Biological clocks as age estimation markers in animals: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Various biological attributes associated with individual fitness in animals change predictably over the lifespan of an organism. Therefore, the study of animal ecology and the work of conservationists frequently relies upon the ability to assign animals to functionally relevant age classes to model population fitness. Several approaches have been applied to determining individual age and, while these methods have proved useful, they are not without limitations and often lack standardisation or are only applicable to specific species. For these reasons, scientists have explored the potential use of biological clocks towards creating a universal age-determination method. Two biological clocks, tooth layer annulation and otolith layering have found universal appeal. Both methods are highly invasive and most appropriate for post-mortem age-at-death estimation. More recently, attributes of cellular ageing previously explored in humans have been adapted to studying ageing in animals for the use of less-invasive molecular methods for determining age. Here, we review two such methods, assessment of methylation and telomere length, describing (i) what they are, (ii) how they change with age, and providing (iii) a summary and meta-analysis of studies that have explored their utility in animal age determination. We found that both attributes have been studied across multiple vertebrate classes, however, telomere studies were used before methylation studies and telomere length has been modelled in nearly twice as many studies. Telomere length studies included in the review often related changes to stress responses and illustrated that telomere length is sensitive to environmental and social stressors and, in the absence of repair mechanisms such as telomerase or alternative lengthening modes, lacks the ability to recover. Methylation studies, however, while also detecting sensitivity to stressors and toxins, illustrated the ability to recover from such stresses after a period of accelerated ageing, likely due to constitutive expression or reactivation of repair enzymes such as DNA methyl transferases. We also found that both studied attributes have parentally heritable features, but the mode of inheritance differs among taxa and may relate to heterogamy. Our meta-analysis included more than 40 species in common for methylation and telomere length, although both analyses included at least 60 age-estimation models. We found that methylation outperforms telomere length in terms of predictive power evidenced from effect sizes (more than double that observed for telomeres) and smaller prediction intervals. Both methods produced age correlation models using similar sample sizes and were able to classify individuals into young, middle, or old age classes with high accuracy. Our review and meta-analysis illustrate that both methods are well suited to studying age in animals and do not suffer significantly from variation due to differences in the lifespan of the species, genome size, karyotype, or tissue type but rather that quantitative method, patterns of inheritance, and environmental factors should be the main considerations. Thus, provided that complex factors affecting the measured trait can be accounted for, both methylation and telomere length are promising targets to develop as biomarkers for age determination in animals.     

HTII-280, a Biomarker Specific to the Apical Plasma Membrane of Human Lung Alveolar Type II Cells

The pulmonary alveolar epithelium is composed of two morphologically distinct cell types, type I (TI) and type II (TII) cells. Alveolar TII cells synthesize, secrete, and recycle surfactant components; contain ion transporters; and secrete immune effector molecules. In response to alveolar injury, TII cells have the capacity to act as progenitor cells, proliferating and transdifferentiating into TI cells. Although various proteins are associated with TII cells, a plasma membrane marker specific to human TII cells that would be useful for identification in tissue and for isolating this cell type has not been described previously. We devised a strategy to produce a monoclonal antibody (MAb) specific to the apical surface of human TII cells and developed an MAb that appears to be specific for human TII cells. The antibody recognizes a 280- to 300-kDa protein, HTII-280, which has the biochemical characteristics of an integral membrane protein. HTII-280 is detected by week 11 of gestation and is developmentally regulated. HTII-280 is useful for isolating human TII cells with purities and viabilities >95%. HTII-280 is likely to be a useful morphological and biochemical marker of human TII cells that may help to advance our understanding of various lung pathological conditions, including the origin and development of various lung tumors. (J Histochem Cytochem 58:891–901, 2010)     

胰腺癌早期检测的生物标志物（英文）

胰腺癌症是最难诊断和治疗的恶性肿瘤之一,其特点是发病隐匿、进展迅速、预后差。目前,手术治疗仍然是首选治疗方法。然而由于缺乏早期症状,大约70%的患者在确诊时已经出现局部扩散或远端转移,从而无法进行手术治疗。由此看来,早期检测是提高患者治疗效果和预后的有效途径。临床上使用的成像方法 （CT、MRI、EUS等）通常无法检测早期病变,并且很容易受到操作员的影响。常规临床标志物如CA19-9、CA125、CA242和CEA受到限制,其敏感性或特异性不令人满意。因此,寻找新的具有高敏感性和特异性的标志物是实现胰腺癌早期检测的关键。近年来,对生物标志物的广泛研究主要集中在遗传学、转录组学和蛋白质组学上。特别是由microRNA(miRNA)、long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)和circRNA(circRNA)组成的非蛋白质编码RNA(non-protein coding RNA,ncRNA)为胰腺癌的早期检测提出了许多新思路。然而,其中绝大多数仍处于实验室研究阶段。而一项成熟的生物标志物研究应该整合基因组学、转录组学、蛋白质组学或代谢组学的数据,并结合患者的个体特征（如体重指数...     

Approaching MALDI molecular imaging for clinical proteomic research: current state and fields of application

MALDI imaging mass spectrometry (‘MALDI imaging’) is an increasingly recognized technique for biomarker research. After years of method development in the scientific community, the technique is now increasingly applied in clinical research. In this article, we discuss the use of MALDI imaging in clinical proteomics and put it in context with classical proteomics techniques. We also highlight a number of upcoming challenges for personalized medicine, development of targeted therapies and diagnostic molecular pathology where MALDI imaging could help.     

Inhibition of quorum sensing in Chromobacterium violaceum by pigments extracted from Auricularia auricular

Aims: This study aimed to search for a novel quorum‐sensing inhibitor from some fungi and analyse its inhibitory activity. Methods and Results: Chromobacterium violaceum CV026, a double mini‐Tn5 mutant, was used as an indicator to monitor quorum‐sensing inhibition. Auricularia auricular pigments from fruiting bodies were extracted using hydrochloric acid as an infusion, dissolved in alkaline dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), sterilized by filtration through a 0·22‐μm membrane filter and added to C. violaceum CV026 cultures. Inhibitory activity was measured by quantifying violacein production using a microplate reader. The results have revealed that the alkaline DMSO‐soluble pigments significantly reduced violacein production in a concentration‐dependent manner, a quorum‐sensing‐regulated behaviour in C. violaceum. Conclusions: Auricularia auricular pigments can inhibit bacterial quorum sensing. Significance and Impact of the Study: The results suggest the bioactive constituents from edible and medicinal fungi could interfere with bacterial quorum‐sensing system, regulate its associate functions and prevent bacterial pathogenesis. Further studies were in process in our laboratory to isolate specific compounds from A. auricular pigments, evaluate them as quorum‐sensing inhibitors and analyse the exact mechanism of action.     

Assessing leaf pigment content and activity with a reflectometer

This study explored reflectance indices sampled with a 'leaf reflectometer' as measures of pigment content for leaves of contrasting light history, developmental stage and functional type (herbaceous annual versus sclerophyllous evergreen). We employed three reflectance indices: a modified normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), an index of chlorophyll content; the red/green reflectance ratio ( R _RED: R _GREEN), an index of anthocyanin content; and the change in photochemical reflectance index upon dark–light conversions (ΔPRI), an index of xanthophyll cycle pigment activity. In Helianthus annuus (sunflower), xanthophyll cycle pigment amounts were linearly related to growth light environment; leaves in full sun contained approximately twice the amount of xanthophyll cycle pigments as leaves in deep shade, and at midday a larger proportion of these pigments were in the photoprotective, de-epoxidized forms relative to shade leaves. Reflectance indices also revealed contrasting patterns of pigment development in leaves of contrasting structural types (annual versus evergreen). In H. annuus sun leaves, there was a remarkably rapid increase in amounts of both chlorophyll and xanthophyll cycle pigments along a leaf developmental sequence. This pattern contrasted with that of Quercus agrifolia (coast live oak, a sclerophyllous evergreen), which exhibited a gradual development of both chlorophyll and xanthophyll cycle pigments along with a pronounced peak of anthocyanin pigment content in newly expanding leaves. These temporal patterns of pigment development in Q. agrifolia leaves suggest that anthocyanins and xanthophyll cycle pigments serve complementary photoprotective roles during early leaf development. The results illustrate the use of reflectance indices for distinguishing divergent patterns of pigment activity in leaves of contrasting light history and functional type.     

响应曲面法优化菌丝体中红曲色素的提取条件

以红曲菌丝体为原料,通过单因素实验及Box-Behnken设计响应曲面分析优化了红曲色素的提取工艺条件。通过实验,得到了提取率的回归方程Y=0.923-0.011X1-0.011X2-0.017X12-0.027X22-0.026X32-0.028X1X2-0.019X1X3,通过对模型解逆矩阵得优化方案:乙醇浓度X1=66%、超声功率X2=200 w、提取温度X3=52℃,模型预测结果为92.5%。在该工艺条件下进行验证实验,提取率达到92.1±0.6%(n=3)。     

多标记物法在心力衰竭风险评估中的应用

心力衰竭的发生发展涉及多条生理病理通路,选择不同通路中的多个生物标记物能够提高对心力衰竭风险评估的准确性。总结了心 力衰竭发生发展过程中与心肌损伤、内皮功能障碍、神经激素紊乱、炎症反应、氧化应激过程相关的生物标记物,基于多标记物评价方法 的数学模型及多标记物法在心力衰竭和药物心脏毒性风险评估中的应用。     

蛋白质组学在阿尔采末病中的研究进展

蛋白质组学是基因组时代产生的一门重要学科,是从整体水平对蛋白质的综合分析。阿尔采末病（Alzheimer’s disease,AD）是常见而复杂的神经退行性疾病之一。应用蛋白质组学对AD进行研究,不仅可在蛋白质水平上揭示疾病的本质,还有助于全面探讨AD的病理机制,建立诊断标准,发现药物治疗靶点。本文从病理机制（特别是蛋白质翻译后修饰）、发现临床生物标签及治疗药物三个方面,对蛋白质组学在AD中的研究进展进行了综替。