葡萄VvIQD10果形相关基因定位及其互作研究

以葡萄6个不同果形品种盛花期花序为材料,通过荧光定量PCR方法分析比较葡萄IQ67结构域(IQ67 domain, IQD)基因家族成员VvIQD10的表达;从椭圆形葡萄品种‘天山’中克隆出VvIQD10基因编码区序列,对其进行生物信息学分析,采用亚细胞定位瞬时表达载体转化烟草的方法研究VvIQD10蛋白在细胞中的分布情况,并通过酵母双杂交实验和双分子荧光互补试验进行蛋白互作研究。结果表明:(1)VvIQD10基因在长果形葡萄品种中的表达量高于近圆形葡萄品种。(2)VvIQD10基因开放阅读框长度为1 401 bp,编码466个氨基酸。(3)VvIQD10蛋白为不稳定亲水性蛋白,无信号肽和跨膜区,但含保守的IQ67结构域,主要结构为α螺旋和随机卷曲,与猕猴桃IQD家族成员(PSS09955.1)亲缘关系最为接近。(4)VvIQD10蛋白主要定位于微管和质膜,并且直接与细胞骨架组织相关蛋白——钙调素类蛋白(VvCML)相互作用。研究认为,VvIQD10基因可能参与葡萄果形调控,葡萄VvCML蛋白从胞质到微管的募集依赖于VvIQD10,推测VvIQD10蛋白可能通过和钙调素类蛋白相结合来调控细胞骨架运动,进而参与葡萄果实形状的变化。     

Aurora-A激酶对急性胰腺炎大鼠肺脏损伤的修复作用研究

摘要 目的：探讨与研究Aurora-A激酶对急性胰腺炎大鼠肺脏损伤的修复作用。方法：36只雄性SD大鼠均分为三组：对照组、模型组与Aurora-A组。对照组进行假手术操作,模型组建立急性胰腺炎模型后给予注射等量生理盐水治疗,Aurora-A组建立急性胰腺炎模型后给予阴茎背静脉注射鼠Aurora-A类因子-MLN8054 10 mg/kg治疗,记录大鼠肺脏损伤的修复情况。结果：造模过程中无大鼠死亡情况发生,模型组与Aurora-A组造模后2 w与4 w的肺组织病理评分、血清中性粒细胞弹性蛋白酶(neutrophil elastase,NE)与髓过氧化物酶(myeloperoxidase,MPO)含量、肺组织W/D、肺组织蛋白激酶B(AKT)、细胞外信号调节激酶1(ERK1)蛋白相对表达水平都高于对照组(P<0.05),Aurora-A组少于模型组(P<0.05)。结论：Aurora-A激酶在急性胰腺炎大鼠的应用能抑制Akt/ERK信号通路激活,减少血清NE与MPO的表达,从而促进肺脏损伤修复。     

Expansion of GARP-Expressing CD4+CD25−FoxP3+ T Cells and SATB1 Association with Activation and Coagulation in Immune Compromised HIV-1-Infected Individuals in South Africa

Virologica Sinica - Although antiretroviral treatment lowers the burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related disease, it does not always result in immunological recovery. This manifests as...     

Multifaceted roles of duckweed in aquatic phytoremediation and bioproducts synthesis

Duckweed (Lemnaceae) is a fast‐growing aquatic vascular plant. It has drawn an increasing attention worldwide due to its application in value‐added nutritional products and in sewage disposal. In particular, duckweed is a promising feedstock for bioenergy production. In this review, we summarized applications of duckweed from the following four aspects. Firstly, duckweed could utilize nitrogen, phosphorus, and inorganic nutrition in wastewater and reduces water eutrophication efficiently. During these processes, microorganisms play an important role in promoting duckweed growth and improving its tolerance to stresses. We also introduced our pilot‐scale test using duckweed for wastewater treatment and biomass production simultaneously. Secondly, its capability of fast accumulation of large amounts of starch makes duckweed a promising bioenergy feedstock, catering the currently increasing demand for bioethanol production. Pretreatment conditions prior to fermentation can be optimized to improve the conversion efficiency from starch to bioethanol. Furthermore, duckweed serves as an ideal source for food supply or animal feed because the composition of amino acids in duckweed is similar to that of whey protein, which is easily digested and assimilated by human and other animals. Finally, severing as a natural plant factory, duckweed has shown great potential in the production of pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements. With the surge of omics data and the development of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats technology, remodeling of the metabolic pathway in duckweed for synthetic biology study will be attainable in the future.     

“Protein aggregates” contain RNA and DNA,entrapped by misfolded proteins but largely rescued by slowing translational elongation

All neurodegenerative diseases feature aggregates, which usually contain disease‐specific diagnostic proteins; non‐protein constituents, however, have rarely been explored. Aggregates from SY5Y‐APP_Sw neuroblastoma, a cell model of familial Alzheimer''s disease, were crosslinked and sequences of linked peptides identified. We constructed a normalized “contactome” comprising 11 subnetworks, centered on 24 high‐connectivity hubs. Remarkably, all 24 are nucleic acid‐binding proteins. This led us to isolate and sequence RNA and DNA from Alzheimer''s and control aggregates. RNA fragments were mapped to the human genome by RNA‐seq and DNA by ChIP‐seq. Nearly all aggregate RNA sequences mapped to specific genes, whereas DNA fragments were predominantly intergenic. These nucleic acid mappings are all significantly nonrandom, making an artifactual origin extremely unlikely. RNA (mostly cytoplasmic) exceeded DNA (chiefly nuclear) by twofold to fivefold. RNA fragments recovered from AD tissue were ~1.5‐to 2.5‐fold more abundant than those recovered from control tissue, similar to the increase in protein. Aggregate abundances of specific RNA sequences were strikingly differential between cultured SY5Y‐APP_Sw glioblastoma cells expressing APOE3 vs. APOE4, consistent with APOE4 competition for E‐box/CLEAR motifs. We identified many G‐quadruplex and viral sequences within RNA and DNA of aggregates, suggesting that sequestration of viral genomes may have driven the evolution of disordered nucleic acid‐binding proteins. After RNA‐interference knockdown of the translational‐procession factor EEF2 to suppress translation in SY5Y‐APP_Sw cells, the RNA content of aggregates declined by >90%, while reducing protein content by only 30% and altering DNA content by ≤10%. This implies that cotranslational misfolding of nascent proteins may ensnare polysomes into aggregates, accounting for most of their RNA content.     

Prostaglandin E3 attenuates macrophage-associated inflammation and prostate tumour growth by modulating polarization

Alternative polarization of macrophages regulates multiple biological processes. While M1-polarized macrophages generally mediate rapid immune responses, M2-polarized macrophages induce chronic and mild immune responses. In either case, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-derived lipid mediators act as both products and regulators of macrophages. Prostaglandin E₃ (PGE₃) is an eicosanoid derived from eicosapentaenoic acid, which is converted by cyclooxygenase, followed by prostaglandin E synthase successively. We found that PGE₃ played an anti-inflammatory role by inhibiting LPS and interferon-γ-induced M1 polarization and promoting interleukin-4-mediated M2 polarization (M2a). Further, we found that although PGE₃ had no direct effect on the growth of prostate cancer cells in vitro, PGE₃ could inhibit prostate cancer in vivo in a nude mouse model of neoplasia. Notably, we found that PGE₃ significantly inhibited prostate cancer cell growth in a cancer cell-macrophage co-culture system. Experimental results showed that PGE₃ inhibited the polarization of tumour-associated M2 macrophages (TAM), consequently producing indirect anti-tumour activity. Mechanistically, we identified that PGE₃ regulated the expression and activation of protein kinase A, which is critical for macrophage polarization. In summary, this study indicates that PGE₃ can selectively promote M2a polarization, while inhibiting M1 and TAM polarization, thus exerting an anti-inflammatory effect and anti-tumour effect in prostate cancer.     

阿尔茨海默病中β淀粉样蛋白的生成及清除的调节

阿尔茨海默病（Alzheimer’s disease, AD）是一种慢性退行性神经系统疾病,临床主要表现为进行性认知能力下降、记忆力衰退、人格改变等。AD的标志性病理特征包括脑细胞外β淀粉样蛋白（β-amyloid protein,Aβ）沉积形成老年斑、细胞内神经纤维缠结(neurofibrillary tangles,NFT)、神经炎症增加以及神经元凋亡。β淀粉样蛋白主要在神经元产生,是淀粉样前体蛋白经过一系列酶解反应生成的由39～42个氨基酸组成的多肽,调节Aβ的生成和清除能够有效延缓甚至逆转阿尔茨海默病的进程,因而具有重大的研究价值。β-分泌酶（β-site APP cleaving enzyme 1,BACE1）为Aβ产生过程中的关键酶,其含量及活性的改变均能影响Aβ产生,在阿尔茨海默病的发生发展中发挥至关重要的作用;老年斑周围炎性细胞的聚集提示,AD与神经炎症高度相关,神经炎症相关细胞能够参与Aβ的清除,多种炎性因子也能调节Aβ的生成;非编码RNA虽很少直接参与Aβ的产生、沉积和清除,但其可以通过多种途径调节Aβ的产生。本文从β淀粉样蛋白生成及清除的机制着手,重点阐述了BACE1、神经炎症、非编码RNA对Aβ调控的重要作用,以期为AD发病机制的进一步研究提供思路,并对阿尔茨海默病早期干预及治疗提供理论参考。     

Molecular dynamics study of enhanced autophosphorylation by S904F mutation of the RET kinase domain

The aberrant kinase activity of RET (rearranged during transfection), a transmembrane tyrosine kinase, is associated with human cancer. A point mutation caused by the replacement of solvent-front hydrophilic S904, located on the activation loop (A-loop), with a bulky hydrophobic phenylalanine residue can induce resistance to the type I kinase inhibitor vandetanib. A possible mechanism of this drug resistance is the release of a cis-autoinhibited conformation of RET for autophosphorylation, which activates RET kinase. Because the association between S904F mutation and enhanced autophosphorylation is unclear, we conducted molecular modeling analysis to compare unphosphorylated apo wild-type and S904F mutant structures. The structural compactness of the A-loop promoted ATP binding. When the A-loop is extended, the αC helix moves toward the glycine-rich loop, resulting in the protrusion of F735. The extruded F735 connects with E734 and R912 and constrains the ATP pocket entrance. Contrarily, a contracted A-loop pulls the αC helix away from the glycine-rich loop, burying F734 and making the ATP pocket accessible. The mutated F904 stabilizes the contracted A-loop and releases the autoinhibited conformation of RET, thereby facilitating autophosphorylation. We also simulated two ATP-bound systems. The binding free energies of ATP, estimated through the molecular mechanics with a generalized Born and surface area solvation approach, revealed that the S904F mutant was bound more tightly than was the wild type with the ATP. The findings support the premise of autophosphorylation promotion in the S904F mutant.