Yeast mutant with efficient secretion identified by a novel secretory reporter, Cluc

Yeast is an important host for the production of pharmaceutical or industrial proteins by virtue of its genetic information and easy handling. A number of heterologous proteins have been produced and purified from yeast cell cultures as secreted forms. Here, we describe a novel screening system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its application to improve the secretion efficiency of yeast. In our system, a natural secretory luciferase from Cypridina noctiluca is used as a reporter enzyme. The accumulation of enzymatically active luciferase in culture medium makes it possible to screen many samples simultaneously in a simple and sensitive assay. Using this system, we have discovered that the deletion mutant of MON2, which encoded a scaffold protein for vesicle formation located at the late Golgi, secreted luciferase highly efficiently to the extracellular space. Thus, we conclude that this new reporter assay is useful for the improvement and screening of yeast secretory strains.     

Quantification of overdiagnosis in randomised trials of cancer screening: an overview and re-analysis of systematic reviews

The degree of overdiagnosis in common cancer screening trials is uncertain due to inadequate design of trials, varying definition and methods used to estimate overdiagnosis. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the risk of overdiagnosis for the most widely implemented cancer screening programmes and assess the implications of design limitations and biases in cancer screening trials on the estimates of overdiagnosis by conducting an overview and re-analysis of systematic reviews of cancer screening. We searched PubMed and the Cochrane Library from their inception dates to November 29, 2021. Eligible studies included systematic reviews of randomised trials comparing cancer screening interventions to no screening, which reported cancer incidence for both trial arms. We extracted data on study characteristics, cancer incidence and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane Collaboration’s risk of bias tool. We included 19 trials described in 30 articles for review, reporting results for the following types of screening: mammography for breast cancer, chest X-ray or low-dose CT for lung cancer, alpha-foetoprotein and ultrasound for liver cancer, digital rectal examination, prostate-specific antigen, and transrectal ultrasound for prostate cancer, and CA-125 test and/or ultrasound for ovarian cancer. No trials on screening for melanoma were eligible. Only one trial (5%) had low risk in all bias domains, leading to a post-hoc meta-analysis, excluding trials with high risk of bias in critical domains, finding the extent of overdiagnosis ranged from 17% to 38% across cancer screening programmes. We conclude that there is a significant risk of overdiagnosis in the included randomised trials on cancer screening. We found that trials were generally not designed to estimate overdiagnosis and many trials had high risk of biases that may draw the estimates of overdiagnosis towards the null. In effect, the true extent of overdiagnosis due to cancer screening is likely underestimated.     

Single-species microbial biofilm screening for industrial applications

While natural microbial biofilms often consist of multiple species, single-species biofilms are of great interest to biotechnology. The current study evaluates biofilm formation for common industrial and laboratory microorganisms. A total of 68 species of biosafety level one bacteria and yeasts from over 40 different genera and five phyla were screened by growing them in microtiter plates and estimating attached biomass by crystal violet staining. Most organisms showed biofilm formation on surfaces of polystyrene within 24 h. By changing a few simple conditions such as substratum characteristics, inoculum and nutrient availability, 66 strains (97%) demonstrated biofilm formation under at least one of the experimental conditions and over half of these strains were classified as strong biofilm formers, potentially suitable as catalysts in biofilm applications. Many non-motile bacteria were also strong biofilm formers. Biofilm morphologies were visualized for selected strains. A model organism, Zymomonas mobilis, easily established itself as a biofilm on various reactor packing materials, including stainless steel.     

先天性心脏病"双期三步法"筛查诊断流程推广应用初探

摘要 目的：分析"双期三步法"筛查诊断流程在西安咸阳地区新生儿先天性心脏病筛查中的推广与应用价值。方法：选取2021年1月1日-2021年12月31日在医院产检的胎儿和出生的新生儿作为研究对象，收集胎儿期、新生儿期和婴儿期的先心筛查数据，将新生儿分为杂音组、经皮氧饱和度阳性组、双阳性组，评价"双期三步法"筛查方法的使用价值。结果：共对12318例新生儿进行了筛查，筛查阳性497例。确诊126例，实际发病率为10.23‰。在确诊的例先心病患儿中，位于前3位的疾病类型分别为房间隔缺损66例（52.38%），室间隔缺损41例（32.54%），动脉导管未闭11例（8.73%）。杂音组184例，单纯心脏杂音筛查检出率1.49%，灵敏度为82.5%，特异度为99.3%。经皮氧饱和度阳性组147例，单纯经皮氧饱和度阳性筛查检出率1.19%，灵敏度为58.7%，特异度为99.4%。双阳性组166例，两项指标联合筛查检出率1.35%，灵敏度为94.4%，特异度为99.6%。结论："双期三步法"筛查诊断流程特别是心脏听诊和经皮氧饱和度联合筛查有利于早期发现新生儿CHD，值得推广应用。     

仙客来软腐病拮抗细菌鉴定及其生物防治效果

目的为筛选出仙客来软腐病拮抗细菌及评价其生防效果。方法通过分离和筛选,从温州泽雅高山基地采集健康的仙客来植株分离到13株内生细菌对仙客来软腐病病原菌有较强的抑制作用,其中菌株Y1活性最强且遗传稳定。通过形态特征、生理生化特性分析、16SrDNA序列测定及其系统发育分析研究。结果菌株Y1鉴定为芽胞杆菌,将菌株Y1以发酵液灌根方式回接正常仙客来植株,菌株Y1的发酵液处理仙客来软腐病的防效均大于60％以上。结论菌株Y1具有生防的特点,在花卉产业上具有应用潜力。     

Development of surface plasmon resonance biosensor assays for primary and secondary screening of acetylcholine binding protein ligands

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors recently gained an important place in drug discovery. Here we present a primary and secondary SPR biosensor screening methodology. The primary screening method is based on a direct binding assay with covalent immobilized drug target proteins. For the secondary screening method, a sequential competition assay has been developed where the captured protein is first exposed to an unknown test compound, followed directly by an exposure to a high-molecular-weight reporter ligand. Using the high-molecular-weight reporter ligand to probe the remaining free binding site on the sensor, a significant signal enhancement is obtained. Furthermore, this assay format allows the validation of the primary direct binding assay format, efficiently revealing false positive data. As a model system, acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP), which is a soluble model protein for neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, has been used. The secondary assay is lower in throughput than the primary assay; however, the signal-to-noise ratio is two times higher compared with the direct assay, and it has a z′ factor of 0.96. Using both assays, we identified the compound tacrine as a ligand for AChBP.     

Modular neuromuscular control of human locomotion by central pattern generator

The central pattern generators (CPG) in the spinal cord are thought to be responsible for producing the rhythmic motor patterns during rhythmic activities. For locomotor tasks, this involves much complexity, due to a redundant system of muscle actuators with a large number of highly nonlinear muscles. This study proposes a reduced neural control strategy for the CPG, based on modular organization of the co-active muscles, i.e., muscle synergies. Four synergies were extracted from the EMG data of the major leg muscles of two subjects, during two gait trials each, using non-negative matrix factorization algorithm. A Matsuoka׳s four-neuron CPG model with mutual inhibition, was utilized to generate the rhythmic activation patterns of the muscle synergies, using the hip flexion angle and foot contact force information from the sensory afferents as inputs. The model parameters were tuned using the experimental data of one gait trial, which resulted in a good fitting accuracy (RMSEs between 0.0491 and 0.1399) between the simulation and experimental synergy activations. The model׳s performance was then assessed by comparing its predictions for the activation patterns of the individual leg muscles during locomotion with the relevant EMG data. Results indicated that the characteristic features of the complex activation patterns of the muscles were well reproduced by the model for different gait trials and subjects. In general, the CPG- and muscle synergy-based model was promising in view of its simple architecture, yet extensive potentials for neuromuscular control, e.g., resolving redundancies, distributed and fast control, and modulation of locomotion by simple control signals.     

Genome-wide Screen for Modulation of Hepatic Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) Secretion

Control of plasma cholesterol levels is a major therapeutic strategy for management of coronary artery disease (CAD). Although reducing LDL cholesterol (LDL-c) levels decreases morbidity and mortality, this therapeutic intervention only translates into a 25–40% reduction in cardiovascular events. Epidemiological studies have shown that a high LDL-c level is not the only risk factor for CAD; low HDL cholesterol (HDL-c) is an independent risk factor for CAD. Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) is the major protein component of HDL-c that mediates reverse cholesterol transport from tissues to the liver for excretion. Therefore, increasing ApoA-I levels is an attractive strategy for HDL-c elevation. Using genome-wide siRNA screening, targets that regulate hepatocyte ApoA-I secretion were identified through transfection of 21,789 siRNAs into hepatocytes whereby cell supernatants were assayed for ApoA-I. Approximately 800 genes were identified and triaged using a convergence of information, including genetic associations with HDL-c levels, tissue-specific gene expression, druggability assessments, and pathway analysis. Fifty-nine genes were selected for reconfirmation; 40 genes were confirmed. Here we describe the siRNA screening strategy, assay implementation and validation, data triaging, and example genes of interest. The genes of interest include known and novel genes encoding secreted enzymes, proteases, G-protein-coupled receptors, metabolic enzymes, ion transporters, and proteins of unknown function. Repression of farnesyltransferase (FNTA) by siRNA and the enzyme inhibitor manumycin A caused elevation of ApoA-I secretion from hepatocytes and from transgenic mice expressing hApoA-I and cholesterol ester transfer protein transgenes. In total, this work underscores the power of functional genetic assessment to identify new therapeutic targets.     

宏基因组学在微生物活性物质筛选中的应用

采用传统分离培养筛选微生物新活性物质的方法受到很大制约,自然界99%以上的微生物不能培养,其资源开发受到很大限制。环境微生物宏基因组技术应用避开了微生物分离纯培养问题,极大拓展了微生物资源的利用空间,增加获得新活性物质的机会和途径。本文着重介绍宏基因组的概念、研究策略包括DNA提取、文库构建与筛选等及在微生物活性物质筛选中的应用,并对宏基因组研究中存在的问题进行探讨。     

TTC-CaCO3复合平板法快速筛选丙酮酸高产菌株

设计出一种用于快速筛选丙酮酸高产菌株的方法。这是一种理性化筛选方法。其原理是菌落产生的丙酮酸与碳酸钙反应形成可溶性的丙酮酸钙而出现透明圈,比较透明圈直径可以直观的选择出产酸较多的菌株;TTC与ADH作用而显色,颜色的深浅与ADH活性呈正比,这样可监测丙酮酸向乙醇的转化,筛选出低转化率的菌株。通过此方法,筛选出产酸多、ADH酶活力弱、发酵副产物少的目的菌株。