The Role of Promyelocytic Leukemia Protein in Steatosis-Associated Hepatic Tumors Related to Chronic Hepatitis B virus Infection

The persistence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is a risk factor for the development of steatosis-associated tumors in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, yet little is known about the metabolic link with this factor. We correlated HBV-related pathogenesis in genetically engineered mice and human carriers with metabolic proteomics and lipogenic gene expression profiles. The immunohistochemistry showed that the promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML, a tumor suppressor involved in genome maintenance and fatty acid oxidation), being inversely influenced by the dynamic HBsAg levels from acute phase to seroclearance, appeared as a lipo-metabolic switch linking HBsAg-induced steatosis (lipogenesis) to HBsAg-lost fat-burning hepatocarcinogenesis (lipolysis). Knockdown of PML in HBsAg-transgenic mice predisposed to obesity and drove early steatosis-specific liver tumorigenesis. Proteome analysis revealed that the signaling pathways corresponding to energy metabolism and its regulators were frequently altered by suppression or depletion of PML in the HBsAg-transgenic mice, mainly including oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid metabolism. Expression profiling further identified upregulation of stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (Scd1) and epigenetic methylation of NDUFA13 in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and the cell cycle inhibitor CDKN1c in concordance to the increased severity of lipodystrophy and neoplasia in the livers of HBsAg-transgenic mice with PML insufficiency. The defect in lipolysis in PML-deficient HBsAg-transgenic mice made the HBsAg-induced adipose-like liver tumors vulnerable to synthetic lethality from toxic saturated fat accumulation with a Scd1 inhibitor. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the evolution of steatosis-associated hepatic tumors driven by reciprocal interactions of HBsAg and PML, and a potential utility of lipid metabolic reprogramming as a treatment target.     

玉米群体陕综5号果穗性状遗传特征分析

对玉米群体陕综５号果穗性状进行了综合分析,结果表明：陕综５号群体遗传基础丰富,丰产性突出,果穗各数量性状均趋正态分布。分析认为就该群体进行籽粒产量改良时,直接对行粒数、粒型、粒重选择的意义不大,而对穗行数进行选择基本不受其它性状选择的干扰。陕综５号群体的主要选择目标应是：穗行多,果穗长,结实性好。     

优质鲜食型甘薯新品种‘徐薯32’的选育及特性分析

甘薯新品种‘徐薯32’是以品质性状良好的‘徐薯55-2’为母本、‘红东’为父本,经有性杂交培育而成。该品种于2015年通过河南省农作物品种审定委员会审定。通过对‘徐薯32’农艺性状特征、生产力、抗病性、品质性状等进行研究,结果表明:‘徐薯32’地上部短蔓,薯块萌芽性好,耐贮藏,熟食口感佳;抗黑斑病,中抗根腐病与茎线虫病;鲜薯产量与对照‘徐薯22’相当,薯干和淀粉产量较对照分别增产15.24%和18.99%;‘徐薯32’块根主要营养物质含量均高于‘徐薯18’,其淀粉最高粘度值与崩解值较‘徐薯18’分别高6.52%和12.40%,糊化温度则略低于‘徐薯18’;淀粉粒径表面积与体积分布呈三峰、数目分布呈单峰,三类分布中淀粉颗粒总平均粒径均低于‘徐薯18’,降低幅度分别为12.22%、13.18%和2.22%。因此,‘徐薯32’具有良好的农艺性状与品质特性,可为鲜食型甘薯品种改良和应对市场需求奠定基础。     

Evidence of an essential histidine residue in rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A.

A detailed study of the pH dependence of the Michaelis-Menten constants (V and K_m) of aryl sulfatase A (EC 3.1.6.1) from rabbit liver indicates that at least two functional groups (pK's ~4.3 and ~7 in the enzyme-substrate complex) participate in the enzymic degradation of substrate. Aryl sulfatase A is inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate (ethoxyformic anhydride). The enzyme that has been modified with this reagent can in turn be reactivated by treatment with hydroxylamine. The pH dependence of inactivation reveals a reactive group having a pK of 6.5–7.0. The results indicate that at least one histidine plays an important catalytic role in rabbit liver aryl sulfatase A, consistent with the results of earlier workers who employed diazotized sulfanilic acid. Phosphate ion, a competitive inhibitor, partially protects the enzyme from inactivation by diethyl pyrocarbonate whereas sulfate ion, also a competitive inhibitor, increases the rate of inactivation by diethyl pyrocarbonate. This result is of particular significance in view of the anomalous kinetics of aryl sulfatase A. The kinetic effects of even small amounts of sulfate ion impurities in many commercial sulfate ester substrate preparations is also discussed.     

Characterization of Mg2+- and (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity in adipocyte endoplasmic reticulum

The presence of an energy-dependent calcium uptake system in adipocyte endoplasmic reticulum (D. E. Bruns, J. M. McDonald, and L. Jarett, 1976, J. Biol. Chem.251, 7191–7197) suggested that this organelle might possess a calcium-stimulated transport ATPase. This report describes two types of ATPase activity in isolated microsomal vesicles: a nonspecific, divalent cation-stimulated ATPase (Mg²⁺-ATPase) of high specific activity, and a specific, calcium-dependent ATPase (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺-ATPase) of relatively low activity. Mg²⁺-ATPase activity was present in preparations of mitochondria and plasma membranes as well as microsomes, whereas the (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase activity appeared to be localized in the endoplasmic reticulum component of the microsomal fraction. Characterization of microsomal Mg²⁺-ATPase activity revealed apparent K_m values of 115 μm for ATP, 333 μm for magnesium, and 200 μm for calcium. Maximum Mg²⁺-ATPase activity was obtained with no added calcium and 1 mm magnesium. Potassium was found to inhibit Mg²⁺-ATPase activity at concentrations greater than 100 mm. The energy of activation was calculated from Arrhenius plots to be 8.6 kcal/mol. Maximum activity of microsomal (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase was 13.7 nmol ³²P/mg/min, which represented only 7% of the total ATPase activity. The enzyme was partially purified by treatment of the microsomes with 0.09% deoxycholic acid in 0.15 m KCl which increased the specific activity to 37.7 nmol ³²P/mg/min. Characterization of (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase activity in this preparation revealed a biphasic dependence on ATP with a Hill coefficient of 0.80. The apparent K_m^s for magnesium and calcium were 125 and 0.6–1.2 μm, respectively. (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase activity was stimulated by potassium with an apparent K_m of 10 mm and maximum activity reached at 100 mm potassium. The energy of activation was 21.5 kcal/mol. The kinetics and ionic requirements of (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase are similar to those of the (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase in sarcoplasmic reticulum. These results suggest that the (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase of adipocyte endoplasmic reticulum functions as a calcium transport enzyme.     

A Method of Determination of Penta-, Tetra-, Tri-, and Disaccharides from Xylan by Ion-exchange Chromatography

Bacillus subtilis B7, a tmrA mutant, shows both tunicamycin resistance and a-amylase hyperproductivity. The tmrA characters can be transferred simultaneously to recipient cells by DNA-mediated transformation. We found a typical gene amplification phenomenon in the tmrA transformants and B7 strain. The amplified unit, 16.3kb in size, covers a-amylase structural gene amyE to another tunicamycin resistance gene tmrB, which is located 9kb downstream of the amyE gene. About 10 repeating units are supposed to be tandemly repeated in the transformants. Amplification of the wild amyE and tmrB genes could be the cause of the α-amylase hyperproductivity and tunicamycin resistance of the tmrA transformants and B7 strain.     

Central GABA-ergic systems and feeding behavior

Central GABA-ergic systems appear to be involved in the regulation of food intake and body weight in animals. Studies performed with systemic or intracerebral administration of GABA, GABA-agonists and GABA-antagonists support this view.     

Variation of ADM1 by using temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) operation

The objective of the study was to examine the application of the Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) developed by the IWA task group for mathematical modelling of anaerobic process. Lab-scale temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) process were operated continuously, and were fed with co-substrate composed of dog food and flour. The model platform implemented in the simulation was a derivative of the ADM1. Sensitivity analysis showed that k_m.process (maximum specific uptake rate) and K_S.process (half saturation value) had high sensitivities to model components. Important parameters including maximum uptake rate for propionate utilisers (k_m.pro) and half saturation constant for acetate utilisers (K_S.ac) in the thermophilic digester and maximum uptake rate for acetate utilisers (k_m.ac) in the mesophilic digester were estimated using iterative methods, which optimized the parameters with experimental results. Simulation with estimated parameters showed good agreement with experimental results in the case of methane production, uptake of acetate, soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD). Under these conditions, the model predicted reasonably well the dynamic behavior of the TPAD process for verifying the model.     

脊髓损伤修复相关10号蛋白在COS7细胞中的表达、纯化与鉴定

目的:在COS7细胞中表达脊髓损伤修复相关10号蛋白(SCIRR10),并对表达产物进行纯化和鉴定。方法:在实验室前期研究基础上,用PCR方法扩增SCIRR10基因,将其克隆入pcDNA3.1/myc-HisA穿梭质粒中,转染COS7细胞进行表达;对表达产物用金属螯合层析方法纯化,并进行SDS-PAGE和Western印迹检测。结果及结论:构建了含有SCIRR10基因的穿梭质粒pcDNA3.1/myc-His-SCIRR10,并使其在COS7细胞中得到表达,纯化后的重组蛋白SCIRR10-His-myc的纯度在80%以上,可用于下一步的实验研究。