Protective Effects of Mangiferin in Subchronic Developmental Lead-Exposed Rats

Lead is a ubiquitous environmental and industrial pollutant. Exposure to excessive amounts of lead is especially harmful to the central nervous systems of infants and young children, and oxidative stress has been reported as a major mechanism of lead-induced toxicity. To evaluate the ameliorative potential of antioxidant mangiferin (MGN) on lead-induced toxicity, Morris water maze test, determination of blood and bone lead concentration, determination of antioxidant status in plasma, as well as observation of ultrastructural changes in the hippocampus were carried out. In the present study, under a transmission electron microscope, ameliorated morphological damages in the hippocampus were observed in MGN-treated groups. Blood and bone lead concentration in MGN-treated groups lowered to some extent (p?<?0.05, p?<?0.01). The activities of antioxidant enzymes, glutathione (GSH) content, and the GSH/oxidized glutathione ratio in MGN-treated groups were increased, respectively. Further studies are needed to establish whether the observed differences were a direct cause of mangiferin on lead-induced toxicity or not. This study might provide clues for the treatment of lead-induced toxicity.     

The characteristics of expressed emotion among relatives of patients with schizophrenia in Chengdu,China

We used the Mandarin Chinese version of the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI) to measure the components of expressed emotion among relatives of schizophrenic patients in urban and rural areas of Chengdu, China. The reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the CFI was examined. Seventy-one patients and their key relatives were included in the study. The results showed that high interrater reliabilities were found for the Chinese version of CFI. The proportion of relatives in our sample rated as high-EE was 28.2%, and the Chengdu relatives expressed significantly fewer critical comments (CCs) and less emotional overinvolvement (EOI) than respondents in other similar studies in the West. Within the Chengdu sample, city dwellers were significantly more expressive than villagers expressing warmth, positive remarks, and EOI (p<0.05). The results of this study could indicate the impact of cultural and ethnic differences and geographical location on EE.     

天胡荽的组织培养

1植物名称 天胡荽（Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Laiil．）,别名满天星、破铜钱、落得打。 2材料类别 当年生的顶芽、茎段和叶片。     

Novel N-oxide derivatives of benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid from the tubers of Stephania viridiflavens H.S. Lo et M. Yang

An investigation on the phytochemistry of the medicinal plant Stephania viridiflavens H.S. Lo et M. Yang led to isolate two new naturally occurring benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids, (+)-1S, 2R-laudanidine-N_β-oxide 2 and (+)-1S, 2S-laudanidine-N_α-oxide 3, along with four known benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids: (+)-laudanidine 1, (+)-reticuline 4, (+)-1S, 2R-reticuline-N_β-oxide 5 and (+)-1S, 2S-reticuline-N_α-oxide 6. The structure and the stereochemistry of these compounds were determined on the basis of spectroscopic methods and also confirmed by partial synthesis. To examine putative acetycholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory or cytotoxic activities, various bioassays were performed, the N-oxide derivatives (5 and 6) demonstrated more potent cytotoxicity than the corresponding free base.     

毕赤酵母表达的neurturin对恒河猴帕金森氏病模型中黑质多巴胺能神经元的保护作用

帕金森氏病(PD)是由于多巴胺能神经元变性、坏死,导致黑质-纹状体系统的多巴胺含量下降而引起的一种神经系统退行性疾病,目前还没有一种很好的方法能使之治愈.Neurturin（NTN）能特异地作用于中脑多巴胺能神经元,对该类神经元具营养和保护作用.经静脉注射1-甲基-4-苯基-1,2,3,6-四氢吡啶(MPTP)诱导恒河猴产生帕金森氏病模型,并在NTN治疗组,注射MPTP之前48 h脑室内注射重组毕赤酵母表达的人NTN 1 mg. 结果表明：模型组猴均逐渐出现了PD症状,而NTN治疗组猴,PD症状比较轻或不明显;荧光分光光度法测定MPTP模型组猴黑质、壳核和尾状核多巴胺（DA）、5-羟色胺（5-HT）和5-羟吲哚乙酸（5-HIAA）的含量结果与正常对照组相比均显著降低,NTN治疗组猴的黑质、壳核和尾状核中的DA、5-HT和5-HIAA与对照组相比无显著性差异,而与模型组相比,DA、5-HT和5-HIAA含量均明显增加;光镜检查MPTP模型组猴黑质神经元细胞明显脱失,而NTN治疗组猴黑质神经元细胞丢失不明显,与正常对照组猴无差别.上述结果表明,制备的重组人NTN在恒河猴体内能保护中脑黑质多巴胺能神经元不受MPTP的损伤,使其DA含量及多巴胺能神经元维持正常,在MPTP存在下没有发生PD症状.     

huGM-CSF(9-127)-IL-6(29-184)融合蛋白的复性及纯化研究

利用Q Sepharose H.P.离子交换柱层析在8mol/L尿素变性条件下对huGM-CSF(9-127)-IL-6(29-184）融合蛋白进行初步纯化,然后再利用Sephacryl S-200分子筛柱层析复性及纯化后获得目的蛋白,其纯度达到95％以上。该纯化方案成功地解决了稀释复性或透析复性产物在进行Q Sepharose H.P.离子交换柱层析时目的蛋白不稳定而沉积于柱上的问题,获得了较好的复性效果,复性率达到80％以上。使用该纯化方案,1天内便可基本完成重组蛋白的复性及纯化过程,而且也便于扩大。     

Dinucleotides docking to scorpion polypeptide toxins: a molecular modeling method for protein functional site recognition

To understand the principles underlying protein folding, many molecular modeling methods are being developed for predicting functional positions. In this work, fully flexible dinucleotides d(pApA), d(pApC), d(pApG), d(pApT), d(pCpA), d(pCpC), d(pCpG), d(pCpT), d(pGpA), d(pGpC), d(pGpG), d(pGpT), d(pTpA), d(pTpC), d(pTpG), and d(pTpT) were first docked onto the surface of scorpion polypeptide toxins (LqhIT2, PDB ID:2I61) and homology modeled ANEPIII. Automated docking was able to identify sites on scorpion polypeptide toxins where favorable nucleotide interactions can occur, and those sites were in agreement with the mutation data of this protein published recently [I. Karbat, R. Kahn, L. Cohen, N. Ilan, N. Gilles, G. Corzo, O. Froy, M. Gur, G. Albrecht, S.H. Heinemann, D. Gordon, M. Gurevitz, The unique pharmacology of the scorpion alpha-like toxin Lqh3 is associated with its flexible C-tail, Febs J 274 (2007) 1918-1931]. Simulation results suggested that dinucleotides docking is a suitable molecular modeling method that could be developed for protein functional site recognition.     

Acetylation of H4K12 in porcine oocytes during in vitro aging: potential role of ooplasmic reactive oxygen species

Deterioration in the quality of mammalian mature oocytes during metaphase-II (M-II) arrest is called “oocyte aging”. Although histone acetylation may affect the progression of aging in murine oocytes, the mechanism is unknown. The objective was to determine the role of ooplasmic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in acetylation of histone H4 at lysine 12 (acH4K12) in porcine aged oocytes in vitro. Based on immunostaining with a specific antibody, acetylation of H4K12 in porcine oocytes increased during in vitro aging, which coincided with changing patterns of ooplasmic ROS content. Furthermore, both hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and the mitochondrial membrane potential disrupter, carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), which can moderately elevate oocyte ROS content, significantly increased acetylation levels of H4K12 in porcine oocytes. It was noteworthy that acetylation in the CCCP group was decreased when ROS was counteracted by cysteine, a common antioxidant. In addition, the intracellular mRNA abundance of acetyltransferase gene HAT1 in aged and H₂O₂ treated oocytes was higher than in M-II phase oocytes, suggesting that HAT1 was involved in this reaction. After parthenogenetic activation, a lower proportion of oocytes developed to the blastocyst stage after CCCP or H₂O₂ treatment when compared with M-II phase oocytes (20 and 0% for CCCP and H₂O₂ groups, respectively, versus 42% for the M-II group, P < 0.05). In conclusion, elevated levels of H4K12 acetylation were attributed to increased ooplasmic ROS content during porcine oocyte aging in vitro.     

Analysis of expressed sequence tags from biodiesel plant Jatropha curcas embryos at different developmental stages

Jatropha curcas is considered a potential biodiesel feedstock plant whose seeds contain up to 40% oil. However, little is currently known about the seed biology of Jatropha. Therefore, it would be valuable to understand the mechanisms of development and lipid metabolism in Jatropha seeds. In the present study, three cDNA libraries were constructed with mRNA from Jatropha embryos at different stages of seed development. A total of 9844 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were produced from these libraries, from which 1070 contigs and 3595 singletons were obtained. One hundred and seven unigenes were found to be differentially expressed in the three cDNA libraries of Jatropha embryos, indicating that these genes may play key roles in seed development. We have identified 59 and 61 unigenes that might be involved in the development and lipid metabolism in Jatropha seeds, respectively. Some of these genes may also play important roles in embryogenesis, morphogenesis, defense response and adaptive mechanisms in plants.