Effects on metabolic markers are modified by PPARG2 and COX2 polymorphisms in infants randomized to fish oil

Long-chain n-3 fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) improve blood pressure (BP) and lipid profile in adults and improve insulin sensitivity in rodents. We have previously shown that n-3 LCPUFA reduces BP and plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) in infants. Few studies have found effects on glucose homeostasis in humans. We explored possible effect modification by FADS, PPARG2, and COX2 genotypes to support potential effects of n-3 LCPUFA on metabolic markers in infants. Danish infants (133) were randomly allocated to daily supplementation with a teaspoon (~5 mL/day) of fish oil (FO) or sunflower oil (SO) from 9 to 18 months of age. Before and after the intervention, we assessed BP, erythrocyte n-3 LCPUFA, plasma lipid profile, insulin, and glucose in addition to functional single nucleotide polymorphisms in FADS, PPARG2, and COX2. At 18 months, plasma TAG was lower in the FO compared with SO group (p = 0.014). This effect was modified by PPARG2-Pro12Ala, as TAG only decreased among heterozygotes. FO supplemented PPARG2 Pro12Ala heterozygotes also had decreased plasma glucose compared with the SO group (p = 0.043). The effect of FO on mean arterial BP at 18 months was gender dependent (p = 0.020) and reduced in boys only (p = 0.028). Diastolic BP was, however, lower among all FO supplemented homozygous COX2-T8473C variant allele carriers compared with the SO group (p = 0.001). In conclusion, our results confirm that FO supplementation in late infancy reduces TAG and BP and indicates that the effects are mediated via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ and cyclooxygenase-2. Furthermore, FO reduced plasma glucose only in PPARG2 heterozygotes.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12263-014-0396-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Divergence among Meloidogyne incognita,Romanomermis culicivorax,Ascaris suum,and Caenorhabditis elegans

Mitochondrial DNA sequences were obtained from the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3 (ND3), large rRNA, and cytochrome b genes from Meloidogyne incognita and Romanomermis culicivorax. Both species show considerable genetic distance within these same genes when compared with Caenorhabditis elegans or Ascaris suum, two species previously analyzed. Caenorhabditis, Ascaris, and Meloidogyne were selected as representatives of three subclasses in the nematode class Secernentea: Rhabditia, Spiruria, and Diplogasteria, respectively. Romanomermis served as a representative out-group of the class Adenophorea. The divergence between the phytoparasitic lineage (represented by Meloidogyne) and the three other species is so great that virtually every variable position in these genes appears to have accumulated multiple mutations, obscuring the phylogenetic information obtainable from these comparisons. The 39 and 42% amino acid similarity between the M. incognita and C. elegans ND3 and cytochrome b coding sequences, respectively, are approximately the same as those of C. elegans-mouse comparisons for the same genes (26 and 44%). This discovery calls into question the feasibility of employing cloned C. elegans probes as reagents to isolate phytoparasitic nematode genes. The genetic distance between the phytoparasitic nematode lineage and C. elegans markedly contrasts with the 79% amino acid similarity between C. elegans and A. suum for the same sequences. The molecular data suggest that Caenorhabditis and Ascaris belong to the same subclass.     

Sann: solvent accessibility prediction of proteins by nearest neighbor method

We present a method to predict the solvent accessibility of proteins which is based on a nearest neighbor method applied to the sequence profiles. Using the method, continuous real-value prediction as well as two-state and three-state discrete predictions can be obtained. The method utilizes the z-score value of the distance measure in the feature vector space to estimate the relative contribution among the k-nearest neighbors for prediction of the discrete and continuous solvent accessibility. The Solvent accessibility database is constructed from 5717 proteins extracted from PISCES culling server with the cutoff of 25% sequence identities. Using optimal parameters, the prediction accuracies (for discrete predictions) of 78.38% (two-state prediction with the threshold of 25%), 65.1% (three-state prediction with the thresholds of 9 and 36%), and the Pearson correlation coefficient (between the predicted and true RSA's for continuous prediction) of 0.676 are achieved An independent benchmark test was performed with the CASP8 targets where we find that the proposed method outperforms existing methods. The prediction accuracies are 80.89% (for two state prediction with the threshold of 25%), 67.58% (three-state prediction), and the Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.727 (for continuous prediction) with mean absolute error of 0.148. We have also investigated the effect of increasing database sizes on the prediction accuracy, where additional improvement in the accuracy is observed as the database size increases. The SANN web server is available at http://lee.kias.re.kr/~newton/sann/.     

核酸、氨基酸分类和蛋白质二级结构关系的分析与分子设计

核酸序列中包含一定的蛋白质结构信息。根据通常情况下遗传密码表中密码子中间位的碱基配对时产生的氢键数目,尝试将20种氨基酸划分为两类,并用自编的计算机软件对蛋白质二级结构数据库中两类氨基酸的类聚现象进行了统计分析。结果表明,使用这种方法对氨基酸进行划分后,氨基酸残基具有较大概率与划入同一类的氨基酸残基相邻出现,并且这种聚集体对二级结构具有一定的偏好性。最后按照该方法设计了一段氨基酸序列并给出了预测服务器预测得到的结构。     

Zebrafish β-adrenergic receptor mRNA expression and control of pigmentation

Beta adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) are members of the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily and mediate various physiological processes in many species. The expression patterns and functions of β-ARs in zebrafish are, however, largely unknown. We have identified zebrafish β-AR orthologs, which we have designated as adrb1, adrb2a, adrb2b, adrb3a and adrb3b. adrb1 was found to be expressed in the heart and brain. Expression of adrb2a predominated in the brain and skin, whereas adrb2b was found to be highly expressed in muscle, pancreas and liver. Both adrb3a and adrb3b were exclusively expressed in blood. Knock-down of these β-ARs by morpholino oligonucleotides revealed a functional importance of adrb2a in pigmentation. Expression of atp5a1 and atp5b, genes that encode subunits of F1F0-ATPase, which is known to be involved in pigmentation, was significantly increased by knock-down of adrb2a. Our data suggest that adrb2a may regulate pigmentation, partly by modulating F1F0-ATPase.     

家蚕传染性软化病病毒（桐乡株）VP1基因片段的克隆及序列分析

以首株在中国分离到的家蚕传染性软化病病毒（Bombyx mori infectious flacherie virus,BmIFV）BmIFV-CHN001基因组为模板,扩增了编码主要结构蛋白的VP1基因。克隆测序后得到VP1基因片段906 bp。该序列与已发表的日本毒株相比,核苷酸序列的相似性为99.3%,编码氨基酸的相似性为100%,证明该毒株与家蚕传染性软化病病毒日本株的同源性较高。把BmIFV-CHN001的VP1序列与同属的另外6个昆虫小RNA病毒的结构蛋白进行序列比对,构建系统发育树,对其进化关系进行了初步分析,结果显示这7种病毒具有相近的亲缘关系,而BmIFV-CHN001与蜜蜂囊雏病毒的亲缘关系最近。     

Developmental biochemistry of cottonseed embryogenesis and germination. XIX. Sequences and genomic organization of the α globulin (vicilin) genes of cottonseed

The globulin storage protein genes of cotton are found to exist as gene tandems that contain a gene from each of the 2 globulin subfamilies separated by a spacer region of about 2700 or 3400 base pairs. Three different tandems have been identified by restriction endonuclease mapping of genomic DNA. A cDNA that is different from the genes of the tandems in map sites and/or in nucleotide sequence indicates that a fourth tandem probably exists in the cotton genome. Since the species of cotton used here (Gossypium hirsutum) is an amphidiploid, it is likely that two of the tandems are contributed from each genome.Considerable divergence in nucleotide sequence (18%) and in derived amino acid sequence (28%) is found when the 2 genes of a sequenced tandem are compared. The sequence of the cDNA closely resembles one of the genes in the tandem showing only a 4% divergence in nucleotides and a 4.2% divergence in amino acids. Thus the 2 genes of each tandem represent a relatively ancient gene duplication that has given rise to the two globulin subfamilies of cotton. Only one subfamily has a glycosylation site and the glycosylation of its derived proteins gives rise to the 2 molecular weight sets of globulins seen on gel electrophoresis.Other basic features of these genes and their derived proteins are presented.     

Is conspecific substrate marking a long‐term external memory of previously colonized overwintering sites in Harmonia axyridis?

The multicoloured Asian ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), aggregates inside dwellings during winters to survive the cold. This beetle uses chemical cues coming from congeners to select an overwintering site. Recent research has shown that they preferentially gather at places where conspecifics previously laid a substrate marking made up of saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons. Some authors have reported that H. axyridis colonizes the same overwintering sites from 1 year to another. Herein, the hypothesis that this substrate marking is used by H. axyridis to settle in the same aggregation sites from one winter to another was tested. To this aim, the temporal modification in the chemical profile of the hydrocarbon marking was studied by performing chromatographic analyses. After 1 year, the overall profile was modified qualitatively and quantitatively: the unsaturated hydrocarbons were no longer detected while some saturated hydrocarbons were still present in large quantities. In a behavioural assay conducted in the laboratory, the 12‐month‐old marking did not induce the aggregation of H. axyridis. This result indicates that the chemical markings left by conspecifics during a previous aggregation period in an overwintering site are not sufficient to induce the gathering of the newly arriving individuals.