Osteopontin increases the expression of β1, 4-Galactosyltransferase-I and promotes adhesion in human RL95-2 cells

Beta1, 4-Galactosyltransferase-I (β1, 4-GalT-I), which transfers galactose from UDP-Gal to N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylglucosamine-terminated oligosaccharides of N- and O-linked glycans in a β(1-4) linkage, plays a critical role in cell adhesion, sperm-egg recognition, neurite growth, and tumor cell migration and invasion. Our previously experiments also show that β1, 4-GalT-I was up-regulated by estrogens and some important cytokines of embryo implantation especially Interleukin-1 (IL-1), TGF-α and Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) in endometrial cells. In the receptive phase human uterus, osteopontin (OPN) is the most highly up-regulated extracellular matrix/adhesion molecule/cytokine. In this study, we demonstrated the correlated expression of OPN and β1, 4-GalT-I in endometrium during early pregnancy, and recombinant human OPN (rhOPN) protein induced the β1, 4-GalT-I up-regulation in RL95-2 cells. Inhibition of MEK/ERK, PI3K/AKT and NF-κB suppressed rhOPN-induced β1, 4-GalT-I expression. In addition, rhOPN promoted the adhesion of blastocysts cells in vitro in β1, 4-GalT-I-dependent manner. Moreover, the adhesion is greatly inhibited when β1, 4-GalT-I was blocked with the specific antibody. Taken together, our data suggest that β1, 4-GalT-I provides a mechanism to bridge embryo to endometrium during implantation.     

Oxalate production at different initial Pb²+ concentrations and the influence of oxalate during solid-state fermentation of straw with Phanerochaete chrysosporium

The production of oxalate at different initial Pb²⁺ concentrations during solid-state fermentation of straw with Phanerochaete chrysosporium was investigated. It was found that the maximal peak value of oxalate concentration (22.84 mM) was detected at the initial Pb²⁺ concentration of 200 mg kg⁻¹ dry straw, while the minimum (15.89 mM) at the concentration of 600 mg Pb²⁺ kg⁻¹ dry straw, and at moderate concentration of Pb²⁺ the capability of oxalic acid secretion was enhanced. In addition, it was also found that more oxalic acid accumulation went together with better Pb²⁺ passivation effect and higher manganese peroxidase (MnP) activity. The present findings will improve the understandings of the interactions of heavy metals with white-rot fungi and the role of oxalate in lignin degradation system, which could provide useful references for more efficient treatment of Pb-contaminated lignocellulosic waste.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel human gene containing 4 ankyrin repeat domains

Ankyrin repeat, one of the most important protein motifs, plays a wide variety of roles in protein-protein interactions and in the signal pathways. Via large-scale sequencing, a novel 941-bp gene was isolated from an 18-week old human fetal brain cDNA library. It encodes a putative protein of 158 amino acid residues with four conserved ankyrin repeat domains. It displays a high degree of homology with rat low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2-binding protein (Lrp2bp), and was therefore was named hLrp2bp (human Lrp2bp). The hLrp2bp gene was located in chromosome 4q35 and the conserved ankyrin repeat domains were located between amino acid residues 10 and 116. RT-PCR revealed that hLrp2bp was mainly expressed in the human testis, small intestine, colon and blood leukocytes, and in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. A HEK293 cell was transfected with the ORF of hLrp2bp, and analyses showed that the protein was distributed both in the cytoplasm and nucleus.     

克隆鸭乙型肝炎病毒DNA双体体内转染的研究

用一种含头尾相连DHBVDNA双体的质粒体内转染2日龄芙蓉鸭,大多数鸭（86％）产生了短暂病毒血症。血清DHBs／preSAg和DHBVDNA于转染后第9天出现,第12～14天达峰值,第28天时多数转阴;少数鸭的病毒血症可持续50天以上。转染鸭肝组织中也检测到复制中间型DHBVDNA的存在。用转染鸭病毒血症期的血清作磷钨酸负染电镜观察,找到了完整的DHBV病毒颗粒,并且用此血清腹腔注射1日龄鸭,60％的鸭被感染成功,证明体内转染后有生物活性的DHBV病毒颗粒的产生。该研究方法的建立．对于研究DHBV变异株．DHBV基因结构与功能的关系等,均有一定理论意义及应用价值。     

Heat-Stable Molecule Derived from Streptococcus cristatus Induces APOBEC3 Expression and Inhibits HIV-1 Replication

Although most human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) cases worldwide are transmitted through mucosal surfaces, transmission through the oral mucosal surface is a rare event. More than 700 bacterial species have been detected in the oral cavity. Despite great efforts to discover oral inhibitors of HIV, little information is available concerning the anti-HIV activity of oral bacterial components. Here we show that a molecule from an oral commensal bacterium, Streptococcus cristatus CC5A can induce expression of APOBEC3G (A3G) and APOBEC3F (A3F) and inhibit HIV-1 replication in THP-1 cells. We show by qRT-PCR that expression levels of A3G and A3F increase in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of a CC5A extract, as does A3G protein levels by Western blot assay. In addition, when the human monocytic cell line THP-1 was treated with CC5A extract, the replication of HIV-1 IIIB was significantly suppressed compared with IIIB replication in untreated THP-1 cells. Knock down of A3G expression in THP-1 cells compromised the ability of CC5A to inhibit HIV-1 IIIB infectivity. Furthermore, SupT1 cells infected with virus produced from CC5A extract-treated THP-1 cells replicated virus with a higher G to A hypermutation rate (a known consequence of A3G activity) than virus used from untreated THP-1 cells. This suggests that S. cristatus CC5A contains a molecule that induces A3G/F expression and thereby inhibits HIV replication. These findings might lead to the discovery of a novel anti-HIV/AIDS therapeutic.     

Mycotoxin Production by Fusarium proliferatum isolates from rice with Fusarium sheath rot disease

Twenty samples of unpolished (rough) rice collected in Arkansas and Texas during the 1995 harvesting season from fields exhibiting Fusarium sheath rot disease or panicle blight were previously shown to include 8 samples positive for fumonisin B₁(FB₁) in the range 2.2–5.2 ppm, and moniliformin (MON), but no beauvericin (BEA), deoxynivalenol, its derivatives or zearalenone were detected. Fifteen cultures of F. proliferatum were established from the 20 rough rice samples. Single spore isolates of each culture were grown on rice and tested for the production of fumonisins (FB₁, FB₂, FB₃, etc.), MON and BEA. All 15 isolates produced FB₁, FB₂, MON and BEA in culture on rice. No deoxynivalenol, its derivatives orzearalenone were detected. Seven cultures produced FB₁ at >50ppm (range 80–230 ppm), with therest producing FB₁ in the range 14–43 ppm.FB₂ was produced in the range 5–47 ppm, and those cultures which produced the most FB₁ also produced the most FB₂. Of the 15 cultures producing MON, 11 produced it at >100 ppm in the range 188–6018 ppm, with the rest producing in the range 7–64 ppm. BEA was produced in the range 109–1350 ppm. Other derivatives of fumonisins, including FA₁, FA₂ and partially hydrolyzed FB₁, as well asseveral unknown metabolites including a compound with MW 414, were identified in culture extracts by continuous flow fast atom bombardment with ion spraymass spectrometry (CF/FAB/MS). Further study is needed to identify the factors that control production of FB₁, MON and BEA by F.proliferatu in culture and in field samples. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

ITMSQ: A software tool for N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric tandem mass spectrometry quantification

Tandem MS (MS2) quantification using the series of N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs generated from isobaric‐labelled peptides was recently considered an accurate strategy in quantitative proteomics. However, the presence of multiplexed terminal fragment ion in MS2 spectra may reduce the efficiency of peptide identification, resulting in lower identification scores or even incorrect assignments. To address this issue, we developed a quantitative software tool, denoted isobaric tandem MS quantification (ITMSQ), to improve N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric MS2 quantification. A spectrum splitting module was designed to separate the MS2 spectra from different samples, increasing the accuracy of both identification and quantification. ITMSQ offers a convenient interface through which parameters can be changed along with the labelling method, and the result files and all of the intermediate files can be exported. We performed an analysis of in vivo terminal amino acid labelling labelled HeLa samples and found that the numbers of quantified proteins and peptides increased by 13.64 and 27.52% after spectrum splitting, respectively. In conclusion, ITMSQ provides an accurate and reliable quantitative solutionfor N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric MS2 quantitative methods.     

Diallyl disulfide from garlic oil inhibits Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence factors by inactivating key quorum sensing genes

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - Garlic oil can disrupt the quorum sensing (QS) pathways of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa; however, the underlying mechanisms for this...     

Synthesis of novel D-ring fused 7'-aryl-androstano[17,16-d][1,2,4] triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines

The preparation of novel steroidal heterocycles containing the 7-aryl-substituted 1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine moiety fused to the 16,17-positions of the steroid nucleus is described. The Aldol reaction of 4-aza-androst-3,17-dione (1a) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA, 1b) with aromatic aldehydes was catalyzed by KF/Al(2)O(3) to give the corresponding 3-oxo-4-aza-5α- and 3β-hydroxy-5-en-16-arylidene-17-ketosteroids (2a-r). Subsequently, the intermediates 2a-r reacted with dinucleophilic 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole in presence of t-BuOK to afford the title compounds (3a-r). All the synthesized heterosteroids are new and are currently being evaluated for their biological activities.