南方红豆杉和东北红豆杉中的单体化合物对乳腺癌细胞增殖的影响

本研究采用MTT法,研究南方红豆杉和东北红豆杉中的10种不同结构类型的单体化合物对乳腺癌MCF-7细胞增殖的影响。结果表明,化合物1~10(10-9~10-5mol/L)处理MCF-7细胞48和72 h后,仅化合物4在10-7、10-6和10-5mol/L浓度对MCF-7细胞增殖均有明显抑制作用,抑制率分别为29.8%、46.4%、51.8%和43.6%、61.2%、63.2%,与紫杉醇抑制细胞增殖的活性相近,且在24~72 h范围内具有时间依赖性;化合物2仅在10-5mol/L具有明显抑制细胞增殖的作用,抑制率为44.4%和49.6%。因此,10种不同结构类型的单体化合物中,仅baccatin III类化合物2、4对MCF-7细胞增殖具有较强的抑制作用,其中化合物4作用最强,活性与紫杉醇相近。     

中国重庆毛茛科银莲花属一新种——涪陵银莲花

描述了中国重庆市涪陵区的毛莨科Ranunculaceae银莲花属Anemone一新种——涪陵银莲花A．fulingensisW.T．Wang＆Z．Y.Liu,并绘出墨线图。根据此新种的总苞苞片无柄,花具4-5枚萼片,花丝丝形,花粉具散沟等特征,可以确定此种应是属于银莲花属鹅掌草组Anemone sect．Stolonifera的一个成员;在该组中,此种以其独特的由2-10个块茎组成的念珠状根状茎而与该组的其他种相区别。鉴于在银莲花属中块茎出现于不同的演化路线中,以及这些块茎的出现系次生现象,可见此新种应是鹅掌草组的进化种。     

Enzymatically active single chain caspase-8 maintains T-cell survival during clonal expansion

The extrinsic, or death receptor, pathway integrates apoptotic signals through the protease caspase-8 (casp8). Beyond cell death regulation, non-apoptotic functions of casp8 include its essential requirement for hematopoiesis and lymphocyte clonal expansion, and tempering of autophagy in T cells. However, the mechanistic basis for the control of these disparate cellular processes remains elusive. Here, we show that casp8-deficient T-cell survival was rescued by enzymatically active, but not inactive, casp8-expressing retroviruses. The casp8 catalytic induction in proliferating T cell occurred independent of extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic-signaling cascades and did not induce casp8 proteolytic processing. Using a biotinylated probe selectively targeting enzymatically active caspases, catalytically active full-length casp8 was found in vivo in dividing T cells. A casp8 D387A processing mutant was able to rescue casp8-deficient T-cell proliferation, validating that casp8 self-processing is not required for its non-apoptotic function(s). Finally, casp8 activity was highest in CD8⁺ T cells, the most rapidly proliferating subset. These results show that the catalytically competent form of casp8 is required for rapid T-cell proliferation in response to TCR ligation, but that processing of the caspase is only necessary to promote apoptosis.     

TNFα-induced up-regulation of miR-155 inhibits adipogenesis by down-regulating early adipogenic transcription factors

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) is known to inhibit adipogenesis, but the molecular mechanism of this inhibition remains elusive. In the present study, we found that TNFα-induced inhibition of adipogenesis mainly occurs when 3T3-L1 preadipocytes are treated with TNFα within 2 h induction of adipogenesis. We revealed that TNFα treatment results in the up-regulation of miR-155 through the NFκB pathway in 3T3-L1 cells. This overexpression of miR-155 may suppress the expression of C/EBPβ and CREB by directly targeting their 3′ untranslated regions (3′ UTRs). Importantly, anti-miR-155 reduces the TNFα-induced inhibition of adipogenesis, whereas exogenous expression of mir-155 inhibits adipogenesis. Taken together, these findings reveal a novel role for TNFα in the regulation of anti-adipogenic miRNAs.     

Effect of temperature on nucleotide pools and monoclonal antibody production in a mouse hybridoma

The specific monoclonal antibody productivity (q(Mab)) of a murine hybridoma (CC9C10) increased with incubation temperature in the range 33 degrees C to 39 degrees C. q(Mab) was constant at each temperature and was independent of the phase of culture. The q(Mab) increased 97% at 39 degrees C and decreased by 21% at 33 degrees C compared with controls at 37 degrees C. Specific rates of substrate (glucose and glutamine) utilization and byproduct (lactate and ammonia) formation also increased with temperature but the yield coefficient, Y(Lac/Llc') was constant for 33 degrees C to 39 degrees C and Y(Amm/Gin) was constant for 37 degrees C to 39 degrees C. Y(Amm/Gin) at 33 degrees C was lower than the control. Changes in specific nucleotide concentrations and ratios were monitored by analysis of intracellular nucleotide pools. The NTP ratio, (ATP + GTP)/(UTP + CTP), increased and the U-ratio (UTP/UDP-GNac) decreased during the course of each culture, whereas the adenylate energy charge, (ATP + 0.5ADP)/(ATP + ADP + AMP), remained relatively constant at a value 0.8. The relative content of UDP-/N acetyl galactosamine, UDP-N acetyl glucosamine, and NAD increased with incubation temperature, whereas the relative ATP content, SA(ATP + ADP + AMP)/SU (UTP + UDP-sugars) ratio, purine/pyrimidine, ATP/GTP, and U-ratio decreased at higher incubation temperatures. It is possible that these nucleotide parameters may have a regulatory role in the changes of q(Mab) observed at the higher temperatures. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Efficient use of lactose for the lac promotercontrolled overexpression of the main antigenic protein of the foot and mouth disease virus in Escherichia coli under fed-batch fermentation conditions

Abstract: Derivatives of the lac promoter (tac, pac, rac) belong to the strongest bacterial promoters which are frequently used for the induced overexpression of foreign genes in Escherichia coli . However, their use in fermentation processes is strongly restricted because of the high cost of the inducer iso-propyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of using lac-derived promoters in high cell density processes resulting in a high yield of the induced recombinant protein if glucose is the main carbon and energy source. Lactose is tested as inducer of the main antigenic coat protein (VP1) of the foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus in a T7-RNA polymerase expression system. It was shown that lactose is able to induce the expression of the recombinant gene to an amount of the VP1 protein corresponding to 20% of the total cell protein.     

Development of a colorimetric test system for detection of point mutations via ligation of a tandem of short oligonucleotides on methacrylate beads

A new approach for detection of point mutations has been developed. The nonradioactive test system proposed is based on enzymatic ligation of a tandem of three short oligonucleotides B∼pN₈+pN₄+pN′₈ Bio in the presence of a complementary DNA template. The 5′-terminal octanucleotide B∼pN₈ is immobilized on polymer methacrylate beads (B) and the 3′-terminal octanucleotide pN′₈ Bio contains a biotin residue at the 3′-phosphate. Ligation of the tandem produces a 20-mer biotinylated oligonucleotide on a polymer bead, which is then visualized via subsequent treatments with streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate and chromogenic substrates. Intense staining of the polymer beads is observed when the amount of DNA template (20-mer oligonucleotide) is as low as ∼10⁻¹⁴ mol. It is shown that practically no polymer staining is observed when the complex formed by the tandem and the 20-mer DNA template contains a mismatch either in the tetranucleotide duplex or in the duplex of octanucleotide immobilized on the beads. This suggests a possibility of using the presented approach in test systems for detection of point mutations in PCR-amplified DNA fragments.     

The use of whole genome amplification in the study of human disease

The availability of large amounts of genomic DNA is of critical importance for many of the molecular biology assays used in the analysis of human disease. However, since the amount of patient tissue available is often limited and as particular foci of interest may consist of only a few hundred cells, the yield of DNA is often insufficient for extensive analysis. To address this problem, several whole genome amplification (WGA) methodologies have been developed. Initial WGA approaches were based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, recent reports have described the use of non-PCR-based linear amplification protocols for WGA. Using these methods, it is possible to generate microgram quantities of DNA starting with as little as 1mg of genomic DNA. This review will provide an overview of WGA approaches and summarize some of the uses for amplified DNA in various high-throughput genetic applications.     

Mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase-1 is essential for murine CD4 T cell metabolic activation

Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase-1 is the first rate limiting step in de novo glycerophospholipid synthesis. We have previously demonstrated that GPAT-1 deletion can significantly alter T cell function resulting in a T cell phenotype similar to that seen in aging. Recent studies have suggested that changes in the metabolic profile of T cells are responsible for defining specific effector functions and T cell subsets. Therefore, we determined whether T cell dysfunction in GPAT-1 ^−/− CD4⁺ T cells could be explained by changes in cellular metabolism. We show here for the first time that GPAT-1 ^−/− CD4⁺ T cells exhibit several key metabolic defects. Striking decreases in both the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) were observed in GPAT-1 ^−/− CD4⁺ T cells following CD3/CD28 stimulation indicating an inherent cellular defect in energy production. In addition, the spare respiratory capacity (SRC) of GPAT-1 ^−/− CD4 + T cells, a key indicator of their ability to cope with mitochondrial stress was significantly decreased. We also observed a significant reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential in GPAT-1 ^−/− CD4⁺ T cells compared to their WT counterparts, indicating that GPAT-1 deficiency results in altered or dysfunctional mitochondria. These data demonstrate that deletion of GPAT-1 can dramatically alter total cellular metabolism under conditions of increased energy demand. Furthermore, altered metabolic response following stimulation may be the defining mechanism underlying T cell dysfunction in GPAT-1 ^−/− CD4⁺ T cells. Taken together, these results indicate that GPAT-1 is essential for the response to the increased metabolic demands associated with T cell activation.