Serum lipoproteins and albumin in the lecithin: Cholesterol acyltransferase reaction

The unique features of pig ovarian follicular fluids, i.e., presence of high density lipoprotein (HDL) only and lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.43; LCAT) activity, provides a good model to study the effect of serum lipoproteins and serum albumin on the LCAT reaction. $\text{In}\text{vitro}$ cholesterol esterification is enhanced when very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) fractions are added, but is inhibited when one or the other of these lipoproteins is absent. High concentrations of HDL₂ result in decreased activation which can be compensated for by the addition of the VLDL-LDL mixture. These findings suggest that the rate of cholesterol esterification in ovarian follicular fluid may be enhanced by providing the exogenous VLDL and LDL as the recipients of HDL-cholesteryl ester. The inhibition of LCAT activity caused by free fatty acid and lysophosphatidylcholine can be partially reversed by the addition of serum albumin, suggesting that serum albumin may regulate the LCAT reaction.     

Circular RNA circ‐RCCD promotes cardiomyocyte differentiation in mouse embryo development via recruiting YY1 to the promoter of MyD88

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect, affecting approximately 1% of live births. Genetic and environmental factors are leading factors to CHD, but the mechanism of CHD pathogenesis remains unclear. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are kinds of endogenous non‐coding RNAs (ncRNAs) involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes, especially in heart diseases. In this study, three significant differently expressed circRNA between maternal embryonic day (E) E13 and E17 was found by microarray assay. Among them, the content of circ‐RCCD increases with the development of heart and was enriched in primary cardiomyocytes of different species, which arouses our attention. Functional experiments revealed that inhibition of circ‐RCCD dramatically suppressed the formation of beating cell clusters, the fluorescence intensity of cardiac differentiation marker MF20, and the expression of the myocardial‐specific markers CTnT, Mef2c, and GATA4. Next, we found that circ‐RCCD was involved in cardiomyocyte differentiation through negative regulation of MyD88 expression. Further experiments proved that circ‐RCCD inhibited MyD88 levels by recruiting YY1 to the promoter of MyD88; circ‐RCCD inhibited nuclear translocation of YY1. These results reported that circ‐RCCD promoted cardiomyocyte differentiation by recruiting YY1 to the promoter of MyD88. And, this study provided a potential role and molecular mechanism of circ‐RCCD as a target for the treatment of CHD.     

Selective pericentromeric heterochromatin dismantling caused by TP53 activation during senescence

Cellular senescence triggers various types of heterochromatin remodeling that contribute to aging. However, the age-related mechanisms that lead to these epigenetic alterations remain elusive. Here, we asked how two key aging hallmarks, telomere shortening and constitutive heterochromatin loss, are mechanistically connected during senescence. We show that, at the onset of senescence, pericentromeric heterochromatin is specifically dismantled consisting of chromatin decondensation, accumulation of DNA breakages, illegitimate recombination and loss of DNA. This process is caused by telomere shortening or genotoxic stress by a sequence of events starting from TP53-dependent downregulation of the telomere protective protein TRF2. The resulting loss of TRF2 at pericentromeres triggers DNA breaks activating ATM, which in turn leads to heterochromatin decondensation by releasing KAP1 and Lamin B1, recombination and satellite DNA excision found in the cytosol associated with cGAS. This TP53–TRF2 axis activates the interferon response and the formation of chromosome rearrangements when the cells escape the senescent growth arrest. Overall, these results reveal the role of TP53 as pericentromeric disassembler and define the basic principles of how a TP53-dependent senescence inducer hierarchically leads to selective pericentromeric dismantling through the downregulation of TRF2.     

发酵液内氨甲酰妥布拉霉素的定量测定

报道了应用一种以测量图象面积为指标的Ｚｙ－３００Ａ多功能抑菌圈测量仪,能够精确、稳定、快速地测定发酵液经薄层层析生物显迹后单组分氨甲酰妥布拉霉素的抑菌斑面积,然后从绘制的标准曲线中直接读取氨甲酸妥布拉霉素在发酵液中的含量,从而排除了其他组分对测定的干扰。试验证明,用Ｚｙ－３００Ａ多功能抑菌圈测量仪测定抗生素薄层层析生物显迹的抑菌斑,具有线性宽、精密度高、重复性强、操作简单方便等优点．本方法的建立为抗生素的纯品检定和多组分抗生素发酵、分离和纯化提供了准确的定量数据．     

RUS家族对植物生长发育的调控作用

叶绿体基因组编码许多参与光合作用和其他代谢过程的关键蛋白质,在叶绿体中合成的代谢物对于植物正常的生长发育至关重要。根对紫外线-B辐射敏感[Root-UVB (ultraviolet radiation B)-sensitive, RUS]蛋白属于叶绿体蛋白,由高度保守的DUF647结构域组成,在参与植物形态发生、物质运输和能量代谢等多种生命活动的调控中发挥作用。本文就近年来关于RUS家族在植物的胚胎发育、光形态建成、维生素B6稳态、生长素转运和花药发育等生长发育过程中的相关研究进行回顾和总结,为深入研究其在植物生长发育中的分子调控机制提供了参考。     

大兴安岭地区粘细菌资源的多样性及其生物活性

【背景】粘细菌是一类具有社会性行为的高等原核生物,其代谢产物具有丰富、多样、新颖的生物活性,是筛选天然药物的良好资源,具有很大的研究开发应用价值。【目的】分析大兴安岭地区粘细菌资源的多样性;分离纯化可培养的粘细菌,分析其抗菌活性并从中筛选对马铃薯晚疫病菌具有拮抗作用的菌株。【方法】通过变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)技术对从大兴安岭地区采集的15个土样中粘细菌资源的多样性进行分析,利用兔粪诱导、大肠杆菌划线诱导和滤纸诱导3种方法从土样中分离可培养的粘细菌,结合形态观察、生理生化特征和16S rRNA基因序列分析确定这些菌株的分类地位,通过平板对峙法对其进行抗菌活性分析。【结果】DGGE的分析结果显示,15个土样中共鉴定到13个属的粘细菌,基本覆盖了大部分已知的粘细菌种属以及部分未分类的粘细菌,表现出了丰富的多样性。共分离得到88株菌,从中得到22株纯菌,经鉴定属于2个属(粘球菌属与珊瑚球菌属)8个种(黄色粘球菌、橙色粘球菌、变绿粘球菌、珊瑚粘球菌、具枝粘球菌、大孢珊瑚球菌、弱小珊瑚球菌和珊瑚状珊瑚球菌)。抗菌结果显示:22株纯菌均表现出可以对一种甚至多种指示菌产生抗性,其中19株抑制大肠杆菌的生长,14株抑制马铃薯晚疫病菌的生长,8株抑制金黄色葡萄球菌的生长,13株抑制酿酒酵母菌的生长,7株抑制枯草芽孢杆菌的生长。【结论】内蒙古大兴安岭地区蕴藏着丰富的粘细菌资源,粘球菌属及珊瑚球菌属可能为该地区粘细菌菌群中的优势菌。分离纯化出的粘细菌菌株均表现出抑制一种甚至多种指示菌生长的活性,其中64%的纯菌对马铃薯晚疫病菌产生抗性,具有进一步研究的潜在价值。