Quantitative proteomics reveal up-regulated protein expression of the SET complex associated with hepatocellular carcinoma

We combined culture-derived isotope tags (CDITs) with two-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (2D-LC-MS/MS) to extensively survey abnormal protein expression associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in clinical tissues. This approach yielded an in-depth quantitated proteome of 1360 proteins. Importantly, 267 proteins were significantly regulated with a fold-change of at least 1.5. The proteins up-regulated in HCC tissues are involved in regulatory processes, such as the granzyme A-mediated apoptosis pathway (The GzmA pathway). The SET complex, a central component in the GzmA pathway, was significantly up-regulated in HCC tissue. The elevated expressions of all of the SET complex components were validated by Western blotting. Among them, ANP32A and APEX1 were further investigated by immunohistochemistry staining using tissue microarrays (59 cases), confirming their overexpression in tumors. The up-regulation and nuclear accumulations of APEX1 was associated not only with HCC malignancy but also with HCC differentiation in 96 clinical HCC cases. Our work provided a systematic and quantitative analysis and demonstrated key changes in clinical HCC tissues. These proteomic signatures could help to unveil the underlying mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis and may be useful for the discovery of candidate biomarkers.     

Two human ACAT2 mRNA variants produced by alternative splicing and coding for novel isoenzymes

Acyl coenzyme A：cholesterol acyltransferase 2 （ACAT2） plays an important role in cholesterol absorption. Human ACAT2 is highly expressed in small intestine and fetal liver, but its expression is greatly diminished in adult liver. The full-length human ACAT2 mRNA encodes a protein, designated ACAT2a, with 522 amino acids. We have previously reported the organization of the human ACAT2 gene and the differentiation-dependent promoter activity in intestinal Caco-2 cells. In the current work, two human ACAT2 mRNA variants produced by alternative splicing are cloned and predicted to encode two novel ACAT2 isoforms, named ACAT2b and ACAT2c, with 502 and 379 amino acids, respectively. These mRNA variants differ from ACAT2a mRNA by lack of the exon 4 （ACAT2b mRNA） and exons 4-5 plus 8-9-10 （ACAT2c mRNA）. Significantly, comparable amounts of the alternatively spliced ACAT2 mRNA variants were detected by RT- PCR, and Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of their corresponding proteins in human liver and intestine cells. Furthermore, phosphorylation and enzymatic activity analyses demonstrated that the novel isoenzymes ACAT2b and ACAT2c lacked the phosphorylatable site SLLD, and their enzymatic activities reduced to 25%-35% of that of ACAT2a. These evidences indicate that alternative splicing produces two human ACAT2 mRNA variants that encode the novel ACAT2 isoenzymes. Our findings might help to understand the regulation of the ACAT2 gene expression under certain physiological and pathological conditions.     

硝基苯酚胁迫下外源褪黑素对水稻幼苗生长及生理特性的影响

采用液体培养实验方法,研究硝基苯酚胁迫对水稻(Oryza sativa L.)幼苗生长、抗氧化特性、光系统Ⅱ(PSⅡ)光合特性的影响,以及添加外源褪黑素对缓解硝基苯酚胁迫的作用。结果显示,随着硝基苯酚胁迫浓度的升高,水稻幼苗株高、根长、地下部干重、地上部干重、全株干重和叶片PSⅡ实际光化学效率[Y(Ⅱ)]、光化学淬灭系数(q P)、PSⅡ电子传递速率(ETR)、叶绿素含量均有所下降,而叶片非光化学淬灭系数(qN、NPQ)上升;同时,根系活性氧[过氧化氢(H_2O_2)和超氧阴离子(O·-2)]积累量、抗氧化酶[超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)和抗坏血酸过氧化物酶(APX)]活性,以及渗透调节物质(可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖)含量呈先升高后降低的趋势。在非硝基苯酚胁迫下,与对照组相比,添加外源褪黑素显著提高了幼苗地下部干重、根系可溶性糖含量和SOD活性、叶片PSⅡ光化学效率和叶绿素含量。与单独添加硝基苯酚处理相比,硝基苯酚+褪黑素复合处理显著缓解了硝基苯酚胁迫对幼苗生长、叶片PSⅡ光化学效率和叶绿素合成的抑制作用;降低了根系活性氧水平、抗氧化酶活性和渗透调节物质含量。研究结果表明添加外源褪黑素能够显著缓解硝基苯酚胁迫对水稻幼苗生长、根系活性氧水平、抗氧化酶活性、叶片PSⅡ光化学效率及叶绿素合成的不良影响,提高水稻幼苗对硝基苯酚胁迫的适应性。     

Design and synthesis of 4-(2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazol-7-yl)-N-(5-(piperazin-1-ylmethyl)pyridine-2-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine as a highly potent and selective cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibitors and the discovery of structure-activity relationships

Cyclin-dependent kinases 4/6 play an important role in regulation of cell cycle, and overexpress in a variety of cancers. Up to now, new CDK inhibitors still need to be developed due to its poor selectivity. Herein we report a novel series of 4-(2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazole-7-yl)-N-(5-(piperazin-1-ylmethyl)pyridine-2-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine anologues as potent CDK 4/6 inhibitors based on LY2835219 (Abemaciclib). Compound 10d, which exhibits approximate potency on CDK4/6 (IC₅₀?=?7.4/0.9?nM), has both good pharmacokinetic characters and high selectivity on CDK1 compared with LY2835219. Overall, compound 10d could be a promising candidate and a good starting point as anticancer drugs.     

Azoalkyl ether imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazoles as potentially antimicrobial agents with novel structural skeleton

A series of new azoalkyl ether imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazoles were developed via a convenient synthetic procedure. The antimicrobial assays showed that a good number of the prepared derivatives exhibited significant inhibitory properties against most of the tested strains. Especially 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole derivative 5a presented superior inhibit activity against MRSA and B. typhi with MIC?=?4?μg/mL and MIC?=?1?μg/mL, respectively. The highly active compound 5a showed low toxicity against mammalian cells without obvious triggering of the development of bacterial resistance, and it also possessed rapid bactericidal efficacy. Molecular docking study exposed that the active molecule 5a could interact with the active site of S. aureus gyrase through hydrogen bond. Quantum chemical studies were also performed to explain the high antibacterial activity. Further investigation revealed that compound 5a could significantly associate with gyrase–DNA complex by mean of hydrogen bonds and could efficiently intercalate into MRSA DNA to form 5a–DNA supramolecular complex, which impart potent bioactivity.     

基于InVEST模型估算富阳市森林生态系统碳储量

基于森林资源遥感影像数据资料和ArcGIS10.0软件,以属于典型亚热带气候的富阳市为案例,运用InVEST-Carbon模型对其森林生态系统碳储量进行估算,可视化定量富阳市森林生态系统碳储量并明确其空间分布规律。结果表明：富阳市森林生态系统碳储量分布具有明显的区域差异性,由东向西呈现高－低－高－低的分布带规律。富阳市森林生态系统总的碳储量为26.7437×106 t,其价值量为39.9042亿元;得出富阳市各类森林类型平均碳密度的高低分布为常绿阔叶林碳密度>针阔混交林碳密度>竹林碳密度>马尾松林碳密度>杉木林碳密度,这与浙江省生态公益林各主要林型的碳密度分布规律基本一致,得到其森林生态系统总的碳密度约为180.75 t.hm-2,高于浙江省生态公益林平均碳密度和全国森林平均碳密度。与基于森林二类清查资料,由生物量与蓄积量的关系式估算出的碳储量(28.3780×106 t)相差不大,InVEST模型可适用于森林生态系统碳储量的总体估算。通过研究可以得出,InVEST模型评估结果简明直观,导入较少的数据,将量化的森林碳储量以地图的形式表现出来。 InVEST模型还可用于对未来或多种模拟场景情况下的预测估算等,可为政府、非盈利组织和公司企业等自然资源的管理提供决策信息,其多功能和模块化的设计为权衡评估得失提供了有效的工具。     

旋唇纲纤毛虫系统发育分子树构建的影响因素

以36种旋唇类高等类群纤毛虫的核糖体小亚基核苷酸(Small subunit ribosomal RNA,SS rRNA)基因序列为素材,比较研究了不同条件(包括外类群、内类群的选择,同一基因不同序列长度的组合,不同建树方法和不同分析软件的使用)对纤毛虫分子系统树构建结果的影响。结果表明,上述因素均可不同程度地影响拓扑结构。结果同时提示,在利用有限数据进行相关研究,特别是在对未明类群的系统关系分析中,必须充分考虑因建树条件的不同所带来的影响。作者同时也建议,在当前可用的分子信息欠充分的前提下,对于纤毛虫任何类群的分子系统学探讨而言,慎重形成结论并尽可能地结合和参照形态学、发生学等资讯,仍是需优先考虑的工作路线。     

中华通草蛉自然越冬成虫在长、 短光周期下滞育解除中体内相关酶活力变化

光周期信号在昆虫的环境适应中发挥着重要作用, 昆虫能够通过感受光周期的变化来调节体内生理生化过程, 以适应环境的变化。为明确光周期对中华通草蛉Chrysoperla sinica越冬成虫滞育解除过程中酶活力的影响, 本研究测定了长光周期（15L∶9D）和短光周期（9L∶15D）条件下, 成虫体内过氧化氢酶（CAT）、 超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、 Na⁺K⁺-ATP酶和乳酸脱氢酶（LDH） 4种重要酶活力的变化。结果表明： 中华通草蛉雌、 雄成虫CAT活性在长光周期处理5 d达最高值后呈下降趋势; 短光周期处理CAT活性在处理5 d达最高值, 且高于长光周期处理, 在处理10 d迅速下降至最低值, 且均显著低于长光周期处理的CAT活性（P=0.005）, 后迅速上升并在处理15 d （P<0.05）和20 d （P<0.005）活性显著高于长光周期处理。雌、 雄成虫SOD活性在长光周期下处理10 d达最高值, 且显著高于对照（P<0.001）, 且除处理5 d雄虫SOD活性与对照无显著性差异外（P=0.558）其余处理活性均显著低于对照（P<0.05）。雌成虫长光周期处理5 d 的SOD活性显著低于短光周期（P<0.001）, 其余处理活性均显著高于短光周期; 雄成虫长光周期下处理的SOD活性均高于短光周期下, 且处理5 d （P=0.04）, 15 d （P<0.001）和20 d （P=0.003）的活性差异显著。两种光周期条件下雌、 雄成虫Na⁺K⁺-ATP酶活性随处理时间延长呈上升-下降-上升趋势, 且均显著高于处理0 d成虫酶活性（P<0.001）; 短光周期处理不同时间Na⁺K⁺-ATP酶活性均高于长光周期处理, 且除雄成虫处理15 d无显著性差异（P=0.142）外, 其余均差异显著（P<0.05）。两种光周期条件下雌、 雄成虫LDH活性随处理时间延长呈下降趋势, 且均显著低于对照（P<0.001）。中华通草蛉越冬成虫在长、 短两种光周期条件下体内酶活力的差异可能是影响两种光周期下成虫滞育解除过程中体内不同生化物质含量与生殖状态的重要因子。     

噻虫嗪处理的芫菁夜蛾斯氏线虫SF-SN对韭菜迟眼蕈蚊幼虫的杀虫效果和搜寻效应

【目的】昆虫病原线虫受到化学农药作用后,其对害虫的杀虫效果和搜寻效应可能会发生变化。本研究旨在探讨噻虫嗪处理的昆虫病原线虫对韭菜迟眼蕈蚊Bradysia odoriphaga幼虫(韭蛆)的杀虫效果及搜寻效应的影响。【方法】采用培养皿滤纸法,通过功能反应试验测定了噻虫嗪(15 mg/L)处理的芫菁夜蛾斯氏线虫Steinernema feltiae SF-SN (Sf)对韭蛆3龄幼虫的致死率和搜寻效应,比较噻虫嗪处理的Sf和未处理的Sf致死功能反应和搜寻效应的差异。【结果】噻虫嗪处理的Sf引起的韭蛆3龄幼虫的校正死亡率高于未处理的Sf引起的校正死亡率,处理6 h时,较未处理的Sf引起的校正死亡率提高了2.13倍。当Sf浓度固定在6 400 IJs/皿时,噻虫嗪处理的和未处理的Sf对该试虫功能反应均拟合Holling Ⅱ和Ⅲ型方程,与未处理的Sf相比,噻虫嗪处理的Sf对该试虫的攻击率(a′=0.5592)提高了42.46%,线虫寻找、寄生及致死该试虫所花费的总时间即处理时间(T_h=0.0081 d)则降低了44.90%,消耗率(a′/T_h)提高了2.59倍,日最大致死量(Na_max)则分别提高了1.81倍(Holling Ⅱ)和1.41倍(Holling Ш)。而噻虫嗪处理的和未处理的Sf对该试虫的搜寻效应均随韭蛆密度的增加而呈线性下降。当韭蛆密度固定在40头/皿时,噻虫嗪处理的和未处理的Sf对该试虫的致死效果均随着韭蛆密度的增加而增大,搜寻效应则均先上升后下降,且噻虫嗪处理的Sf的寻找参数和相互干扰参数均高于未处理Sf的。【结论】噻虫嗪处理的Sf对韭蛆3龄幼虫的校正死亡率、瞬时攻击率、消耗率、日最大致死量和搜寻效应均高于未处理Sf的,而处理时间则显著降低。