3D-QSAR studies of checkpoint kinase 1 inhibitors based on molecular docking and CoMFA

Three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies were performed on a series of substituted 1,4-dihydroindeno[1,2-c]pyrazoles inhibitors, using molecular docking and comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA). The docking results from GOLD 3.0.1 provide a reliable conformational alignment scheme for the 3D-QSAR model. Based on the docking conformations and alignments, highly predictive CoMFA model was built with cross-validated q ² value of 0.534 and non-cross-validated partial least-squares analysis with the optimum components of six showed a conventional r ² value of 0.911. The predictive ability of this model was validated by the testing set with a conventional r ² value of 0.812. Based on the docking and CoMFA, we have identified some key features of the 1,4-dihydroindeno[1,2-c]pyrazoles derivatives that are responsible for checkpoint kinase 1 inhibitory activity. The analyses may be used to design more potent 1,4-dihydroindeno[1,2-c]pyrazoles derivatives and predict their activity prior to synthesis.     

艾比湖湿地芦苇根际土壤氨氧化古菌的多样性和群落结构

【目的】旨在揭示耐盐植物芦苇根际与非根际土壤AOA群落结构间的差异,为深入研究盐生植物根际土壤微生物与耐盐性之间的关系提供理论基础。【方法】应用高通量测序技术以氨单加氧酶基因(amoA)为分子标记,对新疆艾比湖湿地荒漠生态系统不同季节(春、夏、秋)芦苇根际与非根际土壤氨氧化古菌(AOA)的多样性和群落结构进行研究。【结果】结果表明,不同季节芦苇根际土壤AOA多样性和丰富度存在差异,相比非根际土壤,夏季和秋季芦苇根际土壤AOA多样性较低丰富度较高,春季多样性较高丰富度较低。芦苇根际土壤中AOA的多样性为春季夏季秋季。AOA群落组成分析表明,土壤样品中AOA群落主要集中在泉古菌门(Crenarchaeota)和奇古菌门(Thaumarchaeota),其中泉古菌门为主要优势菌门。RDA分析表明,含水量(SM)、有机质(SOM)、总氮(TN)和pH是影响芦苇根际土壤AOA群落多样性和丰富度的主要环境因子。【结论】不同季节芦苇根际土壤AOA多样性及丰富度存在差异,相比非根际土壤,芦苇根际土壤AOA更丰富。     

Isolation of chicken embryonic stem cell and preparation of chicken chimeric model

Chicken embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were separated from blastoderms at stage-X and cultured in vitro. Alkaline phosphatase activity and stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 staining was conducted to detect ESCs. Then, chicken ESCs were transfected with linearized plasmid pEGFP-N1 in order to produce chimeric chicken. Firstly, the optimal electrotransfection condition was compared; the results showed the highest transfection efficiency was obtained when the field strength and pulse duration was 280 V and 75 μs, respectively. Secondly, the hatchability of shedding methods, drilling a window at the blunt end of egg and drilling a window at the lateral shell of egg was compared, the results showed that the hatchability was the highest for drilling a window at the lateral shell of egg. Thirdly, the hatchability of microinjection (ESCs was microinjected into chick embryo cavity) was compared too, the results showed there were significant difference between the injection group transfected with ESCs and that of other two groups. In addition, five chimeric chickens were obtained in this study and EGFP gene was expressed in some organs, but only two chimeric chicken expressed EGFP gene in the gonad, indicating that the chimeric chicken could be obtained through chick embryo cavity injection by drilling a window at the lateral shell of egg.     

脂肪酶在微乳液和微乳液凝胶中催化辛酸辛醇的酯化反应

脂肪酶在合成反应中具有很高的区域选择性和立体选择性 ,已广泛用于食品工业和药物工业[1,2 ] ,在有机介质中的脂肪酶催化反应已有较多研究[3 ,4 ] 。微乳液一般由表面活性剂、助表面活性剂、油和水等组份组成 ,它是一种热力学稳定、光学透明、宏观均匀而微观不均匀的体系 ,能提供酶催化所需要的巨大油 /水界面[5] 。而将脂肪酶增溶于油包水(Ｗ /Ｏ)微乳液中的纳米级“水池”中 ,可使酶以分子水平分散[6] ,图 1(ａ) ,从而可用来模拟细胞微环境中的反应。油包水微乳液中的酶可通过加入明胶而制成固定化酶 ,含明胶的微乳液凝胶 (ＭＢＧｓ)最早…     

Enhanced intrinsic migration of aggressive breast cancer cells by inhibition of Rac1 GTPase

Rac GTPases are known to play a crucial role in regulating cytoskeletal changes necessary for cell migration. Migration has been shown to be positively regulated by Rac in most cell types. However, there is also a large body of conflicting evidence in some other cell types with respect to the role of Rac in migration, suggesting that Rac GTPases regulate cell migration in a cell type-dependent manner. In the present study, we have characterized the effects of Rac1 GTPase inhibition on the migratory abilities of a number of breast cancer cell lines with differential degrees of tumorigenic and metastatic potentials. We show that Rac1 inhibition in non-metastatic (MCF-7, T-47D) or moderately metastatic (Hs578T) cell lines results in inhibition of migration, whereas in highly metastatic cell lines (MDA-MB-435, MDA-MB-231, and C3L5) Rac1 inhibition results in stimulation of migration. This stimulation of migration following Rac1 inhibition is also accompanied by the enhanced RhoA activity, suggesting a possible existence of a dominating role of RhoA over Rac1 in regulating intrinsic migration of the highly metastatic breast cancer cells.     

Melatonin Regulates the Viability and Differentiation of Rat Midbrain Neural Stem Cells

(1) Neurogenesis driven by neural stem cells (NSCs) is regulated by physiological and pathological factors. Melatonin (MT) has profound neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects. Hence, we studied the role of MT in regulating the viability and differentiation of NSCs derived from rat ventral midbrain. (2) NSCs were isolated from the rat ventral midbrain. The viability of NSCs was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-ulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay. The differentiation of NSCs was examined by analyzing the expression of the neural markers, MT receptors, brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) with semi-quantitative RT-PCR, immunofluorescence cytochemistry, and Western blot. (3) Our results showed that MT could promote the viability of NSCs. In addition, MT could significantly elevate the mRNA and protein levels of tyroxine hydroxylase (TH), a marker of dopaminergic neurons, and decrease the expression of the astrocytes maker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). MT also increased the production of BDNF and GDNF in the cultured NSCs. Meanwhile, we first found that two subtypes of MT receptors, MT1 and MT2, were expressed in the ventral midbrain NSCs. (4) These results demonstrated that MT could induce NSCs to differentiate into dopaminergic neurons and decrease astrocyte production. These findings also suggest that MT could offer a beneficial tool in guiding directional differentiation of NSCs.     

Lenvatinib for effectively treating antiangiogenic drug-resistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) clinical trials show that antiangiogenic drugs (AADs) fail to achieve the expected efficacy, and combining AAD with chemoradiotherapy does not show superiority over chemoradiotherapy alone. Accumulating evidence suggests the intrinsic AAD resistance in NPC patients with poorly understood molecular mechanisms. Here, we describe NPC-specific FGF-2 expression-triggered, VEGF-independent angiogenesis as a mechanism of AAD resistance. Angiogenic factors screening between AAD-sensitive cancer type and AAD-resistant NPC showed high FGF-2 expression in NPC in both xenograft models and clinical samples. Mechanistically, the FGF-2-FGFR1-MYC axis drove endothelial cell survival and proliferation as an alternative to VEGF-VEGFR2-MYC signaling. Genetic knockdown of FGF-2 in NPC tumor cells reduced tumor angiogenesis, enhanced AAD sensitivity, and reduced pulmonary metastasis. Moreover, lenvatinib, an FDA recently approved multi-kinase inhibitor targeting both VEGFR2 and FGFR1, effectively inhibits the tumor vasculature, and exhibited robust anti-tumor effects in NPC-bearing nude mice and humanized mice compared with an agent equivalent to bevacizumab. These findings provide mechanistic insights on FGF-2 signaling in the modulation of VEGF pathway activation in the NPC microenvironment and propose an effective NPC-targeted therapy by using a clinically available drug.Subject terms: Tumour angiogenesis, Head and neck cancer, Targeted therapies     

Upregulation of LRRC8A by m5C modification-mediated mRNA stability suppresses apoptosis and facilitates tumorigenesis in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies with poor prognosis for advanced CC patients. LRRC8A is a volume-regulated anion channel protein involved in cellular homeostasis, but its role in CC remains largely unknown. In this study, we found that LRRC8A is elevated in CC and associated with poor prognosis. LRRC8A maintains cell survivals under the hypotonic condition, and promotes tumorigenesis through apoptosis suppression in vitro and in vivo. Notably, LRRC8A is upregulated by NSUN2-mediated m⁵C modification. m⁵C modified-LRRC8A mRNA is bound by the RNA binding protein YBX1 followed by the increased RNA stability. Moreover, loss of NSUN2 suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of CC cells, and NSUN2 expression is positively correlated with LRRC8A expression in CC. Altogether, our study demonstrates that the NSUN2-m⁵C-LRRC8A axis is crucial and would be a potential therapeutic target for CC.     

The circadian regulation of extracellular ATP

Extracellular ATP is a potent signaling molecule released from various cells throughout the body and is intimately involved in the pathophysiological functions of the nervous system and immune system by activating P2 purinergic receptors. Recent increasingly studies showed that extracellular ATP exhibits circadian oscillation with an approximately 24-h periodicity, which participates in regulatory pathways of central oscillator suprachiasmatic nucleus and peripheral oscillator bladder, respectively. Oscillators modulate the protein expression of ATP release channels and ectonucleotidase activity through clock genes; indeed, real-time alterations of ATP release and degradation determine outcomes of temporal character on extracellular ATP rhythm. The regulatory pathways on extracellular ATP rhythm are different in central and peripheral systems. In this review, we summarize the circadian rhythm of extracellular ATP and discuss several circadian regulatory pathways in different organs via ATP release and degradation, to provide a new understanding for purinergic signaling in the regulatory mechanism of circadian rhythm and a potential target to research the circadian regulation of extracellular ATP in other circadian oscillators.