Crystal structure of mitochondrial respiratory membrane protein complex II

The mitochondrial respiratory Complex II or succinate:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (SQR) is an integral membrane protein complex in both the tricarboxylic acid cycle and aerobic respiration. Here we report the first crystal structure of Complex II from porcine heart at 2.4 A resolution and its complex structure with inhibitors 3-nitropropionate and 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTFA) at 3.5 A resolution. Complex II is comprised of two hydrophilic proteins, flavoprotein (Fp) and iron-sulfur protein (Ip), and two transmembrane proteins (CybL and CybS), as well as prosthetic groups required for electron transfer from succinate to ubiquinone. The structure correlates the protein environments around prosthetic groups with their unique midpoint redox potentials. Two ubiquinone binding sites are discussed and elucidated by TTFA binding. The Complex II structure provides a bona fide model for study of the mitochondrial respiratory system and human mitochondrial diseases related to mutations in this complex.     

Cost-Effectiveness of Dapagliflozin versus Acarbose as a Monotherapy in Type 2 Diabetes in China

ObjectiveTo estimate the long-term cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin versus acarbose as monotherapy in treatment-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China.MethodsThe Cardiff Diabetes Model, an economic model designed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of comparator therapies in diabetes was used to simulate disease progression and estimate the long-term effect of treatments on patients. Systematic literature reviews, hospital surveys, meta-analysis and indirect treatment comparison were conducted to obtain model-required patient profiles, clinical data and costs. Health insurance costs (2015¥) were estimated over 40 years from a healthcare payer perspective. Univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed.ResultsThe model predicted that dapagliflozin had lower incidences of cardiovascular events, hypoglycemia and mortality events, was associated with a mean incremental benefit of 0.25 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and with a lower cost of ¥8,439 compared with acarbose. This resulted in a cost saving of ¥33,786 per QALY gained with dapagliflozin. Sensitivity analyses determined that the results are robust.ConclusionDapagliflozin is dominant compared with acarbose as monotherapy for Chinese T2DM patients, with a little QALY gain and lower costs. Dapagliflozin offers a well-tolerated and cost-effective alternative medication for treatment-naive patients in China, and may have a direct impact in reducing the disease burden of T2DM.     

小鼠膀胱上皮的中间层细胞中存在Uroplakins

本文运用超薄切片、冰冻蚀刻及免疫胶体金标记等多种电镜技术并结合免疫组化、免疫荧光染色技术,直观地显示出小鼠膀胱上皮的中间层细胞存在Uroplakins,并在梭形泡膜上形成了与表层细胞类似的AUM结构,而且梭形泡的AUM结构也结合在中间纤维上。蛋白质免疫印迹反应进一步证实中间层细胞含有与表层细胞相同的Uroplakin Ⅰ和UroplakinⅢ等AUM蛋白的主要成份,从而为AUM的发生及其与细胞分化关系的研究提供了重要的实验证据。     

四季桂抗氧化防御系统对干旱、高温及协同胁迫的响应

以天香台阁四季桂(Osmanthus fragrans cv. ‘Tian Xiang TaiGe’)为材料, 研究干旱(轻度、中度和重度)、高温(40°C)及干旱高温协同胁迫对四季桂叶片抗氧化防御系统的影响。结果显示, 干旱胁迫下, 四季桂活性氧(ROS)逐渐积累, 膜脂过氧化程度加深; 轻度和中度干旱胁迫下, 抗氧化酶活性显著升高; 重度干旱胁迫下, 抗坏血酸(AsA)及其还原力(AsA/DHA)显著降低, 谷胱甘肽(GSH)及其还原力(GSH/GSSG)以及抗坏血酸-谷胱甘肽(AsA-GSH)循环相关酶活性呈先上升后下降的趋势, 在中度干旱胁迫时达到峰值。高温胁迫显著增强ROS积累、抗氧化酶活性、抗氧化剂含量及AsA-GSH循环效率。干旱高温协同胁迫下, 四季桂所受伤害大于单一胁迫, ROS在抗氧化酶的作用下增幅减缓; 随着胁迫强度的加剧, AsA-GSH循环效率呈先增加后下降的趋势, 重度协同胁迫时显著降低, 无法维持氧化还原平衡。四季桂在干旱高温胁迫下能快速启动体内抗氧化防御系统, 清除体内过量的ROS, 增加机体还原力, 以减缓胁迫带来的伤害。     

Extensive hydrolysis of raw rice starch by a chimeric α-amylase engineered with α-amylase (AmyP) and a starch-binding domain from Cryptococcus sp. S-2

Recombinant chimeric α-amylase (AmyP-Cr) was constructed by a catalytic core of α-amylase (AmyP) from a marine metagenomic library and a starch-binding domain (SBD_Cr) of α-amylase from Cryptococcus sp. S-2. The molecular fusion did not alter optimum pH, optimum temperature, hydrolysis products, and an ability of preferential and rapid degradation towards raw rice starch, but catalytic efficiency and thermostability were remarkably improved compared with those of the wild-type AmyP. AmyP-Cr achieved the final hydrolysis degree of 61.7 ± 1.2% for 10% raw rice starch and 47.3 ± 0.8% for 15% raw rice starch after 4 h at 40 °C with 1.0 U per mg of raw starch. The catalytic efficiency was very high, with 3.6–4.0 times higher than that of AmyP. The enhanced catalytic efficiency was attributed to the better thermostability and the higher adsorption and disruption to raw rice starch caused by SBD_Cr. The properties of AmyP-Cr open a new way in terms of a new design of raw rice starch processing.

     

Chromosome Number of Tamarix L.

The chromosome number of thirteen species of Tamarix L. in China is reported in this paper. All of them have the same number (2n=24) and most of them are reported for the first time except T. hispida, whose chromosome number is the same as previously reported.