微核技术研究进展

微核试验作为检测染色体损伤最常用而有效的细胞遗传学检测方法之一,经济、简便、快速,在敏感性、特异性和准确性方面,与经典的染色体畸变分析方法基本相当。主要综述国内外微核检测技术的最新研究进展,尤其是微核的自动化检测技术。其中流式细胞仪自动化检测和激光扫描细胞仪自动化检测,以及微核试验高内涵筛选方法由于其特有的优势,应用和发展前景广阔。     

Dermatoglyphic studies of myocardial infarction patients

Dermatoglyphic traits were studied in a sample of 834 subjects selected from a cohort of some 8,000 living Japanese men, under a long-term study of heart disease in Hawaii. All of them were born between 1900 and 1919. Among them, 100 subjects had had positive diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI). The present study included comparisons between the MI patients and the remaining group of all digital dermal pattern types and ridge counts by digit, by hand, and by individual. The MI patients had significantly higher frequency of true whorls, double loops and less ulnar loops and tented arches. Total and absolute ridge counts were significantly higher (less than 0.05) in all digits in favor of the MI patients. Similar trends were observed in analyses by digit and by hand. These observations suggest an antenatal origin of certain types of coronary disease.     

Solid cultures of thrips-pathogenic fungi Isaria javanica strains for enhanced conidial productivity and thermotolerance

Entomopathogenic fungi have great potential to control agricultural and horticultural insect pests, however optimizing conidial production systems to demonstrate high productivity and stability still needs additional efforts for successful field application and industrialization. Although many virulent entomopathogenic fungal isolates have been viewed as potential candidates in a laboratory environment, very few of the isolates are being used in practice for application in agricultural fields as commercial products. I. javanicus is an entomopathogenic fungus that is parasitic to various diverse coleopteran and lepidopteran insects and thought good candidate as biopesticdes. In this work, the basic characteristics of two entomopathogenic fungi, I. javanica FG340 and Pf04, were investigated in morphological examinations, genetic identification, and virulence against Thrips palmi, and then the feasibility of various grains substrates for conidial production was assessed, particularly focusing on conidial productivity and thermotolerance. Isaria javanica FG340 and Pf04 conidia were solid-cultured on 12 grains for 14?days in a Petri dish. Of the tested Italian millet, perilla seed, millet and barley-based cultures showed high conidial production. The four-grain media yielded >1?×?10⁹ conidia/g of I. javanica FG340 and Pf04. Pf04 strain had enhanced thermotolerance up to 45?°C when cultured on Italian millet. In application, it was easy to make a conidial suspension using the cultured grains, and several surfactants were tested to release the conidia. This work suggests several possible inexpensive grain substrates by which to promote conidial production combined with enhanced stability against exposure to high temperature.     

Effects of methotrexate on the viscoelastic properties of single cells probed by atomic force microscopy

Methotrexate is a commonly used anti-cancer chemotherapy drug. Cellular mechanical properties are fundamental parameters that reflect the physiological state of a cell. However, so far the role of cellular mechanical properties in the actions of methotrexate is still unclear. In recent years, probing the behaviors of single cells with the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) has contributed much to the field of cell biomechanics. In this work, with the use of AFM, the effects of methotrexate on the viscoelastic properties of four types of cells were quantitatively investigated. The inhibitory and cytotoxic effects of methotrexate on the proliferation of cells were observed by optical and fluorescence microscopy. AFM indenting was used to measure the changes of cellular viscoelastic properties (Young’s modulus and relaxation time) by using both conical tip and spherical tip, quantitatively showing that the stimulation of methotrexate resulted in a significant decrease of both cellular Young’s modulus and relaxation times. The morphological changes of cells induced by methotrexate were visualized by AFM imaging. The study improves our understanding of methotrexate action and offers a novel way to quantify drug actions at the single-cell level by measuring cellular viscoelastic properties, which may have potential impacts on developing label-free methods for drug evaluation.     

Alcohol exposure alters the expression pattern of neural cell adhesion molecules during brain development

Neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAMs) play critical roles during development of the nervous system. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible effect of ethanol exposure on the pattern of expression and sialylation of NCAM isoforms during postnatal rat brain development because alterations in NCAM content and distribution have been associated with defects in cell migration, synapse formation, and memory consolidation, and deficits in these processes have been observed after in utero alcohol exposure. The expression of NCAM isoforms in the developing cerebral cortex of pups from control and alcohol-fed mothers was assessed by western blotting, ribonuclease protection assay, and immunocytochemistry. The highly sialylated form of NCAM [polysialic acid (PSA)-NCAM] is mainly expressed during the neonatal period and then is down-regulated in parallel with the appearance of NCAM 180 and NCAM 140. Ethanol exposure increases PSA-NCAM levels during the neonatal period, delays the loss of PSA-NCAM, decreases the amount of NCAM 180 and NCAM 140 isoforms, and reduces sialyltransferase activity during postnatal brain development. Neuraminidase treatment of ethanol-exposed neonatal brains leads to more intense band degradation products, suggesting a higher content of NCAM polypeptides carrying PSA in these samples. However, NCAM mRNA levels are not changed by ethanol. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrates that ethanol triggers an increase in PSA-NCAM immunolabeling in the cytoplasm of astroglial cells, accompanied by a decrease in immunogold particles over the plasma membrane. These findings indicate that ethanol exposure during brain development alters the pattern of NCAM expression and suggest that modification of NCAM could affect neuronal-glial interactions that might contribute to the brain defects observed after in utero alcohol exposure.     

大蒜植物络合素合酶基因转化对酵母重金属抗性的提高

重金属污染是全球面临的亟待解决的生态问题。利用植物对重金属的富集作用来清除环境重金属污染即植物修复已成为重要的环境生物技术之一。这一技术的长远发展有赖于在重金属富集或耐受中起关键作用的基因的克隆和应用。植物络合素是植物体内一类重要的对重金属起螯合作用的多肽, 其合成受植物络合素合酶的催化。该文取得了如下研究结果:1)通过原子吸收测定表明,在大蒜(Allium sativum)的根部可以积累3 000 mg·kg^-1的重金属镉;2)将克隆的大蒜植物络合素合酶基因(AsPCS)置于酵母表达启动子之下,构建酵母表达载体,并将其分别转入了因CUP1和acr3基因缺失而对重金属镉和砷敏感的酵母突变体菌株后,发现来自大蒜的AsPCS基因的表达使酵母CUP1缺失菌株对镉的耐受性提高了4倍, acr3缺失菌株对砷的耐受性提高了两倍;3)表达AsPCS基因酵母的生长模式证实了AsPCS基因的表达是酵母对重金属耐受性提高的原因。这些结果暗示, 大蒜植物络合素合酶基因在大蒜对重金属的抗性及大蒜根部对镉的积累中起关键作用,可作为重要的基因元件应用到修复污染的植物基因工程中。     

An Imported Case of Cystic Echinococcosis in the Liver

A 25-year-old Uzbek male presented with right upper abdominal pain for 20 days. On radiologic studies, a huge cystic mass was noticed in the right liver which was suspected as parasitic. The patient received right hepatic segmentectomy (segment 7), and the surgically resected mass was confirmed as cystic echinococcosis (CE), measuring 10.5 cm in its diameter. The inner surface of the cyst was bile-stained. The patient was discharged on the 8th hospital day, and was rechecked 6 months after the surgical intervention without any evidence of recurrence. The present report describes findings of an imported case of CE which represented ultrasound images of the ''ball of wool''.     

Imaging and measuring the rituximab-induced changes of mechanical properties in B-lymphoma cells using atomic force microscopy

The topography and mechanical properties of single B-lymphoma cells have been investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). With the assistance of microfabricated patterned pillars, the surface topography and ultrastructure of single living B-lymphoma cell were visualized by AFM. The apoptosis of B-lymphoma cells induced by rituximab alone was observed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double fluorescent staining. The rituximab-induced changes of mechanical properties in B-lymphoma cells were measured dynamically and the results showed that B-lymphoma cells became dramatically softer after incubation with rituximab. These results can improve our understanding of rituximab’effect and will facilitate the further investigation of the underlying mechanisms.