DNA damage evaluated by gammaH2AX foci formation by a selective group of chemical/physical stressors

It has been reported that the phosphorylated form of histone variant H2AX (gammaH2AX) plays an important role in the recruitment of DNA repair and checkpoint proteins to sites of DNA damage, particularly at double strand breaks (DSBs). Using gammaH2AX foci formation as an indicator for DNA damage, several chemicals/stress factors were chosen to assess their ability to induce gammaH2AX foci in a 24h time frame in a human amnion FL cell line. Two direct-acting genotoxins, methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU), can induce gammaH2AX foci formation in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Similarly, an indirect-acting genotoxin, benzo[a]pyrene (BP), also induced the formation of gammaH2AX foci in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Another indirect genotoxin, 2-acetyl-aminofluorene (AAF), did not induce gammaH2AX foci formation in FL cells; however, AAF can induce gammaH2AX foci formation in Chinese hamster CHL cells. Neutral comet assays also revealed the induction of DNA strand breaks by these agents. In contrast, epigenetic carcinogens azathioprine and cyclosporine A, as well as non-carcinogen dimethyl sulfoxide, did not induce gammaH2AX foci formation in FL cells. In addition, heat shock and hypertonic saline did not induce gammaH2AX foci. Cell survival analyses indicated that the induction of gammaH2AX is not correlated with the cytotoxic effects of these agents/factors. Taken together, these results suggest that gammaH2AX foci formation could be used for evaluating DNA damage; however, the different cell types used may play an important role in determining gammaH2AX foci formation induced by a specific agent.     

Simultaneous determination of the carboxylate and lactone forms of 10-hydroxycamptothecin in human serum by restricted-access media high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple restricted-access media (RAM) HPLC method for simultaneous determination of the lactone and carboxylate forms of 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) in human serum was established. Using a RAM Hisep analytical column, serum samples were directly injected into the HPLC system. The eluted peaks of two forms of HCPT were monitored with a fluorescence detector. The separation was completed in 17 min. The linear range was 20-1000 ng/ml, intra-day and inter-day variations being less than 5%. The kinetic equation was introduced according to the analytical results. The equation shows that the course of the HCPT lactone form converting to carboxylate form in human serum at 4 degrees C is a first-order kinetic course. The concentration of each form at the moment of sampling was calculated by extrapolation.     

Intrathecal Fas ligand infusion strengthens immunoprivilege of central nervous system and suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Fas ligand (FasL) is an essential molecule strongly expressed in some immunoprivileged sites, but is expressed at very low levels in normal CNS. In this study, acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) was induced in Lewis rats with guinea pig myelin basic protein. Intrathecal infusion of recombinant FasL before EAE onset dose dependently suppressed acute EAE and alleviated pathological inflammation in lumbosacral spinal cord. This treatment greatly increased apoptosis in CNS inflammatory cells, but did not inhibit systemic immune response to myelin basic protein. Systemic administration of a similar dose of rFasL was ineffective. In vitro, encephalitogenic T cells were highly sensitive to rFasL-induced cell death, and activated macrophages were also susceptible. In addition, in vitro rFasL treatment potentiated the immunosuppressive property of rat cerebrospinal fluid. We conclude that intrathecal infusion of rFasL eliminated the initial wave of infiltrating T cells and macrophages, and therefore blocked the later recruitment of inflammatory cells into CNS. Although Fas receptor expression was observed on spinal cord neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, no damage to these cells or to the myelin structure was detected after rFasL infusion.     

RT-PCR heteroduplex analysis permits differentiation of transgene and host gene expression in a transgenic animal model

In transgenic animal models, the conservation of DNA sequences between the transgene and the host wild-type gene can complicate the evaluation of the expression of each gene. The potential for gene silencing may complicate matters further. Here we report the use of RT-PCR heteroduplex analysis to differentiate the expression of a transgene and its homologous wild-type, even when these genes are very similar in their respective DNA sequences. We designed RT-PCR primers to amplify identically sized 243-bp fragments within the DNA binding domain of the p53 gene from both human and mouse mRNA samples. Ten samples from human p53 (273H) transgenic mice and 10 samples from wild-type controls were tested. Heteroduplex bands were formed in all transgenic samples but were absent from all wild-type samples. In addition, RT-PCR heteroduplex analysis was able in one sample to differentiate a silenced transgene from its wild-type allele, without the assistance of sequencing or labeling. In summary, the RT-PCR heteroduplex analysis is easy to use and has the ability to screen a large number of samples in a short time. The RT-PCR heteroduplex analysis is especially useful for the detection of expression when a transgene and the host homologous endogenous allele are too conserved in sequence to design species-specific RT-PCR primers.     

云南禄丰古猿地点的松鼠类化石

记述了云南禄丰晚中新世石灰坝古猿地点发现的松鼠科化石。禄丰石灰坝动物群的松鼠动物共有 7属 7种 :地松鼠Sciurotamiaswangisp .nov .,树松鼠Tamiopssp .、Callosciurussp .、Dremomysprimitivussp .nov .和飞松鼠Miopetauristaasiaticasp .nov .、Hylopetodondianensegen .etsp.nov.、Pteromyinaegen.etsp .indet.。该动物群松鼠类动物的组成以树松鼠和飞松鼠为主 ,反映了较为湿润的热带—亚热带森林环境。在动物地理上 ,其成员几乎局限于东南亚分布 ,具有浓厚的现代东洋界色彩     

乳突拟耧斗菜中的一新二萜成分

从乳突拟耧斗菜(Paraquilegia anemoides)乙醇提取物的非碱部分中分得两个二萜类化合物:ent—考兰烷—16β,17—二醇和拟耧斗菜素(paraquilegin)。其中拟耧斗菜素是一新化合物,其结构经光谱解析和化学方法证明为ent—17—咖啡酰氧基-考兰烷—16B-醇。     

黄桃罐头产品质量Fuzzy综合鉴评

本文根据FuzzZ数学理论,运用多级模型的综合评判法,对国内20种黄桃罐头产品质量进行了优劣鉴评。并将其划分为一、二、三、四4个等级。从而为罐头产品质量鉴评,准确地汰劣遴优提供新方法。     

Hypomethylated sequences: Characterization of the duplicate soybean genome

Soybean is believed to be a diploidized tetraploid generated from an allotetraploid ancestor. In this study, we used hypomethylated genomic DNA as a source of probes to investigate the genomic structure and methylation patterns of duplicated sequences. Forty-five genomic clones from Phaseolus vulgaris and 664 genomic clones from Glycine max were used to examine the duplicated regions in the soybean genome. Southern analysis of genomic DNA using probes from both sources revealed that greater than 15% of the hypomethylated genomic regions were only present once in the soybean genome. The remaining ca. 85% of the hypomethylated regions comprise duplicated or middle repetitive DNA sequences. If only the ratio of single to duplicate probe patterns is considered, it appears that 25% of the single-copy sequences have been lost. By using a subset of probes that only detected duplicated sequences, we examined the methylation status of the homeologous genomes with the restriction enzymes MspI and HpaII. We found that in all cases both copies of these regions were hypomethylated, although there were examples of low-level methylation. It appears that duplicate sequences are being eliminated in the diploidization process. Our data reveal no evidence that duplicated sequences are being silenced by inactivation correlated with methylation patterns.