陕西洋县药用植物群落土壤种子库特性研究

采用种子萌发法对洋县药用植物群落土壤种子库物种组成、单位面积种子密度、物种丰富度及与地上群落结构的关系进行了研究。结果显示,研究区内共有种子植物50种(包括药用植物21种),隶属于28科47属,其中草本植物45种、乔木5种;不同药用植物群落间土壤种子库种子密度差异显著,从大到小依次为:2年生凹叶厚朴(Magnolia officinalis Rehd.et Wils.subsp.biloba(Rehd.et Wils.)Law)4年生凹叶厚朴7年生凹叶厚朴11年生凹叶厚朴杜仲-凹叶厚朴(Eucommia ulmoides Oliver-Magnolia officinalis Rehd.et Wils.subsp.biloba(Rehd.et Wils.)Law)7年生厚朴(Magnolia officinalis Rehd.et Wils.)杜仲山茱萸(Cornus officinalis Sieb.et Zucc.)山茱萸-凹叶厚朴;土壤种子库具有表聚性,土层深度与种子数量成负相关;药用植物群落土壤种子库与地上群落结构相似性普遍较低。低林龄群落的土壤种子库密度大于高林龄群落,因此低林龄群落有利于天然更新,它们在植被恢复和生物多样性保护中的潜在价值更大。本研究结果可为洋县药用植物群落天然更新提供理论指导。     

Associations of plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among middle-aged and elderly individuals

Background

The plasma level of the inflammatory biomarker soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a strong predictor of disease development and premature mortality in the general population. Unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking or unhealthy eating is known to elevate the suPAR level. We aimed to investigate whether change in lifestyle habits impact on the suPAR level, and whether the resultant levels are associated with mortality.

Results

Paired suPAR measurements from baseline- and the 5-year visit of the population-based Inter99 study were compared with the habits of diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Paired suPAR measurements for 3225 individuals were analyzed by linear regression, adjusted for demographics and lifestyle habits. Compared to individuals with a healthy lifestyle, an unhealthy diet, low physical activity, and daily smoking were associated with a 5.9, 12.8, and 17.6% higher 5-year suPAR, respectively. During 6.1 years of follow-up after the 5-year visit, 1.6% of those with a low suPAR (mean 2.93 ng/ml) died compared with 3.8% of individuals with a high suPAR (mean 4.73 ng/ml), P <  0.001. In Cox regression analysis, adjusted for demographics and lifestyle, the hazard ratio for mortality per 5-year suPAR doubling was 2.03 (95% CI: 1.22–3.37).

Conclusion

Lifestyle has a considerable impact on suPAR levels; the combination of unhealthy habits was associated with 44% higher 5-year suPAR values and the 5-year suPAR was a strong predictor of mortality. We propose suPAR as a candidate biomarker for lifestyle changes as well as the subsequent risk of mortality.

     

A correlational study between serum asymmetric dimethylarginine level and impaired glucose tolerance patients associated with obesity

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) plays a vital role in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and has been shown as a potential marker for various disease, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). However, the correlation between ADMA and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and obesity has not been studied. A total of 195 subjects were involved in our study. The characteristics of the subjects in the study cohort were measured and analyzed. We found that the serum ADMA and C-reactive protein levels were significantly increased in IGT and diabetic patients, whereas the levels of lipoprotein A and adiponectin were decreased, especially in diabetic patients with obesity. The serum ADMA level was positively correlated to a homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, and multivariate regression analysis further indicated that ADMA was an independent factor for DM patients with obesity. Our study expands the understanding of the complicated relationship between obesity, insulin resistance, IGT, and ADMA. In addition, we demonstrated that the serum ADMA level could serve as a diagnositic biomarker of the early signs for IGT patients with obesity.     

Asymmetric dimethylarginine targets MAPK pathway to regulate insulin resistance in liver by activating inflammation factors

Insulin resistance is associated with impaired glucose uptake and altered protein kinase B (Akt) signaling. Previous studies have suggested asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and inflammation are two distinguish factors that correlate with insulin resistance (IR). How ADMA and inflammation factors interact and synchronize in the regulation of IR in liver remain to be elucidated. In this study, we systematically investigated whether ADMA is involved in IR using primary hepatocytes, if yes, by via which molecular mechanism. Our results demonstrated that ADMA inhibits insulin sensitivity in a concentration-dependent manner by activating inflammation factors tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1, and IL-6 in primary hepatocytes. Further analysis revealed that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway act downstream of ADMA and inflammation factors, and inhibition of MAPK pathway rescued the IR. Furthermore, metformin effects has been found which could reverse ADMA-induced IR by suppressing MAPK signaling pathway. To our knowledge, we, for the first time, unveiled the complicated regulatory network and interactions among ADMA, inflammation, and MAPK signaling pathway, which advanced current research on the development and regulation of IR in liver. This study also certainly provided novel insights on comprehensive diagonistics roles of ADMA as a potential biomarker.     

Chemically modified porcine hemoglobins and their biological properties

Hemoglobin cross-linked with small molecular modifiers turns out to be more stable. Modifications of proteins with polyethylene glycol (PEG) have been proven to enlarge the molecular size of proteins, to prolong their retention time in the circulation as well as blunt immune reactions. In the present study, the optimal conditions for porcine hemoglobin (pHb) modification with bis (3, 5-dibromosalicyl) fumarate (DBBF) and PEG were evaluated. The derivative of DBBF cross-linked pHb (DBBF-pHb) showed improved oxygen affinity and the ability to resist the dissociation of the alpha2beta2 tetramer compared with the natural protein. DBBF-pHb was then bound to the activated PEG. The results indicated that the pHb modified with DBBF and PEG had more stable tetrameric conformation with a molecular weight of 107000. Their oxygen half-saturation pressure (P50) is around 3.33 kPa, which approximates the physiological P50 of human red blood cells. Both routine and reinforced immunizing methods were adopted to study the immunogenicity of modified products and the results showed that the products had very low immunogenicity evaluated by enzyme-linked immunoadsordent assay (ELISA). Somewhat beneficial effects were shown in the treatment of hemorrhagic shock where modified hemoglobin solutions were used as resuscitation fluids in the hemorrhagic shock Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats model.     

Pyrazole compound BPR1P0034 with potent and selective anti-influenza virus activity

Background

Influenza viruses are a major cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. More recently, a swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus that is spreading via human-to-human transmission has become a serious public concern. Although vaccination is the primary strategy for preventing infections, influenza antiviral drugs play an important role in a comprehensive approach to controlling illness and transmission. In addition, a search for influenza-inhibiting drugs is particularly important in the face of high rate of emergence of influenza strains resistant to several existing influenza antivirals.

Methods

We searched for novel anti-influenza inhibitors using a cell-based neutralization (inhibition of virus-induced cytopathic effect) assay. After screening 20,800 randomly selected compounds from a library from ChemDiv, Inc., we found that BPR1P0034 has sub-micromolar antiviral activity. The compound was resynthesized in five steps by conventional chemical techniques. Lead optimization and a structure-activity analysis were used to improve potency. Time-of-addition assay was performed to target an event in the virus life cycle.

Results

The 50% effective inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of BPR1P0034 was 0.42 ± 0.11 μM, when measured with a plaque reduction assay. Viral protein and RNA synthesis of A/WSN/33 (H1N1) was inhibited by BPR1P0034 and the virus-induced cytopathic effects were thus significantly reduced. BPR1P0034 exhibited broad inhibition spectrum for influenza viruses but showed no antiviral effect for enteroviruses and echovirus 9. In a time-of-addition assay, in which the compound was added at different stages along the viral replication cycle (such as at adsorption or after adsorption), its antiviral activity was more efficient in cells treated with the test compound between 0 and 2 h, right after viral infection, implying that an early step of viral replication might be the target of the compound. These results suggest that BPR1P0034 targets the virus during viral uncoating or viral RNA importation into the nucleus.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, BPR1P0034 is the first pyrazole-based anti-influenza compound ever identified and characterized from high throughput screening to show potent (sub-μM) antiviral activity. We conclude that BPR1P0034 has potential antiviral activity, which offers an opportunity for the development of a new anti-influenza virus agent.     

广东木莲的一个新异名

根据对广东木莲Manglientia kwangtungensis（Merr．）Dandy和毛桃木莲M.moto Dandy大量标本的研究,将毛桃木莲处理为广东木莲的一个异名。     

IL-2与金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素A和B融合基因的克隆及表达

目的：IL-2与金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素A和B融合基因的克隆及表达。方法：分别在金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素A227Ala、B基因的两端克隆上两个酶切点Hind Ⅲ,Kpn Ⅰ。将IL-2基因突变,设计一段linker使之分别与SEA227Ala和SEB相连并克隆到PET表达载体中,在大肠杆菌DH5a（DE3）-Pass中表达。结果：表达的蛋白占总蛋白15%。结论：IL-2与金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素A和B融合蛋白能在大肠杆菌中有效表达。