来源于家蝇、地鳖虫、黄粉虫和河虾壳几丁糖的基本特性

为了了解昆虫来源几丁糖的基本特性及其与河虾来源几丁糖的差别,用同一方法在相同条件下分别以河虾壳(shell of Procambarus clarkii)、家蝇蛹壳(pupa shell ofMusca domestica vicinaMacquart)、地鳖虫壳(shell of Euplyphaga Walker)和黄粉虫蜕(exuviate of Tnebrio molitorL.)为来源制备的几丁糖在灰份、脱乙酰度、分子质量等及红外图谱上进行比较研究。昆虫来源几丁糖,其灰份低于河虾壳来源几丁糖;家蝇蛹壳几丁糖分子质量明显低于其他3种来源的几丁糖;从几丁糖质量角度看,采用家蝇蛹壳和地鳖虫壳可制备脱乙酰度较高的几丁糖;4种来源的几丁糖红外光谱图谱基本一致,具有几丁糖的特征吸收峰。     

Sirtuin chemical mechanisms

Sirtuins are ancient proteins widely distributed in all lifeforms of earth. These proteins are universally able to bind NAD⁺, and activate it to effect ADP-ribosylation of cellular nucleophiles. The most commonly observed sirtuin reaction is the ADP-ribosylation of acetyllysine, which leads to NAD⁺-dependent deacetylation. Other types of ADP-ribosylation have also been observed, including protein ADP-ribosylation, NAD⁺ solvolysis and ADP-ribosyltransfer to 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole, a reaction involved in eubacterial cobalamin biosynthesis. This review broadly surveys the chemistries and chemical mechanisms of these enzymes.     

Acetylation/deacetylation and microtubule associated proteins influence flagellar axonemal stability and sperm motility

PTMs and microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) are known to regulate microtubule dynamicity in somatic cells. Reported literature on modulation of α-tubulin acetyl transferase (αTAT1) and histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) in animal models and cell lines illustrate disparity in correlating tubulin acetylation status with stability of MT. Our earlier studies showed reduced acetyl tubulin in sperm of asthenozoospermic individuals. Our studies on rat sperm showed that on inhibition of HDAC6 activity, although tubulin acetylation increased, sperm motility was reduced. Studies were therefore undertaken to investigate the influence of tubulin acetylation/deacetylation on MT dynamicity in sperm flagella using rat and human sperm. Our data on rat sperm revealed that HDAC6 specific inhibitor Tubastatin A (T) inhibited sperm motility and neutralized the depolymerizing and motility debilitating effect of Nocodazole. The effect on polymerization was further confirmed in vitro using pure MT and recHDAC6. Also polymerized axoneme was less in sperm of asthenozoosperm compared to normozoosperm. Deacetylase activity was reduced in sperm lysates and axonemes exposed to T and N+T but not in axonemes of sperm treated similarly suggesting that HDAC6 is associated with sperm axonemes or MT. Deacetylase activity was less in asthenozoosperm. Intriguingly, the expression of MDP3 physiologically known to bind to HDAC6 and inhibit its deacetylase activity remained unchanged. However, expression of acetyl α-tubulin, HDAC6 and microtubule stabilizing protein SAXO1 was less in asthenozoosperm. These observations suggest that MAPs and threshold levels of MT acetylation/deacetylation are important for MT dynamicity in sperm and may play a role in regulating sperm motility.     

SIRT2 suppresses expression of inflammatory factors via Hsp90‐glucocorticoid receptor signalling

SIRT2 is a NAD⁺‐dependent deacetylase that deacetylates a diverse array of protein substrates and is involved in many cellular processes, including regulation of inflammation. However, its precise role in the inflammatory process has not completely been elucidated. Here, we identify heat‐shock protein 90α (Hsp90α) as novel substrate of SIRT2. Functional investigation suggests that Hsp90 is deacetylated by SIRT2, such that overexpression and knock‐down of SIRT2 altered the acetylation level of Hsp90. This subsequently resulted in disassociation of Hsp90 with glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and translocation of GR to the nucleus. This observation was further confirmed by glucocorticoid response element (GRE)‐driven reporter assay. Nuclear translocation of GR induced by SIRT2 overexpression repressed the expression of inflammatory cytokines, which were even more prominent under lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Conversely, SIRT2 knock‐down resulted in the up‐regulation of cytokine expression. Mutation analysis indicated that deacetylation of Hsp90 at K294 is critical for SIRT2‐mediated regulation of cytokine expression. These data suggest that SIRT2 reduces the extent of LPS‐induced inflammation by suppressing the expression of inflammatory factors via SIRT2‐Hsp90‐GR axis.     

组蛋白去乙酰化酶抑制剂(HDACi)对小麦基因编辑效率的影响及转录组学分析

主要研究组蛋白去乙酰化酶抑制剂(HDACi)与染色质状态以及CRISPR/Cas9的编辑效率之间的关系。利用不同浓度的尼克酰胺(0,2.5和5 mmol/L)和丁酸钠(0,5和10 mmol/L)对小麦幼苗处理7 d和14 d,结果显示丁酸钠处理会抑制幼苗的生长,而尼克酰胺对幼苗影响较小。对尼克酰胺处理的小麦幼苗进行转录组测序,发现了一些有利于促进染色质状态开放的基因:6个甲基转移酶合成通路基因。此外对未发生编辑的TaAGO4a基因编辑转基因小麦材料的T2代进行尼克酰胺处理,结果显示5 mmol/L处理14 d时检测到1株3A和3B基因组均杂合编辑的植株,编辑效率从0提高到8.3%,其它处理组和对照组均没有检测到编辑。本研究证明尼克酰胺确实可以提高小麦基因编辑效率,为提高小麦基因编辑效率提供了一种新策略。     

Antibody-catalyzed decarboxylation and aldol reactions using a primary amine molecule as a functionalized small nonprotein component

Catalytic antibody 27C1 bears binding sites for both a substrate- and a functionalized small nonprotein component in the active site. We investigated the possibility of exploiting imine and enamine intermediates using a primary amine molecule into the active site of antibody 27C1. The antibody catalyzed β-keto acid decarboxylation with a rate enhancement (k_cat/K_m/k_uncat) of 140,000, as well as highly regioselective cross-aldol reactions of ketones and p-nitrobenzaldehyde. These studies provide new strategies for the generation of catalytic antibodies possessing binding sites for functionalized components.     

Biotransformation of betulin to betulone by growing and resting cells of the actinobacterium Rhodococcus rhodochrous IEGM 66

The ability of Rhodococcus actinobacteria to transform betulin to betulone was proved and reported for the first time. Betulone, the product of regioselective oxidation of a 3β-hydroxyl group of betulin, is a useful intermediate in the synthesis of novel biologically active compounds. Of 56 strains of Rhodococcus tested, Rhodococcus rhodochrous IEGM 66 was selected because it had the highest betulin-transforming ability. It was shown that R. rhodochrous IEGM 66 growing cells transformed 0.5 g/L betulin to betulone with 45% conversion rate within 240 h. A substantial reduction in the time of betulin (0.5 g/L) biotransformation was achieved by using resting cells, which catalyzed the production of 75% betulone after 96 h. At higher initial betulin concentrations (1.0–3.0 g/L), resting cells catalyzed 40–60% betulone production within 24 h.