δ-Opioid Receptor Activation Modified MicroRNA Expression in the Rat Kidney under Prolonged Hypoxia

Hypoxic/ischemic injury to kidney is a frequently encountered clinical problem with limited therapeutic options. Since microRNAs are differentially involved in hypoxic/ischemic events and δ-opioid receptor (DOR) activation is known to protect against hypoxic/ischemic injury, we speculated on the involvement of DOR activation in altering the microRNA (miRNA) expression in kidney under hypoxic condition. We selected 31 miRNAs based on microarray data for quantitative PCR analysis. Among them, 14 miRNAs were significantly altered after prolonged hypoxia, DOR activation or a combination of both. We found that 1) DOR activation alters miRNA expression profiles in normoxic conditions; 2) hypoxia differentially alters miRNA expression depending on the duration of hypoxia; and 3) DOR activation can modify hypoxia-induced changes in miRNA expression. For example, 10-day hypoxia reduced the level of miR-212 by over 70%, while DOR activation could mimic such reduction even in normoxic kidney. In contrast, the same stress increased miR-29a by >100%, which was reversed following DOR activation. These first data suggest that hypoxia comprehensively modifies the miRNA profile within the kidney, which can be mimicked or modified by DOR activation. Ascertaining the targeted pathways that regulate the diverse cellular and molecular functions of miRNA may provide new insights into potential therapies for hypoxic/ischemic injury of the kidney.     

Determination of an Optimal Standardized Uptake Value of Fluorodeoxyglucose for Positron Emission Tomography Imaging to Assess Pathological Volumes of Cervical Cancer: A Prospective Study

Purpose

To determine the optimal standardized uptake value (SUV) of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, at which the PET-defined gross tumor volume (GTV_PET) best matches with the pathological volume (GTV_PATH) in the cervical cancer.

Materials and Methods

Ten patients with the cervical cancer who underwent surgery were enrolled in this study. The excised specimens were processed for whole-mount serial sections and H-E staining. The tumor borders were outlined in sections under a microscope, histopathological images were scanned and the GTV_PATH calculated. The GTV_PET was delineated automatically by using various percentages relative to the maximal SUV and absolute SUV. The optimal threshold SUV was further obtained as the value at which the GTV_PET best matched with the GTV_PATH.

Results

An average of 85±10% shrinkage of tissue was observed after the formalin fixation. The GTV_PATH was 13.38±2.80 cm³ on average. The optimal threshold on percentile SUV and absolute SUV were 40.50%±3.16% and 7.45±1.10, respectively. The correlation analysis showed that the optimal percentile SUV threshold was inversely correlated with GTV_PATH (p<0.05) and tumor diameter (p<0.05). The absolute SUV was also positively correlated with SUV_max (p<0.05).

Conclusion

The pathological volume could provide the more accurate tumor volume. The optimal SUV of FDG for PET imaging by use of GTV_PATH as standard for cervical cancer target volume delineation was thus determined in this study, and more cases are being evaluated to substantiate this conclusion.     

PI3K/Akt Signal Pathway Involved in the Cognitive Impairment Caused by Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion in Rats

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) is a common pathophysiological state that usually occurs in conditions such as vascular dementia and Alzheimer''s disease, both of which are characterized by cognitive impairment. In previous studies we found that learning capacity and memory were gradually impaired with CCH, which altered the expression of synaptophysin, microtubule associated protein-2, growth associated protein-43, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 1, cAMP response element-binding protein and tau hyperphosphorylation in the hippocampus. However, the molecular basis of cognitive impairment in CCH remains obscure. Here we explore the hypothesis that the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signal pathway is involved in this type of cognitive impairment. In order to determine if the expression of PI3K, Akt and phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) proteins are altered at different stages of CCH with differing levels of cognitive impairment. we performed permanent, bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (2-VO) to induce CCH. Adult male SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group, 2-VO 1 week group, 2-VO 4 weeks group and 2-VO 8 weeks group. Behavior tests were utilized to assess cognitive abilities, while western blots were utilized to evaluate protein expression. Rats in the 2-VO groups spent less time exploring novel objects than those in the sham-operated group, and the discrimination ratio of the 2-VO 8 weeks group and the sham-operated group were higher than chance (0.50). Escape latencies in the Morris water maze task in the 2-VO 1 week group were longer than those in the sham-operated group on day 4 and day 5, while escape latencies in the 2-VO 4 weeks group were longer than those in the sham-operated group from day 3 to day 5. Escape latencies in 2-VO 8 weeks group were longer than those in the sham-operated group from day 2 to day 5. NE (northeast) square swimming times in the 2-VO 1 week group, 2-VO 4 weeks group and 2-VO 8 weeks group were shorter than that in the sham-operated group. Western blotting showed that the PI3K expression in the 2-VO 1 week group was lower than that in sham-operated group, while p-Akt expression in the 2-VO 8 weeks group was higher than that in the sham-operated group. There was a linear relationship between the PI3K expression and the discrimination ratio, as well as a linear relationship between the PI3K and NE square swimming time. Thus, we propose that the PI3K/Akt signal pathway is an important cell pathway that is associated with the cognitive impairment following CCH.     

High-Resolution Mutational Profiling Suggests the Genetic Validity of Glioblastoma Patient-Derived Pre-Clinical Models

Recent advances in the ability to efficiently characterize tumor genomes is enabling targeted drug development, which requires rigorous biomarker-based patient selection to increase effectiveness. Consequently, representative DNA biomarkers become equally important in pre-clinical studies. However, it is still unclear how well these markers are maintained between the primary tumor and the patient-derived tumor models. Here, we report the comprehensive identification of somatic coding mutations and copy number aberrations in four glioblastoma (GBM) primary tumors and their matched pre-clinical models: serum-free neurospheres, adherent cell cultures, and mouse xenografts. We developed innovative methods to improve the data quality and allow a strict comparison of matched tumor samples. Our analysis identifies known GBM mutations altering PTEN and TP53 genes, and new actionable mutations such as the loss of PIK3R1, and reveals clear patient-to-patient differences. In contrast, for each patient, we do not observe any significant remodeling of the mutational profile between primary to model tumors and the few discrepancies can be attributed to stochastic errors or differences in sample purity. Similarly, we observe ∼96% primary-to-model concordance in copy number calls in the high-cellularity samples. In contrast to previous reports based on gene expression profiles, we do not observe significant differences at the DNA level between in vitro compared to in vivo models. This study suggests, at a remarkable resolution, the genome-wide conservation of a patient’s tumor genetics in various pre-clinical models, and therefore supports their use for the development and testing of personalized targeted therapies.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of PNPLA3 I148M polymorphism reveals reduced substrate access to the catalytic cavity

A missense mutation I148M in PNPLA3 (patatin‐like phospholipase domain‐containing 3 protein) is significantly correlated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). To glean insights into mutation's effect on enzymatic activity, we performed molecular dynamics simulation and flexible docking studies. Our data show that the size of the substrate‐access entry site is significantly reduced in mutants, which limits the access of palmitic acid to the catalytic dyad. Besides, the binding free energy calculations suggest low affinity for substrate to mutant enzyme. The substrate‐bound system simulations reveal that the spatial arrangement of palmitic acid is distinct in wild‐type from that in mutant. The substrate recognition specificity is lost due to the loop where the I148M mutation was located. Our results provide strong evidence for the mechanism by which I148M affects the enzyme activity and suggest that mediating the dynamics may offer a potential avenue for NAFLD. Proteins 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

东北温带森林20种乔木树种叶片干旱容忍性特征

全球范围内干旱频率和强度的增加严重影响树木生长,甚至导致森林大面积死亡。压力-容积(PV)曲线能够反映树木对干旱的容忍能力,但在局域尺度上尚未确定哪个PV曲线参数具有最优指示性。通过测定东北温带森林20种主要树种(包括16种被子植物和4种裸子植物)的PV曲线性状,包括质壁分离时的相对含水量(RWC_tlp)、失膨点叶水势(TLP)、饱和含水时的叶渗透势(π₀)、细胞弹性模量(ε)、叶水容(C_leaf)及叶结构性状(比叶面积和叶密度),研究局域尺度上叶片耐旱性的最佳指示性状,并分析叶片PV性状与结构性状间的相关性。结果表明: 被子植物的RWC_tlp 显著大于裸子植物,但其C_leaf 显著小于裸子植物,这表明用RWC_tlp和C_leaf可以指示东北温带森林不同功能型树种间耐旱性的大小。在被子植物中,TLP和π₀与叶密度呈显著负相关,且均与比叶面积呈显著正相关;而ε与比叶面积呈显著负相关。然而,裸子植物PV曲线性状与叶结构性状之间呈现与被子植物完全相反的趋势。裸子植物与被子植物树种之间PV曲线性状与叶结构性状关系的差异,可能归因于二者采取不同的干旱响应和适应策略。     

长潭水库铁锰含量与环境因子的季节性变化相关性分析及铁锰氧化菌群的富集培养

【背景】目前对水库水体污染原因的研究往往专注于水体的富营养化、pH值、溶解氧、氨氮、菌落总数指标的变化,而重金属含量与环境因子的季节性变化相关性分析研究较少,同时对于典型季节原位微生物种群的多样性差异研究尚未见报道。【目的】研究浙江省台州市长潭水库底部水中正二价金属离子(二价锰离子Mn²⁺;二价铁离子Fe²⁺)浓度与不同环境因子的季节性变化规律,并对其相关性进行分析;富集平水期(2月)和丰水期(8月)水库底部水体中功能微生物菌群,分析其种类和丰度的差异。【方法】分别检测12个月的水库水Mn²⁺和Fe²⁺浓度及多种环境因子(水体溶解氧浓度、pH值、总磷浓度、浊度、水库环境温度及降水量),过滤并富集培养水库底部水体的功能微生物菌群,对其16S rRNA基因V3-V4区测序并分析其菌群结构。【结果】长潭水库水中Mn²⁺和Fe²⁺浓度呈季节性变化,每年的春夏交替季节水体中铁锰含量从零开始慢慢升高,至夏秋高温季节水体中Mn²⁺和Fe²⁺浓度达到最高值,然后慢慢降低,至秋末冬初检测不到含量。在检测的多种环境因子中,水体溶解氧浓度、水库环境温度及降水量呈明显的季节性规律变化。Mn²⁺和Fe²⁺浓度与温度、降水量和浊度有正相关性,与溶解氧浓度、pH值和总磷浓度有负相关性,其中在正负相关性分析中两种金属离子的浓度与溶解氧浓度的相关性最强,其次是环境温度及降水量。丰水期和平水期中富集获得的功能微生物菌群的种类和丰度差异很大,从属水平上分类,丰水期时菌群只包含不动杆菌(Acinetobacter)和鲑色沉积物杆状菌(Sediminibacterium)这2个属的菌株,含量各占约50%;平水期时菌群则主要由杆菌属(Bacillariophyta) (47.62%)和Limnohabitans(9.52%)等9个属的菌株构成。富集获得的平水期和丰水期的两个可培养的菌群均具有去除水库水中Mn²⁺的功能,去除率分别约为35.9%和11.4%。【结论】长潭水库底部水体中Mn²⁺和Fe²⁺浓度与不同环境因子均呈季节性规律变化,它们之间呈现不同的正负相关性,丰水期和平水期的功能微生物菌群结构差异很大。本研究为利用微生物进行重金属污染水体的治理储备了微生物资源,为实现国家“美丽乡村”的建设目标提供一定的参考价值。     

Characteristics and function of a low-molecular-weight compound with reductive activity from Phanerochaete chrysosporium in lignin biodegradation

A novel reductive compound with molecular weight of about 1000 Da, named Pc reducer, was purified from the liquid culture of a white-rot basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium. It was likely to have an alkene-ester structure according to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. Pc reducer reduced the hydroxyl radical HO and the stable nitroxide radical under certain conditions. It inhibited the repolymerization of the products from the oxidation of phenolic lignin-model compounds by reducing certain intermediate radicals. The activity of manganese peroxidases was promoted by Pc reducer at certain concentrations. Pc reducer could also weaken the repolymerization of fragments from the oxidation of Na-lignosulfonate by lignin peroxidases and manganese peroxidases. It has potential ability to improve the ligninolytic efficiency of peroxidases in P. chrysosporium.     

桔核中柠檬苦素类物质消炎镇痛作用的研究

为探讨柑桔果实中柠檬苦素类物质对实验动物模型的抗炎镇痛作用,本文通过小鼠耳廓肿胀模型和角叉菜胶致大鼠足肿胀模型观察柠檬苦素的抗炎作用;采用小鼠福尔马林实验及扭体实验观察柠檬苦素的镇痛作用。结果表明：柑桔果实中柠檬苦素类物质能显著抑制二甲苯致小鼠耳廓肿胀和角叉菜胶致大鼠足肿胀程度;减少扭体次数;显著提高小鼠福尔马林实验中的痛域。因此,柑桔果实中柠檬苦素类物质对本实验中的动物模型具有显著的抗炎及镇痛作用。