Effects of the Fc‐III tag on activity and stability of green fluorescent protein and human muscle creatine kinase

The Fc‐III tag is a newly developed fusion tag that can be applied to protein purification and detection. In the present work, we use the Fc‐III‐tagged green fluorescent protein (GFP) and human muscle creatine kinase (CK) as model systems to investigate effects of the Fc‐III tag on activities and stabilities of the expressed multicysteine‐containing proteins. Our results show the Fc‐III tag has no adverse effects on the fluorescence of GFP and reduces the occurrence of GFP misfolding due to incorrect Cys oxidation compared with the His‐tagged protein. The activity and stability of the Fc‐III‐tagged CK is slightly lower than that of the tag‐free CK, but is higher than that of the His‐tagged CK as determined by the ratio of the oxidized versus reduced CK. A major portion of His‐tagged CK is in its oxidized form, while that of the Fc‐III‐tagged CK is in its reduced form. A folding model of CK with different tags was proposed, which may provide insights into the effect of the Fc‐III tag on the conformations of disulfide‐bridged proteins.     

Serum metabolic profiling of abnormal savda by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Abnormal savda is a special symptom in Uigur medicine. The understanding of its metabolic origins is of great importance for the subsequent treatment. Here, a metabonomic study of this symptom was carried out using LC-MS based human serum metabolic profiling. Orthogonal signal correction partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OSC-PLS-DA) was used for the classification and prediction of abnormal savda. Potential biomarkers from metabonomics were also identified for a metabolic understanding of abnormal savda. As a result, our OSC-PLS-DA model had a satisfactory ability for separation and prediction of abnormal savda. The potential biomarkers including bilirubin, bile acids, tryptophan, phenylalanine and lyso-phosphatidylcholines indicated that abnormal savda could be related to some abnormal metabolisms within the body, including energy metabolism, absorption of nutrition, metabolism of lecithin on cell membrane, etc. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of abnormal savda based on serum metabolic profiling. The LC/MS-based metabonomic platform could be a powerful tool for the classification of symptoms and for the development of this traditional medicine into an evidence-based one.     

新疆褐梅衣属地衣研究

使用光学显微镜、扫描电子显微镜等手段,研究了新疆褐梅衣属7种地衣的解剖学特征;利用显色反应(CT)、微量结晶( MCT)和薄层层析(TLC)等方法,对化学成分做了检测,并利用这些结果对主要分类学特征做了归纳。     

小茴香对肝纤维化大鼠脂质过氧化水平的影响

目的：研究小茴香对肝纤维化大鼠的脂质过氧化水平的影响。方法：取Wister大鼠100只,随机取12只设为正常组,其余采用四氯化碳（CCL4）复合因素法复制肝纤维化大鼠模型,复制成功后随机分为模型对照组、小茴香组和复方丹参组（n=12）;相应药物干预8周后,镜检肝组织形态学改变;全自动生化分析仪检测外周血清丙氨酸转氨酶（ALT）、天冬氨酸转氨酶（AST）水平与血清总蛋白（TP）、白蛋白（ALB）含量;生化法检测肝组织羟脯氨酸（HYP）与血清丙二醛（MDA）含量及超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH—PX）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性。结果：HE结果显示：模型组肝脏炎症与脂肪变性明显,经小茴香干预后明显改善。生化检测结果显示：与正常组比较,模型组ALT、AST水平显著升高（P〈0．05）,TP、ALB含量显著降低（P〈O．05）,HYP、MDA含量显著增加（P〈0．05）,而SOD、GSH—PX和CAT活性显著降低（P〈0．05）;与模型组比较,小茴香组ALT、AST水平显著下降（P〈0．05）,TP、ALB水平显著升高（P〈0．05）;HYP、MDA含量显著降低（P〈0．05）,SOD、GSH—PX和CAT活性显著提高（P〈0．05）。结论：小茴香的抗肝纤维化作用可能与调节大鼠脂质过氧化水平有关。     

糖尿病大鼠性腺及外周血中性激素的改变

目的:研究糖尿病大鼠性腺及外周血中性激素的变化。方法:用放射免疫法检测糖尿病(DM)大鼠,正常(NDM)大鼠和STZ大鼠血清性激素含量,同时称取性腺重量,镜检睾丸、前列腺及附睾的组织形态学改变。结果:DM组睾酮水平显著低于NDM组、STZ组(P<0.01);NDM组与STZ组之间,睾酮水平无显著性差异;DM组促黄体生成素(LH)水平显著高于NDM组、STZ组(P<0.01);NDM组与STZ组之间。LH水平无显著性差异;促卵泡刺激素(FSH)水平在各组之间无显著性差异;HE结果显示,DM组性腺显微结构较NDM组及STZ组明显改变。结论:提示DM严重影响大鼠性腺功能及睾酮的合成分泌,并显著降低大鼠血清睾酮含量。     

Astrocyte‐dependent protective effect of quetiapine on GABAergic neuron is associated with the prevention of anxiety‐like behaviors in aging mice after long‐term treatment

Previous studies have demonstrated that quetiapine (QTP) may have neuroprotective properties; however, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we identified a novel mechanism by which QTP increased the synthesis of ATP in astrocytes and protected GABAergic neurons from aging‐induced death. In 12‐month‐old mice, QTP significantly improved cell number of GABAegic neurons in the cortex and ameliorated anxiety‐like behaviors compared to control group. Complimentary in vitro studies showed that QTP had no direct effect on the survival of aging GABAergic neurons in culture. Astrocyte‐conditioned medium (ACM) pretreated with QTP (ACM_QTP) for 24 h effectively protected GABAergic neurons against aging‐induced spontaneous cell death. It was also found that QTP boosted the synthesis of ATP from cultured astrocytes after 24 h of treatment, which might be responsible for the protective effects on neurons. Consistent with the above findings, a Rhodamine 123 test showed that ACM_QTP, not QTP itself, was able to prevent the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential in the aging neurons. For the first time, our study has provided evidence that astrocytes may be the conduit through which QTP is able to exert its neuroprotective effects on GABAergic neurons.

     

Isolation and Identification of a Novel Antioxidant Peptide from Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Sprout Protein Hydrolysates

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the second most widely cultivated leguminous plant in the world. In this study, the chickpea sprout...     

小茴香对肝纤维化大鼠脂质过氧化水平的影响

目的:研究小茴香对肝纤维化大鼠的脂质过氧化水平的影响。方法:取Wister大鼠100只,随机取12只设为正常组,其余采用四氯化碳(CCL4)复合因素法复制肝纤维化大鼠模型,复制成功后随机分为模型对照组、小茴香组和复方丹参组(n=12);相应药物干预8周后,镜检肝组织形态学改变;全自动生化分析仪检测外周血清丙氨酸转氨酶(ALT)、天冬氨酸转氨酶(AST)水平与血清总蛋白(TP)、白蛋白(ALB)含量;生化法检测肝组织羟脯氨酸(HYP)与血清丙二醛(MDA)含量及超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-PX)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性。结果:HE结果显示:模型组肝脏炎症与脂肪变性明显,经小茴香干预后明显改善。生化检测结果显示:与正常组比较,模型组ALT、AST水平显著升高(P<0.05),TP、ALB含量显著降低(P<0.05),HYP、MDA含量显著增加(P<0.05),而SOD、GSH-PX和CAT活性显著降低(P<0.05);与模型组比较,小茴香组ALT、AST水平显著下降(P<0.05),TP、ALB水平显著升高(P<0.05);HYP、MDA含量显著降低(P<0.05),SOD、GSH-PX和CAT活性显著提高(P<0.05)。结论:小茴香的抗肝纤维化作用可能与调节大鼠脂质过氧化水平有关。     

Research on the establishment of chronic stress‐induced premature ovarian failure the rat model and effects of Chinese medicine Muniziqi treatment

The purposes of this study were to establish and to explore the biological basis of the chronic stress‐induced premature ovarian failure (POF) model and to explore the therapeutic effects of the traditional Chinese medicine Muniziqi. Sexually matured female Sprague–Dawley rats were fed with spinach and cilantro in cold and wet conditions for about 20 weeks until a chronic stress (CS) model was established. The CS rats were divided into a POF stress model group and a stress model group according to weekly biological characteristics and hormone level detection ( luteinizing hormone [LH], follicle stimulating hormone [FSH], and estrogen [E2]). To investigate the therapeutic effect of Muniziqi, the POF disease stress model group was divided into the high‐, medium‐, and low‐drug intervention groups. The results showed that chronic stresses (special food, cold, damp) can lead to POF disease. The traditional Chinese medicine Muniziqi could not only improve the reproductive hormone level disorder, but also improve the function of the hypothalamus–pituitary–ovarian axis. The underlying mechanism may be a change in the E2, LH, and FSH hormone levels in serum and lower expression of ovarian premature aging‐related protein PFN‐1.