Enhanced Biotransformation of 2-Phenylethanol with Ethanol Oxidation in a Solid–Liquid Two-Phase System by Active Dry Yeast

2-Phenylethanol (2-PE) can be produced from l-phenylalanine (l-Phe) with the oxidation degradation of ethanol by active dry yeast. In this study, the catalysis effect of ethanol on biotransforming l-Phe into 2-PE by yeast was evaluated and optimized. The results indicated that increasing ethanol concentration was beneficial for enhancing 2-PE concentration but lowered the 2-PE productivity. Initial ethanol concentration above 25 g/l could strongly inhibit the 2-PE production. To obtain 2-PE with desirable concentrations with an economical operation mode, three fed-batch biotransformation operation methods using ethanol or/and glucose were carried out in a solid–liquid two-phase system. When using ethanol alone with the initial concentration of 10 g/l, the total concentration and overall productivity of 2-PE were 7.6 g/l and 0.065 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, an experiment with controlled glucose solely (higher than 2 g/l) was finished. In this case, phenylacetaldehyde (PA) was detected along with ethanol accumulation, suggesting that reaction of PA → 2-PE in Ehrlich pathway was inhibited. To further enhance 2-PE production by using glucose only, a novel operation strategy to simultaneously control rates of glucose glycolysis and ethanol oxidative degradation with the aid of ISPR techniques was developed. With this strategy, 2-PE concentration and yield based on glucose consumption reached a higher level of 14.8 g/l and 0.12 g-PE/g-glucose, respectively, and these are the highest values reported up to date with the fed-batch biotransformation operation mode.     

Diagnostic Evaluation of Des-Gamma-Carboxy Prothrombin versus α-Fetoprotein for Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma in China: A Large-Scale,Multicentre Study

An efficient serum marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently lacking and requires intensive exploration. We aimed to evaluate the performance of des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) for identifying hepatitis B virus-related HCC in a large, multicentre study in China. A total of 1034 subjects in three cohorts (A, B, and C) including HCC and various non-HCC controls were enrolled from 4 academic medical centers in China from January 2011 to February 2014. Blind parallel detections were conducted for DCP and AFP. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacies. In cohort A, which comprised 521 subjects, including patients with HCC, liver metastasis, liver cirrhosis (LC), and liver hemangiomas as well as healthy controls (HCs), the accuracy of DCP for distinguishing HCC from various controls was 6.2–9.7% higher than that of AFP. In cohort B, which comprised 447 subjects, including patients with HCC, LC, and chronic hepatitis B as well as HC, the accuracy of DCP was further elevated (12.3–20.67% higher than that of AFP). The superiority of DCP to AFP was more profound in the surveillance of early HCC [AUC 0.837 (95% CI: 0.771–0.903) vs. 0.650 (0.555–0.745)] and AFP-negative HCC [AUC: 0.856 (0.798–0.914)] and in discriminating HCC from LC (accuracy: 92.9% vs.64.71%). Higher DCP levels were associated with worse clinical behaviors and shorter disease-free survival. DCP not only is complementary to AFP in identifying AFP-negative HCC and in excluding AFP-positive non-HCC (liver cirrhosis), but also demonstrates improved performance in HCC surveillance, early diagnosis, treatment response and recurrence monitoring in the HBV-related population.     

CDK5-Mediated Phosphorylation-Dependent Ubiquitination and Degradation of E3 Ubiquitin Ligases GP78 Accelerates Neuronal Death in Parkinson’s Disease

The molecular mechanisms responsible for the loss of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease (PD) remain obscure. Loss of function of E3 ubiquitin ligases is associated with mitochondria dysfunction, dysfunction of protein degradation, and α-synuclein aggregation, which are major contributors to neurodegeneration in PD. Recent research has thus focused on E3 ubiquitin ligase glycoprotein 78 (GP78); however, the role of GP78 in PD pathogenesis remains unclear. Notably, cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) controls multiple cellular events in postmitotic neurons, and CDK5 activity has been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. Thus, we addressed the relationship between CDK5 and GP78 in MPTP-based PD models. We found that GP78 expression is decreased in MPTP-based cellular and animal PD models, and CDK5 directly phosphorylated GP78 at Ser516, which promoted the ubiquitination and degradation of GP78. Importantly, overexpression of GP78 or interference of GP78 Ser516 phosphorylation protected neurons against MPP⁺-induced cell death. Thus, our research reveals that the CDK5-GP78 pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of PD and could be a novel candidate drug target for the treatment of PD.     

广西大瑶山地区蚱科的新种（直翅目：蚱总科）

本记述采自广西大瑶山地区蚱科昆虫三新种,即拟仿蚱Tetriz simulanoides sp．nov、广西蚱Tetrix guangxiensis sp．nov及短背真长背蚱Euparutetzix brachynotus sp.nov。     

中国脊髓灰质炎Ⅱ型疫苗相关分离株病毒性状的观察

对１９９４年中国分离的１３株脊髓灰质炎Ⅱ型疫苗相关株进行了ＰＣＲ－ＲＦＬＰ分析,发现７株为重组病毒,毒力较疫苗株有回复,在Ⅱ型脊髓灰质炎病毒基因序列上,对于神经毒力有重要影响的第４８１位核苷酸发生突变,另一个被视为重要位点的２９０８位核苷酸无一发生变化,反而在２９０９位核苷发生了高频率的点突变,意味着２９０９位点在中国Ⅱ型疫苗相关株的自然变异中可能起着重要作用。     

节肢动物的信息素研究

随着化学生态学(chemical ecology)和行为生态学(behavioral ecology)的蓬勃发展,近年来信息素(pheromone)研究进展较快,发表的论文与日俱增,但研究的进度很不平衡——脊椎动物以哺乳类研究较多,而无脊椎动物则以昆虫类研究较多。后者是可以理解的,一因昆虫的种类多、数量大,易于取材;二因昆虫具有重大经济意义,特别是有害昆虫的防治(利用性信息素作为诱捕剂),对农业丰收与森林保护关系极大。值得注意的是,近年来甲壳动物的信息素研究也日益受到重视,论文也日益增多。但和昆虫比较起来,它仍处于萌芽状态。作者深信,随着虾、蟹类养殖业和捕捞业的蓬勃发展,这类高等甲壳动物的     

鹅细小病毒结构蛋白B细胞线性抗原表位的鉴定

为了对鹅细小病毒结构蛋白B细胞线性抗原表位进行进一步定位,设计了16个覆盖结构蛋白各抗原表位区的长约30个氨基酸残基的重叠短肽,并进行了融合表达。用攻毒10周龄鹅血清对这16个融合蛋白进行蛋白质印迹分析,检测结果表明,VP蛋白线性抗原表位位于35-81、111-161、423-453、462-491、531-577、616-669和678-732氨基酸区域。     

鲎源抗菌肽对大肠杆菌的抑杀机理

【目的】研究鲎源抗菌肽鲎素对大肠杆菌抑杀的作用机理,为防治大肠杆菌引起的肠道疾病提供新的潜在抗菌药物。【方法】利用牛津杯法和微量MH肉汤稀释法测定其抗菌活性,激光共聚焦扫描显微镜观察鲎素对大肠杆菌的结合、分布及杀伤过程,透射电镜观察鲎素对大肠杆菌超微结构的影响,并采用琼脂糖凝胶阻滞电泳研究其对大肠杆菌基因组DNA和RNA的影响。【结果】鲎素对大肠杆菌的最小抑菌浓度与最低杀菌浓度分别为5 mg/L和20 mg/L;激光共聚焦扫描显微镜和透射电镜观察发现鲎素能快速作用于细胞表面,并发生聚集现象,随着作用时间的延长能导致细胞膜结构的破坏和细胞内含物的释放;通过琼脂糖电泳结果显示鲎素也能够作用于大肠杆菌基因组DNA,并呈浓度依赖关系,10 mg/L鲎素对基因组DNA无明显影响,80 mg/L鲎素能导致DNA断裂;凝胶阻滞电泳显示鲎素也能与基因组DNA和RNA发生结合。【结论】研究结果为深入探讨鲎素抑杀大肠杆菌的分子机制提供重要的理论依据。