Pyronin Y as a fluorescent stain for paraffin sections

Pyronin Y has long been used, in combination with other dyes such as Methyl Green, as a differential stain for nucleic acids in paraffin tissue sections. It also forms fluorescent complexes with double-stranded nucleic acids, especially RNA, enabling semi-quantitative analysis of cellular RNA in flow cytometry. However, the possibility of using pyronin Y as a fluorescent stain for paraffin tissue sections has rarely been investigated. We herein report that in sections stained with Methyl Green–pyronin Y, red blood cells, elastic fibre of blood vessels, zymogen granules of pancreatic acinar cells, surface membrane of heptocytes and kidney tubular cells showed strikingly strong green and/or red fluorescence, while the nuclei of cells appeared non-fluorescent. The use of confocal laser-scanning microscope greatly improved the resolution and selectivity of the fluorescent images. Staining with pyronin Y alone gave similar results in terms of fluorescence properties of the specimens. Pretreatment of paraffin sections with RNase significantly reduced cytoplasmic pyronin Y staining as judged by transmission light microscopy, but it had little effect on the fluorescence intensity of red blood cells, elastic fibres and zymogenbreak granules.     

Large quantity of ribosomal RNA exists extracellularly in mouse spleen

When BALB/c mouse spleens were gently homogenized in saline, the resultant supernatant (without cells and tissue debris) contained significant amount of 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA, reaching up to 70% of the total spleen RNA. Haemoglobin assays indicated that less than 15% of the spleen cells were lysed during the homogenization process, indicating that the majority of the spleen `supernatant RNA' was from the extracellular space of the organ rather than released by the splenocytes as a consequence of grinding. Quantitative RNA analysis showed that the ratio of spleen supernatant RNA/total RNA of BALB/c mice was inversely correlated with age (from approximately 70% at 3 weeks to 45% at 6 months), but that of BXSB mice (an animal model for systemic lupus erythematosus) remained at about 70% irrespective of age. Methyl Green–Pyronin Y staining of paraffin sections of mouse spleen revealed that extracellular RNA was distributed mainly in the sinuses of the organ. Culture supernatants of apoptotic splenocytes contained significant amounts of RNA, suggesting that the extracellular RNA in the spleen might have come from apoptotic lymphocytes. This is supported by the fact that `thymus supernatant' also contained significant amount of RNA. A possible correlation between spleen extracellular RNA and autoimmune diseases is discussed.     

Death receptor activation-induced hepatocyte apoptosis and liver injury

The TNFalpha receptor super-family consists of several members sharing a sequence homology in a unique function domain, the death domain, which is located in the intracellular portion of the receptor. These so-called death receptors, including Fas, TNF-R1 and TRAIL-R1/TRAIL-R2, are expressed on hepatocytes. When stimulated by their ligands, FasL, TNFalpha or TRAIL, respectively, the death receptors can activate multiple death domain-initiated apoptosis programs, including both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. A cascade of caspases is activated, which cleave proteins important for the cell structure and function. Activation of the intrinsic pathway also leads to mitochondrial release of several apoptotic proteins and mitochondrial dysfunction, which kill the cell through both caspase-dependent and caspase-independent mechanisms. Death receptor-induced hepatocyte apoptosis contributes to the development of a number of liver diseases, including viral hepatitis, inflammatory hepatitis, Wilson's disease, alcoholic liver disease, endotoxiemia-induced liver failure and ischemia/reperfusion-induced liver damage. This article comprehensively reviews the mechanisms of induction and regulation of death receptor-initiated apoptosis in hepatocytes, examines how these molecular events affect our understanding of the pathogenesis of these diseases and further discusses the potential therapeutic application of the knowledge. We hope we can provide a cohesive and integrated perspective on the many aspects of these complicated processes.     

苹果坐果的激素调控

以红富士苹果为试材,花朵数为5的花序,其坐果率明显高于花朵数为4的花序。开花前,花朵数为5的花序,其花朵子房内GAs,、Z浓度明显高于后者;开花后,后者GAs仍然低于前者,但Z浓度、Z／GAs比值则迅速增加并明显高于前者。蕾期喷施GA4 7DCPTA、Glu、SA可以明显提高花朵数为4的花序的坐果率。     

射线诱导在体造血细胞凋亡的量时效关系的研究

以4—10Gy射线在体损伤的小鼠为模型,应用DNA电泳和流式细胞术等方法证实细胞凋亡是射线损伤在体骨髓造血细胞的途径之一,发现射线诱导的造血细胞凋亡有明显的量效和时效关系。4、6、8和10Gy照射后,细胞凋亡发生率均表现为升高-降低过程,各剂量诱导的凋亡发生率峰值分别出现在照后12、8、4和4h,6和8Gy诱导的凋亡发生率已达最高水平,约为30％,10Gy诱导的凋亡反而要低。上述结果表明,诱导细胞凋亡是射线损伤骨髓造血细胞的一个重要途径,而且凋亡的发生率受照射剂量和照后时间的影响。因此,深入研究射线诱导的细胞凋亡,将有助于揭示射线损伤造血功能的机理。     

丛枝菌根真菌和根瘤菌对白三叶氮同化的影响

为揭示丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)和根瘤菌在白三叶氮(N)同化中的作用,该研究对白三叶进行单一或联合接种隐类球囊霉(Paraglomus occultum)和三叶草根瘤菌(Rhizobium trifolii),分析其对白三叶的生长、光合作用、叶片N和氨基酸含量以及N同化相关酶活性的影响。结果表明:(1)单一接种AMF或根瘤菌以及联合接种AMF和根瘤菌均显著增加了白三叶的株高、匍匐茎长度、叶片数、地上部生物量、总生物量、叶绿素b和总叶绿素含量、稳态光量子效率和叶片N含量,这种增强效应是联合接种>单一AMF>单一根瘤菌>未接种处理。(2)联合接种AMF和根瘤菌显著增加了白三叶叶片中丙氨酸、精氨酸、天冬酰胺、天冬氨酸、谷氨酰胺、谷氨酸和组氨酸的含量,显著提升了叶片N同化相关酶如硝酸还原酶、亚硝酸还原酶、谷氨酰胺合成酶、谷氨酸合成酶、谷氨酸脱氢酶、天冬酰胺合成酶和天冬氨酸转氨酶的活性,显著促进AMF对白三叶根系的侵染。综上认为,联合接种AMF和根瘤菌通过激活N同化相关酶活性有效促进N同化,产生更多氨基酸,进一步促进白三叶植株生长; 联合接种AMF和根瘤菌具有协同作用,有效促进了白三叶的N同化。     

广西景天科景天属植物小志

该文基于文献考证、馆藏标本鉴定及野外调查，对广西景天属(Sedum L.)植物进行了系统的梳理，对景天属植物物种多样性进行概述，确定目前分布有17种，其中有6个新记录种。该文概述了广西景天属植物物种多样性，订正了藓状景天(S.polytrichoides Hemsl.),简述了6个新记录种，即钝萼景天(S.leblancae Hamet.)、黎平景天(S.lipingense R. B. Zhang, D. Tan&R. X. Wei)、龙泉景天(S.lungtsuanense S. H. Fu)、圆叶景天(S.makinoi Maxim.)、细小景天(S.subtile Miq.)、土佐景天(S.tosaense Makino),并提供其形态特征集要与彩色照片。该文还对广西景天属植物的多样性以及资源潜在利用价值等进行了讨论，并附有分种检索表和各个分类群在广西的分布情况，为该属后续的研究与利用提供了本底资料。     

GST pull-down联合质谱鉴定BAG结构域相互作用蛋白

目的:BAG结构域(BAG domain,BD)为BAG家族蛋白的基本功能结构域,通过对BAG家族蛋白6个成员的9个BDs的相互作用蛋白进行分析,以探明不同BD相互作用蛋白的异同点并为研究BAG家族蛋白多样性生物功能的分子机制提供理论依据。方法:构建p-GEX-4T2-BDs重组子并转化E.coli BL21(DE3)经IPTG诱导表达GST-BDs融合蛋白并纯化。采用GST pulldown技术联合高效液相色谱串联质谱(LC-MS/MS)的策略对BDs相互作用蛋白进行定性定量分析。最后,用DAVID(The Database for Annotation,Visualization and Intergrated Discovery)和cytoscape对BDs相互作用蛋白进行GO(Gene Ontology)功能分析及KEGG(Kyoto Enyoolpedia of Genes and Genomes)通路分析。结果:在Hela细胞的胞浆蛋白中总共鉴定到370个潜在的BDs相互作用蛋白,主要为核糖体蛋白(ribosomal proteins)、翻译起始因子(Eukaryotic translation initiation factors)、翻译延长因子(Eukaryotic translation elongation factors)、泛素化-蛋白酶体相关蛋白(ubiquitin-proteasome associated proteins)及HSP40家族蛋白。GO功能富集分析结果显示,BDs相互作用蛋白涉及多种生物学功能,包括细胞内蛋白质质量控制(protein quality control)、糖代谢(glycolysis)、免疫调控(immune response)、应激反应(stress response)、细胞周期(cell cycle)等。KEGG通路分析结果表明BDs相互作用蛋白参与多条细胞内重要的信号通路,包括FGF信号通路(FGF signaling pathway)、EGF受体信号通路(EGF receptor signaling pathway)、PDGF信号通路(PDGF signaling pathway)、Ras通路(Ras pathway)等。结论:BAG家族蛋白不同成员的BD所介导的蛋白-蛋白相互作用既有共性又有特异性,BAG家族蛋白通过BDs介导多种蛋白相互作用并参与细胞内多条重要的信号通路来调控细胞内蛋白质稳态、糖代谢、免疫反应、应激反应、细胞周期等过程。     

AMDE-1 Is a Dual Function Chemical for Autophagy Activation and Inhibition

Autophagy is the process by which cytosolic components and organelles are delivered to the lysosome for degradation. Autophagy plays important roles in cellular homeostasis and disease pathogenesis. Small chemical molecules that can modulate autophagy activity may have pharmacological value for treating diseases. Using a GFP-LC3-based high content screening assay we identified a novel chemical that is able to modulate autophagy at both initiation and degradation levels. This molecule, termed as Autophagy Modulator with Dual Effect-1 (AMDE-1), triggered autophagy in an Atg5-dependent manner, recruiting Atg16 to the pre-autophagosomal site and causing LC3 lipidation. AMDE-1 induced autophagy through the activation of AMPK, which inactivated mTORC1 and activated ULK1. AMDE-1did not affect MAP kinase, JNK or oxidative stress signaling for autophagy induction. Surprisingly, treatment with AMDE-1 resulted in impairment in autophagic flux and inhibition of long-lived protein degradation. This inhibition was correlated with a reduction in lysosomal degradation capacity but not with autophagosome-lysosome fusion. Further analysis indicated that AMDE-1 caused a reduction in lysosome acidity and lysosomal proteolytic activity, suggesting that it suppressed general lysosome function. AMDE-1 thus also impaired endocytosis-mediated EGF receptor degradation. The dual effects of AMDE-1 on autophagy induction and lysosomal degradation suggested that its net effect would likely lead to autophagic stress and lysosome dysfunction, and therefore cell death. Indeed, AMDE-1 triggered necroptosis and was preferentially cytotoxic to cancer cells. In conclusion, this study identified a new class of autophagy modulators with dual effects, which can be explored for potential uses in cancer therapy.