海岛棉的转录组数据,通过PCR技术从海岛棉‘新海21’中克隆1个TCP基因,命名为GbTCP5,其开放阅读框945bp,编码314个氨基酸,预测分子量约34.95kD,等电点8.41;多序列比对结果表明,GbTCP5蛋白含有特征性的TCP保守结构域;进化树分析表明,GbTCP5基因与GhTCP17基因在同一分支。qPCR实验结果表明,GbTCP5基因在35d纤维中表达量较高,暗示其可能参与棉花纤维的次生壁合成。酵母单杂交实验表明,GbTCP5在SD-Trp-His-Ade缺陷培养基上生长并且X-gal检验显蓝色,说明该基因在酵母体内具有转录激活功能。     

獾油促进深Ⅱ度烫伤小鼠创面愈合作用的研究

目的:检测獾油对小鼠深Ⅱ度烫伤创面愈合的促进作用.方法:制备小鼠深Ⅱ度烫伤模型,分为烫伤对照组(A组)、植物油治疗组(B组)和獾油治疗组(C组).创面依次用生理盐水纱布、植物油纱布、獾油纱布覆盖.无菌纱布包扎固定,每日换药一次.于伤后7天、10天、15天按照Nagelschmidt法观察并记录创面愈合面积,计算创面愈合率;取创面组织,制成石蜡切片,观察病理及组织形态学变化.结果:獾油能加速烫伤创面的再上皮化,促进创面的愈合;提高烫伤组织细胞的增殖活性;促进烫伤创面表皮干细胞的增殖分化.结论:獾油对深Ⅱ度烫伤创面愈合有促进作用     

Epistatic interaction between two nonstructural loci on chromosomes 7 and 3 influences hepatic lipase activity in BSB mice

BSB mice exhibit a wide range of obesity despite being produced by a backcross of lean C57BL/6J (B) x lean Mus spretus (SPRET/Pt) F1 animals x B. Previous linkage studies identified a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on mouse chromosome 7 with coincident peaks for hepatic lipase activity, obesity, and plasma cholesterol. However, these mice were not analyzed for gene x gene epistasis. Hepatic lipase activity is correlated with obesity and plasma cholesterol levels. In this study, we identified QTLs for plasma hepatic lipase activity with three statistical mapping methods: maximum likelihood interval mapping, Bayesian nonepistatic mapping, and Bayesian epistatic mapping. Bayesian epistatic mapping detected not only the QTL on chromosome 7 but also an additional QTL on chromosome 3, which has a weak main effect but a strong interaction with chromosome 7. SPRET/Pt alleles of the QTL on each chromosome promote hepatic lipase activity. The proportion of phenotypic variance explained by the epistatic effect is higher than that explained by the main effect of the QTL on chromosome 7.     

Complete chloroplast genome sequence of a tree fern Alsophila spinulosa : insights into evolutionary changes in fern chloroplast genomes

Background  

Ferns have generally been neglected in studies of chloroplast genomics. Before this study, only one polypod and two basal ferns had their complete chloroplast (cp) genome reported. Tree ferns represent an ancient fern lineage that first occurred in the Late Triassic. In recent phylogenetic analyses, tree ferns were shown to be the sister group of polypods, the most diverse group of living ferns. Availability of cp genome sequence from a tree fern will facilitate interpretation of the evolutionary changes of fern cp genomes. Here we have sequenced the complete cp genome of a scaly tree fern Alsophila spinulosa (Cyatheaceae).     

Preparation of biodiesel from waste oils catalyzed by a Brønsted acidic ionic liquid

Preparation of biodiesel from waste oils catalyzed by a novel Brønsted acidic ionic liquid with an alkane sulfonic acid group was investigated. The acidity and the activity of the ionic liquid were very low at lower temperature when the ionic liquid was crystalloid; they recovered at higher temperature when the crystallized ionic liquid was liquefied. When methanol:oils:catalyst molar ratios were 12:1:0.06, the yield of fatty acid methyl esters can reach 93.5% after the reaction of acidic oil with methanol had taken place at 170 °C for 4 h. In addition, the ionic liquid had a good reusability and can be easily separated from the biodiesel by simple decantation.     

二氢乳清酸脱氢酶的结构特征和催化循环研究进展

二氢乳清酸脱氢酶是黄素依赖的线粒体酶,它催化嘧啶从头合成的第4步反应,将二氢乳清酸氧化为乳清酸。通过选择性抑制二氢乳清酸脱氢酶,从而抑制嘧啶的合成,已被开发用于治疗癌症、自身免疫性疾病、细菌或病毒感染以及寄生虫疾病等。抑制剂的开发需详细了解二氢乳清酸脱氢酶的结构特征和催化循环机制。因此,文中主要从这两个方面进行了综述,并展望了该酶的抑制剂在临床应用中的前景。