Novel loci for adiponectin levels and their influence on type 2 diabetes and metabolic traits: a multi-ethnic meta-analysis of 45,891 individuals

Circulating levels of adiponectin, a hormone produced predominantly by adipocytes, are highly heritable and are inversely associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and other metabolic traits. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in 39,883 individuals of European ancestry to identify genes associated with metabolic disease. We identified 8 novel loci associated with adiponectin levels and confirmed 2 previously reported loci (P = 4.5×10⁻⁸–1.2×10⁻⁴³). Using a novel method to combine data across ethnicities (N = 4,232 African Americans, N = 1,776 Asians, and N = 29,347 Europeans), we identified two additional novel loci. Expression analyses of 436 human adipocyte samples revealed that mRNA levels of 18 genes at candidate regions were associated with adiponectin concentrations after accounting for multiple testing (p<3×10⁻⁴). We next developed a multi-SNP genotypic risk score to test the association of adiponectin decreasing risk alleles on metabolic traits and diseases using consortia-level meta-analytic data. This risk score was associated with increased risk of T2D (p = 4.3×10⁻³, n = 22,044), increased triglycerides (p = 2.6×10⁻¹⁴, n = 93,440), increased waist-to-hip ratio (p = 1.8×10⁻⁵, n = 77,167), increased glucose two hours post oral glucose tolerance testing (p = 4.4×10⁻³, n = 15,234), increased fasting insulin (p = 0.015, n = 48,238), but with lower in HDL-cholesterol concentrations (p = 4.5×10⁻¹³, n = 96,748) and decreased BMI (p = 1.4×10⁻⁴, n = 121,335). These findings identify novel genetic determinants of adiponectin levels, which, taken together, influence risk of T2D and markers of insulin resistance.     

识“微”见远，立德树人——微生物学核心课程建设

微生物学作为生物学专业的基础课,在构建学生知识体系、课堂价值观引领方面具有重要作用。为实现"金课"建设目标,微生物学理论课在建设过程中,秉承着夯实基础、注重前沿的理念,在课程内容设计上注重不同课程的衔接和过渡,在教学方法上通过开展特色专题讲座、建设精品教材、应用"对分易"平台、举办"我是主讲人"等活动,以识"微"见远的理念,提升教学质量,延伸教学效果。与此同时,深刻认识到对人才培养而言,既要育智,更要育人。因此在教学中注重结合专业内容,激发学生的社会责任感和使命感;以榜样力量给予学生学习的目标与指引,立德树人,进而实现课程全方位育人的目标。     

Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 3 Regulates Activity-Dependent Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis

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Highlights? Wnt inhibitor sFRP3 exhibits activity-dependent expression in the adult hippocampus ? sFRP3 maintains quiescence of adult hippocampal radial glia-like neural stem cells ? sFRP3 inhibits maturation, dendritic development, and spinal formation of new neurons ? sFRP3 partially mediates activity-dependent adult hippocampal neurogenesis     

Intravital lipid droplet labeling and imaging reveals the phenotypes and functions of individual macrophages in vivo

Macrophages play pivotal roles in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. However, the reactivation of macrophages toward proinflammatory states correlates with a plethora of inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis, obesity, neurodegeneration, and bone marrow (BM) failure syndromes. The lack of methods to reveal macrophage phenotype and function in vivo impedes the translational research of these diseases. Here, we found that proinflammatory macrophages accumulate intracellular lipid droplets (LDs) relative to resting or noninflammatory macrophages both in vitro and in vivo, indicating that LD accumulation serves as a structural biomarker for macrophage phenotyping. To realize the staining and imaging of macrophage LDs in vivo, we developed a fluorescent fatty acid analog-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticle to label macrophages in mice with high efficiency and specificity. Using these novel nanoparticles, we achieved in situ functional identification of single macrophages in BM, liver, lung, and adipose tissues under conditions of acute or chronic inflammation. Moreover, with this intravital imaging platform, we further realized in vivo phenotyping of individual macrophages in the calvarial BM of mice under systemic inflammation. In conclusion, we established an efficient in vivo LD labeling and imaging system for single macrophage phenotyping, which will aid in the development of diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring. Moreover, this method also provides new avenues for the study of lipid trafficking and dynamics in vivo.Supplementary key words: macrophage, inflammation, lipid droplet, nanoparticle delivery, in vivo imaging, fatty acid analog, bone marrow, systemic inflammation, lipid trafficking, biomarker

Macrophages, a type of immune cells, almost reside in all tissues of body, from the skin to the bone marrow (BM) (1). Macrophages have remarkable plasticity, and they can be activated into specific subtypes by modifying their physiology and functions in response to local environmental cues. Activated macrophages are commonly divided into proinflammatory killing subtype and anti-inflammatory repairing subtype. Proinflammatory macrophages responding to bacteria, IFN-γ, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are involved in host defense and inflammation, whereas anti-inflammatory macrophages responding to interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10, and IL-13 play a pivotal role in tissue homeostasis and remodeling (2). Increasing evidence indicates that the reactivation of macrophages toward proinflammatory states under diverse kinds of stress is correlated with a plethora of inflammatory diseases, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegeneration, and BM failure syndromes (3, 4). Thus, characterization of macrophage activation status and the underlying molecular mechanism in situ will help elucidate their functions in these diseases; however, in vivo analysis of the macrophage activation status in their native multicellular microenvironment is challenging.Although lipid droplets (LDs) have been initially described as intracellular fat storage organelles in adipocytes, increasing studies indicate that myeloid cells also form LDs under inflammation and stress (5, 6). Macrophages, as the effector cells of innate immunity, are found to form LDs to support their host defense when exposed to pathogens, such as parasites, bacteria, and viruses (7, 8, 9, 10, 11). However, abnormal LD accumulation in tissue-resident macrophages correlates with the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. For instance, foam cells in atherosclerotic lesions can maintain the local inflammatory response by secreting proinflammatory cytokines (12, 13, 14). Moreover, LD-accumulating microglia contribute to neurodegeneration by producing high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and secreting proinflammatory cytokines (15). These findings indicate that LD accumulation might be a hallmark of macrophages with proinflammatory functions.In this study, based on the typical activation of in vitro BM-derived macrophages, we find that proinflammatory M_{(LPS + IFN-γ)} macrophages are characterized by LD accumulation, whereas resting macrophages and anti-inflammatory M_(IL-4) and M_(IL-10) macrophages do not contain any LDs. These features also hold for Matrigel plug-recruited macrophages and tissue-resident macrophages in mice. These findings demonstrate that LD accumulation could serve as a morphological index to distinguish proinflammatory macrophages from others.It is feasible to distinguish LD-containing cells using imaging techniques, which has translational potential for identification of proinflammatory macrophages in vivo. However, current techniques for LD visualization are traditional in vitro staining method, and in vivo staining and imaging of LD in individual macrophages remains a challenge. Through nanocarrier screening, we selected the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) as nanocarrier to deliver the lipophilic carbocyanine dye (DiI_C18(5) solid (1,1''-dioctadecyl-3,3,3'',3''-tetramethylindodicarbocyanine, 4-chlorobenzenesulfonate salt) [DiD]) and lipid staining dye (C1-BODIPY 500/510-C12) into macrophages. Using these dual fluorescence-labeled PLGA NPs, we achieved in situ and in vivo functional identification of single macrophages in various tissues under systemic or local inflammatory stress. Collectively, this study establishes an efficient in vivo labeling and imaging system of intracellular LDs for phenotyping the activation status and functions of individual macrophages in their dynamic niche, which is pivotal for disease diagnosis and preclinical research.     

珠三角河网区典型生境植物群落构成特征及生态修复

如何实现生态文明建设与三生空间高度混杂地区的高质量协同发展是珠三角河网区新时期面对的重要难题。以2018—2021年间积累的第一手田野调查资料为基础,针对广佛地区20处样地202个样点,综合生态学数量分析与风景园林学空间分析方法,研究河网区典型生境的植物群落构成特征及应用。结果表明：(1)珠三角河网区植物物种丰富,维管束植物共122科382属551种;植物群落“乔、灌、草、藤本”垂直结构完整,但乡土植物占比较低、外来入侵较严重;(2)动物友好植物种类丰富,共有鸟类友好植物88种、昆虫类友好植物90种、鱼类两栖类友好植物34种,但缺乏针对动物友好生境的科学配置;(3)河网区包括滨水、坑塘、农田、聚落四类典型生境以及9个稳定的植物群系,但在长期人为干扰下其生态功能和水乡风貌特征被严重削弱。最后,以佛山大美公园为例,探讨了以恢复河网区生物多样性和特色景观风貌为目标的生态修复实践。研究为珠三角河网区地域性景观恢复和三生空间混杂区域的近自然生态修复提供了重要的规划设计蓝本和实践示范。     

Burkholderia xenovorans LB400联苯双加氧酶及突变体对DDTs的降解

DDTs（dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane,1,1,1-三氯-2,2-双氯苯基乙烷）是一种典型的持久性有机污染物,曾在疟疾防治和农业除虫方面被广泛应用。虽然包括我国在内的很多国家已经禁止使用DDTs,但目前对环境中DDTs的检测发现它仍然广泛存在且具有新的输入源。DDTs的持续存在对近海生态系统和人类健康具有一定危害,因此它所造成的环境污染问题仍然值得关注。由于Rieske型芳香羟化双加氧酶能够起始多种持久性污染物的降解,过去的几十年里一直是芳香化合物降解领域的焦点。[目的] 为探讨联苯双加氧酶对DDTs的降解特性及机制,本研究选取了食异生素伯克霍尔德氏菌LB400（Burkholderia xenovorans）联苯双加氧酶及突变体对p,p''-DDT和o,p''-DDT的降解过程进行研究。[方法] 以BphAE_LB400为亲本,通过两步定点突变将283位的丝氨酸突变为蛋氨酸,获得突变体BphAE_S283M。通过比较亲本酶与突变体对DDTs的催化性能,模拟突变蛋白结构和分子对接等方法,探究其降解特性及机制。[结果] BphAE_LB400和突变体BphAE_S283M都无法降解对位的p,p''-DDT,但突变体BphAE_S283M可以代谢o,p''-DDT并产生2个立体异构体。对接p,p''-DDT的BphAE_LB400和BphAE_S283M的结构分析表明,BphAE_LB400和BphAE_S283M中p,p''-DDT的反应环均不与原晶体结构中的联苯反应环重合。而对接o,p''-DDT的BphAE_S283M的结构分析表明o,p''-DDT的反应环与晶体结构中的联苯反应环距离很近,且2、3位的碳原子与单核铁原子催化中心的距离在0.5 nm以内,此外,BphAE_S283M的催化腔表面积和体积比BphAE_LB400更大,这很可能有助于BphAE_S283M与o,p''-DDT的结合。[结论] 283位氨基酸是影响BphAE_LB400对DDTs的催化代谢能力的关键氨基酸残基,它可以通过调节反应碳原子与催化中心的距离以及催化腔的大小来影响底物特异性。本次研究进一步阐明了283位氨基酸残基的影响机理,为更有效修复DDTs污染提供理论依据和技术支持。     

胃大部切除术后消化性溃疡患者残胃癌危险因素分析及其干预措施

目的:探究消化性溃疡患者胃大部切除术后发生残胃癌的危险因素,并提出相应干预措施。方法:选取我院收治的行胃大部切除术治疗后的消化性溃疡患者180例作为研究对象,将其随机分为两组,每组90例。对照组给予常规干预,观察组给予综合干预,观察两组的干预效果,同时将发生残胃癌患者与未发生残胃癌患者各项资料进行对比,分析影响残胃癌发生的危险因素。结果:观察组中没有患者发生残胃癌,对照组中有10例患者发生残胃癌,发生率为11.11%,显著高于观察组(P0.05);两组患者在首次手术年龄、性别、HP感染上进行对比差异无统计学意义(P0.05);两组患者在首次手术吻合方式、首次手术溃疡位置上对比具有统计学意义(P0.05),残胃癌组组采用毕Ⅰ式2例,毕Ⅱ式7例,Roux-Y式1例;未发生残胃癌组采用毕Ⅰ式82例,毕Ⅱ式74例,Roux-Y式14例,残胃癌组首次手术溃疡位置以十二指肠球部为主,未发生残胃癌组以十二指肠球部、胃体部为主;Logistics回归分析结果证实首次手术吻合方式、首次手术溃疡位置属于残胃癌发生的主要危险因素。结论:术后残胃癌发生危险因素包括首次手术吻合方式、首次手术溃疡位置,同时相关并发症的发生同样会增加术后残胃癌发生风险,应加强引流管干预、并发症干预,并将此作为基础制定综合干预方案。     

昼间亚高温下番茄叶中糖含量与蔗糖代谢相关酶的活性日变化

研究番茄品种‘辽园多丽’幼苗在昼间35℃亚高温条件下叶中糖含量及蔗糖代谢相关酶活性日变化的结果表明,昼间亚高温处理后的幼苗叶中果糖、葡萄糖和淀粉含量下降,蔗糖含量升高。与蔗糖代谢相关的酶活性有明显的昼夜节律性变化,转化酶、蔗糖合成酶呈现昼间活性低、夜间活性高的节律性,而蔗糖磷酸合成酶活性在进入夜间时立刻升高。35℃昼间亚高温处理后的幼苗叶中,转化酶活性下降,蔗糖合成酶活性明显升高,蔗糖磷酸合成酶活性则略有升高。     

Emerging 3D‐Printed Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices: A Critical Review

Three‐dimensional (3D) printing, a layer‐by‐layer deposition technology, has a revolutionary role in a broad range of applications. As an emerging advanced fabrication technology, it has drawn growing interest in the field of electrochemical energy storage because of its inherent advantages including the freeform construction and controllable 3D structural prototyping. This article focuses on the topic of 3D‐printed electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs), which bridge advanced electrochemical energy storage and future additive manufacturing. Basic 3D printing systems and material considerations are described to provide a fundamental understanding of printing technologies for the fabrication of EESDs. The performance metrics of 3D‐printed EESDs are then given and the related performance optimization strategies are discussed. Next, the recent advances of 3D‐printed EESDs, including sandwich‐type and in‐plane architectures, are summarized. Conclusions and future perspectives with some unique challenges and important directions are then discussed. It can be expected that, with the help of 3D printing technology, the development of advanced electrochemical energy storage systems will be greatly promoted.