Gualou Xiebai Banxia decoction ameliorates Poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemia

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Gualou Xiebai Banxia (GLXBBX) decoction is a well-known traditional Chinese herbal formula that was first discussed in the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber by Zhang Zhongjing in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In traditional Chinese medicine, GLXBBX is commonly prescribed to treat cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis.Objective: The present study aimed to examine GLXBBX’s preventative capacity and elucidate the potential molecular mechanism of Poloxamer 407 (P407)-induced hyperlipidemia in rats.Materials and methods: Both the control and model groups received pure water, and the test group also received a GLXBBX decoction. For each administration, 3 ml of the solution was administered orally. To establish hyperlipidemia, a solution mixed with 0.25 g/kg P407 dissolved in 0.9% normal saline was injected slowly into the abdominal cavity. At the end of the study, the rats’ plasma lipid levels were calculated using an automatic biochemical analyzer to evaluate the preventative capability of the GLXBBX decoction, and the serum and liver of the rats were collected.Results: The GLXBBX decoction significantly improved P407-induced hyperlipidemia, including increased plasma triglycerides (TGs), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) elevation, and lipid accumulation. Moreover, GLXBBX decoction treatment increased lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity and mRNA expression of LPL. Furthermore, GLXBBX significantly suppressed the mRNA expression of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1).Conclusion: GLXBBX significantly improved P407-induced hyperlipidemia, which may have been related to enhanced LPL activity, increased LPL mRNA expression, and decreased mRNA expression of SCD1.     

Root-Associated Endophytic Bacterial Community Composition of Asparagus officinalis of Three Different Varieties

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L) is an economically important crop, rich in nutrients, and is also conducive to solving ecological and environmental problems. Plants may acquire benefits from root-associated endophytic bacteria. However, the composition of the endophytic bacterial community associated with the roots of asparagus is poorly elucidated. In this study, the nine root samples of asparagus from three different varieties including Asparagus officinalis var. Grande (GLD), A. officinalis var. Jinglvlu3 (JL3) and A. officinalis var. Jingzilu2 (JZL) were investigated by high-throughput sequencing technology of the 16S rDNA V5-V7 hypervariable region of endophytic bacteria. A total of 16 phyla, 29 classes, 90 orders, 171 families, and 312 genera were identified. Endophytic bacteria diversity and bacteria structure was different among the three varieties and was influenced by rhizosphere soil properties and varieties. In the GLD variety, the main phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. The main phylum in JL3 and JZL varieties was Proteobacteria. The observations showed that GLD had the highest diversity of endophytes as indicated by the Shannon index (GLD > JZL > JL3). The order of the endophytes richness was GLD > JL3 > JZL. The PCA and PCoA analysis revealed the microbial communities were different between three different asparagus varieties, and the microbial composition of GLD and JZL was more similar. This report provides an important reference for the study of endophytic microorganisms of asparagus. Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s12088-021-00926-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

LINC00668 Modulates SOCS5 Expression Through Competitively Sponging miR-518c-3p to Facilitate Glioma Cell Proliferation

Neurochemical Research - Glioma is a common invasive cancer with unfavorable prognosis in patients. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) exert significant functions in carcinogenesis of various cancers...     

DPSN：扩增子测序引物标准化命名数据库

扩增子测序是目前用来衡量微生物多样性时使用最广泛的测序手段。因为其扩增的需要,所以选择合适的特定引物是必需的,且其对结果影响甚大。probeBase是目前最常用的记录了人工校正后的rRNA探针和引物的数据库。然而,我们发现probeBase中63.58%的引物存在不同程度的注释错误,包括命名重复、命名无规律以及匹配位置错误等。更严重的是,目前主流的短命名方式不具有唯一性,导致对应关系模糊不清。因此,我们定义了更简单可行的短命名标准并开发了新的引物科学命名数据库（DPSN）,并对probeBase里的所有173个引物进行了校正,并新加入了4个新的改良引物以及38个针对大亚基的新引物。新的短命名规则包含3个基本要素：在正链5''端的位置、版本号和方向。此外在前面加入了识别大/小亚基以及主要针对的菌界的标志。使用DPSN,可以快速查找感兴趣区域对应的引物并比较不同版本的差异选择合适的引物。同时还能建立命名与序列的明确一一对应关系,避免歧义。     

Renal Transplant Recipients Treated with Calcineurin-Inhibitors Lack Circulating Immature Transitional CD19+CD24hiCD38hi Regulatory B-Lymphocytes

BackgroundCD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi transitional immature B-lymphocytes have been demonstrated to play an important role in regulating the alloimmune response in transplant recipients. Here, we analyzed the effect of calcineurin inhibition on these peripherally circulating regulatory B-cells (Breg) in renal transplant recipients receiving cyclosporine A (CsA) or tacrolimus.MethodsPBMCs from healthy subjects (HS) (n = 16) and renal transplant recipients (n = 46) were isolated. Flow cytometry was performed for CD19, CD24, CD38 and IL-10 either after isolation or after 72 hours of co-culture in presence of PMA/Ionomycin and TLR9-ligand in presence or absence of increasing concentrations of tacrolimus or CsA.ResultsThe amount of CD19⁺ B-cells among lymphocytes was ∼9.1% in HS, ∼3.6% in CsA (n = 11, p<0.05) and ∼6.4% in TAC (n = 35, p<0.05) treated patients. Among B-cells, a distinct subset of Breg was found to be 4.7% in HS, 1.4% in tacrolimus treated patients and almost blunted in patients receiving CsA. Similarily, ∼4% of B-cells in HS and even fewer in CsA or tacrolimus treated patients produced IL-10 (0.5% and 1.5%, p<0.05) and this was confirmed both in non-transplanted CsA-treated healthy subjects and in in vitro co-culture experiments. Among 29 patients with <1% of Breg, 9 cases (31%) displayed an allograft rejection in contrast to only one case of rejection (6%) among 17 patients with >1%.ConclusionCalcineurin inhibitors reduce number and IL-10 production of Bregs in the peripheral circulation of both renal transplant recipients and non-transplanted healthy subjects. CNI induced Breg reduction is not restricted to a solid organ transplant setting and is not mediated by co-medication with steroids or MPA. A low proportion of Breg cells is associated with an elevated frequency of allograft rejection events.     

Depletion of JMJD5 sensitizes tumor cells to microtubule-destabilizing agents by altering microtubule stability

Microtubules play essential roles in mitosis, cell migration, and intracellular trafficking. Drugs that target microtubules have demonstrated great clinical success in cancer treatment due to their capacity to impair microtubule dynamics in both mitotic and interphase stages. In a previous report, we demonstrated that JMJD5 associated with mitotic spindle and was required for proper mitosis. However, it remains elusive whether JMJD5 could regulate the stability of cytoskeletal microtubules and whether it affects the efficacy of microtubule-targeting agents. In this study, we find that JMJD5 localizes not only to the nucleus, a fraction of it also localizes to the cytoplasm. JMJD5 depletion decreases the acetylation and detyrosination of α-tubulin, both of which are markers of microtubule stability. In addition, microtubules in JMJD5-depleted cells are more sensitive to nocodazole-induced depolymerization, whereas JMJD5 overexpression increases α-tubulin detyrosination and enhances the resistance of microtubules to nocodazole. Mechanistic studies revealed that JMJD5 regulates MAP1B protein levels and that MAP1B overexpression rescued the microtubule destabilization induced by JMJD5 depletion. Furthermore, JMJD5 depletion significantly promoted apoptosis in cancer cells treated with the microtubule-targeting anti-cancer drugs vinblastine or colchicine. Together, these findings suggest that JMJD5 is required to regulate the stability of cytoskeletal microtubules and that JMJD5 depletion increases the susceptibility of cancer cells to microtubule-destabilizing agents.     

Genome-wide CRISPR activation screen identifies candidate receptors for SARS-CoV-2 entry

Science China Life Sciences - The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has created a global health crisis. SARS-CoV-2 infects varieties of tissues where the known...     

转基因抗虫作物对捕食性瓢虫的安全性研究进展

转基因抗虫作物的商业化种植带来了显著的经济、生态和社会效益,对转基因抗虫作物的安全性评价也一直是国内外学者研究的热点。对生物非靶标效应的研究是转基因抗虫作物安全性评价的重要组成部分,农田天敌类生物是其中的重点内容之一。瓢虫是农田生态系统重要的捕食性天敌,评价其在转基因抗虫作物田间是否能通过捕食猎物或取食花粉而接触到杀虫蛋白并富集于体内,进而对自身产生一定的非靶标效应,这对捕食性瓢虫的安全性研究具有重要的意义。本文从捕食性天敌瓢虫的生命表参数、行为功能参数、田间群落参数及体内微环境指标等方面综述了转基因抗虫作物对瓢虫的安全性研究进展,并对后期转基因抗虫作物对田间捕食性天敌的研究方向提出了建议,以期为转基因抗虫作物的环境安全性研究提供理论指导和为进一步完善转基因抗虫作物对瓢虫安全性评价的技术体系提供系统的数据资料。     

Development of functional antibodies against influenza B virus by activation-induced cytidine deaminase in hybridoma cells

Highlights
1. Class-switch recombination was mimicked in hybridomas through a controllable expression system of activation-induced cytidine deaminase.
2. IgG antibodies were generated through this system in an anti-Flu B IgM hybridoma 7G1.
3. IgG1 and IgG2a subtypes of 7G1 present improved antiviral activity in vitro and in vivo.