煤绒菌Fuligo septica显型原质团细胞核及菌核的超微结构

从煤绒菌显型原质团中提纯细胞核、核仁,诱导原质团形成菌核,并在透射电镜下观察。研究结果表明:细胞核具有中央核仁,核仁可以看到明显的纤维中心、致密纤维中心和颗粒结构。原质团中存在大量的黏液颗粒。菌核具有双层膜,内含有细胞器及脂滴。     

Rates of root and organism growth, soil conditions, and temporal and spatial development of the rhizosphere

BACKGROUND: Roots growing in soil encounter physical, chemical and biological environments that influence their rhizospheres and affect plant growth. Exudates from roots can stimulate or inhibit soil organisms that may release nutrients, infect the root, or modify plant growth via signals. These rhizosphere processes are poorly understood in field conditions. SCOPE AND AIMS: We characterize roots and their rhizospheres and rates of growth in units of distance and time so that interactions with soil organisms can be better understood in field conditions. We review: (1) distances between components of the soil, including dead roots remnant from previous plants, and the distances between new roots, their rhizospheres and soil components; (2) characteristic times (distance(2)/diffusivity) for solutes to travel distances between roots and responsive soil organisms; (3) rates of movement and growth of soil organisms; (4) rates of extension of roots, and how these relate to the rates of anatomical and biochemical ageing of root tissues and the development of the rhizosphere within the soil profile; and (5) numbers of micro-organisms in the rhizosphere and the dependence on the site of attachment to the growing tip. We consider temporal and spatial variation within the rhizosphere to understand the distribution of bacteria and fungi on roots in hard, unploughed soil, and the activities of organisms in the overlapping rhizospheres of living and dead roots clustered in gaps in most field soils. CONCLUSIONS: Rhizosphere distances, characteristic times for solute diffusion, and rates of root and organism growth must be considered to understand rhizosphere development. Many values used in our analysis were estimates. The paucity of reliable data underlines the rudimentary state of our knowledge of root-organism interactions in the field.     

2-吗啉乙磺酸(MES)对拟南芥幼苗生长的影响

本实验研究0.05% MES对野生型拟南芥生长的影响。结果表明,含有MES的培养基pH变化较小,其培养10 d的拟南芥幼苗干重、鲜重、叶绿素含量和含水量均高于对照组,而叶片PAL和POD活性却低于对照组,说明MES通过影响培养基的pH变化促进拟南芥生长。     

Bile acids,FGF15/19 and liver regeneration: From mechanisms to clinical applications

The liver has an extraordinary regenerative capacity rapidly triggered upon injury or resection. This response is intrinsically adjusted in its initiation and termination, a property termed the “hepatostat”. Several molecules have been involved in liver regeneration, and among them bile acids may play a central role. Intrahepatic levels of bile acids rapidly increase after resection. Through the activation of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), bile acids regulate their hepatic metabolism and also promote hepatocellular proliferation. FXR is also expressed in enterocytes, where bile acids stimulate the expression of fibroblast growth factor 15/19 (FGF15/19), which is released to the portal blood. Through the activation of FGFR4 on hepatocytes FGF15/19 regulates bile acids synthesis and finely tunes liver regeneration as part of the “hepatostat”. Here we review the experimental evidences supporting the relevance of the FXR-FGF15/19-FGFR4 axis in liver regeneration and discuss potential therapeutic applications of FGF15/19 in the prevention of liver failure. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cholangiocytes in Health and Disease edited by Jesus Banales, Marco Marzioni, Nicholas LaRusso and Peter Jansen.     

土壤Cd胁迫对三七生长和根系DNA损伤及抗氧化酶活性的影响

采用盆栽实验法,研究了土壤中添加0.0(对照)、0.1、0.3、0.6、1.0、3.0、6.0、10.0和30.0 mg·kg-1Cd对三七〔Panax notoginseng(Burk.)F.H.Chen〕生长和抗氧化酶活性的影响,并采用彗星实验对Cd胁迫条件下三七根尖细胞的DNA损伤进行了分析。结果显示:随土壤Cd添加量增加,三七的成活率、株高、单株复叶数和单株叶面积以及单株根、茎和叶片的干质量及鲜质量总体上呈先升高后降低的趋势;其中,各处理组三七植株的成活率和单株复叶数均高于对照,而株高和单株叶面积则在Cd添加量较低的条件下高于对照、在Cd添加量较高的条件下低于对照;单株根、茎和叶的鲜质量及干质量在Cd添加量30 mg·kg-1条件下均小于对照但差异不显著。随Cd添加量的提高,三七根系中SOD和CAT活性呈先上升后下降、再上升再下降的变化趋势,而POD活性总体上逐渐升高;其中,Cd添加量0.6、1.0、3.0和30.0 mg·kg-1处理组的SOD活性极显著或显著低于对照,而各处理组的POD和CAT活性总体上均高于对照且在Cd添加量1.0~30.0 mg·kg-1条件下与对照有极显著差异。彗星实验结果表明:各处理组三七根尖细胞的彗尾长、尾部DNA相对含量和Olive尾矩均有差异,其中,在Cd添加量较高的条件下各指标均高于对照但差异均不显著。研究结果显示:在较低水平的土壤Cd胁迫条件下,三七的生长、抗氧化酶活性和根系DNA均没有受到明显伤害,而较高水平的Cd胁迫则对其生长和抗氧化酶活性有抑制作用,且根尖细胞DNA损伤也较严重。     

TRAF6 promotes TGFβ-induced invasion and cell-cycle regulation via Lys63-linked polyubiquitination of Lys178 in TGFβ type I receptor

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) can act either as a tumor promoter or a tumor suppressor in a context-dependent manner. High levels of TGFβ are found in prostate cancer tissues and correlate with poor patient prognosis. We recently identified a novel TGFβ-regulated signaling cascade in which TGFβ type I receptor (TβRI) is activated by the E3 ligase TNF-receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) via the Lys63-linked polyubiquitination of TβRI. TRAF6 also contributes to activation of TNF-α-converting enzyme and presenilin-1, resulting in the proteolytic cleavage of TβRI and releasing the intracellular domain of TβRI, which is translocated to the nucleus to promote tumor invasiveness. In this report, we provide evidence that Lys178 of TβRI is polyubiquitinated by TRAF6. Moreover, our data suggest that TRAF6-mediated Lys63-linked ubiquitination of the TβRI intracellular domain is a prerequisite for TGFβ regulation of mRNA for cyclin D1 (CCND1), expression, as well as for the regulation of other genes controlling the cell cycle, differentiation, and invasiveness of prostate cancer cells.     

Protein–protein interactions between SWCNT/chitosan/EGF and EGF receptor: a model of drug delivery system

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) was used as the targeting ligand to enhance the specificity of a cancer drug delivery system (DDS) via its specific interaction with the EGF receptor (EGFR) that is overexpressed on the surface of some cancer cells. To investigate the intermolecular interaction and binding affinity between the EGF-conjugated DDS and the EGFR, 50 ns molecular dynamics simulations were performed on the complex of tethered EGFR and EGF linked to single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) through a biopolymer chitosan wrapping the tube outer surface (EGFR·EGF-CS-SWCNT-Drug complex), and compared to the EGFR·EGF complex and free EGFR. The binding pattern of the EGF-CS-SWCNT-Drug complex to the EGFR was broadly comparable to that for EGF, but the binding affinity of the EGF-CS-SWCNT-Drug complex was predicted to be somewhat better than that for EGF alone. Additionally, the chitosan chain could prevent undesired interactions of SWCNT at the binding pocket region. Therefore, EGF connected to SWCNT via a chitosan linker is a seemingly good formulation for developing a smart DDS served as part of an alternative cancer therapy.     

Germination and seedling growth of bog plants in relation to the recolonization of milled peatlands

Two controlled experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential for vascular plants to germinate and establish in milled peatlands and to assess whether easily measured plant traits can be used to predict their probable success. Study species included twenty species of perennial herbs, shrubs and trees occurring frequently in undisturbed bogs or abandoned milled bogs in Québec, Canada. First, a glasshouse experiment was performed to test the effect of burial under peat on germination and seedling emergence. Second, a growth chamber experiment was conducted to measure relative growth rate and other growth parameters of seedlings between 1 and 3 weeks of age. In the burial experiment, seedling emergence decreased exponentially with peat depth for most species examined. The slope of the exponential decline varied between species and was strongly correlated to seed mass. Seeds less than 0.1 mg in mass were most sensitive to burial. In the seedling growth experiments, Betula species had the highest absolute and relative growth rates, which may help to explain their prevalence in milled bogs. Relative growth rate (RGR) was not correlated with seed mass, however it was strongly correlated with leaf area ratio (LAR) and especially specific leaf area (SLA) of seedlings, except for species with seed mass less than 0.01 mg. Screening of species for seed mass and SLA should help predict their germination and establishment success or failure in milled peatlands and allow more directed interventions to favour the establishment of desirable species in milled bogs. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Circulating tumor microemboli: Progress in molecular understanding and enrichment technologies

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and their clusters, also known as circulating tumor microemboli (CTM), have emerged as valuable tool that can provide mechanistic insights into the tumor heterogeneity, clonal evolution, and stochastic events within the metastatic cascade. However, recent investigations have hinted that CTM may not be mere aggregates of tumor cells but cells comprising CTM exhibit distinct phenotypic and molecular characteristics in comparison to single CTCs. Moreover, in many cases CTM demonstrated higher metastatic potential and resistance to apoptosis as compared to their single cell counterparts. Thus, their evaluation and enumeration may provide a new dimension to our understanding of cancer biology and metastatic cancer spread as well as offer novel theranostic biomarkers. Most of the existing technologies for isolation of hematogenous tumor cells largely favor single CTCs, hence there is a need to devise new approaches, or re-configure the existing ones, for specific and efficient CTM isolation. Here we review existing knowledge and insights on CTM biology. Furthermore, a critical commentary on current and emerging trends in CTM enrichment and characterization along with recently developed ex-vivo CTC expansion methodologies is presented with the aim to facilitate researchers to identify further avenues of research and development.