Three-phase extraction and partitioning with the aid of dialysis – a new method for purification of indolyI-3-acetic and abscisic acids in plant materials

A three-phase partitioning method to separate indolyl-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) from a crude plant extract was developed and evaluated. The aqueous phase at pH 2.7 of a methanolic plant extract constituted the 1st phase, from which IAA and ABA were transferred via diethyl ether, the 2nd phase, to a 3rd phase consisting of an alkaline buffer, enclosed in a dialysis tube. Partitioning of the free forms of the two hormones among the three phases in one container were carried out simultaneously and efficiently. The method also proved to be satisfactory when used as a combined step for both extraction and partitioning, at which the plant homogenate in buffer at pH 2.7 constituted the 1st phase. The content of IAA and ABA in kernels of Zea mays and in hypocotyls of Beta vulgaris were tested with the new method. The method presented is reliable and time-saving, and the demand for chemicals is less than for most of the conventional procedures used.     

Effect of liquid mycelial culture used as a spawn on sawdust cultivation of shiitake (Lentinula edodes)

Mycelium of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) was cultured continuously in liquid medium. The liquid culture was carried out for the production of liquid spawn in the cultivation of this mushroom on synthetic sawdust substrate, and its performance was compared with that of the solid spawn. The initial colonization in culture bags was faster with the solid spawn than with the liquid spawn, but after this stage CO₂ production was higher with the liquid spawn than with the solid spawn. For harvesting sufficient amount of good quality mushrooms, 120 d of incubation in bags was needed with the solid spawn, but this was reduced to 90 d for the sawdust blocks using liquid spawn of less than 50 d old. If continuous culture of the liquid spawn was prolonged over 50 d, immature fruit-bodies or their initials formed during the period of bag incubation. The solid subcultures of the liquid spawns retained the fruiting characteristics acquired in the liquid culture. Liquid culture could be a useful tool for breeding of mushrooms.     

海藻糖生产菌株筛选过程中产物鉴定的研究

在海藻糖生产菌的筛选过程中,微生物胞内酶转化淀粉生成的产物复杂,将产物逐一纯化是非常烦琐的,但又必须确证产物中是否含有海藻糖。本文将薄层层析、高效液相电喷雾电离质谱联用及核磁共振等分析手段综合应用于海藻糖生产菌株的筛选,在酶反应产物不必被纯化的前提下,准确、快捷地鉴定了酶反应产物中的未知糖组分,最终证明食尼古丁节杆菌（Arthrobacter nicotinovorus）D97利用淀粉或麦芽寡糖的酶反应产物中含有海藻糖。该方法在筛选海藻糖及其它功能性葡二糖生产菌株时较为严密。     

特种资源植物好好芭潜在药用价值研究进展

好好芭是近年来国际上新兴的特种油料作物。好好芭种子中富含品质优良的好好芭液体蜡（JLW）,其分子结构独特,用途广泛,具有极高的经济价值和药用价值。希蒙得木素（Simmondsin）是存在于好好芭中的一种多糖类物质,目前普遍认为它对动物的食物摄入量有明显的抑制作用。本文介绍了好好芭液体蜡抗炎作用及希蒙得木素摄食量抑制作用的研究进展,分析指出了研究中存在的问题,并对科研及市场前景进行了展望。     

Transmembrane asymmetry and lateral domains in biological membranes

It is generally assumed that rafts exist in both the external and internal leaflets of the membrane, and that they overlap so that they are coupled functionally and structurally. However, the two monolayers of the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells have different chemical compositions. This out-of-equilibrium situation is maintained by the activity of lipid translocases, which compensate for the slow spontaneous transverse diffusion of lipids. Thus rafts in the outer leaflet, corresponding to domains enriched in sphingomyelin and cholesterol, cannot be mirrored in the inner cytoplasmic leaflet. The extent to which lipids contribute to raft properties can be conveniently studied in giant unilamellar vesicles. In these, cholesterol can be seen to condense with saturated sphingolipids or phosphatidylcholine to form μm scale domains. However, such rafts fail to model biological rafts because they are symmetric, and because their membranes lack the mechanism that establishes this asymmetry, namely proteins. Biological rafts are in general of nm scale, and almost certainly differ in size and stability in inner and outer monolayers. Any coupling between rafts in the two leaflets, should it occur, is probably transient and dependent not upon the properties of lipids, but on transmembrane proteins within the rafts.     

Reversible protection of Cys-93(β) by PEG alters the structural and functional properties of the PEGylated hemoglobin

As a potential hemoglobin (Hb)-based oxygen carrier (HBOC), the PEGylated Hb has received much attention for its non-nephrotoxicity. However, PEGylation can adversely alter the structural and functional properties of Hb. The site of PEGylation is an important factor to determine the structure and function of the PEGylated Hb. Thus, protection of some sensitive residues of Hb from PEGylation is of great significance to develop the PEGylated Hb as HBOC. Here, Cys-93(β) of Hb was conjugated with 20 kDa polyethylene glycol (PEG20K) through hydrazone and disulfide bonds. Then, the conjugate was modified with PEG5K succinimidyl carbonate (PEG5K-SC) using acylation chemistry, followed by removal of PEG20K Hb with hydrazone hydrolysis and disulfide reduction. Reversible conjugation of PEG20K at Cys-93(β) can protect Lys-95(β), Val-1(α) and Lys-16(α) of Hb from PEGylation with PEG5K-SC. The autoxidation rate, oxygen affinity, structural perturbation and tetramer instability of the PEGylated Hb were significantly decreased upon protection with PEG20K. The present study is expected to improve the efficacy of the PEGylated Hb as an oxygen therapeutic.     

控制性液体复苏治疗严重多发伤的疗效及其对血清炎症因子水平的影响

目的:观察控制性液体复苏治疗严重多发伤的疗效及其对降钙素原(PCT)、高敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)和白介素-6(IL-6)水平的影响。方法:选取2010年12月~2012年12月在我院就诊的多发伤患者64例,随机分为观察组和对照组,每组各32例,对照组予以快速液体复苏,观察组予以控制性液体复苏。观察和比较两组的复苏液体量、复苏1小时乳酸、复苏时间、确定手术时间、住院时间、治愈率和死亡率,以及入院时和治疗后患者的血清PCT、hs-CRP、IL-6和TNF-α水平。结果:治疗后,观察组的复苏液体量、复苏1h乳酸、复苏时间、确定手术时间、住院时间和死亡率较对照组明显降低或减少,而观察组的治愈率较对照组明显提高。两组治疗后血清PCT、hs-CRP、IL-6和TNF-α水平均较入院时明显降低(P0.01),且观察组以上指标的水平显著低于对照组(P0.01)。结论:控制性补液复苏对多发伤的疗效优于快速液体复苏,并可显著降低患者的血清PCT、hs-CRP、IL-6和TNF-α水平。     

Probing conserved helical modules of portal complexes by mass spectrometry-based hydrogen/deuterium exchange

The Double-stranded DNA bacteriophage P22 has a ring-shaped dodecameric complex composed of the 84 kDa portal protein subunit that forms the central channel of the phage DNA packaging motor. The overall morphology of the P22 portal complex is similar to that of the portal complexes of Phi29, SPP1, T3, T7 phages and herpes simplex virus. Secondary structure prediction of P22 portal protein and its threading onto the crystal structure of the Phi29 portal complexes suggested that the P22 portal protein complex shares conserved helical modules that were found in the dodecameric interfaces of the Phi29 portal complex. To identify the amino acids involved in intersubunit contacts in the P22 portal ring complexes and validate the threading model, we performed comparative hydrogen/deuterium exchange analysis of monomeric and in vitro assembled portal proteins of P22 and the dodecameric Phi29 portal. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange experiments provided evidence of intersubunit interactions in the P22 portal complex similar to those in the Phi29 portal that map to the regions predicted to be conserved helical modules.     

Activity and kinetic properties of basal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase during proliferation in the transformable C3H 10T12; CL8 cell line

Basal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity and its kinetic properties were studied as a function of proliferation in C3H mouse embryo 10T$\text{1}\text{2}$ CL8 cells. Activity was low in freshly plated cells, increased during exponential growth, peaked at confluency, and then declined. The apparent K_m-values for benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and NADPH were less in proliferating (approx. 0.37 μM BP, 3.3 nM NADPH) than in confluent cells (0.74–1.39 μM BP, 33.4–53.4 nM NADPH). Cells at different growth states responded differently to benz[a]anthracene (BA) and aminophylline, an inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases. When cells were harvested at the mid log phase of growth, 12 h of exposure to aminophylline caused maximum induction, while 24 h of BA treatment were required. In contrast, at early confluence, 12 h of BA treatment gave the greatest levels of activity, while exposure to aminophylline did not induce AHH. In fact, decreases in activity were observed. These differences are indicative of different regulatory mechanisms for BA and aminophylline induction. They also suggest the regulation of basal AHH by cyclic nucleotides changes during growth. The exposure times giving maximum activity were used to determine the kinetic properties of BA-induced activity. As with basal AHH, the K_m-value for BP was less in log phase (0.2–0.4 μM BP) than in confluent cells (0.64–1.05 μM BP). Moreover, the K_m-values for BP and NADPH in control cultures at confluency (0.10–0.14 μM BP, 15.4–23.2 nM NADPH) were less than those for BA-treated cells (0.64 μM BP, 37.9–54.8 nM NADPH) under the same nutritional conditions. The finding that the K_m-value for BP is lower in rapidly dividing cells than in confluent cells may help to explain why proliferating cells are more susceptible to transforming agents.