Focal adhesion kinase maintains,but not increases the adhesion of dental pulp cells

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) functions as a key enzyme in the integrin-mediated adhesion-signalling pathway. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of FAK on adhesion of human dental pulp (HDP) cells. We transfected lentiviral vectors to silence or overexpress FAK in HDP cells ex vivo. Early cell adhesion, cell survival and focal contacts (FCs)-related proteins (FAK and paxillin) were examined. By using immunofluorescence, the formation of FCs and cytoskeleton was detected, respectively. We found that both adhesion and survival of HDP cells were suppressed by FAK inhibition. However, FAK overexpression slightly inhibited cell adhesion and exhibited no change in cell survival compared with the control. A thick rim of cytoskeleton accumulated and smaller dot-shaped FCs appeared in FAK knockdown cells. Phosphorylation of paxillin (p-paxillin) was inhibited in FAK knockdown cells, verifying that the adhesion was inhibited. Less cytoskeleton and elongated FCs were observed in FAK-overexpressed cells. However, p-paxillin had no significant difference compared with the control. In conclusion, the data suggest that FAK maintains cell adhesion, survival and cytoskeleton formation, but excessive FAK has no positive effects on these aspects.     

Delayed minocycline but not delayed mild hypothermia protects against embolic stroke

Background  

Inflammatory reactions occurring in the brain after ischemia may contribute to secondary damage. In the present study, effects of minocycline, an anti-inflammatory agent, alone or in combination with mild hypothermia on focal embolic cerebral ischemia have been examined.     

Biotin-ubiquitin tagging of mammalian proteins in Escherichia coli

Ubiquitin has been used in protein expression for enhancing yields and biological activities of recombinant proteins. Biotin binds tightly and specifically to avidin and has been widely utilized as a tag for protein purification and monitoring. Here, we report a versatile system that takes the advantages of both biotin and ubiquitin for protein expression, purification, and monitoring. The tripartite system contained coding sequences for a leader biotinylation peptide, ubiquitin, and biotin holoenzyme synthetase in two reading frames under the control of T7 promoter. The expression and purification of several large mammalian enzymes as biotin-ubiquitin fusions were accomplished including human ubiquitin activating enzyme, SUMO activating enzymes, and aspartyl-tRNA synthetase. Expressed proteins were purified by one-step affinity column chromatography on monomeric avidin columns and purified proteins exhibited active function. Additionally, the ubiquitin protein hydrolase UBP41, expressed and purified as biotin-UBP41, efficiently and specifically cleaved off the biotin-ubiquitin tag from biotin-ubiquitin fusions to produce unmodified proteins. The present expression system should be useful for the expression, purification, and functional characterization of mammalian proteins and the construction of protein microarrays.     

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.     

MicroRNA Cluster miR-17-92 Regulates Neural Stem Cell Expansion and Transition to Intermediate Progenitors in the Developing Mouse Neocortex

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Oxygen isotope temperature calibrations for modern Tridacna shells in western Pacific

Coral Reefs - The oxygen isotope ratio of carbonate in Tridacna shell (δ18Oshell) is assumed to be precipitated in isotopic equilibrium with surrounding seawater and thus reflects a...     

烟草RAPD双引物与单引物PCR扩增多态性效率的比较分析

以两个亲缘关系较远的烟草（Nicotiana tabacum）品种台烟7号和白肋21为材料（GS=0.58）,研究了单引物扩增和双引物聚合扩增对RAPD-PCR分子标记多态性的影响。结果显示：双引物反应能够比单引物反应扩增出更多的多态性片段,双引物在白肋21和台烟7号中扩增出的多态性片段总数是单引物反应扩增出的多态性片段总数的6.6倍。因此,双引物RAPD的运用有助于提高烟草多态性分子标记的有效性。     

百日草根尖和花药愈伤组织染色体制片技术

以种子萌发根尖和花药愈伤组织为材料,研究了取样时间、预处理方法对百日草染色体制片的影响。结果表明:根尖上午8:00～9:00,花药愈伤继代3～5d上午9:00～10:00为最佳取样预处理时间;采用三种药剂预处理活体根尖,以4℃下饱和对二氯苯溶液或0.002mol/L的8-羟基喹啉液预处理8h效果最佳,花药愈伤则以饱和对二氯苯溶液预处理6h效果最佳。本实验的预处理温度是固定的,可克服预处理随季节和时间温度的变化而带来的不稳定性,且百日草花药愈伤染色体观察为首次报道。