A Self-Biomineralized Novel Adenovirus Vectored COVID-19 Vaccine for Boosting Immunization of Mice

Virologica Sinica - SARS-CoV-2 has caused more than 3.8 million deaths worldwide, and several types of COVID-19 vaccines are urgently approved for use, including adenovirus vectored vaccines....     

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor PJ34 protects against UVA-induced oxidative damage in corneal endothelium

Apoptosis - Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) is one of the main causes for corneal endothelial blindness, which is characterized by the progressive decline of corneal endothelial cells....     

半干旱黄土丘陵区纯林土壤腐殖质异化特征及与其他性质的关系

纯林长期生长或多代连栽必然会导致土壤腐殖质含量和构成发生异化,探究这种异化特征及其与土壤其他性质的关系可以为纯林管理或混交改造提供科学依据。通过对半干旱黄土丘陵区南泥湾林场8种典型纯林土壤腐殖质及其他性质进行系统检测,结果表明:(1)侧柏林土壤腐殖质含量最高(34.61 g/kg),腐殖化程度和稳定性一般;白榆和白桦林土壤的腐殖质含量中等(19.69—23.58 g/kg)、腐殖化程度和稳定性最佳;茶条槭和小叶杨林土壤的腐殖质含量(20.59—22.53 g/kg)和构成均为中等水平;油松、沙棘和刺槐林土壤的腐殖质质量较低(11.77—13.81 g/kg),且腐殖化程度较低,稳定性相对最差;(2)与胡敏酸含量存在显著相互促进作用(P0.05)的土壤性质为CEC、N、微生物量和蛋白酶活性(相关系数0.769—0.926,下同),存在显著相互抑制作用的为有效Cu(-0.793);与富啡酸存在显著相互促进作用的为N、CEC、微生物量、蔗糖酶和磷酸酶活性(0.836—0.955),存在显著相互抑制作用的为有效Cu(-0.822);与胡敏素存在显著相互促进作用的为N、CEC、微生物量、磷酸酶活性和有效Zn(0.766—0.951),存在显著相互抑制作用的为脱氢酶活性(-0.784)。(3)腐殖质构成与其他性质的相关性均不显著(P0.05),其中相对有利于提高胡敏酸/腐殖酸含量之比的土壤性质为蛋白酶、蔗糖酶和过氧化氢酶活性,而不利的是脱氢酶活性;相对有利于提高胡敏酸/富啡酸含量之比的为速效K、CEC和脲酶活性,而不利的是脱氢酶活性。(4)总体而言土壤腐殖质含量较之腐殖质构成与其他性质之间具有更大的相关性;向土壤增施N肥可以促进腐殖质的形成,增加K肥则有利于腐殖质构成的改善,而通过混交改造或增加林下植被是促进纯林土壤腐殖质化过程和解决土壤退化的根本措施。     

Structure of human BCCIP and implications for binding and modification of partner proteins

BCCIP was isolated based on its interactions with tumor suppressors BRCA2 and p21. Knockdown or knockout of BCCIP causes embryonic lethality in mice. BCCIP deficient cells exhibit impaired cell proliferation and chromosome instability. BCCIP also plays a key role in biogenesis of ribosome 60S subunits. BCCIP is conserved from yeast to humans, but it has no discernible sequence similarity to proteins of known structures. Here we report two crystal structures of an N‐terminal truncated human BCCIPβ, consisting of residues 61–314. Structurally BCCIP is similar to GCN5‐related acetyltransferases (GNATs) but contains different sequence motifs. Moreover, both acetyl‐CoA and substrate‐binding grooves are altered in BCCIP. A large 19‐residue flap over the putative CoA binding site adopts either an open or closed conformation in BCCIP. The substrate binding groove is significantly reduced in size and is positively charged despite the acidic isoelectric point of BCCIP. BCCIP has potential binding sites for partner proteins and may have enzymatic activity.     

Separation and nanoencapsulation of antitumor polypeptide from Spirulina platensis

Spirulina platensis is a multicellular edible blue‐green alga with abundant proteins (～60%). No report is available on the antitumor polypeptides from the whole proteins of S. platensis. In this study, for the first time, an antitumor polypeptide Y2 from trypsin digest of S. platensis proteins was obtained by using freeze‐thawing plus ultrasonication extraction, hydrolysis with four enzymes (trypsin, alcalase, papain, and pepsin), and gel filtration chromatography. The results showed that the degree of hydrolysis can be ordered as: trypsin (38.5%) > alcalase (31.2%) > papain (27.8%) > pepsin (7.1%). For MCF‐7 and HepG2 cells, at 250 µg/mL, the maximum inhibitory rate of Y2 was 97%, while standard drug 5‐FU was 55 and 97%, respectively. Furthermore, the nanoencapsulation of Y2 with chitosan (CS) was also investigated. After nanoencapsulation, the maximum encapsulation efficiency and polypeptides contents are 49 and 15%, respectively; and the antitumor activity is basically not lost. These data demonstrated the potential of nanopolypeptides (Y2‐CS) in food and pharmaceutical applications. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 29:1230–1238, 2013     

Characteristics of emodin on modulating the contractility of jejunal smooth muscle

Emodin is traditionally used as a laxative and is found to increase or decrease the contractility of intestinal smooth muscle in low doses and high doses, respectively. In this study, we propose that bidirectional regulation (BR) on the contractility of jejunal smooth muscle (CJSM) is inducible by emodin in the absence of control by the central nervous system. The results indicated that emodin-induced BR had the following characteristics. A stimulatory effect on CJSM was induced by emodin at 7 low contractile states, and an inhibitory effect was induced on CJSM at 7 high contractile states. Emodin-induced BR on myosin phosphorylation was also observed. BR was not observed in the presence of tetrodotoxin, suggesting that enteric nervous system is required for producing BR. The stimulatory effect of emodin on CJSM was abolished by atropine and diphenhydramine, respectively, suggesting that BR was correlated with cholinergic and histamine system while jejunal smooth muscle was at low contractile state. The inhibitory effect of emodin on CJSM was abolished by phentolamine, propranolol, and L-NG-nitroarginine (L-NNA), respectively, suggesting that BR was related to adrenergic hyperactivity and with a nitric oxide relaxing mechanism while jejunal smooth muscle was in a high contractile state. The exact mechanism, however, needs further investigation.     

城市绿地生态保护视角昆虫光谱趋性差异

照明提升城市夜间安全与活力,是城市建设的重要因素。但近年来夜间照明的迅速蔓延,改变了城市自然环境的光周期与光分布范围,造成光污染生态风险。其中,趋光昆虫受到的胁迫尤为显著,城市绿地昆虫种类与数量急剧下降,进而通过级联效应,引发城市绿地生态系统失衡问题。昆虫是典型的生态指示种和光敏动物,明确昆虫的光谱趋性差异,筛选出对昆虫趋光性友好的光谱,可为生态光源的研发提供依据,从而降低城市照明的生态风险。已有研究较多采用实验室内实验箱的设置方法,探究某一特定昆虫属种的趋光行为,尚缺乏对特定生境下的昆虫群落和典型昆虫目的光谱趋性研究。因此,研究在天津市津南区天津大学北洋园校区绿地系统开展野外人工光诱捕昆虫实验,以野外诱捕昆虫的种类与数量为判定依据,分析各光谱的昆虫趋性差异。野外诱虫实验以7种窄光带光谱(单色光)为研究对象,采用相对评价法,设置趋光昆虫最敏感的紫外光(Ultraviolet,369 nm)为对照组。结果表明,天津城市绿地生境中,4类典型趋光昆虫为双翅目(61.1%)、半翅目(19.7%)、鞘翅目(11.1%)、鳞翅目(5.7%)类,占诱捕总量的97.6%;对照紫外光(Ultraviolet,369 nm),4种典型昆虫总体的趋性敏感光谱排序及趋性概率为:远红色光(Far Red,740 nm)0.5%＜深红色光(Deep Red,660 nm)2.0%＜橘红色光(Red Orange,627 nm)9.0%＜青色光(Cyan,500 nm)22.8%＜绿色光(Green,519 nm)22.9%＜蓝紫色光(Royal Blue,447 nm)27.6%＜蓝色光(Blue,478 nm)40.1%;绝对生态光谱为红光,相对生态光谱为青色光(Cyan,500 nm)和蓝紫色光(Royal Blue,447 nm)。在全面推进人与自然和谐共生的现代化建设阶段,研究将有助于生态光源的开发、生态保护和城市光生态建设的提升。     

Complete Genome Sequence of a Mink Calicivirus in China

We report the complete genome sequence of a novel calicivirus isolated from a diseased mink in China. The complete viral genome is approximately 8.4 kb in length and consists of three open reading frames. The availability of the complete genome sequence is helpful for further investigation into the molecular characteristics and epidemiology of calicivirus in mink.