Chloroplast-like organelles were found in enucleate sieve elements of transgenic plants overexpressing a proteinase inhibitor

SaPIN2a, a plant proteinase inhibitor from nightshade (Solanum americanum), was located to the enucleate sieve elements (SEs) of phloem. The expressed SaPIN2a in transgenic lettuce showed inhibition of plant endogenous trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like activities, suggesting that SaPIN2a can regulate proteolysis in plant cells. To further investigate the physiological role of SaPIN2a, we produced transgenic nightshade and lettuce plants overexpressing SaPIN2a from the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Overexpression of SaPIN2a in transgenic plants was demonstrated by northern blot and western blot analysis. SaPIN2a-overexpressing transgenic nightshade plants showed significantly lower height than wild-type plants. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that chloroplast-like organelles with thylakoids, which are not present in enucleate SEs of wild-type plants, were present in the enucleate SEs of SaPIN2a-overexpressing transgenic plants. This finding is discussed in terms of the possible role played by SaPIN2a in the regulation of proteolysis in SEs.     

营养因子对苏云金芽胞杆菌4.0718 产杀虫蛋白Cry1和Cry2的影响

为了提高杀虫蛋白Cry1和Cry2产量,首先采用Plackett-Burman设计筛选出发酵培养基中影响苏云金芽胞杆菌4.0718表达毒蛋白Cry1的显著性因子为黄豆饼粉和MnSO4·H2O,Cry2的产量在该配方中无显著性影响因子.然后利用最速上升实验逼近Cry1最大产出区域,找到后续试验中心点.最后通过响应面优化得到黄豆饼粉和MnSO4·H2O的最佳浓度为11.5 g/L和0.02 g/L,使Cry1和Cry2产量分别达到0.32 mg/mL和0.11 mg/mL,比原优选配方产量提高了两倍多.该优化配方发酵液对棉铃虫的半致死浓度(LC50)为1.09 μL/mL,杀虫活性比原优化配方显著提高.     

RNA干扰在抗乙肝治疗中的应用及其研究进展

据世界卫生组织(WHO)报道,全世界约有20亿人曾感染过乙型肝炎病毒(HBV),其中3.5亿人为慢性HBV感染者.我国现有1.3亿乙肝病毒携带者和3 000多万乙肝患者,其中约有20%～40%的患者经过多年慢性炎症的反复发作可发展为肝硬化和肝癌.然而,至今人们仍没有找到一种能够彻底治愈慢性乙肝的特效药物.自从RNA干扰(RNA interference,RNAi)技术建立以来,人们致力于将其应用于抗病毒药物的研究与开发.研究结果表明,RNAi可有效地抑制乙肝病毒的复制,但靶向目的基因的不同RNA干扰片段所沉默的效率不同.关于将RNAi抗病毒药物应用于人体治疗的安全性和有效性还有待进一步研究,RNAi发生"脱靶"的现象是临床应用的难点之一.     

The Molecular Detection and Clinical Significance of ALK Rearrangement in Selected Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: ALK Expression Provides Insights into ALK Targeted Therapy

Background

This study aimed to elucidate clinical significance of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement in selected advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), to compare the application of different ALK detection methods, and especially evaluate a possible association between ALK expression and clinical outcomes in crizotinib-treated patients.

Methods

ALK status was assessed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) in 173 selected advanced NSCLC patients. Clinicopathologic data, genotype status and survival outcomes were analyzed. Moreover, the association of ALK expression with clinical outcomes was evaluated in ALK FISH-positive crizotinib-treated patients including two patients with concurrent epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation.

Results

The positivity detection rate of ALK rearrangement by FISH, IHC and qRT-PCR was 35.5% (59/166), 35.7% (61/171), and 27.9% (34/122), respectively. ALK rearrangement was observed predominantly in young patients, never or light smokers, and adenocarcinomas, especially with signet ring cell features and poor differentiation. Median progression-free survival (PFS) of crizotinib-treated patients was 7.6 months. The overall survival (OS) of these patients was longer compared with that of crizotinib-naive or wild-type cohorts, but there was no significant difference in OS compared with patients with EGFR mutation. ALK expression did not associate with PFS; but, when ALK expression was analyzed as a dichotomous variable, moderate and strong ALK expression had a decreased risk of death (P = 0.026). The two patients with concomitant EGFR and ALK alterations showed difference in ALK expression, response to EGFR and ALK inhibitors, and overall survival.

Conclusions

Selective enrichment according to clinicopathologic features in NSCLC patients could highly improve the positivity detection rate of ALK rearrangement for ALK-targeted therapy. IHC could provide more clues for clinical trial design and therapeutic strategies for ALK-positive NSCLC patients including patients with double genetic aberration of ALK and EGFR.     

Disarrangement of actin filaments and Ca²⁺ gradient by CdCl₂ alters cell wall construction in Arabidopsis thaliana root hairs by inhibiting vesicular trafficking

Cadmium (Cd), one of the most toxic heavy metals, inhibits many cellular and physiological processes in plants. Here, the involvement of cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ gradient and actin filaments (AFs) in vesicular trafficking, cell wall deposition and tip growth was investigated during root (hair) development of Arabidopsis thaliana in response to CdCl₂ treatment. Seed germination and root elongation were prevented in a dose- and time-dependent manner by CdCl₂ treatment. Fluorescence labelling and non-invasive detection showed that CdCl₂ inhibited extracellular Ca²⁺ influx, promoted intracellular Ca²⁺ efflux, and disturbed the cytoplasmic tip-focused Ca²⁺ gradient. In vivo labelling revealed that CdCl₂ modified actin organization, which subsequently contributed to vesicle trafficking. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that CdCl₂ induced cytoplasmic vacuolization and was detrimental to organelles such as mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Finally, immunofluorescent labelling and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis indicated that configuration/distribution of cell wall components such as pectins and cellulose was significantly altered in response to CdCl₂. Our results indicate that CdCl₂ induces disruption of Ca²⁺ gradient and AFs affects the distribution of cell wall components in root hairs by disturbing vesicular trafficking in A. thaliana.     

木香薷腺毛形态结构发生发育规律的研究

采用常规石蜡切片法及扫描电镜技术对木香薷(Elsholtzia stauntoni Benth)腺毛发生发育及其规律进行了研究。结果表明：木香薷表皮上主要有两种表皮毛：无分泌细胞的表皮毛与有分泌细胞的腺毛。前者包括单细胞乳头状毛、2~3细胞管状毛、分枝状毛及多细胞管状毛;后者包括头状腺毛与盾状腺毛。成熟头状腺毛头部由1、2或4个分泌细胞构成,头部呈圆球形或半圆球形;成熟盾状腺毛头部由8~12个分泌细胞构成,分泌细胞横向扩展形成盾状头部。木香薷腺毛主要在茎端幼叶处大量发生,从茎端第一对幼叶处开始产生;从幼叶期到成熟期均有腺毛发生,大部分腺毛在幼叶期发生发育,只有极少部分在叶的成熟期进行发生发育。     

兰州鲇与鲇消化系统的形态学及组织学比较研究

为探究黄河濒危鱼类兰州鲇（Silurus lanzhouensis）消化系统的形态学和组织学结构特点,以鲇（Silurus asotus）为对照,对兰州鲇消化系统形态学和组织学进行了深入研究。结果表明:（1）兰州鲇与鲇的消化道和消化腺形态相似,具有肉食性鱼类的特征。兰州鲇消化道较短,有发达的“U”型胃,胃内皱褶明显,无幽门盲囊,肠道短且粗,可分为前肠、中肠和后肠三部分,前肠粗大,后肠较细。两种鲇属鱼类都有独立致密的肝脏和胰脏。（2）兰州鲇的比肠长显著大于鲇（P < 0.05）,比胃重、比肝胰脏重显著低于鲇（P < 0.05）,但二者的比肠重无显著性差异（P>0.05）。（3）兰州鲇胃的皱襞幅度小于鲇,且环肌层比兰州鲇薄。兰州鲇与鲇前肠的肠黏膜均形成了大量皱襞,肠黏膜、褶皱粗大,但鲇的褶皱分支较细密。兰州鲇与鲇的后肠与前肠相比,肠腔变小,褶皱数量明显减少,高度降低。黏膜层分布有杯状细胞和柱状细胞。兰州鲇与鲇的肝脏肝小叶间缺少结缔组织,分界不明显,而兰州鲇肝细胞的密度大于鲇。综上所述,兰州鲇与鲇的消化系统相似,均符合肉食性鱼类消化系统特征,结合消化生理等研究结果,表明兰州鲇的消化能力弱于鲇,这可能是在自然情况下兰州鲇的分布区域及适应性不及鲇的原因之一。     

玉米叶片原形成层细胞衰退过程的超微结构研究

Cell degeneration often occurred in Zea mays L. leaf procambium in various stages of development and could be classified either in the form of autolysis or condensation. In the autolytic degeneration the cells underwent a series of events from the appearance of prominant autophagie activity in the early stages, accompanied by a decrease of ribosomes and electron density of cytoplasm to the final stages of autolysis resulting in disorganization and disappearnce of all protoplasmic components, of which the nuclei and plasmalemma were the last to disappear. In the condensed type the initiation of cell degeneration was accompanied by an increase in the cytoplasmic density. As cell degeneration progressed, the protoplasmic components appeared to disintegrate and disappear in an orderly fashion i.e. dictyosomes and ER disorganized first, followed by plastids, nuclei and some mitochondria. The plasmalemma, ribosomes and mitochondria were still recognizable as the cell being crashed by the surrounding cells during the final stages of degeneration.     

大肠杆菌Nissle1917 L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ基因在大肠杆菌BL21中的表达与抗肿瘤活性

【目的】从大肠杆菌Nissle1917中获得L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ基因,并研究其抗肿瘤活性。【方法】以大肠杆菌Nissle1917基因组为模板PCR扩增L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ基因,克隆至可诱导表达载体pET28a上。将L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ表达载体pET28a-asp转化至大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中并通过IPTG诱导表达,经聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)和液相色谱-质谱(LC-MS)对表达的L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ进行鉴定,并通过镍柱亲和层析纯化收集表达出的L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ。用纯化定量以后的L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ作用小鼠乳腺癌4T1细胞、人肝癌Hep-3B细胞和人脐静脉内皮细胞HUVEC。【结果】来自于大肠杆菌Nissle1917的L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ基因可在大肠杆菌BL21中高效表达并通过LC-MS得到鉴定,细胞毒性实验结果表明L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ对4T1细胞和Hep-3B细胞的生长具有较强的抑制作用,而对人脐静脉内皮细胞HUVEC的生长无明显抑制效果。【结论】来源于大肠杆菌Nissle1917的L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ能显著抑制4T1细胞和Hep-3肿瘤细胞的生长,而对人正常组织细胞的生长无明显抑制效果,为进一步研究L-天冬酰胺酶Ⅱ特异性抗肿瘤作用机制和对实体瘤的应用研究奠定了重要基础。     

昆虫对Bt毒素产生抗性的分子机制

简述了近年来国内外对昆虫产生抗性的模式及其分子机制的研究进展,对与昆虫抗性有关的中肠蛋白酶和多种受体进行了较深入的讨论。展望了持续有效地利用Bt生物制剂和保持转Bt基因作物的抗虫性的前景。