Circ-IGF1R plays a significant role in psoriasis via regulation of a miR-194-5p/CDK1 axis

Cytotechnology - Psoriasis is a skin disorder that is classed as an autoimmune disease. It is characterized by excessive proliferation, abnormal migration and differentiation of keratinocytes, as...     

Presynaptic Inhibition of Gamma Lobe Neurons Is Required for Olfactory Learning in Drosophila

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Ulinastatin attenuates liver injury and inflammation in a cecal ligation and puncture induced sepsis mouse model

Sepsis is a syndrome of life-threatening multiorgan dysfunction caused by host response dysregulation to infection. Ulinastatin (UTI), a serine protease inhibitor, possesses anti-inflammatory properties and has been suggested to modulate lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying its effects on sepsis. In the current study, we investigated the protective effect of UTI on liver injury in a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis of C57BL/6 mouse model and explored the possible mechanisms. Mice underwent CLP as sepsis models and were randomized into five groups including the sham group, UTI group, CLP group, UTI-L group, and UTI-H group. UTI was intraperitoneally administered at doses of UTI 1500 U/100 g (UTI-L group) or 3000 U/100 g (UTI-H group), before CLP. The mice were killed, and immunohistochemical changes, cytokine levels, and antioxidant enzyme activities were detected. Our results showed that UTI ameliorated CLP-mediated increases in serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities, histological activity index, degenerative region ratio, and infiltrated inflammatory cell numbers. Moreover, UTI also decreased nitrotyrosine and 4-hydroxynonenal, activated caspase-3, and activated poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) levels and inhibited the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway activation in liver tissues. Our results indicated that UTI could inhibit CLP-induced liver injury by suppressing inflammation and oxidation. Our results indicated that UTI may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for sepsis.     

Viral metagenomics reveals diverse viruses in the fecal samples of children with diarrhea

Diarrhea is the third leading cause of death in developing countries in children under the age of five. About half a million children die of diarrhea every year, most of which in developing countries. Viruses are the main pathogen of diarrhea. In China, the fecal virome of children with diarrhea has been rarely studied. Using an unbiased viral metagenomics approach, we analyzed the fecal virome in children with diarrhea. Many DNA or RNA viruses associated with diarrhea identified in those fecal samples were mainly from six families of Adenoviridae, Astroviridae, Caliciviridae, Parvoviridae, Picornaviridae, and Reoviridae. Among them, the family of Caliciviridae accounts for the largest proportion of 78.42%, following with Adenoviridae (8.94%) and Picornaviridae (8.36%). In addition to those diarrhea-related viruses that have already been confirmed to cause human diarrhea, the viruses not associated with diarrhea were also identified including anellovirus and picobirnavirus. This study increased our understanding of diarrheic children fecal virome and provided valuable information for the prevention and treatment of viral diarrhea in this area.     

SAR and molecular mechanism study of novel acylhydrazone compounds targeting HIV-1 CA

We synthesized a series of acylhydrazone compounds bearing naturally occurring amino acids’ side chains as HIV assembly inhibitors. Biological evaluation indicated that the compounds had anti-SIV and capsid assembly inhibitory activities. The structure–activity relationship (SAR) study showed that compounds bearing proper aromatic side chains had potential antiviral activities. The molecular modeling experiments revealed the molecular mechanism that they could bind to CA in the same manner as CAP-1 and occupy two more grooves.     

模拟氮沉降对华西雨屏区天然常绿阔叶林凋落叶分解过程微生物生物量的影响

为进一步深化氮沉降对凋落物分解影响的研究,2016年3月—2017年3月,在华西雨屏区天然常绿阔叶林内,用凋落叶分解袋法研究了模拟氮沉降对凋落叶分解过程中微生物生物量碳(MBC)、微生物生物量氮(MBN)和微生物生物量磷(MBP)的影响。实验设置了对照(0 g N m~(-2)a~(-1))、低氮(5 g N m~(-2)a~(-1))、中氮(15 g Nm~(-2)a~(-1))和高氮沉降(30 g N m~(-2)a~(-1)) 4个处理。结果表明:低氮和中氮处理显著增加了凋落叶分解过程中的MBC和MBN,以低氮处理增加幅度最高;低氮和中氮处理对凋落叶分解过程中的MBP影响不显著;高氮处理显著降低了分解过程中的MBC、MBN和MBP。随模拟氮沉降量的递增,凋落叶分解过程中微生物生物量碳氮比逐渐减少,微生物生物量碳磷比呈现先增加后下降的趋势。研究结果说明,氮沉降影响了华西雨屏区天然常绿阔叶林凋落物分解过程中微生物生物量,进而改变了凋落物的分解过程。     

油菜双单倍体诱导育种技术研究进展

油菜是食用油、优质饲料蛋白的重要来源,杂种优势利用是油菜培育优势性状最重要的手段,且提高亲本的选育效率对优质品种的培育具有积极的推动作用。现有油菜育种技术存在效率低、周期长、盲目性大、应用范围有限等诸多问题,不适于油菜产业快速发展的需求。双单倍体诱导育种技术是近年来新兴的一种快速选育油菜新品种的技术方法。该技术以操作简便、应用范围广、效率高等优势被广泛应用于油菜新品种的选育过程中。从油菜双单倍体诱导技术创新研究的发现、作用表现、诱导机制、作用价值等方面系统地综述了油菜双单倍体诱导技术的研究进展,展望了油菜双单倍体诱导技术的应用前景,以期为未来油菜双单倍体诱导技术以及其他作物诱导系的研究和利用提供参考。     

Increased dopaminergic signaling impairs aversive olfactory memory retention in Drosophila

Dopamine is necessary for the aversive olfactory associative memory formation in Drosophila, but its effect on other stages of memory is not known. Herein, we studied the effect of enhanced dopaminergic signaling on aversive olfactory memory retention in flies. We used l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA) to elevate dopamine levels: l-DOPA-treated flies exhibited a normal learning performance, but a decrease in 1-h memory. Dopamine transporter (DAT) mutant flies or flies treated with the DAT inhibitor desipramine exhibited poor memory retention. Flies subjected to heat stress after training exhibited a decrease in memory. Memory was restored by blocking dopaminergic neuronal output during heat stress, suggesting that dopamine is involved in heat stress-induced memory impairment in flies. Taken together, our findings suggest that increased dopaminergic signaling impairs aversive olfactory memory retention in flies.     

Chemical Profiling and Antifungal Activity of Ziziphora clinopodioides Leaf Essential Oil against the Pathogen Verticillium dahliae

Essential oils (EOs) are often used as natural antifungal agents to control the growth of phytopathogenic fungi. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Ziziphora clinopodioides leaf EO against Verticillium dahliae, a pathogenic fungus of cotton. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed the presence of 15 compounds of the total of extracted oil, which was consisted of 98.79 % monoterpenes and 0.61 % sesquiterpenes. The major constituents were pulegone (62.17 %), isomenthone (18.42 %), l-menthone (5.55 %) and piperitenone (3.99 %). The mycelial growth of Verticillium dahliae was completely inhibited at 0.24 μL/mL air under vapor phase condition. Considerable morphological variations were also observed in the fungal sclerotia at the contact phase at 3 μL/mL. This study demonstrated for the first time that Z. clinopodioides EO can effectively inhibit the growth of V. dahliae, implying that it has the potential to be explored as an antifungal agent against Verticillium Wilt of cotton.