Gymnemic acid I triggers mechanistic target of rapamycin-mediated β cells cytoprotection through the promotion of autophagy under high glucose stress

Gymnemic acid I (GA I) is a bioactive component of Gymnema sylvestre. It is an Indian traditional medicinal herb which has antidiabetic effect. However, the molecular mechanism is remaining to be elucidated. Here, we showed that high glucose promoted the rate of apoptosis, GA I decreased the apoptosis under the high glucose stress. Our further study explored that GA I increased the number of autophagosome and the ratio of light chain 3-I (LC3-I)/LC3-II in MIN-6 cells under the normal or high glucose stress by the methods of western blot analysis and immunofluorescence. It induced autophagy flux and inhibited the phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and ribosomal protein S6 kinase β-1 (p70 S6K/S6K1), which is a substrate of mTOR. GA I decreased the rate of apoptosis and the activity of caspase-3 under the high glucose stress. The inhibition of apoptosis and caspase-3 activity by GA I were increased after treating with autophagy inhibitor in mouse islet β cells MIN-6. Our data suggested that GA I-induced autophagy protected MIN-6 cells from apoptosis under high glucose stress via inhibition the phosphorylation activity of mTOR.     

复合水解酶黑曲霉HD—1固体发酵工艺研究

黑曲霉HD-1是一株分泌高单位酸性蛋白酶、纤维素酶、果胶酶、糖化酶等多种水解酶的生产菌,本研究采用单因素搜索和正交试验对其固体发酵工艺进行优化,并采用中心组合设计进行扩大生产试验,结果表明酶活可达:酸性蛋白酶1.1万U左右,果胶酶9千u以上,纤维素C_X酶1.1万U左右,纤维素C_L酶4千U以上,糖化酶7千U左右。同时说明数理统计方法设计实验,工作量小,优化结果准确。     

14C-涕灭威在旱田土壤中的降解

研究了¹⁴C-涕灭威在5种土壤中(4ppm,1.22μCi·50g^-1 土壤干重)的生物降解。模拟试验为密闭系统,土壤中水分含量为22%,气温20-30℃在供试的5种土壤中,北京肖家河的土壤降解最快,为施人放射剂量的51.3%,以“¹⁴CO₂ 形式从土壤进出;26.0%与土壤结合,只有21.6%可以被抽出。取自浙江义乌的土壤降解较慢,收集到的¹⁴CO₂ 为施入量的23.3%.土壤中加入杀菌剂红霉素或敌茵丹降解作用明显减慢。土壤提取物中涕灭威亚砜、涕灭威亚砜肟被确认是主要的代谢产物,还发现了少量的涕灭威砜,涕灭威亚砜腈涕灭威砜腈和涕灭威砜肟等降解物。     

基于UPLC-MS/MS技术的野生及栽培韭菜籽的代谢组学研究

多星韭为贵州省赫章县喀斯特地貌区重要的野生植物资源之一,具有较高的开发利用价值。为分析野生多星韭(Allium wallichii )籽与栽培韭菜(A. tuberosum)籽代谢产物差异及其通路,该研究利用UPLC-MS/MS物质分离鉴定技术,对2种韭籽化学成分进行广泛靶向代谢组学分析。结果表明:(1)共检测到782种代谢产物。(2)主成分分析(PCA)显示样本间存在差异,正交偏最小二乘判别分析(OPLS-DA)共筛选出12类显著变化(P<0.05,VIP≥1)的差异代谢物,涉及492种,其中上调和下调幅度在前20的代谢物包括黄酮、甾体皂苷、黄酮醇、酚酸类、异黄酮、游离脂肪酸、三萜皂苷、生物碱、吲哚类生物碱、氨基酸及其衍生物等。(3)KEGG注释到84条差异代谢通路,其中差异代谢物显著富集(P<0.01)通路4条,此外还构建了未注释到的显著差异代谢物甾体皂苷的生物合成通路。该研究结果为韭籽有效成分代谢途径解析及药理活性物质研究提供了参考,也为赫章县野生多星韭的开发保护与多元化利用提供了新思路。     

小麦抗条锈病近等基因系感染条锈病后丁布含量变化

选用2套遗传背景不同的抗条锈病近等基因系作为供试寄主材料,研究了不同抗条锈病近等基因系丁布的含量及其在感病过程中丁布含量的动态变化.结果表明,在未受病菌侵染情况下,2套分别含有Yr2、Yr9和YrSpP基因的近等基因系（抗病系）与其轮回亲本Taichung 29、铭贤169(感病系)间丁布含量没有显著差异（P＞0.05）.接种条锈病菌后,感病系在病菌侵染初期丁布含量下降,而抗病系在病菌侵染初期丁布含量迅速大幅度上升.感染条锈病最终导致感病植株丁布含量比未接种的植株明显减少, 感病系的减少幅度明显高于抗病系.在整个病程中,抗病系丁布的含量始终高于感病系,表明接种条件下小麦植株体内丁布含量变化与小麦抗条锈近等基因系的抗性有关.     

四种重金属对中国鲎(Tachypleus tridentatus)胚胎发育的影响

分析了不同离子浓度的Zn、Pb、Cu、Cd对中国鲎胚胎发育的影响.结果表明①4种金属离子浓度≤渔业水域水质标准浓度4倍时,对中国鲎胚胎发育无明显毒性效应;≥渔业水域水质标准浓度8倍时,Cd离子和Cu离子对中国鲎胚胎发育无明显影响,而Zn离子组Pb离子组胚体发育随离子浓度提高而卵径变小,发育速度下降;②浓度为1.6mg/L时,Zn和Pb离子组胚胎致畸率分别为44%和58%,Pb离子组胚体孵化率仅2.67%;③4种重金属对中国鲎胚胎发育的毒性效应表现为Pb＞Zn＞Cu=Cd;④中国鲎胚胎对重金属有蓄积作用,蓄积效应随金属种类不同而异.     

Ran GTPase protein promotes human pancreatic cancer proliferation by deregulating the expression of Survivin and cell cycle proteins

Ran, a member of the Ras GTPase family, has important roles in nucleocytoplasmic transport. Herein, we detected Ran expression in pancreatic cancer and explored its potential role on tumour progression. Overexpressed Ran in pancreatic cancer tissues was found highly correlated with the histological grade. Downregulation of Ran led to significant suppression of cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase and induction of apoptosis. In vivo studies also validated that result. Further studies revealed that those effects were at least partly mediated by the downregulation of Cyclin A, Cyclin D1, Cyclin E, CDK2, CDK4, phospho-Rb and Survivin proteins and up regulation of cleaved Caspase-3.     

Cloning, expression, and functional analysis of molecular motor pilT and pilU genes of type IV pili in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

PilT is a hexameric ATPase required for type IV pili (Tfp) retraction in gram-negative bacterium. Retraction of Tfp mediates intimate attachment and motility on inorganic solid surfaces. We investigated the cloning and expression of pilT and pilU genes of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strains ATCC 23270, and the results indicate that PilT and PilU contain the canonical conserved AIRNLIRE and GMQTXXXXLXXL motifs that are the characteristic motifs of the PilT protein family; PilT and PilU also contain the canonical nucleotide-binding motifs, named with Walker A box (GxxGxGKT/S) and Walker B box (hhhhDE), respectively. The pilT and pilU genes were expressed to produce 37.1- and 42.0-kDa proteins, respectively, and co-transcribed induced by 10 % mineral powder. However, ATPase activity of PilT was distinctly higher than those of PilU. These results indicated that the PilT protein was the real molecular motor of Tfp, while PilU could play a key role in the assembly, modification, and twitching motility of Tfp in A. ferrooxidans. However, PilT and PilU were nonetheless interrelated in the forming and function of the molecular motor of Tfp.     

In Vivo Tracking and Comparison of the Therapeutic Effects of MSCs and HSCs for Liver Injury

Background

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have been studied for damaged liver repair; however, the conclusions drawn regarding their homing capacity to the injured liver are conflicting. Besides, the relative utility and synergistic effects of these two cell types on the injured liver remain unclear.

Methodology/Principal Findings

MSCs, HSCs and the combination of both cells were obtained from the bone marrow of male mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein(EGFP)and injected into the female mice with or without liver fibrosis. The distribution of the stem cells, survival rates, liver function, hepatocyte regeneration, growth factors and cytokines of the recipient mice were analyzed. We found that the liver content of the EGFP-donor cells was significantly higher in the MSCs group than in the HSCs or MSCs+HSCs group. The survival rate for the MSCs group was significantly higher than that of the HSCs or MSCs+HSCs group; all surpassed the control group. After MSC-transplantation, the injured livers were maximally restored, with less collagen than the controls. The fibrotic areas had decreased to a lesser extent in the mice transplanted with HSCs or MSCs+HSCs. Compared with mice in the HSCs group, the mice that received MSCs had better improved liver function. MSCs exhibited more remarkable paracrine effects and immunomodulatory properties on hepatic stellate cells and native hepatocytes in the treatment of the liver pathology. Synergistic actions of MSCs and HSCs were most likely not observed because the stem cells in liver were detected mostly as single cells, and single MSCs are insufficient to provide a beneficial niche for HSCs.

Conclusions/Significance

MSCs exhibited a greater homing capability for the injured liver and modulated fibrosis and inflammation more effectively than did HSCs. Synergistic effects of MSCs and HSCs were not observed in liver injury.