Polysaccharide isolated from seeds of Plantago asiatica L. induces maturation of dendritic cells through MAPK and NF-κB pathway

Plantago species are used as traditional medicine in Asian and Europe. Polysaccharide isolated from the seeds of Plantago asiatica L. could stimulate maturation transformation of bone-marrow derived dendritic cells (DCs). We found that blocking p38, ERK1/2 and JNK MAPK signal transduction could significantly decreased the PLP-2 induced expression of MHC II, CD86 surface molecules on DCs. Blocking p38 and JNK signal also significantly inhibited the cytokine secretion of TNF-α and IL-12p70 as well, while blocking ERK1/2 signal only decreased the secretion of TNF-α. Meanwhile, DCs in the three MAPK signal-blocking groups showed dramatically attenuated effects on stimulating proliferation of T lymphocytes. Similarly, blocking signal transduction of NF-κB pathway also significantly impaired the phenotypic and functional maturation development of DCs induced by PLP-2. These data suggest that MAPK and NF-κB pathway mediates the PLP-induced maturation on DCs. Especially, among the three MAPK pathways, activation of JNK signal transduction is the most important for DCs development after PLP-2 incubation. And PLP-2 may activate the MAPK and NF-κB pathway by triggering toll-like receptor 4 on DCs.     

Extending experimentation: oncology’s fading boundary between research and care

Historians and social scientists view the distinction between research and care as diachronically and synchronically contingent, rather than transcendental, as is often the case in bioethics. Comparing how the notion of total care was used in the 1950s with present-day use of that same term by genomically informed oncology programs, the paper argues that the distinction between research and care needs: to be historicized, by examining its repeated emergence and re-definition, and the shifting relations between these two “ideal-typical” components; and to be problematized, by paying attention to the entities, practices, and institutions that are constitutive of the successive regimens that have punctuated oncology’s development. Shifting to contemporary activities, the paper examines how the recent massive injection of molecular biology and high-throughput genomic technologies in the field of oncology has been accompanied by a reshuffling of the research/care distinction, a process that is leading to new forms of “experimental care”.     

Arabidopsis HIPP27 is a host susceptibility gene for the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii

Sedentary plant‐parasitic cyst nematodes are obligate biotrophs that infect the roots of their host plant. Their parasitism is based on the modification of root cells to form a hypermetabolic syncytium from which the nematodes draw their nutrients. The aim of this study was to identify nematode susceptibility genes in Arabidopsis thaliana and to characterize their roles in supporting the parasitism of Heterodera schachtii. By selecting genes that were most strongly upregulated in response to cyst nematode infection, we identified HIPP27 (HEAVY METAL‐ASSOCIATED ISOPRENYLATED PLANT PROTEIN 27) as a host susceptibility factor required for beet cyst nematode infection and development. Detailed expression analysis revealed that HIPP27 is a cytoplasmic protein and that HIPP27 is strongly expressed in leaves, young roots and nematode‐induced syncytia. Loss‐of‐function Arabidopsis hipp27 mutants exhibited severely reduced susceptibility to H. schachtii and abnormal starch accumulation in syncytial and peridermal plastids. Our results suggest that HIPP27 is a susceptibility gene in Arabidopsis whose loss of function reduces plant susceptibility to cyst nematode infection without increasing the susceptibility to other pathogens or negatively affecting the plant phenotype.     

Oxylipins from both pathogen and host antagonize jasmonic acid‐mediated defence via the 9‐lipoxygenase pathway in Fusarium verticillioides infection of maize

Oxylipins are a newly emerging group of signals that serve defence roles or promote virulence. To identify specific host and fungal genes and oxylipins governing the interactions between maize and Fusarium verticillioides, maize wild‐type and lipoxygenase3 (lox3) mutant were inoculated with either F. verticillioides wild‐type or linoleate‐diol‐synthase 1‐deleted mutant (ΔFvlds1D). The results showed that lox3 mutants were more resistant to F. verticillioides. The reduced colonization on lox3 was associated with reduced fumonisin production and with a stronger and earlier induction of ZmLOX4, ZmLOX5 and ZmLOX12. In addition to the reported defence function of ZmLOX12, we showed that lox4 and lox5 mutants were more susceptible to F. verticillioides and possessed decreased jasmonate levels during infection, suggesting that these genes are essential for jasmonic acid (JA)‐mediated defence. Oxylipin profiling revealed a dramatic reduction in fungal linoleate diol synthase 1 (LDS1)‐derived oxylipins, especially 8‐HpODE (8‐hydroperoxyoctadecenoic acid), in infected lox3 kernels, indicating the importance of this molecule in virulence. Collectively, we make the following conclusions: (1) LOX3 is a major susceptibility factor induced by fungal LDS1‐derived oxylipins to suppress JA‐stimulating 9‐LOXs; (2) LOX3‐mediated signalling promotes the biosynthesis of virulence‐promoting oxylipins in the fungus; and (3) both fungal LDS1‐ and host LOX3‐produced oxylipins are essential for the normal infection and colonization processes of maize seed by F. verticillioides.     

TCTP在辐射诱导胶质瘤细胞旁效应中的作用及机制研究

目的:研究肿瘤翻译控制蛋白(TCTP)在辐射诱导胶质瘤细胞旁效应中的作用及机制。方法:给予不同剂量的X射线照射U87、SHG44两种胶质瘤细胞,观察U87以及SHG44细胞的克隆形成率,并在给予最佳照射剂量后,通过Western Blot检测TCTP蛋白表达水平。将经过最佳X射线照射剂量的U87以及SHG44两种胶质瘤细胞与未经过辐射照射的细胞放在一起共培养,通过MTT实验检测胶质瘤细胞的增殖率,Western Blot检测共培养的胶质瘤细胞与经过辐射的胶质瘤细胞中Caspase3蛋白表达水平。结果:U87以及SHG44两种胶质瘤细胞的克隆形成率随着X射线照射剂量增加而显著性降低(P0.05),给予最佳X射线照射剂量后,与未经过X射辐射照射后的细胞相比,其TCTP蛋白表达水平明显升高(P0.05)。经过辐射照射与未经过辐射照射的胶质瘤细胞经过共培养后,与经过辐射的胶质瘤细胞相比,细胞的增殖率明显升高,同时共培养的胶质瘤细胞与经过辐射的胶质瘤细胞相比,Caspase3的蛋白表达明显降低(P0.05)。结论:TCTP的表达增高能够诱导未经过辐射的U87以及SHG44两种胶质瘤细胞的抗凋亡作用增强,其作用机制可能与Caspase3的表达降低有关。     

1.5T磁共振不同序列用于检出妇科肿瘤盆腔淋巴结转移的比较

目的:比较1.5T磁共振(MRI)不同序列条件下对妇科肿瘤盆腔淋巴结转移的检出情况,探讨最佳检出序列条件。方法:选取2015年5月-2017年5月初诊为卵巢癌、宫颈癌、子宫内膜癌的患者78例作为研究对象,均行盆腔淋巴结清扫术。所有患者术前均行T1加权序列(T1WI)、T2加权序列(T2WI)、增强扫描(T1WI+C)、弥散加权成像(DWI)检查,记录每个序列检查条件下检出的盆腔转移淋巴结个数及分布。以病理结果作为判断的"金标准"进行对比。结果:对比病理检查结果,应用DWI序列对妇科肿瘤盆腔淋巴结转移的检出率(95.8%)显著高于T2WI-MRI序列(85.8%)和T1WI-MRI序列(75.0%)(P0.05);DWI序列与T1WI+C序列(90.8%)相比差异无统计学意义(P0.05);DWI阈值法与DWI短径法相比,淋巴结的检出率差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:应用1.5T磁共振检查妇科肿瘤盆腔淋巴节转移时,采用DWI序列扫描对于转移淋巴结的具有较高的检出率,显著优于其他序列扫描;在进行阳性淋巴结判断中,ADC阈值法和短径法均可选用。     

基于物理过滤与原位杂交技术的骨肉瘤循环肿瘤细胞检测及临床意义

目的:探寻一种有效地从骨肉瘤患者外周血中富集并鉴定循环肿瘤细胞的方法。方法:利用基于物理过滤与原位杂交结合的技术对骨肉瘤患者外周血循环肿瘤细胞分离并鉴定。采用直径8μm纳米滤膜截留外周血中体积较大的白细胞及肿瘤细胞,利用多重RNA原位杂交技术检测CD45、EpCAM、CK8、CK18、CK19、vimentin及twist基因表达,并根据结果对滤膜截留下的细胞进行鉴定并分型。结果:本研究所使用的基于物理过滤与原位杂交技术的循环肿瘤细胞检测方法可以高效地从骨肉瘤患者外周血中富集骨肉瘤循环肿瘤细胞,该方法富集细胞的效率超过90%。15例健康志愿者中1例志愿者检测结果阳性。20例纳入研究的骨肉瘤患者中19例患者外周血中检测出CTC,CTC计数范围为0-20。肿瘤转移患者外周血CTC计数为11.33±5.88,肿瘤未转移患者外周血CTC计数为4.36±2.98,差异具有统计学意义(P=0.0022)。肿瘤转移患者外周血间质型CTC比例高于肿瘤未转移患者(P=0.0031)。结论:利用基于物理过滤与原位杂交结合的技术可以有效地检测骨肉瘤患者外周血循环肿瘤细胞。CTC检测结果可以作为辅助判断肿瘤转移情况的辅助指标。     

Substantial differences in bias between single‐digest and double‐digest RAD‐seq libraries: A case study

The trade‐offs of using single‐digest vs. double‐digest restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (RAD‐seq) protocols have been widely discussed. However, no direct empirical comparisons of the two methods have been conducted. Here, we sampled a single population of Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli) and genotyped 444 individuals using RAD‐seq. Sixty individuals were subjected to single‐digest RAD‐seq (sdRAD‐seq), and the remaining 384 individuals were genotyped using a double‐digest RAD‐seq (ddRAD‐seq) protocol. We analysed the resulting Illumina sequencing data and compared the two genotyping methods when reads were analysed either together or separately. Coverage statistics, observed heterozygosity, and allele frequencies differed significantly between the two protocols, as did the results of selection components analysis. We also performed an in silico digestion of the Gulf pipefish genome and modelled five major sources of bias: PCR duplicates, polymorphic restriction sites, shearing bias, asymmetric sampling (i.e., genotyping fewer individuals with sdRAD‐seq than with ddRAD‐seq) and higher major allele frequencies. This combination of approaches allowed us to determine that polymorphic restriction sites, an asymmetric sampling scheme, mean allele frequencies and to some extent PCR duplicates all contribute to different estimates of allele frequencies between samples genotyped using sdRAD‐seq versus ddRAD‐seq. Our finding that sdRAD‐seq and ddRAD‐seq can result in different allele frequencies has implications for comparisons across studies and techniques that endeavour to identify genomewide signatures of evolutionary processes in natural populations.