古尔班通古特沙漠固定沙丘上白梭梭和梭梭的空间分布及种间关联性

为了探讨沙漠中固沙灌木种群共存和演替机制, 本文基于古尔班通古特沙漠东南缘固定沙丘上白梭梭(Haloxylon persicum)和梭梭(H. ammodendron)种群的地理位置和生长发育阶段信息(幼株、营养株、生殖株和死株), 采用点格局分析方法(g(r)函数)及Monte-Carlo随机模拟检验和零模型选取的方法, 分析了固沙灌木白梭梭和梭梭种群不同生长发育阶段在0-20 m尺度内的空间分布格局及种间关联性。结果表明: (1)两个种群在研究尺度范围内呈聚集分布, 随着尺度的增大, 其聚集强度逐渐减弱; (2)两个种群整体上呈负关联关系, 尺度越大负关联关系越显著; (3)白梭梭种群生长发育阶段相差越大, 个体间正关联关系越显著; 梭梭种群生长发育阶段越接近, 个体间正关联关系越显著; (4)两个种群中龄级较大的个体(如营养株、生殖株和死株)会对对方种群中龄级较小的幼株产生一定的抑制作用; 同时, 随着两个种群中个体的成长, 双方受到的抑制作用逐渐减弱, 主要表现为正关联和无关联。总体而言, 古尔班通古特沙漠固定沙丘白梭梭和梭梭种群的分布格局整体上为聚集分布, 随龄级增加聚集性减弱, 受生境异质性和扩散限制的影响明显。种间关系多为负相关, 种内不同生长发育阶段之间均为正关联关系。     

奇异果甜蛋白及其基因工程

奇异果甜蛋白(thaumatin)是迄今为止最甜的物质之一,对其研究具有很重要的意义。奇异果甜蛋白的生化性质基本清楚,基因序列和氨基酸序列都已测定。它的甜味可能是由奇异果甜蛋白上特定基团和受体结合引起的。对奇异果甜蛋白的生理功能知之甚少。近二十年来,在奇异果甜蛋白的基因工程上取得了一定进展,但仍然存在许多困难。 Abstract:Thaumatin is one of the sweetest substances known to date,it is important to study the thaumatin.The biochemical properties of thaumatin have been clarified clearly.Thaumatin had been isolated and sequenced.The mechanism of the sweetness of thaumatin may be due to the combination of some special groups and the receptors.The exact function of thaumatin is still not clear.Although gene engineering of thaumatin has been carried out for 20 years,there are still some difficulties to be solved for using in the market.     

综述: 自噬参与心脏疾病调控的研究进展

细胞自噬(autophagy)是将细胞内受损、变性或衰老的蛋白质以及细胞器运输到溶酶体内进行消化降解的过程．细胞自噬既是一种广泛存在的正常生理过程,又是细胞对不良环境的一种防御机制,参与多种疾病的病理过程．正常水平的自噬可以保护细胞免受环境刺激的影响,但自噬过度和自噬不足却可能导致疾病的发生．在心脏中,心肌细胞自噬对维持心肌功能具有重要的作用,自噬的异常可能导致各种心肌疾病如溶酶体储积症(Danon disease)等．各种心血管刺激如心肌缺血(ischemia)、再灌注(reperfusion)损伤、慢性缺氧(chronic hypoxia)等均可诱导心肌细胞自噬增强．而这些情况下心肌细胞自噬的作用还不清楚：它是否是一种潜在的细胞存活机制还是导致细胞死亡或疾病发生的病理性机制,或者是同时具有两种作用,目前还没有定论．心脏疾病是心肌功能出现异常时产生的各种病理状态的总称．在多种心脏疾病中,均伴随有心肌细胞自噬的改变,且影响着疾病的发生发展．在心肌肥厚(hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)中,细胞自噬程度降低而加剧心肌肥厚;在心力衰竭(heart failure,HF)中,细胞自噬增强可导致心肌细胞自噬性死亡;而在心肌梗死(myocardial infarction,MI)中,细胞自噬增强可减小梗死面积．但是细胞自噬在心脏疾病中到底扮演着怎样的角色,取决于细胞自噬发生的水平及病理状态．目前越来越多的人开始关注药物与细胞自噬调节之间的联系,且主要集中于抗肿瘤药物及心血管调节药物的研究．另外,有报道维生素类以及雌激素受体拮抗剂他莫西芬对细胞自噬也具有调节作用．研究心肌细胞自噬与心脏疾病的关系,以及药物对细胞自噬的调节,将有利于从自噬的角度探讨心脏疾病的发生发展过程及机制,开发出治疗心脏疾病的药物．     

生殖道感染类型分布及其对女性血清炎症因子、性功能和心理状态的影响

摘要 目的：了解女性生殖道感染类型分布情况,分析生殖道感染对女性血清炎症因子、性功能和心理状态的影响。方法：选择2016年5月～2018年8月到我院就诊的生殖道感染女性患者60例（研究组）,另选取同期到我院进行健康体检的健康女性60例（对照组）。统计研究组患者生殖道感染的感染类型,并比较两组血清炎症因子、性功能和心理状态情况。结果：60例生殖道感染患者感染类型以宫颈炎（33.33%）、非特异性阴道炎（26.67%）居多。研究组血清肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）以及白细胞介素-8（IL-8）水平分别为（144.38±31.85）ng/mL、（73.85±15.73）ng/mL、（218.64±43.28）ng/mL,均高于对照组的（99.01±22.25）ng/mL、（40.27±10.52）ng/mL、（113.82±26.08）ng/mL,差异有统计学意义（均P＜0.05）。研究组性欲、高潮频数、性满意度、性焦虑、配偶高潮频数、配偶性满意度评分分别为（3.08±0.92）分、（4.38±1.01）分、（2.71±1.07）分、（3.66±1.30）分、（2.68±1.01）分、（2.95±1.04）分,均低于对照组的（3.84±0.51）分、（4.92±0.32）分、（3.87±0.47）分、（4.18±0.54）分、（3.82±0.38）分、（3.97±0.41）分,差异有统计学意义（均P＜0.05）。研究组健康问卷抑郁量表（PHQ-9）与广泛性焦虑评定量表（GAD-7）评分分别为（16.35±5.88）分、（13.87±3.73）分,均高于对照组的（5.15±1.76）分、（5.89±1.39）分,差异有统计学意义（均P＜0.05）。结论：女性生殖道感染以宫颈炎和非特异性阴道炎为主,生殖道感染会导致女性患者血清炎症因子水平显著升高,性功能降低,同时对患者心理状态也存在一定影响,因此,在临床工作中应予以患者及时有效的干预,从而改善患者性功能以及心理状态。     

Complete cysteine-scanning mutagenesis of the Salmonella typhimurium melibiose permease

The melibiose permease of Salmonella typhimurium (MelB_St) catalyzes the stoichiometric symport of galactopyranoside with a cation (H⁺, Li⁺, or Na⁺) and is a prototype for Na⁺-coupled major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporters presenting from bacteria to mammals. X-ray crystal structures of MelB_St have revealed the molecular recognition mechanism for sugar binding; however, understanding of the cation site and symport mechanism is still vague. To further investigate the transport mechanism and conformational dynamics of MelB_St, we generated a complete single-Cys library containing 476 unique mutants by placing a Cys at each position on a functional Cys-less background. Surprisingly, 105 mutants (22%) exhibit poor transport activities (<15% of Cys-less transport), although the expression levels of most mutants were comparable to that of the control. The affected positions are distributed throughout the protein. Helices I and X and transmembrane residues Asp and Tyr are most affected by cysteine replacement, while helix IX, the cytoplasmic middle-loop, and C-terminal tail are least affected. Single-Cys replacements at the major sugar-binding positions (K18, D19, D124, W128, R149, and W342) or at positions important for cation binding (D55, N58, D59, and T121) abolished the Na⁺-coupled active transport, as expected. We mapped 50 loss-of-function mutants outside of these substrate-binding sites that suffered from defects in protein expression/stability or conformational dynamics. This complete Cys-scanning mutagenesis study indicates that MelB_St is highly susceptible to single-Cys mutations, and this library will be a useful tool for further structural and functional studies to gain insights into the cation-coupled symport mechanism for Na⁺-coupled MFS transporters.     

Exploring the interplay of stability and function in protein evolution

A new split β‐lactamase assay promises experimental testing of the interplay of protein stability and function. Proteins are sufficiently stable to act effectively within cells. However, mutations generally destabilize structure, with effects on free energy that are comparable to the free energy of folding. Assays of protein functionality and stability in vivo enable a quick study of factors that influence these properties in response to targeted mutations. These assays can help molecular engineering but can also be used to target important questions, including why most proteins are marginally stable, how mutations alter structural makeup, and how thermodynamics, function, and environment shape molecular change. Processes of self‐organization and natural selection are determinants of stability and function. Non‐equilibrium thermodynamics provides crucial concepts, e.g., cells as emergent energy‐dissipating entities that do work and build their own parts, and a framework to study the sculpting role of evolution at different scales.