Extracellular vesicles derived from Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cyst fluid from patients: isolation,characterization and evaluation of immunomodulatory functions on T cells

Cystic echinococcosis is a chronic and complex zoonotic disease. The mechanisms underlying the parasite’s establishment, growth and persistence are not completely understood, and are thought be modulated by a crosstalk through extracellular vesicles. Here, EVs were isolated from the hydatid cyst fluid of patients with cystic echinococcosis and protoscolex culture supernatant. Proteomic analysis of these EVs revealed several parasite- and human-derived proteins. Very few studies have performed proteomic analysis of EVs isolated from HCF and PCS. Our proteomic analysis of the EVs derived from HCF and PCS facilitated identification of 1175 proteins, wherein 1026 and 38 proteins were exclusively identified in the EVs derived from HCF (HCF-EVs) and PCS (PCS-EVs), respectively, and 111 proteins were shared in both. The results of co-culture of PCS-EVs with murine peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed that PCS-EVs significantly regulated T lymphocyte functions in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, our results provide valuable information on parasite survival strategies and new insights into the role of these EVs in the establishment and persistence of hydatid cysts.     

果寡糖和甘露寡糖对断奶仔猪免疫机能的影响

研究探讨了果寡糖和甘露寡糖对断奶仔猪免疫机能的影响。实验采用随机区组设计法将48头健康、体重一致的35日龄断奶杜洛克仔猪分为4组,每组3次重复,每个重复4头进行为期28天的饲养实验。4个处理组分别为:基础日粮 0.5%果寡糖(FOS组)、基础日粮 0.3%甘露寡糖(MOS组)、基础日粮 0.45%果寡糖 0.25%甘露寡糖(F M组)、基础日粮 75 mg/kg金霉素 40 mg/kg洛克沙生(ABT组)。实验结果表明:(1)寡糖组免疫器官指数较ABT组大(P>0.05)。(2)在断奶后第7天,FOS组(0.32±0.49)、MOS组(0.32±0.04)和F M组(0.32±0.07)均较ABT组(0.20±0.01)显著提高了血清免疫球蛋白A(IgA)的浓度(P<0.05),同时FOS组(3.50±0.49)较ABT组(2.68±0.47)显著提高了IgG浓度(P<0.05);F M组显著提高了断奶后第21天IgG浓度(P<0.05);MOS组显著提高了断奶后第21天IgM浓度(P<0.05)。(3)与ABT组相比,FOS显著提高了断奶后第7天胸腺(21.33±6.03对37.33±4.04)、脾脏(19.67±2.08对30.33±8.73)、淋巴结(24.67±4.16对37.67±2.52)CD4 T淋巴细胞百分数(P<0.05);FOS组(21.33±4.04对32.00±5.29)、MOS组(21.33±4.04对37.33±3.21)、F M组(21.33±4.04对32.00±3.60)显著提高了断奶后第28天胸腺CD4 T淋巴细胞百分数(P<0.05);MOS组(20.67±3.51对29.67±5.51)显著提高了断奶后第7天胸腺CD8 T淋巴细胞百分数;F M组(17.00±1.00对22.67±3.06)显著提高了断奶后第7天脾脏CD8 T淋巴细胞百分数(P<0.05);各寡糖组对断奶后第28天CD4 、CD8 T淋巴细胞百分数影响不显著(P>0.05);ABT组(34.33±5.03)在断奶后第7天较F M组(20.67±6.43)显著提高了淋巴结CD8 T淋巴细胞百分数(P<0.05);在断奶后第7天,FOS组(1.42±0.32)、MOS组(1.52±0.46)、F M组(1.51±0.30)淋巴结CD4 与CD8 比值显著(P<0.05)大于ABT组(0.71±0.03);在断奶后第28天,FOS组(1.36±0.21)和MOS组(1.34±0.16)脾脏CD4 与CD8 比值显著(P=0.01)大于ABT组(0.94±0.29),除此之外,各寡糖组CD4 与CD8 比值较寡糖组大(P>0.05),寡糖组间差异不显著。     

Immune-responsive gene 1/itaconate activates nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 in microglia to protect against spinal cord injury in mice

The pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI) involves primary injury and secondary injury. Secondary injury is a major target for SCI therapy, whereas microglia play an important role in secondary injury. The immunoresponsive gene 1 (Irg-1) has been recorded as one of the most significantly upregulated genes in SCI tissues in gene chip data; however, its role in SCI remains unclear. This study aims to illustrate the role of Irg-1 as well as its regulated metabolite itaconate in SCI. It was demonstrated that the expression of Irg-1 was increased in spinal cord tissues in mice as well as in microglia stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). It was also shown that overexpression of Irg-1 may suppress LPS-induced inflammation in microglia, while these protective effects were attenuated by Nrf2 silencing. In vivo, overexpression of Irg-1 was shown to suppress neuroinflammation and improve motor function recovery. Furthermore, treatment of microglia with itaconate demonstrated similar inflammation suppressive effects as Irg-1 overexpression in vitro and improved motor function recovery in vivo. In conclusion, the current study shows that Irg-1 and itaconate are involved in the recovery process of SCI, either Irg-1 overexpression or itaconate treatment may provide a promising strategy for the treatment of SCI.Subject terms: Apoptosis, Cell death in the nervous system, Microglia, Trauma     

牛肝菌类一新种——蔚青华牛肝菌

蔚青华牛肝菌,其盖表有绒毛,柄等粗而细长,具棱纹无网纹,担孢子长短兼存,6–16μm兼之。本种庆祝著名真菌学家蔚青王云章教授,欣逢公百年华诞,其对西南菌学研究和人才培养,屡蒙厚贶,感不胜言,谨以此名,敬寄慕念。     

A structural-informatics approach for mining beta-sheets: locating sheets in intermediate-resolution density maps

Here, we report a new computational method, called sheetminer, for mining beta-sheets in the density maps at intermediate resolutions of 6 to 10A. The method employs a multi-step ad hoc morphological analysis of density maps to identify the unique characteristics of beta-sheets. It was tested on density maps from 12 protein crystal structures that were artificially blurred to intermediate resolutions. There are a total of 35 independent beta-sheets with a wide distribution of morphology. The method successfully located 34 of them and missed only one. The method was also applied to an experimental 9A electron cryomicroscopic structure and an 8A X-ray density map. In both cases, the sheet-searching results were found to agree very well with known high-resolution crystal structures. Collectively, these results demonstrate clearly the robustness of sheetminer in locating the regions belonging to beta-sheets in the intermediate-resolution density maps. Furthermore, sheetminer is completely complementary to all other existing computational methods, including helixhunter and threading algorithms. Their combined usage has the potential to significantly enhance the computational modeling capacity for a much more complete interpretation of structural data at intermediate resolutions, from which extraction of functional information would be more effective. This is particularly important in the field of structural genomics, in which the fast screening approach may not always yield crystals that diffract to atomic resolution. An exciting future application of sheetminer is as a valuable tool for revealing the structures of amyloid fibrils that are rich in beta-motifs.     

山药水浸提物对alpha- 葡萄糖苷酶抑制作用的初步研究

目的:通过研究山药水浸提物对α-葡萄糖苷酶的抑制作用,初步探索山药对2型糖尿病的预防和治疗作用。方法:对山药进行热水浸提,采用1:5的料液比,浸提温度90℃,时间2小时,超滤获得山药水浸提物,利用α-葡萄糖苷酶对淀粉降解反应建立酶活检测体系,通过检测酶反应产物分析山药水浸提物对α-葡萄糖苷酶的抑制作用,并计算IC50。结果:山药水浸提物对α-葡萄糖苷酶的抑制率大于46%,IC50值为1.9 g/ml。结论:山药水浸提物对α-葡萄糖苷酶的抑制作用提示山药可以作为肥胖或者2型糖尿病患者有效的一种药食同源食材,本实验结果为2型糖尿病高危人群及患者合理选择膳食结构提供新的科学依据。     

布鲁杆菌性化脓性关节炎1例

布鲁菌病是系统性感染性疾病,临床表现多样,在非流行区易被忽视。本病以骨关节受累常见,关节症状多数为反应性关节炎,以单关节化脓性关节炎为首发表现的病例少见。本文报道1例布鲁杆菌性化脓性单膝关节炎的临床表现和诊疗情况。     

The Microgeographical Patterns of Morphological and Molecular Variation of a Mixed Ploidy Population in the Species Complex Actinidia chinensis

Polyploidy and hybridization are thought to have significant impacts on both the evolution and diversification of the genus Actinidia, but the structure and patterns of morphology and molecular diversity relating to ploidy variation of wild Actinidia plants remain much less understood. Here, we examine the distribution of morphological variation and ploidy levels along geographic and environmental variables of a large mixed-ploidy population of the A. chinensis species complex. We then characterize the extent of both genetic and epigenetic diversity and differentiation exhibited between individuals of different ploidy levels. Our results showed that while there are three ploidy levels in this population, hexaploids were constituted the majority (70.3%). Individuals with different ploidy levels were microgeographically structured in relation to elevation and extent of niche disturbance. The morphological characters examined revealed clear difference between diploids and hexaploids, however tetraploids exhibited intermediate forms. Both genetic and epigenetic diversity were high but the differentiation among cytotypes was weak, suggesting extensive gene flow and/or shared ancestral variation occurred in this population even across ploidy levels. Epigenetic variation was clearly correlated with changes in altitudes, a trend of continuous genetic variation and gradual increase of epigenomic heterogeneities of individuals was also observed. Our results show that complex interactions between the locally microgeographical environment, ploidy and gene flow impact A. chinensis genetic and epigenetic variation. We posit that an increase in ploidy does not broaden the species habitat range, but rather permits A. chinensis adaptation to specific niches.