OsMSRA4.1 and OsMSRB1.1, two rice plastidial methionine sulfoxide reductases,are involved in abiotic stress responses

In proteins, methionine residues are especially sensitive to oxidation, leading to the formation of S- and R-methionine sulfoxide diastereoisomers, and these two methionine sulfoxides can be specifically reversed by two types of methionine sulfoxide reductases (MSRs), MSRA and MSRB. Previously, we have identified a gene encoding a putative MSR from NaCl-treated roots of Brazilian upland rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. IAPAR 9) via subtractive suppression hybridization (Wu et al. in Plant Sci 168:847–853, 2005). Blast database analysis indicated that at least four MSRA and three MSRB orthologs exist in rice, and two of them, OsMSRA4.1 and OsMSRB1.1, were selected for further functional analysis. Expression analysis showed that both OsMSRA4.1 and OsMSRB1.1 are constitutively expressed in all organs and can be induced by various stress conditions. Subcellular localization and in vitro activity assay revealed that both OsMSR proteins are targeted to the chloroplast and have MSR activity. Overexpression of either OsMSRA4.1 or OsMSRB1.1 in yeast enhanced cellular resistance to oxidative stress. In addition, OsMSRA4.1-overexpressing transgenic rice plants also showed enhanced viability under salt treatment. Our results provide genetic evidence of the involvement of OsMSRs in the plant stress responses. X. Guo and Y. Wu contributed equally to this work.     

阴道常见乳杆菌及相关研究进展

近年来,随着全基因组测序等分子生物技术的应用,人们对阴道微生态系统的结构和功能的认识逐渐清晰。研究发现很多妇科疾病的出现伴随着阴道菌群失调,因此研究正常的阴道菌群结构和功能对预防和治疗菌群失调引起的疾病有重要意义,这也是目前人体微生态研究领域的热点。本文总结了近年关于健康女性阴道菌群的组成和类型的研究,阐述了阴道中常见乳杆菌如卷曲乳杆菌、惰性乳杆菌、格氏乳杆菌、詹氏乳杆菌等在功能研究方面的最新进展,以期为乳杆菌在防治妇科疾病如细菌性阴道病(BV)、外阴假丝酵母菌病(VVC)并推进其产品开发及临床应用等方面提供一些理论参考。     

Differential Expression of Proteins in Red Pear Following Fruit Bagging Treatment

Fruit bagging is a very effective method for study of fruit qualities and anthocyanin synthesis. The characterization of differentially expressed proteins that were isolated from both bagged and normal fruit skin tissue is apparently an essential parameter for understanding the effect of shading on fruit qualities and to understand the mechanism of fruit coloring in Pyrus communis. Proteome maps of both bagged and normal P. communis 'Placer' fruit skin were obtained by performing two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis and compared to assess the extent to which protein distribution differed in pear skin. The comparative analysis showed 38 differentially expressed proteins between the two samples: with three protein spots up-regulated and 35 down-regulated in the bagged fruit. Differentially expressed protein spots were subjected to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis and the data compared to that of known proteins to deduce their possible functions. Of these, 21 protein spots were identified and classified into functional classes. These identified proteins were mainly involved in photosynthesis, signal transduction, energy pathway, protein folding and assembly, and carbohydrate and acidity metabolisms, and were under-expressed in bagged fruit skins. This work provides a first characterization of the proteome changes in response to fruit bagging treatment in red pears.     

植物不饱和脂肪酸的生物合成及调控

不饱和脂肪酸是植物细胞中的一类重要代谢物质,是组成细胞膜的主要成分,对调节细胞的生理功能起着重要作用。不饱和脂肪酸也是人类必须的一类营养物质,对健康发挥着重要作用。因此,研究植物不饱和脂肪酸的合成和调控机制具有着重要的理论和现实意义。不饱和脂肪酸的合成主要发生在质体和内质网,由一系列编码基因控制,并受到外在环境胁迫及发育的调控。本研究综述了近年来不饱和脂肪酸合成和调控机制相关的一些研究进展,解析了不饱和脂肪酸合成的一些关键基因,以期为将来利用相关基因进行种质创新,从而实现改良食用油品质或提升植物的抗性育种提供思路和实践。     

Synthesis and cytotoxicity of 17a-aza-D-homo-androster-17-one derivatives

A series of 17a-aza-d-homo-andrester-17-one derivatives, bearing hydroxyl, hydroximino, carbonyl and thiosemicarbazido groups at the position-3 or position-6 of steroidal nucleus, were prepared and evaluated in vitro against two human cell lines (Hela (human cervical carcinoma) and SMMC 7404 (human liver carcinoma)). The results showed that these compounds could exhibit a high cytotoxicity to Hela tumor cell line, especially for compounds 8 and 12, the IC₅₀ values are 15.1 and 14.0 nmol/mL, respectively. Our findings could provide new evidence showing the relationship between the chemical structure and biological activity and may be useful for the discovery of new anti-cancer drugs.     

Exploration of a Sequential Gp140-Gp145 Immunization Regimen with Heterologous Envs to Induce a Protective Cross-Reactive HIV Neutralizing Antibody Response In Non-human Primates

Raising a heterologous tier 2 neutralizing antibody (nAb) response remains a daunting task for HIV vaccine development. In this study, we explored the utility of diverse HIV-1 envelope (Env) immunogens in a sequential immunization scheme as a solution to this task. This exploration stemmed from the rationale that gp145, a membrane-bound truncation form of HIV Env, may facilitate the focusing of induced antibody response on neutralizing epitopes when sequentially combined with the soluble gp140 form as immunogens in a prime-boost mode. We first showed that gp140 DNA prime-gp145 Tiantan vaccinia (TV) boost likely represents a general format for inducing potent nAb response in mice. However, when examined in rhesus macaque, this modality showed little effectiveness. To improve the efficacy, we extended the original modality by adding a strong protein boost, namely native-like SOSIP.664 trimer displayed on ferritin-based nanoparticle (NP), which was generated by a newly developed click approach. The resulting three-immunization regimen succeeded in eliciting tier-2 nAb response with substantial breadth when implemented in rhesus macaque over a short 8-week schedule. Importantly, the elicited nAb response was able to effectively contain viremia upon a heterologous SHIV challenge. Collectively, our studies highlighted that diversification of Env immunogens, in both types and formulations, under the framework of a sequential immunization scheme might open new opportunity toward HIV vaccine development.