Environmental stability affects phenotypic evolution in a globally distributed marine picoplankton

Marine phytoplankton can evolve rapidly when confronted with aspects of climate change because of their large population sizes and fast generation times. Despite this, the importance of environment fluctuations, a key feature of climate change, has received little attention—selection experiments with marine phytoplankton are usually carried out in stable environments and use single or few representatives of a species, genus or functional group. Here we investigate whether and by how much environmental fluctuations contribute to changes in ecologically important phytoplankton traits such as C:N ratios and cell size, and test the variability of changes in these traits within the globally distributed species Ostreococcus. We have evolved 16 physiologically distinct lineages of Ostreococcus at stable high CO₂ (1031±87 μatm CO₂, SH) and fluctuating high CO₂ (1012±244 μatm CO₂, FH) for 400 generations. We find that although both fluctuation and high CO₂ drive evolution, FH-evolved lineages are smaller, have reduced C:N ratios and respond more strongly to further increases in CO₂ than do SH-evolved lineages. This indicates that environmental fluctuations are an important factor to consider when predicting how the characteristics of future phytoplankton populations will have an impact on biogeochemical cycles and higher trophic levels in marine food webs.     

Puromycin enhances 20-hydroxyecdysone-induced protein synthesis in wing discs of Drosophila melanogaster

The effect of cycloheximide and puromycin on 20-hydroxyecdysone-induced protein synthesis in wing discs of Drosophila melanogaster has been studied by one-dimensional and two-dimensional SDS polyacrylamide electrophoresis. It is found that puromycin, but not cycloheximide, when applied simultaneously with the hormone enhanced the hormone-induced synthesis of the early and late proteins. However, when puromycin was applied after hormone treatment, only the late proteins were induced. The possible implication of these observations is discussed.     

不同类群酵母胞壁甘露聚糖核磁共振氢谱的比较研究

运用核磁共振氢谱(PMR谱)~(**)对各类酵母的细胞壁甘露聚糖进行比较研究,在我国尚无报道,其中某些酵母也尚无文献记载。本文结果表明:1.同菌株的胞壁甘露聚糖PMR谱型的重复性很好。2.同种不同株的酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)的多糖谱型也相同。3.所测的二端芽殖酵母中完全型与不完全型菌株的谱型很相似,如柠檬形克勒克酵母(Kloeckera apiculata)与葡萄有孢汉逊酵母(Hanseniaspora uvarum。4.某些分类系统上来源较杂的子囊菌酵母如单宁管囊酵母(Packysolen tanophilus)、萤光威克酵母(Wickerhamiaflurescens)与高糖固囊酵母(Citeromyces matritensis)则体现了各不相同的谱型。5.二株分自西双版纳的极为相近的类酵母(Saccharomycodes sp.)其多糖的(PMR)谱型与多糖的组分都彼此相同,有助于对它们的适当归类。这一切证明酵母胞壁多糖PMR谱型相似程度的比较是分类上较有意义的性状,有助于探讨亲缘关系,核实完全型与不完全型,也有助于对疑难菌株的分析     

Serine palmitoyltransferase inhibitor myriocin induces growth inhibition of B16F10 melanoma cells through G(2) /M phase arrest

Objectives: Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, and it resists chemotherapy. Candidate drugs for effective anti‐cancer treatment have been sought from natural resources. Here, we have investigated anti‐proliferative activity of myriocin, serine palmitoyltransferase inhibitor, in the de novo sphingolipid pathway, and its mechanism in B16F10 melanoma cells. Material and methods: We assessed cell population growth by measuring cell numbers, DNA synthesis, cell cycle progression, and expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins. Ceramide, sphingomyelin, sphingosine and sphingosine‐1‐phosphate levels were analysed by HPLC. Results: Myriocin inhibited proliferation of melanoma cells and induced cell cycle arrest in the G₂/M phase. Expressions of cdc25C, cyclin B1 and cdc2 were decreased in the cells after exposure to myriocin, while expression of p53 and p21^waf1/cip1 was increased. Levels of ceramide, sphingomyelin, sphingosine and sphingosine‐1‐phosphate in myriocin‐treated cells after 24 h were reduced by approximately 86%, 57%, 75% and 38%, respectively, compared to levels in control cells. Conclusions: Our results suggest that inhibition of sphingolipid synthesis by myriocin in melanoma cells may inhibit expression of cdc25C or activate expression of p53 and p21^waf1/cip1, followed by inhibition of cyclin B1 and cdc2, resulting in G₂/M arrest of the cell cycle and cell population growth inhibition. Thus, modulation of sphingolipid metabolism by myriocin may be a potential target of mechanism‐based therapy for this type of skin cancer.     

Suppression of thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) production by 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose via blockade of NF-κB and STAT1 activation in the HaCaT cells

Keratinocytes, one of major cell types in the skin, can be induced by TNF-α and IFN-γ to express thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17), which is considered to be a pivotal mediator in the inflammatory responses during the development of inflammatory skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis (AD). In this study, we examined the effect of 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose (PGG), isolated from the barks of Juglans mandshurica, on TNF-α/IFN-γ induced CCL17 expression in the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Pretreatment of HaCaT cells with PGG suppressed TNF-α/IFN-γ-induced protein and mRNA expression of CCL17. PGG significantly inhibited TNF-α/IFN-γ-induced NF-κB activation as well as STAT1 activation. Furthermore, pretreatment with PGG resulted in significant reduction in expression of CXCL9, 10, and 11 in the HaCaT cells treated with IFN-γ. These results suggest that PGG may exert anti-inflammatory responses by suppressing TNF-α and/or IFN-γ-induced activation of NF-κB and STAT1 in the keratinocytes and might be a useful tool in therapy of skin inflammatory diseases.     

DNA priming-protein boosting enhances both antigen-specific antibody and Th1-type cellular immune responses in a murine herpes simplex virus-2 gD vaccine model.

It has previously been reported that herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 gD DNA vaccine preferentially induces T-helper (Th) 1-type cellular immune responses, whereas the literature supports the view that subunit vaccines tend to induce potent antibody responses, supporting a Th2 bias. Here, using an HSV gD vaccine model, we investigated whether priming and boosting with a DNA or protein vaccine could induce both potent antibody and Th1-type cellular immune responses. When animals were primed with DNA and boosted with protein, both antibody and Th-cell proliferative responses were significantly enhanced. Furthermore, production of Th1-type cytokines (interleukin-2, interferon-gamma) was enhanced by DNA priming-protein boosting. In contrast, protein priming-DNA boosting produced antibody levels similar to those following protein-protein vaccination but failed to further enhance Th-cell proliferative responses or cytokine production. DNA priming-protein boosting resulted in an increased IgG2a isotype (a Th1 indicator) profile, similar to that induced by DNA-DNA vaccination, whereas protein priming-DNA boosting caused an increased IgG1 isotype (a Th2 indicator) profile similar to that seen after protein-protein vaccination. This result indicates that preferential induction of IgG1 or IgG2a isotype is determined by the type of priming vaccine used. Thus, this study suggests that HSV DNA priming-protein boosting could elicit both potent Th1-type cellular immune responses and antibody responses, both of which likely are important for protection against HSV infection.     

CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> exchange and structural organization of chloroplasts under hypothermia in potato plants transformed with a gene for yeast invertase

Growth, CO₂ exchange, and the ultrastructure of chloroplasts were investigated in the leaves of potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L., cv. Désirée) of wild type and transformed with a gene for yeast invertase under the control of patatin class I B33 promoter (for apoplastic enzyme) grown in vitro on the Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2% sucrose. At a temperature of 22°C optimal for growth, the transformed plants differed from the plants of wild type in retarded growth and a lower rate of photosynthesis as calculated per plant. On a leaf dry weight basis, photosynthesis of transformed plants was higher than in control plants. Under hypothermia (5°C), dark respiration and especially photosynthesis of transformed plants turned out to be more intense than in control material. After a prolonged exposure to low temperature (6 days at 5°C), in the plants of both genotypes, the ultrastructure of chloroplasts changed. Absolute areas of sections of chloroplasts and starch grains rose, and the area of plastoglobules decreased; in transformed plants, these changes were more pronounced. By some ultrastructural characteristics: a reduction in the cold of relative total area of sections of starch grains and plastoglobules (in percents of the chloroplast section area) and in the number of granal thylakoids (per a chloroplast section area), transformed plants turned out to be more cold resistant than wild-type plants. The obtained results are discussed in connection with changes in source-sink relations in transformed potato plants. These changes modify the balance between photosynthesis and retarded efflux of assimilates, causing an increase in the intracellular level of sugars and a rise in the tolerance to chilling.     

The P2X7 receptor antagonist JNJ-47965567 administered thrice weekly from disease onset does not alter progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in SOD1G93A mice

Purinergic Signalling - The ATP-gated P2X7 ion channel has emerging roles in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression. Pharmacological blockade of P2X7 with Brilliant Blue G can ameliorate...