版纳鱼螈和双带鱼螈核型的比较研究

本文对版纳鱼螈的核型作了观察,并与双带鱼螈进行了比较。两者的核型基本一致,均为2n=42,但版纳鱼螈的NF=62,而双带鱼螈的NF=60;版纳鱼螈的染色体有中部着丝粒、亚中部着丝粒和端部着丝粒三种类型,而双带鱼螈则无亚中部着丝粒的染色体。     

基于线粒体ND4基因和核c-mos基因初步探讨广西拟水龟和艾氏拟水龟的系统发生

广西拟水龟和艾氏拟水龟的分类和系统发生多年来存在争议。通过测定广西拟水龟、艾氏拟水龟和黄喉拟水龟线粒体ND4基因和核c-mos基因部分序列,合并GenBank中拟水龟属其他物种的ND4基因和c-mos基因部分序列进行分析,从分子水平探讨广西拟水龟和艾氏拟水龟的系统发生。ND4基因数据分析发现NJ、MP和BI树中广西拟水龟与安南拟水龟的聚类分支相互交织聚为一支,二者种内遗传距离均为0.002～0.017,种间遗传距离为0.000～0.035,种间遗传距离明显小于同属内其他种间0.056～0.109的遗传距离,表明广西拟水龟与安南拟水龟可能为同一物种,可能是安南拟水龟的同种异名,或是作为安南拟水龟的一个亚种;NJ树、MP树和BI树均显示,艾氏拟水龟与黄喉拟水龟的位置和关系最为相近,二者间的遗传距离为0.020～0.035,明显小于拟水龟属其他物种间遗传距离,而明显大于同属各物种内遗传距离,艾氏拟水龟与黄喉拟水龟之间系统分类关系是介于种内与种间之间;乌龟、中华花龟、安南拟水龟等物种都是与拟水龟属中其他物种先聚成一支后再与同科的地龟属的地龟形成姐妹支,支持将乌龟属、花龟属和安南龟属并入拟水龟属的分类。c-mos基因数据分析发现,拟水龟属各物种间不存在明显的遗传距离,NJ树和MP树也未能对属中各物种的分子系统发生位置进行有效的界定,但在属及属以上阶元的分子分类系统中c-mos基因可以作为分类依据,并与线粒体基因数据有较好的一致性。     

The Prognostic Value of Peak Cardiac Power Output in Chinese Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Background

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing has been widely used to risk stratify patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Peak oxygen consumption (peakVO₂) was regarded as a powerful predictor of survival, as it is a surrogate for peak cardiac output (CO), which by most is considered the “true” measure of heart failure. Therefore, it is reasonable to hypothesize that CO is an even stronger predictor than peak VO₂. The present study is aimed to investigate the prognostic value of peak cardiac power output (peak CPO) in comparison with peakVO₂ in Chinese patients with CHF.

Methods

Participants provided written informed consent to participate in this study. Totally 129 patients with CHF underwent symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), with mean age 59.1±11.4 years, 87.6% male, 57.4% ischemic etiology, body mass index (BMI) 24.7±3.7 kg/m² and LVEF 38±9%. CO was measured using an inert gas rebreathing method. The primary endpoints are cardiac deaths.

Results

Over median 33.7-month follow-up, 19 cardiac deaths were reported. Among peak VO₂,VE/VCO₂ slope and Peak CPO, their area under ROC were 0.64, 0.67, 0.68, respectively (Ρ<0.05).The optimal thresholds for predicting cardiac deaths were peak VO₂≤13.4 ml.kg^-1.min^-1, and VE/VCO₂ slope≥39.3 and peak CPO≤ 1.1 respectively by ROC analysis. Finally, in patients with a peak VO2≤13.4 ml.kg^-1.min^-1 those with peak CPO>1.1W had better survival than those with peak CPO ≤ 1.1W. However, by multivariate analysis adjusted for age, sex, BMI, resting heart rate, LVMI, LVEF, Peak CPO was not an independent predictor of cardiac deaths (P> 0.05).

Conclusions

Peak CPO was not a predictor of cardiac death in Chinese CHF patients.     

Cyclin-dependent kinases phosphorylate human Cdt1 and induce its degradation

Eukaryotic cells tightly control DNA replication so that replication origins fire only once during S phase within the same cell cycle. Cell cycle-regulated degradation of the replication licensing factor Cdt1 plays important roles in preventing more than one round of DNA replication per cell cycle. We have previously shown that the SCF(Skp2)-mediated ubiquitination pathway plays an important role in Cdt1 degradation. In this study, we demonstrate that human Cdt1 is a substrate of Cdk2 and Cdk4 both in vivo and in vitro. Overexpression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors such as p21 and p27 dramatically suppresses the phosphorylation of Cdt1, disrupts the interaction of Cdt1 with the F-box protein Skp2, and blocks the degradation of Cdt1. Further analysis reveals that Cdt1 interacts with cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) complexes through a cyclin/Cdk binding consensus site, located at the N terminus of Cdt1. A Cdt1 mutant carrying four amino acid substitutions at the Cdk binding site dramatically reduces associations with cyclin/Cdk complexes. This mutant is not phosphorylated, fails to bind Skp2 and is more stable than wild-type Cdt1. These data suggest that cyclin/Cdk-mediated Cdt1 phosphorylation is required for the association of Cdt1 with the SCF(Skp2) ubiquitin ligase and thus is important for the cell cycle dependent degradation of Cdt1 in mammalian cells.     

Insulin-producing cells from human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells detected by atomic force microscope

We successfully differentiated human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (haMSCs) into insulin-producing cells (IPCs) in vitro and did not use any insulin which might be absorbed by cells during in vitro culture. Expression of insulin gene was massively increased by 28,000-fold at day 12 compared with haMSCs (P < 0.05). IPCs could secrete insulin after glucose was stimulated. The higher the concentration of glucose, the more production of insulin was noted. We reported AFM images of IPCs for the first time. AFM images showed that the sizes of cells were similar to each other, and all IPC surface had a porous structure in the cytoplasm area. In sugar-free group, the size of holes was similar (diameter, 1,086.98 ± 156.70 nm; depth, 185.22 ± 52.14 nm). In higher sugar-stimulated group, there were more holes with bigger diameter and smaller depth. (diameter, 3,183.65 ± 2,229.18 nm; depth 109.42 ± 56.26 nm, P < 0.05). We found that the hole diameter and depth could change with the concentration of glucose in media. Concurrently, laser scanning confocal microscopy images indicated that cortical actin network beneath plasma membrane in IPCs was dense and continuous. After glucose stimulation, we found the actin web depolymerized and became discontinuous in IPCs. We speculated that diameter augmentation of holes located in the cytoplasm area in IPCs was one manifestation of excytosis increase.     

Structural basis of substrate recognition in thiopurine s-methyltransferase

Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) modulates the cytotoxic effects of thiopurine prodrugs such as 6-mercaptopurine by methylating them in a reaction using S-adenosyl- l-methionine as the donor. Patients with TPMT variant allozymes exhibit diminished levels of protein and/or enzyme activity and are at risk for thiopurine drug-induced toxicity. We have determined two crystal structures of murine TPMT, as a binary complex with the product S-adenosyl- l-homocysteine and as a ternary complex with S-adenosyl- l-homocysteine and the substrate 6-mercaptopurine, to 1.8 and 2.0 A resolution, respectively. Comparison of the structures reveals that an active site loop becomes ordered upon 6-mercaptopurine binding. The positions of the two ligands are consistent with the expected S N2 reaction mechanism. Arg147 and Arg221, the only polar amino acids near 6-mercaptopurine, are highlighted as possible participants in substrate deprotonation. To probe whether these residues are important for catalysis, point mutants were prepared in the human enzyme. Substitution of Arg152 (Arg147 in murine TPMT) with glutamic acid decreases V max and increases K m for 6-mercaptopurine but not K m for S-adenosyl- l-methionine. Substitution at this position with alanine or histidine and similar substitutions of Arg226 (Arg221 in murine TPMT) result in no effect on enzyme activity. The double mutant Arg152Ala/Arg226Ala exhibits a decreased V max and increased K m for 6-mercaptopurine. These observations suggest that either Arg152 or Arg226 may participate in some fashion in the TPMT reaction, with one residue compensating when the other is altered, and that Arg152 may interact with substrate more directly than Arg226, consistent with observations in the murine TPMT crystal structure.     

5—氟尿苷的微生物转化

5 氟尿苷 (简称ＦＵＲ)是抗肿瘤核苷药物脱氧氟尿苷 (Ｆｌｏｘｕｒｉｄｉｎｅ ,简称ＤＦＵＲ)的合成中间体。脱氧氟尿苷是一种抗代谢类抗肿瘤药 ,在体内可以部分转化为氟尿嘧啶 (简称ＦＵ) ,二者具有相似的作用途径和抗肿瘤谱。与ＦＵ相比 ,由于ＤＦＵＲ的抗肿瘤活性高且毒副反应小 ,主要用于治疗晚期结直肠癌和各种类型肝癌。在国内 ,采用化学法合成的ＤＦＵＲ业已进入临床研究阶段[1]采用化学合成法生产ＤＦＵＲ时 ,由于反应过程中需将碱基或核糖残基的部分基团进行保护 ,而且产物为多种核苷异构体和其它副产品的混合物 ,需要进一步分离 ,…     

The first complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Nanorana parkeri and Nanorana ventripunctata (Amphibia: Anura: Dicroglossidae), with related phylogenetic analyses

Members of the Nanorana genus (family Dicroglossidae) are often referred to as excellent model species with which to study amphibian adaptations to extreme environments and also as excellent keystone taxa for providing insights into the evolution of the Dicroglossidae. However, a complete mitochondrial genome is currently only available for Nanorana pleskei. Thus, we analyzed the complete mitochondrial genomes of Nanorana parkeri and Nanorana ventripunctata to investigate their evolutionary relationships within Nanorana and their phylogenetic position in the family Dicroglossidae. Our results showed that the genomes of N. parkeri (17,837 bp) and N. ventripunctata (18,373 bp) encode 13 protein‐coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes, 23 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and a noncoding control region. Overall sequences and genome structure of the two species showed high degree of similarity with N. pleskei, although the motif structures and repeat sequences of the putative control region showed clear differences among these three Nanorana species. In addition, a tandem repeat of the tRNA‐Met gene was found located between the tRNA‐Gln and ND2 genes. On both the 5′ and 3′‐sides, the control region possessed distinct repeat regions; however, the CSB‐2 motif was not found in N. pleskei. Based on the nucleotide sequences of 13 PCGs, our phylogenetic analyses, using Bayesian inference and maximum‐likelihood methods, illustrate the taxonomic status of Nanorana with robust support showing that N. ventripunctata and N. pleskei are more closely related than they are to N. parkeri. In conclusion, our analyses provide a more robust and reliable perspective on the evolutionary history of Dicroglossidae than earlier analyses, which used only a single species (N. pleskei).     

Nitric oxide inhibits neutrophil β2 integrin function by inhibiting membrane-associated cyclic GMP synthesis

The aim of this investigation was to identify the mechanism by which nitric oxide inhibits neutrophil β₂ integrin dependent adherence. Isolated rat neutrophils from blood and peritoneal exudates were exposed for 2 min to nitric oxide generated by diethylamine-NO at rates between 1.6 and 138 nmol/min. Exposure to nitric oxide at rates less than 14 nmol/min had no effect on adherence. Exposure to 14 to 56 nmol nitric oxide/min inhibited β₂ integrin dependent adherence to endothelial cells, nylon columns, and fibrinogen-coated plates, but higher concentrations had no significant effect on adherence. Adherence by β₂ integrins could be restored by incubating cells with dithioerythritol, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, or 8-bromo cyclic GMP. Elevations in cellular cyclic GMP concentration were associated with adherence, but this did not occur after cells were exposed to concentrations of nitric oxide that inhibited β₂ integrin-dependent adherence. Elevations in cyclic GMP did occur after cells were incubated with dithioerythritol or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Concentrations of nitric oxide that inhibited β₂ integrin-dependent adherence also inhibited catalytic activity of membrane associated guanylate cyclase and binding of atrial natriuretic peptide, but were insufficient to activate cytosolic guanylate cyclase. Nitric oxide did not inhibit neutrophil oxidative burst or degranulation, nor effect β₂ integrin expression or adherence that did not depend on β₂ integrins, nor cause oxidative stress identified in terms of cellular glutathione concentration or protein nitrotyrosine. The results indicate that nitric oxide inhibited β₂ integrins in a concentration-dependent fashion by inhibiting cell-surface transduction of signals linked to the activity of membrane-bound guanylate cyclase. The inhibitory effect could be overcome by providing cells with cyclic GMP exogenously or by stimulating cytosolic guanylate cyclase. J. Cell. Physiol. 172:12–24, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.