变温对两种昆虫发育速率的影响

报道了松毛虫赤眼蜂和瓜螟在多组恒温、交替变温下的发育历期。对结果的分析表明,温度交替对这两种昆虫在任一温度下的瞬时发育率无明显影响,恒温下和变温下完成发育所需的热量无显著差异或基本相似。     

TLR4 signaling is involved in the protective effect of propofol in BV2 microglia against OGD/reoxygenation

Propofol exhibits neuroprotective effects against hypoxic–ischemic brain injury, but the underlying mechanisms are still not clear. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays a considerable role in the induction of innate immune and inflammatory responses. The purposes of this study are to investigate the effect of propofol on the oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD)/reoxygenation (OGD/R) BV2 microglia and to explore the role of TLR4/myeloid differentiation protein 88 (MyD88)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway in the neuroprotective effects of propofol. BV2 microglia were placed into an airtight chamber and in glucose-free medium for OGD/reoxygenation. Cell viability was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide assay. TLR4 and its downstream signaling molecules, MyD88 and NF-κB expressions were detected by Western blotting. Level of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in culture medium was determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. BV2 microglia apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. We found that pretreatment with propofol significantly alleviated the hypoxic injury in BV2 microglia. Propofol inhibited upregulation of TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB expressions in BV2 microglia exposed to OGD/reoxygenation. Propofol pretreatment also significantly reduced the production of TNF-α and apoptosis in OGD/reoxygenation BV2 microglia. The results indicated that TLR4 and its downstream MyD88-dependent signaling pathway contributed to neuroprotection of propofol to microglia exposed to OGD/reoxygenation.     

Functional identification of the gene encoding the enzyme involved in mannosylation in ramoplanin biosynthesis in Actinoplanes sp.

Ramoplanin is a lipopeptide antibiotic active against multi-drug-resistant, Gram-positive pathogens. Structurally, it contains a di-mannose moiety attached to the peptide core at Hpg¹¹. The biosynthetic gene cluster of ramoplanin has already been reported and the assembly of the depsipeptide has been elucidated but the mechanism of transferring sugar moiety to the peptide core remains unclear. Sequence analysis of the biosynthetic gene cluster indicated ramo-orf29 was a mannosyltransferase candidate. To investigate the involvement of ramo-orf29 in ramoplanin biosynthesis, gene inactivation and complementation have been conducted in Actinoplanes sp. ATCC 33076 by homologous recombination. Metabolite analysis revealed that the ramo-orf29 inactivated mutant produced no ramoplanin but the ramoplanin aglycone. Thus, ramo-orf29 codes for the mannosyltransferase in the ramoplanin biosynthesis pathway. This lays the foundation for further exploitation of the ramoplanin mannosyltransferase and aglycone in combinatorial biosynthesis.     

Stereoselective synthesis of novel antiproliferative steroidal (E,E) dienamides through a cascade aldol/cyclization process

The stereoselective and metal-free protocol involving a cascade aldol/cyclization process for the synthesis of steroidal (E, E) dienamides from steroidal α, α-dicyanoalkene was reported. This protocol efficiently achieved the construction of CC bond and selective conversion of cyano group into carboxamide in one-pot procedure under mild condition. Further biological evaluation showed that some of these compounds had moderate to excellent cytotoxic activities against all the tested cancer cell lines and were more potent than well-known drug 5-fluorouracil. Particularly, compound 3c represented excellent inhibitory effect against MCF-7 (IC₅₀ = 0.76 μM), which was about 10-fold more potent than 5-fluorouracil.     

Txnip基因siRNA慢病毒表达质粒构建及促进猪前体脂肪细胞分化

硫氧还蛋白互作蛋白(thioredoxin interacting protein, Txnip)是一种氧化还原调节蛋白质,与硫氧还蛋白结合并抑制其活性,调节细胞氧化还原状态,影响细胞多种生理过程,然而其在猪脂肪细胞分化中的作用尚不明确。本文设计合成3对靶向猪Txnip基因的shRNA寡核苷酸,分别连接于重组慢病毒载体pGLV_3/H_1/GFP+Puro构建siRNA表达质粒。测序验证后,与包装质粒共转染293T细胞,获得滴度1×10~8 pfu/mL的慢病毒干扰质粒。以MOI值100转染原代培养猪前体脂肪细胞,转染率均达80%以上,其中Txnip-shRNA-2转染细胞Txnip基因沉默率达75%。转染Txnip-shRNA-2的猪前体脂肪细胞用成脂分化培养液诱导后,每隔1 d检测细胞成脂分化及相关基因表达。结果发现,其分化比阴性对照质粒转染或未转染细胞显著增强(P<0.05),PPARγ和FAS mRNA表达水平显著提高(P<0.05)。本文构建siRNA慢病毒表达质粒能有效干扰猪Txnip基因表达,Txnip表达沉默可通过上调PPARγ表达促进猪前体脂肪细胞分化。本研究提示,Txnip可能是猪脂肪细胞分化的抑制因子。     

Activation of liver X receptor suppresses osteopontin expression and ameliorates nephrolithiasis

Nephrolithiasis is a common disease of the urinary system, of which idiopathic calcium oxalate (CaOx) kidney stones, in particular, are one of the special types. In the initial stages of CaOx kidney stone formation, Randall's plaques (RPs) develop. Liver X receptors (LXRs) inhibit oxidative stress and inflammatory in other diseases; nevertheless, the role of LXRs in nephrolithiasis has yet to be elucidated. In this study, the role of LXRs in the progression of RP formation was investigated. Microarray analysis revealed that LXR/RXR levels were significantly greater in low-plaque tissues (<5%) than in high-plaque tissues (>5%), confirming the link between LXR activation and RP formation. Correspondingly, expression levels of two LXR target genes, LXRα and LXRβ, were lower in high-plaque tissues than in low-plaque tissues. In vitro, LXR agonist alleviated calcium oxalate monohydrate-induced cellular calcium deposits and apoptosis. LXR activation decreased reactive oxygen species production and gene expression of inflammatory mediators, including osteopontin that has recently been demonstrated to correlate with the development of RPs. Moreover, p38 MAPK and JNK signaling may mediate LXR-regulated expression in HK-2 cells. In an animal model, the deposition was reduced by activating LXR, and osteopontin expression was also inhibited. Our findings suggest a role for LXRs in the progression of idiopathic CaOx kidney stones; LXR agonists may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of nephrolithiasis.