Effect of Liraglutide on endoplasmic reticulum stress in diabetes

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is associated with the development of diabetes. The present study sought to investigate the effect of Liraglutide, a glucagon like peptide 1 analogue, on ER stress in β-cells. We found that Liraglutide protected the pancreatic INS-1 cells from thapsigargin-induced ER stress and the ER stress associated cell apoptosis, mainly by suppressing the PERK and IRE1 pathways. We further tested the effects of Liraglutide in the Akita mouse, an ER-stress induced type 1 diabetes model. After administration of Liraglutide for 8 weeks, p-eIF2α and p-JNK were significantly decreased in the pancreas of the Akita mouse, while the treatment showed no significant impact on the levels of insulin of INS-cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that Liraglutide may protect pancreatic cells from ER stress and its related cell death.     

Transcriptional Co-activator p300 Maintains Basal Hepatic Gluconeogenesis

A major cause of fasting hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus is unregulated hepatic glucose production (HGP). Insulin suppresses HGP by phosphorylating CBP and disassembling the CREB-CBP complex from gluconeogenic genes. p300 is closely related to CBP; but in contrast to CBP, p300 binds constitutively to CREB due to the absence of phosphorylation site found in CBP. In a phosphorylation-competent p300(G442S) knock-in mouse model, we demonstrate that HGP is now exquisitely sensitive to insulin suppression. p300(G422S) and hepatic-deleted p300 mice exhibited significant lower blood glucose levels in the fasted and post-prandial states, indicating a role for p300 in maintaining basal HGP.     

作物缺水指数法的简化及在干旱遥感监测中的应用

从能量平衡原理出发,对潜在蒸散的计算进行了简化,从而对作物缺水指数法干旱遥感监测模型进行了简化、简化后的模型涉及因子减少,计算量明显降低,更接近于实际应用．利用该方法及NOAA/AVHRR卫星遥感资料和有关气象要素资料,对陕西省关中地区春季干旱进行了监测．结果表明,简化后的作物缺水指数法仍然充分考虑了下垫面的植被覆盖状况和地面风速、水汽压等气象要素,对该区春季干旱的监测效果好于使用植被供水指数法的监测效果．从简化后模型的计算量、时效响应和实际对比结果来看,该简化模型可以进行实际应用．另外,在计算过程中局部出现了CWSI>1的情况,这在实际中是不可能的,文中对此也进行了初步讨论．     

Insulin inhibits myocardial ischemia-induced apoptosis and alleviates chronic adverse changes in post-ischemic cardiac structure and function

Insulin has been shown to possess significant anti-apoptotic effect in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R). However, the contribution by this protection of insulin to the prolonged cardiac function in rats subjected to ischemia remains unclear. The present study attempted to test whether early insulin treatment influences adverse prolonged post-ischemic cardiac structural and functional changes. Adult male rats were subjected to left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and were randomized to receive one of the following treatments: saline (4 ml/kg/h i.v. injection beginning 10 min before the ischemia and continuing for 2 h), insulin (60 U/l, i.v. injection following the same routine, and hypodermic injection of insulin (0.5 U/ml, 1 ml/kg/d) for 3 days after the ischemia surgery) or insulin plus wortmannin (15 μg/kg i.v. injection 15 min before each insulin administration). Treatment with insulin significantly reduced infarct size, decreased plasma creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities, decreased apoptosis index and caspase-3 activity (all P < 0.01 vs. saline), and improved cardiac function 24 h after ischemia. Importantly, at the end of 4 weeks after the ischemia surgery, MI rats receiving insulin treatment showed smaller left ventricle (LV) cavity and thicker systolic interventricular septum, and increased cardiac ejection fraction and LV fractional shortening (all P < 0.05 vs. saline). Inhibition of insulin signaling with wortmannin not only blocked insulin’s anti-apoptotic effect, but also almost completely abolished effects of insulin on cardiac structure and function. These data indicate that inhibition of apoptosis by early insulin treatment alleviates chronic adverse changes in post-ischemic cardiac structure and function. Wenjuan Xing and Wenjun Yan contributed equally to this study.     

UHRF1 predicts poor prognosis by triggering cell cycle in lung adenocarcinoma

Accumulating evidence suggests that ubiquitin‐like with plant homeodomain and ring finger domains 1 (UHRF1) is overexpressed in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, the expression and function of UHRF1 in the subtype of NSCLC are still unclear. Here, we investigate the expression and prognosis traits of UHRF1 in large NSCLC cohorts and explore the molecular characters during UHRF1 up‐regulation. We find that UHRF1 is predominantly overexpressed in lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Surprisingly, the up‐regulated UHRF1 is only associated with the overall survival of lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) and knockdown of UHRF1 dramatically attenuates ADC tumorigenesis. Mechanically, we identify a hub gene that includes a total of 55 UHRF1‐related genes, which are tightly associated with cell cycle pathway and yield to the poor clinical outcome in ADC patients. What's more, we observe knockdown of UHRF1 only affects ADC cells cycle and induces cell apoptosis. These results suggest that up‐regulated UHRF1 only contributes to lung ADC survival by triggering cell cycle pathway, and it may be a prognostic biomarker for lung ADC patients.     

解酒护肝饮解酒及对急慢酒精性肝损伤的保护作用

为了评价解酒护肝饮解酒效果及其对急、慢性酒精性肝损伤保护作用机制,本研究通过建立醉酒模型,确定致醉剂量;通过醉酒睡眠实验比较解酒护肝饮解酒特性;通过测定醉酒小鼠血乙醇含量的变化,研究解酒护肝饮对乙醇代谢的影响;通过建立急慢性酒精性肝损伤模型,测定AST、ALT、SOD活性,GSH、MDA水平,HE染色切片观察肝组织形态学的变化。研究发现小鼠最佳致醉剂量为11 m L/kg;与模型组比较,解酒护肝饮高(HD)、中剂量组(MD)均可延长醉酒时间、缩短醒酒时间(p<0.05),高、中剂量组可降低酒精灌胃后2 h、3 h时间点血乙醇含量(p<0.05);与模型组比较,急慢性酒精肝损伤模型各剂量组均能显著降低血清AST、ALT活性(p<0.05),急性酒精性肝损伤模型中,各剂量组肝组织SOD、GSH水平上升(p<0.05),MDA水平下降(p<0.05),而在慢性酒精性肝损伤模型肝组织中,低剂量组(LD)的SOD、GSH及MDA水平没有统计学差异;病理切片观察可见,急慢性酒精肝损伤模型高、中、低剂量组均能显著改善肝组织因乙醇而导致的肝损伤,并且高、中剂量组效果较好。本研究表明解酒护肝饮可显著延长醉酒时间,缩短醒酒时间,降低血乙醇的含量,对酒精诱导的肝损伤有较好的保护作用。     

Engineered myocardial tissues constructed <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis> using cardiomyocyte-like cells derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in rats

Background  

To explore the feasibility of constructing engineered myocardial tissues (EMTs) in vivo, using polylactic acid -co-glycolic acid (PLGA) for scaffold and cardiomyocyte-like cells derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) for seeded cells.     

Understanding atomic bonding and electronic distributions of a DNA molecule using DFT calculation and BOLS-BC model

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is an important molecule that has been extensively researched, mainly due to its structure and function. Herein, we investigated the electronic behavior of the DNA molecule containing 1008 atoms using density functional theory. The bond-charge (BC) model shows the relationship between charge density and atomic strain. Besides, the model mentioned above is combined with the bond-order-length-strength (BOLS) notion to calculate the atomic cohesive energy, the bond energy, and the local bond strain of the DNA chain. Using the BOLS-BC model, we were able to obtain information on the bonding features of the DNA chain and better comprehend the associated properties of electrons in biological systems. Consequently, this report functions as a theoretical reference for the precise regulation of the electrons and the bonding states of biological systems.