四种鳞翅目害虫精氨酸激酶基因的表达谱及基于RNAi的功能分析

【目的】精氨酸激酶(arginine kinase, AK)(EC 2.7.3.3)是昆虫体内重要的磷酸原激酶(能量代谢调节因子),也是唯一能够形成有效ATP的磷酰基供体,起着与脊椎动物中肌酸激酶相同的作用。本研究旨在了解鳞翅目害虫AK基因的表达和功能。【方法】利用qRT-PCR方法测定AK基因在大螟Sesamia inferens、二化螟Chilo suppressalis、甜菜夜蛾Spodoptera exigua和斜纹夜蛾Spodoptera litura 这4种鳞翅目害虫不同发育阶段和3龄幼虫不同组织中的表达谱;通过终点法检测了这4种害虫不同发育阶段和幼虫不同组织中的AK酶活性;采用RNAi技术抑制该基因的表达并分析其功能。【结果】AK基因在大螟、二化螟、甜菜夜蛾和斜纹夜蛾这4种鳞翅目昆虫的不同发育阶段和3龄幼虫不同组织中均有表达,说明该基因的表达不具有发育时期和组织特异性。不同发育时期和3龄幼虫不同组织中AK酶活性与基因表达量变化趋势大体一致。注射以AK基因为靶标的dsRNA 6 d后,4种害虫体内AK基因的mRNA表达下降30%~50%,AK酶活性降低30%左右;14 d后幼虫的死亡率达50%左右,显著高于对照组幼虫的死亡率。【结论】AK基因在上述4种鳞翅目害虫中为组成型表达,RNAi抑制AK基因的表达可导致4种害虫的幼虫死亡,研究结果为开发以AK基因为靶标的鳞翅目害虫防治新技术提供了理论依据。     

鼠兔核质杂交胚胎早期发育的研究

细胞核移植技术已被证明是研究发育中核质相互关系的非常重要的手段之一,电融合技术也是近十年发展起来的新型细胞融合技术。本实验运用这两项技术,进行了鼠、兔目间核质杂交实验,小鼠8-细胞核在激活的兔去核卵母细胞中,发生了染色体超前凝聚及核膨胀,融合卵移植到小鼠输卵管4.5天后,冲洗出,有5.4%的重构卵发育到囊胚期,通过染色体检查,囊胚细胞中均为小鼠染色体,其中一个囊胚为正常小鼠核型(2 n=40,XX)。通过本实验,我们认为:鼠兔远缘核质杂交胚胎的早期发育是可能的。     

放养鲢鱼(Hypophthalmichys molitrix C et V)对水库围隔浮游生物群落的影响

本文研究在水库围隔实验生态系统中鲢鱼对浮游生物群落的影响。结果表明,放养鲢鱼后,浮游动物生物量、浮游植物生物量、叶绿素a和浮游植物毛产量分别下降了58.7％、63.6％、52.5％和65.0％;透明度、浮游植物群落多样性指数分别提高了18.2％、32.5％;铜绿微囊藻数量减少了90.6％“水华”得到明显抑制。但小型绿藻(<20μm)数量未出现显著变化,因而其在藻类生物量中所占比例反而提高了82.3％。围隔内可被鲢鱼滤食的大型藻类(硅藻、甲藻、隐藻和绿藻(>20μm))占藻类生物量的85.8％,因此鲢鱼的存在能明显限制浮游植物的生物量。此外,放养鲢鱼还显著降低了水体中的COD,TP,DO和pH值,这表明鲢鱼对水质有净化作用。     

H3 relaxin demonstrates antifibrotic properties via the RXFP1 receptor

Human gene 3 (H3) relaxin is the most recently discovered member of the relaxin peptide family and can potentially bind all of the defined relaxin family peptide receptors (RXFP1-4). While its effects as a neuromodulator are being increasingly studied through its primary receptor, RXFP3, its actions via other RXFPs are poorly understood. Hence, we specifically determined the antifibrotic effects and mechanisms of action of H3 relaxin via the RXFP1 receptor using primary rat ventricular fibroblasts in vitro, which naturally express RXFP1, but not RXFP3, and a mouse model of fibrotic cardiomyopathy in vivo. Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) administration to ventricular fibroblasts significantly increased Smad2 phosphorylation, myofibroblast differentiation, and collagen deposition (all p < 0.05 vs untreated controls), while having no marked effect on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9, MMP-13, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) 1, or TIMP-2 expression over 72 h. H3 relaxin (at 100 and 250 ng/mL) almost completely abrogated the TGF-β1-stimulated collagen deposition over 72 h, and its effects at 100 ng/mL were equivalent to that of the same dose of H2 relaxin. Furthermore, H3 relaxin (100 ng/mL) significantly inhibited TGF-β1-stimulated cardiac myofibroblast differentiation and TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 expression to an equivalent extent as H2 relaxin (100 ng/mL), while also inhibiting Smad2 phosphorylation to approximately half the extent of H2 relaxin (all p < 0.05 vs TGF-β1). Lower doses of H3 (50 ng/mL) and H2 (50 ng/mL) relaxin additively inhibited TGF-β1-stimulated collagen deposition in vitro, while H3 relaxin was also found to reverse left ventricular collagen overexpression in the model of fibrotic cardiomyopathy in vivo. These combined findings demonstrate that H3 relaxin exerts antifibrotic actions via RXFP1 and may enhance the collagen-inhibitory effects of H2 relaxin.     

停乳链球菌对日本沼虾总超氧化物歧化酶活性的影响

对健康的日本沼虾(1.40±0.12)g分别肌肉注射0.6×10~6、2×10~6、4×10~6、6×10~6 CFU/mL的停乳链球菌茵液10μL、注射后3 h、6 h、9 h、12h、24h、5d、10d分别采集肝胰腺、肌肉和鳃组织,测定其中的总超氧化物歧化酶(T-SOD)活性,研究停乳链球菌时日本沼虾T-SOD活性的影响,研究结果显示,肝胰腺中T-SOD活性于注射5d后达到最大值(P0.05),10d后0.6×10~6、2×10~6和4×10~6 CFU/mL,组T-SOD活性下降并接近对照组水平,而最高浓度组(6×10~6 CFU/mL)T-SOD酶活性仅有对照组的46%。肌肉和鳃中T-SOD活性均在注射6 h后达到最大值,注射10 d后,4×10~6和6×10~6 CFU/mL组的肌肉和6×10~6 CFU/mL组的鳃组织中T-SOD活性均仅有对照组的50%左右。另外,肌肉组织中T-SOD的峰值远高于鳃和肝胰腺组织中的峰值。上述结果表明,停乳链球菌不仅影响日本沼虾机体T-SOD酶的活性。而且肌肉、鳃和肝胰腺组织中酶的活性应答时间不同,且组织内酶活性的应答与菌的感染方式有关,另外,注射高浓度停乳链球菌长时间后会降低其组织中T-SOD酶活性。     

Determination of the disulfide structure of sillucin, a highly knotted, cysteine-rich peptide, by cyanylation/cleavage mass mapping

The disulfide structure of sillucin, a highly knotted, cysteine-rich, antimicrobial peptide, isolated from Rhizomucor pusillus, has been determined to be Cys2--Cys7, Cys12--Cys24, Cys13--Cys30, and Cys14--Cys21 by disulfide mass mapping based on partial reduction and CN-induced cleavage enabled by cyanylation. The denatured 30-residue peptide was subjected to partial reduction by tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride at pH 3 to produce a mixture of partially reduced sillucin species; the nascent sulfhydryl groups were immediately cyanylated by 1-cyano-4-(dimethylamino)pyridinium tetrafluoroborate. The cyanylated species, separated and collected during reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography, were treated with aqueous ammonia, which cleaved the peptide chain on the N-terminal side of cyanylated cysteine residues. The CN-induced cleavage mixture was analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry before and after complete reduction of residual disulfide bonds in partially reduced and cyanylated species to mass map the truncated peptides to the sequence. Because the masses of the CN-induced cleavage fragments of both singly and doubly reduced and cyanylated sillucin are related to the linkages of the disulfide bonds in the original molecule, the presence of certain truncated peptide(s) can be used to positively identify the linkage of a specific disulfide bond or exclude the presence of other possible linkages.     

Further spread of and domination by Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) biotype Q on field crops in China

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), causes severe crop losses to many crops. The worst of these losses are often associated with the invasion and establishment of biotypes B and Q of this pest. Previous research in 2007 showed that biotype Q occurred with other biotypes in most field populations in China. To determine the current status of the biotype composition in the field, an extensive survey covering mainly eastern parts of China was conducted in 2009. Using polymerase chain reaction primers specific for the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I of biotypes B and Q and gene sequencing, we determined the biotypes composition in 61 whitefly populations and their distribution across 19 provinces in China. Our research revealed that only biotypes B and Q have been found in the field in 2009 in China. Among them, biotype Q was dominant in 44 locations (100.0%) and biotype B was dominant in 17 locations (100.0%). The current survey indicates that biotype Q has rapidly displaced biotype B in most locations in China.     

巨噬细胞的自噬和极化抑制其泡沫化进程

目的:巨噬细胞是动脉粥样硬化斑块中最丰富的免疫细胞,巨噬细胞泡沫化加速动脉粥样硬化,本研究探讨巨噬细胞自噬与极化对泡沫化的影响。方法:分离培养小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞,免疫荧光检测巨噬细胞的标记物F4/80。不同浓度雷帕霉素处理巨噬细胞,western blot检测自噬标记物LC3II,经典激活的巨噬细胞(Classically activated macrophages, M1)标记物白细胞介素6(interleukin 6, IL-6)和替代激活的巨噬细胞(Alternatively activated macrophages, M2)标记物转化生长因子β(transform growth factor,TGF-β)的表达。用ox-LDL诱导巨噬细胞泡沫化,油红O染色鉴定泡沫细胞形成及巨噬细胞泡沫化情况。结果:免疫荧光结果显示,小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞F4/80阳性率达87.6%;雷帕霉素处理巨噬细胞24 h,western blot结果显示LC3II表达增加,M1标记物IL-6表达增加,而M2标记物TGF-β表达减少,对其条带进行统计分析结果显示都具有显著性差异(P0.05);油红O染色结果显示雷帕霉素明显减少巨噬细胞泡沫化形成。结论:雷帕霉素能诱导巨噬细胞自噬,促进其向M1型极化,从而抑制巨噬细胞泡沫化。