Double-gating mechanism and diversity of an adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive K~ channel in neurons acutely dissociated from rat neocortex

Classically, ion channels are classified into 2 groups: chemical-sensitive (ligand-gated) and voltage-sensitive channels. Single ATP-sensitive K (K-ATP) channel currents were recorded in acutely dissociated rat neo-cortical neurons using patch clamp technique. A type of K-ATP channel has been found to be gated not only by intra-cellular ATP, but also by membrane potential ( Vm) , and proved to be a novel mechanism underlying the gating of ion channels, namely bi-gating mechanism. The results also show that the K-ATP channels possess heterogeneity and di-versity. These types of K-ATP channels have been identified in 40.12% of all patches, which are different in activa-tion-threshold and voltage-sensitivity. The present experiment studied the type-3 K-ATP channel with a unitary con-ductance of about 80 pS in detail ( n = 15). Taking account of all the available data, a variety of K-ATP channels are suggested to exist in body, and one type of them is bi-gated by both chemical substances and membrane poten     

日本血吸虫尾蚴发育的超微结构观察：Ⅱ.腺体

在透射电镜下观察不同发育期日本血吸虫尾蚴的腺体。结果：胚球期（Ｓ２）主要出现体细胞分裂与分化,首次证明分泌细胞及其小体在Ｓ２出现,雏体期（Ｓ３）见到前钻腺细胞体与钻腺管束及分泌小体。成熟前期（Ｓ４）钻腺分泌小体基质分Ａ／Ｂ为主两型,分别演变为成熟期（Ｓ）５的后／前钻腺分泌小体。头腺分泌小体亦在Ｓ４出现。从前钻腺体排至头器远端腺管的分泌小体,显眼透明球消失成为致密同质性小体,已为大家共识。而在后钻腺     

Alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase genotypes and drinking behavior of Chinese living in Shanghai

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), the principal enzymes responsible for oxidative metabolism of ethanol, exist in multiple, genetically determined molecular forms. Widely different kinetic properties in some of these isozymes account for the individual differences in alcohol sensitivity. In this study we used the polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism method to determine the genotypes of the ADH2 and ALDH2 loci of alcoholic and nonalcoholic Chinese living in Shanghai. We also investigated the subjects' drinking patterns by means of semistructured interviews. The alcoholics had significantly lower frequencies of the ADH2² and ALDH2² alleles than did the nonalcoholics, suggesting the inhibitory effects of these alleles for the development of alcoholism. In the nonalcoholic subjects, ADH2² had little, if any, effect, despite the significant effect of the ALDH2² allele in decreasing the alcohol consumption of the individual. Taken together, these results fit the proposed hypothesis for the development of alcoholism, i.e., drinking behavior is greatly influenced by the individual's gentoypes of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, and the risk of becoming alcoholic is proportionate with the ethanol consumption of the individual.     

蓟属两种植物的染色体研究

本文对蓟属（Ｃｉｒｓｉｕｍ）的两个形态相似的近缘种大刺儿菜和小刺儿菜进行了染色体研究,其中后者为首次报道。观察结果表明：两个种的染色体数目均为２ｎ＝２ｘ＝３４：它们的核型是：大刺儿菜．２ｎ＝２ｘ＝３４＝２０ｍ＋１２ｓｍ＋２ｓｔ：小刺儿菜．２ｎ＝２ｘ＝３４＝２２ｍ＋１０ｋｍ（２ＳＡＴ）＋２ｓｔ。通过核型比较,认为它们是两个独立的种．而且后者比前者进化。     

麻黄碱对兔主动脉和心房作用机制的研究

麻黄碱(E,×10~(-4)—3.3×10~(-3)M)和去甲肾上腺素(NA,6×10~(-8)—6×10~(-5)M)均能引起离体兔主动脉条浓度依赖性收缩。可卡因能明显地增强 NA 的作用,但明显地减弱麻黄碱的作用,用可卡因后麻黄碱的作用为用可卡因前的10—92.6%。利血平处理后,麻黄碱和 NA的作用都明显增强,但利血平对前者的增强作用比后者更甚。在利血平处理及未处理肌条上,麻黄碱的作用均可被酚妥拉明阻断。麻黄碱(3.3×10~(-6)—3.3×10~(-5)M)和异丙肾上腺素(ISP,10~(-9)—10~(-5)M)均能引起离体兔心房率的增加。可卡因明显地减弱麻黄碱的这一作用,即为对照组的8.8—29.1%,但不影响 ISP 的作用。利血平处理后,麻黄碱对兔心房的作用也明显减弱,为对照纽的15.4—28.4%;而 ISP 作用则略增加。3×10~(-4)麻黄碱可明显增加[3~H]NA 从兔主动脉条的流出量,此作用在给药后5min内即开始,可持续30 min 以上。上述结果提示,对于兔主动脉和心房,麻黄碱兼具直接作用于效应器细胞和通过释放末梢中 NA 的间接作用;直接作用在主动脉占优势,间接作用在心房占优势。     

大刍草稀有等位基因促进玉米密植高产

密植是提高作物单位面积产量、促进粮食增产的重要途径之一。叶夹角是影响玉米(Zea mays)密植的关键因子。中国农业大学田丰课题组最近克隆了2个调控玉米叶夹角的数量性状位点(QTL)——UPA1和UPA2, 揭示了这2个位点的功能基因(brd1和ZmRAVL1)通过油菜素内酯(BR)信号通路调控叶夹角。UPA2位于ZmRAVL1上游9.5 kb, 可与DRL1蛋白结合。另一个影响玉米叶夹角的蛋白LG1可以激活ZmRAVL1的表达; DRL1蛋白与LG1蛋白直接互作抑制LG1对ZmRAVL1的激活表达。玉米祖先种大刍草(teosinte)的UPA2位点序列与DRL1蛋白结合能力更强, 导致大刍草ZmRAVL1的表达受到更强的抑制, 下调表达的ZmRAVL1进一步使下游基因brd1的表达下调, 进而降低叶环区的内源BR水平, 导致叶夹角变小。将大刍草的UPA2等位基因导入到玉米中或对玉米中ZmRAVL1进行基因编辑, 在密植条件下均可显著提高玉米产量。上述发现为高产玉米品种的分子育种改良提供了重要理论基础和基因资源。     

小麦根系特征对干旱胁迫的响应

干旱胁迫时, 小麦(Triticum aestivum)根系率先产生应激响应, 同时向地上部发出信号, 诱导地上部发生生理反应, 从而提高植株抗旱能力。根系构型包括平面几何性状和立体几何结构(即拓扑构型), 具有遗传稳定性和可塑性。干旱胁迫影响根系理化特性, 如根源化学信号、根系细胞酶类和根系渗透作用的响应。根系通过调整其解剖学结构和水分吸收动力等来适应干旱胁迫。该文从根系构型、理化特性和解剖学结构3个方面, 系统阐述了小麦根系特征对干旱胁迫的响应, 并探讨了其与干旱胁迫的关系和当前研究中存在的问题, 以期为相关研究提供参考。     

高效液相层析法纯化人胎盘谷胱甘肽硫转移酶

足月分娩的新鲜胎盘组织制成匀浆后,经高速离心、超速离心,谷胱甘肽(GSH)Sepharose 6B亲合层析,Amicon pM-10膜超过滤及高效液相层析,最终经SDS-PAGE鉴定,结果呈现单一亚基区带,其亚基分子量为25000。 根据我们现有高效液相设备条件,用ODS柱代替RadulovicL等报道的特异阴离子柱,用磷酸盐洗脱液代替含谷胱甘肽、二硫苏糖醇及氯化钾的梯度洗脱液,从人胎盘组织成功地制备了谷胱甘肽硫转移酶(GST)纯酶,全过程在15min内完成,保留时间及主峰面积的重复性均较理想,7次实验结果的变异系数为0.2％,最终纯化578.9倍。本研究为各种形式GST的纯化制备提供了一个新的、重复性好、分辨率高及回收理想的简易方法。     

Expression of a gene encoding a rabbit sperm membrane protein in mammalian cells.

A general mammalian expression vector designated pSV2-EP was reconstructed by inserting an oligonucleotide fragment into pSV2-dhfr. This vector allowed insertion of cDNAs with EcoRI cohesive ends. The pSV2-EP contains a simian virus 40 (SV40) early promoter, origin for DNA replication, SV40 poly-A site, splicing site, an initiator ATG downstream from the promoter and an EcoRI site for the insertion of cDNA fragment screened from lambda gt11 expression libraries. A recombinant plasmid (pS-VRS-1) was constructed by inserting RSD-1, a cDNA encoding a rabbit sperm tail protein, into the EcoRI site of the pSV2-EP vector. Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) dhfr-negative cells were cotransformed with pSV2-dhfr and pSVRS-1 by the calcium phosphate method. In selective culture medium without thymidine and hypoxanthine, several cell lines were obtained containing mRNA and DNA that hybridized with RSD-1. One of these transformed cell lines stained intensely with anti-rSMP-B antibodies, demonstrating that the RSD-1 was expressed in the transformed CHO cells.     

Chemical modification of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. thuringiensis (HD-524) trypsin-activated endotoxin: implication of tyrosine residues in lepidopteran cell lysis

A purified protein fraction from a solubilized and trypsin-digested extract of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. thuringiensis (HD-524) fermentation powder was lytic to cells from several lepidopteran lines. Maximum yield was obtained by alkaline carbonate-thiocyanate solubilization of washed powder followed by trypsin digestion and Sephacryl (S-300) chromatography. The alkaline carbonate-solubilized fraction consisted predominantly of two bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with MW of 144 +/- 0.9 kDa and 134 +/- 1.4 kDa. After trypsin treatment and column chromatography, the cytolytic fraction consisted of a major band with a MW of 60.0 +/- 1.8 kDa and a minor band of 69 +/- 0.9 kDa. Cells from Trichoplusia ni (TN368) were most susceptible to lysis with 50% of cells lysed at 3 micrograms/ml, followed by Spodoptera frugiperda cells (SF21AE) exhibiting 50% cell lysis at 5 micrograms/ml and Lymantria dispar cells (Ld652Y) showing 40% lysis at 10 micrograms/ml. Chemical modification of the polypeptides was performed to determine the role of certain amino acid residues in the cytolytic activity. The group-specific reagent tetranitromethane was used to nitrate and oxidize tyrosine and cysteine residues, respectively. Cysteine residues alone were also modified with p-hydroxymercuribenzoic acid. Lysine residues were modified with O-methylisourea. Of the three types of amino acid residues, only the modification of tyrosine resulted in reduced cell lysis.