mtDNA m.3635G>A may be classified as a common primary mutation for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy in the Chinese population

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system and exerts its actions via ionotropic (GABA_A and GABA_C) and metabotropic (GABA_B) receptors. The GABA_B receptor is a dimer composed of R1 and R2 components. In addition to their location on neurons, GABA and functional GABA_B receptors also have been detected in some peripheral tissues. In the present study, we combined immunohistochemistry, immunoblot and tension recording to determine if the human fallopian tube express glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65/67), two isoforms for synthesis of GABA and functional GABA_B receptors. Immunoblots showed that the human fallopian tube tissue contained GABA_BR1 protein which was localized in the epithelial cells and smooth muscle cells by immunohistochemistry. In addition, epithelial cells also expressed GAD65/67. Tension recording found that both GABA and baclofen, a GABA_B receptor agonist increased the spontaneous activity of human fallopian tube. The expressions of GABA_BR and GAD65/67 were significantly upregulated in the ectopic pregnancy group than in the intrauterine pregnancy group. We conclude that the human fallopian tube is capable of synthesizing GABA and expresses functionally active GABA_B receptors. An upregulation of GABA synthesis and corresponding GABA_B receptors may involve in ectopic pregnancy.     

三种胚胎移植技术方法比较

以近交系FVB、DBA／2小鼠作为供体胚小鼠,封闭群CD-1小鼠作为受体小鼠,对实验小鼠胚胎移植的三种方法进行比较,即：对小鼠受精卵1细胞期胚(或2细胞期胚)经由受体小鼠输卵管口移植、经由受体小鼠输卵管壁移植及对小鼠进行子宫移植(8细胞期胚)的方法进行了实验研究,并对各方法适用于使用的动物对象、实验要求、产仔率、优势与不足等做了进一步探讨,为今后的实验动物提供参考依据。结果表明,输卵管壁移植优于输卵管伞口移植和子宫移植。     

海水组培法培育芦荟耐盐品系研究

以库拉索芦荟(Aloe vera)组培苗为材料,在培养基中添加不同浓度海水对芦荟进行盐胁迫驯化培养.结果显示:(1)在50%海水处理的组培植株性状分离最明显,且有部分芦荟苗生长旺盛;盐胁迫驯化前芦荟(库拉索)与盐胁迫驯化后芦荟('南盐1号')的组培苗在分化过程中存在明显的差异,库拉索芦荟的芽分化率、平均分芽数、心叶生长速率及生根系数等指标均明显低于同比例海水处理下的'南盐1号';'南盐1号'芦荟苗在0～20%海水条件下组培时,芦荟分化率随着海水浓度的加大而降低,而30%海水组培处理时芦荟芽增长数上升至淡水组培水平,且平均心叶数增加速率最大,根生长变化特征与其芽分化生长基本一致.(2)移栽入圃后用50%天然海水灌溉时,'南盐1号'芦荟植株根系发达,生长正常,而库拉索芦荟则盐胁迫症状明显;经一年大田海水灌溉比较试验发现,'南盐1号'的地上部与根部的鲜重在淡水灌溉下与库拉索芦荟没有差异,而在30%和60%比例的海水灌溉下均显著高于库拉索芦荟;用30%的海水灌溉培养下,'南盐1号'地上部产量与淡水灌溉的产量无显著差异,而库拉索芦荟的地上部产量却比淡水处理降低15%～20%.研究表明,通过海水组织培养能筛选出芦荟耐盐株系,且其耐盐分化株系筛选的最适浓度为50%海水.     

Tracheal compliance and limit flow rate changes in a murine model of asthma

Trachea is the unique passage for air to flow in and out. Its tone is of importance for the respiration system. However, investigation on how tracheal tone changes due to asthma is limited. Aiming at studying how the mechanical property changes due to asthma as well as the compliance and flow limitation, the following methods are adopted. Static and passive pressure-volume tests of rats' trachea of the asthmatic and control groups are carried out and a new type of tube law is formulated to fit the experimental data, based on which changes of compliance and limit flow rate are investigated. In order to give explanation to such changes, histological examinations with tracheal soft tissues are made. The results show that compliance, limit flow rate and material constants included in the tube law largely depend on the longitudinal stretching ratio. Compared with the control group, the tracheal compliance of asthmatic animals decreases significantly, which results in an increased limit flow rate. Histological studies indicate that asthma can lead to hyperplasia/hypertrophy of smooth muscle cells, and increase elastin and collagen fibres in the muscular membrane. Though decreasing compliance increases sta- bility, during the onset of asthma, limit flow rate is much smaller due to the lower transmural pressure. Asthma leads to a stiffer trachea and the obtained results reveal some aspects relevant to asthma-induced tracheal remodelling.     

Sex difference in neural tube defects in p53-null mice is caused by differences in the complement of X not Y genes

To shed light on the biological origins of sex differences in neural tube defects (NTDs), we examined Trp53-null C57BL/6 mouse embryos and neonates at 10.5 and 18.5 days post coitus (dpc) and at birth. We confirmed that female embryos show more NTDs than males. We also examined mice in which the testis-determining gene Sry is deleted from the Y chromosome but inserted onto an autosome as a transgene, producing XX and XY gonadal females and XX and XY gonadal males. At birth, Trp53 nullizygous mice were predominantly XY rather than XX, irrespective of gonadal type, showing that the sex difference in the lethal effect of Trp53 nullizygosity by postnatal day 1 is caused by differences in sex chromosome complement. At 10.5 dpc, the incidence of NTDs in Trp53-null progeny of XY* mice, among which the number of the X chromosomes varies independently of the presence or absence of a Y chromosome, was higher in mice with two copies of the X chromosome than in mice with a single copy. The presence of a Y chromosome had no protective effect, suggesting that sex differences in NTDs are caused by sex differences in the number of X chromosomes.     

Cell axiality and polarity in plants — adding pieces to the puzzle

Plant cell polarity is important for cellular function and multicellular development. Classical physiological and cell biological analyses identified cues that orient cell polarity and suggested molecules that translate a cue into intracellular asymmetry. A range of proteins that either mark or are involved in the establishment of a (polar) axis are now available, as are many relevant mutants. These tools are likely to facilitate a dissection of the molecular mechanisms behind cell and organ polarity in the near future.     

Plantlet regeneration from protoplast-derived embryogenic calli of Crocus cancellatus

Plant regeneration from protoplast culture of Crocus cancellatus was investigated using regenerable embryogenic calli obtained from shoot meristem culture on LS (Linsmaier and Skoog, 1965) medium containing 4 mg l⁻¹ kinetin and 1 mg l⁻¹ 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Protoplasts were isolated directly from embryogenic calli. The best protoplast growth was found on those embedded in Ca-alginate beads and cultured with nurse cells in MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium supplemented with 2 mg l⁻¹ kinetin, 1 mg l⁻¹ 2,4-D and 100 mg l⁻¹ ascorbic acid at 25 °C in darkness. After 4–5 weeks of culture, microcalli appeared on the surface of the Ca-alginate beads, but the protoplasts without immobilization in Ca-alginate beads showed very low cell division. Growth of the microcalli in the medium with nurse cells was much better than in the medium without nurse cells. Transferring beads onto half strength MS medium supplemented with 0.2 mg l⁻¹ kinetin and 0.1 mg l⁻¹ 2,4-D, increased the growth of embryogenic calli. Somatic embryo development was observed either on half strength MS medium growth regulator free or with 1 mg l⁻¹ abscisic acid. Matured embryos germinated on half strength MS medium containing 25 mg l⁻¹ of gibberelic acid. Plantlet formation was obtained on half strength MS medium containing 1 mg l⁻¹ 6-benzyladenine and 1 mg l⁻¹ α-naphthaleneacetic acid at 20 °C in a 16/8 h light/dark cycle. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

神经管缺陷相关基因的研究进展

神经管缺陷是中枢神经系统最常见的先天畸形,许多种类基因的表达或突变与神经系统发育,神经管缺陷有关,它们是：（1）发育调节基因及转录因子类基因。（2）原癌基因和抑癌基因。（3）生长因子及其受体基因。（4）蛋白激酶C相关基因。（5）同型半胱氨酸代谢相关基因。（6）其他基因：细胞骨架类,细胞连接基因等。     

Antisense perturbation of protein function in living pollen tubes

During the past few years pollen tubes grown in vitro became a popular model system for cell biology studies of signal transduction in plant cells. Here we report a simple and fairly inexpensive way of studying protein function by transiently perturbing expression of the target gene in living pollen tubes. The ability of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) to bind to complementary mRNA sequences was used to selectively inhibit gene expression and thus assess the putative function of specific proteins in tip growth. The delivery of ODNs to growing pollen tubes was accomplished with the help of a liposomal formulation, originally developed for transfection assays in animal cells. The limitations and potentialities of this technique are discussed. Received: 23 November 2000 / Revision accepted: 29 May 2001