Turnover of glucose and acetate coupled to reduction of nitrate, ferric iron and sulfate and to methanogenesis in anoxic rice field soil

Turnover of glucose and acetate in the presence of active reduction of nitrate, ferric iron and sulfate was investigated in anoxic rice field soil by using [U-(14)C]glucose and [2-(14)C]acetate. The turnover of glucose was not much affected by addition of ferrihydrite or sulfate, but was partially inhibited (60%) by addition of nitrate. Nitrate addition also strongly reduced acetate production from glucose while ferrihydrite and sulfate addition did not. These results demonstrate that ferric iron and sulfate reducers did not outcompete fermenting bacteria for glucose at endogenous concentrations. Nitrate reducers may have done so, but glucose fermentation may also have been inhibited by accumulation of toxic denitrification intermediates (nitrite, NO, N(2)O). Addition of nitrate resulted in complete inhibition of CH(4) production from [U-(14)C]glucose and [2-(14)C]acetate. However, addition of ferrihydrite or sulfate decreased the production of (14)CH(4) from [U-(14)C]glucose by only 70 and 65%, respectively. None of the electron acceptors significantly increased the production of (14)CO(2) from [U-(14)C]glucose, but all increased the production of (14)CO(2) from [2-(14)C]acetate. Uptake of acetate was faster in the presence of either nitrate, ferrihydrite or sulfate than in the unamended control. Addition of ferrihydrite and sulfate reduced (14)CH(4) production from [2-(14)C]acetate by 83 and 92%, respectively. Chloroform completely inhibited the methanogenic consumption of acetate. It also inhibited the oxidation of acetate, completely in the presence of sulfate, but not in the presence of nitrate or ferrihydrite. Our results show that, besides the possible toxic effect of products of nitrate reduction (NO, NO(2)(-) and N(2)O) on methanogens, nitrate reducers, ferric iron reducers and sulfate reducers were active enough to outcompete methanogens for acetate and channeling the flow of electrons away from CH(4) towards CO(2) production.     

短链脂肪酸作用下伤寒沙门菌诱导巨噬细胞凋亡机制的探讨

目的了解短链脂肪酸(SCFA)作用伤寒沙门菌诱导巨噬细胞凋亡机制。方法将SCFA作用伤寒沙门菌感染巨噬细胞8 h后,检测TNF-α、caspase3、caspase8、caspase9及NO的产生量,同时检测加入caspase3、caspase8、caspase9抑制剂和TNF-α抗体后的细胞凋亡率。结果作用8 h后caspase3、caspase8及NO、TNF-α的产生量均高于对照组(P0.01)。caspase3、caspase8抑制剂和TNF-α抗体均能不同程度抑制SCFA作用伤寒沙门菌诱导的巨噬细胞凋亡(P0.01)。结论 SCFA作用伤寒沙门菌诱导巨噬细胞凋亡可以通过NO及TNF-α介导,caspase3和caspase8参与的外源性凋亡途迳。     

Action mechanism of tachyplesin I and effects of PEGylation

PEGylation of protein and peptide drugs is frequently used to improve in vivo efficacy. We investigated the action mechanism of tachyplesin I, a membrane-acting cyclic antimicrobial peptide from Tachypleus tridentatus and the effects of PEGylation on the mechanism. The PEGylated peptide induced the leakage of calcein from egg yolk l-α-phosphatidylglycerol/egg yolk l-α-phosphatidylcholine large unilamellar vesicles similarly to the parent peptide. Both peptides induced lipid flip-flop coupled to leakage and was translocated into the inner leaflet of the bilayer, indicating that tachyplesin I forms a toroidal pore and that PEGylation did not alter the basic mechanism of membrane permeabilization of the parent peptide. Despite their similar activities against model membranes, the peptides showed very different biological activities. The cytotoxicity of tachyplesin I was greatly reduced by PEGylation, although the antimicrobial activity was significantly weakened. We investigated the enhancement of the permeability of inner membranes induced by the peptides. Our results suggested that outer membranes and peptidoglycan layers play an inhibitory role in the permeation of the PEG moiety. Furthermore, a reduction in DNA binding by PEGylation may also contribute to the weak activity of the PEGylated peptide.     

The plant glycosyltransferase clone collection for functional genomics

The glycosyltransferases (GTs) are an important and functionally diverse family of enzymes involved in glycan and glycoside biosynthesis. Plants have evolved large families of GTs which undertake the array of glycosylation reactions that occur during plant development and growth. Based on the Carbohydrate‐Active enZymes (CAZy) database, the genome of the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana codes for over 450 GTs, while the rice genome (Oryza sativa) contains over 600 members. Collectively, GTs from these reference plants can be classified into over 40 distinct GT families. Although these enzymes are involved in many important plant specific processes such as cell‐wall and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, few have been functionally characterized. We have sought to develop a plant GTs clone resource that will enable functional genomic approaches to be undertaken by the plant research community. In total, 403 (88%) of CAZy defined Arabidopsis GTs have been cloned, while 96 (15%) of the GTs coded by rice have been cloned. The collection resulted in the update of a number of Arabidopsis GT gene models. The clones represent full‐length coding sequences without termination codons and are Gateway^® compatible. To demonstrate the utility of this JBEI GT Collection, a set of efficient particle bombardment plasmids (pBullet) was also constructed with markers for the endomembrane. The utility of the pBullet collection was demonstrated by localizing all members of the Arabidopsis GT14 family to the Golgi apparatus or the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Updates to these resources are available at the JBEI GT Collection website http://www.addgene.org/ .     

Inhibitory effect of naringenin chalcone on inflammatory changes in the interaction between adipocytes and macrophages

Obese adipose tissue is characterized by an enhanced infiltration of macrophages. It is considered that the paracrine loop involving monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha between adipocytes and macrophages establishes a vicious cycle that augments the inflammatory changes and insulin resistance in obese adipose tissue. Polyphenols, which are widely distributed in fruit and vegetables, can act as antioxidants and some of them are also reported to have anti-inflammatory properties. Tomato is one of the most popular and extensively consumed vegetable crops worldwide, which also contains many flavonoids, mainly naringenin chalcone. We investigated the effect of flavonoids, including naringenin chalcone, on the production of proinflammatory mediators in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages and in the interaction between adipocytes and macrophages. Naringenin chalcone inhibited the production of TNF-alpha, MCP-1, and nitric oxide (NO) by LPS-stimulated RAW 264 macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. Coculture of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and RAW 264 macrophages markedly enhanced the production of TNF-alpha, MCP-1, and NO compared with the control cultures; however, treatment with naringenin chalcone dose-dependently inhibited the production of these proinflammatory mediators. These results indicate that naringenin chalcone exhibits anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting the production of proinflammatory cytokines in the interaction between adipocytes and macrophages. Naringenin chalcone may be useful for ameliorating the inflammatory changes in obese adipose tissue.     

跨膜型肿瘤坏死因子α稳定表达细胞株的构建

目的：在体内,相对分子质量为26×103的跨膜型肿瘤坏死因子α（mTNF-α）可被TNF转化酶（TACE）酶解成相对分子质量为17×103的游离型TNF-α（sTNF-α）。为评价新研发的TNF-α全人源单克隆抗体与mTNF-α的结合能力,以及该单抗的ADCC作用,须构建只能稳定表达mTNF-α而不受TACE影响的Sp2/0细胞株。方法：PCR扩增缺失了TACE酶切位点的人TNF-α野生型基因序列,构建pcDNA3.1（＋）-dTNF-α重组质粒并测序鉴定;重组质粒转染Sp2/0细胞,构建只能稳定表达mTNF-α的细胞株,用流式细胞仪检测其表达情况。结果：pcDNA3.1（＋）-dTNF-α重组质粒测序结果与设计缺失基因的碱基序列完全一致,重组质粒构建成功;转染的阳性细胞株经流式细胞仪检测有表达,其中Clone11、15、16的表达量最高。结论：跨膜型TNF-α稳定表达细胞株构建成功,可用于TNF-α全人源单克隆抗体体外药效的评价。     

金沙江干热河谷地区芒果畸形病的病原菌

从金沙江干热河谷地区采集芒果畸形病组织,运用柯赫氏法则证实分离物MG6为该病的致病菌。菌株MG6在马铃薯蔗糖琼脂培养基（PSA）上菌丝白色,无色素产生,米饭培养基浅粉红色;在康乃馨叶片培养基（CLA）上以单瓶梗或复瓶梗假头状产孢,不产生链状孢子;小型分生孢子卵形或长椭圆形,具0－1个分隔,3.1－10.2×1.5－2.2μm;大型分生孢子呈镰刀形,通常3个分隔,18－38×1.8－2.4μm。EF-1α测序结果在Fusarium数据库中进行同源性分析显示,菌株MG6与F. mangiferae的同源性最高,达99.68%。综合培养性状、形态学特征和EF-1α序列分析,将菌株MG6鉴定为Fusarium mangiferae。     

慢病毒介导的GFP-Hsp90αE47A基因在HepG2细胞表达及对细胞增殖性影响的研究

目的：建立真核细胞表达的GFP-Hsp90αE47A基因重组慢病毒载体三质粒包装细胞系统,并检测其对细胞增殖性的影响,为进一步研究HSP90分子伴侣功能奠定基础。方法：制备完整的重组慢病毒载体三质粒系统：转移质粒（Hsp90αE47A/psin-GFP）,包装质粒（ΔNRF）及包膜蛋白质粒（VSV-G）。磷酸钙法将三质粒共转染293T包装细胞,48h后收集病毒上清。将制备好的慢病毒颗粒感染HepG2细胞,在荧光显微镜下观察报告基因GFP的表达情况,Westernblot检测HepG2细胞GFP-Hsp90α表达。MTT法检测细胞增殖情况。结果：转染后的293T和感染后的HepG2细胞能观察到较强的绿色荧光,培养液上清病毒滴度约为3.0×103ifu/μl,HepG2细胞中有GFP-Hsp90α蛋白的表达。内源性Hsp90α表达无明显上升（为对照组的1.05±0.15倍,P〈0.05,t检验）,有明显外源性GFP-Hsp90αE47A蛋白的表达,为对照组内源性Hsp90α的0.68±0.12倍。外源性GFP-Hsp90αE47A蛋白的表达HepG2细胞增殖活性于第4d有明显抑制。（1.051±0.03vs1.349±0.05,P〈0.05,t检验）。结论：成功建立重组慢病毒载体的三质粒包装细胞系统,并将GFP-Hsp90αE47A基因在HepG2细胞中稳定表达,且并未引起细胞明显的热休克反应而导致的内源性Hsp90α增高;且能明显抑制细胞增殖,为后期Hsp90α分子伴侣功能进行研究奠定基础。