壳聚糖对急性氨氮胁迫下中华鳖稚鳖非特异性免疫反应的影响

本研究旨在探讨壳聚糖对急性氨氮胁迫下中华鳖(Pelodiscus sinensis)稚鳖非特异性免疫功能的影响。实验共设5组,实验组中华鳖分别腹腔注射0mg/ml(C0组)、1mg/ml(C1组)、5mg/ml(C2组)、50mg/ml(C3组)壳聚糖溶液0.1ml,并饲养于总氨氮浓度(TAN)为110mg/L的水环境中;对照组注射等量生理盐水溶液并饲养于新鲜晾晒自来水中。注射7d后观测外周血和脾脏中淋巴细胞ANAE阳性率、血清旁路途径溶血活性、血清溶菌活性。与对照组相比,C0组外周血T淋巴细胞ANAE阳性率和血清旁路途径溶血活性均有显著提高,脾脏T淋巴细胞和血清溶菌活性没有显著变化。与C0组相比,注射壳聚糖各组外周血T淋巴细胞ANAE阳性率和血清溶血活性均有不同程度的显著下降,并且恢复到接近对照组的水平(P>0.05),只有C3组溶血活性显著低于对照组;注射壳聚糖对脾脏中T淋巴细胞ANAE活性没有显著影响。C2组溶菌活性显著高于其他组,其他各组间差异不显著。表明壳聚糖对氨氮胁迫导致的免疫应激反应有一定的拮抗作用,其作用强度因壳聚糖浓度和免疫指标不同而异     

粘多糖贮积症Ⅱ型患者IDS基因的2个新突变

为了研究粘多糖贮积症II型(MPS Ⅱ)患者发病的分子遗传学机制, 采用PCR扩增艾杜糖-2-硫酸酯酶(IDS)基因突变热点区(外显子2、3、5、7、8和9)、DNA测序分析和限制性内切酶图谱分析的方法, 对2个粘多糖贮积症Ⅱ型家系进行了遗传突变分析。结果表明, 2个家系患者的IDS 基因分别出现IVS 6-1g→a和c.1587~1588 ins T 2个新突变。前者属于单碱基替换, 位于内含子6的3′端剪接位点, 导致跨外显子剪接; 后者属于插入突变, 插入点位于外显子9的cDNA 1,587和1,588碱基之间, 是迄今为止报道的人类IDS基因插入突变中最接近肽链末端的突变, 导致移码突变和转录提前终止。经限制性酶切分析, 证实2个家系中的患者母亲是突变基因的携带者, 符合该病X染色体隐性遗传的规律。另外,在对随机抽取的50名正常人及另外6名不相关的粘多糖病人的测序分析中, 未检测到这2个突变, 说明不是多态性。对于筛查所得的2个新突变是否是患者的致病原因, 尚需进一步证实。     

Crystallographic studies of the complexes of antiviral protein griffithsin with glucose and N-acetylglucosamine

Crystal structures of complexes of an antiviral lectin griffithsin (GRFT) with glucose and N-acetylglucosamine were solved and refined at high resolution. In both complexes, all six monosaccharide-binding sites of GRFT were occupied and the mode of binding was similar to that of mannose. In our previous attempts to obtain a complex with N-acetylglucosamine by soaking, only a single site was occupied; thus, cocrystallization was clearly superior despite lower concentration of the ligand. Isothermal titration calorimetric experiments with N-acetylglucosamine, glucose, and mannose provided enthalpic evidence of distinct binding differences between the three monosaccharides. A comparison of the mode of binding of different monosaccharides is discussed in the context of the antiviral activity of GRFT, based on specific binding to high-mannose-containing complex carbohydrates found on viral envelopes.     

粘合材料及其在生物医学中的应用：进展与展望

粘合材料作为一种重要的辅助材料,在工业包装、海洋工程以及生物医药等多个领域都有广泛的应用需求。天然存在的粘合剂如贻贝足丝粘合蛋白等具有良好的生物相容性和生物可降解性,但因其来源受限及在生理环境下较弱的粘合性能,因此在生物医药领域的应用受到了限制。从自然生物的粘合现象中汲取灵感,各种利用化学或生物合成方法制备的仿生粘合材料应运而生,针对生物医药领域的特定需求,一些新兴粘合材料在生物相容性、生物可降解性以及组织粘附等方面都表现出在医药领域应用的潜力。展望未来,受自然粘合材料兼具环境响应、自我再生和自修复等特征的启迪,各种生物灵感和生物仿生粘合材料的开发势必是未来的发展热点,而合成生物学技术为创建具有上述特征的活体粘合材料提供了新的可能。     

模拟增温对杉木幼树生长和光合特性的影响

为阐明杉木生长特征及光合能力对未来全球变暖的响应方式,通过在福建省三明市森林生态系统与全球变化研究站陈大观测点内开展的土壤增温(电缆加热,+4℃)实验,研究了增温条件下杉木幼树生长(树高、地径)特征及光合作用参数的变化,并对土壤有效氮(N)、叶片N含量、叶绿素含量(Chl)及非结构性碳水化合物(NSC)指标进行了测定。结果表明:1)在增温条件下,杉木幼树净光合速率(P_n)和水分利用效率(WUE)显著增加,分别增加了71.4%、51.3%,增温后杉木叶片能维持较高的气孔导度(G_s)、蒸腾速率(T_r)和胞间二氧化碳浓度(C_i)。2)增温促进土壤有机氮矿化作用,使土壤中可供植物吸收利用的有效N含量显著增加,从而引起杉木叶片N含量显著提高。而N作为叶绿素的重要组成物质,增温后,叶片N含量显著提高,最终导致杉木幼树叶片Chl a、Chl b及Chl总量显著增加,增加比例分别为76.3%、55.8%、68.7%,Chl a/b值亦呈增加趋势。3)增温对杉木幼树生长及叶片NSC含量并无显著影响。综上所述,增温通过改变杉木叶片气孔导度敏感性以及促进杉木叶片Chl含量合成,增加叶片对CO_2的吸收以及光能捕获能力,进而提高光合效率。同时,增温引起的根系高温可能大幅度提高杉木呼吸强度,加剧对杉木叶片碳水化合物的消耗过程,使其NSC含量无显著变化,从而导致杉木幼树生长无显著差异。     

Hierarchical classification of functionally equivalent genes in prokaryotes

Functional classification of genes represents a fundamental problem to many biological studies. Most of the existing classification schemes are based on the concepts of homology and orthology, which were originally introduced to study gene evolution but might not be the most appropriate for gene function prediction, particularly at high resolution level. We have recently developed a scheme for hierarchical classification of genes (HCGs) in prokaryotes. In the HCG scheme, the functional equivalence relationships among genes are first assessed through a careful application of both sequence similarity and genomic neighborhood information; and genes are then classified into a hierarchical structure of clusters, where genes in each cluster are functionally equivalent at some resolution level, and the level of resolution goes higher as the clusters become increasingly smaller traveling down the hierarchy. The HCG scheme is validated through comparisons with the taxonomy of the prokaryotic genomes, Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COGs) of genes and the Pfam system. We have applied the HCG scheme to 224 complete prokaryotic genomes, and constructed a HCG database consisting of a forest of 5339 multi-level and 15 770 single-level trees of gene clusters covering approximately 93% of the genes of these 224 genomes. The validation results indicate that the HCG scheme not only captures the key features of the existing classification schemes but also provides a much richer organization of genes which can be used for functional prediction of genes at higher resolution and to help reveal evolutionary trace of the genes.     

富贵草杀灭钉螺效应研究

以富贵草(Pachysandra terminalis Sieb.et Zucc.)(以下简称PT)为实验材料,采用开放式浸杀法研究其植物原粉及提取物(PT-Ⅰ)对钉螺的杀灭效果和对鱼类的毒性作用。结果表明PT原粉浓度为17.5 mg/L时,钉螺72 h死亡率为93.4%,120 h死亡率达100.0%;其24、72、120、168 h的LC50分别为42.28、7.20、4.20、3.17 mg/L。PT原粉浓度为75.0 mg/L时,经168 h鱼死亡率为0。使用浓度为35.0、17.5、8.75、4.38 mg/L的PT原粉,分别浸泡1、2、18、42 h时,抑制钉螺上爬率均达到100%。原粉经提取分离得到PT-Ⅰ组分,以1.40 mg/L的PT-Ⅰ组分分别浸杀钉螺24、48、72、96、120 h,钉螺死亡率分别为36.7%、73.3%、96.7%、96.7%、100.0%。表明PT具有很好的杀灭钉螺、抑制钉螺上爬效果,且对鱼毒性较低,是一种较有研究价值的灭螺植物。     

Synthesis of the all-trans-retinal chromophore of retinal G protein-coupled receptor opsin in cultured pigment epithelial cells.

Light-dependent production of 11-cis-retinal by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and normal regeneration of rhodopsin under photic conditions involve the RPE retinal G protein-coupled receptor (RGR) opsin. This microsomal opsin is bound to all-trans-retinal which, upon illumination, isomerizes stereospecifically to the 11-cis isomer. In this paper, we investigate the synthesis of the all-trans-retinal chromophore of RGR in cultured ARPE-hRGR and freshly isolated bovine RPE cells. Exogenous all-trans-[(3)H]retinol is incorporated into intact RPE cells and converted mainly into retinyl esters and all-trans-retinal. The intracellular processing of all-trans-[(3)H]retinol results in physiological binding to RGR of a radiolabeled retinoid, identified as all-trans-[(3)H]retinal. The ARPE-hRGR cells contain a membrane-bound NADPH-dependent retinol dehydrogenase that reacts efficiently with all-trans-retinol but not the 11-cis isomer. The NADPH-dependent all-trans-retinol dehydrogenase activity in isolated RPE microsomal membranes can be linked in vitro to specific binding of the chromophore to RGR. These findings provide confirmation that RGR opsin binds the chromophore, all-trans-retinal, in the dark. A novel all-trans-retinol dehydrogenase exists in the RPE and performs a critical function in chromophore biosynthesis.