小麦芽依赖于DNA的RNA聚合酶Ⅱ不能转录绒毛烟斑驳病毒及其拟病毒

小麦芽经过匀浆、沉淀、高速及超速离心、透析以及DE_(52)离子交换层析等步骤,纯化小麦芽依赖于DNA的RNA聚合酶。用α-鹅膏蕈碱抑制试验,证明得到RNA聚合酶Ⅱ。用此聚合酶Ⅱ组建的体外转录体系的研究结果表明,绒毛烟斑驳病毒的拟病毒和卫星RNA(黄瓜花叶病毒相关RNA_3)都不能利用该体系进行转录,类病毒PSTV可进行转录,但转录效率明显低于小牛胸腺DNA;α-鹅膏簟碱可抑制类病毒的转录。绒毛烟斑驳病毒拟病毒和卫星RNA都不能被转录,表明他们的复制方法与类病毒不同。     

Stable overexpression of arginase I and ornithine transcarbamylase in HepG2 cells improves its ammonia detoxification

HepG2 is an immortalized human hepatoma cell line that has been used for research into bioartificial liver systems. However, a low level of ammonia detoxification is its biggest drawback. In this work, a recombinant HepG2 cell line with stable overexpression of human arginase I (hArgI) and human ornithine transcarbamylase (hOTC), HepG2/(hArgI + hOTC)4, was developed using a eukaryotic dual gene expression vector pBudCE4.1. (1) The hArgI and hOTC enzymatic activity in HepG2/(hArgI + hOTC)4 cells were higher than in the control cells. (2) The ammonia tolerance capacity of HepG2/(hArgI + hOTC)4 cells was three times that of HepG2 cells and 37.5% of that of primary human hepatocytes in cultivation. In the experiment of ammonia detoxification, HepG2/(hArgI + hOTC)4 cells produced 3.1 times more urea (at 180 mM NH₄Cl) and 3.1 times more glutamine (at 120 mM NH₄Cl and 15 mM glutamate) than HepG2 cells, reaching 63.1% and 36.0% that of primary human hepatocytes, respectively. (3) The hArgI and hOTC overexpression did not influence the growth of HepG2 cells and also promoted the expression of other ammonia detoxification associated proteins including glutamine synthetase (GS), arginase II (ArgII), arginosuccinate synthase (ASS) and arginosuccinate lyase (ASL) in HepG2 cells. This work illustrates that the modification reported here made significant progress in the improvement of HepG2 cell function and the HepG2/(hArgI + hOTC)4 cells will provide a better selection for the application of bioartificial liver system. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 518–527, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Functional analysis of slow myosin heavy chain 1 and myomesin-3 in sarcomere organization in zebrafish embryonic slow muscles

Myofibrillogenesis, the process of sarcomere formation, requires close interactions of sarcomeric proteins and various components of sarcomere structures. The myosin thick filaments and M-lines are two key components of the sarcomere. It has been suggested that myomesin proteins of M-lines interact with myosin and titin proteins and keep the thick and titin filaments in order. However, the function of myomesin in myofibrillogenesis and sarcomere organization remained largely enigmatic. No knockout or knockdown animal models have been reported to elucidate the role of myomesin in sarcomere organization in vivo. In this study, by using the gene-specific knockdown approach in zebrafish embryos, we carried out a loss-of-function analysis of myomesin-3 and slow myosin heavy chain 1 (smyhc1) expressed specifically in slow muscles. We demonstrated that knockdown of smyhc1 abolished the sarcomeric localization of myomesin-3 in slow muscles. In contrast, loss of myomesin-3 had no effect on the sarcomeric organization of thick and thin filaments as well as M- and Z-line structures. Together, these studies indicate that myosin thick filaments are required for M-line organization and M-line localization of myomesin-3. In contrast, myomesin-3 is dispensable for sarcomere organization in slow muscles.     

Alterations of the Ca2+ signaling pathway in pancreatic beta-cells isolated from db/db mice

Upon glucose elevation, pancreatic beta-cells secrete insulin in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. In diabetic animal models, different aspects of the calcium signaling pathway in beta-cells are altered, but there is no consensus regarding their relative contributions to the development of beta-cell dysfunction. In this study, we compared the increase in cytosolic Ca²⁺ ([Ca²⁺]_i) via Ca²⁺ influx, Ca²⁺ mobilization from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium stores, and the removal of Ca²⁺ via multiple mechanisms in beta-cells from both diabetic db/db mice and nondiabetic C57BL/6J mice. We refined our previous quantitative model to describe the slow [Ca²⁺]_i recovery after depolarization in beta-cells from db/db mice. According to the model, the activity levels of the two subtypes of the sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase (SERCA) pump, SERCA2 and SERCA3, were severely down-regulated in diabetic cells to 65% and 0% of the levels in normal cells. This down-regulation may lead to a reduction in the Ca²⁺ concentration in the ER, a compensatory up-regulation of the plasma membrane Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger (NCX) and a reduction in depolarizationevoked Ca²⁺ influx. As a result, the patterns of glucosestimulated calcium oscillations were significantly different in db/db diabetic beta-cells compared with normal cells. Overall, quantifying the changes in the calcium signaling pathway in db/db diabetic beta-cells will aid in the development of a disease model that could provide insight into the adaptive transformations of beta-cell function during diabetes development.     

A new type of ERGIC-ERES membrane contact mediated by TMED9 and SEC12 is required for autophagosome biogenesis

Under stress,the endomembrane system undergoes reorganization to support autophagosome biogenesis,which is a central step in autophagy.How the endomembrane syst...     

ncRNA 研究技术进展

ncRNA通过多种机制调控着基因的表达,生物信息学、基因组SELEX技术及微阵列分析等方法在ncRNA的研究中发挥了重要作用,导致在最近5年发现了大量的新ncRNA,本文就研究ncRNA的各种方法作一简要介绍。     

玉米粗缩病毒基因组第七组份的cDNA克隆及序列分析

从采自中国河北滦城感病的玉米材料中提取玉米粗缩病毒(MRDV)的双链RNA。根据已知MRDV的部分序列设计引物,反转录、PCR扩增,克隆并测序分析了MRDV的第七片段(S7)cDNA序列。结果表明,S7 cDNA序列全长为1936bp,与国外所测的MRDV S7的序列长度相等,而且S7包含的两个阅读框(ORF1和ORF2)位置无变化。它们的核苷酸和最大开放阅读框(ORF1)同源性分别为877%和91.6%,然而,MRDV S7的片段与水稻黑条矮缩病毒(RBSDV)S8片段的核苷酸和最大开放阅读框(ORF1)有更高的同源性,分别为95.5%和93.5%。     

中国森林生态系统服务功能及其价值评价

针对我国森林生态系统服务功能及其价值评估相对滞后的局面,提出尽快开展我国森林生态系统服务功能及其价值评估的研究工作.首先,在我国森林生态系统类型划分的基础上,研究不同森林生态类型(包括人工和半人工森林生态类型)的服务功能,将我国各类森林总体服务功能划分为林木产品、林副产品、森林游憩、涵养水源、固碳释氧、养分循环、净化环境、土壤保持和维持生物多样性八大类型.其次,在Costanza等提出的全球生态系统服务功能评价指标的基础上,结合我国森林生态系统的特点,针对不同的森林生态系统类型,分别提出和建构一系列可用于我国不同类型森林生态系统价值评估指标体系.利用该指标体系估算出我国森林生态系统服务功能的总价值为30601.20×10⁸元,其中直接经济价值和间接经济价值分别为1920.23×10⁸和28680.97×10⁸元,间接经济价值是直接经济价值的14.94倍.该研究的目的在于尽快将自然资源和环境因素纳入国民经济核算体系而最终为实现绿色GDP提供基础,为实现可持续发展和生态环境保护提供科学依据.