MicroRNA-197-3p mediates damage to human coronary artery endothelial cells via targeting TIMP3 in Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease (KD) causes cardiovascular system injury in children. However, the pathogenic mechanisms of KD have not been well defined. Recently, strong correlation between aberrant microRNAs and KD nosogenesis has been revealed. A role of microRNA-197-3p (miR-197-3p) in the pathogenesis of KD is identified in the present study. Cell proliferation assay showed human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) were suppressed by serum from KD patients, which was correlated with high levels of miR-197-3p in both KD serum and HCAECs cultured with KD serum. The inhibition of HCAECs by miR-197-3p was confirmed by cells expressing miR-197-3p mimic and miR-197-3p inhibitor. Comparative proteomics analysis and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) revealed TIMP3 as a potential target of miR-197-3p, which was demonstrated by western blot and dual-luciferase reporter assays. Subsequently, by detecting the endothelium damage markers THBS1, VWF, and HSPG2, the role of miR-197-3p/TIMP3 in KD-induced damage to HCAECs was confirmed, which was further validated by a KD mouse model in vivo. The expressions of miR-197-3p and its target, TIMP3, are dramatically variational in KD serum and HCAECs cultured with KD serum. Increased miR-197-3p induces HCAECs abnormal by restraining TIMP3 expression directly. Hence, dysregulation of miR-197-3p/TIMP3 expression in HCAECs may be an important mechanism in cardiovascular endothelium injury in KD patients, which offers a feasible therapeutic target for KD treatment.

     

玉米JAZ家族基因ZmJAZ4的克隆及功能分析

JAZ(Jasmonate ZIM-domain)蛋白是植物特有的一类转录因子,通过抑制茉莉素调控基因的表达,在植物的生长发育及非生物胁迫等方面发挥重要的功能。从玉米B73自交系中克隆到一个新的JAZ家族基因Zm JAZ4,该基因c DNA全长为651bp,编码蛋白含有216个氨基酸,分子量约为23.1 k D,p I为10.78,属于碱性蛋白。Real-time RT-PCR结果表明,Zm JAZ4主要在茎端分生组织、雄穗、发育早期的种子以及胚乳中表达。系统进化分析显示,Zm JAZ4与At JAZ10转录因子相似性较高。亚细胞定位试验表明,Zm JAZ4定位于细胞核内。Zm JAZ4在酵母细胞中不具有转录激活活性。激素及胁迫处理表明,Zm JAZ4在地上部的表达受PEG、Na Cl、SA、GA和ABA诱导,而在地下部的表达受到ABA和GA诱导。结果分析表明,Zm JAZ4可能是一个重要的转录调控因子,参与调控多种激素信号通路及非生物胁迫响应。     

Radical sites in Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG identified using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, the three-dimensional crystal structure, and electron transfer couplings

Catalase-peroxidase (KatG) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a Class I peroxidase, exhibits high catalase activity and peroxidase activity with various substrates and is responsible for activation of the commonly used antitubercular drug, isoniazid (INH). KatG readily forms amino acid-based radicals during turnover with alkyl peroxides, and this work focuses on extending the identification and characterization of radicals forming on the millisecond to second time scale. Rapid freeze-quench electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (RFQ-EPR) reveals a change in the structure of the initially formed radical in the presence of INH. Heme pocket binding of the drug and knowledge that KatG[Y229F] lacks this signal provides evidence for radical formation on residue Tyr(229). High field RFQ-EPR spectroscopy confirmed a tryptophanyl radical signal, and new analyses of X-band RFQ-EPR spectra also established its presence. High field EPR spectroscopy also confirmed that the majority radical species is a tyrosyl radical. Site-directed mutagenesis, along with simulations of EPR spectra based on x-ray structural data for particular tyrosine and tryptophan residues, enabled assignments based on predicted hyperfine coupling parameters. KatG mutants W107F, Y229F, and the double mutant W107F/Y229F showed alteration in type and yield of radical species. Results are consistent with formation of a tyrosyl radical reasonably assigned to residue Tyr(229) within the first few milliseconds of turnover. This is followed by a mixture of tyrosyl and tryptophanyl radical species and finally to only a tyrosyl radical on residue Tyr(353), which lies more distant from the heme. The radical processing of enzyme lacking the Trp(107)-Tyr(229)-Met(255) adduct (found as a unique structural feature of catalase-peroxidases) is suggested to be a reasonable assignment of the phenomena.     

长白山西坡小叶章侵入苔原带过程及影响

长白山西坡岳桦林带的草本植物(以小叶章为代表)侵入了苔原带,形成了独特的植物入侵现象。在光谱及影像分析的基础上,结合GPS(Global Positional System)定位技术,并依据小叶章与牛皮杜鹃的光谱差异及其反演的NDVI(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index)植被指数,揭示小叶章侵入苔原带的过程;通过对不同侵入时间、强度的斑块进行群落调查及土壤测试,探究小叶章侵入苔原带的生态后果。结果显示小叶章侵入苔原带始于20世纪80年代后期,由低海拔向高海拔推进,进入21世纪后逐渐形成了稳定的以小叶章为优势物种的植物群落结构。目前,低海拔处的小叶章斑块经过多年扩张已连接成片,而高海拔处的斑块正处于扩张的初期阶段。从生物多样性变化可以看出,小叶章侵入苔原带导致植物群落多样性升高和物种数量的增加,苔原带原有的灌木数量明显减少,草本植物逐渐增多。植被的改变影响了土壤的理化性质,C/N比下降,土壤腐殖质含量和全氮含量下降,但速效氮和土壤持水能力上升,土壤养分的高效利用又进一步推动了小叶章的侵入。小叶章侵入苔原带已经造成了严重的生态后果。     

调控肺部炎症消退的内源性介质

炎症反应是宿主重要防御机制之一。慢性炎症或过度炎症反应可导致严重的肺部疾病,如哮喘、急性呼吸窘迫综合征等。新近研究表明炎症消退是一个主动过程,炎症的及时消退是防止炎症过强及走向慢性化的关键环节。因此,调控炎症消退的内源性介质成为新的研究热点。促进炎症消退内源性介质的发现不仅为肺部疾病研究提供新视野,也为全新的促炎症消退治疗策略防治肺部疾病提供理论依据。     

Hydrogen peroxide-mediated isoniazid activation catalyzed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis catalase-peroxidase (KatG) and its S315T mutant

Inhibition of the enzyme Mycobacterium tuberculosis InhA (enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase) due to formation of an isonicotinoyl-NAD adduct (IN-NAD) from isoniazid (INH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cofactor is considered central to the mode of action of INH, a first-line treatment for tuberculosis infection. INH action against mycobacteria requires catalase-peroxidase (KatG) function, and IN-NAD adduct formation is catalyzed in vitro by M. tuberculosis KatG under a variety of conditions, yet a physiologically relevant approach to the process has not emerged that allows scrutiny of the mechanism and the origins of INH resistance in the most prevalent drug-resistant strain bearing KatG[S315T]. In this report, we describe how hydrogen peroxide, delivered at very low concentrations to ferric KatG, leads to efficient inhibition of InhA due to formation of the IN-NAD adduct. The rate of adduct formation mediated by wild-type KatG was about 20-fold greater than by the isoniazid-resistant KatG[S315T] mutant under optimal conditions (H2O2 supplied along with NAD+ and INH). Slow adduct formation also occurs starting with NADH and INH, in the presence of KatG even in the absence of added peroxide, due to endogenous peroxide. The poor efficiency of the KatG[S315T] mutant can be enhanced merely by increasing the concentration of INH, consistent with this enzyme's reduced affinity for INH binding to the resting enzyme and the catalytically competent enzyme intermediate (Compound I). Origins of drug resistance in the KatG[S315T] mutant enzyme are analyzed at the structural level through examination of the three-dimensional X-ray crystal structure of the mutant enzyme.