Protein kinase A modulates PLC-dependent regulation and PIP2-sensitivity of K+ channels

Neurotransmitter and hormone regulation of cellular function can result from a concomitant stimulation of different signaling pathways. Signaling cascades are strongly regulated during disease and are often targeted by commonly used drugs. Crosstalk of different signaling pathways can have profound effects on the regulation of cell excitability. Members of all the three main structural families of potassium channels: inward-rectifiers, voltage-gated and 2-P domain, have been shown to be regulated by direct phosphorylation and Gq-coupled receptor activation. Here we test members of each of the three families, Kir3.1/Kir3.4, KCNQ1/KCNE1 and TREK-1 channels, all of which have been shown to be regulated directly by phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2). The three channels are inhibited by activation of Gq-coupled receptors and are differentially regulated by protein kinase A (PKA). We show that Gq-coupled receptor regulation can be physiologically modulated directly through specific channel phosphorylation sites. Our results suggest that PKA phosphorylation of these channels affects Gq-coupled receptor inhibition through modulation of the channel sensitivity to PIP2.     

Traditional Uses,Chemical Constituents and Biological Activities of Plants from the Genus Thymus

The genus Thymus (Lamiaceae) comprises about 214 species throughout the world, mainly found in North Africa, Europe, and temperate Asia zone. They are traditionally used as food additives and folk medicines. This review comprehensively summarizes information about traditional uses, chemical constituents, and biological activities of this genus and provides recommendations for future investigations. All information was gathered from scientific databases including Google Scholar, Sci‐Finder, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and CNKI. Volatile oils are the most concerned constituents of this genus. Flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, tannins, organic acids, terpenoids, and phytosterols were also summarized. This genus plants possessed a variety of activities including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, cytotoxic, analgesic, and antidiabetic. In brief, this review will be helpful to provide valuable data for explorations and create more interests towards Thymus genus in the future.     

Effects of incident light intensity and light path length on cell growth and oil accumulation in Botryococcus braunii (Chlorophyta)

Botryococcus braunii was cultured in different light path length under different incident light intensity to investigate the effect of light on alga growth as well as hydrocarbon and fatty acid accumulation. Results indicated that longer light path length required higher incident light intensity in order to meet the light requirement of algal growth and hydrocarbon accumulation during the course of cultivation. However, hydrocarbon profile was only affected by the incident light intensity and not influenced by the light path length. High incident light intensity enhanced the accumulation of hydrocarbons with longer carbon chains. Besides, the fatty acid content and profiles were significantly influenced by both incident light intensity and light path. Higher fatty acid content and higher percentage of C18 and monounsaturated fatty acid components were achieved at the higher incident light intensity and lower light path length. Taken together, these results are benefit to improve its biomass and oil productivity through the optimization of light and photobioreactor design.     

小黑杨基因组的初步组装及SSR信息分析

小黑杨是人们以小叶杨和欧洲黑杨为亲本培育出的杂交种,兼具双亲生长速度快、抗性强的优点。本研究通过二代测序技术,对小黑杨进行全基因组测序,初步组装出小黑杨基因组,并以此为基础,识别分析其SSR序列,为小黑杨品种划分、表型性状关联等提供参考。结果表明,共组装得到了366 876条总计368.96 Mbp的contig序列;对其中不小于2 000 bp的21 788条的非冗余contig进行SSR分析,共识别出18 111条SSR序列,其中一、二、三核苷酸重复基序较多。对得到的SSR序列设计引物,共得到12 838对引物,供今后实验使用。     

LncRNA FOXD2‐AS1 as a competitive endogenous RNA against miR‐150‐5p reverses resistance to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma

The current study elucidated the role of a long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA), FOXD2‐AS1, in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the regulatory mechanism underlying FOXD2‐AS1/miR‐150‐5p/transmembrane protein 9 (TMEM9) signalling in HCC. Microarray analysis was used for preliminary screening of candidate lncRNAs in HCC tissues. qRT‐PCR and Western blot analyses were used to detect the expression of FOXD2‐AS1. Cell proliferation assays, luciferase assay and RNA immunoprecipitation were performed to examine the mechanism by which FOXD2‐AS1 mediates sorafenib resistance in HCC cells. FOXD2‐AS1 and TMEM9 were significantly decreased and miR‐150‐5p was increased in SR‐HepG2 and SR‐HUH7 cells compared with control parental cells. Overexpression of FOXD2‐AS1 increased TMEM9 expression and overcame the resistance of SR‐HepG2 and SR‐HUH7 cells. Conversely, knockdown of FOXD2‐AS1 decreased TMEM9 expression and increased the sensitivity of HepG2 and Huh7 cells to sorafenib. Our data also demonstrated that FOXD2‐AS1 functioned as a sponge for miR‐150‐5p to modulate TMEM9 expression. Taken together, our findings revealed that FOXD2‐AS1 is an important regulator of TMEM9 and contributed to sorafenib resistance. Thus, FOXD2‐AS1 may serve as a therapeutic target against sorafenib resistance in HCC.     

The long non‐coding RNA‐ROR promotes osteosarcoma progression by targeting miR‐206

The long intergenic non‐protein coding RNA regulator of reprogramming (lncRNA‐ROR) has been reported to play crucial regulatory roles in the pathogenesis and progression of multiple cancers. However, whether ROR is associated with the initiation and development of osteosarcoma (OS) remains unclear. Here, we found that ROR expression level was significantly up‐regulated in OS tissue samples compared to adjacent normal tissues, and the elevated ROR was closely correlated with advanced tumour‐node‐metastasis (TNM) stage and lymph node metastasis and poor overall survival rate. Functional assays showed that ROR knockdown suppressed the OS cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion in vitro, and retarded tumour growth in vivo. In addition, miR‐206 was verified to be a target miRNA of ROR using bioinformatics online program and luciferase report assay. miR‐206 inhibition partially rescued the inhibitory effects on OS cells induced by ROR knockdown. In conclusion, these results suggested that ROR function as an oncogene in OS by sponging miR‐206 and might be a potential therapeutic target for patients with OS.     

羊轮状病毒NT株VP1基因的测序和分子进化分析

摘要：【目的】为了研究羊轮状病毒NT株VP1基因的遗传进化规律,【方法】根据GenBank中相关VP1基因的保守序列,设计合成引物,扩增NT株VP1基因并进行克隆测序和序列分析。【结果】 氨基酸序列比较表明NT株与其他毒株VP1基因的相似性为77.3%～98.4%,且氨基酸突变多发生在VP1蛋白的非功能区。VP1蛋白进化树表明NT株与牛轮状病毒处于同一进化分支,有较近的亲缘关系。结合26株具有代表性的轮状病毒,计算毒株间VP1基因的核苷酸和氨基酸进化距离,并对核苷酸的同义突变率（dS）和非同义突变率（dN）进行研究,发现dN/dS的比值小于1,说明同义替代是VP1基因在进化过程中的主要变异。【结论】本文首次对羊轮状病毒NT株进行了VP1基因的测序,并对VP1基因的进化距离和进化规律进行深入探讨。     

Cloning and characterization of two types of ubiquitin genes from Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta)

Two types of ubiquitin genes were isolated from the marine red alga Gracilaria lemaneiformis: a ubiquitin-52 amino acid fusion protein gene, and a 6-unit polyubiquitin gene. Alignment of polyubiquitins among three red algae (Gracilaria lemaneiformis, Gracilaria verrucosa, Aglaothamnion neglectum) and other species revealed that there were six ubiquitin repeats in all three red algae polyubiquitins, and that glutamine was the final amino acid residue in the terminal repeat of the polyprotein in the two Gracilaria sequences. Southern blot analysis revealed that both genes were encoded by low-copy number genes. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was performed to investigate the expression of these two genes in two phases of G. lemaneiformis. The result revealed that the monoubiquitin was phase-relative, and upregulated in tetrasporophytes compared with female gametophytes. The polyubiquitin gene was expressed at similar levels in both phases.     

Adreno-muscarinic synergy in the bladder trigone: calcium-dependent and -independent mechanisms

We have recently demonstrated a strong synergy between both excitatory pathways in the trigone which--as part of the bladder base--is believed to play a key role in outflow control. The aim of this study was to reveal whether modulation of intracellular Ca2+, [Ca2+]i, is mainly responsible for this synergistic effect. Intact muscle strips from the superficial trigone of male guinea-pigs were used for tension experiments. In isolated trigonal cells, [Ca2+]i was measured by epifluorescence microscopy using the fluorescent Ca2+-indicator Fura-2. Phenylephrine (PE, 10 microM) augmented contractions induced by carbachol (1 microM) to 4.0+/-0.8-fold of control, while corresponding [Ca2+]i levels did not exceed 1.3+/-0.2-fold of control. Furthermore, PE generated significantly greater contractions for a given rise of [Ca2+]i, compared to depolarising KCl solutions. The protein kinase C inhibitor GF 109203X (5 microM) and the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632 (5microM) reduced the PE contracture to 37.3+/-9.4 and 60.1+/-12.4% of control, respectively, without significantly altering the [Ca2+]i transients. GF 109203X reduced the augmentation of 1microM carbachol by PE to 1.5+/-0.1-fold. Muscarinic and adrenergic receptor activation exerts a strong synergistic effect in the bladder trigone without similar changes to the [Ca2+]i transient. Ca2+-sensitisation of contractile proteins is likely to play a key role in this synergism, particularly for adrenergic activation.