Myoblast proliferation and syncytial fusion both depend on connexin43 function in transfected skeletal muscle primary cultures

Muscles are formed by fusion of individual postmitotic myoblasts to form multinucleated syncytial myotubes. The process requires a well-coordinated transition from proliferation, through migratory alignment and cycle exit, to breakdown of apposed membranes. Connexin43 protein and cell-cycle inhibitor levels are correlated, and gap junction blockers can delay muscle regeneration, so a coordinating role for gap junctions has been proposed. Here, wild-type and dominant-negative connexin43 variants (wtCx43, dnCx43) were introduced into rat myoblasts in primary culture through pIRES-eGFP constructs that made transfected cells fluoresce. GFP-positive cells and vitally-stained nuclei were counted on successive days to reveal differences in proliferation, and myotubes were counted to reveal differences in fusion. Individual transfected cells were injected with Cascade Blue, which permeates gap junctions, mixed with FITC-dextran, which requires cytoplasmic continuity to enter neighbouring cells. Myoblasts transfected with wtCx43 showed more gap-junctional coupling than GFP-only controls, began fusion sooner as judged by the incidence of cytoplasmic coupling, and formed more myotubes. Myoblasts transfected with dnCx43 remained proliferative for longer than either GFP-only or wtCx43 myoblasts, showed less coupling, and underwent little fusion into myotubes. These results highlight the critical role of gap-junctional coupling in myotube formation.     

Regulating cytoskeleton-based vesicle motility

During vesicular transport, the assembly of the coat complexes and the selection of cargo proteins must be coordinated with the subsequent translocation of vesicles from the donor to an acceptor compartment. Here, we review recent progress toward uncovering the molecular mechanisms that connect transport vesicles to the protein machinery responsible for cytoskeleton-mediated motility. An emerging theme is that vesicle cargo proteins, either directly or through binding interactions with coat proteins, are able to influence cytoskeletal dynamics and motor protein function. Hence, a vesicle's cargo composition may help direct its intracellular motility and targeting.     

食管癌患者术前营养风险评估及与术后吻合口瘘和住院时间的关系研究

摘要 目的：评估食管癌患者术前营养风险及其影响因素,并分析其与术后吻合口瘘和住院时间的关系。方法：回顾性分析2017年1月至2020年12月在合肥市第二人民医院胸外科行手术治疗的105例食管癌患者的临床资料,患者术前均完善营养风险筛查表-2002（NRS-2002）对其营养风险的评估,根据评估结果分为营养风险组（≥3分,43例）和无营养风险组（＜3分,62例）,采用单因素及多因素Logistic回归分析食管癌患者术前营养风险的影响因素,比较不同术前营养风险状态患者术后吻合口瘘发生率以及住院时间的差异。结果：食管癌患者的术前营养风险较高,营养风险发生率为40.95%（43/105）。单因素分析结果显示,营养风险组年龄≥65岁、入院体质量指数＜18.5 kg/m²、术前接受过新辅助放化疗、过去1周膳食摄入不足、术前白蛋白＜35 g/L的患者比例高于无营养风险组（P＜0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示,术前接受过新辅助放化疗、过去1周膳食摄入不足、术前白蛋白＜35 g/L是食管癌患者术前存在营养风险的危险因素（P＜0.05）。营养风险组术后胸腔吻合口瘘、颈部吻合口瘘发生率高于无营养风险组（P＜0.05）,住院时间长于无营养风险组（P＜0.05）。结论：术前新辅助放化疗、过去1周膳食摄入情况、术前白蛋白水平是食管癌患者术前营养风险的影响因素,术前营养风险会增加患者术后吻合口瘘发生风险,延长患者住院时间。     

Chiral separation of aliphatic primary amino alcohols as o‐phthaldialdehyde/mercaptoethanol derivatives on polysaccharide‐based chiral stationary phases

A sensitive chiral high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of aliphatic primary amino alcohol isomers with o‐phthaldialdehyde/mercaptoethanol precolumn derivatization has been developed and validated. Seven chiral columns were tested in a reversed phase mode. Excellent enantioseparation with the resolution more than 2.0 was achieved on Chiralcel OJ‐3R. The effect of various chromatographic conditions including column temperature, acetonitrile content in the mobile phase, buffer pH, buffer concentration, and buffer type in the mobile phase on the retention and the selectivity was investigated. The final mobile phase consisted of binary mixture of 20mM ammonium formate solution with acetonitrile (75:25; v/v). The analyses were performed at mobile phase flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and the column temperature of 40°C. The fluorescence detection was performed at excitation wavelength of 345 nm and emission wavelength of 450 nm. The developed method was fully validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision, intermediate precision, and selectivity according to International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use guidelines using internal normalization procedure. The proposed chiral method was proved to be highly sensitive, simple, and rapid and was successfully applied to the determination of D‐Valinol content in commercially available samples of L‐Valinol.     

Purification of adult Drosophila melanogaster lipophorin and its role in hydrocarbon transport

Lipophorin was isolated from homogenized adult Drosophila melanogaster. It is stained by Sudan Black and has a native molecular mass of 640 kD and a density of 1.12 g/ml. It consists of two glycosylated apoproteins of 240 and 75 kDa. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry showed that lipophorins isolated separately from virgin 3-day-old male and female flies were associated with specific hydrocarbons, and that these were the same hydrocarbons found in male and female cuticles, respectively. Moreover, a pool of internal hydrocarbons was demonstrated for the first time, with chain lengths similar to those of the cuticular pool. Studies on the fate of the hydrocarbons synthesized de novo after topical applications of radiolabelled fatty acid precursors showed a decrease of the internal pool of hydrocarbons with time, concomitant with an increase of the cuticular pool. These results suggest that hydrocarbons synthesized at an internal site, possibly in oenocytes, may be transported to the cuticle of the flies by lipophorin. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Limnology of a Warm Hypertrophic Wastewater Reservoir in Israel. II. Changes in Water Quality

Factor analysis was used to identify the processes responsible for the changes in water quality in a stratified wastewater reservoir. These reservoirs are well suited to study hypertrophic conditions. In the epilimnion, the main source of variablility was the external loading due to variations in wastewater inputs and water level (volume) of the reservoir. The second source was the seasonal climatic changes affecting photosynthesis. The third source was differences between night and day processes affecting REDOX potential. In the hypolimnion, the main source of variability was organic loading but due to both external loading (wastewater inputs) and internal loading (compounds released from the sediments). The second source was related to the input of chlorophyll into the hypolimnion, which were external (entry of chlorophyll rich inflow from a waste stabilization pond) and/or internal (input of chlorophyll from upper layers due to water column mixing).